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spicapicnic · 12 days

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࣪⊹₊⭑ ࣪ ๋destiny e01 ๋࣭ ⭑₊ ⊹ ࣪

first impressions: so disappointing! not even worth making GIFs for. imagine: you belong with me mv but make it a wannabe thriller-mystery.

i don't need characters in a drama to be likable. i think a measure of great show-writing is the ability to create flawed but still rootable characters. but destiny slogged its way through the first episode, introducing relatively few characters without fleshing out any of their redeeamble character traits? the entire friend group consists of self-absorbed petty people, except for yamoto yuma's character, who the writers seemed to forget existed half of the time. satomi has a history of getting garbage roles and while i thought this might be the new unnatural, it's more like the new shitsuren chocolatier (yeah i'm betting there's infidelity on the horizon).

pacing: slow and boring without being informative, overall odd. were the showrunners so desperate to show satomi and kame in the first five minutes that they were willing to sacrifice the flow of the episode? sandwiching a basically entire-episode long flashback between ten-ish minutes of the present timeline is such a lazy storytelling choice. the inclusion of narration is so unforgivable. the entire episode is unrepentant exposition from an omniscient pov which makes no sense given the fmc's present self is narrating it. imo they should make the entire first episode a flashback, and then end the episode the way they started it, with the reveal of present fmc interrogating mmc.

atmosphere: the cinematography and soundtrack are the only positive points for this drama. unfortunately they're not enough to redeem the plot or the characters. a nitpick i had was the cast were using iphone 5s but their operating systems were the 3d-stylized type from iphones 4 and older. their clothes were also very modern, and not at all late 00s/ early 10s. it feels like an oversight that could be pretty easily corrected? the attention to detail for the entire drama is so lacking.

episode notes: i came into this show expecting lots of duplicitous supporting characters and the expected sleazy kamenashi kazuya mmc. but even the fmc turns out to be a total narcissist? she goes, oh my friend is depressed bc she can't find a job and i'm sleeping with the mutual friend that she likes? i'll pretend i don't see it.' and then when that friend dies, she spends the whole funeral wondering where her boyfriend's at. just sociopathic levels of apathy.

then there's the whole underlying issue with her father's death that ruined her life, not because her father, well, died, but because people were spreading rumors about it to the point that the rumors followed her across the country? maybe it's a cultural difference but this kind of stigmatization and ostracization around people with family members who died by suicide is a concept i can never palate or wholly believe. the fact that fmc's two female friends spend long hours digging up dirt on her father's death just to get mmc to break up with her is insane to the point that it feels like bad writing.

a big plot point is the fmc's transformation once she joins the friend group. she goes from drab and unfashionable (glasses and unbrushed hair) to beautiful and "glowing" (takes off her glasses!), but in no universe is ishihara satomi going to be a wallflower, and she's so obviously wearing a full face of makeup in all her supposedly unstyled scenes. it's kind of unbelievable, especially when unmet is airing at the same season and sugisaki hana's freckles are on full display. this superficial attraction becomes the basis for fmc and mmc's getting together, which is fine except their relationship is never explored deeper. they're swapping 'i love yous' but there's no emotional investment, honestly they feel like fwbs rather than bf/gf and it's unbelievable that this month(s)? long relationship is the basis for an entire drama set over a decade later.

#destiny #ep 1

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spicapicnic · 14 days

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"Because we love them..."

࣪⊹₊⭑ ࣪ ๋Omukae Shibuya-kun E02 ๋࣭ ⭑₊ ⊹ ࣪

episode notes: another cute episode! this show is the perfect combo of cute+funny for me. the supporting cast is developing well without taking too much screentime away from the mcs. and their relationship is developing at a refreshing pace. i gasped at the end when shibuya admitted he had a hard time talking to aoto because he likes her. healthy communication? in a jdrama? it's fun seeing shibuya slowly come to understand his own emotions, esp through interactions with rizu and his manager. even though aota had her own dokidoki moment at the end of this episode, i wouldn't mind a few more episodes of them being clumsy and adorable around each other as they figure out their feelings. honestly i'm tempted to read the manga to see what happens next...

#omukae shibuya-kun #ep 2

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spicapicnic · 16 days

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"Everybody has secrets, right?"

࣪⊹₊⭑ ࣪ ๋yakusoku e01 ๋࣭ ⭑₊ ⊹ ࣪

first impressions: it reminds me of the first episode of destiny! (which was so bad i have no motivation to write about it) this isn't an ambitious drama, which isn't necessarily bad? the production is nothing compared to destiny, but the writing feels much better, and that's much more important imo. the plot is nothing new but it's going to be fun seeing how this show spins the "old friends reunited by an old death." especially with the fmc... something feels off about her?

pacing: everything is set up very neatly. they were very (almost too) efficient setting up her transfer from the city to the countryside. it makes me wonder if any of her city connections will make a reappearance? a lot of info was revealed about aoi's past and the current state of the town without feeling too slow or expositional, and the alternation btwn flashback and present day flowed well, like the flashbacks were present-day reminiscences rather than forceful changes of scene.

atmosphere: sticks to genre conventions, for better or worse. the soundtrack does most of the tonal heavy lifting. suspensful moment? they'll play suspensful music at the same loudness as the characters talking on-screen. touching moment? same deal. similarly the color grading is warm for happy scenes and cool for 'mysterious' scenes. i'd like it more if they toned down the soft glow. this is a mystery/thriller and they sure let you know it.

episode notes: a formulaic but solid first episode. it plainly establishes the main cast of suspects, and of course aoi's old friends are hiding some secrets of their own. it was a trip see yokoyama acting all broody and sinister! i was honestly impressed by his acting bc i've only seen him in kotarou wa hitorigurashi + those clips where he's laughing abt english phrases. but he's got those pouty lips that make it hard to take him seriously sometimes... anne maintained this lowkey-tortured expression throughout the whole episode and i started wondering if that was her default face, but her smile at the end really changed her whole demeanor and did more for the sinister vibe of the show than anything else they attempted with the production. they did a good job alternating between the flashbacks and present day, (unlike destiny, which basically dedicated the entire first ep to flashbacks,) and i like how they built up both timelines to overlap aoi's discoveries of the bodies. they did an amazing job casting the younger actors to look like their present day selves so the parallels feel believable. i wasn't expecting adult fuwa to show up so soon? i wonder what role he'll play in the plot. co-investigator with aoi into the original serial killings? or will he be wrongly accused for the present murder(s)? i hope there's no love triangle between him, aoi, and kosaka. fingers crossed...

#yakusoku #ep 1

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spicapicnic · 19 days

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"Please teach me more about this feeling."

࣪⊹₊⭑ ࣪ ๋Omukae Shibuya-kun E01 ๋࣭ ⭑₊ ⊹ ࣪

first impressions: super funny and refreshing! aota-sensei's [tanabe momoko] character is nothing new (japan's favorite trope is the meek worker-ant mc who doesn't speak up for themself) but she's not constantly putting blame on herself + she acknowledges when ppl at her nursery school are acting ridiculous. shibuya-kun [kyomoto taiga] is a twist on the aloof-type lead where he's so awkward in social situations that the fmc can't get a read on him. he's a heartthrob actor but his life revolves around his little sister and he dresses exclusively in high-necked tracksuits lol. rizu is such a cheerful kid, they make it apparent how loved she is by her brother. overall all the mains are cute and rootable <3

pacing: nice and quick! (idk why some 10-episode jdramas pace themselves like multi-season shows?) the supporting cast was established v neatly (we've got 2 teachers, a principal, a housemate(?), and an ex-bf on aota's side + a sister, a manager, a rival/costar, and an absent mom on shibuya's side). they got aoto's requisite "collapse due to shouldering others' burdens" crisis out of the way unlike some jdramas that let it stew for ages, and shibuya's fallen for her by the end of the episode (whether he realizes this is a different question lol).

atmosphere: sooo unserious. they're really putting the com in romcom! dramatic mysterious wind moments, heartbeat sound effects, literal falling in love, etc etc etc. it's all very tongue in cheek and shoujo manga-like. i love it!

episode notes: a really strong first episode! i'm glad they got aoto's overwork crisis out of the way, but i'm not crazy about how they did it?. she loses her voice for like five minutes. at first i thought she'd caught a cold from pulling an all-nighter or smth but she was speaking fine afterward? some dramas make it an endless cycle of fmc getting overwhelmed + needing saving and i hope this drama doesn't follow that pattern. shibuya's character is really exaggerated in terms of his emotionlessness/ social ineptitude. it wouldn't work in a more serious romance drama but it sets the comedic tone for this drama, and aoto's reactions to him are priceless! they also set the stage for some potential love troubles further down the road with aoto's ex-bf (another irl idol lol) and shibuya's costar, and i wonder how shibuya's popularity as an actor might complicate their relationship?

imo a clever move by the writers is creating a jdrama-in-a-jdrama where snippets of shibuya's current acting role are shown like an actual drama. it lets viewers see shibuya in his on-mode but more importantly it provides fanservice for all the idol fangirls tuning in. never in 100 years did i think i'd see a kyomoto taiga bl kabedon. but:

#omukae shibuya-kun #ep 1

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