Zíza

As good as it was in the beginning, it got boring in the middle and finished very tepidly towards the end. You think to yourself – great, Oguri, Inoue, Narimiya, great cast, this will be worth it. And then the disappointment sets in. The animals are cute, their fates and the fates of their owners may make you shed a tear, but it's all artificial, overdone. Dolittle was great. And that's about the only thing I liked about the show from beginning to end. No, there's also the two theme songs – they were good, too (I’m downloading them ^^).

Katelin is perfect – hockey, figure skating, family, friends, boyfriend; just a fairy tale. The funniest part of the whole movie was the scene where the poor little robot didn't survive. Otherwise, an American romantic comedy with dreams that shine so brightly you could go blind. The girl is a pro that the practices didn’t wear her down until she died of overwork. But fine, a better 2 stars. You can definitely let it run for a while. Like when you're waiting for someone to put up the tree you're supposed to decorate later... ^^

I started watching this dorama just because of the cast – Mukai Osamu and Shida Mirai in a single package definitely caught my eye. I wasn't expecting anything, so I wasn't disappointed. I was half expecting there would be a moral that "being the bad guy doesn't pay, it's not good". I didn't like Yamada Yuko much (although she’s got those arrogant looks down) and Mirai (like in A Little Princess, by the way) got a pretty likable half, though she was a bit too anorexoid for my taste. The plot isn't original, nor is the music (I don't remember it much...). Anyway, I come away from watching it with the feeling that I've seen something pretty damn good and "man I had a great time watching that". Just a totally mediocre (and at times even the mediocrity was flagging) dorama. Ha, now I know why it was so mediocre: I wasn't excited at all!

I'm on the fence. I was very intrigued by the animation, I liked the fact that Kirino's nails were painted and not always the same color, for example. Actually, the animation is the most successful aspect of the entire series, in my opinion. I don't remember the music, so it must not have been very interesting. Kyosuke was okay at the beginning, a hero I really liked, but then he disappointed me a few times, so his likability went down. His sister, on the other hand... she annoyed me from beginning to end, and only got better in the last episode, which I guess was supposed to “leave it on a good note". I really couldn't stand Kirino, and every time she opened her trap I felt like cutting her. And at last I’m getting to what bothers me most about this series – where is it going? what’s the goal? why does it even exist? I'm human and I'm looking for some kind of purpose in it; hopelessly. I haven't found one. Kuroneko is an interesting character, but this still gets a weak 3 stars.

I give a big plus for the song "Time after Time" – it's been on my favorites list for a while, so hearing it put a big smile on my face :-)) Otherwise, about the movie – a totally average movie about love and passion in dance. And pasodoble is indeed a dance full of passion. If you need to switch off your brain for a moment, just kind of survive with a movie, this is a good fit.

A drawn-out, dreary sci-fi romance, but kind of emotionless. You could sort of say it's almost like the sequel to the movie from, say, 1983, or the animated one from 2006, with a little bit of fantasy and pretense – basically, all I took from the film would be lost on anyone who hasn't seen the other ones I mentioned, and that's the situation where the two meet in the hospital and he puts the lavender there. Except that those three minutes of the movie were the only part I really enjoyed. The rest? Absolutely nothing. I was so looking forward to it and it was such a disappointment! Seriously, you better watch the 2006 anime and forget about this one.

I really wanted a comedy; this just wasn't anything of the kind. It's not even really a romance. It's something set in the work environment, and it happens to be set in Japan. That's why the moron Abby can't just be forgiven. :-D No, I wasn't really interested. I just got a craving for ramen, and where am I supposed to satisfy it? And it's got a weird ending. For me, anyway. A little bit Japanese and a lot too – ruinously – American. Otherwise, I can recommend it to anyone who knows nothing about Japan. For the rest of us, I'd be more likely to recommend Lost in Translation (if you want to go to Japan with the Yanks ^^).

Even though with Maki and Sho in it, I didn't enjoy it much, in fact I didn't laugh properly even a single time. The only thing that amused me was the way their mouths moved when they were talking. But otherwise? Unfortunately and please no. It seems to me that this show is made to help Japanese people learn about the law in a "fun" way. Something interesting shone through here and there, but otherwise nothing but irritation. The flashes and expressions – no, not here; unfortunately, by the end, you might get used to it. The music? Hm... the only thing I remember are the references to Rocky, Ghostbusters, and Pride and Prejudice – I recognized those tunes. Then there's the occasional Arashi song, but it would be weird if there was nothing from them since Sho's their lead singer. It's boring. If you don't explicitly enjoy Maki or Sho, don't watch this and spend your time on other doramas instead.

The first episode still rather decently entertained me, then went rather decently downhill. Kohie was too perfect for my taste. So perfect it hurt. The perfect husband, the perfect father, the perfect host. Wherever he went, he always fixed everyone, helped everyone, was admired by everyone. And besides, his problems were only planted there for appearance’s sake. Plus, his daughter was a horrible child, I haven't seen such an unappealing child in a long time (heck, I never even suspected a little girl could be so unappealing :-D). The only thing I liked was the storyline with Taisei, but otherwise? Too perfectionistic, so much so that it was unwatchable at times.

So this is the ending I've been waiting 12 months for? I'm both disappointed and satisfied. His eyes at the end were great, I could probably fall for you, Shichika, but... The anime impresses with its unusual artwork, which adds to the atmosphere – it fits the story. The latter is interesting, with forward movement and a clear goal. Unfortunately there were moments, entire episodes, where I got bored and didn't really enjoy it. But the ending was truly... Just see for yourself. I’m recommending an anime "from the Middle Ages" with good music, artwork, ideas, and characters. For me a weaker 4 stars.