Life is shorter than what you think. That is why I don't want to live with regrets. 25 years after her death, the life of entertainer Koshiji Fubuki is replayed on screen.
Koshiji Fubuki who was famous for wearing branded stage costumes and boasting of a series of hits, can be considered a mega star of the Showa Era. Besides singing, she was also involved in movies and stage plays. She won many awards included the Record Daisho, Monbu Daisho and Golden Arrow. Audiences were mesmerised by the fantasy world she showed them through her performances.
The drama will replay her past hits and show the 30-year relationship between her and her manager, Iwatani Tokiko which also exposes the background details of showbiz.
Amami Yuki, like Koshiji was a top star during their Takarazuka days and this will be the first time that Amami shows her singing and dancing abilities on TV.
Cast:
Koshiji Fubuki - Amami Yuki
Iwatani Tokiko - Matsushita Yuki
Naitou Houmi - Osawa Masaetsu
Yuko - Sudo Risa
Ota Kazuko - Uehara Misa
Koshiji Fubuki (teenage) - Aragaki Yui
Mayuzumi Toshiro - Tanihara Shosuke
Yamamoto Shiro - Tsurumi Shingo
Abe - Harada Taizo
Matsuoka Tatsuro - Tamura Ryo
Fujimoto Masumi - Kazama Norio
Amami Yuki excels as Koshiji Fubuki and brings out the aura of a natural performer. That stage presence and her vocals lend credibility to the potrayal of the role that you can feel the passion Koshiji has for singing. She actually glitters so much that you can't bear to take your eyes off her. In that era, I get the impression that she was an icon to the people who had lost their zest for life since WWII had ended. She took it upon herself to bring hope to them after she returned from a trip to Paris. It's almost as if you are seeing the real Koshiji Fubuki in this drama. If it was just the stage facade of her, it would have been too one-dimensional. However, the drama did show Koshiji's softer side when she was deliberating over whether to have an abortion and how she was fearful of contracting cancer since her parents and elder brother suffered from it. That gives a more complete picture of the character and I think Amami really showed her acting skills especially in the part when Koshiji was shivering in fear as she handled the funeral of her father who was the second in the family to die of cancer.
Likewise, her friendship with her manager Iwatani Tokiko is also one important point to note. The two of them had known each other since their Takarazuka days where Iwatani was a reporter and Koshiji was a student. Both of them influenced each other to bring about the success they enjoyed and it's easy to understand how their strong relationship developed. Credits to Matsushita Yuki who had such good chemistry with Amami and showed the independent and confidence of Iwatani.
As compared to Part 1 where the emphasis was on the romance factor, this segment was lacking in this area. In Koshiji's case, she had one man only i.e. her husband Naitou Tsunemi so this was not as "exciting" as what Setouchi Jakucho went through. However, I think more could have been done to explore how Koshiji and Naitou fell in love and subsequently got married. It was kind of strange for the story to show Koshiji telling Iwatani suddenly that she wants to get married to Naitou without explaining how they got together in the first place.
The story showed more of Koshiji's life as a performer and how she attained success but that journey wasn't smooth-sailing. However, I think the pace of the story was generally faster than the first instalment and there were times when more explanation should be available when introducing new characters. I get the feeling that they popped out from nowhere and it was hard to see the link between some of them especially those mahjong pals of Koshiji. Where and how did they come together? Surely there must be a reason for this?
On the whole, I am very satisfied with the acting of Amami and Matsushita. However, more could have been done to make the story succint and clearer to the viewer so that the developments do not seem to have a linkage. Nevertheless, this is clearly a notch higher than the first instalment so I will see if the final segment can overtake Part 2.
1 comment:
is there a video of this?where can i watch?thank you
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