Byakukayou ep 1 + 2

Probably the best 1st episode that I've ever scene. Byakuyakou tells of two kids, a boy and a girl who become friends but have an unknown connection between them. The boy's mom is having an affair with her employee and his father is just plain ignorant of it. The girl's mom is an alcoholic with debts and in order to help pay off the debt, the girl is forced into child pornography. The ironic twist is that the paedophile happens to be the boy's father.

Sounds intriguing doesn't it? If it does, go download the bloody episode. Trust me, its that fucking good.

SPOILERS BEWARE


Fukuda Mayuko deserves awards from her work in ep 1 alone. She and Shida Mirai are going to top actresses in another 5-10 years.

Fukuda Mayuko (Shindo Hikaru from Jyoou) is an absolute delight in her role as Yukiho. As I've said in my posts about Jyoou, she's got depth in her acting. She manages to convey the pain and suffering that Yukiho goes through not by crying, but by laughing. It is in Yukiho's deperation to seek a bit of happiness that we can only imagine how much unhappiness she bears.

My one big complaint is that they should not have made the 1st episode 1 1/2 hours. They should have left the killing of the father at the end of ep 1 and end ep 2 with the two main characters deciding to separate. So much happened in the first ep. The pacing was fast like a movie but the normal pacing of ep 2 made it feel a bit uneven.

Another problem with character continuity is that we never see Yukiho break down when she was young. She was more of the super quiet don't show ppl ur weakness type of person. The only thing to establish that they are the same person is the fingernail biting habit.

IMO, Fukuda Mayuko's performance is so good that 1 episode is not enough to establish the continuity of character from her potrayal to Ayase Haruka's. I'll reserve judgement on Ayase Haruka's acting until later in the series. I'm not sure whether I'm so impressed with Fukada Mayuko's acting because of her age or despite of her age.

Maybe they should work the Kinpachi sensei ringtone into the series...

Of note is Kinpachi sensei in the role of the detective who won't let the case go. The most important thing for his character is that he must have a story. If he's just a stubborn cop who's just doing his job, the next 9 eps might not be as exciting. And of course there's the problem of already revealing the ending.


Lol, I love this homage/spoof of 101 Proposals. While the scene is a bit out of place, I just love it. Nothing is as cool and funny as the 'boku wa shinimasen' scene.

Personally, I'm expecting the rest of the series will not match up to the greatness of the 1st ep. Ep 2 is cool. I love the way they fought back against the blackmail. The problem is they will keep things interesting until the end. If the only story is about our main characters having to do more desperate stuff while the detective slowly catches on, it might be a little boring. Still, the 1st episode is so good that I'm planning to see this series through to the end. And hey, I love doramas about misery and ppl's deperate attempt to escape from their fate. It makes me feel better about my crappy life.