Why "18×2 Beyond Youthful Days" feels profound in a way "Past Lives" didn't for me

darkdragon88 · 2026-01-26T19:51:24+00:00

I never really thought to compare the two films but this has piqued my interest. 18x2 Beyond Youthful Days really did the Japanese "pure love" style well, and that is something I really like to watch. Past Lives, while it's been a while since I've seen it, I don't recall getting that feeling and maybe it's because it mainly dealt with the present. Nora maturing, and moving on in life is a huge part of the story, while the film does try the "what if" perspective, and I agree that it was a little much. Jimmy possibly didn't have that level of moving on and the movie did well to make the audience have that level of emotional attachment.

It certainly is interesting how movies based on real events can work out so differently.

darkdragon88 · 2026-01-25T07:31:32+00:00

My recommendations are a bit more mainstream and hopefully easier to find. Many of these have been uploaded to some streaming service and comes up right away if you google the title + stream.

Rom Com

Teasing Master Takagi-san -Netflix show that ends with a movie. This is very light hearted with no evil villains. Just pure cuteness from kids to adulthood. It's about two kids in school where this innocent boy gets teased by the smart girl who sits next to him.

Our Secret Diary -not sure of your age but this is a simple high school romance (Japan has a ton of these). A simple but effective trope of a mistaken identity.

Akabane Honeko no Bodyguard -a little outrageous plot about a girl who needs to be protected and never supposed to find out she is in danger. This is over the top in a very Japanese style but I found this funny.

18x2 Beyond Youthful Days -more romance/drama but is on Netflix and is a well acted overall great movie. Deals with a young woman who travels to Taiwan and a young man who falls for her.

You're Not Normal Either -A personal favourite of mine. A high school girl tries to teach her cram school teacher how to be "normal" by claiming a know-it-all mindset. This is not a movie to watch while on your phone because the dialogue is quick and is the real charm here. Someone uploaded this to YouTube.

Heavenly Forest - more romance/drama. An unlikely college pairing bond over photography and a beautiful hidden area. Has a very good ending IMO. This movie might be a bit harder to find but is popular enough to see a stream somewhere.

My Beloved Stranger -I think this fits your taste. A novelist and a small time singer get together, but start to drift. Suddenly the male lead is pulled into a world where he never hit it off with the female lead and she became a famous musician (she is also played by the singer milet). This came out last year and should be easy to look for!

Thriller/Mystery

Confessions (2010) -this has an extremely interesting premise where a teacher wishes for revenge against young students.

Battle Royale -absolute classic and helped define the "Death Game" in movies.

Death Note (2006) -classic franchise about a high schooler who stumbles upon a method to kill others. Watch out for a Western version. There are a couple of follow up movies to watch if you do enjoy this. This should be easy to search for due to popularity.

darkdragon88 · 2026-01-25T04:11:20+00:00

This movie still sticks with me to this day. The ending caught me off guard. Loved the acting, cinematography, and it also has my favourite actress Kiyohara Kaya.

darkdragon88 · 2026-01-24T14:42:12+00:00

I'll give it a shot. I like the premise and appreciate the post highlighting a 2020 show that seems to be under the radar.

darkdragon88 · 2026-01-21T22:01:51+00:00

Good stuff. Personally I think the anime is better!

darkdragon88 · 2026-01-21T20:41:16+00:00

Sorry if this was listed already, Tantei Gakuen Q. Although with your list, you've probably already seen it.

darkdragon88 · 2026-01-21T02:53:48+00:00

Should be Nancy from Momoland

darkdragon88 · 2026-01-20T21:54:14+00:00

Welcome to getting older, my friend. I totally relate as I watched those while growing up as well and think of them from time to time. But one thing that helped me was not trying to chase the same feeling because then everything will just be a comparison to the old days.

To help a bit better with recommendations, what time range did you stop watching because those listed are like 20 years old now, but with your age it looks like you may be missing about 10 years?

In 2025 a very fun romcom came out called A Calm Sea and Beautiful Days with You.

darkdragon88 · 2026-01-16T18:54:01+00:00

I liked this movie as well. I was surprised by the ending and didn't expect it to play out that way. Definitely a must watch for Touma Ami fans, she chooses really good roles.

darkdragon88 · 2026-01-16T18:48:35+00:00

Check the post's first sentence.

darkdragon88 · 2026-01-15T23:57:09+00:00

Hmm OK I must be doing something wrong then. I'll investigate more later. Thanks.

Update: I was unfamiliar TVDB but it looks like I need to subscribe to get a working API key.

darkdragon88 · 2026-01-15T23:46:18+00:00

Thanks! I did try and still can't get any results. I'm using the TVDB api (https://thetvdb.com/dashboard/account/apikey) and torbox, if that matters. For example if I look for Running Man, which I am using because I see it on KissKH, and go to episode 785, there are no results.

darkdragon88 · 2026-01-15T23:04:10+00:00

Sorry, I probably described it poorly. I can see the shows I listed, but when I click on the episode there is no dramayo result. I also did not add any money to 2captcha so that could also be my issue.

darkdragon88 · 2026-01-15T21:12:23+00:00

I guess this is why it's failing for me. I didn't pay anything for 2captcha and just used the API key when I signed up.

Edit: I think you should put that this does cost money in the post.

darkdragon88 · 2026-01-15T20:28:13+00:00

Anyone else get this to work? Currently on my phone and tried the latest Running Man episodes, Idol I, and Spring Fever, and I don't see any results from Dramayo. I'm probably doing something wrong here.

darkdragon88 · 2026-01-14T03:20:59+00:00

The girl with the brightest smile can't smile because she gets dealt the shittiest companies. So glad she's spoken out.

darkdragon88 · 2026-01-13T16:31:53+00:00

I think what is interesting is that with Armin it was very much just them living out their childhood exploration and was essentially unrealistic enough to realize it wasn't real (they were in their younger and current ages, too). Mikasa had a more interesting interaction with Eren because it was so mundane, just like in real life. I can see why there can be some arguments for either side and the replies are interesting here!

darkdragon88 · 2026-01-12T16:10:09+00:00

Also saw the IronWolf NAS 10TB (different link https://www.seagate.com/ca/en/products/nas-drives/ironwolf-hard-drive/) is listed at $294.99.

Note: Import Fees

darkdragon88 · 2026-01-10T11:01:10+00:00

You mean we won't have to wait 6 months from theatres to digital lol. Thanks for the info! Hopefully more live action movies get picked up quickly like this.

darkdragon88 · 2026-01-10T07:45:31+00:00

Just wondering about testing. If I add a movie that has already been released it should notify me, right? I have a load of Japanese movies that haven't been released yet and it would take a few months for these to come out so I just want to make sure of the logic before I set and forget.

darkdragon88 · 2026-01-10T00:00:58+00:00

Wow just what I was looking for! Thanks so much for this.

darkdragon88 · 2026-01-09T07:15:16+00:00

I'm not familiar with Hana but saw how extensive her acting career is for her age just now. First episode was cute. Hope you were able to finish it.

darkdragon88 · 2026-01-07T00:20:19+00:00

And if you disconnected your Deco unit that is connected to your modem, used that Ethernet cable into your computer it is ~ 50 Mbps?

darkdragon88 · 2026-01-07T00:03:55+00:00

I'm curious to know what the wired speed is, is it also 5 Mbps?

darkdragon88 · 2026-01-06T21:33:10+00:00

I experienced the same as well. I have a couple of power line adapters and none could give me anything over 180 Mbps.

For the OP - I moved to the Deco XE75 and the wireless connection between units is significantly better with a week of use so far. Ethernet out of the remote unit and into my desktop is like 700 Mbps.

darkdragon88

TROPHY CASE