Visually speaking, this is a gorgeous movie. Vibrant colors in walls, clothes and scenery. The contrast between the black-and-white princess and the colorful real world. Miyuki's clothes, every one of them. Ayase Haruka as a princess, Kenji as a poor director's assistant. The shots of the camera. There is one scene at the beginning of the movie that was filmed from above, and it shows the little made-up town and all the actors in their clothes, and it was simply beautiful.

As for the story, it was a nice, clean romance, with a bit of mystery and heartbreaking moments. I watched it twice in a week and I cried in both occasions. However, it could also be because of Ayase Haruka's tears... she almost always manages to move me with her tears. And she looked amazing as a princess. She had a nice chemistry with Sakaguchi Kentaro (she almost always has a good chemistry with whatever actor she works with), BUT as always, she is terrible in love scenes. She is a like an unreachable princess, cold and stiff in regards to hugs and kisses. Thankfully, it wasn't properly show in this movie, so it didn't bothered me so much.

I though at first that the movie had some plotholes. Like, she has to put make-up on her entire self to disguise her black-and-white self. But she remains colorful even under the rain. However, I noticed that it only rained when she was upset or sad, so maybe the rain was magical like her and couldn't affect her. It isn't explained how she comes to this world, but since it is a fantasy, there is no need for that. And as for all her wardrobe, it could be because they are in a movie set, and there are a lot of clothes.

SPOILER...

The ending was very sad. I couldn't live like them at all, without touching the one you love. And when they finally do... :(( so sad. Why??? The final scene was just a way to calm our broken hearts :((

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God knows how much I loved Season 1, and how much in love I fell for Ayano Go and all the cast. And when it was announced the 2nd season, and that  the whole gang was back... Fans know we waited so long for a kind soul  to sub this wonderful drama, so thank you subber! A million thanks ^_^

Cast (10/10): the whole cast is back! The chemistry between Ayano Go and Hoshino Gen and Yoshida Yo... and Sakaguchi Kento and Omori Nao and Matsuoka Mayu... I am even satisfied with the new faces, Goro-san (Miyazawa Hio) and Kurasaki-sensei (Matsumoto Wakana).  They all complemented each other so well! Ayano Go said that he was  happy they were all back since all of them are now leading actors in  dramas and movies, and I can tell that, even with a supporting role,  they were all happy to work together again.

There are even guests  from S1 who make an appearance, like the mother and father of the  little boy with the Trisomy 16, and Kounodori's "mama" and other  surprises.

My personal favorites, who deserve an award for their acting: Ayano Go (obviously... and I am not the only one mesmerized with his  gentle face and gentle voice.. even GC were commenting every week on his "yasashii" attributes) and Yoshida Yo.

Story:(9/10) Every episode deals with a new problem with the mother and/or baby.  There were many stories that made me cry (more than in S1). All the  supporting cast has his/her own story as well: either professional or personal. While in S1 there is an episode regarding Kounodori's past, in S2 we get to know some of the supporting role's family and ambitions regarding their career. I understand that there has to be changes, in order to be better or to achieve a dream, but regardless of that, I wasn't too happy with the final episode. On the other hand, it makes me hope for a S3... **crossing fingers**

While this season made me cry more than the previous one, S1 remains my favorite. I sensed that the scriptwriter was not the same... in S1 the dialogue was less "pink", less "romantic" than this season's. That's the only fault I can find in S2, that it was more written more "sweet".

Music:(10/10) so good, so good. The  piano complimented the poignant moments like a glove. I wonder if Ayano Go truly plays the piano.. if he does, he is truly a "Kamisama" <3

Rewatch value:(9/10) it  is not precisely an episodic drama, but I could rewatch my favorite  stories without a problem. And I will rewatch when S3 is confirmed  (because there has to be). I could rewatch this for the cast and the cute babies and the human stories and the wonderful OST. So yeah, for the whole package :)

Please, this drama deserves more recognition! I hope it wins some awards, unlike S1... Highly recommended!

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I loooooved the SP! Not only it was sweet, but it was very romantic. The cherry on the top, since the dorama lacks (for me) the romance. I ended loving both characters together. I love that the main theme in the SP was jealousy, since it just shows the audience that Yabushita loves Taniguchi. A lovely mismatched couple :)

All the gang is back except for Kaori (the actress was pregnant at that time), but she is supposed to be there too **giggles**, it's only her voice (is it?) and a picture of a new Kaori, blond and all (it is not the same actress, but it shows so fast so people can only wonder).

I teared up a little bit with Yabushita-san remembering his wife (they loved each other so much **sobs**) and when Yuriko and Taniguchi were in the abandoned little hut. There are only like 3 times in total, counting both dorama and SP, where Yuriko cries, and all these times were touching.

And I don't know if it is because it was the last time I was going to see them, but I kind of liked the song at the end. The OST was so sweet as well.

A perfect sequel for the dorama. Actually, it feels like Episode 11. It is a MUST! for people who loved the dorama.

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I had a fun time watching this drama because the characters were  excellent and the cases were all engaging. I think it is hard to find  mystery drama where both aspects are strong. In many ways, "Keiji Yugami" reminded me of "Legal High":

1. the opening sequence: each episode has a different sequence, but they  are all about the same thing: YUgami and Hanyu kicking/punching each  other. They were all awesome XD and they all left me with a smile on my  face.

2. Yugami as the senior cop, is childish and doesn't  follow rules. In fact, he sometimes breaks the law (for example, he  unlocks doors and safety cases with his pin). He doesn't play "dirty" as  Komikado-sensei, but he is always right.

3. Hanyu, as the rookie cop, is more emotional but also sticks to the rules. He disapproves Yugami's methods to find the truth, but deep down, he admires and respects Yugami (like Gakky).

4. Yugami has his own "hacker" who is a big help in all his cases. Not like Komikado's "ninja", but similar.

Yugami  is less "funny" and less "eccentric" than Komikado-sensei, but he was a  good character, which could be because he was played by the awesome Asano Tadanobu. Actually, the whole cast was good. You could tell that they had a great time working together.

I  love all the guests stars. Most of them A-Stars. This was one of the  highlights of the drama (I was waiting for a certain actor, who acts for  a couple of episodes). And all cases were excellent! Not so much of the  "whodunit" but "why" (like most of Japanese mysteries). And most of the  time, like 90% of them, the murderer/criminal had a sad story and you  can't help but feel sorry for them :( There were cases that made me feel  sad for the criminal.

For mystery lovers that are looking for cases not so gloomy, this one is perfect to watch.

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Lovely surprise <3 Recommended if you want to have a smile at the end of a 50minute long special.

If it wasn't because of one subber that commented how good the drama was, I wouldn't have picked this SP. And I am so glad I did. This was a fun, and surprisingly, very sweet story. I was giggling the whole time. How uncomfortable for Haruta to have his boss in love with him. How awkward Haruta was to have 2 guys in love with him, while he is straight as an arrow (is he?).

I love that Haruta likes both guys, not romantically, but as individuals. He admires his boss and he considers his roommate as his best friend. I love how different both kind of love are: one loves Haruta because of his good traits; the other loves Haruta IN SPITE of his bad traits. One is respectfully rejected; the other is cruelly rejected.

I am sad that Hase's actor is not the same in the drama, because I found him very cute.

The ending was SO CUTE. I am still smiling remembering it.

EDIT: 24hours later I rewatched it. I laughed at the same parts like it was the 1st time I was watching it, and I had again a smile after I finished it. Very cute!

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I am not really sure how I feel about this dorama. On one hand, I like that there is a female MC that kick ass, that has morals and wants to help other women in need of help. Nami (Ayase Haruka) does what every woman would want to do to rapists and women-beater and kidnappers... give them a good punch in their damn face. So not only she is strong and doesn't let anyone to intimidate her, but she also lives in a gorgeous neighborhood, has 2 lovely friends and a charming  husband.. (or does she?) I also like the cast, specially Ayase Haruka and Hirosue Ryoko... And of course her husband (Nishijima Hidetoshi) was good, even more when he was serious and in "enemy" mode, but for me it was a bit hard to see them as husband/wife since I was watching "Yae no Sakura" when this dorama started...

On the other hand (and there may be some spoilers)...

As much as I love seeing Ayase Haruka in action scenes, I wish she had a different instructor. Her fights were a bit slow and too synchronized, much like a choreography. The bad guys she fought against were so, um, wimpy? One punch, one kick, and they were out. None of them was a challenge for her. And also, there was one fight scene in every episode (which I wanted), but they were too short, again, because of those wimpy guys. I was too greedy I guess, since I wanted more action.

Her two friends deal with family problems, so all 3 of them have their own secret. Unfortunately, the main problem her friends deal with is 1) one of them is cheating on her husband, and 2) the other one has her own husband having an affair. I can't with cheating in books, and I guess I also dislike cheating in my doramas. I find cheating an unforgivable sin, but since they are married I guess it is not that easy...

And lastly, the pace of the story. First couple of episodes, it was good because it is when we see Nami trying to be a good housewife and befriending her 2 neighbors while being secretly a bad-ass heroine. And last 2 episode were also good since it is when we see that her husband is not who he appeared to be in all the previous episodes. I specially liked the ending, more so because it is obvious there is going to be a  SP/movie. But what I didn't like was that the episodes in-between felt more like fillers... I wish the "Mr & Mrs Smith" happened a lot sooner, like around Ep. 4 and from there, more about them and their secret identities. I feel like they (the scriptwriters and whatever) didn't take full advantage of the plot.

At least I have high hopes that the sequel is going to be awesome XD

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For anyone who likes to watch Gourmet channels and/or Travel shows, this would be highly enjoyable and recommended. It doesn't really have a plot: Goro-san has a job that is related to importation goods, so he goes here and there to meet his clients. That takes around 3 minutes of the show. Then he walks down the neighborhood where he is visiting, makes some remarks about the place, while we the audience can enjoy beautiful sights of the Japanese town. There are mostly in Tokyo, but he also visits the outside, like Chiba. That takes around 3 minutes as well.

Then, he suddenly stops and makes a funny expression. "Ah... I am hungry". Zoom out, zoom out, with a funny OST. This happens all the time, and after that, he goes looking for a restaurant/dining, which is mostly a familiar, cozy, simple one. He orders his food.. it is always different, but 99% of the time, one of his side dish would be rice. Goro-san loves rice (there is an episode where he even eats his Neapolitan spaghetti with rice!). Actually, he loves any kind of food. He is the happiest man on Earth when he is eating. While he is eating, internally he is commenting about his food. ""Ii janaika", is mostly his remark XD He loves it, he is so happy to have picked THAT place and THAT food. And how he eats! You wonder how such a skinny man can eat so much and be that thin. Sometimes he orders 2, 3 different things. And he eats so fast, even when the food is super hot.

The last 3 minutes is the author of the dorama going to the same dining and eating almost always the same food. My, how happy his author is! You can't help but be happy with him, he is 100% smiles.

I loved this, I realized I had to have my dinner first before watching an episode, since all dishes are mouthwatering.

Recommended specially to people who is going to visit Japan and are looking for places to eat. The restaurants Goro-san visits are real; the rest are all actors.

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The movie is about depression, but it is not a depressing movie at all. In fact, it is rather cute, with all the little drawings (Haruko is a mangaka, and her drawings are so nice). Her diary, about her husband depression, was adorable. But it is not only the drawings, but the support Mikio gets from his wife and his in-laws that was nice. It is not easy to have someone depressed in your home, but Haruko tried her best to support her husband.

I learned a couple of things about depression, so this movie is not only heart-warming but also informative. And touching, in a couple of scenes. The filmography was great, their little home was cozy and outside, with the Sakura trees, was so nice.

Masato Sakai has such a dorky face, so this suit him perfectly. The movie does not have a beginning nor an ending, which is something that I have found mostly in J-doramas and movies. Which I like, because not everything has to have a beginning and/or an end. Also, although it is a 2-hour movie long, it is never dragging nor slow.

Japan is one of the country with the highest amount of suicides. I've read that it is mostly because of work, which is the main reason why Mikio is depressed. The routine, his work-environment, having to take the train everyday, all squeeze like sardines are enough motives. At least he has his pretty, supportive wife, who is there for him "in health and sickness".

I wonder if this was based on real life...

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In many ways, this adorable drama reminded me of the book "Eleanor is Completely Fine" (EICF). Not that Eleanor and Nagi are similar (Eleanor can't read the atmosphere as Nagi, for example), but because it is a story about a woman who just lives but does not enjoy the little pleasures of life.

The beginning is kinda of hard to watch since Nagi is a nice and quiet girl who does not stand up for herself. That all changes when one day, after collapsing, she says Enough, leaves all the luxury of living in Tokyo and moves to the suburbs. Her long vacation is a path of self-discovery and self-acceptance, and being true to herself, which is why all new people who meet her, love her in an instant.

Just like in the book EICF, Nagi goes from a sad and lonely life (and very influenced by her mean mother) to enjoy the little things in life, such as drinking and playing with new friends, and learning to have dreams and that life is not A option or B option.

The music was sweet, suitable for the story. I could have lived without the love triangle (except that I loved the character development in a jerk like Shinji) but I think it was ok in this case since it is an example of not because you have option A and B you have to chose one... it means you can do whatever you want, whatever it makes you happy.

And the redemption at the end for the bully of the office was MEH... but J-dramas are always teaching about that, that people are not black or white... there is grey too and everyone deserves a chance.

"I will live for myself, by myself" (Nagi)

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It is only my second Asadora, but I can confirm they are really addictive. Easy to watch and easy to fall in love with the characters. It is like they become part of your family, I am going to miss them all ^_^.

I love Sakura Ando as Fukuko; she was cheerful and strong and my, her tears were so good. She had a nice chemistry with Hasegawa Hiroki; they were truly a wonderful married couple. They look the part too.. they look young at first and older at the end, unlike Kaname Jun (Tadahiko) and Matsushita Nao (Katsuko), who still looked too young to be grandfparents. Manpei was the ying and Fukuko the yang in their relationship, the complimented each other. If it weren't for Fukuko, Manpei wouldn't go anywhere with his ideas (but let's face it.. most of the good ideas came from Fukuko but Manpei-san was the one who was able to reproduce the idea or make it real).

I loved Fukuko's mother.. she was such a character! Annoying and meddlesome but so funny and with a good heart. By the end of the series, I was loving every one, from Sera to Shinichi. How nice that Shinichi was still part of the family, even after so many years of Saki's death. And how nice that Saki was still present in their lives even though she died so many years ago. How nice that Kanbe-kun admired and loved the Tachibana couple so much. And how nice how everyone was involved in one way or the other in the success of Manpuku Noodles.

The support of family, friends... all of them were so important to make Manpuku Noodles come to what it is. As always in a J-drama, family and friends are pivotal in the main character's lives (and at the same time, they influence positive in the others).

Some scenes were a bit slow for my liking, like all the times Manpei went to prison. Reason why I rate this 8.5. And sometimes I just wanted to smack Manpei-san... I know he was a genius and couldn't see straight beyond his ideas, but poor Fukuko suffered so much many times and years (but she loved that her husband was an inventor). He was the reason of all her tears; of her happy and sad tears.

Main song was cute and the opening sequence very dorky, I loved it.

I will mourn for a couple of weeks and then start a new Asadora ^_^

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I love stories with Sign Language. I think it is a beautiful form of communication. I tried to find books to learn it, but there are so many  (American, British, Spanish, Mexican) so I am not sure which one to  get. Anyway, I strongly recommend this dorama to people who watched/read "Koe no Katachi" and loved it. The big difference is that this story is not in school, but the adult life of a deaf girl. How she starts to be part of the society (by working), how she meets her future husband, how other people who meet her starts to learn Sign Language. How hard for her is to become a mother, to be married, etc. The story is  simple, yet beautiful. I shed many tears while watching it, and it is not because it is a sad story. No, it is simply because there are certain scenes that were too emotional. Like when her future-mother-in-law comes to Mieko's house to ask her to please not marry her son. Like the speech Mieko's daughter gives at school, both  out loud and with signs. And all the times someone talks to her (thru  signs) for the first time: Hirofumi, his mother, the doctor, etc. It was so poignant every time someone tried their best to talk to her.Kanno Miho is the sweetest girl and best fit for this role. She cries many times throughout the 5 episodes, but they all were understandable. Since she is deaf, she has little confidence in herself, and for every mistake or hardship that brings her deafness to the people she loves, she blames  herself. Thank Godness she marries the most patient and sweetest guy on  Earth. Besides her, I loved, LOVED the mothers: her mother and  her mother-in-law. Strong women who loved Mieko, and some time later,  their granddaughter. My favorite episodes were 1, 2 and 3. I have watched Episode 1 twice (I finished this a couple of days ago, and  rewatched Ep. 1 yesterday). There are only 5 episodes, 1 hour and 30  minutes long. First episode is from 1997, 2nd from 1998, 3rd from 1999,  4th from 2000 and the last one from 2001. Like most people, I prefer to watch recent dorama, but it is for the quality of the video only. In regards to story, oldies are better: they are simpler, they are sweeter.  Romance is much better without cellphones and other technologies. For  example, in this dorama, there are no cellphones, so Mieko and Hirofumi  send each other faxes to talk at night. Isn't that cute? The song "I just called to say I love you" fit the dorama perfectly. Beautiful story, totally recommended!

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What a waste of time. I won't even bother with the final episode. I mean, I knew beforehand that I was watching a super shallow show, but it was interesting nonetheless. I wasn't rooting for anyone in specific. At first I wanted the Jpn girls to make it since I hated all the stupid comments about the "talentless" Japanese girls, but once I saw that i-fandom is super toxic, specifically, K-pop fandom, I knew I had to pretty much learn to ignore all the "haters". First and last time I am part of a GG fandom. Never again! Commenters are all about hate and who is prettier than who. This show wasn't about talent. Popularity and "visuals", that was it.

I liked almost all the participants, they were all sweet, pretty and talented in a certain area (I think being likeable is a talent. No one with just talent in singing and/or dancing can make it). I liked the trainers, specially the one who looks angry (she was the best), Soyou, Hong Ki and the host.

The channel, on the other hand.... MESS! What an awful editing, never again I am watching a show of this channel.

The final winners... ah well, at least I can say that Thank God many Jpn girls didn't make it! Unfair, but it was for their best. The amount of hate they got throughout the show, all the "controversies" (one of them was hated because of, literally, the city where she was born) and some of them because they weren't "pretty enough". Miyu is very talented, but if she won, eventually she may have succumbed to the pressure and do ps. On the other hand, there were some Kr girls that totally deserved it, but because of looking "old" or causing some stupid "controversy" (seems like being ambitious is a crime) they didn't make it. While others who were "cuter" did. Oh well. Like I said, being popular and pretty is also a talent.

Overall, interesting for the first 11 episodes, but right now I am just thinking how the hell I wasted my time on this.

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What a soothing little show. It is completely zen, from her voice in off to her cooking to her little, pretty apartment and nice songs in the background. I am thinking of rewatching this every time I feel stressed out (it is just an 12-episode length of around 8minutes long each episode, and it is on Youtube! to watch it legally ?)

If you need something relaxing after a long day, just like the FL when she comes home, watch this nice little show. She provides the recipe of every dinner she makes, and the expression on her face when she says おいしい will make you smile instantly.

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This movie has SHOUNEN written all over it. A group of childhood friends, an old crush from their childhood days, running, performing in a band, going thru dangerous moments... The pace is fast, things happen all the time, many fun cameos (most of them I didn't know beforehand, so I was pleasantly surprised, saying over again "what! that one too!" Oguri Shin sure does have a lot of friends...)

The comedy is minimal but the story was fun. It is more dramatic since the yakuza boss is no joke. But I feel like the actors had a lot of fun filming this movie, they have a lot of chemistry, and I love their friendship. The only one that overacted a little bit was the one playing Kyohei. The other 3 guys are my favorite actors anyway, they are always good. I mean, even I who knows that Ayano Go is NO IKEMEN thought he was pretty awesome here. His "killer glance" was believable, haha. It could be his hair? He looked good here. Suzuki Ryohei looked lovely silly and Koide looked cuter than ever. And Muro playing a student **giggles** All of them, actually. It was hilarious.

The role of the main girl was meaningful, thank God. Usually, in shounen movies, like "CROWS ZERO", seems like they add a female role just to have some pretty girl among so much testosterone. Thankfully, Misa-chan was important to the story. Without her, there wouldn't be any story, more or less.

Mini-reunions: Stresseman, as the father of Masami-chan XD, and Makino with 2 of the F4 (I bet MatsuJun would have loved to be in this movie, if there were any chance), Kai and Maho (from "Orange Days").

I am looking for a copy with better quality. The one I watched was lowsy, I barely could recognize Oguri Shun. The sound was a bit off as well, so I don't remember much of the music, except the one they perform in the last minutes, which was good (Koide can sing, dear boy!)

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