6
52
3
virgievirgie
Lost in Dramaland
Too Short but Enjoyable - Cover Poster doesn't match the drama
Completed - 8/18/2022
When I saw the cover poster of this drama and read the synopsis, I was expecting a mature and sexy show with a focus on our female lead's romance and career change. After watching this, I feel like I got cheated. This is a simple, fun and light watch which focuses not only on our female lead's career but actually her personal growth. I am not saying this is a bad drama, but it's not what I expected.
Umi is an overworked employee at a TV talk show. We follow her journey of switching careers, finding love and especially finding herself. Although romance is a part of the drama, it is not the main focus. This is a story about Umi. I enjoy getting to know Umi and following her journey. I appreciate that she's not the typical, quiet, naive female lead. In fact, she is a ball of energy and not afraid to go all out to get the work done. It is quite refreshing in a way. She's easy to root for, though she could be quite loud especially when she was screaming/screeching when snowboarding. Actually, there are many loud women in this drama, though none of them is annoying. Everyone is sweet and supportive of each other. It's quite nice to see that.
I like the three main male characters in this drama. This is my first time watching Honda Kyoya. He is quite cute, though he does look young. His acting is OK. It's nice to see Shirashu Jin as President Keisuke. I love him in "I Don't Love You Yet". It's also great to see a different side of Izuka Kenta as the weird and funny Satoru. He's no longer the innocent college student in the "Pornographer" or the cool hotshot in "Rinko Wants to Try". I quite enjoy the friendship between Jin and Kenta, and isn't it interesting that they both were in a BL drama before?
One thing I really like about this drama is the use of silence. There are many significant moments in the drama where there's no background music. The drama lets the actors and their dialogs take center stage, and does not use music to manipulate viewers' emotions. Viewers can really feel the emotions happening on the screen.
My main criticism would be the length and pacing of the drama. I wish the drama is longer. "Animals" is trying to cover our female lead's career change, romance and personal growth, all in less than 8 hours. I would have loved to see her slowly transitioning to her new job. She seems to fit in too easily and transition from a novice on makeup to someone who seems to be an expert within an episode or two. I want to see the romance develop more and have more scenes between Umi and Kazao. We see their cute bickering (which I like), but I want some more romantic scenes to see how they realize their feelings for each other. The romance lover in me is not quite satisfied.
I also realize I know nothing about Japanese fashion. I find most of the outfits that FL and her sister tried on for the interview and date are really ugly. LOL. Of course, this is just me. I am someone who wears just a T-shirt and jeans.?
When I saw the cover poster of this drama and read the synopsis, I was expecting a mature and sexy show with a focus on our female lead's romance and career change. After watching this, I feel like I got cheated. This is a simple, fun and light watch which focuses not only on our female lead's career but actually her personal growth. I am not saying this is a bad drama, but it's not what I expected.
Umi is an overworked employee at a TV talk show. We follow her journey of switching careers, finding love and especially finding herself. Although romance is a part of the drama, it is not the main focus. This is a story about Umi. I enjoy getting to know Umi and following her journey. I appreciate that she's not the typical, quiet, naive female lead. In fact, she is a ball of energy and not afraid to go all out to get the work done. It is quite refreshing in a way. She's easy to root for, though she could be quite loud especially when she was screaming/screeching when snowboarding. Actually, there are many loud women in this drama, though none of them is annoying. Everyone is sweet and supportive of each other. It's quite nice to see that.
I like the three main male characters in this drama. This is my first time watching Honda Kyoya. He is quite cute, though he does look young. His acting is OK. It's nice to see Shirashu Jin as President Keisuke. I love him in "I Don't Love You Yet". It's also great to see a different side of Izuka Kenta as the weird and funny Satoru. He's no longer the innocent college student in the "Pornographer" or the cool hotshot in "Rinko Wants to Try". I quite enjoy the friendship between Jin and Kenta, and isn't it interesting that they both were in a BL drama before?
One thing I really like about this drama is the use of silence. There are many significant moments in the drama where there's no background music. The drama lets the actors and their dialogs take center stage, and does not use music to manipulate viewers' emotions. Viewers can really feel the emotions happening on the screen.
My main criticism would be the length and pacing of the drama. I wish the drama is longer. "Animals" is trying to cover our female lead's career change, romance and personal growth, all in less than 8 hours. I would have loved to see her slowly transitioning to her new job. She seems to fit in too easily and transition from a novice on makeup to someone who seems to be an expert within an episode or two. I want to see the romance develop more and have more scenes between Umi and Kazao. We see their cute bickering (which I like), but I want some more romantic scenes to see how they realize their feelings for each other. The romance lover in me is not quite satisfied.
I also realize I know nothing about Japanese fashion. I find most of the outfits that FL and her sister tried on for the interview and date are really ugly. LOL. Of course, this is just me. I am someone who wears just a T-shirt and jeans.?
Was this review helpful to you?
