Amazing how well received this dorama was, both in Japan and in the rest of the world (for people who watch doramas). In my case, unfortunately, it was a case of "everybody loves it except me". To be honest, I wasn't that interested in it, but I decided to watch it because of the wonderful reviews, and of all the awards it took that year. And I also love historical fiction, especially Japanese historical fiction, so why not.



*Story: it is basically about Akiyama Tokuzo, a short-tempered boy, who after many years, becomes the Emperor's cook. He married young, but he immediately took off to Tokyo to learn how to cook, leaving his wife. Of course his parents + his in-laws were angry at him, and eventually, the in-laws make his daughter divorced from him, but he didn't care, he just wanted to be a cook. Then he goes to France, meets a french girl, falls in love. Years later, he gets the invitation to be the Emperor's Cook, decides to come back to Japan but his french girlfriend wants to stay in France, so he comes back alone. In short time, he meets his ex-wife again, marries her, have children, all while he cooks for the Emperor. Then comes the war, he has some difficulties and the story ends with him retiring after 50 and some years later.



Yeah, yeah, all very good. I see that the dorama has a lot of heart, which I absolutely love. There is a lot of friendship (Akiyama with his older brother, RIP; Akiyama and Shintaro, Akiyama and his former rival Yamagami, Akiyama and his former lover, Akiyama and his mentor...), and that is precisaly why I couldn't like the story. This is supposed to be about fighting for your dreams (which he did) but in the process, he hurts Toshiko, his wife. He makes his family suffer, his poor parents, his poor brother... Akiyama doesn't struggle so much, since everything is served to him. His brother gets him his first job, his mentor helps him to become the Cook, he gets help from people around him... Honestly, he got all too easy.



I hated how much Toshiko suffered, only because she has to go and fall for this immature brat. And then, because fate say so, they remarry. I hate that the 3 people that root so much for him were the ones that suffered so much, because of him.



All his "adventures" to become a cook were kinda boring. I think I only liked all the scenes that involved Toshiko. Episode 11 specially made me a bit teary-eyed. The final episode was not good. I hate all the American scenes, all the bully and discrimination, and the blond bully was so bad at acting! Cringe-worthy.



*Cast: the cast is top-notch. My favorite was Kuroki Haru, hands down. She was so good, she makes a perfect docile Japanese girl. She made me teary-eyed many times. Her life was so unfair :( Usami-san was also good, this kind of acting I like best (quiet, kind) and there is also the doctor from JIN who is so good at being nice and quiet too. Kiritani Kenta will always be excellent for me, he plays a laid-back guy here, happy and a bit silly (he is so good at this kind of roles). And of course, Suzuki Ryohei, the sick older brother. Poor Shutaro! It was so sad to see him thinner and thinner in every episode. If that isn't commitment from the actor, I don't know what it is.



Regarding Sato Takeru... all those reviews praising him, but also, most of those reviews say "I am a big fan of him". Well, I am not, and I can see this more objectively. To me, he was the worst in the cast. Not that he was BAD, but he wasn't good. He can cry, I give you that. But I hated how he changed his voice... why make it deeper? It felt unnatural. Because he was a short-tempered guy, the actor overacted in most of his actions, it was like watching an anime. I love overacting in comedies but it was unnecessary in this dorama, which was so real.



There were a few others who were so bad, but who weren't important to the story. Like Araki-san, the bully at Akiyama's first job... GAWD, all that shouting. The French girl was just "too happy" and the American people were so bad it is not worth mentioning again.



*Music: the OST was nice but the ED was MEH. On the other hand, the OP was so cute! I loved the little drawings (so Japanese, but in France!) and the song was well-suited. Also, the cinematography was really nice, beautiful colors and the settings were clean, clear and fresh. I almost wanted to live there.



Maybe if Akiyama were more sympathetic I would have loved this more, because the cinematography, the clothes, the period time, the food, the settings, (most of) the actors, were all excellent.

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Yesterday night, after finishing the drama, I couldn't sleep because my mind refused to calm down. I wrote an entire essay -mentally- about this drama. I'll try to calm down before ranting. But all I am going to say for now is...



SPOILERS



SPOILERS



SPOILERS


Up till the first 35minutes or so of ep06 it was so good... funny and a bit angsty. The last 3 minutes of ep06 and almost all ep07 was SO FRUSTRATING. I even disliked Haruta :(

I mean, THIS Haruta, and THIS Chief, and maybe Maki. But Movie Haruta was gold, Movie Chief was more funny and Movie Hase was perfect.

My rant: https://sunakoyue.livejournal.com/48906.html

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Abridged review

Like a Sentai show, only fancier. A group of young students who form a team and learn to be better and fight arm in arm to defeat the bad guys.

- The Good: The Grandmaster, a true guide for Tang San + the other 2 teachers. The costumes. The team. The world-building.

- The Bad: The MC, Tang San and Xiao Wu: together and by themselves. So clingy, both of them, if he was going to the bathroom, she needed to go as well. And he visited her every morning to braid her hair :S She was supposedly strong, but has many "damsel in distress" moments and he was always trying to save her. "I will protect you, Tang San/Xiao Wu" moments x100000. Every time one of them was in real danger, the other was overacting like it was the end of the world.

Individually, Tang San is a Gary Stu and Xiao Wu has the tag of "Childish Female Character" which says everything. I don't know if it was because of their 2D characters only, but to me they were both the worst actors in the series, which pains me so much because I adore Xiao Zhan and he brings tears to my eyes every time he cries, but in this series, when he is listening to his mother talking for 10minutes straight, he just stands there crying like a fool for 10minutes straight. It pains me to say I laughed thinking it was bad acting, and this is XZ we are talking about :(

Also, the bgm: what with that song in the background at the least imaginable moments! The song is nice, kinda like a music box, but it didn't suit ANY of the moments and it made my skin crawl.

It would have been a good fantasy drama if the MC weren't Gary Stu and Childish Female character...

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I think the drama should have been called: "HYD: Meant to be together, but the world was against it".

Cast: (8/10) there was an amazing chemistry between the leads, not only between Makino and Domyouji, but including the other guys in F4. The MVP for this season was MatsuJun, for me. When he was angry, he looked ugly, but when he was looking at Makino with so much love, or when he was smiling, he looked so handsome. I love his hairdo in this season. And I was in awe in that first episode when Domyouji and Makino meet again for the first time after a year in NYC, the way he looked at her. With so much longing. He was telling her it was over, but his eyes were saying the opposite.

Story: (8/10) since this story is about love and all things that can happen to keep the main couple apart, it reminded me so much of Latin Soap Operas, which I used to love when I was younger. Misunderstandings, memory loss, rivals, etc. There is one part where Domyouji's fiancee was telling him, after he tells him he can't marry her because he will always love Makino, that she still keeps an ace up her sleeve, and stands when they are having a dinner with their parents. I seriously was expecting a "I am pregnant" bulls*t. Thank God they didn't go THAT way XD

Even though I wanted Makino and Domyouji to have their happy ending, they both got on my nerves. Makino was weak, letting everyone step on her, specially her 2 rivals. She just stays there, keeping quiet. And Domyouji continues to be a punk. Whenever things don't go the way he wants, he starts punching people. What a jerk.

On the other hand, there are 3 reasons why this was again so different from a Latin Soap Opera: 1) here are no overactings, no zoom in into their faces, no slaps, etc. It is not to dramatic, it is well balanced with comedy. 2) no heavy make-up, no styled hairdoes (except Domyouji), no flashy and tacky clothes (except the men's shoes). Makino has the same plain hairstyle all the time, she barely has any make-up. Same with her friend Yuuki. Same with several other girls. And 3) all these cliche moments last around ONE episode, instead of dragging for several. Always to the point.

Music: (10/10) I LOVE the music in this drama. Both Seasons have amazing music. "Love So Sweet" is catchy and has a "nostalgic" feeling while listening to it. Maybe the boys in Arashi are tired of singing it, but it always surprises me when I see MJ singing it in their concerts, with so much feeling. He loves it, I bet he is still so proud of everything about HYD. "Flavor of Life" is also one of my favorite songs of Utada Hikaru. And the instrumental soundtrack that accompanies certain scenes were also excellent. 100 points to the music area.

Rewatching value: (7/10) I would rewatch this but fast-forwarding all the scenes with the fiancee (gosh, she was annoying!), most scenes with Hanazawa Rui and the last 2 episodes except for the last 10 minutes.

*Original review is longer, so I cut it a little bit to post it here.

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It was nice to see the whole gang again. And to hear the OP song, so cute! It was like a "waa, how nostalgic" feeling, which may be ridiculous because I finished this dorama just  about half year ago. And I also was thinking, throughout the 1 hour and a  half, how lucky those two Johnnys are! Because Ishihara Satomi and Kimura Yoshino are  not only beautiful, but very charismatic and so lady-like! I love  Satomi in this role, her laugh is so contagious. And all her outfit were  excellent (ok, except for that one she wears when she is moving out...  it was kind of ridiculous).

What I loved about the dorama was how  Konno-san worked as proofreader and how she inspired the other people  in her office. Fortunately, since she is now working in Lassy, we still  get to enjoy the fun of proofreading. But on the other hand, it was more  about Konno working for Lassy and being stressed-out about it and how  she is again herself once she proofreads. Like Tako said " your dream  work may not be your vocation". Too bad Tako had so few scenes, because  he was a good character.

Other thing that I didn't like in the  dorama, and still didn't like in this SP, is Yukito. Very bland  character. Konno-san deserved a more lively guy, a guy with stronger  personality. Like Tako :(

While I found the whole SP nice but a bit MEH, I loved the ending. Now I want a 2nd season ^_^ (this time about Konno-sa falling in love with another guy that isn't Yukito)

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To FX: is Guo Baokun a joke to you? :/

In spite of its flaws, JoL is still one of the best cdramas this year. I admit there are many things I was not a fan of but can't deny I enjoyed every episode (except maybe the arc with the Ming family) and I even cried a couple of episodes (ep9 with DZ and ep32 with Wang'er). JoL has so many endearing characters that every time we had a comeback of someone familiar I was like "Fei Jie!" or "Uncle Wuuuu!". Even with the Royal Princess, who has a much better hairdo this season XD

Of this season, I like that FX does not feel so much like a Gary Stu. Yes, he is loved/hated by many, but also many are just using him. And I like the difference between young FX and older FX.. he is not that cocky and arrogant as before; he matured and has seen the dark side of the world and of the people, of course he will be more serious and less playful. I love to see a MC that witness injustice and does something about it; he would have been besties with Wei Wuxian.

I also like that this season it does not feel like a harem like in S1. I am a fan of Wang'er-FX pairing, I think they match perfectly and while I adore Haitang DuoDuo, she feels more like a buddy, a best friend kind of gal.

As for its flaws, the pacing was all over the place, each arc takes a couple of episodes and then it is forgotten, like what was the point? Except maybe for S3. But the brothel arc, the examination arc, the court arc, there are so many arcs and then the main characters of that arc kind of disappear (like the princess from Northern Qi, hello?). And not only that, what was the "mission" of Guo Baokun and FZ? As much as I love FZ, his travel to Northern Qi took like a day for us audience, so it was a puzzle that he changed so much and "experienced" the lives of the people there. And frankly, I feel a bit sad fo GB because the whole S2 ended and FX STILL did not freed his father :(

The OST is ok, nothing memorable unlike S1. But what bothered me the most was the change of Ye Ling's actress. This one was so bad and nothing like Ye Ling at all. I didn't like the new Prince Li and new Yao Bingyun either (he wasn't as serious and rigid as the 1st one) but it was acceptable, unlike the change of Ye Ling.

I also didn't like the PP... I was unpleasantly surprised by it. Yoghurt in JoL? Are you kidding me -_-

But still, the acting + the mystery of the grand-masters and Uncle Wu and the awesome cliffhanger at the end left me very satisfied IN SPITE of having more questions than answers.

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Best Singing Competition Show... ever

There is no other competition show as good as this one. You will just watch the performances in awe, all of them. All 36 contestants are not only sweet and attractive, but they are all talented as heck and you can see how much they love what they do. The only reason the final does not have 36 Principals, ergo, Winners, is just because of the lack of confidence and/or experience... ALL of them are wonderful, and I love that each one of them had a moment where they shine on stage.

Prior starting this, I was a fan of Ayunga and Zhou Shen. I was also familiar with Gao Tianhe (because of TTXS) and Zheng Yunlong (because of YunCiFang). After finishing this, I became a fan of maybe 95% of them. Like Wang Xi... the moment he sung the first note, I was in love. I think he shines best as a solo, instead of in a group, but I loved how he supported ZS who had little confidence in himself.

Yu Di was so consistent and each of his performances was a standing ovation one. I guess I loved the most experienced artists (they were unbeatable), like him, Wang Kai, YunCiFang and Wang Xi. In that sense it was amazing to see Cai-Cai, who was one of the youngest, to perform each time like a pro. Still, there are others not that experienced but still performed like stars, like Li Qi (that voice! Their renditon of "The Sound of Silence"... wow); Liao Jialin (he suited Wang Kai so well); Zhai Lishuotian (he was born to be on stage).

I looove the bond btw Ayunga and Dalong, and how much they love the art of musicals. They were the harshest judges on themselves, and the best mentors on the younger guys in their team. Each of their duets was a pleasure to watch (their chemistry!) and there is no doubt Ayunga was the star of the show. The judges adored him and the competitors were always clapping for him. Ayunga singing in French? His French wasn't as good as the other two but who cares when his harmonizations are the best? The rendition of "I'll cover you" with ZYL... how much they improved from their uni days!

I love that there is no elimination (all 36 are there till the end) and I am thrilled that this show made them popular and made bel canto and musicals a much popular genre in China. The guys were mostly there to make this art more well known and to improve themselves. I am not lying when I say I am rooting for each one of them (ok, not so much for Gao Tianhe haha, such a diva) and I looove that the Professor Liao who was also a judge, made some good advices and even invited the 1975 children :) and even Yu Di got some job offers! I love it :)

I wish I could read more about each one of them and see what are they performing now, if they are still in this bussiness and what happen to each one of them. At least we still have Yuncifang and Zhou Shen and Wang Xi **teary-eyes**

There are 2 versions, the normal one (1hr30min each ep) and the extended one (2hrs each ep approx). I wish I could watch the extended version, but the subs in youtube are not synchronized, while in DM are ( the normal version). So please watch this amazing show on Dailymotion... YT also mutes some performances.

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Thank you to the subbers, the wait was worth it ^_^

I knew almost nothing to nothing about skateboarding before this show, and I appreciate how it teaches it to the ignorants like me a bit about ollies, flips, etc. Made me want to try a bit while I was watching it, so in that sense, I think the objective of this show was a success.

I love the sense of community these guys, and 3 or 4 girls, have in the show. While there are 3 groups, leaded by 3 celebrities, and there are challenges and competitions, it was never really a competition between the skaters. All of them rejoiced when one succeeded, even if he/she was in the rival team, and all of them suffered when a skater couldn't do a trick. Most of the skaters knew each other before the show anyway, so there is a strong feeling of comradeship that was very nice to watch in the entire show. Even the leaders know each other a bit (Yibo treats Chen Xiao like his schoolmate, it was fun; while Joe Chen, who was leader for a couple of episodes, treated Yibo like she was her older sister, so cute!)

I was rooting for the skater girls just because they were girls, and I loved that the teams with girls on it had an advantage, unlike the "brotherhood" of Yibo XD His team really felt like a frat boy team; as a fan of Yibo I loved to watch him so easy going with his team and how fun and tight they were. My sister and I were half joking that they all probably got a group tattoo, they got along so well XD I give the "music" aspect a high rating because, while Chen Xiao's and Wang Luodan's sections got sweet type of songs, Yibo's and his team got "who let the dogs out" song XD

Thankfully the elimination process was removed by half of the show... it didn't make sense and it dampened the dynamic of the skaters. Unfortunately there is only one winner group at the end which was a shame because all of them deserved the award. But still, the winner group was very good under pressure, and I hope they all have enjoyed their trip to who-knows-where.

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My own comparison to Ashes of Love

Inevitable to compare them...

- Female Lead: both are lacking in senses but XuanJi seemed more naive and innocent while JinMi looked like a psycho. By far XuanJi is the best one, she can actually fight, she is the God Of War for God's sake, she protects SiFeng like 90% of the times, and her "stabbing" wasn't as insulting as JinMi's. While both are manipulated and gaslighted by other people, XuanJi's situation was more understandable because the others wanted to use her and what better than to guilt-tripping her? JinMi's was just unforgivable. Also, while both of them didn't "feel" anything, XuanJi actually "felt" something for SiFeng, an affinity, friendship, etc. JinMi's supposedly curse was not to fall in love, but it seemed like she actually couldn't feel a thing... XuFeng could die before her eyes and she wouldn't even blink. I think Yuan Bing Yan (XuanJi) was better actress than Yang Zi.. YangZi just had to look pretty with tons of make-up, while Yuan Bing Yan was able to portray the innocent and the resentful GOW at the same time (with a very natural make-up)

- Male Lead: both are "Feng" and have beautiful, golden wings <3 tbh, SiFeng got on my nerves most of the times and I could never really liked him. A hero with a victim/martyr complex? Nah. He didn't care even for his life, as long as XuanJi lived. Bad guys could get away because SiFeng was so forgivable. He was never angry, impatient, resentful... his character was to love Xuanji, unconditionally, only. And of course, to vomit blood every episode. In this case, XuFeng wins by far, being a ML with many flaws (spoiled, resentful, fun, naughty); and while he also loves JinMi unconditionally, when she betrays him, he resents her; when she is being a pain, he rolls his eyes; when she was being silly, he teased her... that's what I liked in their romance. I also didn't like most of the times the make-up on SiFeng... 90% of the times his eyebrows were awful, not to mention his lips either full of blood, or totally white.

- Romance: saccharine and dramatically sweet in L&R; playful and dramatically sweet in AOL; the big plus in L&R is that there is no RunYu; the big plus in AoL is that they have a whole arc of being sweet and romantic with no rivals at all (except a bit of SuiHe but she loses very soon :D) I think there was more chemistry between the leads in AoL than in L&R.

- Supporting Characters: both have good supported friends and awful villains. In L&R we have several, like Teng She (who provides the comedic relief), the merman, brother Liu, and Wu ZhiQi was underdeveloped, or he would have been amazing too. And Purple Fox was the voice of reason! Demon Lord was so good I wished he was the main character :( I really disliked LingLong, she was so annoying and I couldn't understand why MinYan would love her, but she loved her sister and her own story was so painful and it made me cry :( It made me crazy to read comments in Viki saying Linglong had all the fault.. the fault of being RAPED? Because that is what that disgusting WuTong did.. he RAPED her. I hated him the most grrr. So the 2nd couple is much better in L&R, the 2nd couple in AoL was boring and I just wanted Muci to die, but the princess was so good :(

- Villains: honestly the villains in L&R were disgusting. WuTong was the most repulsive of all of them; Bailin the most disgusting of all but as manipulative as RunYu was anyway, the sect leaders were all stupid and useless, and worst of all, most of these villains do not get what they deserved. I honestly couldn't believe that that asshole Bailin made a mess of everything for more than 50 episodes, thought he was right (like a Nazi) and in the final episode, realizes he was wrong, has a minor punishment while all his men cry. Whut. The sect leaders were all manipulative and behave awfully with Sifeng, and then you have them in the final episode cheering for SiFeng and XuanJi, all good friends... Whut.

- OST: the good thing about xianxia, as far as I can see, is their OST. L&R has an excellent OP song but the ED is even better. But my favorite of all of their soundtrack is "Love Like Colored Glass" by Zhou Shen. So beautiful and moving. Nevertheless, there would be no song that would beat Sa DingDing in the near future. This song is just THE BEST, period. Besides, AoL has songs performed by YangZi and Deng Lun.

- Plot: there is no winner in this. I love that AoL has 3 arcs, but I also like that L&R is mostly in Human Realm. Both of them have very draggy parts and a better first half than second half, and both of them have very nice CGI. Both of them could have been at least 10 episodes shorter.

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What a soothing and simple story! I could imagine myself in Ichiko's shoes, living in the countryside (beautiful Komori) and planting and harvesting the rice. The scenery is breathtaking, all green and foggy; it is in the Tohoku region, although I am not sure if Komori really exists (it translate to, literally, "Little Forest"). The story is calm and very slice of life, of someone living in the countryside, eating delicious and healthy food and interacting with her neighborhood.

Even her little house is charming and so cozy. I love it. I almost made a screenshot of every scene but unluckily I watched this beautiful film in a LQ video.

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I mentally rated this drama an 8 when I finished Ep01. It was a nice-feeling drama but one I thought wasn't going to be too memorable. Boy, I was wrong. When I finished ep02 I was loving it and by the end of Ep03 I was a crying mess.

The story is a bit idealistic mixed with realistic. Idealistic when it comes to live in a residential complex and being friends after a few disagreements and also the support and acceptance of the ones who were close-minded at first (Komiyama-san; the mother-in-law and Ryota). But highly realistic when it comes to women who have troubles to conceive (Nana) or women who do not want to be a mother (Chihiro), and of course, the ignorance and discrimination of people like Komiyama-san.

All 4 stories were good: the gay couple (the older, closeted guy with his much younger boyfriend); the family (the mother who is more concerned about the "what would people think"); the soon-to-be-married couple (Chihiro does not want to have a baby but eventually learns how to be a mother of the son of her fiancee) and my favorite, Nana and Daiki who are struggling to have a baby.

I liked most actors except for the boy who played Ryota and Nana, played by Fukada Kyoko. She can't act; she thinks that the silly bambi face she makes is acting, but my, every time she cried, I was crying :( Her story was too sad, every day trying to get pregnant till the "reset" day, which was when she had her period and it was starting all over again. Her scenes, along with her mother-in-law (interpreted phenomenally by Takahata Atsuko), made me cry like a baby :( I think Nana and Daiki are my favorite married couple in Doramaland... all her struggles and all his support were outstanding.

The annoying characters have a good redemption at the end, so there is no bad person in the whole drama. So it is one of those uplifting dramas that at the same time, are a bit sad since real life happens and not everything is white or black.

I've read that several people were not satisfied with the ending, but I loved it.

Thanks a million to the subber, Raiho80 ^_^

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I've only read the first volume of the manga and have not watched the anime nor the movie, so I can't compare. This series was really good! I was hooked from the very beginning (I did not even read the plot beforehand, so I didn't know what it was all about and had many surprises here and there). The pace of the story was very well done: the series is just 25min long -or less- and in spite of being too short, it was never rush and I've never felt lost in regards to the plot. I think everything was well explained. I do think that the last 3 episodes were not as good as the first 9... I think that what Fujinuma experiences later, starting ep08 (or was it 9?) made the story less exciting as what he lived in the first 7 episodes.

The acting was excellent, especially from the children. And I liked Furukawa's voice in off, it was calm but not bored. There was even one scene where I was moved by young Satoru's tears... I am amazed this boy, Uchikawa Reo, has not a longer filmography! Apparently he was also Ciel Phantomhive in a couple of musicals that I have yet to see (booo, there are no more subbed musicals since the 3rd one...).

This is a mystery-suspense story where family and friends play a big role. Both were important for our main characters. I am grateful this dorama is on Netflix... while I was watching this, I searched for reviews (with no spoilers) and I am surprised there are so many! And all of them positive reviews. I am not used to read so many reviews of a Japanese dorama... our fandom is mostly quiet and not very vocal.

Recommended. I'll start watching the anime tonight, which I've read is not as good as this live action.

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I felt like I was watching an Asadora, only much much shorter (7 episodes of 25minutes long approx). There were times where it was lively and uplifting, and others where it was sad. As expected, since this is a semi-biography of Tetsuko, who has lived forever and it is one of the most popular TV personality in Japan. Since she has been for many, many years, she has met numerous people and many have died; friends, colleagues... so it was expected to be sad.

This is the kind of role I love to see for Mitsushima Hikari. Of course she is beyond amazing in sad roles like "Mother" and "Soredemo..." but I prefer to watch her in quirky, lively roles, like this one. I don't want to see her cry anymore :(

There are many cameos, of actors who I knew beforehand had a guest role (Ryo, which makes it a mini-reunion from "Gomen Seishun") and others who were a completely surprise (Daichi! and Matsuda, which makes it a mini-reunion from "Quartet").

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To say that I loved Amachan would be an understatement. I think it is one of the cutest, most heartwarming, most charming and most uplifting dramas I've ever watched. The heroine, Amano Aki, is perfectly portrayed by Nounen Rena. I loved her and could understand why she was so much loved by everyone (in the drama and in RL). I am not sure if it was an awesome way to start watching Asadoras, because this one was top-notch, but I also fear that no one will come close to Amachan. The cast, the cute little intro song, the setting.. everything.

This drama is about loving your family, friends and little town. Aki's family was always there for her, not only her family by blood, but all the people in Kitasanriku. Aki's friendship with Yui-chan made me teary-eyed many times, and I loved the relationship between Suzuka-san and Haruko. Truly, Kudo Kankuro is a genius when it comes to female characters and female relationship. I don't see the Idol world as negative as I used to... these lovely girls just wanted to make people happy. I was so happy seeing the director so proud of his cast/drama in the extra episode; he really loved "Amachan"!

The lenght also kinda scared me at first... but when I was around Ep. 50 I was like, "I wish this was longer". I kept watching it anywhere where I had a little time off... on the bus, waiting my meals, etc. It is perfect to upload a couple of episodes on the cellphone.

I am currently suffering withdrawal symptoms... I loved it!

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I just noticed that most of my favorite dramas come from TBS. This one was no exception. It is a very heartwarming story. Good work environment, giving your all, working for your dreams, nice friends and coworkers, a sweet romance and excellent acting. I loved it.

The setting is the Japanese Air-force Public Relations, which may be an odd place but it worked because of the people working there. I love to watch stories in places that make you feel, or part of them, or at least, wanting to be part of them and of course I felt the same with this group of people. Sorai (Ayano Go) is the sweetest Beta hero I've seen in a long time, hardworking, who loves what he does (and what he used to do), and who loves his Boss, who, by the way, was a gem. Who wouldn't want to have a Boss like Sagizaka-san, who was not only kind but a splendid matchmaker? He loved Sorai as his son, so that made him love "Ina-pyon" automatically like his daughter. And his story with his wife brought tears to my eyes, such a sad story.

I love stories where less is more.

Ayano Go looks and acts amazing in this. His gentle face, his dorky smile XD He and Gakky make a beautiful and cute couple. I hope they do a rom-com in a near future.

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