S. Yue Michaelis

“Love Stories From Fukuoka” is a series of real-life stories submitted by viewers in Fukuoka about their personal experiences with love, loss and longing. All the stories are based in Fukuoka, the capital city of the Fukuoka Prefecture on Kyushu Island. The stories feature many actors, celebrities and athletes who have ties to Fukuoka, including a few members of the popular Japanese girl group AKB48.

In "Beyond Your World", the university student Sota falls in love with a girl at the library at first sight. However, she was born deaf. Determined not to give up, Sota starts learning sign language and they fall in love. Will they be able to overcome the fact that they live in different worlds? (mydramalist-2018)


This was like I was expecting, cute and simple. I like the JSL in stories, but I feel like in this case, Nao, being the MC, was a bit mediocre with sign language. I mean, she was too slow and didn't communicate with passion nor like someone who has been deaf all her life and communicating thru signs, like Kanno Miho in "Kimi no Te Sasayaite Iru" nor Shibasaki Kou in "Orange Days". On the other hand, Sugino Yosuke was adorable and he did portray the sweet, caring guy very well.

Kotoko (Honoka Yahagi) and Naoki (Yuki Furukawa) go on a honeymoon in Okinawa, Japan. (asiawiki-2014)


I really miss this beautiful and sunshine drama. I am still saving S2 for later, but at last I watched this SP. It wasn't as funny nor as cute as the drama, maybe because it is short, maybe because the plot wasn't good. I mean, it is about Irie-kun and Kotoko-chan going to Okinawa for the honeymoon, but there is this annoying married girl who keeps pestering them, because... guess what, she FALLS FOR NAOKI **eyerolling**.

So most of this 45 minutes SP is about her meddling in their time together, and unfortunately Kotoko-chan wasn't as funny as she was in the drama. She pouts, yes (I adore Honoka's pouting) but since she is a married woman now, they (the director, scriptwriter or whatever) toned her down a little bit. And yes, she is still immature (very); that scene where Naoki was going to check on the "sick" girl was ridiculous, but I hated how he yelled at her. Generally speaking, Naoki was a cold jerk in this episode.

Honoka-chan was wonderful as always. I love her, she is the cutest bag of cotton candy <3 Her smile, her joy when they arrived at their room in Okinawa... she is joy to watch <3 Furukawa was MEH, robotic and a jerk, as always. His mother, however... so funny! The whole family actually XD Ridiculous but expected from them XD

The other girl was super annoying, and the foreign guy at the end of the special was cringe-worthy. As 99% of foreign actors in Jdrama are :( And I kinda missed Kin-chan :(

Based on the novel "Murder on the Orient Express" by Agatha Christie (2015)

This was a really, really well done version of the famous book. I think one of the factors is that, in my eyes, Japan and England are similar in many things (their people are considered cold/not showing too many feelings, they both like tea and gardens, and so on). There are 2 parts, Part 1 is all about the murder, and the most loyal to the book (I've read the book years ago, I don't remember it all too well though). Part 2 is about the recruitment of the group who is going to murder the bad guy and the planning to do it). My personal favorite was Part 2. It was more dynamic, and we get to know all characters. Part 1 was much slower, I think it could have been shorter.

The OST was sublime. The girls look all beautiful with their vintage clothes, make-up and hairstyles.

I love how they change what it needed to be changed to make it more Japanese. Like, instead of other languages (English, French), it was dialect.

I can only find 2 minuses in this version:

1) Suguro Takeru, a.k.a, Poirot. I think the actor looked incredible as Poirot, and I think he would be excellent in a version for theater. Poirot is a very vain and egocentric, therefore, he is also a character who can be annoying for some or amusing for others. The actor, Nomura Mansai, was certainly more excentric than I imagine Poirot to be, that's why I think it would have looked better on stage. He certainly is the most handsome (and thinner) Poirot I've seen so far. Unfortunately, where he did very wrong was in trying to look, what? Funny? One of a kind? with that annoying voice. Why did he had to talk like that?

2) Length: since I am more used to doramas, I would have preferred if, instead of 2 parts of 2 hours and 20 minutes, it were 4 episodes of 45 minutes (part 1 should have been shorter). As it was, I split it in half every episode to watch it.

I recommend it strongly for people who like to watch other version of this super popular book. Besides, the cast was excellent (except for "Poirot", who could have been great if he talk normally).

Synopsis

The special took place half a year after the series' end. With Osaka Gakuen getting ready for an upcoming Valentine's Day event, Sano and Nakatsu reflect on the final week of their last summer vacation, which falls into the timeline of the original series between episodes 7 and 8. The special also includes a graduation scene and addresses the relationship between Mizuki and Sano. (wiki.d-addicts)

I think this may be the best school-based Japanese dorama ever. It is really funny! It has a little bit of everything: comedy (a lot), friendship, silliness (a lot), craziness (a lot), romance, gay love... I am reviewing the SP only, but I will comment on the dorama as well. The script, director or whatever, made all the things that were MEH in 11 episodes turn into NICE! in the SP. Like:

- the romance. For 11 episodes it was so MEH. No chemistry between Sano and Mizuki. In fact, it was like he could not stand her (and he was right. She was too meddlesome). And who did not want Mizuki to end with Nakatsu? First time where the third one in the wheel is more appealing than the actual hero.

- less adults, more students. I disliked the nurse, especially because he was such a misogynist. He treated his ex-girlfriend like she was the pest. I hated his "blue" eyes, his hair, his character. Besides all the scenes that were Sano/Mizuki, I fast-forwarded the scenes with the creepy nurse the 2nd time I watched the dorama. But in the SP, his role is tiny! Yokattaaa And the SP was almost 100% about the boys and their silliness.

- Mizuki less focused in Sano. In the SP she realizes she loves her classmates and the school. It is not all about "Sano this, Sano that". It shows pieces of the 7th and 8 episodes, things that happened in between of what we watched it. She spends more time with the boys, creating more memories with them. So it is not untrue when, at the end, she gives her speech.


Now, I will review the boys (+ Mizuki), because each one of them is important to the story. Besides, I don't think this was an "ikemen paradise". Most of them had the worst hairstyle (and I am almost used to Japanese weird hairstyle... ok, not really). In my opinion, there are only 2 pretty boys and 2 cute boys.

Mizuki. I have to say I don't think that Horikita Maki is a good actress. She is too stiff. She can't cry. She does not have many facial expressions. But she is extremely charismatic, and I love to watch her doramas. She is perfect for cross-gender roles: she is not too girly, not too skinny, and she is very cute! Her short hair suits her very much. She looks like a little boy, but a pretty, cute little boy. No wonder why Nakatsu falls for her.

Sano. Hmmmm... I can't understand WHY people says he is good looking. Honestly, he is not. At least in the SP his hair is a little bit better. But, come on! Look at this picture. He seriously needed a cut in the back, where it is close to the neck. Ok, not really. He needed to cut all the ends. And to be honest, he is not really a good actor. He has like, two expressions only: the angry one and the bored one. And I have watched many of his works (the only one where he was good was in Gokusen). Maybe he needs another role where he is not "kakkoi". But he certainly improved in the SP and was more likeable even. What is more important, it was more obvious in the SP that he really liked her.

Nakatsu. His hair is also better in the SP. And he has a solo scene that is hilarious (a monologue, Nakatsu-style). Toma is one of the cute guys. He has a cute smile, too bad for that ugly, orange hair! But he is funny again in the SP, and although Sano's character improved here, I still think Mizuki made the wrong choice.

Nanba-sempai (Dorm Leader 2). Errr.. no need to say he is one of the pretty guys, right? He has delicate features, and I love his hairstyle! In the SP he has a kind of crush on "Julia", a "blond" American girl (haha, I love this in Japanese dramas... the wigs! Excellent). The girl who played Julia has already acted in the dorama, only as a different character. She is gorgeous (half Japanese, half French). And again, Nanba-sempai gets a kiss from his male fan XD

Tennoji (Dorm Leader 1). This guy is fantastic! Basically, his role is the same as it was in the dorama. No changes. Still in love with Kanna (I like how he pronounce it: Kan-na), who is played by a super young Kiritani Mirei. When I saw him in Gokusen I was "Oh! Dorm Head!".

Oscar (Dorm Leader 3). It may be unnecessary to say, but the Dorm Heads are the best! Oscar is like another Tamaki (from OHSH) but more of a drama queen! He makes the whackiest expressions.

Kayashima. Awful hair, nice smile. His role is funny, but too bad he barely talks in the SP. I don't find him handsome at all, he always has weird haircuts that don't suit him at all.

Kagurazaka. Another guy I don't understand why people find him attractive. Just look at that hair in the picture... horrendous! But he cuts it for the SP and his role is tiny but kind of funny. It is related to the kiss Sano gave him in the dorama.

Sekime. 2nd pretty guy. Luckily he does not have this ugly shade of blond, but even so, his hair is a mess, both in the dorama and in the SP. But he has a nice smile, so it is weird no one remembers his name!

Nakao. 2nd cute boy. His hair is longer in the SP, which of course was an incorrect thing to do. In the memories from 7th episode he has short hair, but in the 7th 1/2 episode he has it longer. Not that it was bothersome, but still, it was fun to notice it. As it happened with several boys, actually.

Junpei. He does not even has a name in the dorama, and I thought he was not going to be in the SP, but he was.

Honorary mention: Hibari. A crazy sempai, leader of the girls dorm and head-over-heals for Sano. Even though I've seen her in another doramas, to me, she will always be Hibari, the egocentric chick.

I love the SP, I like the OP song a lot (Ikenai taiyou.. nanananana), I love the actors, I like the OST in general, the setting, the clothes, the competitions and festivals... At the end, 1 hour and 45 minutes felt short. One of the best shoujos doramas I've seen.

My rating: 10/10

Again, I am thankful I am a hyphen or I would have never known this wonderful dorama. It started because I love, LOVE Junno, and I've read the good reviews he had on this series. True, his role is tiny, very tiny, but even though he weren't in the dorama, I would have loved it any way. My, Sakai Masato is a terrific actor! The way he talks... incredible fast, but he modulates his words so well! At the beginning, I though his hairstyle was the most ridiculous I've ever seen. But it suits him! With time, I got used to it. And wow, when I watched this actor in a variety show, he looked so quiet and nice! Nothing at all like Komikado-sensei; really, an amazing actor. Aragaki Yui was also great ar Mayuzumi, and the butler... Summary, (like our sensei likes to say) the cast was excellent, no doubt about it.

As for the comedy, it was very Japanese-like; meaning, very anime-like sometimes. Like the silly expressions Komikado-sensei makes most of the times; or the faces close-up, etc. That is one of the reasons why I love to watch J-doramas.