Friends Review
Tomoko, a sales associate in Tokyo, is left stranded on the crowded streets of Hong Kong as her friend runs off to meet her boyfriend. With no sense of direction in an unfamiliar country with no one to guide her, Tomoko isn't having a very good day. To add to her misfortune, her purse is stolen by a man wearing a white New York cap. Ji hoon is a Korean student and aspiring director shooting an amateur film in the streets of Hong Kong. Since he's wearing a similar cap the man who stole her purse was wearing, Tomoko mistakenly tackles Ji hoon to the ground demanding that he return her purse. After the misunderstanding is resolved and the purse recovered, Ji hoon asks Tomoko to star in his film. With the film's completion and their trip in Hong Kong coming to a close, Ji hoon and Tomoko exchange emails as they've established a friendship. Upon returning home, the two exchange emails even though neither one can neither speak nor read the other's language. Will this relationship progress into romance or will it, like the title perhaps implies, just stay a long distance relationship between "friends"?
Considering the fact that this drama was the first co-production between Japan and Korea, the story wasn't too bad. In fact, it was rather cute with the whole long distance relationship aspect between two people from different nations in Asia meeting in another Asian country. The story was able to show the different points of views coming from two different sides (Japan and Korea) as well as the expectations the society had for its citizens. It was a nice blending of cultures.
Tomoko played by Fukada Kyoko was adorable in appearance however; Fukada's acting was very horrible. It seemed like she was faking the whole time; it was very unnatural which made her character very annoying. As for Ji hoon (played by Won Bin), his acting far outshined that of Fukada with his childish smile, adolescent attitude, and maturity as the story progressed. The other characters in the story didn't have a big part in the drama however; their acting was very well played with their show of generosity, acceptance, and jealousy. Some of the other characters included Yada Akiko, Lee Dong Gun, and Han Hye Jin who acted very well as friends of either Tomoko or Ji hoon.
The drama was only four episodes long which is very short considering the usual lengths of Japanese and Korean dramas. Regardless, within four episodes, the story ended when it needed to be ended since I couldn't see it progress any further than it did.
The series provided some good drama and light humor. Of course, there were some signs of romance in the series, but I don't think that's what the director really wanted to get out of it. It's more likely that he wanted to show that different people could have a long distance relationship even though their cultures are different and that these relationships could turn into something more.
Unfortunately, music was minimal in this series. The music was kind of like the kind you'd here in a waiting room. It wasn't very exciting. You really won't be watching this for the music anyways, as it's quite short and there aren't many tracks.
This is a drama that anyone can watch. It's good to see how different cultures can interact with each other which is a pretty good learning experience. Even though Fukada's acting was bothersome in this series, I'd recommend that you watch it for the other actors that are in it. After all, there's the Korean heartthrob, Won Bin, acting as the male lead. Also, this drama isn't very long so it's really easy to get through it unlike other dramas that have so many episodes. All in all, this wasn't a bad series.
Written by Chiyuffie
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Friends Cast Won Bin as Kim Ji Hoon
Fukada Kyoko as Asai Tomoko
Lee Dong Gun as Park Kyung Joo
Han Hye Jin as Park Hye Jin
Yada Akiko as Yamagishi Yuko
Toda Naho as Kaneda Midori
Ozawa Yukiyoshi as Sakamaki Shouta