Koi wa Amearari no you ni movie review

I rather enjoyed the Koi wa Ameagari no You ni anime. It was a light and fluffy show about a high school girl Akira, who falls in love with her middle aged workplace boss. In other words, Japanese male fantasy through the lens of a shoujo manga.

The movie meanwhile, does go through the story beats of the anime but just fails to capture that spark by maybe being a bit too safe. For example, while things happen in the scene where Akira visits the sick Tenchou as the anime, the way they executed it gives off a completely different vibe.

I really disliked how they left out most of Akira's relationship with Tenchou's son Yuto and wasted time with this rival girl at the cost of exploring Akira and Tencho's relationship.

With a two hour runtime, sacrifices had to be made but I felt the wrong sacrifices were done. It ended up sort of at the same place as the anime but the movie just feels flat and forgettable for me. Ignore and watch the anime instead.

Kareshi wo Ron de Kaimashita Episodes 1-5

Kareshi wo Ron de Kaimashita is an interesting show not because its an OL wish fulfillment show about getting an ikemen slave aka Kimi wa Petto but because this is a satire about receptionist doing everything they can to get an elite husband and become a housewife.

Yes, even to the point of putting up with the boyfriend cheating. I love how Mano Erina keeps running into her boyfriend with his mistresses and she's the one troubled because she has to accept his flimsy excuses to keep her dreams alive.

The other funny thing about this show is Hasegawa Kyoko as the former legendary centre who managed to achieve the dream and literally wrote the book on how to catch an elite but is now divorced and working at a konbini.

I just enjoy the political incorrectness of Kareshi wo Ron de Kaimashita because it is through that this show explores society's views on social class, happiness and Japanese refer to as kotobuki taisha (resigning to get married).

Nothing really stands out from this show. After watching Mano Erina for years, she doesn't have the ability to really carry a show but she doesn't suck either.

Watchable if you keep your expectations in check. As far as I know, no one is subbing it.

Champon Tabetaka

Its taken me quite a while to get around to watching Champon Tabetaka. Nothing about the poster makes me want to watch this show. Not the guy from Dele nor the guy with the most punchable faced in all of jdorama sitting on the right of the poster.

In fact, the only appealing thing that Champon Tabetaka is that Ozaki Masaya, the writer of KDO adapted the novel written by Sada Masashi who sang Kanpaku Sengen.

Champon Tabetaka is a story about being young and not knowing what to do with life from the perspective of a young man who went all the way from Nagasaki to Tokyo just to study the violin.

From the first episode with one of the characters trying to woo this tsundere girl with a guiter, Champon Tabetaka took hold my attention and never let go because there was such an authenticity to it. Its got the feel good element and innocence of an asadora flavoured with the realism of Sada Masashi's experience.

I got to know the characters and could emphatise with all their worries. I enjoyed watching them grow and navigate real life and meeting a host of interesting characters who helped them grow.

One thing I really liked about Champon Tabetake was that it was set in a world where one could put in a mountain load of effort and still not succeed because the chances of success was that low compared with jdoramas where characters put in a tiny bit of effort and somehow everything falls into place.

If you want a feel good and fun jdorama with a 60s and 70s vibe, Champon Tabetaka is for you. Almost a must watch show for me. Very well made and very watchable.

One more month to JLPT N3!

The end is near! Winter is coming! Last year I chickened out and went for the much easier N4. This year I am doing the much harder N3. Harder as in I actually need to study.

My initial strategy was the same as what i was doing last year, do sample exam questions, reverse engineer and try to figure out the formula to the question but that proved very difficult because I do not know so many basic Japanese grammar things.

I can usually whittle down the four answers to two but the two always sound right to me which is my main problem. I do not know why things are right or wrong, only that they sound right. Plus, I find googling for reasons why doesn't really work.

I've ditched reverse engineering the answers and I'm slowly working my way through the grammar speedmaster book. Things are starting to make my sense now and there are things that I couldn't believe and things that are so simple that I never even realised.

Its do or die time. Don't want to waste $90 exam fee to go to waste. Once I finish my first grammar book, I'll try to finish a second one before jumping into the mock exam book. I'm not going to do vocabulary because hopefully years of jdorama and manga and gaming will have provided me with enough vocabulary knowledge.

I signed up for JLPT to force me to study grammar. I have no idea if it will get any better after this. (I doubt it but its opened my eyes to a lot of basic things I never realised) I've got no choice but to put in the effort this final month.