Pride: thoughts on rewatch of ep 2
Jul. 13th, 2008 01:45 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
dangermousieEp 2 is just as good as I remember.
Oh, Pride, how incredible are you?
You know, when Aki smiles at Halu at the end of the ep (at the game): her whole face shines. Much as Kimura Takuya makes me ridiculously, teenagery hormonal in this drama (the thing at the end, with the grinning, and pointing turns me into an incoherent mess), Takeuchi Yuko is every bit as good. She is definitely my favorite jdrama actress. Seeing that Kimura is my favorite jdrama actor (I mean, is there any doubt?), this is basically a killer combination for me.
So many things are right with this ep: everything in fact. And we see the themes for the rest of the story dealt with here.
It's the beginnings of Yamato and Aki's friendship. Because, yes, Yamato is Halu's best friend: I think they are the only ones who know each other's deepest trauma. Which, if you know how frozen Halu is, and how equally closed off Yamato is, under his nice-guy demeanor, about his burden, is a huge thing. If I didn't ship Aki/Halu so hard, I think I could have slashed them. But he and Aki connect too (in a purely platonic way), even from their first interactions, because I do think they have a certain 'purity' of character, a certain similiarity. No wonder Halu refers to them both as people from last century.
And speaking of Yamato-related things. I don't dislike Yuri even from the start. Yes, she only wants to date rich men, but not only does she have a valid reason (she had a dirt-poor miserable childhood, which scarred her about money issues), she doesn't play coy or lie. She tells Yamato about her 'mercenary' standards up-front. I respect that.
Before I continue onto Aki and Halu portion of the post, just a quick shout-out to Chika. Yay for women owning their sexuality. I love the hilarious scene where Tomo is hiding in the restroom, terrified Chika is going to rant at him because they had a one-night stand and that was it, but she comes in and grins and tells him she doesn't mind: she enjoyed it and it was fun, and leaves. Heeee. And of course, next time we see them, they have gone out again. Heeee. Precisely because she isn't looking for anything but some fun, this might allow this relationship to progress. All the three ships in the drama have built-in protections/expiration dates which allow both men and women an out so that makes them less skittish: for Halu and Aki it's their contract, which let's them to pretend it's not real. For Tomo and Chika, it's just a mututally fun good-time so they don't need to worry about responsibilities/seriousness (heh, they are still dating in the epilogue, LOL, good for them). And of course for Yamato/Yuri there is a different expiration date: when she will learn he isn't rich, she will probably walk (well, I know what happens, but let's pretend for a second I don't).
But now, on to Aki and Halu. If it is possible to swoon while staying still fully conscious, the end of the ep makes me do so. When the match is hard and Aki is not there and then she shows up and he sees her and his eyes and her smile and his grin, and her holding out his molar (LOL) and his mouthing 'Baka' and her saying his catchphrase 'Maybe.' And his going 'eyes on me' (as if it possible to look at anything or anyone else). It's like there is nobody else in that stadium. And their chemistry and rapport are already incredible.
And of course, this whole scene proves his stupid old coach was wrong: loving does not make you weak or useless or ridiculous. Aki being there, her implied acceptance of him, makes him stronger, enables him to break through the line and score. Having someone or something to fight for is crucial. Btw, he is already dependent on her: he tells her if she will watch him, he will become stronger, and it's true.
(Side note: I love that Aki is squeamish about the fighting on the ice, but as later episodes prove, she has true courage when the fight 'matters.' She marches into a hoodlum den with only Halu and injured Tomo because she decides the boys need witnesses. She has a spine of steel).
I love the bit when he tells her he doesn't let women into his apartment, because they leave an imprint. So delicious, in light of the later episodes. Oh Halu.
This is the episode where we learn about his mother abandoning him when he was a very small child, to run off with a younger man. Ugh, that's horrific (I hate her!). No wonder he tells Yamato he is frozen: that would warp you up for life. That is where his fixation of having a woman somewhere, anywhere (and she doesn't have to be his woman) who will love a man forever and/or wait for him comes from (see his plea to coach's wife to only love dead coach, and he will support her). He desperately needs to believe not all women are like his mother, but he is afraid to do so, understandably.
In so many ways, despite his toughness and self-assurance (but in some ways that is totally a front), Halu is a traumatized little kid inside. Oh, baby. How could I not go completely weak in the knees for him? A man who could so completely take care of you, and who also desperately needs mothering. That's like the ultimate killer combo.
I also love Aki's reaction to finding out about his mother (from Yamato). She is sorry for him and it explains so much about him for her, but she is also terrified about the weight of his expecations as a result of such FUBAR background. I love that she isn't automatically jumping into his arms (just as I love that he tries to lie and say he invented this for Yamato and his parents are still happily together). Because she thinks everything over, overnight: Halu's past, her own goals and attitude (both about Halu and her waiting for her bf) and then decides she wants to be the strong woman and get back the feeling of liking herself, and decides she wants to be with Halu in their odd-relationship capacity, it makes it matter. She isn't jumping in blindly, nor is she starry eyed. It's such a grown-up thing to do.
Anyway, this is getting to be a dissertation, I better stop and go to bed.
Oh, Pride, how incredible are you?
You know, when Aki smiles at Halu at the end of the ep (at the game): her whole face shines. Much as Kimura Takuya makes me ridiculously, teenagery hormonal in this drama (the thing at the end, with the grinning, and pointing turns me into an incoherent mess), Takeuchi Yuko is every bit as good. She is definitely my favorite jdrama actress. Seeing that Kimura is my favorite jdrama actor (I mean, is there any doubt?), this is basically a killer combination for me.
So many things are right with this ep: everything in fact. And we see the themes for the rest of the story dealt with here.
It's the beginnings of Yamato and Aki's friendship. Because, yes, Yamato is Halu's best friend: I think they are the only ones who know each other's deepest trauma. Which, if you know how frozen Halu is, and how equally closed off Yamato is, under his nice-guy demeanor, about his burden, is a huge thing. If I didn't ship Aki/Halu so hard, I think I could have slashed them. But he and Aki connect too (in a purely platonic way), even from their first interactions, because I do think they have a certain 'purity' of character, a certain similiarity. No wonder Halu refers to them both as people from last century.
And speaking of Yamato-related things. I don't dislike Yuri even from the start. Yes, she only wants to date rich men, but not only does she have a valid reason (she had a dirt-poor miserable childhood, which scarred her about money issues), she doesn't play coy or lie. She tells Yamato about her 'mercenary' standards up-front. I respect that.
Before I continue onto Aki and Halu portion of the post, just a quick shout-out to Chika. Yay for women owning their sexuality. I love the hilarious scene where Tomo is hiding in the restroom, terrified Chika is going to rant at him because they had a one-night stand and that was it, but she comes in and grins and tells him she doesn't mind: she enjoyed it and it was fun, and leaves. Heeee. And of course, next time we see them, they have gone out again. Heeee. Precisely because she isn't looking for anything but some fun, this might allow this relationship to progress. All the three ships in the drama have built-in protections/expiration dates which allow both men and women an out so that makes them less skittish: for Halu and Aki it's their contract, which let's them to pretend it's not real. For Tomo and Chika, it's just a mututally fun good-time so they don't need to worry about responsibilities/seriousness (heh, they are still dating in the epilogue, LOL, good for them). And of course for Yamato/Yuri there is a different expiration date: when she will learn he isn't rich, she will probably walk (well, I know what happens, but let's pretend for a second I don't).
But now, on to Aki and Halu. If it is possible to swoon while staying still fully conscious, the end of the ep makes me do so. When the match is hard and Aki is not there and then she shows up and he sees her and his eyes and her smile and his grin, and her holding out his molar (LOL) and his mouthing 'Baka' and her saying his catchphrase 'Maybe.' And his going 'eyes on me' (as if it possible to look at anything or anyone else). It's like there is nobody else in that stadium. And their chemistry and rapport are already incredible.
And of course, this whole scene proves his stupid old coach was wrong: loving does not make you weak or useless or ridiculous. Aki being there, her implied acceptance of him, makes him stronger, enables him to break through the line and score. Having someone or something to fight for is crucial. Btw, he is already dependent on her: he tells her if she will watch him, he will become stronger, and it's true.
(Side note: I love that Aki is squeamish about the fighting on the ice, but as later episodes prove, she has true courage when the fight 'matters.' She marches into a hoodlum den with only Halu and injured Tomo because she decides the boys need witnesses. She has a spine of steel).
I love the bit when he tells her he doesn't let women into his apartment, because they leave an imprint. So delicious, in light of the later episodes. Oh Halu.
This is the episode where we learn about his mother abandoning him when he was a very small child, to run off with a younger man. Ugh, that's horrific (I hate her!). No wonder he tells Yamato he is frozen: that would warp you up for life. That is where his fixation of having a woman somewhere, anywhere (and she doesn't have to be his woman) who will love a man forever and/or wait for him comes from (see his plea to coach's wife to only love dead coach, and he will support her). He desperately needs to believe not all women are like his mother, but he is afraid to do so, understandably.
In so many ways, despite his toughness and self-assurance (but in some ways that is totally a front), Halu is a traumatized little kid inside. Oh, baby. How could I not go completely weak in the knees for him? A man who could so completely take care of you, and who also desperately needs mothering. That's like the ultimate killer combo.
I also love Aki's reaction to finding out about his mother (from Yamato). She is sorry for him and it explains so much about him for her, but she is also terrified about the weight of his expecations as a result of such FUBAR background. I love that she isn't automatically jumping into his arms (just as I love that he tries to lie and say he invented this for Yamato and his parents are still happily together). Because she thinks everything over, overnight: Halu's past, her own goals and attitude (both about Halu and her waiting for her bf) and then decides she wants to be the strong woman and get back the feeling of liking herself, and decides she wants to be with Halu in their odd-relationship capacity, it makes it matter. She isn't jumping in blindly, nor is she starry eyed. It's such a grown-up thing to do.
Anyway, this is getting to be a dissertation, I better stop and go to bed.
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no subject
Date: 2008-07-13 06:03 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-07-13 07:15 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-07-13 09:12 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-07-13 10:02 pm (UTC)I, too, have seen people comment Aki is not strong, which I do not get: she is emotionally incredibly strong and physically brave too. She is strong in every way I can think of. Just because she isn't screaming in your face, or punching people out (she is a grown up) does not make her a weakling or passive. Her strength may be quiet but it's plenty there.
no subject
Date: 2008-07-13 10:08 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-07-14 07:37 pm (UTC)So true. And she never makes any fuss about it, never is drama-queen about anything she does. Her love is completely unselfish and she puts Halu first (and he puts her first, too, of course). Which is something he desperately needs.
Oh, your icon is so gorgeous!