The gang is back for more hijinks one year after the series ended. Eita is the same grumbling guy as usual, Ono Machiko is having a strong awakening if her maternal instincts, Ayano Go runs into his old flame Usuda Asami and Maki Yoko is a MILF.
THE GOOD
- Usada Asami!!!!!
- You can't go wrong with Sakamoto Yuji dialogue and humour. The man can write fun arguments that is more about the speaker than the argument.
- Young Hayao Miyazaki. lol.
- The train conference. roflol.
- Eita and Ono Machiko are gold.
- Ono Machiko and Maki Yoko singing Shabondama! Not exactly old school momusu but close enough.
THE BAD
- I don't give a crap about Ayano Go's character. The only knock against the main series was that he and Maki Yoko turned into side characters when their story flamed out. They are both opposites of two extremes with flimsy excuses.
THE MEH
- The Soredemo Ikite Yuku ending though I'm was scared it would turn into Madoka movie 3.
SUMMARY
I don't think they could have done much better. Dorama specials are usually pure ratings grabs but are also due to fan who want to see more. How do you do a 1 1/2 hour story that's not a retread of the series but doesn't ruin it? Entertaining, but I would have been happy as well if it never existed in the first place.
i didnt like the ending of the sp since i wanted them to remarry. but i guess thats how it would have ended since the theme of the show is divorce and so they wont get remarried again. sure she gets her kid, hopefully while he still potentially can have a gf/lover who still loves him for the way he is.
ReplyDelete? but hatsukoi was subbed a long time ago complete in 2012.
and yes it was a good show. i liked it. sad ending though. :(
too bad for eriko sato pining for a guy that never rly loved her.
I think that the Hatsukoi that Chuks is subbing is a special in the Kita no Kuni Kara series.
ReplyDeleteAnd that really was a Soredemo Ikite Yuku ending, wasn't it? And I don't think it was just the Eita voice over that made it seem that way.
Oops, you are right. I only glanced at the heading. lol
ReplyDeleteRootabega sez:
ReplyDeleteI agree with Mike-san's summing up. I would like to add that the SUPERB production values evident throughout the series were seriously dialed back for the special. Everything about the special looked rushed (even some of the music was disappointing and cliche). The train interior was especially lacklustre. Sounds picky, but we're talking about a visual medium here. This is why specials are usually nothing but a superfluous attempt at fanservice.
Hey, dgundam, do you know why childbirth outside of the state of marriage is very, very rare in Japan? It's not due to social censure (nearly as much as it used to be). It's because no child born in wedlock in Japan can be registered in the birth register (koseki), which essentially makes the child non-existent. Unless you have the money (and balls) of Asada Mao, that makes going off on your own and having a baby pretty much a non-starter. I'm not kidding about the koseki laws, you can google this.
As far as Saikou no Rikon goes, there would be plenty of men around happy to "give" Yuka a baby, but it would take a VERY rare woman indeed who would appreciate a "special snowflake" like Mitsuo:)))
Rootabega again:
ReplyDeleteSorry, that was figure skater Ando Miki I was referring to above, not Asada Mao. I should qualify that kids born out of wedlock can be registered, but only if the father acknowledges paternity, and only in the father's koseki. And the language of the register entry will still be discriminatory (i.e., it is immediately apparent the child is "illegitimate"). This has led to a lot of hasty shotgun marriages in Japan. Some discriminatory practices have been outlawed very recently, but that is no comfort for all the children born before that (people with connections, like employers and educators, have the ways and means to snoop into outdated or former records).
Sakamoto Yuji has been addressing these issues with his recent doramas (albeit never mentioning the koseki explicitly), and that makes Saikou no Rikon an all too rare and relevant form of entertainment.
The koseki thing is never mentioned anytime a jdorama mother declares she wants to be a single mom.
ReplyDelete@ rootabega ya i kinda knew about that from watching that drama emi takei had with eguchi yosuke (forgot the title but it was from 2012 and was advertised as forbiden love between an underage young lady and a middle aged man lol) when she was that part timer baker who found out that she was never registered in the registry and the trouble she faced because of that. plus with jun kaname as her father who was a wife beater lol.
ReplyDeleteit sux about the registry system and the problems that come with it. but the registry has been there for a very long time and i dont see japan changing it anytime soon.
on a side note that drama was not good. a 6/10.
where is the eng sub available? I know I'm super late discovering this series but I kinda like the plot
ReplyDelete@Anon: It is still on d-addicts. https://www.d-addicts.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=146808
ReplyDelete