Macy
~meteor dreamland~
This review may contain spoilers
"Let's send a cheering yell!"
"Yell" is my 20th asadora and it's the third I've completed from this decade. It was also a great way to kick off 2020 and they made a great drama, despite all of the COVID-19 issues.
"Yell" is what I like to call a "couple asadora." I've seen a few of these couple-focused ones and the problem is normally that they become uneven at some point. For example in "Manpuku," the attention shifts to the husband and the wife becomes less important. In "Yell," the attention feels more equal. Yuichi (played by Kubota Masataka) and Oto (Nikaido Fumi) each have their own childhood weeks and both have dreams. I think Yuichi is obviously the "main" main character, but Oto never vanishes into the background. She remains important to the narrative from start to finish.
I previously watched Kubota Masataka in "Hanako to Anne" and I was delighted to see that he had his own asadora. He plays the composer Yuichi with a lot a nuance. Kubota and Nikaido Fumi have really good chemistry together, which accounts for nearly all of the charm of this asadora. Nikaido, who plays the aspiring singer Oto, also has a really great singing voice. I loved every moment that she was singing. I wish the narrative had let Oto realize her dreams, but I feel that the character has a very fulfilling life nevertheless.
Like most asadoras, "Yell" has a lot of great side characters. However, unlike some, "Yell" gives a lot of these characters arcs and storylines that [for the most part] are given satisfying conclusions. I'll name a few that were stand-outs to me. There's Yuichi's childhood friends, Sato Hisashi (Yamazaki Ikusaburo) and Murano Tetsuo (Nakamura Aoi), an aspiring singer and lyricist. Both are given strong characterization and great storylines, which brought me to tears. Yuichi's and Oto's daughter, Hana (Furukawa Kotone), also sticks out to me. She has a likeable, realistic personality, which makes her one of the few children of asadora characters not to annoy me (lol). Oto's and Yoichi's family have quite a bit of storyline as well with their own fun romances. And there's a lot of reoccurring characters that populate the asadora, which are delightful whenever they're on your screen.
Okay, now on to the very few issues I had while watching. The twelfth week of "Yell" was a very obvious filler week as it consisted only of side stories of characters that we really didn't need to see. [I wonder if this week was made because of COVID?] I disliked seeing Oto's father as a ghost. For an asadora that had so much realism, it was just a weird juxtaposition. Also, after Yoichi is finally successful as a composer, his storyline becomes a bit on the boring side. Thankfully, it does pick up around the WWII weeks. Lastly, I'm tired of asadora heroines giving up their careers because they're pregnant. It's probably true to life [and let's face it, realistic], but it becomes annoying after so many times (lol).
Finally, I want to conclude this review on a positive note. "Yell" is very different from other asadoras. It has a unique opening and ending. The first episode is absolutely perfect, honestly. The last episode is technically a special concert episode, which was a really fun way to go out (though not necessary to watch). The last moment of the asadora narratively (episode 119) is such a sweet way to conclude and will remain in my memories for a long time to come. The music is impeccable and the talent of the entire cast is obvious. I definitely recommend "Yell", despite the few narrative flubs.
"Yell" is what I like to call a "couple asadora." I've seen a few of these couple-focused ones and the problem is normally that they become uneven at some point. For example in "Manpuku," the attention shifts to the husband and the wife becomes less important. In "Yell," the attention feels more equal. Yuichi (played by Kubota Masataka) and Oto (Nikaido Fumi) each have their own childhood weeks and both have dreams. I think Yuichi is obviously the "main" main character, but Oto never vanishes into the background. She remains important to the narrative from start to finish.
I previously watched Kubota Masataka in "Hanako to Anne" and I was delighted to see that he had his own asadora. He plays the composer Yuichi with a lot a nuance. Kubota and Nikaido Fumi have really good chemistry together, which accounts for nearly all of the charm of this asadora. Nikaido, who plays the aspiring singer Oto, also has a really great singing voice. I loved every moment that she was singing. I wish the narrative had let Oto realize her dreams, but I feel that the character has a very fulfilling life nevertheless.
Like most asadoras, "Yell" has a lot of great side characters. However, unlike some, "Yell" gives a lot of these characters arcs and storylines that [for the most part] are given satisfying conclusions. I'll name a few that were stand-outs to me. There's Yuichi's childhood friends, Sato Hisashi (Yamazaki Ikusaburo) and Murano Tetsuo (Nakamura Aoi), an aspiring singer and lyricist. Both are given strong characterization and great storylines, which brought me to tears. Yuichi's and Oto's daughter, Hana (Furukawa Kotone), also sticks out to me. She has a likeable, realistic personality, which makes her one of the few children of asadora characters not to annoy me (lol). Oto's and Yoichi's family have quite a bit of storyline as well with their own fun romances. And there's a lot of reoccurring characters that populate the asadora, which are delightful whenever they're on your screen.
Okay, now on to the very few issues I had while watching. The twelfth week of "Yell" was a very obvious filler week as it consisted only of side stories of characters that we really didn't need to see. [I wonder if this week was made because of COVID?] I disliked seeing Oto's father as a ghost. For an asadora that had so much realism, it was just a weird juxtaposition. Also, after Yoichi is finally successful as a composer, his storyline becomes a bit on the boring side. Thankfully, it does pick up around the WWII weeks. Lastly, I'm tired of asadora heroines giving up their careers because they're pregnant. It's probably true to life [and let's face it, realistic], but it becomes annoying after so many times (lol).
Finally, I want to conclude this review on a positive note. "Yell" is very different from other asadoras. It has a unique opening and ending. The first episode is absolutely perfect, honestly. The last episode is technically a special concert episode, which was a really fun way to go out (though not necessary to watch). The last moment of the asadora narratively (episode 119) is such a sweet way to conclude and will remain in my memories for a long time to come. The music is impeccable and the talent of the entire cast is obvious. I definitely recommend "Yell", despite the few narrative flubs.
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