5-ji Kara 9-ji Made (2015)

Meh

TBH it’s slow and boring and weird. I mean I cried a little bit when they were going through their breakup in the last few episodes, which was unexpected. Honestly, I’m surprised I got past the first episode since he was so stalkery and pushy which is a huge red flag. So I wouldn’t recommend. Though her family was really cute and I enjoyed them. But the fact that every man was in love with her was blah and the grandma was annoying as heck and the office side characters were not that interesting and yes the monk without his shirt in the waterfall was nice but what was the reason? So yeah. . . not worth it for me. I skipped through most of it to be completely honest. It was just so boring and slow.

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Story (6/10):
I have not read the original manga that this is based on, so I can only speak for the drama. The overall story line is fairly lighthearted and comical, but it does have a few emotional moments towards the end (I only went through like, one box of tissues... nbd).

The good:
The story progressed at a decent pace, where every episode had a purpose. While I wasn't too impressed with the plot, I thoroughly enjoyed the every one of the comical moments, many of which were unexpected. Aside from the comedy, my favorite parts of the drama were the sub stories of the supporting characters. They were all adorable and added so much fun and liveliness to the drama, and I would have loved to see more of them!

The not so good:
The story itself is pretty one dimensional. There was only one predominant obstacle throughout the entire series. Aside from the idea of a monk determinedly chasing after the female protagonist, there wasn't much else that made this drama unique. Furthermore, the plot development was uneven.Some parts of the story line were dragged on a bit longer than necessary, while other parts weren't explored enough. I felt like the drama started out a bit repetitive and slow for the first half of the series, but made a quick turnaround for the second half.

Characters (8/10)
The characters made the show for me. There were moments when I felt that the acting was a little lacking or the lines were too cheesy, but it didn't take too much away from the story . Each person had their little quirk or unique personality trait that made them interesting. Altogether, they created and fun and inviting atmosphere that made me wish that I could be a part of that community. There aren't any true villains in this drama, only misunderstood individuals who need to learn how to communicate. By the end of the drama, I pretty much loved everyone and was sad to say goodbye. Keep in mind, though I get attached to people very easily D:.

Music:
I didn't particularly pay attention to the music, but I got no complaints!

Overall
This isn't a drama I'd plan on re-watching, but it's definitely a drama to watch if you're looking for something fun and light. It's also a fairly short drama, so there's no long time or emotional commitment! :P

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The drama is all over the place

I really regret having spent all these hours watching this silly, badly made drama.
The way the relationship between the two leads start is infuriating. He's pushing, stalking and more, the well-meaning but insufferably meddlesome family is also pushing, she is resisting very weakly, you want to slap her into reason.
There is no rhyme or reason on why people communicate or not communicate, and the miscommunication is achieved by people not saying what they want right away, only to lose the chance to speak because someone or something interrupts them. Such a cheap trick, which gets stale very quickly. The editing is choppy and scene changes very abrupt, the music is completely unsuitable for the mood. The male lead is robotic and expressionless, a very bad actor. The female lead, one of the prettiest and sweetest Japanese actresses I've seen, is not bad, but over-compensates by doing too much.
The side characters are quirky and some of them a bit unusual, which is good, but their storylines don't get you really invested.
As for the finale, it is incomprehensible. What will these people do, how will they reconcile their different dreams and lifestyles? It remains unsolved - maybe the writers couldn't find a solution, so they just left it hanging. And it can't even be called an "open ending" where you, the viewer, can choose whichever outcome or solution you want, because there's really no solution to reconcile these two life plans, they are just opposite.
Waste of time, not recommended.

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I don't like it. I read the manga before I watched the drama and find myself disappointed. I understand that you might need to change it a little bit from the original story to make it still interesting but I think the writer change it too much and make the drama loss many many great potentials to be successful. For example is the pairing of Momoe and Arthur. They are my most fav pairing in the story and many many readers really love this pairing compare the main one (Junko and Hoshikawa san) but their depth love story is reduced no erased from the drama. The writer makes them as a side couple and not much story tells about them. Junko character was also more annoying. Junko in the manga is way-way more independent and mature. Yes, she is still lacking but compared in the one in the drama, she has the appeal of a sexy, independent and intelligent woman which attract Hoshikawa to tame her and that is not shown in the drama.  In the end, this drama became a typical Japanese drama with lack of substance. It failed to become a memorable Japanese drama. The acting was great. Satomi Ishihara is a great actress with amazing acting skills. Yamashita, on the other hand, did not act really well. I find him not suited to be the character. His acting is too stiff and weird. It's looked forced to me. Maybe the hair though, he looks like idolish than monkish (Hoshikawa in the manga has shaved head too since he is a monk).  Both of them has chemistry in  certain scenes that I think can be way better. I think all the faults are on the shoulder of the writer and director that the drama became failure to me. I won't watch it a second time and won't recommend it. Please read the manga for a better story (it's more interesting and realistic).

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OH MY WORD!!!! The eye candy!!!! Satomi Ishihara and Yamapi are such gorgeous people- if they got married and had kids, they'd have the cutest babies ever!!! And also, Yamapi in a suit at the end.. ???????????? He is one fine looking man!

Down to the nitty gritty (may contain possible spoilers):

Story: 6.5/10
I feel like most Japanese dramas lack in this area. I felt that certain parts of the drama were dragged out too long, while other things weren't addressed at all. I wanted them to expand more on Takane's parents, his upbringing and why he's so stoic and emotionless, his previous girlfriends (even just little tidbits!). The thing with Masako and the student should've been addressed. I certainly got confused at what this drama was doing at times- I was thinking it was gonna be a romance, then at times it was comedic, comedic to the point where I couldn't take the other scenes seriously (the beginning scenes with the grandma was more comedic, then later in in the story, it was a total 180 degree change, the romance between Arthur and Momoe was totally unnecessary). It was the subpar writing at fault- a skilled writer will incorporate all of these seemlessly (ex. Hama Yori Dango).
This drama had waaaaaaaaaaaay to many love triangles and squares going on! I just wanna focus on the main couple, plus a few other important people, and that's it!
The almost-kisses got kinda annoying. If I were the guy, I would've just went back in a finished the job. I will say that the kiss scene at the end was good. I normally cringe when people do kiss scenes in Japanese dramas. It's so platonic and emotionless. Yamapi's kiss scenes are either improving, he has a thing for Satomi Ishihara or both. Either way, im all for it!
Some thoughts on individual characters:
Takane was cute, yet possessive and stalkerish. He wasn't highly possessive but he still was (with his "I'm never gonna let you go" lines). He kept saying those lines even though she was creeped out/didn't like them (but I guess in his defense, he's lacking experience in communication with other girls due to being a monk). I didn't like his persistence at first, but when I saw that they were constantly backed up by his actions, I caved in. Someone who is honest and sincere like that should be loved back! He's basically a child looking for love

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touching love story as realistic as it is crazy

Definitely a must watch, though it's Cinderella story again - but so nicely executed that it feels totally new. The ML and FL were so much into the character, and the supporting cast was also exceptional! A lot of handsome faces too... The interiors and fashion and buildings - everything looked seductive. They even overdid it sometimes!
Of course - there are tropes and cheesy moments. The ML saves the helpless FL in the rain, he kneels down to propose with the diamond ring and all etc. But dont let these bother you, the entire drama is charming and i enjoyed its slow pace almost all the time.
Little short of being genius - if u ask me.
The immersion into the japanese culture and cinematography is a bonus.

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2023 Review:

I watched this drama for the first time back in 2016 (I think), and while I enjoyed a lot of things about it, I also remembered kind of forcing myself to overlook some aspects of the story. So when I decided to rewatch it recently, I was unsure how things would go.

Guys, the way they made this drama work should not have been possible.

There were absolutely places where I cringed my way through, but then the writers would pull me right back in and make me root for the main couple. The male lead would do something egregious, and I would want to shake him into pieces, then he’d give this heartfelt and meaningful apology, and he would MEAN it. Or the writers would give a really darn good explanation for his behavior that really made you understand him. Or they’d just make him so dang likable and sympathetic. The romance gave me plenty of frustration, but it also worked its way right into the depths of my heart.

One thing that was consistently nice about this drama was seeing the female lead getting so much joy out of her work and working so hard towards her goals. She clearly loves teaching and is very good at it. Then at the end of the drama, when the leads love is tested and she decides to quit her job in order to prove she’s worthy to marry the male lead, he is actually upset by her decision. I was honestly surprised by this reaction, as I assumed he would eventually expect her to quit. But then we find out that he doesn’t want that at all, and it made me very happy.

Granted, them registering their marriage right before she moves to New York in the final episode for an undetermined amount of time (the drama never tells us how long she’s going to be gone) makes no practical sense whatsoever, but this is a drama where you just have to go where the writers are taking you, and by that point, I was on board that train, lol.

I’m sure I’ll watch this again someday in the future, and I’m sure the same moments will make me cringe, and I’m sure the drama will win be back over every single time. I fully understand that there will be other viewers who won’t be able to deal with the male lead in this drama, and I totally get it. But just like Takane won over Junko’s heart, this drama won over mine.

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Lags and Gets Boring

I started this very interested in the concept and curious about where the story would go. The monk angle as one of the Lead Characters was one I hadn't seen explored before in so I was fully invested in the first few episodes. I even binged and didn't sleep to watch the first five or so episodes.

But then the story didn't advance. Not significantly. The secondary characters became intrusive since time spent with them meant our lead characters didn't advance their story...and their story needed to advance.

FL is gorgeous but when she has a change of heart in the latter episodes it's so sudden it seems unrealistic...and ML's obsession with her was steadfast until it wasn't near the end and then it just seemed forced and a glaring plot device. And it bothered me how the ML stalked and even kidnapped her to force her to love him. It was bad enough that his grandmother was horrible, but he was so obsessive it stopped being cute or trope-y. It was just plain toxic.

It also frustrates me when repeatedly the characters try to kiss and get interrupted. By the time they do in the final 2 minutes I don't care anymore.

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This is the drama for the one who just want to enjoy a love story in a unique way lol. I've never known that the monk in japan can marry lol, I like Yamapi so I watch it, and surprise that the story is lovely and hilarious, it makes this series fun and refreshing.

I loved the cast, good-looking and cute. I like that they're focus more on their job, dream but unsure about decision in life that wasn't easy through so it realistic for me and this drama have multiple couple as well. The view of city in Tokyo and Temple are beautiful, the little monk is super cute. So watch it, you won't regret it later, for sure.

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