Last Friends

bmwracer wrote:
I figured someone would say that, but LF is more deserving of a demotion... :P

Of course it is! Just give the point or two you take off to Orange Days.

deseipher wrote:You could say the relationship was in focus, on the DV part of it. :sweat: I guess too focused on one aspect, and the writers didn't have the competence to zoom out by adding more substance.

The drama should've been turned inside out, with Ruka as the main story and the DV plot secondary if you judge the drama based on development and completeness... As it currently is, it's a storytelling mess.

Wynter wrote:

It does, and you've spoken exactly how I've thought. Thanks. :good: But I have to add, I was also disappointed in Eri's character. She was so underused. And Ogurin was just useless.

Totally agreed on Eri! Listen up, Japan! Asami needs better parts!

Writing is probably a good 60-80% of the characters, if you're given terrible lines and direction, no matter how good an actor you are, you really can't do much to escape sucking.

A great actor will take good writing and take it that extra 20%, but anything less and the actor will be hindered beyond repair.

deseipher wrote:

I was honestly expecting something more after Eri went over to the hospital to talk to Sousuke, but sadly we were only given hints about what Eri might have been through in her past. While her marriage to Ogurin might have been a sign saying she's moved forward, it came so suddenly that it hardly makes any sense. I can't say that the drama could've gone on without Eri, as she was there to provide support for Ruka, but it certainly would've been nice to know more about her.

You nailed it. We got a little glimpse of her and it only lead to disappointment.

Microcosmic for the series, I think.

bmwracer wrote:
I figured someone would say that, but LF is more deserving of a demotion... :P

I actually think 1 up, 1 down is a good compromise :hehe:

Honestly though.. It's hard to put Orange Days and Last Friends in the same paragraph - not because Orange Days was much better than Last Friends, but they are polar opposites, from writing, directing, acting, casting, cinematic, and other points of view.

I would say Orange Days is the type of drama that forces the audience to zoom in on the action and on the character emotions, where Last Friends forces it down your throat (and I don't necessarily mean that in a negative way))

Wynter wrote:

Of course it is! Just give the point or two you take off to Orange Days.

Hehe.. young lady, we think alike ;-)

bmwracer wrote:
The drama should've been turned inside out, with Ruka as the main story and the DV plot secondary if you judge the drama based on development and completeness... As it currently is, it's a storytelling mess.

That reminds me of the discussion over at D-Addicts about how Masami-chan should get the nomination for Best Actress while Juri-Chan would get the nod for Best Supporting Actress, if they were to get nominated. Apparently some rule about being promoted as Lead Actress that Masami-Chan should be up for Best Actress. I say to hell with the technicalities, Juri-chan should be up for Best Actress regardless of how she was promoted. She had a stand out performance that went above the supposed leads. But with the storytelling mess as it is, there are actually people saying Juri-chan can't be nominated for Best Actress, and it would be a damn shame if it were to actually happen.

bmwracer wrote:
The drama should've been turned inside out, with Ruka as the main story and the DV plot secondary if you judge the drama based on development and completeness... As it currently is, it's a storytelling mess.

And this is how I thought it was going to be, and therefore was disappointed with the writers (that, they just sucked). I think this is why I liked the very beginning and the very end, because Sosuke was void in those areas. It was all about the Sharehouse folk.

phlargo wrote:

Hehe.. young lady, we think alike ;-)

:muack:

deseipher wrote:

That reminds me of the discussion over at D-Addicts about how Masami-chan should get the nomination for Best Actress while Juri-Chan would get the nod for Best Supporting Actress, if they were to get nominated. Apparently some rule about being promoted as Lead Actress that Masami-Chan should be up for Best Actress. I say to hell with the technicalities, Juri-chan should be up for Best Actress regardless of how she was promoted. She had a stand out performance that went above the supposed leads. But with the storytelling mess as it is, there are actually people saying Juri-chan can't be nominated for Best Actress, and it would be a damn shame if it were to actually happen.

Fa real. :thumbsup:

Mind you, I don't think any of them should actually win, considering how butchered their characters were. None of the actors/actresses really had a chance to shine.

Tho I'd argue that Eita was very bright indeed. :smitten:

deseipher wrote:That reminds me of the discussion over at D-Addicts about how Masami-chan should get the nomination for Best Actress while Juri-Chan would get the nod for Best Supporting Actress, if they were to get nominated. Apparently some rule about being promoted as Lead Actress that Masami-Chan should be up for Best Actress. I say to hell with the technicalities, Juri-chan should be up for Best Actress regardless of how she was promoted. She had a stand out performance that went above the supposed leads. But with the storytelling mess as it is, there are actually people saying Juri-chan can't be nominated for Best Actress, and it would be a damn shame if it were to actually happen.

Be it Best Actress or Best Supporting Actress, Juri-chan deserves a nomination... I don't think Masami-chan does.

bmwracer wrote:
I'm revising my vote: Last Friends gets a 6/10.

Welcome to the land of the 6/10 ratings, what took you so long to get here? :hehe:

As for the whole debate of Lead Actress vs Supporting Actress, I recall Mastumoto Jun winning for Hana Yori Dango as Best Supporting Actor, despite the fact he was the male lead of the show (this coincides with Inoue Mao winning Best Actress from that same show).

For you MatsuJun-haters out there, this also happened recently with Shibasaki Kou with her role as Kaoru in Galileo, despite the fact she was the female lead of the show.

I guess it all just boils down to semantics, and since obviously in this case the show was trying to make Ryo Male lead and Masami Female lead, it only can be concluded we're getting Best Supporting nods for both Juri and Eita respectively.

While I wouldn't be surprised if the majority of the cast get nomination nods (because the Television Drama Awards are crazy like that), I'd rather see the Best Actress award go to Amami Yuki for Around 40.

Tenshigure wrote:Welcome to the land of the 6/10 ratings, what took you so long to get here? :hehe:

It took a little longer for sanity to take hold. :beaten:

Wynter wrote:
But isn't this the fault of the writers, and not the actual character? If you're gonna hate the character, you're gonna hate for their actions.

Think of the flip side. If the character was great, how many people would specifically praise the writers as opposed to saying it was a great character or how much they loved the character. Since many of the viewers won't ever know the name of the writers, the focus of the hatred, or praise, will always be on the character. Sousuke kind of became the embodiment of why the show was disappointing and a waste of time. So the hatred for Sousuke had less to do with what he did, and more with what he represented.

Kijinnmaru wrote:
Think of the flip side. If the character was great, how many people would specifically praise the writers as opposed to saying it was a great character or how much they loved the character. Since many of the viewers won't ever know the name of the writers, the focus of the hatred, or praise, will always be on the character. Sousuke kind of became the embodiment of why the show was disappointing and a waste of time. So the hatred for Sousuke had less to do with what he did, and more with what he represented.

Actually, I'd say that the fact that the character itself was focused on WAAAAAAAY too much with little to no explanation as to why his actions were as they were (no solid backstory, no strong explanation for the conclusion, etc.), it just a focal point as to why the writers screwed up as badly as they did! If you're going to waste so much time on a single character and not even have the ability to flesh him out, why bother?

I've said it many times before: I wouldn't be surprised if the stories of Ruka and Takeru were in fact completely separate J-Drama storylines that got shoved into this one from the feel of how much more complete their stories were despite the fact even theirs were not completed.

I guess you could say that you're both right in that the writers can always take majority blame, but it's like not Ryo did anything with what he was given to sell it other than have a blank stare. That's what separates the good actors from the great actors, and while Juri's character probably had better writing, it didn't hurt that she also knew how to deliver the lines she had.

Tenshigure wrote:Actually, I'd say that the fact that the character itself was focused on WAAAAAAAY too much with little to no explanation as to why his actions were as they were (no solid backstory, no strong explanation for the conclusion, etc.), it just a focal point as to why the writers screwed up as badly as they did! If you're going to waste so much time on a single character and not even have the ability to flesh him out, why bother?

I've made that point more than once... If you read any of the earlier posts, the defense was that the writer(s) shouldn't have to spoon-feed (their term) the viewers as to the character's actions... :shakehead:

In other words, "you figure it out."

I think that's just a cop-out for a crappily written character.

Kijinnmaru wrote:
Think of the flip side. If the character was great, how many people would specifically praise the writers as opposed to saying it was a great character or how much they loved the character. Since many of the viewers won't ever know the name of the writers, the focus of the hatred, or praise, will always be on the character. Sousuke kind of became the embodiment of why the show was disappointing and a waste of time. So the hatred for Sousuke had less to do with what he did, and more with what he represented.

No, I disagree. What he represented is what the writers strive to accomplish. What he did is what we, the viewers, are more partial, too. Therefore we hate more based on actions. Well, at least, I do.

I mean, Ruka is gender-confused and a lesbian. This is what she represents. People who are homophobic would hate her just for this. But look at her actions? She's a lovely human being, therefore people loved her character. They like her because of her actions.

Wynter wrote:I mean, Ruka is gender-confused and a lesbian.

Can she be both?

Seems contradictory.

Magicmusic (who posted a while back) was probably more on the mark: Ruka's Genderqueer.

bmwracer wrote:
Can she be both?

Seems contradictory.

Magicmusic (who posted a while back) was probably more on the mark: Ruka's Genderqueer.

Ahhhh good term. There you go then. :good:

Wynter wrote:Ahhhh good term. There you go then. :good:

I thought it was a derogatory term, but it's a catchall term according to Wiki: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genderqueer

bmwracer wrote:
I thought it was a derogatory term, but it's a catchall term according to Wiki: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genderqueer

Yea, one would thing so because "queer" has often been considered derogatory, but none of my gay friends are offended by it and don't consider it derogatory.

I want to watch this drama really bad.. is it any good?