"Supokon" at its best!!!

As I've already confessed in a previous review, my favorite sport is baseball.
Of all different sorts of baseball, Japanese "yakyuu" is my favorite (in a nutshell: no doping - or at least much much less than in the MLB; less muscles and more brains; nobody munching tobacco and spitting it on the field, etc. etc.).
And of all different types of Japanese "yakyuu", my favorite is precisely high school baseball.
Why? Because it's poetic, pure, epic...it's Sport with a capital "s", sport as it *should* be.
Now, the Japanese have a whole genre dedicated to sports-related stories, called "supokon", and since baseball is (one of) the national sport(s), you can guess that the vast majority of "supokon" are about baseball, and particularly about high school baseball, 'cause Japanese *love* it and the Koushien's final game is basically the Japanese equivalent of the Superbowl in the States!
So does all that mean that there's nothing really new in this story? Could be, yeah.
Does that make it any less fabulous? Hell no!
A good recipe doesn't necessarily need any fancy ingredients to make for a delicious dish; more often than not, it's precisely the simple, good old ones that are the best of the lot!
As is the case with this "Gekokujo Kyuji": all the tropes of the genre are there, but still, you can't help but enjoying *every single minute* of it! Marvelously written, acted, directed. Production value reached Himalayan heights. The message conveyed was simply beautiful.
Jeez, I finished watching it before Christmas, but I'm still getting goosebumps thinking about it now, so good it was!!! ^______^;;;
Highly and wholeheartedly recommended! Perfect 10 all the way!!!

Leggi di Più

I picked this up because I found the premise interesting and most of all because I'm a fan of Ito Sairi, whom I find both a very good actress and a beautiful woman - though I understand that whereas *subjectively* I find her very attractive, probably *objectively* she isn't considered a beauty in Japan...therefore the fact that her appearance was constantly belittled in the dorama, though annoying and even insulting as I have felt it, still wasn't enough to completely inhibit my "suspension of disbelief" - as anyone who has read a little about literature/theater/cinema/scriptwriting surely knows, a *vital* process in the consumption of fiction. Unfortunately, the ML instead made the afore-mentioned "suspension of disbelief" absolutely impossible for me, considered that the viewer is supposed to believe he's a playboy and skirt-chaser from the Heian Period, while the guy - sorry to be so blunt - doesn't have an ounce of manliness in him; not in the way he looks (those Bambi eyes, those constantly pouting lips, those puffy cheeks...everything screams "pre-school kid" to me!), not in the way he moves (gestures, body language etc.). Adding insult to injury, the interesting premise wasn't actually developed, making it a missed opportunity as far as I'm concerned. What a waste of Ito Sairi's talent! p.s. I liked the opening credits song, though!

Leggi di Più

This "Living no Matsunaga-san" reminded me a lot of the Golden Era dramas, so much so that I could totally see it as a potential remake of an original featuring, for example, Kimura Takuya or Nagase Tomoya as the ML and perhaps Ishihara Satomi or Ueno Juri as the FL!
That is not to say that it's absolutely perfect, alas. Indeed, the script had its moments but also a coupla sloppy passages (like for example the übertrite subplot involving the ML's ex). The cast did well as a whole, but we're honestly not talking of award-granting performances. As for the production value / "packaging", the level was completely fine, but at the same time nothing worth calling home about it.
A decent 8/10 in my book!

Leggi di Più

This "Kamisan no Waruguchi" is imvho the *perfect* example ("a contrario", as the old Romans would have said) of how PC (Politically Correct) has mostly ruined storytelling (and not only that...).
Back in the Golden Age of J-dramas it was possible to make a drama with such a politically incorrect title (it roughly translates as "Badmouthing the Wives" - but don't get it wrong, at least 80% of the times - if not more - the badmouthing husbands aren't portrayed as being right at all in doing so!) and with such tridimensional characters, so full of faults and yet - or rather, precisely because of that! - so tremendously humane.
The script doesn't take sides "a priori" (OK, today it's Latin Day, bear with me, please), but rather shows two main characters who are right or wrong depending on the situation. They argue, they fight, they yell, but at the end of the day - and that's the lovely message conveyed by this old comedy - both are made better people by being together and learning from each other and from their mistakes, day in and day out. There are no *perfect* couples, but rather *functioning* ones, that are so exactly because they know that they're not perfect and *accept* it! (compare that with the current trend of demanding nothing short of *perfection* from your partner, and any failure to comply to that impossibly unrealistic demand leading to a divorce...>_____<).
Back to the drama: the script is wonderful, managing to be at the same time hilarious and thought-provoking. The acting is top-notch, with virtual standing ovations for both leads. The "packaging" might feel dated to younger viewers, but those who appreciate "oldiesbutgoldies" won't have any problem with that.
No surprise it was so successful it got a second season (alas, not yet subbed, if I'm not mistaken...?), not really a common occurrence for comedies.
Oh, a last side-note for my countrymates - who'll get the reference: this is basically the Japanese version of "Casa Vianello", LOL! ^_^;;;

Leggi di Più

For once, I'll jump to the conclusion: this is a M-A-S-T-E-R-P-I-E-C-E !!!
First of all, the message is so deep that it simply humbles at least 90% of other dramas (and basically every Western series ever - but well, that's easier).
The script works like a Swiss clockwork, seriously; and seeing how this drama consists of 40 episodes of around 45' each, that alone is quite a feat! You laugh, you cry, you learn, etc....the whole nine yards! Or rather, Yin & Yang and all 24 solar terms!
The characters are so well-written and tridimensional that when you finish watching the series, you feel like you're saying goodbye to a group of friends!
The acting is simply superb. At this point I usually give three "honorable mentions" but here it's hard to name just three, one would want to praise *all* of them with a virtual standing ovation! Anyway, traditions must be kept, so let's say I'll stand a little longer for Jiang Shan, Zhao Lu Si and my beloved Dai Lu Wa.
The music is just lovely and adds greatly to the viewing pleasure.
As for the "packaging" (direction, editing, photography, etc.), that's top-notch too.
What's not to like? Perfect 10! Goes instantly into my top-5 of all times! ^_____^

Leggi di Più

(Over)simplifying it, all Japanese movies could be divided into four categories:

1) The GREAT ones, stuff like the "Kazoku wa Tsurai yo!" trilogy, or "Umimachi Diary", or many many others, all magnificent examples of what makes Japanese culture so unique and fascinating

2) The SILLY ones, titles like "The World Sinks Except Japan" or "Oppai Volleyball" and many others; in a decent portion of these, the silliness is actually pretty funny, making such movies still enjoyable

3) The YAWNFESTS, or what I tend to refer to as "Victims of the nefarious influence of French 'Nouvelle Vague' and 'Cahiers du Cinéma'..."; pompous and artsy, painfully slow, with horribly thin (or even non-existing!) plots, unappealing dialogues etc.

4) All those which cannot fit in any of the previous (hey, I did warn you I was oversimplifying it! ^___^;;;.....)

Unfortunately, this "Bread & Bus Etc." fits in the third category. It took me FOUR DAYS to finish it, because I literally couldn't stand watching more than half an hour of it in one go (and usually my eyelids would start feeling horribly heavy already after ten or fifteen minutes...>____<).
The whole plot could fit on the back of a postage stamp, and if it had been done as a short movie (like, five minutes, tops) it might have been okay. But at close to two hours, it's almost unbearable.
Too bad, because Fukagawa Mai (the reason why I've watched it!) possesses a pretty nice acting talent. But it just couldn't shine in this yawnfest, alas.

Leggi di Più

After the first episodes I thought I was gonna give this "Shimobee" a pretty high grade, 'cause it started very well, managed to be really hilarious here and there, and was altogether very entertaining.
The second half of the series, though, was more or less the fair of déjà vu (the "terminal illness" trope can produce gems like "1 lt. no Namida" or "Neko", but it can also result annoyingly trite and cheesy, as it was the case here, imho) and that made me lower the rating considerably.
Still, both Shiraishi Sei and Yasuda Ken deserve a standing ovation: the former is not only a gorgeous woman, but also a marvelous actress; and the latter is simply amazing, I honestly don't know many actors who would've been able to pull this off!
The music was also really nice.
Overall, and despite the not-so-great script, a pleasant watch.

Leggi di Più

I really disliked it, sorry...>___<

I should've trusted my guts and dropped this immediately, after all....>__<
It had some (few, waaaay too few) good moments, but those were literally drowned in a plethora of frustratingly terrible, poorly written scenes.
I've sometimes used food metaphors while praising some drama (writing stuff like "it masterfully manages to mix so many different ingredients and ends up creating an original, delicious flavor" or something like that), but here it's just the opposite: the clueless screenwriter (whom I'm adding immediately to my personal blacklist!) came up with a painfully uncohesive story, filling it with idiotic characters and mixing up genres and styles in an obnoxiously chaotic, incoherent way (back to food metaphors: mixing something sweet with something sour is perfectly fine if you come up with, say, a delicious plate of Sweet&Sour Chicken...but here it's as if she'd dropped a spoonful of strawberry jam on a tomato, and then covered the whole thing with mayonnaise, cocoa powder and wasabi...sorry, but I'll pass! >____<)
All this imvho, of course.

Leggi di Più

There's an old italian saying (based on a real historical anecdote) which goes like this: "Paganini non ripete" (Paganini - a very famous violinist - doesn't repeat, doesn't play an "encore"), and one of the meanings of that saying is that perfection, once attained, cannot be repeated nor copied. Perfection may happen, but you can't expect perfection to repeat itself over and over again. That's why, while thinking about how to comment on "Churasan 2", that old italian saying came to my mind: "Paganini non ripete"! The original "asadora" was pretty much perfect; there shouldn't have been any "encore". This sequel sports the same writer (although this script is surprisingly bad!) and the same cast, but the magic isn't repeated, and it ends up being nothing but a faint copy...:/

Leggi di Più

Wakui Emi is absolutely PERFECT (no surprise here, LOL), but also most of the remaining supporting cast did a wonderful job, from Matsushige Yutaka to Sato Megumi, from Watase Tsunehiko to Katsura Kichiya, from the lovely Miyajima Mai to Kato Toranosuke, from Kabira Jay to Kimura Yuichi etc. etc. - seriously, it's easier to name the very few exceptions, i.e. the moronic uncle (Kyomoto Masaki is 20 years older than Hara Sachie and the layers of makeup and flashy clothes he wears are supposed to make him look younger, but he ends up giving a strong 50-something-drag-queen vibe; you'll forgive me if I don't find realistic that Natsuko-san falls for him, ne?), the clichè-but-mostly-useless-grandma (I don't like when the elderly are written in scripts as mere ornaments, really; compare this with Churasan's obaa-san and you'll see the difference: now, THAT's an obaa-san, not this ghostly presence!) and the annoying new apprentice, Kososo. Furthermore, rakugo makes for a very interesting and refreshingly original topic (though "Tiger & Dragon" wins hands down there...but that's another story) and throughout the whole dorama, music is an extremely pleasant accompaniment ("Furusato" and the opening credits music most of all!). So why "only" 7/10? Well, sorry if I'm too blunt, but I found both Kanjiya Shihori (whom I also didn't like in the otherwise great movie "Swing Girls") and Aoki Munetaka extremely annoying - and as much as it pains me to write this (me being a Hanshin-fan and whatnot), I have to admit that so was the constant use of Kansai-ben (seriously, now that I've finished watching this, I don't wanna hear another "-hen" nor "-han" for at least six months, LOL!). Anyway, Aoki's character's stage name happens to be perfect for summing up 151-episodes worth of dorama in just two syllables: So-So! :/

Leggi di Più

In my experience, a good WOWOW noir is a quite effective way to keep one's mind off the heat and the humidity of a scorching summer night. It was with that spirit that I decided to watch this, and indeed I was granted my fair share of thrills - thanks to a superb photography, to some extremely eery music, and to those über-creepy, flickering shadows on the walls which are a constant presence in this dorama. The problem is, though, that this story is waaay too dark and disturbing for my taste!!! Still, the great cast did, as one would expect, a great job, and I have to admit that, had the last episode been differently developed, and had the most disturbing scenes and details been expunged from the whole story, this could've been a perfect noir indeed. Hence my not too harsh vote.

Leggi di Più

I had great expectations for this dorama, given it starred Nakai Kiichi and Ijima Naoko (both of whom I'd really liked in "Saigo kara Nibanme no Koi" and its sequel) and also taking into account the synopsis which made it sound really interesting. Unfortunately, there's waaaaay too much focus on form (i.e. photography, music, editing, camera movements/angles, "coolness" - Gods, I hate that word! - etc.) and waaaaaay too little focus on substance (as in, a decent script, totally lacking here!). As far as I'm concerned, it really seems like one of those crappy tv series mass-produced in Hollywood, the only relevant difference being that instead of American actors, we have Japanese ones here. Total let down imho.

Leggi di Più