Sunday, January 10, 2016

Garasu no Ashi

WOWOW have done it again. I'm running out of superlatives for their doramas. If I were the Prime Minister of Japan, I would not raise the consumption tax unless the minimum wage was raised and I would declare WOWOW a national institution cause they make doramas that are head and shoulders above everyone else's. WOWOW should get special government funding cause they are the only ones who prioritise storytelling over idoru promotion.

Anyway, Aibu Saki stars as the main character, Setsuko. She's married to the owner of a love hotel and is having an affair with the accountant. Setsuko's husband gets into an accident and then we start learning some shocking things about her past.

I say this for most WOWOW shows but its worth saying that Garasu no Ashi looks so good..

...I mean the scenery looks so good.

Episode 1 was ok. Setsuko had a really difficult childhood and episode 1 ended in a wtf cliffhanger but I didn't really care about her character and then I saw the preview for episode 2 and I had to watch it straight away.

Speaking of not caring about Setsuko, I had mixed feelings about Aibu Saki's performance when I was watching. I was unable to feel any empathy for her because she seemed so detached, even to the audience and then I realised that this was exactly the feel Garasu no Ashi was going for. That her armour was so thick that it was impenetrable even by the fly in the wall. (the audience) I think Setsuko is Aibu Saki's role of a lifetime.

Using the little girl and the cleaning lady in the story is a great two birds with one stone move because it allows the audience to see the cracks in Setsuko's armour without her voicing her thoughts and explaining everything like so many anime. The cleaning lady's voice over in the hospital during the last episode was excessive though.

Garasu no Ashi does remind me a lot of another great WOWOW show, Hitori Shizuka. They are both very similar stories but the performances are very different.

 Garasu no Ashi also has some really awesome lines.

All I have to say is one of the must watch jdoramas of 2015. Huge thank you to wabisabi subs!

4 comments:

dgundam said...

thanks for the recommend. i had this in the hd for a while but havent given it a try since i havent been a fan of aibu in a while. will try it.

it seems that compared to other stations wowow is more of hit than miss.


lol i guess you wont like general meng's character then in the drama i just suggested to you nirvana in fire. hes basically used by the show to tell the stupid audience what is happening lol. for me i give him a pass cuz general audiences and typical drama viewers arent too good. thats why you see the likes of historical dramas starring idols as the top favorite period shows of people, even though the story and acting is garbage.

Radira said...

Such a long time I don't watch dorama but after I read your review, I think that I have to watch dorama again. It's fun watching Aibu Saki's acting as Setsuko's character like in Garasu no Ashi. Thanks for recommend.

Shane said...

Definitely gonna watch this now. Thanks

Aarrrr said...

Loved the ending, this show is bloody good