The first episode was a pleasant surprise Well... not that much of a surprise, but it surpassed my expectation a bit, since I thought its gonna be another boring rom-com.
Nice to know the writer is Nagata Yuko, who wrote one of my fav rom-com drama, Himitsu no Hanazono (Shaku Yumiko, Sakai Masato).
This drama is said to be the 21st century version of "Danjo 7nin Monogatari" (The Tale of 7 Guys and Girls), the first popular trendy drama in the late 80s.
Some interesting points:
-Nakama's character is different than roles she ever played before. As a fan, this is a plus point for me^^
-The divorce ceremony/party was a nice idea The characters in the drama says it's currently a trend in Japan. Is this true at all??
-Yuki Jutta is one of the cast Awww... I wish Nakama would end up with him, instead of the other 3 guys This is such a miscast.... Jutta and Kento should've switch roles >_<
-I didn't expect those 3 guys did all that because Nakama's boss told them to. There should be an interesting development this way.
-4 of the 6 main characters doesn't believe in true love. One loves cats more than women, two prefer to be single forever, one sees love as not more than kisses and sex. I wonder how the love stories would turn out.
The story has potential. I hope the next eps doesn't disappoint.
Wow, I really like the cast. All three woman are beauties
I really got to like Ichikawa Mikako when I saw her in Blue. Now I'm a fan^^ Hopefully there will be more screentime for her in the next episode.
The rest of the female cast was already very popular for playing in dramas like Long Vacation or Last Christmas (Ryo) or in Trick and Gokusen (Nakama Yukie). That was the main reason for me to watch this.
As for the male cast. I only know Sasaki Kuranosuke from Waraeru Koi wa Shitakunai. Hes super funny.
The first episode was nothing special but I enjoyed it. I look forward to the next episodes.
just watched the first episode.. its an interesting story.. kinda remind me of renai dekinai riyuu a bit (women finding love stories) and i love kento..
gonna watch the next episode.. hope it wont disappointing
The table tennis match between Rin (Nakama) and Naoya (Sasaki) were exciting and funny! Loved the blackout scene where Naoya was running and Rin was whispering, asking for help. So, I guess it's going to be mainly abt Naoya-Rin-Shunpei's love triangle. Rin seem to fall for Shunpei, for now though
Rin's friend, Nanako and the fatty one, Tada-san should have an interesting development in the next episode
Also loved Rin's romance imagination scenes, looks almost like a musical movie
I just finished ep2. I know what you mean. I guess Naoya rubbed me off the wrong way in ep 1. He seemed so untruthful and tries too hard.
Naoya tries to be modest about top 50th dentist, but he writes it on his card --; He tries to be modest about being elite but puts a photo on his card. Not many people put photos on their card --; It kind of makes him fake or untrustworthy. Then he tries too hard to chase after it that it seems like he's after something and it doesn't seem like it's good.
They also don't seem to like the same food until the soba restaurant. That's the only common thing they seem to have with each other. Plus the ping pong. They both seem competitive and he doesn't seem like the type that likes to lose. I still need to be convinced this couple will actually work out.
Junpei is a player. He leeches off females. Definitely a big "NO".
The food guy seems to have completely different interests than Rin. He seems to bore her. Not gonna work.
Maybe they'll introduce a 4th prospective guy? Unless Naoya can gain some more ground to convince me he's the guy for her. I don't like the gambling part amongst the guys either. Makes me thing they're just playing her to see who wins.
Also, it's hard to believe the divorce ceremony party part either. At first I thought she was nuts to divorce her husband over a cat issue. However it seems he's been cheating on her and even got his lover pregnant. Wow that's rough. After all thought she still agreed to have the celebration for an amicable break up? Can such a situation have an amicable break up? And she let people think it's her fault when it's the asses cheating that was the problem? That's so messed up.
btw Yanie, you should have a collection of Mukai's so called "smiles" on your sig LOL hahah They're hilarious.
seirin wrote:I just finished ep2. I know what you mean. I guess Naoya rubbed me off the wrong way in ep 1. He seemed so untruthful and tries too hard.
Yeah, I didn't like Naoya much in Ep1, and he totally didn't suit the male lead role, or rather, the director didn't treat him like the male lead. But I find that good, coz it makes the story unpredictable.
seirin wrote:
They also don't seem to like the same food until the soba restaurant. That's the only common thing they seem to have with each other. Plus the ping pong. They both seem competitive and he doesn't seem like the type that likes to lose. I still need to be convinced this couple will actually work out.
After the spinach soba revelation, I think these two suppose to have many common things. Just that Naoya had always been putting up a front, so they looked different. I'm guessing, Rin would be the woman who can make Naoya feel at ease and being himself.
seirin wrote:
Junpei is a player. He leeches off females. Definitely a big "NO".
Don't like the character nor the actor (love his big brother, though, lol) But I think it's obvious that Shunpei would fall in love with Rin, for real, later. He's just playing around with her now though.
seirin wrote:
The food guy seems to have completely different interests than Rin. He seems to bore her. Not gonna work.
Looking forward to his romance with Rin's friend
seirin wrote:
I don't like the gambling part amongst the guys either. Makes me thing they're just playing her to see who wins.
I find the game part is a good twist of the plot. Rather than a usual start of 6 men and women's romances. I guess this drama is meant to be a story about people who don't believe in love or not good at romance, finding love. Thus, "the fake beginning". But I do see a plothole, since the "dessert" guys aren't suppose to have a strong reason to go as far as what they did for Rin, since the female boss didn't promise them anything. Did she promise the winner money or something?
seirin wrote:btw Yanie, you should have a collection of Mukai's so called "smiles" on your sig LOL hahah They're hilarious.
Haha... I chose this one to be my sig, becoz it was the most hillarious one, imo. The other ones were either mediocre or overdone
Don't like the character nor the actor (love his big brother, though, lol) But I think it's obvious that Shunpei would fall in love with Rin, for real, later. He's just playing around with her now though.
I still can't see them together. Rin already has a hard time taking care of her two siblings. Adding on Junpei, she would have to take care of 3 people. That's too hard on her. Maybe her CEO friend She seems to like young guys and have money to take care of them.
I don't like the actor for Junpei either. It would have been more challenging to choose if they picked better looking actors. Like Junpei acted by Hayami Mokomochi or someone hot. And the food guy acted by Nishijima Hidetoshi or someone similar. That would make choosing the lead a challenge
yanie wrote:
I find the game part is a good twist of the plot. Rather than a usual start of 6 men and women's romances. I guess this drama is meant to be a story about people who don't believe in love or not good at romance, finding love. Thus, "the fake beginning". But I do see a plothole, since the "dessert" guys aren't suppose to have a strong reason to go as far as what they did for Rin, since the female boss didn't promise them anything. Did she promise the winner money or something?
The guys are probably doing it for their egos and out of boredom. If they weren't bored, they wouldn't be hanging out with each other at a bar every night instead of with their friends or girlfriends. But I think the other half is their egos who think they can get any girl. They just don't want to because it's troublesome and females are high maintenance. For Junpei, he thinks he's hot so he can easily pick up chicks. In ep 2 when he called Naoki to tell him about Rin being hurt, he probably thought Naoki was a good enough rival for him. He's an elite. Junpei probably wants to show that being elite can't win out against youth and looks. For Naoki, I think it started out as a something amusing to do. And he probably thinks he's the best pick of the lot because he's elite. But he probably felt it was troublesome since she keeps rejecting him. It wasn't fun at all. In ep2, at first he didn't want to chase after her because it's troublesome. But later he ran to her because he was worried about her. But he finds he's late and Junpei got there before he did.
seirin wrote:
I don't like the actor for Junpei either. It would have been more challenging to choose if they picked better looking actors. Like Junpei acted by Hayami Mokomochi or someone hot. And the food guy acted by Nishijima Hidetoshi or someone similar. That would make choosing the lead a challenge
Word! That would have been a good choice.
I really liked the second episode except for the end...
I don't think Rin will end up with Junpei but that she so easily fell for him sucks. The musicallike scenes were great anyway The table tennis match was great too.
I also don't want to see Rins friends end up with these guys. There just seems to be no chemistry between them.
I first thought this show will be something like Love Revolution but seeing it now its not that similar.[/spoiler]
Since there's still a lot more eps to go, maybe the guys' characters will change?
Gives time for Junpei to get a job and maybe Tada could get some confidence =P
For pairings, I like RinxJunpei. If that's the case than probably NanakoxTada (who else found the matchmaking result hilarious?? xD) which leaves MihoxMatsumoto.
Though, looking at the poster and title opening, RinxMatsumoto is more probable which leaves NanakoxJunpei and MihoxTada cause well, Miho won't have anything to do with a player again would she?
Then again, Jutta-kun (what was his character's name again?) may still be a possibility? An Ikemen extra shouldn't stay as an extra forever :3
Men would fall in love when a woman show her weak moment in front of him and women would fall in love when a man is there for her when she's hurt. Cliche, but perfect (though seem like she's gonna beat the hell outta him on the next moment, lol)
arashilovezs wrote:
Though, looking at the poster and title opening, RinxMatsumoto is more probable which leaves NanakoxJunpei and MihoxTada cause well, Miho won't have anything to do with a player again would she?
Hmm... I think it's definitely going to be TadaxNanako.
As for the rest, it'd be something like this:
Miho -> Naoya -> Rin -> Shunpei
But I dunno, watching the next week's preview, seem like Rin has kinda "notice" Naoya too. And there's gonna be another table tennis match
The romance was so awkward it was funny ^^; I cracked up how he tripped when he wanted to move closer to hug her. It was so awkward unlike other romance dramas where the scenes usually go smoothly and perfectly.
As for Rin and Shunpei, I think it ends after ep 3. She denies liking him but feels frustrated being cheated. Though I think we can guess she did have some feelings for him.
Naoya does seem sincere about Rin. I think next week will be funny LOL Naoya finally get some action ehhe. Rin and Miho chasing after him. He's surely shocked since he's given up trying to pick up females ^^; Rin <-> Naoya <- Miho. Maybe Miho will hitch up with Rin's assistant later
They really need to get rid of Shunpei and it's not quick enough, he's such a miscast and the character is rather creepy. It seems like he's stalking her. Whenever she has problems, he's already there to help her O_o It really can't be coincidence.
BTW anyone know the name of the song they played at the end? It sounds pretty good.
Why? Their relationship was never exclusive from the start. It was Rin who was naive enough to fall for Shunpei without knowing anything about him. Plus the whole setup was just to get Rin back into dating again. In dating, you win some and you lose some, just like how real life works.
Shunpei is just a 'tool' to make the story don't go smooth too fast, so the pace will fit 10-11 eps^^ I'm just glad that Rin is not feeling attached to Shunpei anymore. I hope it'll be just all about NaoyaXRin from now on, I'm fine with a triangle with Miho, as long as Shunpei isn't involved anymore
And really curious! Who's the father of Nanako's child??? ^o^ Her ex-bf or Tadacchi??? I hope its Tadacchi but, her ex-bf is more likely, i guess.
hunterkirualeorio wrote:Why? Their relationship was never exclusive from the start. It was Rin who was naive enough to fall for Shunpei without knowing anything about him. Plus the whole setup was just to get Rin back into dating again. In dating, you win some and you lose some, just like how real life works.
It's not Shunpei playing with Rin. It's the ending of ep 4 that makes me dislike him. But like Yanie says, the story is using him as a tool to give the OTP a hard time. Shunpei is seriously a scary stalker.
At the end of ep 4 just as Naoya was going to kiss Rin, Shunpei calls her to disrupt them. Then he walks towards them and tells Rin that it was a game between him and Naoya to see who can make her fall in love with them. Shunpei is such a sore loser and he's screwing up the couple. If he doesn't win, Naoya can't date her either. Even if Naoya likes her
I think the child is from the ex-bf. I wonder if Tadashi will volunteer to be the father? O_o
At the end of ep 4 just as Naoya was going to kiss Rin, Shunpei calls her to disrupt them. Then he walks towards them and tells Rin that it was a game between him and Naoya to see who can make her fall in love with them. Shunpei is such a sore loser and he's screwing up the couple. If he doesn't win, Naoya can't date her either. Even if Naoya likes her
Shunpei was a jerk, but I was kinda disappointed too, that Naoya didn't immediately deny, at least, a part of what Shunpei told Rin. Or does Naoya still not sure of his own feelings too?
But nevertheless, I enjoyed Naoya-Rin scenes together. The "baked potato / bicycle" scene was a nice move
seirin wrote:
I think the child is from the ex-bf. I wonder if Tadashi will volunteer to be the father? O_o
I guess so. Since the writer emphasized so much that he's such a nice guy
FYI, Ryo, the actress playing Nanako, is actually currently pregnant in real life too
I can't wait to get the full version of the themesong! Love it!
I actually prefer the ending song. Do you know the song title and singer?
As for Naoya not denying...
It started out as a game. So he can't deny Shunpei is wrong. But I think he's really serious about her now. He already did doubt himself if he liked her. After the beginning of ep 4 when he said he likes her. At home he was doubting..."I like her???" After the dinner with Rin's siblings, he learned a bit more about Rin and started appreciating her. When her friend was trying to date him, he grudgingly agreed because he didn't want to hurt her feelings, but he felt uncomfortable when they bumped into Rin and he was caught dating Miho. I think Miho is the instigator to make Naoya face his feelings. Does he like Rin? Or will any female do? I am starting to like Naoya. He seems like a pretty nice guy from the way he considered Miho's feelings.
I wish Shunpei won't appear anymore in the drama --; He's such an annoying brat. I don't care if he really ends up liking Rin or not. I never liked him since the beginning. What he does is just WRONG. Stalking, cheating, and ruining Rin's happiness. I'm surprised though. Rin never questions she's being stalked? She actually thinks every time Shunpei shows up when she's in trouble that it's a coincidence?
Thanks for letting me know. For some reason I thought the theme song was a different one. Maybe I'm watching too many dramas ^^; The BGM is pretty good too I think. I love the ping pong BGM ^^; It kinda reminds me of harry potter or something and makes the scene so magical LOL
I'm definitely going with RinxNaoya cause Shunpei turned out to be such a jerk!
I thought he ditched his girl after he decided to go for Rin.. grr..
Then again, we know he's a kid so he might be confused at his feelings for Rin and can only lash out by being a brat. Though I don't know if I can forgive him even if it were true..
TadaxNanako is cute! OMG Ep 4 was CHOCK FULL of moment when I had a girl-crush on Ryo-chan~ She is sooo prettyy~~ Her hair, her smile
After ep 4 I'm starting to doubt Miho's friendship. It's like she's putting herself forward before her friend or at least moving for the guy too fast.
yanie wrote:
Shunpei was a jerk, but I was kinda disappointed too, that Naoya didn't immediately deny, at least, a part of what Shunpei told Rin. Or does Naoya still not sure of his own feelings too?
But nevertheless, I enjoyed Naoya-Rin scenes together. The "baked potato / bicycle" scene was a nice move
Well, considering that it was the end of the ep, it could just be those scenes that they prolong for suspense. I'm sure that in Ep 5 he'll give his answer straight away :3
And yes! that scene was cute!! He did it so naturally~ ♥ (unlike first hug! though they probably added that for reality and comic relief xD)
yanie wrote:
I guess so. Since the writer emphasized so much that he's such a nice guy
FYI, Ryo, the actress playing Nanako, is actually currently pregnant in real life too
Sou da ne. We can see something nice blossoming there ♥ She doesn't really need the money that she supposedly wants in her husband-to-be since she's working and Tada has a stable job and can take care of her anyway.
Probably going to be some TadaxChildren moments to get Nanako to see him as a potential father and change her "requirements" for a guy.
seirin wrote:
As for Naoya not denying...
It started out as a game. So he can't deny Shunpei is wrong. But I think he's really serious about her now. He already did doubt himself if he liked her. After the beginning of ep 4 when he said he likes her. At home he was doubting..."I like her???" After the dinner with Rin's siblings, he learned a bit more about Rin and started appreciating her. When her friend was trying to date him, he grudgingly agreed because he didn't want to hurt her feelings, but he felt uncomfortable when they bumped into Rin and he was caught dating Miho. I think Miho is the instigator to make Naoya face his feelings. Does he like Rin? Or will any female do? I am starting to like Naoya. He seems like a pretty nice guy from the way he considered Miho's feelings.
I wish Shunpei won't appear anymore in the drama --; He's such an annoying brat. I don't care if he really ends up liking Rin or not. I never liked him since the beginning. What he does is just WRONG. Stalking, cheating, and ruining Rin's happiness. I'm surprised though. Rin never questions she's being stalked? She actually thinks every time Shunpei shows up when she's in trouble that it's a coincidence?
I don't think he agreed to it under the impression that she was trying to date him. It was just dinner and she practically cornered him and used blackmail. She was like "So you're trying to say that you'd rather die than eat with me" then when he denied it out of politeness she jumped on it like it was an acceptance to her invitation and flounced out
Lol I hate Shunpei but I really like Kento-chan.. Haiz.. I know he doesn't deserve anyone but hopefully his character can kind of, mature towards the end..
Seriously, I like this drama but I don't see how it can go on for 9/10 eps.. The most I think is 6 so unless there's some twist or more characters, I hope they don't drag it out and make me dislike it
I don't think he agreed to it under the impression that she was trying to date him. It was just dinner and she practically cornered him and used blackmail. She was like "So you're trying to say that you'd rather die than eat with me" then when he denied it out of politeness she jumped on it like it was an acceptance to her invitation and flounced out
Lol I hate Shunpei but I really like Kento-chan.. Haiz.. I know he doesn't deserve anyone but hopefully his character can kind of, mature towards the end..
It started out as a game but Naoya gave up so early LOL He was so persistent at first I thought it was a turn off. Then he gave up so fast
arashilovezs wrote:
Seriously, I like this drama but I don't see how it can go on for 9/10 eps.. The most I think is 6 so unless there's some twist or more characters, I hope they don't drag it out and make me dislike it
There's still a lot of things to write about. Rin and Naoya still need to develop their relationship. Also, they need to sort out Miho and Naoya and pair Tada and Nanako. Plus the baby. Also, I call for more ping pong scenes. At least once every episode They're one of my favorite scenes now. Rin x Naoya are so competitive, they're funny. It also gives them a chance to treat each other to food. It's uncanny how similar their tastes are.
I agree that Ryo is looking sooooo pretty in this drama! Her hair and the clothes she's wearing are plus points too! ^v^ She looked so lovely on the scene she was looking confused after she did the pregnancy test. I really like that moment when Rin narrated abt love and the screen shows each character's scenes^^
Can't wait for more Naoya-Rin's bickerings next epi^^
And thanks, I'm trying my best but there's so many interruptions
I assume you don't need subs but if you happen to see mine, please do point out any mistakes I might have. I'm working without a spot so I dunno if I'm doing it right @_@
Just saw ep 5. I kinda feel bad for Miho. She really seems to have a rough time finding someone who likes her. Especially with Rin as her friend.
Naoya x Rin couple is cute ^^; Too bad no ping pong game but their bickering makes up for it Rin is so stubborn, it gets kind of annoying at times. She needs to loosen up a bit more. Naoya is trying his best.
The ep 6 preview still seems a bit awkward between them. Hope it gets better in ep 7.
Ep6 I love and agree to so many of the lines in this episode. The writer really did a great job
What Tada said to Nanako on the phone... I cried buckets Somehow I love Tada-Nanako a bit better than Naoya-Rin in this episode.
Loving the ending so much, mwahahaha... hillarious! I did think the neatly folded clothes was suspicious, lol. And the snowy romantic scene before that was perfect!
What makes you think that? But I do wonder how Shunpei knows Tada and Naoya since their age gap is so wide. They mentioned the 3 are friends of Miho's ex-husband so I stopped questioning. Miho's ex seems to be cheating on her so he probably knows many girls and it could be a brother or someone he got to know while out fooling around.
yanie wrote:
Miho need her own plot... kawaisou.
I feel bad for Miho. Maybe she should date the bartender, he seems nice
But no matter who Miho picks, I just hope he doesn't end up falling for Rin Miho has really bad luck in love.
Tada and Nanako phone conversation brought tears to my eyes too. Tada is a really nice guy.
After watching ep 7, I wonder if I'm the only one irritated with Rin.
I love Tadashi x Nanako pairing but Rin x Matsumoto is a bit irritating. But it's because of Rin. I don't find anything wrong with Matsumoto. But Rin gets on my nerves. Almost as much as Shunpei does. I wonder if maybe it's her callousness that caused her last relationship to end.
Rin doesn't seem to consider Matsumoto's feelings at all. I get the feeling she thinks she's all that and that their relationship is so safe, she doesn't need to consider anything.
Considering she was semi-dating Shunpei and had some feelings for him. She still hangs out with him after she starts dating Matsumoto. And she doesn't tell him about it either. He has to find out through Shunpei that she's meeting up with him. Shunpei is low to do so many things underhandedly to break them up. But Rin is just STUPID to let Shunpei play with her relationship with Matsumoto. Doesn't she realize Shunpei is trying to break them up by setting up mistrust? Is she so dense? And does she really expect Matsumoto to believe nothing is going on between her and Shunpei when they promised to meet in Kyoto and she never showed up? And she and Shunpei are hanging out at his OWN condo? That's just a really low blow. They might not be doing anything indecent, but to play such games, is childish. Matsumoto hates games. He finds dating and females troublesome. She should know that. And she tops it off by throwing out the "trust" card. I think if Matsumoto stayed in a hotel room with his assistant in Kyoto, she would think things differently. She wouldn't trust him either. Rin is just setting up her relationship to fail. It's not like Matsumoto isn't a popular guy. Next episode seems interesting. His ex is back. Rin should get a taste of her own medicine.
If I were Matsumoto; In the last scene, I would tell both of them to get out of my apartment and dump Rin.
I've only skipped through Ep7, but I don't think I like what I see I don't know if I'd watch this ep fully.
Perhaps I should just skip to Tada x Nanako scenes.
I find myself getting really frustrated at this show. Seirin, I agree with you, Rin irritated me a lot. Shunpei ~~ arghhhhh! he is just so irritating too and it frustrates me that Rin lets him meddle. I wasn't thrilled with Matsumoto at first but he seems to be a really good guy.
And Miho, yeah, poor lady. I think she should go somewhere Rin isn't or hasn't been. But I like that she is willing to go for what she wants.
My fave couple is Tada x Nanako, they are sweet and the reason I keep watching.
It's odd. Renai Neet is only 9 episodes? Ep 8 preview seems to indicate next week is the finale. I really wonder if they can solve all the problems in the next episode.
On another note, what an odd turn of events. Shunpei seems to be the nice guy now
Maybe because there's not a lot of sweet moments together? As soon as they seem happy together, somebody screws up. First it's Shunpei scheming, then it's Rin being stupid and inconsiderate, then it's Matsumoto on cloud 9 because he forgets his promises and later gets cold feet. Things just don't go smoothly. One more episode left for Matsumoto to wake up or stay a bachelor forever. Tada-san to be more persistent.
Even though Nanako keeps pushing Tada-san away, it's because she lacks confidence. Tada-san needs to tell Nanako what he told Mio about how he feels about Nanako. That might change her mind. Nanako knows Tada-san is a really nice guy and thinks she doesn't deserve him.
Matsumoto and Rin is another story though. The issue seems to be from Matsumoto's end and probably why he's still single ^^;
Rin isn't indecisive. She just wants to be the one to break up rather than be dumped. She knows what's coming since Shunpei told her what's on Matsumoto's mind. I'm surprised she didn't pick it up earlier when Matsumoto gave her the "Don't call me, I'll call you" line. Even the guys were talking about that tag line during guy gossip gathering at Rin's work.
I think the best couple who should end up together should be Nanako x Tada. They both care for each other, but Nanako is lacking confidence. If she wasn't pregnant, she would date Tada-san in an instant. But with the way she is now, she doesn't want pity from Tada-san to take care of her because she's going to have a baby. She thinks Tada-san deserves better and should find a woman who's better than she is.
The Rokechi used in this drama are a bit of a surprise, i.e. very well known areas of Tokyo. Even though I've never lived in Tokyo, I've bought books several times at the book stall in front of the Kinokuniya branch in Shinjuku that appears in episodes 2 and 4, and the background buildings are all very familiar. I wonder how they cleared the immediate area for filming, since this is normally a very busy area.