Mars Drama babble
Here's where I babble about the Mars drama (yes, the taiwanese idol drama one. -_-;). The one that's based off the Japanese manga. I just adore the opening sequence. I wish I could clip it out and share it. But the versions I have are not avi files, and I'm not about to go install yet another utility on the computer just to be able to clip it. -_-
Ok, I'm 12 eps into it and it's not bad so far. However, I watched the first couple eps of the drama first, before even touching the manga. Then I finished off the manga before continuing on, so views are going to be influenced by that. The drama portrays the characters very differently from what I perceived of the characters when reading the manga. But I don't think that's necessarily bad - someone who read the manga first might think otherwise though.
First off Kira is much more blushy, and like your typical shoujo heroine in the manga - shy, demure, cute, etc. But in the drama, she comes across as more weird/strange and extremely introverted (ie has major problems), but with a kind of inner strength that comes through more than in the manga. When reading the manga, I couldn't tell that there was anything wrong with Kira until later in the series, whereas in the drama, it's immediately recognizable that she has problems. I actually like drama version of Kira better than the manga version. Drama version's inner strength - from conviction of beliefs or whatnot is more appealing that what seemed to me to be the goodness of heart kind of strength that manga!Kira has. I guess they're essentially the same kind of thing, but somehow I just like the drama version better. Also, Barbie does a pretty decent job acting Kira.
As for Rei... well I personally think that Zaizai(aka Vic Chou) can't act. The rest of the world seems to disagree with me though. So, YMMV. He's improved just the slightest bit since doing Meteor Garden. ... but still really not that much considering how many shows he's acted in. I guess if it's hard enough as it is for him to keep from bursting out laughing (as seen in the MG specials/outtakes) we should be pretty glad that he's doing as good as he is now. :P~
They try and get past this by not focusing on his face as much, having his hair hang in the way and focusing on Barbie's face more during key moments. And it helps. But still, I can't get past the way his intonation is off sometimes, and the way he places stresses and pauses in awkward places when he acts. And it also doesn't help that he doesn't enunciate very well (yes, he's improved at this, but it's still there. And is really distracting during emotional/exciting scenes). I dunno, maybe if someone who didn't understand the language was watching it, it might not be a problem. Or maybe it's just me. His huge contingent of chinese fangirls don't seem to think it's a problem.
Rei is portrayed a bit differently in the drama too. He doesn't come across as flippant, cool on the outside, but sexy, dangerous/unbalanced, and untouchable later - the way I kind of saw him as from the manga. Drama!Rei is more vulnerable from the start. And it's very easy to see that he's not just shallow from the start. Drama!Rei is also a heck of a lot easier to read than manga!Rei, whose appeal comes partially from his mysteriousness and that untouchableness. Admittedly, part of this could be my inability to see Zaizai as sexy. I think both versions are pretty interesting and I don't really have much of a preference either way.
About other things in general - I really like the way that Rei's flashbacks are done in the series. It's much creepier in the drama, and I think it adds to the suspense. And great casting for his mother. She is so very creepy. ;__; And I love the girl they cast for Harumi! She is so adorable! :D
Minor, and extremely shallow gripes -
grah. I don't like the way they portray , especially since this kind of a character is usually one that I like (the manga version). And I don't find the actor they got for him to be all that pretty or cute. And I definitely don't think he could ever be mistaken as a girl.
*sob* why couldn't they pick someone cuter to act ? He does do a good job of acting the character. I'm just being shallow. :3
The actor they picked for Rei's dad is totally not how I pictured him...
Anyways, I'm confused because it seems like they're almost done with the story at episode 12, but I think there are more episodes of the drama available. As far as I can tell, there are at least another 7 or 8 episodes. So does that mean they go off and continue on from the ending of the manga?
Alright, and the opening and ending songs for Mars are here
For some reason, when I ul stuff that's not in english it gets all fcked up. So, the OP is the one with 1 in the title - it's titled 零 by 柯有倫 which is neat since it's got that whole double meaning thing going on. The ED is the one with the 2 in the title. It's 讓我愛你 by 周渝民 徐熙媛. It's actually a duet sung by the people acting Kira and Rei. I actually like Zaizai's (Rei) voice quite a bit. It's got a bit of a resonant quality to it. He's pretty good at singing. I wonder why he doesn't just stick to that...? Barbie's (Kira) voice is a little thin, especially since it's right up next to Zaizai's, but they sound pretty good together.
Small, somewhat interesting blurb: Apparently the two of them needed a bit of convincing to do this duet together. Because they're good friends in RL, they'd have trouble singing a love song together without bursting out laughing. LOL. Apparently kiss scenes are okay, because you get to close your eyes and it only lasts a few minutes, so you can just sort of hold in the laughter and bear it until it's over. XD;
Anyways, feel free to grab anything else in that directory. I think things are pretty clearly labeled, but if you have questions for some reason, just ask.
Ok, I'm 12 eps into it and it's not bad so far. However, I watched the first couple eps of the drama first, before even touching the manga. Then I finished off the manga before continuing on, so views are going to be influenced by that. The drama portrays the characters very differently from what I perceived of the characters when reading the manga. But I don't think that's necessarily bad - someone who read the manga first might think otherwise though.
First off Kira is much more blushy, and like your typical shoujo heroine in the manga - shy, demure, cute, etc. But in the drama, she comes across as more weird/strange and extremely introverted (ie has major problems), but with a kind of inner strength that comes through more than in the manga. When reading the manga, I couldn't tell that there was anything wrong with Kira until later in the series, whereas in the drama, it's immediately recognizable that she has problems. I actually like drama version of Kira better than the manga version. Drama version's inner strength - from conviction of beliefs or whatnot is more appealing that what seemed to me to be the goodness of heart kind of strength that manga!Kira has. I guess they're essentially the same kind of thing, but somehow I just like the drama version better. Also, Barbie does a pretty decent job acting Kira.
As for Rei... well I personally think that Zaizai(aka Vic Chou) can't act. The rest of the world seems to disagree with me though. So, YMMV. He's improved just the slightest bit since doing Meteor Garden. ... but still really not that much considering how many shows he's acted in. I guess if it's hard enough as it is for him to keep from bursting out laughing (as seen in the MG specials/outtakes) we should be pretty glad that he's doing as good as he is now. :P~
They try and get past this by not focusing on his face as much, having his hair hang in the way and focusing on Barbie's face more during key moments. And it helps. But still, I can't get past the way his intonation is off sometimes, and the way he places stresses and pauses in awkward places when he acts. And it also doesn't help that he doesn't enunciate very well (yes, he's improved at this, but it's still there. And is really distracting during emotional/exciting scenes). I dunno, maybe if someone who didn't understand the language was watching it, it might not be a problem. Or maybe it's just me. His huge contingent of chinese fangirls don't seem to think it's a problem.
Rei is portrayed a bit differently in the drama too. He doesn't come across as flippant, cool on the outside, but sexy, dangerous/unbalanced, and untouchable later - the way I kind of saw him as from the manga. Drama!Rei is more vulnerable from the start. And it's very easy to see that he's not just shallow from the start. Drama!Rei is also a heck of a lot easier to read than manga!Rei, whose appeal comes partially from his mysteriousness and that untouchableness. Admittedly, part of this could be my inability to see Zaizai as sexy. I think both versions are pretty interesting and I don't really have much of a preference either way.
About other things in general - I really like the way that Rei's flashbacks are done in the series. It's much creepier in the drama, and I think it adds to the suspense. And great casting for his mother. She is so very creepy. ;__; And I love the girl they cast for Harumi! She is so adorable! :D
Minor, and extremely shallow gripes -
grah. I don't like the way they portray , especially since this kind of a character is usually one that I like (the manga version). And I don't find the actor they got for him to be all that pretty or cute. And I definitely don't think he could ever be mistaken as a girl.
*sob* why couldn't they pick someone cuter to act ? He does do a good job of acting the character. I'm just being shallow. :3
The actor they picked for Rei's dad is totally not how I pictured him...
Anyways, I'm confused because it seems like they're almost done with the story at episode 12, but I think there are more episodes of the drama available. As far as I can tell, there are at least another 7 or 8 episodes. So does that mean they go off and continue on from the ending of the manga?
Alright, and the opening and ending songs for Mars are here
For some reason, when I ul stuff that's not in english it gets all fcked up. So, the OP is the one with 1 in the title - it's titled 零 by 柯有倫 which is neat since it's got that whole double meaning thing going on. The ED is the one with the 2 in the title. It's 讓我愛你 by 周渝民 徐熙媛. It's actually a duet sung by the people acting Kira and Rei. I actually like Zaizai's (Rei) voice quite a bit. It's got a bit of a resonant quality to it. He's pretty good at singing. I wonder why he doesn't just stick to that...? Barbie's (Kira) voice is a little thin, especially since it's right up next to Zaizai's, but they sound pretty good together.
Small, somewhat interesting blurb: Apparently the two of them needed a bit of convincing to do this duet together. Because they're good friends in RL, they'd have trouble singing a love song together without bursting out laughing. LOL. Apparently kiss scenes are okay, because you get to close your eyes and it only lasts a few minutes, so you can just sort of hold in the laughter and bear it until it's over. XD;
Anyways, feel free to grab anything else in that directory. I think things are pretty clearly labeled, but if you have questions for some reason, just ask.