dinner in america is one of those movies that is so fucking good and delightful and important that i want everyone in the world to watch it but at the same time it’s like wait no get your hands off of them that’s MY emotional support freak4freak couple …. u know?!?
JDrama Challenge Day 6 : A drama you dropped in 2025
Love You As The World Ends
As a person who loves survival-themed shows, surprisingly, I could only go as far as Season 3. Why? One might ask... Read more below for the reveal. Spoilers and Trigger Warning alert! (Read at your own risk)
This.
Is.
Why.
and there are more deaths than these, with even more gory scenes that I don't dare to upload :')
I am aware it is a zombie drama, characters are subjected to die anyway... but come on, you could have at least make a proper plot so that us viewers are given proper time to grief for each characters. Every single character sacrificed above had just gained their own reason to live and instantly moments later, they were killed :) I genuinely believe the director/writer of this series is allergic to happiness because why would you-
And what impelled me to drop the drama is how they make this series all about the angsty love story between Hibiki and Kurumi— only to see them being separated most of the time, sacrificing so many side characters just to allow them to meet for a couple of episodes... and then the female lead got infected and eventually died in Season 3. They have a baby together too, but the male lead can't even be with his own kid. So what's the point-
I'm honestly disappointed because I expected a lot from this drama— looking at the line of promising casts each season :(
JDrama Challenge Day 5 : A visually beautiful 2025 drama
I honestly didn't watch that many dramas in 2025, but if i have to choose— it has to be either Gannibal or Shiawase Kanako no Koroshiya Seikatsu.
While Gannibal is both stunning in its gripping plot and striking cinematography, I have to say, I'm more of a cheery slice-of-life kinda gal, and hence I choose...
I feel like this drama leans into the aesthetics and elegance of modern Japanese living (for example, look at the apartments' design), while making thoughtful use of wide shots to highlight the contrast between the protagonist and her surroundings. (if it makes sense lol)
JDrama Challenge Day 4 : Favorite original song from a 2025 drama
This particular scene feels like the most relieving moment you can get out of the entire Gannibal series. The background music is spot-on, it fits the moment so well and somehow I couldn't get it out of my head after a while. I'm still not sure if it's an original track created for the drama, and I tried searching for it everywhere but no luck :( If anyone knows where to find this song, please let me know!
JDrama Challenge Day 3 : Favorite actor discovered in 2025
Kanata Hosoda
I was in the mood to watch badass female characters— which honestly, my mood for the entire year of 2025 lol. Female protagonists all the way! That's when I decided to give Knuckle Girl a try.... and that was also the exact moment I accidentally discovered the man I am currently and very enthusiastically obsessed with: Kanata Hosoda.
In the movie, he plays this nonchalant supporting character who teams up with the female lead on her "sister-rescue mission". And listen— when I tell you I was not prepared for how good of a fighter his character was. Seeing Kanata Hosoda pull off a fighter role despite his almost fragile-looking appearance was not on my 2025 bingo card haha. That said, there was one funny detail I couldn't help but notice— his stunt double handled most of the action scenes, and yes, I noticed it immediately 🤣 a part of me wished we got more of him throwing hands on screen instead. Hopefully in the future he takes on more action roles where he gets to do it himself, because I know he has the potential.
Naturally, after the movie ended, I ran straight to his MyDramaList profile (as any fangirl does) , which led me to Drop (2023). And that drama? Spectacular, everything I could have asked for. I mean how could it not be? It has my favorite genre, my favorite actor as the main lead, and one of my favorite trope in yankee dramas— a weak guy trying to become a yankee for the first time, only to somehow end up as a legendary figure among rival clans. *Chef's kiss*
Kanata Hosoda is criminally underrated. He's sweet, cute, handsome and ridiculously charming. I love watching him act and express emotions in his own unique style— it feels natural and very much like him. He can easily pull off any kind of character, whether it's someone calm and intelligent or completely dumb and oblivious (and somehow still adorable). I'm so excited to continue supporting my man this year and see what future has in store for him.
JDrama Challenge Day 2 : Favorite actress discovered in 2025
Izawa Saori
I technically discovered Izawa Saori some time ago, but I'd say I truly fell in love with her after finally giving Baby Assassins a proper watch this year.
What fascinated me the most was learning that she is, first and foremost, a stuntwoman. In many of her previous roles, she served as her own stunt double— which explains her natural gravitation toward action-heavy roles.
I admire her simply because of how talented and undeniably badass she is. She has trained in multiple martial arts for her career, and one skill that really stood out to me was her sword work. Watching her wield a blade with such confidence and precision actually inspired me to try learning sword fighting myself.
She is undeniably gorgeous, stylish, cool and charismatic. I was taken aback by how good she is at acting too, especially for someone who doesn't consider acting as her main profession. Despite her poker-faced expression, she managed to convey a wide range of emotions in Baby Assassins, proving her versatility on screen. I could easily write several more paragraphs about why and how much I love her, but that might be a bit too much for one post. I hope that she won't remain underrated and that she will be given many more acting opportunities to shine beyond her usual roles.
How are you? Genki desu ka?
I hope you are well, wherever you may be—surrounded by small, peaceful moments that make life feel kind.
There are many things I’ve never said aloud, so I will leave them here with you.
Iwa-san, you may not know me, and perhaps you never will, but to me, you feel familiar—like a presence I’ve always known, even before I had words for it. In a season when I felt untethered from the world, when my heart was quietly giving up, I found you. Not in the way people usually meet, but gently—through moments, through care, through the way you existed beside others.
I saw you with Mio, the girl you chose to protect, and with Ryo-san, Nurari-san, and Uta-san. The way you lived together felt warm and unhurried, like a light left on in the evening. And as I watched from far away, something in me softened. I stayed.
The night you helped Mio, when she was hurt and afraid—do you know what that night meant to me? As you stood between her and her pain, I felt as though something unseen was standing beside me too. I had been longing for someone to trust, someone gentle enough to stay. Without realizing it, you filled that empty space, if only for a moment.
Watching Mio grow, little by little, into someone more certain of herself was bittersweet. I admired her, and at the same time, I envied the life you shared. Not because I wished to take her place—but because what you had together felt like something I had always searched for. A quiet, chosen family. A place where one could rest without pretending.
To me, all of you together felt like home.
And yet, some homes can only be looked at, never entered. I understand that now. No matter how close it feels, there is a distance I cannot cross. Still, even from afar, that warmth reaches me. Even knowing I cannot belong there, I am grateful it exists.
Iwa-san, you are kindness made gentle. You put others first without asking to be seen. The way you look after Mio—the way you protect her heart, the way you speak to her with such care—those moments stay with me. The simple words you give her each day, “Have a good day,” “Welcome home,” are small, but they carry a weight that lingers. I imagine how it would feel to hear those words meant for me, and my heart grows quiet.
When Mio was tired and you sat beside her, bringing snacks, saying nothing unnecessary—those moments felt sacred. As if the world had paused just long enough to allow someone to feel safe. Watching that, I realized how deeply I long to find that kind of connection someday. Someone to trust. Somewhere to belong.
Next year, I’m going to Japan. I don’t know what I’m truly searching for, but I know my heart will wander to the place where you are “meant” to be. I wonder—will I feel it? That warmth? That sense of being welcomed, even if only in memory? Will the air itself feel familiar?
Perhaps some homes live only in the heart. Perhaps they are not places we return to, but places that quietly save us.
Even if you're not there, I know what home feels like.
This drama has a little bit of everything I want in a drama; suspense, action, comedy, badass female lead, a little sad backstory of the main lead and a hint of romance — although, i do have one complain... and that is, this drama is too short. Hopefully they'll consider making season 2 :)
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