Silent (2022)

Amateurish production heavy on social education

It seems as though someone wanted to make a “socially aware” drama about the impact of hearing loss and impairment, but really didn’t have the skills in the field of story-telling and drama to pull it off successfully. I felt like I was being educated rather than entertained. Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for education and did find aspects of this production interesting and informative; but if education is going to come in the form of a drama, I’m looking for good dramatic structure, realistic dialogue and credible character interactions to carry it, such that it is woven in seamlessly. Otherwise, it would be better to watch a serious reality show/documentary about the lives of hearing impaired people.

What’s positive? It was about ordinary people and presented in an ordinary way, so it was not offensive. I didn’t actively dislike it, but I’m having difficulty in finding stuff that I can be enthusiastic about. Okay, there were some touching moments that weren’t too sentimental…

Overall the drama had an amateurish feel to it; particularly regarding the script, editing and sound.

The script was particularly unconvincing. The characters constantly have unrealistic conversations about issues. It’s much better to show characters in their normality and let the viewer put two and two together for themselves rather than preaching and patronising. But that requires a level of writing expertise which was lacking here and I’m wondering if this was a first attempt by the writer. The scarcity of ordinary interactions meant that there was very little opportunity for the actors to create rounded characters.

The plot clunked it’s way through a variety of relationship scenarios that were not properly explored or given time and depth to be credible. The structure of the plot was also clumsy, with heavy use of long stretches of backstory that interrupted the flow.

I was not particularly impressed by the two male leads, Meguro Ren and Suzuka Ouji. I think this was partly the directing, which insisted on overcooking the melo with the ironic result that they seemed shallow and one-dimensional. Whereas Kazama Shunsuke, Kaho and especially Shinohara Ryoko were more impressive and believable in their roles. It was not helped by the fact that there were not enough conversations that were free from some aspect of hearing impairment education, so the relationships did not feel natural or credible.

The editing was really bad overall and especially the music, which was sometimes randomly and abruptly cut off so that you felt like you were aurally falling off the edge of a cliff. This could have been a really effective tactic to highlight point of view changes between hearing and non-hearing characters. And occasionally I think they did that. But not consistently or cleanly enough for me to be sure what their intention was. I was just aware of sudden abrupt changes in sound levels and focus that did not seem to be synced with character interactions.

Overall, meh.

What my rating means: 5+ Meh! Don't bother, it's full of platitudes and clichés with boring characters and plots.

Lire davantage

Drama that touches the soul deeply

While scrolling through Instagram reels, I stumbled upon a clip from this drama's first episode featuring Sou and Tsumugi's reunion. Intrigued, I decided to look up the synopsis, and boy, was I in for a ride! But you know what? It wasn't just the heartbreaking storyline that got to me; it was the sheer beauty of the writing. Sometimes, you come across something so profound that it hits you right in the feels and leaves you in tears.

There wasn't a single dull moment in the drama, thanks to the engaging conversations between the characters. I felt like I was experiencing the story from each character's perspective. Every little detail seemed to hold a deeper meaning, and by the time I reached the final episode, I was treated to a whirlwind of emotions and uplifting moments.

Of course, creating such a masterpiece requires exceptional performances from the cast, and I must say, every actor nailed their role perfectly. They truly brought the characters to life, evoking genuine emotions with every scene.

This drama left a lasting impression on me and taught me valuable lessons. And who knows? Maybe when I rewatch it, I'll discover even more layers to appreciate.

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“Flowers make no sound, yet they contain words that can convey many feelings”

I started watching this drama and before I knew it, it was already over, as it mangaged to captivate me from the start and just kept a hold of me with interesting characters, connections, fears and dare I say one of few dramas with a whole lot of helaing elements that do not make me want to fast forward or throw a shoe at the screen.

The characters are human, real humans with real emotions struggling with love, life and dealing with the world around them all in their own way. Lovable most of time but in need of a lesson or ten in making their own decisions instead of making decisions for others.

I am not sure if I love teh main couple, the siblings or or the best friend, female leads mom or the sign language teacher the most as they are all so different yet so lovable.

I love the dialog, the symbols, gazes, the way they do show a bunch of issues without becoming preachy or pitiful, even the tears in this are well done. And while there are a bunch of stuff I admit could be done better the overall feel of this drama is positive making me overlook the less great parts and giving this a well deserved 9.

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Review in one sentence

This is my first jdrama and it is the best jdrama of the year. Acting of all the actors were perfect. There are some people who didn't like Minato and Nana, but I like them both. All the characters are kind hearted peoples. Loved it so much. I love the piano bgm and the ost , both matches with this drama perfectly. If you wanna try a jdrama I will definitely recommend this. Don't miss this gem. I'm a person who doesn't cry on watching sad drama, what I meant is, I will be sad for sure but my tears won't come out but this is one of the few dramas which made my tears came out rolling again and again. So thank you, I enjoyed that emotional part very much too. Thank you to all the actors and staff for your hard work.




Thank you for reading:)

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SO GOOD!!

BEST DRAMA IVE WATCHED IN A WHILE!!!! i’m going to protect sou and tsumigi with my life 😭😭😭😭😭 this drama made me cry and smile so much throughout. i finished it in literally 2 days, that’s how much i enjoyed it. i wish i could rewatch it again :(((( HIGHLY RECOMMEND.

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there's not enough words to describe this drama

i have never cried this much in every episode on any drama. everything about this drama is perfect. if someone ever think that the plot are dragged too long i dont think that they get the meaning of accepting a grief.
the story writting is excellent. there's nothing to complain about. the story is very much a simple sad love story it dont need any uneccesary plot twist so it's perfect.
the acting!!!!!! ren meguro definitely the star of the show. he take down the role very smoothly. my heart is aching everytime a sad scene is on. he dont need word to make me believe that he's sad. by only looking at his eyes i can feel every emotion he's trying to potray.

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this Dorama suits my crying agenda

First time I’m writing review here just because I really love this Dorama so much. It’s been a while since I watched Japanese filmography and because of Haruna, I decided to watch this drama.

The skill to deliver each other's characters emotions are really great. I might be biased since Haruna is my favorite actress but I think her acting skill is so good to portray Tsumugi. Meguro Ren also took the role so good ;----; I cried since 1st ep, or maybe I was crying in every eps lel.

Long short story this dorama has good ost, the cinematography is really calm for me, also the "silent" space is really comforting for me. I speedrunning this dorama for two days and after finished it I was feeling blue for another new dorama in the end I rewatched it for nth times (laughs)

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Beautiful and intelligent

I was really worried about this drama being frustrating seeing as the premise itself is about one character keeping a secret and initiating a break-up, followed by years of no contact — but that wasn't the case at all. The plot was realistic, the characters so mature and complex, and the script was surprisingly intelligent and beautiful because of it; there were a lot of places where annoying tropes could've come into play but the drama subverted it every time and instead the characters worked things out with communication and emotional connection.

This was just a beautiful drama to watch and it's so comforting from beginning to end. There are no villains, every side character is multi-faceted, and it was a beautiful story about people reconnecting and not only bridging the language gap, but also learning to accept each other and the passage of time. 11 episodes was perfect for the pace of the plot but I also wish I got so much of them.

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Well thought-through drama, maturing is realizing your own mistakes and owe up to them.

A drama to never forget. The low rewatch value is not something to be negative about as its an unique drama! Its definitely engraved in my mind as these sort of disabilities dramas are rare and creating awareness through this type of content is definitely appreciated

Although the storyline aligned with my predictions, it was still a pleasure to watch how the relationships between characters developed; and as it’s a Japanese dramas, everything is dealt with maturity.

The title Silent fits this drama perfectly; the director(s) somehow managed to ‘’fill’’ the screen with sound although its supposed to be silent in a real life scenario.

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A healing drama is just like a donkey . . . I mean onion

On the surface it is a short, slow burn romance with low angst. We need to peel back some layers to find the deeper meanings.
The ML is a tortured soul whose near perfect world collapsed in short order due to his gradual loss of hearing. He doesn’t know how to deal with it, so he became withdrawn and pushed everyone away. He tried to join the deaf community but finds that he is still on the outer because he was not born deaf. He came to the sad conclusion that EVERYONE sees him as being different and there is nowhere he truly belongs.

I believe that one of the motifs of the Show is how society divide people based on many assumed and perceived criteria into different groupings. Both real and invisible barriers are here to segregate and isolate them into smaller cliques.

Our need to belong creates pressure points in our social interactions. It can be exhausting and debasing when we run into unyielding barriers. How horrible it is when you are yanked from a comfortable reality into a new one where you are confused and lost.

It was fortuitous that the ML met a kind deaf girl. She befriended him and helped him to learn the sign language. It is not acceptance but at least he can function again. Their relationship is ambiguous. The girl is clearly interested in him, but he is afraid of commitment and shows no inclination to take their relationship to the next level. The girl is happy to stay in the friend zone as she has him all to herself. However, all that changed when the ML's ex-girlfriend ran into him by accident and started a chain reaction that changes several lives.

For me, the Show is a beautifully crafted story about rediscovering love, friendship, sacrifice and the need to compromise. I don’t want to give away the plots regarding the SML and SFL but let's just say that I'm getting serious second leads syndromes by the end of the Show.

From my perspective, the first half of the Show is very well done. There are lots of backstories, raw emotions and misunderstanding before the fateful reunion. The show took its time to explore all this. It was never going to be a joyride but the writer-san skilfully weave the story back and fore along the timeline so that we know how each character arrives at their current circumstances. There were plenty of broken psyche that needs healing. They get patched up enough to keep functioning but not completely healed. The amount of baggage carried by the ensemble cast will keep a caravan of camels fully loaded.

Unfortunately, while the Show start to untie the knots and salve the troubled souls in the second half, it is a slow process. The pacing of the show becomes almost meditative.

The healing and exploring requires a lot of dialogues between the OTP and sometimes side characters. I think the writer-san wants to show how difficult communication can be even though it is based on a common language. We ended up with a mix of sign language, written words, phone apps and normal conversations. It can be slow going as the ML has to keep the signing slow and simple so that the FL can keep up. It is like watching two primary school kids trying to communicate. They do resort to writing sentences on paper when it got too complicated.

In the end, the bulk of the breakthrough came in the last episode. All the affirmations and compromises are nutted out then. Some of the best scenes are also found there.

The FL worked hard to live in his world and she cajoled the ML into compromising his unyielding stand. It is a fragile middle ground but one they can call their own.

The acting is great with a lot of depth. Without spoken words, they need to emote with their facial expression, posture and their eyes. That requires real skills.

The loveline of the OTP is sweet-bitter-sweet. It is ashame that there is almost no skinship.

I can recommend this show but you have to be in the right frame of mind to appreciate it.

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