(no subject)
Between yesterday and today I watched all of the subbed eps of Buzzer Beat! I guess my j-drama drought is over with ... I had my doubts about Buzzer Beat since the idea of a p/t sarariman/bball player didn't really sound very appealing but as it turns out the main character is a PROFESSIONAL basketball player in Japan, which on first impression brings thoughts of giant haafu sons of American soldiers dominating the sport but in this drama's version of reality means Yamapi and some other tiny, fragile Japanese actors dribbling as if their lives depended on it.
Actually Pi does pretty well with a basketball. And his layup form is classic:
He must have practiced a lot. Though to get him this close to the basket they must have lowered it some from regulation height. Or else he jumped up using a trampoline.
So, no doubt you have read on other journals and Pi-loving comms about the highlights of this drama: Shirtlessness! Facial expression! Actors kissing with their mouths open! (all of the above refers to Pi of course). It's nice to see him play a character who isn't "cool" for once, even if he had to get that perm in order to do it.
To which I would like to add that Kitagawa Keiko is extremely cute and charming. Also, I like that Aibu Saki is playing something of a bad, nasty, scheming, rotten girl, since that's what I always suspect is lurking beneath that adorable smile of hers.
I also like that one of the secondary guys (the coach) looks exactly like a drawing from an 80s manga, and another one (the bad guy, more or less) is played by some guy who's a drummer or a bassist or something from some rock band (though despite his height, his lack of muscle seems somewhat painful in a professional athlete). There's a fair amount of variation in looks, which keeps things interesting.
Maya Miki is rather wasted as the mom, though. I mean, of course she is wonderful, she is MAYA MIKI, but clearly she is doing this for the paycheck. And I thought it was interesting that the actor who plays Pi's older sister is Korean. It's like WB casting!! (I say this after having watched a lot of SPN ...)
The other smart thing they did with this dorama is set most of it during the off-season, so we only have to spend some of the first episode suspending out disbelief that professional basketball in Japan could feature players quite this short (though in the usual strict verisimiiltude that always goes along with utter unbelievableness, many of the extras are professional Japanese players ... )
Anyway, good thing there is more violin playing that basketball games, since I don't know much about violin playing and am therefore more able to believe that Kitagawa Keiko's character is a genuine music student (and did I mention she is really CUTE?)
One other comment: I have not seen a drama in a loooong time that was QUITE so dependent on keitai ringing at the exact right moment ... in fact this drama is so EXACTLY like a shoujo manga that I would not be surprised to discover that it is based on one.
Anyway, I'm looking forward to the next few eps (there are 7 out with soft subs, I guess there must be 2 or 3 or 4 more to go, right? Fun!)
This is what I do with myself when I secretly believe the apocalypse is near ...
Actually Pi does pretty well with a basketball. And his layup form is classic:
He must have practiced a lot. Though to get him this close to the basket they must have lowered it some from regulation height. Or else he jumped up using a trampoline.
So, no doubt you have read on other journals and Pi-loving comms about the highlights of this drama: Shirtlessness! Facial expression! Actors kissing with their mouths open! (all of the above refers to Pi of course). It's nice to see him play a character who isn't "cool" for once, even if he had to get that perm in order to do it.
To which I would like to add that Kitagawa Keiko is extremely cute and charming. Also, I like that Aibu Saki is playing something of a bad, nasty, scheming, rotten girl, since that's what I always suspect is lurking beneath that adorable smile of hers.
I also like that one of the secondary guys (the coach) looks exactly like a drawing from an 80s manga, and another one (the bad guy, more or less) is played by some guy who's a drummer or a bassist or something from some rock band (though despite his height, his lack of muscle seems somewhat painful in a professional athlete). There's a fair amount of variation in looks, which keeps things interesting.
Maya Miki is rather wasted as the mom, though. I mean, of course she is wonderful, she is MAYA MIKI, but clearly she is doing this for the paycheck. And I thought it was interesting that the actor who plays Pi's older sister is Korean. It's like WB casting!! (I say this after having watched a lot of SPN ...)
The other smart thing they did with this dorama is set most of it during the off-season, so we only have to spend some of the first episode suspending out disbelief that professional basketball in Japan could feature players quite this short (though in the usual strict verisimiiltude that always goes along with utter unbelievableness, many of the extras are professional Japanese players ... )
Anyway, good thing there is more violin playing that basketball games, since I don't know much about violin playing and am therefore more able to believe that Kitagawa Keiko's character is a genuine music student (and did I mention she is really CUTE?)
One other comment: I have not seen a drama in a loooong time that was QUITE so dependent on keitai ringing at the exact right moment ... in fact this drama is so EXACTLY like a shoujo manga that I would not be surprised to discover that it is based on one.
Anyway, I'm looking forward to the next few eps (there are 7 out with soft subs, I guess there must be 2 or 3 or 4 more to go, right? Fun!)
This is what I do with myself when I secretly believe the apocalypse is near ...