![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Haru wo Daiteita Alive 1
I'm sooooo happy! My CD Japan box arrived in the mail yesterday, and the Aibou stuff looks great--the X-Day movie has a bonus disc and booklet, and the Itami book is filled with lots of color photos of my favorite character, plus lots of info about him and interviews with the actor. All in Japanese of course, which makes it rather daunting, but I will try and take a stab at translating some of it when I have more time.
But what I'm over the moon about is the tankobon for Haru wo Daiteita Alive 1! It has the "Love Tanker" story about Yukihito working behind-the-scenes in show business, and Katou dealing with PTSD from his experience during the earthquake in vol. 14. And it also has the "Timeshare" story where Iwaki and Katou go to Hawaii on vacation. (Both of these were previously discussed on the Youka Nitta LJ comm.) But it's the third chapter, "Violence Lyric," that makes me OMG SO HAPPY because it features Onozuka working with Katou in the Nobunaga drama!
To summarize, in "Love Tanker," Iwaki is playing Oda Nobunaga in a TV drama, and by the end of the chapter, Katou decides to accept the same role in a different production despite the obvious comparisons that will arise. Well, we finally get to see Katou filming his drama, and the director is none other than Mochimune! And Onozuka is playing Nobunaga's younger brother Nobuyuki, who historically conspired against his brother in order to take Nobunaga's place as head of the clan. (Spoiler alert: things do not end well for Nobuyuki.) My Japanese isn't good enough to read the whole chapter in detail without sitting down for a few hours with a dictionary, but I can make out enough to tell that Mochimune was not satisfied with how Onozuka is playing the role and orders a retake, and in another scene, gives Onozuka a long lecture about (I think) what he's doing wrong. Meanwhile, Iwaki is being told by his doctor that he has an irregular heartbeat. I think the doctor is trying to reassure Iwaki not to worry too much, but it's something that does need to be checked out. Katou is away from home, filming on location, so Iwaki tries to be upbeat and confident while talking to Katou on the phone, but the reader can see that he's scared. Oh yeah, and Iwaki has a young man with him whom I think is his new manager, now that Shimizu is the department head for the talent agency.
Katou and Onozuka have a long conversation at a bar that looks very amusing, but unfortunately, I'm going to need to break out the dictionary to figure out what's going on. Back on the set, Mochimune is still not pleased, and it's also Katou's performance that's a problem this time, probably because he's worried about Iwaki. And then Iwaki has chest pains and collapses, and is rushed to the hospital--oh, the drama! Katou is freaking out, but he has to rehearse the big scene in which (historical spoiler alert!) Nobunaga kills Nobuyuki in a paricularly devious fashion: he pretends to be deathly ill, and when Nobuyuki comes to his bedside to visit him, Nobunaga runs him through with a sword. For obvious reasons, the rehearsal doesn't go well, and Katou can't portray the character in the way that Mochimune wants. He goes to visit Iwaki in the hospital later that night, and while he's sitting at Iwaki's bedside, he's suddenly struck by inspiration and rushes back to the set. He performs the scene brilliantly.
Meanwhile, Iwaki is having surgery, while Shimizu, the new manager, and Iwaki's brother Masahiko nervously wait. Having finished filming, Onozuka arrives, but Katou is still working on the set. Big Brother seems angry that Katou isn't there, and Onozuka, with his sly smile, tells Masahiko some things that initially seem to anger him, but I think eventually makes him understand why Katou chose to work instead of coming to the hospital. I can't really make out most of his speech, but knowing Iwaki, I would guess that Katou knows that Iwaki would prefer that he keep working.
On the set, Kaneko gives Katou the "OK" sign (meaning Iwaki made it through surgery OK, I assume), and Katou smiles in tearful relief. After the filming is done, Katou rushes to the hospital bearing flowers, and he bows to the new manager--showing, I think, that he now trusts the new guy to look after Iwaki. Very moved, the new guy (I must figure out his name later) bows deeply to Katou.
Later, Iwaki is recovering at home, and they start making out in bed, but Katou stops himself (vigourously shaking his head and saying, "No no no!") from having sex, since Iwaki isn't fully recovered yet. They do kiss and cuddle, though.
In the final scene, Katou and Mochimune are having a conversation in the studio cafeteria. I'm not sure exactly what they're saying, but I think Mochimune is pleased that Katou was able to rise to the challenge of playing Nobunaga.
Wow, this was so great, even just skimming and not being able to read the whole thing. I am just so ecstatic that Nitta-sensei put Onozuka in Katou's drama--it's like one of my fanfics came true! ^__^ (In fact, I did write a fic in which Onozuka was in the drama, although I had him playing Ranmaru instead of Nobuyuki.)
But what I'm over the moon about is the tankobon for Haru wo Daiteita Alive 1! It has the "Love Tanker" story about Yukihito working behind-the-scenes in show business, and Katou dealing with PTSD from his experience during the earthquake in vol. 14. And it also has the "Timeshare" story where Iwaki and Katou go to Hawaii on vacation. (Both of these were previously discussed on the Youka Nitta LJ comm.) But it's the third chapter, "Violence Lyric," that makes me OMG SO HAPPY because it features Onozuka working with Katou in the Nobunaga drama!
To summarize, in "Love Tanker," Iwaki is playing Oda Nobunaga in a TV drama, and by the end of the chapter, Katou decides to accept the same role in a different production despite the obvious comparisons that will arise. Well, we finally get to see Katou filming his drama, and the director is none other than Mochimune! And Onozuka is playing Nobunaga's younger brother Nobuyuki, who historically conspired against his brother in order to take Nobunaga's place as head of the clan. (Spoiler alert: things do not end well for Nobuyuki.) My Japanese isn't good enough to read the whole chapter in detail without sitting down for a few hours with a dictionary, but I can make out enough to tell that Mochimune was not satisfied with how Onozuka is playing the role and orders a retake, and in another scene, gives Onozuka a long lecture about (I think) what he's doing wrong. Meanwhile, Iwaki is being told by his doctor that he has an irregular heartbeat. I think the doctor is trying to reassure Iwaki not to worry too much, but it's something that does need to be checked out. Katou is away from home, filming on location, so Iwaki tries to be upbeat and confident while talking to Katou on the phone, but the reader can see that he's scared. Oh yeah, and Iwaki has a young man with him whom I think is his new manager, now that Shimizu is the department head for the talent agency.
Katou and Onozuka have a long conversation at a bar that looks very amusing, but unfortunately, I'm going to need to break out the dictionary to figure out what's going on. Back on the set, Mochimune is still not pleased, and it's also Katou's performance that's a problem this time, probably because he's worried about Iwaki. And then Iwaki has chest pains and collapses, and is rushed to the hospital--oh, the drama! Katou is freaking out, but he has to rehearse the big scene in which (historical spoiler alert!) Nobunaga kills Nobuyuki in a paricularly devious fashion: he pretends to be deathly ill, and when Nobuyuki comes to his bedside to visit him, Nobunaga runs him through with a sword. For obvious reasons, the rehearsal doesn't go well, and Katou can't portray the character in the way that Mochimune wants. He goes to visit Iwaki in the hospital later that night, and while he's sitting at Iwaki's bedside, he's suddenly struck by inspiration and rushes back to the set. He performs the scene brilliantly.
Meanwhile, Iwaki is having surgery, while Shimizu, the new manager, and Iwaki's brother Masahiko nervously wait. Having finished filming, Onozuka arrives, but Katou is still working on the set. Big Brother seems angry that Katou isn't there, and Onozuka, with his sly smile, tells Masahiko some things that initially seem to anger him, but I think eventually makes him understand why Katou chose to work instead of coming to the hospital. I can't really make out most of his speech, but knowing Iwaki, I would guess that Katou knows that Iwaki would prefer that he keep working.
On the set, Kaneko gives Katou the "OK" sign (meaning Iwaki made it through surgery OK, I assume), and Katou smiles in tearful relief. After the filming is done, Katou rushes to the hospital bearing flowers, and he bows to the new manager--showing, I think, that he now trusts the new guy to look after Iwaki. Very moved, the new guy (I must figure out his name later) bows deeply to Katou.
Later, Iwaki is recovering at home, and they start making out in bed, but Katou stops himself (vigourously shaking his head and saying, "No no no!") from having sex, since Iwaki isn't fully recovered yet. They do kiss and cuddle, though.
In the final scene, Katou and Mochimune are having a conversation in the studio cafeteria. I'm not sure exactly what they're saying, but I think Mochimune is pleased that Katou was able to rise to the challenge of playing Nobunaga.
Wow, this was so great, even just skimming and not being able to read the whole thing. I am just so ecstatic that Nitta-sensei put Onozuka in Katou's drama--it's like one of my fanfics came true! ^__^ (In fact, I did write a fic in which Onozuka was in the drama, although I had him playing Ranmaru instead of Nobuyuki.)
no subject
It's absolutely perfect that Onozuka and Katou are working together in canon, and I'm... OOOOOH MOCHIMUNE!!! I need to catch up, and not least buy the volumes I don't have, both the JP ones and the new Haru translations! (Anywhere to get scanlations these days until tankoubons arrive?)
no subject
Someone did post scanalation links for the Alive chapters on the LJ comm: http://youka-nitta.livejournal.com/483065.html. I didn't check them out at the time, because I was virtuously planning on buying the tankoban and reading it myself. The chapter links weren't working when I checked the other night, but you might check back again in case it was just a temporary thing.
And if you go through the recent entries on the LJ comm, someone has posted raw scans and summaries from the latest chapters, "Tender Greens" (which I assume will be collected in the next tankoban). Just from reading the summaries, the story sounds awesome: a young actor working with Katou on the Nobunaga drama believes that he is Iwaki's illegitimate child from an old affair! Also, Katou's nephew wants to go into showbiz, and gets an offer to play Nobunaga's son in Katou's drama (Iwaki's agency is managing him). Yousuke is now about 11, but he and Katou are both still competing for Iwaki's affections and being jealous of each other.
no subject
Now, I wonder when Nitta-sensei finds out that it would be a great idea to throw Miyasaka into one of Mochimune's movies too. :D