Switched

I'm not a teenager, and much like another reviewer here, it was suggested to me because I watched Erased on Netflix, and after watching that I felt like binging on some Japanese dramas.

That being said, this is something I'd make my daughters watch when they're teenagers, as the series aims to give the watchers a sense of empathy for both sides of the coin. You feel bad for the unpopular girl and understand her actions, but you also feel bad for the popular girl because the switch takes her away from her family and friends.

The popular girl does NOT become instantly shy in the unpopular girls body, the person who said that must not have paid much attention. She only becomes less outgoing because people will not pay attention to her and think she is weird, which is what the series does well at, creating a sense of empathy and understanding.

I was hooked from the first episode. Good story line. The background music was weird and annoying at times as it did not suit the situation.

At first I was worried this would be a thin teenage drama with body switching as the main plot but I soon became so engrossed in the story. Be forewarned though, this drama carries a very heavy theme of self-harm (viewers discretion advised as some very direct self-harm scenes are depicted very realistically).

Firstly, the story is so captivating as it gets rolling. There are no wasted moments and even less filler. My biggest complaint of many Korean and Chinese drama is the fact that they are too long and filled with unnecessary filler (annoying with story is compromised for profit). Switched, however, is perfectly balanced. You have the fantasy, romance and a lot of focus on seeking the inward beauty.

Secondly, this cast is quite amazing. I never seen any of them in any other shows, but am I very pleased with the performance. It is tough to portray one character, even tougher when you have to portray another character trapped inside another (wow this sentence confused even me haha, but if you have seen Switched you would understand.).

Overall, great drama! Binge-worthy! It's only 6 episodes (I actually would have loved if it were 10 episodes actually.)

This Japanese series is centred on four high school students; good looking and popular Ayumi and her friends Kaga and Koshiro, and unpopular loner Zenko. One day, during a rare red moon, Ayumi receives a phone call from Zenko. Zenko tells her to look at the building behind her... she then jumps. We then see Zenko waking up; except it isn't Zenko it is Ayumi... they have switched places. Ayumi is about to learn what it is like to be the unpopular girl and Zenko is going to learn that it takes more than good looks to be popular and happy. Will Ayumi find a way to get back into her own body?

I thought this series was pretty solid. More often than not films/series where characters swap bodies it is done primarily for laughs, here it is for drama. This is clear from the start as the means of switching involves suicide. The story progresses nicely over the series' six episodes; during this time the characters develop in interesting ways. There are a few twists along the way. The cast does a fine job most notably Miu Tomita, who plays Zenko, and obviously Ayumi when she is in Zenko's body. The setting, mostly inside the school and in Zenko's home are good in a very unglamorous way. Overall I'd certainly recommend this to fans of the body-swap genre looking for something different.

These comments are based on watching the series in Japanese with English subtitles.

Miu Tomita was especially convincing in this teen fantasy-drama. I hope to watch more of her work. Actually, the entire cast was superb. Some of the scarier scenes were disturbingly realistic. This series conveys some valuable life lessons and I'd most highly recommend it for school-age viewers.