Dakedo, Dakara

Some time in your life, you must have had friends in your neighbourhood with whom you shared adventures as you were growing up and pretty much shaped you to the person you are today.

My Pikanchi DVDs (don't ask me what Pikanchi means because I haven't bloody figured it out) arrived early this week so finally, I've been able to watch the movies that star Arashi, still my fave Jboys (and hopefully, the last in my Asian pop fan craze).



The movies do not have English subtitles and given my very very poor to non-existent Japanese, I had to practically deduce what was happening on the screen most of the time.

"Pikanchi Life is Simple Dakedo (But) Happy" is about five friends (Haru/ Satoshi Ohno, Chu/ Sho Sakurai, Shun/ Masaki Aiba, Taku/ Kazunari Ninomiya and Bon/ Jun Matsumoto) who live in a huge residential complex.

On the DVD cover, there's a brief description (in English) on their characters though that doesn't really tell you much. Haru is the "unlucky boy" although why he is unlucky, I never get to figure out unless it has something to do with his mother (I'm not even sure whether that was his mother) discovering all the porn magazines he has hidden around the house. He delivers newspapers in the neighbourhood and is attracted to a girl, but ends up with her mother (maybe this is the unlucky part).

Chu is the gangster (can't remember how the cover described him) and leads a local bike gang. He has a funny hairstyle (called regent) and a menacing scar on the right side of his face. He looks like one person you wouldn't want to mess with, but nothing much is shown about his family background (or maybe I was just lost in translation).

Shun is the "ordinary high school boy" who reads manga and tries to hit on girls at the mall only to end up scaring them away. But he's also the one who has a love interest that spells trouble between him and his friends. (I could only wish that I understand Japanese to know what was going on after Shun's conversation with his father that was accidentally aired on radio for everyone to hear, including his friends, and his friends confronted him. This was one of the interesting parts of the movie.)

Taku is the skateboarder with matching permed hair (in the sequel, he has a complete anime look). His father is in financial trouble and commits suicide later.

Bon is the "rich boy" who loves to spew out English phrases and who dreams of becoming a chef. His storyline is something that I also couldn't figure out (what the hell was that "sayonara" scene all about? And what was that conversation he overheard between his parents and the next thing you knew, he was with this bizaare Vietnamese family learning to roll spring rolls?).

So blame it all on being lost in translation. And for someone who is into details and nuance, it's actually a pain for me. But the rest of the movie is easy to figure out and I like it because it focuses on the boys' friendship.

I like the scene when they all go to Harajuku to strut their stuff (Haru ends up spending money on a dolphin artwork, Shun meets the girl of his dreams, Chu shows up with blood on his face after doing some stunts, Taku encounters hardcore skateboarders who tell him about California -- if I understood it correctly, and Bon gets beaten up by thugs as he was selling crepes).

Also the scenes at the dock: when Bon bids them sayonara (and they all sing "Michi Michi" which was just hilarious) and when the four boys confront Shun about his girlfriend. Then of course, the butt exposures or the "mooning scene" as Kaytee called it, when they taunt the people in the "love boat" (I don't know how else to call it).

And yes, the porn movie scene (which normal boy growing up didn't watch a porn movie with his friends?) with Bon, hands raised, saying "Oh yes I do, oh yeah!" (Only Matsujun can get away with that dorky expression and still be lovable.)

Then there was the boat attack that Shun leads (his English line here was such a classic: Love is... OVVEEERRRR!). Ahh, the adventures that you went through with friends when you were growing up and even if I'm not a boy, I could totally relate.

Then the drama scene when they all arrive at Taku's house to find his father hanging by a rope. Again, I wished I understood the dialogue. Nino is good in this scene.

Dakedo brought back memories of old friends and the neighbourhood adventures and it's going down to my list of all-time favourite movies.

Unfortunately, I couldn't say the same for the sequel, "Pikanchi Life is Hard Dakara (Therefore) Happy". The focus was taken away from the boys' friendship (which for me was the selling point of Dakedo) to the conflict involving their apartment complex (some developers wanted to turn it into a more posh residential area). All of a sudden, it was Hardy Boys times five. And it just didn't work for me. Plus, there was less of Matsujun in the sequel so there.

I still think that Summer Timemachine Blues would have been a perfect vehicle for Arashi, their dorkiness and goofiness included. I hope Yellow Tears wouldn't disappoint.