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More on Hagetaka
I'm still hooked on Hagetaka, so I thought I'd share a couple of links: an article/review about the series, and a music video of clips set to Foo Fighters' "Best of You". The clips all seem to be from the first and maybe the second episode, so the video gives a nice overview without giving away too many spoilers. Washizu is the guy with the glasses (I made an icon for him on my IJ cross-post), though unfortunately there are no shots of Alan, except for a brief glimpse of his back as he and Washizu walk away from the reporter who's being restrained by security guards.
I've been thinking it over, and I think the reason why I'm so taken with the show and Washizu's scary-efficient team of employees (apart from the slashy vibes I'm getting between him and Alan) is that most of the time, he doesn't even need to tell them what to do; they anticipate his orders. Sometimes he just gives a nod or a brief gesture and they know exactly what he wants. And sometimes he doesn't do anything at all--they just show up on cue and do what needs to be done. As in one scene, where Washizu is having a meeting with Shibano and the director of the company that Washizu is trying to take over. Without needing to be called, three of his employees appear at the exact right moment with three briefcases full of cash that he's offering as a bribe thinly veiled as a "bonus" incentive to make the director fall in line. They open the cases in perfect unison, show off the cash for a few moments, then close up the cases and depart without saying a word. It works a lot better visually than trying to describe it with words, but it's hella impressive.
Another series dealing with banking that might be easier to find is Hanzawa Naoki, in which a loan manager is set up to take the fall for his boss's mistake in giving a 500 million yen loan to a company that went bankrupt shortly after, and the company's president has disappeared with the money. The only way for Hanzawa to save his career is to somehow get the money back. I just started watching this series, too--I bought the dvd set mainly because it has two Aibou actors in supporting roles (Oikawa Mitsuhiro and Kawahara Kazuhisa). My first impression is that the acting is good and I'm enjoying the show so far, but it doesn't really grab me in quite the same way that Hagetaka does. I think it's the difference in the protagonists: the show has a somewhat similar theme about corrupt business practices, but Hanzawa is clearly set up as an ethical and sympathetic character opposing the corrupt bankers, while Washizu is a much more complex and morally gray character, which I really like.
I've been thinking it over, and I think the reason why I'm so taken with the show and Washizu's scary-efficient team of employees (apart from the slashy vibes I'm getting between him and Alan) is that most of the time, he doesn't even need to tell them what to do; they anticipate his orders. Sometimes he just gives a nod or a brief gesture and they know exactly what he wants. And sometimes he doesn't do anything at all--they just show up on cue and do what needs to be done. As in one scene, where Washizu is having a meeting with Shibano and the director of the company that Washizu is trying to take over. Without needing to be called, three of his employees appear at the exact right moment with three briefcases full of cash that he's offering as a bribe thinly veiled as a "bonus" incentive to make the director fall in line. They open the cases in perfect unison, show off the cash for a few moments, then close up the cases and depart without saying a word. It works a lot better visually than trying to describe it with words, but it's hella impressive.
Another series dealing with banking that might be easier to find is Hanzawa Naoki, in which a loan manager is set up to take the fall for his boss's mistake in giving a 500 million yen loan to a company that went bankrupt shortly after, and the company's president has disappeared with the money. The only way for Hanzawa to save his career is to somehow get the money back. I just started watching this series, too--I bought the dvd set mainly because it has two Aibou actors in supporting roles (Oikawa Mitsuhiro and Kawahara Kazuhisa). My first impression is that the acting is good and I'm enjoying the show so far, but it doesn't really grab me in quite the same way that Hagetaka does. I think it's the difference in the protagonists: the show has a somewhat similar theme about corrupt business practices, but Hanzawa is clearly set up as an ethical and sympathetic character opposing the corrupt bankers, while Washizu is a much more complex and morally gray character, which I really like.