Towards the end of ep 2, when Tokiwa Doken won the bid, I got really excited when Ogata proclaimed that their price was too low and Tokiwa Doken was basically ignoring profits. The boss of Ichitani-gumi then surmised that someone must have been backing them in order for them to be willing to take the project at a lost.
Here was Tokiwa Doken, proclaiming that they are clean and doing things above the law when in fact they are a front for someone else. I thought it would be just like politicians running an anti corruption campaign but using it get rid of opposition party members and rivals within their own party. I was enthused at the prospect of Tokiwa Doken and their anonymous backers being the true villains of this show.
Unfortunately, I was wrong and Tokiwa Doken were who they said they were. I understand the need for red herrings but in this case, the Tokiwa Doken red herring presented the possibility or a very layered story when in fact the story of Tetsu no hone turned up to be a much more straightforward one. Did I miss an obvious clue somewhere between the end of episode 2 and the ending where the suspicions of how Tokiwa Doken won the bid were cleared?
To say that I felt that the wind had been taken out of the sails is an understatement. I had at the end of episode two seen Tetsu no Hone for what it was not and paid the price for it. The question now is, why did the writer leave such a purposefully misleading ending for episode 2? Now that I know what Tetsu no Hone is, it is difficult for me to have an opinion because my expectations were completely wiped out.
If they had cleared out the Tokiwa Doken red herring in ep 3, I would not have minded the way the story went. Still, Tetsu no Hone will be remembered as the dorama that showed Koike Teppei could act and that is quiet an achievement.
Haha I too think the most excitement moment in the show was when Ogata uttered, "too low!". That was his best acting.
ReplyDeleteI can see why you were excited about the show if you were expecting Tokiwa Doken to be a front for a large group. I know that possibility was hinted by Ogata in episode 3 somewhere, but it was never explored.
Had there actually been a powerful opposing group to the collusion consortium backing Tokiwa Doken, that would've definitely made the show more edgy. Maybe that would've required a few more episodes to unfold.
Anyway, this was a pretty good show nonetheless. Not Wowow material, and I think Teppei did a fine job acting, but I couldn't stop thinking how he and his gf seem to be odd ones out among the cast otherwise filled with veterans. Makes me wonder who else could've been a better fit.
unrelated post...
ReplyDeleteWas anyone able to get past ep 6-7 of Taisetsu na Koto wa...?
After the anti climatic revelation in ep 4, this show has degenerated in to smouldering pile of turd sitting on German shelf-toilet.
Maybe 5 was watchable... but it's a torture now. Anybody else?
I'm glad I'm not the only one who saw the huge possibility of that hint and thought it could have been my own expectations making me see something that wasn't there.
ReplyDeleteI'm not in a hurry to continue watching Taisetsu na koto, especially after someone mentioned that the story moves very fast in 3-5. I don't see any possible revelation that could bring the series in an interesting new direction.