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alexandralI have watched the second episode of Japanese darama "Tatta Hitotsu no Koi" (Just One Love) yesterday. EEEEEE! I am completely hooked. More on it below, but the main thing is – Oh my poor heart, Kamenashi Kazuya is just GREAT!
I confess that initially he was as far from my usual "ideal" as possible. Not even vaguely athletic, skinny, even gaunt looking. But EEEEEEEEEE! Is in’t he so amazing at the same time? It is a combination of wonderful acting and heart-breaking vulnerability what gets me, I think. I just want to hug him to death. Just because it seems that he wears his soul on his sleeve. Excellent, excellent actor.
Returning back to "Tatta Hitotsu no Koi", just few things I was thinking about (hidden for possible spoilers) :
The Good There is something so clean, so incredibly young and beautiful about two main leads and their love story. Aww- I just love it. The scene where Hiroto tries to fish the shiny orange thing? I absolutely love it.
The Bad The story seems to be going towards some terminal illness indeed. I totally can’t deal with this and my heart is going to be broken because I don’t think I can stop watching now, I am already too involved.. As much as liked the beginning of Taiwanese drama "Silence" I could not make myself continue to be watching it after the first couple of episodes because I realised that Vic Zou’s character is going to be so very very ill before my eyes. But I think I passed "the point of no return" with THNK already. I better get ready.
Things I am not so sure about:
This is probably the fourth jdrama I have watched, and I am a little puzzled with the approach they seem to have to the visual representation (But this of course, is just my own opinion and don’t mean to criticise, I am just wondering). Everything seems to be murky, unclear coloured and filmed in a seemingly cheap way.
At first I thought that this is the thing all dramas do because of the budget constraints, but two of the Korean dramas I have seen ("Goong" and "A Love to Kill") were filmed absolutely gorgeously. Taiwanese dramas like "Mars" and "Meteor Garden" had very vivid colours.
Hmm, I am not sure – is this approach to visuals due to the budgeting? Or is it something the creators of jdramas do intentionally? Some kind of convention they follow? To make it look realistic?
PS (Unconnected) I am listening to Rain's song "Sad Tango" constantly ** grin **
I confess that initially he was as far from my usual "ideal" as possible. Not even vaguely athletic, skinny, even gaunt looking. But EEEEEEEEEE! Is in’t he so amazing at the same time? It is a combination of wonderful acting and heart-breaking vulnerability what gets me, I think. I just want to hug him to death. Just because it seems that he wears his soul on his sleeve. Excellent, excellent actor.
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Returning back to "Tatta Hitotsu no Koi", just few things I was thinking about (hidden for possible spoilers) :
The Good There is something so clean, so incredibly young and beautiful about two main leads and their love story. Aww- I just love it. The scene where Hiroto tries to fish the shiny orange thing? I absolutely love it.
The Bad The story seems to be going towards some terminal illness indeed. I totally can’t deal with this and my heart is going to be broken because I don’t think I can stop watching now, I am already too involved.. As much as liked the beginning of Taiwanese drama "Silence" I could not make myself continue to be watching it after the first couple of episodes because I realised that Vic Zou’s character is going to be so very very ill before my eyes. But I think I passed "the point of no return" with THNK already. I better get ready.
Things I am not so sure about:
This is probably the fourth jdrama I have watched, and I am a little puzzled with the approach they seem to have to the visual representation (But this of course, is just my own opinion and don’t mean to criticise, I am just wondering). Everything seems to be murky, unclear coloured and filmed in a seemingly cheap way.
At first I thought that this is the thing all dramas do because of the budget constraints, but two of the Korean dramas I have seen ("Goong" and "A Love to Kill") were filmed absolutely gorgeously. Taiwanese dramas like "Mars" and "Meteor Garden" had very vivid colours.
Hmm, I am not sure – is this approach to visuals due to the budgeting? Or is it something the creators of jdramas do intentionally? Some kind of convention they follow? To make it look realistic?
PS (Unconnected) I am listening to Rain's song "Sad Tango" constantly ** grin **
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Date: 2006-10-26 01:57 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-10-26 03:05 pm (UTC)though I agree its going to break my little heart into pieces Why do they have to do it to us? Can it be just terminal illness with magic recovery for once? Pleeeze?
I like Noa too - she is so sweet , but it is not like she is miss goody-two-shoes or anything. I love her honesty too.
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Date: 2006-10-26 04:15 pm (UTC)2. The visuals in jdramas...I think perhaps it maybe the ones you are watching, and also a lot has to do with the encoding of the file itself. Sapuri, for example, was vivid and brilliant and very colorful.
3. I'm so glad that you've discovered Kame-love! I do have to add something, though. While I realize that from what you've seen of Kame, he may not look it, but he is VERY athletic - most of the boys have to be to perform the dancing and acrobatics they must do as part of their JE groups.
Some examples of Kame from the Dream Boys musical he did in January 2006. He was the star and had to do a vast amount of singing and dancing. But he also had to do this entire aerial acrobatic sequence:
Check out the biceps!
It was really quite scary to watch him perform the rope stunts without a safety net and only a single safety cable to break his fall.
4. Regarding the drama - I'm fairly certain that there will be at least one death in the drama (Nao) - and I'm also leaning toward the idea that Hiroto will die as well...This is traditional romantic drama and based on what Kitagawa Eriko has written before, this seems like the way it will go. I'm so sorry!
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Date: 2006-10-26 04:46 pm (UTC)Re: jdrama. It depends. I actually love the way THnK is filmed: I loved the leached colors and it looks very crisp but muted. Kurosagi is a bit sharper than that, but I have yet to see a jdorama that has the crazy vibrant colors of Goong (I am watching Satomi Hakkenden which is a period one. With Takki, btw :P and it's also muted in colors). I like that, just as I like the bright colors of Goong.
The older ones, like Long Vacation, do look a bit more obviously made for TV and cheaper, but the newer ones don't, IMO. It's just the color thing and I think that IS a stylistic choice.
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Date: 2006-10-26 04:48 pm (UTC)Wow, that Dream Boys thing looks interesting (oh no, I can feel myself being sucked in. Nooooo...) What is it and where can I get it?
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Date: 2006-10-26 05:02 pm (UTC)HOWEVER, if you can't restrain yourself, here is a taste, through my massive picspam I did when it came out. If you want to know what it's about, read the comments, especially in part 3, where
Part 1 (http://winterspel.livejournal.com/150457.html) | Part 2 (http://winterspel.livejournal.com/150638.html) | Part 3 (http://winterspel.livejournal.com/150801.html)
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Date: 2006-10-26 05:07 pm (UTC)OTOH, you know what's scary? At least in some of the shots, it doesn't look any more bizarre than a Bway musical.
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Date: 2006-10-26 05:15 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-10-26 07:58 pm (UTC)1) Do you know any other songs of his which are good?
I saw a couple of videos on youtube which I thought were ok, but ** cough ** I am an old lady and my tastes in music are limited :)
2) I have seen so far following Japanese dramas (mostly Takyua, of course) - "Good Luck", "Long vacation", "Beautiful Life" and 2 episodes of THnK now. So it must be due to the fact the dramas I watched were not so new. I will watch "Sapuri" eventually, it has good ending, right?
3) Oh my poor heart! He does look very athletic. Ok, at least I can say that the first thing I fell in love with wasn't his body, but his wonderful acting. :) I confess that the thing that scares me a little is JE concept of all-around entertainment. Do you like their music? Is it worthy? Strange looking costumes?? ( I am not criticizing, I just want to understand what I am getting into)
4) Ok, I better get prepared then.
PS: Is there any good communities I should be joining with my new-found love for Kame? Any of his songs which are good to buy?
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Date: 2006-10-26 08:09 pm (UTC)EEEE! The pictures in
I loved the leached colors and it looks very crisp but muted
The older ones, like Long Vacation, do look a bit more obviously made for TV and cheaper, but the newer ones don't, IMO. It's just the color thing and I think that IS a stylistic choice.
Yep, I thought it could be something to do with the artstic choice. Because of my magpie inclinations I like bright colours the most, but I can see your point!!!
It is much more fascinating for me if it was a stylistic choice, I am just getting more and more interested about these things recently. You know, like green-and-gritty visulas of BSG or noir of VM ( though I hear it all has changed)
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Date: 2006-10-26 11:35 pm (UTC)It makes absolutely no sense, even with the subtitles, and I love it ever so much. It's the crackiest thing I have ever seen, ever, and I love that it enables me to use the words "boxers", "circus clowns", "gangsters", "tap dancing", and "sequined feather boa", ALL IN THE SAME SENTENCE. I think my fangirlish brain exploded during the last act when, for no reason at all, Kame, dressed in a sequined bolero jacket, with one leather glove and a fedora, holding a samurai sword, does a Bob Fosse-meets-Twyla Tharp dance to a solo, acoustic version of "Seishun Amigo", the theme song from "Nobuta wo Produce".
Seriously, happy crack.
Also, Dream Boy with Takki had I think a majority of KAT-TUN (I know for sure that Kame and Akanishi Jin were in it) in supporting roles.
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Date: 2006-10-26 11:41 pm (UTC)I'm really interested in seeing how Kame pulls off his first romantic leading role. I mean, sure, "Sapuri", but Hiroto is more of a traditional romantic leading role, and from what I've seen so far, he's doing a fine job.
As for Dream Boys...oh ho, it is some cracktastic stuff. There's a plot, sort of, but really, it's mostly a showcase for the shiny. Of course, Johnny's Entertainment is pretty cracktastic in itself, which is probably why I love it so much.
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Date: 2006-10-27 12:08 am (UTC)As for jdramas - I agree, the colours aren't as vivid compared to kdramas and twdramas. But I'm not sure whether it's a budget thing. But the jdramas I see on local tv here in Nagoya seem to be colourful though.
Kame - I can understand why some people find him attractive but for some reason I find most of the jdrama actors I know so far are too androgynous for me! Ironically though, THE hottest dorama actor for me is half Japanese. Yup... Kaneshiro RULES!!! ^^
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Date: 2006-10-27 08:25 am (UTC)She wrote "Beautiful Life", right? OMPH! Bad omen indeed. Saying this, I liked the way "terminal illness" was handled in BL. It was there for a purpose rather then just for the sake "now we are going to make you all cry!".
I'm really interested in seeing how Kame pulls off his first romantic leading role. I mean, sure, "Sapuri", but Hiroto is more of a traditional romantic leading role, and from what I've seen so far, he's doing a fine job
Definitely. Oh, I am so so impressed with his acting abilities. And he has fabulous chemistry with Ayase Haruka. But what do I see? THE RATINGS!!! Why don't you watch THnK, people? They don't usually cancel the shows in Japan, do they?
Of course, Johnny's Entertainment is pretty cracktastic in itself, which is probably why I love it so much.
I am so new to JE. I am thinking - should I start to be involved? Or am I going to regret it for the rest of my days? I do have a low tolerance for mediocre music, though.
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Date: 2006-10-27 08:38 am (UTC)But the jdramas I see on local tv here in Nagoya seem to be colourful though
Could be something to do with the quality of DVDs/downloaded files. Everything always looks better as original version on TV.
Ironically though, THE hottest dorama actor for me is half Japanese. Yup... Kaneshiro RULES!!! ^^
Yep, he is so so gorgeous!!!. At the moment, after "A love to kill", Rain is firmly topping my hotness charts, but I am so mercurial. When I first saw Takeshi in "House of the flying daggers" I could not believe that hotness like this can exist :) Dimples!!!
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Date: 2006-10-27 08:44 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-10-27 08:47 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-10-27 09:09 am (UTC)No. I would say stay away, because I don't think it's entirely for you. One thing you have to realize that in Japan, it's not so important if people sing well - entertainment is judged in a more general and different way - visuals and aesthetics are highly valued and so is enthusiasm. So many times, singers don't have the best voice and often sing off-key, etc. This is definitely true in JE because these boys are not necessarily chosen because they are the greatest singers but more for their ability to be all-around performers.
Stay tuned,
That being said - there are Japanese entertainers who have fabulous voices and great song-writing skills - of course! Utada Hikaru, for example, has an amazing voice, and she performed the theme song for Majo no Jouken and also for Takuya Kimura's dorama Hero.
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Date: 2006-10-27 09:27 am (UTC)No. I would say stay away, because I don't think it's entirely for you.
I had my doubts too :).
I am working on a post for you that features Kame with performances and clips that you might like, but even with those, you need to keep the above in mind
You are so so sweet . ** Love and Thanks **
That being said - there are Japanese entertainers who have fabulous voices and great song-writing skills - of course! Utada Hikaru, for example, has an amazing voice
I will definitely check them up, thank you!!! I am listening to "A love to kill" soundtrack at the moment, and the voices of Shin Seong Hoon/Lee Soo Young are unbelievable!!
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Date: 2006-10-27 01:04 pm (UTC)That's the nice thing with dramas--the show has already been completely filmed and since there are only a certain number of episodes and it's already started running, the ratings don't really matter as to whether the show will still be kept on the air.
JE is...an acquired taste. I segued into JE a few years ago post-F4 and via a variety of jdramas and, having already been a jpop fan, there was a time in my life when I avoided JE on principle. But now...well, it's loud, it's shiny, there is actually some good music (depending on your taste for jpop), and it's a fandom unto itself. Give some of
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Date: 2006-10-27 01:14 pm (UTC)But you and I? We can fangirls our hearts out! :D
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Date: 2006-10-27 02:44 pm (UTC)** Sigh of relief **. I can't do with the show's canceling. :) And thanks for this info!
Give some of winterspel's clips a try, you might just get sucked in too. ;)
I sure will - my perception of things hugely depends on the mood I am in. :)
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Date: 2006-10-27 10:32 pm (UTC)Yay!
Seriously, I think my icon says it all. Oh, Kanjani8, you might not be my favorite, but damn if you're not the funniest of them all.
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Date: 2006-10-29 02:07 pm (UTC)That's not entirely true though. They actually film while they air, with something like 6-8 weeks of advance shootings. It depends a bit how much time for post-production they need and how they can work out the schedules for the actors. The JE boys are not the only ones who need to have time for their other work, like performances in variety and music shows, magazine shots etc. Asian entertainers have in general a much more packed schedule than their Western counterparts.
The shows don't get cancelled, but if the ratings are too bad, they cut one or two episodes, that happened to Shimokita Sundays last season.