Watched a super entertaining lakorn after so long.

Phew! What a ride. Three weeks runtime, and I just started watching last week, so just a week for me. This was such an interesting thing to watch. Fun and short, even too short. I wish we could've watched 2 or 3 more episodes of this. Anyways, let's dive into the drama.
Story:
The story is rather complicated, even if enjoyable. It's enjoyable to see these wacky characters with messed up lives try to fix their lives but get into trouble instead. But just like some others have pointed it out, it's a little hard to understand in some cases. For example, I wouldn't and didn't understand some things unless I had read other people's comments over here. And it is a bit jam packed for a six-episode series. So much happens and unravels every episode way too fast. But that didn't prevent me from understanding the things that went down.
The characters & acting:
The characters were enjoyable and the performance of the main cast was great. Mote is very likable with his wit and humor. This is my second time seeing a character played by Off, and this time I liked the character way more than the previous time. Kat is super charming and fun too. This my first time seeing a character played by Jan and I'm fairly impressed. Same for Luis. Mond was great too. Even if I didn't like him before, I grew to like Sun by the end. I'm surprisingly attached to this cast now and it makes me wish this lakorn was longer just for this cast alone.
Music:
The music was fun. I got hooked on the OP song by the end and couldn't skip it more than twice. I didn't notice the background music always, but I think it was mostly decent.
Rewatch value:
This lakorn was very likable to me. So it's worth rewatching some time in the future, even if I might not do so myself.
Overall:
It was enjoyable and satisfying. I took a break from lakorns last year and this one made me want to go back to it. So I'd recommend it if anyone's looking for a short lakorn to watch with some comedy and mystery.

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A summer I wouldn't want to remember.

Initially, I didn't want to watch this drama while it aired. But after I knew that Okada Kenshi is in it, I wanted to check it out. .... And I regretted it. And since no one has written a review about it yet, I'm writing this one. Be forewarned, I may be brutal and biased in this review. And it might be longer than expected.
Story:
The story is character driven. The characters have their own stories and love triangles. And my problem is, every girl or guy is in a love triangle somehow. I don't mind if a series has multiple pairings. But when everyone is in a love triangle, I just end up not caring for who ends up with who. It's bogus at that point. They messed up the "childhood friend having unrequited love for the main character" trope. At first, Natsumi was in love with Takumi (which was fresh and interesting cuz it's usually the other way around), but Takumi was chasing after his high school teacher (who is already married). Weirdly enough, they somehow made it seem like that Takumi loved Natsumi all along, even after he told Natsumi in episode 1 that he didn't see her as a woman and he spent the first 3 episodes or so chasing after his teacher. But after meeting Kento, Natsumi's feelings changed and she got over her feelings for Takumi. Not to mention, that even after Takumi realized his feelings for Natsumi, which happened around episode 4 or 5, he hesitated for many more episodes, and finally confessed to her (the friend who he had rejected 6 episodes ago) around episode 9. And the results were not surprising at all. Oh, and it gets worse. Takumi saves Natsumi from a (completely avoidable) road accident and ends up getting injured. I don't even get how that accident was so bad that the doctor told him that he has to quit his construction job even after he heals. So that just adds to Natsumi's guilt. Takumi also tells her to support him in what I understand a platonic way, as a platonic friend. There was nothing romantic involved in that request, as far as I understood. And for some ridiculous reason, Natsumi thinks that she should break up with Kento in order to platonically support her platonic childhood friend. Yeah, that's bogus to me. So the main pairing is a total failure in my book.
The love triangle centering Airi is pretty weird too. I don't know, I probably should have liked Airi's story more. But I didn't. And I was so sure she would end up with Mamoru. Not that I cared either way. Like I said, this drama has one love triangle too many. At least Airi's reasoning for choosing Osamu made some sense. She was looking for honesty, and apparently she got it from this snob who has zero emotional intelligence. Why she chose a jerk over a sweet guy- that makes comparatively less sense.
Risa also (kinda) had her own love triangle. She was struggling to decide what would be best for her and her kid, Haruki. What surprised me is that she was willing to get involved with someone else despite having a kid, even if it was a one time "no strings attached" thing. I mainly watched the drama for the Risa-Hayakawa pairing. But too bad, this drama ruined this story too. It was messy. I wish Risa and Hayakawa's first meeting was different. They made it seem like they slept together even if that route was totally avoidable. Then after that actually happened, Risa hesitated the whole time, even if their attraction was mutual and Hayakwa was truly a sweet guy. Obviously, this pairing was the least important pairing in the drama, but even so, it was handled poorly.

Cast/characters:
I liked Natsumi. Her family wasn't rich, but they were a happy family. She took care of her father and brother really well. She was an amazing girl and friend. I don't have any complaints about her character traits. But definitely don't like all her decisions. I wish she was honest and straightforward about her feelings towards Takumi. But maybe it's expected that she would be afraid of rejection. I didn't like that instead of facing Takumi properly, she ran away from him to Kento. Say whatever, I don't think that was the right call. Now being with Kento itself, that's a different story. And I already talked about the part where she broke up with Kento just to support Takumi and how that makes no sense. Takumi is one of the characters I didn't like at all in the drama. He is a good friend to Natsumi, and maybe there was opportunity for him to be more. If only he didn't waste his screentime being the guy watching from the sidelines. I thought it was refreshing to see Kamio Fuji as the second lead for the 3rd time, since he's mostly the first lead in dramas where I always end up rooting for the second lead. And in this drama, I ended up not caring for anyone at all. Oh, well. Kento was meh. Mamoru was probably the best guy in the drama, aside from his lying habits. He was always sweet towards Airi. And I was almost 100% sure he would end up with her. Airi was a decent character too. She willingly tried to befriend and date the most unsociable character, which was nice of her. But I don't understand why she was annoyed because Osamu would call her every day. Osamu was literally the least likable character with (again) zero emotional intelligence. But we did see his growth. Credit goes to that bit at least. That should be a good thing. Risa was a mom. So that's the biggest aspect of her. I wish she didn't hesitate when making up her mind about Hayakawa. He was a good guy. But he rushed things too much, which is overwhelming for a woman with a kid. Not to mention he was not considerate of Risa's situation and circumstances. The acting was alright. They're all experienced actors, they delivered just fine.
The Music:
This was probably the only good aspect of the drama. The theme song and endings were both sweet songs, very catchy, stayed stuck in my head for a while. The BGM was also alright.
Rewatch Value:
Not worthy of a rewatch. Like I said in the title, I'd much rather forget about this drama.

Conclusion:
I think I had high expectations from this drama, mostly because the cast was promising. But this was a big letdown. I won't recommend this drama. 3/10.

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Rape: can any system truly bring justice to its victimsand perpetrators?

Don’t worry, this won’t be a philosophical piece about whether the judicial system of any country is good enough to bring justice to rape victims. Just thought it was a good title since this story focuses on a victim of sexual assault and her way of getting justice and some peace. I’ll include SPOILERS, be FOREWARNED. And this is my first Jdrama where they focused on rape, I’ll be talking about that a bit because it’s a lot to process.

Plot: 10/10
While what happened to Shouko was awful, and her story of how she gets revenge is that much more satisfying. The story begins 10 years ago when Shouko was in high school and stumbled upon momentary fame when she met Tokumichi, a makeup artist streamer, who chose Shouko to be his model. She became famous and was featured on magazine covers at a young age. But, the world was cruel and everyone envied the young girl’s happiness and wanted to bring her down from her glory.

Three of her classmates, jealous of Shouko’s rising fame, trapped her and posted a video of her getting raped online, and every good thing that Shouko had in her life came crumbling down with it. The world blamed everything on her, thus giving her a digital tattoo that she had to carry for the rest of her life. Too afraid to go to the police, Shouko closed herself off before having the courage to tell her parents. And after she did, they ended up dying in a fire accident that burned down all that she had left in her life. She quit school and moved to the countryside to live with her grandma, spending the next 10 years, till her grandma died. And with that, Shouko gave up all hope of living.

On the verge of death, she saw that the perpetrators of her rape were living happily, while her life was almost ending. Revenge became her new purpose in life and there the story began. She coincidentally reunites with Tokumichi, who turns down her request for help multiple times, but finally agrees. One by one, Shouko finds her targets, gives them the taste of ultimate happiness, before sending them to the depths of hell. And during this journey, she reconnects with Tokumichi and her best friend in high school who is now a detective.

And while it was very entertaining and engaging, the ending is sad, because while in retrospect, Shouko and Tokumichi didn’t do anything wrong by bringing the criminals to justice, they involved some innocent civilians (that story continues in the HULU epilogue special). And therefore, she and Tokumichi make a pact to never be happy in their lives. This is tragic because, at that point, they only had each other to call dear in their lives, but since what they did were deemed as crimes by the system, they had to go their separate ways, and atone for their ‘crimes’.

Cast/characters: 10/10
I haven’t seen Shida Sara in many other roles, thus this is the first time I’ve officially watched her, all the more so in a lead role. She nailed it. From the peppy, innocent Shouko in the spin-off and the flashbacks, to the cunning and vengeful Shouko in the present, all of it was good. Hongo Kanata is a well-known actor, no need to say what everyone already knows. He can play characters of all ages and ranges due to his interesting looks, face, and obviously skill. Although, blonde hair is not for him- my only complaint about Tokumichi.
Katayama Yuki as a detective.... I don't know what kind of cop they were going for, honestly. The sympathetic best friend? That part was alright. But very different from most female cops that I've seen in Jdramas, not that I've seen more than a handful. Definitely not the normal kind of detective, that's all I can say.

The villains were fine. And probably villains are all Yoshimoto Miyu has to play for a while, who knows? She’s dang good at it. It’s probably just me, but Kohinata Yuka’s face looked an awful lot like Arimura Kasumi to me here. Again, just my opinion. My other big regret is Sora-kun. God knows he was innocent, and didn’t deserve to die.
The one character I hated with every fiber of my being- Watanuki Ken, whose douchebag opinion no one freaking wants to hear! I don’t know if I’ve ever hated a villain this much before! God knows why people like these exist and there should be laws in place to shut these dirt-bags up.
Music: 10/10
Japanese music is some of the best in the world imo. Why? Because they’re well-fitted to the context, or even out of context. This show had 2 songs by the same artist, NAQT VANE, and both were excellent. Again, in or out of context. Accompanied Shouko’s journey perfectly.
Rewatch value: 7/10
Definitely worth a rewatch if it doesn’t cause you pain to think about the sad parts of this drama. I probably won’t because I can’t take the sad parts of this drama. Too tragic to relive.
Overall: 9.5/10
Some of the best revenge Jdramas I have watched. Hard to top this one, and I’d like to see people try.

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"Lukewarm" is just how they like it

Never had I ever waited for thursdays more eagerly. Geeks centers on 3 eccentric women, who are smart, efficient and just utterly entertaining. If you haven't watched this, you should. I'm biased here, but I'm sure everyone will be in this case. Because:

Story: 8/10
In a year and season full of great Jdramas, this might actually take the cake. Our leading ladies work at Takanashi police station, each having a different role. Saijo is a forensic investigator, Kira, a psychologist/doctor (I'm not quite sure about her, it's confusing a lot of times) and Motoyama, a worker in the traffic department. These 3 are drinking buddies, who at all times prefer not to work even a minute overtime. Despite their unique jobs, personalities and backgrounds, they get along and work together really well and help out our resident Showa era style detective, Serizawa, to solve different cases. We see not only their work lives, but also a bit of their personal lives, as they deal with their families, coworkers and a particular neighbor.

I'd like to point out, that while all 3 are main characters, the show's story focuses significantly more on Saijo than the other two. But, Saijo being my favorite character, I found that to be an upside instead of a downside. And overall, the story is very well-done. One of the best written Jdramas this year. The amazing comedy mixed with a bit of mystery and drama was the perfect kind of "lukewarm". Just kidding, it was wonderful.

Why is the story not a perfect score, then? Well, 2 things. One, I want a second season, and I know I'm not the only one. And two, I want the *sort of* romantic cliffhanger to be resolved. Yes, the romance is also SUPPOSED to be 100% lukewarm, and no more than that, since that's Saijo's motto. But it's really disappointing to see it left hanging at the end. Because to me, it seemed to me like they wanted to make a big deal out of the love triangle plot, with kind of pinning the guys against each other (they really called it a "battle between men" in the mid episode segments where they show the previews), promoting it on the socials (one of the off shots of Saijo and Serizawa was so cute) and (especially) the previews and having the other 2 girls and side characters commenting about it regularly. But that could just be the show's way of poking fun at the whole thing... who knows?

Kira's story also had a decent execution. Can't say te same for Motoyama. Her story felt like it was executed rather half-heartedly. It could've been very interesting. She and her siblings are all half Japanese. They could've actually done something interesting with it, but chose not to. All she does is chase after her no-good dad to get him to take some responsibilities, and sometimes worry about her siblings becoming just like him. They also didn't explore the different sides of her character like they did for the other two. So DEFINITELY, not as satisfactory as the other two.

Characters/cast: 9/10
AmAAAAAZIIIING~! Immensely talented and adorable actors playing quirky and fun but also relatable characters. I'd love to talk about Saijo, but that character would probably need an entire review of its own if I start talking. I'll only say that she was very fun and cute till the end. I love Matsuoka Mayu all the more now. My first time seeing Tanaka Minami and Takizawa Karen in a drama and they both killed it, as expected.

After the girls, Serizawa is my favorite character. And I'm not only saying this because of my Nakamura Aoi bias. Serizaw is old-fashioned and a simpleton which is not necessarily bad. It doesn't earn him many points with Saijo, though. Nonetheless, it doesn't make him any less cute or deserving of (the audience's and Saijo's ?) love. And yes, I definitely had second lead syndrome for Nakamura Aoi's character, for the second year in a row in a Fuji TV drama. I hate to say this because I'll forever be team Serizawa, but Adachi got all the cute moments with Saijo. I found this very sad and frustrating. Serizawa is amazing, and he deserved to get some more cute moments with Saijo (besides the scene in episode 6). And man, the sad face he makes when he's disappointed to hear what Saijo thinks about him- broke my heart.

Adachi's story and character felt so inconsistent at some points. After that twist in episode 5, I was expecting his cold side to show up every now and then. Yes, it's believable that a person can be very different in their professional and personal lives, but the switch just didn't feel well-executed to me. Like it was a one-off thing just to force some drama between Saijo and Adachi, and then Adachi's character and relationship with Saijo was reverted like nothing had ever happened.

The side characters were fun too. The standout for me was Sugita. The overly enthusiastic, but resourceful junior of Saijo. He was fun. Oh, and Ano's character didn't serve much of a purpose. I'm mentioning her because I know a lot of people like her. The character just shows up once every episode to threaten someone. I haven't watched Ano in many things, so I didn't think much of her character here either.

And while these people were very entertaining to watch, the way these characters were handled was unbalanced. Like I said, Saijo got way more focus than the others, with Motoyama's character's potential being wasted. And Adachi kept getting all the cute romantic moments with Saijo, with Serizawa not getting enough attention on the romantic end.

Music: 7/10
The BGM of Geeks was excellent. Just the right amount of quirky and funny music that keeps your attention and reminds you how serious a scene is. And while it could be argued that the ending song goes with the theme of the series, I wasn't a fan of it till the end. "Jibun Jishin" sounds very retro, and that's not my kind of song. That doesn't mean it didn't grow on me even a little, which resulted in a score of 7, and not a 5.

Rewatch value: 9/10
I feel like rewatching it already! It was so memorable and cute that writing the review makes me want to rewatch the series, even though I just finished watching it. Not the finale, though. That one is just frustrating to me. But I'll definitely rewatch the other episodes soon.

Overall: 8.5/10
I simply loved it. The criticisms I made were because I cared too much, and not because the drama itself wasn't good. No such thing as perfect, but perfection is overrated. I'm sure we wouldn't have liked something as much if it really was perfect. On behalf of all otakus and geeks, I believe I can say that this drama was a lovely treat.

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Revenge drama- married woman style!

Wow! Wow! 2024- the year when I got the best revenge dramas from Japan- all centering strong, badass female characters! Could I be more satisfied? I don't know. Maybe. But if I don't get anymore dramas this year, I'll still say it was a good year. This review might be long, but for all the right reasons. So stick around, whether you can understand JP or not, I still hope you can try this one out. All the more so if you're from Asia.

Story: 8/10
If you're a woman, I'm sure you've seen these things happen at least once in your life, all the more so if you're from Asia. This drama tells the story of 3, apparently perfect couples, who in reality have issues stemming from bad, awful men and husbands. 3 woman innocently fall in love with men who are seemingly kind and perfect for them, but are soon faced with the harsh reality called life. The 3 stories in summary are:

- Momoko and Takahiro: Takahiro was Momoko's superior in their company and after they get married, Momoko becomes a full-time housewife. Despite her efforts to perfectly manage her household, she is constantly scolded by her husband for her mistakes. After discovering Takahiro's ****** (hint- you'll know this if you've watched even some JP dramas), Momoko plans to get revenge on her abusive husband.

- Kyoko and Naoki: Kyoko and Naoki met at one of Kyoko's company events. After they get married, they try to have a kid for 2 years because Naoki's idea of a perfect family involves him having children. When Kyoko finally starts getting infertility tests and treatment done, and finds that there's apparently nothing wrong with her, she convinces Naoki to get tests done. Amidst all this, out of the blue, Naoki and one of Kyoko's female subordinates, Yuka, claim that Yuka is pregnant with Naoki's child. Kyoko gets a divorce and tries to forgive and forget. But when she finds out that Naoki and Yuka have been lying to her, she swears to get revenge on the both of them.

- Last but not least (and in fact my favorite), Aki and Tatsuya: Aki and Tatsuya went to the same university and happen to meet again at a restaurant where Tatsuya helps Aki out in a troublesome situation. A shotgun marriage (or at least that's what it seemed like) later, Aki is forced to quit her job and become a full-time housewife and mom. Tatsuya shows his true colors as soon as they sign the marriage registry, and thus her painful life begins. She is treated like a maid by both her husband and in-laws, without any sort of support whatsoever in doing the chores or raising her child. When she sees that her husband and in-laws are beyond redemption, she plans to get revenge. This is my favorite story because: 1. Totaro!!! 2. It's the most relatable because I've seen this happen to some people I'm close with. 3. It was longer, so they had the time to flesh out the stories and characters. 4. They involved the in-laws, which is usually how traditional families are in Asia. 5. AkI's character had the best ending among the 3 women.

Acting, Cast, Characters:10/10
I'm pretty sure everyone knows these leading women, they are some well-known actresses with great resumes. I just realized that AkI's actress, Kitano Kie was the lead in "Life", man do people change with time. Anyways, if people didn't know these women before for their careers and acting skills, they sure will if they just watch this drama. Everyone only got 3-4 episodes, but they had enough time to display their skills.

And the (not really) supportive, despicable husbands. Lol, I usually look forward to watching dramas featuring Toku actors so that I can see what other good people they can play. But not this one. The first two leading men are both Toku actors. And man, never did I ever enjoy HATING characters so much (not to mention seeing them suffer and being put in their places), especially not characters played by Toku actors. Even the actual villains in Toku series are probably more liked than the men portrayed in this drama. They're good actors, they usually deliver, and they did so here as well. If I had to complain about something, it would be, "Why is every other man in the world similar to these men?" But I can't blame that on the drama, so...

My cherry on top: Totaro!!! This one came as a total surprise. Not only was I pleased by the surprise appearance, but also charmed by the character he played (again). And I was pleasantly surprised by what they did with the Tsukasa's story at the end. Solved the problem, but retained hope. Gosh, why can't all boyfriends and husbands be like Tsukasa? That would be another one of my complains after watching this drama. ? I'm glad Totaro is getting roles regularly and getting roles that are perfect for him. Wishing him a great career ahead.

Music: 7/10
The theme song, Butterfly is not the kind of song I usually come across, but it's perfect for this drama. The lyrics represent these women's story, and I loved it.

Rewatch value: 9/10
I may not rewatch the other stories, but I'll definitely rewatch AkI's story. If for nothing else but for revisiting Tsukasa's scenes. It's healing, I tell you. ?

Overall: 7.5/10
Why is it not a perfect score? Because I'm nitpicky. But the enjoyment: 10/10, recommended: 10/10. Almost forgot, another thing I loved was the creativity they used with the filmography and editing. The title card, flashbacks and videos that show the passage of time- all of these were made and put together creatively and in ways I hadn't seen in other Jdramas. Other dramas should learn from this and utilize these concepts.
The drama doesn't have subs yet, you don't have to understand Japanese to watch and enjoy this. Go ahead and give it a watch. You'll know what I mean. And if you're concerned about not understanding some major details, let me know. I'll explain them to you, as far as my memory permits me to remember them. If you like Jdramas about families, or strong women, or revenge or all of the above, watch this drama, you won't regret it..

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Short, sweet & an amazing treat! Guesthouse Tsuyukusa mends broken hearts & relationships likewise.

Ah, Hama Shogo as main lead- and as a chef. This is probably a dream come true for both me and the actor himself. Of course, I watched it because of him. And my goodness, did it deliver! It was heart-warmingly sweet and then some.
The story:
It's a very simple story. The mini-series has 8 episodes, every 2 episodes focusing on a different story. The 4 stories are very simple. Tsuyukusa is a guesthouse in the countryside. I don't know which place it is, but it seems like a rural place and it's very charming. It's a Japanese style guesthouse, has been around for around 50 years and 3 generations. And Midorikawa Haruhi has inherited it from his family. It's not a busy place. Because each time, we can only see that there has only been one reservation made. Each time, the customer comes in with some sort of trouble, usually with relationships. And after staying at Tsuyukusa, eating the delicious food and talking to Haruhi, the customer is able to sort out their troubles. And every 2 episodes, they offer delicious food, the recipes for which are available on the official website of the drama, although I have yet to check them out. It may sound very mundane, but the execution is beautiful, the dialogues are thoughtful and the locations are charming. It's not supposed to be an outstanding drama that turns the world upside down for you. It's just a small reminder for us that at the end of the day, we're all human beings, and no matter how big the problem seems, there's nothing that a good meal and a proper conversation can't solve. The format is also interesting. The first episode of each story introduces us to the characters and problems of that story. And in the second episode of each story, we see Haruhi cook a mouthwatering meal while bopping to a fun song. Seriously, what's not to love?

Acting/cast:
Like I said, I came here to watch Hama Shogo and that purpose was fulfilled 100%. I think he's a good actor. And this drama is a very light-hearted drama that doesn't test someone's acting skills to the limit. So the acting was mostly decent. Also, Hasegawa Kasumi (another Super Sentai actor) is in its 3rd and 4th episode, what an interesting surprise!

Music:
I don't know the names of the songs, but this series features some interesting songs. And all of them were nice to listen to, especially in the scenes where Haruhi was cooking. So maybe the audience can listen to the same songs when making the dishes that Haruhi made in this drama.

Rewatch value:
I know I'd definitely love to rewatch this drama. If nothing else, then at least for seeing Haruhi do cute, silly and so called "unmanly" things.

Conclusion:
This is a short light-hearted watch for people who don't feel like watching something hardcore at the moment. If you just want to relax and unwind and have some free time in your hands, go ahead, give this a watch. It's a mini-series, so at least you won't regret it too much, even if you think it's a complete waste of time. 9/10.

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A new take on the werewolf games movies.

Just a heads up, this is my second time watching one of the werewolf game movies. So my thoughts on it can be different than people who have watched more of these movies. The only other werewolf game movie I watched was the 'Prison Break' one, and I don't remember much from it. Anyway, let's talk about this movie now.
First of all, I watched it because of Ogoe Yuki. And he didn't disappoint. I liked his acting here too.
The plot:
I don't know what others think but I have a hard time understanding what the rules of the werewolf games are. I had a hard time the previous time and this time too. That aside, I understand what goes on in the game. People die/kill and they vote for people who they think are the werewolves (despite being wrong the first few times). Following that, this movie's plot was decent. What I liked about this movie is that we see what goes on with the operators of the game, as well as the players. One thing I'd like to point out here is that the movie's subs we're not great, so I had a hard time understanding exactly what was being said. The history of how Masamune became the operator is still unclear to me.
The acting:
Like I said, Ogoe Yuki didn't disappoint. And the others' acting was alright to me. Not much to say there.
The music:
The ending song was nice. The BGM was average and how it should be: weird and creepy .
Overall, I think this was an alright movie. I'm not a fan of the werewolf games movies, so don't love it. I do wish to watch a few more movies in the series. So maybe then I'll be able to compare and tell how good this one is compared to the others. Otherwise, I don't think I'll be rewatchibg this movie anytime soon.

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If strong women who totally kick butts is what you want, this drama is highly recommended.

A-W-E-S-O-M-E! I know I'll sound super biased, but trust me. This drama is a modern day Jdrama masterpiece. I can barely find anything to complain about. Everything about this drama was good.
The characters were interesting, the plot was unpredictable (at least to me), the acting was great. I was already in love with Takahashi Yu-san's acting. And now, I think I'm crazy about her acting. She was the perfect, strong protagonist this show promised. The other characters and actors were good too. One thing special for me as a Tokusatsu fan, was the guest appearances of 3 actors from 3 of my favorite Tokusatsu series. Especially Maekawa Yasuyuki. He was such a delight. And even though the character he played wasn't a total good guy like our 3 heroines, I still loved the character and his appearance.
The plot was also properly laid out with the usual wild card frequently used in Jdramas. So people who have watched more Jdrama may be able to predict that part. But I found it surprising and enjoyable. The family bonds and relationships were pretty satisfying.
The music was good too. The super energetic and fun ending contrasted the cool and mysterious BGM properly.
One more thing unique about this drama is the filter used for the series. It gives the vibes of a Japanese mystery drama from the 2000s(Not so sure how to judge that, I don't have much experience in those fields). Anyways, I loved this side too, which makes you think the drama is older than it is. If I had randomly opened and watched an episode, I probably would have thought this drama was made 7-10 years ago.
In short, if you're visiting this page, noticing the tags and thinking this might be your cup of tea, then WATCH IT! Cuz it delivers! This drama deserves more love! Highly recommended to Jdrama fans who are looking for something different to watch.
I can't be more glad to have found and watched this drama.

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A great story about choosing your own way and doing what you love.

Be forewarned, because this is my first time writing a review. So it may not be great. But I just watched this movie which is about trying out new things. So I figured, why not?
I wanted to watch this movie at first when I saw there were so many familiar actors in this movie. I put it off for later, and now I've finally watched it. And it's great!!!
Story:
The story is about these two childhood friends who are now in university. They did judo their whole lives, but then Bandou Haruki gets injured and takes a break from judo. Even after Bandou recovers from his injury, he hesitates to go back to judo, since he feels he doesn't have talent in this field. Then Kazuma thinks about starting a male cheer team along with Bandou and the story continues from there. The characters try out this new thing that they thought were only for women and eventually start liking it. The characters initially have a selfish motive to do it but they understand the beauty of cheerleading. They grow with their team, learn to trust each other, and become the cheer team "Breakers".
The story is probably(I'm not sure, this is one of the only time I watched something sports-themed)a bit common, like other sports themed movies about coming of age. But I think that they executed it pretty well. I loved the character development of each character and how they overcame their mental struggles and traumas. The sibling relationship didn't get much focus, but that didn't take anything away from this movie.
And whether you're familiar with cheerleading or not, this movie gives a pretty good understanding of how awesome cheerleading is.

Acting/Cast:
This has a great ensemble cast so, I don't have much to say except that the acting was great. I want to say that Masaki Nakao's acting was more impactful to me than Ryusei Yokohama. Because Kazuma's character had more emotional moments than Bandou's. So I liked Masaki's acting slightly better. And everyone more or less portrayed the characters pretty well. Plus, I have to give a shout-out to the practice and training the actors had to do for this movie. All of this physical work was definitely not easy.

Music:
I didn't notice the music in this movie too much. But whatever background music I heard was mostly well-suited to the scene. And the ending song was awesome!!! So music is 8/10.

Rewatch Value:
I probably won't rewatch this movie anytime soon, but it's definitely worth rewatching someday. There were plenty of emotional moments in this movie, which I would like to revisit someday.

Overall:
Great movie, great cast, great music and great characters! There wasn't one moment where I didn't like something in particular, or had a flaw to pick. This movie tells the story of a team learning new things, learning to stand up for themselves, choosing what they think is best for them, growing together and getting to know each other better. Definitely a recommended movie.

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Not the best remake, but it was enjoyable enough.

This remake is quite different from the original one. I LOVED the original one, so I thought of giving this one a watch. At first I had some doubts because the story's focus has changed a lot. This one focuses more on the romance storyline between Kenta and Koume and less on the relationship between father and daughter. And I kinda feel bad about the last part. The biggest change would be that we see a lot less of what goes on in Kyoichirou's workplace. All we see is Koume in Kyoichirou's body making TikTok videos in his office. Also, for some reason, they brought an original character: Kenta's female childhood friend into the mix, which I thought was unnecessary They also focus less on the story of how they swapped bodies and instead add the part of Kyoichirou and Kenta swapping bodies right before the end. And that part felt a bit rushed since there was only an episode left at that time to wrap things up. So it would have been better if the drama was longer so that they could execute those storylines properly.
As a plus point, I loved how they incorporated some modern things into the story like social media, smart phones and stuff. That was certainly a refreshing change.

The acting was good. Everyone played their parts properly. I wish Koume was in her body for a bit longer so that the romance scenes between Koume and Kenta would be a lot less weird and we wouldn't have to listen to Kyoichirou's inner thoughts every time. Nagao Kento did a great job playing the male lead and I think he has improved since the last time I saw him in the Homestay film. This is my first time seeing Iinuma Ai's acting and I think she delivered just fine.

The music was also a big deal here. They added a super cute (which isn't really my thing, to be honest) J-pop theme song as the OP and I kinda wish I heard it less frequently. But it fits the romance theme in the drama. So maybe it's not right for me to complain too much. The ending song on the other hand was easier for me to listen to. It was slower and sweeter in my opinion.
In the end, I still like the original one better. But overall, if I think of this as a sweet quirky rom-com(and not think of it as a remake), it was pretty entertaining. Give it a try if that's your thing or if you want to see one of the leading actors in this drama.

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The last adventure of Iruma Michio and Sakama Chizuru.

Ah, this series is just amazing and it makes one want more despite all that they've already given: the series, a special and a whole freaking movie. Not many series has done that for me, other than Tokyo MER. So this is definitely an exception. Since this is the final chapter of this story, I will talk about the series and special as well.

To start, I wasn't really sure if I was gonna enjoy this series. I'm not into law or anything related. The only reason to watch this at all was Mackenyu (who isn't in the movie or special btw) and Yamasaki Ikusaburo. But as usual with most Jdramas, this one also made me fall in love with it and enjoy it thoroughly beyond expectations. The messages resonated with me as well, all the while introducing me to the highly talented cast members, especially Takenouchi Yutaka whose acting I've come to really like. There's actually no reason to watch this in particular is what I realized. If you want something to laugh at and maybe a few good messages that will hopefully stick with you, this will most likely be entertaining to you. There's fun banter between the leads and their relationship becomes one of the most enjoyable things in this. Now, without delay, let's get into the movie.

Plot:
Ok, I'll be honest. My Japanese isn't perfect, and even after a year since the movie's release and MONTHS after its release in home media, I couldn't find the subs for this thing. So I apologize if there's misinformation in my review. I didn't get everything perfectly, but I'll try to sum up what I did get and hope it's accurate.
After coming to the town of Hiyomi in the countryside, Chizuru mostly gets small cases to deal with as a lawyer and thinks it's a wastage of her capabilities. After the events of the special, the viewers see that Michio is transfered to a town that's next to (or at least close to) Hiyomi. As expected, his new colleagues are annoyed because of his weird way of doing things. All the while, a big ship accident occurs and the Minister of Defense tells the media that Shimatani Hideyaki who was a worker on that ship was responsible for the accident. Hideyaki's wife Kanako can't believe it and unsuccessfully attempts to kill the Minister by confronting him. Michio is put in charge of Kanako's case and the plot starts to unfold from there. The ending was surprising to anyone who has watched the special and the trailer for this movie. So pretty good. 9/10.

Cast and Characters:
In the movie, Chizuru has to partner with the handsome and capable lawyer Tsukimoto Shingo who she bonds with and is her partner for the first half, which I'm not completely happy about. I wanted to watch more of Michio and Chizuru's teamwork, not see some random dude from of the countryside get partnered up with Chizuru. Not that the former wasn't present in the movie and I didn't enjoy the latter at all, but I'm not happy about this, especially because Chizuru was hinted at being attracted towards Shingo. Now, don't get me wrong, I don't ship her with anyone. But that is exactly why I wasn't happy seeing her being attracted to this new dude. The new characters were mostly meh to alright. As with the plot, the Minister surprised me. So props to that. Ide Iori was fun whenever he was on screen. Loved Michio and Chizuru as always. And I just loved that in the movie, we could see that no matter how much Chizuru complains about Michio, she trusts him more than anyone and their friendship is what makes this series and movie worthwhile. Not to forget, I missed Mackenyu. How can anyone not? 9/10.

Music:
This series did a good job with the BGM. It just makes one feel excited and hopeful whenever needed. It's not regular for me to be affected by a series' music so much. Same goes for the movie. 8/10.

Rewatch value:
I don't rewatch stuff often. So likeliness for this one is uncertain. But I do think this was more memorable for me and I would certainly enjoy revisiting Chizuru and Micho one more time. 7/10.

Overall:
This is a great sequel and final chapter to the great story that is Ichikei no Karasu. It has the laughs that makes my day and important messages that hopefully make a difference in your life. Ideals and perfection are not always practical, but if we don't strive for them, are we really humans?
If you're looking for a good drama to watch, I would definitely recommend watching the series and CONSEQUENTIALLY, the movie as well. Cuz you most likely won't enjoy this movie as much without the series. 9/10.

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One of the best lakorns I've watched thus far. Can't wait for season 2.

Well, that happened with a BANG! I saw the trailer a month or so before the series began airing and I immediately knew this was gonna be EPIC. Flashforward to 2 weeks after the series premiered, I finally watched 2 episodes together and was HOOKED. Know why that's a big deal? Because horror or supernatural isn't my thing. Alright, now let's get serious and actually talk about this series.
Story:
When I watched the trailer and started the series, I thought this was gonna be a long series. Because they're bringing so much to the plate. A mysterious male lead, black magic and a cult, a potential ship. And the first season barely scratched the surface of all of these. The story is promising, but the first season is definitely nowhere near enough. We saw a bit of Namsine's story and learned about Fa and Namsine's friendship. What I did think, though, is that we didn't need the romance between the leads. I admit I liked it for the most part, but I don't think it's an integral part of the story- which is solely my opinion. And just because it's incomplete, I'll give the story a 9/10.
Acting/characters:
This series has a surprisingly small cast, but considering it has only 4 episodes, anymore than that would've made the show crowded. But like everyone has already said, the cast gave their best performances. Everyone was amazing. This was my first time watching the main leads, Win and Prim in a drama and they were fantastic. I think Fa was a bit too dramatic at times that made some of the moments seem a bit fake, but they're easily ignorable because of the overall performance. Maybe this is an unpopular opinion, but I liked to see Ajin in his teacher getup more than in his 'professional' getup. Acting: 10/10 for me.
Music:
Not much to say about the music other than that it's terrifying and bone chilling. I had to watch a lot of scenes muted just so I don't get nightmares because of the sounds I hear. But that's just how I watch most of my horror stuff. ?? 10/10 because of the spookiness.
Rewatch value:
Definitely worth a rewatch before watching season 2 (to prevent the unlikely case in which it doesn't happen, I'll keep hoping and praying). Because they stuff a lot of story in these 4 episodes that might not be easy to remember during the time we wait. 8/10.
Overall:
Just watch it. Unless you can't deal with blood or horror or supernatural at all. Watch it cuz you'll find one or another reason to like it. It's worth the hype, and I'm probably one of the less biased people talking about this drama on this site. 9.5/10. It gets a 10 only after they complete this story with these characters.

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Interesting concept but could've been executed better.

I wanted to watch this movie a while back, seeing there are so many Toku actors and Hotta Akane in it. To my luck, it was licensed by Viki recently. So I gave it a watch.
Story:
The story is pretty simple. Similar to the game, the protagonist , who is named Sakurai here, goes to a dating party after being cheated on by her boyfriend. She does so in a desperate attempt to find someone to introduce to her parents because her parents want to set her up with an arranged marriage, something she doesn't want. At the party, she meets a fortune teller who tells her that 9 out of 10 guys she meets will be lying to her. And after that, she just keeps confronting the guys one by one. She's down to 5 guys by the end of the first 30-37 minutes of the movie. By the end of the movie she learns that all the guys had lied to her in one way or another, but not all of them were with the intention to cause her any harm. That way she discovers how to separate the good from the bad, and gets her happily ever after. The story is ok. It was adapted from a game, so it's possible that it could not have been executed better than it was. But I don't think it was satisfying enough for me.
Acting & characters:
The acting was good, no complaints there. Seeing so many Toku actors together alone was pretty satisfying to me... XD. Jk. Seriously, though, these actors delivered pretty well. The male characters were mostly scumbags, so not very likable. And since Inaba Yu played the male lead, he was pretty charming and cute in some scenes, kinda made my heart squeeze. Didn't expect that, so that was nice. Hotta Akane was good as always. But, I kinda didn't like her with those bangs, she looks so much better without them.
Music:
The BGM was like the kind of music they use in games. I didn't think that was bad, since the story kinda works like a game. And the ending song was nice. So the music part was decent.
Rewatch:
It was an alright movie, but not worth rewatching to me.
Overall:
6.5/10. If you're a fan of the game, maybe check it out to see how they execute in it movie format with a fixed plot and all. On the plus side, this movie made me interested in playing the game. So that's all I have to say.

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An interesting story about how different people deal with love and how it affects their behavior.

I liked this drama. It was very interesting to me. I watched it for Fukuda Saki and it was entertaining. This is one of those dramas which make Jdramas stand out. Watched it without subs but didn't have too many problems understanding any of the story, other than the lines containing information and facts about animal behavior.

The story: 7.5
The story was about different characters who were clients in every episodes and people related to the clients. Since every episode focused on a different set of characters in different settings, it was always interesting. Sometimes it was about revenge, sometimes about a divorcee, sometimes about a doctor, and different themes like that. The conclusion in every episode, no matter how improbable it may seem, the confession succeeds. Not necessarily happy endings for the characters, but the team never had to pay their clients back. Although sometimes it was because of violation of contract. Nonetheless, their team was highly efficient and successful. Some highlights were Luke saying, "Let's take a look at the darkness in his/her heart," everytime he received information about the client and him comparing the clients and their behavior to different animals. I do wish I understood more of what he said about the animals, though. Either way, I found it interesting.

The cast/acting: 8
This was my second time watching Shirota Yu in the main cast of a tv series and my first time watching him play the main character. I think he did a good job of playing the mysterious Luke. His story, purpose and motivations were revealed slowly as the story went on. I also liked the ending his character got. I watched this drama for Fukuda Saki and I loved seeing her play a rather problem-free, normal and bubbly character for once. Maru's role was mostly limited to working as an insurance investigator and she didn't do anything on her own before in the first half of the show. She didn't have much character development or a story arc either, but that wasn't a big problem for me. Torako didn't have anything to do at all other than being the comic relief. So not much to say there. A highlight for me was seeing Luke and Maru wear different disguises every episode. It was also nice seeing Kamen Rider actors guest star in different episodes. It's a bonus for me.

The music: 6.5
The music of the drama sometimes gave it a mystery drama vibe, even though it wasn't really a mystery drama. The ending song was nice, I thought, but didn't stick out too much to me.

Rewatch value: 6
I liked it, but I don't think I'll rewatch it anytime soon.

Overall: 7.5
It could be better. I'm not 100% satisfied but it's pretty good and I'm glad I watched it.

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A fun, short and sweet drama to watch.

So bad news, this drama still has English subs only for episode 1. But I didn't have a problem watching it without subs, so that's alright.
Didn't know what to expect when getting into it. This had a few familiar faces so I thought of trying it out. And I'm glad about that decision.
The plot:
It's about Miki and her co-workers who connect professionally and personally through music and secretly giving advice to each other on a forum. It starts with Miki, a part-timer getting fired from her job due to the financial struggle of the restaurant she worked in, because of the COVID-19 pandemic. She eventually finds out that's not the reason. But after getting fired she searches for a job through a site and immediately gets an offer from a music producer, Goto Ryu, who is in a slump. After she starts working for him as an assistant, he hires an animator and an illustrator for his new song's music video after taking her suggestion. The story involves around how these 4 people connect and grow through their work involving music. The plot was really nice. These characters had their own struggles, but they overcame those with the help of each other, with or without knowing that they were helping each other.
The acting/cast:
The acting was good. The main character Miki, had a really nice story, and the acting was done pretty well. The other characters were very likable too, other than a certain heartbreaking idiot. Goto Ryu was annoying, but not all bad.
The music:
The music was very enjoyable. Konno Ayaka has a great voice, I don't wonder why she doesn't sing professionally.
Rewatch value:
It's a fun and short drama, that shows the struggles people face in the careers and professional lives. So I'd like to rewatch it sometime.
I hope this would get English subs for all the episodes, so that more people could watch it. Because I'd definitely recommend this drama. So if you can understand Japanese, definitely give it a watch.

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