babysmurf
United States
For those who’ve said goodbye to Kotoko and Irie several times, we know it doesn’t get easy. Maybe because they truly are the perfect couple. Every flaw Kotoko has is a strength Irie has and every flaw Irie has is a strength Kotoko has, but they graciously accept it and consider each other the half they need to be complete.
Theirs is a relationship of encouragement. The INK story is about never giving up. Never give up on your dreams, whether it be what you want to do, who you want to do it with, or who you want to be. The seemingly impossible is possible. (Sometimes it just takes an earthquake, meteorite, or fire to get fate going.)
I actually think I might’ve liked season two of Mischievous Kiss more than season one. It’s a pleasant mixture of comedy and fluff. From Kotoko’s iconic yells and zone out moments to Irie watching over Kotoko fondly as if she’s the sun itself, what could anyone possible dislike about this show?
Now newly wedded, our favorite couple try their best to finish internships and become legitimate medical professionals. However, being married to the love your life doesn’t mean the rest of your life is magically uncomplicated. There are plenty of insecurities and doubts that sprout up between our leads, but it's not as dramatic as other dramas. If you're looking for realistic but quickly solved troubles this is it. It's interesting enough that it's not boring, but it's light enough that you don't get too stressed.
We see how much better these two are when they have each other. Our Kotoko becomes a (semi-)capable nurse when just a couple years ago she was in the lowest grade class. And our Irie shows emotions never seen before. Who could imagine the practically permanent “stone face” Irie Naoki laughing? You’d have to see it to believe it.
Furukawa Yuki and Miki Honoka play their roles as if they were made for them. Yuki flawlessly transitions between attitudes of indifference, annoyance, and warmth like no other actor I’ve watched and I couldn’t get over how amazing Honoka played Kotoko in this season. She grew a lot as an actress. I’d watch scenes and it’d feel like I was watching an actual anime because she gives so much life to Kotoko that it’s unreal.
The soundtrack is pretty decent. As of now, I still prefer season one's ost but maybe that's because it already makes me a little nostalgic. You can tell care went into the soundtrack unlike some dramas that just throw any instrumental mess into the background and recycle the main themes every ten minutes. INK’s music has always enhanced the characters' actions and the overall moods.
So the million dollar question. Is this show re-watchable? As a certified Itazura Na Kiss stan that's watched almost four of the five show adaptions completely, I'd say yeah. It's kinda totally re-watchable.
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Most of the complaints it gets is about Sato's Kotoko being too loud, over the top, and "annoying", but that's what Kotoko is all about. Whether it be this adaption or another, you're probably not gonna like this story if you don't like the Kotoko character because Kotoko's the complete point of Itazura Na Kiss! She's famous for being a unique protagonist and no way would this manga/drama be so well known and beloved if she was as terrible as people like to believe. I just don't understand why anyone wouldn't love her.
Since this drama was filmed in the mid-90s, it's very charming and kinda simple, straight to the point. It's not ridiculously flashy and drawn out, with a big budget, which makes it one of my favorite comfort dramas. Compared to the other adaptions, the family/business issues are extremely cut down which I like because I always find family drama plots tiresome.
Kassy's Naoki is sooo subtle, you have to watch his facial expressions closely or you'll miss some of the best parts of the drama and the moments where he's obviously falling for Kotoko.
I really love the soundtrack. The romantic instrumentals in 90s fashion, contrast perfectly with the amazingly upbeat "Steady" by SPEED.
Overall, the humor LARGELY depends on exaggerating characters and circumstances. If you're looking for something realistic, simply don't watch it! If you can't handle shouting, quick scene cuts, camera zooms, or basic classic comedy, don't watch it. It's not suppose to be taken too seriously.
The only downside is it never got a season 2. The character development was so great, but we don't get to see that development pursued because of the quick ending.
Regardless if people like this version or not, it will always be special for being the first live adaption of Itazura Na Kiss and the only live adaption that INK's creator Kaoru Tada got to see before she died. I don't know if she advised during the production, but I'm sure if she hadn't liked how Kotoko was portrayed, she would've said something.
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It's almost hard to explain why I love this movie. It feels like I'm reading a book, rather than watching something.
Facial expressions, body language, and silent attitudes are the essence of this film. It's all about analyzing what you see and how scenery and colors and the crunch of snow determines the mood. All the dialog you need to hear will be shown by the characters' eyes.
As a debut indie film, it's bare, personal, and reliant on being relatable to the audience with the assumption we all know how it feels to like someone, but not have the courage to tell them.
The first time I finished watching this, I just sat still for like ten minutes in the dark, unable to even think of what to do. It felt so silly to close my computer tab and continue on with life. All I could hear was the credit song, "Walk On The Moon" by Asobi Seksu (now a favorite song of mine) replaying in my head, as I wondered what would happen to Aimie and Tran. I actually had to readjust myself back into my own reality because I was so stuck in the story. That's how much of an effect it had on me.
If you like something that feels real or like it could've been taken from your memories, watch this.
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First off, I attempted to watch this months ago but couldn't get past episode one because it involved things, including a cat, that was never in the original Itazura Na Kiss nor other adaptions. It can be uncomfortable seeing scenes, in an adaption, you've never seen before and almost like okay, what the heck am I watching? Is this even the right show?
But I decided to give this a second chance and... well... You could look at it through two different lenses. This could be considered a more "tamed" version of Itazura Na Kiss, one that people that can't handle other versions would probably like because it's not as "outrageous", or you could look at it as being a "watered-down" version where basically all the characters' personalities are the bare minimum of what they should be. I'm more on the latter's side of perspective.
It's not that this drama ruined the story. In fact, once you get past so many new scenes and takes on relationships you can appreciate the breath of life it gave to a story that continues to be adapted. But there's a fine line between making something feel new and taking away ESSENTIAL roles and characteristics that make a story great to begin with.
For example, this adaption seems to focus more on Tenten's side of the story. We see a lot through his eyes and are given reasons for his "motives". But at the same time, I honestly believe the character of Kotoko (or Taliw) really suffered in this telling and ironically, that's why I'd refer to this as the version that other people might like because all of her comedic moments, her embarrassment, her yelling, her annoyance, her plain fierceness in the face of love is taken away and without any of that, she's not Kotoko. And Naoki is suppose to be a cold butthead. So when people praise this adaption like "yes, Kotoko isn't as stupid and Naoki isn't as mean" it's like, no. They're suppose to be emphasized, that's the point of the story. If you don't like them when they're that way then you just don't like them and don't watch Itazura Na Kiss. Simple as that.
Now Kotoko is one of my favorite fictional characters of all time so seeing her being portrayed this way (which I won't fault the actress for, but rather the writers) has been a hard thing to get over because it takes a lot away from why Naoki falls for her to begin with.
One of Kotoko's most important roles, if not her most important, is the fact that she makes Naoki realize the potential of his potential. He already knows he's smart but he doesn't know what to do with that intelligence. She tells him that he needs to share his gifts to make the world a better place, that it's not just about being smart but about intentions and what your heart wants.
In Kiss Me, this lesson isn't taught by Taliw but by moments from teachers, medical professionals, and Tenten's parents. Through bits of their conversations, we see Tenten slowly enlightened and figuring out what he wants to do for a career and I don't understand why these people were chosen when that's always been Kotoko's place and adds a huge layer to why her and Naoki balance each other out.
In general, all of the characters' personalities were flattened but I'm just particularly upset about it with Taliw and Tenten because they're the point of the story, but also Tenten's mom who is usually such a gem and riot was not as ship-y in this version and I always look forward to seeing her because she's so hilarious and a reflection of exactly how viewers, like me, act when it comes to shipping Kotoko and Naoki.
I think the hardest thing about reviewing this version is that there are many ways you can review an adaption. I could review this as how good it was as an adaption, I could compare it to other adaptions, or I could review it as a standalone piece without bias from watching previous versions. You have to separate what you think of this version from feelings you already have from the story and once you've watched a lot of versions of a story, you'll find yourself kinda morphing all those versions into one big gunk of pleasant feelings and filling in the empty bits of maybe this version with things that happened in, say, Mischievous Kiss so it feels like the portrayal is better than it actually is because you're watching Kiss Me but thinking of ISWAK or MKLIT. If that makes sense.
I've already done my comparisons so I'll just have to say as a standalone, I didn't enjoy this as much as I wanted to which is why the rating seems harsh but that's how I honestly felt. I personally wouldn't rewatch this.
The acting was standard for a romcom drama, the music so-so (I think I'm just not used to Thai singing, I did like a lot of the lyrics though). Aomike's track is my favorite. It gives me delicious butterflies-in-my-stomach feelings.
But before I close this review, I want to bring it back to Kotoko whom I'm severely defensive of because she seems to be disliked by even people that claim to love the drama. Kotoko is not a weak person. A lot of people say she is because they equate weakness with crying or not being smart or being any kind of a woman outside of the variety that wears leather suits or shoots guns.
This is a girl that loves a boy for so many, many, years and does not give up. Loving someone isn't easy, it's especially not easy when you don't know how they feel in return. But that is the definition of hope and hope is the opposite of weakness. Being hopeful is being strong. Being knocked down and getting up and refusing to give up is being strong. And that's all Kotoko has ever done.
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I don't think it's about any characters being good or bad, but unfortunate circumstances that can come with living. It's really about trauma. They all have their motives for gaining happiness and most of it depends on what they lost as children so it's a really understandable pain.
I don't even think of Eight as being greedy. It's clear he wanted money to fix his family, not just for selfish careless reasons otherwise he would've been satisfied as a host. Instead he intentionally saved his money.
While looking for content by other people that've watched this, it felt like it might've not been that known during airing? Maybe because it was available on Hulu? I hope it can become a cult classic because it was really well written, not just the characters' morals but the plot itself was a lot of work to keep track of as a scriptwriter. I hope the writer, Yoshihiro Izumi, is acknowledged for this work.
The romance itself is also not typical. While a lot of people might watch for the kisses, just like Eight says, "Without any emotions a kiss becomes a weapon." Yes, technically they can be called kisses, but the lack of feeling in them, how they're used as a tool, turns the kiss into a simple fact of skin on skin. I found it refreshing how falling in love was portrayed without romance.
It really is a unique drama for the characters' ages. Shows this thrilling are usually reserved for older characters and mostly like detective/spy/police type plots? Usually people in this age range would be acting in regular high school or university dramas so I bet it was satisfying for the actors to be able to try something different too.
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