Fan reviews: Karei naru Ichizoku

ester_grace · 7 Dec 2010

another brilliant work from takuya
the ending was soooooooo touching
but WHY?????????

KimiJaciKai · 21 Sep 2008

this drama was simply AMAZING - I knew Kimura Takuya was supposed to be quite popular but I prefer school dramas so was avoiding all of his but I caved in and I'm glad I did coz this was just...wow...He's such a good actor, almost like a Japanese Al Pacino =P. I actually sobbed proper tears during this, especially at the end. I'd have given it a 10 if it weren't for such a devistating ending =S

fre3domlin · 1 Aug 2008

this drama has a very interesting plot n twists in the story really different fm the other j dramas..really interesting n unpredictable especially for the ending..this drama has a touch of everything..romance, family, politics etc..HIGHLY RECOMMENDED TO WATCH!!

JapanAi · 5 Jul 2008

I watched many many doramas, but no dorama such was moving like "Karei".
An epic and big story and great score.
It is very intense. Even hard men will cry... eventhough it is no love story!

yon · 19 May 2008

For me, it's the best dorama ever acted by Kimutaku..
No wonder he won an award for this role..

Tukata · 19 Mar 2008

Takuya Kimura might have been the most popular actor among many other Japanese fans, however, in my personal opinion, in all his TV series which I have seen, I can only saw "Takuya Kimura" himself but hardly the characters he acted in. Acting is such a challenging career and it proves your skill to "act". For me, he can't be counted as a good actor. He is always his own self. Honestly, starting from the first chapter, just seeing his hair style, I wonder whether the 'Executives' in the late 60's in Japan, in particular, would wear that Takuya hair style ? ...... needless to say more...

The plot however, is very interesting. It shows how people could be so ruthless and cruel...c'est la vie... bad guy lives....

sadacori · 17 Sep 2007

I have to be honest. This drama didn't catch my attention until the last few episodes. I struggled through it because of all the financial talk, a topic that rarely interests me. That's not to say that this is a bad drama in any way.

Along with the financial storyline, this story basically revolves around the strife between a father and son and their rich, yet dysfunctional family. As each episode goes on, it shows how a seemingly-perfect family also has its flaws and its share of dark and dirty secrets.

Kimura Takuya was excellent as the lead character in this drama. He was dashing and very likeable as Manpyo Teppei, the elder son of the Manpyo clan. Another noteworthy character is Takasu Aiko (Suzuki Kyoka), the scheming mistress of Manpyo Daisuke. She is cool as ice and just the type of character that you love to hate.

With such a grand cast and a great storyline, I wish that this drama was more watchable than people made it seem. Or maybe I watched it when I was in the wrong mood or didn't pay attention to it enough. Whatever the case, I do recommend this, but only if you're into mature storylines. (Fangirls/boys need not apply.)

Eyeyore · 27 Aug 2007

Suzuki Kyoka's presence as the mistress was awesome in comparison to her miget rival. The music score is great

I just feel the drama didn't do as well as Shiroi Kyoto which also carries a controversial theme and was also written for a different era, a trademark of the authoress. The film set, make-up and costume setting were too modern for the 1960s. Taking Shanghai's coastline as Tokyo in the 1960s added to the distraction in this whole drama because that coastline is unmistakenably Shanghai's famous landmark !

This is the first time i see Takuya in so many monologues - tough job but nonetheless, this is Takuya's best piece.

My palms are sweaty everytime there the music reaches a climax.too intense.

BTW, the opening scene of Karei is so captivating that I suspect HK-TVB's new drama, The Drive of Life, did a copycat of Karei in their opening too.

iwan · 20 Jul 2007

absolutely sugoi dorama!!!! it's very top class drama. highest recommended to watch. Mampyo Teppei dream can be influenced so many people to move their heart!!! the best drama I've ever seen in my life. The plot is not only a romance. it's full of intric, politics, father-son battles and other conflict that make it so complex. but the great is the story can walk on through the way and not making the viewer confuse with it's complexity. The character is definately strong, the chemistry between them is superb!!!. The best acting From Kimura Takuya-Sama so far. It's gonna be the long lasting dorama ever....

JChang · 25 Apr 2007

Interesting drama. I usually don't like dramas on politics but this one I finished it in 4days.

leftleg · 8 Apr 2007

great acting by the cast. i don't usally get hooked by stories which involved too much politics but i greatly enjoy this one! good to see kimura takuya taking up this kind of refreshing role rather than his usual hero-type love-eccentric role. nice try.
would love to see teppei staying strong and tough as usual rather than going to this path he chose at the end - kind of discouraging to see him giving up and running away from things after all his courageous fight with the others. kimura and hasegawa look perfect as a couple! hope to see them as an on-screen pair more often.

Saint Seiya · 6 Apr 2007

Another climax of Kimura's series. Definitely can be nominated as the best actor this year. The storyline is indeed impressive. Good plots of politics and business. It requires deeper thoughts than most of the other dramas.

sucigam · 28 Mar 2007

After Pride and Engine I was starting to wonder if Kimura was just going to end up doing roles that would just keep his popularity at a peak, playing the cool guy cliche. Karei naru Ichizoku definitely surprised me, being Kimura's best drama since Good Luck!! and easily his best performance since One Million Stars Falling From The Sky.

Karei is a mature drama, both character and dialogue heavy. Great direction and music, the only problems end up being with some of the story and characters. Although it is an intelligent drama in the business parts, the romantic relationships are very soapish and border on ridiculous at times. It is also some times predictable; Kimuras character seemingly doing no wrong through a lot of the show.

Still for the most part it works and is pretty powerful throughout. The ending episode is definitely the high point and takes the drama from being cheesy to meaningful. If you're looking for another Pride this isn't it but if you're interested in a substantial drama that succeeds in doing something different, I suggest you check this out.

Shindou · 25 Mar 2007

As expected of Kimura Takuya, another strong dorama. The change from a romantic dorama to one more focused on politics and business seems to be an interesting change in direction. Given the star-studded cast, this dorama did not disappoint and the scripting and plot were masterfully done. However, there was perhaps too much of a lack on emphasis on the development of the supporting characters thus weakening the overall feel of the dorama, making it seem too focussed simply on the battles of Daisuke and Teppei. Music was quite appropriate and the ending was a rather unique turn of events. If intensity is what you're looking for, this is definitely the dorama for you!

takara51244 · 8 Feb 2007

This drama intensely depicts love, hatre, passion, lies, truth, betrayal and sadness between the characters in the story.

Although, the background of the story is not modern, human nature and emotion never change. In order to survive, people will do anything to achieve their goal. And this is the darkest side of human.

I admire Manpyo Teppei's passion to archieve his business goal, I sympathy his relationship with his parents. I would like to see how he survive and become stronger when facing all the crisis in his life.

If it was 5 years ago, I would not interested in these kind of drama, too much politics in the big family and society.
Today I love this drama very very much. Simply because I have deeper thoughts.

Doff · 5 Feb 2007

Exactly what you can expect from Takuya, needless to say, the other cast members are also excellent. A story about Japans extreme economical rise after WWII, with Takuya as the main lead as director of a steal firm. If you're a bit interested in politics and economics as well as romance and drama, this is the thing for you, don't even hesistate, watch it now!

8thSin · 16 Dec 2006

Very interesting story, great music. Kimura's acting in this movie was superb. A bit more serious dorama about a man's struggle to make his dream come true.