astromantic

毎日grind, 毎日rhymes

Category: watching

  • A year in dramas (2012).

    A year in dramas (2012).

    This was suuuuuuuuuch a weak year for dramas! Last year had a lot of powerful new dramas (“Soredemo, Ikite Yuku”) and compelling sequels (“JIN 2”), but I knew it was Big Trouble when the winter season rolled around and I just didn’t care for much of anything. Didn’t watch a lot of between spring and summer, but (as usual) I went HAM towards the end of the year. Here’s what I watched:

    Winter
    Shokuzai
    Strawberry Night

    Summer
    Higashino Keigo Mysteries
    Boys on the Run

    Spring
    Kagi no Kakatta Heya
    Kaeru no Ojousama
    Keizoku 2 ~Sho~

    Autumn
    PRICELESS
    Double Face
    Osozaki no Himawari
    Going My Home
    Kekkon Shinai
    Yuusha Yoshihiko to Akuryou no Kagi

    I tried putting everything into superlative categories like “best romance”, “best thriller” and the like, but I don’t actually think I watched enough! Maybe I should change my strategy…

  • PRICELESS (fin.)

    PRICELESS (fin.)

    Finished! So underwhelming. PRICELESS lost momentum before it could even get started, and Oyashiki was more compelling a character than Kindaichi was, even though he became pretty one dimensional (foiling his half-brother at every turn, blah blah blah daddy issues, ok). Kindaichi literally had no faults, and that’s just not interesting to me.

    Now I’m going to watch something where Fujiki Naohito isn’t playing a complete jerk (hurts my heart every time you do, bb).

    Speaking of endings… RIP Karina’s career (but seriously, where’d she go?!)

  • First Impressions (Autumn 2012).

    Yes, now we’re getting into the meat and bones! There are a couple of factors I keep in mind when choosing the dramas that I’ll watch: do I like the cast/who am I watching this for? Do I like the sound of the plot? Is it a sequel? Would I subject myself to a crappy story just for the lead? Who’s the screenwriter? Is it just a Johnny vehicle drama? And then, after I’ve watched the first or second episode, do I like it enough to keep going? Things like that.

    I picked a couple quite a few dramas to watch (a grand total of six, which is more than I usually ever keep up with). You can read my pre-watch jitters here, and my first impressions on the first episode(s) after the jump!

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  • Strawberry Night I

    Strawberry Night I

    Before I get into it, there’s an SP that precedes this drama, and it would have helped some if I watched it beforehand but whateva whateva. I wasn’t planning on watching Strawberry Night at all (it’s no Gonzo, or SPEC) but there’s no harm in watching another cop drama! It’s kind of like a grittier and glossier version of BOSS… kinda. Anyway–

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  • Soredemo, Ikite Yuku (Episodes 7-8)

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    Now Playing: Rachmaninoff – Piano Concerto No. 2 in C Minor, Op. 18: Adagio Sostenuto

    This is a show that I can’t recommend enough.

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  • Scent of a Woman (Episode 11)

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    This show gives me so many feelings! Yeon Jae threw Ji Wook’s heart into a blender, and Ji Wook’s immaturity makes me want to flip tables. * WHY MUST THINGS BE SO DIFFICULT.

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  • “この世界に愛はあるの？”

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    I really underestimated Uchino Masaaki. I wouldn’t say he was “competent” in JIN, but he did what was required of him and I enjoyed what he did as Sakamoto Ryoma. In Gonzo, I didn’t know what to expect (and didn’t know much about the story because of the lackluster summaries I read), but I was floored. Grossly underestimated! Kuroki is a guy with a lot of personal demons, and it’s both heartbreaking and riveting to watch him try to keep it together while maintaining this levelheaded facade.

    I felt like this cast didn’t have any glaring weaknesses, and the only bad guy was the criminal. Usually you have some sort of diabolical rival and maybe I was supposed to dislike Sakuma, but I loved him from the moment I saw him in the first episode.

    The last two episodes were characteristic of your typical, really good drama. Which is fine, but they were nowhere close to the caliber of the first eight. This was only mildly disappointing, but not enough for me to completely discredit how wonderful Gonzo had been overall. There isn’t much I can say about the ending without spoiling it, but if you’re looking to watch a great detective drama, Gonzo is it.

  • Gonzo (Episode 1)

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    The list of dramas I planned to watch this summer are finally dwindling down (just 1.5 left), but I think I may have finally stumbled upon a really good police procedural. It’s only been the first episode, so I’ll reserve (most of) my judgement until I’m mid-way through the series. It’s a good sign, though! I tried watching Uchino Masaaki’s other investigative effort (Rinjo — he was a medical examiner this time) and nearly died of boredom. I don’t know how that show got a second season, but if the ratings were good enough…

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    Ugh, I’m crossing my fingers and hoping that this drama isn’t a disappointment. I love the cinematography (everything looks so crisp and gorgeous) and I like the detective work I’ve seen. PLEASE BE GOOD :(

    (AND YES, that is Sakamoto Ryoma! I just finished Shikaotoko Aoniyoshi, too. I think I’m having JIN withdrawals.)

  • Fumo Chitai, Episodes 16-19

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    Oh man, it’s gonna be hard to go baaaaaaaaaaaack (don’t you hate when you watch something so amazing and then you end up watching something pedestrian??)

    This would be a good time for me to end my unofficial Takenouchi Yutaka marathon. If I applied Iki Tadashi’s reasoning in the final episode to everything I’ve watched so far… it’s better to go out on a good note, right?! I also realized that data caps exist and because I don’t like streaming, I should probably relax.

  • Fumo Chitai, Episodes 1-15

    I don’t really have much to say about Fumo Chitai other than it is one of the best dramas I have ever watched, it’s really long but it’s quality and the whole cast is fantastic (KOYUKI), etc etc. I would have stopped watching a couple episodes ago to take a break, but the series is almost over and things are starting to get a little crazy. As a business drama there’s a lot upstaging, brokering deals with politicians, bribery, and pride… it’s pretty riveting!

    There are still four (!!!) episodes left, but I don’t feel it’s ever lost momentum. At this point, I don’t even know what the ending will be like and I refuse to spoil myself… #nerves

    And even though I’ve taken a disgusting amount of Takenouchi Yutaka screencaps, this one really telling for some reason, especially in the context of the drama. Satoi is the very picture of loneliness (but he’s very, very stubborn).

    (Another drama post! Just savoring what’s left of my summer…)