Reviews

(Before I start, I just want to stress that I am particularly biased when it comes to the two lead actors Inoue Mao and Matsumoto Jun (my OTP, yes), but I will try to critically assess this series to the best of my ability.)

This is actually the show that pulled me out of my Korean series comfort zone and pushed me to the Japanese one.

The story line was good. It did lack in the romance department, but in a way that's understandable since they were still trying to build the foundation of Tsukushi and Tsukasa's relationship. Additional points also for tackling issues such as bullying, violence, high school hierarchy, and such, although this may be credited to the original manga rather than the series itself. The actors weren't as good-looking as that of the Korean version, yes, but their protrayal of their characters are outstanding. I'd say there was no one who could play Makino Tsukushi better than Inoue Mao. She was perfect for the role! And Shun Oguri was also the right choice for Hanazawa Rui. At first I was a bit hesitant with Matsumoto Jun being Domyouji Tsukasa (prolly because of that perm, lol) but as the series developed I couldn't imagine any other Domyouji other than him. It probably did help that Inoue Mao and Matsumoto Jun has this undying chemistry that was enough to keep me watching (I told you guys, I'm biased towards these two). I have to be honest, you know how there are series that that you like more and more because of the main characters? That's how this is to me. The series was good and worth watching, but it grew on me more and more because of these two actors. If they weren't the couple that portrayed Tsukushi and Tsukasa, I might give off a different response. I might have still loved it, but probably not up to the extent I am in now, so it's a good thing that it was them who portrayed Makino and Domyouji.

As for what version is the best, I don't think there's such a thing as 'better' than the other. It all just depends on people's preference to be honest. As for me, I've seen the different versions in varying timelines. The first one I saw was the Taiwanese version. It was during the peak of the series, and the hype was just insane. So if we're basing it on the excitement I felt to watch the series, the Taiwanese version wins. It's the biggest hit, imo. If I haven't seen all the versions yet and I'd try to watch them now, I believe I'd like the Korean version best. It came out way after the Taiwanese and Japanese versions, which explains why the series is definitely favorable to the current audience (eye candy guys, beautiful sceneries, romantic-comedy genre... at this time, who wouldn't love that, right?) However, up to this date, the only series that I had watched for countless times and never got tired of was the Japanese version. I've grown to love this series more than I'd ever imagine.

Furthermore, I gave it a 10/10 rewatch value because once you've loved this show and the actors, you'd love it for the rest of your life. I've seen it for more than 10 times already and I still enjoy watching it every single time.

P.S. You definitely should proceed to Part 2 ASAP once you finish this.

Leia Mais

So this is the first review I've written, but I really wanted to share what I though of this drama so that more people would be encouraged to watch it.

I think the main problem people had with this show is that it started off promising one thing and it ended with another. Yong Pal goes from bad ass to hopeless romantic, and if you aren't on board with that transition you might feel bitter. The show is a romance, and so if you are looking for a drama to fulfill your needs of crime, and crazy behavior this might not do it for you. However, if you are looking for a beautiful romance, that intertwines revenge, drama, and crime in small ways, this will be perfect. This an intense story, and never has a dull moment.

Joo Won is one of my all time favorite actors, and I think he did exceptionally well in this show. Prior to this I saw him in Good Doctor, & I found it nostalgic seeing him play a doctor again. If it wasn't for Joo Won, Yong Pal's transitions could have been really awkward, but he played it through perfectly and made doable. I had really high hopes for Kim Tae Hee, I've never seen her before, but have heard good things. Her character seemed very apathetic to me the whole drama. I was never able to tell what she was feeling, and compared to Joo Won she just seemed really bland. I really tried to like her, but she just never grew on me. Had a more suitable actress been picked this drama might have been a 10/10 for me.

The music in this drama was well done, and captured the emotions well.

I would definitely rewatch this drama, and I think for those that didn't like it the first time around might appreciate it more if they gave it another chance.

Leia Mais

yakusuke's bad luck causes him to need kyoko's help constantly and although she forgets him due to her memory that resets every day, he starts to develop a crush on her. each episode features a new case; some are serious, but still, the drama remains light and can also make one laugh. also within each episode, yakusuke and kyoko's relationship starts to develop. it's a beautiful drama about seeing more in your life and how one should treasure the little things and other great things.

besides the story, i believe the true treasure of this drama is the actors' ability to make their characters shine. this is the first drama i've seen of gakky and i don't think she was a "turn-off" at all.. she may lack superior talent, but she also isn't a horrible actress that brings everything down. okada masaki is one of my favorite actors so it may be that i carry a biased opinion of him, but he really did a great job in this one. i really felt that he let himself be "free".. his expressions were always on point and he knows how to create a mood. he can make you laugh, but he can also warm your heart.

the music was great. i'm not one that normally pays much attention to it, but it was nice and fit the drama well.

i'm also not one to rewatch dramas, but i think i would watch this again if i ever got the time.

overall, this is a good drama to watch when you need something light. i don't think it's a complete must, but i think it's a drama that will definitely make you feel something for awhile.

Leia Mais

Loved it and Loved the cast. I really enjoyed the original "My Queen" but I also LOVED "Witch's Romance". Witch's Romance was fun and enjoyable to watch. The cast was great. Great mix of talent. everyone playing off of each other. I did notice some minor changes to certain situations in WR but it was still still. Over the moon thrilled with Park Seo Joon and Uhm Jung Hwa both very talented and the had such great chemistry. In-fact, I think the whole cast had such a believable chemistry that if I were to hear otherwise I would be shocked. Park Seo Joon charmed the lights out of me and if he said the sky were green I would surely believe him. I would loved to just package his charm & charisma in this drama and keep it for myself. Loved the relationship between the best friends (Yong Soo Cheol & Yoon Dong Ha). Now is the story of older woman finding romance with a younger man 14 years age difference believable and realistic. Yes why not? Did I believe them, yes I did. This type of relationship could work for some and could not work for some others, as would any relationship between two people. I think the remake was great and at 16 episodes I was sold. Now did you get a perfect happy ending. I think so, maybe not perfect but it was realistic. Regardless of the ending, I loved everything about it. Loved the playfulness between the main couple, little kisses and looks that make a romantic comedy like this fun and great to watch. Enjoy

Leia Mais

And this, Ladies and Gents, is how you make a proper drama. This is how you create a masterpiece of the genre. This is how it's done!

I seriously didn't expect the show to live up to expectations of as high as an overall grade of 9/10, but it freaking did. KMHM has the perfect balance between a super funny rom-com, and a super dramatic and complicated melodrama with a lot of suspense. A HUGE congrats to the writers for pulling this off, i doubted them a lot of times, and each time i was blasted away! Let the endless praise begin:

STORY
The Story talks about psycological traumas, and how the human mind tries to work them out, to help us live better and/or cope with them. The main point of the story is that we need to adress and care about our problems, face them and try to fix them before they become too big, ignoring them isn't the answer, and if sometimes those problems and fears are too huge for us to handle, there are people there who are willing to help us get through them because they love us. Love is basically the answer.

KMHM is such a carefully crafted, beautifully written and brilliantly executed drama, however, the show's main idea about the multiple personality disorder, isn't anything new, it has been done before many times, but that doesn't make this show any less perfect! We basically have the main protagonist with this syndrome who comes back to Korea (without really wanting to) to become the new head CEO of his family's company. He, of course, needs to keep his problem a secret, and since his personalities become too powerful for him to handle, he needs a special private doctor to pay close attention to him and help him, here the female protagonist gets introduced. I am not gonna say anything more, this is your base story. But don't fool yourself, nothing is as simple as it may seem.

Probably the best thing about the show was the way it was developed. First of all, things are complicated everywhere, complicated situations in his life, in his work, in himself, everywhere. In his work, there are people who want to take him out and take the family company for themselves (the family relations are amazing and so real, i have no words!). There is a huge, huge, HUGE, backstory here, and an amazing one that gets explored little by little. Here we don't have the usual 'rom-com for the first 10 episodes, and then 3-4 episodes of shocking revealings', the backstory gets revealed a little by little in every episode, transforming the show into a mystery. And then, when you think you know the story and you are the king of the show, the writers sneak behind your back and they change everything, literally, everything. I sit here appauding the writers for literally twisting everything, leaving me speechless several times over the episodes, and yet pulling everything together in the end without any plot holes or ridiculous plot choices. The plot is really well-thoughts and developed. Congrats to the writers for the flawless job they did!

Moreover, i need to praise,the comedy part of the show. Usually it is easy for the shows to make me burst into tears than make me laugh, i rarely find things i see funny except for a few chuckles here and there. KMHM had me laughing out loud throughout the episodes, i was shocked myself, but the comedy here is extremely on point, the actors and especially the female lead, know their shit when it comes to comedy, you will laugh your heart out and then cry your heart out with the same characters! This is how awesome this show is.

The only, tiny problem i had was that i felt the rom-com part got kind of dragged at some point. It wasn't that i was bored, not even close, but at some point there were some unnecessary things happening just to fill some episodes. I blame the 20 episode order, kdramas rarely can pull off 20 episodes. KMHM wasn't bad and it pulled 20 episodes well, but it could have worked even better if the order was 16. Basically, the first 13 episodes are focusing on the romance and comedy, while they give you hints of the backstory to raise the suspense. Around episode 10-11-12 i was like, 'yeah ok, this is cute, but lets move on to the serious part'. I was afraid the show won't get serious, but in episode 14 it does, and when it decides to go all in, IT FREAKING GOES ALL IN, and it shocks you! I know i was having goosebumbs at what was happening, and most importantly in the WAY it was explained. What happens in KMHM is wonderful and flawless, but the develop of the story, the way the story is told, is what makes this show a masterpiece. As far as the 'boring rom-com' thing i said goes, to be honest, don't pay attention to me, this is me being a needy bitch, lol!

Another thing i loved was how everything is connected. Even the small seemingly unimportant romantic stuff that happen in the beginning aren't in vain, just for the 'awwws' and cute romantic moments. Everything is important. I appreciated that, very nice writting again from the production team! Also, i feel the need to say how amazing the love story was. Apart from the usual aw and cute parts of the romance, i loved how the writers didn't make up silly problems just to keep the couple apart and torment the viewers. The main couple wanted to be together, had serious problems for not being together, and instead of crying around they tried their best to work them through in order to be happy. Happiness is the goal here. I loved that!

I can't understand how anyone can't like this. I also can't understand how this didn't get super high ratings in Korea. I am seriously judging Koreans for letting this gem go semi-unnoticed! *side eyeing koreans* :P

ACTING
The acting was great, almost perfect, but for some reason i can't give it a 10, it doesn't feel right.

Ji Sung. New favourite actor to be honest, he really pulled off playing 7 different personalities/characters almost flawlessly. He was badass, he was sweet, he was cute, he was extremely funny, he was emotional, he was handsome, he was everything, i fell for him lol. The only minor complain i had were the moments when he was changing personalities. All his groaning and falling down, i mean,it felt kind of fake or/and overacted. However, i am not familiar with this syndrome, maybe this is the way it actually happens. Nonetheless his acting was brilliant, bravo! I am definately following his other dramas now.

Hwang Jung Eum. Firstly i need to praise the actress on her comedy skills. The woman knows what she is doing. She was extremely funny and cute, but sometimes it did feel a bit over the top. Her reactions, in order to seem funny and cute ended up feeling a bit forced sometimes. The overall feel i got from her acting is certainly positive, and she nailed her dramatic scenes as well, but there were some moments, mostly during the early episodes, her acting felt a bit forced.

Park Seo Joon. He was alright, i kind of disliked his character, he was too pushy for me to handle, but he had some nice, touching scenes with HJE. He was also tough when needed, emotional, and also funny and cute for most of the time. I fell in love with Ji Sung so i seriously have nothing more to say lol.

Outside of the main cast, i need to applaud the kid actors, the kids seemed very young but they did a wonderful job getting their feeling across, especially in such a young age. Furthermore, all the supporting cast was great!

MUSIC
BEST.OST.EVER! No literally, i generally don't pay attention to OSTs. I have like 3 kdrama soundtracks downloaded from the dramas i've watched. But omg, the ost here is flawless, emotional, i liked it from the first moment it played in the 1st episode, it didn't grow on me because of the show. FLAWLESS SONG, FLAWLESS! It won best soundtrack of the year i think, well deserved! It brings tears to my eyes from the beginning to the end, the lyrics are basically a very well-thought summary of the show itself. A dramatic, emotional, yet powerful and angry song.

RECOMMEND/REWATCH
This is a must watch, the 2nd best kdrama i have ever watched. This can be watched by everyone. You like comedy? watch this. You like romance? watch this. You like melodrama? WATCH THIS!! You like great backstories? EFFING WATCH THIS! You like complicated situations? W-A-T-C-H T-H-I-S!!! Did i make myself clear?
The rewatch value is seriously high, the early episodes are huge on comedy and the later huge on drama. People, don't think about it anymore, this show is worth the 20 hours of your life!


STRAIGHT INTO MY FAVES LIST!!

Leia Mais

This drama is really a major success in Japanese dramas industry, I hope I am not going overboard when I am saying this, but this compliment isn't yet enough.
The story addresses tons of life lessons, gets them all in 12 Hours or more (only), which in reality, might take years to realize them.
It briefly tells about families connections, the parents' concerns and worries about their kids' futures, the importance of experiencing different hardships in order to pursue a dream, the sacrifices that one should make for the sake of beloved ones, the soul of determination, the ambitiousness, and even more.
You will definitely laugh, cry, get excited, thrilled, happy then sad. Simply you will see a lot of things which makes your heart experience all sorts of feelings, all in once.

The story is taking place in the old eras of Japan, the places, the roads, the green nature, the woody stuff, the houses, the rain, the clothes, the accents, the foods! Everything was represented there in a very well way, makes you get drown into that time, it is totally absorbing! It just makes you an alive person in that past, as if you once witnessed everything by your own eyes, lively... accompanying all those people.

Mentioning the years, the name? of the eras and also the months preciously... Making a steady development throughout the time, and moving from one period to the another gradually, was a very good aspect of this drama, it makes it even more real how things get progressed before your very eyes, that in some points when you're watching the latest episodes, then if you go back and get a quick glance at the first or second ones, you gonna feel so old (in a good way, Lol), you gonna feel how you lived for so long with all those characters and their lives.

The acting was fabulous, so deep yet vibrant! The main along with the supporting actors did a great job in each and every single scene.
In the very first episode, you might think that Tokuzo is slightly overacting, but then when you are watching more and moving forward, the story reveals the truth behind his personality. He's actually born like that! A mischief, clumsy, short-tempered, unpredictable sort of fellow!, His character will get absorbed and will sink in your mind, that you will end up loving him with all his weird characteristics!
I love Sato's performance generally, he has great skills that led this drama to its success. But to be honest, I believe that his acting as Kenshin was the finest performance he had so far.
Shutarou or maybe I should call him Nii-yan, had a very bright spot in this story, he showed a very brilliant acting in that role. A very kind and gentle nature and so pure at heart! He was one of the reasons that made me like this drama very much, Indeed! When I watched his character in this drama, I really had fallen in love with him, that I actually was praying in my heart (I want to meet a person like him in my life, Amen) 'Don't laugh at me, I mean it'.. :D
And then comes Toshiko, another bright person who added lots of flavors to the story! The acting was incredible. Every time she comes to the screen,I keep staring at the details that she brings them in with her.
From the way she puts her hands on the ground when she bows, to her way of walking, to her calm voice, to her black hairs, to her decent character, to her love for her husband, to her everything.
Usami san, Shintarou, and the rest of the cast! They all were meant to work together in this drama!
Yeah, I gotta highlight this point! Usually, the foreign actors (Non-Japanese) in any Japanese drama bring an odd acting, it looks so miss-matching with the rest of the actors, and so poor played, BUT, in this drama, they proved the opposite fact. I was amazed by the french actors, they really made it look so natural and smooth! The Americans, Hmmm.. Not so great, yet not really bad.

Okay, The music!
Inserting the classical pieces was a smart idea. The music in this drama overall, played a major role. It is like... some sort of feelings don't across your heart till you hear the music played in the background, you feel crying but the tears comes out only when you hear that melody! It makes you feel the moment. Indeed, It added lots of warmth to the whole thing, especially the old Japanese melodies, Oh God, It brings my tears!

I got so emotional when I watched this drama. I had confusing feelings, I got happy and sad in the same time. I am not an easy person to cry over anything, yet I had my tears rolling down most of the times. It had a great philosophy about life, family bonds, brotherhood, friendship, love, care, dream, finding the true-self. It was inspiring in its all angles. It wasn't about food as much it was about 'human being', it makes you stop for a second and contemplate your life.. it makes you feel every message left behind.
I believe that this drama, is much more than a drama and bunch of actors together having their feet on the stage to prove their talents, No. It comes from an entertainment industry, yet it feels like a school of life, teaching you and making you ponder.
and yes, You will learn so many good words like: Magokoro, Hagemiyou, (Douyajaa = which actually has no meaning :D)

I am not a Japanese person (I wish I was), but I love Japan and I wholeheartedly consider it as my homeland, and this drama, and the history that has been shown in this drama (The fighting, the wars, the national spirit, the commitment to the homeland, to its nation) made me even much prouder of Japan! I am really gonna cherish those feelings forever.

Finally, I have to leave this note and I am frankly stating that I not being judgmental when I say this.
When I see these kind of dramas, It makes me re-think about my choices of dramas.
Like those dramas that has a tangled problem of two people trying to get together, and they go through some difficult times but then they stay lovers or get married at the end and the story finishes with that, like what these kind of dramas gonna bring to me in my life? anything of value as a final result?.. I mean I enjoy them as well, But you know.. A story like ( Tenn no Ryuriban ) makes those silly stories even more meaningless! Am I harsh? I don't know, But that's my humble opinion!

THIS DRAMA IS A TOTAL EPIC, I can re-watch it ('Infinite' Times).
I can say happily that I am so blessed to finish this year with such a great drama, Thank you Japan!

Leia Mais