#i wish these made more sense together but sometimes u need a chief maki with cat break i guess

[tomoyoo]

Himitsu – The Top Secret by Reiko Shimizu

[myinnersoul1412]

My personal comment on the Ossan Love HK remake

Please don't flame if you don't agree. The review is based on my take of the original Japanese Ossan Love 2018 after rewatching it over 10 times lol... Spoilers below

Story:7.5/10

Even though the number of episodes are doubled, the interactions among the main leads remain mostly the same and the emotional climax of certain scenes are lost

( A Tian/Haruta here doesn't even show a single expression of jealousy after finding out Darren/Takegawa is A Muk/Maki ex boyfriend and it 1-2 eps between this revelation and the backhug so I'm like...???)

Due to the episode count advantage, the HK version spends more time explaining the mentality before and after the breakup. Some ppl say the Japanese version was too sudden, though even in my first watch I didn't feel it was sudden at all : it was subtle but indeed there and expressed throughout Kento great acting... Though some overlooked or didn't see that at all😑

Due to the addition of too many subplots for the side couples ( chef and the maika san, Choko and Maro, Chief and wife, Chizu and Haruta ), the plots felt diluted as I'm not really interested in their stores, but I heard the plot for these couples are not bad

The emotional entanglement with Chizu here is quite bad and..unfinished.. Like in one episode before, Haruta was trying to kiss Chizu and then the next episode, the backhug happened and the dating phase began.

There were quite a lot of fanservice and lovely dovey since, which I think a lot of ppl, especially younger ones would like, but for my personal taste I find it too cheesy ( taking Polaroid photos together, couple bracelets, feeding each other etc...)

The HK version completely omitted the part where Haruta tried his best to cook glutinous inedible porridge for Maki when Maki got sick, but in the HK version, A Tian was on a business trip with KK( the chief in HK ver)

The later episode 13 and 14 leave some time for the viewers to digest the emotions so it's not bad

Due to the episode number advantage, there's more time to express each emotion phase as compared to the Japanese version ( which was done n conveyed skillfully by the actors acting, but could get overlooked cause the events in the last episode happened in a whirlwind and especially if the viewer actually paying attention to little expression changes and the mood.

So the Hk version would actually fit those whom went "wtf why" at the breakup scene, who would prefer a more obvious transition of emotions.

The pacing for the episodes after the break up, explaining the living together situation with the chief is quite good, although A muk is quite indecisive here so it's also slightly more frustrating. But overall from the breakup onwards, the plot gets quite good and not as rushed as the original version (damn Tv asashi why u cut down 2 eps of the original series)

Acting/Cast: 7/10

A Tian/ Haruta :this role makes me realize how good an actor Tanaka Kei is... He made Haruta to be so confused and insensitive but at the same time so lovable. But for the HK version, I do feel the need to punch him sometimes. I guess the acting is not delicate enough, but I won't say much since the number of years difference in acting experience is too big anyway. But generally, A Tian made me want to punch him quite a few times

A Muk/ Maki actor is quite good looking though he looks quite stiff, without much expression for the first 10 eps. He got better later on though. Tbh, the HK version of Maki is quite... bland. Maki in the jp version is this bitchy and yet adorable young man, that can be super cool when it comes to work. He also generally has a sad atmosphere due to his 'unrequited' feeling, but only at the appropriate timings when it matters. But for A Muk, he's just generally sad most of the time.I guess it's due to the changes in script and role interpretation.

But really, from the first ep up until ep 10, I barely feel any affection that A Tian has for A Muk so when A Muk proposed that they dated, it felt a bit confusing and out of no where. In the Japanese version however, I could always feel that Maki was special to Haruta in some way, and that romantic affection was triggered by Tagekawa - Maki handholding and Maki attempting to leave series of events. In the remake, the emotional flow n climax of this mini arc was just gone...

In the remake however, they made up for more lovely dovey scenes between A Tian and A Muk during their dates,so I guess it's a good thing (though the fact that they're suddenly so lovely dovey, getting matching bracelets, feeding each other all of sudden don't make much sense to me when A Tian is still a bit hazy about their relationship but I take that as the dynamics of this duo as a couple, n ofc some fanservice )

But honestly in the HK remake, I can't feel A Tian/Haruta affection for A Muk/ Maki at all so this love story feels totally one sided from A Muk up until the breakup point.I have read some comments saying that why is A Tian even crying and I see where they came from

( and hence I deem those statements saying that Haruta/Maki having less chemistry than A Tian! A Muk as invalid to me. Everyone is free to have their opinions ofc, but Haruta affection for Maki in the original series was palpable in the mood even if there were not any tangible specific events.)

Music:7/10

The chemistry in the HK version only starts to pick up after the breakup event ironically, but because of the feeling /psychology transition was done not so good due to script and difference in acting ability, I don't feel as invested emotionally but I do still wish A Muk all the best because he's been suffering too much in the HK version

In the HK, I can't feel the raw emotions as in the original version but it's not bad too

They use piano songs during emotional moments but the same song is being used throughout all the emotional moments makes it a bit err... The piano sounds are even a bit too digital for my taste but that's just me. The general vibe of the osts are the same as the original 2018 series, but there are no climax/ orchestra pieces so in terms of ost, the original definitely did a much better job.

However the opening song for the HK version is quite nice and fitting for the vibe of the two leads

Re-watch value

Maybe I'll re-watch again after I can detach myself from the original 2018 series...

Again these are all my personal opinions and I tried to phrase it as respectfully as possible.

Overall :7/10, overall better than I expected