autumn jdrama~
30 Oct 2008 10:39 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
mayoraaseiBy the way, I just wanted to say that even though it's only October (which, for you Northern Hemisphereans, means spring for us), I'm sick of summer already.
So instead of catching up on unattended lectures and practising my percussion skills (not, in fact, anything to do with music), am going to have my seasonly Jdrama review rant.
I think I've been watching too much stuff ==;
Bloody Monday | ブラッディ・マンデイ | 血色星期一
The first episode annoyed me a little because it was shot entirely handheld, which got immensely nauseating after 10 minutes. To its credit though, it's probably one of the fastest-paced J-dramas I've seen, although it's grinding to a slower pace by episode 3. It's not entirely faithful to the manga, but keeps most of the important elements - Takagi Fujimaru is a prodigy hacker at the age of 15, and was involved against his will in cracking a terrorism case: a Russian city was destroyed by a deadly virus that has now been imported into Tokyo with the purpose of disseminating it. Unfortunately, the portrayal of terrorists seem to go the same waffly manga way, and most of them seem to be glaze-eyed psychos. I'd probably enjoy this more if it gave terrorists the same moral conviction as Gundam 00 tries to. An enjoyable watch nonetheless, quite evocative of Death Note, at times more and at other times less convincing. Would like to add that thanks to this, Miura Haruma has been struck off my "EWWW list".
Ryuusei no Kizuna | 流星の絆 | 流星之絆
This is my "platinum trio" of actors of the season XD *♥* Nino~ *♥* Ryou-chan~ *♥* Touda Erika~~ The story is based on a popular novel about 2 brothers and their sister becoming swindlers. In the process they try to track down and seek revenge on the man who murdered their parents one night 14 years ago when they were out watching a meteor shower. The first episodes turned out to be a lot more romantic and girly than I expected, much less the crime/thriller I thought it might be. So it's sort of like Kurosagi meets First Kiss, which would have been all manners of UGH if not for my platinum trio =DDD I've always liked Touda's acting, and this time was no different. Nino I have never actually watched before (though he amuses me greatly as himself), but he has the sort of permanent pout that suits these bullied roles XDD Ryou was sub-optimal in Last Friends, but fortunately his role this time is laid-back, carefree, laced with just a hint of nastiness - which is almost exactly like himself, so I'd be surprised if he got it wrong.
Yume wo Kanaeru zou | 夢をかなえるゾウ | 夢象成真
I only watched this because a) I was on holidays at the time and nothing else was out, and b) It had Oguri Shun for the special. So I ended up only watching the special and episode 1... It's not that I mind the girl (I quite like her) but there's only so much of "morally uplifting" before it becomes "incredibly cheesy". The story is about how Ganesha - yes, the Indian elephant god - reforms the lives of these people who are depressed and pessimistic about their careers, their lives and their futures. Some of the lessons are good, and most of the drama that follows is hilarious, but ultimately it is like an extended self-help book, which I might enjoy more if I were Bridget Jones.....
Scrap Teacher | スクラップ･ティーチャー | 廢物教師
This is the most pathetic exercise in marketing and training JE's newest hotshot Hey! Say! JUMP...and yet, I'm still watching it ==;; I guess it's just so brainless and unromantic and ridiculous, and half the time it is funny. The plot is basically reverse Gokusen - a rundown school with teachers who don't give a damn about students, and 3 mysterious transfer students and one loyal student set out to transform the school. The main cast are all HSJ members, but surprisingly the teachers get a good chunk of plot and development too. The premise is unoriginal and simple, but it's watchable. I just realised belatedly that Arioka was in Engine and I really liked his character. I can't say the same for any of his acting since ==;;;; They all need to work on their acting ==; Yama-chan's the most comfortable at the moment...his 殺氣 is amazing LOL. Yappa having done Amakusa Ryuu helps XD
Giragira | ギラギラ | 王牌男公關
This wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. A previous "king" of a host club got fired from his office job, and without a good resume, he goes back to his old host club while keeping it a secret from his wife and daughter. For some reason I managed to watch the entire first episode without cringing...which shocked me considering how low my expectations were. Again it's one of those morally uplifting stories. The guy wins people's hearts by being genuinely thoughtful and caring for his clients, rather than just superficially praising them. Kind of like Haruhi, I guess? It'd be helpful if he didn't look like a stupefied pony half the time though.
Innocent Love | イノセント・ラヴ | 愛無罪
I never managed to get through the first episode. The background is quite like Ryuusei no Kizuna - a girl lost her parents to homocide when young, but her brother was charged and imprisoned. I found Maki okay in Nobuta and Hanakimi, but she's such a mindnumbing bore when cast as a normal girl. She not only has no variety in her acting, she also fails at making the character likeable =__=;;; She needs to have more presence =__=;;;;;
Celeb to Binbotaro | セレブと貧乏太郎 | 公主與青蛙
This is basically a reverse Hana Yori Dango, or a Tatta hitosu no koi with more spirit. Impoverished guy meets millionaire heiress, love from opposite ends of society. Ueto Aya pitches it well - instead of going for bitchiness, she goes for ignorance mistaken for arrogance. The girl is self-centered and snobby, but she's not an unreasonable person, and she's capable and intelligent in her own right. The guy is also the namesake teacher in Scrap Teacher and his acting does not change =___=;;; I can't help but fast forward through all his scenes. In both. I like Ueto Aya though. She's cute XD
So instead of catching up on unattended lectures and practising my percussion skills (not, in fact, anything to do with music), am going to have my seasonly Jdrama review rant.
I think I've been watching too much stuff ==;
Bloody Monday | ブラッディ・マンデイ | 血色星期一
The first episode annoyed me a little because it was shot entirely handheld, which got immensely nauseating after 10 minutes. To its credit though, it's probably one of the fastest-paced J-dramas I've seen, although it's grinding to a slower pace by episode 3. It's not entirely faithful to the manga, but keeps most of the important elements - Takagi Fujimaru is a prodigy hacker at the age of 15, and was involved against his will in cracking a terrorism case: a Russian city was destroyed by a deadly virus that has now been imported into Tokyo with the purpose of disseminating it. Unfortunately, the portrayal of terrorists seem to go the same waffly manga way, and most of them seem to be glaze-eyed psychos. I'd probably enjoy this more if it gave terrorists the same moral conviction as Gundam 00 tries to. An enjoyable watch nonetheless, quite evocative of Death Note, at times more and at other times less convincing. Would like to add that thanks to this, Miura Haruma has been struck off my "EWWW list".
Ryuusei no Kizuna | 流星の絆 | 流星之絆
This is my "platinum trio" of actors of the season XD *♥* Nino~ *♥* Ryou-chan~ *♥* Touda Erika~~ The story is based on a popular novel about 2 brothers and their sister becoming swindlers. In the process they try to track down and seek revenge on the man who murdered their parents one night 14 years ago when they were out watching a meteor shower. The first episodes turned out to be a lot more romantic and girly than I expected, much less the crime/thriller I thought it might be. So it's sort of like Kurosagi meets First Kiss, which would have been all manners of UGH if not for my platinum trio =DDD I've always liked Touda's acting, and this time was no different. Nino I have never actually watched before (though he amuses me greatly as himself), but he has the sort of permanent pout that suits these bullied roles XDD Ryou was sub-optimal in Last Friends, but fortunately his role this time is laid-back, carefree, laced with just a hint of nastiness - which is almost exactly like himself, so I'd be surprised if he got it wrong.
Yume wo Kanaeru zou | 夢をかなえるゾウ | 夢象成真
I only watched this because a) I was on holidays at the time and nothing else was out, and b) It had Oguri Shun for the special. So I ended up only watching the special and episode 1... It's not that I mind the girl (I quite like her) but there's only so much of "morally uplifting" before it becomes "incredibly cheesy". The story is about how Ganesha - yes, the Indian elephant god - reforms the lives of these people who are depressed and pessimistic about their careers, their lives and their futures. Some of the lessons are good, and most of the drama that follows is hilarious, but ultimately it is like an extended self-help book, which I might enjoy more if I were Bridget Jones.....
Scrap Teacher | スクラップ･ティーチャー | 廢物教師
This is the most pathetic exercise in marketing and training JE's newest hotshot Hey! Say! JUMP...and yet, I'm still watching it ==;; I guess it's just so brainless and unromantic and ridiculous, and half the time it is funny. The plot is basically reverse Gokusen - a rundown school with teachers who don't give a damn about students, and 3 mysterious transfer students and one loyal student set out to transform the school. The main cast are all HSJ members, but surprisingly the teachers get a good chunk of plot and development too. The premise is unoriginal and simple, but it's watchable. I just realised belatedly that Arioka was in Engine and I really liked his character. I can't say the same for any of his acting since ==;;;; They all need to work on their acting ==; Yama-chan's the most comfortable at the moment...his 殺氣 is amazing LOL. Yappa having done Amakusa Ryuu helps XD
Giragira | ギラギラ | 王牌男公關
This wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. A previous "king" of a host club got fired from his office job, and without a good resume, he goes back to his old host club while keeping it a secret from his wife and daughter. For some reason I managed to watch the entire first episode without cringing...which shocked me considering how low my expectations were. Again it's one of those morally uplifting stories. The guy wins people's hearts by being genuinely thoughtful and caring for his clients, rather than just superficially praising them. Kind of like Haruhi, I guess? It'd be helpful if he didn't look like a stupefied pony half the time though.
Innocent Love | イノセント・ラヴ | 愛無罪
I never managed to get through the first episode. The background is quite like Ryuusei no Kizuna - a girl lost her parents to homocide when young, but her brother was charged and imprisoned. I found Maki okay in Nobuta and Hanakimi, but she's such a mindnumbing bore when cast as a normal girl. She not only has no variety in her acting, she also fails at making the character likeable =__=;;; She needs to have more presence =__=;;;;;
Celeb to Binbotaro | セレブと貧乏太郎 | 公主與青蛙
This is basically a reverse Hana Yori Dango, or a Tatta hitosu no koi with more spirit. Impoverished guy meets millionaire heiress, love from opposite ends of society. Ueto Aya pitches it well - instead of going for bitchiness, she goes for ignorance mistaken for arrogance. The girl is self-centered and snobby, but she's not an unreasonable person, and she's capable and intelligent in her own right. The guy is also the namesake teacher in Scrap Teacher and his acting does not change =___=;;; I can't help but fast forward through all his scenes. In both. I like Ueto Aya though. She's cute XD
