Zíza

The main character, Momoko, gets fired from her daycare, so she gets a new job where she still takes care of kids. Specifically, the ones who aren't allowed to be in daycare because they have a temperature of 37.5 or higher. However, the employer's rules clearly state that she is not to interfere with the family, educate the child, etc. But Momoko, like a proper soft-hearted Japanese lady, can't be told and has to stick her nose everywhere she can. I guess it's because she had a terrible childhood. But of course, despite initial mistrust, she makes lots of friends, everyone applauds her, and only her family nips at her heels. It's a typical show about family, friendship, helping, and nurturing, it's just that some of the characters are like caricatures. Momoko herself is so unrealistic I'd like to shoot her in the eye. Ditto Asahina, played by poor Narimiya. Such a good actor and such a bad role. If you like cheesy family dramas, go for it; otherwise steer clear. A weak 2 stars.

In the context of high school romantic comedies where one is sort of likable and the other is relationally or socially inept, this is rather below average. But it's a fact that Tsutsun was funny at times, not a typical outlier because he didn't get tossed around so easily. Still, it pretty much stuck to the same well-worn grooves, it didn't really bring anything new to the table, and because it didn't strike me as interesting, I didn't even enjoy the clichés. To add to that, I wasn't happy with the quality of the animation and dubbing, either, so for me an anime that I could skip with a clear conscience. Maybe it's enough to watch the live-action movie and save some time and maybe have more fun.

What can I tell you, I got incredibly hooked during the first episode; it's just great! The plot, the excellent acting – Suda Masaki excels, not to mention the whole class of students, where no one is dead weight, everyone has a say, no one is ignored, as is usually the case with high school series where we get to know like three or four people from the class and that's it. Everyone has a role, motivation, gifts, and weaknesses. Apart from the students, the series also familiarizes the viewer with the police officers and other characters more than adequately. I'm not saying it’s a deep introduction, but each character gets just enough space for us, the audience, to understand their motivation for the actions they take. Mutō Shōgo really exceeded my expectations because he hasn't really written anything complex, basically it's a theme that quite a few series or movies are turning to these days, yet he puts a hilarious spin on it and the whole time drops hints, clues as to what's really going on and what it will all turn into. Certainly don't expect a whopping climax where the head of the American criminal organization is revealed... not at all, it's much more down to earth and human. And yet it actually manages to be that much more impactful. Basically, Mutō is speaking to us through Hiiragi in the last episode, when he says he hopes it will resonate with someone, at least one other person. He himself doesn't believe it will appeal to everyone, but he does believe it will at least reach someone. And I can easily say that this show got me. Not so much in its message, but in the way it's crafted, the soundtrack, and most importantly, the performances. You want an unusual high school drama? Go for it, because here a new generation of actors is being taught by a contemporary star and he does it brilliantly. I enjoyed it and I was looking forward to the next episode every week, to the twists and the suspense. For the first time in a long time, a series that entertained me from beginning to end; I liked how it was done and I want to watch it again right away. My number one for 2019.

Tedious. I watched it in three days, but that was only because I wanted to get the "burden" off my shoulders. Who wouldn't care if she died or not? But that's true of her entire storyline. I was more interested in the other one's storyline, the one who did the lending. And she also appealed to the Angel of Death, the Scheduler, who cried pretty hard in the end. I confess I shed a tear at the last episode too, not so much for the comatose one, but for the other one and what she found in the backpack. Well. You'll see if you watch. Otherwise, nothing. I didn't connect with them. I didn't sympathize. I didn't care for the OST either. But it left me feeling disillusioned – first, the ending sucked, and second it made me think about my own life. Yikes. A better 2 stars.

Yamada Yuki is just not suited to romantic comedy with his voice, looks, or facial expressions. He's a great comedian, he can handle dramatic characters too, bad guys even better, but the main character in a romcom... no, he just didn't fit. Nagasawa Masami, on the other hand, is the type who can act in them just fine, and she wasn't bad here either, though I've seen her do better. Director and writer Fukuda Yuichi, who has a plethora of comedies and parodies to his credit, took a stab at romance and I don't think it suited him. It seemed so bland to me, always just biting off something but not quite finishing it. Sure, it is based on the American original and leaves out the most vulgar jokes, though that's the film's strength and weakness. What it fails to translate, though, is the chemistry between the main characters; I really missed that here. I couldn't understand at all why the two fell in love. Not great.

Even if the actors were working hard here and there, nothing could save the horrifically bad script. Won Joo may be a good actor, but he just didn't have much to do here. Not to mention, I found the main character terribly unlikable the whole time and felt like she wasn't playing what she was supposed to. A terrible show, even the minimum of palatable scenes and the one mediocre song couldn't save it. An obvious Titanic.

By now I'm worried about my mental health – how on earth did I devote 16 hours of my life to this? Cringey, awkward, boring, a bad story, and even the actors can't save it because they have nothing to play. I think this is a strong contender for the worst Korean series I've ever seen. I also think it's going to take a lot of time to find a rival on the same level. If ever.

Okay, a full round of applause. MatsuJun finally got a role where he proved he can act. I have at last watched a series since Boys Over Flowers where he had a lead role and had fun. I had been starting to think he had bad luck with his choices, but this was good. He shined, but the other main characters played by Eikura and Kagawa were great as well. I devoured it in one sitting and didn't think for a moment that I’d had enough. The episodes managed to keep me on my toes, and even though I pretty much always knew who the culprit was, I was just waiting to see how they would convict him. The plots are simple, the themes have been seen a thousand times, the crimes retold a thousand times; it's just that this bunch of lawyers gives it a whole different dimension. Lots of clichés, but it doesn't matter because they either managed to pull it off brilliantly or just used it appropriately (because who says clichés are bad? it's just the inappropriately used ones). For example, the two lead lawyers meet before they start working together when one of them destroys the other's cell phone by running over it. But it's used well in the end, and you're just watching the concert of these two personalities, these two guys, that it rests on and certainly doesn't fall. It's funny, quite brisk, you're not expecting moral speeches in every episode. Jun is a likable guy, Eikura is a hottie, Kagawa is a seasoned badass. It was just good, a lot. It was fun, a lot. Kind of overdone Japanese, but I had fun. Awesome. A strong 4 stars.

Apparently there's a script problem with this series. Karen wasn't in the 2nd episode and it immediately got an extra star! This episode, however, is so stupid and the characters are so interchangeable that maybe even a star is too much. What did I like about this episode? Probably nothing. But it wasn't a total disaster. Maybe. We can hope. I think. Bleh.

This is so stupid I have to watch the third episode. The corruption in giving away state money, the hacking of the state archives, the journalism, Sahid... it's all just so stupid it hurts. It's just... I think as time goes on, as I watch more and more of this Christmas TV garbage, I get more and more into it. :-D Otherwise, I'd give it one less star.