Tsuki No Koibito - ep 2
May. 19th, 2010 11:31 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
dangermousieWith ep 2 of Moon Lovers, it's official this is my favorite currently airing drama. It's so dark and twisted and delicious.
A few thoughts:
1. Ep 2 cements my rabidly shipping Rensuke and Xiu Mei. Mind you, I am not deluded enough to think they will have any happily ever after or are even capable of it. Theirs is not a healthy relationship in the least (I don't think Rensuke is capable of a genuine relationship with anyone, to start with). But the dirty!bad!hot!wrongness of it all just pings my buttons the way nothing had in a while. They are using each other and manipulating each other but they are also experiencing a genuine and irresistable sexual attraction to each other (in every scene of theirs, they look as if all they want is to rip off each other's clothes and just do it on the floor). It's such a twisted Cinderella tale, you know - a poor Chinese factory worker and a sophisticated and rich Japanese businessman. Only Cinderella is plotting revenge and Prince Charming pimps her out. My ideal scenario for Rensuke and Xiu Mei is for them to continue their twistedness and have a lot of manipulative make-outs and really hot hate-sex and then at the end Rensuke should be left broken. I don't really care what happens after that.
2. Kimura is so very amazing as Rensuke. I am not a total Kimura fangirl (I have never even felt like checking out Change or Mr Brain and I was bored by him (and the dramas as a whole) in Long Vacation and Love Generation). But when he is on (Pride, Karei-naru Ichizoku, Sora Kara, this), there is nobody to compare with him. If you think about it, Rensuke is a repulsive, repulsive human being - we have yet to see him do a single unselfish or decent or good thing. A single one! When his best action is feeling out of his skin uncomfortable watching a client paw Xiu Mei after he himself brought her there expressly to be pawed, we are not talking Mother Teresa. (Side note - yet another reason I am mad for Rensuke/Xiu Mei. It is only with her that his utter self-control cracks a little and he becomes somewhat human - when he breaks that cigarette watching her being pawed, for someone as controlled as Rensuke that is a huge huge thing). So yes, Rensuke could be an unbearable character to watch but in Kimura's hands he becomes, even if no less repellent, also fascinating - you just must watch more and find out what makes him tick. And there is even a hint of some potential for hope, some tiny glimmer of salvation and soul maybe. (Kimura is good at making unforgivable characters and making you hope for them. At least Rensuke isn't killing people for kicks the way his character in Sora Kara did, but even in Sora Kara you can't help but hope for him).
3. Maemi. She is a cool character but I continue to be rather indifferent to her. I think it's a combo of acting/character - I often have that problem with jdrama heroines (what they like in acting and character is often stuff that leaves me cold). What I am curious about however is that it's clear she harbors some sort of romantic feelings for Rensuke but I do not see why. The model girl is brainless so her continuing to be fixated on Rensuke even after he treats her like dirt does not surprise me - I don't think she's capable of reading a character at all. And Xiu Mei did not know what kind of man he was - she believed appearances - that he was a hard but just businessman concerned for his workers. Once she finds out the truth, she is not moony-eyed but full of vengeance (even if she still is sexually attracted to him - but you cannot control hormones). But Maemi? Maemi has known him for years - I can't see how she can continue to fancy him seeing the kind of man he is. Why???
4. It's pretty clear by now that Shota's character is out for some sort of revenge on Rensuke. I hope he gets it. I want Rensuke brought down grovelling in the gutter. I don't care who does it (though my preference is Xiu Mei) but it must be done!
And now, without much further ado, caps and more thoughts from ep 2
Rensuke reads this speech at the opening about how much he is going to care for factory workers. Hah!
But Xiu Mei does not know him yet, she believes him.
Poor deluded workers. Being used for a PR campaign.
This look on Shota's face watching Rensuke lie and lie and lie gave me the first inkling that all is not as it seems with Shota - please please please bring Rensuke down.
He has an interesting conversation with model. He rather tries to warn her about Rensuke (when he talks about sex and how he's better than Rensuke at it because he cares about his partner and Rensuke only cares about himself, I think it's a very odd but general warning about Rensuke in every aspect - we have yet to see Rensuke care for a single human being in any way).
Rensuke goes to pick up Xiu Mei who is wearing a totally horrifying outfit (Maemi's 'bettering' it made it even worse IMO).
But it doesn't matter. Look at the way he looks at her - as if he wants to devour her whole.
So he takes her clothes shopping a la Pretty Girl. I love this cliche so much!
Oh, how I love this moment. They are in some fancy store and he's eating complimentary dessert:
And then she comes out in her outfit. OMGOMGOMG. Seriously, the way he looks at her is hot enough to melt glass. I believe he swallowed his tongue. The sexual chemistry between them is insane.
A little more sexing.
They are very physically aware of each other (side note - how much do I love a jdrama that acknowledges people are sexual beings).
When they walk back to his car, she is literally turning heads of everyone on the street. She is too good for you, Rensuke!
She is all 'I don't like everyone staring' and he tells her it's because she's beautiful.
And then he takes her, in her ridiculously expensive and glamorous clothes, to this hole-in-the-wall dumpling eatery. I really wondered about that. Because for his goal, he didn't need to - he needed to get her an appropriate sexy outfit and then take her to that prospective client. And nobody would be crazy enough to believe that feeding her $10 plate of dumplings would butter her up enough to submit to pawing if she wouldn't otherwise. I really think it's because he does enjoy being with her so much and also maybe, even, in some obscure way, a sort of advance apology (well, not apology, I am not sure Rensuke is capable of sincere apologies, but some sort of an attempt. Especially since this place is so not in accordance with Rensuke's image).
Yup, even at the eatery everyone is staring.
And I do mean, everyone.
Rensuke, could you be developing *gasp* feelings of some sort?
She thanks him for being good to the workers. Talk about irony.
Eventually they make it to a fancy hotel and walk in and there is Rensuke's prospective client (who is married with kids btw, ugh).
And Shota pulls Xiu Mei to sit next to the client.
Thsi whole scene was my favorite scene in the episode. Because Xiu Mei is angry (she is no dummy, she understood right away) and she is baiting Rensuke to see if he snaps if she is nice to the client and Rensuke is sitting there all outwardly calm and presumably happy it's going according to plan but you can see he is really losing it badly, watching this, despite his control. And Shota is drinking it in, storing it for future use. So twisted.
Oh yes, she is no idiot. She finally gets him.
I love how he's trying his best to control himself but he can't quite manage and I love that Shota is noticing because this is highly unusual and a huge deal. Oh yes, enjoy Rensuke, enjoy listening to client ask her to go to his bedroom. A very nasty part of me wanted Xiu Mei to start making out with the guy right there so Rensuke would have to watch.
I love how she sweetly pours wine for the client while watching Rensuke's reaction the whole time.
And then she stalks out and he stalks out after her and Shota notices something.
Yup, he broke his cigarette.
He runs after her, half to bring her back and half because - well, because they are messed up and attracted and he's feeling human and she basically tells him she is not a whore and to fuck off.
He's still not entirely in control in the morning.
She plans to go back to Shanghai but finds out from her friend that Rensuke has quietly been laying workers off. Everything has been a lie.
She has decided to pay him back - she will do anything to get his heart and then to wreck it.
So she goes to see Rensuke and asks to meet in the evening.
When they meet, she asks him if he still wants her (as he said he did). He nods. She tells him she won't be a plaything, to be tossed away when he gets bored.
And then she kisses him!
And walks off.
He runs after her and this time he kisses her. It's hot and forceful and dysfunctional and so very wrong and I cannot get enough.
And then his eyes open, in the middle of this really really long kiss and you realize that madly attracted as he is to her, he is still calculating possibilities too. Bring it on - two manipulators, trying to outgame each other, while being madly attracted at the same time.
For what it's worth, my money is on Xiu Mei.
A few thoughts:
1. Ep 2 cements my rabidly shipping Rensuke and Xiu Mei. Mind you, I am not deluded enough to think they will have any happily ever after or are even capable of it. Theirs is not a healthy relationship in the least (I don't think Rensuke is capable of a genuine relationship with anyone, to start with). But the dirty!bad!hot!wrongness of it all just pings my buttons the way nothing had in a while. They are using each other and manipulating each other but they are also experiencing a genuine and irresistable sexual attraction to each other (in every scene of theirs, they look as if all they want is to rip off each other's clothes and just do it on the floor). It's such a twisted Cinderella tale, you know - a poor Chinese factory worker and a sophisticated and rich Japanese businessman. Only Cinderella is plotting revenge and Prince Charming pimps her out. My ideal scenario for Rensuke and Xiu Mei is for them to continue their twistedness and have a lot of manipulative make-outs and really hot hate-sex and then at the end Rensuke should be left broken. I don't really care what happens after that.
2. Kimura is so very amazing as Rensuke. I am not a total Kimura fangirl (I have never even felt like checking out Change or Mr Brain and I was bored by him (and the dramas as a whole) in Long Vacation and Love Generation). But when he is on (Pride, Karei-naru Ichizoku, Sora Kara, this), there is nobody to compare with him. If you think about it, Rensuke is a repulsive, repulsive human being - we have yet to see him do a single unselfish or decent or good thing. A single one! When his best action is feeling out of his skin uncomfortable watching a client paw Xiu Mei after he himself brought her there expressly to be pawed, we are not talking Mother Teresa. (Side note - yet another reason I am mad for Rensuke/Xiu Mei. It is only with her that his utter self-control cracks a little and he becomes somewhat human - when he breaks that cigarette watching her being pawed, for someone as controlled as Rensuke that is a huge huge thing). So yes, Rensuke could be an unbearable character to watch but in Kimura's hands he becomes, even if no less repellent, also fascinating - you just must watch more and find out what makes him tick. And there is even a hint of some potential for hope, some tiny glimmer of salvation and soul maybe. (Kimura is good at making unforgivable characters and making you hope for them. At least Rensuke isn't killing people for kicks the way his character in Sora Kara did, but even in Sora Kara you can't help but hope for him).
3. Maemi. She is a cool character but I continue to be rather indifferent to her. I think it's a combo of acting/character - I often have that problem with jdrama heroines (what they like in acting and character is often stuff that leaves me cold). What I am curious about however is that it's clear she harbors some sort of romantic feelings for Rensuke but I do not see why. The model girl is brainless so her continuing to be fixated on Rensuke even after he treats her like dirt does not surprise me - I don't think she's capable of reading a character at all. And Xiu Mei did not know what kind of man he was - she believed appearances - that he was a hard but just businessman concerned for his workers. Once she finds out the truth, she is not moony-eyed but full of vengeance (even if she still is sexually attracted to him - but you cannot control hormones). But Maemi? Maemi has known him for years - I can't see how she can continue to fancy him seeing the kind of man he is. Why???
4. It's pretty clear by now that Shota's character is out for some sort of revenge on Rensuke. I hope he gets it. I want Rensuke brought down grovelling in the gutter. I don't care who does it (though my preference is Xiu Mei) but it must be done!
And now, without much further ado, caps and more thoughts from ep 2
Rensuke reads this speech at the opening about how much he is going to care for factory workers. Hah!
But Xiu Mei does not know him yet, she believes him.
Poor deluded workers. Being used for a PR campaign.
This look on Shota's face watching Rensuke lie and lie and lie gave me the first inkling that all is not as it seems with Shota - please please please bring Rensuke down.
He has an interesting conversation with model. He rather tries to warn her about Rensuke (when he talks about sex and how he's better than Rensuke at it because he cares about his partner and Rensuke only cares about himself, I think it's a very odd but general warning about Rensuke in every aspect - we have yet to see Rensuke care for a single human being in any way).
Rensuke goes to pick up Xiu Mei who is wearing a totally horrifying outfit (Maemi's 'bettering' it made it even worse IMO).
But it doesn't matter. Look at the way he looks at her - as if he wants to devour her whole.
So he takes her clothes shopping a la Pretty Girl. I love this cliche so much!
Oh, how I love this moment. They are in some fancy store and he's eating complimentary dessert:
And then she comes out in her outfit. OMGOMGOMG. Seriously, the way he looks at her is hot enough to melt glass. I believe he swallowed his tongue. The sexual chemistry between them is insane.
A little more sexing.
They are very physically aware of each other (side note - how much do I love a jdrama that acknowledges people are sexual beings).
When they walk back to his car, she is literally turning heads of everyone on the street. She is too good for you, Rensuke!
She is all 'I don't like everyone staring' and he tells her it's because she's beautiful.
And then he takes her, in her ridiculously expensive and glamorous clothes, to this hole-in-the-wall dumpling eatery. I really wondered about that. Because for his goal, he didn't need to - he needed to get her an appropriate sexy outfit and then take her to that prospective client. And nobody would be crazy enough to believe that feeding her $10 plate of dumplings would butter her up enough to submit to pawing if she wouldn't otherwise. I really think it's because he does enjoy being with her so much and also maybe, even, in some obscure way, a sort of advance apology (well, not apology, I am not sure Rensuke is capable of sincere apologies, but some sort of an attempt. Especially since this place is so not in accordance with Rensuke's image).
Yup, even at the eatery everyone is staring.
And I do mean, everyone.
Rensuke, could you be developing *gasp* feelings of some sort?
She thanks him for being good to the workers. Talk about irony.
Eventually they make it to a fancy hotel and walk in and there is Rensuke's prospective client (who is married with kids btw, ugh).
And Shota pulls Xiu Mei to sit next to the client.
Thsi whole scene was my favorite scene in the episode. Because Xiu Mei is angry (she is no dummy, she understood right away) and she is baiting Rensuke to see if he snaps if she is nice to the client and Rensuke is sitting there all outwardly calm and presumably happy it's going according to plan but you can see he is really losing it badly, watching this, despite his control. And Shota is drinking it in, storing it for future use. So twisted.
Oh yes, she is no idiot. She finally gets him.
I love how he's trying his best to control himself but he can't quite manage and I love that Shota is noticing because this is highly unusual and a huge deal. Oh yes, enjoy Rensuke, enjoy listening to client ask her to go to his bedroom. A very nasty part of me wanted Xiu Mei to start making out with the guy right there so Rensuke would have to watch.
I love how she sweetly pours wine for the client while watching Rensuke's reaction the whole time.
And then she stalks out and he stalks out after her and Shota notices something.
Yup, he broke his cigarette.
He runs after her, half to bring her back and half because - well, because they are messed up and attracted and he's feeling human and she basically tells him she is not a whore and to fuck off.
He's still not entirely in control in the morning.
She plans to go back to Shanghai but finds out from her friend that Rensuke has quietly been laying workers off. Everything has been a lie.
She has decided to pay him back - she will do anything to get his heart and then to wreck it.
So she goes to see Rensuke and asks to meet in the evening.
When they meet, she asks him if he still wants her (as he said he did). He nods. She tells him she won't be a plaything, to be tossed away when he gets bored.
And then she kisses him!
And walks off.
He runs after her and this time he kisses her. It's hot and forceful and dysfunctional and so very wrong and I cannot get enough.
And then his eyes open, in the middle of this really really long kiss and you realize that madly attracted as he is to her, he is still calculating possibilities too. Bring it on - two manipulators, trying to outgame each other, while being madly attracted at the same time.
For what it's worth, my money is on Xiu Mei.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2010-05-19 04:32 pm (UTC)Slag, I am. Ha.
no subject
Date: 2010-05-19 04:34 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-05-19 04:59 pm (UTC)Off to watch ep. 1 with subs now. Will be back after I'm up to date :D
no subject
Date: 2010-05-21 02:01 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-05-21 07:52 am (UTC)Also, after rewatching episode 1 with subtitles (and than ep. 2) I'm enjoying the drama a lot more. It's dark and twisted (Like all of the currently airing dramas, it seems - where's my fluff? xD). Kimura is amazing, his character not so much. I can't wait for him to be knocked off his horse.
I also have to correct my impression of Yuzuki. She isn't dumb. Superficial - yes. But not dumb. I'm not sure if she even really likes Rensuke, or if it is just an image thing. We'll see.
Xiu Mei is an interesting character. She's naive and hard-boiled at the same time, if that is even possible.
And I'm very sad they are wasting Shinohara Ryoko on a somewhat superfluous character. She was outstanding in Unfair and she could bring so much to the show. But up until now all she's been doing was popping up here and there and stretching her muscles all the time (annoying!).
no subject
Date: 2010-05-22 06:45 pm (UTC)I have no idea where the drama is going to go at all and this is such a rarity. I love that.
no subject
Date: 2010-05-19 05:02 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-05-19 05:41 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-05-19 05:57 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-05-21 02:00 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-05-19 05:46 pm (UTC)Perhaps in the future, we might get some flashbacks to the Maemi/Rensuke relationship that might shed some light as to why she's still there...and doing everything and anything he wants her to. I hope so.
The problem for me is that Maemi hasn't really received any development. Yeah, she often pops up here and there (I guess because the actress is a big name and must get a certain amount of screen time) but it's nothing that lets me connect with her character on any level.
no subject
Date: 2010-05-21 02:00 am (UTC)longest comment ever D:
Date: 2010-05-19 06:33 pm (UTC)I am loving this drama for the same reasons as you. SO WRONG SO TWISTED SO DEEELIIICIOUSSSSLY BAD. I love that the scales have fallen from Xiu Mei's eyes and now she's on the warpath. I hope she succeeds too, and I suspect she'll have some competition in the race to make Rensuke cry like a little bitch, since Keiko's character and Shota's character also seem like they will be taking some revenge of their own. I really want to watch Rensuke's soul shatter into pieces in misery and despair. ONLY THEN CAN I BE APPEASED. He was really beyond heinous in this episode, and of course the casting people had to pick out the UGLIEST gaijin they could find to paw at poor Xiu Mei. She's really a dynamic character so far, I am loving her and her dirty bad attraction to Rensuke. I am loving his attraction to her though even more. This is like one of my fave tropes man. Which is bastard wanting a girl he can't have and then becoming a broken mass in the process. mmmm so good. I am worried I am showing too much of my sadistic and vindictive side here. lol
I feel very frustrated with Maemi so far. She has the potential to be very interesting I think because she knows Rensuke from way back, so she presumably has seen sides of him that no one else has. Yet, as of this point Maemi's indecision about whether to wash her hands of Rensuke or to help him with his global takeover just makes her seem wish washy and unsure of herself instead of deeply and understandably conflicted. Maybe if I could actually believe them as BFFs for even a second....I mean I'd love the idea that Maemi is sticking with him so far because she believes albeit naively that some of the old good Rensuke is still there but we know so little of her history with Rensuke and of Rensuke's past or what kind of man he used to be, that Maemi's actions sort of don't make sense. Now if she was just working for him because she really needs the work/money/her dream is to be globally known designer of furniture then fine I can see where she's coming from then but so far I haven't seen any strong decisive emotions or feelings from her yet. This all may change later on, she might turn her back on him or we'll get flashbacks into the Rensuke and Maemi of yesteryear. I hope something happens with her and them soon, cause right now I am really not feeling their strong bond, or any kind of bond tbh :( and Maemi is feeling like a very passive character in a drama full of active characters.
Re: longest comment ever D:
Date: 2010-05-21 01:59 am (UTC)That sums up my love for Sora Kara btw :P
Maemi is just a big undynamic blank. It's ok for Shota's character to be hidden - he has some secret agenda. But for Maemi it just seems half-baked. And her following Rensuke despite knowing what a jerk he is doesn't make me like her.
no subject
Date: 2010-05-19 07:38 pm (UTC)Regarding the ending, as i mentioned in my LJ (I'll just copy and paste lol) the kiss felt to me like a continuation of the grabbing pushing scene in episode 1 with a sort of implied force and punishing in a way? Which makes sense because the two of them are feeling antagonistic towards one another. But to me it just didn't feel like a 'Kimura' kiss. (I should know. I've seen enough of them lol. XD)
In terms of Maemi i'm actually quite pissed off at the creatives because she was totally wasted in this episode. While Rensuke and Xiu Mei went off on their 'pimp date' we just kept getting flashes of her on her own doing her thing. I mean, there might be a point to this but whatever it was i felt it got lost somewhere. If they were going to do so much with Rensuke/Xiu Mei they could have at least moved the Maemi/Kazami story forward (which is what we're getting in episode 3 from the looks of things) or just even given us a bit more of her history with Rensuke.
You're right about wondering what it is that has kept her by his side for so long. Personally, when he asked her to design the hotel competition i wanted her to go and tell him to eff off 'cos he's a shit. But she went along which to me says there's something more going on. The amenbo story (him forgetting it was her who'd asked the question first) was a nice little indicator of how things might have been between them.
However, at this moment i'm looking for the moment when Maemi loses faith in Rensuke (and believe me, it's coming) and either reads him the riot act or just cuts him because he'll deserve it.
no subject
Date: 2010-05-21 01:57 am (UTC)Yes, I just don't see what makes Maemi tick at all - hope they expand on it.
no subject
Date: 2010-05-19 08:07 pm (UTC)As for the pairing, I am very much Maemi/Rensuke. However, I do recognize that they are going to have to do A LOT to make this comparable to the steamy chemistry between Xiu Mei and Rensuke. So I'd almost be supportive of Xiu Mei/Rensuke, except a) I'm sort of tired of the Cinderella plucky-poor-girl-with-a-heart-of-gold-gets-the-rich-guy stories and b) I love that no matter how she secretly feels for him, Maemi isn't fawning or star-struck around him. Either case, I love it that the OTP isn't clear from the get-go - keep me guessing Show!
no subject
Date: 2010-05-21 01:56 am (UTC)But yes, this is excellent.
no subject
Date: 2010-05-19 10:24 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-05-21 01:55 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-05-26 01:18 pm (UTC)Loving Rensuke-Xiu Mei pairing!! I noticed that out of the 2 episodes so far every time Rensuke pulls out a cigarette it's when he's being mean to Xiu Mei. Threatening her with money at the construction site, at the dumpling eatery and dinner meeting, even at the golf club he was still feeling pissed. Rensuke's lack of control snapping the cigarette when that Caucasian touched her hair speaks volumes. I was feeling super bad for Xiu Mei being pimped out by 2 guys who didn't bother to save her.
I agree with you about bringing her to the dumpling eatery. Maybe he's feeling guilty and wants to make her happy before throwing her into his own trap. Or maybe he figured he probably wouldn't have much of an appetite later selling her out to that sleazy guy.
I love how Xiu Mei ends up baiting him with the kiss and lingering hand on his cheek to get revenge. But she's still good in her core, when he kisses her back she can't help but close her eyes and sink into it. And there's Rensuke with his eyes wide open wondering how he can profit from this circumstance.
My favorite Kimura drama was Sora Kara, so dark and twisted plus the sizzling chemistry with Fukatsu Eri! Who cares for happy idealistic love stories, I'm all for the kind of flawed addiction-like relationships where the couple ends up breaking one another!
no subject
Date: 2010-05-26 05:33 pm (UTC)And another Sora Kara fan! (Kimura's character in that one makes Rensuke seem sweet and adjusted). It was such a dark, excellent drama.
Rensuke/XuiMei
Date: 2010-06-16 11:21 pm (UTC)She is opportunistic enough to take advantage of the situation. It is a fluke that she becomes the striking model who is so photogenic and she is just what Regolith needs. The Kazami character is the wizard in the mix who keeps things going wrong with all the other characters. He certainly plays Xui Mei once he sees that she likes Rensuke. He may not be sure how Rensuke feels but he knows there is an attraction there worth fueling.
I do not think there is any real love from Rensuke but I do think he is obsessed by Xui Mei because she is foreign and different and she treats him in a very pleasing manner. Until much later she never crosses him but makes him feel powerful and she shows she likes him so much. Very flattering...
This drama is so fragmented until the fifth or sixth episode and then it begins to come together and the beginning starts to make sense. I don't know how they will finish this in one more episode.
I think Kimura is doing a splendid job with a role he did not like and did not really want to play from the start. I would have preferred it if he had said no to this drama. Still watch him and want to see the end.
Peggy