I finally decided to start watching Beethoven Virus and it is absolutely hilarious! First episode had some weird visual effects for one scene -- looked really low budget -- but I love classical music and any drama that has something to do with music usually has me hooked lol ^__^ I really like it so far. The main girl is hilarious, I really like her at the moment lol.
Basically, the story is about this violinist who works as a civil servant -- I think it's what she does -- and she comes up with this plan to make the city she lives in the next big music capital, so she gets a grant from the mayor of the city to create and fund a local orchestra to bring people to this city and generate even more revenue from it. The problem is that every orchestra she joins ends up disbanding, and the scandal that happens this time is even worse. The conductor-to-be ends up being arrested in a case of fraud, so all the money that should go to paying the musicians basically disappears. None of the players want to perform with no pay, so they all decide to pull out, leaving Ru Mi (the main girl) to fend for herself and a $3 billion won debt.
She starts to find willing musicians who do not care to be paid to form a small community orchestra to make up for the ones who left in order to hold up the pretense that things were going smoothly -- when she was questioned about the project by the mayor. She and her friend are trying to find as many people as possible, but discover that they lack a trumpet player. Just when that revelation is made, she hears beautiful trumpet playing in the background and she rushes out from her room into the streets to find the place where the trumpet player is playing. She discovers from her landlady that the guy playing is her nephew and he's currently house-sitting for one of their neighbors. He's a cop on suspension for losing his cool one day during work, so Ru Mi decides that he must have a lot of time. Her landlady tells her that her nephew, Kang Gun Woo, is really stubborn and doesn't want to do the orchestra thing, but he is extremely weak to people who are in need of help, which then makes Ru Mi act like a partially deaf violinist in order to get Gun Woo to join her orchestra lol.
This is as far as I've gotten right now, but it's so funny. I need to finish watching the rest lol.
Showing posts with label drama. Show all posts
Showing posts with label drama. Show all posts
Friday, March 12, 2010
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Poor Scripting
You know, sometimes I don't necessarily think that the actors and actresses are terrible, it's the script that is bad. But if the actors are not exactly fit for their parts and the script is bad, then it only emphasizes the flaws of the performers =_=; So... yeah... poor scripting is very bad.
I just started watching "Orthros no Inu" with Takizawa Hideaki and Nishikido Ryo in it and frankly... it kind of sucks at the moment. First, I haven't really watched all that many drama with Takizawa in it, but from what I've seen, I think he is better off singing, though I don't think he is a terrible actor. He just seems a bit awkward to me at times...
And then... well, I liked Nishikido Ryo in "1 Litre of Tears," I thought he was fabulous and extremely convincing as an abusive boyfriend in "Last Friends," and then I liked him as a dumb brother in "Ryusei no Kizuna," but for some reason... I think this role is just not made for him. True, I think he's pretty talented -- although not one of my fave actors -- but this role just isn't too good for him. He just seems so awkward and maybe it's 'cause his character is awkward to start with, but... I don't know... just doesn't click well for me.
As for Mizusawa Asami... I've liked her on occasion and think that she is very pretty, but this role kind of sucks for her. That or she really sucks =_=; I mean, she plays this rash and not exactly talented cop who is a single mom with a young daughter who has asthma. Her character is really stupid, like trying to arrest a group of college kid drug dealers by herself, and then telling the kids that a defenseless and comatose witness to their crimes will wake up to give her testimony... I mean... what kind of idiot does that sort of thing? If you were a good cop, you would say that there will be a way to prove you guilty, all it needs is a little time, and leave it at that. Let the criminal think what they want until it hits them square in the face. Also, she seems pretty weak for a cop =_= And maybe there's a back story to it, but right now, her character is REALLY annoying, and the way she is acting right now is equally vexing. None of these actresses nowadays can command the same level of authority, respect, and power like some of the older actresses.
For instance... Amami Yuki was great as a detective in "Boss," Yonekura Ryoko was great in "Koshonin," Ashina Sei is good as a CIA-like agent in "Bloody Monday," and the woman who was in "Unfair" was great too. These older women with somewhat deeper voices that can command respect are good actresses to me, but none of the younger actresses can play cops or tough, serious characters all that well.
I think the only young actress who can probably pull off playing a cop would be Kuroki Meisa. I really do like her and think she is quite talented. I saw her in "1 Pound Gospel," "Chance!," "Dansou Reijin," "Kaze no Garden," and a couple other drama. I think her roles are all fairly different, though each show the sophisticated side of her minus "1 Pound Gospel" in which her character was not at all the actual dramatic serious type. I think seeing her in "Kaze no Garden" really made me start to think that she may be much more talented than I've given her credit for.
She isn't too bad a of a singer either... well, it depends, I guess on the type of music one likes. Her music videos are really a 180 from the roles she plays lol. I was kind of shocked I'm a fan of Amuro Namie so she reminds me a bit of Amuro Namie, but I still like Amuro Namie better lol ^_^;;; But, out of a small handful of young actresses she is among the few that I actually like. The other five I currently like are Kanjiya Shihori, Kitagawa Keiko, Miyazaki Aoi, Ueno Juri, and Yoshitaka Yuriko.
Anyway... before I got off on a random tangent... Yes, bad scripting only makes things worse. It also makes actors and actresses do really ridiculous things. Makes you wonder if they have never questioned their roles before. I mean, if I was in Mizusawa's position, I'd be like ... "WTF? I'm supposed to be like this?" Well, maybe her character was meant to be stupid, but I would hate to play a stupid character =_=; If the script was terrible to begin with, I wouldn't even want the role... though... if I had financial issues and needed the money and this was the only job out there, I'll do it despite how stupid the role is. And it really is a stupid role.
I just started watching "Orthros no Inu" with Takizawa Hideaki and Nishikido Ryo in it and frankly... it kind of sucks at the moment. First, I haven't really watched all that many drama with Takizawa in it, but from what I've seen, I think he is better off singing, though I don't think he is a terrible actor. He just seems a bit awkward to me at times...
And then... well, I liked Nishikido Ryo in "1 Litre of Tears," I thought he was fabulous and extremely convincing as an abusive boyfriend in "Last Friends," and then I liked him as a dumb brother in "Ryusei no Kizuna," but for some reason... I think this role is just not made for him. True, I think he's pretty talented -- although not one of my fave actors -- but this role just isn't too good for him. He just seems so awkward and maybe it's 'cause his character is awkward to start with, but... I don't know... just doesn't click well for me.
As for Mizusawa Asami... I've liked her on occasion and think that she is very pretty, but this role kind of sucks for her. That or she really sucks =_=; I mean, she plays this rash and not exactly talented cop who is a single mom with a young daughter who has asthma. Her character is really stupid, like trying to arrest a group of college kid drug dealers by herself, and then telling the kids that a defenseless and comatose witness to their crimes will wake up to give her testimony... I mean... what kind of idiot does that sort of thing? If you were a good cop, you would say that there will be a way to prove you guilty, all it needs is a little time, and leave it at that. Let the criminal think what they want until it hits them square in the face. Also, she seems pretty weak for a cop =_= And maybe there's a back story to it, but right now, her character is REALLY annoying, and the way she is acting right now is equally vexing. None of these actresses nowadays can command the same level of authority, respect, and power like some of the older actresses.
For instance... Amami Yuki was great as a detective in "Boss," Yonekura Ryoko was great in "Koshonin," Ashina Sei is good as a CIA-like agent in "Bloody Monday," and the woman who was in "Unfair" was great too. These older women with somewhat deeper voices that can command respect are good actresses to me, but none of the younger actresses can play cops or tough, serious characters all that well.
I think the only young actress who can probably pull off playing a cop would be Kuroki Meisa. I really do like her and think she is quite talented. I saw her in "1 Pound Gospel," "Chance!," "Dansou Reijin," "Kaze no Garden," and a couple other drama. I think her roles are all fairly different, though each show the sophisticated side of her minus "1 Pound Gospel" in which her character was not at all the actual dramatic serious type. I think seeing her in "Kaze no Garden" really made me start to think that she may be much more talented than I've given her credit for.
She isn't too bad a of a singer either... well, it depends, I guess on the type of music one likes. Her music videos are really a 180 from the roles she plays lol. I was kind of shocked I'm a fan of Amuro Namie so she reminds me a bit of Amuro Namie, but I still like Amuro Namie better lol ^_^;;; But, out of a small handful of young actresses she is among the few that I actually like. The other five I currently like are Kanjiya Shihori, Kitagawa Keiko, Miyazaki Aoi, Ueno Juri, and Yoshitaka Yuriko.
Anyway... before I got off on a random tangent... Yes, bad scripting only makes things worse. It also makes actors and actresses do really ridiculous things. Makes you wonder if they have never questioned their roles before. I mean, if I was in Mizusawa's position, I'd be like ... "WTF? I'm supposed to be like this?" Well, maybe her character was meant to be stupid, but I would hate to play a stupid character =_=; If the script was terrible to begin with, I wouldn't even want the role... though... if I had financial issues and needed the money and this was the only job out there, I'll do it despite how stupid the role is. And it really is a stupid role.
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
My Computer is On Television!!!
Actually, a model of my computer was on Yamato Nadeshiko Shichi Henge episode 3 and I couldn't resist blogging about it. That's all lol ^_^
Sunday, January 17, 2010
Yamato Nadeshiko Shichi Henge Drama
Maybe I'm wrong, but... that castle that the characters are living in for this drama looks suspiciously similar to the one used in Atashinchi no Danshi... I wouldn't be surprised if that is the case. The opening theme is ..... kind of embarrassing to look at it. I don't know why, but it just looks so dumb, that I don't even want to look at it.
They added a little kid into the drama, which I guess spices it up slightly. The characters are no longer high school kids, but college kids. I liked the manga alright, but I'm not a big fan of it from the start so any form of change within the drama adaptation is fine with me. In fact, the changes might actually make it more interesting for me to watch... then again... I don't know. At the moment, I think Kyohei, Takenaga, and Yukinojo looks just fine, but Ranmaru is not that good-looking at all. Oh well, doesn't matter to me 'cause I wasn't ever a fan of Ranmaru in the first place lol.
The kid is the one who played Yoroku (future Kanetsugu) from Tenchijin and he's so adorable ^__^ Also, something of a 180 for me is seeing Uchi Hiroki play Takenaga -- my fave character. I will say that he has the look that I like, so I approve of him as Takenaga, but I feel weird seeing Uchi play such a smart character. The last time I watched act, he was either a loud-mouth idiot or an emo-teen. I guess, I'm feeling kind of impressed at the moment lol. Weird feeling.
Kamenashi Kazuya's acting seems forced at times to me, but he's the same-ol' same-ol'. I'm just watching it out of boredom at the moment, I think =_=; (Which tends to happen quite often with me ... I use drama to procrastinate lol). I'll have to give it at least another episode or two before I pass judgement. I've already given up on Tokujo Kabachi... it was painfully hard to get through the first episode lol. I don't think I'll be watching as many drama this season 'cause nothing stands out, but this one is manageable for me.
They added a little kid into the drama, which I guess spices it up slightly. The characters are no longer high school kids, but college kids. I liked the manga alright, but I'm not a big fan of it from the start so any form of change within the drama adaptation is fine with me. In fact, the changes might actually make it more interesting for me to watch... then again... I don't know. At the moment, I think Kyohei, Takenaga, and Yukinojo looks just fine, but Ranmaru is not that good-looking at all. Oh well, doesn't matter to me 'cause I wasn't ever a fan of Ranmaru in the first place lol.
The kid is the one who played Yoroku (future Kanetsugu) from Tenchijin and he's so adorable ^__^ Also, something of a 180 for me is seeing Uchi Hiroki play Takenaga -- my fave character. I will say that he has the look that I like, so I approve of him as Takenaga, but I feel weird seeing Uchi play such a smart character. The last time I watched act, he was either a loud-mouth idiot or an emo-teen. I guess, I'm feeling kind of impressed at the moment lol. Weird feeling.
Kamenashi Kazuya's acting seems forced at times to me, but he's the same-ol' same-ol'. I'm just watching it out of boredom at the moment, I think =_=; (Which tends to happen quite often with me ... I use drama to procrastinate lol). I'll have to give it at least another episode or two before I pass judgement. I've already given up on Tokujo Kabachi... it was painfully hard to get through the first episode lol. I don't think I'll be watching as many drama this season 'cause nothing stands out, but this one is manageable for me.
Thursday, January 7, 2010
Tenchijin
I finally decided to start watching Tenchijin, of course this was after I decided to start watching the series backwards LoL. I started at episode 40 something and moved all the way to 46, saving the last episode for the very last episode lol. I think I watched the first episode when it first began airing in 2009, but then I kind of just stopped watching and kept dling. Now I'm starting from episode 15 or so and moving backwards from there, then starting forwards again lol. I just can't watch a series from beginning to end, I guess. I haven't any patience. If I really want to know what happened in the beginning, I can just drop the episode I'm watching now and move back to the beginning ^_^
Anyway...
I really like this series. I knew I would like it when it first came out, but it was really hard to get into unlike Atsu-hime for some reason. Even though I like the Sengoku era so much more than any of the other eras, it was just not one I started out liking. I think I might have a biased view on the Uesugi 'cause I wasn't a fan of Uesugi Kenshin from the game, Sengoku Musou, but I couldn't help, but be interested since Tsumabuki Satoshi was the lead ^_^; I think games tend to make me feel biased towards historical figures 'cause they make the less important ones so cool sometimes *___* For instance... Akechi Mitsuhide was so hot in Sengoku Musou, but they never give him a hot actor lol. Oda Nobunaga gets all the hotness regardless of the dramas that have him in it. He's good-looking in this drama, he's good-looking in the Akechi Mitsuhide tanpatsu, and he was played by Kimura Takuya in the Oda Nobunaga tanpatsu. Regardless of the series, Oda Nobunaga always looks pretty hot. Sanada Yukimura too for that matter lol ^_^;
Anyway, I managed to weave my way through the story and enjoyed it quite thoroughly. I'm still missing some episodes in my watching sequence, but I think I have the general gist of the story down lol. It really is an interesting story for anyone who is interested.
Anyway...
I really like this series. I knew I would like it when it first came out, but it was really hard to get into unlike Atsu-hime for some reason. Even though I like the Sengoku era so much more than any of the other eras, it was just not one I started out liking. I think I might have a biased view on the Uesugi 'cause I wasn't a fan of Uesugi Kenshin from the game, Sengoku Musou, but I couldn't help, but be interested since Tsumabuki Satoshi was the lead ^_^; I think games tend to make me feel biased towards historical figures 'cause they make the less important ones so cool sometimes *___* For instance... Akechi Mitsuhide was so hot in Sengoku Musou, but they never give him a hot actor lol. Oda Nobunaga gets all the hotness regardless of the dramas that have him in it. He's good-looking in this drama, he's good-looking in the Akechi Mitsuhide tanpatsu, and he was played by Kimura Takuya in the Oda Nobunaga tanpatsu. Regardless of the series, Oda Nobunaga always looks pretty hot. Sanada Yukimura too for that matter lol ^_^;
Anyway, I managed to weave my way through the story and enjoyed it quite thoroughly. I'm still missing some episodes in my watching sequence, but I think I have the general gist of the story down lol. It really is an interesting story for anyone who is interested.
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Shiroi Haru
I wasn't sure if I'd be able to get into this drama at all, but episode 7 just made me cry. Abe Hiroshi's acting is so good in this one T___T.
The story is about a yakuza member, Sakura Haruo, who wants to quit in order to find a good job to take care of his sick girlfriend, but when the gang does not allow him to leave, he is given a chance to earn $8 million yen for her medical fees if he kills a boss from a rival gang. In the assassination attempt, he hurts his knee, succeeds in killing the target, and ends up going to jail. After nine years, he comes out to find that the woman he loved is dead when the money he killed for should have saved her.
He sets out to look for the man he thinks is responsible for her death, but discovers that he is an honest-working baker, and on top of that, the man has been raising his daughter, Sachi, for the past eight years. Though the baker tries to get Haruo to leave, but a twist of fate lands him a job at the very same bakery. He gets to see his daughter more and more, but is pained that he was not there to see her grow up all these years. And with his girlfriend dead, he feels as though he's wasted the last nine years of his life, but there is nothing he can do to change it.
As he works at the bakery, he watches how the baker interacts with his "daughter" and ends up giving the man pointers on how to raise Sachi better. Because Haruo cannot tell Sachi that he is actually her father, he can only be fatherly through these means. Meanwhile, Sachi grows closer to Haruo than with the man who raised her and this makes the baker very nervous and jealous. Haruo complies with all the baker's wishes, but he still wants to do all he can for his daughter, and everytime he sees a moment where her affections should have been directed towards him, but instead are given to her "father," he feels pained and very sad.
The story is pretty heart-breaking in a poignant way. Haruo only killed someone, because he wanted to do it for his girlfriend, Mariko, and when Mariko discovered that she was pregnant, she wanted to give birth to the baby regardless if it killed her or not because she loved Haruo so much. Kanako, Mariko's younger sister, and Murakami, the baker, both really love and care about Sachi very much, always wanting the best for her to the point where they treat Haruo badly because of his past crime and abandoning Mariko when she was pregnant -- though he didn't know it at the time. Haruo also wants the best for Sachi, so that's why even though they're so close to each other, he doesn't tell her that he's her real father because his hands are dirty.
My heart really breaks with some of these moments. It's just so sad T___T, but it's so good too. I really didn't know how sucked in I would get, but I'm definitely sucked in now T__T
The story is about a yakuza member, Sakura Haruo, who wants to quit in order to find a good job to take care of his sick girlfriend, but when the gang does not allow him to leave, he is given a chance to earn $8 million yen for her medical fees if he kills a boss from a rival gang. In the assassination attempt, he hurts his knee, succeeds in killing the target, and ends up going to jail. After nine years, he comes out to find that the woman he loved is dead when the money he killed for should have saved her.
He sets out to look for the man he thinks is responsible for her death, but discovers that he is an honest-working baker, and on top of that, the man has been raising his daughter, Sachi, for the past eight years. Though the baker tries to get Haruo to leave, but a twist of fate lands him a job at the very same bakery. He gets to see his daughter more and more, but is pained that he was not there to see her grow up all these years. And with his girlfriend dead, he feels as though he's wasted the last nine years of his life, but there is nothing he can do to change it.
As he works at the bakery, he watches how the baker interacts with his "daughter" and ends up giving the man pointers on how to raise Sachi better. Because Haruo cannot tell Sachi that he is actually her father, he can only be fatherly through these means. Meanwhile, Sachi grows closer to Haruo than with the man who raised her and this makes the baker very nervous and jealous. Haruo complies with all the baker's wishes, but he still wants to do all he can for his daughter, and everytime he sees a moment where her affections should have been directed towards him, but instead are given to her "father," he feels pained and very sad.
The story is pretty heart-breaking in a poignant way. Haruo only killed someone, because he wanted to do it for his girlfriend, Mariko, and when Mariko discovered that she was pregnant, she wanted to give birth to the baby regardless if it killed her or not because she loved Haruo so much. Kanako, Mariko's younger sister, and Murakami, the baker, both really love and care about Sachi very much, always wanting the best for her to the point where they treat Haruo badly because of his past crime and abandoning Mariko when she was pregnant -- though he didn't know it at the time. Haruo also wants the best for Sachi, so that's why even though they're so close to each other, he doesn't tell her that he's her real father because his hands are dirty.
My heart really breaks with some of these moments. It's just so sad T___T, but it's so good too. I really didn't know how sucked in I would get, but I'm definitely sucked in now T__T
Saturday, December 12, 2009
A Good Eye For Drama
I think after watching and assortment of dramas throughout my life, I am able to pick out really good ones to watch. Of course, now and then I enjoy ones that are over the top, but for the most part the ones I pick or watch gets an award or two. I don't know if the drama I'm currently watching will get any awards, but it is my fave out of the top three I decided to watch this season: Tokyo DOGS, JIN, and LIAR GAME. I think my number one fave has got to be Tokyo DOGS, but I have a feeling that JIN may be winning more awards this season though I prefer the first one more.
Tokyo DOGS is the first "based on a true detective story" drama to air in Japan and it's a good mixture of action, mystery, and fun -- yes, fun. I don't have my detective hat on for this drama 'cause I just want to enjoy it without thinking too much for once and I love it. Oguri Shun looks so good with his short haircut and perfectly tailored suit *__* I used to never think he was cute, but he is absolutely dashing in this drama. Yoshitaka Yuriko is still ever so pretty and a pretty good actress, at least I think she's getting better with each drama she's in. First time I saw her was in Ashita on Kita Yoshio -- which was not exactly the most interesting drama in the world =_= and very strange to me -- and I thought she was cute. Then I saw her in Atsuhime and Taiyo to Umi no Kyoushitsu and I loved her as Akari, especially when she falls for nerdy Hachi. She played a zoned out suicidal artist in Love Shuffle and she was good in that too. I really like her as Matsunaga Yuki in Tokyo DOGS ^_^ I think she has potential. I hope she continues to grow as an actress, because there aren't that many good actresses out there at all and I would like to be able to pick a fave lol.
Tokyo DOGS is the first "based on a true detective story" drama to air in Japan and it's a good mixture of action, mystery, and fun -- yes, fun. I don't have my detective hat on for this drama 'cause I just want to enjoy it without thinking too much for once and I love it. Oguri Shun looks so good with his short haircut and perfectly tailored suit *__* I used to never think he was cute, but he is absolutely dashing in this drama. Yoshitaka Yuriko is still ever so pretty and a pretty good actress, at least I think she's getting better with each drama she's in. First time I saw her was in Ashita on Kita Yoshio -- which was not exactly the most interesting drama in the world =_= and very strange to me -- and I thought she was cute. Then I saw her in Atsuhime and Taiyo to Umi no Kyoushitsu and I loved her as Akari, especially when she falls for nerdy Hachi. She played a zoned out suicidal artist in Love Shuffle and she was good in that too. I really like her as Matsunaga Yuki in Tokyo DOGS ^_^ I think she has potential. I hope she continues to grow as an actress, because there aren't that many good actresses out there at all and I would like to be able to pick a fave lol.
Saturday, December 5, 2009
宮心計 (Beyond The Realm of Conscience)
I watched this Autumn 2009 TVB Series & Movies preview when my friend and I went up to Oregon during August and saw a trailer of "Beyond the Realm of Conscience," which really caught my attention. The literal translation of 宮心計 is actually "Palace Scheme," and it shows all the different types of schemes that happens in the royal court during olden times. In a way, this series is no different than other period dramas like Korea's "Dae Jang Geum" or Japan's "Ōoku," even stories like "Genji Monogatari" in which it centers on the various schemes in the palace by women and men alike and all the things that happen within.
The story of Palace Scheme centers on two palace maids whom are like sworn sisters and how they endure all the abuse thrown at them until they climb to high-ranking positions in the palace. The two main women, Lau Sam Ho and Yiu Kam Ling, previously have a master/servant relationship in which Kam Ling serves the Lau household and is Sam Ho's personal maid, but the Lau family treats her as though she is one of them. When Sam Ho's father is sent off to war and goes missing, then treated like a war criminal, her mother takes the two girls and runs in order to not be taken to the palace to work as servants. Unfortunately, Sam Ho's mother and Kam Ling are captured and Sam Ho goes to be with them at the palace and they all become palace maids. Sam Ho's mother is commissioned to do a hair piece for the Grand Empress Dowager, but on the day she first wears it, the eye of the phoenix on the piece bleeds which signifies a bad omen so Sam Ho's mother is heavily punished for it, and when her body cannot take it any longer, she dies. Before she dies, Kam Ling confesses to her mistress that she went to look at the hair piece the night before and some melted wax fell on the phoenix's eye. She tried to clean it, but some slipped into the cracks. Sam Ho's mother forgives her.
Apparently, people have made comments to this drama as being the Hong Kong version of "Dae Jang Geum," which I can kind of see in a way, but of course there are its differences. The main characters are very different. Jang Geum has real human flaws by being able to feel anger, wanting to exact vengeance, and making poor decisions at times, you see her grow up and overcome her painful experiences by being a good person. The heroine in Palace Scheme is a too-good-to-be-true type of character, with almost no flaws at all. She's very self-sacrificing and giving to everyone around her, which in turn makes everyone love her. Her name being Sam Ho (San Hao in Mandarin) means "Three Good Virtues" and her mother has taught her for all her childhood that the reason why her name is Sam Ho is so that she will "Do Good Deeds, Say Good Things, & Showing Good Will." To live up to her name, Sam Ho is indeed an incredibly good and intelligent person whom always tries to think the best of people, and though she is a bit of a saint, she does live up to the title of the drama, 'cause she also can scheme too but it's for the good of others rather than their downfall.
The show basically displays the two foils, Sam Ho and Kam Ling, and their development throughout the story. It ends like any typical HK drama. I haven't seen a more creative ending yet, so oh well lol, but I won't doubt that it's interesting. I do think some parts got dragged out, but for what it's worth, it's not a bad drama to watch.
The story of Palace Scheme centers on two palace maids whom are like sworn sisters and how they endure all the abuse thrown at them until they climb to high-ranking positions in the palace. The two main women, Lau Sam Ho and Yiu Kam Ling, previously have a master/servant relationship in which Kam Ling serves the Lau household and is Sam Ho's personal maid, but the Lau family treats her as though she is one of them. When Sam Ho's father is sent off to war and goes missing, then treated like a war criminal, her mother takes the two girls and runs in order to not be taken to the palace to work as servants. Unfortunately, Sam Ho's mother and Kam Ling are captured and Sam Ho goes to be with them at the palace and they all become palace maids. Sam Ho's mother is commissioned to do a hair piece for the Grand Empress Dowager, but on the day she first wears it, the eye of the phoenix on the piece bleeds which signifies a bad omen so Sam Ho's mother is heavily punished for it, and when her body cannot take it any longer, she dies. Before she dies, Kam Ling confesses to her mistress that she went to look at the hair piece the night before and some melted wax fell on the phoenix's eye. She tried to clean it, but some slipped into the cracks. Sam Ho's mother forgives her.
Apparently, people have made comments to this drama as being the Hong Kong version of "Dae Jang Geum," which I can kind of see in a way, but of course there are its differences. The main characters are very different. Jang Geum has real human flaws by being able to feel anger, wanting to exact vengeance, and making poor decisions at times, you see her grow up and overcome her painful experiences by being a good person. The heroine in Palace Scheme is a too-good-to-be-true type of character, with almost no flaws at all. She's very self-sacrificing and giving to everyone around her, which in turn makes everyone love her. Her name being Sam Ho (San Hao in Mandarin) means "Three Good Virtues" and her mother has taught her for all her childhood that the reason why her name is Sam Ho is so that she will "Do Good Deeds, Say Good Things, & Showing Good Will." To live up to her name, Sam Ho is indeed an incredibly good and intelligent person whom always tries to think the best of people, and though she is a bit of a saint, she does live up to the title of the drama, 'cause she also can scheme too but it's for the good of others rather than their downfall.
The show basically displays the two foils, Sam Ho and Kam Ling, and their development throughout the story. It ends like any typical HK drama. I haven't seen a more creative ending yet, so oh well lol, but I won't doubt that it's interesting. I do think some parts got dragged out, but for what it's worth, it's not a bad drama to watch.
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Iljimae (일지매)
I recently picked up a really good Korean period drama, Iljimae -- loosely based off the manhwa by Ko Woo Yung (고우영) -- which is about a thief who steals from the rich to give to the poor, while searching for the man whom murdered his father. Though some (or most) of the special effects are so-so, the overall plot is quite good. The drama begins with illustrating how badass of thief and fighter Iljimae is in showing off his agility, skill, speed, and smarts for about 12 minutes where he infiltrates a tight-security nobleman's home and steals something from him, leaving behind his signature painting of plum blossoms. After his great escape,
The story of Iljimae is set during the Joseon Dynasty around 1632 - 1649, with references to the Coup of 1623 that happened around three or four years prior to Iljimae's birth. The current emperor, Injo, is an insecure ruler who will stop at nothing to protect his station, even resorting to having his closest comrades -- the ones who participated in the rebellion that dethroned Gwanghaegun -- murdered.
The timeline of the story's history begins around ten years after the Coup of 1623 with the image of a perfectly peaceful, happy noble family. The patriarch, Lee Won Ho, is sitting in the garden with his son, Lee Geom (also romanized as Kyum), and both are admiring the tree blossoms in full bloom. When Lee Won Ho asks his son why he favors plum blossoms, Geom answers that they are not as extravagant as cherry blossoms, but not as sad as pear blossoms. The plum blossoms will later serve as his signature, and source of his rogue name, "Iljimae."
Meanwhile on a hill not far from where the Lee family resides, Emperor Injo, dressed in noble civilian clothing, has met an old, blind seer whom provides him with the prophecy that during his monarchy in the palace, someone will appear and rattle the very foundation of his rule. The only line provided at this time is that something red will appear -- foreshadowing Iljimae's signature -- the rest of the vision, which is revealed in later episodes goes along the lines of "another king will appear in the future and the people will revere him. Two suns will shine down from the same sky." Injo, desiring for no one else to know about this prophecy, orders for his chief assassin, Sa-cheon, to kill the seer, his family, and all the villagers from where the blind man lives. Injo proceeds to resort to any method in maintaining his sovereignty, including the assassination of his younger brother, Lee Won Ho, whom he considered as a threat to his position.
Lee Won Ho is convicted of treason after a fake revolutionary letter is planted beneath his house, and he is murdered by the emperor and his assassins soon after with them passing it off as suicide. The entire Lee Clan is imprisoned for their relations to a traitor, but only Geom is able to escape, due to his father locking him up in a chest and the thief, Seo Dol, bringing the chest -- with Geom inside -- back to his place away from the household. Geom is later hunted down by the assassins and imperial guards, until an unfortunate boy is killed in his place and redeemed by Geom's mother as though he were Geom during the marketplace parade, in order for her to protect him. Geom however is forced to throw a stone at his biological mother as though they were not related, and due to the stress and trauma, he later collapses and loses his memory. Na Seo Dol, feeling responsible for the downfall of the Lee Clan -- since his adopted son planted the fake letter in order to save Seo Dol's life -- takes Geom in and raises him.
Thirteen years later, Geom is now known as Yong (or Ryung depending on romanization), and he is an irresponsible, playful mischief-maker on the streets causing much distress to his adoptive father, Seo Dol, and adoptive mother, Dani. Though everyone close to the Na family knows that Yong is adopted, Yong believes himself to be their biological child and so does everyone else outside of the Na friend circle (this was done so Seo Dol could protect Yong better). However, after a hunter in the mountains recognizes Yong as Geom, the hunt for Lee Won Ho's sun begins again and Yong is subjected to much danger, which eventually triggers various memories from his childhood leading to him regaining his memory later on.
Upon remembering his past, Yong sets off to find the rest of his scattered family while still living as the playful and useless son of the Na family. However, because his loved ones kept getting hurt due to their relation to him, he cannot ignore his situation any longer and goes to search for his father's killer by raiding the house of the wealthy in hopes of finding the sword that cut down his father as Iljimae the thief.
Iljimae is a reasonable 20-episode series. I think episode 13-15ish could have been shortened somewhat, 'cause I know 14 dragged a bit and maybe if they had shortened that episode, the final episode would have been even better (and the epilogue portion would have been longer, but whatever). Overall, I really liked it though there were some parts that could have been less ... ridiculous, but hey we're talking manhwa situation right? Anything is possible ^_^; Out of a lot of Korean dramas I've seen though, I really liked this one a lot.
The lead is played by Lee Joon Ki (이준기), whom is one of the most beautiful, effeminate looking men ever. The first time I saw him was in "The Emperor and the Clown" where he played a beautiful minstrel whom enchanted the king. The onscreen kiss between the tyrant emperor and effeminate clown (though it was like 3 seconds long) caused much stir and interest in the movie (by pretty much all yaoi-loving fans out there), and really brought the actor into prominence. In Iljimae, he looks more like a man, but he is still very pretty. In a way, he reminds me of Matsuda Ryuhei, whom was very effeminate and beautiful during the "Gohatto" and "Aoi Haru" days. Though if I had to pick between the two, Lee Joon Ki's much better looking than Matsuda Ryuhei ^_^;
The story of Iljimae is set during the Joseon Dynasty around 1632 - 1649, with references to the Coup of 1623 that happened around three or four years prior to Iljimae's birth. The current emperor, Injo, is an insecure ruler who will stop at nothing to protect his station, even resorting to having his closest comrades -- the ones who participated in the rebellion that dethroned Gwanghaegun -- murdered.
The timeline of the story's history begins around ten years after the Coup of 1623 with the image of a perfectly peaceful, happy noble family. The patriarch, Lee Won Ho, is sitting in the garden with his son, Lee Geom (also romanized as Kyum), and both are admiring the tree blossoms in full bloom. When Lee Won Ho asks his son why he favors plum blossoms, Geom answers that they are not as extravagant as cherry blossoms, but not as sad as pear blossoms. The plum blossoms will later serve as his signature, and source of his rogue name, "Iljimae."
Meanwhile on a hill not far from where the Lee family resides, Emperor Injo, dressed in noble civilian clothing, has met an old, blind seer whom provides him with the prophecy that during his monarchy in the palace, someone will appear and rattle the very foundation of his rule. The only line provided at this time is that something red will appear -- foreshadowing Iljimae's signature -- the rest of the vision, which is revealed in later episodes goes along the lines of "another king will appear in the future and the people will revere him. Two suns will shine down from the same sky." Injo, desiring for no one else to know about this prophecy, orders for his chief assassin, Sa-cheon, to kill the seer, his family, and all the villagers from where the blind man lives. Injo proceeds to resort to any method in maintaining his sovereignty, including the assassination of his younger brother, Lee Won Ho, whom he considered as a threat to his position.
Lee Won Ho is convicted of treason after a fake revolutionary letter is planted beneath his house, and he is murdered by the emperor and his assassins soon after with them passing it off as suicide. The entire Lee Clan is imprisoned for their relations to a traitor, but only Geom is able to escape, due to his father locking him up in a chest and the thief, Seo Dol, bringing the chest -- with Geom inside -- back to his place away from the household. Geom is later hunted down by the assassins and imperial guards, until an unfortunate boy is killed in his place and redeemed by Geom's mother as though he were Geom during the marketplace parade, in order for her to protect him. Geom however is forced to throw a stone at his biological mother as though they were not related, and due to the stress and trauma, he later collapses and loses his memory. Na Seo Dol, feeling responsible for the downfall of the Lee Clan -- since his adopted son planted the fake letter in order to save Seo Dol's life -- takes Geom in and raises him.
Thirteen years later, Geom is now known as Yong (or Ryung depending on romanization), and he is an irresponsible, playful mischief-maker on the streets causing much distress to his adoptive father, Seo Dol, and adoptive mother, Dani. Though everyone close to the Na family knows that Yong is adopted, Yong believes himself to be their biological child and so does everyone else outside of the Na friend circle (this was done so Seo Dol could protect Yong better). However, after a hunter in the mountains recognizes Yong as Geom, the hunt for Lee Won Ho's sun begins again and Yong is subjected to much danger, which eventually triggers various memories from his childhood leading to him regaining his memory later on.
Upon remembering his past, Yong sets off to find the rest of his scattered family while still living as the playful and useless son of the Na family. However, because his loved ones kept getting hurt due to their relation to him, he cannot ignore his situation any longer and goes to search for his father's killer by raiding the house of the wealthy in hopes of finding the sword that cut down his father as Iljimae the thief.
Iljimae is a reasonable 20-episode series. I think episode 13-15ish could have been shortened somewhat, 'cause I know 14 dragged a bit and maybe if they had shortened that episode, the final episode would have been even better (and the epilogue portion would have been longer, but whatever). Overall, I really liked it though there were some parts that could have been less ... ridiculous, but hey we're talking manhwa situation right? Anything is possible ^_^; Out of a lot of Korean dramas I've seen though, I really liked this one a lot.
The lead is played by Lee Joon Ki (이준기), whom is one of the most beautiful, effeminate looking men ever. The first time I saw him was in "The Emperor and the Clown" where he played a beautiful minstrel whom enchanted the king. The onscreen kiss between the tyrant emperor and effeminate clown (though it was like 3 seconds long) caused much stir and interest in the movie (by pretty much all yaoi-loving fans out there), and really brought the actor into prominence. In Iljimae, he looks more like a man, but he is still very pretty. In a way, he reminds me of Matsuda Ryuhei, whom was very effeminate and beautiful during the "Gohatto" and "Aoi Haru" days. Though if I had to pick between the two, Lee Joon Ki's much better looking than Matsuda Ryuhei ^_^;
Sunday, September 27, 2009
Has This Drama Always Been This Annoying!?
I'm pretty sure I've hit at least one other drama that's driven me up the wall, but this one really is doing a great job at making me want to bang my head against the wall till it cracks.
So I'm watching Bimil up to episode 6 at the moment (My god... I still have like 12 left?), and I'm severely annoyed. Usually, I'd like dramas that truly invoke emotions out of me, but this one is really annoying. The sad part is that I loved this drama back in the day, now I find myself hating it as much as the Twilight series =_= (Ugh... don't get me started with Twilight).
Ok, so all these problems in the drama could have been so easily resolved if someone would just LISTEN or use COMMON SENSE, which most of the characters seem to be lacking =_=; First the father was cruel in raising his biological daughter as though she were adopted and constantly throw verbally-abusive comments at her. Then to make things worse, his second daughter is probably the most evil antagonist I've encountered in a series yet @_@. Next, the fashion designer is stupid enough to just call the second daughter her OWN daughter instead of researching more into it. God, these people are annoying.
I've got to say that Korean dramas have come a long way though. Things from back in the late 90's and early 00's were just terribly formulaic and annoying as hell like the drama I'm watching at the moment -- why in the world did we even like them then @_@? (So puzzling). The Korean dramas nowadays are a lot better, like "My Name is Kim Sam Soon" or "Coffee Prince." Of course, we've got some occasional annoying ones now and then, but nothing's perfect. At least it's not as annoying as the one I'm watching right now =_= *sigh*
Anyway, I just needed to rant so rant I did.
So I'm watching Bimil up to episode 6 at the moment (My god... I still have like 12 left?), and I'm severely annoyed. Usually, I'd like dramas that truly invoke emotions out of me, but this one is really annoying. The sad part is that I loved this drama back in the day, now I find myself hating it as much as the Twilight series =_= (Ugh... don't get me started with Twilight).
Ok, so all these problems in the drama could have been so easily resolved if someone would just LISTEN or use COMMON SENSE, which most of the characters seem to be lacking =_=; First the father was cruel in raising his biological daughter as though she were adopted and constantly throw verbally-abusive comments at her. Then to make things worse, his second daughter is probably the most evil antagonist I've encountered in a series yet @_@. Next, the fashion designer is stupid enough to just call the second daughter her OWN daughter instead of researching more into it. God, these people are annoying.
I've got to say that Korean dramas have come a long way though. Things from back in the late 90's and early 00's were just terribly formulaic and annoying as hell like the drama I'm watching at the moment -- why in the world did we even like them then @_@? (So puzzling). The Korean dramas nowadays are a lot better, like "My Name is Kim Sam Soon" or "Coffee Prince." Of course, we've got some occasional annoying ones now and then, but nothing's perfect. At least it's not as annoying as the one I'm watching right now =_= *sigh*
Anyway, I just needed to rant so rant I did.
Saturday, September 26, 2009
Bimil (비밀) Drama
I remember watching this back in 2004 or 2005-ish when it aired in Cantonese dubbing on the Chinese satelite TV thingy and I really loved it then, but now that I'm watching it again, it's hard to stand in a way.
This drama was made back in year 2000, so most of the Korean dramas then had the same formula. There was always the main heroine or hero who was poor, then they're actually related to or falls in love with someone in a rich family, next there's always a deceptive evil sister or something that prevents people from finding out the real identity of the main character or allowing the main character to get together with the other main person, and lastly, someone dies in a car crash or leukemia. I think this was the second to last drama I watched before quitting K-drama completely since they were basically the same in almost every way.
In Bimil, it's a story about a girl who wants to be a fashion designer, but currently works in a clothing wholesale shop within a department store. She believes herself to be an orphan, taken in by her father, a truck driver whom once owned a clothing store, and is thankful to him for bringing her up all her life, except... she is actually his real daughter. The man was resentful towards the woman whom left him behind nearly 25 years ago, so he brought up his biological daughter as though he adopted her. He then met another woman and had a daughter with her, but he was abusive towards this woman and then she died. He raised this second daughter as his biological daughter, and she grew up with a deceitful streak.
Now in the present, the woman whom left her lover and infant child behind 25 years ago, is back in Korea as a famous designer. She wants to find the daughter whom she left behind years ago and support her as she should have, but she makes a mistake and thinks the younger daughter is her real daughter. The younger daughter, becoming more power-hungry and twisted, tricks the fashion designer and makes herself into a rich lady while her half-sister, the real daughter to the fashion designer, has no idea of what has happened.
At the same time, the director of the fashion designer's company falls in love with the main girl, but the fashion designer wants her "daughter" to marry the director, and it causes quite a rift between the two sisters. In the end, the main girl finds out that the fashion designer is actually her mother when she is diagnosed with leukemia and the younger sister runs to the main girl begging for her to donate bone marrow. However, despite that, the fashion designer eventually passes away without ever really reuniting with her real daughter. (Yeah, the fashion designer telling the main girl to call her mom as she lays dying by her bedside doesn't really count as a reunion =_= even if she does acknowledge that the girl before her is her biological daughter).
This is basically the entire story summed up in a nutshell. It's a bit excruciating to watch at the moment, because there's nothing more irritating than watching one of the sisters be a complete bitch, while the other accepts all the abuse. Frankly, it's annoying.
I used to love this drama, but now I can't seem to like it at all. Oh well.
This drama was made back in year 2000, so most of the Korean dramas then had the same formula. There was always the main heroine or hero who was poor, then they're actually related to or falls in love with someone in a rich family, next there's always a deceptive evil sister or something that prevents people from finding out the real identity of the main character or allowing the main character to get together with the other main person, and lastly, someone dies in a car crash or leukemia. I think this was the second to last drama I watched before quitting K-drama completely since they were basically the same in almost every way.
In Bimil, it's a story about a girl who wants to be a fashion designer, but currently works in a clothing wholesale shop within a department store. She believes herself to be an orphan, taken in by her father, a truck driver whom once owned a clothing store, and is thankful to him for bringing her up all her life, except... she is actually his real daughter. The man was resentful towards the woman whom left him behind nearly 25 years ago, so he brought up his biological daughter as though he adopted her. He then met another woman and had a daughter with her, but he was abusive towards this woman and then she died. He raised this second daughter as his biological daughter, and she grew up with a deceitful streak.
Now in the present, the woman whom left her lover and infant child behind 25 years ago, is back in Korea as a famous designer. She wants to find the daughter whom she left behind years ago and support her as she should have, but she makes a mistake and thinks the younger daughter is her real daughter. The younger daughter, becoming more power-hungry and twisted, tricks the fashion designer and makes herself into a rich lady while her half-sister, the real daughter to the fashion designer, has no idea of what has happened.
At the same time, the director of the fashion designer's company falls in love with the main girl, but the fashion designer wants her "daughter" to marry the director, and it causes quite a rift between the two sisters. In the end, the main girl finds out that the fashion designer is actually her mother when she is diagnosed with leukemia and the younger sister runs to the main girl begging for her to donate bone marrow. However, despite that, the fashion designer eventually passes away without ever really reuniting with her real daughter. (Yeah, the fashion designer telling the main girl to call her mom as she lays dying by her bedside doesn't really count as a reunion =_= even if she does acknowledge that the girl before her is her biological daughter).
This is basically the entire story summed up in a nutshell. It's a bit excruciating to watch at the moment, because there's nothing more irritating than watching one of the sisters be a complete bitch, while the other accepts all the abuse. Frankly, it's annoying.
I used to love this drama, but now I can't seem to like it at all. Oh well.
Friday, December 12, 2008
射鵰英雄傳 1982-1983
I decided to watch The Legend of Condor Heroes '82 TVB series after so many years have passed since I last viewed it. It's really well-done, a lot better than I remembered it. Of course, the special effects are a bit cheesy at times, but for an '80's television series it's pretty good, in my opinion.
I love Wong Yat-Wah (Felix Wong), Yung Mei-Ling (Barbara Yung), and Miu Kiu Wai (Michael Miu). These three made the series so much fun to watch, especially the chemistry between Felix and Barbara. I think Miu Kiu Wai is one of the best Cantonese actors ever, but he stopped acting for a while to pursue a career as a businessman instead. I don't think anyone else can beat his portrayal of Yang Kang. I also don't think anyone can ever beat Felix and Barbara's portrayals of Guo Jing and Huang Rong.
I tried watching the 1994 TVB version several years ago, but it just didn't seem to have the same sort of sparkle the 1982 version had. Sure, lots more details were added in the 1994 version, but I kind of prefer the somewhat conservative version from '82 over the newer. And then I refuse to watch any other adaptation 'cause drama from the mainland is not always great, and I just plain hate Taiwanese drama so... yeah... Also... I'm not a fan of Ariel Lin =_= so someone would have to drug me and tie me to a chair if I'm going to end up watching the 2008 version. =_= (Ugh... just knowing that she and Jerry Yan are doing an adaptation of Skip Beat is somewhat vexing ... of all people... why those two!?)
Anyway, I watched all 50+ episodes and loved everything up to the end. For some reason, Cantonese drama hardly ever end all too well for me. I keep expecting too much maybe, but the rest of the series is really good. For those who haven't seen Legend of the Condor Heroes, I really recommend the 1982 version.
I love Wong Yat-Wah (Felix Wong), Yung Mei-Ling (Barbara Yung), and Miu Kiu Wai (Michael Miu). These three made the series so much fun to watch, especially the chemistry between Felix and Barbara. I think Miu Kiu Wai is one of the best Cantonese actors ever, but he stopped acting for a while to pursue a career as a businessman instead. I don't think anyone else can beat his portrayal of Yang Kang. I also don't think anyone can ever beat Felix and Barbara's portrayals of Guo Jing and Huang Rong.
I tried watching the 1994 TVB version several years ago, but it just didn't seem to have the same sort of sparkle the 1982 version had. Sure, lots more details were added in the 1994 version, but I kind of prefer the somewhat conservative version from '82 over the newer. And then I refuse to watch any other adaptation 'cause drama from the mainland is not always great, and I just plain hate Taiwanese drama so... yeah... Also... I'm not a fan of Ariel Lin =_= so someone would have to drug me and tie me to a chair if I'm going to end up watching the 2008 version. =_= (Ugh... just knowing that she and Jerry Yan are doing an adaptation of Skip Beat is somewhat vexing ... of all people... why those two!?)
Anyway, I watched all 50+ episodes and loved everything up to the end. For some reason, Cantonese drama hardly ever end all too well for me. I keep expecting too much maybe, but the rest of the series is really good. For those who haven't seen Legend of the Condor Heroes, I really recommend the 1982 version.
Monday, October 27, 2008
Innocent Love Episode 02
This episode was less exciting and the heroine exhibited almost flawless stalker techniques so it was more of a turn-off than a turn-on =_=; I guess there's that saying of where when you fall in love, you just don't want to let that person out of your sight, so you end up following them... but that's just the first step in the path towards stalker-hood =_=; Well, anyway...
In this episode, Junya wakes the day after Christmas to find Kanon's present sitting outside waiting for him. He picks it up and then wonders who it's from. He later consults Mizuki about it, and Mizuki says that it could be a prank from one of the children, that or someone has a crush on him. Junya doesn't believe either to be the case and they leave it at that.
Back with Kanon, we see that she changes her name to Yamada Kanako while applying for work as a janitor for a train station. She later goes to consult with Shimada Satoyo, an attorney, about her brother, but Shimada tells Kanon that there's no way they can win a trial with all the gathered evidence. Dejected, Kanon leaves the law firm and then notices Junya. She follows him and enters a restaurant called Bar Primo Piano where he plays dinner music.
During another day, Ikeda Jiro, a reporter, goes to visit Akiyama Youji in juvenile prison. He believes that Youji is innocent (or has another reason for killing his parents), and tries to get Youji's side of the story. In Youji's memory, we see him frantically soaking his parents' bodies in gasoline and then lighting a fire. Ikeda asks Youji about who could have killed his parents and says that no one, but Youji could have done it, but Youji tells Ikeda that he is innocent.
One day as Kanon is passing by Junya's place, she notices Iwata Harue on the phone talking with someone concerning her father's condition. Because things seemed to have taken a bad turn, Iwata abandons her work at Junya's place and leaves immediately. Kanon (boldly) walks into Junya's place and notices the piano music box on top of Junya's piano. When she hears a sound behind Kiyoka's bedroom, she approaches the door and Subaru pops out to find her. Mistaking her for a thief, he tells Junya to look around to see if she has stolen anything. Hurt by the way she is being treated, she bolts out of Junya's place and rushes back to her apartment where she rips the picture with Junya into two. (Though seriously... if you trespass, people are going to treat you like a thief =_=;;;) Subaru asks Junya who Kanon is and Junya explains how they met. After hearing the story, Subaru decides that Kanon is a stalker, but Junya doesn't really know what to think. The two head back to Kiyoka's room when they notice that she is smiling. Junya is surprised and goes to shake her in hopes that she has woke up.
Some time later, Kanon goes to her brother's prison to talk with him, but he refuses to see her and has the guard tell her that he has come down with a cold. Kanon wonders if her brother really has a cold or not. As she is walking, she receives a call from Subaru who apologizes for his words and behavior earlier. He also wants to hire her to clean Junya's home and she accepts the job, though pretty bewildered about why this has happened. When she arrives at Junya's home at the appointed time, Junya shows her where to clean and what she can or cannot do. She happily goes about working.
After Kanon has begun working at Junya's place, Subaru and Junya chat about her and Subaru thinks that Junya should move his gaze towards Kanon. He believes that a change is best for his friend, but Junya is dedicated to Kiyoka.
Back at Junya's home, Kanon is humming and singingwhile cleaning and stops when Junya comes home. He tells her to continue singing and she doesn't want to, but then he goes to play the piano and starts singing. She later follows and both are out of sync with each other until their sound somewhat balances each other's. Kiyoka blinks her eyes in the next room as it seems that she may be coming out of her coma maybe one of these days.
Before Kanon heads home, Junya gives her a small music box with the same hymn and tells her that it's a present (since she gave him the piano music box). Kanon is surprised that he knew that it was her and touched to receive the music box from him.
Later on Kanon's way home, Ikeda Jiro is waiting for her as he has tracked her down again and takes her to a family restaurant where he tells her that he wants to help her brother and prove that he's innocent. Though she is wary of him at first, she soon decides to enlist his help when he tells her that he believes that her brother is innocent. She is glad that she has moved out to Yokohama and found someone who is willing to help them.
Another day, Subaru approaches Kanon at the train station and the two go to a park where they chat about Junya. Kanon asks if Junya has a girlfriend and Subaru is silent for a moment before telling her that he has a past lover whom he cannot forget, but she is no longer here so he hopes that Kanon can take care of Junya. She promises to do so.
Later that day, Subaru goes to visit Kiyoka and thinks about pulling the air tube out of Kiyoka's neck. He gets close to doing so when Junya pops in. After Junya approaches the bed, Subaru ducks out of the room.
Meanwhile at Kanon's place, she is making sandwiches for Junya and then rushes over to his house when she notices him and Kiyoka at the piano. Shocked, she drops her box and stares at the two. She narrates and wonders why people lie, realizing that she has been lying to herself about her true feelings as she watches the two .
------
And yes... this episode was kind of an odd one. Kanon was very much a stalker and so she really can't blame Subaru and Junya for treating her as a thief. A lot of things didn't exactly make sense, but I'm just going to take it all with a grain of salt and see if the next episode improves.
In this episode, Junya wakes the day after Christmas to find Kanon's present sitting outside waiting for him. He picks it up and then wonders who it's from. He later consults Mizuki about it, and Mizuki says that it could be a prank from one of the children, that or someone has a crush on him. Junya doesn't believe either to be the case and they leave it at that.
Back with Kanon, we see that she changes her name to Yamada Kanako while applying for work as a janitor for a train station. She later goes to consult with Shimada Satoyo, an attorney, about her brother, but Shimada tells Kanon that there's no way they can win a trial with all the gathered evidence. Dejected, Kanon leaves the law firm and then notices Junya. She follows him and enters a restaurant called Bar Primo Piano where he plays dinner music.
During another day, Ikeda Jiro, a reporter, goes to visit Akiyama Youji in juvenile prison. He believes that Youji is innocent (or has another reason for killing his parents), and tries to get Youji's side of the story. In Youji's memory, we see him frantically soaking his parents' bodies in gasoline and then lighting a fire. Ikeda asks Youji about who could have killed his parents and says that no one, but Youji could have done it, but Youji tells Ikeda that he is innocent.
One day as Kanon is passing by Junya's place, she notices Iwata Harue on the phone talking with someone concerning her father's condition. Because things seemed to have taken a bad turn, Iwata abandons her work at Junya's place and leaves immediately. Kanon (boldly) walks into Junya's place and notices the piano music box on top of Junya's piano. When she hears a sound behind Kiyoka's bedroom, she approaches the door and Subaru pops out to find her. Mistaking her for a thief, he tells Junya to look around to see if she has stolen anything. Hurt by the way she is being treated, she bolts out of Junya's place and rushes back to her apartment where she rips the picture with Junya into two. (Though seriously... if you trespass, people are going to treat you like a thief =_=;;;) Subaru asks Junya who Kanon is and Junya explains how they met. After hearing the story, Subaru decides that Kanon is a stalker, but Junya doesn't really know what to think. The two head back to Kiyoka's room when they notice that she is smiling. Junya is surprised and goes to shake her in hopes that she has woke up.
Some time later, Kanon goes to her brother's prison to talk with him, but he refuses to see her and has the guard tell her that he has come down with a cold. Kanon wonders if her brother really has a cold or not. As she is walking, she receives a call from Subaru who apologizes for his words and behavior earlier. He also wants to hire her to clean Junya's home and she accepts the job, though pretty bewildered about why this has happened. When she arrives at Junya's home at the appointed time, Junya shows her where to clean and what she can or cannot do. She happily goes about working.
After Kanon has begun working at Junya's place, Subaru and Junya chat about her and Subaru thinks that Junya should move his gaze towards Kanon. He believes that a change is best for his friend, but Junya is dedicated to Kiyoka.
Back at Junya's home, Kanon is humming and singingwhile cleaning and stops when Junya comes home. He tells her to continue singing and she doesn't want to, but then he goes to play the piano and starts singing. She later follows and both are out of sync with each other until their sound somewhat balances each other's. Kiyoka blinks her eyes in the next room as it seems that she may be coming out of her coma maybe one of these days.
Before Kanon heads home, Junya gives her a small music box with the same hymn and tells her that it's a present (since she gave him the piano music box). Kanon is surprised that he knew that it was her and touched to receive the music box from him.
Later on Kanon's way home, Ikeda Jiro is waiting for her as he has tracked her down again and takes her to a family restaurant where he tells her that he wants to help her brother and prove that he's innocent. Though she is wary of him at first, she soon decides to enlist his help when he tells her that he believes that her brother is innocent. She is glad that she has moved out to Yokohama and found someone who is willing to help them.
Another day, Subaru approaches Kanon at the train station and the two go to a park where they chat about Junya. Kanon asks if Junya has a girlfriend and Subaru is silent for a moment before telling her that he has a past lover whom he cannot forget, but she is no longer here so he hopes that Kanon can take care of Junya. She promises to do so.
Later that day, Subaru goes to visit Kiyoka and thinks about pulling the air tube out of Kiyoka's neck. He gets close to doing so when Junya pops in. After Junya approaches the bed, Subaru ducks out of the room.
Meanwhile at Kanon's place, she is making sandwiches for Junya and then rushes over to his house when she notices him and Kiyoka at the piano. Shocked, she drops her box and stares at the two. She narrates and wonders why people lie, realizing that she has been lying to herself about her true feelings as she watches the two .
------
And yes... this episode was kind of an odd one. Kanon was very much a stalker and so she really can't blame Subaru and Junya for treating her as a thief. A lot of things didn't exactly make sense, but I'm just going to take it all with a grain of salt and see if the next episode improves.
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Innocent Love Episode 01
The story of Innocent Love is centered on a 19 year-old girl, Akiyama Kanon, who is trying her best to live each day happily, but her past keeps casting a shadow over her opportunities. Her older brother is accused of arson and murdering their parents, and thus is in jail. Because of their background, no one wants to hire Kanon and so she leaves her hometown for the big city, Yokohama. In the new city, she tries to make a fresh start and ends up meeting the kind pianist, Nagasaki Junya, whom becomes her first love.
Innocent Love has a very "Last Friends" feel to it as the screenwriter is exactly the same as the one who worked on that particular drama, and Utada Hikaru sings the opening for both dramas. The concept for the opening theme is exactly the same to Last Friend's in which each character has a word attached to their section of the opening sequence. In Innocent Love, the following words are used (for our guessing and speculating pleasure):
Akiyama Kanon (Horikita Maki) - Destiny
Nagasaki Junya (Kitagawa Yujin) - Memory
Toono Kiyoka (Uchida Yuki) - Betrayal
Segawa Subaru (Narimiya Hiroki) - Denial
Akiyama Yoji (Fukushi Seiji) - Sacrifice
Ikeda Jiro (Toyohara Kosuke) - Disclosure
Sakurai Mizuki (Kashii Yu) - Jealousy
From the words in the opening sequence, the audience can guess what each character's personality and story is like. As the central theme to the drama is "Love," my speculations for each character are as follows:
For Akiyama Kanon, her form of love is found through destiny. She meets Nagasaki Junya for the first time in his mansion as a housekeeper and is caught by him when she tries to steal a photograph that shows him smiling at a piano. He makes her take a picture of the two of them together and she feels very happy with their encounter. After she is fired from her recent job due to her getting her background exposed and a coworker framing her for burgulary, she meets Junya again at the church where he plays piano for the choir and realizes that she has fallen in love for the first time. With all these encounters and paths crossing, her love is like something created from destiny.
For Nagasaki Junya, a pianist, time is frozen for him as he is still in love with his (possibly former girl-) friend, Toono Kiyoka, whom is bedridden and relying on machines to keep her alive. She does not smile and is living behind a locked door in Junya's home. Little is known about their past relationship for now, but we know that Junya is very much in love with Kiyoka.
Toono Kiyoka, the woman whom Junya is keeping alive in his mansion, has the word "betrayal" associated with her section of the opening sequence so I can only guess several possibilities to her character. One is that she fell in love with another man and was betrayed so she attempted suicide and failed. Due to her attempt, she is now bedridden. Another theory is that she has a terminal illness and wants to die, but Junya forces her to live by keeping her alive. In any case, the word "betrayal" could mean a great number of things so I'm interested in seeing what her story is.
Segawa Subaru's story is pretty easy to see -- as his word is "denial" which kind of makes it pretty clear as to what type of love he is associated with. Subaru is friends with Junya and though it has not exactly been said yet, it kind of hints at him being in love with Junya. I do not necessarily think that he's gay -- he could very well be bisexual for all we know right now -- but one thing that is for certain is that he is probably in love with his good friend, Junya, and because of this, he feels pain from this emotion. (In my opinion, if Subaru is given a great deal of screen time, this can ultimately turn into one of the best roles Narimiya Hiroki has ever played)
Next is Akiyama Yoji, and with his word being "sacrifice," it makes me wonder what type of "love" he is associated with. My imagination tends to be pretty wild so my theory is that he may not be Kanon's real, blood brother and thus is in love with her. In order to distance himself from her, he might have willingly allowed himself to be arrested and taken to prison even for a crime he may not have committed. Of course, this is just my theory and like I said, I have a wild imagination so it may not be true.
The next word is "disclosure" and I think this only describes Ikeda Jiro's character as a person who is pursuing the truth, not really with the theme of love much. He either wants to prove that Yoji is innocent or find out more about the incident so he knows for certain that Yoji is guilty. He looks kind of shady in a way actually =_=; like a crooked cop...
Lastly is Sakurai Mizuki, Junya's childhood friend, whom is in love with him, but does not have her feelings reciprocated because he does not see her in that way at all. She is jealous of the women who get close to him or even slightly approach him, and tends to have a bitter tone when talking about them. In a way, she may become the antagonist of the drama as jealousy can often kill people ^_^;;;
For now, this story is very nice and definitely my cup of tea. I like tragic stories and I enjoy love stories now and then as long as it's not soppingly sappy and mawkishly romantic. There is a light feel to this drama though it is also pretty dark in a way. I really like it and will definitely keep waching it.
Innocent Love has a very "Last Friends" feel to it as the screenwriter is exactly the same as the one who worked on that particular drama, and Utada Hikaru sings the opening for both dramas. The concept for the opening theme is exactly the same to Last Friend's in which each character has a word attached to their section of the opening sequence. In Innocent Love, the following words are used (for our guessing and speculating pleasure):
Akiyama Kanon (Horikita Maki) - Destiny
Nagasaki Junya (Kitagawa Yujin) - Memory
Toono Kiyoka (Uchida Yuki) - Betrayal
Segawa Subaru (Narimiya Hiroki) - Denial
Akiyama Yoji (Fukushi Seiji) - Sacrifice
Ikeda Jiro (Toyohara Kosuke) - Disclosure
Sakurai Mizuki (Kashii Yu) - Jealousy
From the words in the opening sequence, the audience can guess what each character's personality and story is like. As the central theme to the drama is "Love," my speculations for each character are as follows:
For Akiyama Kanon, her form of love is found through destiny. She meets Nagasaki Junya for the first time in his mansion as a housekeeper and is caught by him when she tries to steal a photograph that shows him smiling at a piano. He makes her take a picture of the two of them together and she feels very happy with their encounter. After she is fired from her recent job due to her getting her background exposed and a coworker framing her for burgulary, she meets Junya again at the church where he plays piano for the choir and realizes that she has fallen in love for the first time. With all these encounters and paths crossing, her love is like something created from destiny.
For Nagasaki Junya, a pianist, time is frozen for him as he is still in love with his (possibly former girl-) friend, Toono Kiyoka, whom is bedridden and relying on machines to keep her alive. She does not smile and is living behind a locked door in Junya's home. Little is known about their past relationship for now, but we know that Junya is very much in love with Kiyoka.
Toono Kiyoka, the woman whom Junya is keeping alive in his mansion, has the word "betrayal" associated with her section of the opening sequence so I can only guess several possibilities to her character. One is that she fell in love with another man and was betrayed so she attempted suicide and failed. Due to her attempt, she is now bedridden. Another theory is that she has a terminal illness and wants to die, but Junya forces her to live by keeping her alive. In any case, the word "betrayal" could mean a great number of things so I'm interested in seeing what her story is.
Segawa Subaru's story is pretty easy to see -- as his word is "denial" which kind of makes it pretty clear as to what type of love he is associated with. Subaru is friends with Junya and though it has not exactly been said yet, it kind of hints at him being in love with Junya. I do not necessarily think that he's gay -- he could very well be bisexual for all we know right now -- but one thing that is for certain is that he is probably in love with his good friend, Junya, and because of this, he feels pain from this emotion. (In my opinion, if Subaru is given a great deal of screen time, this can ultimately turn into one of the best roles Narimiya Hiroki has ever played)
Next is Akiyama Yoji, and with his word being "sacrifice," it makes me wonder what type of "love" he is associated with. My imagination tends to be pretty wild so my theory is that he may not be Kanon's real, blood brother and thus is in love with her. In order to distance himself from her, he might have willingly allowed himself to be arrested and taken to prison even for a crime he may not have committed. Of course, this is just my theory and like I said, I have a wild imagination so it may not be true.
The next word is "disclosure" and I think this only describes Ikeda Jiro's character as a person who is pursuing the truth, not really with the theme of love much. He either wants to prove that Yoji is innocent or find out more about the incident so he knows for certain that Yoji is guilty. He looks kind of shady in a way actually =_=; like a crooked cop...
Lastly is Sakurai Mizuki, Junya's childhood friend, whom is in love with him, but does not have her feelings reciprocated because he does not see her in that way at all. She is jealous of the women who get close to him or even slightly approach him, and tends to have a bitter tone when talking about them. In a way, she may become the antagonist of the drama as jealousy can often kill people ^_^;;;
For now, this story is very nice and definitely my cup of tea. I like tragic stories and I enjoy love stories now and then as long as it's not soppingly sappy and mawkishly romantic. There is a light feel to this drama though it is also pretty dark in a way. I really like it and will definitely keep waching it.
Sunday, October 19, 2008
Shanghai Typhoon
When I first downloaded this drama, I was wondering if I would like this drama or not 'cause it seemed like a typical love story between an obstinate and unreasonable heroine with a handsome, wealthy, foreign stranger, but then it turned out much better than I thought it would be. I have to say that I was not a fan of Misuzu, the heroine, at first, but gradually she grew on me and we can see why she turned out the way she did.
Shanghai Typhoon is about an elite sales manager, Nomura Misuzu, of a lingerie company in Japan who gets sent on a business trip to Shanghai. She meets the handsome businessman, Cao Fei, there and both become attracted to each other, but cultural differences and business tactics cause the two to constantly fight. Misuzu later causes a strike in a Chinese factory and because of this, resigns from her job and decides to try something else. However, because finding employment in Japan is not easy and due to her causing a commotion at her previous workplace, she is unable to find a new job. On top of that, her long-time boyfriend breaks up with her because she is unwilling to commit to marriage and he meets a nice woman from an omiai set up by his boss. When everything seems to be going up in smoke for Misuzu in Japan, she decides to go back to Shanghai to try her luck there. Several reasons why she picks Shanghai is because 1) it is the place she hates the most; 2) a flower arranger named Mitsui Kaori says that there are lots of opportunities in Shanghai; and 3) Cao Fei (though she fervently denies it).
When she first starts living in Shanghai, she meets Toono Mari, a woman who works for real estate, and is introduced to an apartment in an inexpensive part and supposedly good part of town. However, the apartment turns out to be really unreliable and leaky so she ends up living with Mari. When she finally settles in with Mari, she starts looking for employment in Shanghai, but is turned down by many places and in the end is tricked by a couple of "potential employers." After much hardship and being tricked by people, she finds Mitsui Kaori and starts working for her, but has a bad attitude about things and ends up getting herself fired.
The later part of the series, Misuzu becomes a lot better when she stops blaming things on other people and Shanghai, and actually tries to make an effort in liking this new life she's chosen. She grows close to Kaori, Mari, a young Chinese girl named Lin, and Cao Fei. She also learns about the father who's disappeared from her life ten years ago, and in resolving things between them, she matures and grows up. She ends up finding what she really wants to do in Shanghai and takes the city by storm with her innovative idea.
Shanghai Typhoon has both Japanese and Chinese language with some English. Actors and actresses speak with accented Japanese or Chinese, but it's not too bad. The series also depicts living in China pretty accurately. A lot of the things that happens in the series are things that my family often tells me to watch out for and such when going to China to visit. I find watching the series pretty educational in a way so I stuck with it. There are times when listening to broken Chinese kind of bug me, but overall, the series is pretty nice.
Shanghai Typhoon is about an elite sales manager, Nomura Misuzu, of a lingerie company in Japan who gets sent on a business trip to Shanghai. She meets the handsome businessman, Cao Fei, there and both become attracted to each other, but cultural differences and business tactics cause the two to constantly fight. Misuzu later causes a strike in a Chinese factory and because of this, resigns from her job and decides to try something else. However, because finding employment in Japan is not easy and due to her causing a commotion at her previous workplace, she is unable to find a new job. On top of that, her long-time boyfriend breaks up with her because she is unwilling to commit to marriage and he meets a nice woman from an omiai set up by his boss. When everything seems to be going up in smoke for Misuzu in Japan, she decides to go back to Shanghai to try her luck there. Several reasons why she picks Shanghai is because 1) it is the place she hates the most; 2) a flower arranger named Mitsui Kaori says that there are lots of opportunities in Shanghai; and 3) Cao Fei (though she fervently denies it).
When she first starts living in Shanghai, she meets Toono Mari, a woman who works for real estate, and is introduced to an apartment in an inexpensive part and supposedly good part of town. However, the apartment turns out to be really unreliable and leaky so she ends up living with Mari. When she finally settles in with Mari, she starts looking for employment in Shanghai, but is turned down by many places and in the end is tricked by a couple of "potential employers." After much hardship and being tricked by people, she finds Mitsui Kaori and starts working for her, but has a bad attitude about things and ends up getting herself fired.
The later part of the series, Misuzu becomes a lot better when she stops blaming things on other people and Shanghai, and actually tries to make an effort in liking this new life she's chosen. She grows close to Kaori, Mari, a young Chinese girl named Lin, and Cao Fei. She also learns about the father who's disappeared from her life ten years ago, and in resolving things between them, she matures and grows up. She ends up finding what she really wants to do in Shanghai and takes the city by storm with her innovative idea.
Shanghai Typhoon has both Japanese and Chinese language with some English. Actors and actresses speak with accented Japanese or Chinese, but it's not too bad. The series also depicts living in China pretty accurately. A lot of the things that happens in the series are things that my family often tells me to watch out for and such when going to China to visit. I find watching the series pretty educational in a way so I stuck with it. There are times when listening to broken Chinese kind of bug me, but overall, the series is pretty nice.
Friday, October 17, 2008
Ryuusei na Kizuna Episode 01
This drama is really entertaining for me. I know that it's a murder mystery concerning three siblings who swear to find their parents' killers and avenge their deaths, but the interaction of the characters in the beginning of this episode just cracks me up. I really love watching Ninomiya Kazunari, Nishikido Ryo, and Toda Erika play the Ariake siblings. They do a fantastic job at their roles and are very skilled actors.
Nishikido Ryo just wows me at times, especially with his ability to talk extremely fast about sex ("Sports & Open Bath") lol ^_^; After the opening sequence, he and George talk about "infidelity" and he really pushes his benefactor on the topic lol ^_^; I still remember his role as Sousuke in Last Friends, which I believe is one of his best roles to date. The way he portrayed his character was so good that I'm still freaked out by his Sousuke role. Right now, watching him play the "da-me" younger brother, Ariake Taisuke, is refreshing and really funny. He's always been given cool roles (and cool in several different ways, I guess), but this is the first I've seen him act as a dumb character. He's really cute. Ah, he also works at a porn video rental shop in this drama lol ^_^;
Ninomiya Kazunari plays the eldest brother, Ariake Kouichi, who can be described as the serious, hermit-like character who spends more time at home and in front of their computer than out and about hanging with friends. He's a hardworker who is prudent and proper about things, but will do anything to protect and take care of his younger siblings. He is also good with technology and teased by his younger brother and sister a lot. In short, his character is the anti-social, but cares about the family type. Ninomiya plays the role very well and you just can't help, but love him.
Toda Erika is the youngest sibling and sister, Ariake Shizuna, who is very cute, sweet, innocent, and yet not ^_^; She and Taisuke get along a lot better than with Kouichi, but loves both brothers the same. She is pretty naive and wants the best for her family as well, but is easy to anger and deceive. In the first episode, she is frequently harrassed by her superior at her company when he sticks a million sticky-notes on his desk, computer, papers, on her clothes, back, and then finally on her face. Because she cannot take anymore of his sticky-noteness, she quits the company and starts a skimpy part-time job until Kouichi plus Taisuke stops her. She also finds out later -- after she quits her job -- that the sticky-notes used to harrass her were actually a form of affection, because the boss is attracted to her, but she decides never to care about it anymore. She later also gets swindled 300,000 yen (which is roughly $3000), and in order to get the money back, she tries to swindle someone else with the help of Taisuke, but both are caught and stopped by Kouichi, who shows them a plan of his own.
Basically the first episode shows snippets of the past with the present, while incorporating much of the episode to how the three siblings cooperate to save each other and "defeat their enemies." For instance, a good portion of the episode shows the process in which Kouichi directs his two siblings in tricking the host, whom Katsuragi gives all her money to, to return the 300,000 yen to Shizuna. The way the whole plan is carried out though is just so funny. Kouichi actually writes a script as to how things are supposed to go, and then Taisuke infiltrates the host club as a newbie named Mitsuru and learns of Kazuya (the host)'s likes, dislikes, and weaknesses, which surprisingly turns out to be gothic-lolita shoujo manga ^_^;
After discovering that Kazuya likes gothic-loli, Shizuna dresses up as Kazuya's ideal girl (from the manga) and gets him to fall for her. Once the hook is in deep enough, Shizuna's play character, Shiori, tells Kazuya that she has to go away to Canada 'cause her doctor has told her that the air there will be better for her health, but she needs 300,000 yen. Upon reading her last letter, Kazuya makes Mitsuru (Taisuke) go and withdraw 300,000 yen from his account to send to Shiori (Shizuna). And thus, Shizuna gets her money back ^_^
At the end of the episode, we learn the real reason why Shizuna actually quit her company. A co-worker asks her about the Ariake murder case when asking Shizuna about her name, and Shizuna reacts to it. After that experience, things have become awkward in a way and she can no longer work in that environment, so she quit. Upon speaking about the subject again, the three reminisce how they discovered their parents' death, how they vowed to hunt down and kill the one responsible for killing their parents and look out into the city.
So in short, this series is quite entertaining despite how dark it is supposed to be. I really enjoy it a lot and think it has quite a lot of potential. I want to read the novel now too, except it'll probably take me forever 'cause it's not like I'm exactly completely fluent in Japanese ^_^; I really am looking forward to the next episode.
Nishikido Ryo just wows me at times, especially with his ability to talk extremely fast about sex ("Sports & Open Bath") lol ^_^; After the opening sequence, he and George talk about "infidelity" and he really pushes his benefactor on the topic lol ^_^; I still remember his role as Sousuke in Last Friends, which I believe is one of his best roles to date. The way he portrayed his character was so good that I'm still freaked out by his Sousuke role. Right now, watching him play the "da-me" younger brother, Ariake Taisuke, is refreshing and really funny. He's always been given cool roles (and cool in several different ways, I guess), but this is the first I've seen him act as a dumb character. He's really cute. Ah, he also works at a porn video rental shop in this drama lol ^_^;
Ninomiya Kazunari plays the eldest brother, Ariake Kouichi, who can be described as the serious, hermit-like character who spends more time at home and in front of their computer than out and about hanging with friends. He's a hardworker who is prudent and proper about things, but will do anything to protect and take care of his younger siblings. He is also good with technology and teased by his younger brother and sister a lot. In short, his character is the anti-social, but cares about the family type. Ninomiya plays the role very well and you just can't help, but love him.
Toda Erika is the youngest sibling and sister, Ariake Shizuna, who is very cute, sweet, innocent, and yet not ^_^; She and Taisuke get along a lot better than with Kouichi, but loves both brothers the same. She is pretty naive and wants the best for her family as well, but is easy to anger and deceive. In the first episode, she is frequently harrassed by her superior at her company when he sticks a million sticky-notes on his desk, computer, papers, on her clothes, back, and then finally on her face. Because she cannot take anymore of his sticky-noteness, she quits the company and starts a skimpy part-time job until Kouichi plus Taisuke stops her. She also finds out later -- after she quits her job -- that the sticky-notes used to harrass her were actually a form of affection, because the boss is attracted to her, but she decides never to care about it anymore. She later also gets swindled 300,000 yen (which is roughly $3000), and in order to get the money back, she tries to swindle someone else with the help of Taisuke, but both are caught and stopped by Kouichi, who shows them a plan of his own.
Basically the first episode shows snippets of the past with the present, while incorporating much of the episode to how the three siblings cooperate to save each other and "defeat their enemies." For instance, a good portion of the episode shows the process in which Kouichi directs his two siblings in tricking the host, whom Katsuragi gives all her money to, to return the 300,000 yen to Shizuna. The way the whole plan is carried out though is just so funny. Kouichi actually writes a script as to how things are supposed to go, and then Taisuke infiltrates the host club as a newbie named Mitsuru and learns of Kazuya (the host)'s likes, dislikes, and weaknesses, which surprisingly turns out to be gothic-lolita shoujo manga ^_^;
After discovering that Kazuya likes gothic-loli, Shizuna dresses up as Kazuya's ideal girl (from the manga) and gets him to fall for her. Once the hook is in deep enough, Shizuna's play character, Shiori, tells Kazuya that she has to go away to Canada 'cause her doctor has told her that the air there will be better for her health, but she needs 300,000 yen. Upon reading her last letter, Kazuya makes Mitsuru (Taisuke) go and withdraw 300,000 yen from his account to send to Shiori (Shizuna). And thus, Shizuna gets her money back ^_^
At the end of the episode, we learn the real reason why Shizuna actually quit her company. A co-worker asks her about the Ariake murder case when asking Shizuna about her name, and Shizuna reacts to it. After that experience, things have become awkward in a way and she can no longer work in that environment, so she quit. Upon speaking about the subject again, the three reminisce how they discovered their parents' death, how they vowed to hunt down and kill the one responsible for killing their parents and look out into the city.
So in short, this series is quite entertaining despite how dark it is supposed to be. I really enjoy it a lot and think it has quite a lot of potential. I want to read the novel now too, except it'll probably take me forever 'cause it's not like I'm exactly completely fluent in Japanese ^_^; I really am looking forward to the next episode.
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Earl and Fairy, Kuroshitsuji, Celeb to Binbo Taro
I started some new series and I can say right now that I really love Hakushaku to Yousei and Celeb to Binbo Taro. I have not started watching the new Nodame Cantabile yet 'cause I'm waiting for people to sub in avi versions rather than mkv, but anyway... yes, I love HtY and CtBT 'cause they're definitely my cup of tea.
First Hakushaku to Yousei (Earl and Fairy), is an anime with veterans Midorikawa Hikaru and Nana Mizuki as the lead roles. Midorikawa plays Earl Edgar J.C. Ashenbert, a beautiful blond-haired, mauve-colored-eyed, man known as the legendary Blue Knight of fairy ancestry, who is searching for his family's treasure, the Sword of Merrow. He basically abducts the beautiful, Lydia Carlton, a fairy doctor, to act as his guide since she can see fairies and together, the two go to find this valuable Blue Knight heirloom. A lot of people are after the two as well, since Edgar is the Blue Knight, and Lydia is the only person who can see fairies. Those who want the sword for themselves try to either kill Edgar, or kidnap Lydia. For now though, the two are together on Edgar's ship and it is still uncertain whether or not Edgar can even be trusted.
I really like this series and the music for it too. I kind of disagree with the ending theme though 'cause I'm not a big fan of Midorikawa's singing =_=; (I just don't think he has the talent for it...), but I really like the opening. The artwork is really nice and I like 19th Century fashion so this is definitely a series for me ^_^. I'll probably keep watching this series 'cause I find it so charming.
Next is Celeb to Binbo Taro, which is a drama starring Kamiji Yusuke and Ueto Aya. The story has a Yamada Taro Monogatari sort of feel to it since both title characters are poor as hell and live in a shack, but the difference is that Celeb to Binbo Taro is about a poor 30-year-old widower with three children who comes to work for a 23-year-old hotel & fashion mogul (and probably ends up falling in love with her), while Yamada Taro is about a high school kid just trying to get by in life and do it happily. There's also this Driving Ms. Daisy sort of feel to it too, but I can't seem to put my finger on how similar the story seems to another drama that I've watched before =_=;;; (Binbo Danshi maybe?) Anyway... the story is pretty simple, but very funny as well. It's kind of a cookie-cutter type of story, but one that you can't really get tired of 'cause the elements are pretty hilarious.
Another series I started is Kuroshitsuji, which I can't seem to get into. Though I like the cast and I think the story has potential, the first episode kind of bored me. I am surprised that Sakamoto Maaya really sounds like a boy in this series. I've only heard her voice as the girly-pitch that I remember so well from many of her roles (minus Haruhi from Ouran Host Club), so hearing it sound so shockingly boyish is well, pretty refreshing for me ^_^. (I guess my reaction right now is the same has hearing about Paku Romi or Saiga Mitsuki playing women roles rather than guys since most of their roles happen to be men)
Anyway, Kuroshitsuji has nice artwork and the cast is really good, but I guess it kind of reminds me a bit of Jigoku Shojo in a way. I've never been able to get into that series 'cause Enma Ai only says the same thing over and over again so I get bored easily. I think I may stick around for a few more episodes to see if it's worth the long haul, but I'm exactly a big fan of it right now.
First Hakushaku to Yousei (Earl and Fairy), is an anime with veterans Midorikawa Hikaru and Nana Mizuki as the lead roles. Midorikawa plays Earl Edgar J.C. Ashenbert, a beautiful blond-haired, mauve-colored-eyed, man known as the legendary Blue Knight of fairy ancestry, who is searching for his family's treasure, the Sword of Merrow. He basically abducts the beautiful, Lydia Carlton, a fairy doctor, to act as his guide since she can see fairies and together, the two go to find this valuable Blue Knight heirloom. A lot of people are after the two as well, since Edgar is the Blue Knight, and Lydia is the only person who can see fairies. Those who want the sword for themselves try to either kill Edgar, or kidnap Lydia. For now though, the two are together on Edgar's ship and it is still uncertain whether or not Edgar can even be trusted.
I really like this series and the music for it too. I kind of disagree with the ending theme though 'cause I'm not a big fan of Midorikawa's singing =_=; (I just don't think he has the talent for it...), but I really like the opening. The artwork is really nice and I like 19th Century fashion so this is definitely a series for me ^_^. I'll probably keep watching this series 'cause I find it so charming.
Next is Celeb to Binbo Taro, which is a drama starring Kamiji Yusuke and Ueto Aya. The story has a Yamada Taro Monogatari sort of feel to it since both title characters are poor as hell and live in a shack, but the difference is that Celeb to Binbo Taro is about a poor 30-year-old widower with three children who comes to work for a 23-year-old hotel & fashion mogul (and probably ends up falling in love with her), while Yamada Taro is about a high school kid just trying to get by in life and do it happily. There's also this Driving Ms. Daisy sort of feel to it too, but I can't seem to put my finger on how similar the story seems to another drama that I've watched before =_=;;; (Binbo Danshi maybe?) Anyway... the story is pretty simple, but very funny as well. It's kind of a cookie-cutter type of story, but one that you can't really get tired of 'cause the elements are pretty hilarious.
Another series I started is Kuroshitsuji, which I can't seem to get into. Though I like the cast and I think the story has potential, the first episode kind of bored me. I am surprised that Sakamoto Maaya really sounds like a boy in this series. I've only heard her voice as the girly-pitch that I remember so well from many of her roles (minus Haruhi from Ouran Host Club), so hearing it sound so shockingly boyish is well, pretty refreshing for me ^_^. (I guess my reaction right now is the same has hearing about Paku Romi or Saiga Mitsuki playing women roles rather than guys since most of their roles happen to be men)
Anyway, Kuroshitsuji has nice artwork and the cast is really good, but I guess it kind of reminds me a bit of Jigoku Shojo in a way. I've never been able to get into that series 'cause Enma Ai only says the same thing over and over again so I get bored easily. I think I may stick around for a few more episodes to see if it's worth the long haul, but I'm exactly a big fan of it right now.
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
An End to A Few Select Favorites
The anime did an excellent job staying true to the manga and it was a very, very impressive adaptation. Just finished watching it while cleaning my room today -- well, I guess it was more like me cleaning during the opening & ending, while watching it during the actual 20 minutes of story. Out of the several anime I've been watching this season, I've got to say that Antique Bakery was one of the few that got my interest hooked on. The animation style was kind of poor, but the direction was really good. Now I really want to go and dig through my closet for my manga ^_^ This is one of my most favorite stories ever written on the face of the planet, and also the first Yoshinaga Fumi work that got me hooked on all her stuff. I worship the ground she walks on and look forward to more stories by her ^_^
My other favorite story, D.Gray-man, is stopping at 103 episodes today -- well, I guess it's technically yesterday in Japan. I'm a bit sad that there's no more D.Gray-man to watch after this one, but it can't be helped. There really isn't a lot of storyline material to work with after the "Attack on Headquarters" arc since Hoshino-sensei took a couple hiatuses. If they went on with the production, they'd only have enough material for maybe 5-10 episodes at most. It'll probably be a year or two before they can start a second season for the series. I think if that is the case, it is a wise choice on their part. I only hope that it doesn't end up like Fruits Basket where it will NEVER EVER finish ^_^.
Itazura na Kiss wrapped up earlier this month and the anime adaptation was pretty good too. Though it omitted quite a lot of elements found in the manga, it still stayed pretty true to the original. It's a shame that the mangaka died before the work could be completed, but the anime still ended pretty nicely. I also finished watching the Taiwanese version of the drama, and though it was quite painful on many occassions, I sat through and finished it. (Yes... I still wonder why I did it) Well, I actually skimmed through most of it and only watched the parts that somewhat interested me. I can't tell if Taiwanese actors are truly awful at their profession or the directors need to be hacked or the dialogue in Mandarin just sounds so corny and wrong to begin with @_@ (Wrong as in very mawkish and disturbingly sweet in a sickening way). Maybe I'm just not supposed to watch Chinese/Taiwanese dramas, listening to their sappiness kind of drives me off the wall.
Well, anyway... rather than think about how disturbing Taiwanese drama is to me, I'd like to focus on some more fun things ready to come our way ^_^. Nodame Cantablie season two is starting in a few weeks. Vampire Knight is continuing off where it left off in season one -- though I've yet to watch season one as well -- a very cutesy-looking anime called Hakushaku to Yousei (The Earl and the Fairy) seems to attract my attention, Junjou Romantica 2 will continue from where it left off, and SKIP BEAT has finally been made into an anime. I really do not agree with the animation design, but I can live since Miyano Mamoru, Konishi Katsuyuki and Inoue Marina are the leads ^_^ I love all three~ I think Inoue Marina will do a great Kyoko and I am trying my best to envision what Miyano-san will sound like doing Fuwa Sho, but it's not really working so I'll just have to wait & see. Konishi Katsuyuki will probably do his deep, Soubi-like (from Loveless) sounding voice ^_^ for Tsuruga Ren.
Anyway... probably should stop watching so much stuff and get around to doing the important things... but I still have Dragonauts & Natsume Yuujincho to finish and Katekyo Hitman Reborn to make a dent in =_= otherwise my computer's going to explode. (I have way too many episodes on this hard drive right now)
My other favorite story, D.Gray-man, is stopping at 103 episodes today -- well, I guess it's technically yesterday in Japan. I'm a bit sad that there's no more D.Gray-man to watch after this one, but it can't be helped. There really isn't a lot of storyline material to work with after the "Attack on Headquarters" arc since Hoshino-sensei took a couple hiatuses. If they went on with the production, they'd only have enough material for maybe 5-10 episodes at most. It'll probably be a year or two before they can start a second season for the series. I think if that is the case, it is a wise choice on their part. I only hope that it doesn't end up like Fruits Basket where it will NEVER EVER finish ^_^.
Itazura na Kiss wrapped up earlier this month and the anime adaptation was pretty good too. Though it omitted quite a lot of elements found in the manga, it still stayed pretty true to the original. It's a shame that the mangaka died before the work could be completed, but the anime still ended pretty nicely. I also finished watching the Taiwanese version of the drama, and though it was quite painful on many occassions, I sat through and finished it. (Yes... I still wonder why I did it) Well, I actually skimmed through most of it and only watched the parts that somewhat interested me. I can't tell if Taiwanese actors are truly awful at their profession or the directors need to be hacked or the dialogue in Mandarin just sounds so corny and wrong to begin with @_@ (Wrong as in very mawkish and disturbingly sweet in a sickening way). Maybe I'm just not supposed to watch Chinese/Taiwanese dramas, listening to their sappiness kind of drives me off the wall.
Well, anyway... rather than think about how disturbing Taiwanese drama is to me, I'd like to focus on some more fun things ready to come our way ^_^. Nodame Cantablie season two is starting in a few weeks. Vampire Knight is continuing off where it left off in season one -- though I've yet to watch season one as well -- a very cutesy-looking anime called Hakushaku to Yousei (The Earl and the Fairy) seems to attract my attention, Junjou Romantica 2 will continue from where it left off, and SKIP BEAT has finally been made into an anime. I really do not agree with the animation design, but I can live since Miyano Mamoru, Konishi Katsuyuki and Inoue Marina are the leads ^_^ I love all three~ I think Inoue Marina will do a great Kyoko and I am trying my best to envision what Miyano-san will sound like doing Fuwa Sho, but it's not really working so I'll just have to wait & see. Konishi Katsuyuki will probably do his deep, Soubi-like (from Loveless) sounding voice ^_^ for Tsuruga Ren.
Anyway... probably should stop watching so much stuff and get around to doing the important things... but I still have Dragonauts & Natsume Yuujincho to finish and Katekyo Hitman Reborn to make a dent in =_= otherwise my computer's going to explode. (I have way too many episodes on this hard drive right now)
Monday, September 15, 2008
Maou Episode 11
Ah the series is finally over and like quite a few anti-hero stories I know, EVERYONE dies -- just about. I kind of expected and not expected the ending to work the way it did. I was hoping that at least Serizawa would survive, but after having lost just everything and everyone close to him in his life, it was kind of a doomsday premonition for him =_=
I wanted Kasai to live since he could finally be with Mari -- even though what they did at first was wrong ^_^;;; but Yamano got to him first =_=; *sigh* Oh well.
I had a feeling that Naruse was going to die, but I still wished for him to live =_= *sigh* In any case, it was a good story. There were some parts that were kind of corny, while other parts that were more poignant. Not too bad of a drama, in my opinion. I think it could have been done even better, but that doesn't mean it's not good now ^_^. I like it.
I wanted Kasai to live since he could finally be with Mari -- even though what they did at first was wrong ^_^;;; but Yamano got to him first =_=; *sigh* Oh well.
I had a feeling that Naruse was going to die, but I still wished for him to live =_= *sigh* In any case, it was a good story. There were some parts that were kind of corny, while other parts that were more poignant. Not too bad of a drama, in my opinion. I think it could have been done even better, but that doesn't mean it's not good now ^_^. I like it.
Sunday, September 14, 2008
Love, Tears, Drama
I am trying to watch every single thing I have dled and it's proving to be quite a task =_=; Right now I'm 4/6 episodes with Koizora, which is basically a high school love story that concerns one of the lovers dying from cancer. I still cry even though the storyline is very cookie-cutter-romance (in my opinion) 'cause I just like crying watching sad things. I know how the story is going to end, but still I keep watching it. Right now I feel like I'm forcing my way through it, but it's not like it's a terrible drama, just not exactly one that has any new material. I guess if you're really, really bored and want to cry over something, it's one to watch. Personally, 1 Litre of Tears and SekaiChu are my top disease-afflicted tear-jerking dramas, nothing else has really topped these two. I would be crying nonstop after every episode almost.
I think after watching all those Korean dramas that have someone dying of leukemia or something, I've just grown kind of bored of similar plot-lines. So when a drama comes up with someone dying of cancer and it being a love story of such, I don't really get into it, I kind of just watch it since I enjoy the genre, but not necessarily 'cause I'm so in love with the story or something.
Also, watched Atsuhime episode 36 today and the ending made me cry. I just cry at everything =_=; Watching as Tenshoin burned everything affiliated with her past due to having everyone suspect her was so sad. I am so glad I started watching this drama, I've loved every moment of it. Edo is one of my fave Japanese eras when it comes to history (I love the warring era pre-Edo just as much) so anything associated with it is
for me.
Let's see... also watched Code Blue episode 09 today and have Tomorrow episode 08 to continue on. Code Blue turned out better than I thought it would. I was not exactly impressed by the first episode, but slowly it started to grow on me. I still like Tomorrow, but I can't say that I like it better than Code Blue. I guess both dramas are good in their own respect; one is about interns in a training program while the other is about a hospital needing reformation in order to bring more money back to the small seaside town. I can't seem to favor one over the other anymore since they're equally good.
Ah... I've been trying my best to watch Itazura na Kiss in Taiwanese =_=; I think I must be a masochist, because I keep watching it even though it's painful on me =_=. I am not a sappy romance person for the majority of the time. I am only a sappy romantic once in a blue moon. I can read romance no matter how mawkish or trashy it is, but whenever I hear it said out loud in movies, anime, drama, or cds, I just cringe. Hearing people saying the words "I love you," seeing flowers bloom everywhere, and all those embarrassing special effects always seem to annoy me =_=; (Or I guess.... it's make my skin crawl?) It's like ... I've decided to hate "love" =_=; That or... I've read so much Japanese material that I'm starting to think like a Japanese man =_= ... Yes, a Japanese man =_=; Only foreigners use the word "love."
I wonder has the lack of feminity caused my thoughts to become more masculine =_=; Then again... I've always been weak when it comes to watching something sappy. (Weak as in "it makes me sick" and not as in "melty, floaty"). Like in middle school and high school, I was one of those "Boys should just die" kind of girls. I guess right now, I'm not exactly a big fan of men either =_=; They kind of piss me off =_=; And I have no explanation for it.
Still... I continue to watch sappy, romance dramas despite what pain it causes me =_=; Maybe this is a sign that I should go out and find myself a man =_=; But I love my independence... Relationships are time-consuming and I enjoy my time alone. *sigh*
I think after watching all those Korean dramas that have someone dying of leukemia or something, I've just grown kind of bored of similar plot-lines. So when a drama comes up with someone dying of cancer and it being a love story of such, I don't really get into it, I kind of just watch it since I enjoy the genre, but not necessarily 'cause I'm so in love with the story or something.
Also, watched Atsuhime episode 36 today and the ending made me cry. I just cry at everything =_=; Watching as Tenshoin burned everything affiliated with her past due to having everyone suspect her was so sad. I am so glad I started watching this drama, I've loved every moment of it. Edo is one of my fave Japanese eras when it comes to history (I love the warring era pre-Edo just as much) so anything associated with it is
for me. Let's see... also watched Code Blue episode 09 today and have Tomorrow episode 08 to continue on. Code Blue turned out better than I thought it would. I was not exactly impressed by the first episode, but slowly it started to grow on me. I still like Tomorrow, but I can't say that I like it better than Code Blue. I guess both dramas are good in their own respect; one is about interns in a training program while the other is about a hospital needing reformation in order to bring more money back to the small seaside town. I can't seem to favor one over the other anymore since they're equally good.
Ah... I've been trying my best to watch Itazura na Kiss in Taiwanese =_=; I think I must be a masochist, because I keep watching it even though it's painful on me =_=. I am not a sappy romance person for the majority of the time. I am only a sappy romantic once in a blue moon. I can read romance no matter how mawkish or trashy it is, but whenever I hear it said out loud in movies, anime, drama, or cds, I just cringe. Hearing people saying the words "I love you," seeing flowers bloom everywhere, and all those embarrassing special effects always seem to annoy me =_=; (Or I guess.... it's make my skin crawl?) It's like ... I've decided to hate "love" =_=; That or... I've read so much Japanese material that I'm starting to think like a Japanese man =_= ... Yes, a Japanese man =_=; Only foreigners use the word "love."
I wonder has the lack of feminity caused my thoughts to become more masculine =_=; Then again... I've always been weak when it comes to watching something sappy. (Weak as in "it makes me sick" and not as in "melty, floaty"). Like in middle school and high school, I was one of those "Boys should just die" kind of girls. I guess right now, I'm not exactly a big fan of men either =_=; They kind of piss me off =_=; And I have no explanation for it.
Still... I continue to watch sappy, romance dramas despite what pain it causes me =_=; Maybe this is a sign that I should go out and find myself a man =_=; But I love my independence... Relationships are time-consuming and I enjoy my time alone. *sigh*
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