Onmyouji and Roses and Girls
Onmyouji
Watching this drama reminded me of that attraction I have for the Heian Era that I discovered with Toma's Genji Monogatari movie. I like the atmosphere of dramas/movies set in that era: quiet, slow and floating between dreams and reality. I'm also fond of the costumes and the general aesthetics of that era.
When I did a quick googling on the historical characters in the drama, I loved how their biographies were a mix between historical facts and legends without clear lines separating them. I should search for more Heian fictions.
It's probably too random to put it this way, but this drama has similarities to two Shingo dramas: Stranger and Saiyuki. It has the points that I loved the most from those two dramas.
*Similar points with Stranger:
- the atmosphere: the consistent quiet and dark atmosphere going through the whole drama. The OST helps a lot in establishing the atmosphere
- the relationships between the main characters: I enjoyed a lot the interactions of that "threesome" XD. Between Abe no Seimei and Mitsumushi, there's that myterious, dark and strong bond that is not explicitly shown or talked about but that the viewer can easily feel in their "vibes". The duo is joined by Minamoto no Hiromasa whom both are attracted to because of his honesty and pure heart that seem to have a healing effect on both of them and dissipate some of the darkness that weighs on them. Hiromasa is in love with Mitsumushi and he is ready to follow Seimei anywhere because he believes in him. The dynamics of those three were one of my favourite things in this drama.
*Similar point with Saiyuki: the twist in the final episodes: Just like Saiyuki, the drama went in a rather predictable flow most of the time, with some repetitiveness, but had a 180° twist in the final episode, showing a different side of the characters' reality.
There's a moment that hit me hard in the last episode, when Hiromasa says that he believes that, in a thousand years, the world will be a better place. I suddenly had all the horrible images of the madness that our world lives in today and I felt like crying. I thought "I'm sorry, Hiromasa, we disappointed you. The world is far from being a better place a thousand years later".
I'm imagining him playing his flute for the happiness of the human kind, somewhere...
In the end, this drama affected me more than I expected :). Next drama: most probably Nemureru Mori.
Nakai no mado
The mask game was too interesting and too fun. I love how Nakai immediately detected which of the guests were bulliable.
With the colored masks, it's hard not to imagine having smap in that game. That would be hilarious.
Mr Red: I know that guy since we were teenagers. We jumped together from the window of the second floor.
Mr Green: He invited me to his house and told me to shower but I only pretended to.
Mr White: He came to my retirement press conference 20 years ago
Mr Pink: He punched me
Mr Yellow: *plays the guitar and sings a song about Nakai-kun the little yankee with horrible fashion choices, in korean*
Talking about Nakai, I've been having weird dreams about him lately, lol. Give me my soul back, little devil XD
Ojamap
I like the driving trip format a lot. But this week's episode made me kind of worried about Shingo. He looked....weird (?). I don't know. He wasn't really out of character, but there was something about him that felt too gloomy and stressed. I hope he's doing well.
I loved the moment when he naturally touched the pregnant woman's belly and she was like "Awww...Thank you <3"
Bara to taiyou
It's been a long time since I haven't talked about Kinki. I kind of miss them. I used to look forward to SDK and keep refreshing the streaming sites until it was posted, but after SDK ended, I haven't been following BunBuBun as consistently. I'm happy they're having a lot of other group activities this year.
The song and the PV are very special in the discography and the history of Kinki. Until now, they used to switch together between their musician selves and dancing idols selves. According to the song, they both switched together between the Dots-Universe, the Koichi-Universe and the Kinki-Universe which is different from both. But this time, each of them stayed in the zone he was "specialized" in. In the PV, the upper stage was a Dots-Universe with the guitar, musicians, the funky atmosphere, and the lower stage was a Koichi-Universe with the female dancers and the very Koichi-like choreography. The song is also an intereting mix between a Dots-like funky style and a Koichi-like latino touch. Those two universes were both present and they mixed so well to create a universe that is quite different from the usual Kinki universe but is still very kinki-like.
The PV also has Yoshida Ken who is an important element of the identity and history of KinKi Kids, and also Dojima Kouhei. I think the PV and the song are a very interesting illustration of what KinKi Kids, the group, is, in a year where its preparing to celebrate its 20th anniversary.
I loved the cute inside joke with the trombone <3
The extra though...XD If there was a caption saying that it was a skit from one of their predebut variety shows, I would have believed it without questioning. These two are adorable dorks <3
On a side note, I'm also happy that the smap fans are warmly supporting Kinki and doting on them after OnH. Those fanarts with Black Cat!Nakai and Kitten!Kinki are the cutest thing ever.
I was going to make a ranking of my favourite smap solo variety shows, but I'm already falling asleep. I'll do it next time :D