| Media Map 2012: Torrent Boyfriends - PART 1 |
[Dec. 24th, 2012|08:53 am]
nagchuchumacharva
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This year I had two major celebrity crushes. Most of the media I consumed this year were influenced by these guys. Movies, TV series, music, random video clips - if they made it, I found it. I watched it, listened to it, fangirled over it, shipped it, slashed it, reloaded it, tweeted about it, got affected by it, had my world rocked by it. I took sick leaves so I could fangirl all day. Devoted gigabytes to folders containing photos, mp3's and videos. Opened numerous tabs containing simultaneous Google searches. Sometimes my laptop would even break down and the beach ball of death would appear. If either of them asked me to marry them, I'd do it in a heartbeat.
If I had to use Western references or pegs, I would liken the one to being the Mark Darcy-type and the other to the Daniel Cleaver-type. (Both are from "Bridget Jones's Diary".) Heh. That goes to show how old I am and how dated my references are, but the comparison seems apt. To use Japanese dating/relationship terminology, one is an "M-type" and one is an alpha "S-type" to end all S-types. Whatever you think that means, that's what it means.
Sakai Masato is my Mark Darcy M-type Torrent Boyfriend. He is the Master of the Smize! I briefly made mention of him when I was mapping out my favorite 2011 media. I first saw him in the film, "Golden Slumber" which was one of my top films last year. Since then, he has slow-burned his way into my fangirl heart. He has been called "the finest actor of his generation" (!!!) Theater-trained in Waseda University, Sakai Masato has appeared in many doramas and movies throughout his career. He often plays charming, brainy, bookish types in films. One reviewer goes so far to say that no matter what role he takes on, you can always see him thinking. I like that.
Sakai Masato Movies I Watched in 2012:
1. "The Chef of the South Pole" - I think this is the role that did it for me, fangirl-wise. He was just too damn adorable not to like in this slice-of-life flick.
2. "The Triumphant Return of General Rouge" - Also previously blogged about. Boy just looked so good here. Plus, that oral fixation!
3. "The Two in Tracksuits" - in which he plays a cuckolded husband spending summer vacay with his dad in a cabin in the woods.
4. "MY S.O. Has Got Depression" - teaming up with Miyazaki Aoi again as a married couple (also again). This movie broke my heart.
5. "Kabe Otoko" ("The Wall Man") - my least favorite movie of his.
6. "The Legacy of the Sun" - plays a soldier in WWII tasked to oversee an insidious plot to hide Yamashita's treasure with the help of a group of high school girls. Pretty heavy, Doc.
7. "The Wonderful World of Captain Kuhio"
8. "Honey and Clover"- he plays the chain-smoking prof. Kyooo-hooot. Even the mangaka Chica Umino approves!
9. "The Climber's High"- it's rare seeing Sakai Masato lose his cool on-screen, but it happens here.
10. "After School" - Just when you think you know what's going on in this movie plot- and character-wise, the movie flips over your assumptions. I loved him here for his clueless/lost look.
Sakai Masato Doramas I Watched in 2012:
1. "Himitsu No Hanazono" - in which he plays 1/4 of a mangaka team pretending to be a female comic book artist. A no-brainer. Rockin the Cosby sweaters like sexx.
2. "Engine" - it ain't easy playing a support role to Takuya Kimura, the Brad Pitt of Japan:
3. "Shinsengumi!" - brain AND brawn. I'm so there.
4. "Atsuhime" - I love his on-screen chemistry with Miyazaki Aoi. Played the eccentric Shogun Iesada.
5. "Triangle" - didn't complete this dorama because it is fucking weird.
5. "Nankyoku Tairiku" - again playing a support role to KimuTaku. Age has leveled the playing field.
6. "Joker" - like "Dexter", but not. Also...
7. "Legal High" - a bit on the hammier side, but still very cute!
In 2013 - we will see him play an essential role in both the film and dorama adaptations of Fumi Yoshinaga's "Ooku". Actually, the dorama is already out at the moment, but I am still waiting for English subtitles for the film version. Can't pass up the chance to see him as an alternate universe Edo-era manwhore serving the female Shogun! Scandalous! Also, "Key of Life"!
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