Reviews

a Very Modern Take on Relationship.

For most series I say it needs more eps but I think for WLIS 21 eps was Best.

The Plot was great, The start was Great. It was all Great Just what I expected from two of the Best.
Then It got real annoying in the Middle. FL is independent woman who has her own goals and dreams and Won't Bend over for anyone and thats Okay but Her actions at times ooze selfishness, she doesn't even take ML's feelings into consideration. I mean You do You, I am all for it but NEVER let your actions hurt others in any shape or form.
So Some people may find FL annoying at times.
ML is like a SPONGE who's just there accepting everything and anything FL throws at her and always trys to understand Others not just FL.
And then there's the usual CLiche of trauma, insecurities, Mini break and Getting back Together for HE .

All in all It was a great series.
Both Actors performed Great!!!

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"Whatever happens, we'll come back for you"

Onoda: 10,000 Nights in the Jungle told the true story of one of the last Japanese holdouts after WWII. Japan surrendered on September 2, 1945. The war ended for Onoda Hiroo 29 years later on March 9, 1974. During his training as an intelligence officer he was told he had to survive at all costs and that "Whatever happens, we'll come back for you.” Onoda learned the hard way that the military was not as loyal to him as he was to the mission.

“We will be back for you. We will be back. Whatever happens---survive!”
Late in WWII, Onoda Hiroo fails pilot school because he has a fear of heights and dying. He’s recruited to train as an intelligence officer and in guerilla warfare in December 1944. Before he leaves, his father (mother IRL) gives him a dagger to kill himself with rather than be captured should the need arise. When he arrives on Lubang Island none of the other officers will help him with his mission which was to disable the airstrip and port. Most of the soldiers are hungry, demoralized, and/or ill. The Americans take the island shortly after his arrival. Soon the only Japanese soldiers not dead or captured are Onoda and the three men he chose to work with him---Kozuka, Shimada, and Akatsu. Believing they must hold their ground until more Japanese forces arrive, they set up camp in the jungle and cause damage to the farmers’ fields in order to keep the locals afraid of them. They subsist on whatever they can find or steal, taking up residence in caves or homemade huts. The small group of holdouts refuse to believe the war is over and patiently wait for reinforcements.

“Try to change the way you see things”
Two different actors played Onoda and his second in command, Kozuka. They all performed admirably as the characters aged and learned to survive in the jungle and rely on each other. The film confined most of the shots to the men and their duties which displayed their arduous methods of staying alive. Bound by their limited outside contact, their lives seemed incredibly sad. They were completely isolated and separated from family and loved ones. As much as the film focused on the holdouts it would have been nice to gain the locals’ perspective of the killers in the hills and the fear they instilled for a time.

“They know that what is complicated and even incomprehensible, sounds true!”
My first thought when Onoda’s father handed him the dagger and told him, “Your body is the Fatherland. Do not let it fall into enemy hands,” was the Spartan mothers’ declaration to their sons, “With your shield or on it.” Ordered not to die and trained to unconditionally obey orders, unwilling to return home defeated, and determined to prove himself, Onoda’s psyche was trapped in a nightmare in the jungle of Lubang. The outside world and even loved ones attempted to convince Onoda that the war was over, but he could only see conspiracy theories everywhere he looked, convinced that Japan was still fighting. Eventually, he had access to newspapers, magazines, and a transistor radio but believed it was all an elaborate ruse to trick them. At some point, Onoda’s rigid obedience and views appeared to come across as an over-inflated sense of self. Why would the enemy go to such extraordinary lengths to trick one man? If he was that important they could have sent in a wave of soldiers to kill him or just bombed the jungle. Onoda had a high level of cognitive dissonance as he clung to his beliefs in the face of harsh opposing facts.

“What if we killed people we’re no longer at war with?”
Onoda and his men were resourceful and resilient. The youngest left after nearly 5 years and another was killed after almost nine. When the second in command was killed after 27 years of holding out, it seemed to chip away at Onoda’s confidence. Despite their incorrect assessments, Onoda and his men were a product of their training and propaganda. They truly believed they were serving the greater good by holding their position on the island. It took as much determination as denial to be separated from family and friends, to live on roots and fruit often with only rudimentary shelter for nearly three decades. In 1974 a Japanese adventurer discovered Onoda and befriended him. The young man caused Onoda an existential crisis as the holdout could no longer deny that Japan and the world had changed. The military bore responsibility as well. The loyal soldiers killed 30 inhabitants over the years. Two of the four died pointlessly and Onoda lost 30 years of his life because no one cleaned up the mess they created. These soldiers were imbedded on islands in the last months of the war when the writing was on the wall. VE Day occurred not long after Onoda was stationed on Lubang and Japan surrendered in August of 1945. All it took was for Onoda’s superior to come back for him. Unfortunately, for Onoda, his men and the people of Lubang, it took nearly 30 years to do so.

30 April 2024

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Not that great

First of all, she was innocent and could have defened herself which she didn't do. They were in their 30s but acted like teenagers, Be more mature and try to solve the problem first rather than running away from it.

It could have been alot better and fl's acting was on point but the character was not that great. If they haven't mentioned their age then it could have been better cause they are in their 30s and rather than solving her problems she runs away. It took them 16 eps to prove her innconce which could have been alot sooner. That's the thing that bother me alot in this drama other than this had a great potential but it just lost its charm because of small detials and some bad character development.

The side role couples had good chemistry and her younger sister and the dolphin guy would have a great series ig

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Will become one of the biggest KBL. Fluffy sweet but very profound positive messages about love.

Deserves all the hype and high ratings. Everything is perfect from the Cast, to OST, to the Acting, to the Story, to the Characters...

This show goes as deep as you want it to go. Sit back and cherish the many charming characters and sweet moments or go deep into reflection about the powerful positive messages or into theorizing about how the world of this drama works.

You won't be forgetting this show any time soon. Nothing will beat the final kiss scene at the beach with that beautiful retrowave guitar song that no one knows the name.

Potential Triggers: Alcohol Abuse, Bullying, Violence, Punching, Homophobia (funniest scenes though), Parental Neglect, Jealousy, Rich humiliates Poor, Stalking and Harassment, Car Crash, Bloody Corpse, Death of Loved Ones, Suicide.

[The show deals with these dark themes either in a very funny way or in a very hopeful and positive way]

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here comes the shining knight

This is really endearing and fluffy... Dont bother abt logic much! Everyone is a young successful professional, even hardships are there just to be challenged etc. Coincidences are TOO MUCH: in the big China, what chances are to bump into the same guy at work place, sleeping place, leisure place... over and over again (im saying it for the second couple as well)??
The young actors are totally eye candy and pleasant watch. Still the FL being so short while the ML is so tall looks cringey af. Why do the ML's have to be the tallest in dramas? Is this really what matters? Also the FL is not the best choice out there. The SFL is all abt exposing legs while pretending not to care. Yeah, we are dumb!
The trope of "fate created during childhood" doesnt appeal much to me... But perhaps some other watchers like it!? For god's sake, my life totally moved on, im NOT looking for a sweetheart from kindergarten! I WAS NOT a hero at 9 yrs, does this mean i'm not loveable??
These being said, its totally relaxing and fluffy. Not dropping it (yet).

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A slow burn

It took me a long time to get into this — I rarely watch historical dramas, much less something so heavy, so I had a lot of trouble with the character tree and not really understanding what the backstory was.

About 25 episodes in, however, I really started to hit my stride. I was really interested in how the different plots would unfold, and especially in the tension between the main characters Mei Changsu and Jingyan as we gradually got a few identity reveals — none of them disappointed.

Overall, I ended up really enjoying this one and would probably enjoy it a little more had it not been for the ending, which I understand thematically but still feels tacked on. It always feels kind of underwhelming when a drama adds a mini plot after the main one is over. It feels unexplained and rushed, and I really will just…pretend it doesn’t exist, to be honest.

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Good plot and acting

This drama has good plots and unique concept.

If you are looking for a good romance, its not your cup of tea but its nice to switch to new genre from time to time. The leads have good chemistry but fl's role was quite stubborn. The acting was on point and composed of good plot.

This series is good if you are invested in mystry. They have hate to love relationship.

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"August"- an exploration of ''real me'.

"August", is not only a record about amazing scenery and culture, but also an exploration of ''real me'.

By making this documentary, The director-Zhang Zhe Han wants to find the real life unrelated to money and fame, find pure joy of people.

After finishing watching this film, i fell very moved. My heart is following every step with the director in the movie. I saw beautiful snow mountain, saw happy face of kids, saw romance lasts till death.

In the past, "August" means pain for director and his fans. However, via the film, the director is eager to tell us that never be afraid of malicious gossip, never give up, it is possible to have a new life at any time, just live on and keep on going.

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Good for Japanese immersion, bad for entertainment.

Saying this without meaning anything negative, I usually have pretty low standards for modern J-Drama, that is because from what I find, they are ALWAYS poorly made in many categories, including story, but still manage to be logical enough and/or funny enough for me to enjoy it (ex. NekoKare, Super no Kago, etc.), this one couldn't manage even that.

Inu to Kuzu is a short drama that by going off of purely the description: appears to be about adultery between a man and his best friends wife.
This is partially true, the part about a "relationship" between the wife and man, not the adultery because the friend is dead! (Wow big spoiler, it plays a very minor part in the story who cares).
The true story is that there is none, I'm writing this on episode 7 and I STILL don't know, ML and his past with the friend and wife get established and that's it, suddenly they're living together too Yada Yada Yada FL is apparently pregnant, ML lost a VERY SPECIFIC part of his memory in an unimaginable way (and managed to not have any hints in his mind about leading up and from it, very convenient) yeah you get the point.
If anything we can sort of see the story build in ep7, as they introduce an important character for the very first time ?.
Everything in the story reeks plot convenience too, like a little bit here and there is good, yk to get the ball rolling, but how on God's green earth can you have 90% of every happening in this show be so coincidental (I will not list them because that would go on forever, but some are FL and ML's first encounter, FLs wealth, the crazy Yandere happening to work at ML's work, etc.) Like I'd first believe Densha Otoko being a true story than people thinning this drama was realistic ?
I won't speak more about the story because I've practically spoiled all of it.

Beyond that, everything was pretty good, Acting was really good, surprised the FL is a year older than me but so good at acting already, others were alright too, ML was so pushoverlike (his character) that I genuinely disliked him. The friend was the only really bad character, not from acting but because they purposely wrote him to be so dislikable that it's obvious he's supposed to be the villain.

Technical aspects were great, lighting, sound, cinematography, etc. All on point.


TL;DR skip this crap, watch only for Japanese immersion as even though I disliked it, I understood 85% of the Japanese (wirh subtitles), usually it would be less for bad content.

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tragic, but neededly grounded

I really enjoyed the cinema style and dialogues, they gave the show have a sense of realism. I enjoyed the characters and how the story unfolded, it captured a youthful love between friends and lovers that I felt really moved by. The story is happy yet tragic, and I can't help but wish for a different outcome. I truly wish I could have seen more fight from the lead lovers and not turn practically into a surrender, as I felt way too attached to them to want to let them go. However life isn't a drama series, so I can appreciate the writing and direction of how the story plays out. That doesn't mean I didn't wish things turned out differently but, Makki is human after all. I'd recommend the show for a decently emotional lgbt coming of age story between friends and lovers.

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