Fan reviews: Smile

Li-san · 7 Mar 2014

I liked it. Of course one cannot take it as realistic drama.
Gakky was sooo beautiful in this drama and I was thrilled all the time to see what will happen next.

cksupes · 7 Jul 2012

Really a must see, It moved me a lot. Aragaki Yui is amazing, you have to see this dorama.

mrsmith10 · 18 Feb 2011

This drama is really awesome. I love dramas that deal with social issues and problems. This one was daring, and took the issue of racism and prejudice head on. While the racism issue is beaten to death by American filmakers, it's rarely touched upon in Japanese society. It presented a realistic picture of how ethnic minorities are sometimes treated in Japan. I also loved the many references to Martin Luther King.

The characters were all solid. Matsumoto Jun really gave a great performance as Vito. Vito is half-Filipino and half-Japanese, he is more or less a victim of being half-Filipino in Japanese society. Besides Vito, the race issue is also touched upon with his lawyer, Kazuma-San, who's half Korean. The one who really caught my eye was Aragaki Yui. Her performance in this drama was outstanding and as a mute she was so adorable with all her facial expressions. I really like her in this drama.

Besides the main characters, I was pleased that it didn't have too many one dimensional characters. Ojuri Shun played the bad guy of the drama, Hayashi Seiji. Even though he truely was a bad guy, during Vito's trial we do get to see moments where he was much deeper than just another evil face.

The only issue I had with the drama was that the last episode was a little too over-dramatic, but it was still good. Overall, this is really a great drama and I highly recommend it. It's a must see especially for fans of Jun, Gakki, and Ojuri.

ester_grace · 24 Dec 2010

Amazing story. But so sad to see vito's suffer..

ester_grace · 24 Dec 2010

Amazing story. But so sad to see vito's suffer..

Sun_Shang_Xiang · 15 Nov 2010

This should be good and the intention was probably to highlight prejudice but its execution is fately flawed. Matsumoto Jun is suitably darkened up to be a half-Filipino but his character seems weak and his actions at times seem irrational.Moreover his character only associates with Japanese and has regrettably no contacts with the Filipino community in Japan or the Philipines and does not attempt to speak a word of Tagalog and other than food seems to have no interest in Filipino culture.I suspect that Filipino migrant workers are subjected to an even greater degree of prejudice than half -Filipino Japanese nationals.I wonder if the writer was concerned about his audience's reaction had a braver approach been taken.

Nakai Kiichi is the self-hating Zainichi Korean who along with Oguri Shun give the best performances of the show. However given Nakai Kiichi's character's prejudiced reaction to Vito and Vito's own character flaws ,this drama doesn't exactly put half-Filipinos or resident Korean's in a good light. It would have been better to give Vito a stronger character rather than being a forever smiling Holy Fool/victim and get someone who's really half-Filipino to play the main role (i'd liked to have seen this with Mokomichi playing the main role)or write the role for a full Filipino migrant worker and get a Zainichi Korean to play Nakai Kiichi's role but given Nakai Kiichi's character's self-hatred, I doubt that any self respecting Zainichi would have liked to attempted the role as it was written.

yuki_yoru · 25 Apr 2010

To be honest, the only reason why I watched this was because of Matsumoto Jun. It was a sad, unfair, trajedy but at the same time warm and loving drama too. I cried during the last few episode and because it was able to move me like that, I like it. There is also great acting from Oguri Shun.

dbesthair23 · 10 May 2009

So far, ever since I saw and read the summary, I was like holy crap this is gonna be great. With Matsujun and Aragaki Yui you cannot go wrong and other great actors including Oguri Shun.

A story about a half-filipino half Japanese guy who was was born in Japan, but has a foreign first name and a bit darker skin-tone than most, who shows his life striving to live just as any other man. This show describes the life of being a minority in another country and even though you are native born, looks are easily judged first.

This is an amazing show so far with an even more experienced actor Matsujun and an always perfect performance Yui, who plays as a mute, who lost her voice through a traumatic incident before.

So far it's been edge of your seat, makes you say aww and cheer for the characters. It's a fast emotion-paced show that shouldn't be missed. And Oguri Shun's part will surely even add to the excitement. This is going to be an outstanding series for sure!!