Caption / Tokyo Love Story 2020 This article is original by acgx, please indicate the source when reprinting. Two remodelings of the heroine of a classic comic book
Tokyo Love Story 2020 (hereinafter referred to as "Toai 2020"), co-produced by Fuji TV and Amazon, has been broadcasting simultaneously on Fuji TV's streaming platform fod and Amazon since the end of April, and this week ushered in the grand finale. This is a remake of the manga of the same name following the filming and production of Tokyo Love Story (hereinafter referred to as "Higashi Love") by Fuji Television in 1991.
"Dong Ai" is the youth memory of the post-70s and post-80s in China, and the remake work "Dong Ai 2020" has not been officially broadcast in China, but it still has received high attention from Japanese drama fans.
In recent years, remakes in the global entertainment industry have become popular, but there are fewer brilliant remakes, so that remakes are frequently linked to negative evaluations such as "eating old books" and "rubbing classic heat". After the broadcast of "Dongai 2020", its Douban rating once dropped to 6.6 points, and when it was broadcast to the 8th episode, the rating has risen to 7 points.
As a loyal fan of "Dong Ai", after watching "Dong Ai 2020", the author believes that this drama is not inferior to "Dong Ai" in terms of adaptation of the original comic, the adjustment of the story and the acting skills of the actors, etc., and it actually interprets the love story of today's post-90s generation. As the soul of the whole drama, the heroine Akamei Lixiang, the character who came out of the manga, has achieved a change of personality in two dramas separated by 29 years.
"East Love", broadcast in 1991, successfully portrayed a beautiful and confident heroine, with personal charm and dedication to love, Akamei Lika, who can be said to be the most perfect female fit in the hearts of men in the 90s. In the following years, "Toai" became a classic Japanese drama popular in Various Asian countries in the 1990s, and Akamei Reika also became the highlight of the role of actor Honami Suzuki.
Whether the role of Akamei Rika made Suzuki Nanami or whether this role is none other than Suzuki Honami, it is still difficult to have an accurate answer. But what is certain is that Suzuki Ho nami has become a "goddess" in the hearts of the previous generation of young people because of this role.
Therefore, when fuji TV came out with the news of the remake of this drama, not only were the fans of "Dong Ai" stunned, but even the news that no actress was willing to take the role of Akana Reika. In the end, even the post-90s actress Shizukawa Ishibashi starred in "Higashiai 2020" Akamei Lika, who was still good at acting, and because of the huge gap in appearance between the actor herself and the actor who played the 91 version of Lixiang, Nanami Suzuki, it was unsurprisingly rejected by the fans of "Higashiai".
However, after watching "Dong Ai 2020", the audience gradually changed their views. Although the new version of Akamei Lika looks a little mature, she fully reflects the characteristics of today's post-90s young people - casual, self-reliant, and freedom-loving.
The change in Akana's character design is related to the huge difference in the core theme of the two versions of the TV series.
The theme of "Dong Ai" is to find love, the tone of "Dong Ai 2020" is not to want to be an accessory to anyone, and the Akamei Lixiang in the two versions of the play, although avant-garde and rare, is the dream lover of every man, but the pursuit of love is obviously different.
In 1991, Akame Rika, who gave her all for love, seemed out of place in the society that generally lacked individuality at that time, and such a woman was almost impossible to exist in the real world of the 90s.
In 2020, Akana Rika is still beautiful and confident, with short hair that is spontaneous, both independent and mature, full of the atmosphere of the Tokyo female era, cooler and more sassy, more spontaneous in its treatment of feelings, and more in line with the stream of consciousness of modern young people. This version of Akana Rika is not perfect, has her own personality and temper, and is more real.
From 1991 to 2020, the same city, the same group of characters, the same ending, how to fit the background of the times to give the characters new vitality, is the difficulty of the creation of the "Tokyo Love Story" TV series. "Dong Ai" can sweep Asia, and "Dong Ai 2020" has not been overwhelmed by the fame of its predecessors, largely thanks to the screenwriter's portrayal of the character of Akamei Lixiang.
As a manga adaptation, when the audience looks back at the manga because of the popularity of the TV series, they will find that the Akamei Lixiang portrayed in the original manga is completely different from the perfect goddess in the "East Love" TV series.
The original manga of "Tokyo Love Story", which has been serialized since 1988, is a portrayal of the emotional life of adult men and women in major Japanese cities, with a certain degree of realism and emotional shock. The original author Chai Menwen's Akamei Lixiang, in addition to her yearning for love and the same as in the TV series, private life is unruly and abusive, nor is she a shrewd and capable strong woman, in our current words, Lixiang is a "scumbag", although more realistic, but lack of sufficient dramatic attraction.
In the 91st edition of the "East Love" TV series, the screenwriter made a major change to her personality, removing the "slag" attribute and adding a large number of idealized female features, and Akamei Lika incarnated as the representative of the perfect woman. At the same time, by weakening the roles of several other characters, and even changing Theraguchi Rimi, who was not originally a in the manga, to an absolutely negative character, Rika Akana became the most eye-catching character in Higashiai.
By reshaping the human design, the various contradictions and conflicts in the emotional world are concentrated and amplified. With the conflict between Akana Rika and Nagao, the conflict between Akana Rika and other characters about feelings, and the conflict between Akamei Rika and the mainstream Japanese social environment at that time, a heroine with a perfect personality but no good results in feelings was constructed. Although many viewers said that they could not understand the emotional entanglement of the four people inside, "East Love" finally earned enough tears from the audience.
In the 1990s, the Japanese film and television content market pure love TV series prevailed, "Dong Ai" can stand out with "stomachache four-corner love", and the shaping of the role is a magic weapon for its success. In 2020, four-corner love is no longer a popular theme in film and television dramas, and the adaptation of classic stories has to be another way.
Lika Akamei in "East Love 2020" is closer to the core of the unrestrained enthusiasm and free self in the original manga. At the same time, the change of feelings between several characters is no longer "doing and going" with each other, but by enlarging the characters formed between each character based on growth and social environment, so as to create contradictions and conflicts between the feelings of each person.
From "Dong Ai" to "Dong Ai 2020", the change of character of Akamei Lika is a good response to the changes of the times. "Higashi 2020", which is based on the original manga adaptation, also better reflects the attitude of post-90s young people to love, and fully explains the love story between Akana Rika and Nagao Kenji "fell in love with a wild horse, but unfortunately there is no grassland at home".
In terms of production, the soundtrack, photography, and even many scenes of "Dongai 2020" are also exquisitely crafted, and many young domestic audiences have given a high evaluation of "Dongai 2020". As the story progresses, even many old fans of "Higashi Love" also said that "finally know why Nagao Kenji will fall in love with Akamei Rika" and "Nagao And Akamei Reika are destined to be unable to grow old in vain".
In 2020, Rika Akana met the same Nagao Kenji who came to Tokyo from the countryside and wanted to integrate into the metropolis. When Nagao, who was originally just "white rice", transformed into a Tokyo native, Akamei Rika was still the way she was in her heart, and the ending between them would not change even after 29 years. Audiences will still cry over Akana's departure from Nagao, but they will also realize that this is the best ending between the two, and this is 2020's Tokyo Love Story.