"Western guy goes finding love in Asia" doramas?

zutsuu · Post by **zutsuu** » Jul 16th, '06, 18:28

Isn't that the ideal dorama for some of us here?
It could be something as cool as Densha Otoko

.
Maybe the stereotypical: western otaku goes finding love in Japan or something more original. Is there anything like this out there?
Or just a dorama that handles the subject objectively from the western and asian point of view? (doesn't have to be otaku of course lol)
I want to see one!! ^^

groink · Post by **groink** » Jul 16th, '06, 21:15

When I read your scenario idea, the first dude to come to mind is Daniel Kahl, the crazed gaijin you see on Burari Tochu Gesha no Tabi. He would be PERFECT to play to part... At the end of the drama, the woman will totally fall in love with him because of his Yamagata-ben.

[img]http://www.domos.jp/domos/profile/img/dani2.jpg[/img]

--- groink

Mythrel · Post by **Mythrel** » Jul 16th, '06, 22:28

ewwwwww... old man kiss.. ewwwwwwwwwww totally not watching that drama.

zutsuu · Post by **zutsuu** » Jul 17th, '06, 03:39

How about something like the Japanese-Korean dorama Friends, but with the other part being western? (without an intential "search for love" in the beginning)
I think it's an interesting subject waiting to be noticed

Sakado · Post by **Sakado** » Jul 17th, '06, 03:52

A westernXeastern drama would be interesting, a scripter could play on the difficulties for the western guy to adapt himself to the japanese culture. Then, he meets a japanese girl, fall in love with her despite the language barrier... ok nvm, it sounds too cliche, but still a WesternXeastern drama would be nice

groink · Post by **groink** » Jul 17th, '06, 03:58

Sakado wrote:A westernXeastern drama would be interesting, a scripter could play on the difficulties for the western guy to adapt himself to the japanese culture. Then, he meets a japanese girl, fall in love with her despite the language barrier... ok nvm, it sounds too cliche, but still a WesternXeastern drama would be nice

Something similar to this happens in the Japanese asadora Sakura. The girl is a Honolulu-born Japanese, and she is engaged to a haole man (what we call white people in Hawaii), also from Honolulu. She soon leaves for Japan to teach ESL. And the story then flows from there. Without giving away any spoilers, it is a very good story, and the Japanese viewers took it well.

http://wiki.d-addicts.com/Sakura

--- groink

nikochanr3 · Post by **nikochanr3** » Jul 17th, '06, 14:06

groink wrote:
Sakado wrote:A westernXeastern drama would be interesting, a scripter could play on the difficulties for the western guy to adapt himself to the japanese culture. Then, he meets a japanese girl, fall in love with her despite the language barrier... ok nvm, it sounds too cliche, but still a WesternXeastern drama would be nice
Something similar to this happens in the Japanese asadora Sakura. The girl is a Honolulu-born Japanese, and she is engaged to a haole man (what we call white people in Hawaii), also from Honolulu. She soon leaves for Japan to teach ESL. And the story then flows from there. Without giving away any spoilers, it is a very good story, and the Japanese viewers took it well.

http://wiki.d-addicts.com/Sakura

--- groink

How is the dialouge? I find when there are white people in japanese dramas, they talk in this unnatural way almost like they are in the english teaching videos. (we used these videos to show examples, and people TALKED LIKE THIS in a very formal unnatural manor.)

thanks,

Gozen · Post by **Gozen** » Jul 17th, '06, 14:48

As a normal, red-blooded woman, I find the prospect of some ugly western guy trying to get with an eastern woman quite boring. I'd much rather watch a good looking Japanese guy taking up with a nice English woman like me.....Think I'll hold auditions for Sorimachi, Kimutaku, Takenouchi, oh yeah, and half a dozen or so more.....Now THAT'S what I call entertainment!!!!

And yes, I've noticed how every westerner on a dorama talks in the most stilted, almost half-witted way. So if you had a dorama with a western guy in it, wouldn't he end up sounding like Forest Gump? Doesn't grab you and make you want to watch, does it?

kotaeshiranaihito · Post by **kotaeshiranaihito** » Jul 17th, '06, 15:02

Um gozen you dont speak japanese, how would you know that they dont sound the same way?

Anyway I dont think it would be a good idea. Remember what happened with "the last samurai"? I mean isnt it bad enough that Tom Cruise has every american woman in love with him? Why does he have to start going all international for? (I hate that guy lol.)

nikochanr3 · Post by **nikochanr3** » Jul 17th, '06, 15:15

kotaeshiranaihito wrote:Um gozen you dont speak japanese, how would you know that they dont sound the same way?

Anyway I dont think it would be a good idea. Remember what happened with "the last samurai"? I mean isnt it bad enough that Tom Cruise has every american woman in love with him? Why does he have to start going all international for? (I hate that guy lol.)

they speak english generally. and you can tell....theres this stilted very wooden syllable by syllable speach, not a nice flowing one...

Gozen · Post by **Gozen** » Jul 17th, '06, 17:38

Yes, should have been more specific. I mean westerners speaking English, they never, ever speak it normally, but slowly, enunciating every syllable. I haven't come across any westerners speaking Japanese in a drama yet, just English! The idea of Rain Man finding love ......not my cup of tea, no offence!

kenderkin88 · Post by **kenderkin88** » Jul 17th, '06, 17:53

According to my friend, who is currently living in Japan, Caucasian manxJapanese woman relationships really aren't all that uncommon. What you're harder-pressed to find is a Caucasian womanxJapanese man relationship [dammit T_T]. I think a drama based on the latter scenario would probably be much more interesting as a result, especially if the gaijin spoke some Japanese and didn't play up to the whole 'baka no gaijin' stereotype.

I dunno. I vaguely recall someone mentioning awhile back about a Cacausian manxJapanese woman drama, but the man spoke absolutely horrific Japanese and his English was stilted as well. A gaijin speaking naturally like the female teacher in the Kmovie Please Teach Me English would be infinitely preferable.

I personally like the idea of an WesternxEastern drama, but I don't know how well it would really play out..

doink-chan · Post by **doink-chan** » Jul 17th, '06, 18:08

Didn't groink mention on one old thread that when J-drama casters are looking for a Western extra, they just scout gaijin from U.S. embassies and such that don't have much acting experience? That probably explains the doinky acting from many of them...

kenderkin88 · Post by **kenderkin88** » Jul 17th, '06, 18:16

That's fine for extras, but what about when you're casting a leading role? I'm sure there are Caucasian people in Japan with acting experience.. If worse comes to worse, they could always try scouting Hollywood for people who wouldn't mind going halfway across the world for a potential acting job. I know quite a few people in the latter category.

Densha Otoko · Post by **Densha Otoko** » Jul 17th, '06, 18:19

What about this scenario?

European/American guy grew up playing RPGs, which automaticly made him watch anime in his teens and ultimately study the Japanese language. In his early twenties he discovers dorama, and deciedes to go to Japan and actually live the life of Densha Otoko, Momo and so forth. However...

Once he gets there nothing is as he expected. He spend most of his vacation getting rejected by girls - obviously it starts out as a comedy. The country and culture he loved so much and has devoted his life too rejects him. He has nothing to live for. His only chance to get contact with girls is to grope them in trains, and later rape them like a "real otaku" (Tsutomu Miyazaki).

He gets caught, jailed and he kills himself in pirosn.

The end.

What do you think?

kenderkin88 · Post by **kenderkin88** » Jul 17th, '06, 18:22

..that would actually be pretty entertaining.

zutsuu · Post by **zutsuu** » Jul 17th, '06, 18:26

Just the way my dorama addiction started xD.. except I'm not very motivated to study the language O_O ..unless it's in Japan

That would make a good dorama, or even a movie ^^

groink · Post by **groink** » Jul 17th, '06, 18:27

doink-chan wrote:Didn't groink mention on one old thread that when J-drama casters are looking for a Western extra, they just scout gaijin from U.S. embassies and such that don't have much acting experience? That probably explains the doinky acting from many of them...

http://www.jamco.or.jp/2004_symposium/en/yano/

That LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONG article explains the entire process of selecting the cast for Sakura, along with some really interesting information about Japanese Americans, how the Japanese view them, and such. Yes, the U.S. embassies are one of those great sources. Also, as you'll see in that article, NHK makes contact with the JET program whenever they need people already living in Japan that can speak English. One very recent experience of gaijinism is Kaze no Haruka, where Sarumaru-san introduces Haruka to an American businessman stationed in London. Not only is the acting corny on the part of the gaijin, but the the dialog itself is somewhat strange. Very hard for me to describe. Maybe I'll MP3 the clip.

--- groink

Densha Otoko · Post by **Densha Otoko** » Jul 17th, '06, 18:43

Densha Otoko wrote:What about this scenario?

European/American guy grew up playing RPGs, which automaticly made him watch anime in his teens and ultimately study the Japanese language. In his early twenties he discovers dorama, and deciedes to go to Japan and actually live the life of Densha Otoko, Momo and so forth. However...

Once he gets there nothing is as he expected. He spend most of his vacation getting rejected by girls - obviously it starts out as a comedy. The country and culture he loved so much and has devoted his life too rejects him. He has nothing to live for. His only chance to get contact with girls is to grope them in trains, and later rape them like a "real otaku" (Tsutomu Miyazaki).

He gets caught, jailed and he kills himself in pirosn.

The end.

What do you think?

Came up with a better ending! A Twist!

Before heading home he wants to take advantage of a girl, and calls a schoolgirl for a bit of compensated dating. They end up in a love hotel, and right before he rape and kill her, none other than his hero Great Teacher Onizuka shows up, and accidentally kills him while protecting his beloved student.

How cool is that?

Best ever cameo.

zutsuu · Post by **zutsuu** » Jul 17th, '06, 18:57

Densha Otoko wrote:Came up with a better ending! A Twist!

Before heading home he wants to take advantage of a girl, and calls a schoolgirl for a bit of compensated dating. They end up in a love hotel, and right before he rape and kill her, none other than his hero Great Teacher Onizuka shows up, and accidentally kills him while protecting his beloved student.

How cool is that?

Best ever cameo.

Awesome xD. And maybe have Densha and Hermes in the train when he's groping girls. Densha will try to stop him

kotaeshiranaihito · Post by **kotaeshiranaihito** » Jul 17th, '06, 19:16

zutsuu wrote:
Densha Otoko wrote:Came up with a better ending! A Twist!

Before heading home he wants to take advantage of a girl, and calls a schoolgirl for a bit of compensated dating. They end up in a love hotel, and right before he rape and kill her, none other than his hero Great Teacher Onizuka shows up, and accidentally kills him while protecting his beloved student.

How cool is that?

Best ever cameo.
Awesome xD. And maybe have Densha and Hermes in the train when he's groping girls. Densha will try to stop him

Hmmmmmmmm, depends is it the wimpy densha from the drama or the strong densha from the movie?

kenderkin88 · Post by **kenderkin88** » Jul 17th, '06, 19:22

^ Wimpy Densha from the drama. I infinitely preferred him. <3

kotaeshiranaihito · Post by **kotaeshiranaihito** » Jul 17th, '06, 19:31

I don't know, I doubt the wimpy one would be able to stand up to him. He'd probably see him and say "OMG a westerner! HE'S GOING TO EAT OUR CHILDREN!" and run or something.

Densha Otoko · Post by **Densha Otoko** » Jul 17th, '06, 20:10

kotaeshiranaihito wrote:I don't know, I doubt the wimpy one would be able to stand up to him. He'd probably see him and say "OMG a westerner! HE'S GOING TO EAT OUR CHILDREN!" and run or something.

The movie/dorama would most deffinately need a nude-scene with Ito Misaki. Better yet, Ito and Yukie Nakama making love. That would be best ever scene in any movire ever.

kenderkin88 · Post by **kenderkin88** » Jul 17th, '06, 20:16

kotaeshiranaihito wrote:I don't know, I doubt the wimpy one would be able to stand up to him. He'd probably see him and say "OMG a westerner! HE'S GOING TO EAT OUR CHILDREN!" and run or something.

Which would, of course, make it infinitely more hilarious to me.

nikochanr3 · Post by **nikochanr3** » Jul 17th, '06, 20:24

our movie is now a murder movie with lesbian porn. how the hell did this happen? =P

kenderkin88 · Post by **kenderkin88** » Jul 17th, '06, 20:26

^ This is probably why they don't hunt down actual Westerners who can act. All kinds of **** starts happening that they weren't planning on.

kotaeshiranaihito · Post by **kotaeshiranaihito** » Jul 17th, '06, 20:34

kenderkin88 wrote:^ This is probably why they don't hunt down actual Westerners who can act. All kinds of **** starts happening that they weren't planning on.

Lies, they're just jealous of our great acting talents! Like Adam Sandler, and Russel Crowe, and Carrot Top ... Yeah I got nothing.

kenderkin88 · Post by **kenderkin88** » Jul 17th, '06, 20:39

kotaeshiranaihito wrote:Lies, they're just jealous of our great acting talents! Like Adam Sandler, and Russel Crowe, and Carrot Top ... Yeah I got nothing.

LMAO, Carrot Top.. I honestly can't think of any Western male I'd like to act in a Jdrama. It'd be too much like poisoning the genre.

kotaeshiranaihito · Post by **kotaeshiranaihito** » Jul 17th, '06, 20:47

Honestly I think there are many good western male drama actors in the USA. You just see the Japanese actors as better because you don't understand the language, and because their style is different for you.

If you talk to real japanese people in Japan they'll tell you that most of the idols people love here are not such great actors as you think, but are exactly like some of the american actors/idols (chad michael murray, Keano, welling, the list goes on).

Thuan · Post by **Thuan** » Jul 17th, '06, 21:45

I doubt that one needs to understand Japanese to realize that Fukada Kyoko is a horrible actress. Or Ueto Aya. Or Ishihara Satomi.

groink · Post by **groink** » Jul 17th, '06, 22:02

Thuan wrote:I doubt that one needs to understand Japanese to realize that Fukada Kyoko is a horrible actress. Or Ueto Aya. Or Ishihara Satomi.

Well, very true. However, this does bring up one idea. And that is the power of the fanboy/fangirl. They are popular regardless of their talent level. Like we've mentioned in other topics, likeability is more important than the screenplay.

This is a casting nightmare. Here's the issue: you bring in a gaijin. No one is going to recognize the gaijin, so already the rating points drop down to under 10 points. The gaijin has no association with a talent agency, an entity the TV networks heavily depend on for screening of the artists. So the TV network must take it upon itself (very rare step) to find the gaijin that will fit the role. It'll end up casting some blonde male who resides in Japan and understands both Japanese and English, with no previous acting experience. That's why I made the joke about Daniel Kahl earlier: He's well established in Japan, he's recognizable because of his tabi shows, speaks fluent Japanese, and is associated with a talent agency.

Another problem is matching up a Japanese female with the gaijin. I GUARANTEE you that whoever the talent agency assigns for this gig, her numbers will DROP. I'd be suprised if a talent agency will even work with a TV network on this type of project. Her romance with a gaijin will not be popular among both the female and male viewers. This was already a stretch when they did this with Won Bin and Fukada Kyoko, but at least Won Bin was already a name among the Korean fans in Japan. Matching any female artist with a gaijin in a romance role will be suicide for her career.

That's my perspective on all this...

--- groink

nikochanr3 · Post by **nikochanr3** » Jul 17th, '06, 22:05

i like aya ueto and give a firm

to y'all for hating on her.

one more for effect plus a

to show my anger.

:alcoholic:

i really need rest....

kenderkin88 · Post by **kenderkin88** » Jul 18th, '06, 02:49

Honestly I think there are many good western male drama actors in the USA. You just see the Japanese actors as better because you don't understand the language, and because their style is different for you.

If you talk to real japanese people in Japan they'll tell you that most of the idols people love here are not such great actors as you think, but are exactly like some of the american actors/idols (chad michael murray, Keano, welling, the list goes on).

LMAO! You misunderstood me.. I admire many Western actors and actresses. However, I would really prefer them not to break into Japanese movies/dramas as a whole. The same goes for Eastern actors and actresses breaking into Western movies. Opinions will always be coloured on both sides because the foreign star is 'exotic.' 'Ooooooohhh, they're exotic, how scintillating! Let's cast them in as many movies/shows as we can, to show how "in" we are with culture-crossing.'

I agree about Fukada and Ueto [I'm not familiar with Ishihara, so I'll reserve judgement] being poor actresses. While I admit that I am somewhat biased towards Japanese celebrities simply because the entire culture fascinates me, I'm also mature enough to realize this and to be able to step back and look at things from another point of view. I enjoy some crappy Japanese actors the same way that I enjoy some crappy Western actors. [Just try to convince me that Nicholas Cage is a good actor. I love him all the same, and I adore watching him act, but he's incredibly awful at it.]

Aaaaaaaaaannnnd that's my opinion. I'm off to waste my braincells elsewhere.

zippyflu · Post by **zippyflu** » Jul 18th, '06, 02:58

westerners dont need to GO THROUGH drama.. they are white..azn girls have white fetish.. the story would end in one eps.

Rakkie · Post by **Rakkie** » Jul 30th, '06, 00:13

it does seem perfectly acceptable for the japanese/korean men to sleep with white women in dramas however... as long as they don't make any type of commitment.

i've seen plenty of dramas where the playboy will go overseas and be seen with white girls, but he has no problem ditching them in about 30 seconds when his so-called 'true love' walks by.

there is an westerner called Daniel Henney who had a major role in My Lovely Kim Sam Soon, but he does look half Korean.

oceansportrait · Post by **oceansportrait** » Aug 14th, '06, 16:53

I think it could work if they used someone who was a half or a non-Japanese person who grew up in Japan. That'd take care of the worries about them talking in stilted Japanese. There are many idols right now who are half-Japanese but doesn't necessarily look Japanese, such as Wentz and Becky (though I'm not saying they'd be good to be in a movie like this! They're just examples ^^). But then the problem would become the actors/actresses not being able to speak fluent English...

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