thoughts on dramas I've watched recently

[sumo_mona]

Yeah, I'm really bad at thinking up titles. And the title is inaccurate since I'm going to start with a movie...

I made the font white for LIFE, but expect spoilers for everything :P


So. BANDAGE. The movie I've been excited about for nearly a year. ...It was disappointing. It was a waste of downloading 2 gigs. Yes, I am aware that everyone is in love with this movie and it has a powerful message and blah blah blah. It was boring. I liked the music. I liked Natsu being crazy funny in the beginning. I liked Asako's clothes. I just feel like the movie had so much potential and it could have been so good if it didn't have gaping holes in the middle and seem like a self-insert fic for the first half. My favorite part (except for all the "Blackjack!" at the start and 'Hatachi no Sensou' at the end) was the "DV" scene where Natsu was drunk and Asako exploded and said that she hates him for reminding her of herself and he sang Genki acoustic or whatever. I only like that scene because she was smart enough to leave. The part I didn't like about Last Friends was that Michiru kept on staying with Sousuke. Before you get pissed at me for being insensitive and looking down on women who stay in abusive relationships, let me explain myself: I think of anyone who stays because they love their partner is dumb. I think that someone who stays because they have to, whether it's for financial purposes or for their children, is strong. If you disagree, good for you. Don't bother telling me. Besides, since when was Asako in a relationship with Natsu? Though it can be seen by how he picks her up in that crappy car multiple times, I think it could have been made a little clearer. I also think that they should have been clearer about what happened for everyone in the band to start blaming Asako. I liked the other manager (forgot her name), but omfg the way she made up with Asako was so lame. Like... shoujo manga lame. All in all, it was a decent movie for making me write so much about it though I found it rather boring.


Kisarazu Cat's Eye, gosh I loved this drama. It was the first drama in a long time to exceed my expectations for it. Eye candy + humor + ridiculous plot + perverted jokes = recipe for a good, fun drama xD This drama has so much crack that it surpasses the combination of Nobuta, HanaKimi, and Stand UP!! It's up there with Nobuta on the "rewatching status" scale. I thought that Bambi/Mohko was the cutest thing ever and I loved Ani. Tsukamoto Takashi is a hot blond. I loved one of the last scenes when the Kisarazu Cats were playing baseball:

Jun: *hesitant to pitch seriously*
Ani: いいから投げる。
Jun: *pitches*
Ani: 本気で投げないよ、バカ！空気読めよ！

If you haven't seen this drama yet... what are you waiting for?! There's so much pretty: Okada Junichi, Sakurai Sho, Sato Ryuuta (though he has an afro), Tsukamoto Takashi, & Narimiya Hiroki (in a minor role). It's hilarious. The village drunkard is like a rooster who yells ”朝だよ～” every morning. The drama opens with the main boys chanting "beer! beer! beer!" I think I'll burn this drama on a DVD. I like this drama enough to spend a whole DVD on it! xD


I've been meaning to watch Liar Game for a long time the same way I've been meaning to finish the Death Note movies because I liked what little I read of the manga and I love Toda Erika. But there are a lot of dramas I've been meaning to watch for a long time and I have a few slight complications such as school and real life. Anyway, loved this drama. Fukunaga/whatever/mushroom's laugh is creepy. I think it's impossible for people as pure and naive as Kanzaki Nao to exist. I totally ship Akiyama Shinchi/Kanzaki Nao >.> I don't know how they had a second season; wasn't the point that the person behind the game learned his lesson? I should have watched this before since the movie was being shown on the airplane (to India) with subs and everything. I marathoned the drama, but for some strange reason, I wasn't compelled to watch the second season. I'll watch it some time later, I'm still getting over that creepy ass laugh.


Isn't it strange that the first show I ever cry over is My Boss My Hero? I don't cry over books and television shows. The closest I've gotten is tearing up during this part of 1 Liter of Tears. I've teared up 4 times over fandom things because I am lame and cry really easily, but I've never actually cried over anything. I think it's because I'm feeling all sentimental and shit over graduating. My parents won't let me out of the house to hang out with friends, they're making me "study" chemistry and physics from Indian textbooks (lol that's why I've been sitting in my room, watching dramas). And watching this drama just made me think about how we're all leaving within a month or so and idk when I'll ever see my friends again and all that stuff. As for the actual drama, I loved it. Nagase makes the best faces ever. Sakura-nantoka Tegoshi was so cute and squishy (albeit prissy and annoying). Kazu!Koki had to be my favorite character-- he was adorable, though in a very different way from squishy-face!Tego. I still don't get what they actually meant by "WATAHHH" though. I wasn't able to figure out whether Tegoshi had a crush on Gakky or Nagase until the end... The strongest thing I felt from the drama (ignoring the ~high school is over~ feeling) was a craving for pudding. I finally got some yesterday.

I'll talk about LIFE by looking at each character:

Shiiba Ayumu (Kitano Kii): I think she was perfect. Seriously, I have no issues with her character. She blames herself a bit too much, but it was realistic

Hatori Miki (Seki Megumi): This is petty and rather ridiculous, but I was expecting her mysterious past to be something more than "just" her parents having a divorce & her not knowing her mom. I loved her, I always like the ~strong girl~ character and she was a beautiful symbol of courage and a brighter future for Ayumu.

Sonoda Yuuki (Hojo Takahiro): I kept getting frustrated with him and wanted to yell "just fucking do something to help," but really, that could be said for the whole class. I was really proud of him for being brave enough to come to the warehouse. I also loved how Hatori kept trying to set him up with Ayumu xD

Shii-chan (Osawa Akane): Before I talk about her actual character at all, let me fangirl. I love Osawa Akane (though I'm not sure how to romanize her last name properly). She was on a cartoon KAT-TUN camping/outdoors/something episode & is Gekidan Hitori (comedian, KARA fanboy)'s wife & is really cute so I was excited to see her haha... As for her actual character, I would be upset with Ayumu too for what happened with the entrance exams. Actually, I would be upset with myself, but take it out on Ayumu. Cutting things off with Ayumu because you're an emo 14/15-year-old, fine. But failed suicide? I am aware that high school in Japan is a lot more important than (public) high school in America, but I was under the impression that in Japan, colleges don't care about which high school you went to more than your entrance exams score. So theoretically you could go to a shitty school and still get in to Todai. Of course reputation matters somewhat, but for a girl as seemingly ambitious as Shii, I think she would have been fine. Oh whoops, they needed to give Ayumu a tragic past, right. Shii's change at the end was a bit abrupt, but I liked how she texted Ayumu instead of saying it right to her face.

Shiiba-mommy (Maya Miki): beautiful, perfect, flawless, etc.

Hiro: Another failed suicide? Gosh, why can't these kids kill themselves properly? I didn't like her, but I guess her character was necessary

Anzai Manami (Fukuda Saki): this spoiled, rich bitch... is one hell of an actress. Her little evil smiles were seriously scary. I think that it's a good thing that she didn't have a dramatic character change at the end. She stuck with her "manipulating and hurting people is fun! everyone is Mana's toys~" thing. She did change though. Barely, but still. She didn't tell her daddy when she actually was being bullied. In the bathroom scene at the end, she was surprised after Ayumu didn't hit her with the mop and replied to her "I won't apologize" with "I wouldn't forgive you anyways." She stared at the purikura she took with Ayumu and ~reminisced~ and had a moment. While she was behind all of the bullying, I didn't really hate her. It doesn't make sense to me why I didn't, but I would think "why does everyone listen to her?" Everyone was scared that they would be the next target if they stood up to her. There's not one character to hate, it's the way high school is. Though in my high school, the bullied kid became homecoming prince freshman year -__- While I don't understand how bad bullying is in Japan, having sex with a guy to make him beat up your boyfriend and murder your friend because it's 楽しい is too crazy.

Sako Katsumi (Hosoda Yoshihiko): WHAT THE FUCK IS FUCKING WRONG WITH THIS BOY OMFG. Okay, while I get what the writers did with his character wanting dominance over girls (hence that photobook) since he can't control his own life at all with his father abusing him, WHAT THE FUCK. Abused children do not want to go around raping people. Well, as far as I know, I guess. Or maybe that only happens with boys... I guess him going crazy in the end was alright, but I wanted his character to be helped/fixed somehow :| I think he actually did love Toda-sensei. & I didn't get why Ayumu didn't want him to reveal the pictures. Yes, it's embarrassing, but wouldn't that expose what he did to her as well?

The drama was good, you should watch, etc. I actually had to stop watching after episode 2 because it was too much for me, so I watched 4 episodes of Dragon Zakura and starting watching LIFE again the day after...

And now let's talk about American TV for a bit:
- This website's recaps inspired me to actually catch up with Gossip Girl. Thank goodness V has all of it downloaded already xD
- I think I love Twilight. Seriously guys. It has inspired some of the best parodies ever: Jersey Shore / Jimmy Kimmel version, Vampires Suck movie, & the Akamepi fanfic series. Thank you for giving the world something that is so much fun to mock, Stephenie Meyers.

Comments

[sumo-mona.livejournal.com]

What are some of his other works? I don't really know any Japanese directors...
I think this is the first drama I've seen Sho in xD I loved this drama so much! aksaljala I wanna rewatch it already xD

Same, though I'm planning on watching that tomorrow.

:( any Asian stores nearby?

Seriously, one of the best "drama" dramas I've ever seen. Maybe even the best one. I tried to read the manga... but it was ugly. Yes, I'm that shallow. *never read HYD* I need to watch Fukuda Saki's other dramas! Any recs? I only have Isshun on the list so far.