J-Drama: Love Shuffle + bonus: TUMBLING
And now, the part of our program where Bethany comes out and validates her drama-watching habits...but reviewing a drama!
Love Shuffle
This is unusual among the Japanese shows I watch as 1) not being a manga adaptation and 2) being geared toward adults.
The second attribute does not necessarily mean that the show will be any more romantic (or sensual) than the teen shows I watch, but in this case it was both. (Though seriously: K-drama has it's own little squeamishness toward kissing scenes, but J-drama blows it out of the water.)
The premise is the kind of ridiculous thing I watch dramas for: three guys and a gal who all live on the pent-house floor of an apartment building start to commiserate over the miserable cycle of falling in love, and decide to do a partner swap--cycling around week by week. To make this an actually interesting drama to watch, there are several wild-cards in this shuffle--a patient of the psychologist neighbor, obsessed with dying on her 20th birthday. A married woman who seems pretty above-board with her affairs, but is not as she seems.
The story was actually more interested in the psychological battles people are fighting with, both for themselves, and with their partners, than romance. It may be the most romantic j-drama I've watched yet, though, because it does dwell on connections, and people's motivations for living.
Jennifer Crusie wrote some great posts about how important the formation of a community is for her in a story, and how that's the core of the stories she writes. This show really made me think of that principle, because the most enviable part of the silly game is seeing how the four neighbors and the people who are close to them develop a family-feeling--where people sit around a table in their shared hallway after work at night, and eat and drink wine...
And get into trouble.
The script didn't linger too long on the actual structure of the game, but continued to twine people together, and explore chemistry. It did have a lot of fun with the puns that won't translate, but I liked that there were characters who both found that kind of humor lame...and then got caught up in it themselves. Because that's the way it works when you have a real dynamic community.
Tumbling
I started watching this somewhat hesitantly, but I love a good sports-themed story. And besides--the hottest young actors of j-drama, all playing male rhythmic gymnasts? ...It had to be awesome, in a bad way or a good way.
And then it was a "school gang-lord joins the rhythmic gymnastics club" story. And there continued to be plotlines that involve boys fighting, and "but we are comrades!" angsty bits and GAH.
There go another ten hours of my life.
Love Shuffle
This is unusual among the Japanese shows I watch as 1) not being a manga adaptation and 2) being geared toward adults.
The second attribute does not necessarily mean that the show will be any more romantic (or sensual) than the teen shows I watch, but in this case it was both. (Though seriously: K-drama has it's own little squeamishness toward kissing scenes, but J-drama blows it out of the water.)
The premise is the kind of ridiculous thing I watch dramas for: three guys and a gal who all live on the pent-house floor of an apartment building start to commiserate over the miserable cycle of falling in love, and decide to do a partner swap--cycling around week by week. To make this an actually interesting drama to watch, there are several wild-cards in this shuffle--a patient of the psychologist neighbor, obsessed with dying on her 20th birthday. A married woman who seems pretty above-board with her affairs, but is not as she seems.
The story was actually more interested in the psychological battles people are fighting with, both for themselves, and with their partners, than romance. It may be the most romantic j-drama I've watched yet, though, because it does dwell on connections, and people's motivations for living.
Jennifer Crusie wrote some great posts about how important the formation of a community is for her in a story, and how that's the core of the stories she writes. This show really made me think of that principle, because the most enviable part of the silly game is seeing how the four neighbors and the people who are close to them develop a family-feeling--where people sit around a table in their shared hallway after work at night, and eat and drink wine...
And get into trouble.
The script didn't linger too long on the actual structure of the game, but continued to twine people together, and explore chemistry. It did have a lot of fun with the puns that won't translate, but I liked that there were characters who both found that kind of humor lame...and then got caught up in it themselves. Because that's the way it works when you have a real dynamic community.
Tumbling
I started watching this somewhat hesitantly, but I love a good sports-themed story. And besides--the hottest young actors of j-drama, all playing male rhythmic gymnasts? ...It had to be awesome, in a bad way or a good way.
And then it was a "school gang-lord joins the rhythmic gymnastics club" story. And there continued to be plotlines that involve boys fighting, and "but we are comrades!" angsty bits and GAH.
There go another ten hours of my life.