Also The story is really creative. Forget love triangles, how about love octagons lol. But it's the characters that make the show. Tenchou, the main character, is a barista who hardly ever speaks out loud. Much of the show is us hearing his thoughts and laughing at his facial expressions. The other characters are also great. Too many good ones to name. But trust me, "I say this from my experience, my life and my soul," Manhattan Love Story was Great!
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Let's not forget about the actors in the show. Tenchou who barely speaks in this drama was so hilarious! His narrations and his thoughts were so entertaining to listen to. The other characters like Nobuko and Chikura Sensei were really funny also. My favorite lines were "Waaaafffers!" and "I say this from my experience, my life, and my soul."
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It has a unique story concept about love triang-quadri-pent-whatever that just doesn't allow you to stop after the episode has ended. Even though the first episode was kind of normal, immediately after the beginning of the second one you are already in the drama. However, after episode 7 it loses its quality starts swinging which is a shame since it could have been a lot better. The thing that I hated most about this drama's story is the fact that sometimes the action starts and after it started, understands where it should go. In other words, it's like character X goes to location Y without any reason and once he's there he sees that the plot can go on and forces it to continue, which allows a lot of deus ex machina, especially in the ending. Also there are still some elements unexplained after the last episode which is why the story's rating is no more than 8.5/10
The cast was really good, even though I didn't like all the characters (especially Besshii, brr) and the acting was really well done. I must admit that the two main roles were just perfectly played by their actors, notably Tenchou's actor (Matsuoka Masahiro) who was just flawlessly giving all he got to make me always laugh.
The music is good, although not too remarkable but still good. And I really liked the ending song.
So I would suggest from my experience, my life and my soul that you watch this drama.
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Anything by Kudou Kankurou sensei is a GradeA must watch JDorama!
My sister practice this rule of thumb when watching Japanese shows, if Kudou Kankurou sensei was involved, it's a definite must watch! If you think, The Mandalorian is iconic for having an actor able to emote expressions while keeping his mask on 99% of the time, then you haven't seen this yet. The main character (Mabo) barely say anything with other characters and yet was able to express way too many emotions. Like waaay too many. Mabo's character way of expressing disappointment when he witness his own waiter cooking food in his cafe is always a hoot, and my personal favourite, the self-absorbed-pink-ranger-taxi-lady never fails to make me laugh with her roller coaster of emotions throughout the show.But what's this about Kudou Kankurou sensei? I myself was just a basic Weaboo. I was just watching anything Japanese just to learn the language. My basic watchlist was slice- of-life Animes and J-Ent's related shows. But I'm more of a fan from Arashi generation and older, bcuz they were better actors (imo). Since majority of Tokio's related shows were the best, without a doubt I just bought Manhattan Love Story on a whim. Until I finally watched it. That's when I upgraded to a new level of Weaboo. This show has everything Japanese entertainment could offer. Actually this show should be starter pack to people who want to start watching JDoramas. No doubt! MY sister on the other hand couldn't-care-less for JPop culture. I basically annoyed her with my Weaboo-ness. Until, she watched this drama on her own. I didn't even forced her. All I remember was that I told her this sheet was grade-A-WTF-hilarious, and the rest was history. Only like 2 years ago, when I just randomly told her I wanted to re-watch this show again, my sister responded with "Oh Heck yeah! me too! I watch that show like every year!". That was also when my sister finally told me that she has been obsessing with anything by Kudou-sensei, all thanks to this show.
Now, if you have at least watched any of the Kisarazu Cat's Eyes series, you should be aware of this genius of a writer. And if you watched Manhattan Love Story (MLS) after, you should also notice some Easter eggs of his previous shows in MLS as well. Long story short, anything that was written by him, is a definite feel-good kind of show. Though you can sense some french-american influence in the show that he produced, he never fails to make you see Japan at it's best. I tried to re-tell some of his jokes from this show to my friends, but it always sounds like a mehh. You definitely need to watch it to get it, since his jokes also relies on how the actor delivers them. Not forgetting the surroundings, extras, even tv crew that ever appeared in the show. In summary, go watch this show if you haven't yet! Tq. Peace and Love <3
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