*short synopsis of Hotaru no Hikari part1(2007)* Hotaru Amemiya has a glamorous job working for a famous interior design firm. She lives alone, and when she isn't working she's mostly lazing about in her rented house in her outdated jogging pants. She's not interested in men. In fact, she isn't interested in anything. "I'd rather lay around than fool around," is her motto. Her landlord is a bar owner, and one day his son, who has just separated from his wife, comes to inspect the rental property, not knowing that someone is living there. He is shocked at the mess, but not as shocked as Hotaru. He turns out to be her boss, Takano.
The sequel(part2) takes off on the premise that its 3 years since Hotaru Amemiya and Seichi Takano got together but Hotaru was sent by their company to Hongkong also immediately after and now she’s back and this time there’s now talk of marriage…
It rarely happens BUT it does happen nevertheless. I mean, the sequel of a drama turning out to be more entertaining than the original. I saw Hotaru No Hikari 1 ages ago and I saw it without expecting anything. The decision to watch it then was based alone on the fact that it was one of the few romantic comedy dorama(Japanese drama) on Mysoju that got a 4 out of 5 star ratings. You see, doramas(Japanese dramas) are like …something of an acquired taste. Either one loves it or one hates it, and there are those who just plainly doesn’t...get it. Since I have seen the first and enjoyed watching it, it is safe to say that I am not watching the sequel on a clean slate. I didn’t think then that it was a great rom-com but it was interesting enough and was entertained enough by it. So, whether I admit it or not, I will at least acknowledge that there is no way that im totally not expecting anything from it, that would be impossible. The very fact that a sequel was produced means that the first did pretty well. So … lets see :)…
Welll, what do you know, for a drama that i watched on an online streaming site(which means, NOT the most ideal way to see it, if you know what i mean:p) …it was off to a good start with episode 1. I expected to be a bit disappointed at the very least but im glad I was wrong, I actually enjoyed it. Haruka Ayase as Hotaru Amemiya and Naohito Fujiki as Takano Seichi are still this drama’s adorable resident couple. This time, the “other man” in Amemiya’s life is even more kawaii than Teshima(whom im not too crazy about in the first place) from part1, the “other” man for part2 is called Seno played by actor Osamu Mukai and he also works in the same office as our leads ..yeees, he is kawaii indeed! And there is also “another woman” in the picture, the chief’s ex-girlfriend which makes for a more interesting storyline. The story progressed with talks of marriage between Aho-miya(wordplay on the word aho which means idiot and miya her shortened name) and her Buchou(chief), endearments that they call each other. Who would have thought that a japanese tv drama with a romantic comedy genre would make me stop for a moment to reflect on some of the lines there, for example, “We need to open our eyes wide before the marriage, and, close one eye after the marriage…” and so on, it was so funny and yet, so true. Actually, underneath all that uncomparable Japanese style of comedy is a very well written script that evokes/provokes a certain amount of critical thought and analysis, at the same time make you laugh at the UNIQUE brand of comedy of the japanese.
For our “PLASTIC ALERT” …hmmm, not very common in Japanese celebs. For some reason, Japanese actors are like Taiwanese actors, in general, they are not obsessed with going under the knife, thank God(or, could it be that they just have better cosmetic surgeons? JOKE!)
The acting award for this drama goes to the main girl Haruka Ayase who plays the role of Hotaru Amemiya. i think i should mention that when i saw the korean drama Personal Taste, i instantly thought that the character of the female lead there was interestingly VERY SIMILAR to Hotaru's character and "look". the creator of that drama may deny that they copied or at least based their character on Hotaru BUT, its a little bit too close for comfort if you ask me. Ayase as Hotaru is quirky in a funny sort of way, she’s innocent in a funny sort of way, she’s ignorant in a funny sort of way, she’s annoying in a funny sort of way …I guess she’s just, adorable in a funny sort of way :)
I was asked to give a rating on my reviews, so, for a Romantic Comedy(more of a comedy than a love story really), if the highest score is 5, i will give…
*Hotaru No Hikari part 1 ---> 3 out of 5
*Hotaru No Hikari part 2 ---> 3.5 out of 5
