Kimura Omnibus ;)
A loooong post of doom about couple of jdramas which is why it all goes under the cut.
Karei naru Ichizoku
I think I've finally put enough distance to Karei naru Ichizoku to write a few more thoughts about it. It is an awesome drama but definitely not for the faint of heart. As dangermousie said, it's brutal - in a sense that it does not spare your feelings one iota. Like I mentioned earlier, it has this odd sort beauty and I don't mean just the cinematography. I'm having a hard time finding a proper word to describe the pull of the story.
As dysfunctional families go, the Manpyos could go to bat for the title. Manpyo Sr is a man plagued by inadequacies and jealousy. He always felt that his own father looked down on him and his abilities; that he could never measure up. He's also an autocrat, what he says goes - no exceptions. Then he gets a son who is the spitting image of his late father with the same kind of qualities. Teppei is courageous, intelligent, innovative, someone who is able to sense how the future is going to shape up and generally loved and liked by almost all he comes in contact with. He's also the only one who has the courage defy the father in any way. Then there's the whole mix up with Teppei's parentage which is the main reason for Manpyo Sr's antagonism towards his son. As much as I'd like to I could not hate the father. I despised him and his way of thinking but hate I could not. He was just too blind and messed up to be more than pitiful.
The mother is a downtrodden pushover who has to tolerate her husband's live-in mistress, even sleep in the same room with them. She meekly takes the abuse because of the Big Family Secret, which I guessed way before the first hints btw, ha. The girls of the family do what they are told, save for the youngest who at least tries to break through the barrier. The 2nd son Ginpei is daddy's favorite, for obvious reasons but even he thinks that he's not appreciated at all and is more than aware of the fact that he's weak. Too weak to go against the father he's grown to despise. Add one son-in-law who may just be even worse than Manpyo Sr. Aren't 'happy' families just wonderful!
What it's all about is the struggle between father and son. The father is bent on destroying the son in the name of saving his precious bank (not entirely the real reason) whilst the son is determined to see his dream of a brighter future come true. Neither gives an inch but in the end it's the father who comes off top, helped by fate and better backing. The victory, of course turns out to be pyrrhic. In the process he ends up loosing both the thing that really matters and the thing he thought matters. So, I guess he got his comeuppance.
Teppei was bit of a paragon but you couldn't help but to like him. Still, he was flawed in his own way. His achilles' heel is his deep seated need to be loved and accepted by his father. In the end he was not strong enough to go on and regroup. I've been mulling about his decision and I just can't accept it as the right one. I do understand the reasons behind it, he wrote a letter about it after all. One of the hardest and most awesome scenes was his final meeting with his father, his last effort to make daddy see things his way. It wasn't forthcoming, what he got instead was father telling him how he had wanted Teppei not being born at all. Isn't he a prince, daddy dearest? You can literally see the hope dying and the dream vanishing. Brilliant acting by both Kimura and Kitaoji Kinya.
A Million Stars Falling from the Sky
I'd wanted to se A Million Stars Falling for a while now. But all these conflicting reviews made me wonder how I'd like it. From some statements I was rather expecting something I'd hate with vengeance. Well, it turns out it is nothing like that, thank god. In fact, it's a pretty straightforward detective/suspence story, a good one at that with a doomed romance thrown in for a good measure. It has a triangel but not of the common variety.
Dojima Kanzo is a the good cop, a rather worn out detective. A bit kooky and somewhat of an absentminded professor in an endearing way. An incident in his past changed his life quite profoundly and he's not really been interested in advancing in his carrer since, which is duly noted by his superiors who mainly ignore him. He is a good detective though and often notices things that others totally overlook. He's also quite determined under that absentminded exterior. When he does get intrigued or interested in a case he'll most likely follow it through. His female fellow detective totally has a crush on him but unfortunately, Kanzo just doesn't see her that way. He's past 40 and still unmarried as he's determined to get his younger sister marred first. Bit of a do as she's really not interested, ha. He's such a good, loving brother, taking care of her on his own since she was 3 and their parents died.
Katase Ryo is a mysterious being and we don't get to know much of him in the beginning. With Kanzo what we see is what we get, he's that open. Ryo on the other hand is all smoke and mirrors, never showing his true self. The way they filmed him underlines that fact as he's often half in the shadows and the only thing we frequently see are his eyes that are like polished glass and don't give anything away. From the very beginning you get the feeling that this is a dangerous guy, in more ways than one. He does not come off as really threatening at first but little by little we get to see more and what we see ain't all that pretty. Except he's very pretty, in fact Kimura is simply stunning as Ryo. He's charming, captivating, mesmerising and sexy as hell without even trying. Of course Ryo is also a very broken person, a sociopath with no feelings for anyone. He sees people, especially women as pieces in a game he plays for fun. Because he's bored and because he can. The money he wheedles out of his victims is only something extra, it's all about the game. Things change when someone dies and then he meets Kenzo's sister Yuko. For the first time he feels, deeply. Cares for someone. Loves. The tragedy is in the fact that Yuko is the last person he should have fallen for.
Dojima Yuko is the one that links both of these men. She's somewhat flaky but sweet and rather innocent for a woman of her age, shy too. She comes off as someone you want to keep safe, to shield from the more nastier aspects of life. Yet, she isn't a pusover, she can put her foot down if need be. Her life has not been easy, loosing both parents at such a young age and being physically (and quite likely mentally as well) scarred due to fire. Without a loving brother it would probably have been even harder. Yet she's generally optimistic and has a cheerful disposition. Like Kenzo, she's totally herself, nothing hidden. No wonder Ryo feels so drawn to her, she is like a light shining and he's the moth.
The funny thing about A Million Stars Falling is that in a way it has shades of Mawang in it. A good cop, a charming psyko, the girl in the middle and a buried past. The Devil is in fact what Kenzo calls Ryo. :) Likewise there's the cat and mouse game the two guys play and the fact they feel a connection that inevitably draws them nearer each other. Both are fascinated by the other. In fact Ryo sort of has a hissyfit when Kenzo informs him that he's resigning as a cop. Then there's the twist and the ending. Both of which I saw coming, not that it stopped me from enjoying the ride nor angsting when appropriate. For some odd reason I found the ending very fitting this time, no qualms at all about the way it went down. Not that it wasn't heart breaking, it just felt right. There was hope too, for some of them.
I haven't mentioned the main supporting cast yet but they were great as well. The lady cop, Yoko's lovely but tragic friend Miwa and Ryo's unhappy, mixed up girlfriend Yuki. Of all the character my favourite is Kenzo, hands down. I just love him, he's an awesome character played beautifully by Akashiya Sanma.
Change
Then we come to Change. It's still airing so my thoughts are based on what I've seen so far. Change is a comedic drama, so on the surface it's a very light hearted take on the subject. Why the makers decided to go that route instead of making a pure drama à la 'West Wing' or political satire like 'Yes, Mr Minister' I can't tell. I don't know Japan or Japanese well enough to say if those kind of shows would have been well received. The comedic part is quite probably the main reason the critics of the show have got their knickers in a twist. Well, pardon me but it's a lot harder to make good comedy than good drama. Well, comedy or not, at the heart of it is still the question of it is possible to change the way politics are done. Whether we get an answer remains to be seen. I don't mind the comic touch, it suits well within the context. In fact it is a good contrast to the real business at hand, how a government works.... or not, as it may be. When it's funny, it's very funny - I've laughed my head off several times. The drama part is perfectly well executed too. It all blends very nicely. I like all the main characters and the actors are well suited to their parts. All are good in comedic acting, they never overdo it. I rather love Kimura in this one too, ha. I don't remember him doing comedy before, not in a drama. At least I've not watched any. He's pretty damn perfect as the clueless nobody suddenly becoming a Prime Minister. I think he's got one of the major ingredients of a comedic actor, the right timing. He seems to know instinctively where the punchlines should land. He also has the physical comedy part down pat.
I do keep wondering how they are going to finish this off. Give us the change or more realistic outcome? I'm rather torn. Do I want a fairy tale ending or how it would go in reality? I have this bult in need to see bad guys and bad deeds punished and the good to come off triumphant. Sigh.
Yes, he's rather lovely *g*
Kimura Takuya, what can I say. I've been fascinated by him ever since I saw Pride. As miss_dian can attest, I wasn't initially swayed by his looks, ha. What made me take notice was and is his stage presence. The way he just manages to steal almost every scene he's in, even when he's trying not to. I didn't find him all that good looking until I saw the first still shots of him. Boy, ain't he just gorgeous! No wonder he's done so many photo shoots and advertisements. Then I saw Gift..... he's so very pretty in it, ha.
Because I came to know him through his acting I had no idea of his idol background. I think it was about after my third Kimura drama I was moved to find out more about this guy. Poor KimuTaku, he's had the stakes squarely stacked against him from the get go. Good looking, charismatic and idol to boot. No way 'those in the know' will ever accept that he's actually a very good actor. Undoubtedly he's been typecast a lot, playing earnest young men passionate about something, mostly their jobs. Even in those parts that have taken a departure from the norm. He's just too good at it. Pity really because I feel he'd be great in something totally different. I do wonder why he's not done that yet. Lack of offers, not wanting to risk it, the management not letting him? All three? Hard to say.
I also find it fascinating how different his actor persona and entertainer persona are. Kimura on stage with SMAP is so completely different person from those he depicts on screen. Though there is of course some overlapping. I've only seen few glimpses of the variety show SMAP does and he seems yet another type there. I wonder what Kimura, the private citizen is like? He's been in the biz from such a young age and so long that I guess he's always in a role when not with his nearest and dearest. That probably comes as a second nature by now.
Oh well, in all likelihood I will keep tabs on his career in the future too. I love watching him act, in any role. And even if the characters he plays are often similar they are not the same. He always manages to put something distinctive in each and everyone of them. That's no mean feat.
Karei naru Ichizoku
I think I've finally put enough distance to Karei naru Ichizoku to write a few more thoughts about it. It is an awesome drama but definitely not for the faint of heart. As dangermousie said, it's brutal - in a sense that it does not spare your feelings one iota. Like I mentioned earlier, it has this odd sort beauty and I don't mean just the cinematography. I'm having a hard time finding a proper word to describe the pull of the story.
As dysfunctional families go, the Manpyos could go to bat for the title. Manpyo Sr is a man plagued by inadequacies and jealousy. He always felt that his own father looked down on him and his abilities; that he could never measure up. He's also an autocrat, what he says goes - no exceptions. Then he gets a son who is the spitting image of his late father with the same kind of qualities. Teppei is courageous, intelligent, innovative, someone who is able to sense how the future is going to shape up and generally loved and liked by almost all he comes in contact with. He's also the only one who has the courage defy the father in any way. Then there's the whole mix up with Teppei's parentage which is the main reason for Manpyo Sr's antagonism towards his son. As much as I'd like to I could not hate the father. I despised him and his way of thinking but hate I could not. He was just too blind and messed up to be more than pitiful.
The mother is a downtrodden pushover who has to tolerate her husband's live-in mistress, even sleep in the same room with them. She meekly takes the abuse because of the Big Family Secret, which I guessed way before the first hints btw, ha. The girls of the family do what they are told, save for the youngest who at least tries to break through the barrier. The 2nd son Ginpei is daddy's favorite, for obvious reasons but even he thinks that he's not appreciated at all and is more than aware of the fact that he's weak. Too weak to go against the father he's grown to despise. Add one son-in-law who may just be even worse than Manpyo Sr. Aren't 'happy' families just wonderful!
What it's all about is the struggle between father and son. The father is bent on destroying the son in the name of saving his precious bank (not entirely the real reason) whilst the son is determined to see his dream of a brighter future come true. Neither gives an inch but in the end it's the father who comes off top, helped by fate and better backing. The victory, of course turns out to be pyrrhic. In the process he ends up loosing both the thing that really matters and the thing he thought matters. So, I guess he got his comeuppance.
Teppei was bit of a paragon but you couldn't help but to like him. Still, he was flawed in his own way. His achilles' heel is his deep seated need to be loved and accepted by his father. In the end he was not strong enough to go on and regroup. I've been mulling about his decision and I just can't accept it as the right one. I do understand the reasons behind it, he wrote a letter about it after all. One of the hardest and most awesome scenes was his final meeting with his father, his last effort to make daddy see things his way. It wasn't forthcoming, what he got instead was father telling him how he had wanted Teppei not being born at all. Isn't he a prince, daddy dearest? You can literally see the hope dying and the dream vanishing. Brilliant acting by both Kimura and Kitaoji Kinya.
A Million Stars Falling from the Sky
I'd wanted to se A Million Stars Falling for a while now. But all these conflicting reviews made me wonder how I'd like it. From some statements I was rather expecting something I'd hate with vengeance. Well, it turns out it is nothing like that, thank god. In fact, it's a pretty straightforward detective/suspence story, a good one at that with a doomed romance thrown in for a good measure. It has a triangel but not of the common variety.
Dojima Kanzo is a the good cop, a rather worn out detective. A bit kooky and somewhat of an absentminded professor in an endearing way. An incident in his past changed his life quite profoundly and he's not really been interested in advancing in his carrer since, which is duly noted by his superiors who mainly ignore him. He is a good detective though and often notices things that others totally overlook. He's also quite determined under that absentminded exterior. When he does get intrigued or interested in a case he'll most likely follow it through. His female fellow detective totally has a crush on him but unfortunately, Kanzo just doesn't see her that way. He's past 40 and still unmarried as he's determined to get his younger sister marred first. Bit of a do as she's really not interested, ha. He's such a good, loving brother, taking care of her on his own since she was 3 and their parents died.
Katase Ryo is a mysterious being and we don't get to know much of him in the beginning. With Kanzo what we see is what we get, he's that open. Ryo on the other hand is all smoke and mirrors, never showing his true self. The way they filmed him underlines that fact as he's often half in the shadows and the only thing we frequently see are his eyes that are like polished glass and don't give anything away. From the very beginning you get the feeling that this is a dangerous guy, in more ways than one. He does not come off as really threatening at first but little by little we get to see more and what we see ain't all that pretty. Except he's very pretty, in fact Kimura is simply stunning as Ryo. He's charming, captivating, mesmerising and sexy as hell without even trying. Of course Ryo is also a very broken person, a sociopath with no feelings for anyone. He sees people, especially women as pieces in a game he plays for fun. Because he's bored and because he can. The money he wheedles out of his victims is only something extra, it's all about the game. Things change when someone dies and then he meets Kenzo's sister Yuko. For the first time he feels, deeply. Cares for someone. Loves. The tragedy is in the fact that Yuko is the last person he should have fallen for.
Dojima Yuko is the one that links both of these men. She's somewhat flaky but sweet and rather innocent for a woman of her age, shy too. She comes off as someone you want to keep safe, to shield from the more nastier aspects of life. Yet, she isn't a pusover, she can put her foot down if need be. Her life has not been easy, loosing both parents at such a young age and being physically (and quite likely mentally as well) scarred due to fire. Without a loving brother it would probably have been even harder. Yet she's generally optimistic and has a cheerful disposition. Like Kenzo, she's totally herself, nothing hidden. No wonder Ryo feels so drawn to her, she is like a light shining and he's the moth.
The funny thing about A Million Stars Falling is that in a way it has shades of Mawang in it. A good cop, a charming psyko, the girl in the middle and a buried past. The Devil is in fact what Kenzo calls Ryo. :) Likewise there's the cat and mouse game the two guys play and the fact they feel a connection that inevitably draws them nearer each other. Both are fascinated by the other. In fact Ryo sort of has a hissyfit when Kenzo informs him that he's resigning as a cop. Then there's the twist and the ending. Both of which I saw coming, not that it stopped me from enjoying the ride nor angsting when appropriate. For some odd reason I found the ending very fitting this time, no qualms at all about the way it went down. Not that it wasn't heart breaking, it just felt right. There was hope too, for some of them.
I haven't mentioned the main supporting cast yet but they were great as well. The lady cop, Yoko's lovely but tragic friend Miwa and Ryo's unhappy, mixed up girlfriend Yuki. Of all the character my favourite is Kenzo, hands down. I just love him, he's an awesome character played beautifully by Akashiya Sanma.
Change
Then we come to Change. It's still airing so my thoughts are based on what I've seen so far. Change is a comedic drama, so on the surface it's a very light hearted take on the subject. Why the makers decided to go that route instead of making a pure drama à la 'West Wing' or political satire like 'Yes, Mr Minister' I can't tell. I don't know Japan or Japanese well enough to say if those kind of shows would have been well received. The comedic part is quite probably the main reason the critics of the show have got their knickers in a twist. Well, pardon me but it's a lot harder to make good comedy than good drama. Well, comedy or not, at the heart of it is still the question of it is possible to change the way politics are done. Whether we get an answer remains to be seen. I don't mind the comic touch, it suits well within the context. In fact it is a good contrast to the real business at hand, how a government works.... or not, as it may be. When it's funny, it's very funny - I've laughed my head off several times. The drama part is perfectly well executed too. It all blends very nicely. I like all the main characters and the actors are well suited to their parts. All are good in comedic acting, they never overdo it. I rather love Kimura in this one too, ha. I don't remember him doing comedy before, not in a drama. At least I've not watched any. He's pretty damn perfect as the clueless nobody suddenly becoming a Prime Minister. I think he's got one of the major ingredients of a comedic actor, the right timing. He seems to know instinctively where the punchlines should land. He also has the physical comedy part down pat.
I do keep wondering how they are going to finish this off. Give us the change or more realistic outcome? I'm rather torn. Do I want a fairy tale ending or how it would go in reality? I have this bult in need to see bad guys and bad deeds punished and the good to come off triumphant. Sigh.
Yes, he's rather lovely *g*
Kimura Takuya, what can I say. I've been fascinated by him ever since I saw Pride. As miss_dian can attest, I wasn't initially swayed by his looks, ha. What made me take notice was and is his stage presence. The way he just manages to steal almost every scene he's in, even when he's trying not to. I didn't find him all that good looking until I saw the first still shots of him. Boy, ain't he just gorgeous! No wonder he's done so many photo shoots and advertisements. Then I saw Gift..... he's so very pretty in it, ha.
Because I came to know him through his acting I had no idea of his idol background. I think it was about after my third Kimura drama I was moved to find out more about this guy. Poor KimuTaku, he's had the stakes squarely stacked against him from the get go. Good looking, charismatic and idol to boot. No way 'those in the know' will ever accept that he's actually a very good actor. Undoubtedly he's been typecast a lot, playing earnest young men passionate about something, mostly their jobs. Even in those parts that have taken a departure from the norm. He's just too good at it. Pity really because I feel he'd be great in something totally different. I do wonder why he's not done that yet. Lack of offers, not wanting to risk it, the management not letting him? All three? Hard to say.
I also find it fascinating how different his actor persona and entertainer persona are. Kimura on stage with SMAP is so completely different person from those he depicts on screen. Though there is of course some overlapping. I've only seen few glimpses of the variety show SMAP does and he seems yet another type there. I wonder what Kimura, the private citizen is like? He's been in the biz from such a young age and so long that I guess he's always in a role when not with his nearest and dearest. That probably comes as a second nature by now.
Oh well, in all likelihood I will keep tabs on his career in the future too. I love watching him act, in any role. And even if the characters he plays are often similar they are not the same. He always manages to put something distinctive in each and everyone of them. That's no mean feat.