"Love Song" is a neat little drama about music. It manages to be impressive in almost every way aside from its somewhat bland plot.

STORY:
“Love Song” is not a particularly unique show. For the most part, it is a fairly generic story about a person who finds meaning to her life with music. While this plot may seem boring and overused to many people, the show also attempts to stand out from the rest by introducing elements like Sakura’s stuttering (which, in my opinion, helps the story greatly). The reason why I kept watching the show was not because of the plot, but because of how likable and engaging all the characters in the show were. Two characters that stood out to me would be the two main leads, which would be Sakura Sano and Kohei Kamishiro. Their relationship together in the show is a highlight that really helps the show despite its plot.

If there’s anything plot-wise that the show excels at, it would be character development. You can really see the growth in both Sakura and Kohei by the time the series ends. The theme of moving forward is exemplified through the characters that inhabit the show.

The show’s first half, I must say, is, however stronger than the second half. “Love Song” shows attempts at originality in the first arc, but slowly loses its quality as the series goes on. However, this is not to say that the show ends off poorly. It is just lackluster compared to potential shown in the beginning.

ACTING:
The acting in this show is amazing. As many other commenters have said, Fujiwara Sakura’s performance as Sakura Sano is fantastic. Despite this being her time acting, Fujiwara manages to be both a captivating and charming lead. Other characters are played extremely well too, although Fujiwara still continues to steal the spotlight every time she shows up. Masaharu Fukuyama is also fantastic as the male lead and is, in my opinion, perfectly cast as Kamishiro. Him and Fujiwara have fantastic chemistry, which makes their interactions a joy to watch. The reason why I rated this show an 8/10 despite its plot is because of the great performances found in “Love Song.”

MUSIC:
A show about music should have great music. Thankfully, “Love Song” manages to impress with its fantastic but small soundtrack. The theme song, being Fujiwara’s “Soup,” is an absolutely fantastic song. Other songs, such as “Suki Yo Suki Yo Suki Yo” and “500 Miles” (which is a cover) are fantastic additions to the musicality of the show as well. Of course, because of its small soundtrack size, the show ends up playing these three songs very often, so viewers will eventually find themselves very familiar with the music before the series ends. I became a fan of Fujiwara’s music thanks to this show, so I didn’t particularly mind the repetition in terms of the music on the show.

FINAL THOUGHTS:
“Love Song” is far from perfect. The second half of the show suffers from a slight decline in plot quality, and the ending is rather rushed. However, thanks to its strong music and acting, “Love Song” gets an 8 from me.

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An ex-special operations soldier finds himself coming out of retirement to fight against a relentless and cruel mercenary group in a dangerous wartorn country. He will have to utilize all the skills he has acquired from his years working as an elite soldier to accomplish his mission of rescuing innocents who have nowhere to go. Explosive and exciting set pieces ensue.

Does that sound familiar?

If so, that's probably because "Wolf Warrior 2" is probably the most American movie to come out of China.

Fans of American action flicks won't see any surprises here. Despite its Chinese-centric story and cast, the movie is nearly identical to the blockbuster action movies that pop up on a regular basis. "Wolf Warriors 2" is basically what happens when you replace all the jingoistic pro-American messages in a Hollywood blockbuster with pro-Chinese ones.

The story is paper thin. Basically, an African rebel group is attempting to secure control of the country, and it is up to the dangerous and charismatic ex-Wolf Warriors operative Wu Jing to save the day. That's really all there is to it. The story is really the background to a series of over-the-top, but fantastic set pieces. Seeing how far Chinese cinema has gone is quite breathtaking, as I am not afraid to say that this movie is close to reaching the heights that similar Hollywood films like "The Expendables" and "Rambo" have.

The fight scenes are among the best I've seen. The excellently choreographed sequences will have viewers on the edge of their seats. The movie isn't afraid to show more brutal moments as well. As an action movie, "Wolf Warriors 2" does an excellent job of keeping the pacing going. There is hardly any time to think before you are thrust into another action scene. It is an exciting ride indeed.

Sometimes there is extremely obvious CGI, but for the most part, the special effects are absolutely great.

The actors do their jobs well and are rather likable. And while their roles are more or less standard action roles, I enjoyed watching them nonetheless.

The music does its job, but is ultimately forgettable.

All and all, I enjoyed this movie. If you're looking for a movie to watch that is pure action, this one is the one for you. If a deep and moving story is your thing, then you might want to look elsewhere.

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