Joined: 19 Jun 2006 Posts: 11363 Location: �I�[�X�g�����A Country:
Posted: Fri Jan 04, 2008 8:04 am Post subject:
Hmmm, never realised that Kuninaka Ryoko was the star of this... nor that she is the girl in your avatar, Ralph. I've only seen her in Kekkon Dekinai Otoko.
As in all asadoras the primary selection criteria for the female lead is that she is an unknown. Based on that Ryoko chan beat out 2084 others during the auditions for the role of Eri. Her incomparable rendition of the role of Eri propelled her into the rarefied star community of Japan.
I too was struck by the reappearance of the original cast. Considering that most of the major actors had advanced to the A list and where in continuous productions after the overwhelming success of the original Churasan.
Along the same theme, I'm somewhat amazed that they were able to seamlessly re-enact their original character. Consider that Shibata san
played the ultra serious father in Haru to Natsu just before Churasan 4. What a transition for this amazing actor. Keitatsu in Crying Out Love In The Center Of The World.... between Churasan segments. Mariya in countless dramas between all Churasan segemts.
And of course Eri, in Say Hello To Blackjack. Eri who is the glue around which all the themes in the Churasan series revolve. I can't think of any other actress who could have played Eri's role and made it into this huge success. Yeah yeah... I know you're all going to throw your favorite names at me.... but if you really are honest who could have had such universal appeal with such charismatic smile and been so consistent for the 4 sequel drama. Even though I have several favorites on the same platform heights as Kuninaka Ryoko, none of them could have played this role into the super stratosphere of asadora history.
I do agree the sequels do no match up to the original drama mostly because they are too short to build the relationships that were so endearing in the original.
I think I'm going to have to agree wtih you there. I really can't see anyone except Ryoko-chan playing the role of Eri. I mean, her facial expressions, mannerisms, and of course that smile were all just PERFECT. It's as if the writers created the character to match her, as opposed to the other way around...
Anime Dad wrote:
Hmmm, never realised that Kuninaka Ryoko was the star of this... nor that she is the girl in your avatar, Ralph. I've only seen her in Kekkon Dekinai Otoko.
HONTO?! Didn't I ever send you Brother Beat? She was grand in that drama as well.
Ryoko-chan is definitely a fav of mine after watching her in Brother Beat, and now in Churasan. These two roles, and her role in Kekkon, are all completely different, so you really get to see her breadth as an actress. _________________
Joined: 19 Jun 2006 Posts: 11363 Location: �I�[�X�g�����A Country:
Posted: Fri Jan 04, 2008 12:06 pm Post subject:
Wynter wrote:
HONTO?! Didn't I ever send you Brother Beat? She was grand in that drama as well.
Ryoko-chan is definitely a fav of mine after watching her in Brother Beat, and now in Churasan. These two roles, and her role in Kekkon, are all completely different, so you really get to see her breadth as an actress.
Yes you did, but I haven't watched it yet. I did like her in Kekkon though.
1) It's 39 discs, according to your trade list
2) At the rate i'm going, i'll be retired before I could get to it.
Even with me being very choosy about what I watch (based on others' recommendations) i'm taking a long time
However each disc is less than a full hour. The total time for the series is roughly 36 hours or 3 regular Sunday jdramas. I could help Wyn chan by making some copies.
1) It's 39 discs, according to your trade list
2) At the rate i'm going, i'll be retired before I could get to it.
Even with me being very choosy about what I watch (based on others' recommendations) i'm taking a long time
ralphm1999 wrote:
However each disc is less than a full hour. The total time for the series is roughly 36 hours or 3 regular Sunday jdramas. I could help Wyn chan by making some copies.
Ralph beat me to it. lol! COMBINED POWER OF PERSAUSION!
Each episode amounts to about 10 minutes each (not including intro/end songs). I actually found that watching this series took me less time than watching three whole dramas because it goes by so fast.
This is really a must-see. I can't stress it enough. And I KNOW you'll enjoy it, because you seem to enjoy the good, healthy, family-type dramas. _________________
Or you could watch the way ralph and I did originally; 1 episode a day and it took about 6 months.
I don't think I'd be able to manage that. One episode a day isn't enough!
I finished the third sequel:
My Review: 9/10
I was quite surprised when I started the third season of Churasan. I don�ft know if there was a different director, but the feel of the show had changed. This isn�ft necessarily a bad thing. After all, Time has changed and the drama needs to appeal to current tastes. It was just different�c
Another change, and for the same reason mentioned above, was in the physical traits of the characters! I mean, of course this would be an obvious progression, especially since one cannot expect an actor to stay the same over the course of four years, but goodness! It was an all-at-once hit! Ryoko-chan (Eri) has gotten slimmer and more mature in her looks (did she dye her hair?!). Yoshiko-san (Eri�fs mother) cut her hair REALLY short, Miho-chan (Mariya) grew her hair out long, and the most changed of all was Ayumi-chan (Shoko). She really has grown into a beautiful woman! The guys, for the most part, remained the same. Those who did change changed for the worst (Yamada chopped his hair!). Of course, this is nothing to gripe about.
Whereas the second season depended too much on the first season, I did find that the third season was stronger and had a definite story. It was nice to see the plot revolve around a couple of new characters with which the old characters interacted in a natural, seamless way. This sequel was more enjoyable than the second, although a bit inconsistent.
Click on button to reveal/hide spoiler:
What happened to Haruka�fs crush on Kaneshiro? Didn�ft Oba get engaged at the end of the last sequel? Where was her husband-to-be? Didn�ft Eri and Fumiya previously strive to create their own clinic in Kohama? What happened to that dream?
I hope the fourth sequel will answer some of these questions!
Despite these inconsistencies, I loved how yet again the same cast returned to play their trademark characters. I also loved the small jokes played (i.e. like when the head nurse drops into a scene. Eri asks �gwhat are you doing here�h, and the nurse replies: �gI�fm one of those characters who just drop in. Can�ft have people forgetting I exist!�h). So many pricesless moments!
Lets hope the next sequel maintains our high expectations! _________________
Yet another great sequel�c though I have to admit, I�fm a bit torn with this one. In other words, it gave me a few causes for complaint.
Click on button to reveal/hide spoiler:
To start with, not all the characters returned. The most obvious were Keitatsu and Haruka. They managed to explain Keitatsu�fs absence in the storyline (and it was somewhat convincing), but they didn�ft at all explain Haruka�fs. Was she that dispensable?
Also, some of the main characters reverted into unnecessary minor characters. A clear example of this was Shoko�fs character. In the original series, and in the two sequels, her character held considerable important content and benefited the overall plot. In this sequel, she was nothing more than a prop. She only had a handful of lines and would not have been missed if she had not been cast into the story. This disappointed me, but I can understand how it happened. The original series was 156 episodes, and the sequels are 6 episodes and 5 episodes (respectively), so it was easier to focus on each character and provide a flow of development for each. With this fourth sequel only 2 episodes long, not every character could be expressed. I understand this. But still�c
Alrighty, now for the grand stuff (which, in my opinion, makes up for the negatives). Finally, a storyline that focuses on Mariya and Yoko! This sequel was perhaps the most heart-warming. The attention was taken off Eri a little bit and given to the two characters that have perhaps affected Eri�fs life the most. This sequel was sad, but in a good way, and reminded me (the viewer) that although Life can be filled with positive things, it changes nonetheless.
There was a hint of a suggestion at the end of the sequel that we haven�ft seen the last of Churasan, so here�fs hoping! _________________
My take on the absence is that they were unable to get them contracted as they already had other commitments. Keep in mind that as a result of the original Churasan, the leading characters became much in demand.
Also since Keitatsu rose to such a high level, there might have been difficulty agreeing on compensation.
It has to be very difficult to get that many actors together in the same time frame once they achieve this much fame. Furthermore that could be the reason they opted for only 2 episodes.
But however few the episodes and actor availability, I hope they keep coming . Please Please!!!!!!
Wyn chan, when you get to Haru E natsu watch for Shibata san and Fumiya kun. Fumiya kun will be very hard to recognize somewhere near the middle of the drama in a scene with Nakama Yukie in a barn or dairy though I can't remember exactly. When you get to Star No Koi watch for Head Nurse.
Joined: 26 Mar 2007 Posts: 2061 Location: Melbourne Country:
Posted: Wed Jan 16, 2008 12:54 am Post subject:
Sorry to be a bother, I am looking for subtitles. Someone mentioned them earlier here, so it probably exist, but I can't find them at d-addicts (description in torrent info says raw). I am not familiar with where to usually look for subtitles, so if someone can point me in the right direction, that will be great. Thanks.
Thanks Wynter too for all your well-written reviews. It really sounds like this is one of those very special, not to be missed series. ^^
Sorry, I have just found the subtitles on d-addicts now.
Last edited by xploring on Wed Jan 16, 2008 1:07 am; edited 1 time in total
Sorry to be a bother, I am looking for subtitles. Someone mentioned them earlier here, so it probably exist, but I can't find them at d-addicts (description in torrent info says raw). I am not familiar with where to usually look for subtitles, so if someone can point me in the right direction, that will be great. Thanks.
Thanks Wynter too for all your well-written reviews. It really sounds like this is one of those very special, not to be missed series. ^^
My take on the absence is that they were unable to get them contracted as they already had other commitments. Keep in mind that as a result of the original Churasan, the leading characters became much in demand.
Also since Keitatsu rose to such a high level, there might have been difficulty agreeing on compensation.
It has to be very difficult to get that many actors together in the same time frame once they achieve this much fame. Furthermore that could be the reason they opted for only 2 episodes.
But however few the episodes and actor availability, I hope they keep coming . Please Please!!!!!!
Me too. :fingercrossed:
I knew those reasons would apply... but still. Having remained consistent all the way until the fourth season was impressive.
ralphm1999 wrote:
Wyn chan, when you get to Haru E natsu watch for Shibata san and Fumiya kun. Fumiya kun will be very hard to recognize somewhere near the middle of the drama in a scene with Nakama Yukie in a barn or dairy though I can't remember exactly. When you get to Star No Koi watch for Head Nurse.
>>take notes<< Star no Koi is coming up on the watch list!
xploring wrote:
Thanks Wynter too for all your well-written reviews. It really sounds like this is one of those very special, not to be missed series. ^^
Sorry, I have just found the subtitles on d-addicts now.
It really is, and I'm totally recommending it to anyone who'll bite! _________________
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I did like her in Kekkon though.
