This has been one of my favorite dramas I've watched so far this year (and I have been watching a surprising number of duds lately, so it was nice to actually watch something good), so I can't really offer any complaints. I'll go ahead and get through the quick and easy bits of my review first.

First and foremost, I think this drama's pacing and structure was very well-done. All of the different plotlines are compelling and heartfelt and moving, particularly the backstory with You Nian's mother and Kia Tuo struggle with accepting his new family. The romance is a slow-burn, and I don't typically go for those, but this is definitely slow-burn done right. There's a lot of focus on friendship between the leads as well as between all of the secondary and side characters, which I thoroughly enjoyed. And the secondary characters are all great, and I like all of the couples that end up together at the end. I would have loved to see Miao Miao's best friend, A Xia, have a romance (she is the funnest character and the only one of the main recurring secondary characters who Doesn't get a romance), but she does appear to be paired up with someone at the end (and he's a real cutie, to boot), so I guess that's somewhat nice. I think all of the elements of this drama come together in a very complimentary and easy to watch way.

But guys, I Adore Miao Miao. From start to finish, Miao Miao feels like the same person, the same personality and quirks and struggles, but who is consistently growing and maturing in confidence. She's a shy and awkward high school student, like many of us are or once were, with this adorable crush on an older classmate (who is very worthy of said crush). Then she's a University student, slowly working to shed that awkwardness and break out of her shell and come into her own. And then she's a young woman taking charge of her life and her future. You really have to respect her as you watch her work diligently towards her goals. For awhile, that's just being near You Nian, but over time, that goal begins to shift. She finds a purpose for herself, something to work toward that isn't just prolonging her crush but rather something that gives her deeper satisfaction. I mean, she does an entire years' worth of course-work within 6 months on top of her regular coursework in order to successfully switch her major. That's an impressive achievement that shows not only is she driven and determined, but she also has the patience and perseverance to pull something like that off. In a world where being a strong female lead now means being aggressive in a power suit or a superhero costume and pretending like you don't have emotions or ever need help from anyone and you may even be a pretty nasty person to the people around you, I honestly think I prefer Miao Miao. (This is not shade towards female superhero's or female lawyers or even women who are complicatedly mean, but I think the sooner we recognize that strength in a woman is something a lot deeper than the stereotypes we've created around it, the better.)

Some people are going to have problems with Miao Miao's makeover in this drama (because everybody hates makeovers now, apparently), but I'm in the minority on that one as I enjoy a good makeover. And the makeover here is one of the best. It's not a quick, one and done, kind of thing, but a gradual change from beginning of the drama to the end. I guess you really shouldn't even call it a makeover but a transformation. Her friends ultimately doomed attempt at fixing her hair, wearing sunscreen more often that has unintended benefits, refusing to get braces every time her mom tries to convince her only to turn around and do it after a comment by a classmate, going through an entire trial-and-error ordeal with contacts and glasses before eventually getting laser eye surgery. I was very impressed with how they handled her physical transformation as something gradual over time, and never treating it as something she Had to do to be pretty, but also not acting like personal appearance isn't important to young girls, and none of us ever do things to try and be prettier. For better or worse, these are things most of us go through, and as long as there are humans, there will be the desire to mold ourselves and change ourselves in an effort to fit in and be liked. I would much rather have a story like this then stories that pretend young girls have to just be confident no matter what. Talk about Not realistic.

(I think it's also worth noting here how accepting western culture is of plastic surgery and other procedures that permanently alter our bodies for the express purpose of achieving a specific look, often to fit in or deal with some sort of insecurity, yet we're deeply resistant to makeovers. I find this to be a strange disconnect. The same underlying issues that make us desire a magical makeover transformation are what make us desire to change our bodies in more permanent ways as well. Just some food for thought.)

A nice thing about this story is that there's never any real meanness or bullying directed at Miao Miao by the majority of characters. She has actual friends who are encouraging and loving and want the best for her. The two main guys both like her when she's 'awkward/gawky/unattractive,' and not for inexplicable reasons, but because they genuinely like her. Her parents don't talk her down or lament that she's not like their friends' kids. If anything, her younger sister is meaner to her than anyone else, and that just comes with the territory of siblings, lol. I don't think they necessarily had to go this route. They certainly could have created some bullies for Miao Miao to face, but I think the route they took ultimately aided in the messaging of the story. There's an overall focus with A Little Thing Called First Love on perception and how it can affect us. How we perceive ourselves, how we perceive others, how others perceive us. It's not necessarily explicitly discussed, but I think you can feel it as you watch.

This message is especially strong towards the end when Miao Miao and You Nian break up, and it's where I think the crux of the drama's message is. The circumstances of Miao Miao and You Nian's breakup are a bit silly, on their face, but there's something going on in the subtext that's important and that a lot of people have probably missed. Miao Miao has gone through this beautiful transformation throughout the story, not just physically but psychologically as well, and she's now at what would typically be considered the final stage in the transformation. She's now conventionally pretty by her culture's standards, dating a good looking and very talented young man, and she's on her way to pursuing a serious fashion career. She's also gained a lot of real confidence over the course of the story. At the beginning of the drama, she never would have approached You Nian herself, but now she's doing it all the time. By outward standards, she has emerged from the chrysalis and is a beautiful butterlfy. But the insecurity that always made her so unhappy with her appearance and too afraid of openly pursuing a friendship with You Nian is still there. It hasn't gone away just because she now has pale skin and straight teeth and pretty hair. It's why she followed You Nian around for so long but could never openly try and be his friend, it's why she avoided telling others about her and You Nian's relationship after they started dating, and it's the real reason she breaks up with him. She's never felt good enough to be around him, and she has doubts about their relationship. Maybe he doesn't really like her after all, and one day, he'll realize his mistake and break up with her. So she beats him to it, cuts him off at the pass, probably thinking she's saving herself from future disappointment. But it's really just that big, mean monster called insecurity holding the puppet strings. In that way, I think breaking up was good for her. Through breaking up, Miao Miao had to learn how to be alone, not constantly pining for someone but being okay with just being with herself. She'd never had to do that before, because she always had You Nian to pine after. I really don't advocate for final hour breakups/separations in dramas. I never see them work. But I fully understand and appreciate it here.

This part of the review is a side note, but everyone always wants to know about second lead feels, so I'll share my experience. I don't typically experience second lead feels. I go into every drama with the desire to support the story's OTP. Sometimes that means dropping a drama if I can't get behind the main couple. Other times, it means taking any possible feelings I might have for the second male lead and placing them in a locked box and throwing it into the ocean. Usually, it means wanting to throw any second leads trying to interfere in the main couple's relationship into said ocean, because meddling with true love should be a crime.

In what is part of a select group of extremely rare cases for me, I had some strong second lead feels in this drama for a portion of its run. Not in a 'I wish the second lead were the lead' kind of way, but definitely in a 'I am having a hard time choosing between these two characters' and also somewhat 'Can we have this version with this OTP and then the writers go back in time and make another version with the other OTP?' My second lead feels don't last the entire drama, and the writers ended up doing a pretty good job of killing those feels for me later on in the story, but it was a little touch and go there for awhile, lol. For me, both You Nian and Kai Tuo are really great romantic options for Miao Miao, each in their own way. You Nian is a thoughtful, gentle, conscientious, and considerate young man whereas Kai Tuo is more impetuous and brash but with a lot of underlying vulnerability and that perfect ability to tease his crush without it going way too far over the line into mean (they could just be my opinion though). He also outwardly shows (and develops) feelings for Miao Miao a lot sooner, while You Nian takes his sweet time recognizing his feelings and doing something about them, so you really you can't blame a girl for being swayed by that, can you? Either way though, University me definitely would have been swooning over both of them, lol.

In conclusion, I would say this drama did great justice to its source material while making the story its own. I love the original movie to pieces, and I can definitely see the inspiration peeking through, but I never felt like I was watching a reduction of something else or like I was watching a beloved story be butchered. This was a strongly written and portrayed remake that I will most definitely be re-watching in the future.

Leia Mais

I recently created a private list on MyDramalist for dramas and movies I want to watch with my future children (if God ever brings such a blessing to my life), and after finishing this charming little series, I definitely have to add it.

This is a short-length drama about friendship and young love and finding your courage. It's hopeful and eager and earnest, both in its characters and subject matters. You'll definitely like everyone, and the way the plotlines play out on screen is very thoughtful and realistic. These are characters I would want my future kids to see, as they are a great example of how to handle conflict and disappointment while still being very much young and working through their emotions. The story also touches on some deeper themes such as bullying and self-isolation without being too dark or depressing. There's obviously a place and time for more gritty stories around these subject matters, but I'm glad this was something more lighthearted and youthful with very hopeful messages. And as a nice little touch, the opening sequence changes periodically showcasing all of our high schoolers in various locations at school with little nods to events that have transpired in the story. It was almost its own bit of storytelling, and I looked forward to each change.

If you enjoy youthful stories with lots of heart and not too much drama, I recommend this one, for teens and adults. It will warm your heart.

Leia Mais

Initially, I didn't really think I liked this drama. Not for the reason most people would suspect (the over-drinking), but because of the main characters. They are...not very likable in the beginning. They came across to me as rather selfish and self-involved and self-destructive (not to mention just weird). But once I got through the first few episodes, the more I came to realize that my first impression was very wrong. I slowly came to understand them and empathize with them and like them until I found myself watching the next episode then the next episode then the next until I'd finish the entire series, and now I'm eagerly awaiting season 2.

Work Later is somewhat reminiscent of Be Melodramatic, which came out in 2019, and truthfully, I think Melodramatic paved the way for dramas like Work Later to exist. Melo was not a ratings hit when it aired and was a risky drama to make to begin with because of its tone and storytelling style, but I think it definitely made an impact on the Kdrama landscape. Both dramas share some common features. Atypical Kdrama female leads, addressing some heavier topics, don't rely so heavily on tropes (Work Later does use more tropes than Melo), and a story about 30-something/late 20's women that isn't strictly romance but a more rounded look at their whole lives. But Work Later is much more comedic in tone overall, even if coupled with some very emotional plot points. I also think the characters in Work Later are more likable than the leads in Melo. I would be more likely to be friends with the Work Later girls.

As Choi Siwon's character, I saw some comments on MDL describe him as creepy, and for the majority of the drama, I didn't get those comments at all. His character is a slob, most definitely (although that changes in the latter half of the series), but he's not exactly a creep. More so just...weird. His sense of humor is strange, and his mannerisms/approach to things equally so, but his behavior never made me uncomfortable. Of course, he makes a mistake in the final episode that would definitely make him look like a perv, but that's later explained in a small moment at the end so that you realize he wasn't intending to come across the way he did. He's just...an odd sort, as they would day.

There are going to be potential viewers who are concerned with the amount of drinking in this drama, which is a legitimate concern. Most of the heavy drinking happens in the first 4 eps, ep 1 and 2 especially, but it does tone down significantly for most of the rest of the drama. They do definitely drink way too often and often too much, but I read an article on Soompi where Eun Ji (who plays Ji Gu) says she saw comments of minors saying they wanted to start drinking after watching the show, and her thoughts in response to that were 'No, don't do that. That's not what the show is trying to tell you.' So I think it's fair to say that this show isn't necessarily attempting to glorify drinking culture, just trying to show the lives of these three women and Why they drink so much. But it's understandable if some won't be comfortable watching people drink themselves under a table, which does happen a few times.

What is unexpected about this drama, is its overall tone. I expected this to be mainly a comedy with maybe some heartfelt moments sprinkled in, but there's a pleasantly surprising amount of heavy drama. What's so surprising about this is the way the story incorporates these two genres. It has a unique way of shifting between comedy and drama, and by unique, I mean we'll be in a comedic scene and suddenly, we've jumped into a very dramatic moment (realistic dramatic, not melo). That sounds bad, but it's very well-done, and I never felt pulled out of the story or like the two genres didn't mesh with one another. It actually made me like the drama more.

If you're concerned by the drinking, I say get through the first 4 eps and if the drinking is still too much, then you should probably drop it. But if you like drama's that are both full-on comedic and full-on hit you in the feels, then this is a good drama to watch.

Leia Mais

I wasn't sure if I wanted to write a review for this movie. It's certainly not a bad film, and I enjoyed watching it, but it did not have the impact on me similar films have had. What ultimately made me decide to write this review were the lingering feelings of frustration/incompleteness due to some specific elements of the story.

First, I think most everything in the film was very well done. You can't really dislike the characters or the overarching storyline, and this is a movie that does the feelings of youth real justice. But this is also one of those movies where I think the adult versions don't have as strong of an impact as the teen versions, and it hurts the story in some ways. The adult versions are more compelling here then some other films of this theme that I've seen, but you do still ultimately feel a stronger pull towards their younger counterparts. I also have some frustration with the ending, when the movie takes what could have been a very realistic life situation and dramatizes it more than is necessary. The male lead's mother becomes very ill towards the end of his time in high school, and he has to quit his plans for University to go to work in order to care for her and pay her hospital bills. It's a very heartbreaking turn of events, and you feel incredibly sad for him. But instead of treating this with a more delicate and thoughtful and realistic approach, the writers chose to use it as a means to create some melodrama for the adult versions which I think was neither earned nor suitable for the story.

I do think this is a sweet film, and it does it's genre and theme well. I'm also pretty sure the ending will not be as frustrating for other viewers as it was for me, so if you enjoy this genre/theme of story, then this is a good film to check out. You may find you like the ending more than I did.

Leia Mais

I don't have anything super profound or revolutionary to say about this drama other than to reiterate what I said about season 1, so I'll copy and paste that here, because this season really deserves at least one review on this site.

The Wakako series as a whole has everything to commend itself; a really interesting female lead, lots of delicious looking food, an overall cozy feeling, an unspoken exploration of belonging and purpose (there's a lot going on in the subtext that I think most viewers probably don't notice.) Each episode hosts, so to speak, 2 real-life restaurants and some of their dishes and spirits, and the show serves as a lovely way of advertising for what look like some really great mom and pop restaurants. I imagine the viewers found themselves frequently compelled to seek these establishments out after each episode.

Really, there's just nothing outside of the slice of life element that could deter someone from watching this drama or it's future seasons, and I would caution anyone from letting that stop them from at least giving it a chance. There's no hyped up drama or high stakes or heartbreak, just lots and lots of charm.

Leia Mais

In general, I'm not good with slice of life dramas. It's not the genre that's the problem but rather me and my attention span. Of course, I haven't watched very many dramas in this genre, and so far, I've only had good luck with them, but I do tend to gravitate towards stories that have a little more going on to keep me interested. So when I started Wakako, it took me some time to really get into it. It truthfully wasn't until starting season 2 that things really began to click for me, and now I'm sad that there doesn't appear to be anywhere to watch the future seasons.

Of course, the Wakako series as a whole has everything to commend itself. A really interesting female lead, lots of delicious looking food, an overall cozy feeling, an unspoken exploration of belonging and purpose. (There's a lot going on in the subtext that I think most viewers probably don't notice.) Each episode hosts, so to speak, 2 real-life restaurants and some of their dishes and spirits, and the show serves as a lovely way of advertising for what look like some really great mom and pop restaurants. I imagine the viewers found themselves frequently compelled to seek these establishments out after each episode.

Really, there's just nothing outside of the slice of life element that could deter someone from watching this drama or it's future seasons, and I would caution anyone from letting that stop them from at least giving it a chance. There's no hyped up drama or high stakes or heartbreak, just lots and lots of charm.

Leia Mais

I would place this drama in the meh category. It's a pretty typical female ensemble drama with romance, career trajectories, pleasant friend group dynamics, and it has it's share of charming and moving moments, but there are also far better female ensemble dramas out there to watch, so if you're looking for one that is realllly good, this one probably isn't it.

The number one thing I didn't like about this drama is the main female lead. There wasn't anything wrong with her. There just wasn't very much To her. First and foremost, the writers did a poor job of creating real motivation for her sudden desire to become a baker. There's a paltry attempt to tie it back to her dreams as a child or something (at least I think that's what they were trying to do), but they barely make any effort to do even that. And outside of baking, she feels bland and personality-less. You learn almost nothing about her other than she really wants to bake all of a sudden. I was also not impressed with the actress, as she left the character feeling like she had no depth. A weak character on paper can be elevated by a good actor or actress. Sadly, this actress did not succeed in this respect.

Inversely, my favorite female lead by the end ended up being Emi-Chan, the housewife. Most modern viewers would probably find her story bland or passé or maybe even mildly offensive because she decides to follow her husbands dream, but in a time where everything seems to be about women, what they want, what they like, what they need, I found it refreshing to see a drama where a female lead sees her partners hopes and dreams and desires and takes them seriously. And not only does Emi-Chan take them seriously, but she chooses to support them. She recognizes that her husband has needs, and they are just as valid as her own, and she just wants him to be happy. It was also a surprisingly funny twist when we discover in the first half of the drama that her husband has Not been cheating on her like she suspects but is actually...in an aerobics class and has just become a little obsessed with it, lol. I don't know why such a seemingly silly story worked for me, but it really did.

I would say I like Kaoru and her story trajectory second best out of the four. I don't agree with some of the presuppositions it presents about about love and marriage, but her story was thought-provoking, nonetheless. I was also glad it didn't turn into a 'Women have to be at the top' sort of storyline. She's good at her job, and she enjoys what she does, but it isn't an obsession with proving herself to everyone. She does her job because it gives her satisfaction, and that's honestly enough.

For Michiru, the only reason I don't dislike her story as much as Kaede's is because I did actually enjoy her parts of the drama in the first half. My engagement with her character began to fizzle out, however, in the second, to the point that her boyfriends proposal didn't inspire much emotion in me. (Which is sad, because I'm a sucker for Noona romance.) Of course, I think others might like her story more than I did.

Lastly, I think the biggest disappointment of this drama is how they created for themselves a neat opportunity, by bringing in younger versions of the leads, to weave the two timelines together and give the audience a deeper understanding of the main characters. The younger versions are immensely charming and lovable, but they are also barely utilized, and it's a terrible waste.

So all in all, I found this drama to be rather boring. But that's fine, because there are too many dramas out there to let one not so great one bother me. On the next!

Leia Mais

Obviously, comparing one film or television show to another can only go so far in terms of giving the viewer an accurate understanding/expectation of what they are about to watch, but I think it is a fair assessment to say that this little film is very reminiscent of such gems as Our Times and Crazy Little Thing Called Love (the movie, not the drama). They are not exactly the same, of course, as they each utilize different prominent tropes, and just because you like one, that does not mean you will like the other two. But for me, all three evoke similar feelings and explore similar themes, thus my comparison. There's ample parts nostalgia for the best parts of childhood (on behalf of the adult viewers like me, obviously), the pangs of a crush (requited/unrequited), the awkwardness of being young, the heartbreak and disappointment of wanting something and not getting it, how Intense everything feels when you're still growing up. For me, these three movies just get all of these things right, and that's pretty important for a youth film to work.

As far as Love the Way You Are is specifically concerned, I love most everything. I love the main characters, I love the storyline, I think the acting is pretty fantastic, I will never get tired of revisiting the themes of these sorts of films, and even the expectedly silly and nonsensical bits were immense amounts of fun. I did find the ending to be a bit over-drawn, which is not necessarily a surprise to me. I always enjoy getting to see the male leads point of view after seeing everything through the female lead's eyes for so long. Even though his feelings are pretty obvious, it was cute to watch them unfold. But it was such a long sequence of him going through every single meaningful moment of the film that I couldn't help but feel that maybe it didn't need to take quite that long. Cest-la-vie, I guess.

For me, this was a charming little movie that I would gladly watch again.

Leia Mais

I won't bury the lead. This is a cute, binge-able, perfect for a weekend in when you're looking for that rom-com (with a dash of family heart and soul) drama fix. I highly recommend.

On to the full review.

The female lead starts off somewhat silly in episode one, but she quickly grows and improves as the story goes along. Whenever she finds herself faced with a challenge, she puts her all into facing and overcoming it. The male lead makes the perfect, prickly but with hidden depth, love-interest who starts off antagonistic but very quickly begins to develop feelings for the female lead and a genuine respect for her talent. And of course, the younger and older brother are each great characters in their own right and watching the four of them around the house and running the restaurant is heart-warming.

I'm not actually bothered by the female lead going away to New York to study in the finale as I tink it makes sense for her character arc. But I am disgruntled by the male lead pretending he doesn't like her anymore and he wants to replace her at the restaurant just so he can ensure she will go. There was no reason for him to not just sit down and have a conversation with her about the opportunity. She's not gonna be gone forever, and as ends up happening anyway, they can do long-distance while she's gone. He doesn't give her the opportunity to truly decide for herself, which isn't fair. That being said, his decision doesn't significantly harm the overall drama for me, so I can overlook it.

The only aspect of this series that I think is completely unnecessary is the plotline involving the 'gangster' (I assume that's what he was meant to be) trying to bully the three brothers into selling the restaurant. It is a worthless plotline that ultimately goes nowhere and serves no purpose in the story. It's easy to ignore, but that doesn't make it any less annoying.

The thing that really struck me though, while watching this drama, was how consistent the storytelling was. As I thought about it, I realized that that's what I love about Japanese dramas (at least the ones I've watched so far); their consistency. The events of the story always feel planned out rather than random, and even if I don't like the trajectory of the drama or the behavior of the characters, I never find myself enraged by a writing choice that came out of left field. (Of course, now that I've said this, I'll probably start stumbling upon Jdrama after Jdrama where this is not the case, lol.) For years, Kdrama was my drama land of choice, and I can unequivocally say that consistency is not necessarily common in that realm of the drama world. I cannot count the number of times I've been watching a drama and found myself wanting to flip tables, because the writer decided to throw a wrench into the story for the sole purpose of drama and conflict. It's been refreshing, now that I've fully stepped into the Jdrama world, to experience such consistent...consistency, lol.

So, yes. This was a thoroughly enjoyable watch. It made me laugh, it made me shed a few tears, it made me binge-watch it in one weekend, and that...is a pretty good drama by my standards.

Leia Mais

The lead actors performances are what really elevate this drama and make it better than what it really is. The way they capture the sorrow, the pain, the fire, the determination of their characters is superb. I've never seen Moon Geun Young in any other dramas, just a couple of rom-coms from her younger days (both of which are utterly delightful), so I have no experience seeing her in this sort of role, but when you watch her dig through a practical mountain of garbage while sobbing her eyes out because she's so desperate to find her sister, that can do nothing else but hit you in the gut. As for Kim Seon Ho, the only other project I've seen him in is Strongest Deliveryman (where he almost steals the entire show, his performance is so good), and he seems to have a particular talent for taking his characters and making them feel Real.

And that's really why I finished this drama. There were a lot of things I enjoyed about the story, but nothing that would have kept me watching if the leads hadn't been so well-portrayed. The mystery, as invested in it as I was at the beginning, really struggles in the middle, and while the conclusion gets some things right, it also gets some things wrong. The case of the day format sometimes works and sometimes doesn't (although that's something I think could have been overlooked if the over-arching mystery had been a little better). And the biggest flaw/frustration of the drama for me was Ma Ri. She's unnecessarily aggressive toward the female lead and makes some Really dumb decisions in relation to the central mystery because of it.

This is a drama that does some things well and some things not so well. I would suggest, if you're looking for a drama where the crime/mystery element is really compelling and well-paced and well-written, that you maybe look elsewhere. But if you like dramas with compellingly portrayed leads, then this is definitely a good drama to watch.

Leia Mais

Obviously, the best part of this movie is seeing just what the country looked like during this time. The film is beautifully shot, and it definitely gives you a good picture of not only how devastating the 2011 flood must have been, but also what daily life must have looked like. Wading through calf/knee high water, traveling everywhere by boat, evacuation orders; it's a light-hearted film, so it doesn't spend a lot of time on the more upsetting aspects of such an event, but it certainly gives you a glimpse.

Of course, that's kind of the only real reason to watch it, outside of you just really enjoy highly cliché rom-com's of this nature. I'm not saying I didn't enjoy this movie at all, but I certainly enjoyed the first half a lot more than the second. The second half, as is often the case in these films, is the most heavily cliché portion of the story, and I stopped caring pretty quickly into it. There's some pointless melodrama, the childhood connection serves no purpose (although the child actors are adorable as heck), and the pacing is too fast. Basically, this movie is like almost every other Asian rom-com of it's time but with a real natural disaster going on in the background.

If you like cliché rom-coms or are interested in seeing what Thailand looked like during the 2011 flood or both of these things appeal to you equally, then check the movie it. Otherwise, probably not worth your time.

Leia Mais

So I don't actually think this drama is completely perfect even though I've given it a ten across the board, but the way this drama made me love it makes it Feel like a ten to me, so a ten it's getting. I might come back to this review later and change the scoring, but for now, I'm on a finished-drama-high, and who am I to say no to the impulses you get when that happens?

So yeah, there's one main flaw to this story, and if you've done any looking at the comments on MyDramaList, you probably already know what it is.

The drama doesn't provide any compelling reasons, outside of destiny and saving the world, for the leads to end up together.

Granted, I think it does a pretty good job of showing their compatibility when they interact with each other, but still. You do expect a romance to do a little bit of work convincing it's audience that these two are right for each other. Similar hobbies, compatible personalities, the same moral code, something that shows that there's more to their relationship than just 'Fate demands it.' Of course, I'm sure there are many drama lovers out there who find destiny and saving the world compelling enough reasons on their own, and I don't fault them for that. While I'm not really a fan of the 'do it to save the world' angle (that's a very different kind of story, in my eyes), I don't dislike the use of destiny in romance stories. And despite it being the only real foundation for their relationship throughout most of the drama, the leads did always feel Right for each other to me. I don't know if it was the acting chemistry between the actors or the subtext of their interactions with each other or how they always somehow just Fit or what, but I always wanted them to end up together. And by the end, I honestly wasn't all that bothered anymore by their relationship being built almost solely on destiny, which I guess means the writers did a good job of selling me their story.

At the core, this is a drama about two kind people who've experienced some heavy romantic disappointments in life being guided (or pushed, lol) towards each other and ultimately finding themselves the better for it. And I don't know about you, but that's a good story to me.

(On a side note, I have to say that the most emotional part of the drama was when our resident 'God's' job was done and he went about making his goodbyes. Uggggghhhhhh, that was a gut punch. I definitely got a little misty-eyed over it.)

Leia Mais

A reverse-harem story a la 7 First Kisses but for the teen set where the female lead both ends up with all of the male leads and simultaneously ends up with none of them.

While I can see the appeal of these sorts of stories where you get to enjoy multiple romances and pick your favorite (without the story involving an Actual harem, because no-thanks), after both Click Your Heart and 7 First Kisses, I can firmly say that they are probably not for me (although I probably won't stop occasionally watching them, lol). I like having one male lead, not a gajillion. I can appreciate a well-written second male lead, but when there are multiple male leads all with equally compelling reasons for deserving to be with the female lead, that just leaves me sad for the 'losers' and frustrated with the overall viewing experience. I like investing in the main couple, but it's hard to do that when there isn't a main couple.

To be fair, Click Your Heart isn't too terribly plotted considering it's genre(s) and episode runtime. All of the male leads are likable and have good chemistry with the female lead and a compelling reason for her to choose them. The female leads main flaw, being seemingly cursed to ruin other people's lives, isn't really prominent enough, but it is used fairly effectively. And while the story can be cringey at times, it still has enjoyable moments that mostly make up for the cringe.

If you're looking for something quick and easy, you like reverse harem stories (that don't involve actual harems), and you don't mind cringey/cheesy teen drama/romance, you'll probably like this. It's cute enough.

Leia Mais

Jarring, colorful, irreverent, heartbreaking, this is a weird, but affecting, movie.

My only complaint is the sexualized content. I don't believe there is ever a reason for sexual content in any story, but especially not in a story about a character who is forced by her life circumstances into prostitution and other demoralizing and compromising situations that she did not wish to be in. It cheapens the message.

Criticisms over the sexual content aside, damn does this movie break your heart into a million little pieces. The forceful combo of weird and brutal and bright reminds me of some other quirky Japanese films I've enjoyed such as Wool 100% and Rinko's Restaurant and I'm a Cyborg but That's Okay, and that is definitely not going to make me complain.

More importantly, however, ever since finishing this movie, I've really wanted to watch it again, so they clearly did something right when it came to the story. The biggest take away from the film for me was this line at the end 'A life isn't valued by what one receives, but by what one gives.'

I would say Memories of Matsuko conveys that message fairly well.

Leia Mais

I didn't realize until sitting down to watch that this was a sequel of sorts to 7 First Kisses (okay, maybe not a sequel really, but sort of), which I also watched, although I found that one more difficult to push through. As much as I loved the premise of Kisses (I mean, I play Otome games), I wasn't finding myself all that eager to press play on each consecutive episode. Queen Makers, however, was significantly easier for me to watch and enjoy, and I think I probably owe all it all to the female lead.

I know I'm in the minority when I say this, but I love shy, insecure, awkward female leads. I can appreciate a 'strong' female character (although I think there needs to be a conversation on what exactly that means, because I think people don't understand what they ask for when they ask for strong female leads), but I don't relate to them on just about any level. Insecure female leads are infinitely more relatable to me and probably always will be, because as much as I might wish I were some sort of strong and brave and resilient person, I'm not, and these characters make me feel like I'm not alone in being so useless. So yes, I loved the female lead here. Of course, it didn't hurt that the actress playing her did a superb job. She may not have Looked the part of an awkward, 'unattractive' girl, but she definitely emanated the emotions of one through her portrayal, and that goes a long way.

Now does this web series have a strong storyline? No. It's fluffy, it's cheesy, it's way too rushed and has a glaring plot hole or two. But I was still able to enjoy it for what it was.

So if you can approach a web-series like this with the attitude of 'I'm not looking for a perfectly plotted story. I just want a little fluff' then you will enjoy this just fine.

Leia Mais