Rinko san wa Shite Mitai (2021)

I applaud. I had a great time. I'm excited about this mini series. It was so fresh, kind, humorous and honest.
Amaki Rinko (Takada Kaho) is a perfect 27 year old girl with all the facts. What no one knows, he has no sexual experience. When she accidentally finds out in the bar that even her handsome 27-year-old colleague Kamisaka Gen (Totsuka Shota) is also panics, she confidently invites him to the hotel. They reach an agreement to gain "experience", but their path to "independence and adulthood" is evolving a little more tortuously than they expected ... I don't even write anymore, because it only has a little over 3 hours together, so take a look .

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Good Enough

Japanese Drama "Rinko-san wa Shite Mitai" is an enjoyable drama. It has a predictable story, sure, but it's a fun ride with a couple that had enough chemistry to carry things through till the very finale.

Probably the only problem this drama had, other than some cheesy twists, was that it needed an episode or two to give the couple more time onscreen. But, other than that, the drama had a nice pace and the timeline was well handled. The romance was also pretty sweet and had a lot of lovable moments. But the best thing this series had was the leading lady. She was fun, energetic and she did a great job with her performance. The rest of the cast was pretty enjoyable as well, but she was the real star of the drama.

So, overall, 8 out of 10.

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A confident woman in a Japanese drama ...finally!

I was thoroughly surprised by how fast I would go through this drama it was addicting. I admired how this showed a strong woman lead who knew how to not be talked down to at work, in most Japanese dramas I have seen the main lead just tough it out getting yelled or whatever circumstances but not this lead. So kudos to that! and the layers of both characters were shown the vulnerability of how even if one seems strong they still have that innocent side. I never felt like I wanted to skip ahead or that there were too many conflicts it was all in perfect measurement to me. The right amount of all those elements makes a great romance. The chemistry was Phenomenal! If you want something short, sweet and refreshing I recommend this one especially if you have just finished a hefty drama that was an upset let this one pick you up!

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A kiss is never just a kiss

Once again, j-drama delivers a short, sweet, heartfelt romance with conviction. Our leads share great visuals, and you can sense the attraction between the two which translated to oodles of chemistry. Of course, it would not be a drama if everything is smooth sailing, but we are fully onboard for the ride.

Consider the short run-time of this drama, I am pleasantly surprised by the depth in the leads portrayals. They feel well nuanced and fleshed out. The vocalising of their inner thoughts allow us a great deal of insights into their psyches. It is an effective and impactful tool. The pacing is spot on. There is never a dull moment, but the show doesn’t feel rushed either.
The writer-san played the SML and SFL card intelligently. They are not used as the token antagonists to create tension and angst. Their intrusion into their bubble reality forced the leads to examine their true feelings and confront some uncomfortable truths.

There are three particular aspects that I really liked. Firstly, the FL is not the usual bubbly, giddy stereotype. She is a well-respected professional in her own right, but she is naïve in love. This vulnerability endears her to us and this extends to the ML when we find out more about him later in the show. This brings us to the second point; I think it is very clever of the writer-san to flip the perspective between the leads. We get a chance to feel his confusion, excitement and pain which is usually hidden behind the professional demeanours. Finally, while their meet-cute sets them up as friends with benefits, their skinship is not egregious. It is an integral part of their relationship and eventual growth. It is handled thoughtfully and delicately. There are some seriously swoon worthy moments.

The acting from our leads is on point and with a lot of heart and deft touches. There are good performances from the support cast as well and I’m definitely getting second lead syndrome vibes.

The ending is poetic and perfect. I love the kiss motif being used at both ends of the show to signify the final breakthrough in their relationship.

I have no problem recommending this show. It will lift your spirit and restore your faith in love.
Production value is good. OST is well integrated.

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very sweet mini series

I started this drama without knowing anything about it and I'm so glad I did it because I loved every second of it, yes the plot is very simple and predictable but the cast made it to a heartwarming and very sweet love story.
I feel in love with the FL immediately, Takada Kaho plays her role perfectly! I love how independent and confident in her job Rinko is. Her expressions throughout the series were great and really entertaining. She is just a really loveable character.
Overall both main leads did a fabulous job. The romance between them was pretty sweet and they had many lovable moments and most importantly they had a great chemistry.
The whole cast did a great job, all of them made it to an fun and enjoyable journey. If you want something to watch in between some heavy dramas or just search for an easy watch I highly recommend "Rinko-san wa Shite Mitai"

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Great Romcom For Weekend

I'm so glad that I did not skip this show. Usually I woudn't waste time watching anything lower than 8.0 jdrama because might be some typical predictable plot romance show. You will be surprised that the show's value should be way much higher than 7.0 rating.

FL is pretty, you just can't stop watching her expressions and wonder what she would react next. Finally I can see some non-puffy six pack ML in jdrama. Most of the jshow, ML is way too thin (for my taste lol).

Anyone who loves no drama, chill, romcom, not lengthy - you should watch this. Definitely worth your time to binge on the weekend.

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Well-Crafted, Practically Perfect Romantic Drama With Rom-com Feel.

I loved the strong female lead; both the actress and the way her character is written. The actress had great comedic sense and portrayed a wide range of emotions with nuance. Her eyes are very expressive. The male lead is well matched with her and they have great chemistry. He was good at acting stoic as the character with emotions underneath the surface. I couldn't always tell what the emotions were, but I could see they were there. I also had second lead syndrome (for the actor and the way the 2nd male lead was written) and I liked the way the triangle was sorted out in the end.

Consistent build of emotions and tension through all 8 episodes. Did not fast-forward through anything, even the third time I watched it. The blend of sweetness/cuteness, humor, desire, pining, love, and angst lead to a very satisfying experience. There's a lot of well done comedic moments, many of which nade me chuckle or laugh out loud. I'm especially impressed with the consistent undercurrent of emotional angst that was built on easily believable emotions, perceptions, and misconceptions based on story situations. Yet the plot never felt forced. The angst was so well balanced with feel-good moments that it didn't make the series feel heavy, even though there was a lot of it. It was satisfactorily resolved, so it hurt perfectly!

The ending is a clever twist on a common rom-com cliché and was very satisfying.

The mostly instrumental music fit very well and there were some beautifully shot scenes. The script and dialogue are very natural and didn't have any clichéd lines (at least none that I remember).

Ep 7 is from the ML point of view.

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Mini-série très cute

Réalisation très japonaise pour cette mini-série, qui relate la relation entre une workwoman vierge et un collègue handsome.
Ils nouent une relation avant tout sexuelle, mais le thème est traité avec finesse, respect et subtilité. Les liens ainsi créés vont se renforcer jusqu'à l'amour.

J'ai beaucoup apprécié le jeu des acteurs, qui donnent vie avec talent aux personnages.
Le CL est génial. Le ML est presque transparent malgré sa pokerface, tout en micro-expressions, et la FL est franche /honnête et très kawaï.
Les personnages secondaires apparaissent moins, mais les acteurs "donnent assez" pour que l'on comprenne leur caractère et leurs sentiments.

Le style japonais de ce drama est parfait :
- rapide : tout est dit (en 8 X 30 min.), mais il n'y a que l’essentiel et l'important,
- les thèmes sont traités comme de l’impressionnisme (tout est dit "à petites touches")
- on y retrouve des aspects récurrents : valeur du travail, place de la femme, célibat, vie sexuelle, pro-activité des filles dans les relations,
etc.

Les OST sont adaptés (excellents pour ceux qui aiment la J pop)...

Bref, ne le ratez pas, vous passerez un excellent moment !

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This drama was binged before it even made my currently watching list, as I just kep pressing that next episode button and before I knew it it was 1 am and it was done.

It starts off with the female lead and the male lead in bed, as the nale lead takes of his shirt to show us his very well cisseled upper body. She then changes her mind and they cut to her day to day life personality and not so nice thoughts about the male lead whoem we just saw undress on top of her ... taking us on a journey through hate to lust to missunderstandigs... All surrounded by hot steam and a whole lot of bare skin. And consent!

I love the characters in this drama as are a lot of fun to watch, both personalities and efforts put in to presenting their bodies. However I had to lower the score due to badly preformed moments of over the top comedy. For those who have seen the American show Crazy ex Girlfriend there are momnts that reminded me of that show just badly done...

Fortuatly there where only few of those but without them this could have been a 9 puerly due to entertainment value.

A drama I recommend to most who can handle some steam, skin and smoke...

P.s The male lead smokes a lot, and had me googling smoking laws in japa it is leagal to smoke in small bars who do not serve food, and certain floors in hotells in Japan...

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Easy Watch, Good chemistry and Cool FL

Completed - 1/16/2022 - Subjective 8.5; Objective 7.5-8.0

From a personal enjoyment level, I am rating this a 8.5 (upgrading from my initial 8.0), but objectively, it's probably a 7.5-8.0. I might just be in the mood for a light, short, simple drama and my gut tells me that I really enjoyed it.

The drama itself is quite predictable and nothing really surprises me. It's refreshing to see a female lead in a Japanese drama that is independent and strong at work. She's a pro badass and won't be talked down too. She seems perfect from the outside, but actually quite innocent and insecure when it comes to love. On the other end, we have a male lead who seems cool on the outside (quite typical) but indeed is just as vulnerable. I do want him to be a little more vocal and took the initiative sooner. I like the scenes when they leads are together and they have good chemistry.

Takada Kaho (FL) is so pretty in this drama. I really like her acting and she has big expressive eyes. I also love her all her outfits. I don't find Toshuka Sota (ML) to be handsome, but I do think he fits in the personality of the lead. On the contrary, Izuka Kenta (2ML) is dreamy and sexy. He looks his age (35) and totally not the young college student in the "Pornographer".

For a drama about de-flowering and rated R, the sexual content is quite mild. There a couple somewhat intimate scenes, but nothing too explicit. The intimate scenes were done right and very romantic. I actually wanted a few passionate kisses but didn't get that.

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First and foremost, my rating is probably lower than it should be, because I am not this show's target audience. Nonetheless, I found aspects of this show thoroughly enjoyable and I do recommend.

As someone on the ace spec, I couldn't really connect with with the driving plot. And some scenes relating to it, especially in the first episode, felt pretty cringy - probably in part due to this fact.

But with complete sincerity, there were plenty of moments that had me giggling, face-palming, and/or cheering. So, I would consider the story an overall success. The characters' chemistry had me rooting for them from the very beginning - I never swayed towards the second lead (although he does deserve happiness as well - they never turned him into a villain (I am so happy about that)). And the duality present in all the characters was intriguing, but felt organic, natural, and not-at-all overdone. As such, the actors did a fantastic job.

The intro sequence music personally annoyed me, it seemed excessively preppy, and was much louder than the rest of the show. But the show does have a good bit of rewatch value, especially when you get the male lead's perspective towards the end of everything that had happened so far.

And for those looking for spicier Asian dramas, this is a pretty good one.

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