I know everyone hates this one, everyone hates everything Kimu Taku has done since 2010 onwards but if you don't compare it with before, you might actually like this drama.
His character is the bastard, not the actor. Just because he is not playing some smooth or funny or quirky likable guy, or love to hateable guy even, you cant blame him for this drama being boring.
And actually I dont think it is, I think it is mature and slow paced and ...actually a little bit odd, like two dramas in one, but its not what I would call boring.
I've read so many bad reviews of this show, and heard so many people say they dont like anything of Kimu Taku's work post CHANGE, which I loved too or MR BRAIN which I also adored with all the bananas in my heart. But why does those dramas being so good mean this one is automatically bad?
I don't really care, I'm not going to beat this drama down like everyone else, Im not going to sing high praises either but I liked it at the time, I don't want to be swayed by other people's weird opinions of Lin Chi Ling, and Kitagawa Keiko with her brilliant gyaru bitch whining.
So many comments from Japanese viewers saying they were annoyed by Ling's broken Japanese language skills... when that was how the character was meant to be like.... I dont really understand how she was annoying but whatever.
I thought she was a pretty strong character so I can only assume it was due to either racism or just rooting for Shinohara's character to steal her man.
I cant really outline the plot too well because this was, what, 4 years ago now? Yeah 4 years ago this month in fact. I cant remember all that much but I will scrape together what I can from my withered old memory.
Whatever way you look at it Hazuki Rensuke is a bastard you don't really want to be around, let a lone work for. Certainly not one you want to fall for. He is the president of Regolith, a furnishings company.
He started off by making his own pieces by hand, building his cared for designs with attention to detail and always thinking of their function and users.
The warm touch he once had is long gone and he only wishes to increase his market share in the world and expand as much as possible.
To add to his unlikable traits he ends up finding himself a Chinese trophy wife who he took away from a bad situation and turned into a model - and isn't he oh so proud of himself for doing so.
She rebels against him as much as she can eventually when he begins to treat her like less than a person, but its a long road out of the box she becomes trapped in. Throw in a transvestite brother in heaps of debt and you have yourself a sh*te situation nipping at your heals.
I think one of the main reasons viewers did not Xiu Mei is that they didn't realise she was meant to be such a pivotal character as they started watching. She became highly important and not just a side story to Rensuke and Ninomiya's relationship.
Ninomiya had known him since forever and watched him grow into the unlikable guy we meet at the beginning of this drama. We know she loves him, he is obviously oblivious and uses the friendship to his own ends. She is feisty though and doesn't take is crap like everyone else, well she takes it but she isn't quiet about it.
We have a whole bunch of interesting characters come in and out... I just looked on drama wiki and it said there were only 8 episodes. I cant believe that. There's no way! So much happens; it really travels through time from one crazy situation and another. It cant be 8 episodes long... Apparently it is though.
I like his ultimate downfall, but I think the journey to that point is also interesting. He becomes a much more likable person when it has all fallen to pieces ...but still a bit of a moron.
Shinohara wins the whole show really, I thought at the time how she stole every scene.
I think if you havent seen it already you should give it a fair chance. Its a great cast and a slightly unusual story, I don't think it deserves the slating it received. If nothing else but for Shinohara's frustrated face.
I will end with a cast list as the cast was all anyone seemed to care about when this drama aired.
Main cast:
Kimura Takuya - Hazuki Rensuke
Shinohara Ryoko - Ninomiya Maemi
Lin Chi Ling - Liu Xiu Mei
Matsuda Shota - Sai Kazami/Cai Feng Jian
Kitagawa Keiko - Onuki Yuzuki
Watanabe Ikkei - Kijihata Togo
Hamada Gaku - Maehara Tsuguo
Mikami Kensei - Koizumi Keiichi
Nishiyama Maki - Eruka
Mitsushima Hikari - Anzai Rina
Nakamura Yuri - Kasahara Yuki
Abe Tsuyoshi - Min
Nagatsuka Kyozo - Onuki Shogen
Nukumizu Youichi - Tokita Ikuzo
Takenaka Naoto - Maruyama Tetsuji
Kabira Jay - Mineoka Yasuyuki
I'm pretty sure that one set was the same place they shot some of Sailor moon. I noticed once when I was watching Kitagawa Keigo doing cartwheels to kill rubber suity bad guys.
I like the settings and different areas they shot in for this series. Almost as gorgeous as Shinohara. Nothing quite beats Matsuda Shota's horrible hair style though - oh my god that was bad.
Just watching it back to get some screen shots I remembered the banter between Rensuke and Ninomiya, it was really bickery like siblings, I enjoyed that. It was different to other relationships in dramas I guess because he stayed a po faced moody git until the very end and didn't really change all that much. I still wanted them to end up together though. I think they worked well together but I think maybe people just didn't like Rensuke enough. He is hard to love lets face it.
~
No comments:
Post a Comment