10 posts tagged “*jdrama”
*liveblogs*
poor takeru. i am loving eita more and more with this show.
go michiru! she finally broke up with sousuke.
i hate to say this, and i don't think it will happen, but i'm worried that sousuke's going to abuse that little kid. oh, ryo. there is still hope! .... er he just killed it with that last line: "i'm not lonely. because she's going to come back." no, she's not, you bastard... it pissed me off to read on LJ entries that we should understand sousuke and forgive him for what he's done (aka fans attempting to defend ryo by telling us not to confuse the character with the actor but in effect doing so themselves--violence is NOT forgivable. especially repeated acts of violence.).
... ruka just yelled at takeru. i feel so bad for the guy. but i'm also confused. he basically suggested (or did he?) to emi (um i might've gotten her name wrong--brain fart) that he was gay when she hit on him. but he also clearly likes ruka. hm...?
thought: people in this show are so fragile.
oops, her name was eri.
i'm going to be so sad not being able to watch this show for the next six weeks. x__x because i'm going to china...
WHY DO THE JAPANESE GIRLS IN THIS SHOW HAVE NO GADAR??
at least touching michiru isn't freaking takeru out.
i'm starting to feel like eri is the most underrated character on this show :( at least this episode makes it seem like she might get fleshed out soon.
AAAGGGGHHHH why must it get so good just as i'm about to leave? ;__________;
Osen 01-03
Uchi is back! Well, I'm sure he has been for a while, but this is the first show I've seen with him in it since... Ganbatte Ikimasshoi. Yeeeah. Aoi Yuu is also as cute as ever, so there's eye candy for everyone. I'm not positive as to where the show is headed but so far it's been light-hearted fun and the occasional sappy one-liner. It's also a show about food so don't watch this right before going to bed. Which is what I've been doing... *stomach growl.* And... I don't think I've ever had food this good in my life.
Zettai Kareshi 01-04
I was skeptical about this series because I'm not a fan of the main actress or actor (both of whose names I can never remember... haha) but the girl was in Utahime recently (HIGHLY RECOMMEND) and I recall them both being in Regatta, which was a flop, right? Well, whatever. In any case, it's nice to know that the main actors have worked together before, so if they're doing it again, something must've clicked the first time. Unfortunately, the guy doesn't have to do much acting because... his character is a robot! :| And the girl is kind of annoying in the way she treats him. This sounds like I am not enjoying the show, but it's only because I've gotten way too emotionally involved that this kind of stuff would bother me. Also the drama differs in a lot of ways from the manga, in which Night is a lot more human and doesn't jerk his body limbs around as awkwardly as, er, Hayami Mokomichi. I know you can't see manga!Night move but there are ways to make him robotic and the artist clearly didn't want him to be--that was the point. Also, whereas manga!Riiko was desperate for a boyfriend, drama!Riiko sort of happens across Night (to make a long story short) and doesn't really want him around, period. It's sad. Four episodes and she's still clueless. WHHHHYYY. HE LOVES YOU. "Aishiteru yo, Riiiiiiiiko."
LIFE
A drama series about bullying. Sounds kind of preachy, right? And it is, but it's also eleven episodes of gut-and-heart-wrenching AMAZING. Some of the actors (well, one) overdo it, but the main actresses are right on. It's hard to hate someone through and through. The soundtrack made the show much more effective. Watch this in one night.
Last Friends 01-05
I am watching this for the actors and Utada's opening song. So far they still haven't explained Sousuke's issues, and watching him hit the main character again and again is getting kind of old/unbearable.
maaaan this must be one of the weirdest shows i've ever seen because it simply defies categorization. drama? ish. comedy? sort of. mystery? i guess... etc. starring Kohinata Fumiyo, who's been a supporting actor in so many dramas i can never recall which ones (one of those characters that make you go, "i know him! ... why do i know him?"), "Ashita no Kita Yoshio" follows a man through his last eleven days in life--Kita Yoshio has decided to kill himself on the eleventh anniversary of his friend's death. oh yeah, eleven's his unlucky number, yadda yadda.
this isn't something i'd pick up for fun, so here's where the eye candy comes in: the fantabulous Matsuda Ryuhei (the first NANA's Ren plays Kita Yoshio's savior (or not? you'll see...). he actually has a smaller role in the show than advertised (see banner above), since the cast comprises of five or six supporting characters of roughly equal importance and he's just one of them. i was hoping to see more of him, since what little i have seen has been from NANA and that yakiniku movie on the airplane, and he was pretty great in both of them.
there're a lot of funny moments that seem out of place considering the general serious tone of the story. it's almost as if the creators didn't know how to proceed with this show and just threw in a whole mix of elements hoping that the viewers wouldn't notice. the soundtrack itself ranges from sad piano songs to random-sounding jazz. maybe it'll just take some getting used to, but i'm not there yet.
hmm now one thing i'm REALLY not used to is the pseudo-romance between the twenty-year-old Shinobu and Yoshio. first of all, she's younger than i am by a couple months. Yoshio is, what, forty?
actually, Yoshio isn't unlike Naruto, now that i think about it. both of them are sort of stupid and naive, and while people were always after Naruto, they usually ended up *CHANGED* or having some great epiphany after fighting him (and losing). Yoshio is far from strong but all the people trying to kill him for insurance money seem to be accidentally sympathizing or caring about him because he's just the kind of nice guy that draws people to him.
this scene makes me laugh: Matsuda Ryuhei's character, in a fit of rage, hurls a soda can vaguely in the direction of a trash bin. a kid nearby starts screaming and his mom quickly covers his mouth. Matsuda, seeing the kid's reaction, looks kind of guilty and walks over and throws the can into the trash bin. just a week ago, without having met Yoshio, his character would not be the recycling saint that he is now! :D
aka My Hate for the Other Woman
i really can't stand characters like Nishino. she's shameless! aware of how attractive most people deem her and uses it while pretending to be a good person! i can understand when someone falls out of love with one person while in..to? love with someone else; it's not really anyone's fault in that case. but here Papa does NOT like her in that way. okay, maybe she misunderstood. that's fine. but she is trying her best to wreck his marriage and break up his family--he has a DAUGHTER. and what's hilarious is her going to talk to that very daughter explaining that she and Papa are in LOVE. WTF.
i wouldn't be this outraged if it weren't for the scriptwriters trying to push us to sympathize with Nishino when she's clearly messed up in the head (and heart).
i don't know the actress' name, but it's also frustrating that she always plays characters who can get away with anything because she's supposed to be beautiful and the only reason is because she looks foreign. Mama in this show says something like "i wish i could be like Nishino-san... young and beautiful..." and well, Mama isn't too bad-looking herself. she's just Japanese. which somehow makes her not as pretty as Nishino, who is either a halfie or had foreigner parents. argh Japan when are you going to understand that your women don't need to look European to be beautiful???
blog revival, hopefully... starting with a list of the best, good, okay, and downright sucky stuff I've seen this year!
Favorite Jdramas of 2006
- Kekkon Dekinai Otoko
- My Boss My Hero
- Nodame Cantabile ***** thanks to Adacchin for recommending!
- Shimokita Sundays
Attention Please didn't make the list because I was disappointed by what little we saw of Ryo. :P
Favorite Jdramas I watched in 2006 that were actually made before 2006 XD;;;
- 1 Litre of Tears
- Nobuta wo Produce
- Stand UP!!
- Kimi wa Petto (the first few episodes before all the melodrama)
Shows I liked but didn't love: Attention Please, Boku no Aruku Michi, Orange Days, Sapuri, Galcir, Dragon Zakura, Gokusen 2, Ganbatte Ikimasshoi
Shows I didn't like enough / was too lazy to keep watching: Taiyou no Uta, Tatta Hitotsu no Koi, Teppan Shoujo Akane!!, Kurosagi
Shows I am glad I didn't keep watching: Akihabara@DEEP, 14 Sai no Haha, Princess PrincessD (and this is coming from a Tenimyu fan...)
Show I watched and wish I didn't: Densha Otoko. I cannot stand spineless men. Plus it didn't help that he resembled a certain person I used to know.
hopefully Hana Yori Dango 2 will join the list of 2007! :) *looking GLEEFULLY FORWARD to subs*
often times when i'm watching Jdrama i get the feeling, "wow we're living in a totally different universe." in Japan it seems like there's a lot more assuming responsibility for other people, whether or not they want it. for example, Ishida decides to give Fujii Minami up to the big-haired guy (whose name escapes me at the moment) because he thinks he's not good enough himself. does Fujii want to be with mr. big hair? no. she specifically chose Ishida. she likes him. she wants to have his babies. why isn't that enough?
i always feel like i'm missing the big picture, that things become more complicated as we age. that's probably true. but in reality Ishida is running away from himself; he feels inadequate and probably is scared that Fujii will see through him and realize how irreconcilably incompatible they are. he's afraid that he won't have a future, despite what *everyone* is telling him. he just needs more experience, but he's afraid to learn.
i'm not saying they're an excellent couple. they definitely seem a little awkward together, from the aesthetic perspective at least. but if they both have these feelings for each other, then why deny them?
but about the responsibility thing--maybe american culture is an anomaly here, because i rarely hear about people "giving" someone they like to their rival. are human emotions so easy to manipulate anyway? a NANA scene comes to mind: Yasu telling Ren that if he doesn't hurry up, Yasu will take Nana for himself. he might not have actually done it, but just saying something like that is weird, isn't it? because how will he take Nana if she has no feelings for him?
when i watch these shows, it becomes obvious how wired i am to accept things that are fed to me. anything, really. when i'm watching with other people and witness their reactions, which are usually much more pronounced than my own, i feel like i should be questioning more instead of just nodding yes to everything i see. the thing is, i've always tried to justify other people's actions, and when something goes wrong, i've more often than not found fault with myself. it's still hard, though, to realize something's not quite right, especially when it's subtle and so prevalent in other shows.
Kame is sort of like, adorable. >_< actual post coming eventually..
While working at a seaside inn with his high school buddies, Kouji Fujishiro (Yamada Takayuki) meets Kaoru Amane (Sawajiri Erika), a street musician. Kaoru is suffering from an incurable disease called XP (xeroderma pigmentosum), and can’t be exposed to the sun. Under the sun, the two would never have met. Still, destiny brings the two together. Since the day he suddenly lost his job, Kouji has lost sight of his dreams. But when he meets Kaoru, who is making positive efforts to become a singer, Kouji regains his long-forgotten passion for music.
i hate to make a comparison to 1 Litre of Tears but it's inevitable since 1) i picked up this series because of Sawajiri Erika's performance as Ikeuchi Aya and 2) she's dying again. once again she plays a character with a fatal disease, only this time the show is more romance-oriented. 1 Litre focused on how Aya coped with her illness, while Taiyou no Uta has several plotlines and doesn't assume from the start that Kaoru is going to die. Kaoru is also unable to face her disease the way Aya did--not to mention she's angstier and does quite a bit of whining, too.
not that her whining isn't justified or anything, considering her condition. it's just the way Kaoru is portrayed in the series (i have yet to watch the movie). she's not ... likable. let me rephrase that. it's more like this: when you're watching Sawajiri act as Kaoru, you get the feeling that she's talking to herself. even when she's smiling very cutely and interacting with other people, her character still feels extremely self-involved. it's similar to the Tom Cruise Syndrome, except Tom Cruise makes you want to listen to him complain. whereas with Kaoru, i'm tempted to fastforward.
it might not be Sawajiri's fault; it could be the direction or the script. either way, Taiyou no Uta puts a sort of distance between its audience and itself. none of the acting feels real, and it's hard to connect with the main characters. the supporting characters are less intriguing than they are stereotypical, serving as meek attempts to insert humor into what would otherwise be a very serious show about a serious subject. but the comedy doesn't mesh with the rest of the melodrama, and it isn't very funny period.
but bad direction, bad acting, and a lame script could be saved by a good soundtrack--and unfortunately, Taiyou no Uta doesn't have that either. whereas 1 Litre had "Konayuki" by remioromen, which would play during every Aya-and-Haruto (her love interest) scene and basically break a lot of hearts in the process, the music in Taiyou no Uta comes off as mostly bland background songs that you wish you didn't notice were playing. even if they were building up to a good moment, the music would sometimes kill it.
that's my general impression of the series. NOW, about episode 5 :D it had some good scenes, i thought, most of which included Kaoru's guitar. Sawajiri's most moving moments are when she looks utterly helpless. that and her singing face. but it's the face that says "Save me" that gets me every time. just when i think i don't want to watch any more of this show, she pulls the "Save me" face and--yeah, well i'm still here. i know i went on and on about how the music isn't that great, but they had a new insert song (not sung by Sawajiri, i believe) that played while Kouji confessed about his past and relationship with Tachibana Asami. and then it led into Kaoru suddenly saying, "i have a new idea for a song" and taking out her guitar to strum the first few chords of her new song, "Taiyou no Uta" as it's later named. i loved this part. she's just strumming the same chord four times, and then another chord four times, etc. it reminded me of when i used to try to write songs on the guitar, and had a raw, honest quality that's missing from the rest of the show. not to mention the beautiful violin playing in the background of that scene--i don't know why there's a violin, but it sounds good.
the other scene i liked was of Kouji playing the guitar for Kaoru after she finds out she can't use her right hand anymore. since the right hand controls chords, this is the end of her life as a guitarist and, she assumes, singer, too. Kouji's strumming sounds much more experienced than Kaoru's, and in his impromptu performance he's already tweaked her new song a little for her. the contrast between their guitar-playing skills was interesting to see, especially because Kouji is the reason Kaoru started playing in the first place, and it makes sense for him to be better. it also hints at all the history that Kaoru still hardly knows about, Kouji's past, and why he gave up music. this was a good way to end the episode and made me want to watch the next one, if only to see more of Kouji's guitar-playing =D
one question i have regarding Kaoru's narration throughout the episodes: does this mean she's not going to die?
Episode 1: "So what if I like to be alone?!"
Summary from Fuji TV:
A man is cooking a steak in an apartment kitchen. Although his skills are a bit rusty, his usage of spices and way of pouring brandy to light a fire is quite a sight. He's Shinsuke Kuwano, an architect. He starts taking bites of the steak when his cell phone rings. It's Eiji Murakami, Shinsuke's assistant at the office. He has called to remind Shinsuke of a party that he was supposed to attend.
"Mr. Kuwano, you were the one invited. Why aren't you here?" "Eiji, did you know that the ancient Romans partied by lying on the floor and feasting with their hands?" "You have to come. There's somebody that wants to build a house soon."
Later on at the party, Shinsuke finds Eiji hitting on a girl. "Did you know that five-story pagodas are actually one-story high?" This is a piece of trivia that Shinsuke had told him. Shinsuke stands out at the party with his handsome looks. When he learns that a girl at the party is interested in him, for some reason, he starts talking endlessly about architecture, eventually boring the girl. Eiji says, "Mr. Kuwano, if you don't do something about your personality, you'll never be able to get married." "I like being alone!" replies Shinsuke.
In the meantime, at a Japanese restaurant, Natsumi Hayasaka is reluctantly having dinner with an arranged date. When Natsumi feels that the topic of conversation is heading towards marriage, she finally speaks up.
At a later date, Maya Sawasaki, who works in the housing industry is giving a tour of a house Shinsuke designed. Maya is confident of landing a deal with a customer, but Shinsuke just can't keep his mouth shut, ruining the deal. Although Maya and Eiji are fed up with Shinsuke's personality, they still respect his way of designing homes focusing on the kitchen—the place in the house where family warmth is built upon.
i started watching this show for two reasons: high ratings and Abe Hiroshi. he also played the business-minded teacher ("but i'm actually a lawyer") in Dragon Zakura and was the reason i kept watching. Abe Hiroshi actually reminds me of the main character in House MD, except younger and not as unkempt. he's a very attractive older man :D and doesn't disappoint in this series either as the eccentric Kuwano.
female client: why did you become an architect?
Kuwano: because God told me to.
(silence)
Murakami: that was a joke just now.
i loved the first scene of him eating by himself and then later at the party where Murakami had to translate to a client nearly everything Kuwano was saying. i don't know if anyone else can pull off this role like Abe Hiroshi, honestly, because there's a thin line between being an asshole and being funny. he doesn't try to be an asshole, however, it just comes naturally to him. Kuwano doesn't seem to know how to act around people; he relies on his genius to make a living and is used to getting things done by himself and his own way. because his coworkers respect him as an architect, Kuwano can get away with being rude to clients or even chasing them away--but the strangest part is that he doesn't do it on purpose or sometimes even realize that he's doing it. which makes me wonder about whether he's actually lonely. because naturally solitary people don't have to be longing for human companionship... but certain scenes suggest that Kuwano doesn't always want to be alone. for example: when he remembers his own birthday he asks Nakagawa, his brother-in-law, to celebrate, and is rejected. and when Sawasaki, his female doctor and possible love interest, invites him to cake at the hospital, he declines because he doesn't want her invitation to be out of pity. in fact, Nakagawa's friendliness angers him, most likely because he doesn't think she genuinely cares. all of which suggests Kuwano does have some desire for friendship.
all these shows about love, work, and marriage remind me of what my Tokyo Free Guide told me when i visited in July. "unmarried women after 30 are referred to as 'Christmas cakes,' which are no good after Christmas." here is another series featuring an unmarried woman approaching or past the age of 30, hardworking, successful, and described by others as not "kawaii" enough. it seems like in Japan especially, women have to choose between their love life and their career goals. i wonder about the "kawaii" thing, though. the line "you'd have a boyfriend if you only acted a bit more kawaii" has been used and reused in scores of shows now. why is "kawaii" what makes a woman attractive, and not "determined" or "confident"? still, the times are changing, since most of these shows have career women finding love after all.
since i'm already up to episode 4, i'm going to stop writing here and insert more pictures instead.
i was interested in this show because Akihabara was on my list of destinations when i visited Tokyo, but it wasn't nearly as shady as this show suggests. akihabara@DEEP so far follows four main characters: Page, a socially awkward stutterer who uses his computer to speak aloud; Box, who has a fear of dirt and naked women; Taiko, who "freezes" occasionally (it's hilarious when he does--reminds me of Makki in My Boss My Hero making that constipated face when he doesn't want to be called on in class); and Akira, who works in a maid cafe, goes to the gym, and is known for her fighting skills as well as beauty. there's also the mysterious Yui-san who brought them together via Internet chats and the phrase "The only way is up." the first episode revolves around Otaku-hunters, who go around beating up otakus, and how the four try to defeat them and protect "akiba."
the intro song is a creepy remake of something popular that i don't remember the name of and sets the tone for the rest of the episode. the intro also pretty much gives away the moral of the series right then and there: Akihabara . . . it's the holy land for us who are called otaku by others. we won't be bothered by anyone. it's the land that allows us to be addicted to our own interests, to forget our gloomy lives - the oasis in the desert for incompetent people like us. no. perhaps this world is actually our real life. but we don't know it yet, because we're afraid of being hurt. the door that has been rigidly shut until now is actually a curtain called "the future." with a little courage and enthusiasm, anyone can equally open it. (translation thanks to the subbers at Love Song.) with that kind of an introduction, do you really need to watch the rest of the series? that kind of preaching is exactly what annoys me about a good deal of Jdramas; the focus is always on social misfits who need to become full-fledged members of their communities by changing what made them interesting and special in the first place. not that i agree that escapism is a good way to live, but encouraging conformity and BRAINWASH really, really sucks.
still, there are little contradictions and hypocrises within many of these dramas which make them more complicated and fun to watch. they're not entirely black-and-white and do have moments that catch you offguard... Taiko's "freezing" definitely got me by surprise...
in the beginning when Page was on the Internet chatting with Yui-san, everything seemed like sexual innuendo... especially the phrase "the only way is up." i wonder if that was intentional--he was at a maid cafe, after all, and sex is a big theme in the show, especially since it's dealing with otaku... one of the maids gets raped by an otaku-hunter later, as well. speaking of which, there is a LOT of violence in this first episode that i can only hope will not continue the rest of the series. the first violent scene was saved IMHO by Taiko's freezing (yeah, this is the third time i'm mentioning it. i'm really a big fan of it. check out the pictures!), which occurred mid-beating.
one thing i wonder about is how actual Akihabara-ns feel they're being portrayed in this show and whether it comes close to reality. not a resident of Tokyo or even Japan, i have no idea. another thing: the bald otaku-hunter looks like one of the classmates in Nobuta wo Produce. i'm pretty confident it's him, he looked badass back then already.
artistically the general orange tone of the drama isn't my taste, and i can't say much about their choice of music, but the ending sequence is cute--pixelated thingies!!
