[jdrama] One Million Stars Falling From The Sky

[scottishlass]

BEAUTIFUL

COLD-BLOODED

PURE

REBELLIOUS

CALLOUS

SEXY

LOST

These are the adjectives that come to mind when I watch Kimura Takuya as Ryo in One Million Stars Falling from the Sky.

summary:
A series of murders calls Detective Kanza's attention. Two beautiful students have been murdered and one murder even had been staged to look like a suicide. Kanza, whose own life consist of little than caring for his younger sister, pursues the elads and almost all point into one direction: Katase Ryo, a young, enigmatic though cold junior chef at a restaurant.
Ryo is popular with women even though he treats them with little better than lab rats. He is a player, a womanizer, and even though he has the charm, the women know he doesn't care about them, and yet they still want him.
When Kanza's sister Yuko falls for Ryo, a fateful chain of events begin that might lead to more secrets revealed and more dead bodies than anybody, Kanza, Ryo and Yuko included, can bear.
Ryo for the first time in his life falls for a woman, Yuko. He fights the attraction, knowing that she might mean the end of his existence, but as he falls deeper and deeper in love with her, her brother suspects him of murder more and more. When secrets of Kanza's and Yuko's past are revealed, Ryo and Yuko already have reached the point of no return, and although Yuko loves Ryo it is her decision to end it all. And it has to end, no matter what, they cannot stay together - the scars they both bear physically and mentally show that they cannot be.

my review:
I seem to have a knack to pick dramas with a strong incestual theme and I did suspect that something might happen in that kind of vein when it was revealed they both had burn scars on their bodies. When Yuko also pointed out that she and Ryo standing together in front of a mirror their scars looked like two pieces of a puzzle put together, I knew where it was heading. But I simply didn't care. I was so wrapped up in this suspence story and was both appalled and in love with the main male lead. Ryo is a lost little boy who is callous and charming, tender-hearted and cold-blooded, naive and manipulating at the same time, and you hate him for his darker side, but the attributes he displays while with Yuko make up for that. I got to know Ryo because he was a very complex person, a person who is so lonely who cannot relate well to other ppl let alone love them, and then there is Yuko. A young woman he feels drawn towards and even though he tries to tread her like all the other one night stands and girl-friends he had before her, he can't. You see the indecisiveness, the self-hatred, but also the cold-blooded calculation within this character, and I loved him even more for it.
One Million Stars is not the usual drama, heck, it is not even your usual Japanese drama with UST, Angst and life-changing decisions. This is DRAMA with a capital D. It is like a train wreck, you know the train will wreck but you can't do anything but watch. And it is the same with this series. It is intense, it is even disgusting at times, but you cannot stop to watch. You know it will end badly but you cannot stop, you need to know how and why it will end the way you suspect it will end.
I finished this drama over a week ago, and I still am torn between disgust, bawling my eyes out and just curious wonder. I was shell-shocked when the series ended and incoherent (which is a small feat). All I could do was post an almost one liner about this drama in my LJ, I was this surprised and taken in by it.
Kimura Takuya is brilliant in this series. You get shivers down your spine when he as Ryo deals with the women in his life. You can see that he is evil, but at the same time he is a lost little boy trying to find some peace of mind from a dark past that overshadows everything he does and also loves.
I think that is the best performance of him I have seen so far!

x-posted in my journal

Comments

[crimsonredd.livejournal.com]

I think that is the best performance of him I have seen so far!

i totally agree with you... this is my most fave takuya dorama along with Love Generation... i also like Sleeping Forest because it's dark just like One Million Stars from Sky... I've watched Fly Boys Fly too, and I also like it..

i love takuya .. i've been a fan for 3 years now ..

i hope you don't mind... i'm adding you in my F-list, hope you add me back ... thanks!

[scottishlass.livejournal.com]

Added you two. :)
I'm a fairly new fan, both of doramas and Kimura Takuya. But what I have seen and heard so far from him, I really like all.

Btw, someone in your LJ asked about the Imagine song as MP3, I have captured the song off youtube with audiorecorder and it turned out okay-ish. If you want it I can upload it to MU.

[crimsonredd.livejournal.com]

I'm a fairly new fan, both of doramas and Kimura Takuya. But what I have seen and heard so far from him, I really like all.
yup, if it's Takuya's, it must be good *winks*

Btw, someone in your LJ asked about the Imagine song as MP3, I have captured the song off youtube with audiorecorder and it turned out okay-ish. If you want it I can upload it to MU.

Thank you so much ... yes please upload Takuya's Imagine ... once you upload, is it okay if I redirect her to your LJ? :)

Btw, thank you for adding me back :)

[scottishlass.livejournal.com]

Here is the MU link, the mp3 is zipped :)
Kimura singing Imagine (live) (http://www.megaupload.com/?d=CGBB4Q9T)

[crimsonredd.livejournal.com]

thanks! :)

[walkwithheroes.livejournal.com]

I just finished this drama two days ago. I watched it over a period of two or three days and I have to say it left me feeling a great many things. There were so many twists and turns and for once I didn't see the twists coming.

The storyline was really interesting and always kept me guessing. Once I thought I had it figured out, it went and changed on me. And the acting! Everyone was perfect for their roles.

Kimura Takuya, who I've only seen as the cool guy with a heart of gold (Pride, Good Luck!, Beautiful Life, Engine, Hero really surprised me here. The man can go dark and he can play roles that aren't family friendly. I must make a note to check him out in other darker roles.

Fukatsu Eri as Yuko was beyond perfect casting. She gave the character an innocent sweetness coupled with a wisdom that can only come from a tragic past. She was adorable and yet mature. Fukatsu Eri's character may have been twenty-eight, but she came off as younger, which is a good thing for this role. Yuko's been protected and needs to go out and have a life. This is the first thing I've seen her in and I can't wait to see her in something else.

Akashiya Sanma made Kanzo his own. From a detective who can't seem to do anything right to a right badass. His character kept me guessing the whole series and I loved it. His protectiveness over his sister and his willingness to do what he thought was right really sticks with you and makes you think.


As for the other main actors: they all did well with their characters. But, I must give special shot-outs to Igawa Haruka (Miwa) for her death episode. Her character was a bit annoying, but she shot it out of the park in the episode where her character killed herself. Also, Shibasaki Kou (Yuki)is awesome in anything, but she really did well in this drama. I love the layers and depth she gave her character.


Overall, the drama was wonderful, twisted, dark, sexy, and surprising. Honestly, I can hardly believe it was written by Kitagawa Eriko aka the Queen of Love Stories. It was so much darker than the other dramas of hers that I've watched.

[shiningwizard.livejournal.com]

I actually watched a few episodes of this drama during my visit back to Japan during 2002. Even though I only saw the last few episodes (and only got to see the finale after I went back to the States), I remember being captivated by the storyline during the episodes.

You hit it right on the head with your review. I could almost see the ending coming by the time I sat down to watch the final episode at home, but I couldn't help but watch it all unfold, the story had become that intense. Kimu-Taku played his role to perfection, and I was pleasantly surprised by Sanma's portrayal of the older brother, as well.

Where did you catch the episodes, by the way? I've been looking for them on-and-off ever since I saw the drama way back when... cheers!

Million Stars

[peggybrad.livejournal.com]

This is probably my favourite Kimura role. It is so different from the previous characters and he portrays this one in such a deep and soul shaking way. How can we love this man? He is someone we would be drawn to and want to be with even if we knew he might be a killer. The writing was intense and you really had to watch carefully to absorb all the small details. I was very surprised with Sanma's acting abilities. He is such a crazy comedian so this was an admirable effort I thought. I hated his dedication to capture Ryo.... I thought the love between Ryo and the girl who was really his sister was very beautiful and a real love which he could not turn away. He was unable to keep his cold heart at last.No-one could be offended because it called for our pity and care for them both.
I was impressed with the way Kimura showed his resolve to make her hate him so much that she would kill him. He knew what would happen at the old house. He surely meant to kill himself, if possible, but in the end his eyes spoke volumes when she pointed the gun. For me, the final scene when they both floated away, finally together forever, was the most memorable scene and I will never forget it. I wish they had ended the drama right there. I was somewhat jarred by the following scenes with the detective driving down the road. Anti climax.. and took away the feeling that should have been the real ending.
I loved this story and Kimura was great, as were most of the main cast, but he was
powerful.
Peg