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aznanimedude Reviews:

Gakko Ja, Friday, 19 September 2008

Story
Acting
Music
Satisfaction

well i promised myself after i finished it i'd write a review so here we go, sicne i jsut finished.

Gakko Ja Oshierarenai definately introduced me to some actors/actresses that in the future i shall be sure to keep an eye on because they caught my interest.

Basic Story, we have an all girls school, to increase it's prestige and image, and also its enrollment, they open their doors to boys after a long run as an all-girls school. At the start, only 5 boys end up enrolling, and boy are they excited. Any guy would, 500 cute asian scholgirls in their seifukus, they figure they've gotta have a chance with at least one girl among the 500 who are there. A new rule also happens to be implemented in which every student is required to join a club. Their homeroom teacher, figuring they wouldn't know enough about clubs or would know what to join, invited them to join a club she is starting up, along with 5 other girls. turns out this teacher has arranged the essentially 10 outcasts, the only 5 guys in the entire school, and 5 social outcasts with problems of their own. The club turns out to be a social dance club, and as such partners are picked after introducing themselves to the other members. Over the course of the drama, you find out why each character does not seem to fit in well. Albeit cliche, the development of the drama becoems somewaht expected and predictable.

The story, i kinda liked it, but it wasn't exactly as amazing as it could have been, it was a bit simplistic, but nevertheless feelgood and somewaht enjoyable.
The cast, i honeslty hadn't really heard of many people on the cast, but after seeing this, i wondered why i hadn't heard of them yet, especially Fukuda Kyoko. There wasn't really much musically to speak of, the emphasis was elsewhere.

don't be fooled by my scores for it either, i gave the music low scores only because i really didn't see much music to really get into, the story and acting were quite decent. tihs just isn't a standout drama for its season, but a nice watch regardless

Great Teacher Onizuka

Great Teacher Onizuka, emphasis on GREAT >: D, Sunday, 24 August 2008

Story
Acting
Music
Satisfaction

Ok now this is a classic, and with a very inspiring plot that no one can resist. Onizuka Eikichi 22, single and looking, former fearsome gangster with a blackbelt, reformed and ready to become the best teacher in Japan. Only problem, his attitude is not the cookie cutter of a teacher, and he's not the sharpest crayon in the box. Nevertheless, his drive is unstoppable in his quest to provide tough love to his students. Those familiar with the story from the manga or the anime know, he definatel gets more than he bargains for. But of course, despite getting the so called "class from hell", by fate, Onizuka happens to be exactly what the doctor orders, someone who will not bend or fall beneath their acts, with a stubborness to not give up on them, he is the exact person to take these students, who have lost all faith in the system they full believe betrayed them, and teaches them his own life lessons.
Onizuka Eikichi, played by takeshi sorimachi, is brilliantly played, and teakeshi shows off his talent not only in acting, but providing his voice for quite a catchy song. Ok, he's not the best singer, with a nice voice, its kinda edgey, but it gets the job done, and the song is definately catchy. We have the beautiful Matsushima Nanako, who i would marry if not for the interesting fact that Takeshi met her on set, they started dating, and got married and had a kid, lucky dude :P.
This is definately a drama you could fall in love with, and will bring oyu tiny moments of joy as one by one onizuka slowly breaks down his students, as you see them slowly soften and finally respond to his constant reaching out to them. It's definately a feel good drama that everyone should be able to enjoy.

Devil Beside You

My First Taiwanese Drama, Saturday, 23 August 2008

Story
Acting
Music
Satisfaction

I was told this would be really awesome, and based on the description i had somewhat good expectations, not too high but i didn't think it would suck. i have mixed feelings, it's kinda really long, 20 episodes is not short, it's not a historical drama with 100+ so i'm happy but it's not a 11 episode drama.
It seems it tried a lil bit to borrow from other dramas, the incest love from winter sonata, a prearranged marriage from many other dramas, the unaccepting parent, it seems to try too hard to be romantic, rather than allow it to just BE that way. Rainie Yang was cute, Mike He did ok, everyone says he's an awesome actor, i think they're just mesmerized by his looks, he IS a model after all. The insert music was actually pretty good. made me go back and find rainie yang's albums and give em a listen.
overall an ok series, although might be though to go through with 20 episodes

Witch Amusement

Witch Yoo Hee, another drama, a recycled plot, Saturday, 23 August 2008

Story
Acting
Music
Satisfaction

Yet another one of these. There's so many, there's only so much that you can do. So many cliches are present in here. Regardless i have the feeling many will like this drama. Story's a basic one, girl n guy don't really like each other, girl is a 'witch' with a hard exterior who deep down inside is soft and wants to be loved, she has a run in with a guy and to get him to pay back debts he ows her for scratching her car she makes him a hosuekeeper and alter on a dating coach, eventually he acts as her pretend lover so she can know what being in a relationship feels like. Uh oh, you all know what'll come after this, with pretend relationships come real true love, the people who don't like each other end up loving each other. And ofcourse it's rife with the unaccepting parent and past love returnin to serve as a wedge and a third point in a love triangle
We have jae hee returning from Delightful Girl Choon Hyang into another drama of which i am jealous he gets to smooch another beautiful (albeit again married in real life) girl. But seriously, the originality in this drama is lacking, not only using an overused plot, but recycling many of the characters for similar roles. jae hee plays a guy named...Cae Mu-Ryong (sound familiar). The dad's the same, familiar looking woman for the mother.

The music gets kinda annoying, it's nice teh first time but the second and third the music starts to get kidna annoying. The story's ok but unoriginal and already done, the acting is good but unoriginal casting for parts. Overall an ok drama, but not very creative

Cupid no Itazura

Questionable Plot, surprisingly good too, Friday, 22 August 2008

Story
Acting
Music
Satisfaction

when i saw this drama, i was immediately skeptical about how good it actually could be. The whole plot is centered around a pretty unlucky fellow, who has been sentenced to only 7 times being able to err...eject himself, each time, a ball will appear in reverse ROYGBIV order, finishing with the red ball, which indicates the last ball he can eject, after which he is rendered impotent for the rest of his life, the coming to life of a "urban legend" that is introduced in the beginning of the drama.

Story: definately hadn't heard about something like this
Music: i onno, didn't grab me that much
Cast: Hadn't really heard about this cast

so thsoe 3 didn't impress me, now why did i give it a 9 satisfaction? because of the romance that they were able to create with it. It's just like me to find something that i like in even the crappiest dramas, i can find something that i like. Not that this was crappy, in fact it's not quite that bad, but just not a...say....1 litre of tears or Proposal Daisakusen caliber.

Sassy Girl Chun-Hyang

Delightful Girl Choon Hyang, Friday, 22 August 2008

Story
Acting
Music
Satisfaction

alright, anyone who's seen My Girl, they HAVE to watch it, just watch it and you'll understand why.
with that said let's begin. Story's not entirely new, girl n guy hate each other, girl n guy coem to like each other, girl and guy separate, find each other later, love love, guy comes in between, problems, love prevails. Not that new. Is it still enjoyable, absolutely. I must begin by saying i completely envy Jae Hee, he's gotten to smooch and act as the lover of 2 very beautiful (ironically married at the time) women in 2 different dramas. But jae hee does a wonderful job, Han Chae Wong shows why she's called the "barbie" of south korea, she's absolutely beautiful.
It's a romance, but comedic, the best kinds heh, seeing the way they express love is definately something new, and kinda reminded me of my sassy girl the movie with the constant "do this in such and such time and i'll do this for you". a very good adaptation of the novel, and it does add in a good little reference to the novel and how it's set back in classic times at the end of each episode and the end of the drama, a nice little touch to finish up what was a pretty good drama

Seito Shokun!

Plot sound familiar?, Friday, 22 August 2008

Story
Acting
Music
Satisfaction

The plot is one that will be familiar to just about everyone with any asian media experience. We have here a new teacher, so energetic full of life and innocent to the point they are not affected by the beauraucracy of educators who look only for themselves, no these are teachers who believe wholly in the students and care deeply for them. But their first class is a problematic one, who openly show their lack of appreciation for their teacher, who is an adult, part of the larger group of teachers, and even adults, who they feel have betrayed their trust and thus deserve only their detest. Sound familiar? GTO? Gokusen 1-3? Exactly, this story sounds VERY MUCH like those. A teacher with a student body that hates them so much they attempt and even manage to inflict bodily harm and emotional and psychological tactics on them. However, the teacher rather than gives up like the students wish, keeps loving them all the same until her persistence wins them over in a glorious climactic moment that tugs at the heart of many. Yes this is another drama like that, which if it's yer first one like this, you will love, or if you like these sorts of stories, the same will apply. However, there are people too who have seen both who will think, "oh another GTO/Gokusen story, been there, seen that, old news". And i admit, it's a story done before, not much different except the circumstances with which the students detest the teacher.
As always the teacher knows the hardships they face, whether it be a former delinquent themselves as in GTO, or the actual heir to a Yakuza clan like in Gokusen, or in this case, having gone through the pain of having your mother forget about you and focus on a sibling who is terminally ill.
This is definately a stronger story than in GTO or Gokusen. In GTO, it was simply a student teacher relationship that was hidden, in Gokusen they were gangster-ish to begin with and the teachers resorted to punishment rather than listen to their side of the story, but in here, we have a genuine detest that is shared by many, this is a much better, at least i think, "hatred excuse" for the students to latch onto, because it is one that all of them have shared together and builds a stronger comraderie than the other two stores could muster. However, if it just stopped there, the story wouldn't be the one that i just finished, no there's more behind it ,especially behind the leader of 3TD, a student organization formed from that class that takes care of any problems the class needs. She has her own personal demons that must be taken care of, and many of the students requre that as well. But their teacher is the amazing character, blindly believing them to the point they give in and realize this teacher is for them and will keep her promises or die trying.
the cast was well recognized, having Horikita maki, as shallow as it sounds, really helps bring interest to this drama, along with other cast members like Hongo Kanata and Uehara Misa (nodame cantabile, attention please). Musically, i didn't really get into the songs, except of course the insert/ending song My Generation by YUI

My Sassy Girl

My sassy girl, part JAPAN, Friday, 22 August 2008

Story
Acting
Music
Satisfaction

So...having said that, let's get to work on this drama.
Well since the 201 airing of this, My Sassy girl has taken the world by storm, and 2008 proves to be the time when it is recognized, with an american movie remake in the works, and now a Japanese drama of it, officially called Ryokiteki Na Kanojo.
As you watch, you begin to realize how much this was influenced by that smash-hit movie, i caught at least....13 direct references to events from my sassy girl (check my drama review site for the list). While this doesn't quite live up to the My Sassy Girl fame, because it seems too much like a rip offa the movie, they did change a few things for originality, no longer are they college students, one is a college professor, and while not a movie script writer anymore, the girl is still a free-lance writer. Howwever, more or less the flow of the story is the same. A girl troubled over her past boyfriend meets a guy at a train station. This time, the guy is equally as sad. They grow to become quite fond of each other, and have some humorous events with each other. The humorous "wanna die" line makes a comeback here, along with other things i'm sure you'll be able to point out if you had seen the original korean movie.
Overall, the music was pretty good, i love Tanaka Rena so i liked the cast, the plot was so-so, not exactly original, but came from a very good plot. Feel good ending, yet still has humor even till the end, romantics will like it i think, and at least give it a look if you've seen the original movie

1 Litre of Tears

My First Drama, still one of my favorites, Friday, 22 August 2008

Story
Acting
Music
Satisfaction

What an amazing drama. Yes, that is how i am starting this review, because it really is that amazing. Very few dramas have been as powerful, as impactful, have left such a memory in your head as this one drama. It is the kind of drama that leaves you to look back and cherish life, it reminds you of the happiness of life, the little things. Not a single person that i have seen who has watched this drama left it without crying, left it unchanged, no effect on them whatsoever. The true measure of a drama, i believe, is not how good it is the first time, it's how good it is the second, the third, how many times can you watch it until you tire of it? How long will it take you to forget it, days, weeks, months later, will you still remember it? it's been 2 years since i saw it, i still remember everything about it, it still affects me. Listening to the music takes me away from this world, draws me into a trance, makes me close my eyes and picture scenes. The visuals that appear are haunting, the thoughts piercing.
If dramas were gems, this is a diamond, hard as a rock, brilliant in lustre, something highly sought after. If you watch this, and leave it without crying, if this drama has no effect on you, let me know, i want to talk to you and ask why. Such a drama is so beautiful, it is one of the few dramas that i belive had little to no faults, that honestly could not have been improved at all. The actors were so convincing they seemed eeringly real. The setting, the situation, the plot, this drama made it feel like you were there. The music was insanely but brilliantly composed, and perfectly timed, swelling and receding along with the scenes they accompanied. You truly are thrust into a world where you experience the full range of emotions, from the joy of acceptance, to the pits of despair and hopelessness, to the realization that you still have life, something to live for.
a must-see, you would be crazy not to watch this drama

LIFE

Life, or something like this, Friday, 22 August 2008

Story
Acting
Music
Satisfaction

Geez, with friends like this girl in Life had, who really needs enemies, oh wait, her friend BECAME her enemy.
This is a pity story, and the main character has an understandable pitiful story. We have a girl scarred, so scared to keep her friends from suffering she is willing to dump her morals to please them. However, the big catalyst is a fellow student who shows no fear of the bullying, for she knows that bullying has only as much strength and power over you as you allow. Thus, this student is inspired to begin a fight back against the bullying.

Plotwise, pretty nice plot, her background gave strength to her character and how she handled things, and the characters well suited to make a good drama. You really get into the story, and the characters can evoke alot of emotions, hate, pity, happiness, it did it well.

Musically, honestly i didn't find too much to like, but i rated it 10 because Nakashima Mika sang a song in it

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