Zíza

It's so stupid, but it took me back to my teenage years. It's so lame, romantic, and I had to laugh out loud at it. But I just enjoyed it – I mean, it put me in a good, smiley mood. I appreciate that. Just a short film about Kotoko and Naoki's trip to Okinawa.

Unfortunately, I wasn't that impressed with Ataru. I didn’t find anything that interesting, it didn't really catch my fancy; above all, Ataru himself wasn't that interesting to me, let alone the individual stories or the arc of the series. It took off a bit about halfway through the middle of the series, where the running gag of the series started to crack me up (“Hannin wa..."). But even though the series featured so many good actors and actresses, it didn't really improve things. Even when there were references to other movies or series (e.g. SPEC), it was only exciting at the moment of recognition, then that was it. The acting wasn't bad. The music wasn't bad. The whole thing wasn't bad. It just wasn’t entertaining.

Once again we have the demon Sebastian and his master Ciel, this time tasked by the Queen to find out who is kidnapping little children on the streets of London. So they go undercover in the circus where all the clues are leading. It's a short story that gives us just a taste of Black Butler, so the moment the viewer gets a taste of it, they say: "No, no, that's plenty", high five, blow a kiss, and slam the door. A great commercial for the manga. The story isn't bad, even though it's fairly obvious what's going on and most of it is pretty predictable, you keep watching and don't get overly bored with it. At first it seems like filler when they’re trying to teach Ciel how to smile, so we experience various hilarious situations, but later the story gets serious and a battle begins on several fronts, which I enjoyed. It basically ends like a feature film – that's how people are, Sebastian. --- Indeed, that's why I find them interesting. Period. It won't offend, it will please the fans. Slightly above average.

It's been a very long time (if ever?) since I've been completely satisfied with an entire series. From start to finish, my enthusiasm never let go and I dutifully looked forward to the next episode every week. I fell in love with the music, which complemented every scene in an amazing way; I fell in love with all the characters, I felt like I was friends with them all, and I really experienced it to the fullest – I laughed and cried. There isn't a single stupid twist where you roll your eyes and think to yourself that the writers hadn’t quite pulled it off. All of the characters stayed true to their characters with fidelity to their backstories. I doubt I'll come across such a gem again in a long time. The filmmakers didn’t shy away from talking about and portraying oft neglected, even taboo subjects like sex (here the various sexual innuendos ran like an assembly line from the characters' mouths) and psychological disorders – how can you live with such a mentally disturbed person, how does it impact those closest to them? Truly, this series really got me, and it will be number one in my series hall of fame for a long time. But to make it all work required truly excellent performances from the actors, and I'm sure it's clear to everyone that their performances were indeed excellent. All of them. Unfortunately (unfortunately?) I have absolutely nothing to criticize this time around. Jo In-Sung and Kong Hyo-Jin had great chemistry, you could just eat them up with a bucket. There's no point in listing the other actors here, I'd just sing their praises. A show like this is right up my alley. It's 100%.

The first two episodes or so weren't that great, but eventually it picked up the pace and made you wonder what would happen next. The series consists of different episodes where Mao digs around in the bodies so much that he eventually figures out how the owners died. Fortunately, the entire series is interspersed with the story of Mao and her motivation for wanting to work as a pathologist. Takei Emi's acting was decent, she basically played a similar character to the one in Otenki onee-san, only she was a bit more human, making her more sympathetic to the viewer. The supporting characters were mostly the usual shrubbery to fill in the plot and the background, but it wasn't anything annoying, and occasionally something interesting came out of it. Sasaki Kuranosuke really dialed up the Osaka dialect until after a while it was impossible to listen to in the midst of all the Tokyo-ese. Maya Miki portrayed a character with an interesting personality that was fully revealed at the end, and I have to admit that it was a bit of a surprise for me, I was expecting something a bit different. The series is eight episodes long, so it's over before it gets really boring. :-D But it had something to it, and it certainly won't hurt to check it out.

Hataraki Man is a refreshing show with cute animation and a good, mature story that draws you in after a while and doesn't let go. After the last notes sounded and the screen went black I suddenly felt sad and missed the whole editorial team; at the same time the ending left me with a very pleasant feeling and hope that things would get better. And that's pretty good. That's why I'll soon jump into the live action version, which came out the following year and starring Kanno Miho. A better 4 stars.

Unfortunately, the story didn't grab me, the acting didn't convince me that this was anything above average. While it's interesting when gunpowder and guns gradually arrive in a country thus far ruled by swords alone, it's still just one of many Korean historical series that lacks that special something I needed in order to rate it better. On one hand it's terribly naive, on the other hand we can see the complex intertwining of the political and international situation of the time. Basically, on one hand we have a Disney fairytale couple, and on the other we have Yes, Minister and Sir Humphrey. For me, a terribly unbalanced series that left me bored most of the time.

It has its beautiful moments, both funny and sad. You eventually get used to Gun's goofy laugh because you find out exactly what he's hiding with it. A good story I'd already seen 4 years ago in the Taiwanese version – this one is much more focused on emotions; the Taiwanese one more on comic aspects. While it made for pleasant viewing, I wouldn't look for more than a bedtime story. Of the songs, only one sticks in my mind, I don't know if there were more. The main couple were a good match, they had their light and dark moments, but I've seen couples with more sparks flying between them. As I wrote before, it’s a good story to unwind with, which has its painful moments, but that's okay because it's still just a fairy tale. Towards the end, I felt the plot was a bit too watered down and could easily have been cut a bit shorter. Otherwise a very nice 3 stars. Not bad.

I have to admit that I watched the movie in two parts because I had to turn it off when things started to heat up after 9/11 and the mob hatred started brewing – I truly loathe that stuff from the depths of my soul. But then I resolved to finish watching it, and I admit it did affect me a bit emotionally. I'd seen the longer version, so it was a little too long for my taste, and lots of parts didn't really entertain me. However, Shah Rukh Khan deserves kudos, he played a man with Asperger’s Syndrome very convincingly.

A film full of beautiful imagery and, though it may not seem like it, love. I sympathized with Yutaka and Toko, and ultimately with Mitsuko as well. I was very impressed by the film, both by Nishijima's performance itself and by the nature of his character – what must have been going on inside him, I don't even want to know. For me, it's a film full of emotions, even though no one is shouting or screaming them at the viewer. Love, pain, disappointment, feelings of emptiness and dissatisfaction, friendship... the film has all this and more, you just have to watch it properly. I completely understand why Yutaka acted the way he did, and it makes my heart ache for him as well. I admit I even shed a tear. A long movie that ends with words of love. But I wouldn't read the summary, it's basically a description of the whole movie. In short, it's about how an engaged man went to Bangkok and fell in love there.