Definitely a MUST-WATCH

Let me start by saying that I’m not a fan of gender-bender/body-swap stories (I think The Shipper traumatized me for a lifetime), but having read the manga beforehand made me anticipate this particular drama.

The main character is Yashiro who’s crushing on childhood friend Kenta, he gathers the courage to confess but Kenta turns him down, trying to maintain their longtime friendship. Suddenly tragedy strikes (insert Truck of Doom’s cameo) and Yashiro is visited by the god of the local shrine who grants him a wish and Yashiro, in all his heartbroken innocence wish to be reborn as a high school girl to have a second chance with Kenta. So Yashiro transforms in the round-eyed lovely Kagura and thus begins his story.

While at first the main plot seems to be Yashiro’s journey to win his friend heart while in Kagura’s body, soon the story begins to unfold and instead the drama focuses in how Yashiro’s choice start to change not only his life but that of his friends also. So much of this drama is about putting oneself in others shoes and showing how this young group of friends try to navigate between new feelings and situations, making sense of everything and trying their best to experience love and show kindness. So despite the fantasy genre, the characters, their motivations and actions are credible and so so relatable.

Beyond a doubt, my favorite thing about this drama are the deep friendships between the main characters.

Speaking of our main characters:

I love Yashiro, he’s everything I love about a protagonist: vulnerable but resilient, so open in his affections and honest to a fault. Clearly, the fact that he wished to become a girl just to be with the boy he like suggests that he doesn't have the right place every Friday ...but I loved him for that too.

Although his wish should’ve made it “easier” for him to develop a relationship with Kenta, life rarely goes as planned and relationships are complicated and messy, so soon his resolution to make Kenta fall in love with him takes a back seat while he deals with all the unintended consequences of his wish, and he does it with a kindness and aplomb rarely seem in someone his age.

Kenta, on the other hand, is charming and outgoing, but surprisingly mature and levelheaded. Even from the start it’s obvious that he values his friendship with Yashiro above all else but it takes a while to sort himself out about the extent of his feelings. So, part of the drama is about the progression on Kenta’s part to ponder and realize his feelings for Yashiro, but even when the realization that he could gave everything up except for Yashiro hits him, this doesn’t mean the end of his struggles. Because even if he’s ready to admit that Kagura IS Yashiro indeed, he isn’t the Yashiro he knew all his life and then grew to love, and he’s not going to settle down with her, easier as it might be.

Rin is this happy-go-lucky kind of girl and initially you think she gonna be the typical ex-girlfriend ready to drive a wedge between the main leads (and she kinda does but not in the way you’d imagine lol); but in the end, I just sincerely wanted her to find love and happiness again.

Late comer, Kagura, was harder to figure out. At first she seems perfectly happy with the whole body-swap situation, but soon is evident that she’s struggling with her own feelings and insecurities. Fortunately our main trio gives her a kind of safe place for her to deal with her own issues.

All in all, I've really enjoyed this little gem of a drama. It wasn't perfect but the combination of refreshing characters and poignant moments, with an honest exploration of identity and sexuality, made this drama an incredible experience

In conclusion, do watch Kamisama no Ekohiiki even if it’s not your genre, just watch the first episode and you’ll be hooked.

Leia Mais

I really really like everything about this drama! The plot is not groundbreaking but feels refreshing somehow, probably because doesn’t have too many of the classic kdrama tropes: the most amazing thing is, for once, doesn’t have your typical leads. There isn’t a cold jerk male lead, nor a damsel-in-distress female lead. Wow! Other thing, they don’t have a love-hate relationship, nor do they spend time bickering endlessly. Instead, you have a pure and beautiful romance that unfolded between two people who start as friend and later develop a more deep relationship. No Father/ Mother -in-Law from hell either. Amazing!
From the beginning, the story put the focus more in the relationship between the female leads, Sun Mi and Young Mi, both had strong ambition, career-wise and everything they did was an effort towards that goal of becoming anchor-women. But is Young Mi jealousy of Sun Mi’s seemingly perfect life which causes Young Mi resolution to steal whatever Sun Mi has or wants. Their rivalry was a refreshing and intriguing thing to watch.
Throughout the drama is shown the contrast not only between this two women, but also in the romance between Sun Mi-Hyung Chul and Young Mi-Woo Jin, the sweet and pure romance vs the antagonist’s dark and tragic one.
As for the characters:
Sun Mi: she’s cute and bright without feeling annoying, and is by no means perfect, she’s gets upset and angry when provoked, and she even gets jealous.
Hyung Chul: Such a lovely leading man, his character was calm, honest and gentle. He’s true in his love and stayed true no matter what.

As for the character of Young Mi, I always enjoy a twisted and complex villain. Ultimately I have no sympathy for her but at least I get to understand her character and motivations. Her romance with Woo Jin is intense and dramatic, but dooms to fail due to the very insane and obsessed nature of their love: Woo Jin wanting to posses Young Mi and Young Mi willing to do anything to steel what Sun Mi cherish the most.
The acting: everyone did a great job portraying this rater complex character.
The music: true to be told, I don’t have any recollection about the sound track… :(
Overall, I would recommend this drama to everyone!

Leia Mais

This drama would have worked better as a movie

I chose this drama based solely on the poster, thinking I would get some suspense/horror/mystery drama…but I didn’t

The first three episodes were so slow, I almost drop it.

Nearly every character is so one-dimensional, it’s painful to watch: the plucky FL is plucky to the end, the suffering but righteous SML is righteous to the end.

The only character that I liked was the antagonist, but his only saving grace was the charisma of the actor who played him .

Chris Wu is another bright spot, but sadly after being used as a comic relief for the first few episodes, I wrote him off as a viable love interest, so when hints of a romance with the FL appeared, it felt forced and unnatural.

Practically the only characters that have a hint of complexity are the mother of the antagonist and her daughter, their confrontation in ep 5 was a breath of fresh air, unfortunately the emotional layers of these characters appeared too late for me to really care.

Finally, the "big revelation" comes and goes so quick that it leaves no impact whatsoever, and neither does the defeat of the antagonist. After all the built up of the mystery, the real killer basically outs themselfs in such a head-desk moment... and the last trace of goodwill I had for this drama went up in flames.

This is the classic case of a drama that doesn't know what it wants to be, it doesn't have enough horror elements for the genre, the mystery was mediocre at best, the comedy fell flat, and the romance just wasn't there.

The soundtrack made me want to fight whoever was in charge.

In short, a good drama to binge if you're reeeeeeally bored.

Leia Mais

At first I was a little uncertain about the premise but decided to give it a try… and I glad I did! This series is one of the best rom-com ones with a feel-good ending…and despite the premise, is more about two people who still love each other even after divorced and have a 2nd chance to love…
This is such a lovely drama! Not perfect, it had its roadbumps, especially nearing the end, but damn, if that wasn't such an enjoyable ride. This drama has a spunky female lead and an adorable dorky kind male lead and throughout 16 eps, they never ever waver their feelings for each other… above all they both get a 2nd chance to understand each other better, have a good communication and share burden together as a spouses. And for that I loved the evolution of the characters. It was satisfying to see the characters growing but that they were also consistent in principle that they didn't feel like completely different persons. So their coming back together felt well earned and healthy... The OTP really shines and CJW and NAR so far is my favorite drama couple this year.
The acting is GREAT and the music is fun and light, nothing groundbreaking, but still enjoyable…
This drama is wonderfully light, funny, romantic, sweet, and has amazing chemistry btw the couple. And although it has many clichés, it puts a playful twist onto them. This is what you call Rom-Com Drama.

Leia Mais

Two dramas for the price of one

First, ignore the mdl summary; bears little resemblance with what’s actually on the show. The only things that got right are the fact that it deals with five different stories and that each one contains a “mystery” to solve.

Second and most important, there’s a HUGE disconnect between episodes 1 and 6 and episodes 2 to 5; which made it hard for me to really like this drama at first.

Basically, episode 1 (and its conclusion in episode 6) is about two classmates who never interacted before but find themselves sharing the same empty train; both are able to see past each other's mask and end up teaming up to solve the heinous crime against one of their classmates. This episode goes dark so I expected the same for the rest of the show, as a result I spent every minute of episode 2 waiting for something sinister to happen, but it's just the story of three childhood friends who meet to discuss the design for their class t-shirt. That’s all. There’s a little “mystery” going on but it’s very much an ordinary story, there’s some teenage angst but it has this warm, comforting vibe overall. Episodes 3 through 5 follow this same pattern:

-ep 3 is about two boys and their unrequired crushes

-ep 4 two estranged siblings manage to reconnect with a little the help from one of the fluffiest cats ever

-ep 5 is about two girls (the class president and the class outcast) finding common ground in the last day of their high school life.

In short, episodes 1 and 6 fall very much in the investigation/crime genre, while episodes 2 to 5 are very much slice of life/ coming of age stories.

At first I really struggled with this drama but then I re-watched it and liked it better the second time around, maybe because I knew what to expect so I was able to appreciate each of the stories more.

Finally, the outro of each episode deserves a special mention, as it shows behind the scenes with the actors posing for the cameras or just goofing around on set, which was super cute ^^

Leia Mais

BIG disappointment of 2013! The WORST part is that it could have been so good… had a great cast, an interesting plot, a renowned writer, a great chemistry between the leads…BUT the more the ratings dropped, also the plot and characters were on an complete and total derailment… The only good thing that came out of this was I got to see Lee Dong Gun on my screen again!
The sad thing is the real villain in the story is old Mi Rae. If she came for the reason she said she did, then it's not the best way to turn things around, she spends most of her time trying to ruin other people’s life. She said that she is doing it for younger Mi Rae, but seriously it doesn't look like it, she just run around scheming without much thought about who she hurts... in the other hand, the writer really dragged that nonsensical love triangle until the very last minute, as if it wasn’t obvious enough who Mirae had feelings for.
Moreover, this writer couldn’t handle time travel intelligently. She just created a mess. The ending is horrible not because it's an open ending but because the writing is really all over the place and ridiculous plot ideas are used.
For a drama that is marketed as a rom-com has neither of the two and in the final stretch of the drama I just stop caring for these characters and they so call struggles.
Two words: Train wreck.

Leia Mais

Criminally underrated:

At first, I wasn’t very sure about this drama, between the crappy poster and the unfavorable comments I was ready to write this off, but I’m glad I stuck with it because it turned out to be a very enjoyable watch.

If you're looking for a fun romance drama, do give it a chance! The leads have excellent chemistry! They’re just so good together, their easy banter was the highlight of the show for me. I absolutely fell in love with them.

The murder mystery and overarching corporate shenanigans are rather average, but still kept me engaged the whole time, I didn't have to fast forward any scene in this drama.

Even though the plot gets a little flat towards the end (that villain reveal was so ott), I did enjoy it overall.

Again, the best part of this drama is the great relationship building between the leads, their romance feels natural and sincere. I got attached to them, they're the cutest!

All in all, I will recommend this drama if you’re looking for a good rom-com. It’s actually very entertaining and leaves you with warm, fuzzy feelings, with some tears here and there.

Leia Mais

(Almost) perfect slice of life rom-com

First of all, despite the years, the story has aged well and continues to prove why it is considered a classic of Japanese dramas.

The plot is pretty simple, but the character development of Sena and Minami is impeccable. From the beginning we can see their flaws and limitations, we can see them make mistakes and learn, we can see them find their place in the world and try to follow their dreams….

Their chemistry is amazing and I loved the transition from strangers to friends to lovers, there are a lot of blurred lines between one stage and the other, but that also added to the watching experience.

The music is superb, there are already several songs forever added to my playlists

The ending is correct, but there seemed to be a lot of threads and plots that were never followed up.

Another negative point is the secondary couple, I can't for the life of me understand why the drama dedicated so much time to these two characters, one was hot but kind of a sleazebag and the other was bland af.

Is it worth watching? Yes, but this humble viewer thinks it's a bit overrated. Maybe, once again, my high expectations worked against me, but it’s still a worthy find, you don't see many asian dramas that are almost three decades old recommended today.

Leia Mais

A short, female-centered, mystery drama. Truly a rarity

This is a very interesting mystery drama; it took me just one night to finish watching it (it’s a very short drama with only five episodes).

Influence is about a Yuri, a mysterious woman who approaches a novelist to tell her the story of how (and why) she and her two best friends committed three murders. Yuri asks the novelist to write a story about them.

The premise is fairly simple, but each episode offers a series of intense twist and many heartbreaking moments that kept me on the edge of my seat.

The drama deals with some pretty heavy issues and isn’t easy to watch at times, especially in the first few episodes. Even so, I found the first half of the drama more gripping than the second, perhaps because the actions of the female leads made more sense because, after all, they were just teenagers. About the second half of the drama, I have mixed feelings; after some of the plot twists, I was expecting something more sinister to be at play, but that didn’t happen - this is not that kind of story. It’s simply the story of the deep bond that binds three women together and the twisted sense of friendship they share. It was fascinating to watch.

That said, it's not without its faults, for example the thing about the button was beyond stupid (there’s no way a single button could possibly open a whole ass case that was already closed) or the part where one of the female leads tries to play the “he had a rough childhood” card after her boyfriend viciously attacked one of their classmates. It made sense for her to think that way, but the thing that angered me the most is that no one called her out on her bullshit. I was fucking livid.

Nevertheless, the drama is definitely something different and I would recommend it if you can handle some darker themes.

Leia Mais

The only reason I picked this up was because of the cool poster, and the only reason I kept watching was to know how bad it could get. Fortunately it never gets truly awful, but it doesn’t do anything quite right either.

The first part of this fairly short drama has a very predictable plot with many common horror elements: there’s a young group of friends, there’s a curse, there’s some gorey deaths (think Final Destination)…but it did such a terrible job at building up suspense you could actually see every “twist” coming from a mile away and worst, some of the deaths were just laughably bad, like standing in the middle of the street for no reason and getting hit by a car or my personal favorite death by noodles (god I wish I was kidding).

For the second half of the show, they were running low on people to kill off so the story change gears and suddenly the ml is framed for murder and has to run away from the police, leaving the fl to deal with the curse on her own.

That aside, my two biggest problems were related to the supernatural elements of the drama: the fl’s visions and the curse itself.

The female lead has the ability to see a tragic event that is about to happen, and you think “cool this is going to be handy once the curse begins to unfold”, except her visions never really become an integral part of the story. Maybe that’s why the show never even bothers to explain the nature of her “gift” or how exactly it works. At first her visions seem to work when she’s directly in front of the person who’s going to die, so she has a few seconds/minutes to save the person, but she also has premonitions at random moments and even watching a video of someone can trigger her visions. And listen, I don’t need every little thing spelled out to me in a fantasy/supernatural setting, but there needs to be at least some consistency on how things work, otherwise it’s just bad worldbuilding. But apparently none of this really matters because by episode four or so it becomes so irrelevant you even forget that she had a special ability to begin with.

Regarding the curse, it’s established early on that the “death cash” is somehow summoned by people who yearn money so desperately that they suddenly receive the cursed money, and once they spend it a horrible death awaits them.

The targets of this curse are the fl and her group of friends plus one of their college professors; one by one they start dying in very gruesome ways. The common link between these characters is that they were all desperate enough to use the death cash, even if most of them knew the consequences; so in the end it was their own choices that turned against them.

The message of the show could be that money is the root of all evil and humans are inherently selfish/greedy, so the curse was only made to bring out the worst in people. Except that this falls short once the show later reveals that the curse itself fabricates the circumstances in which these already desperate people are pushed to the brick and have no other choice but to use the money even if it means a sure death.

The horror of the curse isn’t people “choosing” the death cash, it’s how the curse actively stacks the cards mainly against people already living in poverty. Among the victims of the curse we have a young athlete going through a rough patch who realizes that the only people advancing in his field are not doing it for their skills but because of their access to better training programs and such; a college dropout being the sole caregiver of her mentally ill mother and young brother; the last victim we are shown is a homeless woman and her child both on the verge of starvation. It’s especially sinister considering that the curse was born from the grudge of a woman who starved to death along her two young daughters after being ostracized by her entire village.

So, despite its origin, the curse aims specifically at people in their most the most vulnerable state. Basically, being poor usually summons the death cash. Thus we can’t really talk about their moral bankruptcy as something inherent to them. Since whatever flaws these characters had and no matter how they acted, one way or the other they were already playing a losing game. …poor people aren’t morally bad because they’re poor and there's no other outside influence. Maybe that’s the ultimate message of the show, but I sincerely doubt it.

TL;DR: a mediocre drama that tried too hard to deliver a dark and intense horror story, but fell short almost from the beginning….nothing the show offered was particularly new or interesting enough imho; the acting at least was on the good side, but really the only thing worth mentioning is the Ost, especially 金の愛､銀の愛 by SKE48.

All things considered, I wouldn’t really recommend this; there are other better dramas out there… but if you’re curious enough, try the first three or four episodes and then skip right to the end, perhaps that way you can actually watch a semi-decent drama.

Leia Mais

I honestly have no idea how this drama ended up on my PTW list, my guess is that at some point I read the synopsis and found it interesting enough to add it. I failed to take into account the fact that I have terrible taste when it comes to choosing dramas on my own, which is proven by this drama.

The first half creep the hell out of me and the second half just pissed me off.

The story is basically about a man with time-traveling powers, who uses that power to manipulate a woman into falling in love with him, the worst part is that his plan starts when the fl is still a freaking child! And even though later on the ml's true intentions are revealed, it doesn't make it all the better fyi.

Creepy relationship between the leads (barely) aside, the drama as many other issues like glaring plot holes, a dull soundtrack, stiff acting, and an ending that felt more like a cop-out to give everyone an unwarranted happy ending.

In conclusion, a creepy nonsensical story, that despite everything earned a place on my top list…of worst dramas of the year.

Leia Mais

Mouthwatering food for an unsatisfying story

It’s an easy watch, the story is simple enough, the acting is good and the food looks great; I didn’t like some of the soundtrack choices (it sounded too modern if that's possible) and I actively dislike the last part of the drama.
The main draw of the drama, for me, is the female lead. She’s independent and smart. Nothing seems to faze her and no matter what she always lands on her feet. She also cares for the people around her, even if she doesn’t show it openly. She is very goal oriented in the first half of the drama and I really liked that. She’s basically a watered-down version of one of mi favorite cdrama heroines, Wei Yingluo (Story of Xanxi Palace).
Unfortunately, the moment they start to develop the romance more, my interest waned a little, the male lead is very unlikable in the first few episodes but melts down fast and is all about the fl all the time which is ok, we never saw him doing much anyway ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
My hot take is (and I can’t believe I’m saying this) that I would have prefer a sad ending. The last few episodes are about how the fl is asked to sacrifice a huge part of who she is in order to be with the male lead, and her having second thoughts about it is bad actually. But this happened to other female characters throughout the story; they are the ones who have to sacrifice something in order to be with their male love interest. And what’s worse, this is treated like the only correct choice.
And make no mistake, at no point the narrative asked the same from the male lead, he doesn’t have to make any sacrifices, he gets to have the cake and eat it too. Thus, their relationship is never equal and I hate that, but more than anything I think the ending does a great disservice to the characters as they were presented throughout the drama. Maybe it’s a me problem, but it just left a bad taste in my mouth.

Leia Mais

Serviceable drama, some of the cases were good but it didn’t have a strong hook to grab you in… for me, for a detective drama to work more than the cases it has to have an interesting lead/s, and this drama definitely has one but the show never gives him much to do beyond solving the case of the week, which is a shame.

The ml, Haruya, is a poor college student that ends up solving several cases involving people around him in exchange of money to pay things like rent and tuition. What I liked most about him is that he's smart and resourceful but he is not a ~genius~, most of the cases he solves is thanks to the help of his two best friends and his own observant nature.

The story builds the intrigue on his past giving us some clues here and there, but it doesn't really show us anything at the end, maybe they expected a second season or at least a special to tie the whole story together. What we know about Haruya is that he comes from a wealthy family, but apparently was some sort of delinquent and due to his bad behavior, was disowned by his parents and now lives in poverty. Throughout the show we see how he struggles to support himself… working part-time in a construction site, trying to keep up with his classes, often passing out due to hunger, and even contemplating eating dog food! All of this while receiving regular calls from his younger sister gushing about things like the piano their parents brought for her (she’s a very sweet kid and doesn’t seems aware of the intricacies of the relationship between his brother and their parents, but still some of their conversations clearly cut him deep). This is why he prioritizes money so much and end up taking these often dangerous cases…. through these cases you get the feeling he’s working through his own family issues and that’s another interesting idea that never comes to fruition. Even his past as a young delinquent doesn't make much sense either considering his high sense of justice and the fact that he managed to get into this seemingly prestigious university on his own.

Romance-wise, the fl is Haruya's first client as a detective, whom he helps by tracking down her stalker. She’s sweet but bland af and after she falls for him she tries to inserts herself into each case that follows, much to the ml dismay. He’s obviously uncomfortable in her presence and spends most of the time trying to avoid her, but at the last moment the show tries to make us believe that he really likes her, only to backtrack again and leave everything up in the air, like I said maybe they were hoping for a second season or smth.

But by not giving a proper closure to the ml story, the whole show feels underdeveloped.

Overall a lot of wasted potential.

Leia Mais

The pros:
-This is simply put a delightful drama, it offers nothing new but it's just the perfect side of warm and whimsical.

-With a ML tailor-made for Lee Soo Hyuk. I love Woven as the no nonsense, tough love, but ultimately well-meaning kinda lead

-It’s a beautiful show to watch, I mean is has Lee Soo Hyuk, so of course it’s beautiful, but on top of that, all the locations especially the tailor shop have a dream-like quality.

-This is one of those dramas that would benefit from having more episodes, just to give the ML more room to develop his character

The cons:
-It didn’t have enough Lee Soo Hyuk, sometimes he looked more like a guest star than the actual leading man.

-I was bothered by the lack of chemistry between the ML and both the FL and the servant/best friend, perhaps this is due to the lack of time to further develop these relationships, but each of their interaction felt forced, and frankly I could do it without the unnecessary romance. The only chemistry was between Woven and the clothes, which made me discover a whole new kink, but that's not here not there.

-The FL was comically bad at acting, and it didn’t help that I wasn’t very fond of her character

-And sorry to say, but the clothes were ugly af

All in all, a short and easy watch. I would 100% recommend

Leia Mais