Current mood:	satisfied
Entry tags:	jdrama, maou'zoku, reviews

Maou episode one

Oh dear. Where to start. Okay. Um... let's go with the opening.

Opening/Music
"Truth" works. The image that made the most impression on me was Toma running and running and running with the chorus going. Then the rest of the cast appearing one by one against a black background, red lines surrounding them like a web, and finally, after they gathered, Toma, in his attempt to run towards them, slammed into a wall -- of tarot cards. Of course, there's Ohno tossing cards in the air, and the cards rained down on Toma and Kobayashi (Shiori actress). I liked it! It felt a little photoshopped at some points, but it's certainly an opening I wouldn't mind watching every time.

The soundtrack! When the girl's vocals came on in that hi~~~gh pitch... i-it is a good soundtrack.

Plot
Mm. I think my view's a little tainted because I watched the Korean original, which is what, 1 hour 45 minutes an episode, with 20 episodes in total? So, it felt like the events that occurred were kind of rushed. Things happened one after another, without the slow, comfortable pace that the original had. Kind of like, this happened, that happened, oh and also, this happened too!! MOVING ON. On the other hand, they're squeezing a lot of story into half of the time they have to broadcast it, so it really shouldn't be surprising that the scenes move so fast. I hope they don't rush it too much though. :(

Can't say for sure if the plot's going to follow the original exactly or not (they did change lots of things, like the lawyer and cop's age differences, the younger/older brother thing, Shiori's family - she's an orphan in this version, living near the church), but one addition I really like, though, was the talk about Lucifer falling from God's favour at the beginning, and the shot of Ohno walking down a dark street right after.

Lighting/Atmosphere
No, really, I loved this in the original. And I wasn't disappointed here either.

I mostly paid attention to Shiori's home vs Ryou's home, but Shiori's home had furniture that felt warm, cozy, with natural light filtering through the window. Like the sort of home you usually go home to, kind of feel. Ryou's, on the other hand, had very sharp-edged furniture. Black. His curtains were always drawn, the only lights in the room from his blueish-tinted lamps. Very nice. ♥

Main Cast
Ohno Satoshi (Naruse Ryou)
SHOWER SCENE.

HURR.






... okay, I have more to say, really. I was worried about two things when it came to Ohno. One, was his speech. In person, he mumbles. On stage, he exaggerates and yells a lot, because of his roles, and because he has to extend his voice on stage. So I wondered if he could enunciate his words for a drama, clearly and softly.

And he did. Very well. *____*

Two, his expressions. His expressions, were gorgeous. The scary expressions were frightening, yes, but what made the most impact on me were not his RAWR I AM MAOU faces, but his expressions when they were filled with sorrow, with grief. When he cried for his brother, the quiet weeping, one single tear rolling down his cheek... I didn't cry, but I wanted so badly to hug him and just, hold him. Also, the bit where Toma yelled, "DON'T YOU UNDERSTAND HOW IT FEELS TO HAVE A PRECIOUS FAMILY MEMBER TAKEN FROM YOU," Ohno's expression, god I don't even know how to describe it. It was blank. But. It looked so, incredibly sad. I don't know how a person can hold so much emotion in nothing but his eyes, but Ohno does it well. The watery look in the eyes, where a person is about to cry, but doesn't? P-Perfectly executed. ;~;

All around, I think this may just be Ohno's big break into the entertainment world. Not just as Arashi's cute little sleepy Leader, but as an actor. If people aren't tuning into the Ghibli movies that are playing at the same time, anyway. ^^;;

Ikuta Toma (Serizawa Naoto)
Passionate cop, damn, really passionate. I have to admit, at some points, it felt like Toma was trying way too hard and exaggerating the passion a little too much, but I loved it overall. He didn't have as much expressions to work on like Ohno, but when he glared so heatedly at his dad, man. I felt the bitter hatred right there.

Also, he wasn't joking when he said he ran around and screamed a lot. XD; His role is definitely physically intense, the way he's always running around.

It really did feel like I had more to say about Toma, but that's about it for now. *sheepish* May edit when I'm less sleepy. orz

Kobayashi Ryoko (Sakita Shiori)
She felt a little stiff in general to me. ^^;; She's supposed to give off this aura full of life, purity and innocence, but she felt oddly plain, somehow. The Korean girl actually shone far more. Again, this may just be me tainted by the original, but it feels like Kobayashi could do a little more with the role than what she's shown in the first episode.

Also, this is more a complaint about the script writing than anything else, but having been drilled keigo into me the last week, I'm totally thrown off by the way Shiori mixes keigo and casual form with Naruse. I don't know if anyone else noticed? But I think the first time she meets Naruse, she uses kenjougo (humble form), and then at the church, I think she used plain?? She can't have gotten to know him that much in that period of time... right? This probably won't show up in translations since the English language isn't distinct in terms of honorific forms, but yeah. ^^;; M-Maybe it's just me being retarded?

Overall
Loved it. ♥ I think if they don't rush it too much and develop the plot at their own pace, it'll be awesome. I, I really hope they twist the plot to fit the time frame or something, 'cause I'd rather see an original adaptation than a faithful but rushed remake. Nino's appearance was short, but... was it just me, or was his acting a little off? XD;;

Looking forward to the second episode!

So. Um. WHAT DO YOU THINK.