Some of my all-time fave dramas are Japanese doramas. I’ve been watching J-doramas since the early 90s, when I was a wee lass (okay, not so wee, but definitely still a lass), and following this bandwagon has been a bumpy ride. When its good, the ride was exhilarating. When its been blergh, it feels like an interminable period of uninteresting … Continue reading →
Going into this year end review, I wasn’t nearly as enthusiastic as I was last year. I can’t pinpoint why, other than perhaps I simply wrote so much I wore myself out. All my drama writing in the 365 days since the 2010 year end review did make my fingers consider going on strike. My brain wasn’t that far behind … Continue reading →
Zenkai Girl has been over for a month now, but I find myself actually missing it. Like missing a friend who has moved away and I can’t hang out with anymore. While the drama wasn’t perfect, it was always captivating to watch. Since ending the drama, Nishikido Ryo has officially left NEWS to be part of Kanjani 8, while Aragaki … Continue reading →
I still can’t believe I went from recapping zero J-doramas to doing two in one season back-to-back. It was so much fun, even if one got a bit boring towards the end, and the other went crazy before finding its way back sanity and happiness all around. While Zenkai Girl isn’t a drama that will be talked about long after … Continue reading →
At the risk of getting stabbity, I put away all the knives in the kitchen before attempting this recap. That and also chanting the mantra “don’t forget there is episode 11 coming up” that got me through episode 10 of Zenkai Girl. Could two people NOT communicate any less than Wakaba and Shota? That would be hard to top. Frankly … Continue reading →
It took me awhile to get up the courage to recap this episode of Zenkai Girl, because the first time I watched it a few weeks ago, I was bawling my way through it. It wasn’t sad, it was moving in ways that felt so immediate, like an arrow to the heart. While this episode was all about Wakaba and … Continue reading →
Normally I don’t jump ahead when it comes to recapping, but with respect to Zenkai Girl it’s pretty much a given this baby is going to end well. It might go insane for an episode or two, but it’s sure to be rainbows and unicorns by the end. If anyone thought otherwise, sorry to say burst your naysayer bubble. Heh. So everyone … Continue reading →
One thing Zenkai Girl has in spades, which is both a strength and a crutch, is how its issues are dealt with using such broad strokes. This is not a nuanced drama by any measure, and episode 6 cranks it up a notch with Hinata and the school play mirroring Wakaba and her confused heart. This episode was all about … Continue reading →
Five episodes into Zenkai Girl and I officially love all the characterizations. Oh, and we have also achieved the princess carry. Woot woot! There are lots of extremes meant for contrast purposes, yet the characters feel so three-dimensional, like meeting quirky cousins you only conjured up in your dreams. There are times when I want Ryo to bow less and … Continue reading →
I kinda wish we can have just one drama with cute adorable kids that doesn’t involve the kid getting lost. It’s not all that common to lose a kid in real life, especially one as adorable as Piitaro. But the lost kid plot device always serves its purpose, and does so in this episode of Zenkai Girl, which was short … Continue reading →
Zenkai Girl, it does a soul good. Episode 3 was yet another charming one, confirming for me that this drama has discovered the ease of storytelling. It’s so deft, so sure of itself, which results in it being genuinely enjoyable to watch. The emotions it elicits are very gentle, the laughter not forced or manic, the sweetness not manufactured or … Continue reading →
Either I have no self-control, adding another drama to my recap plate, or it’s simply that Zenkai Girl is just THAT good (psst, it’s the latter). A unrelated matter first though – I need to take a hiatus from recapping Material Queen, which is still brilliantly good, but so angsty it actually made me feel like retching when I watched … Continue reading →