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kutsuwamushiSo, last night I decided to finally clean out the clog causing my bathroom sink to not drain. I unscrewed the trap: no clog. So I took off the pipe directly under the sink, and cleaned that.
Except after putting it all back together, the sink now leaks and also still seems to be clogged, so now I have to call my stepdad and tell him that I'm a moron whose handyman skill did not actually just level up, can you please come fix my sink.
Anyway.
Do not shine pen laser directly into eye.
The first season of Mr. Brain is complete, and I watched all of it. Not that that took much dedication - it's only eight episodes long. I hope there's a second season, because it was getting crazier as it went on.
The whole thing was a fantastic mess of crime drama cliches, from the amnesiac pianist to the murderer who may or may not have split personalities. But it still managed not to feel repetitive, because it wasn't that easy to predict what actually happened even when you know the current plot point being thrown at you is a red herring.
Tsukumo Ryuusuke remained annoying to the very end, but I eventually came to shift some of the blame on the writing. In a show where people jump to conclusions all of the time and (impossibly) have them almost always turn out to be correct, can I really blame the main character for it? He lives in a universe where normal logic doesn't always apply.
His assistant did get a little more personality, as I hoped, but she still felt like a prop. Well, I'm not sure that I should look to cheesy Japanese crime dramas for progressive representation of female characters, but I'll still bitch about it. Here's the bitch: ARGH JUST HIT TSUKUMO UPSIDE THE HEAD ALREADY, HE DESERVES IT. STOP LETTING HIM WALK ALL OVER YOU.
Anyway. I want more.
HIGH SCHOOL IS GLORIOUS. EVERYONE, THREE CHEERS FOR HIGH SCHOOL.
Yamaguchi Kumiko is a high school teacher with a secret: She's the heir to the Oedo family, an infamous yakuza group. However, she doesn't want to inherit, since teaching is her dream.
There are three seasons of Gokusen, and each one is about Yamaguchi being assigned to a classroom full of delinquents, and gradually setting them on the right path through a mixture of starry-eyed idealism and ass whoopings. Sometimes I'm confused about just what message the show is sending, but for the most part it's full of paeans to the glory of education and friendship. At moments the show is ironically self-aware, but at others, it's an unabashed cheesefest.
I only watched Gokusen 2 in its entirety. The reason is that the show is really repetitive, and it feels like if you watch one season, you've watched them all. The same plot elements are used each time, so the next season is more like a retelling of the story than a continuation of it. The episodes, as well, use a formula - if I had to take a shot for every time Yamaguchi removed her pigtails in preparation to kick the butt of some thug who's framing her student, I would still be hungover. By the last episode, I was fast-forwarding through those scenes.
After watching Gokusen 2, I tried to watch Gokusen 3, but couldn't get into it. I already knew the story, and the students just weren't as appealing as the students in Gokusen 3. And by appealing, I mean "hot, in that Japanese pop idol way." They also didn't have an adorable runt.
Except after putting it all back together, the sink now leaks and also still seems to be clogged, so now I have to call my stepdad and tell him that I'm a moron whose handyman skill did not actually just level up, can you please come fix my sink.
Anyway.
Do not shine pen laser directly into eye.
The first season of Mr. Brain is complete, and I watched all of it. Not that that took much dedication - it's only eight episodes long. I hope there's a second season, because it was getting crazier as it went on.
The whole thing was a fantastic mess of crime drama cliches, from the amnesiac pianist to the murderer who may or may not have split personalities. But it still managed not to feel repetitive, because it wasn't that easy to predict what actually happened even when you know the current plot point being thrown at you is a red herring.
Tsukumo Ryuusuke remained annoying to the very end, but I eventually came to shift some of the blame on the writing. In a show where people jump to conclusions all of the time and (impossibly) have them almost always turn out to be correct, can I really blame the main character for it? He lives in a universe where normal logic doesn't always apply.
His assistant did get a little more personality, as I hoped, but she still felt like a prop. Well, I'm not sure that I should look to cheesy Japanese crime dramas for progressive representation of female characters, but I'll still bitch about it. Here's the bitch: ARGH JUST HIT TSUKUMO UPSIDE THE HEAD ALREADY, HE DESERVES IT. STOP LETTING HIM WALK ALL OVER YOU.
Anyway. I want more.
HIGH SCHOOL IS GLORIOUS. EVERYONE, THREE CHEERS FOR HIGH SCHOOL.
Yamaguchi Kumiko is a high school teacher with a secret: She's the heir to the Oedo family, an infamous yakuza group. However, she doesn't want to inherit, since teaching is her dream.
There are three seasons of Gokusen, and each one is about Yamaguchi being assigned to a classroom full of delinquents, and gradually setting them on the right path through a mixture of starry-eyed idealism and ass whoopings. Sometimes I'm confused about just what message the show is sending, but for the most part it's full of paeans to the glory of education and friendship. At moments the show is ironically self-aware, but at others, it's an unabashed cheesefest.
I only watched Gokusen 2 in its entirety. The reason is that the show is really repetitive, and it feels like if you watch one season, you've watched them all. The same plot elements are used each time, so the next season is more like a retelling of the story than a continuation of it. The episodes, as well, use a formula - if I had to take a shot for every time Yamaguchi removed her pigtails in preparation to kick the butt of some thug who's framing her student, I would still be hungover. By the last episode, I was fast-forwarding through those scenes.
After watching Gokusen 2, I tried to watch Gokusen 3, but couldn't get into it. I already knew the story, and the students just weren't as appealing as the students in Gokusen 3. And by appealing, I mean "hot, in that Japanese pop idol way." They also didn't have an adorable runt.
no subject
Date: 2009-08-16 02:03 pm (UTC)Cal and I loved the pigtail and glasses removal, but best of all was the deadly serious intonation of "I AM THEIR HOMEROOM TEACHER." Yessssss.
I can't get into Gokusen 3, either, and I'm pretty sure it is, indeed, because there is no Tiny Take. :(
... I need a teevee icon.
no subject
Date: 2009-08-16 06:30 pm (UTC)Cal and I loved the pigtail and glasses removal
I think the repetitiveness would be cut down a lot if you're only watching it once a week, or whatever. If you watch five episodes in a row, the similarities really jump out.
no subject
Date: 2009-08-17 02:47 am (UTC)