Recommended: The Last Chance: Diary of Comedians

Well, they do say that the secret to comedy is timing, and I’d say watching this film about a failed comedy duo on the same day that I found out that a production company weren’t going to follow up a pilot episode made by myself and a friend was probably the reason I found it impossible to watch this film without tears rolling down my face.

I am a big softie for films about the entertainment industry, such as some of the early Mitani Kouki films, or The Woodsman and the Rain. I find myself totally empathising with the naive, hopeful amateur who thinks they only need one chance to prove themselves.

This film follows the career of a lowly comedy duo, Boso Swimmers, as they struggle through their twelfth year in showbusiness while trying not to get jealous as other, younger comedy teams become more successful. They decide to put everything into one comedy competition: their final roll of the dice.

The two main roles, played by Ito Atsushi and Koide Keisuke, are excellent. Especially Koide Keisuke who is one of my favourite actors, and really impresses as the less talented but more motivated of the two. They are supported by a great cast, including Nagasawa Masami and a wide range of Japanese comedians in various roles. Plus, a quick nod of appreciation to 8thSin for the excellent subtitles.

It’s funny and touching, especially if you’ve ever thought you might have stood a chance in the slightly absurd world of entertainment. It’s all about whether it’s better to prefer a comforting dream over grim reality. A cruel choice that most of us have to face in some way.

It's the 2nd Annual November The Eighth Awards!

It's been two years since I started this blog, so here's my second post in which I highlight the best stuff I've seen in the last twelve months. You know, I spent most of this year thinking that I haven't enjoyed watching J-dramas so much as I did last year. And then I sat down to write this, and remembered all the excellent stuff I'd seen.

And just like before, this is based on things I've seen in the last year, not just things that have been released last year.


Best drama
Furuhata Ninzaburo
Jin & Jin 2
Marks no Yama
Soredemo, Ikite Yuku

Perhaps it's a little unfair to bundle the two series of Jin together, but that's how I watched them: I finished series one just as series two was beginning. And I adored this show. The adventures of a time-travelling doctor in 19th century Japan may not be the most challenging or thoughtful television, but it was done with wit and charm and the ending didn't disappoint. Furuhata Ninzaburo remains agonisingly un-subbed which is a real shame, since the four episodes that I saw made me keen to see more. Marks No Yama was by far the best crime series of the year, and Soredemo, Ikite Yuku was an emotionally-charged drama with some great acting.

Best Drama: Jin and Jin 2

Best comedy
Reinoryokusha Odagiri Kyoko no Uso
Yuusha Yoshihiko to Maou no Shiro
Tiger and Dragon


Yuusha Yoshihiko to Maou no Shiro was a blissful romp through RPG cliches, and Ishihara Satomi once again showed she can do comedy better than drama in Reinryokusha... but the winner of this category was Tiger and Dragon, a sharp, intelligent work that has become my favourite Japanese comedy of all.

Best comedy: Tiger and Dragon

Best film
Parade
Live Tape
Memories of Matsuko
Love Exposure

Do I have to chose between these? Really? We've got four works of genius here. Parade is a perfect example of Generation X slacker film-making – cool, distant but interesting and funny. Live Tape is indie DIY cinema at its best – a cameraman follows a busker around some city streets. Watching Love Exposure is like speed dating at a psychiatric ward. But Memories of Matsuko wins against these excellent competitors by being emotional and romantic and cynical and cruel. But most of all, by being beautiful.

Best film: Memories of Matsuko

Best actor
Kubozuka Yosuke (Long Love Letter)
Keisuke Koide (Parade)
Eita (Soredemo Ikite Yuku)

Eita takes all the plaudits as the guy between two families who've both been destroyed by a motiveless murder that happened years ago, and it's through him that the viewer is expected to view both sides of the story. Without him holding it together, the whole story would quickly fall to pieces. Kubozuka Yosuke's performance in Long Love Letter is a masterclass in understated cool and when he's on the screen, it's hard to look at anything else. Keisuke Koide has a similar energy in the film Parade, in which he effortlessly holds your attention.

Best Actor: Eita (Soredemo, Ikite Yuku)

Best actress
Nakatani Miki (Memories of Matsuko)
Naka Riisa (Cafe Isobe)
Mitsushima Hikari (Love Exposure)

Nakatani Miki's perfect portrayal of the permanently defeated Matsuko was the real hook for that film. She really made you share in Matsuko's optimism, which made it all the harder when things inevitably went wrong. Naka Riisa was great as the schoolgirl who watches in despair as her father make a fool of himself over a woman. Mistushima Hikari's performance in Love Exposure is also a tour de force, a remarkable source of energy that keeps you watching for the whole four hours.

Best actress: Nakatani Miki

Best game show
Running Man
Family Outing
Vs Arashi
Game Center CX

No real competition here. Once I've downloaded an episode of Running Man, I can't have it sitting on my hard drive unwatched. I have to see it immediately, which usually means I'm awake until half past one on a weekday morning. Which is no bad thing. This cross between a game show and a Hollywood blockbuster is always entertaining and at its best, it's the closest that television gets to being a rollercoaster.

Vs Arashi is all bright colours and knockabout fun, and very easy to follow, no matter what your level of Japanese. Family Outing is a glorious example of how a TV show can build a relationship with the viewer. And Game Center CX remains a lot of fun to watch, as Arino struggles through various retro video games. And it's still a perfect analogy of my life – middle-aged man fights battles he should've left behind when he was young.

Best game show: Running Man

Best album
Bump of Chicken "Cosmonaut"
SpecialThanks "Seven Lovers"
Dear Cloud "The Bright Lights"
Organic Stereo "The Moments Linger"
Kokia "moment"

For the second year in a row, my favourite album from Japan is my favourite album full stop. Bump of Chicken's “Cosmonaut” continues their impeccable track record. Perhaps not as immediate as “Orbital Period”, but still a great album which has never been away from my mp3 player for long. At the time of writing, it's also the last time I bought an actual CD.

SpecialThanks are all youthful energy, crashing guitars, female vocals and catchy punkish tunes. It's very hard to find anything wrong with that. Korean music makes an appearance with Dear Cloud offering bright vocals and big choruses that would fill a stadium, if only they had the chance. Organic Stereo's album was a little bit ambient and a little bit pop, with a series of dreamy instrumentals, each one of which sounded like the soundtrack to a happy ending. Lastly, Kokia's album “moment” was a folk-tinged collection of ballads with lush production values and some achingly melancholy harmonies.

Best album: Bump of Chicken "Cosmonaut"

Safe pair of hands award

This award is for people who consistently choose good shows to appear in

Yoo Jae Suk (Running Man, Family Outing)
Nakatani Miki (Memories of Matsuko, Jin, Jin 2, Densha Otoko, Keizoku)
Keisuke Koide (Parade, Jin, Jin 2, Surely Someday)
Mitsushima Hikari (Love Exposure, Moteki, Sawako Decides, Kakera, Villain, Soredemo Ikite Yuku)

I was a bit late in discovering Mitsushima Hikari. I checked her filmography and I saw that she was in Death Note and Shaolin Girl, but I can't say I noticed her in either. But this year I caught up with her recent film work and, by God, she's got good taste. From her minor role in Villain as the obnoxious murder victim to her central role in Love Exposure, it seems she can do no wrong.

She beats some strong opposition: Yoo Jae Suk is a brilliant presenter who's kept me entertained through some tough times this year. Nakatani Miki holds a special place in my heart for her roles in Matsuko and Keizoku. And Keisuke Koide showed me how wasted he was in Nodame Cantabile with some great performances.

Safe pair of hands: Mitsushima Hikari

Just finished: Perfect Report

 Well, don't I feel foolish for suggesting people watch this.

* spoilers *

After several entertaining episodes of journalistic investigation, this show suddenly slams on the brakes and dawdles to a conclusion. After episode seven, the pace of the show and the constant banter and jokes are replaced by flashbacks, people reflecting on their actions, a noble team spirit born from adversity, and remarkable lack of any real stories to investigate. For example, the mysterious suicide of a potential informer just turns out to be a misunderstanding. He wasn't killed by malevolent forces – he just slipped while enjoying the view from the top of a building.

No, I'm not joking.

In the void left by the absence of any investigations, we're left with one scene after another in which the characters look dignified or learn something valuable about themselves. Violins and pianos fill the soundtrack to hammer home how emotional it is, and while all this is happening, nothing actually happens.

The boss, Aoyama-san spends most of the last three episodes talking in a whisper. This is supposed to demonstrate how upset she is about the recent turn of events but it got a bit tedious towards the end.

This series had a promising beginning and while the members of the team disliked each other, it was an entertaining show. But that's the thing about drama: sad people are more interesting than happy people, and once the team became friends, the show lost its main strength.

Currently watching: Perfect Report

From a distance, this is just like a number of other J-dramas. A strong female boss who leads a ramshackle group of misfits in a department that no one takes seriously. Also, this boss has a dark secret in her early career that explains her unusual managerial style and her lack of progress in the organisation.

In this case, the setting is a newsroom, and the boss is a no-nonsense, free spirit who ignores the showbiz stories that she is supposed to follow and instead sends her staff out to cover more hard-hitting stuff like politics and crime. However, her bosses tolerate her because she gets results.

Reading back what I've just written, I admit it doesn't seem so great. I've just described a pretty ordinary J-drama, with nothing in particular to make it stand out from the crowd. Also, the ratings were poor and it remained unsubbed for about a year before someone finally picked it up. None of these things inspire confidence.

But instead I find myself enjoying this quite a lot. Matsuyuki Yasuko is good in the lead role, and Koide Keisuke impresses as the new member on the team – a career-centred reporter who works almost as a spy, letting his bosses know what is going on in the team. Kohinata Fumiyo pops up in his usual role as genial elder, but this time he is a little cynical and bitter. But Aibu Saki really makes an impression as the image-obsessed failed TV presenter who's been relegated to the team after an on-screen mistake over a famous politician's name.

The comedy is kept low-key, and the stories are interesting. I'm not sure why this drama has been forgotten. It does itself no favours by looking exactly like a lot of other dramas, but just because it's made according to a formula that doesn't mean it has to be bad. Sometimes when you follow a recipe, you end up cooking something delicious. And I think that's what's happened here.

Recommended: Jin 2

About a week ago, I was walking into a video game shop when, just as I was going in, an eight year old boy was coming out. He was clutching a game to his chest, and when he saw me he looked up in fear, as if I was going to take this precious game away from him. Afterwards, I felt quite jealous since it had been a long time since I’d felt that excited about getting anything.

Well, I think I came close when I saw that Heiwa Fansubs had put up the subs for the last episode of Jin 2.

* spoilers *

The final episode is a triumph. As indeed are the episodes leading up to it. No one is forgotten and everyone has their story finished and nothing seems rushed. Certainly, there's no last-minute dash to fit all the explaining into the last ten minutes, which often happens with J-dramas. Our hero, the doctor returns to the present and slowly has to work out what happened. As it is, the waves of time wash over his adventures in the past and memories fade as much as the photographs of his colleagues in Edo had faded.

That part was especially touching – when he finds old photographs of the people he worked with in the 1800s. Then I really got a sense of the distance he’d travelled and, sadly, the impossibility of him ever returning. Plus I had a feeling of pleasure of learning how they all turned out (and of seeing Kyoutarou in Western clothes!)

The reason behind why he went back in time was also very satisfying, and had clearly been planned from the beginning. And this really made me happy. The writer clearly had the idea fully formed in her head, and wasn’t just making it up as she went along. (edit: actually this is based on a manga written by Morota Murakami)

I started watching the first series back in April, so I’ve been lucky enough to have almost four months in which I haven’t had to wait long for the next episode of Jin. Now that is no longer the case, I’m at a bit of a loss. But I’ll find something else, I’m sure. I’ll certainly try and track down more of writer Morishita Yoshiko’s work.

And on a personal note, I finished watching this at 10pm. Then I noticed that the sky outside was still very bright. Far too bright for ten o’clock in the evening, I thought, and I had to check three clocks and the television before I was satisfied that I hadn’t fallen through a tiny time-slip of my own.

Just watched: Surely Someday

Oguri Shun’s 2010 directorial début is a interesting example of how to mix comedy with organised crime without lessening the impact of either. The storyline is that five schoolboys threaten to blow up a schoolroom (or two) unless the school changes its decision about not holding a cultural event that year. The school agrees, but they are unable to stop the bomb from going off.

 



Three years later, a chance occurrence throws four of the five back together as they find themselves caught up in a mystery of disappearing people, yakuza bosses, and 300 million yen - all of which had something to do with a woman in a magazine ten years ago. The story could be a shocking mess, but it’s to the writer’s credit that it makes sense. Oguri Shun makes sure that the three time periods (now, three years ago, and ten years ago) can be recognised quickly, and the acting is great.

Koide Keisuke takes the lead role with confidence. By chance, I’ve been watching a lot of his stuff recently and he’s pretty good. It makes me wonder what he was thinking when he took his role in Nodame Cantabile, but I guess it made him some money. Also worth mentioning is Konishi Manami. She’s perfect in this film as the woman at the heart of the mystery. But then, she’s always at her best when she’s playing the role of the intelligent, beautiful, but unattainable femme fatale.

The film succeeds because when it’s trying to be funny, it’s funny and when it wants to be threatening, it is. It’s also shot in a very unpretentious style, often making good use of boring locations. In all, this is a cleverly written and well-made film which is harder than your average comedy (or softer than the usual yakuza film) but is no worse for that.

Currently watching: Jin 2 and Marks no Yama

Oh my goodness! I wasn’t going to write about either of these high-quality dramas until I’d finished watching them, but they’ve both ended episodes on such exciting cliff hangers that I have to say something!

Marks no Yama is a dark, tense police drama in which a series of influential people are being killed one by one, and the only link between them is a university mountaineering club. It’s well written, well acted and steers clear of cliché (apart from the bad guy laughing over the phone as he blackmails his victims). The storyline moves at a slow pace, compared to other Japanese cop shows, but that just shows how detailed and satisfying the writing is. And now, at the end of episode 3... well, I can’t say anything without spoiling it, but I was not expecting that.

Meanwhile, Jin 2 continues on from the previous series – modern doctor is transported back to mid-1800s Japan – and it remains an exciting and cleverly-written show. It looks like the whole question about why he was sent back in time is going to be answered this series. In episode four, the doctor meets a young girl who seems to have an effect on the time-travelling medic. Later he has to operate on her, which has severe consequences for him.

These two shows are quite above anything else recently in terms of quality, and to have them both end on cliff hangers like that... well, it’s almost cruel. How am I supposed to sleep tonight?

Currently watching: Ushi ni Negai wo: Love & Farm

When you’ve been watching Jdramas for a while, you notice quite quickly that the same faces keep cropping up. I mention this because I feel like I’ve reached a bit of a milestone with this drama because it’s the first in which I recognised every single member of the cast. Apart from a couple of people in minor roles, I know everyone who’s in this show, which was quite distracting at first. The cast list boasts Toda Erika (Keizoku 2), Aibu Saki (Rebound), Karina (Parade), Keisuke Koide (also Parade, Nodame Cantabile), Kohinata Fumiyo (Marks no Yama, Ashita no Kita Yoshio) and I could go on.

In this drama from 2007, some students spend three months working on a farm as part of their sutdies (I wonder if I chose it because I miss Family Outing). It is a pretty typical fish-out-of-water story about city types having difficulty with the simple country ways. The regular stereotypes are all represented, including a moody sullen man, a superficial fashionable woman, a couple of perky eager types and... er... a guy who can draw. Not sure what his story is.

It’s not the greatest series, by any means, but what’s interesting about this is not the physical humour as they try to work on the farm, nor is it the clumsy attempt at a family drama. Instead what caught my interest is that there’s a light out in the fields at night. A couple of the students have seen it but no one’s gone to investigate, and it’s this tiny mystery that’s keeping me watching.

Jdramas do that a lot. An average comedy drama will throw in a little hint of something deeper going on, just to keep you watching. It probably won't be anything too exciting, but it's working. I'll keep watching. For now.

Currently Watching: Jin

Since the second series of this popular drama is coming out soon, I thought I’d watch the first series so I can properly enjoy the new episodes. Basically, it’s a medical drama and a historical drama mixed together. These are two elements that usually put me off but the overall idea is intriguing: a doctor somehow falls backwards in time to a point in Japanese history, during the mid-1800s.

His medical knowledge is almost miraculous in that day and age, and his fame quickly spreads. Meanwhile, he has to work out what happened to him, and he watches how his actions effect the future by how a photograph of himself and his girlfriend changes.

There’s a lot of ideas flying around. Most interesting is that if you had a modern-day knowledge of medicine, how much of it would be useful in feudal Japan? Also the story covers the political aspects of his work – at a time when Japan was slowly coming out of seclusion, his non-Japanese methods make other doctors suspicious. Add to this the usual difficulties caused by going back in time and the life-saving surgery (often with friends or family crying in the corner of the room, which you don’t see much in modern operating theatres) and every episode is packed with exciting events.

I’m halfway through at the moment, and so far the stories are entertaining, while the questions about the time-slip remain tantalisingly unanswered. It has a strong cast, including Osawa Takao in the lead role, ably supported by Ayase Haruka (Hotaru no Hikari) and Nakatani Miki. Special mention has to go to Uchino Masaaki as the wandering samurai with an interesting future, Sakamoto Ryoma. I can totally see how this was a success and I’m now one of the millions impatiently waiting for series two.

Recommended: Parade

Another film review, but this was nothing to do with the Zipangu Fest. I just happened to watch it recently.

This film from 2010 follows the lives of four people (two male, two female) who live in the same apartment. It could almost be called the opposite of Last Friends. While that was heavy on the emotions, this is more distant and cooler. There are no romantic ties between the housemates and, because that isn’t a concern, the film can tell a more original story.

There are two mysteries running through the film. One is about a series of murders that have happened in the local area, and the other is about what their secretive neighbours are doing. There are other storylines, and they overlap, get dropped, and then picked up again in a very naturalistic, flowing way of story-telling. Sometimes I wondered if any of this was improvised.

The acting’s great. Keisuke Koide is unrecognisable from his role as the big-afro’d timpani player in Nodame Cantabile, Karina convinces as a slobbish fag-hag illustrator, Shihori Kanjiya is perfect as the passive, forgotten girlfriend of a mostly absent boyfriend. And Tatsuya Fujiwara impresses in his role as the uptight one. I’ve seen him in Death Note, Snakes and Earrings and now this. He’s building up quite an impressive body of work.

Perhaps this film appeals to me because I was a part of generation X, and grew up with Nirvana, Love & Rockets (the comic, not the band) and Slackers and this film has exactly that quality. It’s somewhat emotionless (but you still like and care for the characters) and it avoids all the usual cliches of storytelling such as falling in love or loud arguments. Instead it prefers to give the viewer a slower, perhaps more disturbing, realisation of what’s really going on.

Not recommended: Nodame Cantabile

Just so this blog doesn't turn into a list of things I like, I'm going to occasionally focus on my less favoured programmes. I have mixed feelings towards Nodame Cantabile. Odd that, since everywhere else I look people heap praise upon it. It’s won awards, has now got two more TV specials being made for it and its soundtrack is Japan’s biggest selling classical music CD or something. So why am I so apathetic towards it?

I get the feeling that it helps a lot if you’ve read the original manga series. That way the characters won’t seem like a bunch of hysteric stereotypes and are in fact accurate portrayals of the comic. Certainly, the first episode had me scratching my head over some of the acting. What works on the page doesn’t necessarily work on screen (see also: the end of No Country For Old Men) but I suppose a less faithful rendition wouldn’t have been as well received. For me, who had never seen the manga at all, it was a bit like being thrown in at the deep end, and I simply had to accept their weird quirks without thinking about it too much.

The comedy, like the acting, is very broad and physical, which brings me to a dilemma. Both male and female characters are on the receiving end of comedy knocks which I should approve of, but I found it unsettling to see a woman punched in the face for not playing a piano just right, even if it was done in a cartoon-y style. Should I, in this post-post-feminist world be okay with such slapstick being given out to both men and women alike? Meh, perhaps I’m behind the times, but it bothered me.

On the plus side, the music’s good, with a nice version of Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue in episode four or five (I forget), the acting (once you get used to it) is fine especially from the two leads, Ueno Juri and Tamaki Hiroshi, and the storyline does become more interesting and involved as you go. But that’s about it. I enjoyed it for what it was, but it’s not a title that’d spring to mind when talking about the best in Japanese TV.