It was created, written and directed by one of my absolute favorite directos. Yukihiko Tsutsumi. He's a talented pro... and as it happens, what he thinks is funny usually makes me laugh.
I like light mysteries. I'm old fashioned. Regardless of the genre... I like stories with beginnings, middles and ends. Mysteries and detective shows have to have all three.
shin2 wrote:Finished watching Joshi Deka. A dorama that needed a lot better direction in both script and execution. Did a lot of fastforwarding on this one.
Not even in the same universe of a really good cop series like Aibou and of course, the king of them all, Odoru Daisousasen which, as I think about it, is less a cop show than a character show.
Anyway, after watching Joshi Deka I asked myself the same question that I find myself always asking after finishing a Yukie Nakama series: Just how good an actress is she?
Yes, she's attractive and has an engaging on-screen personality.
Yes, she's the highest paid actress currently working in Japan.
Yes, she's been in some popular (but not necessarily quality) dorama.
But after watching this series, I have to again say that no, I don't believe she's in the top echelon of actresses--the best half dozen or so-- working in dorama.
She's competent. Very competent. But it's a large chasm that separates the very competent from the very good.
To be fair, she's not even 30 yet, so there's plenty of time for her to become very good. Picking good scripts would help, although unfortunately, there's been a huge paucity of them in recent years in dorama.
She sold out when she did Gokusen 3...that should tell you her standing when it comes to real acting has gone down recently...
My 2 cents on Joshi Deka. They're showing it here on channel 18 on Sunday nights @ 9 pm (with english subtitles). I someone managed to get thru episode 1, but it was pretty obvious this was going nowhere fast. Fortunately, the first 2 seasons of Leave it to Beaver are out on DVD, so I'm filling that time with something much more entertaining. So, anybody on this forum that decides to watch Joshi Deka after all these warnings, I can say one thing, Lumpy's gonna pound you, you little goof!!![/list:u]
Tu_triky wrote:
She sold out when she did Gokusen 3...that should tell you her standing when it comes to real acting has gone down recently...
I don't hold it against her that she took on Gokusen 3 since she was probably paid a lot to do it. Everyone has to make a living.
But it would be nice if she also took on projects that would challenge her acting skills.
As I stated before, in recent years there have been very very few good scripts out there in the world of dorama. But the best actresses currently working in dorama--women like Shinohara, Amami, Natsukawa, Kanno, Fukatsu--also have gotten stuck doing mediocre or even worse series, yet their performances always shine. To use a cliche: they stick out like a sore thumb.
Nakama has yet to reach that level.
I dunno, Tu_triky; maybe she's just in for the money. I hope not. I hope that, in addition to achieving financial success, she would also want to become better at her craft.
I don't hold it against her that she took on Gokusen 3 since she was probably paid a lot to do it. Everyone has to make a living.
But it would be nice if she also took on projects that would challenge her acting skills.
As I stated before, in recent years there have been very very few good scripts out there in the world of dorama. But the best actresses currently working in dorama--women like Shinohara, Amami, Natsukawa, Kanno, Fukatsu--also have gotten stuck doing mediocre or even worse series, yet their performances always shine. To use a cliche: they stick out like a sore thumb.
Nakama has yet to reach that level.
I dunno, Tu_triky; maybe she's just in for the money. I hope not. I hope that, in addition to achieving financial success, she would also want to become better at her craft.
I agree with your dire assessment of the recent landscape in Japanese TV...I agree you can't make a fuss over how someone puts food on their table but it's not like she needs the money given the fact that she has the highest paid CM contracts in the Japanese advertising world..and that's where the big bucks really are...that said, you're right...you gotta make a living...I guess I am alluding to the fact that since she is so well paid she can afford to be a bit more selective than many of her other female counterparts...
Yeah I never saw her as a top shelf actress even though she is an A list celebrity. Let's put it this way, she ain't Rie Miyazawa. :hehe:
^ Agreed on all points. Yukie is undeniably gorgeous, and can no doubt act, but I don't think she's good enough to rise above a poor script like someone like Shinohara Ryoko. Yet.
Hopefully she will get some decent scripts soon :fingerscrossed: and stop relying on her looks so much.
gaijinmark wrote:My 2 cents on Joshi Deka. They're showing it here on channel 18 on Sunday nights @ 9 pm (with english subtitles). I someone managed to get thru episode 1, but it was pretty obvious this was going nowhere fast. Fortunately, the first 2 seasons of Leave it to Beaver are out on DVD, so I'm filling that time with something much more entertaining. So, anybody on this forum that decides to watch Joshi Deka after all these warnings, I can say one thing, Lumpy's gonna pound you, you little goof!!![/list:u]
That would be me. :sweat:
I went through all the trouble of hardsubbing, encoding, and authoring it, so I might as well watch it... Couldn't be any worse than Kirakira.
Anime Dad wrote:^ Agreed on all points. Yukie is undeniably gorgeous, and can no doubt act, but I don't think she's good enough to rise above a poor script like someone like Shinohara Ryoko. Yet.
Yeah I agree with shin2 and you...she ain't Ryoko Shinohara...
gaijinmark wrote:My 2 cents on Joshi Deka. They're showing it here on channel 18 on Sunday nights @ 9 pm (with english subtitles). I someone managed to get thru episode 1, but it was pretty obvious this was going nowhere fast. Fortunately, the first 2 seasons of Leave it to Beaver are out on DVD, so I'm filling that time with something much more entertaining. So, anybody on this forum that decides to watch Joshi Deka after all these warnings, I can say one thing, Lumpy's gonna pound you, you little goof!!![/list:u]
Since I dislike Japanese police oriented dramas I took a bye on this one.
Of course if Kuninaka made one I would have to watch.
As for Yukie, I have not been impressed with her either in Trick or Gokusen. However, I liked and feel she did a superb job emceeing the Red/white contest 2006. I think this is her real strength in a live interviewing and emceeing environment.
ralphm1999 wrote:However, I liked and feel she did a superb job emceeing the Red/white contest 2006. I think this is her real strength in a live interviewing and emceeing environment.
Just finished the third episode of Code Blue. Not much in character development, but it was nice to see the four doctors step-up and not choke under pressure. That was getting annoying.