but the longer nakai-kun's solo gets, the more beautiful my hair becomes

[dictionarysays]

the title has nothing to do with the post itself but i love goro and i have serious must re-watch s.m.a.p. urges to deal with |D

So I've been wanting to write this entry for like a week now, but then got busy and started it then stopped and erased it  but then heretic encouraged me and that sort of worked because I think we might have similar feelings or smth and I want someone to rant with either way so there's that. And I still don't know how to organize my thoughts into walls of text so I'm just gonna' hope for the best here and let it all out, lol. 

I'm also totally still running off my raging feelings from last night after watching episode 4 and the preview for next week and the terrifying implications and omg IF THEY DO WHAT I THINK THEY MIGHT DO I'LL JUST STOP. 

Which works as an awesome segue for me to say that I have a thing for male camaraderie in harrowing situations, so like really, nankyoku is Pretty Much Catered To Me, but at the same time, if I'm totally honest, there's really only three reasons I'm still? watching it and their names are:
Himuro, Hoshino and Shirosaki-sensei.
I have such strong feelings for these men, I don't even know where to begin. The way I immediately attached to Himuro probably surprises me the least because I'm sorry, characters who start out cold but clearly have a reason for it usually traumatic that's slowly revealed throughout the series and who you just KNOW have a heart and tease you with half-smiles and assholery in the beginning are my weakness. I obviously also ship him and Kuramochi in a very much bromance way, and can't wait to see how their relationship will play out and how it'll change while they're over there which is one of the reasons besides the obvious why that preview terrified and angered me and better not end the way it looks like it's going to end, I don't even care if they have to do something impossible and miracle-like. /derailed He also just has some of the most hilarious moments and I think he's so cute and it's underplayed because we're still getting to know him and he's still all 'I'm an observer, bitches' like that scene in ep. 3 where Hoshino's looking at the map and Himuro keeps trying to grab it but fails every time and bawww, it's so cute. And having him played by Sakai, who I'm so used to seeing smiling and being a general adorable human being? It was ridiculously weird at first but now I just can't wait for the character growth every episode and the layers being constantly peeled. ;AAA; /there's a dirty joke there that i'm not touching just because

When it comes to Hoshino, first things first, I can't believe they managed to make Kagawa look that old. I always have at least one moment every episode where I'm all, jfc kagawa, they made you over good. So okay, yeah, I also may have biased feelings for these two too, but I don't think that matters all that much. It's more to do with Hoshino's quirky adorableness and how he's always one step ahead of everyone else but probably a lot more and how he just knows things and the only way he'll tell you is by smiling those cheeky grins of his and looking at you all wide-eyed and glimmering behind his glasses and honestly, he is the epitome of the wizard archetype for me most of the time. Which sounds weird to me too because I haven't been in grade 10 english for years, but that's what I keep getting from him and I've been calling him wizard in my head since episode 1, so yeah. I think he has the sort of stability the other guys aren't able to find in their selves, and yeah, it does tie back to Shirosaki entrusting the crew to him as well, but I think he's a generally really solid guy. And he showed Einstein around Kyoto. That attests to his awesomeness enough. <3

Now Shirosaki's special. One, because he's barely in the show as it is my god, do I wish there was a way he could've stayed back  with the boys and two, I'm immediately moved when he's on the screen. I don't have the I've-seen-him-in-other-stuff excuse that I could sort of use like the other two and even I don't really get why he's had such an impact on me, but I do know this. He has so many feelings to give to his crew and I believe that everything he says and does comes from a genuine and soft place inside of him and I can't help but cry every time he talked about the boys or he was concerned or he entrusted the crew to Hoshino on the ice with water in his eyes when you knew he wished he could be there too or when he saluted them goodbye with probably all the love and respect he could muster up between all his tears and uggggh, he's just so touching, 'kay? ;AAAA; And he's this older man who I guess might give me grandfatherly vibes? but I don't think it's that either. I think it's more the true sincerity he's exuded since the beginning and how much he believes in this project and the boys and how he puts that altogether to make some really pretty moments and a great character. 

Uhhh, character-worship aside, lol, it's more the drama itself that I've got qualms with. I mean, it's TBS' 60th anniversary so I get that it's a big deal and that they pulled out all the stops for this one and I'm in total awe and want to give big ups to everyone who worked on it. I'm not doubting all the stupendous work that went into it, I'm having more issue with how predictable it's being. Tbh, I'm a little sad that Kuramochi isn't really one of the reasons above, especially since I'd been all, 'Whooo! Kim+toque+doggies!' when I'd heard the news. :'D  

ALSO, I WANNA KNOW IF I'M THE ONLY ONE OR WHAT but is anybody else feeling like nankyoku is similar to karei-naru? idk if it's because of the narrator who I'm totally positive is the same narrator from the latter, but I haven't checked mostly because I don't want to get hooked into watching the entire series again and then getting my soul beat up repeatedly. Even though you're my favourite drama karei, that doesn't mean I like being abused! at least not all the time. Or maybe it's the way that everything that could go wrong does but with a twist of fate or more like because of Kim ;D they're saved until the next time the script decides to go all circular on us. That scene in ep. 2? where all those workers came to the rescue to help build Soya was totally ripped from karei and no one can convince me otherwise~

See? This is what I was worried about, being all over the place and not getting what I wanted across and making misunderstandings and siiiiigh. Despite the fact I say all this, I'm still too-excited every time an episode's released. 

Oh! I'm also not behind Miyuki/Kuramochi AT ALL. I don't have a problem with Ayase, since I don't follow her enough in the first place to really have much of an opinion on her anyway besides the random SxS episode or other variety show I've seen her on, and I shipped her with Ryusuke like you wouldn't even believe in Mr. Brain so it's nothing personal. I just really can't get behind sister and brother-in-law ultimately getting it on. For one, isn't it disrespectful to his late-wife why have there not been any Nakama/Kimura scenes yet?! aka Her Sister Who Died? It's been like, what, 10 years since the war? So it's not that I'm saying Kuramochi shouldn't move on or anything, but the circumstances make me uncomfortable enough that I can't ship them and would rather she ended up with Himuro if, you know, he doesn't end up with me :9 instead. I bet the show will do smth to illustrate Nakama's blessings from beyond, show that she approves and make them getting together look good and then I will roll my eyes/shake my head/pffft more than usual and be pissed for the rest of my days. As long as they don't do that 'til the very end. I don't want them ruining the rest of the episodes for me. 8|

I'm really hoping they focus in on some of the other crew members soon. I want to know other people's stories too. There's like 11 of them and we really only know anything about 4? That ain't right and I'm having trouble with a lot of their names which could totally be rectified if I had a reason to be attached, so I'm thinking the later episodes will be doing some of that and if not, I'll be really disappointed. :/

Since I didn't really touch on it yet and I should, predictability is my biggest fault with nankyoku. It's a little eye-rolling whenever smth dangerous! happens and srsly, how many more bad things can happen? The last 4 episodes alone have had fires and ice breaking off and blizzards etcetc. That's pretty jam-packed if you ask me. Also, Kuramochi being the hero all the time makes me head-desk sometimes, NGL and makes the predictability that much worse and just, guuuh, I know that you're awesome Kimura but do you have to jump into everything first? It's also a lot more melodramatic than I thought it would be I think. I was expecting it to be, true, but I guess on top of the predictability, it's sort of a bummer. I'll still finish it though and wait eagerly for each release and cry whenever the drama tells me to because it's good at turning my faucet on, but I'm going down kicking and screaming if I have to, lol.

Is it weird that I kind of feel like a bad person? idk why that is, well, no, that's a lie, I know why it is; I feel like my thoughts about this drama aren't as generous as the ones I've read or sortofbutnotreally talked about with friends on my flist and that almost completely explains why I've been procrastinating this. 8|;; But then again, that's what I love about fandom so much, that we can have all these different thoughts and ideas and have a place to hash it out and it's no fun if everything's rainbows and apple pies all the time anyway. Right? |Db

I think I'm done vomiting for now. I really just needed this entry to happen so I could wrench this stuff out, ahaha.

I'm totally open to and encourage any and all opinions/rants/flails/HDUs below. <33

Comments

[jorian1108.livejournal.com]

Actually I have some very ambiguous feelings about this story. Both, I want to see it since it is so much-spoken-about-to-be-great-and-important-and-historical-and-Kimura-and-dogs, but on the other hand I don’t feel like getting involved in something that may bring me down even more than I currently am. I am approaching it as the dog which tries to get acquainted with the hedgehog; curious but scared… I’m having some serious/hard/exhausting time right now, so I probably will have to wait till next Tuesday or so, but after reading what you have written I am definitely going to watch this drama NOW (well, available episodes) . If you say it is worth seeing no-matter-what… I’ll do it and get back with my conclusions. Thank you for giving me courage and motive! <3

[dictionarysays.livejournal.com]

I'd rec it, even just the first two episodes at the very least, because I think the first episode sort of sets things up and is a little low so it's 2 and on where things begin really happening. Oh, the whole dogs thing, right? I think it's interesting how the entire focus before it came out was on the dogs, but idk, it's a lot about the men too so you might not be completely bummed out? And just when it gets too down, Kim' pulls out another one of his inspirational speeches/words/etc., so it'll bounce you back again, lol. I hope I didn't ruin any of it though! I don't think I was too spoilery, even though I figured if anybody read this, they'd probably be watching it too.

No prob, though, lol, I didn't expect to sway anyone into seeing it, and idk if my post succeeded or failed in that case. I'd say it's worth a look, at the very least, especially if you're into that sort of thing. :Db

[tokeruyouna.livejournal.com]

I have not seen (and do not plan to) this drama, but really? Your opinions sound much more generous than the ones I have been hearing from other people.

[dictionarysays.livejournal.com]

Oh, really? That makes me so curious. I haven't read that many tbh and the ones I have, they're all in fandom or like Kimura so that probably biases that.

[kowareru-sekai.livejournal.com]

Himuro's gifs LMAO XDDDDDDDDD
I also like that non-proposital kind of funny character lol

Well, as I said before, I didn't watch Karei Naru Ichizoku so I can't comment much about it! (But I wikipedia-ed and saw that the narrators are different. KNI's is Baishou Chieko (who also dubbed Sophie from "Howl's Moving Castle") and Nankyoku Tairiku's narrator is Naraoka Tomoko)

I don't care who I'll be offending with this, but I don't like Ayase D: I never liked her. I watched some dramas/movies with her but never finished none of them. She's not my type and I don't think she's a good actress at all. But then, personal preferences.
And I don't support her crush over Kuramochi. I'm not saying she can't like him; she likes whoever she wants, that's not of my business (LOL) :P Just don't marry him or so. Because that's wrong. As you said, is disrespectful :/ Especially in this case that her sister is dead (if she were still alive I bet the story would become a wild girls' fight and I would lol hard with that XD). It's just... NOOOO (>_<)

Oh, from the crew I like Samejima (Terajima Susumu)! He has the typical old image of Japanese "father" and is funny and I love him XD Though it was cliché how he didn't like Kuramochi in the beginning and then became all respectful(?) later on lol
But Funaki (Okada Yoshinori) and Yokomine (Yoshizawa Hisashi) are special for me too :3 The former just because I'm a futile fangirl that likes Okada Yoshinori's acting lol And Yokomine was so adorable because of his new born kids (iwi) AWW I hope he gets home soon to see them! lol

And of course, Inuzuka is also special because we have many similar points.

I might make another post about the drama soon. I think I will wait to see the 6th episode (which the preview didn't show anything at all so I'm frustrated and anxious and almost crying orz lol)

[dictionarysays.livejournal.com]

Best parts about episode 3, HANDS DOWN. <33
And it's trueee, Himuro doesn't mean to be funny and doesn't realize when he is and it's just adorable and unassuming. /obvious bias is obvious

Ooh, really, she's Sophie? THAT'S SO COOL. And lol, thanks for searching for me~

Ayase is very neutral ground for me, ahaha, so you're not offending me. But I do sort of get the idk-if-she's-a-good-actor-or-what vibes from her too. I've only watched her in MB and this so far, but I still get the feeling she's emotionless. :/ I usually don't think she's that pretty either but ohman, she looks pretty gorgeous in Cyborg She (in the few screencaps I've seen) and I'm very tempted to watch the film just for that. /confession

Don't get me wrong, I can totally understand why Miyuki would have feelings for Kuramochi, especially if it's just been them really since the war and it's probably one of those went-from-admiring-to-something-more sort of things, or maybe she always had feelings for him, even when he was married to her sister, but idk! They haven't really expanded on it yet and I don't really want them to, lol. I'm just generally ignoring the love aspect of the drama, tbh, and staying focused on my three favourite men. :3

LOL, I love Samejima too, although really now, who can not Terajima Susumu? He's always awesome even though he plays a lot of the same characters, but I like it. I like his r/ship with his son and thought the penguin drawing was so sweet and baww. Pahaha, I like how it took not even an episode for him to suddenly respect Kuramochi. xD And I just want Yokomine to return home safe and meet his new family. He's sweet.

I'm surprised by how much time they've spent on Inuzuka actually, I like Yamamoto though too, so it's not that bad of a deal, but I also want them to spend time on the others so I'd be happy if they took away some of his and used it on the others. |D;;

Waitwaitwait. Does that mean the 5th episode ends with a cliffhanger? aka we don't know if Himuro dies or not, or does that whole mountain-situation happen in 6 instead? /so scared ;AAAA;

I'm sorry for how tl;dr this ended up, btw, lol.

[kowareru-sekai.livejournal.com]

I still get the feeling she's emotionless. :/
THIIIIIISS
How can people like her become actors/actresses?! D: I just... can't orz

BAH I made a spoiler-wanna-be 8D LMAO It wasn't on purpose XD
Well, I may say the 5th episode ends just where it has to end - which means, in a very cliché part because this drama is made of predictable cliché, Kimura Takuya and dogs.
But what frustrates me the most is the 6th episode's preview. It wasn't a preview at all. It was like the producers didn't finish editing the 6th episode yet, but they needed to transmit something, so they chose random short scenes and put there, you know LMAO

[hereticpop.livejournal.com]

i should be writing a response paper for tomorrow's class, but i don't wanna~ so i thought i'd write one here instead. 8D

Himuro, Hoshino
YES, and my third reason is Kuramochi/Himuro because honestly. i actually shipped them in a bromance way at the beginning, but around the 3rd ep i was already so fed up with this drama that i started to ship them in a very sexual way to entertain myself it worked. if they get Himuro killed, i'll be ripping the veins out of my wrists with my teeth. and yes, Sakai Masato always seems like such a nice guy, i was surprised how convincing he is as an asshole. i share your sentiment about Hoshino too and this! And he showed Einstein around Kyoto. That attests to his awesomeness enough. <3 the best ever. <333

and that's probably all the good stuff as far as i'm concerned, everything else... everything else about this drama makes me constantly want to rip those veins out and it has to be pure masochism that keeps me watching still. the predictability! the melodrama! the nationalistic propaganda! the inspiring speeches! [counted 1 per 30 minutes for the first 2 eps, then stopped counting] the tears! [i'll be the first to D'AWWW at the man tears, particularly if Kimu's involved, but THERE'S JUST TOO FUCKING MUCH. give me at least one ep without watering eyes, please!] I CANNOT ALL THIS. i suppose it wouldn't be all that bad if they accumulated all the aforementioned in final eps, that would be to be expected, but couldn't it develop gradually, for fuck's sake? do they have to overload every freaking episode with these things? I CAN'T WATCH IT SERIOUSLY THIS WAY.

I have a thing for male camaraderie in harrowing situations
YES AND MORE YES. which pisses me off even more because it could've, could have been such a great drama, the setting is perfect [i really like that they've been focusing more on the crew than the dogs so far] but they just so royally screwed it with the predictability! melodrama! the dramatism, emotionalism, pomposity, i don't even know how to call it! the sugar-coatedness! the man tears everywhere! ugh, won't their eyes freeze if they'll keep on crying in -30 C all the time?

but is anybody else feeling like nankyoku is similar to karei-naru?
NO, DON'T PUT THIS THING ANYWHERE NEAR THE FLAWLESSNESS THAT IS KAREI NARU yeah, kind of, particularly the first ep. because of the narration and the workers too. not much else, though, sadly. but it does make me want to go re-watch Karei Naru as soon as possible, to get rid of the bad taste in my mouth that Nankyoku leaves.

i did think that Miyuki/Kuramochi were cute at the beginning, now i want both Kuramochi and Himuro to come back and marry her and for them to live a happy threesome life. no, i wouldn't be projecting my own fantasies here, would i? in other words, i totally don't care about the-late-wife-that's-barely-mentioned-anyway. but,
I bet the show will do smth to illustrate Nakama's blessings from beyond, show that she approves and make them getting together look good and then I will roll my eyes/shake my head/pffft more than usual and be pissed for the rest of my days.
ohgod, i can see this happening. D: this is gonna be another vein-ripping moment, if it happens.

Kuramochi himself is... i don't know. i sure am biased as hell is wide, and that's probably the only reason i even care about him, his typical hero character comes across so blah next to the other, more interesting characters. makes me think he's only there to be cute and heartbreaking [it's like he could be one of the dogs, seriously], which in turn annoys me, because it's just bad scriptwriting again. basically all the flaws of this show are due to bad scriptwriting, because everything else is great, the cast is great, it's so well-made, it's clear that a lot of work was put into it - why does it have to be wasted so badly?

my only hope is that it still might get better. unless they, you know, KILL HIMURO OFF. IN WHICH CASE THIS IS JUST A SHIPWRECK SINKING STRAIGHT TO THE BOTTOM. ♥

so do you still feel like a bad person? XD and those gifs are way more beautiful than this drama deserves.

[dictionarysays.livejournal.com]

I love you in ways you don't even wanna' know this post was totally worth it.

You've pretty much summed up so many of feelings in a better and more bitter way that i don't think i would've been able to manage completely on the post because i'm self conscious like that, lol, so i was waiting for your comment instead so i could let loose all the ruder things i wanted to say here XD;;

i started to ship them in a very sexual way to entertain myself it worked.
I've been trying not to, without much success tbh but I'm not admitting that lol, just because I really don't want to resort to writing fic about them or smth because it'd just be so easy to and again one of those restraint and should-work-on-unfinished-shit-instead sort of things. But I looooove their budding dynamic and c'mon now show, WE NEED THEM TO MEND THEIR RELATIONSHIP WHICH MEANS HIMURO CAN'T DIE. I will file very official-like complaints if he dies. No, srsly, I'll learn kanji, and then proceed to die once they've all been sent. 8|

I may or may have not wished Himuro was the lead more than a couple of times too and felt bad about it.

But uhh, the point I was trying to make was that YESSSS, take away those things and I would've dropped this a long time ago, ngl. And I'm one of those people who like, when they drop things keeps saying they'll return to it eventually but in reality never really does, heh.

the predictability! the melodrama! the nationalistic propaganda! the inspiring speeches! the tears! I CANNOT ALL THIS.
ESPECIALLY THOSE LAST THREE WHICH I DIDN'T EVEN REALLY MENTION BUT JFC YES. Don't get me wrong, there's nothing wrong with these things when they're scattered about in reasonable amounts and you know, over a space of time. But here, like you said, this shit's forced and funnelled into every nook and cranny they can get And Then Some. TBH, considering the way the rating's seem to be going, I sort of get the feeling even the Japanese audience isn't really feeling these things and ofc on top of all those other things like target audience, other airing dramas, etcetc. but i wouldn't be a bit surprised if this UNNECESSARY OVERLOAD was some of the reason. Omg, the man tears, I still cry since there's only so much I can do, I'm weak and human and whatever, but it annoys me to no end when I do unless it involves Himuro or smth.

But exactly! It had so much potential before it started airing and we were hearing all these things and sure, it's still epic outside of these things we've mentioned, but it's not great and really now, how did that happen? How do you make a group of men working together on a big ass iceberg for a year and all the tensions sexual or not and camaraderie that would grow out of that NOT be amazing? Gdi. Maybe it would've worked out better if it was a silent drama instead. /snark has become one of the most effective weapons won't their eyes freeze if they'll keep on crying in -30 C all the time? Guffawed like mad and this is the most valid point yet. <333

I APOLOGIZE PROFUSELY FOR ATTEMPTING TO PUT NAKYOKU AND KAREI NARU IN THE SAME ENTRY BECAUSE OBVIOUSLY FLAWFREE DRAMA IS OBVIOUSLY FLAWFREE Re-watching karei naru after this is all done might be the only light at the end of the tunnel at this point.

Hmm, polygamy you say? At least I wouldn't have called it and i'm all for fantasy-projecting 8DD. I'm kind of a little curious about Kuramochi's marriage though, or more like surprised they haven't really touched on it yet and I guess anything that doesn't put Miyuki and him together |D;; I srsly ship him with every other person on the show and idgi - why does it bother me that they're in-laws and clearly have feelings for each other, etcetc? I'm sure it's not as weird back then for them to marry and whatever then I'm making it out to be, but I'm also making it a bigger deal than it needs to be so I'm just going to sit somewhere else and look forward to Kuramochi/Himuro instead.

only a little more

[dictionarysays.livejournal.com]

Me not giving any real damns for Kuramochi probably makes me the saddest about this entire thing. He's just too flippin' heroic for me here, which isn't any different troupe from his usual but wow, no. It's too much. I hate that he's always being called when something's gone awry (which is like what, every 15 mins?) and guhhh, too many speeches that are supposed to tug at our heart strings and spur us into believing in smth again and it's like he could be one of the dogs, seriously is a scaryscary realization. D: And I'm quoting you again because what is it with this otherwise could've-been-beautiful drama getting jipped because basically all the flaws of this show are due to bad scriptwriting?

It's just a big ass shame.

IF HIMURO DIES THIS DRAMA DIES AND THAT'S THAT.

Looool, I'm just so happy to have been graced with your existence, what with you bringing out the best in me and all see: all this!. I only made gifs of the people I thought deserved it. P:

/man, ranting's so cathartic

this may be less coherent than usual due to severe hangover but let me try

[hereticpop.livejournal.com]

don't feed the rabid animals with love, it'll only make them bark louder. ♥

on the other hand, thank you thank you for this post, 'cause i'm too scatter-brained to make my own yet but i really needed to throw these feelings up somewhere [and keeping on whining to people who enjoy the drama just doesn't feel right].

OH GOD I feel the very same, right to the should-work-on-unfinished-shit-instead. D: although at the same time it amuses me how i can't figure out what it is exactly that feels kind of wrong about writing this fic-we-won't-be-writing about them. it's not like i wouldn't want to spoil the drama for myself, it's spoiled enough as it is, ha. anyway, i went as far as asking for spoilers for the 5th ep [feeling so dirty right now] and i am almost 100% assured that Himuro won't die, 'cause it'd be too obvious if they kept hinting at it for two eps and he did in the end. plus that would leave Kuramochi broken beyond belief 'cause you just know he'd feel guilty for the rest of his life and then it'd be hard to continue the story? /telling myself all these things makes me feel better, okay

you shouldn't feel bad about wanting Himuro to be the lead, though. :D i wouldn't mostly because he has this kind of supporting character shadow that makes him cool that i don't think would work the same way if he was the lead. like, there has to be Kuramochi the hero for Himuro to contrast? kind of thing.

And I'm one of those people who like, when they drop things keeps saying they'll return to it eventually but in reality never really does, heh.
WHY WOULD YOU WANT TO RETURN TO THE RUINS THEN ANYWAY? i suffer from being one of those people that never drop a drama no matter how bad it gets, so i'll keep watching even if they kill all the other characters and Kuramochi will be left with Japanese flags flapping in the wind, crying his tears for the whole last episode. /sigh

at the beginning i really thought that the reason why i don't like it is because i'm not the target audience [in this case: i'm not Japanese] and the Japanese audience will probably be able to relate to the patriotic feeling better and appreciate it more. the dropping ratings really surprised me and now i don't know anymore who this drama is supposed to cater to. MAYBE THE HUNDRED JAPANESE FLAGS IN EVERY EPISODE HAVEN'T BEEN IN-THE-AUDIENCE'S-FACE ENOUGH? MAYBE THEY SHOULD'VE WRAPPED KURAMOCHI IN ONE TOO FOR GOOD MEASURE?
[oh wait, i have an idea of what it would look like...]


patriotic stuff, no matter the nation it concerns, has never particularly appealed to me and now i'm starting to realise that the reason might be because it never seems to be done in a subtle way. and Nankyoku takes the lack of subtlety to a whole new never-explored-before level. or wait, i think communist propaganda might have explored these levels earlier

and yet it makes me cry too. and every scene that has the dogs hurt makes me suffer. I HATE IT SO MUCH.

How do you make a group of men working together on a big ass iceberg for a year and all the tensions sexual or not and camaraderie that would grow out of that NOT be amazing?
THIS, THIS IS A GREAT MYSTERY TO ME. the ability to screw and throw away so much potential must be an amazing skill. because IF ONLY the characters were acting like, you know, men, and not a bunch of Catholic schoolgirls in an educational Sunday morning tv show. [no offence to real life Catholic schoolgirls, of course]. ahaha, i had thought that too, that a silent drama could work better, or maybe i should just watch it without subs, but then there would still be so many bad things conveyed without words. like tears. D: and ikr, it is my valid concern. -20° C already makes me cry with the cold, i shiver every time i imagine how cold it's supposed to be there, and didn't Shirosaki-sensei's tea or whatever froze when they were arriving? THAT IS NOT AN ENVIRONMENT TO HAVE YOUR EYES WATER ALL THE TIME IMHO.

and way too long too

[hereticpop.livejournal.com]

Hmm, polygamy you say?
dammit, why did you just give me another idea? considering how that would be kind of illegal for the three of them to marry, they would have to emmigrate back to Antarctica in the end and they would live a happy life there with the dogs [which don't die, because i say so], fishing and hunting penguins and climbing mountains or whatever makes these men happy, and if they lost the fugly blue snowsuits and Kuramochi wore grey fur and Himuro wore black? WORLD WOULD BE A BEAUTIFUL PLACE. /totally carried away
i'm surprised that the wife hasn't been mentioned much yet too, i thought she was going to be a bigger factor for Kuramochi [maybe she will be later]. but i agree that there is something not right with the fact that they're in-laws, i thought about it before the drama started, it just doesn't give me the wrong vibe while i'm watching. could it also be that i have a thing for Kimu's incest love stories? heh. and it's also interesting that there's this additonal Himuro/Miyuki thing and i'm curious how it's going to work out [or i would be if the scriptwriting was giving any hopes that it might be good...]

there shouldn't be anything new about Kimu's character being heroic, but in Nankyoku it just seems that there isn't anything else to him. and i get a feeling that so far, we've been told about his amazingness more than we've been shown. like you said, he's being called whenever something happens, like a remedy to all evil, but has there really been a reason for that? he's more interested in his dogs and his own private dreams, why do the other crew members respect him so much? the script is clearly using the Kimura charm and the projection people have of him even before they get to know the character, but that leaves a lot of illogicalities in the character's construction.

it's just so sad.

BUT HE WON'T DIE, HE WON'T DIEEEEE. DON'T DIEEEEE, HIMURO. D:

i don't know how trashing dramas brings the best in you, but I AM HAPPIER ANYWAY, YOU MAKE ME FEEL LESS LONELY AND BITTER WITH ALL THOSE NOT-IMPRESSED KIND OF EMOTIONS. my love for you is the only thing that has my brain working enough to type today. ♥ probably forgetting half of the stuff i wanted to mention, though

/it issss, and a great pastime too ;p

[csaca.livejournal.com]

I need to admit, I was waiting for your negative comments on this drama :) You made me realize so much things about Karei naru and other Senpai dramas, as well.
I'm too biased, and too easily get amazed, so this drama is perfect in my eyes, not as much as Karei naru was, but definitely loved every episodes so far...

They made me a fan only with those nationalistic propagandas, and the speeches... I was crying on the first episode, when I watched it without subs and Senpai spoke on the ship... that whole picture of him with the japanese flag in the background... omg, I still got goosebumps... I'm weak, really, really weak against characters like Kuramochi. He is the typical dreamer-hero, and has so much in common with Teppei, if we want to compare it to Karei-naru... Only Teppei dreams were more realistic, ne? What Kuramochi and Sensei want exist only on the ideas' world... But definitely had an effect on the japanese people at beginning...

Oh the kids... I wish they would have spent much more time with them before went to Nankyoku.

Hm~ That scene with the workers ^^" It was certainly stolen from Karei naru, I kinda expected Nari to show up x'D And I had many dejavu in the first ep, when watched Senpai to beg for money to make his dream come true. Those humilitaing moments made me had a huge like on him, not to mention his hero attitude. Yeah, as I said, I'm weak, and easily get amazed.

I know it's not that good as Karei naru was, and it won't be either from now on, still I really hope we'll get an ending, which makes everybody happy, they watched it till the end.

Ps: If it's that predictable, they won't let Himuro die, right? On this happening, I really really have a trust in predictibility, he is in the second important role after all...

guhhh your icon always makes me sad

[dictionarysays.livejournal.com]

LOL. I ended up sounding much less negative than I actually feel, if I'm honest, but I couldn't help it - I have friends on my flist who really like it and who might read this and I didn't want to come off as being Too Bitter. |D;;

But! Isn't that the awesome thing about different opinions, especially in things like fandom? You get to think about things you might not have originally and come up with some realizations so I'm glad my incoherent rant could do smth.

Nothing wrong with being biased, bb, we all are! I was totally coming into this drama biased and with high hopes too. Even though Kim isn't my bias, I love all the boys and the drama sounded like it was going to be ridiculously epic and it still is, for sure, it's just disappointing in some really important ways for me that makes me sad. :/

It's hard not to notice some of the karei naru parallels, huh? But at the same time, I don't want to compare it because karei naru is the most flaw-free drama I've ever seen, so it's hard for anything to match up to that. P: Oh man, the propaganda and all the speeches. If there was less of it and it was more spread out, I could appreciate it more - but I'm a hypocrite since I still get moved during those parts anyway. xD

Kuramochi, for me, could be a much stronger character if he was fleshed out, y'know? I feel like we don't know enough about him and the few things we do are constantly recycled and his heroics come off as sort of shallow because of my inability to really get attached to him. But, lol, ranting aside, I can see how you'd fall for the character, they're usually attractive to me too. |D

I want more of the kids too! Now that they're in nankyoku, tbh, I don't particularly care about the cuts back to Japan and I'm much more focused on the men on ice.

Yeaaah, the first ep, it was exactly that, deja vu. And again, I guess considering the people working on the project itself, the karei naru similarities shouldn't be much of a surprise. In spite of it all, Kim IS good at playing the hero and it's not his fault. /points and blames the script

I have so many different ideas to how this show could end. All I know is I want Himuro to live and Miyuki/Kuramochi not to get there. Anything outside of that, I don't really care. Oh! I want Yokomine to meet his new family too. :3

P.S. Oh god, I hope so. idk though, the preview for ep 6 was extremely vague and there were black and white montages of Himuro from earlier episodes and he was saying thank you to Kuramochi in an I'm-going-to-die-now sort of way so I'M REALLY SCARED. Please, let it be predictable! I could see the drama using Himuro's death as some sort of catalyst to spur Kuramochi on even more, so I'm not confident either way. ;AA;

P.P.S. Sorry for how long this ended up being, lol. 8|a

[faiee.livejournal.com]

I... actually haven't watched the show. Regrettably or not. I don't know, it's not conscious but looking back, I've pretty much sworn off heavy dramas for a while. Even if I do end up watching a heavy drama, it's usually by accident - like Bara no Nai Hanaya and Ryuusei no Kizuna. I didn't realise they were that dramatic... till it was a tad too late, and I'm a little scared of Nankyoku to be honest. This is also why I haven't been able to sit through Karei Naru, besides the fact that I tried to watch it on a slow streaming site the previous time.

... I don't know if I'm up for it, even if I was really excited about it before. I feel like a terrible fan... but with all the comments I've been seeing, I'm a tad scared about the drama~!

[dictionarysays.livejournal.com]

You know, I'd say at least check out the first two eps because the first one just sets things up and things start rolling after that if anything about it interested you, like an actor/actress, plot line, etcetc. There's some redeeming factors, mostly characters I've already mentioned, lol, and it's totally just a me thing too so idk! You could feel totally different about it.

Hmm, I don't think it's nearly as heavy as Bara and Ryuusei? Like, it's dramatic, yeah, but the predictability sort of helps and the fact we're coming into it knowing that the dogs will be left behind. Whenever I cry, it's usually character-motivated things, so if you're worried about it being too heavy, bb, I don't think it's that bad. But could just depend and I really like heavy things so my feelings might be different. |D;;

Oh, but doooood. You have to watch karei naru some day! It's the most amazing thing. Although my cousin couldn't get through it because of the narrating and business aspect; even if you're not a fan of those things, look past them and it's really just a beautiful drama about relationships in the past and present and the inner-workings of a pretty messed up family and endurance and believing in smth no matter what's being thrown your way and omg I could go on and on and on. I hope you can sit through it one day. :3

Pssh, don't feel terrible. If it was a Nakai-drama then I'd wag my finger lol, I kid. But srsly though, I don't think you'll lose anything by giving it a shot to see what you think about it yourself.

free time and enough concentration to type something over two sentences-long, yay~

[apneatic-melody.livejournal.com]

First things first, Shibata Kyohei is a bamf. BAMF. I'm totally with you on the Shirosaki appreciation, like you wouldn't even believe.♥

Nankyoku is based on a book that spawned a famous older movie and is a TBS anniversary project with Fukuzawa Katsuo directing (+ the narration you mentioned). One would have to be blind not to see the Karei parallels tbh.

Now, although I'm not bothered to that extent, yeah man, this drama could be so much better. And you have no idea how much it pains me to say this. :/
I know that TBS actually wanted to go for the inspiring, heroic, heart-trampling take, but hiring Izumi Yoshihiro for the script, was imo v. v. wrong. Dunno if you bother with screenwriters at all, but dude is like the master of inspiring speeches, collective man-bawling and sugarcoating. It's like, you wanted to get a bob haircut and you went to the hairdresser who's known for abusing the buzz cutter or something.
I still like everyone and my heart bleeds in every dog scene like the huge sucker for animals I am (when Bekku died in Kuramochi's arms, you could've stabbed me, for real), but Nankyoku is definitely lacking. And it depresses me to no end to realize that.

I don't mind Kuramochi being a superman that much. I generally dislike supermen and heroes, but Captain always finds a way to give spirit and flavour to his characters beyond that stereotype. The problem imo is, they haven't given him enough depth. Sure, they've thrown in background stuff like "Daddy was a mighty explorer, let's live his dream", "wife died at war" and "fatal mistake while mountain-climbing", but that barely scratches the surface. Everything behind his drive towards this mission has only been mentioned in passing and it makes him feel kind of one-dimensional as a character. He even comes off as bossy and unreasonably reckless at times, and I, as a viewer, cannot back him like that.

I don't support Miyuki/Kuramochi either, but I understand she's his anchor. If he had no one waiting for him at home he'd have no reason to come back. Not with his personality. I don't expect much to come off this tbh, fakecest doesn't tend to get happy endings, but it's a DNW for me too.

IF THEY DARE OFF HIMURO MAY THE FLEAS FROM A THOUSAND CAMELS INFECT THE CROTCH OF WHOEVER'S IDEA WAS THAT, AND HIS HANDS BE TOO SHORT TO SCRATCH. Kuramochi/Himuro is my favourite thing about this drama, probably even above the dogs (remember, I'm a sucker for dogs), and ending it would be both irrational and stupid, and will make me like my icon. :| :| :|
We need to see more of Himuro GDI.

your icon is me

[dictionarysays.livejournal.com]

Omg, as soon as the first episode ended, I quickly google'd Shibata, found his dramawiki and saw the picture and was just all WHO IS THIS BAMF AND WHY AM I ONLY KNOWING HIM NOW? So basically, I've been on a search for anything he's been in that's subbed. And Shirosaki needs more screen time too. ♥

I don't follow screenwriters as much as I'd like to, lol. But ahhhh, that makes sense if that's what the dood excels at, Which We Can Obviously Tell. And that's the thing! If there wasn't so much of it in so little time, it would be fine, because I love man-tears and stirring speeches, etcetc. in general since that shit gets to me. But even though it gets to me, I'm still all 8| about it. And omg, Bekku, I'm not even talking about that, just no (even though since they've been finding the dogs, I've been masochistically been trying to guess which ones I think will live: MOST DEFINITELY RIKKI because he's the kids' dad and then I'm thinking maybe Taro/Jiro? idek why I'm thinking about these things in the first place ;AA;)

It's definitely way depressing to see nankyoku lacking in things, what with all the build up before it started airing and the high hopes and the beautiful cast and just all the potential that in some ways, is going to waste.

THAT'S TOTALLY IT. Kim is awesome at the heroics and I tend to get easily attached, but Kuramochi isn't being fleshed out. Like you already mentioned, were just being told the same things about him over and over again and it's like, 'okay now, when are we going to delve into his character some here? There has to be more about him than him wanting to fulfil his daddy's dreams, etcetc - why should I even care about these things in the first place?' Mm! I'm with you there on the occasionally coming off as those sorts of things, which sometimes I try to excuse as contrast between him and Himuro but at the end of the day, what's there to like about a hero whose selfish?

Miyuki being his anchor is a-okay with me, and it's true, he seems like the type to need smth to come back to or who knows what other crazier shit he would've done by now. But idkkkkk. Even though it's fakecest, I'm very mucho worried that they'll twist it in a way for them to end up together. I'm still not sure if Kuramochi has 100% brotherly feelings for her which, i guess, he obviously doesn't but there's this Miyuki/Himuro thing they've been hinting at as well, and I can get behind that.

OMG HAVE YOU SEEN EPISODE 5 ALREADY? DID YOU SEE THAT PREVIEW FOR EP. 6? THAT HAS TO BE THE VAGUEST THING I'VE SEEN IN YEARS AND IT'S MISLEADING ME TO BELIEVE THINGS I DON'T WANT TO BELIEVE. ;AAAA; Kuramochi/Himuro is just fantastic. Their push and pull dynamic is so great and I can't imagine the drama going on without it besides the fact It Would Physically Kill Kuramochi. Cawmon, nankyoku, make me believe again! DDD:

Episode 5 by far is the best episode as of yet for me. So many Himuro feelings~ <33

[edneichon.livejournal.com]

i think nothing will ever be like karei..but the thing is ~ the show has the same director.producer~despite he was the same one x mr brain
with another context~ the director-san is making us feeling natsukashi about karei naru~
there is something i really agree with you and is the directions the plot is going, kimura is important so he needs all the attention, but i want to see other characters in actions too~ dont make all the hard work just to focus in so few of them~the cast its huge~
well i still need some time with the show~ there are still episodes ahead~
..dont feel bad... a good vomit of words sometimes is the best xD~
take care and gambare!