To The Beautiful You

I haven't written something about a drama in a while and it was time.. To The Beautiful You just finished this week and it had just 16 episodes. I believe it was a little bit rushed though. Anyway, we all know the extraordinary awesome manga/drama Hana Kimi. There is a Taiwanese version, Japanese version (of course) and now a Korean version. I respect all of them but the first one I have seen was Hana Kimi form 2007 with Maki Horikita as Mizuki, Toma Ikuta as Nakatsu and the awesome Oguri Shun as Izumi Sano. That was the best version. It had incredible plot and incredible actors. For me, that was the absolute version. Now, the Korean one was pretty good actually. Even though I'm not a fan of f(x), Sulli did a good job as Goo Jae Hee.

Now, if someone doesn't know what Hana Kimi is, it's actually about a girl who admires a high jumper a lot. She feels responsible because he stopped high jumping and disguises herself as a boy and gets into an all boys high school, where he is. Of course, she helps him a lot and throughout the drama a lot of things happen. That, in the Japanese version. In the Korean one, it didn't seem as it happened a lot. They kept the skeleton but they didn't add anything to make it even more special. About the actors, Choi Minho from Shinee was Izumi, which in this version is called Kang Tae Joon. I though he couldn't pull it off because there was no feeling in his acting. I couldn't believe him as Tae Joon because he didn't show me Izumi's personality correctly. That was at first. Of course after a few episodes he started to loosen up because his acting was more relaxed and started to show little aspects of his character. Sulli was alright. Sometimes  though, it was false. I could see through her and forget about the atmosphere she had to pull off. But overall she was ok. She tried to understand her character and I'm proud of her. However, they are not the reason I didn't stop watching the series. One happy and incredibly adorable guy did it. Lee Hyun Woo was a very good Eun Gyeol. He expressed everything correctly, he was a younger and more adorable version of Toma Ikuta. It simply brightened my day each time I watched the drama. I swear when he was sad, I had the reflex to pull my hand on the screen and try to sooth him somehow. It captivated me. Another good actor who made the series better was Kwang Hee. He was also adorable and funny. I love him anyway but his character just made me love him even more.

So, there was good music in the background but still...it didn't affect me much. For example, in Secret Garden, when the songs started while things were happening, I could relate and I could feel what the song meant and the action itself. It was different here. I didn't care much and not every character have been put into the light. It was a good drama but I still prefer 2007's Hana Kimi over anything.

"What I Like About..." Yusuke Yamamoto

In the first place, he's an awesome actor. I believe I have seen almost every movie he has been in. I recognize I started with Ouran High School Host Club series and he just seemed to be perfect as Tamaki. Childish, has a expressive face, those eyes of his...he's quite a nice fellow. Next was Hana Kimi. He wasn't in the leads but he was good enough as Taiki Kayashima. However, he seemed really weird while 'speaking' with the ghosts. Actually, the whole Hana Kimi series was weirdly entertaining. I enjoyed it a lot. From there, somehow, I stumbled upon Atashinchi no Danshi, where again, he freaked me out at first. He looked very...he had make up on. Even if he was supposed to be a model, he was afraid of women. His character, Masaru Ookura, was quite catchy though. Each character in that series had its respective problem and past issues. I believe that's what attracted me the most. Besides these dramas, I also wrote about Tumbling, where I got moved by the subject itself. Now, I'm still waiting for more episodes on Shaken Baby.

As an actor, I admire him very much. As a person, I haven't seen him in videos a lot (because most of them aren't translated and one Asian language is enough for now) but he seems to give it all. He's very passionate and funny. It's fun to watch him, even if he simply stands. He has that glint that simply gets you addicted to his roles. He seems to take a lot of different roles. I love that about him. But, in the end, each character has a revelation about his persona and about the subject in the drama which until now I have seen Yamamoto took roles which had strong stories behind. I love how he plays any role and does a almost perfect job at modelling it. Good job, Yusuke Yamamoto. But, there are some negative points too. In Shaken Baby I think he tries too much. He's not a perverted and it doesn't suit him that well. It's not that I don't enjoy seeing him be messy but it seems a little bit false. In Atashinchi no Danshi, again, I believe he tried at some points, a little too much. He does know how to cover his mistakes in acting but he's just 24 years old. He's still young and he does have a long way to go too. He's good but he can get better. We should all keep our eyes on him for a long time because we never know when he'll surprise us. ;)