[jdrama] Karei-naru Ichizoku review
Apr. 4th, 2007 11:58 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
scottishlassKarei-naru Ichizoku
summary:
The drama follows the life and loves of one industrial family, the Manpyo clan. Daisuke Manpyo who led his grandfather's small bank to greatness leads his family like he does his business - ruthlessly. He treats his family like an extension of his business; marriages are mere business mergers for him and personal feelings have no say. His eldest daughter was married off to his right hand man; his eldest son had to marry the daughter of a business partner, despite his obvious love for another woman. For his two youngest children he already has similar distinguishable marriages in the works. His own marriage, born out of love rather than business is completely void of any feelings from his side. He had a live-in mistress who runs the family estate with a firm hand.
During the cause of the one year we follow the Manpyo family we see how Daisuke's ruthlessness as well as his single-mindedness not only almost destroys his business but also his family, especially his eldest son, Teppei.
Even though Teppei had to marry due to business calculations rather than love, he has found his own happiness with his wife Sanae, and their little son. At 32 he is the manager of a steel processing plant and his shrewd yet innovative business sense is highly respected in the business world and even potential competitors think he will become one of the top managers of industrial Japan.
All could be well but for the petty jealousy of Manpyo Daisuke. Not only doesn't he believe that the steel processing plant will lead to any success, he also deeply dislikes his son as he assumes that he is actually his paternal brother as a lot of people compare to his father. The suspicion of out-of-wedlock birth as well as the incurable jealousy leads up to dramatic events that destroy Teppei and his family.
If looks could kill ...
acting:
OMG!!! The whole cast was fantastic!!! I haven't seen such a homogeneous cast that fit so well acting wise in a longest time. Dysfunctional as the Manpyo clan might be you actually believed they are family and the acting, from the main characters down to the smallest one-line part was superb. Kudos to whoever did the casting. Not only did he find actors who fit the right age, but he also found actors that have the same high skill of acting.
review:
I have to admit, I usually don't like family sagas very much. Series like Dallas, Dynasty and the likes usually bore me to death with their made-up fake family antics. However, after seeing the first 20 minutes of episode one of Karei-naru Ichizoku I was glued to my monitor. I needed to know what would happen next. I wanted to see Teppei succeed and Daisuke fail. I wanted onee-chan be happy and Teppei's mom finding solace, peace of mind and perhaps love again. The series had me hook, line and sinker.
As the whole tragedy of the family and their secrets unfolded, the more I had the feeling I not only knew them but also I also knew the world they moved in. Perhaps it was just coincidence, but Japan of 1968 looked very much like the 70's in Germany with its economical upheavals and it was like a warm memory watching this drama.
Teppei and Daisuke were the total opposites on the emotional scale that I sometimes asked myself as well if they are father and son. Where Daisuke was ruthless and unemotional, Teppei was humane and kind, he excuded a warmth to his family, his workers that ppl felt drawn to. Daisuke was respected out of fear but Teppei was respected because he was such a nice human being. I could understand Daisuke who said something along the lines, that Teppei was too weak. In Daisuke's world, Teppei would be too weak but Teppei isn't dysfunctional like his father who sees himself as the doer and mover and uses people like pawns in a game of chess. Unfortunately Daisuke himself thinks his way of thinking is right, and eventually this is where Teppei finally breaks down. I have to admit, I still am not sure why Teppei did what he did. Of course, seppuku is so much ingrained into Japanese culture, esp. when you see it from a samurai POV, but I think he could have lived with himself if he had just waited. But being such an honest person, the closing of the plant must have weighed heavily on his conscience and his sense of honour led him to what he did in the end. In a sense his suicide also set free the rest of his family. If I understood correctly, his wife, son as well as his youngest siblings wanted to emigrate to the US. So they at least, esp. his son, will be removed from the destroying influence of Daisuke.
Of course, this series is not a fluffy romantic tale. It is a very mature drama, with adult problems and a very mature cast. Definitely not something that would appeal to the younger generation but even though I prefer romance to human drama, this series changed my POV. If every human drama is a) cast/acted like Karei and b) well directed and set then bring them on! I'll watch them all.
Initially, I only started to watch this series due to Kimura Takuya starring in it, but I stayed because of its timeless story. Though I have to admit the drama would have been only half so enjoyable without beautiful Kimura Takuya all Angsty and so wonderfully emo. He carried the series, yes, but he also stepped down and let others take the limelight where it was necessary for the story. He was Teppei, i.e. he wasn't the gorgeous Kimura Takuya playing a character in a dorama, but with his suits, the hair cut and also his gestures, facial expressions he turned into slightly reserved yet kind Manpyo Teppei.
He definitely has grown as an actor and has surpassed the status of idoru. People might frown upon his beginnings as a Johnny and being a member of a boy band and being drop-dead gorgeous to boot, but here he has shown that he has the talent and the skills to become a great character actor like Mifune Toshiro.
summary:
The drama follows the life and loves of one industrial family, the Manpyo clan. Daisuke Manpyo who led his grandfather's small bank to greatness leads his family like he does his business - ruthlessly. He treats his family like an extension of his business; marriages are mere business mergers for him and personal feelings have no say. His eldest daughter was married off to his right hand man; his eldest son had to marry the daughter of a business partner, despite his obvious love for another woman. For his two youngest children he already has similar distinguishable marriages in the works. His own marriage, born out of love rather than business is completely void of any feelings from his side. He had a live-in mistress who runs the family estate with a firm hand.
During the cause of the one year we follow the Manpyo family we see how Daisuke's ruthlessness as well as his single-mindedness not only almost destroys his business but also his family, especially his eldest son, Teppei.
Even though Teppei had to marry due to business calculations rather than love, he has found his own happiness with his wife Sanae, and their little son. At 32 he is the manager of a steel processing plant and his shrewd yet innovative business sense is highly respected in the business world and even potential competitors think he will become one of the top managers of industrial Japan.
All could be well but for the petty jealousy of Manpyo Daisuke. Not only doesn't he believe that the steel processing plant will lead to any success, he also deeply dislikes his son as he assumes that he is actually his paternal brother as a lot of people compare to his father. The suspicion of out-of-wedlock birth as well as the incurable jealousy leads up to dramatic events that destroy Teppei and his family.
If looks could kill ...
acting:
OMG!!! The whole cast was fantastic!!! I haven't seen such a homogeneous cast that fit so well acting wise in a longest time. Dysfunctional as the Manpyo clan might be you actually believed they are family and the acting, from the main characters down to the smallest one-line part was superb. Kudos to whoever did the casting. Not only did he find actors who fit the right age, but he also found actors that have the same high skill of acting.
review:
I have to admit, I usually don't like family sagas very much. Series like Dallas, Dynasty and the likes usually bore me to death with their made-up fake family antics. However, after seeing the first 20 minutes of episode one of Karei-naru Ichizoku I was glued to my monitor. I needed to know what would happen next. I wanted to see Teppei succeed and Daisuke fail. I wanted onee-chan be happy and Teppei's mom finding solace, peace of mind and perhaps love again. The series had me hook, line and sinker.
As the whole tragedy of the family and their secrets unfolded, the more I had the feeling I not only knew them but also I also knew the world they moved in. Perhaps it was just coincidence, but Japan of 1968 looked very much like the 70's in Germany with its economical upheavals and it was like a warm memory watching this drama.
Teppei and Daisuke were the total opposites on the emotional scale that I sometimes asked myself as well if they are father and son. Where Daisuke was ruthless and unemotional, Teppei was humane and kind, he excuded a warmth to his family, his workers that ppl felt drawn to. Daisuke was respected out of fear but Teppei was respected because he was such a nice human being. I could understand Daisuke who said something along the lines, that Teppei was too weak. In Daisuke's world, Teppei would be too weak but Teppei isn't dysfunctional like his father who sees himself as the doer and mover and uses people like pawns in a game of chess. Unfortunately Daisuke himself thinks his way of thinking is right, and eventually this is where Teppei finally breaks down. I have to admit, I still am not sure why Teppei did what he did. Of course, seppuku is so much ingrained into Japanese culture, esp. when you see it from a samurai POV, but I think he could have lived with himself if he had just waited. But being such an honest person, the closing of the plant must have weighed heavily on his conscience and his sense of honour led him to what he did in the end. In a sense his suicide also set free the rest of his family. If I understood correctly, his wife, son as well as his youngest siblings wanted to emigrate to the US. So they at least, esp. his son, will be removed from the destroying influence of Daisuke.
Of course, this series is not a fluffy romantic tale. It is a very mature drama, with adult problems and a very mature cast. Definitely not something that would appeal to the younger generation but even though I prefer romance to human drama, this series changed my POV. If every human drama is a) cast/acted like Karei and b) well directed and set then bring them on! I'll watch them all.
Initially, I only started to watch this series due to Kimura Takuya starring in it, but I stayed because of its timeless story. Though I have to admit the drama would have been only half so enjoyable without beautiful Kimura Takuya all Angsty and so wonderfully emo. He carried the series, yes, but he also stepped down and let others take the limelight where it was necessary for the story. He was Teppei, i.e. he wasn't the gorgeous Kimura Takuya playing a character in a dorama, but with his suits, the hair cut and also his gestures, facial expressions he turned into slightly reserved yet kind Manpyo Teppei.
He definitely has grown as an actor and has surpassed the status of idoru. People might frown upon his beginnings as a Johnny and being a member of a boy band and being drop-dead gorgeous to boot, but here he has shown that he has the talent and the skills to become a great character actor like Mifune Toshiro.
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no subject
Date: 2007-04-05 02:59 am (UTC)Teppei? Yep he offs himself.
no subject
Date: 2007-04-05 03:39 am (UTC)*is starting to get interested*
no subject
Date: 2007-04-05 03:58 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-04-05 04:03 am (UTC)LOL. You know I think I had actually been exposed to jdoramas when I was uber young. Do you know the serial Oshin? It was aired in Indonesia when I was like, 10 yrs old or something. And it was HUGE. Some of my friends call me Oshin (played by Tanaka Yuko) 'cause they think I look like her *laugh*
Wikipedia synopsis:
The 31st NHK Asadora Drama is Oshin. Oshin tells the story of a girl born in a very poor rural family in Japan, who through hard work and perseverance eventually triumphs over pain and adversity to achieve fame and success. Broadcast in the early 1980s when Japan had finally cast off the legacy of the post-war years and the Japanese were beginning to reap the benefits of economic development, the aim of the story was to recall the hardships the older generation had endured in order to pave the way for their children to enjoy their more affluent lifestyle. Viewers were drawn to the suffering of the main character Oshin - and then drew similarities between her story and their own home lives.
Some Japanese worried that showing Oshin abroad would give the country a bad profile - and would even be shameful because it showed the seldom glimpsed, poor, unequal side of Japan. In the event, the reverse proved true. Oshin gave viewers outside Japan - whose only image of Japan was formed by Japanese cars or electric goods, or through bitter memories of Japanese treatment during World War II - a far better understanding of the modern Japan and its people.
http://wiki.d-addicts.com/Oshin
no subject
Date: 2007-04-05 04:29 am (UTC)My first ever exposure to doramas was a taiga series from Japan called Water Margin (The rebels of Liang Shan Poo) in 1979. I love(d) the series and it was the first I ever encountered what we dub Easterns over here. I totally fell in love with the tattoed dragon - Shi Shin (a tragic young warrior) and I even bought the DVDs when they came out two years ago.
Funniyl enough, when I looked up the actor who played Shi Shin (Teruhiko Aoi), he seems to have been an idol at that time, he was a singer turned actor. I guess I have a thing for those ;) Early conditioning, don't you love it?! :)
no subject
Date: 2007-04-05 04:40 am (UTC)*laughs*
I liked Oshin a lot, but I can't remember most of it now *g*
Love your majide icon, btw. Majide is one of my fave Japan words, in fact ^^
no subject
Date: 2007-04-05 11:46 am (UTC)Oh NOOOOOOOOOOOO! I was about to start watching "Karei Naru.." but i this is something I never cope well with, the suicide. Oh noooooooooooooooo! Thank you for the review and the spoilers, your review is wonderful as always and I am glad that I know the ending!!!
no subject
Date: 2007-04-05 12:22 pm (UTC)It was commonly known from the novels that he does it. If you don't want to see it, ffwd the last fifteen minutes to the last five, then there is the epilogue (Kimura's voice over *swoon*).