Majo No Jouken: are they TRYING to kill me?

[dangermousie]

Actually, since I watched all of MnJ through eps 10 this weekend, here is the rest of the write-up.

OK, Episode 8 was going to give me a heart-attack

That scene with Michi being taken away in a police car and the car with Hikaru in it (who is only going with Momster because he is really hurt) stopping right there and she sees him? I was literally yelling 'look up look up look up' at the screen. And then they look at each other and OMG. And she holds up her hand with the ring but what he sees instead is the handcuffs she is in. And then he yells at Momster to stop the car but she won't and he raises himself above the seat even though he's in pain and they stare at each other. GUH.

The scene with the shrink was really well done. All those questions making Michi into some kind of deviant and they are understandable questions but of course it is unbearable for Michi because it makes a mockery of her love. And I love the fact that she hid the ring.

Oh, and Hikaru being just as stubborn and Kinoshita arranging a meeting and OMG. They are running towards each other. LOVE. But then Michi's friend betrays her (I suppose because she is thinking she will always be second to Michi in Kitai's heart. Ugh. They deserve each other) and there is screaming again. Mine. And they see the people and they hold hands.

And of course, this time in jail she is not able to keep the ring and Hikaru decides to give her up to keep her from jail, and the scene where (to prove to his Mother he is over Michi) he burns her photo? Whoa. And then in the airport, he takes off his ring and drops it at her feet. Talk about angst.

A part of me just wants to tell the poor OTP: wait for less than a year and then everything will be OK. Don't do it to yourself. But I guess for them it would be admitting that society is right and their love is wrong. Still. Hard-headed=good in this case.

But it's a good thing no heart attack in ep 8, because eps 9 and 10 were certainly even more scream-inducing.

So, Michi is pregnant. And Hikaru wrote her a letter which her Dad tore up. EEEEK! And then Hikaru comes back from LA to look for her and they keep missing each other and I love how he touches his bare finger, on the spot where the ring was. And then they find each other and there is running which I LOVE and then she faints and there is almost a miscarriage, but scarily, 9 is a hell of a lot more cheerier than 8.

Also, Crazy Mother? Saying things like 'you are exactly like your father. The man I loved at first sight' isn't going to convince me about you not being a Jocasta wannabe. I am glad his mom got fired. Now all we need is for a truck to back over her. Also, almost poisoning your son? Not such a hot idea.

And now Michi's left Hikaru for his own good. OK, enough with the self-sacrificing. Be selfish! What do they think this is, Mars? But it did result in that lovely scene of his running after her.

Comments

[winterspel.livejournal.com]

And they see the people and they hold hands.

That was another fabulous moment - the two hands just instinctively come together and we see those rings side by side. So lovely!

And then they find each other and there is running which I LOVE

I love that moment so much, too - and Michi crying on his shoulder and asking him to promise that he'll never leave her again. *cries*

I told you - the angst in the second half is not to be believed. I don't know what I would have done if I couldn't watch the last 5 episodes straight through. I would have had a heart attack several times over.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

I know. It's like there was a giant barrel of angst on the lot somewhere, that is normally used by all the jdramas put together, but MnJ was hogging it and emptied it all out by itself.

Though I have to say, the angst was par for the course for the Taiwanese ones :)

[winterspel.livejournal.com]

the angst was par for the course for the Taiwanese ones :)

Which makes me very wary of them. So much angst is not very realistic, and I prefer something a little less likely to kill me each time. That's why the next dorama I watch will have to be something a bit lighter. I wish all the subs for My Boss My Hero were out because that is total crack! :)

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

So much angst is not very realistic,

I (and actually both lesbiassparrow and autumn_yaar both of whom I seem to have gotten hooked. *pumps fist*) come to doramas from being Bollywood lovers, so angst is clearly something we specifically revel in. Delicious, over-the-top, dramatic angst :P

I think it also depends on how it's presented. In something like Mars or Meteor Garden (interestingly, even though both of those are Taiwanese, they are based on Japanese manga) the angst is high but the story itself is formatted differently. The angst in MnJ was so heavey because it was little, low-key, realistic things, just pileups of them. I don't know if I am explaining it well, but it felt different. The angst of Mars (e.g.) makes me feel bad for the lovers, but the story itself is formatted as a melodrama so the genre feels different than the very real feel of MnJ (actually I think MnJ was the angstiest dorama I've seen by far, even though other doramas might have had more angsty 'events'). I have no idea if I am explaining it at all.

There are lighter Taiwanese ones (not just the Smiling Pasta one which is running now but also It Started with a Kiss) but the whole aesthetic in Tdramas feels different than in Jdramas. More fictiony, less low-key.

Also, I don't know if you plan on watching it, but I think you might like Full House. What angst there is (and it's not huge or anything) is very low key and believable.

[winterspel.livejournal.com]

I'll definitely give the Twdoramas a chance. After all, I am definitely planning to watch Full House, Mars, Meteor Garden, and A Love to Kill.

Like I always say, I'll try anything. If I don't like, I'll put it aside, but eventually I come back to it, because I believe in finding the "right moment" for something to grab me.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

Yeah, it really is one of those 'when the mood is right' things. I tried Long Vacation twice and only on third time did it really click. And I was bored with Lymond first time I tried it.

[autumn-yaar.livejournal.com]

Where is this drama at? I don't think its on that community thing.. :\

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

It is. It's just labeled under its English title, 'Forbidden Love'

[autumn-yaar.livejournal.com]

Oh ok, thanks! I think I'm adding it to the list. Neverending list.. lol.

I wish there were more with Bi/tht chick in it.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

Heeeee. Did you finish ALtK yet? The only other Bi dorama that I am aware of (though I am no expert) is Full House which is very different in tone but utterly adorable and the heroine of that one is super cute, too.

[autumn-yaar.livejournal.com]

Nope.. still downloading episode 6. :( IM SO PSYCHED THOUGH.

Yeah, Full House is next on my list, though he looks a little bit preppy in that one.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

Yeah, his character is really different in that one. (I definitely don't care for the outfits :P) But he matures and is so adorable you just want to wrap him in wrapping paper and take him home *has mental image of Mr. Mousie coming home to find a strange Korean guy emerging out of wrapping paper and...maybe not* :P

[ficchica.livejournal.com]

It's on the jdrama community under its other name Forbidden Love
http://community.livejournal.com/jdramas/tag/forbidden+love
You can also find all the episodes on youtube if you can't wait for downloads
Episodes 1 - 4: http://www.youtube.com/profile_videos?user=francineangel
Episodes 5 -7: http://www.youtube.com/profile_videos?user=kristv
Episodes 8 - 10: http://www.youtube.com/profile_videos?user=raeble
Episode 11: http://www.youtube.com/profile_videos?user=cocolee11

[autumn-yaar.livejournal.com]

Wow, thanks!