I wasn't going to write this review as my overall impression is the same as my review for season 1.  I think this has all the markings of becoming this generations Hana Yori Dango or Itazura na Kiss or Hanazakari no Kimitachi e.  This is their relationship is on the next stage, and it is set up so they can do another season if they want to, but it isn't a cliff hanger.   It shows how brightly people shine while in a relationship, but separately the shine isn't the same.  It has been less than 24 hours since I marathon watched all 10 episodes, so I need to digest its re-watch value. One thing I do like is there is never any question whether they love each other, or whether one deserves the other (thinking female lead is below male lead or ugly). Instead its -  will the relationship last despite the obstacles they make for themselves.

I really enjoyed this, I hope you do to.

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The base story itself is nothing new but the concept and execution will keep you on you toes. There is a light back ground story here that hits you full on in episode 8 but otherwise this is a very episodic show with each case wrapping up at the end of every episode.
That does not detract from the story at all, in fact some how it enhances it. You get some truly awesome action scenes, including Yamada kicking backside in his wheelchair. You forget that this actor has not been in this wheelchair for years, he has made it a part of his person. That makes me appreciate the actor even more.
This show tackles heavy topics and makes you stop and think, even if you don't want to.
THIS SHOW IS AMAZING!

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I will be writing an article but I wanted to do a short review here since there wasn't any.

I am a lover of history and the people who make it. The only hesitation for me watching this was the number of episodes.

Story: When writing a tale based on a real person it is difficult not to fudge things, or add extra fantastical things that may be attributed to the person through out time as his legend grows. this did not do that. It simply filled in the gaps seemlessly between recorded events. Tiara no Kiyomori was the first Samurai to lead the Japanese court and paved the way for Shogunates to happen. You can lookup his life on the internet, this drama follows it pretty closely, but be warned, there will be spoilers lol.

Someone asked if there was romance in this. My answer would be real life romance, at the time when a woman duty was a political tool for their family, love does happen. For several couples in this drama the feelings between husbands and wives is clearly shown and the roles both of them play in supporting each other.

According to my husband whose big thing is when movies screw up armor said that the mix of pieces looked accurate, though he feels the use of the Katana was not that wide spread yet. Meh I don't look at that.

The scenery makes you feel like you are there with them, in their mansions, on the pirate boat, or in the forests. it is beautifully shot.

To quote Kiyomori he is following the path of carnage to break traditions and raise the status of Samurai in general, his clan specifically.

The music has on song that is thread throughout and plays a pivotal part of the plot, which is why I gave it and 8, even if you love something , hearing it 100 times in a short period will lessen its appeal.

Re-watch value an 8 only because I now know all the surprises, I would however sit and rewatch it with anyone who wishes to see it.


I gave this a 10, It exceeded my expectations and made me want to watch more tiagas, just not any time soon lol.

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So this is a perfect fluff fest with unbelievable character interactions. I hear you now..now but that's typical Shoujo. This is even more saccharin sweet than most. There is like 0 conflict, 0 outside interference (well that wasn't resolve with 10 minutes of it cropping up and nothing serious). What kept this from being total snoozefest was the implied sex scenes and the sexual tension situations Risa found herself in.

Risa is not the brightest bulb in the pack and her child like characteristic start to get annoying relatively early in the series, and his action make you wonder what their future is going to be like later...(yeah I was bored).

This get a 7. Just make sure you take your insulin shot before you watch it.

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This is a typical anime heroic story line, secret hero of the oppressed dressed in over the top European clothes and long flowing Purple hair. Your basic BL story (but then copped out and used a FL that everyone refers to as a boy). Mind you this doesn't stop Gackt from kissing another man.

Over the top camp (cheese, what ever you want to call it) story involving love for your crappy home town even though everyone else thinks that place is the pits. Great Cast, great shout out to huge names in Japanese entertainment From Chiba and Saitama. I love a movie that doesn't take itself seriously and is made out of love and fun.

Make sure to watch then end credits and song lyrics.

This review will self destruct in 5 seconds. ; )

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So the premise of this movie is based on a Pierre-Simon Laplace (french mathemetician) theory about the Laplace Demon that states:

"We may regard the present state of the universe as the effect of its past and the cause of its future. An intellect which at a certain moment would know all forces that set nature in motion, and all positions of all items of which nature is composed, if this intellect were also vast enough to submit these data to analysis, it would embrace in a single formula the movements of the greatest bodies of the universe and those of the tiniest atom; for such an intellect nothing would be uncertain and the future just like the past would be present before its eyes."

This is essentially the whole movie. Now that we have that out of the way, if you are looking for magical ladies and wands and pointed hats, that is definitely NOT this movie, and i think the misnomer brings the audience in with different expectation than what is delivered.

It is a lot of talking, sitting and talking, making paper airplanes and talking, the action is only about 10 minutes of this whole film. Very little emotion is invoked from the watcher, well this watcher at least. No bonds are formed during on screen time of this movie, but implied in a few minute flashbacks. No friendships, No enemies. and Certainly no romance.

It is not a bad movie, the acting was stable and YAY Lily Frankie, but the script was not memorable. Nothing comes out of this movie other than to google Pierre-Simon Laplace: ).

To sum it up If you love Sakurai Sho or Fukushi Sota or any of the other actors its an okay movie and you are probably going to watch it anyhow. If you are not a fan and are looking for a movie that is more than just a time killer, this is not for you

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I went into this because of the watch challenge this year. At first, I am, not going to lie, I rolled my eyes at how rich and pampered she was. That lasted 15-20 minutes then bam! right into the arranged marriage. Her pureness but willing to learn won me (and the male lead) over almost immediately. Not quite fluff, but definitely not heavy either. Like the bears bed in Goldilocks it was just right.

Acting was spot on for the characters they were portraying. This is based on Manga so somethings are unrealistic, but the meat of the story is what really struck home with me.

i gave this a 9 because maybe it was something I needed right now. Have fun watching : )

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Story was well executed leaving you entertained without feeling like you learned a lesson. This family feels like one that could actually exist, with the sibling rivlry, loving mother, step parent and mild marital issues.

Ikuta Toma made this show revolve around his character Mitsuru playing off of Koike Eiko's Ayako flawlessly. As a watcher I believed they had a shared history. Yasuda Ken acted the outsider Koji masterfully, as Ayako's new husband he finds an ally in his new brother in law when standing against his wife.

Music : Tomayo by Kanjani8 really grew on me and I have added to my playlist the insrt music added to the light hearted feel of the drama.

I do not rewatch shows often so in all my reviews this is a low score.

Overall this drama is about pacing and everyone has their own timing to do things. Some are go getters and hit the ground running with every task they do, and others have a turtle named Bolt that they try and emulate : )

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This is a real live action Manga/Anime in the truest sense.  If you watch this eight episodes series  expect silliness and over the top antics, but somehow compelling at the same time.  I picked this up because it was on Netflix and it was safe to watch on my phone for lunch break. At first i was like what is this crap, but after the first episode, I got used to the weirdness and went on to episode 2.  I think upon reviewing the first episode I commented it was on par with the first season of Power Rangers in cheesiness.  

So if you are looking for something to lighten the mood, and is short and sweet, this just might be a fit for you.

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Spare the rod, Spoil the child.

Non Spoilery things about the drama overview are the fact the drama is about keeping secrets from your significant other. We as the audience are let in on the BIG secret in the beginning of the first episode. But he is not the only one with a secret.

There were so many hands trying to expose his secret it was hard to exactly suss out who the culprit was until the last few episodes. It was done in such a way that the twist did not seem heavy handed or pushed by the writer.

The acting has been panned in few of the other reviews for this title and I would like to express my take on it. The actress who plays the his mother (Suzuki Honami) is excellent at playing the dead pan look, the fake smile when in fact there are other intentions behind that mask. By making the son (Fukushi Sota) mimic the same mannerism seems very natural to me. This is paralleled in the Father-son relationship in the Tachibana household.

As far as overacting in the Reveal episodes--I see Saku as a child doing things to bully the other sibling. in that light it did not seem out of place. (this is not a spoiler unless you have seen the drama in it's entirety).

Overall I would rate this an 8.5 because the forgiveness and One True Love were shoe horned in pretty heavily.

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I had been waiting for this movie since it was announce I am a Huge Kame fan and I also love Lily Frankie so the two together what could go wrong? Right? As a Kame film it is not his usual venture, as a Lily Frankie work it is Exactly the kind of thing he normally does.
Lily Frankie (Pieta in the Toilet, Million Yen Women and his life story is told in Tokyo Tower (Me, Mom, and sometimes Dad)2007) doesn't take normal roles and his movies usually push society norms and thoughts.This movie is in the same vein.

The story was told well but you need to finish the movie to get to the thought provoking ending. It was tagged as comedy and I do not see how it can be. Medical, Family, Sci-fi I totally agree with.

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Up front, any time there is English in this it really is bad, not the English, the acting.  Even the "American" they got sucked at English.  It was so jarring. And if he speaks Japanese, why do Kana and Sion have to speak English when they are alone?  I would get it if he was Korean and she was Japanese and English was the common tongue, but that is not the case, but I digress.

Now let's push that aside, and look at the series.  I decided to look at it a super hero origin story, those are always kinda clunky, having to mush so much stuff in such a short amount of time.  The first 5 episodes are flashback heavy, the same flashbacks, but you see more each time.  For those anime fans out there think Naruto's swing in front of the school, that level of repetition flashbacks.  

Ok lets get past that.  There was lots a pretty in the movie with Taemin and Shota, that helps me forgive a lot.  Its Matsuda, so yes its an artsy film, like Depp he doesn't do any other kind.

The songs What's this Feeling and I'm Crying by Taemin are really good.  It's a coherent, even if sketchy story line.  

If you like Sci-fi or super heroes, Matsuda  Shota or Tae-mini I recommend this title. Despite the way this review sounds I liked it a lot, I just feel if you go in with low expectations you'll enjoy it more.

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