Zíza

I can't say anything less about this one than that it's my sarcastic sunshine that comes out every Monday night... I love his catchphrases, sometimes they make me think. I like the doctor setting and the detective stories and House is a combination of both, so it's absolutely perfect for me! :-) Considering I'm almost all the way through season 5... Wow, I had no idea there were other avenues to go down that House and I didn't go down. This series is really worth it. The "grandiose" exit to the Obama administration. :-) Well, if his departure was "grandiose", then there is no word in the Czech dictionary for a sixth season.

I remember Kitano Kii from Life and it seems to me that she hasn't moved on much acting-wise, but it doesn't matter because she played what she was supposed to. Ueto Aya, on the other hand, has grown quite a bit since Azumi (in 7 or so years, it would be silly if she hadn't) and she played alongside Takenouchi, which I haven't seen from her before. Well, I'd seen Takenouchi in Drop-out Teacher Returns to School and I already liked him there – here my fondness only deepened. The two of them were really good together, it was really nice to watch them together and suddenly, without noticing when it happened, you knew that the two of them really liked each other. Their relationship was really well portrayed. Plus, it avoids all manner of clichés that we usually see in high school romances (or some Korean doramas where the main characters are the same age), so that made me very happy. I figured I'd give it one episode and go to bed. Like hell. I kept wanting to know what was going to happen, kept wanting to know about all the characters, so I ended up on episode 8 at 6 am, unable to keep my eyes open properly. I finished the other two episodes as soon as I woke up. They just grew on me. It's really such a nice dorama where it's not overacted by the adults. It all felt really real to me. I'm just a little sad about the typically Japanese ending, but I can't complain that much since it's jdorama :-)) It didn't have to get dragged out like that. I also have to mention the doctor character played by Matsuda Shōta – he kind of caught my eye (like Erika Toda did in the previous dorama), so I decided I had to check out Liar Game :-D Another one who surprised me was Inagaki Gorô – the guy really played quite the psycho brat. I kept looking for a reason why he was doing what he was doing, for what, exactly. I think I figured it out at the end, but you never know. His poker face... What adds to the pluses is that there was no problem here with a man and a woman being friends: no one was jealous, no one saw it as anything more – just friends. Period. Just like normal life. It was so refreshing. :-) And I have to mention the storyline that took place in the hospital Maria x Ryota x (sensei) – the series has its touching moments too. ~~~ So if you're in the mood for that kind of slice of life, adult romance, and a story that doesn't cut corners, and has s a very nice song, Nagareboshi might be just the ticket. P.S.: I was dying from the weather; it totally fit and I just so happen to love this time of year ^^ After a second viewing, I'm upping it to 5 stars.

I liked this series much more than the similarly-themed Rooftop Prince, which aired at a similar time. Why? The answer is simple – character development and a complex story. I thought the main couple were impeccable – both of them terribly cute, such sweethearts (I really thought so the whole time and applauded them heavily; I wouldn't say they were the most beautiful people in Korea, but they struck me as incredibly likable and I was rooting for them a lot). It was without the typical Korean misunderstandings/clichés; the heroine was sensible, the hero was even more sensible, and it all came together so beautifully that I didn't even think about it and I finished watching it feeling that I had seen a very nice relaxing movie with a classy couple, where at the beginning I didn't know whether to root for the dude from the past or the present, because even he seemed awfully nice (which changed over time, but even so he wasn't an insufferable underdog). Each character had their own aspects, they didn't do a 180, and no one here acted illogically (maybe a little obnoxiously here and there, but it just seemed to fit nicely). On top of that, I still laughed a lot at some of the scenes (for example, the repeated questioning of Kim Boong-Do's manager several times seemed original and I had as much fun as he did). It also has scenes that made me giggle because I had no choice (it's not that I'm gushing over all the sweetness, but the scenes were just "too sweet", and even here the filmmakers didn't overdo it with the sweetness, which was simply a great thing). Not to dwell on it and finally spill the beans: I had a great time watching it, picking up speed, keeping up with them. And even though it had some slight flaws, this is the series of 2012 for me.

Uso wo ittejo, Joe! I'll start with the less important things: for example, the OST is great, I'll be singing and humming “Eternal Flame" for a long time (my sister and I sang it every time it came on during the series); the closing song wasn't bad either; the botched scenes on the cards were enjoyable. Well. And then there's the story, and then there's the characters, and everything together is so logical, relatable, beautiful... – if anyone wanted to describe this show in one word, it would be this. We follow the formation of a beautiful friendship and love. The characters are incredibly likable and everyone will find someone to root for most. I was living through it with them, but at the same time I didn't crying (no matter what) because there were others who could instantly lift my spirits. The cast was well chosen (I was especially excited about Matsuda Shōta and Karina's characters as well). I fell in love with them and wanted to live upstairs with them. It was very beautiful, civil. Like Vavča my sister and watched it in two days. I couldn't tear myself away from it; or rather, it wasn’t that easy to say goodbye to them.

I fell into this melodrama and suddenly discovered that I love melodrama :-D I enjoyed watching them work, I felt as tense as they did, and I generally liked both main characters. I don't care how weird Saiko's motivation was because I never got bored with it. Only Miyoshi annoyed me, but thankfully only in limited, smaller doses. I enjoyed it and it was the only series where I was looking forward to the next episode. Good god, hurry up with season 2 ^_^ Another thing I loved was the opening. It suited the whole thing very well for me. A weaker 5 stars.

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%.

It was clear from the start that it would be slightly above average, but nothing great. Just an ordinary crime drama where the main character sees the ghosts of the victims and thus has an easier time catching the criminals. Oh, how wrong I was! As it progressed, it turned out to be much more than "slightly above average". We follow the gradual evolution of Ishikawa, played brilliantly by Oguri Shun. The whole tempo goes where he whistles. Good thing he's not tone deaf, and he whistles in a way that starts giving you chills. Just as it started off all in soft colors, positive and hopeful, it ends in pitch black darkness, despairing and drowning in a quagmire of helplessness. It's not a bad ending, but it’s begging for a sequel (which of course would be unnecessary, but it would be very easy to tie in more episodes). I've already mentioned that Oguri was excellent, and yet he was well seconded by the others, both his partner played by Munetaki Aoiki and the chief Endō Ken'ichi. Nor did Haru go unnoticed, who I've been following for a while now, and I have to admit that she's definitely gotten somewhere and certainly doesn’t fall behind her fellow actors here. Overall, everyone's performances were solid, except for the one kid from the first half of the series who annoyed me with his non-acting. But it probably stood out so much because the rest of the cast is just perfect. In other words, yes, for me this was an excellent concert of great acting. They cut the series by two episodes during the broadcast, but it certainly can't be because the series had low ratings – quite the opposite. However, 9 episodes is plenty and I can only guess why it happened. There are definitely a few clues, so we'll see. In short I can only recommend it. Probably the best thing that aired this season, and for the first time in a long time a Japanese series that I really enjoyed without reservations.

It's not the best series under the sun, but it's such a treat and a joy to watch. They are all ordinary people that you can meet anywhere and anytime. It's a very sweet story that will warm your heart; there's not really even a single character I would cut. Not to mention that it's almost cliché-free and there aren't any of those artificial lubricants to move the story along. A mature story about two people who would rather have given up, but in the end proved to themselves that all was not yet lost. It’s just a sweet story that is fun to watch and can warm the cockles of your heart. That's all.

So I've finished my first Thai series. I chose a remake of a Korean series from 2004. You can kind of tell from it that the Thais haven't really found their own footing yet and they are copying what they can, even though they did add something to it that wasn't in the original series. While it's not as fancy as the Korean production, it's less melodramatic and cute, endearing by comparison. It was a bit hard to get used to the language at first, but after twenty episodes it was fine. Plus, since I know the story, I didn't really enjoy the beginning. But the rest made up for it. It was really so good that I was sorry I had to say goodbye to them so soon. Overall, the series runs at such a moderate pace: it has comic scenes, funny but also sad – but it doesn't go to extremes like Korean series and that's a big plus. This is a really nice respite and definitely worth a try. Not only the main characters but also the supporting cast are independent people with their own personalities and motives, so even if you hate the chick who selfishly wants Mike all to herself, she turns out to be a person, so you can understand why she behaved the way she did. So I really liked the show from that point of view as well. I also liked Mike's family – especially his grandmother, she reminded me a lot of mine in some of her gestures. And so when I was watching it I found myself in a very comfortable, almost familiar environment. Not to mention the music, which perhaps borrowed from everywhere (I heard themes from The Matrix and Pride and Prejudice). Plus I really liked the Thai wedding. I'll probably revisit the series in the future. Of course, it's not just beautiful and awesome, and there were scenes that I didn't enjoy, but that's just the way it is, and it still didn't take away from the beauty of the series. A nice 4 stars. *** Okay, after a second viewing, I'm upping it to 5 stars, but just barely. I just loved it, I was grinning at it like I haven't in a long time, I was admiring how great Mike's acting was, how good they looked, and at last I had a main character I didn't want to strangle. Even though it has its flaws and the story gets too drawn out for my tastes towards the end (the last 4 episodes), I still had fun. I really did. I walked away from it feeling like I was glad I gave it the time of day, now for the second time. Aom and Mike have officially become my favorite fictional couple. No one else has yet to come close!