アルジャーノンに花束を / Flowers For Algernon
I had always wanted to read the book Flowers For Algernon even though I had no idea what it was about, I had just heard it was good. But then my student Hitoshi told me there was a Japanese drama version starring Yuusuke Santamaria and Kanno Miho. I was sold!!
Algernon ni Hanataba Wo is an 11-episode drama that aired in 2002. My man Yuusuke plays a retarded dude named Haru. Kanno Miho plays his teacher, the ever-genki Erina-sensei. His mom abandoned him at a young age, and ever since then he's been working at a bakery and attending Erina-sensei's class for retarded adults in the evenings. Haru studies hard because he wants to become smart-- he firmly believes that if he does, his mother will come back for him.
Haru is chosen to be the first human participant in a radical new surgery that can increase intelligence. The operation has only been performed on animals so far, a mouse named Algernon. He undergoes the surgery and slowly his IQ increases so that he's even smarter than the doctors that engineered the operation in the first place.
He discovers a whole lot about himself and about the world. His IQ increases to 150 and he falls in love with Erina, and she starts falling for him too. But then they notice that Algernon's intelligence is slipping... will the same thing happen to Haru?
I was absolutely riveted from start to finish. It made me laugh, it made me cry, it was so touching and beautiful. Most dramas just fall apart at the end but Algernon held my interest from start to finish. It made me see the world in a whole new way. I cried a ridiculous amount of tears while watching the last episode. :/ IT WAS SO GOOD. SEE THIS.
Incidentally, just now on the internets I found this awesome site that basically serves as a list of a million different places where various dramas were filmed. Algernon was filmed chiefly right here in Kanagawa!! I'm SO tempted to make a pilgrimage to some of the important places D:
At Yurindou after work I bought the actual book Flowers For Algernon by Daniel Keyes. I started reading it on the train home and it's amazing. :O Why did I wait so long to read this book?!
To give props to my main man Yuusuke (and to finally fulfill my promise to room1102!!), I'm going to upload his maxi-single. But it kinda sucks. :/ I can only recommend this CD in good faith if you're actually a fan of his. :/ But it's SUPER rare-- you won't find it nowhere else, so if you want it, get it now and PLEASE COMMENT!
Yuusuke Santamaria-- Pittsburgh (2/20/1999)
1) Seishun Yodel Domannaka By far the "best" song on the album. It's hella stupid but the chorus is catchy and fun and it's fun to sing. Yuusuke's voice is so funny. ^^
2) Yori ni Yotte Omae To This song ain't half bad neither!! Moody and kinda sexy in that very special Yuusuke kinda way.
3) Masaka Ne This song sucks and I can only recommend it if you're a fan of his. :/
4) Tsurukame Waltz See #3. :/
And of course I used the famous Yuusuke-meets-the-deep-fried-rat icon for this post. ^^;;; My very favorite Santamaria moment. I still laugh whenever I see the goddamn rat's disgusting fried face in the corner!! EWW!!! TAT
BEDTIME!!
Algernon ni Hanataba Wo is an 11-episode drama that aired in 2002. My man Yuusuke plays a retarded dude named Haru. Kanno Miho plays his teacher, the ever-genki Erina-sensei. His mom abandoned him at a young age, and ever since then he's been working at a bakery and attending Erina-sensei's class for retarded adults in the evenings. Haru studies hard because he wants to become smart-- he firmly believes that if he does, his mother will come back for him.
Haru is chosen to be the first human participant in a radical new surgery that can increase intelligence. The operation has only been performed on animals so far, a mouse named Algernon. He undergoes the surgery and slowly his IQ increases so that he's even smarter than the doctors that engineered the operation in the first place.
He discovers a whole lot about himself and about the world. His IQ increases to 150 and he falls in love with Erina, and she starts falling for him too. But then they notice that Algernon's intelligence is slipping... will the same thing happen to Haru?
I was absolutely riveted from start to finish. It made me laugh, it made me cry, it was so touching and beautiful. Most dramas just fall apart at the end but Algernon held my interest from start to finish. It made me see the world in a whole new way. I cried a ridiculous amount of tears while watching the last episode. :/ IT WAS SO GOOD. SEE THIS.
Incidentally, just now on the internets I found this awesome site that basically serves as a list of a million different places where various dramas were filmed. Algernon was filmed chiefly right here in Kanagawa!! I'm SO tempted to make a pilgrimage to some of the important places D:
At Yurindou after work I bought the actual book Flowers For Algernon by Daniel Keyes. I started reading it on the train home and it's amazing. :O Why did I wait so long to read this book?!
To give props to my main man Yuusuke (and to finally fulfill my promise to room1102!!), I'm going to upload his maxi-single. But it kinda sucks. :/ I can only recommend this CD in good faith if you're actually a fan of his. :/ But it's SUPER rare-- you won't find it nowhere else, so if you want it, get it now and PLEASE COMMENT!
Yuusuke Santamaria-- Pittsburgh (2/20/1999)
1) Seishun Yodel Domannaka By far the "best" song on the album. It's hella stupid but the chorus is catchy and fun and it's fun to sing. Yuusuke's voice is so funny. ^^
2) Yori ni Yotte Omae To This song ain't half bad neither!! Moody and kinda sexy in that very special Yuusuke kinda way.
3) Masaka Ne This song sucks and I can only recommend it if you're a fan of his. :/
4) Tsurukame Waltz See #3. :/
And of course I used the famous Yuusuke-meets-the-deep-fried-rat icon for this post. ^^;;; My very favorite Santamaria moment. I still laugh whenever I see the goddamn rat's disgusting fried face in the corner!! EWW!!! TAT
BEDTIME!!