GIRAGIRA
THE PLOT
Giragira, which I think means “Glittering”, tells the tale of Nanase Kohei (played by Sasaki Kuranosuke) after he returns to his job in the “neon-drenched Roppongi, Tokyo”, “the world of Hosts, whirling and glittering with greed and desire”. Which I think are very poetic and most importantly, very apt descriptors of this…very peculiar, truly decadent realm of night life.
Where there are “Champagne calls” – where female customers order up expensive ($US25,000-level expensive) bottles of champagne and have the whole club of hosts lavish their attention on her for abit as she laps up the booze.
And it appears, “Drag Shows” (??!).
Anyway, because Nanase Kohei is now a stodgy Family Man, he faces inevitable difficulty integrating with his Ikemen peers because the two world’s don’t really gel. One is wholesome and sweet and aw-inducing and stuff, but the other “glitters and whirls with greed and desire”. I so cannot stop saying that. It is Gatsby-esque. All the…painful, exquisite lavishness and decadence and all!
(THE JAPANESE HAVE STILT RACES?! HAHAHA!)
Yeah, uh…no shit, right?
Anyway, this tension is the premise for yet another Jdorama documenting the trials and tribulations that stretch both courage and spirit of the man. Obviously in every episode (in which there is a challenge for Kosei), love and family triumph over the greed, the lust and cut-throat ambition that has come to define the world of the Man Hosts… Who all learn soon enough that the best way to do business is to be conscienable people, looking out for the hearts and souls of all who visit them.
…I do not know why I sound so derisive of the show. I am slightly – okay, a tadge more than just ‘slightly’ – jaded by the idealism and optimism that so pervade (perhaps, define) Japanese dramas but…anachronistic as they are in a very jaded world, it is very hard to hate them. Hard to hate the idea of “Good Triumphing Over Evil” that is. But it does make it very hard for me to say anything particularly useful with regards to plot whether in “summary” or “review”. And I suppose, what distinguishes one peachy preachy Japanese drama from another peachy preachy Japanese drama, is hardly the plot but perhaps, the particular situation in which the same trite themes are explored (among other non-plot factors, which I shall go on to…later).
In this case, the glittering world of greed and lust (and…actually, need I go on?!) clearly make for a fascinating (to say the least) backdrop for this drama. I tell you, I was riveted at first by all the eye-opening… absurdities (bet you thought I’d say “wonders”!…and I would have, but for the fact that this Man Host Concept is so not accessible to I who live in staid Singapore 😦 ) ANYHOO, eye-opening absurdities ranging from, of course, the very idea of Sanitised Male Company for Hire; the repulsively expensive champagne calls to the whole…host of Host-tiquette they actually bother to observe.
On this note, I’d like to recommend a documentary about the real world of Hosts (which is definitely a tad more sordid than the fantasy version offered by primetime television) The Great Happiness Space – Tales of an Osaka Love Thief , which you can watch at Veoh.
THE ACTION
Apart from Sasaki Kuranosuke’s occasional overracting, there really isn’t much to gripe about.
I must say though, the family dynamic in Kohei’s family (comprising wife Momoko by Hara Sachie and…I’m sorry, I don’t know who’s the daughter) and was exceptionally well-played. I don’t think I’ve ever seen another family portrayed with such heartfelt (and might I say, infectious) joyousness and vibrancy…But apart from that, nothing much to shout about either. (Although I must note, that this does count for a large part of the drama and does contribute a long way to the overall success of the drama.)
Nothing else note-worthy about the action in this drama – just a very solid, steady directorial hand and the earnest efforts by all the cast that I’ve grown accustomed to and come to expect from any Japanese drama (that excites the interest of the fansubbers, anyway).
IN CONCLUSION
I must apologise for what must read like a very shoddy, uneven piece of writing. You see, I have procrastinated over this review for far too long and when I finally got started, it took me a whole month to finish writing, as it were, in the fits and starts that I did. Does it say something about the drama? Certainly nothing bad. In fact, it might have been the enormity of the task of persuading people to go catch it that made me hesitate for far too long.
Indeed, Giragira is a solid drama that holds is own. It is well-paced, offers insight into a world that is truly fascinating and (most importantly, I always feel) has the capacity to move and to the persuade. (Certainly, when it comes to Kosei’s family’s dynamic). There is nothing worse than a cold, limp fish of a drama that one might…simply spectate with glazed eyes. And this is not one of those dramas. It just doesn’t seem like the sort of drama anybody would want to catch – pinned as it is, on one of those themes people find so unfashionable and patently staid, “Family”. It might feature elements of Japan’s exciting night-life but it’s not difficult to imagine why one might be turned off by the middle-aged star of the show. And this is such a waste, because it really is a technically accomplished drama…with alot of heart.
QUALITY: 9/10
LOVEABILITY: 8/10
doramaphilic 