Too Much Drama Can Kill You

I'm still recovering from lack of sleep. I have been sleeping just five hours maximum because I had an eating and drinking spree last Fri PM to Sat AM(with Sabistas) and Sat PM-Sun AM(with Astralites in Khen's birthday). Sunday night was alcohol-free but I gave in to 'puyat' because of this nice Japanese drama series I copied from Khejuts (KJ), the very first I have ever watched for the sake of ear training in Nihonggo. Bjuts says that I'm even worse than the some of our female ex-officemates. Thanks to my very low EQ, I watched all of the 11 episodes in one sitting! I started watching at around Sunday 9 pm and finished it around 6 am the next day. Syet, that's jdrama baptismal by jetlag!

The series is called 'Proposal Daisakusen'....I looked up what 'daisakusen' means and it translates to 'tactics' or 'strategy'. And this is what it was all about...about a loser guy (Ken-zou) who never told his beloved childhood best friend (the heart-melting Rei) that he loved her all along in the 14 years that they were friends and he had just lost her to her college teacher. A short story, it got its twist when during the slide show of the wedding ceremony, he sees the photographs of their young friendship and regrets not having made her happier in the pictures and that during all those years he never confessed his love. Then a fairy suddenly appears and offers Ken to do a time-flip to the time each of the slide pictures was taken. An episode was devoted per slide and each was filled with funny moments and, especially, hamida wo nagashisou (lit. seems like tear is flowing if my grammar is right) ones (drama nga pala itoh!) as Ken attempts to change the past and finally tell Rei of his love. The loser never got to directly confess but at least he made Rei look happier in each of the slide except the last. I spent each episode trying to cheer (using my mental powers) the loser guy into finally confessing,

"Tangna kung ganun pa ba naman kaganda ang gelbespren mo e matotorpe ka pa...Sabihan mo na ayan na pagkakataon..ayan...sige na...naknang...me istorbo na naman tuloy...Para lang magsabi e...ayan naunahan ka na...haaayyy...ururu (ulol in Japanese) ka kasi e!"

It was like this per episode and after five episodes, again thanks to my low EQ, it already got a bit boring. What really kept me going was seeing Rei's beauty (Nagasawa masami) as a high school girl, a kolehiyala and a career woman. To exaggerate, I could have have watched this even without the subtitles or even in mute as long as Rei is in the scene! Rei in Yukata made me, qutoing the subtitle, "lost my mind for a moment." God, she's just gorgeous!

I won't spoil by giving away the ending but the series almost didn't give an ending too...a realistic one much less. But then it's already too late for realism considering that it's about time-flips and a profoundly-speaking male fairy. The series was all about cheesy things like 'fate' and 'destiny' and not about building chances or graceful exits after a failure.

I completely agree with Rei's grandpa when he said that there shouldn't be waiting for the next day to tell you love someone. This completely supports that one line repeatedly mentioned towards the end of the movie about taking the risk of telling you love somebody no matter the odds, "Everyone expects you to fail but if you succeed, you really are a man", or something like that. I'm not sure of manhood but I guess if it's the risk you are taking is not having a happy marriage for the rest of your life then there is no reason not to seize every chance you have. It is only when taking, or even making, these chances that you will know the full extent of what 'fate' or 'destiny' can offer. And only after knowing this offer, whether favorable or not, will we have the luxury to not regret and move on.

The loser exits the wedding ceremony after his speech, cries his heart out, takes a taxi and wakes up the next day with no regrets but only the happy memories of his pursuit of Rei who is now happily married. A bittersweet ending could have been nice too.

Pahabol:

Don't get me wrong, 'Proposal Daisakusen' is my first and seemingly last jdrama (Well, maybe for the next few weeks at least...hehehe) . It's so good (the cinematography, acting and all) I couldn't stand watching another series with a production that is at par or without a looker like Rei. I wonder when will another Nagasawa Masami series will come out?

To my surprise, it wasn't only me who watched this last weekend. My body builder colleague watched it too:

Colleague (in a really deep voice with all his muscles bulging out of his fitting sando): Uy pare nanonood ka rin pala ng drama na nyan?
Moi: Ah, nahiram ko lang dun sa mga barkada ko...pang Nihonggo...nakakaiyak nga e...pinanood ko nga ng 9 na oras e...mag-isa ako umiiyak dito sa kwarto... hehehehe...
Colleague: Oo nga...ganda 'no...ganda nung chick jan!(kunwari pa, naiyak ka rin e?!)
Moi: Oo nga...sya nga lang pinapanood ko e...ang ganda kasi ng ngiti...panalo!
Colleague: Meron na akong mga naka-bikini na picture nyan!
Moi: A talaga?! Nasan?! Nasan?!

The moral: Kahit drama sa bikini pa rin pupunta. Hehehehehe.