Ring Reviews: Rasen (TV) (1999)
Oct. 19th, 2019 12:38 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
sonofgodzillaRasen (TV) Episode #1
1999
Fuji TV
1999's Fuji TV adaptation of Rasen is, well, weird to say the least. At the height of the franchise's popularity in the West, it was difficult to get hold of this series and its predecessor, Ring: The Final Chapter (both shown during the same year, one after the other) but fortunately since then, youtube has become a thing and low quality rips of the show are available for anyone willing to sit through the experience—and it is an experience, a very different experience from Suzuki's novel and the unreasonably unpopular film adaptation of the previous year.
Whilst all this is going on, the show then begins a subplot involving the internet *gasp* and how the killer is leaving hints as to their movements. Also, an unknown celebrity dubbed 'the King of Terror' who apparently has some amazing insight into the prophecies of Nostradamus, begins taunting Ando on the telephone. Meanwhile, the show hints at the presence of Sadako (Kimura Tae) and her involvement in everything, and Takano Mai (Yada Akiko) goes off on a mission to the middle of nowhere based on hints left in a very direct letter by the now deceased Takayama Ryuji. It's a hot mess. Not bereft of charm, but very much a case of trying to capitalise on the sudden popularity of the franchise whilst also throwing absolutely everything of any interest in the headlines at the time into the mix to create a story that is two thirds standard TV drama with a hearty dash of batshit craziness to top it off.
Of all that Rasen brings to the table, it's the internet subplot that I most like, despite the fact that it is clearly ripped out of a police show or one of those amateur detective dramas so popular at the time. In fact, a lot of the show feels like what later became the modern police procedural genre, but here, seeing glimpses of imaginary bulletin boards and the charm of what the internet was, it actually feels quite fun. Of course, it's also very sad when you think about the way in which that old internet is presently being bulldozed by companies who have no interest in preserving our heritage (case in point: yahoogroups), so, ah, enjoy this whilst we still have the context to understand what is happening.
I'm also curious to see if anything of Suzuki's later sequel, Loop influences this internet subplot because, well, Loop completely re-contextualises how we are expected to view Takayama and the circumstances both of his death at the end of Ring and the conclusion of Rasen. If I had one big criticism of the show, then it is that I don't really like how Ando's character is treated in this opening episode, and personally much preferred Sato Koichi's performance in Iida George's film version. Still, I'm willing to stick with this, if only because it's something I haven't seen yet and feels kind of new to me.
It's 50/50 as to whether I will write about the show ever again, but, ah, if I don't, you can assume that it failed to win me over.
1999
Fuji TV
1999's Fuji TV adaptation of Rasen is, well, weird to say the least. At the height of the franchise's popularity in the West, it was difficult to get hold of this series and its predecessor, Ring: The Final Chapter (both shown during the same year, one after the other) but fortunately since then, youtube has become a thing and low quality rips of the show are available for anyone willing to sit through the experience—and it is an experience, a very different experience from Suzuki's novel and the unreasonably unpopular film adaptation of the previous year.
Whilst all this is going on, the show then begins a subplot involving the internet *gasp* and how the killer is leaving hints as to their movements. Also, an unknown celebrity dubbed 'the King of Terror' who apparently has some amazing insight into the prophecies of Nostradamus, begins taunting Ando on the telephone. Meanwhile, the show hints at the presence of Sadako (Kimura Tae) and her involvement in everything, and Takano Mai (Yada Akiko) goes off on a mission to the middle of nowhere based on hints left in a very direct letter by the now deceased Takayama Ryuji. It's a hot mess. Not bereft of charm, but very much a case of trying to capitalise on the sudden popularity of the franchise whilst also throwing absolutely everything of any interest in the headlines at the time into the mix to create a story that is two thirds standard TV drama with a hearty dash of batshit craziness to top it off.
Of all that Rasen brings to the table, it's the internet subplot that I most like, despite the fact that it is clearly ripped out of a police show or one of those amateur detective dramas so popular at the time. In fact, a lot of the show feels like what later became the modern police procedural genre, but here, seeing glimpses of imaginary bulletin boards and the charm of what the internet was, it actually feels quite fun. Of course, it's also very sad when you think about the way in which that old internet is presently being bulldozed by companies who have no interest in preserving our heritage (case in point: yahoogroups), so, ah, enjoy this whilst we still have the context to understand what is happening.
I'm also curious to see if anything of Suzuki's later sequel, Loop influences this internet subplot because, well, Loop completely re-contextualises how we are expected to view Takayama and the circumstances both of his death at the end of Ring and the conclusion of Rasen. If I had one big criticism of the show, then it is that I don't really like how Ando's character is treated in this opening episode, and personally much preferred Sato Koichi's performance in Iida George's film version. Still, I'm willing to stick with this, if only because it's something I haven't seen yet and feels kind of new to me.
It's 50/50 as to whether I will write about the show ever again, but, ah, if I don't, you can assume that it failed to win me over.
