Drama Thoughts: Love Song (2016)
Love Song (2016)
My Rating*: 8/10
Country: Japan
Type: Drama
Episodes: 10
Cast: Fujiwara Sakura, Fukuyama Masaharu
I remember seeing this drama airing while I was watching some other J-Dramas, but I wasn't sure if I would get around to watching it. I was still newly returned to J-Dramas after all, so it was a big step to be watching them at all (unless they contained members of Arashi, lol, but even then), and watching them while airing was too risky (again, unless they contained members of Arashi, in which case the risk was overlooked, lol). So it was just kind of one of those "maybe" shows for me...until I needed to cover "music" in my Genre Challenge for the year. I was supposed to watch something else for that one, but it didn't work out and my other options weren't great, so I thought "what the heck?" and gave this one a try.
Well, I'm glad I did because it was a really pleasant little drama. It was easy to sympathize with the heroine's struggles and follow along in her story. I liked the characters and how there were many different sides to them, like their jobs and hobbies and personal problems, and how they weren't what you would necessarily expect but somehow fit anyway. Everyone was well casted, including Fukuyama Masaharu, who I have never seen before now but heard about plenty to know he's a seasoned actor. (Looking him up, I see I actually have seen him at least once before.) Fujiwara Sakura was also great here in her debut role; I look forward to seeing more of her on my screen in the future.
The relationships in this show were interesting and realistic to me. I liked the friendship between Sakura and Mami the best (of course, lol). Kamishiro-sensei and Sakura had an interesting connection too, but I'm extremely glad they didn't end up together in the end. It was understandable why Sakura liked him, but I could never see Kamishiro-sensei returning those feelings, which I found refreshing. In the last episode it seems he did admit to loving her, which I wish he hadn't, but at least he had the sense and decency not to act on it once he saw how she was doing without him. Though they were great making music together, I didn't see their personalities meshing well as a couple, and that huge age difference was of course too big of an obstacle to overlook.
It was good to see Sakura and Soraichi had reconnected by the end of the show too, but again, I hope nothing romantic blossomed between those two either. I couldn't see Sakura ever recipocating his feelings enough, not without it feeling like he was her second choice, or even her only choice. (Also, I somewhat guiltily liked him with Yamaguchi Sayaka's character; there was, of course, an age difference there too, but they were interesting.)
Anyway, the best part of the show, as should be the case with any under this genre, was the music. I really loved Sakura's songs and the sound of her voice. I had to grab the OST immediately after I finished watching, haha. I couldn't help but sing along every time the lyrics came on the screen during the show. I'm glad she got some extra promotion as a new artist by doing this show and I hope all of this brings her work as both an actress and a singer in the future.
*My ratings are based on a combination of "quality" (story, characters, pacing, originality, etc.) and my own personal enjoyment. Dramas lacking in one area of "quality" may therefore be rated higher simply because I had fun watching them. I also tend to change my scores over time, as some dramas leave a lasting impression while others become completely forgettable. (Note that ratings here on Livejournal may not match those on MyDramaList as I don't come back to change them, so the ratings here reflect my original impressions.) Generally, anything with a score of 7 or higher had some "quality" to it and was enjoyable for me. Scores below that were lacking in too many areas and had little to no enjoyment factor to make up for it. Even so, I try not to rate too harshly unless I have been really disappointed. Otherwise, I think I am a fairly easy-to-please viewer.