Ranting: A Jmovie & A Jdrama
**This entry may contain minor spoilers** omfg I love SPEC to bits
SPOILERS IN COMMENTS
Towards the end of last year, there weren't really any movies/dramas that seemed to appeal to me. Sometimes there would be a great plot, but by the second episode the drama would fail OR it would have a great cast, but the plot would make me grimace. I think it boils down to me watching too many dramas, having high expectations of a drama/actor/actress or me merely being insanely picky - which I believe is the real reason.
When I was beginning to lose hope, I stumbled across Parade & SPEC. It was pleasant to end the year with a great movie and a sensational drama. For the drama, SPEC, it had been the first time for a long time that I'd be curiously anticipating each episode. Those are the type of dramas that I love <3
PARADE
Starring: Koide Keisuke; Kanjiya Shihori; Karina; Fujiwara Tatsuya; Hayashi Kento {2009}
Parade is basically about four individuals sharing an apartment: Ryosuke (Keisuke), Kotomi (Shihori), Mirai (Karina) and Naoki (Tatsuya). They all leave separate lives, yet they live together under one roof that they all let Satoru (Kento) stay with them because they thought that they were one of the other roommate's friends - but in actuality, Satoru is a stranger who chooses to randomly reside in whatever apartment he can break into. In addition to their daily lives, there have been numerous assaults that have been carried out in their neighbourhood.
What makes this movie special is that they are their own individuals, but as the movie progresses you see that they genuinely care about each other. Another reason why this movie is love is because each roommate respects one another and despite their differences, accepts each individual for who they are. Each character has a flaw and by how it was smartly filmed, the viewer gets glimpses of each roommate's story. No one is perfect. The person, in my opinion, who I think has the most calm and collected life is Ryosuke -- but then he gets caught in an affair with his best friend's girlfriend.
For example, Kotomi spends most of her day lounging around in the apartment. She doesn't work, she isn't studying. All she does is stay home and watch television to stay tuned to a tv show, which her boyfriend is an actor in. Every time her boyfriend is free, she immediately gets out of the apartment to see him. What's cute is that you see Ryosuke on the sideline, worrying, questioning (not interrogating) Kotomi about her boyfriend and just being there for her. He doesn't lecture or criticize her at all. From this, it depicts that the house mates are close, but there is still an invisible privacy line between them.
I favoured the Kotomi x Ryosuke friendship the most in this movie. It was amusing to watch -- especially when they investigate how they think there's a 'whore house' next to their apartment.
I think I've only seen Shihori in Buzzer Beat and she was less quirky in this movie.
Keisuke, I've seen countless of times. I think Keisuke needs to get acknowledged for his acting more because he literally can act ANY role tossed at him. From gay timpani player in Nodame to serious samurai brother in JIN - this guy is amazing and you should definitely keep an eye out on him in the future.
Though, I have to say, I couldn't get over Hayashi Kento's role in this movie. I've briefly seen him in Mioka and witnessed him be a servant boy in Shokojo Seira, so seeing him act his character in this movie was a real flip for me to see. If you want to keep Hayashi's innocent and pure image in your head, then I advise you not to watch this movie xD
Karina? She was adorable, as usual. I really do have a soft spot for her. There's just something about her that catches my attention when she acts. Tatsuya. I can't really say much about him because this has to be the first form of media I've ever seen him act in. I haven't even seen Death Note yet. From Parade, he seems like a decent actor.
KEIZOKU 2: SPEC
Starring: Toda Erika; Kase Ryo; Fukuda Saki; Shirota Yu; Kamiki Ryunosuke; Shiina Kippei ; Ryu Raita {2010}
I'm a bit foggy with how this drama began, but I know that right in the beginning Sebumi Takeru (Kase Ryo) works for the police and during work, he finds himself in a sticky situation: his comrade, Shimura Yusaku, has a gun pointed at him. Yusaku fires the gun at Sebumi, and for some reason the bullet backfires and critically injures Yasuku instead, which lands him in a coma.
The police blame Sebumi for the shot and don't believe his side of the story, therefore demoting him to a lower police unit known to solve investigations that are deemed impossible - AKA cases that are beyond the norm and are 'supernatural'. The unit is composed of Toma Saya (Toda Erika) and Ryu Raita (Nonomura Kotaro).
Sebumi's character always follows the proper protocol, level-headed, is serious, wants things done the right way, is badass and will do what he has to do to get what he wants. When he gets tossed in the police unit, he is exposed to Toma Saya who is a silly genius, fails at seeing the obvious, has a sling from her previous case & is an absolute glutton - that disgusts Sebumi to no end.
Erika plays Toma perfectly. I've always considered Erika as an average actress, but watching this drama changed my opinion about her. There's just this charm/charisma she has, even when she's eating like a pig or pulling crazy faces. She portrayed her character well, from foolish moments to serious ones - especially when she'd have contact or Ninomae's name would be mentioned...you can see how strongly her facial expression changes.
(Man, Ninomae creeps me out. I think it's ever since I've watched Bloody Monday 2, his smile gives me the chills)
And, of course, Toma's ability to solve the cases. This is how she does it...
She possesses the SPEC ;D
One of the highlights in this drama is the interaction between the two leads: Sebumi and Toma. It's an interesting combination because their personalities are so different from each other. It's also adorable because it's clear, even though they don't state it, that they care about each other. It doesn't have to be necessarily romantically, but as work mates and friends.
For example, in this gif Toma is injured - but Sebumi immediately realises that she's not as sick as she makes it out to be...so he hits her. HAHA
Kinda obvious she's fine when you see so many empty bowls under Toma's bed. xD
Shiina Kippei. That actor is in quite a lot of dramas I've seen lately (Zeni Gema & GM). He always tends to be the crook and sly character. And we mustn't forget Shirota Yu, of course :P At first, I thought he was insignificant. Let's just say I was wrong...
& I couldn't help but giggle when I saw these two actors make appearances in the drama. Gokusen boy and AtaDan brother xD
ANYWAY, as a whole, the drama reminds me a bit of Heroes, but had less characters and had the right amount of humour/comic relief with not much exaggeration on the special effects and superpowers. I have to admit, I liked SPEC's story line better.
It was equally balanced. The pacing of the plot was great. The character interaction was fantastic and each episode would cause me to have more questions about what was going to occur next. The ending was sensational, with all the dots joining up. I'm not going to say anything else because I don't want to spoil it.
If you haven't seen this, I definitely recommend that you go watch it!!!!
Now that I've seen both Parade & SPEC, I was just wondering if anybody of you could recommend me any dramas/movies starring Kase Ryo or Fujiwara Tatsuya that you think I should really watch? Kase Ryo really stood out with his performance in SPEC, so I want to see some more of him. ;)
**will edit this another day
SPOILERS IN COMMENTS
Towards the end of last year, there weren't really any movies/dramas that seemed to appeal to me. Sometimes there would be a great plot, but by the second episode the drama would fail OR it would have a great cast, but the plot would make me grimace. I think it boils down to me watching too many dramas, having high expectations of a drama/actor/actress or me merely being insanely picky - which I believe is the real reason.
When I was beginning to lose hope, I stumbled across Parade & SPEC. It was pleasant to end the year with a great movie and a sensational drama. For the drama, SPEC, it had been the first time for a long time that I'd be curiously anticipating each episode. Those are the type of dramas that I love <3
PARADE
Starring: Koide Keisuke; Kanjiya Shihori; Karina; Fujiwara Tatsuya; Hayashi Kento {2009}
Parade is basically about four individuals sharing an apartment: Ryosuke (Keisuke), Kotomi (Shihori), Mirai (Karina) and Naoki (Tatsuya). They all leave separate lives, yet they live together under one roof that they all let Satoru (Kento) stay with them because they thought that they were one of the other roommate's friends - but in actuality, Satoru is a stranger who chooses to randomly reside in whatever apartment he can break into. In addition to their daily lives, there have been numerous assaults that have been carried out in their neighbourhood.
What makes this movie special is that they are their own individuals, but as the movie progresses you see that they genuinely care about each other. Another reason why this movie is love is because each roommate respects one another and despite their differences, accepts each individual for who they are. Each character has a flaw and by how it was smartly filmed, the viewer gets glimpses of each roommate's story. No one is perfect. The person, in my opinion, who I think has the most calm and collected life is Ryosuke -- but then he gets caught in an affair with his best friend's girlfriend.
For example, Kotomi spends most of her day lounging around in the apartment. She doesn't work, she isn't studying. All she does is stay home and watch television to stay tuned to a tv show, which her boyfriend is an actor in. Every time her boyfriend is free, she immediately gets out of the apartment to see him. What's cute is that you see Ryosuke on the sideline, worrying, questioning (not interrogating) Kotomi about her boyfriend and just being there for her. He doesn't lecture or criticize her at all. From this, it depicts that the house mates are close, but there is still an invisible privacy line between them.
I favoured the Kotomi x Ryosuke friendship the most in this movie. It was amusing to watch -- especially when they investigate how they think there's a 'whore house' next to their apartment.
I think I've only seen Shihori in Buzzer Beat and she was less quirky in this movie.
Keisuke, I've seen countless of times. I think Keisuke needs to get acknowledged for his acting more because he literally can act ANY role tossed at him. From gay timpani player in Nodame to serious samurai brother in JIN - this guy is amazing and you should definitely keep an eye out on him in the future.
Though, I have to say, I couldn't get over Hayashi Kento's role in this movie. I've briefly seen him in Mioka and witnessed him be a servant boy in Shokojo Seira, so seeing him act his character in this movie was a real flip for me to see. If you want to keep Hayashi's innocent and pure image in your head, then I advise you not to watch this movie xD
Karina? She was adorable, as usual. I really do have a soft spot for her. There's just something about her that catches my attention when she acts. Tatsuya. I can't really say much about him because this has to be the first form of media I've ever seen him act in. I haven't even seen Death Note yet. From Parade, he seems like a decent actor.
KEIZOKU 2: SPEC
Starring: Toda Erika; Kase Ryo; Fukuda Saki; Shirota Yu; Kamiki Ryunosuke; Shiina Kippei ; Ryu Raita {2010}
I'm a bit foggy with how this drama began, but I know that right in the beginning Sebumi Takeru (Kase Ryo) works for the police and during work, he finds himself in a sticky situation: his comrade, Shimura Yusaku, has a gun pointed at him. Yusaku fires the gun at Sebumi, and for some reason the bullet backfires and critically injures Yasuku instead, which lands him in a coma.
The police blame Sebumi for the shot and don't believe his side of the story, therefore demoting him to a lower police unit known to solve investigations that are deemed impossible - AKA cases that are beyond the norm and are 'supernatural'. The unit is composed of Toma Saya (Toda Erika) and Ryu Raita (Nonomura Kotaro).
Sebumi's character always follows the proper protocol, level-headed, is serious, wants things done the right way, is badass and will do what he has to do to get what he wants. When he gets tossed in the police unit, he is exposed to Toma Saya who is a silly genius, fails at seeing the obvious, has a sling from her previous case & is an absolute glutton - that disgusts Sebumi to no end.
Erika plays Toma perfectly. I've always considered Erika as an average actress, but watching this drama changed my opinion about her. There's just this charm/charisma she has, even when she's eating like a pig or pulling crazy faces. She portrayed her character well, from foolish moments to serious ones - especially when she'd have contact or Ninomae's name would be mentioned...you can see how strongly her facial expression changes.
(Man, Ninomae creeps me out. I think it's ever since I've watched Bloody Monday 2, his smile gives me the chills)
And, of course, Toma's ability to solve the cases. This is how she does it...
She possesses the SPEC ;D
One of the highlights in this drama is the interaction between the two leads: Sebumi and Toma. It's an interesting combination because their personalities are so different from each other. It's also adorable because it's clear, even though they don't state it, that they care about each other. It doesn't have to be necessarily romantically, but as work mates and friends.
For example, in this gif Toma is injured - but Sebumi immediately realises that she's not as sick as she makes it out to be...so he hits her. HAHA
Kinda obvious she's fine when you see so many empty bowls under Toma's bed. xD
Shiina Kippei. That actor is in quite a lot of dramas I've seen lately (Zeni Gema & GM). He always tends to be the crook and sly character. And we mustn't forget Shirota Yu, of course :P At first, I thought he was insignificant. Let's just say I was wrong...
& I couldn't help but giggle when I saw these two actors make appearances in the drama. Gokusen boy and AtaDan brother xD
ANYWAY, as a whole, the drama reminds me a bit of Heroes, but had less characters and had the right amount of humour/comic relief with not much exaggeration on the special effects and superpowers. I have to admit, I liked SPEC's story line better.
It was equally balanced. The pacing of the plot was great. The character interaction was fantastic and each episode would cause me to have more questions about what was going to occur next. The ending was sensational, with all the dots joining up. I'm not going to say anything else because I don't want to spoil it.
If you haven't seen this, I definitely recommend that you go watch it!!!!
Now that I've seen both Parade & SPEC, I was just wondering if anybody of you could recommend me any dramas/movies starring Kase Ryo or Fujiwara Tatsuya that you think I should really watch? Kase Ryo really stood out with his performance in SPEC, so I want to see some more of him. ;)
**will edit this another day