Although I don’t live in Japan, I feel compelled to become a Stippy friend.

Fun site!

Was searching for Hagetaka and came across you. The drama is rerunning on NHK as I write this (Golden Week). I missed the first run. Boy, I’ve missed a lot, this site and Hagetake. Both reasons for smacking myself with a wet soba noodle. Well, I’ll leave that for later.

I’ve been running a blog Adventures of a Super Cub, about life in Tokyo on Honda’s groovy little motorbike. The blog, and the cub, have been going since ‘04. Stop by if you have the inclination.

About this drama. Story aside, I gotta say, it’s very well done. Japanese modern TV drama is 99% of the time awful, awful in story, and even worse, awful in production. No, the money’s there, but the Japanese production field seems to have lost their way, and their creativity since, well, the days when Hiroshi Tachi rode a motorcycle while firing off a shotgun at some Yak baddies. And before all dramas had to have the ubiquitous female idol singing the theme song. God, I miss filmed drama. But this comes darn close! Darn close. It reminds me of a lot of very nicely done contemporary story animation the way it’s show, like Byosoku 35 centimeter (I think I got that title right).

This series though, is in that 1% that is superbly made. I was astounded by the production design, the camera work, the lighting. Excellent and compelling. What a waste it was shot on video. At least 24p, for goodness sakes, would have preserved the ‘film look’. I’d pay to watch it. This one has a female pop singer performing the theme as well, I think. But I’ll ignore it. The incidental music is quite good, though. Stark piano. Nice.

Some flaws:
1. Dumb floating money. Stupid. Cut it.
2. Some overacting. Not much, but some.

3. When you show a counter on the screen, a timer, say “09:00am” don’t have it read exactly at the top of the hour unless the story calls for that, such as ‘the deadline is at nine o’clock!” Mix it up. “09:15” is much better. And if you do use a top of hour mark, don’t do it again. This drama had about 3 top of the hour marks in a row! C’mon! I think that says more about the Japanese scheduling obsession than the production crew.

Anyway, great stuff.

Also, the babe, is that what’s her name from KB (which I never saw) and Panasonic ads, which I have seen? She looks remarkably like one of the key, but rarely shown characters in my own production. Did I say ‘my own production’?

Yes, I did. I’m working on an independent movie here in Tokyo. Been working on it for ages, since Meiji. Well, not that long, but seems like it. Almost done now. Almost.

I was equally astounded to see many of the same ideas I had and already shot! present in this production. I’m not saying they were lifted, since creativity is a funny thing, but who knows? I’ve put up clips on the net, not thinking anyone would care to see them aside from friends, and I’ve had colleagues tell me, and show me images on Apple apps, such as Motion that came right out of my production design. Just too coincidental. But that’s showbiz. All’s fair. They beat me to it.

All I can say is, be careful who you share your ideas with, until you’re ready to officially announce them to the world. Lol. Just now, I see on my TV screen yet another shot I did, takes place in front of a public housing structure with a huge C 1 next to it. Would you believe I shot a very similar meeting with a…wait for it…B 1. I was first alphabetically too! What ya gonna do?

Like I said, cool site. I’ll have to come back here again.

Ciao.

-Robbie

looks as though the same profiles are on both .. I registered as VIP on the other site however cannot see my profile on this site ..

any ideas ? fakes?