Bus Gamer

I’m like, erm…

What a cliffhanger. But I’m fine with it, I’m not the type to get upset with cliffhangers. With only 3 episodes, it isn’t really a series, it’s more like a preview of the main story. But the plot is strong enough to get me to overlook that fact, although there are a lot of unanswered questions.

Title: Bus Gamer
Genre: Adventure, Action, Mystery, Suspense

Bus Gamer should be short for Business Gamer. When I first took notice of this anime I thought it was about buses, ha… It took me awhile to realise that there was nothing to do with buses. The plot of the story reminds me of Liar Game, which is also a manga, although I only watched the live-action version. Out of many applicants, business corporations pick 3 people and get them to play a life-and-death game against other teams of 3, representing other corporations. A bit senseless, but we also saw the corrupted and twisted police force, and how people are willing to kill for money. I like the plot, although it could have been further developed.

What I cannot forgive is the lack of character development. It is virtually impossible to develop the characters in a short 3 episode-series, especially when half the time was attributed to the fighting and action. There were a lot of time skips, and we see the characters getting slightly closer, but the distance between them is still apparent.

The style of the animation was not top-notch either, while it was generally okay, something bothered me a lot, the over-sized keyhole that you see when the anime first started. The part whereby the character (I forgot who) places the key into the over-sized keyhole looked rather 2D to me. The style of the storytelling, no thanks to its short length, was undesirable to me too.

I’d recommend this anime, but only for its plot. If you’re someone who has difficulties with ambiguities, or unsolved questions, then this ain’t for you. Be prepared to be frustrated and feel unsatisfied after watching this. Maybe I should go and read the manga. Let’s see how it goes.

The Missing Girl

We often miss… even the things that we see.”
Jung-ho

AKA The World of Silence

I just finished watching this. I’d recommend anybody who haven’t watched it yet to go watch it now. Don’t bother searching for reviews for it or what not. Trust me, it’s going to be at the very least, a good watch. ‘The Missing Girl’ is a direct translation of the Korean Title, ‘The World of Silence’ should be its English title. Go search for it. I assure you that you should watch this film without knowing anything about it, without knowing what’s going to happen, without even knowing its genre. You’ll really enjoy it that way. It’s amazing. Stop reading this post now. I’m not going to help but avoiding spoilers. I’ll just talk about everything in the movie here. So if you haven’t watched it yet, go and watch it now, and stop reading this.

Title: The Missing Girl
AKA: The World of Silence
Language: Korean
Release: 2006
Genre: Mystery, Thriller, Suspense, Inspirational, Psychological

It may be a little confusing when it starts, when our main character Jung-ho is still 17 years old, and he appears on a TV variety show, something that showcases people with special abilities. When asked, what’s your special ability? He merely said, “I can find out”. The scene whereby he demonstrates his ability was not shown, we only got to see the amazed reactions of the people after witnessing his ability. When the host of the show asked if his classmates gave him a nickname for having such an ability, he merely said, “monster”. And correspondingly, a girl echoes the word and hangs herself.

At the point in time, I thought the special ability was along the lines of reading the mind or what not. We are then brought to fifteen years later, and it could be a bit confusing trying to follow what’s happening. Turns out that Jung-ho, now 32 years old and a Professional Photographer, flies back to Korea and lands a pretty good job. Somehow, there was a mistake and a girl had to stay with him. Well, he was reluctant at first, but I guess he had a soft spot for children. We see that Jung-ho was pretty cruel to the girl at first, ignoring her, not talking to her, looking at her with those deep eyes… but slowly he warms up to her.

Many other things happen, but during the course of the movie I really thought that the special ability was mind-reading, and that made me overlook the possibility of anything else. I was downright shocked when the girl told the policeman (at the very end) that Jung-ho is actually unable to hear, ie, he’s deaf. But because of that, he is more observant and is thus able to read people’s heart. Without a doubt, he must be able to read lips too. Then it all fits. It had felt strange when the girl was just sitting in front of him and he merely allowed the phone to ring. A normal person in that circumstance would rush to pick the phone, for some privacy away from the girl. And the second time when he walked past the phone while it was ringing but did not pick it up. There is always a bit of a lag time when he speaks, too.

It’s inspirational in its own way. Not extremely, I still think that this is mainly a mystery show, but the secret revealed is inspirational. At least I think so. I feel so. You wouldn’t have expected the suspense to be this thick. I kept thinking, why the effort to hide his special ability when it was so obvious that it’s reading of minds? During the variety show, his demonstration of his special ability was not shown. When he told the girl his secret, he whispered it into her ears. Such secretive measures made me puzzled, why would they want to hide it if it was obvious that his special ability was mind-reading, than what’s the point of hiding it?

I was stunned when I heard his secret, but that’s not the only thing. While there are no big names or appealing cast that will attract one to watch this film (or at least not big enough that I know them), but the acting was pretty. Not great, but pretty. The hurt that each of the characters felt was deep, thus this story can be quite dark. Jung-ho, the main character, has a similar story to Soo Yeon, the little girl who ended up staying with hi. They had an accident and lost their parents and one of their five senses (well, Soo Yeon’s mother did not die, but became comatose). And the murderer and Jung-ho’s ex-girlfriend met with similar situations, their stepfather sexually abused them. Even the suspect, the old man who was also the colleague of the real murderer, had a pretty dark past.

It all makes sense when I realised what he secret was when Soo Yeon said it, of course, I didn’t realise it by myself). Not just how he walked past the ringing phones and ignored Soo Yeon repeatedly. The incident in the train, where he knew why the granny needed the money. He probably read the granny’s lips when she was speaking on the phone and realised that she needed the money for her son’s medical fees. And from the body language or the looks in the hooligans’ eyes, he could tell that they were eyeing her money. The incident at the restaurant with the detective, too. It makes sense. Why did he say in the TV show for ‘Special Ability’ that he can “find out”? Because he can read lips, and can observe from your eyes and body language what you’re thinking? That’s probably what he calls reading hearts. Why did the girlfriend commit suicide? Probably because she couldn’t take the abuse anymore, and probably because other students found out about it. Why did she kill herself after watching Jung-ho on TV? I don’t know. Probably because she wanted to see him one last time? And why was Jung-ho called a “monster”? I really have no idea.

The coincidence in which the hooligan broke into the murderer’s house and ate the magic mushroom soup and stole the tapes was amazing enough, but to think that the police even managed to find out about it is even more so amazing. They conveniently left out the part where the police questioned the hooligan about the mushrooms and skipped all the way to them watching the tapes, so I guess that’s a regret, but otherwise, this overly coincidental episode can be overlooked, it was quite well-executed.

I seldom watch Korean dramas, not to mention movies, so this really gave me a very good impression of K-drama. Of course, there are some questions left unanswered, but I’m not the type who would lose sleep over why the girlfriend committed suicide, or things like this. I’d rather make an assumption, and move on with life. Some questions cannot be answered; some questions do not require an answer. I do think that it was wise to have left that unanswered. It would be strange to go back to the past now that Jung-ho is dead. Maybe I should go and learn how to read lips. Haa.

Majin Tantei Nogami Neuro

“The more the lights shine, the deeper the darkeness in you hides in your heart.”
~Nogami Neuro~

I love mystery/detective genres. Well, this is not your typical detective-catches-culprit kinda plot. It’s far more trickier than that. Far more complex.

Nobuta wo Produce

The feelings in other people’s hearts are beyond my power to imagine them.
~Shuji Kiritani~

It’s been quite a while since I’ve finished watching Nobuta wo Produce, so this may be a little off. I thought Nobuta was a likeable show, a very very likeable show, but I didn’t think it was all that great. I do believe that a likeable show doesn’t need to be great, and a great show doesn’t need to be likeable. They’re both positives, independent of each other. A likeable and great show is rare.

Title: Nobuta wo Produce
Genres: Friendship, School Life

Nobuta wo Produce revolves around 3 characters, and talks about how three students from different walks of life (in school, that is) end up together and how they shared a great friendship. Shuuji is your typical jock, just that he’s not an atheletic jock but an all-rounder. He can do everything, from sewing to cooking to photography. Everybody likes Shuji, and he says ‘yes’ to every request. His motive is to be liked by everybody, and he’s doing it well. Akira is your typical weird boy. Speaks to himself, does weird childish actions, have weird fetishs (for soy drinks) and speaks weirdly. While not disliked by anybody, he’s has no true friend or clique to hang out with. And we have Nobuta, a shy, socially-inept girl with a very strong inferiority complex (I think), she wears her socks and skirt high, her eyes are always covered by her fringe, her hair is always unkempt, her head is always bowed low, and she can’t speak or smile properly. The three of them came together in an attempt to re-produce Nobuta, in a popular girl that everybody will like.

 I don’t really remember why I chose to watch this drama, probably because I was searching for dramas with Horikita Maki. The main cast is a formidable trio, their fanbase combined is overwhelming. They did decent in their roles, most notably Maki, because the role of Nobuta is not easy to portray, and she does it just fine. Yamapi’s character suited him a lot, so that’s pretty fine. Kaname did pretty well in his never-complaining character too.

Kurosagi

You are not alone.
~Tsurara~

When I first heard of it, I couldn’t find the drama episodes online, so I went to read a bit of the manga. That was a suicide move, because live-action is usually a bad portrayal of its manga (or even anime version). I don’t know if there was an anime version for Kurosagi, though. Anyway, this story is a highly dramatic one. Speaks about swindling, revenge, and more swindling.

Title: Kurosagi
Genre: Action, Crime investigation, Romance

Kurosaki’s father was swindled by a pyramid scheme swindling organisation, and killed his family and himself out of desperation. Kurosaki was the only survivor, and since then, he had lived with vengeance in his heart. Katsuragi is known to be the mastermind behind the swindlers, he is the one who provides them with information, jobs, and resources, he is the one who comes up with plans and sells it to them. Kurosagi attempt to kill Katsuragi several times in the aftermath of his family tragedy, but failed. After what Katsuragi said, about taking revenge through swindling, he begged Katsuragi to teach him to swindle. That was five years ago. Now, Kurosagi is still actively searching for Mikimoto, the swindler who bought Katsuragi’s plan and caused death to his family. There are three kinds of swindlers, the white swindler, who cheats of money; the red swindler, who cheats of love, and the black swindler, who cheats the white and red swindlers. Coincidentally, Kurosaki means black, and Kurosagi means the black swindler.

After some events, Tsurara happened to become Kurosaki’s neighbour, and Tsurara publicly announces her disapproval of what Kurosaki is doing. Kurosagi’s name and reputation caught the attention of an officer Shiraishi, and thus begins an exciting adventure of police-catch-thief. The romance between Tsurara and Kurosaki is very very subtle. Such that I don’t even see this as a romance story at all. The element of romance is only spiced up due to the complications caused by Yukari, a friend of Tsurara and one who publicly likes Kurosaki and what he does.

There is definitely space for improvement for the two leading actors, Yamapi and Horikita Maki. I’m not a fan of Yamapi, and definitely not a fan of Yamaki (the pairing of Yamapi-Maki). I definitely do like Horikita Maki, though. If pressed, I’d say that Ichiwaka Yui did the better job in the portraying of her character. I can totally see how many Yamaki fans will declare their hatred for Yukari. It’s often not easy to play the role of a villain, and to play it to an extent whereby people will hate you, is an achievement in itself. Of course, it was not a perfect portrayal too.

I’ve read a bit of the manga, and the two Kurosaki s are totally different in the aura. Yamapi is Yamapi, he gives off the same aura in whatever he acts. Emo kid, full of bottled-up words, keeps to himself - that’s Yamapi. But the Kurosaki in the manga gives off a creepy aura, he smiles, but his smile is fatal. Not like Yamapi’s ‘bang’, which is totally -.-. The two main female leads where quite different too, other than the fact that they are both law students. The role of Kutsuragi, the mastermind of the swindling world, is best potrayed by Yamazaki Tsutomu, there is a certain likeness with him as the one in the manga. The way he spits is certainly gross, but still…

Starting to watch it, some of the arcs were really cool, and it made more sense in the beginning. As it continued, it got a bit boring, as a lot of legal terminology popped up and you’ll go -serious? There is such a law? Of course, that’s Japan. Both the storyline is more or less the same after a while. You don’t get Kurosagi failing in any of his jobs, you don’t get any dramatic twists. It’s just, somebody asks Kurosagi for help, Kurosagi stalks target, Kurosagi meets target, Kurosagi prepares, Kurosagi swindles, “Thank you for your help, BANG.” So, yeah. In fact, Yamapi’s costume play would be more interesting than the plot.

Tada Kimi wo Aishiteru

You hold the happiness of another person in your hands.
~Miyuki~

Whoa. I just finished watching this. It’s like 6 AM in the morning, Lol. This is really one amazing movie. I liked it, while it lasted, but now that it ended, I’m probably going to be critical about it. But nonetheless, it was a great movie. With an exciting main cast of Hiromi Tamaki (Nodame Cantibile, Water boys) and Aoi Miyazaki (Virgin Snow), I was expecting quite something, and whoa, this movie exceeded my expectations.

Title: Tada, Kimi wo Aishiteru (However I am still falling for you) a.k.a. Heavenly Forest
Genre: Romance

I’m not one who likes to watch romance, but I do not mind watching romance. Just spare me all the fluff and get to the main point. This show does just that, and does that well. The love between the characters are, just like what the main character Makoto said, very obvious. Aoi Miyazaki surprised me when I first saw her in the movie, I remembered her from Virgin Snow (somehow I watched that before I watched this) and her image surprised me. It reminded me of Nodame (of Nodame Cantibile), who was also messy and lacking of social etiquettes. Ironically, Hiromi Tamaki was also the main character in Nodame. These two titles cannot be compared, although there are some similarities. I thought this movie was a lot sweeter, although Nodame, as a serial, had more room for development, was more comedic, and music was a huge element.

Speaking about music, I was quite puzzled by the fact that the much highly acclaimed theme song only played through during the credits. If my memory serves me correctly, I did not hear it at all during the course of the movie. Now that is strange. But the theme song is nice. Not something that I would like though.

Back to the plot. It starts with “She used to lie very often.” Basically, a common style used in film and drama recently. A reminiscing style. It then goes back to when they both first met. A young man who was ashamed of this rashes that he had somewhere on his torso and ashamed of the smell that it gives off (actually there is no smell, he is just too sensitive), but otherwise a rather good-looking and likeable person, and this girl with short, messed-up hair and bespectacled, with a child-like essence in her. A third girl, Miyuki, is the main character, Makoto’s love interest and she likes him too. Thus begins a tale of the unpopular Shizuka’s love for Makoto, which mainly revolved around the subject of photography, as they would often go into this strange forest together to take photos, and her method of loving him.

Spoilers from now on.

Right from the start I was expecting her to leave him, it’s so typical. And I was also expecting her to change into her so-called “wonderful woman” after she left him, such that when they meet again, it’ll be so sweet, you know, all that typicality. But gosh, was I not surprised! I was so stunned when that call from Shizuka’s Dad came in. So utterly shocked that I couldn’t believe it for a while. It has been a while since I’ve felt like this when watching anything. For about 5 minutes I continued to delude myself into thinking that this must be a joke, they’re gonna make Shizuka still alive. Hello, how cruel is it to make Shizuka change into such a beautiful person and then not let the two of them meet? But I guess that’s what makes the whole movie so great. Despite the ending being like that, it is not a bad ending. It may even be described as a happy ending, although they couldn’t get together in the end. It made sense, and the way Makoto continues to smile at her letters makes it feel like the whole story has come to a complete end, in a way, it’s even more fulfilling than if they’ve met again.

But I must say I was surprised with Aoi’s image. I didn’t recognise her as Aoi at first, but I knew it was Aoi who was starring as the female lead. That is why I easily came to the idea that she will turn pretty in the show. But lo, and behold! When she took off her glasses just before the kiss, Makoto was stunned, so was I! She looked totally different without her glasses, even with that short and messy hair! Her face was, like, gosh, GLOWING! There was really such a child-like innocence that you’ll probably never get to see anywhere else. Indeed, Aoi Miyazaki is known for her pure image.

I must say that it makes sense. I’ve barely finished watching the movie, so it’s still replaying in my head, but a lot of things that Shizuka does, I can understand. Why she was lying, why she moved out of house, why she had strange medication with her, why she left suddenly, why she chose to hide herself from Makoto, why she wanted her to be fooled into thinking that she was still living…

Gosh, this is so sweet. I can’t believe I’m saying this, but believe me, it’s soo sweet. And this really fuels my interest in photography. Memories are so important. Imagine holding a photo-exhibition of your own life when you’re fifty years old. That’s like downright cool! Life is short. The important thing is to live life to the fullest, I guess, so that even upon your death, there will be no regrets, not even those whom were once dear to you. Like Shizuka.

Liar Game

If we don’t deceive and hurt each other, we will not make a profit, but there won’t be any losses either.
~Kanzaki Nao~

I watched Liar Game quite a few months ago, and I even read a bit of the manga before (I THINK). A very unique plot, very exciting, and I was quite sad that the competition never got to its end, I’d have enjoyed it more if there was some exciting glamorous final round, where Shinichi and the boss of Liar Game pits their wits against each other.

There are supposedly 11 episodes, but the finale is 3-hours long and I believe episode 10 was about 2 hours long, if my memory serves me correctly.

Title: Liar Game
Genre: Psychological Thriller

I didn’t really like the pair of Erika Toda and Matsuda Shota, but I thought they did a fairly good job. It’s the typically weak-girl that Toda gets to play again, the type that I dislike most, the type whom can make a better decision but always choose to make the tougher decisions, causing misery for everybody. Of course, Nao (the main character) this time seems a bit strong, able to stand up for herself and suggest a new method of beating the game. I’m sorry, but as an audience, that concept of everybody not winning and not losing is boring.

I was a little unsettled by the degree of insanity in the show, but then again, money does have the power to drive a sane person insane, whether it’s the sudden accumulation of wealth or the sudden accumulation of debts. This show clearly showed human’s nature, especially when dealing with money. I liked how the suspense was carried out in the show, Whoa, for some of the ideas, you really have to applaud the plot. Certain things, however, are obvious, like the flaw in the card game and so on.

Let’s talk about character development. There’s certainly growth in Nao. Quite a lot of character growth, as she transforms from one who is weak-willed and easily manipulated girl from the start to one who has enough guts to keep her own stand against a whole group of people. I am not impressed though. I don’t really like such characters. As for Shinichi, I guess there’s also some form of growth, as he is able to not seek revenge at the very end and leave an opening for Yokoya. It’s another happy ending, I guess.

Let’s talk about similar shows. I watched this after I watched Kurosagi, so there was a sense of similarity. Not identical, the characters, the plot, the methods used were distinct enough, to each be its own, but certainly, some things are the same. The main character (swindler) is one who’ve been through something horrible, like his parents being swindled, and turned to death out of desperation. I thought Liar Game’s tricks were a bit more witty though, for Kurosagi, half the time I do not understand what’s going on.

The villains in this show, though, are quite something. The first villain, known as X (I can’t remember his real name), looks like just any other character, but in fact plays a major role in this story. He is intelligent, witty, great at acting and lying, but ultimately gets outsmarted by Shinichi. However, his decision to join Nao’s side at the very last moment is an important one, which changed the whole plot dramatically. And then there’s this white-haired guy with very deep blue eyes, Yokoya. Smart, witty, but he lost to the joined forces of Nao and Shinichi. I was really creeped out whenever he laughed. His eyes are too deep. The idea of an organisation behind the Liar Game is good, but to think that even a policeman is part of the organisation creeps me out again. I pretty much like the woman who conducted the game, the one who was revealed to be the daughter of the man behind this whole idea. Very cool.

All in all, it was a good watch. I love shows like these, even though I may not like the characters all that much. The art of deceiving is a profound skill, and leaves much room for exploration.

Last Friends

My dear friends, you are my last friends.

Last Friends is not a comedy. It is not funny. It is a very serious drama dealing with very real-life social issues like domestic violence, gender identity, lesbianism, friendship, humanity, and questions the notion of love. What is love? To what extent is love considered love? In a way, you can call it dark.

Title: Last Friends
Genres: friendship, humanity, love
Release: 2008

There are 6 main characters in Last Friends, although more attention is given to five of them (Ogurin being much left behind) whereas three of them are being looked at in a much deeper scope (Michiru, Ruka, Takeru). Michiru is clearly the main protagonist of the story, majority of the story is in her view, she narrates most of the time.

I really cannot say that I like this drama. However, I must admit that it is one great drama. (Well, a great drama does not have to be likeable. Likewise, a likeable drama may not be great.) The character development of the main few characters, especially the three chief protagonists, is simply amazing. And let me tell you, the actors were awesome. Hands down. They were soo realistic, there is nothing bad about it. Well, at least for the main 6 characters. I did not think that Michiru’s colleagues at the beauty salon acted all that well. But notably, Ueno Juri who acted as Ruka and Nishikido Ryo who acted as Sosuke were very impressive, and it was even more notable because I’ve never seen them acting as such roles before. Of course Eita was great as Takeru, and Asami as Eri was bombastic too! (All hail the Nodame alumni - Ueno Juri, Eita, Asami!)Also, Masami was excellent portraying that confused, struggling and weak Michiru.

Oh gosh, let me tell you how much I dislike Michiru. A lot. Not Masami, I’m alright with Masami (I don’t particularly like or dislike her), but Michiru is just downright irritating to me. It’s just me, it’s not so much the character, but I hate such characters. Weaklings who had the power of choice but keep choosing the option that makes everyone suffer! Weaklings who had love and friendship stuffed right in front of her face but chose to reject and ran off!! Argh. But still, I understand that it is a very realistic portrayal of many people in the current society. Of course, she has redeeming qualities. But I seriously dislike her.

I must devote some talk about Ueno Juri. She is simply amazing. Hands down. She must be one of the biggest unsung heroines in the J-Drama industry. When I was still watching Nodame Cantibile, I would never have believed that Ueno Juri who acted as THAT Nodame will ever be able to act as someone as unique as Ruka. I’d never have expected that she’d look so natural (and good) with that kinda hairstyle. I’d never have expected her to be able to pull off such a demanding role, such a strong character (Nodame was weak too, but she is weird and likeable, unlike THAT MICHIRU!) Ueno Juri is simply amazing. She’s like, only 22? Or 21. I’ve never seen her in two similar roles. Look at Nodame and Ruka, these two characters alone. How many actresses can pull these roles in such a fascinating manner? Ueno Juri, hands down. I await with excitement your next drama, hopefully another good one comes soon.

Let’s talk about the character Ruka. I don’t dislike Ruka, but I’m not fangirling over her either. I must admit I’ve always been interested in such characters. Butch. heshe. Whatever you call them. This drama really gives an insight to how people like her struggle over issues with gender identity. I’ve always been interested in analysing the questions with gender identity, especially a girl’s inclination to be a man. Why? Is it because of society’s pressure and expectations of the patriachy? Or is the person born like that? I don’t really believe in the argument of blank slates, but in the case of gender identity, I do. I do feel its more of the child-rearing process, the growth process, the environment and all that leads to an issue in a person’s gender identity. But of course, these are merely speculation. Ruka opened my eyes and made me think in a different view.

There are eleven episodes with one special episode as of now, the series had just ended not too long ago. Last Friends is a recollection, Michiru’s recollection of the past, although in the final episode we do see what happens after. At the start of the first episode we’re told that someone has died. For many episodes down this fact will be mentioned at the beginning, allowing the viewers to speculate who died. To be honest it really seemed to me that it would be Ruka, the way Michiru went, “Ruka, if ….. maybe I would have been able to prevent that death?” “Ruka… I really want to see you, but I guess, we can’t…” It really sounded as if Ruka died. Whether it is Ruka who died or not, I’ll not spoil it here.

The first few episode depicts Michiru’s life, how she moved in with Sosuke, and how Sosuke started being violent. It was painful seeing those drastic scenes. It wasn’t all gory, but it hurts, you see. She finally moved in to the sharehouse, with Eri, Ruka, Takeru and Ogurin. But Sosuke is obsessive and starts to stalk her and do bad things to many of them. Character development is awesome. Michiru, from a confused and lost person to a self-aware and focused person. Ruka, from a person struggling with her gender identity to a self-confident racer. Takeru, from a person with dark hurtful secrets to a person who is able to open up to others. Even Eri, from one who doesn’t believe in eternal love to one who marries happily. Even to some extent, Ogurin, who became much more courageous and bold, and Sosuke, who became more aware and conscious of what he was doing. Oh no, I just realised this was one spoiler-filled paragraph.

It was a bit cheesy when the show ended in episode 11 when Michiru said, “My dear friends, you are my last friends.” With that dramatic pause before ‘last friends’. She said it in English too, and it sounded so wrong. It was worst when that same line was repeated in the special. But somehow or another, it remained deeply etched in my mind. Plus that theme song, “Prisoner of Love” by Utada Hikaru. The lines “I’m a prisoner of love, prisoner of love…” keeps repeating in my mind.

There was no fluff, no unnecessary acts. The most touching scene would probably be when Takeru chased after Ruka and said he just wants to support her and be by her side, no matter who she becomes, who she is. Aww… seeing Ruka cry… Seeing strong characters cry is always painful. I don’t care how much weaklings like Michiru cry, I’ll just get irritated. Not that Ruka is really that mentally strong, but she draws strength from Michiru, from Takeru, and is certainly stronger than Michiru.

I did not like this show, really. But I do believe that it is a great show. It is a very revealing drama that touches on many social taboos and sensitive topics. But I don’t like the plot, I don’t like Michiru. The idea of the sharehouse is cool too (that sharehouse is too big and too cheap and too nice! Protest!) I don’t like how so much emphasis was placed on the Domestic Violence side, because that sacrificed a lot of possible and potential interaction between Michiru and Ruka and the rest in the sharehouse. Still, just for that character development, the amazing acting, the little suspense behind who died, and the rarity of dramas that tocuhes on such issues, Last Friends is still a must-watch.

Rating:
Plot: 7
Characters: 9 (My own biasedness against Michiru)
Acting: 10
Style: 8
Visual and Audio: 9 (thanks to the theme song)

Overall Rating: 86/100

Shion no Ou

I am not afraid to cry, so I can always smile.
~Shion~

Preamble: A 22-episodes anime, I finished it within 2 nights. Not unusual, it wasn’t all that great for me to eagerly anticipate what the next episode is about either, but this is a unique anime.

 

Title: Shion no Ou (Shion no Oh)
Genres: Sport/Game; Mystery

About it: This anime basically revolves around the game/sport of Shogi at the superficial level, but in truth, it is more a mystery and suspense anime. I don’t know how to play Shogi, though I’ve heard about it, and from what I noted from the show the basics are similar to chess. The protagonist is a young 12/13 years-old girl called Shion whose parents got killed in front of her eight years ago, and after that trauma, she lost her ability to speak. Her neighbours took her in, and taught her how to play shogi. The anime picks up from the point when she becomes a pro-shogi player (a female kishi) and delve into the characters she meet along the way. She discovers more about the truth behind the great mystery 8 years ago (it was more like she remembers more and more), and we see a great role played by the relentless persistence of the police and also the participation of the media.

 

I like how the suspense was played out. In the first few episodes, there was not one character that was suspicious yet, the culprit was only shown to be masked. The middle few episodes point out a secondary character who was clearly the antagonist at that point as a very suspicious character, but just as it adds to his (yes, a spoiler) suspiciousness, it also gradually decreases it. By the point when that antagonist clearly turned good and becomes out of suspicion, I already had a good idea of who the real murderer was, and by episode 18 or 19, the viewers were given a clear idea of who it was. It was confirmed in episode 20, but because the culprit was portrayed in a very good light in the first part of the show, viewers will tend to think, “it cannot be him” or “there must be some other twist to it”. I love that.

 

The mystery in this story, especially towards the end, was not so much of ‘WHO’, but more of ‘WHY’. The producers easily told us who the murderer was, and not wait for a thrilling finale. The fact that the ‘WHY’ was such a big issue made me expect a grand answer, but the answer was just plain stupidity. Of course, I could see some relevance, but I was certainly expecting more, a better reason to murder than that! I won’t say what, but it’s irritating me. If the ‘WHY’ value could have been better built upon, I’d certainly have loved this anime more.

 

However, it was a good watch. Shion, the female protagonist, was certainly a very very strong protagonist. The character development given to her was awesome. At the end of the episode she regains her speech(spoiler-highlight to see), which was expected, but I had nothing against it, because the character growth given to her was deserving of something like this. The side-characters had also quite a bit of development, we see time taken to focus on their matches and lives, there were a few episodes when the protagonist did not show up that much. I could imagine any one of the side characters being the main character in the same world, because such was the amount of depth given to them. There were sparks of romance that flew between some characters, although I’d have preferred it if a bit more was developed on that.

 

The graphics and animation gives me a bit of an old-school feeling, although it really, isn’t. Maybe it’s the influence of the shogi and the Japanese styled houses. It is rather unique in a sense. Add this to the fact that the protagonist cannot speak. But her facial expressions more than make up for her loss in speech. I do find it notable that she continues using a sketchbook to communicate instead of learning sign language. I thought most people would learn sign language.

Other minor things: I hate the way how the characters always wear the same set of clothes! So irritating! Especially the men! The girls, like Saito and Nikaido, were quite flexible in their dressing, but the men! Oh! Irritating!

Overall comments: I’ve always loved a good mystery show, and no matter how I dislike the ‘WHY’ value in this mystery, the ‘WHO’ value is strong enough to blow me away. The depth of characters, especially Shion, was impressive, and it was fun to have Shogi as the core of the anime (rather than pure mysteries or pure slice-of-life). For those who seek suspense, this is a much watch, you’ll be blown away by the impressiveness of the ‘WHO’ value, and you’ll be blown away by the ridiculousness of the ‘WHY’ value.

Rating:
Plot: 8 (I’d have given 9 if not for the argh! irritating ‘WHY’ value)
Characters: 9
Setting: 9
Style: 9
Graphics: 8

Overall Rating: 86/100