Zíza

Lovely, beautiful animation, very appropriately and nicely voiced, the ending always managed to add to the final feeling, but otherwise it's a dull story whether pushing the envelope lightly or heavily. There are many such stories in the world where we slowly learn to understand human emotions with the main hero/heroine, where families lose their loved ones, where all it takes is a little, a few apt words and people are immediately happier. This is one of them and it doesn’t offer anything new. It even has a very inconsistent level of quality. I wasn't really into it until about the fifth episode, then it picked up a bit, peaked around the 10th episode, only to end with a 13th slightly unfinished episode. Not a bad anime. It's relaxing and if you let it, it will move you. Logic doesn't belong in it, keep the rational closed, pathos wins here.

Something completely different, again. The Japanese have made a series about people who write speeches. We start with a rather naive and heartbroken girl who is moved by a speech given by a strange woman at her lover's wedding. She then meets her and gets a glimpse into the world of those who write speeches for politicians. The girl likes it and off she goes. It's short, given what the series is covering. Surely the material handled would have deserved maybe twice the length so the viewer could get to know both the work and the characters better. We watch the growth of a budding politician with pure intentions and don't see if the world of politics will catch up with him. It's a naive series full of big words, but as we know, words can move the masses. A half-hearted series depicting a pretty big chunk of time in an abbreviated way. Interesting subject matter; Hasegawa Kyōko was great, unfortunately she can't sell it.

What I loved incredibly about Hibiki was that the girl never fell out of her role, even though her surroundings may have pushed her into a mode of behavior she thought was right, she didn't let herself get used to it and continued to keep her role because it suited her best and she felt comfortable in it. The relationships between the characters in the film are very well portrayed within their quiet complexity and loud simplicity. Hibiki is straightforward, and in the end, when one gets to know her a bit, it's clear what she wants, though she may not say it out loud. In her differences, Hibiki is simply beautiful and as a character, it's easy to succumb to her. Plus, she's good at what she does and knows what she wants. I wouldn't be at all surprised if everyone said after watching this that they wanted to be at least a little like her in some ways. While the lead role is a high school girl, you couldn't say that this is a movie about a purely high school setting. It intertwines with the adult world and forces all the characters to grow up. However, I felt that in the end it was Hibiki who was the most mature of them all. I definitely recommend watching it. The movie has a lot to say and will definitely get you reading, maybe even writing. Not to mention that your heart will sing for Oguri Shun's character.

The previous series by Fukada+Yoshizawa+Fukuda Please Love the Useless Me was much better. Although the heroines are very similar, Junko isn't as likable, and Fukada even lost some of her cuteness here (although she's still beautiful, and there are scenes in the series where she is cute). I'm happy to rewatch the previous series (for the third time), but this one is somehow not worth rewatching for me. That's not to say that it's outright bad, it certainly has its merits; for example, in the interesting characters of Jun's friends. It just didn't have the right charm. Yes, it's a romance where the heroine chooses between three different men (I was particularly rooting for the one who didn't make it, but not because there wasn't some appeal), but the older/younger thing didn't really work for me. Yuri and Junko didn't have much chemistry. She had much more chemistry with Yamashita. Then there's the cousin, which may seem awkward in our setting (don't be scandalized, it's normal for cousins to marry in Japan), but I found him terribly unappealing. Either way, female viewers have a lot to choose from and a lot to cheer for. Viewers can admire Fukada Kyoko, whose back is always hurting here... It's got some nice moments, and unfortunately some slightly boring filler. Good for a Japanese romance. So 3 stars.

A relaxing series that is most suitable for a dosage of one episode a week. Pick a tough day, put Ataru on after it – it's not challenging, it's entertaining, and might even expose your flaws in an entertaining way. Plus, Sugisaki Hana is a cute girl who can act, so having her in the lead role of the heroine helps make the series at least a little bit enjoyable. It’s a nice bonus that Ataru's colleagues are named after railroad stations in Tokyo and are also introduced as such. An episodic series, which I think would have been better if it had one episode fewer, since the last episode already felt watered down and doesn't come close to the quality of the previous episodes. Still, it clears things up and brings everything to a clear conclusion. 55%.

Although the story starts out as a big cliché, it gets away from it pretty soon and we can only watch this very enjoyable adult story about the employees of a publishing house. Oddly enough, they were all believable characters, had very good chemistry with each other, and Lee Jong-suk gave everyone a nice smile before leaving for his mandatory service to his country. This is not a suspenseful drama, there are no complex plots or big sweet romance. All of these elements are present in the series to a nice degree, so that when you watch it, it's like you're really looking into someone's life – with all of their sorrows and joys. The series comes together, and although I don't really like noona romances, this one was really my speed. It’s an added bonus if you like books. It's an enjoyable slice-of-life show that I probably won't watch again, since the one time was enough for me, but I'm glad I did because it made for a pleasant eight weeks. (I was quite annoyed that the main character's child was only glimpsed there occasionally, and then only on the phone; otherwise she wasn't really there at all. Nobody cares about kids anymore... :-D). It even has Czech subtitles on Netflix, so go ahead and do it legally!

Crazy, totally crazy. A little bit of everything, with great performances, they must have had a lot of fun filming it. That's Gintama to a tee: a fistful of classic Japanese humor and wild action. And I bet no one here will know what the last black and white scene is parodying... :-P Unless they read it somewhere. The best.

What can I tell you, I got incredibly hooked during the first episode; it's just great! The plot, the excellent acting – Suda Masaki excels, not to mention the whole class of students, where no one is dead weight, everyone has a say, no one is ignored, as is usually the case with high school series where we get to know like three or four people from the class and that's it. Everyone has a role, motivation, gifts, and weaknesses. Apart from the students, the series also familiarizes the viewer with the police officers and other characters more than adequately. I'm not saying it’s a deep introduction, but each character gets just enough space for us, the audience, to understand their motivation for the actions they take. Mutō Shōgo really exceeded my expectations because he hasn't really written anything complex, basically it's a theme that quite a few series or movies are turning to these days, yet he puts a hilarious spin on it and the whole time drops hints, clues as to what's really going on and what it will all turn into. Certainly don't expect a whopping climax where the head of the American criminal organization is revealed... not at all, it's much more down to earth and human. And yet it actually manages to be that much more impactful. Basically, Mutō is speaking to us through Hiiragi in the last episode, when he says he hopes it will resonate with someone, at least one other person. He himself doesn't believe it will appeal to everyone, but he does believe it will at least reach someone. And I can easily say that this show got me. Not so much in its message, but in the way it's crafted, the soundtrack, and most importantly, the performances. You want an unusual high school drama? Go for it, because here a new generation of actors is being taught by a contemporary star and he does it brilliantly. I enjoyed it and I was looking forward to the next episode every week, to the twists and the suspense. For the first time in a long time, a series that entertained me from beginning to end; I liked how it was done and I want to watch it again right away. My number one for 2019.

I actually ended up liking this. Basically what I appreciated most about it was the reserved, calm way everything was handled. Basically, there's a big scandal and moral panic because a teacher falls in love with a student. Except that the student is 15 years old. He also has a crush on his teacher, who is ten years older than he is. And this infatuation just can't be stopped, it's stronger than the people involved. Still, it's very believable. Most of this is helped, of course, by Okada Kenshi; it is extremely hard to believe that this is his first work. He was so great! The kid has really got it! He was so natural and great in the role that he alone makes it worth watching. Arimura wasn't bad either; she was good enough for her role as the gentle and very sincere teacher, but I believe she could have been better. Their two characters have reached the end of their run and we can really tell. The series covers quite a large span of time (even though it really depends on how you see it whether three years is a lot) and you can see how far the characters have come in that time. On top of that, we have two other pivotal characters – the mother of the student in love and (to complicate matters further) the new friend of the teacher in love. Both of these female characters interfere with the plot and move it along in some way. The mother, of course, is opposed to her son's relationship and takes this opposition to extremes – although the viewer may be repulsed by her behavior and will see her as the ultimate villain, when you think about it, her behavior makes sense and cannot be condemned outright. On the other hand, the new friend is a wonderful free thinker and it's no wonder Yoshida Yō won awards for her role. She is rooting for the couple the whole time, she has a great mindset, and you just have to like her, because it’s hard to find such an outspoken female (!) character in a Japanese series. If the mother is the darkness, she is the light. It's not a completely first-rate and straightforward story. Even watching it probably requires a bit of cooperation from the audience (of which there wasn't much from Japanese viewers, the ratings were lousy and the series was considered very controversial), and I think the first two episodes might not be particularly gripping. It took me a while to get past them myself. But then I just kept watching because I was interested to see what would happen to them next. It's a nice slice of life. But unfortunately the ending is rushed, almost inconvenient, and some things are left unfinished; I suppose it should have had an extra episode, but in the end the series was robbed of that episode due to low viewer interest. Too bad. It's not bad, but it’s not for everyone. Ultimately, the biggest weaknesses are Arimura, the not-so-interesting beginning, and the rushed ending. A weaker 4 stars.

Did you like the previous episodes? Do you miss Sangenya’s "GO!"? Then you won't go wrong checking out this series. Sangenya is still the same even though she’s now married. The principle is still the same, we just have a few extra characters that the creators can hit the ground running so it's not quite the same as the previous series. It doesn't disappoint, it doesn't surprise.