Have you ever wondered what if you were Ash Ketchum?

Then this is the perfect drama to watch! The ever whimsical Madoka takes off from her quiet town in...somewhere in Japan to hopefully find the job of her dreams in Tokyo. Every episode is like playing your own game of Pokemon, in-game battles creatively woven into actual, real-life problems.

Do you need to play Pokemon to understand this drama? Not at all! But it sure would be better if you know the context since every episode is taken from stuff you usually encounter when playing Pokemon! (yes there are boss battles as well)

It is a fun time-waster, and is perfect for an idle watch. The episodes are either bland (but like, in a good way?) or over-the-top. The acting isn't bad, but it isn't good either, but the entire feel of this drama is warm and homey. The colors potrayed helped a lot too. It's like....returning back to your hometown kinda feel? Or if you play games, it's like if you play a classic Pokemon Red in a Nintendo Switch. It feels new, but old at the same time. I guess the word would be nostalgia.
The real deal, however was the music...I love how the Pokemon OST was incorporated and aside from that, how the drama is edited to feel like a Pokemon game.

I had fun watching this! There are several setbacks (obviously) but for some reason I just kept on coming back to this drama. Either because of the nostalgic vibes I get - growing up playing Pokemon.

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"I'll remember it for you forever, so don't worry about it."

I came in blind, didn't watch the trailer nor did I even read the synopsis. I saw Hirose Suzu on the poster and said hey...why not give it a go? I've always liked her in melodramas and it seems like this would be one as well.
And genuinely? I was surprised.

First of all, I have to talk about the beautiful cinematography. It's shot with a very homey feeling, but at the same time you can feel the gaps of loneliness packed in a sharehouse full of people.

The plot might not be for everyone, and I've seen some say that it's a bit too bland. But I guess that's what the movie is trying to tell, that this bland setting might have bits of someone's real life in it, and sadly mine was reflected in this too. However I love how they have scenes where they have playful banter, the comedic insert balanced out how gloomy this film felt,

Another thing that I love was how much of an opposite Sakaki-san and Nao were, with one knowing for a long time and the other figuring it out recently. The contrast between Sakaki-san already going through it as an adult and wanting to just forget everything vs teenager Nao's pure naivety and wanting to be angry and confront everyone yet he couldn't find himself to act upon it just because he was a "kid" and ultimately decided to do (in my eyes, very adorable) questionable things to ven out was nice to see. Nao would always just nod at everything Sakaki-san said so when he shouted and cried I started crying too.

Hirose Suzu did an excellent job despite acting as an OL for the first time, and I was surprised (and love to see) that she's working with a much younger actor. To me, she's always been the patron of fresh, pure and naive child (as per her earlier works) but Ohnishi Riku's naive and clueless performance made her more "jaded" in my eyes.

This movie taught me that it's okay to not forget, and it's okay to not forgive and be angry. But it's also okay if you choose to let go, as long as you're happy. However the pain, the want, at the end of the day we all deserve to be happy.

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