Review: MR. BRAIN

MR. BRAIN

THE PLOT

Mr. Brain, as described by TBS, is supposed to revolve around this “quirky, yet brilliant” neuroscientist who solves crimes with his very advanced intelligence (and obvsly, expertise in neuroscience) but who is hindered by his lack of social skills. Very much in the vein of the recent slew of dramas featuring “brilliant mystery-solving eccentrics” then (see  House , Bones and Lie to Me). Except, very not like these dramas because all I really got from neuroscientist Tsukumo Ryusuke (Takuya Kimura) was an adorable penchant for behaving unexpectedly. Perhaps just “quirky” then, hardly “aggravating” – I doubt this will matter much to most people…but then I thought I’d just refute some of that fraudulent spin just in case you were expecting some fascinating backstory of some twisted, tormented soul.

So not much psychological sophistry with regards to the protagonist – the first episode started off rather intriguinfly with Tsukumu as a Host, touting for customers but that storyline was pretty much dropped entirely. (Unless! It sets up a Mr. Brain II!!! OMG. Pleasepleaseplease let that be the case!!!) And if you absolutely hate police procedurals/ Japanese mystery dramas…the strength of Tsukumu’s personal eccentricities is very unlikely to sate your needs.

As far as crime-busting and mystery-solving go however…OMG. You will lap it up and beg for more – very, very intelligent drama. In fact, if I had to pick nits and bones, I’d say: “Oh, waaay too clever for these criminals who are supposed to be very ordinary people.” (As ordinary as murderous criminals get anyway, haaa.) Yes, Side Criminals tend to dabble in Very (perhaps unbelievably) Convoluted Schemes. BUT what does this mean for the entertainment value of this drama, really? Sure – you don’t get 100% realism, but you get episodes which actually pose intellectual challenges to said Crime Busting Neuroscientist and deliver startling twist after startling twist. Fun stuff – VERY…I’d say satisfying, but I think I mean appetising since I. WANT. MORE!!!

Some people complain about the procedural aspects being way too advanced – I certainly don’t know what goes on in a real-life crime lab BUT I’ll happily profess to recognising all of Mr. Brain’s technology in well-established shows of the genre like…the entire CSI Franchise and Bones. So let’s just say it won’t get anymore fantastical then the average procedural drama. OH YES and there are little informational tidbits every episode about how our brain functions which are all very highly fascinating…though I guess they must be taken with that little pinch of salt.

THE ACTION

Really fun ensemble cast – quirky personalities all round, in fact. Perhaps that contributes to why I thought this drama didn’t really make it in the league of Successful Personality-Based Dramas like House and Bones. Unfortunately, this drama makes a second bad showing for Mizushima Hiro, who overacted the same way he did in Mei-Chan no Shitsuji. Very disappointing stuff – since he is soooo hot (when he doesn’t act, aww.)

….OH and as many others have already pointed out – great guest stars (Gackt, Kamenashi Kazuya, Aibu Saki, Nakama Yukie) and fab props/set. 

Overall tone was a really nice balance of silliness/hilarity and tense, compelling action also. Reminded me why I love the JDrama. I’d totally recommend this film to anybody (except maybe, the finale was a tad duller than the rest of the series).

P.S. Very CSI opening theme! Didn’t anybody else think that!

CONCLUSION

…If I had to pick nits and bones, I’d say: “Oh, waaay too clever for these criminals who are supposed to be very ordinary people.” (As ordinary as murderous criminals get anyway, haaa.) BUT what does this mean for the entertainment value of this drama, really? Sure – you don’t get 100% realism, but you get episodes which actually pose intellectual challenges to said Crime Busting Neuroscientist and deliver startling twist after startling twist. Fun stuff – VERY…I’d say satisfying, but I think I mean appetising since I. WANT. MORE!!!

*OH and some might, after a gajillion comparisons to CSI (which are not lost on the CSI-buff that I am), say this is nothing too special. But I say, why fix something that ain’t broke! Plus, there is a definite Japanese slant (viz., the peculiar sense of humour and silliness) so…GO WATCH IT!!!

Quality: 9/10

Loveability: 9/10

Review:Kurosagi

KUROSAGI

THE PLOT

Kurosaki (Yamashita Tomohisa or Yamapi) is a young man with a quest for vengeance. As a young boy, his family was ruined by a Shirosagi (or professional swindler) and so he grows up a Kurosagi (literally, Black Swindler) to revenge-swindle said swindlers and to pay the Shirosagi of the world back with their own coin. Horikita Maki, who plays the righteous and idealistic student of law Yoshikawa Tsurara, comes into his life and part of the series revolve around the inevitable clash of their diametrically opposed personalities.

It is a premise destined for some kind of mind-blowing success.

Think about it – there is (or could have been, she said rather ominously) the exhilirating battle of wits as Black Swindler pits elaborate ploys against Professional Swindler’s own conniving; the fireworks of two clashing personalities battling one another in an intense, emotional dynamic; the exquisite tension within those characters that builds as they discover their own inner demons through their mutual interaction…she, her growing cynicism about the Justice System; he, a quiet optimism about a life free from some preoccupation with vengeance. It’s all there (or should have been) and it all makes (or would have made) for terrific television.

Something obviously got lost in the execution – tedious episode after tedious episode, Kurosaki pursues the daftest of personalities with the most simplistic of ploys…Not that we can even blame him for it – after all, how complex need one’s counter-manouvres be when outwitting swindlers with all the intellect of a basket of bananas? So, fine, we’ll take the overly simplistic con schemes; ignore the frightening ease with which he goes up conjuring fake personas and write off all the complete carelessness of “seasoned Shirosagi” as well…I don’t know, the Terrible Effects of Human Greed.

…Well, no. Actually, I won’t. I don’t know who the producers/writers think they’re kidding but they’re not fooling me.

But okay, I shall be fair, there was one aspect of the drama that was somewhat realised – and that is, the edgy counterplay of Kurosaki and Yoshikawa Tsurara. The tension between the two are just YUMMS! And is, really, the only thing keeping from ditching the show entirely.

THE ACTION

I suppose, when you have a drama starring an idol from Johnny’s, you are going to get the gratuitous (as in “completely unnecessary“) bits of action written into the show. The opening sequence which ends with a pointless show of Yamapi skin (he lies in a grassfield in what looks like…a red bathing suit???), for example:

(I always think he looks better in action then in still-life pictures, hmm. And from the angle, he looks like he’s wearing a red Wonderbra. How unfortunate! But I am digressing. *ahem*)

Oh well, I did say gratuitous (as in “received with thanks” also) and really, who is complaining. I like, particularly, when he assumes various klutzy personas (although the Shirosagi clearly wouldn’t know better if he went as himself or as the Same Klutzy Persona) because he’s CHO KAWAII in those scenes. Some people critique his acting skills (or, they say, his lack thereof) – at least for this drama, however, I thought he was a very convincing mix of outward cool/nonchalance and inner sorrow/torment. (And convincingly HOT!)

(Siiiighhh….!)

ANYWAY (on a somewhat less biased note), I particularly thought the balance of boyishness silliness and brooding seriousness was commendable – reminds the audience continually what he is (tormented and ridden with hatred) and what he should be/could be (an average 21 year old in happy pursuit of dreams and ambitions and…basically, the stuff of his counterpart Yoshikawa.) It could be just Yamapi being Yamapi – in which case, good job to the Casting People! Either way, I ain’t gonna bitch ’bout him being inadequate.

Horikita Maki plays a poorly written character as best as she can – Horikita Maki is a convincing Yoshikawa Tsurara; Yoshikawa Tsurara behaves like she belongs in Barney World, governed by a whole different set of social rules than the one of earth. I buy her incessant nagging about the Virtues of Justice and about how we must Uphold the Law!!! And all that (after all, I am studying to become a Lawyer – guardian of the Legal Universe! Or whatever else she might dub it. So I am obvs not that jaded yet and I believe people might preach about what they believe.) What I don’t buy is her getting down on her knees crying and begging Katsuragi Toshio (Yamazaki Tsutomu) to get Kurosaki to quit bending the law to his own purposes (however noble they might be). ‘Specially when she has so little reciprocal “affection” from Kurosaki to go on – it makes her character (which I am supposing, is meant to be strong and virtuous) clingy/possessive-to-the-point-of-creepy.

The rest of the series is populated by characters with the most annoying of idiosyncracies – Katsuragi Toshio spits like a…mad phlegm-producing machine; Kashima Masaru (Aikawa Sho) has this insanely annoying fake-laugh he does all the time and Mishima Yukari’s (Ichikawa Yui) a stupid, evil, bimbo. ANNOYINGGG.

Picked up on how similar the Kurosagi soundtrack is to the Hana Yori Dango one then found out they were both composed by Yamashita Kousuke. Turns out I have great acumen, eh! HAHA. Anyway, he’s good – but I keep thinking Blue Mind will start playing in the background. Again, I wouldn’t have minded if it did.

CONCLUSION

…Did not dig this series, yo.

Kurosagi is listed officially (well, on DramaWiki, anyway) as a “Crime Investigation”/ “Romance” drama but fails to live up to either. “Crime Investigation” wise, the drama consists of a series of feeble ploys to thwart doofus criminals. “Romance” wise, the drama is – without giving too much away – plain unsatisfying. Structurally, the drama covers several overarching themes and plotlines beyond the worthless episodic con jobs Kurosagi faces/commits. You will therefore, find the drama “improves” (in the sense that it actually engages your attention) as it goes along. Said overaching themes and plotlines (including the Romance bit of the show) are, admittedly, very intriguing indeed – the much hyped romance bit between Yamashita Tomohisa and Horikita Maki, in particular. These might be somewhat redeeming – but I say “redeem” only because it clearly does not actually “disguise” the formulaic and simplistic swindle-the-swindler ploys that is Sheer Boredom Epitomised. Watch it if you’re a huge fan of the Yamapi-Maki pairing (as I am), but don’t expect to be…entertained by the other 90% of the series.

Quality: 4/10

Loveability: 4/10

Review: Liar Game

LIAR GAME

THE PLOT

Stupidly honest Kanzaki Nao (played by Toda Erika) is somehow lured into the deplorable LIAR GAME – a game of deception, debauchery and…I ran out of “D-words” but “betrayal” sounds like “detrayal” if you say it fast enough. Aided by genius (GENIUS GENIUS GENIUS!!!) (AND SUPER KAKKOII!) Psychology Student/ Convicted Swindler Akiyama Shinichi (played by Matsuda Shota), she manages to outplay, outwit and outlast…while protecting the purity of humankind. (hahaha okay, the last bit is nonsense).

How many synonyms for “genius”?! I don’t know what other word there is for the writer who (1) devised such clever games to tease out all the grisly aspects of the human psyche; (2) came up with such intelligent ways for the Akiyama and Nao duo to come out triumphant all the time and (3) do all that and convey a bracing message about how it is ultimately important to be Good rather than Clever. You know when something is sooo intellectually good, it becomes aesthetically pleasing? It’s like that in Liar Game.

And it’s so awesome how they push the main two players to the very (desperate, desperate, desperate) brink before reeling them back with final solution that most admirably of all, doesn’t seem forced or out of the blue. It is remarkable – how you hold your breath and have your heart pound and pound only to finally have a solution that not only makes you heave that sigh of relief but go whoaaaaa! at its ingenuity. And of course, the show builds up to the solution – no extra details suddenly appear to make the solution all happen. I can imagine how incredibly difficult it must be not to give in to temptation and throw in a deus ex machina to right everything topsy turvy when the characters seem so completely trap and I love it I love it I love it.

THE ACTION

Also brilliant – the adaptation of all that brainwork to screen. Excellent, excellent pacing – as evidenced by the Episode Endings which are all awesome cliffhangers which will leave you spell-bound, riveted, unable to stop watching the damned drama until you’ve finished all thirteen godly hours of it in  asingle day.

Okaaay acting – but who cares, really? (There doesn’t seem to be much room for alot of acting anyway, so it’d be a little unfair if I judged) Suffice to know, Matsuda Shota executes his role with sufficient panache and charisma. He totally doesn’t look the right candidate (the little wash out that he was in Hana Yori Dango) but here, he was a Sordid Little Love Affair waiting to happen. I mean this more literally than you think – at a certain point, its like there just HAD to be the suggestion of a romance with his co-star because otherwise, it’d totally be a waste of Hot. And you know, it happened…rather randomly but you just KNOW it HAD to happen.

Just…you know, with the wrong candidate.

It’s probably not a spoiler if I mention he is not paired up with the ACHINGLY GORGEOUS GAME…HOST PERSON, Eri played by Kichise Michiko.

Beauty is etched into her very cheekbones and she is kick-ass cool in the show. Siiiigh.

One SUPER BONUS I completely did not expect were some beautifully crafted and composed scenes (visually, aesthetically). You’d think a thriller like that’d focus entirely on mental acrobatics and neglect such things as filmography as so often happens for dramas in this vein but the director! What a peculiar, quirky, brilliant sense of the aesthetic! You get scene after scene of screenshot worthy moments in fabulous colour palettes coordinated in the most unconventional, unusual, unexpected of ways – LOOK:

The (very picturesque) Police Station in a flamboyant riot of colours and details that manages to be *gasp, is it possible?* CHARMING not jarring.

So it isn’t exactly realism – but as far as escapist excursions go, this must be one of the prettiest, happiest ones! And I am loving, loving, loving that surrealistic sense of whimsy.

Wardrobe-Set coordination! I love!

…And this is where Nao lives. Love the red(?)/pink(?) and green. Love the swing and love the…well, its actually a carousel-style rocking horse thingamajig at the bottom left of the screen. I wish my screenshots turned out better. But oh well, all the more reason for you to GO AND WATCH IT for yourself.

And then the conventionally pretty scenes:

Prettaye!!!

All in all, I must say this is one of the most impressive sets I’ve ever seen on a Japanese drama (which…tend not to focus on looking good). It’s not just that they are either visually arresting or mellow and pleasing…it’s that they have their own personality and contribute to a very jaunty, enchanting tone of whimsy in the show. It almost makes me wish I took film studies or something just so I could have the right words to describe it.

OH and SUPER CUTE computer animations to help make understanding the (sometimes complex) LIAR GAME strategies an absolute breeze. Ever essential in a game like that!

Well-thought out animation that adds alot of value in enlightening the audience...with room for some comic relief for a super super intense film!

IN CONCLUSION

OH MY GOD?! LIAR GAME IS F*CKING RAD! IT’S SO F*CKING GOOD, I AM T*LKING F*NNY! Go Watch it! Go Watch it! Go Watch it! (If it’s the only favour you do for me…and yourself!) It is intensely exciting and it is (at points) laugh-out-loud funny and there’s the odd bonus of an artistically genius set. You will tear your hair out in nervousness – if you aren’t already gripping the edges of your seat in excitement and you will shout very loudly “HOW F*CKING CLEVER!” – if you aren’t already stunned into silence by the kind of intellectual acrobatics of the show. And you will like this show very much indeed – if you aren’t so shamed by your own humble inadequacies or…if you don’t have bad taste. And who knew the Invisible F4 Member, Matsuda Shota, would be such Hot HOT Stuff here?!

Quality: 10*/10

Loveability: 9.5/10

(Minus 0.5 for the worst Special Episode I have seen EVERRRR!

Review: 14 Sai no Haha (III)

14 SAI NO HAHA

(PART THREE – I KNOW! I HAVE SO MUCH TO SAY ABOUT THIS DRAMA!)

THE ACTION

You know I think for all the drama’s lacking in the Brain Department, it really does make up for it with a whole lot of Soul and Heart. The acting’s…brilliant – and I think, from all the overwhelming praise on Youtube – most people think that too. You have people just gushing, gushing, gushing about this actor or that actress and on my part, I suppose the acting must have been stellar for me to decide to have to put up with all that offensively stupid decisions.

[1] Of course, there is Shida Mirai as protagonist, Miki Ichinose. And I loved Shida Mirai in Jyoou no Kyoushitsu (The Queen’s Classroom) which was absolutely bril (!!!) and I hope one day I can churn out a review that does it most justice. So we all know she has some calibre and she was good in the drama – especially in the first episode and when she first has her labour troubles. I actually Youtubed videos of real women really having labour contractions and stuff and…Shida Mirai’s gooooood! Shida Mirai is the real deal! I just didn’t think the bulk of the show/script did her acting much justice – mostly, she just had to look determined and sincere. Which I mean…she did fantastically but…most of her scenes, however well acted, just isn’t award-winning material.

(This is Shida Mirai being exhausted and numbed with shock and grief. As you can see, she looks very…blank and numb. Which is good! Which is…you know, intended. But would you give her an award for this woody expression? I think not. How sad. She does numb with grief very well.)

(This is Shida Mirai being determined to say something to her boyfriend. Whoa, we CAN see the strength in her eyes. But again…hmm)

[2] And then of course there was Tanaka Misako as Ichinose Kanako!

Who I thought was anabsolute gem – she’s carries herself with the sort of quiet dignity and cultivated poise on which Westerners base an entire culture of fetishising the Orient. She is, you will find, the archetypal Asian Beauty – submissive and mindful of all the anachronistic rules and sense of decorum but with an underlying strength and enough independence of mind to influence her husband in the gentle, polite way she went about doing that. (Yes yes, I won’t stop waxing lyrical and am clearly sold to her cause!)

…And it helps that she is naturally, quite the beauty. I honestly don’t know how much of it can be attributed to the calibre of her acting but surely, credit must be given for the kind of respect she commands as powerfully as she is gentle. I’ve heard of people following the series only because they admire Tanaka Misako’s mama Ichinose. I’m not sure I’d stick to a series for a side character? But her acting definitely helped ground several scenes integral to the development of the plot so that the drama wasn’t as flawed in execution as in concept.

(Tanaka Misako’s quality of “Yasashii” captured in one of my favourite, most poignant scenes)

[3] Another superstar would be Miki Ichinose’s heartmeltingly adorable lil bro – Koshimizu Kazuki’s Kenta Ichinose

Seriously, how cute is he? But don’t be fooled! This child actor didn’t cruise by banking solely on his natural Kawaii.

(From heart-melting to heart-breaking: One of the saddest saddest scenes masterfully pulled off…you know, it sounds wrong even to say that because in that heart-wrenching moment, it really didn’t even seem like he was acting. You can’t fake that little tremor in the lip, that profound sadness in the eyes and that desperate, broken voice!!! Give him an Emmy already! )

The rest of the cast were good but if I commented on them all, I’d run into my fourth post on 14 Sai no Haha and as it is, I have no idea why this review is running on for so long. I would point out, however, that Miura Haruma as Miki’s boyfriend, Kirino Satoshi and Namase Katsuhisa as her father, Tadahiko Ichinose were rather underwhelming/disappointing though.  Miura Hiruma, I think, was partially let down himself by a script which left him rather…vague and ill-defined. Namase Katsuhisa on the other hand, was just…wrongly cast?! I mean, we know him as that wacky-ass head-master guy in Gokusen right? And he is not such a Johnny Depp that he can play such differing roles with the much needed versatility. He actually managed to look comical in all his overacting – which, of course, rather ruined some supposedly really sad scenes…but I don’t know, you be the judge.

IN CONCLUSION

In short, I think this was one of the most brilliant dramas (technicality-wise) I have ever watched. The acting deserves the kind of mad, raving praises you see all over Youtube and while I didn’t cry myself, I can see why male members of the audience admit publicly to sobbing over some of the scenes. The only thing that sort of…niggled at me was probably the overused Sad Music – it wasn’t even inappropriately used. It was, as some put it, beautiful – just…at some point, you get bored of things – beautiful Sad Music included. But I cannot get over its being opposed to almost every value and belief I hold dear. (It’s not that I’m dogmatic of bigoted – I’d like to think its just common sense raging up in fury at the drama’s brutal violation of all things common sense-ical) And I would definitely put up some disclaimer here to say that…I have been supremely biased in judging this drama and I will likely continue to be but I also think my biases as well-founded and logically justified, so. Maybe that’s good enough reason for you to catch the drama? It is a well-executed film and I’d wager, one of the more convincing and realistic ones we will see in a long time. There are few better dramas with which to truly challenge your worldview and rouse the culture skeptic in you.

Or if you aren’t feeling soooo intellectual – there’s Miura Haruma!

Review: 14 Sai no Haha (II)

14 SAI NO HAHA

THE PLOT (Continued)

Right. So Miki Ichinose makes a series of Very Bad Decisions because, presumably, this bullish constancy is supposed to demonstrate some kind of inner strength. It unfortunately means she repeatedly turns down her Hot Form Teachers’ efforts to get her back to school.This is another reason why I cannot bring myself to condone her fourteen-year-old pregnancy (though of course, I am open-minded enough not be principally opposed to all 14 year old pregnancies… I mean, you’d never know if the 2 lone survivors of some terrible global catastrophe turned out to be hapless 14 year olds. And how could anybody condemn the noble task of repopulating the earth?). But after her first bad decision to actually have the baby, she decides she doesn’t want to return to school even after giving birth. Because…she’s decided she’ll just attend night school when the baby grows up and she’s an adult. Of course, her longer-term plan is to become  a doctor so she can get that steady income to support her family – so night school’s going to fit perfectly in to the Long Term. Everybody knows how Night School is the quickest route to a medical degree.

You do not TURN DOWN YAMAGUCHI SAYAKA! She’s too…hot! And awesome! And turning down said form teacher AFTER she’s gone the extra mile, persuading a bunch of stodgy old farts to accept Miki again is…well, plain immoral. ALSO, Miki dearie, your mother went and bowed in front of said old farts to accept you back as well.

…Humiliating? Well, it’s not that bad…compared to when she had to write back to the school and say she, a grown adult, begged for absolutely nothing in the end because it turns out her daugther was more ambitious than oh you know, just the most expensive private high-school education you can get at the sacrifice of both your parents. It is just awful the drama frames her decision as another “milestone moment”, another indicator of how much more Miki has “matured” along the way. Yay for Heroine Miki, the Awesome Moresome 14-Year-Old Mother!

And AFTER the bad decision of her not wanting to abort (which we can look past only because…we have to clear that obstacle before we can have a whole series about 14-year-old mothers). And AFTER the bad decision of her choosing not to return to the Ideal Education Institution she was privileged with from the start…she decides on behalf of her unborn child and her whole family, that she will sever all ties with the baby’s father. Of course, that is the noble, self-sacrificing, Mother Theresa option and that is why she chooses it – what could be more…self-sacrificial than offering up your offspring’s choice to see or not see his/her father?

Break from Sucking.

Is when it concentrates on the physical difficults of being pregnant and 14 – its not so much that it is fun watching Miki suffer or anything (as I might or might not have accidentally suggested earlier). It’s just… one takes a break from all her stupidity being at the forefront of things. Yes, she made stupid decisions but at this phase of the drama (which sadly, comes late late into the series), her pregnancy has become nothing but a Fact. And one concentrates instead on the intense labour pains and stuff – which you know, are scenes really well executed. But more about that later.

Back to Sucking.

When Miki…is well enough to talk, she says she wants to marry her boyfriend. And her boyfriend makes the decision to quit school as well so that he can get a job and help Miki out with his minimum wages. Okay, he doesn’t say minimum wages but the Japanese economy is contracting at about 5% yearly and we all know what sort of executive jobs one can get with a high school diploma or…heck, its not even called a diploma because its just a graduation certificate.

…WHAT  DOES EVERYBODY HAVE AGAINST EDUCATION?! Ima Big Fan of Education – hear it lifts entire communities out of poverty. Also, mummy always told me its a good idea not to drop out as soon as possible. It’s all about delayed gratification. So you forfeit the five-bucks-an-hour you could be making at a your local burger I’m sorry, sushi joint and you go to school instead. School fees, yucky tests and horrible uniforms that come with horrific caps. You DO stand to gain a chance to get an actual degree after a couple of years that’ll get you a proper job and maybe like, 1000 dollars per month if you’re less lucky than most.Y’ know? Y’know?! Guess you wouldn’t…since you quit school for your baby. Who, I’m sure, will be absolutely stoked to know his parents didn’t go to school.

(Disclaimer: I don’t have anything against the uneducated. I hate it when people voluntarily pass up their chance at education to go and do stupid, immature things like raising babies with minimum wages. And I have convinced you that that will happen right?)

Break from Sucking Again.

Anyway, Miki’s family is all happy and stuff when she successfully births the baby. And there’s a happy soundtrack to go with it! And they’re all in familial bliss, of course. (Like I said, the show celebrates her lunacy) And then in the last ten seconds or so, happy music suddenly stops. Dun dunnn…!

…Yeah. Noooot much of a redemption but at this point, I was so fed up with Miki’s Stupid Decisions – I wasn’t going to compain. The only reminder, the only dose of a little bit of reality. Sure, its not overtly ominous – its not like some tragic Beethoven piece starts playing or something – but it does remind people that as Wise Gynaecologist said, its all about Raising the Child. A very nice touch to even out the entire drama, I thought. One of those precious, rare cliffhanger ending’s that are also Highly -perhaps, Most– Appropriate for the scenario.

Review: 14 Sai no Haha (I)

14 SAI NO HAHA

THE PLOT

The premise is a winner – a fourteen year-old girl gets pregnant with her boyfriend’s child and after struggling with the fact that she is pregnant, decides she will keep the baby and raise it herself. Certainly, it caught my attention – surely one must have some curiosity about what it must be like being pregnant and going into labour and stuff when one is barely, barely “post-pubescent”. Much less about what mad urge must propel a fourteen year old to actually keep the baby. (Honestly, I wasn’t wondering so much about that because I assumed it must have been some jingoistic campaign against abortion that did it. BUT! It is a valid…wonderment I would have entertained if I weren’t so jaded about how the world must always be anti-abortion and how this drama therefore had to be you know, “one of those things”.)

See, many reasons why one would be intrigued enough by its premise to watch it – hence, my not-so-bold claim that it is some kind of winner. Some guy on a forum went on about how its publicity was raking in the ratings. But…come on, one look at that lousy, washed out, no-brainer of an advert and we know better, yes? “Shida Mirai and a stalk of Dandelion?!!! Oh god, I cannot wait to catch the drama.” But anyway, WHAT a digression. I was talking about the plot!

In summary: It started off brilliantly, peaked at Episode 2 and then it was all downhill from there. Or perhaps, an extended review to acknowledge the extraordinary silliness that must have gone into imagining up such a completely moronic drama: It started off brilliantly, peaked at Episode 2 – where the protagonist first made her stupid, stupid decision, went downhill from there, took a break from sucking because we see the protagonist suffering the First Consequences of her Stupid Decision (and we see that these Very Torturous Consequences are Well Deserved) and then went back to sucky, sucky, sucky.

…Oh. And then, the last 10 seconds or so with its ominous music redeemed it abit. My, what an exciting roller-coaster ride of a drama! (This, I will very unironically, admit – it is one engrossing heck of a drama. One watches on the edge of his seat to see just how far we can test the limits of Human Moronism. It is an experience quite akin to watch some fantastical record being broken on that Guiness Book of Records show.)  Perhaps I should be fair and elaborate, but then you must put up with the spoilers – they are inevitable if we must objectively evaluate this drama.

*** SPOILER ALERT!!!***

Episode 1 and 2 – When it was still Good

What happens in Episode 1 – as is customary for most Episodes 1 – is that our protagonist (Shida Mirai‘s Miki Ichinose) and her surrounding People are set up. Our protagonist, you will find, is this…zanily…happy person bursting forth with joie de vivre. For example, when we first meet her, she is greeting all her fellow schoolmates on the school radio show with an over-enthusiastic (all the more painful for its wretched pronounciation) “Hey Garlz!” and babbling away about school tests with a suppressed giggle in her voice. Because, well, school tests are a universally endearing topic. Her Mary Poppins mannerisms tether on annoying because well, how can anybody BE so happy but the sincerity with which she goes about Loving the World does indeed make her joy somewhat contagious and thus, she is “effervescent, bubbly, vivacious” more than “annoying” – it is a Good Happy. Good happy and comically, comically earnest. We laugh, maybe that’s why we ultimately don’t hate her. And she is (for now anyway) above all, refreshing…because, you know, how many teenage pregnancy cases are non-Emo; non-Angsty and Well-Adjusted?

The relationship between her and her “boyfriend” (well, they aren’t really, at the beginning of the show) was also Well Played. Again challenging convention, theirs is first shown to be a very innocent relationship with a pretty adorable scene by a river involving the cutest black puppy EVAAA.And yet, when the Deflowering (the most appropriate euphemism in consideration of her…flowery dramatics) happened, it was suitably hormonal (and thus believable) and not so completely and unnaturally out of the blue.

(Cute scene where they plunge into the river trying to save the Cutest Black Puppy in the World. They do not die – obviously – because the water is conveniently shallow enough so they don’t drown but deep enough so they don’t smash their legs or skulls diving in…Also because, it’d be that much more troublesome for producers if protagonists dropped dead before the plot had time to happen.)

(Don’t look like much here, but trust me. It’s a pretty quality scene when they…put the plot in motion, as it were.)

Don’t know ’bout you! But I really appreciated the drama’s challenging of conventions and that delicate balancing of elements (said couple’s childish innocence and adult desires, for example) which made that challenge happen so beautifully. And realistically. Was completely misled into expecting a first-rate drama that’d startle me into some good, honest reflection and review of my beliefs and values. Or you know…something.

Episode 2 again demonstrated the skillfulness of 14 Sai no Haha’s scriptwriters. The pace was urgent, the mood taut and tense and set up all the important relationships of the drama really well. Then again, I think the success of the drama at this point must be attributed more to the really, really adroit acting of  all the cast. Still, there were the clever scenes which made it so drove home so well the key facts – the rude shock of the fact of her pregnancy itself and the scarinesss of her being fourteen and unable to even purchase a pregnancy test with her…pocket money.

(This scene, I like! Another example of how some of these scenes are so sensitively, so compellingly shot – here, Miki’s father pleadingly begs them to uncover their prank. It tells such a powerful story about his absolute disbelief – no, more accurately – his yearning for it to be all untrue. True: Better a hideous prank in bad humour than a baby in the belly!)

And then.

And then they made a huge set-up of the kind of familial and societal pressures a fourteen year old mother would face. How? By (pretty accurately) guesstimating what sort of opposition might happen, what sort of negative implications might occur and then supersizing them to Hollywood proportions (I know! It isn’t even American!!!) and imagining up a few more problems. So you have:

1. (Very understandably) Miki’s parents absolutely dreading her pregnancy for the potential threats to their only daughter.

2. (Understandably) Miki’s Private School’s Staff Committee grappling with the potential negative publicity, bad influence on the children and

3. (Again, Understandably) The Very Angry Parents of Miki’s schoolfriends who worry about the potential bad influence on their offspring also.

4. (Bizarrely) Miki’s friends who are so pissed with Miki for soiling the school’s image (like teenagers care?!) they actually stop being friends with her. *snap* Just like that.

5. (Also Bizarrely) Miki’s brother who faces Alienation and Bullying Problems at school because a school-full of pre-pubescent boys feel enormous moral outrage at Miki’s being pregnant. (What a stick-in-the-mud bunch, huh.)

And then of course, for the story to even happen, we have Miki choosing despite all the smorgasbord of wonderful, wonderful reasons NOT to have a baby to…have a baby! And of course, in doing so she: 1. Endangers herself, 2.  disappoints her mother (who took up a part-time job to support her expensive private education), 3. disappoints her father (who worked overtime and such to earn a good enough salary for her expensive private education), 4. troubles the entire school committee and her Very Hot  Form Teacher (and how criminal is that!!! VERY!!!), 5. has her brother suffer alienation and bullying problems in school. Oh, she also 6.tarnishes her school reputation, ruining whatever effort her schoolfriends (who clearly care very much about the school’s street cred) must have put into letting the school flag fly high and 7. tarnishes her family’s reputation (because her nosey parker neighbours now absolutely disdain the ill-bred 14 year-old arse of an Ichinose representative).

(The adorable, adorable little brother, Kenta Ichinose played by Koshimizu Kazuki – completely let down by his bum sister and her foolhardiness.)

Last but certainly not the least! She decides on a baby inspite of all the thousand and one warnings about how financially, physically and mentally draining it is to raise a baby. As Wise Gynaecologist put it, giving birth would be the least of her concerns, raising a child’d require so much more. And as everybody’s who’s been to school knows: If you cannot pay for your own Pregnancy Test Kit; Do not go and have an expensive Baby. It is like, the Law of Home Economics! (not to mention, the very embodiment of Common Sense) What’s that to my mind? Selfish Selfish Selfish. Granted, I think the supersized proportions of her Opposition are (sometimes) very much unjustified. But given that they exist, Miki must be the First Class Idiot for going ahead anyway.  (Oh, and have I said, IRRESPONSIBLE?!)

So I hate her decision, LIKE MAD. LIKE MAD!!!

And because the show decides to glorify her foolhardiness (which of course, we are supposed to interpret as Moral Courage or Determination or Backbone or some such virtuous trait) and celebrate her…lunacy. That is why the show is all downhill from Episode 2 or 3.

(To be Continued)

Review: CHANGE

CHANGE

THE PLOT

Started off unsatisfactorily.

…No, wait. That would be a serious understatement – quite frankly, it actually made me lose faith in the whole JDrama enterprise. I thought it’d be another one of those peachy,preachy dramas about sunshine and rainbows, the importance of being earnest and the inherent (if dormant) good that is in everybody. Not that I mind them particularly. Quite contrarily, I rather love them for their reaffirmation of wholesome human values – they’re…refreshing. But this was a drama presumably about politics, for godssakes. And the torrid, filthy institution that it is. And they just had to start off with an episode like:

(“I don’t want to teach the children there’s a necessary evil in the society!”)

Yeah, I know. Big words. No wait, GARGANTUAN words.

Not even “no evil” but no necessary evil in society?! So it’s a world that’s not even sloppily dichotomised into straightforward Black and White terms but quite simply, shorn of all evil.

(Of course, they are actually, star-watching. You possibly can’t see that because of the lousy screen-cap quality. But you probably know that already…when and where else do you have cheesy conversations about lighting the candles of hope in the lives of young children?)

Later in the series, our romantic ex-school-teacher protagonist actually preaches Japan’s way out of some Structural Impediments Program difficulties which had supposedly been plaguing US-Japan relationships for awhile. With, wait for it, a lesson about how diplomacy should be about two parties calming themselves down to hear each other out before coming to a mutually beneficial situation with concessions and compromises made on both sides. Y’know, “just like what I teach my Fifth Grade schoolchildren!…You simple-minded US Trade Representative!” And of course that worked magic because well, actually, that sort of fifth grade commonsense just sort of… slipped outta Top-American- Diplomat’s mind momentarily and all he really needed was some gentle reminding and prodding and oh yeah, tea from our dear elementary school teacher. Then suddenly, the (imaginably) immense pressure of hundreds of agricultural-sector jobs that once rested on this Super Important Trade Deal thing dissipates with the epiphanic lecture from the Japanese PM. Yeah, right.

Indeed, there are many moments in this drama which made me fear this’d be another one of those  Grown-Up Disneyland-type dramas. More importantly, it made me fear that perhaps, Japanese dramas are in fact rather…one-note, to say the least. It was disappointing, for the drama’s particular choice of topic. You think they’d handle something like politics a little bit more subtly, with a little bit more sophistication, a little bit more attention and appreciation to all its complexities and a little bit more… honesty.

…BUT. (Ooh yes, you must have sensed the “However”!)

But if the drama takes a somewhat plebian view of Politics, it is deft and compelling in its treatment of Politicking.

Does that make sense? Okay, by “Politics”, I meant the resolution (or attempts at resolution) of policy-issues like the Structural Impediments thing mentioned-above. And by “Politcking” I was talking about the dramatic Goong-esque behind-the-scenes scheming and wrestling for power. (Dang, that kinda detracted for the would-be witty comment!)

ANYHOO! CHANGE is one of the most well-written dramas I have watched in a long, long while – and I think I have Internet-forum consensus here. So I say this with the authority of Democracy (ah, what a theme).  It was well-written perhaps in that, there is always enough twist and underlying tension to keep the plot racing. So much so that I did finish the whole Ten-Episode drama in merely two days. (If not for damned work, it would have been one day.) Seriously, it was riveting. And unexpected and in ways that were seriously cunning. And clever. (Damn, I could rave about this thing all day).

It was well-written in that, it was tighter than I’d imagined. “Nary a wasted word!”, I think they say of some particularly successful English short stories. The same is true here, every scene purposeful, every scene working towards a meaningful conclusion that didn’t seem rushed or worse, haphazardly slotted in just to make things…finish. You will see what I mean when you hit the last few episodes and see echoes of the first episodes. (And I do not mean in the form of cheap flashbacks).

THE ACTION

Was well-executed.

Two characteristics will stand out about this film, methinks. That is it well-written and well-executed.

What I love about CHANGE is that for a topic that many consider dull and/or unmitigatedly evil, there were still moments of downright hilarity. Yes, the excellent balance between seat-gripping tension and laugh-out-loud (or at least, giggle-giggle) hilarity. And this is all thanks to the marvellous cast and the awesome characters they play. (Also the usual touch of the absurd unfailingly present in almost all Jdramas, huh)

First off! ABE HIROSHI…as Katsutoshi Nirsawa!

The Election Planner! Who turned…Prime-Minister Roommate! Who turned Prime Minister Publicist! Who turned Chief Cabinet Minister (?)! Who turned Election Planner Again! (Gah, they just REALLY wanted to cast him!).

He reprises his Dragon Sakura/Trick roles (well, elements of the respective roles) with his madcap (election-planning) genius ways and his downright shamelessness. Or perhaps it shouldn’t accurately be called shamelessness because there are moments when it feels like he doesn’t even exist on the same mortal plane where there is a certain decorum to be observed.

…Actually, perhaps “decorum” is too big a word. Something more…basic.

Anyway, if he sorta grated on my nerves in Dragon Zakura, I totally loved him here as one of Asakura Keita (Takuya Kimura)‘s loyal aides.

Secondly, Rosa Kato as Miyamoto Hikaru, another one of Asakura Keita’s sidekicks.

She’s just…completely adorable.

(Damn, couldn’t find a better picture –

Hikaru’s E-A-S-Y Lecture(?) On Politics

Hikaru gently explains the incomprehensible political jargon used in the drama! Please also participate in our quiz on “the Basics of Politics” and our -SOMETHINGSOMETHING- survey!

…Is what I think it says.)

I had my (rather serious) doubts about the boyish Takuya Kimura (how da heck does he keep so well anyway!) playing Prime Minister of Japan but he definitely proved me wrong in this drama. (And he did also take home the Best Actor Award at the 57th Television Drama Academy Awards for his role in CHANGE, so.)

I mean I think it’s obvious he does “idealist”, “respectful”, “humble” and “adolescent awkwardness” really well. And he doesn’t disappoint…

(HAHA FAVOURITE, FAVOURITE SCENE…of the relationship between Asakura and his secretary anyway. And I know how that Monica Lewinsky that sounds. But I swear, its a totally cute, totally awesome relationship you’d totally root for. And precious few JDramas successfully handle love stories, actually…)

But I honestly didn’t think he’d have sufficient…gravitas to be able to pull off particularly powerful or stirring speeches – but he did. And in the final few episodes (you will, specifically, remember his final speech in the tenth), did actually, almost move me to tears. I have gained fresh respect for Takuya Kimura and can see how the hype is justified now. (Not that I didn’t like him before!)

But you know who stole the show? I’m going to do the unorthodox thing and vote for the villain. No, because I think Terao Akira completely deserves it.

Seriously though, he has such…I can’t think of a just word…profound eyes!There is derision and contempt and yet a certain balefulness and a certain fatigue, presumably from his years messing around with politics.

Ah how do I love him (or at least, his understated performance), let me count the ways!

I’d say his languid hauteur if that didn’t smack of feminity,  so instead…his easy arrogance and the leisurely calm, if not derisive amusement with which he watched his malicious conspiracies unfold. It made his ways all the more chilling, all the more bloodless, made him all the more villainous and menacing. And I’d say most of all, it is the unassertive presumptuousness with which he snaked his way about – the way he exuded a sense of…entitlement to the prime minister’s seat already that upped the eeriness of his role. He played the consummate politician, all poise and composure, the rightful prime minister trying to regain a seat that was but being temporarily warmed by some amateur rookie. Chilling, I tell you.

IN CONCLUSION

As Jane Austen once succinctly put it in Northanger Abbey, “From politics, it was an easy step to silence.”

(Okay no, that quote isn’t particularly…literary or brilliant. But it’s been sticking around in my head like a spat-out wad of chewing gum to the sneaker. Anyway, this is digressing.)

CHANGE does a remarkable job in handling its tricky theme. No, it isn’t perfect – and don’t stick around if you are looking out for any particularly incisive or enlightening insights into the world of Politics. There is some ridiculous over-simplification of difficult concepts here that almost insults any Government today. But it is a drama in the truest sense of the word – it will leave you sleepless and at moments, breathless with a compelling plot and an even more compelling cast. And the moments that are so hard to buy? At least, you want to believe – and how much more can you ask for a drama, than to have it make you want to believe.

QUALITY: 9/10

LOVEABILITY: 10/10

Review: Attention Please

ATTENTION PLEASE

THE PLOT

Uhm, what plot?

Attention Please is a comedy chronicling the progress of Misaki Yoko (Ueto Aya) from lead-singer of a punk rock band to Cabin Attendant of Japanese Airlines. Of course, she’s not just a punk-rock singer, she also gets a whole backstory that is hardly ever never referred to in the drama except in the first episode – she lost her mother at a young age, was raised amongst three brothers and this explains her being “a slightly boyish girl who is bullheaded”. This is so that the comedy serial can be as outrageous and (hopefully) as humorous as possible.

…It is certainly outrageous. Among the inevitable mistakes she makes as a Cabin Attendant in training, are her stealing (and dismembering) of one of those robot things on which people practice CPR* and her stealing of a uniform. (Yes, she’s supposed to be in her twenties and no, this isn’t primary school.)

*Ah, okay. They say “doll” but uhhh…you be the judge.

Also, the reason why she even makes the transformation from:

Punk-rocker Misaki

to: Cabin Attendant Misaki

Is because some Tsukasa guy Misaki used to have a crush on “tells Yoko he wonders what she’d look like dressed in uniform” and that is motivaiton enough for her to succumb herself to what is imaginably arduous training (Square Peg! Round Hole!) for one of the most dramatic transitions in JDrama History. Because she has such backbone – if that isn’t terribly needy and pathetic of our iron-willed, bull-headed heroine, I don’t know what is. I’m sorry, but that is such a feeble premise for such a drastic transformation – uh, hence, outrageous.

Indeed, you definitely aren’t going to find any clever scripting or plotting in this drama. It is patently mediocre, clumsily serves up slapstick gag after slapstick gag and relies too much on the bumbling, boisterous Misaki Yoko who verges on plain hateful in her childlish antics. I say “verges” but on the forums, I read of people dropping the serial after the first few episodes altogether because she’s such a piercing pain in the butt.

An example of how the treatment of this drama clearly lacks finesse would be:

The Second-Last Episode; typically, the climax of the show as a whole and featuring some Exciting Event. Against all film-making wisdom (and in an “exception that proves the rule”-kind of way), Attention Please’s Great Crisis/Exciting Event is…a flight delay because of some malfunctioning door. I don’t know, I guess I was expecting a little less passivity than just some…dragged out wait? I mean, obviously Good Luck! (the other Notable Drama about the commercial airline industry) was unrealistic in its portrayal of some mid-air crisis every other day but this is supposed to be a drama not some inane real-life documentary about Stewardesses-in-Training right? A little artistic license couldn’t have hurt – plus, its not like the producers were gunning for realism from the get-go anyway. Seems to me, more like some serious failure in plotting anything worth watching.

The Height of the Crisis: What is that couple going to do?! Carry on with their little hissy fit?! Pen a hissy letter of complaint?! KYAAA!!! The tension will kill you.

Oh and for that matter, a business meeting?! In “Good Luck!”, when the plane was similarly delayed, the customers were panicking because of scheduled life-saving operations and company-saving business meetings. The good people of “Attention Please”clearly couldn’t come up wiht anything better.

Ah, to their credit, they try and insert some vaguely effective tension-building music but I think they squandered all its tension-building value away earlier when they basically, shoved unnecessarily dramatic music all over the place Gokusen-style in the earlier, less eventful episodes. It’s like…okay, so is this a real crisis? Or another one of those mildly troubling obstacles happening?

In fact, from start to finish, a whole variety of disappointing anti-climaxes and deus-ex-machinas abound. Misaki and her two other Cabin-Attendant Musketeer(esses) spot their fellow Cabin-Attendant in training entering some shady building late at night. They tail her. They find out she’s actually training at some gym in the building. They find out that the horror stories about the kind of sordid activity going about the building actually involve the next-door building. It is such a convenient coincidence. Way to resolve a conflict.

The plot, on the whole, is unbelievable and uncompelling. You’d think that if they were prepared to stretch reality abit, it’d at least be to accommodate some vaguely exciting plot and yet…

THE ACTION

I think I’ve said it before, the Japanese can generally be relied upon to deliver strong, convincing performances. This is the case here – some people accuse Ueto Aya of overracting but I rather think she makes quite a believable (if not tolerable) character. It is easy to see why people hate the actress – it is easy to transfer some hatred of some unimaginably horrid character with a genuine EQ deficiency to the actress who plays it. It’s like some “shoot the messenger” complex alot of people, understandably, have. Misaki Yoko is shameless, stubbon and self-centred in the utmost extreme. She is frustratingly childish and alot of the times, you just want to strangle her.

(By a bunch of random male hotel guests in the lobby. Behind her are her two awesome kick-ass bitchy Senpais who overhear her and promptly quash her over-confidence. They help make her a bearable nuisance.)

(HAHAH, okaaaay…)

But what redeems her, are her moments of quiet wisdom (usually, after she learns the Lesson-of-the-Episode from (usually) Instructor Mikami –  it’s all very formulaic, as usual.) And I think Ueto Aya is so awesome because she plays both parts with convincing sincerity and versatility. There is a genuine liveliness and infectious energy you cannot fake about Ueto Aya’s Misaki Yoko…and it helps that Ueto Aya’s also very pretty. 😀

But, (I have to agree with the many commentators on forums who think so), it is the supporting cast which really made this technically awful show imminently entertaining – loveable, even.

Aibu Saki as Wakamura Yayoi ! She is super cute in the show with her winning smile and earnest bumbling about. I love her!

And the formidable Maya Miki as the formidable Instructor Mikami! I love her too!

IN CONCLUSION

It’s a deeply mediocre drama but then, in general, dramas can be counted on to entertain. And it does. Just don’t expect anything intensely hilarious, or exciting, or anything worth jumping about for. It does shed some light on an industry steeped in mystery (in Singapore’s context, anyway) so its fascinating that way and worth watching if you’re curious about Cabin Attendants/Stewardesses and all that. You won’t fall asleep but neither will it keep you up at night, riveted to the drama. Try and get past Misaki Yoko’s first few episodes – she gets (marginally) better towards the end what with her many Lessons Learnt. Watch this if you are really curious about the profession/ have got spare time to kill.

Quality: 5/10

Loveability: 6/10

Review: Mei-chan no Shitsuji

MEI-CHAN NO SHITSUJI

Mei-chan and her Shitsuji (Butler)

(The whole thing is a damn tongue twister if you use her full tongue-twistery name: Shinonome Mei-chan no Shitsuji)

THE PLOT

Like I mentioned in my synopsis already, this is the sort of drama that relies more on its excellent premise and fantasy scenario than any kind of overarching plot. It is episodic and its storyline isn’t all that riveting in that you won’t expect to be clinging to your seats in excitement and anticipation for the next twist in the plot and you could probably skip a few episodes without losing a sense of what the drama is about. I hardly think that’s a flaw – merely, its just a different subset of dramas and like I said, I am okay as long as each individual episode is entertaining enough for me to want to watch the next episode just to experience the same kind of kick at the end.

Is this what I’d consider a successful drama then? Absolutely! Yes, it is a vehicle for the sort of super cheesy, oversimplified moral message I’d ordinarily hate, but then it takes you through such a zany and undeniably, joyous ride! First, I think it is one of the few series I have ever watched which actually made me (heartily) laugh out loud and I swear it’ll warm your heart. Next, it might oversimplify the dichotomy between good and evil in this world – but frankly, who watches comedies for any nuanced recreation of moral gradients and plausible ethical dilemmas and all that intellectual-shit. That being said, it really is quite…Disney-esque in its oversimplification of good versus evil and there are hardly shades of grey in its unambiguously Evil Characters.

Meet Shiori, the resident Bitch who tries to oust Mei-chan for reasons I shall not disclose here for fear of  “spoiling” the “plot”. And look!  She lives in a cheery little…greenhouse thing? Flooding with a charming variety of vibrantly coloured flora and fauna! Aww!

…How menacingly misleading! For she actually spends most of her time in the show…snipping violently at innocent little roses, the overused symbol of love and all that is good and beautiful! The arbitrariness of her anger! The horror!

Unfortunately, I couldn’t find Evil Screencaps of her Slicing up Plants so this poor substitute Evil Picture of her slashing at Mei-Chan’s picture shall have to suffice.

And of course, Mei-Chan and her butler sidekick are almost 100% perfect. Mei-Chan never gets angry or bitter with anybody – even if given person reneges on her promise to bury her parents together and instead, threatens to burn up their bodies and scatter their ashes. Nope, not even that ruffles perfect Mei’s feathers for she is the Good Character in this battle between good and evil and she is all virtuous and all-forgiving. Yes, abit like God.

…but with an almost indecently short skirt.

But back to the Moral Message – I really do quite like the wisdom of the show. Or at least, some parts of the show – I thought Episode 3, in particular, was absolutely kickass in the way the Obstacle of the Day was surmounted. Without spoiling anybody, it basically allowed

1) Mei-chan, heroine of the show to emerge triumphant over Ryounji Izumi

2) Ryounji Izumi  dignity in her loss (in fact, I think she lost in a way that was testimony to some of her own virtues – humility and respect for her butler) and

3) Mei-chan to learn something inspite of the superiority which allowed her to triumph.

…And this doesn’t make sense to anybody reading thing. But it will if you watch it and pay attention to Episode 3! 😀 The point is, Episode 3 was really illustrative of the kind of maturity the show demonstrates beyond all its ridiculous antics.

THE ACTION

On the whole, unremarkable. But not in a bad way – considering how Japanese dramas in general, are considered to be well-acted and stuff. Even the kid actors fare really well – and the lone child actress  (Yoshida Riko as Miruku-chan) in Mei-chan is no exception.

…Or perhaps I should be more generous: SHE WAS EXCELLENT! And I’m being sincere here! And I think, fair. I think she pulled off emotions I am supposing are really complex for a…nine-year old. O.O

Oh but Mizushima Hiro was fraaaaankly kind of a disaster. It felt, throughout the series, that he was concentrating so much on “exuding hotness” by brooding and frowning and channelling funny stares that it was almost like he was…oh this is going to sound so unpleasant…like he was constipated with hotness.

Which is why, it is such a good thing he is as hot as he is. Because its like, when he smiles or something, all is forgiven. And if he really were, constipated with all his smouldering hotness, we totally undertand.

Seeeee…you can totally see his eyes working at trying to radiate his hotness.

(and sorry I have no prettier way of saying that hahaha)

And again!

Oh but I do love his fight scenes – credit to his being able to intentionally lose while still looking like he is trying his hardest…if that makes sense to a person who hasn’t watched it, hahaha (so go!).

And I STILL love him as an actor! Just…wrong role, mebbe. I was one of the very very very few people (in my socical circle at least )who noticed him in Hana Kimi okay! Even with Ogrui Shun and Ikuta Toma!

THE SET

Was freaking ridiculous (the exterior at least) and looked like a stage-play with cardboard props. But then I suppose its hard to live up to such preposterously high standards of luxury.

Also, horrifically animated scenes. Hired some cheap photoshop guy, must be.

Urgh, please don’t let the cheapish feel of this series stop you as it almost did me.

IN CONCLUSION

It’s like a super excellent Disney classic – triumphant and uplifting in its celebration of the best bits of humankind and so enjoyably escapist in its fantastical premise and its Mizushima Hiro. It’s simple but it’s sincere, and so compellingly likeable. I mean, if you liked Hana Kimi and Hana Yori Dango – and hello, I am sure you did – then you’ll completely love this cross between the both. LOVE it. Despite the filmsy prop and weak lead actor. I actually missed it alot when it ended, always a sign of an excellent must-watch.

Quality:7/10

Loveability: 10/10

Synopsis: Mei-chan no Shitsuji

SYNOPSIS:

Mei-chan no Shitsuji is one of those dramas which shamelessly play up to what I am assuming (and hoping) is a largely-female audience. Mei-chan (played by Eikura Nana) is your average girl plucked out from Udon-Shop-Helper obscurity to become a student at the (premier school in Japan for daughters of the) elite St. Lucia Girls’ Academy. Because unbeknownst to even Mei, she is really secretly, heiress to the Hongo estate. The Hongo family, is of course, the number one wealthiest family in Japan! And so she is assigned S-ranked Butler, Shibata Rihito –  played by Mizushima Hiro, “the Unearthly Beauty”, according to some plainly fantatic thread on some plainly fanatic website. That might be abit of a hyperbole but as any good hyperbole is, it is grounded in more than a little truth! I mean…look! salivaaateee….

And in the show itself, in his classy,hot butler get-up:

Siiighhh…he is so heartbreakingly pretty!

So anyway, there you have the broadly appealling Cinderella element and in addition to that, extravagant trappings of royalty that’d appeal to anybody who’s ever dreamed of princessy things….Yes, that would be every female being. And you wonder why it was voted Best Drama in the 60th Television Drama Academy Awards.

(1) A school campus that trumps the already-excessive settings of Hana Yori Dango, Boys Before Flowers (Korean-HYD), Hana Kimi and  possibly even the Royal Palace in Goong. It is, listen, one-third the size of the Tokyo Metropolitan Area and furnished with a cinema, an amusement park and what looks to be mini-palaces for classrooms.

(2) And of course, the main mode of transportation is by helicopters.

(3) And I forgot to mention, the school rule is that every “Lady” student must be chaperoned by an Ikemen Butler to help with the most tedious and unworthy chores like…

Walking uphill. (Sorry for the horrible picture quality, couldn’t find a good screencap online.)

This is the outrageous premise of the drama, and to the producers’ credit, they do preface the serial by acknowledging the “preposterousness” of the school and its enviable school rule and my word, do they get away with it!ANYWAY, not that the plot matters very much to anybody now…Mei-Chan basically is sent to this entirely different world of luxury, forced to encounter loads and loads of challenges so that she is graduates a “lady” worthy of inheriting most of the Japanese eocnomy and well, obviously, she does so with the help of Virtue and Love and Friendship and yada yada yada.

(…Who cares. I repeat: Palatial School Grounds.  Princesses in the Making with Butler Chaperones.

Mizushima Hiro. Mizushima Hiro. Mizushima Hiro.)

Ha, okay, no. On a serious note – this is really one of those episodic shows where the storyline doesn’t matter as much as the little fantasy scenarios that are played out. So I will judge this based on the success with which each mini-plot entertains me. Already you know the broad setting and basic premise both intrigues and appeals to me very, very much so.