"In the beginning, women were the sun..."

"Toto Nee-chan" is my 18th asadora [I can't believe I'm so close to watching twenty of these dramas lol.] and it quickly became one of my favorites that I've watched thus far. Takahata Mitsuki truly left a deep impression on me with her role as the heroine, Tsuneko. I really liked her in "Gochisosan" before but she really knocks it out of the park with this one. Her smile lights up the room and her subtle line deliveries tell you exactly how Tsuneko is feeling. I was impressed with Mitsuki's acting and how well the writer understood the character that they were writing.

Nishijima Hidetoshi plays Tsuneko's father and, despite only appearing in about six episodes, makes yet another unforgettable impression. Before dying of tuberculosis, he asks Tsuneko to take his place in the family. She agrees and thus becomes "Toto Nee-chan." I appreciate that the finale, in which appears via a dream, addresses what a heavy burden this is. However, I also understand why he would ask this of her, considering the patriarchal society at the time. Thankfully, the unhealthy part of only lasts until Tsuneko's younger sisters are grown up. She then realizes that the entire family can support each other while she can still be the "head of the family" technically. At the end of the day, despite being a heavy burden, I think the promise gave Tsuneko a true purpose in life.

Tsuneko's sisters are Mariko (Sagara Itsuki) and Yoshiko (Sugisaki Hana & Irei Himena). These two are given strong characterizations and feel like co-leads with Mitsuki most of the time. Their mother is played by Kimura Tae. Another strong performance. I especially liked his storyline with her estranged mother Takiko (Daichi Mao). Unfortunately, by the end of the asadora, Tsuneko's sisters and mother feel somewhat pushed by the wayside. This is understandable since their storylines were mostly finished, though just a bit disappointing.

Besides Tsuneko, I think the second most memorable character is Hanayama-san (Karasawa Toshiaki). [I first saw Karasawa in the 1988 asadora "Jun-chan no Ouenka" and his acting skill has become so good since.] Tsuneko first meets Hanayama briefly before the war. They meet again and he agrees to become the chief editor of the magazine she's starting with her sisters. Hanayama seems like one of those typical mentor characters in asadoras. However, I feel their relationship goes deeper than that. To me, Tsuneko and Hanayama are a good example of how "soulmates" don't have to be romantic partners. I also enjoyed Hanayama's uncompromising nature, which is a good foil to Tsuneko who initially wants to please everyone.

To address the elephant in the room, Tsuneko doesn't get married or have children. She does technically have a love interest, Hoshino-san (Sakaguchi Kentaro). [He was also amazing in "Okaeri Mone."] He proposes her just before the war, but she turns him down to stay with her family. They meet again fifteen years later and seemingly have another chance. However, the timing isn't right and Hoshino makes the best decision for his children. Their romance is very pure and heartbreaking. I would have loved for their relationship to have worked out, but I find it realistic and I respect the decision to have an asadora heroine not get married for once.

I also loved the music for "Toto Nee-chan," particularly the theme song "Hanataba o Kimi ni" by Hikaru Utada. Her songs for dramas always seem to capture the essence of the series. I could listen to this song for hours and I never got tired of it once.

To close out this review: I absolutely loved this asadora. The writing was superb from start to finish with an endless amount of impressive characters and moments. The writer did such a good job closing out the drama with the last few weeks. The finale was also one of the best I've seen from an asadora so far. It was infinitely satisfying and I know I'll go back to watch it again very soon. An A+ asadora that I would recommend to everyone.

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Heartfelt movie with solid acting

I really love Sugisaki Hana. She never disappoints me with her projects. Her acting is always nuanced and she seems to inhabit her characters. This movie was particularly interesting for me since she's not really the "main" you know. Nevertheless, Hana was able to show off some really nice acting during her scenes. The film is told through Tabata's point-of-view. He is played by Yoshizawa Ryo who I've only seen in the live-action Bleach movie (which Hana was also in lol). Of course, I was better able to see Ryo's acting ability in this film and I'll definitely keep my eye out now.

Basically, the film follows Tabata (Ryo) who formed a club with the idealistic Akiyoshi (Hana) three years prior. He now feels that the club has strayed from its 'save the world' ambitions and aims to take it down. Tabata can be classified as an unreliable narrator as the way he views events aren't really how they played out and he embellishes other things. Despite this, I really related to Tabata. He was an outsider who avoided people so he wouldn't get hurt, only realizing later that that is impossible.

Ultimately, the movie is about change: "becoming the person you want to be." Akiyoshi goes towards this goal by striving to make the world a better place. Supporting character Mizuki (Mori Nana) must leave the safety of the free school she attends to enter the real world. Tabata must truly open himself to people and emotions. Overall, the movie had a lot of touching moments. It might come off a bit preachy at time, but not much.

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Messy and forgettable, but not exactly horrible

This drama took me foreverrr to finish, despite being only five episodes. It just wasn't as enjoyable as "Perfect Match." I kind of dreaded watching the final two episodes and eventually just had to bite the bullet. I think it boils down to two factors: story and acting. First of all, the premise is ridiculous and tedious at times. I think GMMTV was overreaching with this amnesia wannabe Groundhog Day plot. While somewhat interesting, the writing and acting was just not there.

I genuinely liked all of the actors, Neen, Mouse, Nicky. They're all adorable. But... Neen was obviously too young for this role. Her acting was so cringey at times, though she had a few shining moments. Nicky and Mouse weren't horrible, but not exactly stand-outs. I wasn't too impressed with the supporting cast either. Though it was nice to see baby New! But not baby Off, I was so sad that his character was so creepy T_T

To conclude, this drama was pretty forgettable and probably not worth your time if you're a seasoned drama watcher. Now, if you're new or just wanna watch the whole Ugly Duckling series, I don't think it's too bad. There were a lot of moments I liked. The ending here was also better than "Perfect Match," though somewhat cobbled together.

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Fun drama but muddled at some points

First of all, the plot. "Perfect Match" is a pretty straightforward story, though its weakest points are episode 1 and the 7-8. The catalyst for Junior's (Mook) transformation is kind of... dumb. Plastic surgery on your cheeks, who does that? Anyway, Junior has a reaction from the chemicals uses and develops pimples all over her face. I like that Junior's transformation, both physical and mental, is slowly played out during the series.

Now on to Suea (Push), Junior's love interest. Honestly, Push is irresistible. I love his confidence and playfulness. His interactions with Bie are simply adorable. Around episodes 7-8, I was confused by some of his behavior. I guess he was just supposed to be jealous, but some of the things he said just came off as mean. He, thankfully, goes back to being nice in the final episode and his behavior is explained somewhat. P.S. I was not really a fan of the big reveal at the end.

All in all, after watching "Girl Next Room," I'm loving these anthology dramas. They're short, usually below ten episodes. And they're all connected in some way, but not enough that it'll be a problem if you skip one. After finishing "Ugly Duckling," I'm planning to watch the "U-Prince" series and "Senior Secret Love."

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Just okay

This drama started off strong for me. Of course, the plot isn't something revolutionary or anything. But, it was a really cute story of two sisters returning to their hometown and falling in love there. I really liked all the flashbacks of Bebe (Mook) and Mint (Krist), which were just adorable. The story lost me around episodes 8 and 9. Everything just became so over-the-top, especially with the SFL. I didn't even hate her until episode 9. At that point, she was just insufferable.

My main issue with the drama remains Mook's character. She's shallow and materialistic, but I actually didn't start to hate her because of this. Her character actually goes through some good character development. However, she clearly cheats on her boyfriend and this is never addressed. I know he turned out to be jerk, but we're just okay with cheating now??? I'm sorry but they really failed her character in this one.

Lastly, the final episode was good atleast. I appreciate a nice happy ending, even if it was a major "Pair the Spares" moment. Look that up on TVTropes if you don't know what I'm talking about. I probably won't ever watch this again, but atleast it introduced me to Krist. I'm definitely going to check out some of his other stuff.

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