Zíza

I almost wanted to give it an even worse rating at the end. It was really annoying, especially Go Hye-rim. The beginning really intrigued me a lot and I told myself that if the heroine stays like that, resolute, it would be great. But in the end, no. In the end, it was just another constant chasing of her own tail and I didn't care how many well-done kisses it had. The ending really ripped me up. [BEGIN SPOILER] So he's making a pass at her (not exactly ethical), and he’s basically pretty nasty to her. She's legitimately pissed, and after a few breakups and reconciliations, it all spills over, she gets her revenge on him in true Cinderella style and the good doctor is crushed. The poor thing stops eating, she gets a dog (which of course mysteriously disappears again), and then the dying psychologist has to step in to explain that actually the doctor is innocent and she's the one who has to help him and whatnot – after all, we just need a happy ending. In the end, the doctor breaks down and everything works out, [END SPOILER] even though Go Hye-rim is such a bitch that by this time I'd developed a pretty strong contempt, distaste towards her. When you hate the heroine so much for her behavior, as a rule you can't watch the show with enjoyment. The last few episodes were an ordeal for me, but I somehow managed to finish watching it. I'm so disillusioned by it that I don't even want to recommend it.

Mononoke could actually be described as a series about a mysterious psychologist who goes wherever his services are needed. Through relentless questioning, he always gets to the truth and the cause of the mental illness, which he eventually cures very effectively. Moreover, all this healing takes place during the Edo/Meiji era, so that alone gives the story an interesting spin. Except that the creators didn't stop here and played around with animation, colors, and static images, putting everything together into an interesting mosaic. Apart from the visuals (and actually the music), it's also interesting in terms of the questions of the psychologist, i.e. the charlatan, and the closing answers, when the sick man decides not to resist anymore and to reflect on his life thus far. The problems encountered here are very topical. One could therefore mention the kind of timelessness of anime. Despite all this, it is certainly not a relaxing show, it requires a certain concentration. It's not an ordinary horror film with a social overlay, so it can be more challenging to watch. The OP and EN are irrelevant. A weaker 4 stars.

The story of how the divine martyr Hazama becomes the best doctor of the underworld amidst paraded moralizing. Our poor protagonist has been through hell, so he knows how the world works and can impart his life wisdom and make everyone into better people. If that's not enough verbally, he can always stitch or sew them up, because in the words of his "older colleague", he's just quick! In the end, you don't get anything out of the series except a needle and thread. You have some of that sixties background, you have a saintly central character who doesn't screw up and still goes after his dream of becoming a great licensed doctor, then you have some irrelevant supporting characters who are in the show to force Hazama into illegal stitching. So in the end you have cross stitch embroidery, which I'm sure also has a lot of deep thoughts and a touching story, you just have to look and dig very hard to find it. They must have meant it that way.

I just have a soft spot for these chamber dramas. Especially when I feel like I'm not wasting my time watching them because it gives me something. Whether it's quality entertainment or new knowledge. More films like this and I'll like that American cinema a lot more. The actors act because they have something to act. And that's the best part.

It reminded me a bit of Shinigami no Ballad. Not so much in terms of the story, but in the mood and the main characters. I'm sure the kihontekini have something similar. It's not a gem, it's basically an anime about nothing, but oddly enough it's not particularly boring and the characters are quite enjoyable. The animation is unremarkable for its time, the opening and ending are a world unto themselves. It basically goes over the same thing over and over again, so as a dinner table setting it's very appropriate. An utterly unremarkable mediocrity.

The only interesting thing about the series is the complexity of the main character, because for a long time the viewer is left grasping for what they should actually think of him. It's good that the whole series tries to bring him to us step by step. It's just that this introduction to Yoo Jung is filled with uninteresting ballast, not to mention that somewhere around episode 11 I couldn’t figure out why I was still watching it. Probably out of inertia. Yoo Jung wasn't really even there, instead the Baek siblings stepped in, along with their problems. Which I didn't really care about. It's not the worst show, but it's so sleepy, about nothing, something interesting happens here and there, a promising start by the heroine is suffocated by the second, third episode and we end up once again with the typical underdog who serves everyone. What's so great about them? At least she had great friends, that's the only thing that made it interesting. Otherwise... I was really bored. And the last episode killed it. Again.

So I finally got to the oldest Bayside Shakedown special and I'm definitely not disappointed. It's all in the same vein I fell in love with in the series. Once again we have small/big cases, small/big stunts, but in the end, the one who dresses right wins. I had fun, it was great to be with that wonderful bunch again, I got to see some of the big names of today the way they looked at the beginning of their careers (Ito, Nakama, Hirosue – a Beach Boys reference!) and walked away smiling. It just flows so beautifully with them. A strong 4 stars.

Granted, it's an older series, so you won't get it in HD (unless they decide to "polish" it up and re-release it in Japan), but I'm sure that's not the reason the series looks grey and cloudy all the time. The adults are dead and the kids have to fend for themselves on rations. It kind of feels like after the war. It's definitely different than 99.9% of the series they make. That difference alone is worth watching. Even though the main characters are children, we still can't avoid cruelty, love (of one kind or another), or death. Not to mention that there are faces here that are still lighting up the airways of Japanese show business, only twenty years younger... who wouldn't want to see that?

Both Aragaki and Okada played it beautifully. He the world's biggest loser and she the detective who forgets what happened every time she gets a full night’s sleep. Beautiful to watch their gradual bonding, especially since Yakusuke has to start from the beginning every time. All the episodes have their own detective plot, and at the same time something is always revealed. It's "easy" to follow (Kyoko counterbalances Yakusuke beautifully), and at the same time it gets a bit serious towards the end and manages to evoke feelings of anxiety in the viewer – just to make for the best ending possible! Definitely a very interesting series. It's just a shame it doesn't have a second season. A very strong 3 stars.

There are a lot of series about bullying because this problem is raging throughout Japan, even though it's not talked about very often – unless someone commits suicide or tries to kill their abuser. As with all such series, a new element comes into the classroom to disrupt the system of bullying that has reigned until then, and tries to fix things with willpower, diligence, or whatever. We get to see different forms of bullying in the series, which is quite interesting to watch because one of them I had no idea the kids had worked their way up to. The acting isn't bad, Yonekura is gorgeous, and for the ladies there’s the lax teacher played by Mizobata or the students (Nomura is definitely cute like that). If you want bullying, you'll get it.