Kokoro ga Pokitto ne (2015)

I still have mixed feelings about this drama. The truth is I started watching this for Sadao, for some reason the idea of a comedian playing a serious role of a mental health patient made me interested. But, after just two episodes I stoped watching. I just couldn’t see where they were going with the story, the 4 main characters seemed so weirdly related and so dam unrelatable that there was nothing that made me want to watch. Then, for some reason, recently I just felt like picking up where I stopped and I ended up loving it.

The characters eventually grew up on me. The fact that they are no one specifically but could be anyone else. It shows that you can always change and grow, no matter how old you are and the setbacks you’ve had, and that change is not just made of you but also are greatly influenced by those around you, even if you try to get away from them.

Now, apart from this philosophical message, I blame mostly the writing for this, the dialogues were just superb. The quirky and fast pace ones, the silly and random ones, the ones that were actually monologues… all of those were the soul of this drama. There is not a main goal that sets the pace of the story, there is not really a chain of events, it is all about this strange group of people that manage to make abnormal into what we all wanted to be.

Yes, it is not your usual romance comedy drama, but you can definitely laugh, you can cry, tears of joy and sadness, you get mad and you get sad and you get happy and you want to punch and hug someone… (You get the idea)

The OST has two memorable songs: Hoshino Gen’s SUN, the opening theme, which I think was really well chosen, and Florencia Ruiz’s Susurro. I totally loved that they used this Spanish singer, I had never heard of her, but I loved her music in this drama.

The acting was superb from most characters, specially Sadao and Tomoko. I had never watched anything from her and though some people say she was exaggerating and could truly feel her and I think she added great humanity into Shizuka. Was not really fond of Mizuhara’s acting, though I understand she was just playing her character, but still…

There were however some points I didn’t like. First, like I’ve said they failed to catch the viewers in the beginning (but don’t lose faith, you won’t regret it). And they they just added characters they were completely unnecessary and forced them into the story. You’ll see who I am talking about. :p

Overall, if you are looking from some smart drama, out of the routine we are already tired of, this is it. You won’t regret this!

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To be honest, I started watching this because of my mini-obession (at the time) with Kiko Mizuhara. And I was both satisfied and not satisfied with the series.

Seeing Haruta's character, and his set up was pretty interesting. It's very rare that Japanese dramas try to cover such territory without belittling such characters or overdramatizing them. This had none of that as Shin seems pretty cheerful and accepting of most anyone and anything. Honestly, I would've liked it more without the romance elements.

In comes Haruta's ex-wife, and Miyako (Kiko Mizuhara) to churn up feelings on all ends, and where we get the most interesting character interactions. They were sweet, they were hurtful, and it really exemplified true human emotions. Of course, with over the top, weird side plots and minor characters that were quirky but rather laughable. The conclusion was solid, but rather expected and kinda creepy when you think about ages of the characters.

I did like both the ending and opening themes; they balanced a lot of the elements of the show well. Of course, the music throughout the series was appropriate but unmemorable.

My major problem is that this show pretty much pigeon-holed Kiko as a typical troupe. Get to about episode 6 of this series, look up her character in 'Shitsuren Chocolatier' and you'll see what I mean.

My second problem in Shin. He shows very minimal character development, even though he's one of the main characters. It's kinda amazing how truly of an air head he remains for the majority of the series.

Overall, if you're looking for a not so typical rom-com for some easy watching; 'Kokoro ga Pokitto ne' is your series.

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