karened - Livejournal

Short post before I drop dead on bed.

Seriously, MGIAG is probably one of my favourite (light) dramas in recent years (because Slingshot will remain as my favourite heavy plot drama).

The flow is even, so there's none of the usual kdrama drag in later episodes. The chemistry builds up over time. The acting of the leads, especially the male lead (and I'm not being biased, really) is convincing and reaches into your heart. The plot is interesting due to the mystical element that makes things unpredictable, even the ending. Under a few overlapping main arches such as "will one of them die at the end of 100 days" and "will she survive in the end", the story generates new questions after answers are given, and that makes each episode worth looking forward to. It is a good mix of light-hearted scenes and heavy angsty ones, so while you squeal your heart out at cutesy scenes (mainly rabu rabu scenes between the leads), you feel your feet firmly planted on earth by the life-and-death storyline.

And even the final episode was paced well, with no drag. From 1/3 into the episode, I was crying, all the way to the last 5 minutes. This is spite of me knowing (darn the spoilers) the happy ending. Because the leads do not know that there'll be a happy ending, they behave in ways that break your heart. And I cried for the second lead, not because he didn't get the girl (it was never about him loving the girl anyway), but because he was so filled with regrets of a mistake he did a thousand years ago.

You can read the recap of the final ep here at dramabeans. If you have not watched this wonderful drama, go give it a try. Unlike You're Beautiful (which I love), this is one which is going to be on my list of "dramas to rewatch soon".

Night.

PHEW! I had totally forgotten about 紅白歌合戦 until 15mins ago, when I started to clear space for the impending JE Countdown download. So, frantically I switched on the tv and checked the 紅白 website to check up if I have missed Arashi already. Mika Nakashima was singing, so, I was just 6 songs from Arashi! PHEW! Choohh lucky.

Mika's fringe was odd...and her dress made her at least 5 years older. Oh well....I still prefer NANA Mika.

And then, YUZU! With my favourite song aitai, supposedly written for his father. I really liked the contrast during their performance. The stage looked really grand with bright lights and royal-looking decorations. But there they were, two man in front of standing mics, singing and playing the guitar. They looked so bare. I loved their harmony. XD

Now, waiting for Arashi! I'm kinda sad that I missed TOKIO though. =S Nvm...Kobukuro is after Arashi, so at least I have 2 groups to watch. My wish fulfilled! Them, on tv!

[EDIT]

HAHA! My gf saw me camping in front of the tv. "Are you watching this?" he asked, refering to the enka-looking singer on tv.

"No, mine is coming up in 10 mins. I'm gonna watch for 5 mins and you can switch channels after that."

"Arashi?"

haha!! I was totally beaming when they appeared!

My gosh, I loved their costumeS. The first one was red...at first I thought it was pink, a shade deeper than Kitto Daijyoubu's. Demo, I think it's red. I liked how during Happiness they started to go wild a la concerts. Jun even leaped (literally leaped) off the stage and go up close to the audience, shaking hands, smiling, bowing...KAWAII...like an over-excited kid at his birthday party. At that moment, it felt like an Arashi concert. Sasuga Arashi! Maybe it's just me, but compared to the other perf I saw (Mika Nakashima, Yuzu, Koda Kumi), the camera shoots seemed to become more wild and excited along with Arashi, with a lot of wide zooms and sudden close ups.

But the thing I loved most was right before they started singing Believe. As Happiness ended, they went to the upper stage, where they were engulfed by thick smoke. At first, I was going to throw the remote control because it seemed like they were going off stage just like that. But no. After the smoke dissipated, they emerged again! This time, in line with Believe, they had changed into silver suits! And as the camera panned from above, I couldn't spot their red costumes. O.o I didn't even see any holes in the ground. They changed really fast, like within..3~4 secs! haha.. Concert-trained! But it was strange that they only sang one song after the costume change. =S

So, all in all they sang A.RA.SHI, Wish, Happiness and Believe in a medley.

As Nino said after the perf, it'll be great if they returned next year!

Oh, during the short talk, a male fan actually shouted out to them, and Nakai-san was like, other than female fans, Arashi has a lot of male fans too. True ne! That's our Arashi for you. They have the substance besides the face. =)

OMG. I just watched it at 赤い好き's vox. The only thing that stuck to my mind was...

SAWADA SHIN WAS SINGING.

Jun's hair, his looks.........reminds me soooo much of Sawada Shin. I'm gonna die from that look!!! Just as I was about to cool down a little, he gives me a jab again!