Sunday, 19 April 2009

"Smile" スマイルのー話を見た!

すげえええ~~

Wow.

Initial response. Wow. Let me just say, that I've never cried in the first episode of a drama before - not even for '1 Litre of Tears.' It was Episode 3 before I cried completely. As an immediate birthday present to myself, I watched the first episode of Smile (finally). It was unsubbed however, but with my limited knowledge of the Japanese language (you'd think that after almost 6 years of studying it, I'd be getting somewhere), and google translator, I managed.

This looks very, very promising. =D Very promising. I like it. I like Gakky, I like Jun's role and so far I'm very much appreciative of the pace and story line. This is so far quite intriguing and かわいい! I'm very glad that this drama isn't fearful to directly bring racial prejudice to the surface, especially within primordial systems such as law enforcement and the judicial system. At first I couldn't believe it, I didn't think that they'd be so bold and blatant about it but everytime I heard "Fuiripin Yaro!!" (roughly translated, 'Filipino bastard!') and saw Jun's face, I cringed. I mean, it's my own race getting persecuted here.

My beloved Jun isn't doing doing a bad job (like he could), I'm loving how he's portraying his dastardly situation: with hope, but there's a frailty to his character (as seen in the end where he's crying in HMV), like he's not the invincible Domyouji who dares defy the world, I welcome the change. The only problem I have is his expressions might be too intense? I don't know, maybe I'm just being apathetic and unable to relate to the situation. But there's more light and shade in his acting :) I also love Gakky! How cute is she! "The pig will make your wishes an dreams come true," めちゃめちゃかわいいじゃん!I did love the end though, I was waiting for the customary MatsuJun scream. "YAMERO!!!"

Classic.

Also, Oguri Shun - I might take back what I said about typecasting earlier. However, I hope he doesn't turn out to be like Yamapi, who although doesn't typecast, as in play the same type of character, he plays different characters the same way. :/ Interesting look for Oguri Shun though (not the long black hair) but the short carrot top with the earring. About the soundtrack, and my earlier comments. Hmm, I'm quite torn with the sountrack. The theme is sweet, yes, and I am compelled to like it (especially with all those babies in the background of the opening credits), but hmm, that Shiina Ringo's voice is a bit too...I don't want to say annoying, but I'm not accustomed to the style. But it fits, so I'll leave it at that.

Random points of interest...a) Marlon Brando, I didn't understand the conversation in whole, so hearing Marlon Brando pop up was rather random b) "Blue" being played in HMV. LOL That song came out when I was seven years old, natsukashii ne. Also, I'm loving the fact that Bito's dream is to open a restaurant that serves international cuisine - a point to note that he wishes to celebrate his biracial origins in his own way, that can be approved and accepted in such a xenophobic society.

I am really looking forward to the next episode of this drama!

Here's the link to watch it yo! (without subs, sorry)
http://smilejdrama.blogspot.com

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