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DramaHeroine
The Pages of a Fairytale
This review may contain spoilers
I actually wrote a review for this drama ages ago that has since mysteriously disappeared (not sure what happened to it?), so here it is again.
This is a fun, heartwarming, and informative drama. I say informative, because little facts and bits of knowledge about Kyoto and famous sites there are sprinkled throughout. I quite like this as it adds to the travel aspect of the story in a way that is natural and interesting. The characters are all quite charming and fun to watch as they interact with each other on screen. I enjoyed watching them band together to plan trips and support each other during difficult situations. The female lead is fantastic, but Watanabe is an actress who could make any character likable, so no surprise there. The male lead is handsome and likable but can also be a bit too 'woah is me, I don't know how to do anything, I need someone to fix it for me.' You really want him to pull himself up by his bootstraps and work some stuff out.
The lack of what felt like a very real, potential romance is what drove me up the wall though, and I won't lie and say that that didn't have an affect on my rating. If a romance is hinted at or promised in the story between characters I would like to see together, it makes me pretty mad when nothing comes of it, even if it's a realistic and well-written plot decision. Even if the hinting is so light as to not be worth paying any attention to. Romance is definitely the number 1 reason I watch Asian dramas, so if you fail me on that....it's gonna have a negative impact on the rest of the drama for me, even if it's not deserved.
I'm downgrading this drama some mainly because while I liked the story, it didn't necessarily grip me every episode, and I was ultimately really disappointed by the lack of romance between the leads. Perhaps that is unfair, and if lack of romance isn't an issue for you, then by all means ignore this portion of my review. But it's a big deal for me, and I can't write a review without taking it into account. It was a nice story, but it didn't deliver on quite everything I hoped it would.
This is a fun, heartwarming, and informative drama. I say informative, because little facts and bits of knowledge about Kyoto and famous sites there are sprinkled throughout. I quite like this as it adds to the travel aspect of the story in a way that is natural and interesting. The characters are all quite charming and fun to watch as they interact with each other on screen. I enjoyed watching them band together to plan trips and support each other during difficult situations. The female lead is fantastic, but Watanabe is an actress who could make any character likable, so no surprise there. The male lead is handsome and likable but can also be a bit too 'woah is me, I don't know how to do anything, I need someone to fix it for me.' You really want him to pull himself up by his bootstraps and work some stuff out.
The lack of what felt like a very real, potential romance is what drove me up the wall though, and I won't lie and say that that didn't have an affect on my rating. If a romance is hinted at or promised in the story between characters I would like to see together, it makes me pretty mad when nothing comes of it, even if it's a realistic and well-written plot decision. Even if the hinting is so light as to not be worth paying any attention to. Romance is definitely the number 1 reason I watch Asian dramas, so if you fail me on that....it's gonna have a negative impact on the rest of the drama for me, even if it's not deserved.
I'm downgrading this drama some mainly because while I liked the story, it didn't necessarily grip me every episode, and I was ultimately really disappointed by the lack of romance between the leads. Perhaps that is unfair, and if lack of romance isn't an issue for you, then by all means ignore this portion of my review. But it's a big deal for me, and I can't write a review without taking it into account. It was a nice story, but it didn't deliver on quite everything I hoped it would.
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