Jdrama Reviews!
I'm having one of those days where I get distracted very easily for some reason. Just now I typed in the name of the of the post, and I couldn't remember which dramas I just watched. I got it now. I'm here now.
I know you're thinking "wow! Two posts in one week? Man, she's got a lot of time on her hands.". You would be right about that. I've had the last two days off, so I'm able to do relax and do the things I've wanted to do for the past week. During my time off, I've been productive about being lazy, if that made any sense. Meanwhile, I have finished both of the dramas I've been watching. Both starred Ueno Juri because after watching Nodame Cantable, I've wanted to find more dramas with her. So, I rewatched Ouroboros and picked up Last Friends.
This is not the first time I've seen this drama. I think it's my 3rd time. Although, I've never done a review for it, and I'm not really sure why. Probably because when I first started writing reviews I would only write them for dramas I haven't seen before. So, this time around, I did not watch it for Toma or Shun. I was around for Ueno Juri! Besides, every time I rewatch a show or reread a book, I pick up things I missed before. I get into the story more. I also pay more attention to side characters. Also, this time around I was able to recognize other j-stars. Instead of being distracted by Toma and Shun, I really got into this show more.
Since I last watched this, I forgot how dark and heart-wrenching this show was. In a way, I remembered the style and that it didn't have a happy ending, but I think I was more disgusted with the purpose and concept behind the story. It was super chilling this time around.
Ueno Juri played her role very well. Very different from Nodame obviously. Hibino-san is a hard core police investigator and quite mature. Ueno Juri played this role very well. I got a whole new appreciation for her after seeing her again in this role.
I picked up this one mostly because Ueno Juri was in it. What I didn't know right away was that Eita and Mizukawa Asami were in this drama along with her. It was a Nodame Cantabile reunion. I also wasn't aware that Nishikido Ryo was in this drama either. This is how I find j-celebs. I find out for myself they're in certain dramas I watch.
This drama was something I wasn't expecting at all. The title and picture was totally misgiving. I didn't think it would be so deep and disheartening. I was looking for something light and funny. A rom-com even. This drama was none of those things.
What drove me nuts was Ryo's character was textbook abusive boyfriend here. I remember learning about all of the traits and characteristics of an abusive relationships in my 1st year of health class, and he had every single one of them. It was very predictable. What was also predictable was that Michiru (Nagasawa Masami) would always go back to him, no matter how many times she ran away after he would beat her. She always went back to him because she thought she loved him and she was tricked into thinking that he felt the same way. It frustrated me to no end. She gave some excuse in the middle of the show that they were both very much alike and had the same background growing up. She felt sorry for him and wanted to show him that he could be loved. I didn't believe her. There was a lot of codependency happening in my opinion. Mostly on Sausuke's part. Yes, he had a bad childhood, but yet he wasn't able to escape it. He couldn't grow from it, and he ended up taking someone else into the darkness with him. I think if I had a friend like Michiru, I would do all I could for the time being, but if she were to keep going back to him after all the abuse he did to her, I wouldn't have any sympathy for her anymore. I would just say, "I did all I could, it's your choice to leave him and it's your choice to stay with him. And you keep making the wrong decisions. I'm not involved in this anymore." Sorry if that seems harsh, but it's true. Those are my thoughts on the situation.
Ueno Juri was flawless as her character! I really liked Ruka. She really dealt with a lot in her gender identity and being a motocross athlete. She had a lot of confusion and anxiety when it came with coming to terms with the true meaning of being a woman. Not only that, but because she was close friends with Michiru, Sausuke would try to get after Ruka and exploited her issue to the other motocross athletes. After Ruka won the championship, one of the reporters during the press conference asked her about her gender identity issue. I really liked the way she handled it. She said to him that motocross is a sport, and like other sports they are very competitive. So someone was trying to bring her down and push her out of the way. But with the support of her family and friends as an athlete, there's no way she's going down. She didn't identify herself as a man or a woman, but as an athlete. I thought that was very important.
Along the way, I was hoping there would be some more character development, but there wasn't much. I kept my eye out for Sausuke's background growth, but it never happened. The way he left her really disappointing me, and not in a sad way. He wrote her a letter saying he "set her free", but he really didn't. You don't impregnate someone and then kill yourself saying you set them free. They will never be free. Even if they move on from the abuse, they have to deal with the baby you left behind for them. It was a poor way to do it. He never loved her. He may have been possessive over her, but that wasn't love. However, Michiru was able to move on with her baby. I am happy she got to go back to Ruka and the others at the share house. That was the only place where she could be happy.
I gave this drama a 7.5 out of 10
Well, I'm off to look for more Ueno Juri dramas! I think I've found one, but in the meantime I'll be picking up Good Morning Call again, now that I have Netflix back! Man, I've missed Netflix so much. Plus, I'm enjoying 99.9 as usual. :)
See you next time!
I know you're thinking "wow! Two posts in one week? Man, she's got a lot of time on her hands.". You would be right about that. I've had the last two days off, so I'm able to do relax and do the things I've wanted to do for the past week. During my time off, I've been productive about being lazy, if that made any sense. Meanwhile, I have finished both of the dramas I've been watching. Both starred Ueno Juri because after watching Nodame Cantable, I've wanted to find more dramas with her. So, I rewatched Ouroboros and picked up Last Friends.
This is not the first time I've seen this drama. I think it's my 3rd time. Although, I've never done a review for it, and I'm not really sure why. Probably because when I first started writing reviews I would only write them for dramas I haven't seen before. So, this time around, I did not watch it for Toma or Shun. I was around for Ueno Juri! Besides, every time I rewatch a show or reread a book, I pick up things I missed before. I get into the story more. I also pay more attention to side characters. Also, this time around I was able to recognize other j-stars. Instead of being distracted by Toma and Shun, I really got into this show more.
Since I last watched this, I forgot how dark and heart-wrenching this show was. In a way, I remembered the style and that it didn't have a happy ending, but I think I was more disgusted with the purpose and concept behind the story. It was super chilling this time around.
Ueno Juri played her role very well. Very different from Nodame obviously. Hibino-san is a hard core police investigator and quite mature. Ueno Juri played this role very well. I got a whole new appreciation for her after seeing her again in this role.
I picked up this one mostly because Ueno Juri was in it. What I didn't know right away was that Eita and Mizukawa Asami were in this drama along with her. It was a Nodame Cantabile reunion. I also wasn't aware that Nishikido Ryo was in this drama either. This is how I find j-celebs. I find out for myself they're in certain dramas I watch.
This drama was something I wasn't expecting at all. The title and picture was totally misgiving. I didn't think it would be so deep and disheartening. I was looking for something light and funny. A rom-com even. This drama was none of those things.
What drove me nuts was Ryo's character was textbook abusive boyfriend here. I remember learning about all of the traits and characteristics of an abusive relationships in my 1st year of health class, and he had every single one of them. It was very predictable. What was also predictable was that Michiru (Nagasawa Masami) would always go back to him, no matter how many times she ran away after he would beat her. She always went back to him because she thought she loved him and she was tricked into thinking that he felt the same way. It frustrated me to no end. She gave some excuse in the middle of the show that they were both very much alike and had the same background growing up. She felt sorry for him and wanted to show him that he could be loved. I didn't believe her. There was a lot of codependency happening in my opinion. Mostly on Sausuke's part. Yes, he had a bad childhood, but yet he wasn't able to escape it. He couldn't grow from it, and he ended up taking someone else into the darkness with him. I think if I had a friend like Michiru, I would do all I could for the time being, but if she were to keep going back to him after all the abuse he did to her, I wouldn't have any sympathy for her anymore. I would just say, "I did all I could, it's your choice to leave him and it's your choice to stay with him. And you keep making the wrong decisions. I'm not involved in this anymore." Sorry if that seems harsh, but it's true. Those are my thoughts on the situation.
Ueno Juri was flawless as her character! I really liked Ruka. She really dealt with a lot in her gender identity and being a motocross athlete. She had a lot of confusion and anxiety when it came with coming to terms with the true meaning of being a woman. Not only that, but because she was close friends with Michiru, Sausuke would try to get after Ruka and exploited her issue to the other motocross athletes. After Ruka won the championship, one of the reporters during the press conference asked her about her gender identity issue. I really liked the way she handled it. She said to him that motocross is a sport, and like other sports they are very competitive. So someone was trying to bring her down and push her out of the way. But with the support of her family and friends as an athlete, there's no way she's going down. She didn't identify herself as a man or a woman, but as an athlete. I thought that was very important.
Along the way, I was hoping there would be some more character development, but there wasn't much. I kept my eye out for Sausuke's background growth, but it never happened. The way he left her really disappointing me, and not in a sad way. He wrote her a letter saying he "set her free", but he really didn't. You don't impregnate someone and then kill yourself saying you set them free. They will never be free. Even if they move on from the abuse, they have to deal with the baby you left behind for them. It was a poor way to do it. He never loved her. He may have been possessive over her, but that wasn't love. However, Michiru was able to move on with her baby. I am happy she got to go back to Ruka and the others at the share house. That was the only place where she could be happy.
I gave this drama a 7.5 out of 10
Well, I'm off to look for more Ueno Juri dramas! I think I've found one, but in the meantime I'll be picking up Good Morning Call again, now that I have Netflix back! Man, I've missed Netflix so much. Plus, I'm enjoying 99.9 as usual. :)
See you next time!