I have finally finished this drama.
By this statement, I don't mean that I derived satisfaction from watching the entire series. It's more of a relief that this drama is finally OVER. It's a wonder why I stuck to the end. On hindsight, I should have dropped it long ago. Sometimes, the decision to continue would pay off handsomely towards the end. However, Sunao ni Narenakute wasn't meant to be. I wasn't expecting much in the first place but even so, I was disappointed.
I have a lot of issues with this drama so if you have not started watching it or have not finished it, you may wish to skip this review. There are lots of spoilers from this point onwards so please be prepared.
First of all, despite SunaNare being touted to be a Twitter drama, it earned a lot of brickbats from Twitter users from Episode 1 because the scriptwriter obviously didn't know much about it and didn't integrate the application into the storyline at all. It isn't wrong to know little about Twitter. In fact, I have only started using it for a few months and cannot claim to be an expert in it. However, I think Kitagawa Eriko and the crew promised too much. SunaNare is not a Twitter drama. In fact, mention of Twitter is close to the point of non-existence. Towards the end, it would not have been a surprise if you forgot that the main characters knew one another through Twitter. The most obvious change was the fact that the characters' tweets were no longer displayed on the screen when there were voiceovers. And to make matters worse, the font and speed at which the tweets appeared made it difficult to read them. This made it difficult for SunaNare to live up to the expectations of viewers, especially those who use Twitter, who probably were expecting to see the application playing a more significant role in the leads' lives.
One unusual thing I found out about Twitter is that it seems to act as a GPS. If not for the location feature, Nakaji (Eita) would never have found Linda (Tamayama Tetsuji) who slashed his neck. The thing is, if someone never turned on his Twitter or did not use the feature, would others still be able to find him? I think the scriptwriter took for granted that Linda was on Twitter before he killed himself but I think it's too coincidental. Oh well, in dorama land, anything is possible. Then again, would Twitter give you such a detailed location in the first place? I would appreciate if anyone can advise me on this.
Besides all the controversies about Twitter, the script was what riled me the most. Kitagawa Eriko had churned out a couple of hit dramas in the 90s. However, we are in 2010 now. I still see many things which should have worked in the 90s but not now. The moving panel used in the opening credits, the aerial scenery of Tokyo along the Wangan area and some corny lines which should never appear in this era simply make me shudder. Why are such things still appearing in 2010? The cast and the story premise are supposed to be in sync with current trends! It feels as if Kitagawa is using her old style over and over again without feeling the need to be in sync with times.
There is also something which has been bugging me since the day when I started watching this drama. By assembling a cast of young actors playing young adults with hidden problems, is SunaNare trying to replicate the success of Last Friends? No doubt I've had my fair share of complaints about Last Friends but it was still a pretty good piece of work, mainly because of the good acting of everyone except Nagasawa and the engaging story. However, Juri + Eita this time doesn't work out to be a winning formula this time. In addition, their co-stars or should I say their characters simply don't shine. It's like seeing everyone go round in circles rather than having an impact on one another's lives in Last Friends. I cannot sense the strength of their friendships or the existence of a bond between them. And it doesn't look like they have been thoroughly frank with one another at the end of story. SunaNare goes one big circle to end up at the starting point. The part where Peach "fell" for Nakaji was especially hard to believe. I just felt that the scriptwriter had to get everyone romantically involved with one another because Peach wasn't in love with any of the guys right from the start. She just wanted to complicate things but this side development couldn't fit well into the story anyway.
I like seeing Juri + Eita together and they have a certain level of chemistry onscreen. Sad to say, the story was a let-down and caused them to end up producing superficial and forgettable performances in SunaNare. For heavens' sake, I hope they will choose something better next time, TOGETHER. I still can't forget how they always meet at the convenience store. It's just so old-school and is really corny. Nowadays, most dramas won't do such a thing. Jejung's first attempt at acting in a Japanese drama was passable (at least I can understand his Japanese better than a certain Miss Lin acting in a drama with a "moon" title) but it is difficult for me to like him because his character got on my nerves at times. Likewise for Seki Megumi and Tamayama Tetsuji, I've seen better stuff from them before so I'm unable to say that I like what they showed in this drama.
The ambiguous relationship between Nakaji's father and Haru's mother was really redundant as well. It gave a hint that something was wrong between them and suggested that Haru could have been half-siblings with Nakaji. Thank goodness, such an old-fashioned plot didn't materialise in the end. However, to see the scriptwriter toying with such an idea is also proof that she doesn't seem to be living in this era. This is something we see in trendy dramas of the 90s, not now! It's simply unbelievable to see that we are seeing old tricks being jumbled together and passed off as a story with new perspectives. Yeah, right!
Linda's death was another sore point for me. OK, right from the start, I already guessed that the person who locked himself/herself up in the toilet cubicle to commit suicide would be anyone other than Nakaji or Haru. The shocking thing wasn't the suicide. It was how they handled this development. Usually, we see such scenes depicted as wrist slashes but this time round, they chose to do something more sensational by slashing the neck's artery. It was kinda extreme to do that. And since Linda was saved, the viewers were led into believing that he would be alright. Suddenly, he ends up dead. Oh well, the scriptwriter doesn't think that she has a responsibility to spell out the reason? No explanation, no funeral and Linda is quickly forgotten. Frankly speaking, killing himself because he's gay and slept with his boss to get favours at work (not for his own benefit) seem rather hard to believe. Of course, we are aware that Linda's personality and background could be the main reasons why he had to go out of his way to help his friends. It did make him feel wanted and he was pleased at being able to do something good for his friends. However, are these reasons strong enough to make him want to kill himself? Is it because the scriptwriter wants Linda's death to be a catalyst to change things among these people? This again seems to coincide with the suicide of Nishikido Ryo's character in Last Friends as well.
With regards to the love triangle between Haru, Nakaji and Doctor, it is too draggy. Haru has never changed her feelings towards Nakaji, whether she's conscious of it or not. The fact that she has to make a conscious effort to convince herself that she loves Doctor already shows that. Nakaji's attitude towards Haru keeps changing while Doctor uses those old-school tricks to cheat Nakaji who actually believes those lies? That's really dumb and simply not something viewers will believe nowadays. I really dislike the fact that the scriptwriter is simply rehashing her own tricks and trying to package it as something new. In fact, nothing has changed, other than the appearance.
I didn't like the theme song and resent the fact that the volume of its intro goes up suddenly in the last few moments of each episode. Sometimes, the music made it difficult to hear the dialogue as well. As for the insert song, it didn't make a big impact on me as well. Fortunately, the opening theme "Great DJ" by The Ting Tings was the sole saving grace in the music aspect of this drama, especially the ballad version. It's very hip and gives the atmosphere a very uplifting feel.
And my ratings for this drama...
Story: 2 out of 10 (Read the above to know why...too many reasons to list)
Acting: 5 out of 10 (I think most of them were limited by their roles so those who should have performed well didn't)
Theme song: 3 out of 10 (Only one of three songs is to my liking)
Visual effects / Scenery: 3 out of 10 (Nothing particularly impressive to mention but I think the opening credits is a half-baked effort)
Teamwork / Chemistry: 3 out of 10 (There were some sparks of brilliance between Eita and Juri initially but as their characters drifted apart later in the story, there wasn't much left. The rest didn't really mesh well, also due to the script)
Total: 16 out of 50 This is one of the lowest-rated dramas I've watched recently. I'm sure there will be others who like this drama but personally, I don't think it's worth spending the time on. If you want to watch this, be prepared to overlook the illogical and old-school developments in the story. The cast members were not at their best due to the limitations of their roles so I think die-hard fans are likely to be disappointed as well.
Title: Atami no Sousakan 熱海の捜査官 (The Investigator of Atami)
