Comments | dangermousie: MARS: Episode 1 thoughts

dangermousie

MARS: Episode 1 thoughts

Jul 27, 2006 12:46

So yeah, Day One of the Mars watchalong, with its star-crossed lovers, fast motorcycles, dysfunctional families and more angst than you can shake a stick at. First off I have to say that this remains my favorite dorama (yes, more than MG) and watching just one ep is like that ad for potato chips they had running a while back. Impossible. I strove ( Read more... )

mars, mars watchalong

Comments 8

meganbmoore July 27 2006, 16:55:41 UTC

They aren't named Rei and Kira in the show?

dangermousie July 27 2006, 16:59:54 UTC

It's a Taiwanese production so the names are different (same is true for Meteor Garden which is an adaptation of HYD or a Peach Girl adaptation (not worth the bother IMO) or the Marmalade Boy (which I haven't seen)). Apparently it's because the names read differently in Chinese than they do in Japanese, so I guess these are equivalents.

je12_vz09 July 27 2006, 19:24:28 UTC

i love the story. i love the manga. i love the characters. i love the actors. :D it's just sad that it wasn't given a good airing time here on my side of the world.

dangermousie July 27 2006, 19:48:39 UTC

Yup, I love everything about it.

it wasn't given a good airing time here on my side of the world.

Hey, at least it aired where you are at all. It has never ever aired in the US and I had to track it down :)

I told you I would spam... klmorgan September 5 2006, 22:01:27 UTC

... so you can't say I didn't warn you. ;)

Ah, Mars. So good in so many ways. So I'll limit myself to this one ep.

There's a lot of great stuff in here, and you've hit on most of it -- I admit to having the same "boy saves girl and she saves him back" kink, in a BIG way (another reason you might want to check out the DBY manga, as they stress that heavily). You know what never fails to give me chills, even watching it time and time again? The way they introduce the theme song. They build you up with that fantastic scene of Ling visiting Ming Gao in the hospital, and the amazing job the actors do while the characters try to casually talk about the accident while all the time looking so raw and a little lost -- Ming Gao because he's lost a part of himself, Ling because he doesn't understand the promises Ming Gao has made or why.

Then we see him go and take the bike that nearly destroyed his friend, climb on like it's nothing, and speed off along those long, twisting highways. And the theme song starts up ( ... )

Re: I told you I would spam... dangermousie September 5 2006, 22:54:45 UTC

Oooooh, Mars meta! Don't limit yourself to just this one ep, please. Pretty please?

Tis didn't come off as confusing at all. I agree, that with QL we get some time to know her, just because she is very reserved and withdrawn. But our introduction to Ling is just like his character. Everything is out there, and we find out the essence of what he is (beneath the layers of messed-up stuff) and only later, as we get to know him better, the fact that underneath the confident exterior is someone who is as damaged as QL. I think that's how the characters carry themselves, too: with QL, you see her weaknesses first and then as you know her more, you see the hidden strengths, and only after a time does she feel secure enough to reveal herself. Ling carries himself supremely confidently, and only if you know him well (as QL and the audience get to do during this) you see all the stuff undereath. Am I making sense? I just think it's an interesting character/storytelling parallel.

take the bike that nearly destroyed his friend, climb on like it ( ... )

Re: I told you I would spam... klmorgan September 7 2006, 19:54:25 UTC

*g* Okay, the spam will continue inefinitely.

Am I making sense? I just think it's an interesting character/storytelling parallel.Perfect sense... another way of looking at it (though I'm not sure it works), is that Ling has all the strength, Qui Luo the self-control. (As in, strength over others versus strength over self ( ... )

Re: I told you I would spam... dangermousie September 7 2006, 20:59:18 UTC

He is the most unstable element in his life, and he knows it.
Oh yes. Both QK and Ling are very damaged but while for QL the damage manifests inward, for Ling, it all goes outward, in a destructive radius ( ... )