_Muffty_
Germany
At first I thought: 'Oh no another drama where two guys fight over a girl', but I promise it's completely different than you might think. I loved the story and it's twists, the growth of the relationship as parters(Sou and Maruo) and the humour at completely unexpected places.
I'm a person who always skipped the opening. This was the first drama where I watched t everytime!! The music is really unique and I found myself more than once humming the opening theme at home.^^
If you're still not persuaded then I advise you to watch the first episode and decide afterwards.
Let yourself be caught in one of the best dramas Japan produced in the last decades.
Writing about it I get the desire to watch it again....
for the 6th time
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As you can imagine I watched this Drama 'cause it's the sequel to It started with a kiss. I had my doubts about the taiwanese version. Especially because of the end of every episode. As if a little kid cut the story wherever it wanted. Even in the middle of a sentence!!!!!
But it may be forgiven, because there are too many good points.
1. Actors: I never experienced a chemistry between the actors as unique as in this show. Especially Zhi Shu's actor is incredible. His face showed so much expression without destroying Naoki's character, but emphazising important aspects about Zhi Shu(Naoki) other actors couldn't show. But there were some really awful actors too. Christine and her father were really bad. I got the feeling that they picked some foreign looking people from the street and asked them to act in the drama. And even though they played the role of a British family, they had a heavy accent. But they aren't that important, so this may be forgiven too.
2. Story: As in every version there were some changes in the story. But the writers did an incredible job. The way they built the characters made everything seem more realistic. To be honest I always thought that Itazura na Kiss was best fit as a Shoujo Manga. But the writers managed to transform the manga into a Drama that shows the characters in a more realistic way without destroying the storyline or changing the main atmosphere. Especially the ending was great. I'm so grateful to the writers for showing Zhi Shu as an emotional and loving man. He made me cry at the end(not the very end! lol)
3.Body Language: Okay this is part of the points above, but it's important enough to speak about it seperatedly. As we all know KDramas are the Dramas of hitting mouth on mouth, staring at each other or freeze due to a shock while kissing. Japanese do a little bit of a better job, but there are still so many Dramas that were ruined by bad kisses. THIS IS SO DIFFERENT! As I mentioned above, the actors have great chemistry. There were some scene where I thought: Oh my god how much more will they show??! You could really feel Zhi Shu's passion for Xiang Qin. I always missed it a bit. In other versions you don't experience his love for her as much as in this one. Well there were times when mouth didn't meet mouth, but alltoughether I just saw the most passionate scenes since I started watching asian Dramas 209 Dramas/Movies/Specials ago. Now I can rest in peace. ;)
I didn't expect the second part of It started with a kiss to be this good. I liked it better than its prequel. Sometimes there were some kitschy parts that hit me completely unprepared, but apart from that the story was really good.
I recommend this Drama and hope you will give it a try.
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Story: It was not a really special, but still a nice story. Sometimes I thought I was watching splatter(well with green blood^^) and some fighting scenes were a little long, but apart from that it was fun to watch.
Acting/Cast: The cast was well chosen. Kame and Anne were great as always and I thought that the girl actor was really good too. Well the only unnatural thing about their acting were the monster postures, but that is probably to get closer to the anime.
rewatch value: I rated it a little low 'cause it only feels like one of the episodes, nothing special, no closure.
All in all really good but more of a special episode than a movie. I hoped they would show a bit more about their future, but I don't hate open ends.^^
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Bridal mask has a great backgroundstory with strong and profound characters and many twists. A little too many twists. Along the way I was about to give up again, because so many things happened in a short period of time and were soon forgotten, because the next problem arose. Also the character changes of SOME leads were a little too sudden and big. The police used one kind of tactic over and over and sometimes I got tired of all the baits and traps. Add some unnesseccary political scenes you often see in Kdramas and you understand the reason I had a hard time.
But why did I watch it until the very end? You just HAVE to know how it ends!What other dramas hide is fully shown: human nature. Bridal mask doesn't only show the nice and clean side. In this drama you see so much violence and hatred that you almost get used to it(especially the tortures). They puke blood and cry out with a heartbreakingly sorrowful face, they lie and pretend, hope and love and hate, and lose their minds. You get immediately drawn to the caracters, although some dark sides are kind of crazy and scary...
music: All in all I liked the ost. The song used for the bridal-mask-cool-attack-scenes had to be used twice, once. Same goes for the italian song for dramatic situations. The sad scene was too long for the song, so they just replayed it. That's what I noticed. Nevertheless the music was very well chosen.
For those, who wonder why I gave it a ' fair ' for rewatch value: Even though the story is very good, they take too much time for the development. I don't think I'd be able to watch the whole thing again, but maybe some parts of it. I think if they had concentrated the story into 20 episodes this drama would have been even better.
All in all Bridal Mask was very good. Especially the last episode left a strong impression on me. The last seconds gave me goosebumps.
I'm not korean, but I clearly understood the message:
'Bridal mask is in everyone of us. Don't give up and hold up your values, then even you can be a hero.'(the main point a little exaggerated)
For all who can't decide:Bidal Mask is definitely worth watching. Give it a try and if you aren't immediately caught be a little patient. You will get rewarded.
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this drama is astonishing!
When I read the description I only thought: 'oh no, another story about a guy who didn't get his girl' and 'What an idiot to want to change it at the WEDDING!'. I absolutely didn't expect anything! So I gave it the first-episode-chance like I always do and......
it threw me off my chair.
Story:
You'd never expect it, but you get to see a really sweet and clumsy lovestory that begins in gradeschool and just doesn't work out as it could. Watching this drama you find yourself cheering on Kenzou who gives his very best to get his girl, you feel sorry for him when he is frustrated with himself and feel the depth of the whole plot and the complicated feelings the different characters carry. Each one is shown as very important, each and every one of the characters make the story complete. With ProDai your feelings go on a ride with a rollercoaster. Watch it youself: you will laugh and cry, tense up and feel frustrated. And then again you`ll feel nostalgic. That's something pretty special about ProDai. An important moodmaker is the
music: Molgol800's 'Chiisana koi no uta' became my favourite song after this drama. Everytime I hear it I can still see Kenzou running. As you watch this drama you feel like this song encompasses YOUTH. And it makes you feel nostalgic. Its not merely backgroung music. no. It symbolizes the highschool time of the friends, their jokes and funny times.(the fun didn't end with HS) The music makes the mood. That's the same for all dramas but I never felt it as clear as in ProDai. These songs can really touch your heart(no exaggeration)
rewatch value: This is a drama you can watch as many times as you want. There may be good ones out there you can only watch once caus' they are too tragic or have too many surprising contents, but Prodai isn't one of them. I can't really count how many times I watched it...
Overall:
This is absolutely not meant to be a hymn to this drama. I have to confess that one reason I first set sight on it was yamapi. But you'll be surprised. The story has depth, the characters have humour( a whole lot) and the actors play their parts more than acceptable. If you're still reluctant then give it a first-episode-chance like I did. For all who persisted until this point: thx for reading.
HALLELUJAH CHANCE!
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...is a worn-out comment I never wanted to write, but this leaves me with no choice.
One thing that really surprised me are the characters. For example the younger sis, who wants to share the adventure and tags along on their missions is not annoying at all! I can't get used to that at all. It is something I have never experienced in Dramaland before. These Meimeis are supposed to be in the way. And there are a lot of other loveable characters in here. The main lead is kind of a superman, which makes it less stressful to watch, because you, as the watcher, start believing and trusting in him. This may be a weakness too, but for me it fits very well into the storyline.
And, of course, you always need to remember, that this is a light watch.
Anyway, it is a fun ride and I am only at ep 8. Right now the mystery and friendship is strong, but the romance still a little weak, which I apprreciate, because I have watched too much sweet stuff lately.
Definitely recommended.
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