I would very much like to review it in its own right, i.e. without comparing it to the original Korean version, but I found out it's impossible for more than one reason. First, because the majority of those who loved You're Beautiful were biased towards this remake from the look of the actors alone and didn't even give it a chance; second, because ironically my having watched the original made me appreciate this version a lot more. Therefore, I'll set my usual policy aside and write a comparative review.
I liked Ikemen Desu Ne more than You're Beautiful in many respects.
Despite having kept the plot almost untouched, the Japanese made some subtle changes to this drama which results in a completely different feel to it. This version has a younger look; although the Korean actors were in the same age range as the Japanese when You're Beautiful aired, the first looked somehow older. The aftereffect is that while Ikemen feels like kids playing kids, You're Beautiful is about adults being childish.
Because the Japanese remake lasts half the time as the Korean, they had to condense the original story and cut a good number of scenes. As it seems, they decided on cutting mostly on comedic scenes and secondary characters. I have missed some truly hilarious parts of the original, but at the same time I'm happy they skipped some and didn't linger on aunts, fans, managers and the like.
But what really made it for me is the female lead character. Mio is a sweet, generous girl out of her element, dealing with her firsts: first experience on stage, first friendship, first love. While in the beginning she unwittingly makes mistakes, she shows strength of will and some pride, which makes it easy to connect with her. Go Mi Nam was a über-humble klutz in the beginning and remained such till the very end, a trait which I personally found irritating to say the least. The fact that the biggest part of the comedy in YaB derived from Go Mi Nam's nth mishap made me very happy the Japanese decided to show a girl a little less frustrating and hen-pecked.
This leads me to the male lead. The difference is quite notable too. Ren starts as haughty and impatient, but shows his true colours very soon. He's a softie. The tormented relationship with his mother is stressed upon in this version, so that his yearning for affection and eventually falling for Mio comes out as very natural. Tae Kyung, on the other hand, is an arrogant young man who learns to think about others too. But we have to wait until the very last to see his transformation and even then he can't do without a couple of bravados or two.
This is why I loved Mio & Ren as a couple, while I barely tolerated Mi Nam and Tae Kyung.
The other "angels" grew on me. They may not be as good-looking as the Korean, but I believe they played their roles well and I refuse to start a debate on the most undebatable issue on earth: taste. As a group, the Japanese A.N.Jell look more like friends than their Korean counterparts. The relationship between Ren and Shu (Tae Kyung and Shin Woo in YaB) is better explored in IDN and I truly liked to watch them fight for the love of Mio.
I have a hard time rating the music. Some songs are the same as in the original, but in Japanese. I didn't care much for them and I think the Korean sang and executed them much better. On the other hand, I truly loved the instrumental music played in between songs. The piano piece is lovely, and used in just the right scenes.
This review has been long enough. I felt the need to write it because I think it's unfair to judge it without watching it to the end and I always get fired up when I read commentaries like "they are ugly" or "they can't compare". If you think you're an unbiased watcher and you like young dramas, give Ikemen Desu Ne a try. You may end up liking it more than expected.
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Acting and Music wise it was extremely well done. A lot of the same songs were present but altered. The actors all did a wonderful job. The gal acting as Mio was just wonderful and brought a sweet spirit to her without coming across as a ditz.
If you've seen You're Beautiful, give this a shot. It is a Japanese drama through and through, don't look for something exactly like the Korean one, it is fun because it is different. I don't think one can say this one is better or truly worse than You're Beautiful because Kdramas and Jdramas have such different themes and stylings.
Anyway lovely drama, hope some folks give it a shot!
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Some characters differs a little from both versions but what insures me the most that the music is the same i mean of course they translated it to japanese but it was a nice move i was afraid that they would change it.
Finally, i prefer japanese over korean when it comes to the language issue so to end this i would say that each version is nice on its own way and let's not forget that the japanese version was faithful to the original one.
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Considering it's much shorter, with only eleven episodes and the average length being 45 minutes, a lot of the scenes were cut, though honestly, I didn't mind, as most of it was the comedy. Some great scenes were cut though, sadly.
The story is obviously the same, and it's a great story. It was faster-paced, and while it was natural in some points, at others it went by far too quickly.
The character development was differeing in comparison to the Korean version, obviously due to the time constraints. Something I really didn't like was Shu's character though.
We all know how heartbreaking Shin Woo's scenes were in YB (it's really ridiculous how much that guy made me feel so heartbroken), but I didn't get the same impact for Shu as I did with Shin Woo. I think it's due to the huuuuuuugggee lack of Shu-Mio talk time. We got a ton of adorable talks between Mi Nam and Shin Woo in YB, but there just wasn't enough sweetness coming from Shu. I didn't get that super adorably nice feeling from him.
The acting was pretty good, but nobody can beat Jang Geun Suk's experience. I think the Korean actors were better, putting all appearance biases aside.
A majority of the music was the same, except in Japanese, and while they were good, I like the Korean version better. A few songs were not translated/included from the original though.
I personally wouldn't rewatch it, but I can see watching some parts of it over. Maybe just for Jang Geun Suk's cameo in episode eight. ;P
Overall, it was pretty good. If you liked YB, you should definitely try watching this version out. It's fun, and it puts a Japanese spin on some of the scenes we all know and love.
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I preferred this Ren & Mio a lot more. the actors chemistry was good and they acted well together. I actually liked them a lot more than the Korean actors.
The music was the same as the Korean version, just in japanese & there was an added song which is probably the best song from both versions.
All in All, it's a good drama. i rewatch it again all the time (:
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Acting/Cast: The acting really resembled the ones with the korean version , which is not bad at all, but i think it would have been a bit more interesting having different bits of characteristics that the actors could have incorporated. This would have helped give the actors more ownership to the characters , instead of seen them as the second Jeremy or the second Shin Woo. But if it is your first time watching the drama the acting is pretty good, it is fun to watch and entertaining.
The cast was okay, but they all seemed to lack a bit of chemistry together. it would have been nicer to see them more in a friendship kind of matter, the connection between them was not as tight as it could have been.
Music: the music was good, it was mostly a remake of the other version, but (again) if you haven't seen the korean version, the music was also very nice, it set the mood for the scenes right and it helped the drama move along, and it is a bit catchy.
Rewacth Value: i think its fair, its not as catchy as it could be for me to watch it again, but is does go by fast so if you do decide to watch over again it it will go nicely.
Overall: i'll give it an 7/10 , the korean version was one of my favorites, and it was impossible for me not to compare the two. But to be fair without a comparing both, this drama was good, but it wasnt great, it lacked of some charisma, chemistry, some ownership between the characters, but the story line was very good, and the acting was entertaining.
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There are many things I want to say,and I don't think I am biased, but..maybe I am.
About Ikemen Desu Ne:
The story, though the same, was fleshed out and more well rounded overall. This, within just 11 episodes is surely a great job.
The characters were handled well. We see less silliness and for-the-sake-of-humor situations,and people feel more real.
These are the points I really appreciated.
Now, the main problem I had with this drama is the main cast and the music.
The songs were literally the same, but it didn't work for me. I really missed the feel of the music. And truthfully, the songs just did not feel the same without Jang Geun Suk's voice. :(
Then the cast- Everybody was good, except the main leads.. Mio and Ren. I liked them in the beginning, but as the drama progressed I could really feel how lacking they were in emoting.
Ren came across as the perfect haughty, but sensitive and lonely character, but later on in the drama, his mannerisms seemed more forced and somewhat lacking.
The biggest disappointment for me was Mio. And I never thought I'd be saying that I prefer Park Shin Hye over anyone else.
Go Mi Nam was often silly, super naive, and had that shuffling walk that was so annoying. Mio on the other hand, does not shuffle, does not do goofy things and is just a simple and innocent character who does not intentionally annoy.
But Takimoto Miori as Mio also cannot/did not emote half as well as Park Shin Hye. I felt it in the first main emotional scene- I was waiting to feel her sorrow, and though she cried lots, I felt nothing absolutely. And that continued throughout for me. Her acting did not connect with me at all.
The thing about Go Mi Nam was that- annoying as she was, I could always feel her emotions. I literally smiled when she was happy and could feel her pain when she cried. I have to say, after watching this drama, I really appreciated Park Shin Hye a whole lot more. She was great in emoting.
And lastly, I was sad that there's so little bromance within the band. I mean, Tae Kyung, Jeremy and Shin Woo had a sense of brotherhood and friendship no matter what else, but here the feeling was missing. Ren and Shu didn't seem to have any love for the other; Shu was annoying for the most part and only Yuuki was fun enough to lighten things up.
Yeah, so- I really didn't enjoy this drama, independently or in comparison. I would pick 'You're Beautiful' over this any day for a fun watch with better music and acting.
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It has the perfect mixture between love and family, making it more interesting. Even if it is a remake, it was as good as the original and Tamamori Yuta was really good acting the part of Ren, and could show really well the tsundere-like personality of the protagonist. I liked it because the love story is not the typical one, and it's full of suspense. Besides, there are not the usual romantic drama's cliches that make you know the end halfway.
So in the end, if you want to watch something fun, romantic, unexpected and that will keep your eyes on the screen, this is the right drama.
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It has been a while since I don't feel my heart beating so fast! Not just once but repeatedly!
I sort of felt it like a little bit when I saw Hana Yori Dango, maybe because of the resemble of the main character's personalities...
I have never saw the actors before, but at the end I totally felt in love with the main character :)
If you like romance doramas you should watch it!
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What Japanese remake did was like editing a good story to make a great one. Or rather to turn great drama into outstanding.
So yeah, this is why I gave 10 points for Story - thought in Ikemen Desu Ne we can find a lot of parts exactly the same, the story goes a bit faster, seems far more natural - you believe in the characters, they are alive, while in You're Beautiful it's more like fairytale.
And the ending in this remake, I LOVE it! wait and see for yourself :)
Acting/Cast I will give 10 if not for amazing acting in Korean drama - JGS was just splendid, you have to love him. On the other hand I won't change the leading role in here - the chemistry between Ren and Mio (Miko) was so...well, sometimes it gave me shivers, love was in the air. And they were lovable and natural and altogether with the upgraded story it made such a great drama! I will rewatch it and rewatch and rewatch :)
The only thing that wasn't really special - Music, but to tell the truth after all this Korean musical dramas it was refreshing. And it worked well with the story plot.
Enjoy watching, and make sure you have enough time booked - it's impossible to stop once you start watching.
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