Love Song (2016)

The drama started off with a female character whom I thought was mute, and so I asked myself... "Is this another Orange Days kind of drama?" However I was proven wrong as I watched the drama and got more involved with the characters.

What I would like to point out about this drama is not the story line, since THAT seems a bit of a cliché in all areas of the series. To make a short summary out of it though, the story is about a troubled young woman named Sano Sakura who falls in love with a middle aged guy named Kohei Kamishiro who was formerly a musician and producer but currently working as a doctor. Now insert the friends of both these main characters, the story starts to unfold and becomes more meaningful than the main plot.

Now off to where I want to focus, Sano Sakura. She is such a beautiful character, I love how lively she is despite being different from everyone else. I am debating with my inner self whether to indicate here what exactly her problem is, but I decided not to. Since this is supposed to be an element of surprise which the viewer needs some getting used to. Aside that, the people surrounding Sakura are her genuine best friends because they are the only people who were able to accept her as she is and this is what hit a special place in my heart. This kind of involvement with selected people can be related in actual life. It gave me this sense of realization and I got to question myself, “Do I really have people like this in my life?” because in this day and age of socialization, it is too hard to discern who is legitimate or not. Sakura on the other hand alienated herself from other people because she was afraid and embarrassed of her condition. Due to her troubles, she met Kohei Kamishiro by chance and because of this, her world expanded. Music was introduced to her and gave her a new reason for living, at the same time other people slowly became part of her small circle of friends which gave her more courage to live the way she wanted to. There’s also this line that Kamishiro told her, “It only takes seven seconds of courage. If you could get your courage up for those seven seconds then your world will change.” Those words left Sakura with such a huge impression.

The other sub characters in the drama are all vital because without them, Sakura and Kamishiro will not be able to move forward and grow out of their own shells. I would like to specifically mention Mami, Sakura’s best friend. This girl who used to be a bar hostess had all the spunk a woman can have. She’s brave, smart, loving and she is the perfect fit for Sakura as a friend. To complete the circle there is also Soraichi, the troubled guy best friend who in my opinion is such a loud ass. Sorry for the choice of word, but he is really loud in this drama. However, despite that, he is loyal and he would do everything for the people he love. Thus this would have completed Sakura’s life even if music did not come around.

Acting wise, everyone was great and they were able to portray their characters so well that I cried a lot on specific scenes when my heart was too moved to even smile. Another noteworthy thing in this drama is the voice of Fujiwara Sakura, I find it amusing that they also used her real name as her character’s name. It’s unbelievable that this is her debut drama since her acting and voice is so legitimate and amazing. The songs for the drama were so beautiful that it really fit the whole theme of the series.

I’m definitely recommending this to people who are looking for a drama with a different perspective about life, love and music.

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"Love Song" is a neat little drama about music. It manages to be impressive in almost every way aside from its somewhat bland plot.

STORY:
“Love Song” is not a particularly unique show. For the most part, it is a fairly generic story about a person who finds meaning to her life with music. While this plot may seem boring and overused to many people, the show also attempts to stand out from the rest by introducing elements like Sakura’s stuttering (which, in my opinion, helps the story greatly). The reason why I kept watching the show was not because of the plot, but because of how likable and engaging all the characters in the show were. Two characters that stood out to me would be the two main leads, which would be Sakura Sano and Kohei Kamishiro. Their relationship together in the show is a highlight that really helps the show despite its plot.

If there’s anything plot-wise that the show excels at, it would be character development. You can really see the growth in both Sakura and Kohei by the time the series ends. The theme of moving forward is exemplified through the characters that inhabit the show.

The show’s first half, I must say, is, however stronger than the second half. “Love Song” shows attempts at originality in the first arc, but slowly loses its quality as the series goes on. However, this is not to say that the show ends off poorly. It is just lackluster compared to potential shown in the beginning.

ACTING:
The acting in this show is amazing. As many other commenters have said, Fujiwara Sakura’s performance as Sakura Sano is fantastic. Despite this being her time acting, Fujiwara manages to be both a captivating and charming lead. Other characters are played extremely well too, although Fujiwara still continues to steal the spotlight every time she shows up. Masaharu Fukuyama is also fantastic as the male lead and is, in my opinion, perfectly cast as Kamishiro. Him and Fujiwara have fantastic chemistry, which makes their interactions a joy to watch. The reason why I rated this show an 8/10 despite its plot is because of the great performances found in “Love Song.”

MUSIC:
A show about music should have great music. Thankfully, “Love Song” manages to impress with its fantastic but small soundtrack. The theme song, being Fujiwara’s “Soup,” is an absolutely fantastic song. Other songs, such as “Suki Yo Suki Yo Suki Yo” and “500 Miles” (which is a cover) are fantastic additions to the musicality of the show as well. Of course, because of its small soundtrack size, the show ends up playing these three songs very often, so viewers will eventually find themselves very familiar with the music before the series ends. I became a fan of Fujiwara’s music thanks to this show, so I didn’t particularly mind the repetition in terms of the music on the show.

FINAL THOUGHTS:
“Love Song” is far from perfect. The second half of the show suffers from a slight decline in plot quality, and the ending is rather rushed. However, thanks to its strong music and acting, “Love Song” gets an 8 from me.

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