Aiba Drama Review: Last Hope

I think among all of Arashi, Aiba has the worst luck with dramas.

What always seems to happen is he gets something that sounds really interesting on paper, but in execution just falls flat. Half the time it has nothing to do with whether or not he can act.

Last Hope is about a band of specialist doctors (with tragic/confusing PASTS!) who work together at a center that specializes in cases other doctors have rejected. They are the patients’ ‘last hope’, something they never fail to mention (I’m talking every single episode, to the point that it’s lampshaded by the characters).  To solve these cases they use “cutting edge medical technology”. They deal with the aforementioned pasts and “help each other”. They also wrestle with heavy questions about Japan’s medical system, about life and death and ethics etc.

It sounds good, right? Having a tragic past is a bit of cliche, but it can work well, if it’s done properly, right? In fact, the reveal of one of these “pasts” left me completely floored.

Then why, WHY is it so boring?

(SPOILER ALERT!!! This review contains major plot spoilers – basically I’m spoiling Aiba’s ending – as in every detail. Also, this review focuses mainly on Aiba’s story arc more than the others.)

Rurouni Kenshin at Last.

I waited for this forever. I still remember when I read that this live-action version of Rurouni Kenshin was going to happen. When some beloved childhood (or in my case, high-school age) show is going to be remade, there’s always a profusion of excitement and dread. My first thought was some scrambled nonsense that can be roughly translated as, “Eff yeah! But wait, that’s impossible!”

First of all, it’s an anime, so a lot of what goes on is physically impossible. You can’t have people flying around, screaming out attacks without looking silly, even if you employ all the CGI in the world. Second, it’s a classic and that always comes with an ingrained bias of, “you will never live up to my beloved anime”. Third, who in their right mind would want to take on the pressure of becoming such a beloved character as Himura Kenshin?

I gotta say, they did a fantastic job. Rather than make me cringe, or make me sad, this movie made me love the anime even more. Frankly, seeing these characters exist in real-life, even on screen, gave me goosebumps.

Rurouni Kenshin began as a manga and was then quickly made into a classic anime. I couldn’t tell you its whole history, only my history in regards to it.

(Some major spoilers ahead. I beg of you, watch this movie.)

The Ikemen-Prince and his Lady

IKEMEN PRINCE: a character who is so pretty/talented/rich that he is allowed, even invited, to be a complete jerk to everyone. He will always get the token ‘lady’ (and there is always only ONE regardless of how many females are around) because he’s TORTURED IN SOME WAY and therefore hawt. He needs to be “understood”, not punched or told to shut the hell up. He expresses himself rudely, often violently, but when he’s nice, he’s the sweetest, most romantic man in the world. Factor in the pretty and you’re probably doomed. 

HIS ‘LADY’ – a pretty, clumsy, naive, sweet girl who has the power to teach everyone the goodness of love/hope/dreams etc. even though she doesn’t really do anything (except HER BEST). She has everything handed to her at some point, but she deserves it because of her TRAGIC past. She will either be constantly, bafflingly genki about everything, or will fall apart and cheered up. Absolutely everyone will fall in love with her, but she always goes for the tortured one who treats her badly.

I just finished watching Ikemen Desu ne, a moderately popular J-drama involving a girl who must disguise herself as a boy to join a Johnny’s clone group in place of her brother. Inevitably, the group members find out and lots of love-triangle-y hell breaks loose.

Yeah, do I even need to warn you about spoilers here? I mean, this format has been done to death. We all know that she acts, looks (well YMMV on that one) and sings nothing like a boy but everyone is completely shocked when they find out. Of course, by then they all adore her and so MUST protect her at all costs, etc. You’ve got the Nakatsu genki blonde best-friend, who will never, ever get the girl, who falls for her before he even knows she’s a girl; you’ve got the Rui quiet, kind, rescuer one who will never, ever get the girl, whose heart will be brutally and repeatedly beaten by the time the show is done.

Then there is the Domyouji Ikemen Prince character.
He doesn’t like her at all. In fact, he hates her guts and treats her as badly as possible.
And therefore it is true love.
*facepalm*

Even with all this, you know what? I still really enjoyed it.

(This post may contain some spoilers.)

Maou Part One: Serizawa vs Naruse

As I mentioned in the intro post, Maou looks like a straightforward murder mystery until you dig a little deeper. Which I did, because I enjoyed the drama enough to watch it multiple times and because I am THAT sort of fan. One of the most intriguing things about Maou is the relationship between Serizawa Naoto and Naruse Ryou. To the public, Naruse is known as the ‘angel’ lawyer, a gentle and brilliant man who helps the innocent. Serizawa is a detective, the brash and impulsive son of a rich man. Aside from the law, it seems as though these two have no connection at all. They don’t even technically meet for ten years.

But you see, Naruse hates Naoto.
Because Naoto killed his brother.
While Naoto got to keep on living, Naruse’s family was destroyed. Revenge became his entire life, his entire being. He became ‘maou’ (a devil).

[Spoiler Warning!!! This entry is chock full, so unless you don’t mind, watch Maou before you read this!]

MatsuJun Drama Review: Kimi wa Pet

The drama that most people associate with Matsumoto Jun is ‘Hana Yori Dango’ because its popularity is overwhelming and Jun is very good at playing the mean-arrogant-jerk-who-is-actually-the-passionate-misunderstood-jerk. The guy is amazing at the romantic, longing stare and (despite the continual hair issues) is very charming. I don’t think I’ve ever seen him be more engaging and likeable than in Kimi wa Pet.

I’m not trying to bash HyD. I loved it, like most others, I just think Gouda Takeshi is arguably a more complex character than Domijouji. His relationship with Sumire has all the snark and passion of Domiyouji and Makino’s, but with a much more interesting dynamic – she keeps him as a pet.

(Warning: Many spoilers ahead. These are my long, rambled musings. I will be including caps and some summary. Go see the drama first, if you don’t want anything spoiled.)

Cliff notes version of this post: The drama is awesome even though the concept is crazy, MatsuJun is great in it and it’s got a fantastic manga that YOU MUST READ.