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Friday, January 22, 2010

Casting Ash in a J-drama AKA If Japan Ever Decided to Make a Lesbian!Cinderella Drama..

Time for something fun in this blog. So, some of you may or may not recall my review of Malinda Lo’s Ash wherein I stated that I was incapable of imagining the characters as Asian. Knowing this, I suppose you might be wondering, why in the world would I cast Japanese stars for my imaginary movie/drama? Well, I’m really playing with what-ifs here: If I could have imagined the cast as Asian, who would I cast? It was fun, challenging my white-as-default mindset for this novel. MORE IMPORTANTLY, I was inspired by this glorious, glorious photoshoot starring Horikita Maki and Kuroki Meisa. This photo in particular:

THEIR LOVE IS TRUE AND THEY LIVE HAPPILY EVER AFTER ♥ ♥


I looooove this photobook, and then thought to myself, “Wouldn’t it be fun if Horikita Maki played Ash and Kuroki Meisa played Kaisa? Who else would I cast in an Ash j-drama?” With the encouragement and help of ninefly (YOU ROCK MY WORLD! ♥), I am now here with my proposed imaginary cast for a Ash j-drama!

(Okay, for those familiar with their j-dramas, yes I do realize that with a lesbian Cinderella premise, I could have easily just recasted all the main characters from Last Friends and it would have totally worked BUT working with this photoshoot was much more fun. KUROKI MEISA X HORIKITA MAKI!!!)

Note: I tried to make this casting post non-spoiler friendly, so that anyone coming in without having read Ash can understand this post. I er, do make some j-drama references, because the roles I’ve seen them played influenced my decisions, but hopefully it’s comprehensible.

THE CAST:

Horikita Maki as Ash – Our residental Cinderella

Because Horikita Maki has that sweet face going on while totally capable of channelling inner intensity and stoic-ness. The good girl sans the ditz, in other words.



Kuroki Meisa as Kaisa – The kickass Huntress. Also known as Cinderella’s One True Love

Because Kuroki Meisa is soooooooo badass. And seriously hot.









Nishikido Ryo as Sidhean – The fairy godmotherfather as the fairy prince with Bad Intentions

Haha, casting Sidhean was hard, since I wanted someone cold but has a pretty face at the same time. Then, thankfully ninefly reminded me of Nishikido Ryo. Think he can’t play the cold, bad guy of the triangle? I’ve got two words for y’all: Last Friends. *hears all arguments die* I thought so.




Amami Yuki as Elinor – Cinderella’s dead mother

*is proud* I think this is my most perfect casting, in terms of finding the actress that can fit into Elinor’s character into a T.









Abe Hiroshi as the Father – Cinderella’s dead father who left Ash in debt

Honestly, I casted him because I thought he’d look so good next to Amami Yuki 8D But Abe Hiroshi is one of THE most talented J-actors in the industry, so I think he can play almost anything with charisma and ease.









RYO as Isobel – The eeeeeeeeeevil Stepmother of evilness

I think this is a perfect cast by ninefly, THANKS! =D








Karina as Ana – The snotty stepsister from hell

I think Karina’s got snobbery done pat. =D











Ishihara Satomi as Clara – The other stepsister that’s outshone by everyone

I love Ishihara Satomi and anything she has ever played, so it kinda pains me to cast her in this kind of typecast role, but I think Ishihara Satomi would lend subtlety into this character and bring her to life, make her memorable.







Ueno Juri as Gwen – The bubbly servant girl who’s friends with our Cinderella

Foreget her role in Last Friends for a second and remember Nodame Cantabile. Happy go lucky without being annoying about it. It’s perfect.







Kamenashi Kazuya as the Prince – The Prince who didn’t end up with Cinderella (dun rmb name...)

*cackles* Um, because Kamenashi Kazuya was paired with both Horikita Maki and Kuroki Meisa in two different dramas and the idea that he doesn’t end up with either of them in the same show cracks me up? (I love Kame! But I love Maki/Meisa even more.) Besides, he would totally look so spiffy in Princely attire. =D



Natsuki Mari as Maire - The greenwitch aka Wise Old Lady with Powers

One of the easiest to cast. Her whole repertoire is filled with the eccentric older lady type roles.









So, whaddya think? Agree? Disagree? Wanna proposed different actors to play the parts? Or recast them with different Asians? (I’m not gonna lie, the idea of a Korean drama!Ash is tempting me…) I’m all ears. In the meantime, I’ll end off with another pimpage of the Meisa/Maki photoshoot. (It’s THAT GOOD. ♥)

22 comments:

ninefly said...

this NEEDS to be made 8DDDDDD
I'm still cracking up over Kame: Prince of FAIL lol
*nosebleeds all over Meisa/Maki photoshoot* NEEEEDDDDDD

Michelle (su[shu]) said...

I SOOOO love this post. =) And I SOOOO love the photobook. =D

AH! *loves*

MissA said...

Tis is awesome! And the photos from the photoshoot are gorgeous. Awesome choices, I would love to see an all Asian Ash!

Ok time for me to show my stupidity: what's a j-drama? (Japanese drama?)

Tarie Sabido said...

Wahaha! Nice post. I love Japanese dramas!

brizmus said...

Nishikido Ryo is kind of hot. And Kuroki Meisa is kind of gorgeous!
Just seeing your Japanese cast for Ash makes me totally want to read it! :-)

yuan said...

@ninefly,

You knew my Kame idea was genius. 8D
*nosebleeds with you*

@Michelle,

Yay you liked post!! I looooooove the photobook too. ♥

@MissAttitude,

lol yup J-dramas = Japanese dramas. Dramas are tv shows, similar to American serial dramas such as LOST and Heroes but waaaaaaaay shorter (Japan, with rare exception, doesn't really believe in sequels) I'm glad you liked the post!

@Tarie,

lol I love J-dramas too! The only thing better than a J-drama is a K-drama. 8D

@brizmus,

lol correction: You mean Nishikido Ryo is REALLY hot and Kuroki Meisa is REALLY gorgeous. ♥ *fangirls forever*
Do try out Ash. I'd love to hear what you think of it.

Jenn (Books At Midnight) said...

Thanks for participating in The Saturday Network! And *squeal* I love J-dramas, though I tend to watch more Korean ones. But Japanese guys are so hot. *o*
KAME, I LOVE HIM. Since he gets rejected, he can be my prince. ♥
All-in-all, I love your cast!!

yuan said...

@Jenn,

lol, yeahhh, I think I watch a bitt more J-dramas, but that's just because it's much faster to finish J-dramas compare to K-dramas. I think if I calculated the time spent watching K-dramas, it'd be more than the amount of time it takes for me to watch J-dramas.
Hehe, I love Kame too (NOBUTA WO PRODUCE!! ♥). You're gonna have to fight for him with me, heheh.
Glad you liked the casting!

Jenny said...

I haven't read this book but I looooooove casting movies in my head for books I liked. So much fun!

Color Online said...

They are both way too beautiful. I'd marry them, too.

Ah Yuan, please email me. I can't find your addy and I need something asap.

Tarie Sabido said...

Have you watched Boys Over Flowers, Hana Yori Dango, or Meteor Garden? We need to talk! LOL.

yuan said...

@Jenny,

Yeahhhhhhh tell me about it! I think I have to do more casting stuff on this blog. I had too much fun with this one. =D

@Tarie,

LAWL um, you kinda named the one drama that I cannot stand in all its incarnation. *is bricked* My sincerest wish is for Asia to STOP readapting this story from a very mediocre manga and cease its spreading around the Asian continent but who's listening? *shrugs* But I'm one of the rare people who doesn't like it, so w/e.

I've watched many many Japanese, Korean and Taiwanese shows but here's a quick list of relatively well-known titles that I enjoyed: Bad Family, Nobuta wo Produce, Nodame Cantabile, You're Beautiful, Autumn's Concerto, Will It Snow For Christmas?, Ryusei no Kizuna, Nine-Tailed Fox, The Devil (Mawang), One Pound Gospel, SP, Bump Off Lover, Black & White, Capital Scandal, etc etc etc.

Tarie Sabido said...

Nodame Cantabile and Ryusei no Kizuna rock my socks!!!

Emma said...

Great casting! Haven't seen or read any of this. I know, I am a fail. I like the faces, though. :D

Zetta said...

I would SO watch a film with all these stunning actors...you really captured the personalities of the book's characters...esp Sidhean...

Zetta said...

Looks like this is spreading to Marvel comics and even Buffy--check out their proposed POC cast:

http://entwashian.livejournal.com/255999.html

Diana Dang said...

Pretty cool cast! I haven't watched J-drama for so long. xD

I just started to watch You're Beautiful and it's awesome! XDD Currently on the 3rd episode. However, I'm starting to get annoyed by that aunt. >>; She won't be there for the majority of the time, ruining the show would she? D:

yuan said...

@Tarie,

YAY FOR NOBUTA AND RYUSEI LOVE!! *high fives*

@Zetta,

lol thank you so much for letting me know about the POC casting stuff.

@Diana Dang,

J-dramas rock my socks. ♥

As in, Minam's aunt? lol no worries she's barely there and if it helps, she grew on me as the show went on. =D

Diana Dang said...

Lol, alright. xD I just generally hate those relatives that want nothing but money or something along those lines. *^* It generally ruins my mood while watching the drama. Px Which is why I rarely finish any show because I'm so fickled. xD

yuan said...

@Diana Dang,

LAWL I know what you mean. Usually I hate the "in-laws" in Kdramas, as I like to call them too, but there are a few exceptions... Like, I really liked the mother in the present setting of this new kdrama called "Will It Snow For Christmas" (Which you should totally watch if you're in the mood for a melodrama)

Neesha Meminger said...

OMG, I loooooove these!!!! Squeeee!!! You totally made my heart flutter here.

Misty said...

Awesome! I typically try to avoid associating a particular person with a character when I'm reading, but afterwards, it can be fun. I like your choices. Especially Kaisa and Sidhean. The picture you chose Kuroki Meisa has that slight edge, which is good for the huntress side, but there's a nice softness, too (and yes, she is hot). And Nishikido Ryo's picture has that slightly dreamy, aloof thing going. Good job.







:)