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Rari

Cloud Drama

Rari

Cloud Drama
Long Vacation japanese drama review
Completed
Long Vacation
2 people found this review helpful
by Rari
May 22, 2020
11 of 11 episodes seen
Completed
Overall 8.5
Story 8.0
Acting/Cast 9.0
Music 10.0
Rewatch Value 7.0

"the wall was blown into the next stratosphere"

The statement said to Sena by his mentor encapsulates this wonderful enchanting drama that took me by surprise. I've long been meaning to watch more Japanese Dramas, and have decided to make a concerted effort this year.

Imagine my surprise (pleasant) when I, rather grudgingly pressed play on episode one, you know concerted effort and all that. Granted, episode 1 to 5 were engaging enough for me to continue watching but I wasn't sold on this drama until episode 6 onwards. It's a story that literally takes you by surprise; the impactful moments crept up on me and I found my eyes welling up during seemingly innocuous scenes; for example the two mismatched wine glasses sitting on the makeshift crate coffee table with the bottle of Bordeaux became a symbol of Sena and Minami's budding feelings.
It's a very well crafted, incremental story of two people who appear to be very different falling in love with each other and monumentally changing each other in the process.

The acting is superb by the two leads, I found the lead actress's performance a tad irritating in the earlier episodes, but she improved in latter episodes. Kimura Takura dazzles as Sena, he has a naive, reticent quality yet he is also emotionally strong and mature; the actor managed to encapsulate these different characteristics into one extremely likeable package.
The female lead, I believe is supposed to be more complicated and a little bit unlikeable as she is the one who, although she's older than Sena, has the most growing to do.

The cast overall is so good, I enjoyed Sena's mentor/professor as a constant stabilising force in his life. The other pairings were not very well developed and the relationships seemed undeveloped at the end. However there is an epilogue at the end of the last episode which may shed some light on the final pairings of the supporting cast.

I loved loved loved the soundtrack in this, the songs by Cagnet are beautiful and spot on, they have a 90's feel but can very well stand their ground in 2020. The show is interspersed with lovely piano music, and this juxtaposition of the different music genres is genius. Music is 10 out of 10

In actual fact this is a drama and cast that can stand their ground in 2020, it's not often that you come across such unaffected performances.

Never mind about the 1996 date of production, just watch this drama, its really worth it.
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