Musings of the Obsessive Kind

I have finished Sapuri and I am giddy and warm and just...it's better than hot chocolate on a rainy day.

And I am, at the same time,totally bereft at the thought of no more Sapuri.

What a lovely, delightful, amazing thing it was. And oh, that ending, with her finding him, actually being the one to come and find him, all that way, and telling him she loves him, and the look of delight on his face (btw, Kame in a suit? EEEE!) and I love how it ended for everyone (and Watanabe-san found someone, yay) but especially for Minami and Yuya, his waiting for her after work (I assume he just got off his) and them walking off together, hand in hand. And oh, the kiss!!!!! Spinny!

It's interesting, because I was thinking how uniquely Japanese Sapuri was. What I mean by that is that a lot of drama love stories could, with some tweaking(a little or a lot), be retold as a Western miniseries. But Sapuri couldn't, not really. Because the main concept of it, the concept I adored, is alien to American TV: it is about how the meaning of life is to find yoursel in your work, to work hard and to be proud of it, and not because work is interesting (even though it often is) but because there is virtue in hard work and in people depending on you and relying on you, and you are a member of an effective team. Sapuri is all about the meaning of adulthood, emotionally, personally, professionally, and this is not a theme American TV, stuck in the perpetual glorification of adolescence, ever likes to address. Interesting, jdrama is full of it. Even something like Hana Yori Dango, which might appear to be a comedy-melodrama about two strong-willed eccentrics in love, is in a lot of ways about Domyouji growing up and changing under the influence of love to become fit for society and someone who can lead the company in the future and become a functional grown-up.

Because, think about it. In American TV, if we had a workaholic woman and a layabout guy, he would at the end, teach her to let her hair down, because of course she would be uptight. But here, while Minami needs to learn to balance personal and professional a bit better, it's mainly Yuya who needs to realize his potential for perseverance and hard work and pursuit of goals.

You know, I adore Kame. I might even brave Gokusen 2, I think.

Later in the evening filmi_girl came over and we had a blast watching the first five episodes of Hana Yori Dango and squeeing/snarking/metaing. So much fun. I adore them all so, and it's been a while since I've seen the earliest ep so it was a delight. You know, a little thing I noticed this time: in ep 2, when Domyouji tells Makino to lick his shoes (because sauce is on them) it's awesome because you can tell the second the words are out of his mouth, he is horrified and wants to take it back but has no idea how. I love how Rui breaks in, and gives him an excuse to break it off. Rui=LOVE. And oh, Makino is a total darling. And I have no words for the awesomeness that is Domyouji. MatsuJun is so expressive. We finished on the ep when he gets beaten almost to death. Oh, I love how Sakurako is ranting and raving at him, but all he can see is Makino (and heis reaching for her scarf, like some sort of a talisman). When he realizes what is about to happen, earlier, and gently tells her to close her eyes (so she won't have to see him beaten), I sort of die a little. The whole set-up, with Sakurako telling him that here are goons that will beat him up, and if he moves a finger to defend himself, she will cut Makino's face, so he basically stands there and lets them beat him so badly he needs hospitalization? Awesome. Because he has such impulse control problems, and violence issues and what not, but he never loses sight of what is important. As he tells Makino: not fighting back was the only way he could protect her. OMG. And she, such a dense darling, asks him why and he replies, 'isn't it obvious? I love you.' OMG OMG OMG. And he is all beaten up and barely moving but is still hugging her. OMG. And then (once he is out of the hospital) he is being such a baby and pretending he still needs his arm in a sling so she'd feed him :P And trying to show off to her. And when she still, after all that happens, stands up for Sakurako against the bitchy girls, I love that he is proud of her for it, and just hugs her in this totally impulsive hug and...eeeeee!

Or their first date, earlier? He showed up early! And waited for her for three hours in the pouring rain.

Seriously, Hanadan is love.

After these, I'll finish A beautiful life and then probably something light, Himitsu No Hanazono or Good Luck or Dragon Zakura before diving into the intensity of Karei-Naru Ichizoku. And I will try Kimi Wa Petto again, seeing how much I am loving the manga and how it clarified certain things for me.

I have finished Sapuri and I am giddy and warm and just...it's better than hot chocolate on a rainy day.

And I am, at the same time,totally bereft at the thought of no more Sapuri.

What a lovely, delightful, amazing thing it was. And oh, that ending, with her finding him, actually being the one to come and find him, all that way, and telling him she loves him, and the look of delight on his face (btw, Kame in a suit? EEEE!) and I love how it ended for everyone (and Watanabe-san found someone, yay) but especially for Minami and Yuya, his waiting for her after work (I assume he just got off his) and them walking off together, hand in hand. And oh, the kiss!!!!! Spinny!

It's interesting, because I was thinking how uniquely Japanese Sapuri was. What I mean by that is that a lot of drama love stories could, with some tweaking(a little or a lot), be retold as a Western miniseries. But Sapuri couldn't, not really. Because the main concept of it, the concept I adored, is alien to American TV: it is about how the meaning of life is to find yoursel in your work, to work hard and to be proud of it, and not because work is interesting (even though it often is) but because there is virtue in hard work and in people depending on you and relying on you, and you are a member of an effective team. Sapuri is all about the meaning of adulthood, emotionally, personally, professionally, and this is not a theme American TV, stuck in the perpetual glorification of adolescence, ever likes to address. Interesting, jdrama is full of it. Even something like Hana Yori Dango, which might appear to be a comedy-melodrama about two strong-willed eccentrics in love, is in a lot of ways about Domyouji growing up and changing under the influence of love to become fit for society and someone who can lead the company in the future and become a functional grown-up.

Because, think about it. In American TV, if we had a workaholic woman and a layabout guy, he would at the end, teach her to let her hair down, because of course she would be uptight. But here, while Minami needs to learn to balance personal and professional a bit better, it's mainly Yuya who needs to realize his potential for perseverance and hard work and pursuit of goals.

You know, I adore Kame. I might even brave Gokusen 2, I think.

Later in the evening filmi_girl came over and we had a blast watching the first five episodes of Hana Yori Dango and squeeing/snarking/metaing. So much fun. I adore them all so, and it's been a while since I've seen the earliest ep so it was a delight. You know, a little thing I noticed this time: in ep 2, when Domyouji tells Makino to lick his shoes (because sauce is on them) it's awesome because you can tell the second the words are out of his mouth, he is horrified and wants to take it back but has no idea how. I love how Rui breaks in, and gives him an excuse to break it off. Rui=LOVE. And oh, Makino is a total darling. And I have no words for the awesomeness that is Domyouji. MatsuJun is so expressive. We finished on the ep when he gets beaten almost to death. Oh, I love how Sakurako is ranting and raving at him, but all he can see is Makino (and heis reaching for her scarf, like some sort of a talisman). When he realizes what is about to happen, earlier, and gently tells her to close her eyes (so she won't have to see him beaten), I sort of die a little. The whole set-up, with Sakurako telling him that here are goons that will beat him up, and if he moves a finger to defend himself, she will cut Makino's face, so he basically stands there and lets them beat him so badly he needs hospitalization? Awesome. Because he has such impulse control problems, and violence issues and what not, but he never loses sight of what is important. As he tells Makino: not fighting back was the only way he could protect her. OMG. And she, such a dense darling, asks him why and he replies, 'isn't it obvious? I love you.' OMG OMG OMG. And he is all beaten up and barely moving but is still hugging her. OMG. And then (once he is out of the hospital) he is being such a baby and pretending he still needs his arm in a sling so she'd feed him :P And trying to show off to her. And when she still, after all that happens, stands up for Sakurako against the bitchy girls, I love that he is proud of her for it, and just hugs her in this totally impulsive hug and...eeeeee!

Or their first date, earlier? He showed up early! And waited for her for three hours in the pouring rain.

Seriously, Hanadan is love.

After these, I'll finish A beautiful life and then probably something light, Himitsu No Hanazono or Good Luck or Dragon Zakura before diving into the intensity of Karei-Naru Ichizoku. And I will try Kimi Wa Petto again, seeing how much I am loving the manga and how it clarified certain things for me.

Full House OMG. ( ep 8 babbling )

After seeing the following MVs for 1 Litre of Tears ( MVs behind cut ) I cannot wait to see the dorama. But even the first MV made me cry. I think this one might overload my angst capacity. OMG. Can't wait.

Discovering doramas is as giddy as discovering Bollywood was three or four years back. There is the whole other world out there and so many things to watch.

Of course, this also means that my watching list is about a mile long and like a person with too many cool things around her, I cannot decide what to watch first and end up watching more than one dorama at a time and still running around with 'this one or this one or this one.' I know I should impose some kind of order, but even if I just finished the ones I am currently watching, I'd need to have some kind of order. It's overwhelming and great.

And new 'must watch this second' doramas get added to the list every day.

( My watchlist ramblings )

QUOTE OF THE DAY: Cinderella lost her parents when she was young. And she was tortured by the jerk Lee Young-Jae. (Han Ji-Eun's reimagining of Cinderella in Full House).