The Bend in the Road

I first heard about "Hanako to Anne" several years ago. As an avid "Anne of Green Gables" fan, I'm always keeping my eyes out for anything even remotely Anne-related. However, since it has 156 episodes, "Hanako to Anne" got pushed further and further down on my priority list. That is until last December when I discovered the book on which the series is based. It was published in English as "Anne's Cradle: The Life and Works of Hanako Muraoka." I highly recommend it if you're interested in knowing more about Hanako. After reading it, I finally sat down to watch "Hanako to Anne." Now my only regret is that I didn't watch it sooner!

Watching an asadora is an experience like no other form of media I've experienced so far. The closest I can compare it to is a really long novel, which is likely why they're called 連続テレビ小説 ("serial TV novel"). If you're hesitating to watch any asadora, I recommend watching the first six episodes (i.e. the first week). Before I knew it, I was hooked and watching up 12-20 episodes a day.

The main character, Hanako, is my favorite character since I couldn't help feeling more attached to her after reading a whole book about her. She is somewhat upstaged by her best friend, Renko, who at times feels like her co-lead. The rest of the cast also gets the time to shine, which is what I think is the part of watching an asadora. By the end of the series, everyone feels like they could be your friend or family. Extensive character development is given to nearly every single person. It's amazing to watch it play out.

Anne references are sprinkled throughout the series, which are fun to see even if they're not exactly true to life. Many of the characters are based on real-life people Hanako knew, though their names have been changed along with some artistic license. I was surprised that the drama covered some very tragic moments in Hanako's life since it originally aired early in the morning. However, no punches were pulled so expect to be crying at some point.

Now to close out this review. I've given it a very generous rating of 10. Honestly, everything was great about it from the acting, the music, the writing, etc. I loved it every bit of it. Even when the story dragged a little bit, it's easy to forget since the episodes before and after the draggy part are so great. I'm so surprised no one has written a review for this amazing drama yet. I sincerely hope if you're reading this that you'll check it out!

ごきげんよう。さよなら。(Gokigenyo. Sayonara.)

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Amazing

IOTNBO has definitely made it onto my favorites list. I loved it so much. Originally, I wasn't going to watch this drama. I saw the trailer and I didn't really seem like something I would be into. Cut to two weeks later, I was browsing mdl's calendar to see what was playing on my birthday. This drama was the only thing appealing and logistically also the only one I could catch up with. Then I saw a video on IG of Mun-yeong yelling at a deer lol. I could no longer resist and binged the first eight episodes of the drama. I absolutely LOVED it.

My favorite theme of IOTNBO is healing. Seeing the main three characters gradually heal as well as the other patients just warmed my heart so much. Overall, the look, acting, characters, music, everything was perfect. I will definitely watch this drama again. Likely in the next two months or so. Short review since 200 people have already written ones before me.

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Short and enjoyable

I enjoyed this so much. It was light and fluffy, making me smile the whole time. I picked up this series since I'm becoming more interested in GMMTV and its actors (I really liked Jan. I'll probably look for more of her). Since it's a web series, "Youniverse" I felt had a very different look from the ones they broadcast on TV. It felt more raw and the actors seemed as if they were really just regular high school students. As for the story, it was really simple but enjoyable. I liked watching the two couples form. The ending had a bit of twist, but I'm still hopeful.

Anyway, this is a short review since I just wanted to put a few thoughts on it out there. I would recommend this series to anyway who has forty minutes to spare. Trust me, you'll enjoy it!

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An interesting rom-com

First, I want to say that I liked this movie even though the student-teacher relationship kind of bothered me at first. Thankfully, they are not student and teacher for that much of the movie. The plot is simple, Ginny is an architecture student in love with her professor, Marco. They end up splitting up after three years together and Ginny moves to Barcelona. Four years later, Ginny receives an email from Marco that he originally sent after they broke up. Cue the tears T_T Ginny moves back to the Philippines and ends up working with Marco on converting a house into a restaurant. However, Marco now has a girlfriend, Patty.

My favorite part of the film was that their whole past was not revealed at the beginning. Instead, more is revealed as Ginny and Marco remembered certain things. Also, the flashbacks are shown from both of their POVs so it's completely fair. These parts ended up being my favorite. The film kind of became problematic for me towards the end, but I'm trying to keep this spoiler-free. I ended up giving this a 7.5 since I liked *most* of it. However, by the end I was unsure how I really wanted it to end. Did I want Marco to end up with Ginny or Patty. Still not sure...

Anyway, I recommend this to anyone who likes rom-coms with interesting twists. Also, this movie reminded me of the American movies, "My Best Friend's Wedding" and "Little Black Book," both of which I also liked.

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Ten Years is an anthology film comprised of five stories set in 2025. Each story speculates various aspects of the future of Hong Kong if mainland China continues trying to suppress them. The film also alludes to the Umbrella Revolution of 2014 in some of the stories. As an outsider, I found the subject matter fascinating, and at times heart-breaking, and I am looking forward to learning more about Hong Kong's past history and current state.

The strongest story in the film I felt was "Self Immolator". It had moving characters and was the most informative, discussing several points in Hong Kong's recent history. "Extras" and "Dialect" were also food-for-thought, both dealing with political themes. "Season of the End" was probably the weakest as I'm still not quite sure what it was about. The final story "Local Egg" was a good closer, giving the viewers hope for the future.

According to Wikipedia, any reports of Ten Years was censored by China and the Hong Kong Film Awards was barred because the film was nominated for Best Picture (and won). Ten Years was also a surprising box office success, which I think tells you a lot about Hongkongers feel right now.

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"Let's Go Watch the Meteor Shower", also known as "Meteor Shower", is an unauthorized adaptation of "Boys Over Flowers" (Hana Yori Dango) by Yoko Kamio. Note: I say 'unauthorized' because the producers failed to obtain the copyright. The same year, the popular Korean adaptation also titled "Boys Over Flowers" was released. A clause in the Korean production's contract barred any new 'official' adaptations for three years, which might explain "Meteor Shower"'s producers inability to get the copyright. Another interesting fact is the show was initially titled "New Meteor Garden". There are several particular similarities between MS and MG, besides both being adapted from BOF.

"Meteor Shower" takes places at a college (like MG), where Yunhai (Dao Ming Si) and Yuxun (Shan Cai) have a fateful encounter. Hans Zhang and Zheng Shuang's chemistry is hands down the best part of the show. I was bored during scenes without them, though their romance did drag a bit towards the end. Unlike previous versions, MS has several romance side plots for the supporting characters, including Lei and Yu Xin (Jing), Shangguan (Xi Men) and Xiao You, and a love triangle between Ye Shuo (Mei Zuo), Yunduo (Yunhai's sister), and her ex-boyfriend. Interesting at first, these side plots eventually became played out and only served to fill out the series' thirty-six episodes.

Overall, MS was fun to watch, despite being draggy at times and the last three episodes were almost agonizing. You'll probably enjoy this series as long as you don't expect too much from it.

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Arashi ga Oka is an adaptation of Emily Bronte's masterpiece, "Wuthering Heights." You don't need to read the book to understand this movie though. The film transplants the story from Bronte's English moors to the medieval Japanese countryside. I particularly liked Yusaku Matsuda and Tomoko Takabe in the film.

Overall, the film follows the book very well. It even covers the second half of the book, which I've noticed many "Wuthering Heights" adaptations skip. However, I thought it was just a little too long and it was startlingly dark at times.

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Impressive adaptation

After hearing that this series was coming out this year, I read the book and then watched the 1980 miniseries before sitting down to watch this. One of favorite things with adaptations of books and ones with multiple adaptations is comparing them. When I do this, I often find that there are things about each that I like and usually there is not one I would deem the "true" adaption. The 1980 and 2024 versions of "Shogun" are a perfect example of this.

*The 1980 version I would say is more faithful to the book plot-wise, but the 2024 version I think captures the essence better. Watching the 2024 one, I reminded of why I liked the book so much and what made me keep reading despite it being 900+ pages long.
*One of the biggest differences is that the 2024 version subtitles the Japanese characters, while the 1980 one doesn't. The reasoning was that Anjin-san doesn't understand them so we shouldn't either. I think this was fine to a point, but they should've started subtitling towards the end when Anjin-san understood them. The 2024 version allows more of the Japanese characters to shine because of the subtitles and honestly there's no way they wouldn't have subtitled them anyway in this day and age lol.
*1980 Anjin-san (played by Richard Chamberlain) is stronger than 2024 Anjin-san (Cosmo Jarvis). However, I saw some good potential in the final episode and I have faith in him for season 2. Anna Sawai and Hiroyuki Sanada were just acting rings around him.
*The 1980 version cuts some scenes (possibly for logistics) that I felt should've been kept and 2024 version covered some of the scenes in question while also adding a lot of extra scenes not in the books. Ultimately, I think these scenes will work in favor for season 2 as they helped established lore that could be expanded upon later and show the potential for this series.
*Anjin-san's and Mariko's romance is underdeveloped in the 2024 version. However, as this was my least favorite part of the book and 1980 version, I didn't particularly care that much.
*Also, Tsuji-san didn't seem to play as big a part in the 2024 version. I hope his role is expanded in the next season.

So that was just some of my thoughts, I won't do an in-depth review since there's already plenty on here. Now which was the best? I watched this and the 1980 series with my dad and he preferred the older one. Me, personally, I liked both about equally though I'm slightly inclined to the new version as I liked the visuals better. I'll say that this was the first series I've watched from FX in years and I'm actually looking forward to season 2. I believe that they can pull it off as long as they keep the same standard of quality.

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"People are like chopsticks..."

"Chiritotechin" is my tenth asadora. It is also the last one I'm watching before "Natsuzora," in which "Chiritotechin" lead Kanjiya Shihori also appears. "Chiritotechin" was a surprising gem from start to finish. I wished I had watched it prior to the two asadoras I recently finished, "Dandan" and "Manpuku." My gut isn't always right after all lol.

Kanjiya plays Wada Kiyomi, a distinctive "negative" heroine for an asadora. By "negative," I mean that she's very pessimistic unlike the stereotypical hard-working, cheerful asadora heroine. Kiyomi's misery seemingly stems by her arrival in Obama, Fukui as a child to discover another girl with the exact same name as her. This begins Kiyomi's never-ending series of "tensai" (a disaster from heaven). "Chiritotechin" finds humor in these "tensai," leading me to quite literally laugh through my tears. Humor is one of the central themes of the series since it's centered around the art of rakugo storytelling. I particularly liked the reenactments of rakugo stories as well as Kiyomi's daydreams.

Besides Kanjiya's great performance, the cast is full of several heavy-hitters. The most notable being Watase Tsunehiko (from "Oshin"!) as Kiyomi's rakugo teacher and Wakui Emi as Kiyomi's hilarious mother. There's also Aoki Munetaka as Soso, Kiyomi's love interest. And Katsura Kichiya, Shigeyama Motohiko, and Kato Toranosuke as her rakugo "brothers" Sogen, Kosojaku, and Shiiso. Kichiya is actually a real-life rakugo storyteller and Shigeyama is a Noh actor. Sato Megumi had a surprisingly nuanced performance of Wada Kiyomi "A" (aka "A-ko") in the second half of the series. I guess that's enough with praising the cast, just know that they are all great. The only character I ended up not liking was Soso's apprentice (played by Tsujimoto Yuuki), but I don't know how the writer expected us to like a pathological liar.

Traditional arts are another central theme of "Chiritotechin." Kiyomi's grandfather and later her father are lacquered chopsticks craftsman. This is where the quote "People are like chopsticks..." comes to play. Designs are put onto the chopsticks between layers of lacquer. Kiyomi's grandfather compares this to People's experiences through life, which turns into something beautiful despite hardships. Her grandfather is also the person who introduces her to rakugo, another traditional art. "Chiritotechin" emphasizes the need to preserve these arts for future generations. As a non-Japanese person, I was surprised to find myself invested in both of these arts.

Equals parts hilarious and heartwarming, "Chiritotechin" made me laugh and cry in turn over and over again. An unforgettable asadora that I will carry with me for some time. I would give it a turn but some of the weeks after Kiyomi's marriage feel like filler (though are enjoyable nonetheless). Speaking of her marriage, the culmination of her unrequited love and subsequent wedding are some of the most hilarious episodes I've ever seen on television. "Chiritiotechin" had somewhat low ratings for an asadora (I think due to the subject matter and the way the series isn't exactly easy to jump into), but attracted die-hard fans. To me, this encompasses the drama perfectly. It doesn't have universal appeal, but if you love you'll LOVE it.

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Charming and sweet romance

Liza Soberano and Enrique Gil are a charming pair. The pair perform better here than their slightly problematic "Just the Way You Are" though they're still relatively green here. However, they easily coast through the movie on their undeniable chemistry. It's no surprise that these two are a couple in real life. Gerald Anderson has a stand-out performance, despite being in a coma for the majority of the movie.

The story and characterization feel weak at times in the movie. We're told a lot of details about the characters but not shown. Enrique's character in particular is not fully fleshed out. I think the film shined in its portrayal of Audrey's (Soberano) and Tristan's (Anderson) relationship. Some of their scenes towards the latter half were definite stand-outs.

Overall, this film was not my favorite from the Liza-Enrique pair. However, it's still worth a watch for fans as are all of their films. Their performances in "My Ex and Whys" were quite good, though the story was a bit iffy for me. "Alone Together" is their best film to date and would recommend it to anyone.

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This Is Arashi

In October 2019, Arashi opened a YouTube account. Earlier that year, the band announced their intentions to go on hiatus after December 31, 2020. Honestly, I didn't pay too much attention to the announcement. I'm only a casual Arashi fan because of MatsuJun being in 'Hana Yori Dango.' However, a Johnny's band opening a YouTube account was unprecedented. I HAD to pay attention and discovered some new songs in the process. The following month, they made another surprise move by creating several social media accounts, including Instagram where I followed them voraciously.

Next, came this documentary. When I watched the first episode, I thought it was going to be a one-off thing really. I'm surprised that I kept watching something I started on December 31, 2019! Throughout the series, I was most struck by Arashi's dedication to the fans and how they genuinely seem to care about them. These moments touched me so much that I cried. The episodes where Arashi is trying to break in to the US market are particularly poignant to me. It makes me wonder about so many things that would've gone different if coronavirus hadn't happen. I'm sure Arashi's planned concert here would've been amazing.

I recommend watching the first episode, and their respective "diary" episodes the most. I wasn't so interested in some of the behind the scenes stuff, though it's interesting to see just how much MatsuJun was involved with the concerts. Now after twenty-four episodes, I can say I'm a fan of Arashi and all five of its members. I never would've thought I'd connect with Ohno the most tbh. Now that they're on hiatus, I hope they enjoy themselves but I also hope that they remain close friends and will eventually come back to us as Arashi.

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A meh adaptation.

Since I'm watching all the Itazura na Kiss adaptations, I guess I'll review them all as well. Note: I've read part of the manga and seen the anime, so they are the only thing I can compare this drama too. Another note: my favorite part of this drama was probably the ending theme, which paid homage to the manga (so adorable!).

I didn't hate this drama, only it left me disappointed at certain points that I felt the manga/anime did better. For some reason, Kotoko never annoyed me as in the manga/anime as much as she did in this drama. No offense to Sato Aiko, who was a bit screechy at times. I think it was mostly a writing issue. There is never a moment when Kotoko becomes just fed up with Naoki (God, I really wanted this moment). It's incredibly frustrating. On the other hand, I rather liked Kashiwabara Takashi as Naoki. I felt more sympathetic to him than Kotoko tbh. She really seemed like an "ordeal" to him and I kept telepathically telling him to run away.

As for the rest of the cast, I thought Asada Miyoko and Akashi Ryotaro were perfect as Naoki's mom and Yuki. I really enjoyed his voice-overs in the episodes. The majority of the other characters were good/okay but no stand-outs. I was disappointed in Kinnosuke's character. Though Aoki Shinsuke resembles him really well, they reduced his character to pure comic relief and he becomes a lot more annoying because of it. And lastly, I thoroughly disliked Ozawa Maju as Reiko (Yuko in the manga/anime). She was portrayed so evil in this drama with absolutely no sympathy at all. Ugh I really hated it.

The ending of this drama left me with mixed feelings, which I still cannot put my finger on. I've given it a rating of 7, only because I didn't absolutely hate it. If I was a professional reviewer, I would likely give it a 5 or 6. I think only die-hard fans should watch this (and even then y'all might not like it). Casual fans should beware, unless you're the type to skip scenes (alas, I'm not). Well, on from this meh adaptation to the next.

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First, I'm going to preface this by saying: Only Hana Yori Dango fans will like this. Seriously. If you've never seen read the manga or seen any of the others versions, you'll probably hate this movie. Like many manga adaptations, the film is chiefly fan service. It was the first live-action version and I'm sure the draw was: Want to see adorable idol Yuki Uchida as Tsukushi? or hunky newcomer Naohito Fujiki as Rui? (though his hair makes him look too similar to Uchida...) So, please avoid this, if you unfamiliar with the story.

Now on to the story! The movie covers the first seven volumes (Fun fact: only nine volumes of the series had been released at the time). Unfortunately, this also means it covers some of least favorite parts of the manga, the Shizuka Arc and Rui Tries to Steal Domyoji's Girl Arc. I can forgive it though since they only had so much material to work with. My biggest complaint about the story is the rearranging of events (maybe only manga fans will notice), it makes some things not make any sense. And Tsukasa nearly assaults Tsukushi and it's all hunky dory, let's go to the beach time now?! (Atleast in the manga she is noticeably scared to be alone with Tsukasa for some time) That part really should have been left out, instead of Tsukushi and Tsukasa's first 'date'.

I'm not going to comment much on the acting. They were all newcomers at the time with many making their film debut in it. Honestly, the over-the-top acting kind of suits the manga vibes. On another note, the actors playing Akira and Sojiro aren't given hardly any lines! So sad. If you're interested check out the late Koichi Hashizume in Picnic (1996), he really shows off his acting chops in it. And did anyone else notice Shizuka's accent?

Lastly, my personal feelings on this movie. I waited a long time to watch it. It wasn't available online for years. Now it's conveniently located on YouTube. Since then, I've seen it atleast three or four times. I just never get tired of the wacky story and acting or the soundtrack, "Baby's Growing Up," or laughing at Tsukasa's missing shirt. Not the best version of Hana Yori Dango by far, but still entertaining. I recommend to veteran fans of the manga or the other adaptations.

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I've been following the development of this version since May 2017. Its been a long time coming since they announced the cast last November and finished filming last spring. However, it was definitely worth it and I fully enjoyed the two months it took to air. I'm gonna miss it now that it is over.

This version probably has the most care put into it. Angie Chai, who also produced the original 'Meteor Garden', was very careful about adapting it to a millennial audience while staying true to the manga. It shows. 'Meteor Garden' (2018) by far covers the manga's plot better than all of the others. This is both a good and bad thing. It allows the character's to fully develop, but feels kinda draggy towards the end (the manga has the same effect). It is 49 episodes long after all.

I loved the chemistry between the leads, Dylan Wang and Shen Yue. All of the supporting characters were enjoyable, though some were better than others (>_< ugh Caina). Like the other adaptations before it, this version has its good points and bad points. It's inevitable that 'Meteor Garden' (2018) will be ruthlessly compared to the other versions. I suggest to all fans to check it out since you'll probably like it if you give it a shot.

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Run-of-the-mill horror flick

I enjoyed this movie primarily for Kathniel (Kathryn Bernardo and Daniel Padilla). As a couple, they are to die for and I will watch any movie with them in it. I believe fans of these two will also enjoy this movie. Otherwise, it is just a typical ghost kills everyone one-by-one movie that every has seen at least once.

The one thing that was interesting about it was learning Filipino superstitions regarding wakes, such as not going home directly after a wake. I've never been to one so I don't if there are any such traditions in the US. The story became slightly more interesting after learning the ghost's motivations wasn't just because said teenagers violated a bunch of superstitions.

Was it scary? Eh, no. Lol but I don't believe in ghosts or spirits so these kind of movies rarely scare me. To conclude, horror fans will find this movie basic or forgettable but Kathniel fans like me will be happy to see their favorite pair in something different from their usual rom-coms.

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