Pandora 2: Starvation Islands パンドラII 飢餓列島
Title (English): Pandora 2 Kiga Retto
Format: Renzoku
Episodes: 7
Broadcast period: 2010-Apr-18 to 2010-May-30
Air time: Sunday 22:00-23:00
OFFICIAL SITE
Wiki
PRODUCERS
小林義則 (Kobayashi Yoshinori)
[モンスターペアレント (Monster Parent, Fuji Tv 2008), パンドラ (Pandora, WOWOW 2008), アンフェア (Unfair, Fuji Tv 2006)]
河毛俊作 (Kawake Shunsaku)
[GOLD (Fuji Tv, 2010), パンドラ (Pandora, WOWOW 2008), わたしたちの教科書 (Watashitachi no Kyokasho, Fuji Tv 2007), 人間の証明 (Ningen no Shomei, Fuji Tv 2004)]
WRITER
井上由美子 (Inoue Yumiko)
[同窓会 (Dosokai, TV Asahi 2010), パンドラ (Pandora, WOWOW 2008), １４才の母 (14 Sai no Haha, NTV 2006), 白い巨塔 (Shiroi Kyoto, Fuji TV 2003), 北条時宗 (Hojo Tokimune, NHK 2001)]
CAST
佐藤浩市 (Sato Koichi)
鈴木京香 (Suzuki Kyoka)
勝村政信 (Katsumura Masanobu)
山本耕史 (Yamamoto Koji)
水川あさみ (Mizukawa Asami)
北村有起哉 (Kitamura Yukiya)
温水洋一 (Nukumizu Yoichi)
霧島れいか (Kirishima Reika)
余貴美子 (Yo Kimiko)
宅麻伸 (Takuma Shin)
勝部演之 (Katsube Nobuyuki)
INTRODUCTION
It’s perhaps a little precious to discuss an argument as controversial as that of world hunger, especially when world governments are treating this silent, allegedly invisible plague like a sort of honorable nuisance you pay attention to from time to time, right in between a bout of fake political strife and freemasonic financial chicanery, like a shark in tuxedo blessing the horde of minions groveling under his feet with a token of leniency; or when multi-decorated rock stars take their learjets to a meeting against world pollution, and then dine on exquisite delicatessen at a five-star hotel right after a (rigorously televised) seminar on world hunger, right before they head to their tax heaven to deposit the latest gazillion. Hell, it’s hypocritical even when Japan, the world’s sec… I mean third (HA!) largest economy suggests, albeit in purely dramatic form, that one day the Land of the Rising Sun might indeed be renamed Kiga Retto. Starvation Island. Yeah, right.
Sure, hunger was the talk of the town in the good old Edo days, when the Temme famine of the late 18th century killed hundreds of thousands, not to mention other notorious examples filling the pages of Japanese history, like the Kansho (mid 15th Century) and Tenpo (1830s) famines. But, seriously. In 2010, a famine in Japan? Leave it to Inoue Yumiko, the incredibly talented and unnervingly uneven writer of 白い巨塔 (Shiroi Kyoto), １４才の母 (14 Sai no Haha) and many a memorable J-dorama, to make a compelling case for it. In many ways, her return to form after two rather underwhelming years is much too similar to its fantastic, illustrious predecessor, WOWOW’s first venture into renzoku (serial) dorama and still their most shining killer application, パンドラ (Pandora). They share the same writer, producer(s), music director and narrative structure, down to the core motivations behind the major character’s actions. Yes, it’s derivative, even somewhat underwhelming if compared with the Shakespearean sturm und drang of the 2008 masterpiece with Mikami Hiroshi and Konishi Manami.
But once you abandon those initial reservations and dig into this little jewel, you quickly find out two things. One, that it can bravely stand on its own. Two, that it’s still a ridiculously bad ass show, oozing with class, top notch production values, intelligent writing and solid acting from real actors, not talentless starlets who spend more time on their haircuts than on honing their “craft.” Even if 2010 hadn’t been the worst J-dorama year of the last two decades; even if a once very eclectic and productive industry hadn’t become a cesspool of tepid filler bankrolled by clueless corporate lackeys, lazy seasonal shows that have lost all verve and raison d’etre, not to mention the embarrassing laments of a Kitagawa syndrome which is at its terminal stages, this show would have still shined among the best.
In a way, despite eerily resembling the original in just about everything but its cast – with a geeky professor finding a miraculous cure for a modern human plague, struggling with his surroundings (be it compromising with unethical corporations or fighting for leverage with all too opportunistic government officials) and eventually facing an almost Biblical crossroads – the more you peel off Pandora 2′s layers, the more evident the subtle differences with the original will be. This second installment is less Greek tragedy and more ironic, Machiavellian thriller, with characters that are a tiny little closer to home than the monsters and angels in disguise which populated the 2008 shocker. It’s a somewhat smarter, more biting and pragmatic show, a sort of parallel universe compared to the first.
That it essentially presents a rather unrealistic scenario (that of Japan going into chaos as a result of an incoming famine), at least in the immediate future, is only another proof of how solid writing can take even the most improbable setups and turn them into compelling, engaging productions that still respect their viewers’ intelligence. It shows, if anything, that even after this Johnny’s bubble will implode and leave behind a wasteland of misguided youth of little talent who ravaged the industry from the bottom up, someone will pick up the pieces and rebuild this whole ship from scratch. And you can bet vintage Inoue Yumiko shows like this will be still there, when all is said and done. And someone will be there to sub them…
RAW VIDEO TO DOWNLOAD
SUBTITLES:
(Firefox users: right-click, “save file as”)
ZIPPED SUBTITLES – Episodes 1-7# | Wanna thank us?
(Firefox users: right-click, “save file as”)
CREDITS:
EPISODE 1 704×396 | 720p
Subtitles by Anarchist
Fine tuning: julier
Coordinators: ay_link, mily2
EPISODE 2 704×396|720p
Subtitles by Anarchist
Fine tuning: julier
Coordinators: ay_link, mily2
EPISODE 3 704×396 | 720p
Subtitles by Anarchist
Fine tuning: julier
Coordinators: ay_link, mily2
EPISODE 4 704×396 | 720p
Subtitles by Anarchist
Fine tuning: julier
Coordinators: ay_link, mily2
EPISODE 5 704×396 | 720p
Subtitles by Anarchist
Fine tuning: julier
Coordinators: ay_link, mily2
EPISODE 6 704×396 | 720p
Subtitles by Anarchist
Fine tuning: julier
Coordinators: ay_link, mily2
Celebrating our 133rd COMPLETED PROJECT! ^^
EPISODE 7 *FINAL* 704×396 | 720p (*NEW*) Wanna thank us?
Subtitles by Anarchist
Fine tuning: julier
Coordinators: ay_link, mily2
30 comments
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Really want to watch this but the links do not work :/
Thank you so much for subbing this series! Love that you guys do the occasional jdrama. ^_^
Thanks a lot for subbing this drama. I love it.
Awesome job with these subs! I’ve seen up to episode 6 now.
I’m surprised I haven’t heard more people talking about this drama. It’s amazingly well-made.
thanks for ep 5 sub
i’m looking the 720p video, where to download it? D-addicts only have the 704×396 one.
@calimerina link is fixed =]
Thanks for the subs. I really wanted to watch this dorama.
Btw, link for ep 04 doesn’t work…
No prob. Best of luck with the projects. Again, thanks for working on these great shows, we would not have been able to see/enjoy them without you and your team’s hard work.
Tetsu no Hone…. Actually need to finish this (started ep. 1 purely out of curiosity for the Kawai Kenji score, was wildly unimpressed… and it’s currently gathering digital dust in my 2TB oven). We’ll see.
Thanks for the tip on KnN. I usually check the Dramawiki fansub map to get an idea of what’s not being subbed, so I didn’t know.
or is it?
good to know that.
so i guess for those people who are planning on killing themselves before february 2011 from Johnny’s domination should extend it to 2012. in my case, i think i have to reset my computer from self-destruction.
HBO is trying to resurrect the good old days of sopranos. i think it’s working.
Nice. Gonna keep my fingers crossed for Kansahojin. FYI, there’s someone out there already providing subs for Kanryotachi no Natsu based on the UTB broadcast though I haven’t checked out the quality or seen the drama itself since I tend to put off shows until the subs are complete. Any chance you’d consider adding Tetsu no Hone on your list of possible projects? Bid-rigging seems like an interesting enough subject… but then again, you’re right about not being able to tell whether a drama’s good or not until you’ve seen the whole thing for yourself. Drama spiels and descriptions nowadays are a tad misleading.
ehr… Boardwalk.
Already watching Broadwalk.
As for Marks, we tend to subtitle shows that fall through the cracks, and only after the show is complete (mainly because the J-dorama subbing community is good enough covering most shows as it is, the dorama I’d target are rare enough that it might be hard to get them all even on private trackers, and for obvious quality reasons. Too many shows start well and then lose focus midway). Once we’re done with this we’ll probably be too busy with K-dramas to do anything Japanese until at least early next year, so if by then nobody has tackled it and it’s good enough, we might give it a go. It does sound really interesting and the original is great, so should be a fine show, considering WOWOW’s track record.
Currently considered for next spot (think February or something) are Kansahojin, Kanryotachi no Natsu and NHK’s Chance, fyi.
ey Anarchist! check out Nodame Cantabile! so gooood!!!! im kidding. i think i owe you something. you recommended lots of jdramas that i felt i owe you something. better check out HBO’s Boardwalk Empire and Californication.
i want to ask if your planning on subbing Marks No Yama? Chuks one of the jdrama subbers wants to know.
Pandora 2 about GMOs. i wonder if they could modify weeds also.
thanks for the sub
also RAW available by torrent @
http://www.d-addicts.com/forum/torrents.php?search=pandora+704&type=&sub=View+all&sort=
@savannah,
You can get them here:
http://www.euphoriic.net/2010/05/pandora-2-kiga-retto.html
@ savannah Thanks for the heads up. We’re looking into it. Thanks for your patience.
Where can I find the raw video for this file? AjAj does not have this on their VIA list.
thank you! i need to keep in my mind not to compare it to the previous Pandora.
Thank you very much for subbing this drama ^^ !
I didn’t even there was a Pandora 2. It is such a nice surprise!
It’s nice to see that there is a drama that is not merely a vehicle to showcase an ‘idol’ and to satisfy the ‘fan-girlies’.
Thank you so very much for these subs and for sharing!
Thank you, sir! Pandora was great and I am hopeful this one will be just as good.
‘And someone will be there to sub them…’
Thanks for being here to sub this drama.
Any know where I can get the raw 720p?
Wow, this is unexpected. Was hoping that someone would sub this drama, since it has an interesting subject– food security and the ongoing debate over GMOs. Thanks so much for working on this project.
Do we still have access to ajaj? Is there a new password?
OMG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
tq guys!!!!
u made my day!!!!!!
one of best suspense jdrama…