I can't not write about Kaseifu no Mita getting 40% rating for the last episode. The last time it happened was Beautiful Life back in 2000, back when KimuTaku was king of ratings. As I wrote at in my 2011 fall roundup, I just find in incomprehensible that Mita managed to average 20+%. WTF is so entertaining about watching this stupid badly acted family giving stupid orders to Mita over and over when they know that she will take it literally and cause havok?
As I said, the definition of stupid is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. I could see it working if the show was more black comedy instead of trying to be cute comedy. I kept watching until episode 7, hoping that having Natsushima Nanako, Suzuki sensei and the writer of Jyoou no Kyoushitsu would turn things around.
Episode 7 was supposed to be this huge payoff with Suzuki sensei breaking down but it was so artificial and contrived. The dialogue and the characters just never felt natural. The whole scene with Suzuki sensei trying to bawl his eyes out and trying to say dialogue that belonged in an afternoon soap opera. It just did not have that heartfelt conviction. Well, the whole build up sucked anyway. I could understand if the characters get desperate enough that they felt they had no choice but to use Mita but the desperation was never palatable.
I tried to watch the remaining episodes just to see what caused the 40% viewership but clearly I am unable to see in Mita what 40% of Japanese like. What I see is just a family dorama that tried to manufacture touching moments without organic execution. Its like the director pointing to the audience. "Here's rousing music with some corny lines and bad crying. Aren't you moved?"
I am moved when the characters feel real. Characters feel real when they have a personality, not a distinct role like Urara. Character have personality when the dialogue is flows naturally and the acting is good. Compare the kids in Mita with the kids in Suzuki sensei. Sure they say stuff that seem outrageous for middle school kids but the acting is so good that the characters believe what they are saying and its not just for the sake of setting something up.
It is interesting to note that unlike the big rating doramas back in the 'golden era', Mita is not a romance story. Off the top of my head, there haven't been good straight forward boy meets girl doramas with the exception of KDO. now that's a show that deserves to get 40% rating. Perhaps something about family values in Mita that has captured the attention of Japanese audiences?
9 comments:
I hear you!! I stopped watching after Ep5, cannot believe that I actually forced myself to watch till Ep5...... I was thinking to myself, something different is going to happen soon, soon, anytime soon... and nothing. *sigh*
hahahaha I stopped after 1.
*does victory lap*
Doing something wrong again and again, that's why we are human being. Do you make the same mistakes in your life? I believe most people do. The drama is to show the love that can change people. But I think the reason of such a high rating is that this drama shows the realistic problems of Japan society.
BTW, AKB seems like a joke of every dramas.
Perhaps something about family values in Mita that has captured the attention of Japanese audiences?
I think you just got it. Maybe a lot of Japanese families are breaking down and they need a Mita to come in and do crazy things to get the family back in order.
I think it was also the first time I've ever seen Nanako in a role like this. Usually she plays beautiful types or rich types or snobby types, not dark and brooding types.
The Queen's classroom is STILL my favorite drama though. It had the total package and felt really natural.
I totally agree that the crying scene n the most contrived dialogue that went with it was just ridiculous. How the hell did the director call 'cut!ok!'beats me. the audience liked it bc there was still some realness to it.like when suzuki sensei said he wasn't sure if he loved her (the little kid)i guess it just stopped all that real stuff n went all tv-ish.
Forgot to mention that if I had not scene Suzuki sensei in Suzuki sensei and Second Virgin, I would have thought he was a crap actor based on Mita.
I enjoyed Matsushima in this drama (and later on enjoyed her when she was allowed to show emotion in GTO). But the family was really crappy, and I didn't much care for them or their performances.
With the same creative people behind it and lots of similarities in the main characters, I wish that the wonderful Jyou no Kyoushitsu was the show to have gotten the 40% rating. Unlike Kaseifu, the supporting cast (the schoolchildren) was excellent. Plus, Akutsu-sensei used her cold and emotionless persona to help the class, whereas Mita was just sad and miserable and had to be saved by the crappy family she worked for.
I've read some people's opinions that Mita got such high ratings because the theme of rebuilding the family echoed the rebuilding after the big earthquake, but who knows. I did enjoy the show somewhat, but that was because of Matsushima, and despite everyone else.
My theory is that the high rating is related to all the Stop-Motion porn I see from Japan. Japanese men seem to have an obsession with using a remote control to stop time for sex (which makes a woman like a robot/doll). Then they do nasty stuff to her.
Mita-san reminds me of that type of porn. Too bad the son had to undress her in the living room, so of course someone could walk in on him. If that scene went further, then it would have been worth watching.
I'm pretty sure there will be a Mita parody JAV coming out soon. lol
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