Such a perfect, oh-so-Japanese, traditional tale of honor and revenge!

Amidst the recent, ever-surging wave of "westernized" j-dramas, filled to the brim with all sort of depravity, decadence, obscenity and utterly despicable characters, it does one's heart a whole lot of good to find a small gem like this "Hotarugusa"! Such a perfect, oh-so-Japanese, traditional tale of honor and revenge, with endearing, ethical, righteous characters one can't help but wholeheartedly root for, complete with a healthy dose of "mono no aware" (the eponimous flower being itself a symbol of this fleeting yet so strong feeling) and topped with a few moments of comic relief which are ideal to avoid making things too gloomy.
An astonishing performance by Kiyohara Kaya, as well as by the rest of the cast (with honorable mentions for Machida Keita, Hamada Mari and Ukaji Takashi - oh, and the kids are just *adorbs* - there, I never thought I would've used that word, LOL). Some extremely nice music completes the package. Perfect 10 all the way!

Leia Mais

Lovely rom-com with a deep message

Leveling with y'all, I have to confess that, these days, I often get the feeling that being "normal" means either transforming into one of those ruthless wolves who roam our society looking for prey (as the old saying goes, "the scum that comes on top") or else becoming one of those decerebrated "pod people" who constitute the aforementioned wolves' elective prey. The alternative is simply not being "normal" and choosing instead to be yourself, using your own brain and moral values to find your own place in life, regardless of what the wolves and the flock think of us.
And that's, in a nutshell, the surprisingly deep message conveyed by this light, lovely rom-com.
The funny leads take the whole movie to realize how much they're done for each other, being the true, free individuals that they both are, instead of chasing, respectively, the cold-blooded, manipulative wolf (the toymaking CEO) and the wolf's prey - who chose to be his victim (the CEO's bethroted).
The discussions between the leads are the real gem of this movie, thanks to the great script and to the equally great performances delivered by Kiyohara Kaya and Narita Ryo - and if those exchanges happen to reminisce you of such great rom-coms as "The African Queen" (Bogart & K. Hepburn) or, to stay in Japan, "Saigo Kara Nibanme no Koi" (Nakai & Koizumi), well, that's simply 'cause nothing really new happens in cinema, it's just a matter of how the old ingredients are assembled...and this time, the "kitchen" did a very good job indeed! 10/10 ^___-

Leia Mais

Do you know that idiom, used to describe something incredibly boring, which goes "it's like watching grass grow"? Well, it couldn't be farther from the truth, in the case of this splendid dorama! For around 2/3 of it, in fact, what we viewers do is basically watch rice grow....and it's not boring at all! Indeed, just the opposite! I've been watching doramas for over 10 years, and you can imagine I've seen my fair share of characters struggling to achieve something: rarely have I been so captured by those "ganbaru" as I've been here! Thanks to a beautiful script, of course, but also - if not mostly - thanks to Wakui Emi! She managed to get my eyes wet over the imaginary taste of an imaginary sake! I'm afraid I'm running out of praising words for her amazing talent and beauty...I'll just say this: arigatou! :)

Leia Mais

Give me back those 24+ hours I've spent watching this!!! >____<

The line at 5'00" into the 24th and last episode is imho *absolutely perfect* to sum up this drama:

"SCRIPTWRITERS THESE DAYS AREN'T RELIABLE AT ALL"

They had a great cast (all did a great job; honorable mentions to Li Ting Ting and Deng Yu Li), some wonderful photography, a lovely OST...they could've come up with a masterpiece, seriously...but the writers screwed up the whole thing royally! >____<

I'm always a bit wary when I see a drama written by so many people, 'cause whenever that happens, inconsistency is just around the corner...but I was drawn in by Li Ting Ting (whom I had recently appreciated in "Don't Leave After School") and by the Russian element (BTW, congrats to the production for not messing up that part: only one minor Russian mistake in the 24 episodes, not bad).

Well, that should teach me to think twice the next time, or at least to check the endings before watching anything this long, URGH! >_____<...'cause upon finishing it, the only thing I can think of is: gimme back those 24+ hours of my life! T________T
Seriously, I can't believe how inconsistent and terrible the last third/fourth of this drama is...and most of all, I really, really, really can't believe how the hell they could even consider making the FL make the worst ever decision in the end: to marry an alcoholic! O___o
I just hope they won't have kids, so at least she'll be the only victim of that poor decision.../.___.\

No way I'm gonna watch the SPs...I couldn't care less, given how dissatisfied I am with the drama's ending.

Leia Mais

As an Italian, I'm rather used to being (let's not mince our words) often despised in most Western countries; I'm sorry to have to say this, but I've lost count of the people who, upon hearing I was Italian, felt the need to cry out stuff like "Mafia! Bunga-Bunga!" and so on, all while laughing out loud as if it were such a funny joke - seriously, guys...it ain't. Like, Not. In. The. Least. /.___.\
(Oh, and since I sincerely doubt that they'd shout "Apartheid! Bantustans!" to a South-African, or "Hiroshima! Guantanamo!" to an American, that double standard ends up being doubly offensive and simply adding insult to injury).
It therefore feels even more so like total Heaven, to notice how appreciated we are in other places, and particularly in South America, Russia and Japan.
But while the South Americans' (general) appreciation of Italy and Italians is quite logical, given how the Italian immigration down there mostly thrived and ended up becoming, as they say, a pillar of the community, it's on the other hand definitely harder to understand why Russians and Japanese should love us, considering how we invaded the former (without any sound motive, as they hadn't done anything to us! >__<) and backstabbed the latter by switching sides midway through WWII...as correctly depicted in the very first minute of this SP.
And yet, even though Japanese (and Russians) should have every reason to, if not outright hate us, at least resent us, they always shower us with an unconditional love, something which never fails to amaze me - and at the same time, to give my heart such a warm feeling and move me to tears.
Just like when, towards the end of this SP, a kid suddenly says "When I grow up, I want to become an Italian".
Believe me or not, I started crying as if there was no tomorrow, and just couldn't stop it.
And that's why I'm giving this "Sensuikan Cappellini go no Boken" such a high grade, despite the fact that it's honestly far from perfect: the production, let's face it, feels pretty cheap; in all honesty, the script is ok but nothing to call home about; last but not least, the Italian cast (a bunch of total unknowns, I'll admit) aren't gonna win a best actor award any time soon, I'm afraid.
But still, the premise (based on real events) is tremendously interesting, the Japanese cast performed very well (particularly Ninomiya Kazunari, whom I must confess never having been a big fan of...but he was absolutely superb here!)...and the whole thing feels like such a huge declaration of love for Italy and Italians (despite all our faults, because yeah, love is blind, indeed)!
How could I not reward all that with a high grade? ^__^;
Arigatou, Nihon!

Leia Mais

What a hidden gem! ^____^

This "Joshi Kosei no Mudazukai" aka "Wasteful Days of High School Girls" is a lovely and tremendously hilarious dorama. Filled with pretty weird but at the same time delightfully endearing characters (the not-so-bright tomboy who nevertheless surprises us time and again with such witty questions as "Why animals always survive by running away, but we humans are told that we shouldn't do that?", the aspiring mangaka, the occult buff, the adorable nutjob lost in her fantasy world, the emotionless genius with her sharp and witty replies, etc. etc.), all portrayed marvelously by the commendable cast (seriously, they were all perfect imho, with a particular praise for Okada Yui and her great histrionic skills!), the drama shines also thanks to the wonderful script (jokes, puns, cultural references, a meta-fake-asadora masterfully mocking all the clichés of that genre...all these - and yet some! - keep smoothly and hilariously flowing one after the other), the pretty high value of the directing/photography/editing etc. (consider all the work behind those elaborate "What an interesting/amazing woman!" mini-scenes!), and last but not least to the nice and catchy music commentary. What a hidden gem, seriously! ^_____^

Leia Mais

M-A-S-T-E-R-P-I-E-C-E !!! ^________^

Every now and then, the J-dramas scene comes out with what can only be described as "a total masterpiece", and this is precisely one of those instances! ^_________^
This "Oi, Handsome!" is, in my humble opinion, up there in the same (Champions') league as previous masterpieces like "Ore no Hanashi wa Nagai", "Saigo Kara Nibanme no Koi" or, to name also some movies, "Our Little Sister" and the fantastic "Kazoku wa Tsurai Yo!" Trilogy. All marvelous examples of the Himalayan heights that can be reached by the best of the best of the "family / slice-of-life" genre!
Seriously, I've finished watching this series twenty minutes ago, and I still have goosebumps thinking about it, so good it was! Wow, guys. Just wow. *Every single scene* is, imho, *simply perfect*. Perfectly scripted, acted, directed. The music commentary is perfect. The message is perfect.
Standing ovation.
Thanks for such gems, Japan! Arigatou!!!

Leia Mais

Allow me for once to start from...the end; namely, the ending credits: that eerily beautiful waltz, the sheer atmosphere conveyed by that fog and by the eponimous peony lantern, the creepily slow movements...and those absolutely fascinating, kimono-clad "bijin" who, with one feeble gesture, suggest we follow them - something that I suspect most of us would do, even knowing that it might not be a good idea...well, all this could serve as a perfect metaphor of the impact this dorama had on me.
Despite all the caution I might have wanted to exercise (I must confess I was quite worried that this might end up being another victim of the "westernization" of the Jdrama scene [*]), still I got drawn in right away by the perfect photography, by the very good acting, by the lovely music,
and last but not least by the sheer beauty of the afore-mentioned "bijin" gracing the ending credits - Kamishiraishi Mone and Toda Naho (BTW, the latter must have a portrait, hidden somewhere in her attic, which ages in her place; no, seriously, she's basically as attractive now as she was in "Shomuni", two whole decades earlier! I'm impressed - and hopelessly charmed, of course). Perfect 10!

[*] of course I should've known better than to fear anything like that from NHK, which instead managed to deliver a modern but at the same time loyal rendition of this traditional tale.

Leia Mais

I must confess that my not-so-high grade depends highly on the fact that I had expected something completely different, and was therefore a little bit (heck, a whole lot, actually ^__^) taken aback. In fact, judging from the synopsis and the "mystery" tag, I was expecting something more similar to the manga "6000", but I soon realized how wrong I was.
In this short dorama, the mystery part is rather a pretext to portray, in an original setting, a very Japanese (and per se quite beautiful) story of a good daughter trying hard to realize her late father's dream (for those of you familiar with East Asian / Confucian values, that's one of their cornerstones of course: filial piety!).
All that might have been wasted on some, who even went so far as to throw around some deeply insulting accusations - I noticed in fact a comment actually accusing this dorama of sexism (!) - needless to say, I couldn't disagree more, that's a totally preposterous accusation (tantamount to accusing all Asian dramas of racism because they don't have black actors! >___<). Sorry to sound so harsh, but the only explanation I can find as to how such a baseless accusation was formulated is a total lack of understanding of Japanese culture in particular, and more generally, of East Asian values and traditions.
The character portrayed by Arimura Kasumi is on the contrary a very strong young woman (the fact that she doesn't behave like a man doesn't mean she's weak in the least!), who overcomes many difficulties and even some mistakes (not depending on the fact that she's a woman, but rather on her young age and inexperience!) so as to grow stronger. And she does so brilliantly, improving herself deeply, and in the end having a profound impact on the people around her and ultimately on the whole story. A beautifully scripted character indeed!
Endo Kenichi's character is also nicely scripted, imho, whereas the rest are a bit "meh", unfortunately...
The lovely music accompanying the whole series is a nice touch too, imho!
Too bad the mystery part is quite dull, honestly...in Italian there's an idiom, "la montagna che partorì un sassolino" ("the mountain that gave birth to a pebble"), that can be used for a situation like this where the buildup makes you expect something big, only to be revealed as...a big letdown in the end...and that's the reason why I didn't give this a higher grade. Still, it's a pleasant watch! ^___-

Leia Mais

The best chapter so far!

The third and (at least for now) last installment of the "Detective Chinatown" franchise is, as far as I'm concerned, by far the best. The script this time is spotless: the mystery part is at the same time extremely well done and really gripping; the comedy part is funny without being too silly like in the previous chapter; last but not least, the action scenes are very entertaining (just as I expected, the Tokyo setting helped a lot there). The cast did a marvelous job and also benefited from the presence of some very good actors from Japan (whereas the American supporting cast seen in the previous movie had been mostly sub par, imho). Last but certainly not least, the production value is as high as they come. Can't wait for the next chapter (if there'll be one as the final scenes might suggest)! Oh, talking about the ending - what a beautiful message! It's not often that I feel like giving a perfect 10 to an action movie, but this one deserves it! ^___^

Leia Mais

What a nice lil' gem of dorama! Soothing, relaxing, ideal as a break (pun intended) in-between some heavier series, or anyway when one wants to watch something that calms down. But don't take me wrongly, this is not to say that it's boring or shallow or anything like that. On the contrary, I think the best feature of this "Arimura Kasumi no Satsukyu" is that, while giving the superficial impression that nothing's really going on in the different episodes, still they manage to touch (or should I say "caress", considering the gentle, non-intrusive approach) some deeper issues regarding family, friendship, love, work, etc.
A very convincing performance by the lead, as well as by the supporting cast. To top it all, some nice music throughout the whole series and in particular a lovely, funky ending credits song by Takeuchi Anna!
The only reason I don't give this a perfect 10 is that alongside little masterpieces like episodes 4 and 8, there were also some much weaker ones, namely eps. 5 and 6 (all imho of course).
Still, it's a well-deserved 9 in my book! ^__-

Leia Mais

Give it a try, guys, it might surprise you!

As soon as I found out about this "Imadoki no Wakai Mon wa", it came totally natural to me to compare it, on the one hand, to the famous UK/US show "The Office" (both being comedies set in an office environment), and on the other hand to another dorama also airing right this season, "Shoujiki Fudousan" (both having Fukuhara Haruka as the FL - and "OL").

Regarding "The Office", we could say that the two series are at opposite ends: that one portrayed the typical Western office in all its idiocy, obtaining a comedic effect by exaggerating some characteristics and aspects which, albeit to a less inflated degree, do actually exist in such working environment (I speak out of personal experience); on the contrary, this J-drama portrays a kind of idealized Japanese office where the (light) comedic effect isn't done at the characters' expenses (we're not made to laugh AT them, but rather to smile WITH them) and where the office environment isn't depicted AS IS, but rather AS IT SHOULD BE. The result is a delicately humane story filled with nice characters that we'd all love to have as colleagues and/or bosses (and even one like me who's normally pretty wary of office-themed shows can find this really likable - as I did!).

As for the comparison with "Shoujiki Fudousan" (of which I've watched over half the episodes so far), that one as well portrays things as they should be, rather than as they are (I mean, an honest realtor...ehm...'nuff said! ^__^;...) but in my humble opinion this show wins hands down, due to a more original, wittier script, and a more talented male cast (ok, I know, Yamashita's fans will jump at my throat...but sorry, guys, I tell it as I see it, and I personally find Sorimachi to be a much better actor - peace!).

(BTW, now that I'm thinking about it, another comparison came to mind, and that is to "Futari Monologue": once again for having Fukuhara as the FL, but also for the constant presence of the "voice over" technique ^___-)

The music, meant both as credits song and as commentary, is a pretty nice touch too; and although the production value might not be anything really worth calling home about *per se*, it's still absolutely ok, so it's all good, as far as I'm concerned.

All in all, a little gem of dorama that might end up being unfortunately overlooked by many.
My humble suggestion therefore is: give it a try, guys, it might surprise you! ^___-

Leia Mais

Coming from a country where sometimes you'd think that only one sport exists (call it soccer or football as you wish...or "calcio", as we do), you might understand how difficult it is for me to make people here understand why baseball is my favorite sport!
Well, this drama actually happens to sum that up pretty nicely: because there's so much more to "the old ball game" than most people would actually think!
On the one hand, while other sports as well could act as a metaphor of how life is (for example soccer itself, what with the rich ones having the refs on their side, like, always...and the "divers" rarely being punished for their unsportsmanlike conduct - quite the opposite, often being rewarded with fake penalties and free-kicks!), I honestly can't think of any other sport that so well could act as a metaphor of how life *should* be (quoting from a pretty nice - if a tad too star-spangled propagandistic for my taste and possibly also for its own good, LOL - YouTube clip from PragerU: "Three strikes and you're out, and not even Washington's best lawyers could help you avoid that!"). But all in all, that's just me being partial to my favorite sport, and I'd bet any fan of any sport could probably state the very same thing, LOL.
On the other hand - and this lil' dorama really shines at this! - we could definitely say that baseball can indeed teach us so many precious lessons that we could apply to our daily life, with all its ups and downs: for example, how to be a real leader, or how to accept not being a leader but the best sub we can be, instead; how to make a stand and be respected, or how to know to be humble and listen to those who know more than us; how to accept a failure as long as it means living on to fight another day...etc., etc....
Each episode of this brilliant series shows us exactly that: how much we can all learn and improve, day by day, step by step....because if life is baseball, as long as you love it and give it your all, everything will be alright.
A superb premise masterfully developed in a great script, some wonderful acting by the leads as well as by the weekly guest stars, a great photography...and an endless love for baseball and for life.
What's not to like? Perfect 10! Or, to adopt baseball terminology: a perfect game! ^___-

Leia Mais