Faaaaark, ep 3 is so good. One thing that's been bothering me is how come there's always two doctors in the consulting room with Koharu everytime she goes to the hospital? I guess both doctors will figure heavily into Koharu's life in later episodes. I take back all criticisms I had of the pear thing because we finally find out what happened to Oguri Shun! Stop reading if you haven't watched it.
Oguri Shun is a chikan! I think Snoop said it showed up in a newspaper in ep 2. Mountaineering, nice dad touched up some high school girl (pretty obvious who it is), dropped the pears and may have been pushed. I kind of don't want them to disprove the chikan thing. Ties in with the theme of good people do bad things and bad people do good things.
Like the revelation that Koharu's dad physically abused his mom. He was violent towards his wife but he raised Koharu by himself for 10 years after that. Pretty sure he didn't abuse her unless Koharu repressed it that much. She probably repressed any memory that hinted her mom was abused.
Kobayashi Kaoru aka Shinya Shokudo is awesome as the step-father. Great source of humour, especially with the kids and you always need some humour with an ultra-serious dorama like this but earnest in his performance. Watching him act as the buffer between mother and daughter, I couldn't help but pity and laugh at him at the same time.
Speaking of the mother-daughter confrontation. That was some awesome slow building smorgasboard of hidden emotions and outbursts. This is the type of scene that any actor in Japan should sacrifice money and CM deals to do. I can just imagine the actors getting the script and thinking 'this is awesome and I'm going to be an emotional wreck after this'.
Nikaido Fumi who was in Sono Sion's Himizu is not bad but Mitsushima Hikari's facial reaction to what her step-sister said is what acting awards were created for. I was going to write about Hanzawa Naoki but furransu had just uploaded ep 3 and there was no stopping me. Good doramas make me happy. Didn't understand Shinya Shokudo's joke though. The 90s may be the golden age of trendy doramas but did they ever have emotionally gripping doramas like this?
wow....i hope they keep ogura shins character a chikan. that would be an amazing new role for him :P
ReplyDeletehmm so im guessing the girl killed him thats why she feels guilty and getting close to koharu? O.O
quick question, wats your thoughts on the show namonaki doku? im just curioues how koizumi is doing since its rare for him to be rare lead. plus it also has kuninaka ryoko starring :P
i havent rly looked at hanzawa naoki since i dont like sakai masato as an actor. he only has one mode of emote, that squinting/glaring look he always has on.
First I thought he could't be a molester. That he got caught up in this situation. After this episode I'm not so sure anymore. It seems that looks can be deceiving. Memories/ impressions are not always the truth...
ReplyDeleteThe confrontation between Koharu anf her mother was sooo intense! Her mother was acting like a damaged child and then Shiori struck hard! It became clear, but it's hardly Koharu's fault, all of this...
Wow, compared to ep 2, I really liked the subtle impact drawing out at the end of this episode while the bulk of it in general was restful and calm.
ReplyDeleteThis drama is good enough without the hospital/welfare people/Chi-chan as their weakness in acting (or maybe the scenario they've been assigned) only seem to remind us that Woman is a drama. When I watch the main characters, I forget I'm even watching something that is fictional.
If one criticism, it would be the reflection of Koharu's face on the glass where her mother is. They could have just had one shot of that instead of two/three because it makes me feel like the director is trying too hard and the stage becomes too conscious.
@ Anon You should totally check out Hanzawa as I had the same impression of him as you do and even though that still may be true, you will be too entertained by the execution and plot of the drama to really be bothered by his presence. He has a certain charismatic air about him/his character despite his limited ability to convey standard facial expressions and basic human emotions.
There seriously aren't many actors like Mitsushima around that are able to surpass expectations that weren't even there to begin with.
Back to the story, I hope that Oguri isn't only a molester, but there should be another reveal on top of that for the story to actually be interesting because most of us by now have digested that idea of him being one.
If he isn't a molester I am going to be a tad disappointed.
Anon 1 - Too early to say with Namonaki Doku. Its your typical mystery dorama with red herrings thrown at you left and right.
ReplyDeleteAnon 2 - I like your line about forgetting you're watching something fictional.