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  • Dernière connexion: il y a 2 minutes
  • Genre: Femme
  • Lieu: hell, where all the cool kids are
  • Contribution Points: 215 LV3
  • Anniversaire: March 30
  • Rôles: VIP
  • Date d'inscription: février 7, 2013
  • Awards Received: Finger Heart Award116 Flower Award250 Coin Gift Award88

Kate

hell, where all the cool kids are

Kate

hell, where all the cool kids are
Complété
Perfect Days
5 personnes ont trouvé cette critique utile
par Kate Flower Award1
avril 12, 2024
Complété 3
Globalement 10
Histoire 9.0
Acting/Cast 10
Musique 10
Degrés de Re-visionnage 9.5

Finding joy and staying patient while living the mundane life,

as we all learn to find beauty in the tiny moments - a smile from a child, sun coming through the branches of the trees, other people’s happiness.

Perfect Days is weirdly relatable in its simplicity. Smiling because of the shadows dancing on the wall is something that happens to me often - little moments that when appreciated, can make your day better. The movie allows you to stop for a minute and take in all the everyday wonders we often miss.

Watching Hirayama enjoy his daily routines and finding things to appreciate when the known pattern is broken made me think that every situation comes with a set of things to welcome with gratitude and things to be patient about. No bad moment lasts forever, no happy moments can exist, if we don’t notice them.

Yakusho Koji’s performance alone could be seen as the 8th wonder of the world. Even with little to no dialogue, he was able to express all the depth and internal complexity. Hirayama truly is a character we could learn from - patient, kind, helpful, giving, perceptive, diligent. Someone who cherishes each and every moment finding time to note the beauty of his surroundings.

Visually speaking I was in awe when watching it in the cinema. The use of light and shadows, well crafted set designs, interesting shots and angles - while I am glad I was able to see it all on the big screen, I also wish I could take screenshot of each and every scene and be able to come back to the pictures representing the beauty of the daily life.

Inspired by the movie, let me name a few things that brought a smile on my face in recent times:

How shadows that added to the beauty of the art I was viewing, creating a unique experience for that specific moment.
A cute drawing kids made with a chalk on the pavement.
The sun making the water flicker as if the waves were carrying little diamonds.
How a dirty window on the bus stop actually made the sunset I saw look even more magical.
How I drew a smile on a mandarin and it smiled at me the whole lecture.

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Battle Royale
5 personnes ont trouvé cette critique utile
par Kate
oct. 20, 2023
Complété 0
Globalement 7.0
Histoire 6.0
Acting/Cast 7.5
Musique 7.0
Degrés de Re-visionnage 5.0

Fairly entertaining, insanely ridiculous.

Did I have fun? Kind of. Did it take me 4 hours to finish it? Yes. Did I feel bad about being bored while watching all the kids dying? No. And that all kind of sums up all the problems I had with the movie.

Personally, I’m the person who needs some kind of explanation for the events happening, otherwise I cannot connect to what I see on the screen and I get bored. And we got exactly zero explanations in Battle Royale. What was the goal of the law? What was supposed to be the positive effect it has? What was the motivation make it happen? We don’t know and I honestly cannot think of a truly logical one myself that would make sense in any universe. So the movie ends up with being just… kids killing themselves and each other. And that’s kind of boring.

That said, there were two aspects I did enjoy:

My favorite part of the movie was for sure everyone taking their sweet time dying after being shot 4868374587439 times. They do need to give their final monologues after all.

Jokes aside, one thing I truly liked is how the kids are accused of basically the collapse of moral standards and crumbling society, but as the movie progresses, we see many flashbacks of all the adults who failed the same kids that are blamed now. Great way to showcase how youth is often blamed the negative consequences of adults’ actions and decisions - still relevant 23 years after the movie was made. It’s not the kids that ruined the society, it’s the society that failed the kids.

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Our Beloved Summer
5 personnes ont trouvé cette critique utile
par Kate
oct. 7, 2023
16 épisodes vus sur 16
Complété 5
Globalement 7.5
Histoire 6.5
Acting/Cast 9.0
Musique 7.0
Degrés de Re-visionnage 6.5

Like a pack of dry cookies that are strangely addicting, even though they taste like nothing.

I know it’s a drama loved by many, but I’m sadly not in that camp. I still enjoyed it quite a lot, it just never truly moved me that much, and I think that was supposed to be the biggest selling point - how touching it is.

I think the biggest reason I did not fall in love with the drama itself is the fact I never fell in love with two main characters - Choi Woong and Gook Yeon Soo. I was indifferent about them as individuals and completely not interested in them as a pair. Something about how they were written did not click with me.

On the other hand, I adored so many supporting characters with Kim Ji Woong being easily my favorite. Both episodes focused on his point of view were in my perspective the most interesting and engaging. I know for a fact I liked him so much because I related to him in many areas, but that’s the strength of the drama - they present many unique, but realistic characters, I’m sure everyone would find one to relate to.

I’m quite sad how little they showed of NJ. There was not one scene of hers that was boring, some were quite meaningful. I appreciate how they never made her a typical toxic second female lead - her perspective on the whole situation was refreshing.

While I understand the drama portrays a lot of important life lessons that young people face - from teens to late twenties, I weirdly never connected to this presentation. Sure, there were some scenes that were memorable, but overall I don’t think I’m going to remember much after a few months.

Performances? Phenomenal from the whole cast. Exactly zero complaints. The emotional scenes were done well, the comedic bits were truly funny, not one character was miscast.

Overall, while my brain understands why many people loved this show, my heart does not follow.

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After Signal
5 personnes ont trouvé cette critique utile
par Kate
sept. 25, 2023
4 épisodes vus sur 4
Complété 0
Globalement 7.5
Histoire 7.0
Acting/Cast 9.0
Musique 5.0
Degrés de Re-visionnage 7.0
On one hand it was so much better than the actual show - we’ve seen more natural interactions between the couples that were not highly edited. We were also able to see how the contestants themselves react to some of the scenes from the show (probably my favorite aspect of After Signal).

On the other hand it felt like the panelists were not quite treating the participants as real people. It’s one thing to “ship” them when watching the show and seeing specific interactions that were edited to look romantic, it’s a completely different story to ship these people in their face and keep saying how they see “signals” between them. I feel like After Signal took one step too far into the private lives of these people.

Still, I did enjoy it a lot. I feel like this showed some new sides of the couples - it makes it so much easier to understand why these people picked each other, but it also proves how shitty editing and directing of Heart Signal 4 was…

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Konin Todoke Nihan wo Oshita Dakedesuga
5 personnes ont trouvé cette critique utile
par Kate
mai 11, 2023
10 épisodes vus sur 10
Complété 1
Globalement 7.0
Histoire 6.5
Acting/Cast 8.5
Musique 7.0
Degrés de Re-visionnage 6.5

When lack of communication skills is your whole personality.

This is not a sweet rom-com. This is a frustrating journey that will test your patient, and I have no idea why I enjoyed it.

It’s a story of two people who love jumping to conclusions and never verbalizing their feelings and issues. Female lead was slightly less frustrating than male lead - she was at least aware of her own feelings, which cannot be said about the other half of this infuriating couple.

All these miscommunications were blast to watch though. Why? Thanks to all the supporting characters, who had some of the best and most reasonable reactions to all the childish shenanigans going on. I appreciate how it was established that it’s not the writing that is stupid, it’s the main duo only, and it’s done on purpose. I can go on board with it.

Female lead had little self-esteem, male lead had no self-awareness, I had no business using my brain watching it. Love triangle of poor character traits - best relationship between the drama and the viewer.

The performances were great. Seino Nana somehow made Akiha a character worth rooting for and Sakaguchi Kentaro was able to calm my distress caused by Shu’s character with his cuteness. I also love Kursahina Kana and her portrayal of Miharu - probably one of my favorite characters in the whole show.

Production wise - this is your typical rom-com. Nothing bad, nothing good. Standard quality, nothing to complain about. Bless them for having the cat though, he was amazing.

Overall, this was entertaining for all the wrong reasons.

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Lingering
5 personnes ont trouvé cette critique utile
par Kate
mars 27, 2023
Complété 0
Globalement 5.0
Histoire 4.5
Acting/Cast 7.5
Musique 5.0
Degrés de Re-visionnage 1.0
There is nothing really wrong about this movie (except for the ghost snapchat filter, I can’t anymore), but there is nothing really right either. It’s structured in a way that it does not hold the suspense and I honestly did not care about the mystery of it all. The characters presented no depth and their personalities were as bland as they can get. Not to mention random involvement of the police, which was honestly not necessary.

The plot twist by the end made sense, but also came out of nowhere since it was not really set up throughout the film - it was the ending that simply felt flat.

When I watch movies like that I always wonder, how did this cast end up here? These are not unknown actors who have to take any project thrown at them. What made them think these were roles worth taking? How can one see a script to a mediocre movie like that and gladly be part of it?

There were a few aesthetic shots, but overall, the movie did not really offer much to be praised.

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Kanojo wa Kirei datta
5 personnes ont trouvé cette critique utile
par Kate
févr. 4, 2023
10 épisodes vus sur 10
Complété 0
Globalement 7.0
Histoire 7.0
Acting/Cast 8.0
Musique 6.0
Degrés de Re-visionnage 7.0

The lack of chemistry was evident…

Which made me enjoy it more as a slice of life drama, rather than a romantic comedy. Not gonna lie though, with the amount of “love lines” and feelings the characters had for each other, the fact that there were exactly zero sparks felt was disappointing.

I honestly think it would be better without the romance. Focusing on friendship and personal growth would make it a nice, warm and inspiring show. What we’ve got was a borderline Jekyll and Hyde male lead, that flipped between his two personalities in the matter of seconds and a questionable romance - no one will convince me Sato Ai was not too focused on the familiarity and the nostalgia, while ignoring all the flaws.

We also have the whole aspect of changing appearance, which I found ridiculous. For me Koshiba Fuka actually looked better and more attractive before the “glow up”. I think the natural look fits her far more, and the idea she was thought to be extremely ugly was laughable.

There were still quite a few aspects I truly loved. The themes of rediscovering yourself, finding your dreams, working hard to improve, taking accountability for your actions - this is what I enjoyed the most.

Sato Ai was a great character with a great journey. Higuchi Takuya was a walking sunshine with a glowing personality that was impossible to dislike. And then we have Sosuke and Risa who were both underdeveloped which made them kind of boring - I truly did not care about them at all. Their struggles and motivations were shown in such a vague and shallow manner, why should I care?

The performances were good. Akaso Eiji impressed me the most - the natural and quick switches between the happy puppy to angst were amazing. They were clearly visible to the viewers, but subtle enough that it made sense the other characters did not notice. This Japanese version overall improved in the characterization aspects - keeping the core of who these characters were supposed to be, while toning down the cartoonish overreactions to make them more realistic.

Overall, a nice watch for binging. Nothing outstanding. Perfect as a palate cleanser when someone wants to watch something mildly amusing, but not too engaging.

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Rocket Boy Squad
5 personnes ont trouvé cette critique utile
par Kate
janv. 7, 2023
16 épisodes vus sur 16
Complété 0
Globalement 8.0
Histoire 8.0
Acting/Cast 9.0
Musique 7.5
Degrés de Re-visionnage 7.0

Feel-good sports slice of life that made me feel old.

What did this show have? Great characters, beautiful bonds and friendships, motivational messages, well delivered comedy, great acting, beautiful visuals. So why did so much of it feel like fillers? If I skipped the majority of the villagers' stories, it would be an easy 10.

The heart of the story are the Racket Boys and their friendship. It’s undeniable that they were the best part of the drama. Personally, I just loved the reckless Hae Kang and mentally adopted him as my son. His personality was so vibrant and even if at times annoying, he was still extremely adorable and endearing. That said, even though I had my favorite, each and every boy was lovable and brought their own unique personality to the table to give me this fun and enjoyable ride.

Some of the dynamics I liked the most were Hae Kang and In Sol, Woo Chan and Yong Tae and Yoon Dam and Han Sol. What’s more, I appreciate how the drama showed how you can be both rivals in sports and loyal friends outside of it. Many times we have seen different teams enjoying their times together between the competitions - I love his healthy portrayal of rivalry.

Sadly, I was truly not that invested in most of the adults’ stories. I wouldn’t say I disliked them, I was just completely not interested. I think the issue was the initial presentation of the characters - most if not all were introduced in rather negative light so it was hard to connect to their stories as the drama progressed. This small “plot twist” where the characters are not what they seem like at first is a great touch, but not when it is applied to all the characters - then it becomes exhausting.

The only side story outside of the teens that I cared about was the new married couple in town and Phil Ja and Song Hee’s development of friendship.

About the acting, I have nothing, but compliments to say. The young cast did a phenomenal job. I’m extremely impressed with Kim Kang Hoon - such a young boy, but was able to deliver a lot of depth and raw emotions in his performance. I’m a little bit on the fence about Choi Hyun Wook though. Did he do a great job here? Yes. But it’s the 3rd extremely similar role I have seen him in, so I hope he is not an actor of one role.

I’m also impressed with their badminton skills. Do I know anything about the sport? No. I am sure though, that even an inexperienced person can tell when someone really sucks at a sport they are supposed to be good at. I’m certain there was a lot of work put into the training before the filming which contributed to the believable matches, but I also have to compliment the filming and editing.

It’s always hard to talk about production value in kdramas. Why? Because most big studio productions have more or less the same high quality, and most kdrama do not stand out either in positive or negative ways. The standard quality is just that high. It’s the same case with Racker Boys - great scenery, great directing, great editing, great set designs. Everything is great, just like the majority of SBS shows.

Overall, amazing watch, but would have been perfect if it was 4 episodes shorter and only focusing on the kids.

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Those That Follow
5 personnes ont trouvé cette critique utile
par Kate
janv. 2, 2023
Complété 0
Globalement 8.0
Histoire 7.0
Acting/Cast 7.5
Musique 7.0
Degrés de Re-visionnage 8.0
Don’t let the “filmed on the phone” fool you into thinking it’s a cheap low budget short horror. They obviously had the money to make it look stunning. The writing and the story might be simple, but perfectly executed - exactly how horror movies should be.

Those That Follow tells a simple story of regret, guilt and fear - the past can literally haunt you. We are introduced to two characters that start with the same baggage, but as the plot progresses, take different paths to deal with it and face the consequences of their actions.

Realistically speaking, the strongest point of the movie were the visuals - it’s simply beautiful. Being an ad for a phone, they took all the steps to make sure the final product can wow any possible customers. Surprisingly, the fact it is an ad made the movie better, since it pushed the director to use a variety of different shots to show he all the capabilities of the camera.

Acting was good. It did feel like some reactions were exaggerated, but nothing that would distract you from what was happening on screen.

Overall, truly a great short horror movie. Simple, but effective.

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Final Chronicles
5 personnes ont trouvé cette critique utile
par Kate
nov. 13, 2022
37 épisodes vus sur 37
Complété 4
Globalement 7.5
Histoire 7.5
Acting/Cast 8.5
Musique 7.0
Degrés de Re-visionnage 7.5

One could mistake it for a censored romance.

I want to start by saying this review is written by an extremely casual viewer of the Tomb series. One that does not care for the release nor chronological order and never even attempted to try to grasp and follow the overall story. I hate it for a fun, easy to binge watch adventure, nothing more, nothing less.

What I liked about the drama? The characters and the dynamics between them. While this Wuxie did not seem enough “Wuxie” to me (compared to other Tomb shows I have seen), he did grow on me and his interactions with other characters were some of my favorites.

Zhang Qi Ling, or as I call him Emo Boi, was the visual cherry on top. Let’s get real - the character has not much to offer in terms of depth. Even if his story is interesting and complex, because the character himself does not really show much reaction to it, or to almost anything around him, what we are left with his looks, fun fighting scene and the (bro)mance with Wuxie. I am not complaining though - because of his extreme personality, his interactions with character are always fun to watch.

Hei Yan Jing and Xie Yu Chen were the other heavy bromance duo - at times their bromance seemed more like a romance even when compared to Wuxie and the Emo Boi. This dynamic was one of the most enjoyable to follow. They were both confident and skilled, which made them true aces of the drama. Not to mention the perfect compatibility of one wanting money and the other having enough to spend.

I do believe they did Ah Ning and Xiu Xiu dirty, and they could have been a more vital and important part of the plot and the story. Technically we know they are capable, but somehow they were always put on the sidelines…

On the good aspects - quite an improvement in terms of CGI. Not gonna lie, I actually like the bad special effects in earlier Tomb shows, but getting a bit more visually pleasing ones this time is a nice change. Especially appreciate the mixing of practical and special effects - this is the best way to get good results.

I can’t really talk about the plot in terms of good or bad, because I honestly did not pay enough attention. Wu Xie was looking for the uncle and following the clues, while at the same time trying to discover the past of his (boy)friend Zhang Qi Ling. Others getting involved, because they are either loyal, want money, get dragged into it or are searching for immortality. Basically the same story all Tomb dramas have. It is one long journey, so it makes sense.

That said, I know close to nothing about all the details about each Tomb and the importance of specific journeys. Did it bother me? No. I simply gave up trying to follow the story for various reasons (change of the cast makes it hard to remember the characters, the shows drop not in chronological order, some shows overlap timeline and it makes it hard to understand what happened when) and just enjoy each of these dramas as a stand alone ride.

The acting was good. Zeng Shun Xi did great, especially with more emotional scenes. The chemistry between the whole cast was top notch. I did at times feel like Xiao Yu Liang was a few times quite close to losing it and at least smiling, during the more funny scenes - the disadvantages of playing an extremely stoic and detached character.

Directing was one of the most spoiled ones I have seen in Tomb shows so far. I enjoyed the way they presented the lore with the drawing like animation and I’m sure I would appreciate it even more if I actually cared about it.

Overall, it was a fun ride. Ultimate Note can be easily watched as a stand alone show, and I’m sure it holds even more entertainment value if someone grasps the Grave Robbers universe as a whole, at least on some basic levels.

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Sweet Curse
5 personnes ont trouvé cette critique utile
par Kate
oct. 31, 2022
Complété 0
Globalement 6.0
Histoire 6.5
Acting/Cast 7.5
Musique 6.0
Degrés de Re-visionnage 5.0
It’s honestly hard for me to judge this movie, because it has many elements that I never look for in horror. Passion, love, desire, jealousy, sex - all themes that I don’t like mixed with horror. It’s a personal preference, hence even though I rated the movie rather low, I honestly don’t think it’s a bad production. It was just not for me.

There are many good aspects of it. It’s rather unpredictable - it has quite a few twists and turns that all felt understandable (at least to the extent a short length allowed). I also appreciate when at the beginning the built up tension is broken by a joke/one liner from a new character on screen. Delivering scares each time the tension is high is not a way to go, because the viewers start to know what to expect. That’s why I appreciate when movies take a step back from time to time.

Drowned out sounds and slow motion used to indicate the distorted perception and fixation on a specific situation by a character? Love it. It’s always effective and I wish more movies used it.

The acting went from good to decent for a smaller production like this. I’m not the biggest fan of Ha Joon’s character, and weirdly I enjoyed a bit twisted Min Woo more.

All that said, I appreciate the movie from the objective standpoint, but I did not quite vibe with it subjectively.

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Double
5 personnes ont trouvé cette critique utile
par Kate
sept. 4, 2022
10 épisodes vus sur 10
Complété 1
Globalement 9.5
Histoire 9.5
Acting/Cast 9.5
Musique 9.5
Degrés de Re-visionnage 10

Disastrous codependency that limits everyone involved.

Yet somehow, it’s both just as bad, and not as bad as it sounds. Perfect case of a relationship unintentionally turning toxic, when everyone involved thinks they have good intentions.

Double is a perfect character study, with so many various meanings to all interactions, that leave the final interpretation of the events and characters’ motivations to the viewer. Depending on what you will focus on, which scenes and moments will seem more important, what actions done by the characters feel more genuine, you might see quite a different tale than other people watching. And that’s the beauty of the show.

Personally, I see it as an artistic presentation of obsession - be it over art or a person, and countless human flaws and weaknesses.

When I think of Yujin, I think about egocentrism and this may seem like a counterintuitive view at first. He is introduced as someone who was willing to sacrifice a lot for Takara to succeed, but were his intentions as pure as it might seem? There is no clear cut answer to this question, but with each episode, watching him interact with Takara made me feel more and more uncomfortable. He had quite a duality about how he carried himself and interacted with Takara that made it hard to understand his character from the get go.

On the other hand we have Takara - a guy that was completely not capable of taking care of himself, and I truly mean what I say. The phrase that quite well describes him is “lack of self” - be it in the roles he portrays, decisions he makes, relationships he forms - everything is dependent on external influences.

He got hyperfixated on things and saw acting as his only goal in life. At the same time, for the longest time I could not truly pinpoint what exactly he wanted to achieve. Technically he verbalizes his wishes, but often they do not quite fit the reality and the action he would have to take to achieve them. He might seem like the victim of the situation, but what this drama is not, is simple - so there is more to his character and how he maneuvers his daily life.

Sounds like a lot? Looks like these are some complex characters? This ain’t even a fraction of what the drama presents. Honestly speaking, it’s best to go into it knowing as little as possible - not getting influenced by other people’s analysis and thoughts. Making it your own unique experience.

Complex characters and relationships are not the only aspect this drama delivers on an impossible high standard - the directing and editing were top notch as well. I am amazed how beautiful Double is. It truly feels like every scene was a deliberate choice and not one frame was left in by an accident or to simply fill the screen time.

Prolonged close ups to the actors’ faces, giving this eerie feeling, accompanied by simple yet dramatic in tone soundtrack? True perfection. The variety of different angles? Beautiful. The use of light and shadows? Could not ask for more. It’s just a perfectly crafted picture.

Onto the performances, both main actors did a phenomenal job, but I did prefer Nagayama Kento’s casting here. He embodied the gentle, caring yet strangely intimidating and unsettling character. On the other hand, while I do not have even a fraction of complaints about Chiba Yudai’s acting, it was simply hard for me to believe he was able to grab people’s attention… doing nothing, standing, walking. When he was not performing, he gave more of a lost puppy vibe, not this charismatic actor who might change the cinema. And yet, this is what they tried to tell me - that people just saw it in him.

Overall, what an uncanny watch it was. Each and every episode left me with so many thoughts to be organized, so many moments I had to analyze. One could easily write a whole book trying to decipher all the characters. More of my thoughts about them in the comment below.

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Long Khong Series
13 personnes ont trouvé cette critique utile
par Kate
sept. 3, 2020
8 épisodes vus sur 8
Complété 0
Globalement 6.5
Histoire 6.0
Acting/Cast 8.5
Musique 7.0
Degrés de Re-visionnage 3.5
What have I just watched?

I am quite honestly annoyed. It was an easy 10/10 for me at the beginning. The story was simple yet effective in making me excited and interested. I cared deeply for Praewa and was anticipating all her "evil" shenanigans. But then they added so many plots and background stories for characters I couldn't care less about, it went downhill quickly.

If only they kept it as simple as they presented the plot at the beginning: revenge story with pure chaos and death. Let Preawa win, let everyone die. Focus the mystery part on Preawa finding out the real culprit of her misery. Why do we need the "past events" story? It brought NOTHING to the plot, was dumped on me in the last episode, and I was like: cool... But why? What exactly was the purpose of it?

Truth to be told... the last episode was just bad. Amazing letdown compared to the rest of the episodes. The ending was neither shocking nor exciting. They definitely did not construct the story well enough for me to think "wow... yes, this makes total sense, why I haven't seen it coming" as the last few scenes happened.

Best part of the show? Ticha Wongtipkanon and Nene Pornnappan Pornpenpipat. Truly aced the roles given. Preawa looked mad AF and I believe every scene she gave. Nene surprised me a lot in the last episode, being the saving part of it. I also appreciate how daring they were with some graphic elements.

Overall, I don't even know. It's hard to judge a show that had an awesome beginning and tragically bad ending. On one hand, I want to recommend watching the first 4 episodes and drop after that, on the other hand... What's the point of watching just half of the show? Do with that information whatever you like, but don't get too excited while watching at first, because the letdown will be massive later on.

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Xing Han Can Lan
14 personnes ont trouvé cette critique utile
par Kate
juil. 27, 2022
27 épisodes vus sur 27
Complété 0
Globalement 8.0
Histoire 8.0
Acting/Cast 9.0
Musique 7.5
Degrés de Re-visionnage 8.0

Emotional ride with a bit of a flat progression.

Saying I am not completely invested in this slow burn romance (it’s so slow one could think it literally backtracks a few times) would be a lie. They got me on their first shared screen time and I did not even mind the fact they barely interact in the first half of part 1 of the show.

Love Like the Galaxy in its part 1 feels a lot like a family slice of life rather than a typical historical romance. The focus is on the main characters as individuals rather than them as a pair and future couple. Especially with Shao Shang, we can observe in detail how she interacts with all members of her family. On the other hand, while we don’t see Bu Yi interact with many people in his circle (except from his 2 loyal companions, who sadly had less and less screen time as drama progressed), the plot focused on the past mystery surrounding his family and tragedy that befell on it.

Here’s the deal though: while I believe they did a close to perfect job with Shao Shang and her side of the story, Bu Yi just felt underdeveloped - both as a character and his storyline. Any questions I might have had regarding the female lead were addressed one way or another, while many times I got so little information about male lead, I was not even sure what to ask - so I slowly completely lost interest in his solo quest for justice.

As for the romance - the sweet agony I felt because of Bu Yi’s pinning was amazing. I love how we didn't really get to see leads interact a lot. That said, just because they didn’t share the screen, does not mean there was no chemistry. They were able to sell the connection even when they were not together. How amazing is that! They influenced each other and slowly depended on each other, even without many interactions.

At some point though it started to feel frustrating. While we saw and understood how Bu Yi’s feelings changed, Shao Shang was an uninterested romantic mystery for way too long. So by the end of part 1, how her feelings and understanding of herself changed felt a little bit rushed. I’m sorry, but if you deliver romance at 0.25x speed, you cannot speed it up with quick 30 seconds flashbacks later on.

Another thing that bothered me pacing wise was the Lou Yao part of the plot. This story was unnecessarily long, when in fact it had little impact on characters. With how little it mattered, how long it took to resolve was surprising and… well, annoying.

On the bright side - I love a lot of the supporting characters. Wan Qi Qi and the emperor are definitely some of the best. Especially with the emperor, he delivers some great humor and comedy bits.

Acting wise - amazing. Not one performance felt flat. Zhao Lu Si can deliver both the carefree and charming, and serious and defeated. Leo Wu was probably born to play in historical romance shows. Huge shoutout to Xu Di - her dramatic performance as Madam Cheng is to die for.

Another good aspect is obviously the scenography, set design, camera work, lighting and all the rest production related things. The show is simply beautiful. Not taking screenshots while watching is a crime.

Overall, a really solid first half, but the true quality and value it has will be known after watching the rest of the show.

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Hatsukoi
6 personnes ont trouvé cette critique utile
par Kate
déc. 5, 2023
9 épisodes vus sur 9
Complété 0
Globalement 7.5
Histoire 7.5
Acting/Cast 9.5
Musique 8.0
Degrés de Re-visionnage 6.0

There are different paths one can take to reach their destination.

I have such conflicting and mixed feelings about this show. There were 2 or 3 episodes that seemed too perfect to be true, but at the same time, I weirdly felt a lot of emptiness as I watched. The drama kept building up the nostalgia, the longing, fear of missed opportunities, forgotten past and unsure future, but it never reached the climax - at some point it completely emotionally plateaued and stayed this way till the end.

The non-linear storytelling of First Love bothered me at first, but I grew to appreciate it even if it just fueled the depressing vibes the drama presented. There was a lot of low-key relatable sadness and the lack of positivity in the characters, the emptiness of their lives just slowly crept in and kept me up at night wondering if I am not on the similar path of loneliness. And I’m not sure if it’s a good or bad aspect of the drama though...

I cannot say it was all sad. One of my favorite things about First Love was Noguchi Yae’s relationship with her son. A great portrayal of love and sacrifice, but also support and trust. Watching their little family dates was just calming and heartwarming. What’s more, I loved the support system Noguchi Yea had around her, even if she was not fully aware of its existence. She was so used to keeping to the sidelines so she did not notice how many people liked and appreciated her.

On the other hand, some plotlines and relationships did not get enough of the closure I wished for. Some past encounters, decisions that were made - lacked the resolution, conversation and… ending.

Luckily you can forget it all and truly get immersed into the story thanks to the great performance of the whole cast, but especially our leading couple both in the past and present: Mitsushima Hikari and Satoh Takeru, and Yagi Rikako and Kido Taisei. Some of the best casting for younger versions of the characters I have ever seen. The actors matched each other's dynamics, presentation, interpretation of the characters perfectly! There were a lot of moments where strong emotions had to be presented in a subtle way, and they delivered it and much more.

As for the production, I’m just glad that even though it’s a Netflix production, it has that unique melancholic styling Japanese dramas perfected throughout the years, while adding the high production value a big company like Netflix can achieve.

Overall, it was for sure enjoyable and surprisingly good for binge watching. Chances are that if I watched it at a different time, when my mood was more in the “looking for nostalgic feelings” state, I'd have enjoyed it a lot more.

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