Don't watch this drama if you want a plot or anything other than eye candy

In my quest to watch more japanese dramas, Coffee and Vanilla is mentioned pretty often. Also, Dori's international popularity has shot up high since his appearance in Alice in Borderland so I was pretty interested to see him in this drama. Also I didn't read the original material, so this review is coming from someone who has absolutely no knowledge about this story.

However, this drama has like... no plot.. I mean it does, but it's like a fanfiction come to life. Dori plays this just perfect CEO character that is just obsessed with the FL (who is gorgeous) but her character is so damn shy I wonder how she even is able to date him in the drama. Some scenes make me genuinely cringe, but I do like how it's just straight up taken from the manga.

The color grading on this drama is also really interesting. It does look beautiful and much more of a high production than some other japanese dramas I have watched.

Why would you watch this drama?
Probably because you watch something that involved no thinking and maybe you're a simp for Dori or maybe you're a simp for perfect CEOs who are obsessed with you and do everything for you.

However, there's this one scene in this drama that makes it ---relatively--- worth it -it involves a smirk. My god, that was a hell of a scene.

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A realistic portrayl of how destructive adultery is with amazing performances

Hirugao is one of those dramas that makes you feel bleak and empty after you watch it. Everything about this drama is bleak and depressing, but I found the way it was presented absolutely beautiful and the performances elevate it significantly.

It definitely does not romanticize adultery in anyway shape or form. I find it shows how innocently it starts off and how many people never expect it to hurt the people they love, but in the end destroys everything and everyone around them. You see how the characters feel insignificant and how that leads to the adultery but also how their marriage partners feel. You don't feel like our cheating protagonists are on a pedestal; I found myself chiding the characters for their selfishness even if their partners weren't the best to them. One of the best aspects was how the children were affected. I think children are always the biggest losers in a divorce. I found it very interesting that every character (including minor characters) were affected by infidelity one way or another and how it affected them.

Although the story was definitely slow, I weirdly didn't want to drop this drama. Someone in the drama said that the 2nd half of this drama ramps up, and I guess I read into it too much but it's more of a slow escalation. I wouldn't expect any craziness but it escalates for sure.

The acting in this drama in this drama is phenomenal. Like absolutely brings the script to another level. The characters feel like human beings, morally grey and layered. Even the people we're not supposed to root for have their moments throughout the drama. I cannot emphasize how good the acting is.

Rikako is my favorite character by far. I think it was because she was so nonchalant about her cheating and when you see how it compares to her love for her children and her family. She and her partner in the show had this amazing chemistry and there's this one scene that broke me and drove me to tears. Her acting props are incredible.

Sawa was a character I pitied and found myself feeling sorry for. By no means am I saying she was a victim, but I think seeing her grow feelings for the ML and how in despair she was trapped in the marriage, I could see how she acted the way she did.

To be honest, watching this drama really made me think if marriage is ever really worth it. It definitely puts a damper on the idea. I don't think I would ever rewatch this again.

My score is lower than I would want to give it simply because it was slow.

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I think all the other reviews are blinded by their nostalgia

I watched the korean adaption in 2010. As a kid I fell in love with it and all of its weird cliches. People always talked about how the Japanese version was superior and as someone who has recently fallen into this hole of watching japanese dramas, I had to check out Hana Yori Dango.

Strong Parts:
This is a VASTLY superior version than the Korean Boys Over Flowers. Why? The acting and the chemistry between the two leads were off the charts. It was wild, they were electric whenever they were on screen. The ML's acting was pretty damn impressive, making you actually grow to love such a jerk of a character. The FL is awesome. What complaints could I give? She's not whiny or annoying. I found her to be pretty honest and extremely lovable. The acting was natural and not over dramatic.

This version has only 9 episodes while the original has like 20+ so it doesn't have that much filler in comparison. The Their hair was also better lol.

The family is also hilarious and has clever writing whenever they were involved. I loved them.

Negatives:
This plot is kind of ass, I mean it's a drama from 2005 so I'm not expecting a masterpiece nor is the original manga a masterful plot so what am I expecting. However, if I'm putting time to watch a drama, I have to keep the story in mind. It's a plot full of tropes left and right. And as someone who watched the BOF version, I remember everything so I just ended up bored. But I did laugh whenever there was something absolutely ridiculous happening.

Overall:
Better than BOF but was it worth it? No.

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A perfect movie, not an exaggeration

For reference, I have not watched the anime nor read the manga so this is solely off of the movie.

This movie is perfect. Like so enjoyable, there is not really any glaring errors or anything I would improve. If you watch this for Mackenyu, I'm here to tell you he's not in this movie much but it's okay because Hirose Suzu CARRIES this movie and Nomura Shuhei as Taichi is impressive as well but Hirose Suzu stole the show for me. And on a shallow note, all three are extremely attractive, so if that's a selling/pushing point for you, there you go.

Story:
A movie that combines high school life +passionate hobby + friendship + the absolute smallest amount of romance = perfection. I don't really care if it's a plot similar to other hobby based movies/dramas/animes, it's the execution that counts. I loved how realistic it was, not all of the new players were godly and they had their own struggles. Even the main leads had their own internal struggles they had to deal with. I remember yelling at my screen rooting for our protagonists. It's one of those movies that sucks you in and makes you feel like you're watching beside them and rooting for your friends.

Acting:
Hirose Suzu carried the fuck out of this movie. This is because, well, she is the main character, and sometimes female leads suck in movies/shows because of the way they're characterized as weak (and I'm not necessarily someone who cares about having STRONG FEMALE LEADS). This FL was fucking awesome. She was so passionate and genuine about Karuta, I was engrossed in her character and her acting was extremely impressive. No cringy moments with her at all.

Music:
I don't really pay attention to music unless it's amazing so nothing much to say here.

Rewatch:
I would 100% rewatch this movie. It's one of those friendships + we have to do something + I'm passionate about a hobby movies without any heavy reliance on a romance plot. It was so enjoyable and so much fun to watch. Usually I would get bored and go on my phone but watching this movie I was glued to my screen.

When finishing this movie, I had a blast. I literally had nothing to complain about. Maybe if I really thought about it the side characters could have had more screen time (?) but honestly the story isn't about them. It's about Chihaya, Taichi, Arata, and Karuta. I LOVED THIS MOVIE. I never give reviews a 10 but this is the one movie I'll give a 10. It's a fun watch with great performances and a fun dramatization of a sport/hobby I've never seen before. HIGHLY HIGHLY HIGHLY RECCOMMEND

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Didn't read the manga, watched the movie and thought it was boring and jumbled

The premise really did intrigue me. Because she's darker skinned they think she's a bitch? My train of thought was...well that is an interesting summary, let's check it out. Also I saw Mackenyu in a different drama so I was intrigued to see that he was in this movie.

Now I did not read the manga so I don't have any knowledge of what would happen. It a was weird jumble of events and I found myself really confused at the rate at which things were going and why they would happen. Mackenyu's character really had me for a loop because I did not expect his character to act the way he did.

The story felt really rushed and no development was well thought out. All the romance stuff was in a montage and I'm supposed to believe these two characters are now dating and in love? Okay, but they really suited being friends more.

I found myself losing interest towards the end and just felt meh about the movie overall once finished.

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Interesting yet conflicting feelings once you finish it

The strong points of this drama are definitely the human aspects of it - who you are, how your family can influence your life, what your goals are. In this weird plot, I found myself reeling from the message the drama was trying to showcase.

The main character, although seeming boring, was extremely interesting and was able to grab my attention to the nuances of his character. I felt bad for him and empathized with him, especially when it came to his job and his ambition.

The weirdest part of this drama is the harem aspect of it. I.....don't....really understand how all the girls could one way or another fall in love with him, but I guess it's to show that even a mediocre seemingly normal writer could gain attention of many girls (?) - is this the writer's way of showing that he has worth? I'm not really sure.

There were definitely some questionable ass moments - the one I remember most was the fact that the 17 year old gets undressed and asks him if he would take her virginity when she's legal (?). My eyes were about to fall out of my socket when I was that shit - I was like ?????????/ what the hell is happening.

The story and how they came to all live in one house was interesting but the most interesting aspect was WHY they would come to live with him and why they would pay so much money to live with him.

Although the writing was clunky at the end, I think the messages behind the drama really stick with you. Unfortunately, compared to the other dramas I watched, this is not one I would consider to be in my top 5. HOWEVER, I do think it's a hell of a ride and worth watching anyway.

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Hamabe Minami CARRIED THE HELL OUT OF THIS DRAMA

Watching this drama felt like I was watching some makjang kdrama at some points but my god was it addicting.

I love revenge stories - plain and simple. Usually it's a male lead in these kind of dramas (unless I'm just choosing the wrong ones?) but I LOVE this female lead. She's not meek but she's not obnoxious either. The main actress is so damn good at acting and I felt the rage and hatred she felt in her heart. I love how although romance played a part in this drama, she wasn't blinded by it and turned into a complete different person.

In contrast, the male lead, although he is absolutely gorgeous, I'm sorry to say I cannot remember any scene where I think "wow he is a good actor". This may be because the main actress is SO damn good that she dwarfs him in comparison.

The food aspects of this drama were really interesting as I have no knowledge on japanese culture/food so it was really interesting to see the main characters SO into making sweets and the symbolism and the importance to them.

Some people say that this is a toxic romance but in reality, there were never TOXIC TOXIC to one another. It wasn't like they were yelling at throwing shit at one another. It was more of a intrinsic (?) hatred because of who the characters were as a person. I don't really know how to describe it. Now that I think about it, them being together was definitely not healthy in the slightest but sometimes, that's just how life is.

The plot twists in the drama had me turning my head and gasping multiple times.

Negatives?

LMAO There were some questionable moments where I laughed especially because the ML would do the kabedon thing and I would just laugh at how awkward it would be. The "main villian" - her acting was straight out of a telenovella at times and I would just shake my head in response. Additionally, the writing was questionable at times, but if you really look at it as a whole, it was like drugs to me. I could not stop watching this drama and my eye bags got considerably darker.

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A sequel that just didn't live up to the first movie

I loved the first movie, so I was hesistant yet excited to watch the 2nd one. Like the first one it has beautiful cinematography, great acting and good music direction. However, it pales severely to the first one in terms of story and script.

The inclusion of Arata in this movie was kind of weird? It was like he was there but not. His screen time definitely increased compared to the first but I didn't really feel any weight behind it. I know the director intended for us to feel Arata's regain of passion for Karuta but it fell flat for me. Also it was like his inclusion was more of a way to heighten the tension of the "love triangle". I just didn't buy it and frankly, while I don't plan to watch the third movie, I'm betting money she'll friendzone both and play Karuta instead. LMAO.

The side characters barely got any screen time, this is more of a note rather of a complaint since the story is really about the three main protagonists.

As the first movie, Chihaya remains the shining beacon. The acting was natural and wonderful. I didn't really understand why she was just SO fixated on the Queen and just abandoning her friends in the first part. I know she had her speech about not losing anyone and beating the queen would help her do that...But I didn't really buy it tbh.

I am being kind of harsh on this movie, but since the first one was actual 10/10, it was kind of sucky that this movie wasn't nearly anywhere close to its caliber.

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A suspenseful and thrilling drama, with some minor bumps along the way

I love revenge dramas. They're one of my favorite dramas. This is a hell of a drama, that's for sure.

Watching this drama was like watching a car jump off a cliff in slow motion. You have this gut wrenching feeling in your stomach knowing that something bad is going to happen.

I love the humanity and the nuance of human nature behind this drama. Can you really forgive someone if they have atoned? Who decides who deserves to be forgiven and who isn't? How can you really tell if someone has changed?

I have to give props to the main lead - for a stoic character like this, the actor was able to be compelling enough for me to pay attention and stay attached. I was rooting for him to destroy everyone and everything and accomplish his goal. The moments where he doubts whether he should stay on this path or switch to a happier one really broke me inside.

Story wise, I'm very conflicted. There were some bumps along the way but for a script to involve this many characters and make it fairly cohesive without feeling messy is extremely commendable.

The one negative (?) thing I have to say is the second lead's acting was soooo..... dramatic. I don't know if this was a character thing or a actor thing but he was the stereotypical noble (questionable) screaming protagonist.

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One of the best japanese movies I've watched *Mild spoilers?*

Whenever I watch romance movies, my expectations are usually lowered, simply because the story can be somewhat bland. Orange surpasses romance genre into this time travel-esque genre where you don't really know what would happen.

Sure, some could say that you could predict it but maybe I'm just dumb and was unsure of what the hell would happen next.

I love movies that have another aspect stronger than just the romance and in this one, it was friendship and what you would do for them. I loved how even if the main character had glimpses of what would happen in the future, she would still be frustrated by her emotions and it wouldn't just be so simple as doing what the notes would say. As I was watching it, I was yelling at my screen for her to do the thing as the note said but the more I thought about it, it adds a human component to knowledge and omnipotence.
Even if we know something will happen, can we really stop it - considering our emotions? I would 1000% recommend to everyone.

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A Slow but absolutely worth all the time put into it (May need to fast forward at times)

*Some mild spoilers*
Mr. Sunshine is seriously one of my favorite kdramas of all time. Honestly it's astounding that the scriptwriter for this kdrama is the same as the one from Heirs. This is undoubtedly her best work and it will be difficult to top this. It's bizarre that not that many international fans talked about this drama compared to the Heirs etc.

The story and the characters was absolutely beautiful. I think all the main characters were nuanced and tragic in the same way.

The con of the story is honestly how slow it could be. There were times I would simply fast forward through Lee Byung Hyun and Kim Tae Ri's scenes, simply because they would be staring at one another for so damn long. Additionally, their age difference was so unnerving to me, especially because Kim Tae Ri looks much younger than her age and Lee Byung Hyun looks obviously 40.

But I understand why they casted him. His character was difficult to portray and to some I would understand why they would call him boring, but to be able to make me actually like and understand this kind of stoic character (not really he also has a lot of comedic moments without Ae Shin).

The side characters Gu Dong Mae and Lee Yang Hwa (Kudo Hina) CARRY THE HELL OUT OF THIS DRAMA. Because the main characters are the respectable and noble heros, these two are the anti-heros and much more grey but oh my god their acting and their story DESTROYED ME.

Mr. Sunshine is an experience and I'm so glad I watched it. Truly beautiful and the metaphors behind the characters elevate it way past a simple historical romance kdrama.

The OST is great. I finished the drama months ago, but I still listen to the ballads to this day and I hate ballads normally.

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My favorite jdrama out of all the ones I've watched

I find myself to be an extremely critical drama/movie watcher so most things I watch even if they're really good, I rarely would rate it higher than a 8.5. However, this is one of those exceptions. It's kind of funny but I started watching jdramas because of Kento from Alice in Borderlands, but this jdrama is by FAR my favorite one and the most memorable one.

This is a dark drama for sure so I know that for many people, they wouldn't like it. But I love how dark and destructive it is. It's so sad and tragic to see these characters who cannot change and destroy everyone around them. It's a short drama but it really felt more like a movie to me.

The characters and their relationship with one another (especially the two main FL's) are exactly the kind of thing I'm into. Rather than toxic romance, I really love the idea of toxic friendships and how they interact with one another.

I genuinely cannot understand why this drama has an overall rating of 7.5.

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True Beauty is a sucessful cliche driven show that surprisingly pulls it off

I'll start off by saying: I didn't give a crap who she ended up with. I find a lot of people online pissed about whether she would end up with one person or not. I read a majority of the webtoon and I find this drama to be a superior version. Why? The drama succeeds in giving Juukyung some character development while the webtoon gives her none and is only stringing along a love triangle between the three because that's the only kind of appeal this kind of webtoon has: normal girl being sought after by two hot "perfect" boys

Story (Drama):
This story is chock full of tropes. People will shit on it for being tropey. Personally, this isn't one of those dramas I would expect anything more from. It's based on a high school webtoon full of tropes - you're going to get a tropey drama. It may be generic but where it SHINES past other dramas of its genre is its humor and its ending.

Now, like I said, I didn't really care who she ended up with. I really cared about her character and how she would improve over time, which she did! I loved it. I think it's loads better than the webtoon. This drama is so funny, there were moments where I would have trouble breathing. The ending wraps it up better than any other drama with this kind of generic premise.

Characters:
Juukyung: Lovable, hate how they made her an idiot to Seojun's feelings but imig. I would have preferred her choosing to go to school without makeup on her own rather than her secret being revealed.
Suho: Cardboard, but definitely improved towards the end.
Seojun: Lovable bad boy who turns into a "nice guy" by the end of it. I felt bad for the dude but like you can't force someone to like you. I'm sorry fam but Juukyung never showed feelings for Seojun once and never led him on or anything of the sort.

Acting:
Moon Gayoung really stole the show for me. I thought I was going to fall in love with her with that roar scene. HOW COULD YOU NOT? She delivered acting out a character who in the webtoon was blander in comparison and was much more unlikable. Additionally, I could not stop laughing how they would be trying to make me think Moon Gayoung out of alll people would be "ugly" LMAO. She is one of the prettiest young actresses in kdrama-land right now. I guarantee if she wasn't Juukyung, the drama would be so much more ass.

Hwang In Yeop in addition was absolutely wonderful. Every time he looked at Moon Gayoung I thought my heart was going to burst. His delivery of a tropey bad boy character was so good and his nuance was fantastic.

Cha Eunwoo, in all honesty, pales in comparison to the other leads. Why? Well his character is kind of cardboard in comparison. But, I have to give credit where credit is due, in his crying scenes, he was pretty good. It kind of sucks that he keeps chosing roles like this but I guess he's making some crazy money right now. I hear he's actually a pretty good actor so I hope he chooses a role that is more dynamic next time.

Music:
I didn't really like the "How do you do song" meh. But the "Call me maybe" is GOD TIER SHIT.
Rewatch:
If I was bored and wanted to watch cute moments, I would 100% go back to True Beauty

You have to realize that for this kind of drama which is really generic to be able to be this strong is impressive. I attribute this to the actors and the PD/director for being able to string together humorous moments + improving the story where the webtoon didn't.

*Spoilers*
I have to say it here since I don't have any IRL friends who watch True Beauty. Honestly, neither Suho nor Seojun deserves Juukyung's love. Suho left and expected her to be all chummy with him? Uh no. And seojun? I don't care how long he had a crush on her. It was honestly getting on my nerves towards the end of the drama that he was being pushy with her and even more so that everyone on the internet was shitting on Juukyung for not reciprocating his feelings. I'm sorry to tell you this but no one deserves love. I don't care how long you simped after someone, if they don't like you back, I'm sorry fam that's your own problem. It really reeked of "I'm a nice guy I waited for years for you so you HAVE to date me" and I'm just not down for that kind of thing. And this is someone who was very sympathetic towards Seojun and even becaming team Seojun halfway through the show.

My perfect ending was if she would friendzoned both and worked on her makeup career, building up her confidence etc. But if that were to happen, the internet would have set on fire. Wars would have started. So, I am content with the ending, mostly because I didn't really care about anyone but Juukyung.

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