Shibuya 渋谷 [movie]

well who wouldnt want Ayano Gou to come and save their life...

Cast:
Ayano Gou 
Satsukawa Aimi 
Saito Takumi - cameo 

Director Nishitani Shinichi (Kyokuhoku Rhapsody)

There is not a lot to say about this movie, I mainly wanted to put something pretty on my front page that wasn't SHINee like it has been for months now. I get hardly any time to write on here at the moment. 

So in my current obsession with Ayano Gou I thought I would chuck a quick movie review up here. 

I fell asleep through Gatchaman for the millionth time so Shibuya it is.

This movie is gorgeous and slow and quiet. It plays like a secret moment caught by accident on camera, and we happen to see it. I feels like a snapshot that wasn't meant to be seen.

I hoped my screen shots would do it justice, but as they definitely capture how stunning Ayano is every second he exists, it doesn't convey the quiet sadness of watching the actual movie. 

It is sweet and pretty much non eventful, full of long conversations with a minimal cast. 

I have gone a little bat sh*t with the screen shots but every time I paused it was a perfect one, even if only seconds from the last.... 

So instead of argue with myself I have put them all in the review.

This movie was from 2010 when Ayano still had his epic curl-up-and-sleep-in-my hair, and I think Satsukawa was cast on the basis of her eyes alone.

Between his furrows of worry and her teary eyes I think they had the makings of an art house movie in the bag. 

They didn't fall too far into that trap though. 

I believe it stayed in the realms of reality and didn't allow its head to get sucked up its pretentious ass like arty films so often do. 

It stayed in this nice middle ground, cross between land, of beautiful and thoughtful, but stylish and non self explanatory. 

Unfortunately there seem to be no English subs for this anywhere. And it is a wordy one. 

If you don't understand Japanese then you wont follow the story - everything comes from their conversations, all the context comes from their heart to hearts, and through their tearful revelations to each other we find their stories open out. 

It doesn't explain a huge back story, but just enough to let these two people who only just found each other, come to terms with their issues.

Ayano plays a photographer who is trying to write an article about girls in Shibuya. 

The girl he searches for obviously has a story behind her, and he is driven by concern and intrigue alike in finding out what that story is. 

Ultimately coming to terms with his own past they reluctantly share their stories with each other and move on. That is pretty much it in a nutshell. Nothing further than that, nothing less. Some quiet encounters and some eventual closure. 

There is really not much more to say past that.

Hardly anything happens throughout but her charm and his worried face become compelling. 

I could have watched them crying in the shower together for an age, which is good because that scene is longer than it would usually be in a movie...

Everything about their short friendship...can I call it that? I don't know, but everything about it is perfectly placed and subtle. Its a lot of acting with eyes - you know that thing I love, and long emotional conversations slowly breaking them down so they can rebuild themselves again.

Now I'm watching the special of Kamen Teacher, so much in contrast to Shibuya. This whole drama has been ridiculous from start to finish but great in a weird way all the same. Feels weird to go from this lovely movie to... Kamen Teacher.

Ayano is an absolute pleasure to watch... I must have seen him in about 5 things recently, hopefully I will get around to reviewing them. I've just got some more of his dramas ready to start so maybe there will be a few squees on twitter and tumblr when I watch them. 

Saikou no Rikon was too emotional to squee through, Heaven's flower or whatever the hell it was called on the other hand was basically just an excuse to watch Ayano fly around ninja style as Shion with fantastic hair and a brooding moody face. 

I had not seen Satsukawa in anything before, she looks a little unusual - its nice to see a pretty face in a very un-doll-like way for a change. She was raw and vulnerable and honest. It really is lovely and sweet. 

If you can understand enough to watch without subs or you can find subs then I recommend having a little secret affair with this movie. 

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keizoku (pt2) 2 SPEC first blood [series] + keizoku (pt3) 2 SPEC Shou + Rei [drama specials]

Part 2 in the keizoku epic, moving into the realms of super natural stupids with Toda Erika's genius

Yes, I know I'm  posting these in totally the wrong order. I should do Keizoku before SPEC but I haven't completely finished it yet. I was so in love with Toru that I couldn't keep watching Keizoku, which I started along side SPEC, I just ran off with this one and got carried away.

I'm doing the cast list to include the specials as well, I'm not planning on splitting the post up so formally as I did with Galileo to explain it part by part because it is a pretty steady flow from the drama to the specials. I'm not going to do a full list in each post either, there are so many secondary characters I cant be arsed with trying to keep track.

The final special is a prequel but is more tied into the main series than the movies so these three (the series and two specials) really feel like they should all be together like this. Hence the one post sure to be rambling and incoherent. 

Cast list: 

Toda Erika - Toma Saya 

Kase Ryo - Sebumi Takeru 

Ryu Raita - Nonomura Kotaro 

Kamiki Ryunosuke - Ninomae Juichi 

Fukuda Saki - Mirei 

Shirota Yu - Chii 

Tanaka Tetsushi - Reizei 

Shiina Kippei - Tsuda 

Arimura Kasumi - Miyabi chan 

Ito Takeshi - Shimura 

Kitamura Kazuki - Kikkawa 

Guests: 

Yasuda Ken, Saito Takumi, Kamikawa Takaya, Omori Nao, Nishihara Aki, Kawashima Umika 

The specials really bring the show into its own but the movies take it out into the permanent position in my hall of fame for genius dramas I will never forget, they need to have a separate post to cover them. 

So for now, I will just start with the absolute genius that is Toda Erika in this stupid brilliant weird epic drama about moral struggles with power and humanity. 

The series really found me adoring Toru instantly, then becoming more interested in Ninomae towards the end and jumping for absolute joys every time he made his appearance. 

It was the specials which made Sebumi come full swing into the madness. 

I was already enjoying his character from the series but by the end of the first special his character was showing all the signs of the greatness to come. 

Toru and Sebumi (in different ways) come to work for a special unit investigating unsolved cases. Its the same department as in the first series of Keizoku, working under the same chief - Nonomura. 

But this series flings us into the arms of crazy with these two weirdoes - Toru has become completely weird after everything she has been through, and Sebumi is highly strung and butts heads with her at every corner. 

This is no normal detective drama. This is sci fi with every odd super power you can think up. A few very strong adversaries show up over the course of the drama and Toru and Sebumi have to work together to fight off pretty much the everyone they encounter. 

SPEC holders are humans who have evolved to use more of their brain power than normal humans - in ways that don't follow our laws of physics or lay in our usual scope of comprehension. Toru and Sebumi have to uncover these powerful people, work out which side anyone is on at any given time, and try not to get killed or kill each other in the process. 

An underhanded few put a massive spanner in the works, throwing the question of morality into the forefront and even Toru and Sebumi begin to question each other. 

Ninomae - who at first appears to be a mastermind behind the disasters happening around them, is not what he seems. 

A whole back story between him and Toru unfurls and the lies become untangled by the detectives' sheer will power and emotional strength. 

Sebumi becomes super human in his own way - though he is not a SPEC holder - by fighting off the powers that confront him with a strength of spirit no one would ever assume a human could possess. And it becomes hilarious how tough he is in the face of pain and struggles - excessively determined as a morally righteous man, it is comically over the top but still so easy to get emotionally invested in as a viewer. 

Toru then begins to show her own powers - at first she looks like some sort of savant in the early episodes of the drama, but as time goes on we realise she has SPEC too... 

A very unnerving and potentially terrifying SPEC, which we fully explore in the prequel special Rei. 

In the main series as Ninomae and Toru battle it out we find the fly in the ointment - sending the story off on a whirlwind. 

The specials follow that side path further so we can get the fantastic combination of Toda Erika and Kamiki Ryunosuke for a bit more - they are so funny together. 

The second special is the prequel explaining the back story that led up to the mess Toru and Ninomae found themselves in. 

The prequel is great because you understand what has gone on between them before obviously, but it leads so well into the first movie, setting up for my super joys because I really love those two. 

I could easily have watched a whole series of just them two d*cking around. 

Its very emotional in places, but generally very funny and slapstick, its just the perfect mixture of all those things that make you love dramas. 

I was worried when new characters turned up in the Keizoku department in the Shou special, but it became a brilliant addition... 

Kikkawa - so funny I cant even explain how much I laughed at his Yakuza speech and his stupid goofy acting. He gets better in the movies too. 

I love Fukuda Saki, I think she is lovely to watch any time, so I was really happy that her character continued on into the rest of the specials and movies. 

As I've said before, Tanaka Tetsushi is great in everything, and in SPEC he made me really warm to the odd guru Reisei over these episodes and specials. 

I love all their awful swearing in English for no reason. 

The special effects are not too over the top, and the characters are all unique and weird in their own inventive ways. 

Lots of shouting, moral dilemma - saving the world or joining the dark side kind of talk, and lovely little stupid moments between all of them bantering and joking at totally inappropriate times. Well, maybe that was just Ninomae.

I think that the guest starts were perfectly cast, everyone had a great side story and I didn't realise until nearing the end of the first movie Heaven, just how much they had all gone through. 

With so many specials and movies it really is a long journey but worth every second. The quirky acting styles, the ingenious characters, moral messages intertwined with banter and bickering that would make a Korean romance drama embarrassed to be heard, all makes this show unique and worthy of so many continuations. 

Ninomae has become one of my favourite characters of any drama, I liked the whole progression of all the main characters, and now I have to try to continue this review for the movies. 

Some how I have to explain the evolution from this series and its specials, to the unbelievable epicness of Heaven and incarnation and its finale reincarnation. And how to explain these two upside down guys ^

Its hard to see any of it as a stand alone so that's mainly the reason I have not gone to great lengths to separate the specials from the drama, but for the movies they step up a gear, well, about 12 gears, so it needs a bit more of a rant. Plus it will involve spoilers to the series so on to the next post!! 

 ...to be continued...

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