High & Low The Story of S.W.O.R.D.
Jan. 9th, 2017 01:54 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
sunako_yueA town once dominated by Mugen has been split into 5 districts dominated by the gangs Sannoh Rengokai, White Rascals, Oya Kohkoh, Rude Boys and Daruma Ikka. Mugen's grip on the town ended after the legendary Amamiya Brothers refused to submit to their will. The 5 gangs that comprise S.W.O.R.D. fight for their pride and glory, but the mysterious Mighty Warriors appear. (asiawiki-2015)
I am still unsure how do I feel about yanki movies (delinquent gang style) but I loved the CROWS movies, and I've read several reviews claiming that this dorama was similar to CROWS, and since each episode is only 25 minutes long, I decided to give it a try.
Similar to CROWS? Err, there is a guy with dreadlocks, just like in CROWS. One of the leaders of a gang has a clean-looking, nice sidekick, just like Segizawa and Tokio. The only school we see is a mess just like in CROWS. Ehh, and that's it.
Everything looked really cool. The guys and their outfits, some fights, the motorcycles, the guys themselves... Supposedly the Johnnys are the pretty boys in the J-pop world... I disagree entirely. EXILE guys (and I mean, GUYS... even the prepubescent boy who played Chiharu looked like a young guy, not like a boy) are very good looking, some of them are VERY attractive, like the one who played Yamato. And TAKAHIRO. And Cobra. And even the dreadlocks guy. The cinematography looked really nice, the dark colors, the skin! of the guys! I liked that, for example, the White Rascals wear all-white outfits, or the green coat of Smokey (looked like the same one Sekai no Owari wears?), or how crazy Kento Hayashi looked. I mean, I can't say that all guys were handsome, but people like Hayashi Kento or Kubota Masataka looked good. They at least have interesting faces.
So yes, if I were a shallow girl, I would have been all "omg, this was so cool!". Which was. But to me, it was all looks and zero heart. The plot was all over the place, there are hundreds of characters, which doesn't give much time for development. And the supposed friendship/team-work or whatever was so lacking... there is supposed to be a super-tight friendship between Cobra (who is there acting all "cool" 95% of the time, but was more annoying than anything to me) and Yamato (who is this guy? looks like a Main Character, a Romance Hero) and Noboru, and I've sensed NONE of that. I didn't buy their "bond", I didn't feel it, not at the beginning with their lame photograph, not in the middle with their lame flashbacks, not at the end with the whole "welcome home, Noboru". And I won't even mention the supposed shounen-ai between Yamato and Chiharu (which was none-existent).
As mentioned before, only SOME of the fights looked good, because SOME others looked so staged and not real at all. There were times where it was SOO slow (I know that sometimes it is filmed slow, but with edition, it looks better. Seemed like they forgot to edit some scenes).
The role of the girls... OMG, so lame. Much better than Kuroki's in CROWS, but still cringeworthy. At least the role of the WOMEN (YOU's and Kyoko's) were good.
Acting-wise was OK, nothing bad, since it didn't require much anyway. Just looking cool and good, which they did. But when it was about crying... so bad. They can't cry :S
This was not for me. Most of the 25-minute long seemed like 50 :(
**My rating: 4/10**
I am still unsure how do I feel about yanki movies (delinquent gang style) but I loved the CROWS movies, and I've read several reviews claiming that this dorama was similar to CROWS, and since each episode is only 25 minutes long, I decided to give it a try.
Similar to CROWS? Err, there is a guy with dreadlocks, just like in CROWS. One of the leaders of a gang has a clean-looking, nice sidekick, just like Segizawa and Tokio. The only school we see is a mess just like in CROWS. Ehh, and that's it.
Everything looked really cool. The guys and their outfits, some fights, the motorcycles, the guys themselves... Supposedly the Johnnys are the pretty boys in the J-pop world... I disagree entirely. EXILE guys (and I mean, GUYS... even the prepubescent boy who played Chiharu looked like a young guy, not like a boy) are very good looking, some of them are VERY attractive, like the one who played Yamato. And TAKAHIRO. And Cobra. And even the dreadlocks guy. The cinematography looked really nice, the dark colors, the skin! of the guys! I liked that, for example, the White Rascals wear all-white outfits, or the green coat of Smokey (looked like the same one Sekai no Owari wears?), or how crazy Kento Hayashi looked. I mean, I can't say that all guys were handsome, but people like Hayashi Kento or Kubota Masataka looked good. They at least have interesting faces.
So yes, if I were a shallow girl, I would have been all "omg, this was so cool!". Which was. But to me, it was all looks and zero heart. The plot was all over the place, there are hundreds of characters, which doesn't give much time for development. And the supposed friendship/team-work or whatever was so lacking... there is supposed to be a super-tight friendship between Cobra (who is there acting all "cool" 95% of the time, but was more annoying than anything to me) and Yamato (who is this guy? looks like a Main Character, a Romance Hero) and Noboru, and I've sensed NONE of that. I didn't buy their "bond", I didn't feel it, not at the beginning with their lame photograph, not in the middle with their lame flashbacks, not at the end with the whole "welcome home, Noboru". And I won't even mention the supposed shounen-ai between Yamato and Chiharu (which was none-existent).
As mentioned before, only SOME of the fights looked good, because SOME others looked so staged and not real at all. There were times where it was SOO slow (I know that sometimes it is filmed slow, but with edition, it looks better. Seemed like they forgot to edit some scenes).
The role of the girls... OMG, so lame. Much better than Kuroki's in CROWS, but still cringeworthy. At least the role of the WOMEN (YOU's and Kyoko's) were good.
Acting-wise was OK, nothing bad, since it didn't require much anyway. Just looking cool and good, which they did. But when it was about crying... so bad. They can't cry :S
This was not for me. Most of the 25-minute long seemed like 50 :(
**My rating: 4/10**
