Normally I don't write a review when there is already 2 posted, but I had to get across a different view point for you folks. "Smile, you" a heartwarming family drama about the ups and downs of dealing with family. It has a few bits of comedy and drama, but its main attraction is how the whole family is front and center.

I didn't like this drama because it was too long, the story line and the dialogue seemed extremely repetitive, and not to mention some of the characters were annoying. Word around the web was the drama was extended and it shows. I got officially bored with this drama around ep22, and literally skipped a few episodes and could totally pick up on what was happening, as if I didn't miss anything at all. After ep 30 it seems as if they are literally dragging out the ending to milk additional episodes out. The arguments seemed the same over and over again, in real life I think it would work better , on screen the repetitiveness became annoying.

I liked all the actors (except the mothers), all of the actors were totally likeable. I also really loved the first episodes, because the initial premise was different from anything else I had seen. In short I feel as if I have wasted hours of my life- but I'm not really too upset. There was a happy ending (very predictable) and a few cute guys.

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ok guys, Ikemen Desu Ne isn't a bad drama and in some aspects I really liked it, its just a premature remake. So I normally don't write reviews when there is a lot of them but most of the reviews I have read are missing a key problem. The original You Are Beautiful, has some seriously hot guys, all in their own right, who without the makeup or clothes were totally scream worthy. IDN is completely lacking! The male characters are cute but not scream worthy, because of this I really didn't care when I was watching.

Leaving the comparisons aside, the story moved pretty quickly, there was a good ending and the main characters had good character development going on. However, about half of the cast was over-acting, under-acting or just poorly acting. The female lead was great, adorable, enchanting and loveable. The male lead was trying to re-create Geum Suk's character but really looked either in pain or constipated. Unfortunately, the shun character was well played but wasn't given enough time to develop, and the Yuki character was over- acted.

The story had some holes in it but they were cutting a lot of stuff so thats understandable. I feel like the writers honed in on the main point of the story and milked it as much as they could. Sad to say, a lot of other parts and characters were left lacking like step children.

When I first saw it I was excited and mad at the same time. How dare they remake this master piece?! But think of it like a refresher course with an alternate ending. Let me give you an analogy; If YAB was a Ivy League university, IDN would be community college.

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Sometimes your fav drama gets heavy, sad and even tear jerking and you need a break. Five star tourist was a light hearted comedy that drove away my serious-drama blues and taught me some interesting things about Kyoto.

One of the best things about this drama was the inside look into Kyoto; however, I felt as if this drama was sponsored by a Kyoto tourism group. Mainly because in the beginning of the series the tour highlights were more prevalent than anything else. The cast was neatly put together and I think Watanabe did an awesome job. The characters each had an episode or two that showed their individual growth so kudos to the writers.

The worst thing about the drama is the pace. It took me forever to finish it because each episode had a 10-15 minute lull where I nearly fell asleep from boredom. The pace of the show is weird, although it is a comedy the progression of each episode is very slow. I don’t want to offend any Yamamoto fans out their but I felt his character was the exact same in this as in Ouran host club and Yamada-kun to 7 nin no majo.

I would barely recommend this drama. I don’t feel like it is a complete waste of time because I now understand a little more about Kyoto, and it was my first time seeing a bigger girl lead a j-drama. But this drama was the least on my list of things to watch and I did a lot of fast forwarding through episodes. If you plan to watch keep in mind that EVERY episode ends exactly the same as the last so aren’t any real twists or turns. Except the disappointing end that eludes to a movie; not sure yet if I want to try and see the movie.

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A gritty crime drama with lots of mystery, blood, sex, violence, drug use and adult themes (no wonder it came on so late at night! lol) I really liked the different twists and turns the story took and how the majority of the story was unpredictable. I also liked how authentic everything seemed, from the acting to the set, to the language. In order to watch this drama you have to be ready for adult themes because there is a lot of talk concerning prostitution, rape and needless killing.

I really want to post some spoilers and tell you some things but I clearly am not allowed to so I will say this. Shun is the highlight of the series (she was committed to this role), Takeru eventually becomes a lot smarter, and the accomplice (who I will not name) is not as smart as we think. The government officials do care about these people they have placed in midori town and show up when it counts.

Watch Quartet, in a season full of love stories this one is fueled by hate and revenge and it soars!

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Hello my friends!
I watched Heartbeat love because i love Show (who doesnt?)but i have to say i was sorta disappointed with this mini movie.
The good news is that i liked the cast- rainie and show! i liked their chemistry before and its still good. the scenery was awesome and the film quality seemed to improve as they did more shots of the area, nature, surroundings, ect...
the bad news, clearly supporting tourism to Australia sponsored by Pepsi and the Four seasons (guessing on that one) it seemed like one really big commercial.sad face the story. it is not like personal taste at all. i think the story would have been better if they followed the 100 scene no koi format of being different people in different stories with a common theme. Most stories have a flow, you get a understanding of the characters, you fall in love with them ect... Instead Heartbeat love felt like it was given to the me (watcher) in a wham-bam-thank you ma'm fashion (thats a technical term). i felt like i was watching a one night stand and then was told "get it they are falling in love!" and i am still like "wait- when did they meet?". the webisode format really worked against them but i still gave the story a 6 and not a 5 because it could have been an awesome story that was massacred, thus i do not fault the writer.
overall great for show and rainie fans; it truly is their show. however major warning: some parts are confusing, and the ending is so sweet you will need a tall glass of water.

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Ku Woon Lun Paen Ruk or Chaotic love is one of the best Lakhorns I have seen. I am not the top authority on Lakhorns but this one seemed to have all of the features of your typical Lakhorn, but with a 2016 “the viewers aren’t that stupid” sensibility.
The Good:
Its hard to find good, clear, interesting, recent lakhorn fully English subbed so when I find one I get super excited. I like watching the different life styles in Thailand and this drama showed a full range of social classes. Not just rich or poor, but in between too. There were a lot of storylines going and I liked that the writers weren’t afraid to make fun of how ridiculous some of the storylines were. There were parts where characters said “that would only happen in a lakhorn” lol. The story lines were interesting but still “lakhorn crazy” and made sense to the character development. Unlike the other lakhorns that I have seen there were subtle twists and turns to the plot which made it more interesting than the typical lakorn, with the typical lakhorn story. The majority of actors did a pretty good job of acting and some of them were almost believable. There were so many women in this drama but the “evil girlfriend/wife/mother/step mother” thing wasn’t really present. The last thing I loved was the hair styling…tons of baby hair!
The bad:
I never understood why the women on set with the MOST annoying voice is ALWAYS the female lead. UUGGGHH (we are watching a lakhorn so its really par for the course). This one used a lot of violence (I was super surprised). I felt uncomfortable with the ease men literally slapped the taste out of women, the violence against them was really disheartening. The clothing and style was epic hit or miss, the gay characters were essentially “props” and there were a couple of repeated and reused story plots which annoyed me.

The verdict: In judging lakhorns you have to remember many things are different than in your typical K Dramas/J Doramas/C Dramas or even Taiwanese Dramas. Understanding that there will be a bunch of evil women characters, scheming men characters, and annoying lead females sometimes will help you get through the times you want to pull your hair out. I felt this was a really good lakhorn because I wanted to see who was going to win, who was going to end up together and what happens to the fun gay bff?! The ending didn’t disappoint and there was a variety of storylines going to keep me interested- needless to say I thoroughly enjoyed it and marathoned it! If you are into lakhorns, like lots of drama and suspense with your romance and don’t mind seeing guns- I would suggest this to you. If you are new to lakhorns, cant stand violence against women, only like seeing strong female leads sit this one out.

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Like most others, I have watched ALL the versions of Hana Kimi, read the manga, and I have seen all the different variations on the story that are out there. I really think it was too early to remake Hana Kimi in Japanese, the first one wasn't old, and because the first one was so awesome, naturally I thought it would be hard to beat. I was right. The re-made version is really nice if you don't compare it to the original, but anytime you remake the exact same story if the acting isn't better there has to be something to wow the audience and say "I am glad they remade this!". I didn't like that the guys in this version were just not as hot as the guys in the 1st version. I did like that they used more special effects to jazz it up. I think the supporting characters had more of a role in this version, it wasn't all about the main 3 characters, so that was really cool to see. I didn't like that they used the same 20 boys as extras, and some of the story line just didn't make sense.

All in all I didn't care for it because it was poor in comparison to the first and just mediocre on its own.

It seems that they really got a lead actress that looked like Maki Horikita, making it almost impossible to not compare the two. Unfortunately Horikita would win this one. Nakamura Aoi didn't do so bad as Sano but I really loved Shun Oguri in that role and to top it all off I HATED Boys Este. Some of the other characters were pretty good, but none really captivating.

The story line was almost ridiculous, in all other versions they made some reference to Ashiya's parents or siblings or even how she was allowed to pretend to be a boy half way across the world with no contact from anyone at home. This version also make the school closing so dramatic that you wondered if it was a health hazard, and why no one was doing anything. P.s. kids falling through the floor is a hazard.



p.s.s- the ending is a joke, its quick and doesnt explain much.

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This story is pretty good, I understand why they made it into a drama!
Pros: Acting, really good use of English, cast chemistry, great premise, and no evil character to hate!
Cons: Character development, the plot does lots of fast forwarding, and plenty of holes needed to be filled, some supporting actors are meh
I have been meaning to watch this movie because I was watching the drama and its 30 episodes long so I needed to find out where this ship was going. I like the idea of a woman getting to prioritize her career and love life in the order that is important to her and not sacrifice either.
This movie attempts to show the conflict between Du Lala’s rising career and her budding romance and they do a fairly decent job. However, everything and I mean everything is rushed; plot advancement, character development, and story line are sped up using flash forwards and flash backs :( .
I would recommend this movie for people who like strong female leads and storybook romances, but I think the drama explores how the two main leads come together more thoroughly. Lastly although the story is supposed to be about Du Lala I found myself drawn to the other characters and wanted more of them.
If you plan to watch this watch the first 25 minutes and the last 10 before you commit to these 2 hours.

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Because of when it was broadcast a lot of the episodes that I saw were in poor quality. Now that is not the fault of the drama- so I will be fair. This is a story about a girl who is insecure ( who isn't) but to help her failing company she pretends to be 17, a boy falls in love with her 17 yr old looks not realizing she's 2 different people. I liked the female lead, she seemed likeable and believable. She didn't automatically and magically have self confidence because they put her on some makeup and contacts, but it took a while. I didn't like that her company was trying to "pimp" her out making her into a model and initially didn't seem to care about her. I also really thought the parents were annoying. If you can find it it's a good watch, positive, and has a lesson to it.

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The ultimate Nerd revenge movie. A bad a** girl with a kind heart falls in love with a sheltered rich nerd, who eventually disappears when he believes shes told him she doesn\'\'t love him. Fast forward, hes changed his look and she\'\'s looking for him.
I liked this drama because its a sweet story about changing who you are to be someone else only to find out that all the fancy clothes and money wasn\'\'t needed. the girl in the story truly loved the nerd in all his weirdness.
This drama doesn\'\'t take itself seriously and the majority is comedy, but there are some \'\'crying in the rain scenes\'\'.
I liked rainie yang in this drama and she had great chemistry with Show. Show played this well because you wouldnt have guessed it was him a first.

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Marry Me or Not? Is a solid Taiwanese Romantic DRAMA. Emphasis on the drama. The main characters are solidly built with great chemistry, acting skill and the supporting cast is not shabby either. The highlights are Roy Chiu and the way the scenes are shot, the low points are stupid female characters and the mediocre ending; overall it is a good dramatic watch.

The Good: This drama is addictive with cliff hangs at the end of each episode. I must admit the story was well written. Avoiding almost all of the clichés you see in a typical drama, Marry me or not? Is a very refreshing take on various male-female relationships comparing the lead’s parents relationship, the side character relationships and the lead couple relationship. This story is meant to tell the watcher that love comes in various forms/ways and doesn’t require perfection. The lead characters were awesome, with some extremely believable chemistry and acting. ROY! Was as handsome as ever and we did get a little fan service, but its never enough- his smile melts my soul. Wardrobe was really nice, and scenery was great. The secondary characters provided much needed comedic relief on what otherwise could be titled a “Romantic Melodrama”.

The Bad: My only gripe with this drama was the blatant stupidity of the female characters. Although the main character often broke the 3rd wall (looking and talking to the audience) which is annoying, in the beginning she had great commentary and insight that left her once she fell in love. The second female lead was as equally stupid throughout the whole drama and was ridiculously selfish. Occasionally I became confused about the purpose of the second male lead; his part was minimized making his antagonist role a bit confusing until the very end. There was tons of crying and these people cried on cue… idk how – but there was constant tears in the beginning and in the end. Lastly the ending ties up all the loose ends ok, but it leaves a unsatisfying taste in your mouth.

Verdict: I liked this drama enough to marathon, wait and then marathon it again to find out what happened to these characters. While the portrayal of women in the drama is not a positive one, it was sometimes realistic and very entertaining. There are no real slow parts or slow episodes and the production was really good. If you like Roy, you want to see a heartbreak to love story, or you just want a grown up romance story… this one is for you.
P.s. over 16 please- this one gets a tad on the graphic adult situation side.

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It took me a long time to finish this one, so let me make the review quick.
the main plot was predictable. Yuriko marries a guy who isnt doing as well as she is and then she becomes Mary Poppins. She learns to cook like her mother in law, fixes everyones issues by using her heart and generally becomes a family lackey. The family members take turns in having their issues and by the end of each episode someone is feeling better about themselves.
The acting was pretty good. Matsushita Nao (main) pretty much carried the yawnable plot and the boring Inohara Yohihiko. of course Kaname Jun rocked it and with Nakamaru Yuichi, to me, had some of the best supporting performances.
I dont know if i would recommend this drama because it doesnt really make the grade of a heart warming family drama. its more of a clumsy story of cold family issues with shots of comedy. it is an easy watch though and nao does a great job.

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who wants eye candy? Yes please!! antique bakery is filled with sublime looking cakes and men, although as in real life the cutest is gay. As you know this is a manga turned anime turned live action turned movie, and still has kept the bishies, yaoi, and of course the cake! Not for those who disapprove of man on man attraction, or sexy situations; and not for those who are on a diet.
I didnt think i would like it but i did. Aside from the afore mentioned facts, and what you may have read in the summary, this movie is about a man moving on from his past. the uber hot and straight lead character Jin-Hyuk is looking to moving on from his past that has stopped him from living his life. while looking to conquer his fears he handles a regret aka Sun woo. The excruciatingly hot Sun-woo is gay and has some fears of his own to overcome. Together they fight, make cake, and form a friendship.
Star of this film is Kim Jae Wook, whom i am now convinced IS gay. He was soooo convincing and played it soooo well. Kudos!
The story moves really fast in the beginning looses some of the charm it had in the anime, but thats to be expected because its a movie. I also felt that the movie version was more grown up and adult like. For the adults there is a bit of suspense and mystery sprinkled at the end.
I didnt like the confusion of the main character, and his indecisiveness, but it was funny. Lastly, I marked it down for the vague musical they performed. literally there was about 15 minutes of them lip syncing to some ridiculous libretto with people popping out of place and singing along. otherwise watch and get a sweet tooth!

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A story about twin brothers separated at birth. Much like the prince and the pauper the story begins with the poor brother “accidentally” switching places with the rich brother. As with all Taiwanese dramas you can guess who will end up with whom and pretty much see the typical plot twists. So yes there are hospitals, pregnancies, secret births, stupid misunderstandings, evil mothers and the whole gamut. Please remember this is a Taiwanese rom-com drama so there is cheesiness everywhere; pratfalls, slapstick, stereotypical workers ect.
The best thing about this drama is Mike He! He is EVERYTHING!! I mean he is the prince, he is the pauper, he is evil and he is good. His work is incredible as two different characters and clearly uses different facial expressions for both. He played so well that I was secretly hoping for a He on He love scene (they can do that cant they??). During the last episode I fangirled out so much that got hoarse.
What was annoying was the emotional retardation of almost all of the characters. I understand that characters need to be developed but the writers put the starting place so low that there was no where to go but up. They put the female lead in one of the best fat suits I have seen in a drama, but her wrists and neck were still very thin. If you are fat don’t take what they say to heart because the call her all kinds of fat. The wardrobe person needs to be shot for this drama because everyone had ill fitting clothes and she/he had Mike He in the same clothes every episode (I was through with that blue jacket!).
All in all, this was a good watch- I fell off around episode 5 because the plot wasn’t moving fast enough for me; they didn’t bring the other Mike He into the fold till around ep10. The end was satisfying- all the ends were neat and there was so much Mike He.

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