Japan

Review: Silent [Japan]

| kfangurl

THE SHORT VERDICT:

Silent is, to my eyes, a pretty special snowflake of a drama.

Compact at 11 episodes, Show manages to pack more meat on its bones than some longer shows.

It’s contemplative, thought-provoking and layered, and I often came away from an episode, chewing on the thoughtful nuggets of insight and wisdom that Show served up.

Our characters are likable, and sometimes their behavior might even lean on the aspirational, “goody” side of things, but the heartfelt writing and delivery somehow makes it all land as believable and organic. I found that quite remarkable.

As a bonus, the music in this is thoroughly enjoyable, and just brings the watch experience to another level.

Very much worth the drama hours, in my opinion.

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Review: The Makanai: Cooking For The Maiko House [Japan]

| kfangurl

THE SHORT VERDICT:

A delightful little show that offers an educational peek into the world of maiko and geisha / geiko, through the journeys of our main characters.

Our protagonist, Kiyo, is so lovely, that I would have been sorry to have missed getting to know her, if I’d passed this show by.

Her friendship with bestie Sumire forms the anchor to our story, and I loved witnessing their friendship and their support of each other, through the good times and bad.

Well worth the journey for our protagonists, while the insights into maiko and geisha culture work out to be a wonderful bonus – even if Show probably meant for the cultural insights to be the Main Event, in the first place. 😁

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Review: First Love: Hatsukoi [Japan]

| kfangurl

THE SHORT VERDICT:

This show feels like a very well-done homage to classic melodramas of the early 2000s, boasting characteristics that I would associate with iconic dramas of the era, like Winter Sonata, for example.

The difference is, Show is given a more polished, modern touch, and is also infused with what I feel is an indie movie-esque sensibility.

It’s very thoughtfully conceived and executed, and alongside that sheen of polish, and the general air of restraint, there is oodles of heart, and altogether, this one grabs me, so much.

It honestly feels like the answer to the question, “What would happen if we took 2000s melodrama and gave it a modern makeover, while retaining its essence – and just, overall, made it better?”

Really nicely done.

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Flash Review: Old Enough [Japan] [Reality]

| kfangurl

I feel like this show might be just what you’re looking for, if:

(a) you feel like you’d like to switch things up a bit, instead of watching dramas all the time,

(b) you think kids are cute and you like watching them, &/or

(c) you just want small little servings of narrative, that won’t take up much time.

This show checks all those boxes, and at just 10-15 minutes per episode, is a great and easy addition to your drama plate, I reckon. 😉
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Flash Review: A Rose And A Tulip [Japan] [Movie]

| kfangurl

As you guys very likely know, I now have pretty serious heart-eyes for Junho, and so, of course I had to poke around his filmography, to see what else he’s done, that I might like to see.

When I saw that he starred in this Japanese movie as a pair of doppelgängers, I just had to check it out. I mean, it would be unreasonable of me to turn down a movie that offers two Junhos for the price of one, yes? 😉

Psst: Link to watch is at the end of the review! ❤️

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Announcement: Breakup Probation, A Week episode notes!

| kfangurl

This is becoming a bit of A Thing on the blog, but just in case you didn’t know, every so often, I like to cover a mini series as a bonus on Patreon, with the notes for the first 3 episodes made available to everyone, and here’s the announcement for the next bonus show I’ll be covering!

Previously, I covered Scripting Your Destiny and Mad For Each Other, so you can check out those bonus notes too, if you’d like.

For now, let me tell you a little bit about these latest bonus notes!

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Flash Review: Takane and Hana [Takane to Hana][Japan]

| kfangurl

I do think this is a case of “your mileage may vary.”

I’ve had this show highly recommended to me (thanks Lynette!), and I’ve also seen lots of positive comments about this one, so Show is clearly quite well-loved. Which is why I went into this with pretty positive expectations.

However, I’m gonna hafta say that aside from Show’s first episode, which I loved, this one was.. just ok, for me, in the end.

That said, just because I didn’t love this one, doesn’t mean you won’t (this show has lots of fans after all), so hopefully this review will help you figure out whether this one’s for you!

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Flash Review: Shanai Marriage Honey [Japan]

| kfangurl

I might be at risk of giving the impression that I have A Serious Thing for contract marriage J-dramas here, what with my deep affection for 2016’s We Married As A Job, and general fondness for 2020’s Marry Me!, but when I heard about this short little J-drama and what it was about, I couldn’t resist checking it out.

I.. do have a soft spot for the contract marriage trope, can’t lie. B

ut I rationalize that the premises for the contract marriages in all 3 shows are different and distinct from one another, and therefore I’m not essentially watching the same show done 3 different ways. 😅

At just seven 25-minute episodes, Show is easy and low-risk, and perfect for squeezing into little pockets of time – or marathoning in one sitting, if you prefer.

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Flash Review: Marry Me! [Japan]

| kfangurl

If you’d like a quick spot of drama that’s warm, fuzzy and doesn’t require a big investment of drama hours, but still provides that sense of continuity that dramas offer, this charming little J-drama might just do the trick.

At just 10 episodes of less than 25 minutes each, this show is perfect for squeezing in an episode or two, when you have only a small pocket of time to spare, but still want to indulge in some drama feels.

Quite perfect for the festive season, yes?

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Flash Review: Love Lasts Forever [An Incurable Case Of Love] [Japan]

| kfangurl

So I checked out this show because a number of you had mentioned this to me as a drama that you enjoyed, and, I’d also seen a fair number of positive remarks and a good amount of assorted squee about it as well.

Since I’ve said that I’d like to include more Japanese dramas on my drama plate, I felt that it would be quite remiss of me to not check this out.

Now that I’ve emerged on the other side, I think it’s quite safe to say that overall, I didn’t manage to enjoy this one as much as everyone else did.

But, for the record, this show did eventually grow on me towards the end, and I ended my watch enjoying the cozy-swoony feels that everyone else seemed to be talking about.

I think that this show would appeal to quite a niche sort of audience, which is why I’m here to help you figure out if you’ll like this one – before you invest the drama hours. I know; I’m so helpful that way, aren’t I? 😉

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