Category: Reviews

Review: First Love

Posted March 16, 2023 by Rowena in Reviews | 0 Comments

First Love

Starring: Mitsushima Hikari, Satoh Takeru, Yagi Rikako, Kido Taisei, Kaho, Minami
Year Released: 2022
Number of Episodes: 9
Genre: Drama, Melodrama, Romance
Country: Japan
Director: Kanchiku
Where to Watch: Netflix

In the late 90’s, Yae and Harumichi met and fell in love. After graduating from high school, Yae went off to college in Tokyo, while Harumichi joined the Self-Defense forces as an aviation student, and like that they separated.

One day, Yae suffered a tragic accident, and 20 years passed without their lives intersecting again. Now, Yae works as a taxi driver and Harumichi has become an employee at a security company after serving in the Self-Defense forces, both in the same city. About 20 years after their unfulfilled first love, fate brings them together once again…

I’m too lazy to look for pictures so you get just my straight up thoughts on this one today. Therese and I watched this show last month and I had heard that it was such a great show and so I was pretty stoked to start it but we struggled with getting through it. As a whole, the show was good but each individual episode was kind of hard to get through and though we liked certain things about the show, it’s not a show that I’d say that I loved. The first few episodes set up the show and I thought they set up the show pretty well. We were curious about everyone and the way that they kept missing each other but literal seconds had us on the edge of our seat but the longer they went without connecting and then the longer they took to get their shit together and get together, the more frustrated we felt.

My favorite part of the show was seeing the two main leads as teenagers. I was much more invested in them when they were falling in love with each other and when they were in the midst of young love. When we see them again as adults, they’re completely different people and the male lead came off low key creepy to me. The way that he got close to the female leads son in the beginning and then the way that he did his girlfriend and the female lead left a sour taste in my mouth, especially considering I didn’t think it did anything to further the story.

This is my second Japanese drama, so I wasn’t familiar with any actors or actresses in this show and I can’t say that anyone outside of the teenagers in the cast caught my attention. I did think that the female lead was cute and super pretty but other than her, nobody stood out to me. That’s not going to stop me from watching more shows from Japan though.

Overall, this drama was good but it’s not a drama that I would watch again. It’s not a show that I can shout my love for from the rooftops but it wasn’t the worst drama ever. The story being told, one of first love is a good one and if the entire show was them when they were teenagers, I probably would have liked this one more. I liked some things but mostly, this one just didn’t hit for me as much as I thought it would. So…yeah, that’s what I thought.

Final Rating

3 out of 5

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Tags: 3 Reviews, First Love, Hikari, Japan, Japanese Dramas, Kaho, Kido Taisei, Minami, Mitsushima Hikari, Reviews, Satoh Takeru, Yagi Rikako

The Seventeen Listen: Boys Be

Posted March 15, 2023 by Rowena in Reviews | 0 Comments

Welcome to my deep dive down the rabbit hole that is Seventeen. I’m going to try to write out my thoughts on the different albums coming out from both BTS and Seventeen since right now, they’re the only groups that I actively stan but I’m also going to start my Seventeen journey for record keeping on the blog.

This week, I’ll be discussing their 2015 release Boys Be. The only song off this one that I’m familiar with is Mansae and I already love this song so while I’ll still listen to it and watch whatever I can of that song, I’m going to be checking all of the other songs as well. Hmm..anyway, let’s jump in, shall we?

Boys Be

Release Date: September 10, 2015
Track List: Fronting, Mansae, When I Grow Up, OMG, Rock
Favorite Song: When I Grow Up

Boys Be is the second extended play from South Korean boy band Seventeen. It was released on September 10, 2015, by Pledis Entertainment. The album consists of five tracks, including the title track, “Mansae”.

There are only five songs on this album so it’s another short one but it was another enjoyable one so I’m not that mad about it. The repackaged albums..are those the albums that throw all of the short albums together? I’m guessing that might be the deal but anyway…let’s get to the songs.

Fronting: This is a catchy song and though some of the lyrics made me roll my eyes, I can’t even stay mad about them lyrics because the song is too fun and lighthearted, kind of like War of Hormones by BTS. This song is about high school boys that can’t control their feelings for their crushes and it makes me laugh because the lyrics convey that very well. This is the kind of song that I’d expect of some very young boys but it’s got a catchy hook and it’s fun so yeah, I like it.

Mansae: This song is catchy as hell and just a whole lot of fun. I really like long haired Jeonghan and he was a highlight in the music video for me. I loved it when I first heard it and I still love the hell out of it now. Such a great song that just makes me happy.

When I Grow Up: This is my favorite song off the album. This is my kind of song in every way. I’ve always loved the softer songs that are kind of cheesy, lyric wise but the difference with this song is that the lyrics are super sweet, not cheesy at all though I’m sure others will disagree with me but dude, this sons is SO CUTE! Its a vocal line song and this is another song that I absolutely love. Gah, love it so much.

OMG: This is a performance team song and I’m starting to realize that I enjoy their songs more when I’m watching them perform it. They performed this song really well and while I liked the song fine, it’s not a favorite of mine. It’s a solid song though.

Rock: I liked this one. I really liked the bridge and just listening to Seungkwan and DK doing their thing. The way that DK can sing those high notes? I’m here for it. This is definitely going on my playlist cause I did really like this one. The performance that I watched…they are babies in this performance. They’re such great performers too. I can see why they’re so popular.

Overall, this short album was cute. I didn’t love every song but I did enjoy it as a whole. I’m really excited to dig more into the lesser known songs that I’m missing out on. Seventeen is my kind of group so I’m pretty stoked to be listening to more of their stuff. There’s lot of hidden gems. I definitely recommend this one if you’re interested.

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Final Thoughts

3.5 out of 5

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Tags: 3.5 Reviews, Boys Be, K-Pop, Korean Pop Music, Music, My Music, Seventeen, SVT, The Seventeen Listen

Review: Alice in Borderland

Posted March 14, 2023 by Rowena in Reviews | 0 Comments

Alice in Borderland

Starring: Yamazaki Kento, Tsuchiya Tao, Murakami Nijiro, Morinaga Yuki, Machida Keita, Miyoshi Ayaka
Year Released: 2022
Number of Episodes: 16
Genre: Drama, Action, Science Fiction, Thriller
Country: Japan
Director: Sato Shinsuke
Where to Watch: Netflix

Arisu Ryohei—a listless, jobless, and video-game-obsessed young man—suddenly finds himself in a strange, emptied-out version of Tokyo in which he and his friends must compete in dangerous games in order to survive. In this strange world, Arisu meets Usagi, a young woman who’s navigating the games alone. After a dangerous game which tests Arisu’s limits, the two set out together to unravel one mystery after another as they risk their lives and confront what it means to live.

I have been meaning to watch this show for a while but never got around to it but when my friend DJ recommended it, I knew that I had to get it done, and while I didn’t end up loving it the way that everyone on the internet did, I still rather enjoyed it. It was crazy, it was thrilling and it was compelling as hell and I’m not mad at all that I watched it. I started watching it with my best friend, Theresa but after the third episode, we had to take a break because OH HELL NO, not the friends! Therese ended up not finishing it out, but I did.

The Story

This drama had some serious Hunger and Squid Games vibes with our cast playing deadly games to stay alive. I guess this drama was adapted from a manga that was loosely inspired by Alice in Wonderland. There’s a lot of violence, a lot of gory death, and let’s just say that this one ain’t for the kids. None of that bothered me and I think a lot of it worked well with the story being told. Our main characters, Arisu and Usagi are thrown into a world of deadly games where they have to keep winning games to stay alive. It was crazy that we actually saw the losers get eliminated from each game and that amped up my anxiety but also kept me invested. I needed to see both Arisu and Usagi succeed and take the gamekeepers down. That was where I was interested in from beginning to end.

The Cast

This is one of the first J-dramas that I watched so everyone was brand spanking new to me. I can’t say that anyone stood out to me. I was more invested in what was going on instead of who was who. I did enjoy Arisu and Usagi though. I also really liked Arisu’s friends from the very beginning but aside from them, nobody else stood out that much to me. I liked seeing Arisu, who I thought wouldn’t really amount to anything when we first meet him but holy cow did show me. With each game that he played, he kept right on impressing me. Same with Usagi, when we first meet her, I knew that she was going to be a big part of the game but I didn’t realize how much I’d come to love her character. She had a huge heart and when she wouldn’t leave that kid, I became a huge fan of hers. She was pretty great. Everyone else kind of reminded me of like a modern, fucked up version of Alice in Wonderland.

Final Thoughts

Overall, this was a solid drama. It wasn’t my favorite but I did enjoy the Arisu and seeing him battle day in and day out to survive. I don’t think that I could have survived that madness because each game was crazier than the last and I had hella anxiety watching because I had no idea how the hell Arisu was gonna beat the game. Both seasons were crazy and I’m glad that I watched them both. Did I mention how much I hate how Netflix splits up seasons? Cause I hate but lucky for them, I watched this when both series were already out so I didn’t have to wait to see how everything turned out. As solid as this drama was, the effects were pretty awesome but there were episodes that I struggled to get through and there were some characters that I didn’t care about but overall, I’m not mad that I watched it and I would recommend if you were in the mood for something on the crazy side.