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One of the points that makes it a substantial drama is its characters. Kokoro is your typical happy-go-lucky girl, a point mentioned throughout the drama as a joke. What makes her different though is that she never imposes her solution on others. Her job in the drama is to watch the people around her, as we the viewers do until the characters find their own solution. This brings us to another great point in the drama, where even though it seems we have a weekly lesson learned, problems are ongoing and don't get magically solved by the end of the episode it got introduced. We do get the episodic focus, but issues do get revisited later as we see where the characters are headed. This gives us better-paced character development, as the characters make decisions about their work and their lives. Another element I'd like to mention is the way the drama peaks into the characters' lives'. We don't get a full explanation and detailed background about them, we just get enough to know how this is affecting their current lives, views, and work. We only know what we usually know as we get closer to our colleagues at work. To this end, this is a drama about work and career.
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I feel this drama represents not only how publishing works in Japan, but how the entertainment industry works there overall. It is what makes Japan produce these artistic works while hand-in-hand producing the usual predictable easy-to-sell works. The episode focused on Yasuda Ken's character Yasui-san emphasizes it most, but we do explore that theme more than once. I won't go into detail as to what it is exactly, I will leave it for the viewers to discover. I'd just like to add the way the drama itself is produced is representative of that idea. As I mentioned earlier, it looks and sounds like those typical dramas, but just by peeling that layer off, you find something deeper, as each episode goes by.
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I have to mention how much I loved all the characters here; Takahata, Yasui, Numata, Wada-san, Mikurayama, Koizumi the lovely Iokibe to name a few, and the cast did an outstanding job no matter how much or how little we saw of them, but my most favourite by far Nakata Haku the disturbed aspiring manga artist. Nagayama Kento played him to perfection. The whole cast did an outstanding job, but I just love how that character was handled. I wish we had seen more of Narita, the character played by Kaname Jun.
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Do give the drama a try, and give it at least 3-4 episodes and you will understand the gem I'm talking about. If anything the eye-candy in here will sure keep you entertained ;)
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The story is a very engaging one: the world of mangas and mangaka. To be more precise, the world of editors. They also have to struggle, not only the mangaka do. They need to take care of the mangaka, give them advice, move here to there. There are also moments of tears and frustration. Editors need to walk along the mangakas, they need to be there for them all the time and built a trust, which is fundamental.
Since I am a big fan of BAKUMAN, it was impossible not to link them both. One is from the Mangaka's POV, the other one is from the Editorial's POV. I looked everywhere to read the manga Juhan Shuttai, but unfortunately is not translated :( It really is a heart-warming story, and the art is so cute, especially chibi Kokoro, who looks a lot like dear Sawako from "Kimi ni Todoke".
The cast was marvelous. I was familiar with most of the secondary characters only; more specifically, the mangakas (Mikurayama-sensei, Takahata-sensei...). And of course, Namase Katsuhisa-san. But this is the first time I see Kuroki Haru (Kokoro) and although I've seen some photos of him, this is my first time watching Odagiri Joe (Iokibe-san). I am not sure which one of these 2 were my favorites! Kokoro was the typical bright, positive girl, but she was far from annoying and stupid. Her motto was "Gambaremassu" and she motivated a couple of characters, like emo mangaka-to-be Nakata-kun, and poor, nice Koizumi-kun, whose professional life was a bit depressing at first, but once he was motivated, everything changes for him for better. It was really touching. Impossible not to like a girl with that kind of enthusiasm! Also my first time seeing Sakaguchi Kentaro, who is a real sweetheart! His smile is so adorable, and he acts really well! Can't believe his filmography is so short; he acts like a pro and ten million times than veterans!
**sighs** Odagiri Joe... I've read some lists before were he was mentioned, like "more kissable lips" or whatever, but have never paid him any attention. My, I was so impressed with this guy. Let's talk first about his role. Iokibe-san is one of the coolest guy I've seen in a dorama. Super nice, real intelligent, a perfect mentor, a humble editor, a nice guy, a kind co-worker, a capable editor. Only once he shouts in the whole dorama, otherwise, he speaks with a calm, soothing voice. No wonder Kokoro admired him so much! If I were her, I would have probably fallen in love with him. Because not only he was the nicest guy and mentor, he also looks real good! Glasses and man-bun, perfect combination! With some facial hair, the cherry on top. Sure, some of his shirts were, errr, colorful, but he looked like a model! I loved him and I am glad Episode 9 was more or less about him.
Clothes were colorful, specially in Kokoro's case. Some of her skirts were a bit old-fashioned, but overall her clothes matched her character: young, happy and bright. Editor Mibu was always wearing T-shirts with food drawings on them (I love this actor, he is so funny!), Yasui-san was always wearing stripped sweaters, Takahata-san always in Adidas outfits, Nakata-san always in dark sweatsuits and Koizumi was always in suit. I love that even the clothes were important to the story, every detail meant something!
The sountrack was lovely, and the ending song was ok. But my favorite thing is that it is an inspirational dorama. If you love something, you give it all, like Kokoro did, and for that, she was rewarded at the end. I laughed many times, but I also cried a couple of times. There wasn't a single episode that was boring or dragging, I loved it from Ep. 1 to 10, and I wish it was longer! Nevertheless, it has a perfect ending, because it wasn't really an ending.. more like a beginning :D
I recommend this dorama a hundred times Top quality, top cast, excellent story, I loved it!
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usually in kdramas they'd focus on the main lead and the romance, so this was a nice fresh outlook. it was about more than just Kokoro Kurosawa and the mains, it was about more than just one mangaka and yet it was not episodic.
Kokoro Kurosawa is the only bright bubbly character that's acceptable! she was a ray of sunshine, a force to be reckoned with, she set her goals and worked hard to achieve them, she was clueless but she was not afraid to ask for help and though her coworkers started off rough around the edges they soon became her colleagues she could depend on while they also admired and acknowledged her presence.
I honestly think a kdrama can never achieve this..
also, I adore her, but her outfits were so awful! they were like an old kindergarten teacher's outfits xD also the guys' hairs were a disaster xD
Iokibe Kei was cold but he was a great character and a great mentor and I shipped him with the restaurant owner xD. Koizumi Jun;s growth was so admirable and he matched so well with Kokoro Kurosawa, tbh the only acceptable partner for a cute sunshine should be a cute sunshine and not the cold jerk xD
I found the stories and their connections really heartwarming and well made, but the delivery kinda felt lacking. they had too many character and too little time, tbh I want a 2nd season ;(
p.s I never rewatch stuff, and I don't think jdrama OSTs are as extravagant as kdramas..
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If you're looking for a feel good drama, look no further. Every episode left me smiling in the end.
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Most realistic presentation of how manga's a re made.. plus an adorable leads that take you on a wonderful and heartwarming journey - one of the reasons why I first started watching Jdrama, and why I keep coming back for more.
And, yes: I am a HUGE fan of the art!
Seeing "How it's made" was an honor.
WHY I LIKED IT?
The premise is an easy one: our FL is no longer able to compete in judo and therefore was pushed into blue collar world, yet somehow (oh, and you'll see HOW exactly, that was delightfully done!) ended up in a world of manga editors. From there, we're embarking in a journey of episodic tales of "how manga is made", and for me - that was a great ride!
I loved how Show portrayed each and every character, not leaving anyone behind, giving all the backstory, and made everyone push toward an end goal (also the title of the Show): "additional printing". Both sides are covered elaborately: the mangakas and the editors, even the sales department.
Hey, and I absolutely LOVE that they actually WORK in this Show (unlike a lot of kdrama, where ML, thought he is a chaebol working in a million dollar company spend 90% of time chasing FL, where does he get the time?!). This is a Show about WORK and work it gives us - the struggles to get the "name" (something like a "blueprint" for the following issue), the personal issues, the reasoning behind decisions that are being made to push the sales up.
You learn from this Show: about some terms you never knew, and never bothered to know - not many of the fans of manga actually care to know HOW exactly they are made - this Show gives us that. Just that.. plus, the quirkiness of Bear Cub. :)
(ehmmm, yeah, *caugh, caugh* and there's Odagiri Joe, so... yeah)
WHAT I DID NOT LIKE
I'll leave this one empty.
I wouldn't give this a 10,0 unless I was purely amazed by it. And moved. And inspired to give myself another push toward doing my own job better.
THE MUSIC
The song is called "Echo", performed by Unicorn. (to me, the music in this one was Bob Dylan's "Blowing in the wind, for some reason - maybe because they do sound alike, so my mind was instantly pulled in that direction). To say that was fitting would be an understatement, since the music was a perfect portrayal of what this Show was all about.
OVERALL
A shining GEM!
You love manga - then this is a MUST SEE.
You need inspiration - then this is a MUST SEE.
...damn, I need to read some manga now. Bye.
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This is one of those dramas that end up making you feel good. Where there aren't any major problems and stupid villains trying to make everything bad. Actually I started watching just by chance after seeing Sakaguchi Kentaro on the cast list but boy am I glad I started it. The story is pretty simple with it being based at a magazine company but even those simple things are given in a beautiful manner. It's not that Kurosawa does her work amazingly and takes these life changing decisions. It's her simple decisions that make the show more charming.
Actually through out the series I was honestly jealous of Kurosawa XD The fact that she found such a nice place to work at. After graduating recently I've been at job hunting for many weeks now (One can say weeks aren't a big thing XD others go for years job hunting) so to see how Kurosawa is doing was nice and at the same time sad. Sad cuz I don't know when I'll be able to enjoy my job like that. I'm stuck in a profession I do not like and Wishing I can do something more. AT the same time I also noticed how I can;t change the situation but to enjoy what I'm doing to the best of my ability as that is the best thing I can do so far. Ha ha so I shall finish on that note of self realization.
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I didn't expect this ... it's one of the best
At first, I just go for this drama because of high rating but didn't expect much.But after first episode, I got completely fed up with this drama and couldn't stop.
Best story about Mangaka and Manga industry I've ever watched. Really love this one.
I've been searching story about Mangaka since I encountered "Bakuman". I love Mangaka and really want to know how they do things and why Manga is a huge success all over the world. Now I'm completely satisfied after watching this drama.
Really glad I've encounter this one.... really.
Main protagonist, sweet and really optimistic, type I love the most.
It also has many problem that Mangaka and editor has and Japan publishing industry.
And also a success story, inspirational one, that I loved too.
Hope everyone who read my review go for this drama and got many many sparkling moment in their life.
Thanks for making this drama too.
Hontoni Arigatogozaimasu.
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It's an absolute wonderful drama!I must honestly say that I wasn't very invested during the first few eps (maybe due to personal circumstances as well), but this one is a watch, that gets better with every episode. This series starts out not that serious. It seems like a casual watch, without any substance to it, but as you continue they'll drop little life lessons and emotional moments here and there. Even though it seems a bit hard to apply these things to your actual life, I think their principles and attitude are very inspiring.
Even though I originally started this show, because of Sakaguchi Kentaro (love), I must say in the end I fell in love with the character Kurosawa Kokoro. I LOVE her to bits. She is your typical bubbly girl with a bright attitude, which makes the room a bit awkward because she is just THAT bright... bear cub describes her so well. But even though it sounds annoying in theory, I totally loved it! Like I wish, I could be like that irl (though it's a bit hard I admit). She's cute, relatable, intelligent and so kind. Her spirit makes everyone adore her, you cannot not like Kurosawa.
Every side character was so lovable and interesting in their own way and their chemistry was so great. Especially towards the end, where you get the gags and know each of them better (sorry but Wada was so funny). I will definitely miss everyone, all editors, even the sales team (obviously Koizumi), and of course all manga artists!
Probably the most interesting thing about this drama is the process of creating a manga (I don't know how realistic it actually is tho). It was lovely to see that even though they were all different, they had one thing in common: their love for manga and their passion to make a piece of art.
I also very much enjoyed the way they structured the series. It's kind of episodic, but not all storylines end with the episode, they continue and pick up some later, it makes the whole watching progress interesting. It's amazing how characters don't just disappear after their story "has been told" (which happens very very often), but they continue to live on in the story, just like in real life! Because of that the whole show felt very coherent and the ending was sooo satisfying!
I wish there would be more!! I'll come back someday.
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Cheer Her Own
I always love a strong women and the lead female is one very strong women. She is an ex-athlete that put what she has learn in her athletic career to help her with her new job. She combines her love for web toons to her athletics career to make a change in her life. The men in this drama do not know what to do with her but she cheer them on and helps with the everyday problems and authors of these comic books. She also learn how to socialize with the book store owner and workers so these books get put in their shop so they can be better sold for both authors and shop owners. We follow the lead female how she grow in this career and her change in life. The actors performance is great and love the story line.Esta resenha foi útil para você?
Es una historia de perseverancia y dedicación en la que acompañamos a Kokoro Kurosawa mientras encuentra un nuevo sueño.
La protagonista es un sol. Su actitud es tan positiva que contagia a los otros personajes. Disfruté mucho pasar diez episodios junto a ella, verla aprender de sus errores e intentarlo de nuevo.
En cada episodio conocemos la historia de alguno de los personajes secundarios, aprendemos el por qué de sus acciones. Hay historias muy emotivas que pueden entristecer.
Aunque el final es bueno, me habría gustado ver más episodios. Siento que sí podía dar para más, en especial con los personajes que tuvieron menos tiempo para desarrollarse.
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