let’s go where this dawn ends

Soratobu, final ep:
A blatant JASDF public education exercise!
(Much like the rest of the episodes, just in far greater quantities here haha.)
Interesting info, of course, and Tohoku rebuilding efforts are always moving to hear about,
but there's only so much characters can say before they become mere mouthpieces
and the audience feels like they're being conked on the head repeatedly.
Also: lmao @ the overload of character cameos and that dumbed-down, cheesy ending. ><

Remarkable (and nicely ironic), then,
that the SoraiXInaba relationship was beautiful precisely because it was understated.
Adorable, yes (:'D squeeee), but with a quiet heft/maturity
that light romances in dramas rarely possess. <333
The JASDF setting should never have taken centrestage at the expense of better-written material
(though I guess there's no way of knowing if the romance would have become less likable
if more screentime had been devoted to it).


Tumbling, AKA superficial thoughts on a substandard drama:
1. Seto Koji is not nearly as cute as I had thought he was. :'(((
2. Yamamoto Yusuke's bone structure is out of this world.
3. Kiyama is vv hot! (obvs I like 'em tall, dark and extremely serious)
4. Had Tomiura Satoshi's voice truly not broken at nineteen?
5. Can you really perform gymnastics while wearing glasses? O.o
6. I hated the way the show dealt with Mizusawa's involuntary outing.
7. Best parts of the drama (by far, lmao) were the performances by the real gymnasts. STUNNING ;A;


Sennyu Tantei Tokage, ep9:
COLOUR ME IMPRESSED.
This plot managed to go from insipid to pretty fantastic between eps 6 and 7?
I actually care what happens to the characters now.
(And managed to watch 3 eps in a row. O.O)

Soratobu Kouhoushitsu, ep6:
SQUEALING
Eternally grateful to Arama, without whom I'd have given up after the first two-thirds of ep1
(which were terrible - hit-or-miss humour, Gakky's 'acting', etc etc).
But it hits its groove almost directly after,
and - despite the occasional off-moment,
e.g. the way info about the JASDF is oh-so-conveniently dispensed at various points in each episode,
and some lazy BGM choices -
yay bc hilarity + adorable hijinks abound. :D:D:D
Sorai X Inaba are the Hyuga X Natsui of this season (Sorai makes geeky plane analogies sound romantic *O*)
and the tying-in to themes is well-done;
the writing is better than RMPW's too.
And I adore the characters' emotional breakthroughs -
the tears come at least once per episode lolol. ;~;
(I cry so often during dramas/films that sometimes I wonder if it's just me and my fountain of feels lmao)


Kazoku Game, ep5:
Still as great.
Shows no signs of slowing down, and goodness best cliffhangers ever argh.
Watched the VSA ep with the cast, though, and it was really stilted?
I wonder how working with Sho outside of Arashi is like, tbh. D:
Aimiya cooing over Kamiki's progression from kid roles to 'roles with girlfriends' was vv cute though.


Sennyu Tantei Tokage, ep4:
This, kids, is a Bad Drama.
Crimes are lame, cops are annoying
(let's start complaining about Tokage's involvement/methods
when we're actually of some use in the crime-solving process, shall we?).
Also, scriptwriter-san, FYI,
characters constantly insinuating that Tokage's an horrible person blahblah
without any payoff beyond the same scene repeated over and over
(and lbr we all know he won't turn out to be a bad person anyway)
is /extremely/ irritating.
Ugh, at this point I'm just hanging on for Shota's face (HANADAN STYLING IN EP5! \o/).


ENDLESS GAME:
I don't get why people are moaning about the second verse
WHEN THE MOST OUT-OF-PLACE BRIDGE EVER(!!) IS STARING YOU IN THE FACE?
(So, which person decided that an abrupt key change was necessary
ON TOP OF a melody with no similarities to the main song??)
Need a version without that. (Or a version with just the chorus on loop hahaha.)
And lots of Sho gifs because those closeups are gorgeous.

I actually actively dislike Intergalactic, lol.
Style's not my thing and it isn't catchy enough to be a guilty pleasure. :(
Monochrome's nice, though - not ~in love~,
but there's a lot for the ears to feast on, instrumental-wise (esp the drums during the chorus). <3
Magic Hour's somewhere in-between for me?
Not great per se (and could have done without the Yuzu-esque break, imo),
but likeable.

Kazoku Game (ep2):
...is surprisingly absorbing?? xD
Not a fan of Yoshimoto's methods at all
(though the whole shock-tactics-catalysing-change route is very Kaseifu no Mita),
but it's interesting to guess at what he/the rest of the characters will do next,
and I can't wait to see the family start to form healthier relationship patterns.
(Systemic theory!! :'D Sigh they're so dysfunctional.)
AND, A BIGBIG PLUS: Sho is actually good. \o/
He needs to take on roles like this/Kamiyama more often. <3


Sennyu Tantei Tokage (ep1):
The acting in this is nothing to crow about
(should've known, really; Shota is a far better comedic actor than he is a dramatic one -
though I WAS hoping for more humour in this than there actually was, so. DD:).
Neither are the characters
(crossing my fingers that Mochizuki gets less annoying as the show wears on -.-).
The red herrings were pretty clumsy too.
What saved the ep, imho, were the chase/showdown scenes
(which were pretty heart-thumpingly awesome:
Shota slides down a laundry chute! Shota leaps down a stairwell and dents a car!
No, I'm serious. They were exciting. :D
Though the writers clearly don't shy away from unexpected injuries/deaths. ><).
I liked the twisty little reveal at the end, too, about Tokage's nickname
(maybe it's just me being 迟钝, lol, but I HADN'T GUESSED OKAY.
Gives things a whole new dimension - I want that backstory nowww.).


B is the sweetest proj supervisor, haha
(hands me back my report with REAMS of penciled comments
and insists 'it's very good already' WHEN NOOO IT'S NOT LMAO. I KNOW MYSELF.) -
AND I HAVE SO MANY CHANGES TO MAKE,
idek where to start. :(((
(Also: lol @ the fact that she pointed out over-hyphenation as my biggest stylistic flaw...
obviously it is high time to correct the habit. xD)
And there's revision, and job apps, and.
SIGH.
TOMORROW.
SOON. SOON.
BLEARGH


-4Min's mini is so catchy (and so inappropriate for revision, goodness).
Officially blaming Domino's overabundance of violins. xD
And still hooked on Standing Egg and Roy Kim,
which makes for a strange playlist, to say the least.
-The new tracks off Shout to the Walls! (save 鼓動) were a bit of a letdown.
I need my good emotional~ jams :(
-SekaOwa's RPG is amazing stuff (and Fukase is adorbs in the PV ;;).


The Popcorn con gives me a tremendous amount of feels.
Need to do a recap soon to get them out of my system.
(Ohno's Cosmos choreo is everything. And Juntoshi! And Two! And Energy Song!
+ it helps that the album songs are fantastic.)