Posted: Sat Oct 17, 2009 11:44 am Post subject: Post Rating: 0
If you didn’t like the rendering of Hana Kimi Japan, let me save you hours of downloading time you'd never get back: stay away from the Taiwan version. The story line is much flimsier since it was truer to the manga. At least in the Japan version, Ashiya was found out that’s why she had to leave. In the Taiwan version, she just disappeared without so much of an explanation to the other characters. Plus their Ashiya didn’t really get a relationship going with the rest of the dorm mates. I’ll score that one for Maki because she was successful in making her Ashiya part of the group so much so their ‘we're going to miss you farewell’ is much warranted albeit their manifestation of it is a bit over the top but her Ashiya deserved it. Ella Chen’s – deserved to disintegrate into thin air! The only saving grace of the Taiwan endeavor is Wu Chun’s smile.
If you haven’t seen the Sp yet – stay away from that one too. There’s heaps more buffoonery only this time it’s just gratuitous and doesn’t add much to the story development. It even diminishes time from any actual story development – it’s just an hour and a half of "Let’s milk this thing for every last drop of advertisers’ money we can get. Screw the viewers". And our beloved Shun sports a lop-sided haircut and pasty, white skin so -- production's fault, not the actors. Needless to say, it’s a humongous let down after a year of much hype.
I have seen the first few minutes of NwP but I just don’t have the constitution to watch physical bullying on girls so after that first girl-on-girl smack down on Maki, I tuned off. I know it is part of life, even part of Asian culture (although some may take that as racism, I apologize in advance) but I really abhor 'corporal punishment' particularly against women perpetrated by men, that’s why I stay away from kdramas.
I know Shun was silly in Stand Up but that was adolescent silly – an affliction all people go through at that age. But Binbo Danshi is just so unbelievably idiotic. Case in point: Shun’s character is giving away free money that he loaned from a bank because he is too naïve to know people are taking advantage of him. The only premise where that naiveté will be acceptable is if he had some sort of social/mental developmental retardation – but he’s a college student so that premise is shot down a priori.
If you want to see a really good performance of Shun’s watch Kisaragi. It’s a movie about a bunch of fans getting together to remember their recently deceased idol who was a gravure model. You can easily imagine Shun doing great in a dialogue-driven one-act play with his performance in this movie. He is able to convey a whole range of emotions in one line of dialogue. It’s an acting tour-de-force for him. Plus, the movie is, I think, what the Japanese consider as dark comedy.
I just want to throw this in. Notice how Yujiro, the dog, is indifferent towards Sano and amiable towards Kagurazaka when the two first meet? I saw in Shirota Yuu’s blog a photo of him and the dog, which suggests he and the dog were playing before the shoot so when the director yelled ‘action’ the dog missed the cue.
And to those who haven't seen Young Americans -- please do. It's a master class on how to do the gender/bender theme properly even without the aid of make-up or fake sideburns or moustaches.
Posted: Mon Oct 19, 2009 12:51 pm Post subject: Post Rating: 0
looniemoon wrote:
There's this new kdrama, You're Beautiful, that just came out with another gender-bender theme. Her portrayal is similar to Maki's aka a girl trying to be a guy (in a male idol group) without much success in convincing the audience that she's a guy. She acts like a girl, sounds like a girl and looks like a girl but is it really the actress at fault for not being convincing or because that's how her character is?
I think if you really want to see Maki acting like a convincing boy (I thought she was quite good), you can try Tokyo Shounen where her character has split personality. Her other personality is a boy and even with her longer hair, from her behavior, body language and eyes, you can see she's a different person, specifically, a boy...just in a girl's body. I think this role would be more accurate in judging her on 'girl acting as a boy' portrayal.
Thanks for the recs. Tokyo Shounen does have an interesting premise, and I'll keep an eye out for it once my current drama stash runs out. (I haven't been keeping tabs on K-dramas lately, but I've heard of You're Beautiful. Well, after having seen Park Shin-hye try to "act" opposite Lee Wan the Abnormal in the 2006 weeper Heaven's Tree--aka one of the most retarded dramas ever conceived by the human mind--I highly doubt that actress can do girl-as-guy convincingly, either. The only K-drama gender-bender I actually enjoyed was Coffee Prince, and to think Yoon Eun-hye's character wasn't even masquerading as a HE, and wasn't a lesbian, either.)
But you raised an interesting point: the effectivity of a performance (or lack thereof) is really the net effect of the writing, the direction, and the actor's own interpretation of the character. Which is why it's SO important for actors (especially those serious about TEH CRAFT!) to view their portrayal of a role as a collaborative process. And this can only be achieved if the actor and director truly understand how the character was written and share in the same creative vision. But if all the lead star ever does is mouth her lines and hop when the director says "hop," and never really goes deep into her character, then that's another story altogether, heh. Anyway, if the original Hana Kimi manga was as badly written as you say, then no wonder the drama turned out that way.
@ tunix_2008: Yiiikes, I didn't know the TW-version was even worse. Oh, I'm not downloading this for sure, but I'll prolly give the first episode a once-over at some streaming site. Re the Hana Kimi SP--never planned to touch it, not even for Shun (though the pasty skin and bad hairstyle as you said just added two nails to the coffin ). I never bought into this whole J-drama practice of SPs, anyway. You're right, (with a few exceptions) they're little more than gratuitous, profit-driven exercises in fanservice. They seem to only succeed in diminishing the afterglow of the drama--as well as undermine the integrity of the original plot through lazy writing and inconsistent character development. J-dramas ought to be written to stand on their own, and not rely on SPs as a crutch.
Thanks for the Shun movie rec. I'm very much actor-centric when choosing which J-dramas to watch (yep, I only picked up Hana Kimi for... you guessed it, Shun!), so I'll go look this up soon. The thing with Shun is that even in productions that I generally hated (Yuuki, Hana Kimi), I was still left in awe by his performance. Also looking forward to getting my greedy little fingers on Crows Zero: he and Yamada Takayuki together should be--WOW!
tunix_2008 wrote:
I have seen the first few minutes of NwP but I just don’t have the constitution to watch physical bullying on girls so after that first girl-on-girl smack down on Maki, I tuned off. I know it is part of life, even part of Asian culture (although some may take that as racism, I apologize in advance) but I really abhor 'corporal punishment' particularly against women perpetrated by men, that’s why I stay away from kdramas.
Oh, that's too bad. True, the bullying is pretty vicious and gets even more... intense in succeeding episodes, but it's treated as part of the high school reality that the main characters--Nobuta most of all--have to contend with (and let's face it: teenagers can be such mean little sh*ts, ya know). But once you get over your distaste for the violence and intimidation, you'll come to appreciate NwP for what it's really all about: THE FRIENDSHIP. For me, NwP isn't just an outstanding high school drama. It's an outstanding drama, period. The direction and production values are top-notch, and the writing both warms and pierces you heart. I didn't even feel that this was an "Idol drama" in any way. All I saw were three regular high school kids (okay, so maybe only Kame's character could be labeled as "regular," lol) in a coming-of-age story--one that's funny and heartfelt and bittersweet at times, but always real. And this drama gets high school, as in it really GETS high school.
tunix_2008 wrote:
And to those who haven't seen Young Americans -- please do. It's a master class on how to do the gender/bender theme properly even without the aid of make-up or fake sideburns or moustaches.
Lol, I doubt those little accoutrements of sham masculinity would've worked in a drama like Young Americans. But they sure as heck worked in She's the Man (the sideburns and bushy eyebrows, at least), whose comedic treatment is tonally more akin to Hana Kimi than Young Americans ever was... Except that facial hair in J-dramas is practically nonexistent, which means the fake stuff wouldn't have worked in Hana Kimi, either.
Posted: Tue Oct 20, 2009 6:35 am Post subject: Post Rating: 0
Ender's Girl wrote:
@ Hae Jin: (Lol, so it had to take Hana Kimi to draw you out of Lurkerdom, ehh? ) "Comparisons are odious," as the saying goes. But they ARE inevitable. And cultural differences aside, the only valid point for comparison between Maki's turn in Hana Kimi and other gender-bender roles would lie in the believability of the performance: did the actress play a girl playing a guy to a convincing degree? Maki = not in my book. Granted, Japan is crawling with bishounen types, so mannishness (even in men) may not be as idealized as in other cultures. But Maki didn't even play androgynous convincingly, IMO.
from Lost, right?), but she had so many layers that I just didn't see in Maki. Too bad for Maki; I had such high hopes for her after watching NwP. I thought she was perfect for Nobuta.
LOL. Would've came out of lurkerdom sooner if I remembered the pw. (the problem when you put different passwords on everything x] ) To each their own, I guess. Although, I do agree with you that this wasn't the best of her acting after NwP (a true epic high-school based drama). Like what looniemoon said, Tokyo Shounen does show off Maki's err boyish-ness better, albeit darker too. Heaven's Tree .. awful as well.
Anyway, if we were to compare the performances of Ella and Maki like you did with Amanda Bynes and Maki, it will be apparent that Maki's interpretation of Ashiya is far better than Ella's. Since you're looking at the bigger picture of NwP (the friendship), were you hoping to see the same thing in Hana Kimi? The whole point of HanaKimi was the portrayal of innocent/naive love and friendship. The manga was not badly written. It was meant to be light-hearted and fun which is what the drama portrayed in a slightly different way.
Oh I do recommend you watch Crows Zero soon. It's a great movie that has a pointless plot made into a cinematic masterpiece.
Posted: Thu Oct 22, 2009 8:59 am Post subject: Post Rating: 0
Hae_Jin wrote:
Since you're looking at the bigger picture of NwP (the friendship), were you hoping to see the same thing in Hana Kimi? The whole point of HanaKimi was the portrayal of innocent/naive love and friendship.
I think with Hana Kimi I was just hoping to see a more realistic portrayal of things, period. Although yeah, I would've wanted to see a more compelling friendship arc between Shun and Toma. They had some cute moments together, but I don't think their relationship was explored and developed as well as the Shun-Maki or Toma-Maki arcs. Despite (what IMO) was a weak performance from Maki, at least her friendship with both boys was given more emphasis. Thing is, the romance angle overshadowed the friendship, as this drama tended to focus more on the love triangle and its resulting complications.
In contrast, the friendship theme of NwP was deeper, stronger, more complex. And it felt so... genuine. Each bond in the Nobuta-Shuuji-Akira triangle had a unique stamp all its own, and I love how their strange, unexpected friendship helped them through the pain and awkwardness of adolescence. The love triangle, though sweet and moving, wasn't really the point; the friendship was.
Hidden:
Besides, it wasn't even a legitimate love triangle because nothing really happens: Akira likes Nobuta, Nobuta likes Shuuji, but the attraction isn't reciprocated, so Nobuta ends up with neither boy. (Because *cough* AkiralovesShuuji *cough* ) Which is totally fine because their little romp at the water's edge in the final scene was just frickin' perfect, lol. Heh heh.
Posted: Thu Oct 22, 2009 4:41 pm Post subject: Post Rating: 0
Not that the manga was bad -- it's just manga. I mean, it's the way mangas of this genre are expected to develop. Unlike jdramas that have 8-12 episodes only, a manga's popularity is measured by its longevity much like US soaps. In order to prolong the series, the mangaka gives the readers a steady drip (not even stream) of misadventures, girlish thrills and cheap laughs at the cost of inconsistencies, unnecessary story twists and unrealistic plots. Plus it really "hurts" the experience if you do it in reverse like I did -- jdrama, tdrama then manga because it really just went downhill from the jdrama.
As for the friendship angle, as a background story, Sano and Nakatsu used to be tight then Sano went all "emo" on them -- Nakatsu, the school, the dorm and the sport. That's why in the majority of the series, Sano didn't join in any school or dorm activity. Ashiya made excuses for him and went in his place all the time -- even saying "present" during roll call for him. So there really isn't any room for friendship development between Sano and Nakatsu since the story is mainly about Ashiya pushing Sano out of his "emo" slump and back into reality. It is only in the last couple of episodes that Sano started coming out of his self-imposed bubble exile so it's only natural that he and Nakatsu are awkward from the recently resolved estrangement. Sano's participation in the An-An photo shoot and the last competition was such a big deal for the rest of the school because he was only then beginning to shed his "emo" funk.
Again, it boils down to a matter of taste but IMO, Maki is one of the better jdrama actresses around and Hana Kimi wasn’t her Waterloo. Although Hana Kimi is an ensemble drama, it isn’t a stretch to assume that her role is pivotal. The introduction of her character, so to say, started the ball rolling. I think she did a pretty good job since she made her character memorable and contributed in making the entire series a commercial success. Maybe the writers gave her character too much to accomplish -- get Sano back to jumping, get along well with the dorm mates, compete with dorm 1 and 3, foil Hibari 5, clash then make friends with Nakao and Umeda, save Nakatsu, get on with Sano and Nakatsu, bridge the gap between Sano and his family, stave off her own family all while pretending to be a boy in a ... you know the rest. Maki was able to do all that maybe not as spectacularly as you'd hope but fairly well.
There are other outrageous high school-themed comedies out there that are far worse like the Hana Kimi imitation that is Mei-chan no Shitsuji. If any lead actress deserves tanking, it’s Eikura Nana. That girl can play poker with high rollers – whether she’s happy, sad, ecstatic, wracked with worry – she has the same expression. You’ll gladly give Maki an acting award after seeing Eikura Nana in this series. She single-handedly destroyed this star-making vehicle. The outrageous storylines being equal, Mei-chan had the advantage of fielding an outstanding cast but the series was still an epic failure because of the lead actress. Check this series out then re-visit Maki’s performance.
About the SPs being nothing but money-making fanservice waste of film and airtime – not all of the time. Nodame Cantabile’s special was, for lack of a better term, special. It adds to the development of the entire series but it can also stand alone.
Also there are SPs that lead to full series like Tiger and Dragon and Yume Wo Kanaeru Zou which are both very good. Incidentally, Shun starred in Yume Wo’s SP and he spoke English in the first five minutes of the special. It’s a straight up role – no silliness or heavy drama scenes. Shun played the straight man well against Furuta Arata’s irreverent Ganesh.
I think Shun chooses his roles very carefully and really well. It seems that he doesn’t want to be typecast into any of the characters he made famous. He reminds me of di Caprio whom people want to box into the traditional romantic leading man but he keeps on taking roles that carry him to a totally different spectrum.
I know bullying is a fact of life and I agree that teenagers are all that you say but beating up girls (even by girls) is not part of our cinematic culture. It wasn't part of our high school experience either (we just froze each other out). Nevertheless, I did see Coffee Prince and loved the story. I'm still a bit put out by Gong Yoo's raising his hand on Eun-Hye but all in all I enjoyed this particular kdrama.
Posted: Sat Oct 24, 2009 12:32 pm Post subject: Post Rating: 0
tunix_2008 wrote:
Although Hana Kimi is an ensemble drama, it isn’t a stretch to assume that her role is pivotal. The introduction of her character, so to say, started the ball rolling.
Oh, I totally agree that Ashiya's character is the catalyst for the whole drama. Not disputing that. Which is probably why I expected more from Maki, because this was such a potentially meaty role. And thanks for the background info on the Sano-Nakatsu friendship. In the drama it was mentioned in passing (Ep. 1 I think) that the two used to be BFFs (before Sano quit the team and went all hermitty on everyone, lol), but I never really felt that their pre-rift bromance was something real, or that their falling-out affected both boys at all. But yeah, the writing didn't allow for this to happen by giving precedence to the Ashiya!saves!Sano! subplot.
tunix_2008 wrote:
There are other outrageous high school-themed comedies out there that are far worse like the Hana Kimi imitation that is Mei-chan no Shitsuji.
Uh-oh. Mei-chan no Shitsuji = Rat's Nest Hiro + that useless girlie from ProDai + Sato Takeru? Thanks, but... I'll pass. (When Sato Takeru played that Piano Boy on Mr. Brain, the director apparently forgot to inform him that "short-term memory loss" is NOT the same as "severe autism," yesss? )
tunix_2008 wrote:
About the SPs being nothing but money-making fanservice waste of film and airtime – not all of the time. Nodame Cantabile’s special was, for lack of a better term, special. It adds to the development of the entire series but it can also stand alone.
Yep, I was actually thinking of the Nodame Cantabile SP when I said that there were a "few exceptions" to the SPs! are! sucky! generality.
tunix_2008 wrote:
Also there are SPs that lead to full series like Tiger and Dragon and Yume Wo Kanaeru Zou which are both very good. Incidentally, Shun starred in Yume Wo’s SP and he spoke English in the first five minutes of the special. It’s a straight up role – no silliness or heavy drama scenes. Shun played the straight man well against Furuta Arata’s irreverent Ganesh.
I think Shun chooses his roles very carefully and really well. It seems that he doesn’t want to be typecast into any of the characters he made famous. He reminds me of di Caprio whom people want to box into the traditional romantic leading man but he keeps on taking roles that carry him to a totally different spectrum.
Really? Shun speaking English? Interesting... I hope it sounded nothing like the time YamaPi was on the phone with some white guy (in order to impress/bamboozle Takenaka Naoto) in Kurosagi the Movie. Because I didn't know YamaPi could speak... Klingon!
Well, Leo diCaprio paid his (romantic lead) dues with Titanic, but yeah, even early on he was already choosing such eclectic film roles. (He's done more hits than misses, but his most memorable film for me was William Shakespeare's Romeo+Juliet. I-CON-IC.) So, good for Shun. As an actor he's the real deal and I hope his future projects keep on diversifying. (I just dunno how much leeway J-actors have in choosing their work, though. Don't the agencies have the last say?) Great if he wants to challenge himself and push the envelope and all that, but I hope he doesn't eschew the more "mainstream," commercially viable projects. (I hate it when actors take themselves too seriously and feel that they need to keep their roles as high-brow, impenetrable, and art-housey as possible as a validation of their craft. )
tunix_2008 wrote:
I know bullying is a fact of life and I agree that teenagers are all that you say but beating up girls (even by girls) is not part of our cinematic culture. It wasn't part of our high school experience either (we just froze each other out). Nevertheless, I did see Coffee Prince and loved the story. I'm still a bit put out by Gong Yoo's raising his hand on Eun-Hye but all in all I enjoyed this particular kdrama.
Well, the bishounen fascination/fetish seems to be endemic to J-culture (and J-ent), but that doesn't stop non-Japanese viewers from watching these gender-bending high school comedies, does it? It doesn't have to be native to your cinematic culture to be watchable. When I first got into K-dramas, the casual portrayal of violence--all that shouting! and cuffing and clouting each other with nary a second thought! --horrified peaceable little me, who was raised to turn the other cheek and all that stuff. But I got desensitized quickly enough to the physicality of East Asian cultures (or at least, the celluloid depictions thereof). Besides, it's all part of the escapism I derive from watching K- and J-drama, anyway. What happens on-screen stays on-screen, regardless of my personal take on the matter.
Posted: Sat Oct 24, 2009 2:08 pm Post subject: Post Rating: 0
For me Hana Kimi was one of my first drama's.... and it was slightly life changing. It might not be the best drama bcz of the plot but the assembly of the cast is pretty great. I mean Maki, Shun, Toma and a heck of a lot of others too. (it launched a few careers also)
Hana Kimi was suppose to be light and that's what it was i mean the 9.00 time slot (for us maybe late night tv) but in Japan this is sort of the all ages time slot. The drama was aimed at school kids and the foolishness was pretty much from the manga. My 10 and 6 year old host sisters were watching this. Hana Kimi wasn't suppose to be dramatic and in my opinion it should't really be compared to drama's like coffee prince where the target audience is aimed more towards adults.
As for Maki's performance i think she did an awesome job, it might seem shallow but Ashiya's character is like that. In the manga Ashiya was suppose to be an unconvincing girly guy.
OMG!!!! I love Shun!!! He is a true actor who is dedicated to his art. i read in a magazine a while ago but Shun apparently doesn't like playing the main character in films/tv but loves being the main character in theatre productions. He's not as hot as yamapi and stuff but he can make you love or hate the characters he play bcz he's so good. If anyone wants to watch a scary Shun then watch The neighbour No.13. Creepy....
he has a new film coming out, tajomaru, looks good. yayyy!!!
-Shun
Posted: Sat Oct 24, 2009 3:05 pm Post subject: Post Rating: 0
It was mentioned in more than one dialogue exchange that Sano and Nakatsu were BFFs before Sano's "I vant to be alone" drama mode. And if you look closely at the locker-style closet inside their dorm room -- there were pictures of Sano and Nakatsu and other dorm mates on it. Plus it seems that Sano is everyone's first go-to-guy for everything from intra-dorm competition strategies to shampoo. Everyone's always saying, "Sano would know what to do" then suddenly remember he didn't participate any more. There have also been scenes when Nakatsu goaded Sano's non-participation as though the latter sold the rest of them short.
So I guess the "hatred" for Eikura Nana is universal then.
Sorry to disappoint you but Shun's English in Yume Wo is very bad. When I first heard it I said, "He speaks English like a Japanese guy." My sister said, "Hello! He is a Japanese guy!" Even white guys playing Americans speak really bad English in jdramas. The only two jdrama actors I've seen that spoke really good English were Nishida Toshiyuki and Oshio Manabu. The former was in Ramen Girl (starring Brittany Murphy) while the latter grew up in New York. Fujiki Naohito's English is passable but he still had a Japanese accent.
Shun did a play at the West End though so I assume it was in Japanese because going on that one line in English, I don't think he could do an entire play in the queen's language. If I'm not mistaken it was even Shakespeare -- like Hamlet or something.
About his agency and stuff -- I think he's allowed some leeway since ... have you seen how he dresses himself? I mean, I understand about packaging j actors from roles to endorsements to style. He went to a photo shoot wearing a jacket where the vest is suede and quilted sleeves, plus a ten-gallon hat with a feather and, I'm pretty sure, chaps or was it embroidered cowboy boots? Before you say, 'maybe that was a costume for the shoot' -- the photo shoot costume was a dapper three-piece gray suit. And at the premier of HYD the movie, he was wearing a muscle-Tee with matching jogging pants -- too casual, right? But no! It was a formal affair so the ensemble was furry and glittering! No one in his right mind would let anybody go out looking like that especially a money-maker like Shun. So unless the agency is packaging him as a cold Vegas cowboy or a South Central rapper/pimp, I think they may have given him a wee bit more leeway in that department.
The thing with violence especially in kdramas that disgust me is that it does translate in their real life. My sister taught English at a Korean school and she said that it is indeed in their culture that elders get to hit young-uns even if they're not related. As in, even if one is just one year younger than the other, the young-un's head is fair game. Since it was a Korean-run school, she couldn't do anything to stop it so she resigned.
Posted: Sun Oct 25, 2009 3:54 pm Post subject: Post Rating: 0
i loved this series alot, and all of the cast, except maybe Sano.
They left us off with a cliff hanger at the end with the whole school going on a field trip to California.
Does this mean there's a season 2 or SP? The only SP I know of is the Valentines day one that occurs between episodes 7 and 8. I've looked around but seen no indication of this. It would suck if they just left us hanging like that...
Posted: Sun Oct 25, 2009 5:54 pm Post subject: Post Rating: 0
legendofmyth wrote:
i loved this series alot, and all of the cast, except maybe Sano.
If you've read the foregoing discussion then it goes without saying that quite a number of people disagree with the latter part of this statement. I keep saying it's a matter of taste -- to each his own.
legendofmyth wrote:
They left us off with a cliff hanger at the end with the whole school going on a field trip to California.
Does this mean there's a season 2 or SP? The only SP I know of is the Valentines day one that occurs between episodes 7 and 8. I've looked around but seen no indication of this. It would suck if they just left us hanging like that...
There is an SP and it is the one you do know -- 7.5 as they put it. There is no season 2 because the manga ended at Ashiya's departure from Ohsaka and arrival in California. If you have seen the SP then
Hidden:
you know that Nakatsu was trying to determine the moment Sano fell in love with Ashiya -- this was during that Valentine's activity they had with St. Blossom 6 months after Ashiya left. From that moment, the SP goes back to between the time Sano stopped Ashiya from leaving and the students' return to school (where Sano saw Ashiya let Nakatsu put his arm on her shoulder). This period included Julia's visit and Nakatsu's "practice game" to prove to his mother he was a good football player. After Julia was convinced of Sano's intentions she left. Flash forward to the future, again 6 months or so after Ashiya left. The whole school was at the refectory reminiscing about their "trip" to California which had already occurred by then. Then Nanba says something about him and the other seniors graduating. Another flash forward to the graduation scene.
Actually, the time line is off since according to the final scene of the series, the California trip was supposed to be after the seniors' graduation but in the SP it happened before. I'm guessing the producers deliberately did not put in the California trip because it would prove to be more expensive to shoot on location -- not necessarily in the US but in a similar looking locale. Plus the logistics of gathering together all those busy actors for one SP must be a nightmare so they just hodgepodge together a whole lot of nothing but a money-making fanservice.
There were two extra chapters of manga that were not touched on by the series or SP. One is about Kayashima's read on Ashiya -- if he was truly psychic why did he not see that Ashiya was a girl or if he did, why didn't he say anything. The other is about a future event where they all went back to Ohsaka years later for somebody's wedding. It's like a recap of what happened to each character after graduating from high school. There's some closure to the Ashiya-Sano love story at the very end of the manga.
Hidden:
Remember at the airport when Sano said, "Next time, I'll come to you."? There is a similar line in the manga although it was said in the Ohsaka campus because there was no airport scene in the manga. In the manga, after the farewell scene, the next page shows Ashiya sunbathing in California while reading a letter from Nakatsu asking what Sano whispered to her before she left. Then something blocked her sun and as she looked up it was Sano. He came to America to study at UC-Berkeley and continue jumping. In the extra chapter, they went back to Ohsaka for Sekime's wedding. Nakatsu was a famous j-league footballer, Nanba was a successful model, etc. After the ceremony, Sano and Ashiya took a walk and Sano proposed. The end.
Posted: Wed Oct 28, 2009 6:00 am Post subject: Post Rating: 0
cj_0908 wrote:
If anyone wants to watch a scary Shun then watch The neighbour No.13. Creepy....
Scary Shun? As in, serial killah kind of scary? Kewwwwwl. I sure hope it's nothing like the Gackt School of Ackting (in Mr. Brain), heh heh heh.
tunix_2008 wrote:
Sorry to disappoint you but Shun's English in Yume Wo is very bad. When I first heard it I said, "He speaks English like a Japanese guy." My sister said, "Hello! He is a Japanese guy!" Even white guys playing Americans speak really bad English in jdramas. The only two jdrama actors I've seen that spoke really good English were Nishida Toshiyuki and Oshio Manabu. The former was in Ramen Girl (starring Brittany Murphy) while the latter grew up in New York. Fujiki Naohito's English is passable but he still had a Japanese accent.
And now Shun plays an NYPD-trained cop on Tokyo Dogs...? I'm squirming in my seat already. But yay for Fujikiiiiii, heh heh. Oh, I don't mind heavily accented English, so long as it's intelligible, lol. I heard Hiro is fluent as well? (I don't know those two other dudes you mentioned, sorry.)
Lol, that clip of Sano singing "Love Me Tender" was actually not bad!
Oh, Caucasian casting in Asian dramas is just as bad. They keep getting the worst possible actors, with nationalities that never fit their characters--talk about culturally ignorant casting. I just finished watching Q.E.D., and an entire episode (4, I think) was devoted to proving this point: Europeans masquerading as American college students, lol. I was laughing hysterically at how hammy the actors were, and how they clearly did not understand a word of their dialogue. Quod erat demonstrandum, right there.
tunix_2008 wrote:
So unless the agency is packaging him as a cold Vegas cowboy or a South Central rapper/pimp, I think they may have given him a wee bit more leeway in that department.
Muscle shirt and sweats? Suede vest with quilted sleeves, and a giant feathered hat????? WTH!!! Ohhhh fer fuggz sake, Shun... All that nonconformity seems a little... desperate. Sounds like an anti-fashion victim to me. (But still a victim. ) It's not like we'd love him any less if he dressed like a normal person. Reminds me of Ryu Seung-bum (Arahan, Crying Fist), this A-list K-actor who's known to show up at red-carpet events dressed like a hobo. Apparently it is part of his "quirky style," whatever that means. (Only Johnny Depp can pull it off, IMO. There can be only one, ne?) Anyway, I love Ryu Seung-bum and Oguri Shun, and if that REALLY is their honest-to-God personal style... ohkay, whatever...
As to his singing, for me it was more like he was doing an impersonation of Elvis than really rendering his personal take on the song because if it was the latter, then he sounds to me like a drunk Japanese old-timer in one of those dive karaoke bars.
It's true about this non-conformity affectation that the Japanese youth seem to embrace. Like everyone else in the world who get dressed for a special night on the town the Japanese do too except THAT is how they glam up so to say. There is "going for the outrageous look" like Johnny Depp but there's just "did the costume locker explode on you?" or is it "you're going for the insanity defense, aren't you?" like Shun and this other dude you talk about.
Speaking of Shun and fashion, have you seen his suit in the HYD pre-movie special? Sure it was the costumer's fault but I'd gladly return the TF in exchange for not wearing this particular costume. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rV9ZnjcAoGo
The fans seem unanimous on a favorable response for Shun's performance in Tokyo Dogs. According to them, he is properly deadpan even during comedic moments. He's so Sano? However, they haven't been kind to Hiro even if he did "corrupt" his good English diction to suit his role as an ex-delinquent turned cop. I wonder if Toma could've done a better job -- he'll probably look too young and too cute to be a cop.
Posted: Thu Oct 29, 2009 4:23 am Post subject: Post Rating: 0
Oh, it's the queen's language alright... The Queen of Prussia, lol. Oh wow, that clip merited several replays. I kept waiting for Shun to get to the English part before I realized the whole thing was the English part. When he goes "Everyone let's make dream come true together," it felt like a line from one of those coffee mugs or pencil cases posted over at www.Engrish.com. I still think YamaPi did a worse job in Kurosagi the Movie, though.
Toma played a cop on Maou (which I have not yet seen), though he did look awfully young for a homicide detective in the promo posters.
Re Rui's floral chintz monstrosity: THERE ARE NO WORDZZZZZ *self-destructs*
Posted: Sun Nov 01, 2009 5:10 am Post subject: Post Rating: 0
The lead guy in Q.E.D., Nakamura Aoi, also starred in a high school comedy, slice of life series called Gakko ja Oshierarenai! It's a cross between Nobuta and American Pie. It's leagues more realistic than Hana Kimi (which, of course, is not realistic at all) and tackles real teenagers' issues like pregnancy, suicide, homosexuality. It's fun and funny at the same time. There's a really good bromance with a funny twist. You can't get any more bromantic than this.
I really like Nakamura Aoi's smile -- his teeth aren't perfect but the smile seems really genuine.
I was doing a Psych marathon last week when I heard James Roday make a reference to an old 80s gender-bender movie entitled "Just One of the Guys". I checked it out on youtube -- grandmama of Young Americans and She's the Man? The girl looked like Karate Kid (Ralph Macchio) as a guy. If that movie was made for today, the guy version of the girl would've easily been labeled gay -- "he" had impeccable taste, was very neat (tidy), loved to shop and a metrosexual twenty years ahead of "his" time. But in the 80s, "he" was just another Duckie (Jon Cryer in Pretty in Pink).
I just finished watching Ghost Train and Neighbor No.13. The first one is decent enough, along the lines of The Ring and The Grudge. Neighbor No. 13 is not really creepy -- more disgusting than anything else. I mean, imagine the most disgusting things you can think of, short of hurling poop at each other, it's all there. The whole movie is boring. The long, drawn out scenes that are supposed to evoke suspense just made it even more sleep-inducing. By the second half of the movie, Shun is gone never to return again.
Posted: Thu Nov 05, 2009 3:38 am Post subject: Post Rating: 0
I like Nakamura Aoi's smile, too! That boy is looks cute and refreshing. Thank goodness he's not a Johnny, otherwise he'd be contractually obligated to do all sorts of... unimaginable things to his body, lol. And that high school drama of his sounds mighty interesting...
Lol, how did we ever end up here? "Toto, I've a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore..."
Six Degrees of Separation:
Hana Kimi => Shun => Engrish FAIL! => corollary (bad Caucasian casting in Jdrama) => Q.E.D. => Nakamura Aoi => Gakko ja Oshierarenai!
Yeah, it's weird how society's views towards gender image and sexuality can change so quickly. (If Japan keeps perpetuating the bishounen culture, its population growth rate might decelerate even faster than the Peruvian anchoveta crash back in the '70s. Just sayin'...)
Haha, I remember Duckie! *basks in warm childhood memories* He'd so be a Johnny now, heh heh. (Strangely enough, I have more vivid memories of Anthony Michael Hall in Sixteen Candles, than of Duckie. But Anthony Michael Hall was more gross-little-geek than metrosexual-ahead-of-his-time.) Hmmm, have not seen Just One of the Guys, but speaking of old '80s relics of the same theme, Mary Stuart Masterson played a tomboy secretly in love with Eric Stoltz in Some Kind of Wonderful.
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The only K-drama gender-bender I actually enjoyed was 
Anyway, if the original 
). I never bought into this whole J-drama practice of SPs, anyway. 
I'm very much actor-centric when choosing which J-dramas to watch (yep, I only picked up 
Also looking forward to getting my greedy little fingers on 
True, the bullying is pretty vicious and gets even more... intense in succeeding episodes, but it's treated as part of the high school reality that the main characters--Nobuta most of all--have to contend with (and let's face it: teenagers can be such mean little sh*ts, ya know). But once you get over your distaste for the violence and intimidation, you'll come to appreciate 
But they sure as heck worked in 
) 
Granted, Japan is crawling with bishounen types, so mannishness (even in men) may not be as idealized as in other cultures. But Maki didn't even play 
Although yeah, I would've wanted to see a more compelling friendship arc between Shun and Toma. They had some cute moments together, but I don't think their relationship was explored and developed as well as the Shun-Maki or Toma-Maki arcs. Despite (what IMO) was a weak performance from Maki, at least her friendship with both boys was given more emphasis. Thing is, the romance angle overshadowed the friendship, as this drama tended to focus more on the love triangle and its resulting complications.
) Which is totally fine because their little romp at the water's edge in the final scene was just frickin' perfect, lol. Heh heh. 
I hope it sounded nothing like the time YamaPi was on the phone with some white guy (in order to impress/bamboozle Takenaka Naoto) in 
-Shun
I mean, I understand about packaging j actors from roles to endorsements to style. He went to a photo shoot wearing a jacket where the vest is suede and quilted sleeves, plus a ten-gallon hat with a feather and, I'm pretty sure, chaps or was it embroidered cowboy boots? Before you say, 'maybe that was a costume for the shoot' -- the photo shoot costume was a dapper three-piece gray suit. And at the premier of HYD the movie, he was wearing a muscle-Tee with matching jogging pants -- too casual, right? But no! It was a formal affair so the ensemble was furry and glittering! No one in his right mind would let anybody go out looking like that especially a money-maker like Shun. So unless the agency is packaging him as a cold Vegas cowboy or a South Central rapper/pimp, I think they may have given him a wee bit more leeway in that department.
I sure hope it's nothing like the Gackt School of Ackting (in 
) It's not like we'd love him any less if he dressed like a normal person. Reminds me of Ryu Seung-bum (
