9791Egon
London, England
After watching what can only be described as very tame korean, chinese and taiwanese dramas predominantly, I've only recently started watching japanese and I wasn't sure, purely based on the title - whether I was going to like this one. Worth noting that the english subbed version I watched actually called this 'The Novelist' which I think is a more appropriate name given it's about an erotic novelist and his temporary assistant.
The given title however does suggest that there are some sexual content and scenes that some people might not be comfortable with, but none, I would venture are gratuitous or unnecessary to the story.
The story is simple in that a university student literally bumps into an erotic novelist and breaks his arm. As he can't afford the medical expenses associated with the accident he caused, he offers to help the novelist write his stories over the 2 months that his arm is in plaster. The story told over the remaining 2 and a half hours and 5 episodes is just a telling of how their relationship blossoms and how the somewhat naive student has a sexual awakening driven by the content of the novels he's helping to write. The ending is somewhat underwhelming but not unexpected or unsurprising. It just kind of ends which is ok because there isn't much to resolve.
The actors play their roles well with those of the main characters being able to exhibit all the behaviours and emotions probably relevant to a young, naive, eager to please student and a slightly jaded, isolated but experienced middle-aged novelist who appear to come together out of necessity rather than desire.
The music was probably exactly as it should be; in that it just seemed to blend into the narrative. I must admit that some chinese dramas habitually repeat their incidental music and/or play it too loudly so that you can't actually hear the dialogue. This wasn't the case here and moreover, when there were scenes pertaining to music, I liked the use of jazz and the analogue medium of records to demonstrate the differences between the main characters - both in an age and expectation sense.
I would re-watch this in a heartbeat and the length of this drama lends itself to doing so. I would question whether you actually need to re-watch it though as there's not much to miss or understand with either the story or the characters' motivations so watching it once is probably enough... But it's definitely good enough and short enough to warrant revisiting it once in a while.
The given title however does suggest that there are some sexual content and scenes that some people might not be comfortable with, but none, I would venture are gratuitous or unnecessary to the story.
The story is simple in that a university student literally bumps into an erotic novelist and breaks his arm. As he can't afford the medical expenses associated with the accident he caused, he offers to help the novelist write his stories over the 2 months that his arm is in plaster. The story told over the remaining 2 and a half hours and 5 episodes is just a telling of how their relationship blossoms and how the somewhat naive student has a sexual awakening driven by the content of the novels he's helping to write. The ending is somewhat underwhelming but not unexpected or unsurprising. It just kind of ends which is ok because there isn't much to resolve.
The actors play their roles well with those of the main characters being able to exhibit all the behaviours and emotions probably relevant to a young, naive, eager to please student and a slightly jaded, isolated but experienced middle-aged novelist who appear to come together out of necessity rather than desire.
The music was probably exactly as it should be; in that it just seemed to blend into the narrative. I must admit that some chinese dramas habitually repeat their incidental music and/or play it too loudly so that you can't actually hear the dialogue. This wasn't the case here and moreover, when there were scenes pertaining to music, I liked the use of jazz and the analogue medium of records to demonstrate the differences between the main characters - both in an age and expectation sense.
I would re-watch this in a heartbeat and the length of this drama lends itself to doing so. I would question whether you actually need to re-watch it though as there's not much to miss or understand with either the story or the characters' motivations so watching it once is probably enough... But it's definitely good enough and short enough to warrant revisiting it once in a while.
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