Last Friends

Wynter wrote:Alrighty, I've read up until page 36. That's where the first post of epi 3 begins.




I think Michiru is a darned fool so I'm very interested to see where things go from here.

I
Too much is happening too fast. This can be tragic. So far, tho, so good. :)

i so agree with u there
but i t seeems she learning from her errors

suzzy wrote:i t seeems she learning from her errors

Not fast enough, I'm afraid. :sweat:

bmwracer wrote:
Not fast enough, I'm afraid. :sweat:

Well, that is a matter of her perception too - if this is what it took for her to realize what she herself needed, maybe it will help her in the long run.

Sure, we don't want to see her hurt and making stupid decisions... but sometimes people have to make the decisions and realize that the hurt is not what they want. They're far more likely to change if they believe the problem themselves.

phlargo wrote:

Well, that is a matter of her perception too - if this is what it took for her to realize what she herself needed, maybe it will help her in the long run.

Sure, we don't want to see her hurt and making stupid decisions... but sometimes people have to make the decisions and realize that the hurt is not what they want. They're far more likely to change if they believe the problem themselves.

true
some people is right
i guess pain is some people way of learning for some
sad but true :puppydog:

bmwracer wrote:
Not fast enough, I'm afraid. :sweat:

unfortunately or should i say (regrettably )
but atleast .......she is

suzzy wrote:i guess pain is some people way of learning for some

Literally. :sweat:

suzzy wrote: true
some people is right
i guess pain is some people way of learning for some
sad but true :puppydog:

Oh, I don't know - there are definitely times where I knew I was doing something stupid but had to get 'beaten around' (figuratively) before I decided I was making a silly mistake. I'm not saying it's that simple with such an emotional and complicated process as DV, but there's definitely empowerment in personally choosing to break a negative cycle like that.

phlargo wrote:there's definitely empowerment in personally choosing to break a negative cycle like that.

If you don't get maimed or die in the process. :sweat:

bmwracer wrote:
If you don't get maimed or die in the process. :sweat:

Well of course there is a limit and you're probably right that Michiru was past that limit. He was out of control (especially now!!) and that's why it was

Spoiler — click to reveal

so important for Ruka, Takeru, and Eri to step in. But it was still predicated on Michiru's action of coming to their place after the specifically bad event in Ep. 3

(for Wynter's sake)

I completely agree. I have no idea why people are giving Ryou such a hard time. I think he's doing great. He's the only character that has me moving to the edge of my seat. Just the sight of him makes my hair stand on end, and though he's "flat" in the sense that we don't know anything about his character except that he's a freak, his execution of the character is great. I'm really scared for Michiru whenever Sosuke is in the scene.

No one is criticizing Ryo. We are criticizing Sosuke, the character in the drama, not the actor who plays the character.


As an outsider looking in, Michiru's decision to go back to Sosuke can be seen as stupid but I don't think it's stupid. Why do people smoke when they know it is bad for them? It is the addiction that smokers often can not overcome. In Michiru's case, she longed for a male figure (her father did play a main role in her role) and someone who she thinks loves her (if Takeru come into the picture before Sosuke, things could change). Deprivation turns into longing for something.

bmwracer wrote:
If you don't get maimed or die in the process. :sweat:

true true

Love2CUsmile wrote:

No one is criticizing Ryo. We are criticizing Sosuke, the character in the drama, not the actor who plays the character.


As an outsider looking in, Michiru's decision to go back to Sosuke can be seen as stupid but I don't think it's stupid. Why do people smoke when they know it is bad for them? It is the addiction that smokers often can not overcome. In Michiru's case, she longed for a male figure (her father did play a main role in her role) and someone who she thinks loves her (if Takeru come into the picture before Sosuke, things could change). Deprivation turns into longing for something.

Actually, I think some people are criticizing both actors for having such frightfully unimaginitive roles. We got the idea - it's time to move on. Or delve a little deeper. It's become a shockfest and although I've not seen Ryou in anything else, I really want to see him do something more! I wanna see a richer character there.

It's unfortunately in the hands of the screenwriter, here, as the actor is doing just fine with a very very limited part.

And as far as Masami goes.. Michiru is also a very boring character

Spoiler — click to reveal

(at least she was up until the most recent couple of episodes - but even still she's not all that interesting) Even if she has a motivation for her behavior, we're not seeing it - we have to infer it, dig for it, and the actress ain't giving us much.

phlargo wrote:

Actually, I think some people are criticizing both actors for having such frightfully unimaginitive roles. We got the idea - it's time to move on. Or delve a little deeper. It's become a shockfest and although I've not seen Ryou in anything else, I really want to see him do something more! I wanna see a richer character there.

It's unfortunately in the hands of the screenwriter, here, as the actor is doing just fine with a very very limited part.

I agree with that. Ryo's done well playing the unpredictable nutcase, and I'm sure he has plenty of viewers angry with his actions thus far, but it is time to dig deeper into his character. As you mentioned, it's really in the hands of the writers to provide the material to work with, and it's unfortunate that so far the writers haven't been able or wanting to expand the Sousuke character just yet.

deseipher wrote:I agree with that. Ryo's done well playing the unpredictable nutcase, and I'm sure he has plenty of viewers angry with his actions thus far, but it is time to dig deeper into his character. As you mentioned, it's really in the hands of the writers to provide the material to work with, and it's unfortunate that so far the writers haven't been able or wanting to expand the Sousuke character just yet.

Agreed.

What are the writer's waiting for? :headscratch:

If Ryo's role were a person, it'd be anorexic...

bmwracer wrote:
And the sun just came up. :beaten: :victory: :applaud:

I'm a slow learner, but I usually figure it out on my own in the end. :beaten:

phlargo wrote:

Well, that is a matter of her perception too - if this is what it took for her to realize what she herself needed, maybe it will help her in the long run.

Sure, we don't want to see her hurt and making stupid decisions... but sometimes people have to make the decisions and realize that the hurt is not what they want. They're far more likely to change if they believe the problem themselves.

Love2CUsmile wrote:As an outsider looking in, Michiru's decision to go back to Sosuke can be seen as stupid but I don't think it's stupid. Why do people smoke when they know it is bad for them? It is the addiction that smokers often can not overcome. In Michiru's case, she longed for a male figure (her father did play a main role in her role) and someone who she thinks loves her (if Takeru come into the picture before Sosuke, things could change). Deprivation turns into longing for something.

Hmmmm... I don't think it's has simple as longing for a male figure in one's life.

Spoiler — click to reveal

I think her decision to go back to him comes from her personality and her past experiences. I mean, she's lived with her mother for 22 years. She's used to being submissive and taking care of the people around her, even if she's used/abused. I mean, her mother clearly portrayed that she kept her daughter around because she was paying rent, and didn't care if she moved out... as long as she continued to pay rent.

I don't think all this was effectively portrayed in the drama (so far) but the suggestions are there. Michiru has a weak and delicate personality. She's the perfect "type" to fall victim to such a situation.

bmwracer wrote:
Agreed.

What are the writer's waiting for? :headscratch:

If Ryo's role were a person, it'd be anorexic...

Hmmmm... I can't really say anything to this, because I've only seen two episodes, but I can see how his one-dimensionality can be problematic if his character hasn't grown and we're already on epi 4...

Hmmmm mebbe I'll watch epi 3 right now (it's my prep :hehe: )

Wynter wrote:Hmmmm... I can't really say anything to this, because I've only seen two episodes, but I can see how his one-dimensionality can be problematic if his character hasn't grown and we're already on epi 4...

It think it'll be readily obvious by the time you catch up with us... He's just a plot prop so far.

Alrighty, read up until pate 46, where people start talking about epi 4.

chokakoi wrote:i always thought there are something behind every single character... such as maybe Sosuke was abused by his mom or stepmom when he was a kid, that's why he himself became abusive towards woman.
And that, something might have happened during the childhood of Ruka and Takeru, that caused them to have some problems now...

hmm.... I just got a feeling that the scriptwriter would not be so shallow and just create a character who is abusive for no reason...

Yea, after watching the 3rd epi, I can totally see now why everyone is complaining about Sousuke. His abusive nature has been thoroughly established, but the writers have completely left out the justification. Where's the history? Where's the background? Where is the indication that he's actually important? I thought his character was grand in the first two episodes, but by the third it's gotten tiresome. His character needs depth now.

Takoyama wrote:I can't understand some forum members' frustrations of wanting answers now. Why do you want to know answers this early into the story? Seriously, people need to chill and watch the story unfold after each episode. The director is doing a splendid job at maintaining the suspense thus affecting viewership/ratings. I personally would lose interest in this dorama if I knew a lot of the answers now. I guess we truly live in times of instant gratification. :shakehead:

Wow! You know, I was thinking the exact same thing while I was watching the 3rd episode. Although I believe Sousuke in particular needs a revamping, the overall episode was still grand. I did NOT find that it was filler at all. In fact, a lot of important things happen here.

Spoiler — click to reveal

We finally see Michi's stand on her relationship with Ruka, we learn important hints about Takeru's (is that his name?) past, and we get a taste of Ruka's childhood. We also see Michi standing up to Sousuke for the first time.

How can one call all this filler? What exactly are viewers expecting? I think people are demanding too much, considering we've only seen a quarter of the drama so far.

I do agree we need to move on from the DV and develop Sousuke a little more. But that's really the only flaw in the story-line. Everything is being developed nicely and smoothly, which is important, even if it IS a bit slow. And I can say this only because I've only seen three episodes. If this pace continues when we hit epi 8, then yea, there's concern. ;)

And, phlargo, dude, you REALLY need to start using spoilers. Nearly all your content related posts I read were spoilers, and that's really annoying for readers who don't like episodes spoiled for them before they watch an episode.

Wynter wrote:Yea, after watching the 3rd epi, I can totally see now why everyone is complaining about Sousuke. His abusive nature has been thoroughly established, but the writers have completely left out the justification. Where's the history? Where's the background? Where is the indication that he's actually important? I thought his character was grand in the first two episodes, but by the third it's gotten tiresome. His character needs depth now.

And you thought we we blowing smoke. :muack:

I do agree we need to move on from the DV and develop Sousuke a little more. But that's really the only flaw in the story-line. Everything is being developed nicely and smoothly, which is important, even if it IS a bit slow. And I can say this only because I've only seen three episodes. If this pace continues when we hit epi 8, then yea, there's concern. ;)

Yup.

Not sure if you saw my comment, but I think the entire drama could've gone without the entire DV thing... But as deseipher said, the writers felt that they had to inject some sizzle (if the Ruka story wasn't enough) and a JE boy to boost ratings... :sweat:

but in japan, the DV parts are generating more feedback and interest than the whole ruka-in-love-with-michiru thing.... we might feel that the DV part is redundant (actually i hate it too)... but at the other end of the spectrum you have some japanese viewers thinking that adding a GID (erm. Gender Identity Disorder) theme is uncalled for. because it is a fact that DV is a wayyy more common (and serious) problem over there than something like GID. if you take a look at the responses on the last friends website, 'sosuke' or DV appears in almost every comment....

oh well, it's even rumoured that the producers have decided to increase ryo's scenes in the show.... due to the 'overwhelming' response....

as much as i dislike sosuke, and JE fangirls in general.... i think ryo did a decent job with the character.... actually IMO the entire cast did well... just that some generate more hype than others (*cough* sosuke and ruka)... while a few pathetic ones get left out.....

nutcase wrote:oh well, it's even rumoured that the producers have decided to increase ryo's scenes in the show.... due to the 'overwhelming' response....

That's lame.

Really lame. :shakehead: