Movie Review of Through My Window film series

Watching the Through My Window series, starring Clara Galle and Julio Peña, rekindled my passion for doing movie reviews. This Spanish trilogy, adapted from Ariana Godoy’s Wattpad novel, is an emotional rollercoaster with creative twists and a distinctly Spanish flair.

My Take on the Through My Window Trilogy

This Spanish series comprises three films:

1. Through My Window (A Través de mi Ventana, 2022)

2. Through My Window: Across the Sea (A Través del Mar, 2023)

3. Through My Window 3: Looking at You (A Través de tu Mirada, 2024)

If I ranked them based on my personal bias, it would go: Part 3, Part 1, then Part 2.

Breaking Down My Reviews for Each Through My Window Film

1. Through My Window (A Través de mi Ventana)

This first film introduces the colorful world of Raquel (Clara), Ares (Julio), and their circle. While its premise—a rich boy meets a spirited girl—might feel familiar, the Spanish cultural nuances make it fresh and engaging.

In Southeast Asia, particularly the Philippines, themes of young adult love and intimacy are often carefully explored. Yet Spanish cinema’s natural, unapologetic approach to romance felt like an artistic expression of love rather than something taboo. This reminded me of another Spanish film, Amar, starring María Pedraza and Pol Monen, which carried a similar tone but with more intensity.   

Although Through My Window isn’t groundbreaking, it is a light-hearted romance that will satisfy viewers seeking a feel-good story with an intriguing heroine and vibrant energy. This is why I kept watching until part 3. I wasn’t specifically looking for a Spanish series or movie when I picked this film, but I found its synopsis interesting. 

2. Through My Window: Across the Sea (A Través del Mar, 2023)

While the second film is enjoyable, it is my least favorite. In fairness, many sequels struggle to meet the high expectations set by their predecessors, and this one is no exception. 

The plot feels predictable. It introduces Vera (Andrea Chaparro) as a third-party character to shake up Raquel and Ares’ relationship. While Vera is portrayed as cool and confident, her character lacks the depth needed to make the love triangle story different.

Usually, the execution and added elements make this cliche plot worth watching. However, neither Vera’s character nor Andrea’s acting strengthens the plot. Honestly, I skipped most parts of the film because of this.

I was more invested in the subplots, particularly the dynamics between: 

• Artemis (Eric Masip) and Claudia (Emilia Lazo), 

• Daniela (Natalia Azahara) and Apollo (Hugo Arbues)  

• and Yoshi (Guillermo Lasheras) 

These subplots added much-needed complexity.

3. Through My Window: Looking at You (A Través de tu Mirada, 2024)

Through My Window: Looking at You is my favorite installment. It’s here I fully appreciated the movie's unique flavor. Personally, I found lines like “Writing is my love language” and “I don’t want to know love anymore; I want to experience it” relatable as a writer and a realistic romantic.

This movie stands out because it dives deeper into the characters of Raquel and Ares, adding layers to their personalities and relationships. It carries a sense of maturity that resonates more with me. 

The Top 3 Strengths of the Through My Window film series

1. Clara Galle’s Performance 

This was my first time watching Clara Galle’s acting, and her performance in Through My Window sets a good standard for exploring her other projects. Her portrayal of Raquel Mendoza felt natural and compelling. Clara’s best scenes were those in which she pursued Ares Hidalgo. Her love was innocent, with emotions transcending physical attraction.

She was particularly impressive in scenes like:

• Sitting on Julio’s lap and kissing him to prove a point

• Surrendering to Julio’s sensual moves, even when he left her hanging

• Secretly stalking Julio

• Casually confessing her feelings to him

2. Raquel and Ares’ Relationship 

Of all the characters I watched in which the girl stalks or chases a guy, Raquel Mendoza is probably the bravest and most straightforward. She is someone I can admire in real life. 

  

Yes, she pursued Ares and openly expressed her feelings, but she protected her self-respect. I loved it when she said she never wanted to lose her dignity. Raquel’s ability to take revenge and emotional sensibility made her character admirable.

3 Ares Hidalgo: A Refreshing Male Lead 

Ariana Godoy did well in avoiding the cliché of making Ares a bully. Unlike many male leads in teen films, Ares doesn’t embarrass or belittle Raquel. There is probably, but it's subtle or more like teasing. 

Now that I think about it, it may be the main reason many girls are afraid to admit their feelings. Although that case happens in real life and is depicted in movies, not all guys actually do that. I know men (Filipino or foreign) who feel shy or awkward if they learn that girls admire them.  They don't know what to do or are even worried. 

The Top 3 Weaknesses of the Through My Window Film Series

For me, there are no significant negative parts in Through My Window, especially if you intend to watch it with a teenager's heart. However, for the sake of objectivity, here are my top 3 critiques: 

1 Weak supporting love interests -  

Throughout the film series, three characters are intended to create tension between Raquel and Ares: Yoshi, Gregory (Ivan Lapadula), and Vera. Each has its own story, but they lack the elements to make viewers truly invested in their characters as love interests.

• Yoshi:  Guillermo's character could be considered a positive aspect of the movie. He is important, especially with his role in Raquel’s writing journey. In real life, if I were Raquel, I would probably choose him over Ares. Well, that’s my subjective take, and I understand that Ares is irresistible.

Focusing on Yoshi as the other guy, he stands no chance. I am not surprised that something happened to make him more relevant in the story. Otherwise, he is just a loyal and supportive guy friend. However, I commend how “Yoshi’s Twist” was delivered and executed. 

• Gregory: I accidentally played part 3 before part 2. So, I watched a few scenes where Gregory and Raquel had a great time. Because of those scenes, my expectations heightened—Gregory must put up a good fight. However, he turned out to be a forgettable rebound guy. I can’t feel that Raquel is attracted to him, and I don’t think he has a unique story. He is just another coworker turned lover character.

Initially, I thought he was the son of Tere's (Raquel’s mom)’ boyfriend. That would probably make him interesting, but it would also stretch out the movie. 

• Vera: I think Vera's character could be more colorful. However, I see many similar or better versions of Vera in other dramas. One great example is Shigeru Okawahara (or Ha Kyung in Korea) from Boys Over Flowers. For me, the family drama makes Vera relevant—not her character itself. Though Andrea Chaparro is undeniably beautiful, Vera’s character felt one-dimensional. 

2  Underdeveloped Subplots 

Artemis’ storyline showed potential but ultimately felt underwhelming. He portrayed a strong and responsible son, but through preachy dialogues, he looked nothing for their parents. Suddenly, their father taps Ares to lead their business despite his obviously unreliable persona. Additionally, this is an inconsistent narrative in the entire trilogy.

Claudia’s involvement added some color to Artemis’ story. I like the character of Claudia and Emilia’s acting. However, the romantic subplot between Artemis and Claudia could have been more impactful if this had been a series. To clarify, Eric Masip’s acting is good; it is just that his character is poorly delivered. 

3. Cliché Plot Devices, especially That Ares’ Red Outfit 

I will rewatch Through My Window 2, but as I said, I was not really interested when I watched it the first time. Certain elements, like Ares’ red outfit sparking an argument, feel overly simple and predictable. Though that can really trigger arguments between lovebirds in real life, a more imaginative approach could have added depth to the narrative.

Final Thoughts

I highly recommend Through My Window, especially Parts 1 and 3, to anyone seeking a young love drama. It offers a refreshing departure from the usual teen romance tropes, avoids bullying, and delivers an interesting romantic story.

Review: A Girl and Three Sweethearts Dorama

A Girl and Three Sweethearts is the first, in a long time after Nodame Cantabile, Dorama or J-Drama I watched. It’s also the first one that is a non-fantasy drama, that makes me rethink my view about Japanese actors and makes me feel kilig again because of its actors' real-life romance. 

Growing up, my familiarity with anime and supersentai metaseries has been influencing my perspective about Japanese entertainment. It matters whenever I watch TV and film adaptations or anime-like acting. I prefer drawings or animations if it's anime-like story. 

These are the reasons why A Girl and Three Sweethearts is cool and a tastefully done drama series for me. In addition, it inspires me to discover more DORAMAs. 

Photo linked to www.fujitv.com
It also contains interesting cast interviews and show details 

The Good points in A Girl and Three Sweethearts

It took me 3 to 4 video clips, thank you Asian Crush! before I was convinced to watch this J- Drama. If the title is not interesting enough, the plot and characters were intriguing—not to mention—that straight away I am charmed by Mirei Kiritani’s and Kento Yamazaki’s good acting skills. 

But here the strong points why this series is good:

• Characters are not outrageous. Okay fine, the overly sunny and emotional Misaki Sakurai's characters are close to anime-like. But perhaps, some Japanese girls are really like that?! I found the female lead character similar to other Asian drama female heroines that I usually appreciate like Jang Nara’s Bright Girl role (K-Drama/Korean Series) and Ariel Lin’s It Started With A Kiss (Idol Drama/Taiwanese Series). 

I also commend the writer(s) because all the characters, especially the four in the title roles, are well- established. I can’t remember a single moment that I was disoriented or lost in the track of their journey. For example, the older brother Chiaki (Shohei Miura) is clearly a genuine kind-hearted and charming. Even if he’s confusingly like Kaede Takasuki (Nanao) and didn’t notice Misaki’s admiration, you’ll understand that it’s part of his personality. It is the same with Toma (Shuhei Nomura). It didn’t need that he has to have long exposure to establish that he’s envious and trapped with his imaginary competition with Kanata (Yamazaki Kento). I didn’t hate him for that and in fact, understand that sibling rivalry is possible knowing his brother's talent.

• Most actors are good in their portrayals. My favorite among A Girl and Three Sweethearts’ characters would be Kanata Shibasaki. The big part of it is because of the superb acting of Kento Yamazaki. Gee, I thought I was fine with the action-packed acting of Takeru Satoh (Rurouni Kenshin) or mind-blowing portrayal of Kenichi Matsuyama (Death Note movie). Kento, who incidentally played L in the TV adaptation of Death Note, is sugoi as a dramatic actor. He’s 100% in character in the way he walked, talked, stared, and expressed his feelings.

I checked some of his photos and videos online, I think his looks in this Dorama was intentionally street-like islander when he’s off duty as a Sea Sons Restaurant chef. Kento's appearance also added flavors in Kanata's character, but of course, Kanata is interesting and lovable because of his portrayal. I like his cold-hearted expressions whether those have meaning or not and whether those were about Misaki or his cooking. If I were Misaki, I am clueless also if he’s in love with me. And I would also fall in love even if his stoic. Because at least, he's honest in his feelings. Kanata is not your typical prince charming, but a man worthy to love. Ganern! And Kento in his Kanata (with matching cute sungking ngipin smile) is handsome. 

Miura Shohei’s Chiaki. Chiaki Shibasaki is a typical goody-goody third-wheel or second leading man character. But this didn’t matter, thanks to Miura Shohei’s acting and charm (as well as because of the writers’ plot twists). Shohei made me feel that his Chiaki is worthy to be loved and admired. His care, sympathy, concern, and love for his brothers and Misaki registered genuine on screen. This is not to mention that he’s also a believable business-minded man with a heart. It's in his getups, manners, and facial expressions. He really embodied a heartthrob modern version of a knight shining armor for a pâtissier. 

Okay, he was a heartthrob in his sweet moments with Mirei. But now that I know that they eventually get married (in real life) after they met in the show, I feel extra kilig whenever I recall their moments together. The moment I found the real score, I felt elated. It feels good to know that finally, I find foreign actors in the series I like are a couple in real life. This even more satisfied my thoughts that Miura and Mirei took their acting genuinely. Love it!

Mirei Kiritani’s Misaki Sakurai. Of all, so far, rom-com female actresses I have already watched (including my classic favorites) I am automatically convinced that Mirei Kiritani is kawaii, if not kirei. There’s something about her face or the combination of her eyes, lips, face shape, hair, and nose. Her eyes usually look serious but those serve as the window of her feelings. I felt the frustration, sympathy, admiration, kilig, or sadness by just looking at her eyes. Her lips and nose are quite flexible and they complement her eyes’ messages. I am amused by how the show used her lips to make meaningful scenes. Just check Misaki’s presentation cake for her interview and every time Kanata held and kissed them. Overall, Mirei’s face and smile exude sunny vibes. 

As for her acting as Misaki, Mirei Kiritani is believably funny and lovely. It’s not so stunning in the heavy dramatic scenes but you can relate to her emotions. I can’t remember any flaws, except perhaps of her too much smiling. Those affected the realness/ authenticity of those situations. Good thing nga Mirei is kirei. naka-naks!

The rest of the cast members also delivered good acting, but I have a few additional comments:

Nomura Shuhei (played Touma). Given the exposure he had, Nomura gave justice to his role. You’ll hate his easy-go-lucky and insecure side, but you’ll appreciate his playful aspect.

Marie Litoyo (Fuka Ninomiya). It took me a few minutes before I appreciated the dialogue of Touma that he only liked Fuka because she’s cute. Well, Marie’s beauty is not my type of cute. However I am could attest that her Fuka’s character is indeed good and cute, really girlfriend material. 

 Kenta Hamano (Nobuyuki Himura). At first, I found Kenta’s acting corny or not that funny. His jokes were not that funny, but definitely, he added heart and feel-good vibe in the show. 

 Hinako Sano (Mikako Okuda). Hinako’s Mikako complement Kenta’s Nobuyuki

 Kotaro Yoshida ( Ryo Higashimura). Well he’s a good villain.  

•  The backgrounds in telephone conversations. Nowadays text messaging, answering email, or phone conversations are commonly exploited in TV dramas. Visually they are not appealing unless someone needs to endorse a smartphone or communication company ( I respect the advertising value) or there's a need for it in terms of build-up/ twist. 

Here in A Girl and Three Sweethearts, I like the idea that the writer (s) Sayaka Kuwamura (some sites credit Haruka Okita) made a point that whenever Misaki needs to have conversations, her friend was in various interesting places/situations. It’s a nice idea because, yes, you are not always in one place whenever you have a conversation with your friend. Two, it’s an opportunity to show features of a character or other elements. As for Misaki’s friend, I could easily point that she’s bubbly, vain or into pampering services, and event-goer. I even learned from those conversations what popular businesses or what are the type of mass gatherings in Japan.

• Run till you achieve something.  I read before that Japanese actors are good runners, I see that in this Dorama. Chiaki, Kanata, and Misaki had their own running times. In fairness, they were all good runners and they didn’t run for no strong reasons.

• The Story flow. Generally, I like the simple but astute flow of A Girl and Three Sweethearts. This is just a 10-episode drama series (compare to 15+ episodes and almost 7 years of Ang Probinsyano hehe). And in spite of that, I didn’t feel something is missing or too fast. In the first episode alone, I am amazed how the writer(s) manage to concisely and artistically tell the journey of Misaki from Tokyo to Shounan (sic), from her solo life to her life with her three sweethearts, from her bad encounter with Kanata to their blossoming rapport. Even I rewatched it one to two more times, the continuity is there and everything is clear. Perhaps, I should also thank the subtitler(s) hehehe. 

•  Some settings. Most probably the Shibasaki residence was not exactly a whole house, same with Sea Sons Restaurant. At some points, I even wondered about the layouts of those places because of the exits and entry points. But never mind, because even they looked small spaces they’re cozy and complement the characters or the story. 

  Chiaki’s room had a computer and a lot of books—so good for a young business-minded lad.

  Misaki’s room had a noticeable small table with lots of pens. And thankfully those were not just displays because Misaki did some writings and plannings inside or outside of her room.

The so-so points of A Girl and Three Sweethearts

I reiterate that I like this Dorama, but it could possibly deliver more if the following don't have so-so parts:

 Kanata’s room wasn’t exactly fit for a chef, but it complemented his street-like casual boy side. But I wonder why it looked messy when Kanata was clearly a picky and almost perfectionist lad personally and professionally. 

  Sea Sons’ interior (including kitchen) area is visually cool, particularly from the top view. Its terrace is also magnificent, particularly when the camera pans the sea. What I don’t appreciate much is the facade. I can’t imagine how it’s connected to the main door, kitchen, or dining area. I didn’t see customers flocking in and out. Well, of course, it didn’t matter much somehow. But it would be a testament to Kanata’s cooking popularity and business promotion-prowess of Chiaki. Did he really handle five restaurants? 

• Nanao (Kaede). Actually Nanao’s beauty matters in her character Kaede. She’s voluptuous and pretty that I think Misaki’s only edge is her eyebrows. But I think Nanao’s acting needs some level of internalization or consistency. She’s not a believable pianist for me. 
• Sakurako Ohara (Manami Nishijima). I am fine with the timid and apologetic approaches of Ohara. But sometimes I think she showed too much of it in her facial expressions that she looked not genuine. I didn’t see her rapport/ connection with the people she talked with.

Rate: 9/10 

By the way, I found this Fuji Television features interesting

https://www.fujitv.com/drama/a-girl-three-sweethearts/