Zíza

Hana yori dango is my tearjerker. One of the first Japanese fiction series I saw and I fell in love with a lot of things. This piece is basically a tribute to the fans of the original series. It doesn't pretend to be anything original, it basically screams, hey, I don't want to be more than Hana yori dango, let's reminisce together about the good old days... I was dying over the small roles played by the original actors, as a little girl I was fascinated by them. Not to mention that the series sticks to some old patterns and as Nishikido Sojiro himself noted: "history repeats itself"; in so doing it has refined and incorporated what's trending in the Shōjo genre now (especially in terms of the main character's behavior). I admit without torture that I enjoyed this as a fan of the previous work. If I hadn't been familiar with it, I probably wouldn't have "squealed" so much. Plus, the chemistry between the main characters was very good here as well. It's an enjoyable series, very spiced with sentiment for me. I wonder how someone who doesn't know the source material would view it?

I'm very pleasantly surprised indeed. It even had the ideal ending in my opinion (and the way I wanted from the beginning, meaning the character of Lee Chang Joon). Finally a Korean series that doesn't resolve everything somewhere around episode 13 and then just flounder. Everything had its time, the writing was very well done in terms of the layout of the story and the overall pacing of the narrative. Not to mention the characters – so many diverse characters, all closely directed yet still acting diverse. Nothing was black and white, they all had set morals and goals from the start, and they really stuck to them. Nobody jumped ahead. Really as far as the script was concerned, it was really very good, highly above average. The cast, for me, was above reproach. Obviously, it is based on a good script, it is well acted, and everybody knows what they’re doing. What they had to do, they did, and all of them deserve praise. I really liked that we follow one story the whole time, there is a normal investigation going on, the main character is not a lone wolf and knows he can't do it all himself, especially when the problems pile up. The character's behavior made sense, the twists and turns in the story didn't seem contrived just to give the story somewhere to move forward. One of the most natural Korean series I've seen. A very strong 4 stars. Maybe I'll change my mind and go for five. :-)

Shorter than the Korean version, so there were no unnecessarily long and oft-repeated flashbacks. The story is almost the same, so there was no risk of ruining it. The music is pretty good by Japanese standards – at least as far as crime/thrillers go. The cast is very well chosen, the characters resemble their predecessors but bring their own take (at least in small ways), so it's fun to watch. They just cast an incredible ensemble. Kitamura Kazuki especially showed that he really has a lot to offer. Sakaguchi is still growing, and this obviously did him a lot of good. Honestly my biggest doubts were about Michiko Kichise, but especially towards the end she convinced me that all my doubts were unfounded. What can I tell you. Fine story, decent cast, the music doesn't get boring. Sure, the Koreans are more into the wow factor, but I liked both about the same. A very strong 3 stars.

Actually a day later I completely forgot I'd seen this movie; if I hadn't glanced at FilmBooster I wouldn't have remembered. Which I guess in a nutshell tells you how the movie is. Nothing outstanding, doesn't make you think deeply about anything, nobody gives any special acting performance. It's just a disposable romantic comedy. And it's not bad, just... very average.

From the very beginning I was thrilled that the main heroine is not the typical incompetent Shōjo heroine with no purpose in life (usually identifying it only in reference to her chosen one), but on the contrary Chiyomi has a dream of becoming a professional dancer and writes short stories in the evenings. Finally, the heroine is a person who has a life of her own, not just an object of love. Plus, she's portrayed by the lovely Yamamoto Maika, so I can't complain. Her love object wasn't bad either – he had his goals, past woes. And he was played by Nakagawa Taishi, so there was something to see. It's a typical relaxing series, the only unexpected thing it offers is that it shrinks the main character to the height of a Barbie doll and doesn’t have the main characters go wild at things as natural as kissing. This is a sweet high-school romance, with its weaker and stronger moments; overall it delivers on its promises – it doesn't bore you to death, it entertains you, and it doesn't beat you over the head with tone-deaf Shōjo stereotypes. The ending may be a bit rushed, but if you're a fan of the main duo, you can actually be supremely satisfied. A weaker 4 stars.

It's not bad, but... by the end I wasn't really enjoying it, I was looking forward to the ending, which still is not to say that it's a bad movie. Maybe it just wasn’t the day for a slow movie that has to be truly experienced (although it's a fact that I put on the Japanese version right afterwards and didn't want it to be over as badly). Unfortunately, because of/thanks to this, I have discovered that Ye-jin Son is not that great an actress. She kind of acted exactly the same in both Something in the Rain and Alone in Love (mostly vocally, and that stuck in my head, so it seemed to me that when she talked to the little guy here, it was in the exact same tone as she used when talking to her partner in Something in the Rain, she had the exact same vocal delivery for both of them). It only pulled at my heart at the beginning, but that was mostly because of Ji-seob So, because he could play that love well, but then... I don't know, somehow I that first impression won me over, then faded away. The little boy wasn't bad, but he doesn't particularly stand out in the context of child roles. Other kids have played similar roles. And the ending... it didn't grab me. If I had to sum it up, I’d say it lacked subtlety. Still, I don't think it's a write-off. If you want something that doesn't scream too much, is actually about one nice family, and you're a fan of Ji-seob So, definitely go for it. You can't go wrong. Thumbs up for the cameo by Hyo-jin Kong. With hindsight and reluctance, the rating has been lowered to 3 stars.

I liked the movie a tad more than the series. Probably because I found the behavior of the characters more on the absurd side since they were flesh and blood, and therefore I was much better and more easily able to feel up to a wave of total madness. An absurd spectacle full of mugging and non-mugging, goofy characters, and one big high school celebration. Especially for people who can handle absurd and extreme humor. I'd say such films are harder to digest for the classic viewer used to more "gentle" comedies.

It's such a simple one-off film, but it’s not bad. It's actually quite brisk in the beginning and it all flows nicely, it just starts to get ragged towards the end and its "I haven't talked to XY in weeks" seemed overdone, especially in the context of the fact that high school also ends at some point... If you're in the mood for a romantic comedy without an overabundance of drama that for the most part goes by pretty quickly, this might not be a bad choice. Average.

A relaxing bit of entertainment. It takes a page from the soap opera playbook – brutal reversals, nonsensical plots, good guys and bad guys – it's all there, it just doesn't take itself seriously, and so it comes across as almost endearing and manages to engage and entertain. Plus, there's a lot of likable people in it, so it definitely makes sense to meet them and be entertained.

It has my favorite premise, but somehow I discovered that while it knows how to be cute, shows a very nice relationship between the main characters, and isn't even afraid of sex, it just isn’t that good. There's some of that romance, suspense, family drama, but it's all so hollowly presented, even the acting, that maybe it's ok to watch if you want to clear your head and don't want anything that will get you worked up so you don't accidentally watch it all night; otherwise, it's a rather mediocre piece of work. Add to that the head-scratching ending that came out of nowhere... I finished it with a bitter taste in my mouth. Once and done, I won't remember it.