[dorama] GOOD RUCK!!
So, instead of getting some much needed rest last night, I chose to finish Good Luck!! instead. I think I fell too hard for this show. You can tell I really enjoyed something, if, afterward, I can think "Maa~ I can watch that again." Because that definitely went through my head when I finished this dorama. Sure, it had its fair share of cringe worthy grating drama, but all in all, I found it very well balanced. I liked the actors, the characters, the plot, the pacing, and most especially, the romance and the relationship build up.
THE UGLY HAIR OF DOOM 1999!
I don't understand this though, did she really not go back to visit him after this? Because the first scene together they had after the accident was when he got out of the hospital a month later.
"You said you'd fly me somewhere."
"Let's put this moment on hold until I can fly again."
"Baka."
Well, okay, so this was one of their cheesier LOL moments. ^^;
This here is a scene where you can see that Kimura Takuya is a JE talent. Look at those hips. Because really, most JE boys, when they walk, their hips sway. *cough* Jun *cough*
"Take me on the Honolulu flight."
"What? So you could laugh at me?"
"It's not that."
"Then what?"
"I want to be there for you on your big day."
"When we get to Hawaii.."
"What?"
"When we land on Hawaii..."
"When we land on Hawaii what?"
"Kiss me."
AND THEN INSERT LAUGHS BECAUSE...
CRAB!!!! LOOOOOOOL~ But, all's well, that ends well:
What I love so much about Shinkai/Ogawa is that it was so perfectly paced. Right from the start, you could see the instant attraction (or at least the initial interest), but the build-up and the development was scattered all throughout the series. Also, there was that feel that they were equals. No one was a prince or a princess. No one needed to be saved by the other, they just had to be there for each other, and, in the process, save themselves. There weren't even unnecessary third and fourth parties. There was that time when they saw each other with other people, but there was no cliched love triangles or love squares. Even that annoying stewardess (whose name I forgot because she really was annoying) stood no chance, and right from the start, Shinkai was very honest in turning her down. There wasn't any "I can't be with you because *insert lame reason here*" drama. It was all really simple, they were attracted to each other, and that was that.
The awkwardness between them is also fantastic, like I pointed out in an earlier entry. I hardly ever get excited over a mushy couple cheesily exchanging words of love, but give me a couple awkwardly dancing around their feelings and you can hear me squee from a mile away. So everything about this couple? Was adorable. From the initial confession ("I was pissed off. Seeing you with another man. It pissed me off." "Me too. Seeing you with someone else -- I was furious!") to the botched first date ("I know it's late, but I want to see you.") to the botched first kiss ("Let's put this moment on hold until I can fly again." Awww.) to that scene in the airport before boarding on the Hawaii flight ("When we land in Honolulu..." "What?" "When we land..." "When we land what?" "Kiss me.") to the actual ending (see picture spam above, lol), everything was perfect between the two of them.
As for the ending, I'm guessing some people probably found ti anticlimactic? After episode 9 and the accident of DOOM I mean. Personally, I was really glad they were able to resolve the "dealing with the accident" quickly. I know it was necessary for the further growth of Shinkai's character (St. Shinkai, my mother calls him, because she says he was such an optimistic character), but if they'd prolonged it any more, there'd just have been so much unnecessary angst and drama.
Speaking of, that's another thing I loved about this dorama -- there's hardly any excess angst. Actually, all in all, it is highly positive and optimistic. And even though I can't exactly describe it as light cheery (like, say, Gokusen), it wasn't sad and depressing. Like I said at the start of this post, the overall balance is perfect.
And some people might say that Shibasaki Kou is a bad actress. I beg to disagree. Kou was just playing the role of a socially challenged girl, hence the tightness, etc. (And come to think of it, Kou's always been cast in such roles. Weren't Mitsuko in Battle Royale and Sae in Orange Days just as socially inept?)
This really is something I can watch all over again, if only for the scenes between Ogawa and Shinkai. Although, at the moment, I'm more in the mood for an Orange Days rewatch. Because Kou with Kimura Takuya is good and all, but Kou with Tsumabuki Satoshi is just. Plain. Awesome. ♥
I have to finish indexing for my LIS 64 term project first though. Guh.
P.S. My TricK 2 download is 70++% and steadily downloading (albeit at a rate of around 10-20 kbps). But at least by the time it finishes, I should be done with my finals, etc. Eeeeh. ♥