My calm and unexciting Iwate life just got mildly more exciting. It appears NHK is airing a new television drama called ‘dondohare’ or ‘どんど晴れ’ The show follows the life of Yokohama native Natsumi Higa as she struggles to start up her own traditional Japanese Ryokan. This show is a type of morning drama call a ‘asadora’, or ‘Morning Drama.’
The reason I find this sort of exciting is because it takes place in Iwate Prefecture. Yes, for those of you not keeping track, that is the prefecture I live in. In fact, the show is based in Morioka, which is only 30 minutes from my door. I might tune in just to see if I can spot any of the locales. There is a ton of info on the show over at D-addicts. If you can read Japanese check out the Official Page.
Update: Ouch! The wonderful people over at J!-Ent news have revealed the opening broadcast of Dondobare brought NHK’s lowest reviews ever. It’s probably as I feared. No one outside or inside of Japan cares about Iwate.
I know I am harping on about a fad that is well over eight months old, but if you haven’t seen either the TV drama or the movie I seriously suggest that you check it out.
Densha Otoko is the modern day Cinderella story of a 23 year old geek that finds true love with a beautiful woman after saving her from a drunken pervert on a train. From there he consults the internet forum 2ch and receives advice on how to pull himself up to her level. While doing this, he realizes that he only needs to be himself in order to win her heart.
Is this really based on a true story or is it pure fiction? There is no doubt that the actual 2ch chat logs are still there. And the book that was written is taken from those logs. If it is a work of fiction it’s a hell of a good one. I’d like to believe that it is somewhere between truth and fantasy, though I do have to admit that I would be a little disappointed if this turns out to be a big hoax.
The mythical elements in the story are legendary. You have a main character that is a low as they go on the Japanese social scale and low in self esteem. Then there is a chance encounter on a train, a date with destiny, a woman that has far more than average beauty, and the anonymous but sincere outpouring of support for him from millions people on the Internet. There are elements that are so epic here, if you threw in a plague and a few wars, you might just be able to call this Bible v2.0.
Perhaps that is why I’d be more than a little upset if none of this were true. Densha truly brings out the best in us, and gives us all a little hope that someday if we stay true to who we are, we’ll also find that special someone to love and cherish.
For the sake of all of those who have been touched by this phenomenon, perhaps it is better that the truth stays hidden. At least then, all of those who were inspired by the legend of Densha can keep their candles buring. I think we all need a candle to keep burning during these difficult times.
I was at my local video store the other day when I noticed something peculiar in the new rentals section. I saw what looked like a box of “Napoleon Dynamite”, However on closer inspection, I noticed that something was seriously wrong. The picture was the same as the Canadian release of the film, but the title hit me like a fan at a shit convention: Check it out here. That’s right, it’s now called “Bus Otoko” or “Bus Man.”
This gets my vote for worst translation of the year. For those of you who don’t know, it’s based on another popular Japanese drama series called “Densha Otoko” or “Train Man.” Obviously there is no way any Japanese person can turn “Napoleon Dynamite” into something pronounceable, so they resorted to the clever marketing tactic of copying another successful brand. Thank you once again Japan for restoring my confidence in sleazy business practices. For a second there I thought you were getting all soft on me.
What kind of event brings together nearly every JET programme participant in Iwate prefecture? Why, the release of a Harry Potter movie. I watched Goblet of Fire on Saturday and was quite amused by the shear number of foreigners that were also there. This is quite an impressive feat, given that the only other thing that can pull this many JETs to the same place is an official work conference. Quite impressive indeed.
What else is happening in Senmaya? Well, it’s cold outside, but it’s not snowing yet. I will need to put on my winter tires sooner or later. There is snow on the mountains, however. And it makes living in Iwate something quite desirable. How could I ever leave this place?
Ahhh. It’s agent sumisu. This is the craziest thing I’ve ever seen.
