REVIEW: Misaki Number One!!

Welcome to my second Drama review. I'm reviewing my very first J-Drama!

                                  Misaki Number One!!

Main Lead: Karina as Misaki 

Other Main Characters: 

Fujigaya Taisuke as Kujo Kazuma

Kitayama Hiromitsu as Minato Ryosuke

Oomasa Aya as Sakurai Yui

Ichikawa Tomohiro as Nagase Kyotaro

Ohno Takuro as Hoshida Yuto

Mido High School: Educators

Tanaka Kei as Mikuni Takeshi

Usuda Asami as Himejima Nanako

Tsuchiya Yuichi as Kawanishi Tsutomu

Hajime as Minamikata Kenji

Kuwano Nobuyoshi as Kitahama Yoshio

Kaneda Akio as Tenma Kosaku

Toda Keiko as Tsuruhashi Shizue

Fuse Akira as Tamatsukuri Toshizo

Club Southern Sea

Zaizen Naomi as Mama

Komatsu Ayaka as Rina

Tsukaji Muga as Umeda

Tejima Yu as Reika

Kobayashi Yumi as Marie

Episodes: 10

STORY: One day, all of a sudden, Misaki, the number one hostess of a club in Roppongi becomes a high school teacher! Of all classes, she is appointed as the homeroom teacher for Class 2Z, a special class for the troublemakers at the school. But, with her positive power, she takes the students head-on, without ever giving up!

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                                      My Thoughts

** Spoiler Alert**

So this is my first ever Japanese Drama. Again, just like when I thought I would never watch drama's, but I did anyways. After K-Drama's I didn't think I would watch J-Dramas, but here I am reviewing one. 

I really like the whole concept of the story! A girl who is Roppongi's Number One Hostess is forced into being a teacher for completely crazy, spoiled kids who don't who don't want to go to school or think about their future! It's definitely hard for a girl to make such a change. The whole 2-Z class is bad but there is a group of 5 students- Kujo Kazuma, Minato Ryosuke, Sakurai Yui, Nagase Kyotaro, Hoshida Yuto, who are especially spoiled. When she joins school, the V.P is totally against her becoming a teacher because of how she dresses and etc. Her students don't attend school, so she has to go around chasing them every morning, pestering them to go to school. When she encounters the 'trouble group' she has to try really hard to get them to school. Misaki also gets into trouble while doing this, all this happens while she has to make sure her that her being a hostess has to be a secret. Soon Yui (Aya Oomasa) comes back to school, boys are mad at her, but she believes that Misaki is a good person who is willing to help them. The boys get into trouble yet again and there is Misaki to help them, once again. After this incident they find out Misaki's secret that she is 'Roppongi's Number One.' They also come back to school. One of the male teachers has a crush on Misaki, but she (unintentionally) ignores his feelings. 

Now I've literally talked about the whole first episode, so I'm going stop now! Anyways there are more things going on. It's a really funny drama. It really entertain's the watchers while teaching them about life morals. I truly enjoyed it, I just wish that it wasn't SOOO similar to Gokusen and that the actors had better hair!! 

But I must say, I really really loved this Drama, it also has a place in my heart. This is a drama I can watch all the time and not get bored.

ACTORS/ACTING: 

She is one of the best actresses I know of! This girl can play any role you give her. Karina is amazing and all I have are praises for her!  She did a great job as Misaki. 

                                          

                                           

My favourite member of Kis-My-Ft2 and one of my favourite actors Taisuke Fujigaya!! I love this guy in general, he was really good in Ikemen Desu Ne as one of the A.N.Jell members. And in this show he is portraying one of the 5 most troublesome kids Kujo Kazuma. He did a great job with his role in Misaki Number One, it was a totally different role from Shu. Polar opposite characters which he did well. Also, a great bonus of his looks seals the deal. 

An incredibly talented actor/singer, also part of Kis-My-Ft2 Hiromitsu Kitayama did an amazing job at fulfilling his role as the troublesome Minato Ryouske. He looked amazing in the drama and this role was similar to what his character was in Beginners, but personally he did a better job in this one. 

Oomasa Aya, just a simply amazing actress! I most certainly enjoyed her role in this drama. She was a perfect fit to her character. All I can say is that she needs more lead roles!!!!

Ickikawa Tomohiro, I've seen him in Otomen too, but wasn't such a big role as he has in Misaki Number One. He looks really good and he can act, so he was a good pic for the role. I can't say much about him though as I haven't seen many dramas he's acted in.

Ohno Takuro, never seen anything other drama by him other than this one, but from what I can see he is pretty good and he portrayed the character well.

He played the idiotic teacher, with the crush on Misaki. Tanaka Kei was amazing, he is a pretty good actor as from what I have seen. He did a great job in being totally stupid and a coward as what his character required him to do. 

Toda Keiko played the evil V.P. Her role was one which would be hated but added a funny bit to the drama. I really enjoyed watching her as the vise principal and I can't imagine any other person playing Tsuruhashi Shizue. 

Zaizen Naomi played Mama, who guided Misaki through her dark times and the one who made her into a refined women capable of being Number One! Naiomi-san played Mama really well. The gentleness, strictness and the kindness depicted really well through her acting and it was what the character needed. 

CHEMISTRY: 

Now the chemistry between the cast- the students, teachers and Southern Sea was amazing. The writers did a really good job with writhing the characters and linking them to one another. This was truly a really good cast. Because there are no couples, I can't talk about  that but I must say the chemistry between the 5 and Misaki was great and also with Misaki and Mama. I really enjoyed the moments shown.

OST: 

                

Theme song: Nanika Hitotsu feat. JAY'ED & Wakadanna by JAMOSA

Opening song: No.1〜FIRE BEAT by Kis-My-Ft

I really, really like the OST of the drama. The opening song is played really less but it's a good song, especially because it's by Kis-My-Ft2. Hint, hint-I love them! As for the theme song, it is sung my 3 artists and I was obsessed with this song for god knows how long. I still really like the song, so I rate the OST a 5/5.

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And that's a wrap to my review to Misaki Number One!! I will see you all soon with another one. 

Love 

-Sam

REVIEW: Heartstrings

Hey Guys!!!

Here is my first drama review on the very first Korean Drama I ever watched.

                                             Heartstrings
                         
                         
                        ** If you haven't watched it yet, be ready for many spoilers**

Main Leads- Jung Yong-hwa- Lee Shin
 Park Shin-hye- Lee Gyu-won.

Other Main Characters-
Song Chang-eui as Kim Suk-hyun
So Yi-hyun as Jung Yoon-soo
Kang Min-hyuk as Yeo Joon-hee
Kim Yoon-hye (Woori) as Han Hee-joo
Lee Hyun-jin as Hyun Ki-young
Im Se-mi as Cha Bo-woon

Episodes: 15

STORY-  Lee Shin, (Jung Yong Hwa) is a university student majoring in Western Music. He is also the vocalist and guitarist of a band "The Stupid." Shin is known for his good looks, cocky personality, and strong passion for music. Everyone sees him as a cold hearted and distant person, but he has a soft side inside him hidden away. He lacks interest in anything unrelated to music and has neither dreams nor plans for the future. He initially likes Jung Yoon Soo, a dance professor at the university, but this changes when he meets Lee Gyu-won (Park Shin Hye).

Lee Gyu-won is a jolly, bright and an outgoing student who was born into a prestigious family and is majoring in Traditional Korean Music. She plays the gayageum. Gyu Won's grandfather, Lee Dong Gun, is one of the top 3 traditional musicians of his age and his biggest wish is to see his granddaughter become a traditional music prodigy. Trying to live up to her grandfather's expectations, Gyu-won immerses herself in practice and becomes a university student who knows nothing much outside of her studies. As her friends are fans of "The Stupid", she was forced to go to the band's concert with them. There she saw Lee Shin performing live and is immediately captivated by his presence.

Yeo Joon Hee (Kang Min Hyuk) is a bubbly, shy, and an always hungry boy who doesn't act his age. He has a complete childlike personality,a shaggy idiot by day and Stupid's lead drummer by night. During one of his shaggy phases during the day, he comes across the University Princess and chairman's daughter, Han Hee Joo (Woori), who he immediately falls head over heels for, calling her his "Natasha." However, there are dark sides to Hee Joo's personality than his naïvety knows, and in the series, he fights between his ever-growing feelings for Hee Joo and helping his friends as she threatens their university lives.

The time when Lee Gyu Won decided to join the performance for the festival, every one sees her potential talent and this triggers Han Hee Joo's mother who plans together with Tae Joon, one of the school's administrators, to destroy Lee Gyu Won's and the Director's image for her to quit the upcoming festival in her fear that Lee Gyu Won might outshine her daughter Han Hee Joo.
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                                                              My Thoughts

                                       


I have always been into anime and manga, but for some reason I was always so reluctant to watch any dramas, weather K-Dramas, J-Dramas or T-Dramas. But I am really glad I did. Heartstrings is the very first drama I  ever watched and so it kind of holds a special place in my heart. Because it is the reason I watched other dramas.


As you can see the story is very typical and a total cliche! I mean in most of the K-Drama romances, the plot line (in terms of romance) follows this kind of pattern. Park's character is into Korean classical music, where as Jung's character is into Western music. Both their personalities clash way too much. The girl is bright and cheerful but the boy is cold hearted, cocky and full-of-himself. They both hate each other and never want to work together, rather, they don't want anything to do with each other. But due to unexpected circumstances Park's character has to be Jung's character's slave. In this process she ends up falling head over heels for Lee Shin (Jung's character) as she gets to know the softer, less cold and sweeter side of him. But clearly finding love is not that easy! Because life doesn't work that way. And here comes the love triangle (more like square) -   Gyu-won (Park) in love with Shin, him in love with the dance instructor Yoon Soo, but again, love ain't that damn easy. Yoon Soo is in love with her ex- Suk-hyun, who after many years has returned to Korea! (OMG, too much heartbreak!) Either ways, soon Shin realizes his damn feelings towards Gyu-won and they become a couple. Yoon Soo and Suk-hyun reconcile. There is one more couple, the beta couple, who personally I really like. This couple is between Min-hyuk and Woori's characters. It's a sweet and refreshing couple.

But this is only the romance plot. The actual story plot, in spite of being crazily cliche, is amazing. We have another character played by Lee Hyun-jin who has bad stage fright, Gyu-won and him are pursuing their dreams to become performers. That dream is granted by the help of Suk-hyun who is the director of the university's musical play. But there is an obstacle- Woori's character; as Gyu-won is a threat to her career, she must go to extremes to get her way, but she eventually changes because of Min-hyuk's character. Here is one more problem, even though Woori want's to change, her evil, bitchy mother won't let her. Her mother always gets in the way of things with the help of an insider at the university (who hates Suk-hyun).  Suk-hyun also ask's 'The Stupid' to play for they play (LOL). By the time our main couple is to gether another misfortune happens and Shin can't play the guitar anymore. Mean while Gyu-won gets to sign a contract and go to U.S.A to get trained and be a celebrity. She is unwilling at first because of Shin, but he soon dumps her (for her own good) and she leaves the country heartbroken. During the time Gyu-won is training, Shin gets surgery for his hand, but now he is not a prodigy anymore. During his recovery he works really hard to get back on his feet.

Now I'm not going to say anymore about what happens, because I already gave away too much and there is a lot more going on.

ACTORS/ACTING: 


                 



As we all already know Park Shin-hye is an amazing actress, really pretty  and she can sing well too. Everyone has already seen her skill and I don't have much to say about it. I also really like her role in this drama. It's a lot less depressing than the role she played in 'You're Beautiful'. If I had to rate her acting and the fact that she played the classical music instrument so beautifully, I give her a 4/5.  Shin-hye unni FIGHTING!

                 
                     

Jung Yong-hwa is not only an amazing singer, but also an amazing actor. When acting in 'You're Beautiful' his character was caring, helping, considerate and sweet, here he is playing a polar opposite character and I must say he did a great job with it. I was really impressed by this acting in the drama. I wasn't expecting the acting skill to grow so much since 'You're Beautiful'. He also looked really handsome. I hive him a 4/5 in acting as well.


               

This is the only drama I have ever watched with Song Chang-eui. So I can't compare his other roles, but I really did like him in the drama. His character was really well portrayed by him and I cannot imagine anyone else in his place.


                

So Yi-Hyun did a really good job in this drama as well. I wasn't that fond of her character in the beginning, but I came to like her later on. Her dancing skills are pretty good for a non-dancer. I am really looking forward to seeing her in 'Who Are You?' when I watch it.

                     

Kang Min-hyuk. He was the cutest thing ever!!!! I love his character and I am  totally in love with this guy!! Not only can he look so cute, sing well and play the drums amazingly, but he can act well too. He was my favourite person in the drama. I love the way his character always said 'Hyung' and 'Noona'. I really don't know how he was in 'The Heirs' but I loved him in this one.


             

I have never seen any other dramas of Woori's, but I liked her in this role of an evil, selfish brat to a hardworking and nice girl. She definitely fit the role perfectly!  She's really cute and pretty and has a lot of charms. Originally I didn't think she was going to be a good actress, but I must say I was impressed with her in the drama.


                  

Now for a guy who can perform so well, Lee Hyun-jin was a great choice for this role. He totally fit the role and did a great job executing his character. He took vocal lessons which really paid off well. I really liked his character and that's all I have to say.

                                  

Im Se-mi was a really great supporting character as Gyu-won's best friend. I don't remember much about how she acted, but from what I remember, she wasn't one of those irritating girls who is always jealous of her friend.


CHEMISTRY (b/w actors) : 

             

The chemistry between the cast was amazing as a group. Everyone really suited their role and I couldn't have asked for a better cast.

Yong-hwa and Shin-hye



Their chemistry as a couple was great. We already saw them together in 'You're Beautiful' (starring: Jang Keun-suk, Park Shin-hye, Jung Yong-hwa, Lee Hongki and Uee)  in a love triangle with JKS. But this time the main focus was them and they were great together. I must say they are a really good match. The balance between good looks and talent. The totally in love and  really great main couple!

Min-hyuk and Woori



They two were just adorable <3 I really likes their chemistry and pairing. 'My Natasha' was a really cute touch to begin the relationship. I love the fact that he was the only person she was so open with and I could tell the two really liked each other. I was a really fun, refreshing couple to watch. They gave a good light hearted-ness to the drama which made is not so boring to watch.  They were a great beta couple!

Chang-eui and Yi-hyun



The couple with  a 'past'. They were a good couple. Honestly I didn't enjoy then much until about when they got back together. So, not my favourite couple but not the worst. Chemistry was great between them though. I will say that the paring was done very well for them! The Older couple.


OST

  

The OST was not as amazing as I would like it to be. But I did really like the tracks sung by Yong-hwa and Shin-hye. I was really happy to see FT Island contribute in the OST as I really love them! Other than that, a lot of the songs were repeating, just with different versions. If I had to rate the OST, I'll give it a 3.5/5.


Overall I really did enjoy watching this show, but the fact that I quit watching it around the 12th episode was a little disappointing. Although, in the end I did finish it; I think they rushed the ending a bit, but I am really glad that I watched Heartstrings.
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I hope you all liked the long review about Heartstrings, I will see you all soon. 

Lots of love
-Sam