Autumn must be here, because I'm finding time to watch Jdrama again. This past week, I've been marathoning Hotelier, a Japanese remake of the popular Korean drama of the same name.
First, I wasn't even aware that "Hotelier" was even a word. It's not one that is in common use in America, although when I looked it up, it seems that it is English (borrowed, of course, from the French) and means a hotel owner or manager. Huh. Learn something new every day.
Anyway, back to the drama. I'd caught a few episodes of the Korean version when it was shown on AZN TV and it looked good, so I thought I'd give the Japanese version a try. It also helped that one of the stars was Oikawa Mitsuhiro (more on him later). The story focuses on Odagiri Kyoko (played by cutie Ueto Aya), an assistant manager in a large luxury hotel. She's devoted to the job and popular with her fellow staff members. Alas, there's another company looking to take over the hotel (led by villain Morimoto Masakazu, played by character actor Takenaka Naoto, probably best known in the US from his unforgettable role as the Latin-dancing enthusiast Aoki in the hilarious movie, Shall We Dance?). The hotel's president asks Kyoko to find a former manager of theirs, Ogata Kouhei (played by very hot Tanabe Seiichi) to help them defend the business from being taken over. Undeterred, Morimoto in turn hires Mizusawa Keigo (Oikawa Mitsuhiro), a Japanese ex-pat now living in America who is famous for being able to force hostile takeovers.
But as it happens, Mizusawa happens to meet Kyoko by chance when she's tracking down Ogata, and it's love at first sight. That's not about to stop him from taking over the hotel, but he figures he can have his cake and eat it, too. Kyoko has other ideas. Plus, Ogata is in love with her, himself, and he and Mizusawa clash over both love and business.
Basically, the entire drama is about a takeover bid on this hotel, and how the hotel staff band together to fight it. And surprisingly, it was pretty good. It did seem a bit rushed in places, but I think that was due to the writers trying to cram 20 episodes of plot from the Korean drama into 9 episodes of Japanese drama. Unfortunately, I didn't see enough of the Korean version to tell if the plots were similar, but from what I did see, the Korean version was much better (and I'm going to have to track it down now, aren't I?).
However, a big plus in this drama was the supporting cast. The only weak spot was the girl who played Morimoto's daughter. The rest of them were spot-on perfect, and it made the "slow parts" go by quite quickly because they were all so entertaining. Ueto Aya isn't an actress of great range, but she did very well in this drama, even if she was a bit young for the role. I think the only complaint I had was that the romantic parts weren't very romantic at all, and not just because of the age differences. The romance parts just weren't written very well. So don't watch this one for the romance, but for cheering on the gutsy employees of the hotel as they take on "The Man".
Oh, back to what I was saying about Oikawa Mitsuhiro. He's a nice-looking man, not spectacularly handsome, but he's quite a compelling actor. I've seen him in supporting roles here and there and he's always been good. Evidently, he's also a singer and dancer as well. This role had him as quite understated, but that just made him sexier than even the hunky Tanabe Seiichi. Hopefully, he'll get more starring roles in the future. I'll be looking for him.
Recently read a couple of books that were quite good. The first was Letters of the Nun Eshinni by James C. Dobbins. Eshinni was a nun who lived during the Kamakura era, and who was married to the monk Shinran , the founder of the Jodo Shinshu (True Pure Land) school of Buddhism. In 1921, a cache of her letters was found amongst the belongings of a temple that her great-grandson had founded. Most of them are fairly mundane, talking about her daily life, transfer of servents, that sort of thing, but she does go into some details about Shinran's life, which is what makes the letters historically important. However, Dobbins' assertion is that Eshinni's letters also reflect how people actually followed the Buddhist teachings in their everyday life, and that historians often have a fallacy of applying religious texts (which are ideals) to actual practices (which are...um...doable?). The meat of the book regards Dobbins' outlines of what everyday life was like during Eshinni's time, especially for women, and how everyday people integrated the Buddhist faith into their lives. Very interesting reading!
Another book in the same genre is Zen Sanctuary of the Purple Robes, a history of the Tokeiji Convent from 1285 to the late 19th century, when it was subject to persecution by the State Shinto cult. The nuns left and the convent was put under the administrative rule of another temple. It still exists today. Tokeiji was one of the so-called "divorce temples" because during the Edo period, women could take shelter there and (eventually) dissolve their marriages. The book covers some of the early period (especially during the schism of Japanese Buddhism during the Kamakura era), but focuses quite a bit on the Edo period. Still, it is a fascinating look at women's lives and religion during Japan's medieval and early modern age.
Actually felt like reading fiction recently! I picked up Dragon Sword and Wind Child by Ogiwara Noriko recently and was quite impressed.
The story is vague about the setting, but from the clothing and customs it is certainly very early Japan. (In the afterword, the author admits she never specifically names Japan because she wanted the story to have a more universal feeling to it.) In this world, there is constant warfare between the forces of the God of Light (never named) and the Goddess of Darkness (likewise, never named). GoL and GoD were once married and in love, but after GoD had her children, she died and went into the underworld. GoL tried to follow her, but when he saw her, he was so disgusted by her uncleanliness that he fled, imprisoning her beneath the earth with a large stone.
GoL's twin children, Princess Teruhi and Prince Tsukishiro, now battle the forces of GoD on his behalf. One would think that the forces of Light would be the heroes, but that's not quite the way things work. The heroes in this story are actually those who fight for the forces of Darkness.
This all was just background. The actual story begins with 15-year-old Saya, a village girl who had been adopted after being found wandering in the mountains. She has awful dreams involving a burning village and a mysterious Shrine maiden, but is otherwise pretty normal. Midsummer is coming and the village is gearing up for its Kagai festival, which consists of dancing, songs, and men and women hooking up. Saya promises her friends not to answer the songs of certain young men, and jokingly says that she wants to hook up with Prince Tsukishiro instead. As it happens, Prince Tsukishiro does show up and takes Saya off to be his handmaiden.
I typed up a long summary of what happens next, only to realize that it was full of spoilers! So I'll just say this: the story is very complex, involving demigods, a magic sword, a boy disguised as a girl who turns into a dragon and a lot of battles. Saya can be a bit of a Mary-Sue, but she has some flaws which keep her somewhat likable. The story feels like a cross between a fairy tale and a myth. It took a little bit to get into the story, but after a few chapters, I was hooked and couldn't put the book down.
Supposedly, this book is the first of a trilogy, but I'm not sure if Viz plans to translate and release the two sequels in English or not. The translation is pretty smooth, although there is definitely a Japanese "feel" to the prose. It's hard to explain what I mean, but I'll try: works actually composed in English tend to have a different feel than Japanese translated prose. English is extremely rich and evocative, Japanese tends to be heavily nuanced. There is a passivity in Japanese prose that just doesn't ring true in English, even when translated well. It's still a good read, but it does feel odd at times.
The author, Ogiwara Noriko, is interested in Western fantasy and how it adapts Celtic themes for its purpose. She wanted to do the same thing with Japanese mythology in this book. Dragon Sword and Wind Child is an extremely imaginative fantasy and well worth being on the reading list of any fantasy enthusiast.
Okay, I finally got ahold of the Black Sheep DVD and watched this cinematic masterpiece from the wilds of New Zealand.
It was fantastic. Freakin' hilarious, with a ton of gore. (Hint to my readers: don't watch this movie while eating. Also: may put you off sheep forever.)
The plot (such as it is) centers around Henry,
the psychologically-damaged son of a sheep farmer who is returning home
in order to get some closure, as well as sell his half of the family
spread to his troubled and evil older brother, Angus. Angus
has been a bad boy, though, dabbling in genetic experimentation, and
something has gone horribly, horribly wrong. Meanwhile, Grant and
Experience, two radical greenies, decide to raid the farm in order to
take pictures of its super-secret genetic lab. While there, Grant
decides to steal some evidence, but gets infected himself.
It all goes downhill from there. Blood! Gore!! Lots and lots (and lots) of sheeps! And some of the funniest lines of dialogue that I've heard in years.
Experience: Oh My God!!
Henry: What, what?
Experience: The Feng Shui in here is terrible!
Question, though: are there just a lot of hot men in New Zealand, or is it just that New Zealand happens to have a lot of really good-looking male actors? Because, dayum, there were some fine fellas in that cast, when they weren't being turned into were-sheep! IIRC, Sam Neill is a Kiwi actor as well, isn't he? I remember falling in love when him as a girl when I first saw My Brilliant Career and the 1982 BBC Version of Ivanhoe.
I admit, I closed my eyes during a lot of the gory scenes (although I saw them later during the "Making Of" featurette, but that isn't so bad). Black Sheep is an excellent movie, especially if you have a wicked sense of humor. The DVD has a lot of extras, too, making it well worth the price. Check it out!
