Low and behold a Korean adaptation came to be a while back and I thought I was lucky then....but here we are with my second wish coming true: a brand spanking new Japanese version of Itazura na Kiss.
I was still surprised that I actually really enjoyed this series though because--when I found out about the casting--I was determined to hate it.
But alas, it went above my expectations and managed to show this already well-adapted series in a (somewhat) new light.
I still don't like it as much as I like the Taiwanese series (although I like some characters more) but I do like it MUCH more than the original Japanese drama, which was just horrible.
I would say I feel about it about the same way I feel about the Korean version (Playful Kiss): They are prettier to look at and they do a lot of things right the Taiwanese drama did wrong BUT because it's already been done before and because the amount of time given to each of the dramas was less than that of It Started With a Kiss and its sequel, both the Japanese and the Korean versions feel rushed and unoriginal in certain areas.
It can't really be helped. That's just the way it is--the Taiwanese version was first (well except for the original Japanese version that I just like to pretend doesn't exist) so for many viewers who watched that drama before watching Playful Kiss or this show will probably feel the same.
Having said that, this version is still worth a watch! Especially for younger viewers since the cast looks so young (some of them really ARE kiddos still lol). I have to say I liked Kotoko less than Oh Ha Ni but about the same as Xiang Qin so that was kinda a bummer. She wasn't terribly annoying in this version but I just enjoyed Ha Ni so much more in Playful Kiss that I wish her character could be that good in all the versions.
Mischievous Kiss: Love in Tokyo does have my favorite portrayal of Kin-chan, though. Yey! I do wish he could have got a hair cut at some point though...
And Mrs. Irie is, unfortunately, my least favorite of the three versions. She wasn't horrible though, and she did grow on me, which is good.
All of the other characters are basically the same to me, including Naoki. I did enjoy some of his expressions that I think the other versions didn't have: the soft way he looks at Kotoko now and then, his (gasp) smile here and there...I DID like that about him but I pretty much like ALL of the different portrayals of Naoki so there wasn't anything different enough here to make me like him more, or less.
So whether you are a fan of the older versions or just looking for a cute Japanese romcom I would highly recommend this series! Especially now that you can marathon it and not have to painstakingly wait for a new episodes every week for 16 weeks (thanks Japan for your one-episode-a-week torture....). Have fun watching!
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i never write reviews but this one is so bad i feel like i have to
i didnt know whether this contains spoilers or not but i tried to make it as discrete as possiblethey plot is so … bad and cliche, i like cliche plots to some point thats why i watched this but they took the cliche way too far… Typical smart male lead whose a jerk and an asshole to female lead and everyone else ( especially the female, did i mention hes an asshole to the female lead? ) x clumsy dumb female lead with terrible grades and is bad at everything but forcing her feelings on the male lead and loving and chasing after him even after he rejects her for the 50th time
but let me get to my main issue, these people are NOT made for each other, kotoko has a serious obsession with naoki and even stalked him MULTIPLE TIMES in the series, the reason? because the naoki kept leading her on and not clarifying his feelings for her such as kissing her impulsively, telling her hes not disinterested in her and saying he doesnt hate living with her.
i’ll tell you the plot simplified, kotko confesses her love, naoki rejects her in a mean way, kotoko is still inlove with him, naoki makes fun of her feelings, kotoko starts saying shes not inlove with him and is over him, naoki shows her a TINY bit of kindness (very little) because shes sad, she falls inlove again. then repeat it again and again and again. im not exaggerating. she KEEPS loving him and the worst thing is naoki is happy (?) about this and expected it to the point of saying ”you cant love anyone else but me” to kotoko when shes crying.
the end was so bad and out of nowhere, he just accepted her love out of nowhere with no warning even if it was (VERY MUCH) expected. Theres no sign naoki was going to accept her love and he even seemed quite happy without her, it was so bad i wouldve been more satisfied if they pulled the ”female lead finds someone else and male lead is now jealous and suddenly is inlove with her?” i feel like this was what they tried to do but naoki never seemed jealous?
the reason that kept me watching this was because i THOUGHT they were gonna be cute moments after they got together, but i was horribly wrong, even after they startd dating he never acted or seemed as if he was enjoying himself and liked it. if you’ve seen people saying this is ”fl feel first, ml fell harder” do not listen, i promise you please dont its not true.. naoki sucks at telling kotoko what hes thinking and saying what hes feeling which made me so irritated because it almost never got solved, which made me very much irritated, oh and btw, this goes on for like 2 years, and if youre watching because of kinnosuke, i dont reccomend you finishing it.. as expected his feeling are not returned even after like 5 years??? and kotoko does not reject him in a nice way either, kotoko was an asshole to him.
theres alot more bad things about this series but these are the worst and i dont know how to put my feelings of dissatisfaction and hatred towards this jdrama in words
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Kin-chan was awesome, Kotoko was cute and Irie-kun was human.
As a shoujo, the story isn’t really my cup of tea.
Watching this drama reminded me why I love this completely over the top and sometimes infuriating shoujo manga and honestly? Each time Kotoko out-sassies Irie? You go Kotoko! Smack that cold hearted Irie in his stupid behind!
Love in Tokyo is a very good adaptation and made an excellent casting choice with Kotoko and Irie.
Kotoko isn’t annoying like in ItaKiss from 1996 and even Irie is a tiny bit sweeter.
The actor that played Kin-chan was also an excellent casting choice. I hate when dramas have a secondary love interest but you know they have a 0% chance of ever getting with the lead girl. Kin-chan, while never stood much of a chance, was really funny and charismatic so it was impossible not to like him.
Because the drama had 16+16 episodes the story stays really close to the manga, so if you want to see an almost direct adaption from the original manga I would say this would be the version to go with.
I've not seen the most recent japanese movies, but of all the different versions up to 2014 this one is my favorite.
PS: Irie's mother is the best.
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1. Back in 2006, I was in 3rd-year high school, the Taiwanese version was released. I started watching the first couple episodes but dropped it because I hated watching dumb girls drooling over a man. Like seriously, I don't like a dumb girl for the main role, it creeps me out. So I didn't really finish it. (they say it was nice but nobody's going to convince me after I watched the first 6 or 7 episodes.)
2. I started watching the anime version recently and it was pretty damn good. Because I love animes, I gave it a go. Discovering Itazura Na Kiss anime was great, I binge-watched it for 24 hours with no regret. The only thing I can say is that Naoki Irie in the anime version was too cold I hated him at times and Kotoko was too submissive I just wanted to scream at her. But the anime series AS A WHOLE was fun and entertaining and I loved it.
3. I went over reading the Itazura Na kiss manga but still hasn't finished it. So far, I'm loving it, pretty close to what the anime has shown me.
4. Due to my addiction over the Itazura Na kiss anime, I went on watching all fanmade Youtube MV's and INK trailers (all versions). I also read the comments and the reviews here at MDL. That's when I learned that among all the versions as of Feb 2019, the Love In Tokyo has the highest praise. So I picked it up and watched it. AND BOY, OH BOY. That version hit my heart and live there!
I thought I was going to hate Kotoko (because of her 'dumb' role). Instead, I ended up liking her. No, actually, I ended up loving her 'cute ignorance' and her personality. She's sooo adorable I just wanted to watch her laugh and smile the whole day.
And then, Yuki Furukawa as Irie Naoki. I have never been in love with any Japanese actors as I did with Yuki-kun. He gave justice to the role, he was GREAT in it! It only took me a few minutes watching the first episode to fall in love with him. It actually started when I heard him speak in English fluently. (I was like, OH MY GOD, A JAPANESE GUY SOUNDED LIKE AN AMERICAN!) -My heart fluttered. He was sooo cool. I love his coldness, the way he speaks, the way he stares at Kotoko, his awkward smile, his fingers, height, the way he walks--literally EVERYTHING. ????♥️ Yuki Furukawa now tops the list of my favorite Japanese actors.
I became a fan after the first episode, it was so crazy. I thought I'd get annoyed at Naoki's coldness just like how I felt when I watched the anime and read the manga but NO. Love in Tokyo shown me how Naoki started falling in love with Kotoko, it gave me good laughs and made me fall in love over and over with the characters. I was too addicted to it that I watched it again after finishing the second season. ????
ACTING: It wasnt perfect but VERY EFFECTIVE. You'd laugh at the characters, you'd love and smile at them, you'd find them cute and adorable. They just nailed it.
MUSIC: It just matched the scenes, cute and refreshing.
I'd rate this show 10/10, highly recommended. ♥️♥️♥️
5. I never watched the Thai version (due to my reluctance on watching any Thai dramas) and the Korean version (due to the negative reviews, I lost interest.)
6. Taiwanese movie version (Fall In love at First kiss) starring one of my favorite Taiwanese actors Darren Wang. I got so hyped that Darren is playing the lead role of my favorite Shoujo anime. But after watching it today, I ended up very disappointed. :(
So for me, the best version is still the INK: Love in Tokyo. Yuki Furukawa and Miki Honoka nailed the lead roles. I am so in love with them that I could not find another drama that could beat the Love in Tokyo. ♥️
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If I had to choose a drink, it would be HOT CHOCOLATE (warm and sweet).
If I had to choose something edible, it would be COTTON CANDY (fluffy).
I had a smile during all the first 12 episodes, it is that cute. The first 12 episodes were the cutest thing I've ever watched. I disagree with people saying that Naoki was an ass (ok he was, but he wasn't harmful, unlike **coughHyuugafromRMPWandDomyoujifromHYDcough**) and Kotoko certainly wasn't stupid nor stalker, just a teenager in love (if she was a stalker, I think me and hundreds of girls were/are stalkers in HS).
The love triangles that happen throughout the story were well done and not annoying at all, since nothing happens. Kin-chan is the sweetest second lead character I've seen so far, and it was hard not to root for him. But since Kotoko was my favorite character, and everything that made her happy was Naoki, I just had to root for Irie-kun, even if it was hard to do. Like in the final 4 episodes,which were by far my least favorite episodes and the reason I downgraded my rating.
I absolutely ADORED Miki Honoka as Kotoko. Any other actress would have made the character a silly, pathetic one. But thanks to Honoka, Kotoko is the most adorable heroine I may have seen in a dorama. So cute, so bubbly, so charming, so charismatic. Her expressions were so funny, so adorable. Her different hairstyles, her imperfect eyebrows... everything about her scream KAWAII.
Furukawa was good as well, since he didn't have to show much in his expressions, but my, he showed so much in his eyes. I only wished he wasn't that skinny, because he had the perfect height, and of course, a perfect English accent.
The only actor who wasn't so good was Sudo-sempai. He overacted too much, like an anime character. Like Oscar from Hana Kimi, only that in this dorama it looked ridiculous. Naoki's mother overacted a lot as well, but it suited the moment.
I LOVED the OP song and opening sequence. So cute.
As soon as I finished it, I wanted to watch it all over again. I am missing them so much, and it has only been a couple of days! No doubt I'll re-watch this. Very recommended **hearts**
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The most slow-burning drama, but definitely worth the wait!
Where to even begin?!I finished this drama in 5 days! It was like one of those easy read rom-com books that I just cannot put down!
I am SO glad there is a second season as I have so many questions and cannot rest not knowing what happens after their wedding!
Naoki is THE MOST cold character I have ever come across in either books or television. My God. I knew this one was gonna be a slow burn but I had no idea we had to wait until the last 20 minutes for him to finally get his shit together and make a move!
I'd say for three quarters of the drama I hated him and the rest I shipped him with Kotoko. He was so cold and mean towards her I started wondering why she kept waiting for him; especially when the three years had passed. Plus, he was always quite rude to her which I never really understood why. However, he did have some sweet moments; like when he picked Kotoko up at the tennis courts when she hurt her ankle, and when he comforted her while Yuki was in hospital. And the following scene when they're in bed having a meaningful talk! Those were the moments that kept me hanging in there.
My biggest question is when did he start to like Kotoko? I really hope there is mention of the letter she wrote him in the following season, and wonder if he started to like her from when he read her letter. What she wrote wasn't anything silly - she explained who she was and why she admired him. Speaking of that scene when he read the letter, the whole helping her to study thing was so cute and relatable.
Kotoko, the sweetest little bean. Who doesn't love her? She is so kind, cheerful and very determined. She knows what she wants! No matter what, she wasn't going to give up on Noaki, not even when she started dating Kinnosuke.
I did think there were parts where it dipped into stalker territory how Kotoko started to follow Noaki to places he was going, but we'll gloss over that because we ship them so much!
That scene at the end where he finally kisses her and she's like, 'the second time?' and he's like, 'No, the third time. - You don't need to count anymore.' Ughhhhhh this had me weak! Maybe I'm just a really hopeless romantic but my God this was just soooo cute!! Plus, the rain made the mood much more intimate.
After the routine Googling of the actors I was so shocked to find that there was a 10-year age-gap between the main leads. The actress who plays Kotoko never seemed to grow older even as the show progressed (over the three years). As for Noaki, the actor has an innocent little face that it's no wonder they tried to pass him off as being younger than he is.
Not gonna lie, I was a bit concerned in the beginning as the quality didn't seem the greatest; the camera seemed a bit shaky. I soon got used to that and realised it added a more realistic feel to the show.
I thought I was going to have second male lead syndrome in the beginning as Kinnosuke tries his hardest to win over Kotoko.
I would definitely watch this again - honestly it is one of my top three dramas.
-E
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My favorite
I love this drama, and yes, I am giving it 10/10 all across the board. I have seen every adaptation of this series, the anime, manga, taiwanese, korean and Japanese versions. I will continue to love it, and have seen it over 50 times. The story follows the manga pretty closely, the music is wonderful and catchy, and the actors are wonderful and have great chemistry.The Taiwanese and Japanese versions are 100x better then the Korean version, I would suggest skipping it as it doesn't cover even half of the story.
Definitely one of the best series I've ever seen, and I'm a huge romcom fan!
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