Tegoshi's sweater and 'Long Love Letter'
Totally random: I was looking at some new pics of Tegoshi and I noticed he's wearing the same red '75' sweater with the stripes on the sleeves that Kame wears in his 2006.10.22 Oshare-ism appearance. It's a rather distinctive sweater - has anyone else worn it?
Long Love Letter Episodes 5 & 6
I started to liveblog episode 5 last night but I got so wrapped up in the drama that I abandoned it after twenty minutes. It was a nerve-wracking twenty minutes, though! The drama was so tense and I had to be quiet so as not to disturb N while he was working on a presentation. Trying not to shriek was definitely a lesson in discipline! I'm afraid I did let out some gasps and squeaks, however. It was that tense.
The end of episode 4 showed three wild-looking strangers, locals apparently, descend upon the school while Asami is out with a couple students checking out the bullet train in the desert.
I was already freaked out from the first minutes as we see the shadows of the three strangers flit behind an unsuspecting Misaki in the hallway. Later, Misaki and some students inventory and stock the storage room with the food that crazy lady teacher had been hoarding. Misaki tells them they have 2-3 months worth of food, if they're very careful. Of course, the strangers have gotten themselves locked into the storeroom, so they go on a rampage, devouring whatever they can, and stuffing whatever they can carry into bags. When a couple girls go to get something from the room, they are attacked by the three men, and the students plus Asami and Misaki try to head them off and keep them from escaping with what they've stolen. They capture one, but the other two engage Asami and some of the students in a fight. In the end, Asami is seriously wounded with a gash into his chest and the strangers escape.
A lot of important things happen in these two episodes. They begin to understand that they have probably travelled to the future somehow, based on various pieces of evidence. They, of course, know now that they are not alone. Misaki, in a fit of inspiration, digs some seeds out of the florist's apron she was wearing and together with seeds they had in the school's lab, the students establish a garden.
They also begin to appoint leaders within the group. Yamapi's character is the cynical pragmatist who keeps telling everyone that there's no way to go "back" so they might as well get used to how things are in the here and now. Stemming from this, one of the female bullies tries to appoint herself as the leader of everyone, but Misaki manages to sway her to accept the position of Defense Minister, which is awesome, because she's a tough girl and can hold her own under most circumstances.
Their captured prisoner escapes twice, and the final time, he is actually set free by the girl with the lame leg - he escapes with her in a sack over his shoulder because she wants to get away from the group (she doesn't trust them at all). Before he runs away, the "smart" girl with the laptop whose battery is still functioning after ten days, manages to communicate with him in a mix of Japanese/Chinese/Korean (because he hadn't responded to any of their Japanese questions) and she explains that they are from 2002 and they don't intend any harm. His last words to them before running away are ominous: "This is your fault." It seems clear that he holds the people of the past responsible for the wasteland in which he now lives.
Misaki goes out to shovel around in the area where she and Asami found the school name plaque and Tadashi goes along. After digging for a while, they come across a memorial to them: 22 students and 7 teachers - all their names are there. But they have no way of knowing when the memorial was erected. Misaki asks Tadashi not to tell the others because she fears that it might discourage them too much, so they rebury the memorial.
Meanwhile, Asami's chest wound is causing him greater pain which he tries to hide, and I think he's so stupid for this! If he's getting an infection, isn't it better to try to catch it early rather than suffer until it's too late? By the end of the sixth episode, he's in dire straits and a debate arises over whether he should be killed or not, because he's going to die anyway - he has contracted some kind of blood poisoning and since they can't/don't know how to treat him, his case is hopeless.
Tadashi (Yamapi's character) is in anguish over this, showing real emotion almost for the first time, because Asami was wounded while protecting him from the attacking strangers. This is the first episode where he really has a chance to shine. I consider his character 4th down the line in importance (Asami, Misaki, Takamatsu, Tadashi), so he is not featured heavily, but here, we get to see quite a lot of him.
Two other things happen near the end of episode 6: the crazy lady teacher breaks out of the wooden locker she'd been imprisoned in and the crazy principal returns to the school.
And Misaki and Tadashi decide to drive out into the wasteland to find medicine for Asami. The final scene between Misaki and Asami is so touching.
I really love the developments for everyone. I was SO SCARED in the beginning of episode 5 and I haven't even talked about how steadfast Takamatsu's girlfriend back in 2002 is being, and how neat it is to see them all going on with their lives despite the gaping hole of absence left by all the missing people. Also some reporter lady in 2002 is trying to understand the weirdness of the school's disappearance when none of the explanations make sense. So many things happen to the lost-in-time students/teachers, and the drama addresses so many things, from practical aspects of their daily existence, to larger philosophical questions of how they are to survive as a community. And then there is the hilarious bits, like knowing that a package of condoms was blown into the school before it was yanked through time - I just know that's going to come up again! And we're seeing relationships evolving between the students as well as seeing Asami and Misaki growing closer. And for everything that cements the group together, there is something to tear them apart whether it is external or internal. The confusion they're all experiencing, as they grope around in the dark and try to make sense of their extraordinary circumstances, and their ultimately deliberate choice to survive, is wonderful.
This scene was gorgeous. Asami walks back through the gate and says "Tadaima." Takamatsu realizes that he hasn't said this for a while, and that he misses it - it's comforting somehow. He and Seiji begin to cry as they both walk back out and then in through the gate again, saying "tadaima." Asami can't say anything, because he understands that this is one of those things they all have to come to terms with: the school is now their home, and they are the only family they have left.
Misaki's hand makes Asami feel better, after he's been injured.
Tadashi reminds Takamatsu that Asami kissed him in the first episode. You had to be there. ;)
The captured prisoner.
The now-escaped prisoner and the girl with the lame leg who helped him escape (and of course, he helped her escape)
Misaki and Tadashi dig for clues.
Everyone in despair as they listen to Asami crying out in agony.
Tadashi blames himself for Asami's wound.
Misaki weeps as she faces the possibility that Asami will die and leave her to look after everyone alone.
She remembers how he helped her when she was lost in despair in the desert.
Takamatsu tries to convince the student who had wanted to study medicine that he shouldn't give up on Asami and that he should at least try to help him, in any way he can.
Misaki, Tadashi and the female bully (Defense Minister) drive off to find medicine for Asami.
Long Love Letter Episodes 5 & 6
I started to liveblog episode 5 last night but I got so wrapped up in the drama that I abandoned it after twenty minutes. It was a nerve-wracking twenty minutes, though! The drama was so tense and I had to be quiet so as not to disturb N while he was working on a presentation. Trying not to shriek was definitely a lesson in discipline! I'm afraid I did let out some gasps and squeaks, however. It was that tense.
The end of episode 4 showed three wild-looking strangers, locals apparently, descend upon the school while Asami is out with a couple students checking out the bullet train in the desert.
I was already freaked out from the first minutes as we see the shadows of the three strangers flit behind an unsuspecting Misaki in the hallway. Later, Misaki and some students inventory and stock the storage room with the food that crazy lady teacher had been hoarding. Misaki tells them they have 2-3 months worth of food, if they're very careful. Of course, the strangers have gotten themselves locked into the storeroom, so they go on a rampage, devouring whatever they can, and stuffing whatever they can carry into bags. When a couple girls go to get something from the room, they are attacked by the three men, and the students plus Asami and Misaki try to head them off and keep them from escaping with what they've stolen. They capture one, but the other two engage Asami and some of the students in a fight. In the end, Asami is seriously wounded with a gash into his chest and the strangers escape.
A lot of important things happen in these two episodes. They begin to understand that they have probably travelled to the future somehow, based on various pieces of evidence. They, of course, know now that they are not alone. Misaki, in a fit of inspiration, digs some seeds out of the florist's apron she was wearing and together with seeds they had in the school's lab, the students establish a garden.
They also begin to appoint leaders within the group. Yamapi's character is the cynical pragmatist who keeps telling everyone that there's no way to go "back" so they might as well get used to how things are in the here and now. Stemming from this, one of the female bullies tries to appoint herself as the leader of everyone, but Misaki manages to sway her to accept the position of Defense Minister, which is awesome, because she's a tough girl and can hold her own under most circumstances.
Their captured prisoner escapes twice, and the final time, he is actually set free by the girl with the lame leg - he escapes with her in a sack over his shoulder because she wants to get away from the group (she doesn't trust them at all). Before he runs away, the "smart" girl with the laptop whose battery is still functioning after ten days, manages to communicate with him in a mix of Japanese/Chinese/Korean (because he hadn't responded to any of their Japanese questions) and she explains that they are from 2002 and they don't intend any harm. His last words to them before running away are ominous: "This is your fault." It seems clear that he holds the people of the past responsible for the wasteland in which he now lives.
Misaki goes out to shovel around in the area where she and Asami found the school name plaque and Tadashi goes along. After digging for a while, they come across a memorial to them: 22 students and 7 teachers - all their names are there. But they have no way of knowing when the memorial was erected. Misaki asks Tadashi not to tell the others because she fears that it might discourage them too much, so they rebury the memorial.
Meanwhile, Asami's chest wound is causing him greater pain which he tries to hide, and I think he's so stupid for this! If he's getting an infection, isn't it better to try to catch it early rather than suffer until it's too late? By the end of the sixth episode, he's in dire straits and a debate arises over whether he should be killed or not, because he's going to die anyway - he has contracted some kind of blood poisoning and since they can't/don't know how to treat him, his case is hopeless.
Tadashi (Yamapi's character) is in anguish over this, showing real emotion almost for the first time, because Asami was wounded while protecting him from the attacking strangers. This is the first episode where he really has a chance to shine. I consider his character 4th down the line in importance (Asami, Misaki, Takamatsu, Tadashi), so he is not featured heavily, but here, we get to see quite a lot of him.
Two other things happen near the end of episode 6: the crazy lady teacher breaks out of the wooden locker she'd been imprisoned in and the crazy principal returns to the school.
And Misaki and Tadashi decide to drive out into the wasteland to find medicine for Asami. The final scene between Misaki and Asami is so touching.
I really love the developments for everyone. I was SO SCARED in the beginning of episode 5 and I haven't even talked about how steadfast Takamatsu's girlfriend back in 2002 is being, and how neat it is to see them all going on with their lives despite the gaping hole of absence left by all the missing people. Also some reporter lady in 2002 is trying to understand the weirdness of the school's disappearance when none of the explanations make sense. So many things happen to the lost-in-time students/teachers, and the drama addresses so many things, from practical aspects of their daily existence, to larger philosophical questions of how they are to survive as a community. And then there is the hilarious bits, like knowing that a package of condoms was blown into the school before it was yanked through time - I just know that's going to come up again! And we're seeing relationships evolving between the students as well as seeing Asami and Misaki growing closer. And for everything that cements the group together, there is something to tear them apart whether it is external or internal. The confusion they're all experiencing, as they grope around in the dark and try to make sense of their extraordinary circumstances, and their ultimately deliberate choice to survive, is wonderful.
This scene was gorgeous. Asami walks back through the gate and says "Tadaima." Takamatsu realizes that he hasn't said this for a while, and that he misses it - it's comforting somehow. He and Seiji begin to cry as they both walk back out and then in through the gate again, saying "tadaima." Asami can't say anything, because he understands that this is one of those things they all have to come to terms with: the school is now their home, and they are the only family they have left.
Misaki's hand makes Asami feel better, after he's been injured.
Tadashi reminds Takamatsu that Asami kissed him in the first episode. You had to be there. ;)
The captured prisoner.
The now-escaped prisoner and the girl with the lame leg who helped him escape (and of course, he helped her escape)
Misaki and Tadashi dig for clues.
Everyone in despair as they listen to Asami crying out in agony.
Tadashi blames himself for Asami's wound.
Misaki weeps as she faces the possibility that Asami will die and leave her to look after everyone alone.
She remembers how he helped her when she was lost in despair in the desert.
Takamatsu tries to convince the student who had wanted to study medicine that he shouldn't give up on Asami and that he should at least try to help him, in any way he can.
Misaki, Tadashi and the female bully (Defense Minister) drive off to find medicine for Asami.