Hotaru no Hikari 1-9

Hotaru no Hikari is Ayase Haruka's chance to show that she can really act after the disaster that was Tatta Hitotsu no Koi. She was ok in Byakuyakou but she hasn't shown that x-factor that separates the Matsushima Nanakos from the Uchiyama Rinas. As Kanno Miho has shown in Watashitachi no Kyokasho, all a good actress needs is just a meaty role to show she is more than eye candy.

Someone please stop casting Fujiki Naohito in serious shows.

In Hotaru no Hikari, Haruka plays Hotaru, a himono onna, a woman who pretends to be ladylike outside but at home wears a t-shirt and sweatpants, drinks beer and lazes around. First problem is that the show treats it like its such a bad thing. Its as if its a bad thing to not to bound by society's dress code and rules of behaviour when at the comfort of one's home. I mean wtf is so uncultured about t-shirts and for sweatpants?

Not even Kuninaka Ryoko could save this show for me. They should have put Ken-chan in it. :)

Is Japanese society so image conscious that image is everything? If this rule only applies to women then I don't really care. Still , making such a stupid concept the main subject of this show makes everyone who cares about it look like idiots. I seriously doubt the show is a critique of society's obsession with image. Yes, they way one presents oneself is important but to the extent of looking down on girls wearing t-shirts and sweatpants? The way everyone throughout the course of the 9 episodes makes snide comments about women in t-shirts is just not funny.


I like how the script portrays Hotaru. She's probably the only 'real' character in the show. Everyone is just a 2d character. Fujiki Naohito's Takano-san is just a device for Hotaru to voice her emotions. As well written as Hotaru's personality is, there's just something about Ayase Haruka's acting that just doesn't impress me. I'd rather see Kuninaka Ryoko switch roles with her. She just doesn't have the talent for comedy and the show could really use a few laughs.

Maybe I'm just pissed off Kuninaka Ryoko hardly gets any screen time....

Part of me thinks I just can't get this show cause I'm a guy. The other part just feels that the acting is not good enough. I just can't help comparing this show to KDO. I would say this show is KDO for women. Unfortunately Ayase Haruka and Naohito Fujiki are not even in the same planet as Abe Hiroshi and Natsukawa Yui acting wise. They're not even fit to feed Ken-chan cucumbers. Can't fucking believe they and Kuninaka Ryoko won awards for their acting, especially Naohito Fujiki's stilted acting which only works in comedies. I like Kuninaka Ryoko as an actress but serious, she was just doing the stereotypical ojousan role. But then last season was a really crap one.


Acting has a lot to do with facial expressions and using that to express emotions to the audience. Hotaru no Hikari spells out every single emotion that the characters go through. Compare how Kuwano in KDO expresses his happiness with slight changes in his behaviour. Its subtle and entertaining. There is no freaking emotionally charged scene in the show. Even the scene in ep 9 where Hotaru's bf confronts her and Takano san in the house is so lame. You can't feel the tension. Compare with the scene in KDO where Kuwano and Hayasaka are arguing in Michiru's home. You could cut the freaking tension with the knife. You feel for Michiru cause she's angry that she's been blind all along. You feel for Hayasaka cause she realised too late that she has hurt Michiru and she is torn between what she wants and her sempai relationship to Michiru.

In Hotaru no Hikari, you don't feel the conflict Takano's conflict. You don't see Teshima's pain of betrayal not just by his girlfriend but by his boss. You don't see and feel that not just because the acting sucks but because they've not developed their relationships well in the story. Hotaru no Hikari tries to be a dorama where the characters write the story not where the story decides what the characters do. It doesn't work when the characters and relationships don't feel real.