日劇"First Class"能否不負衆望媲美"來自韓國的星星"

What’s the last Japanese TV drama that enjoyed the same success as Man From the Stars?

最近播出的日劇中，有哪部能和《來自星星的你》相媲美？

I’ve been thinking about this since the South Korean TV series captivated a lot of Asian audience earlier this year. But the only answer I can think of so far is Tokyo Love Story, which was released more than 20 years ago. Ever since then not one Japanese series has even come close to that level of popularity.

今年初，韓劇《來自星星的你》吸引了衆多亞洲觀衆，自那時起我就一直在思考這個問題。但是，我唯一能想到的只有20多年前紅極一時的《東京愛情故事》，此後的日劇似乎一直難創輝煌。

It’s actually quite sad to think that the two countries used to be competitive rivals in the Asian TV drama market, but now it’s just a lopsided battle.

曾經的亞洲電視劇市場，日劇與韓劇一直平分秋色，現在卻只有韓劇一邊獨大。這着實讓我有些傷感。

But this spring and summer, it looks like a few Japanese dramas have the potential to turn things around. First Class, which finished airing over the weekend, is one of them.

不過，今年春夏，出現了一些頗具潛力的日劇，或許能夠扭轉頹勢。上週收官的日劇《First Class》就是其中之一。

The ten-episode drama is about the fierce rivalry among women working for a fashion magazine. Sawajiri Elika, 28, who returned to the TV screen after being absent for eight years, plays the role of Yoshinari Chinami, a young woman who starts as a part-timer but gradually pushes her way up. Along the way, she is frequently humiliated and bullied by her “enemies” like the chief editor, the assistant, the stylists, and even top models.

這部10集的電視劇講述了一個時尚雜誌社裏女職員間的“激烈的戰爭”。劇中的女主角吉成千奈美由28歲的澤尻繪里香飾演，這也是澤尻繪里香闊別8年重新迴歸後出演的首部日劇。（這塊兒你再check一下）該劇講述了吉成千奈美從兼職實習生幹起，逐步成爲主編的奮鬥之路。一路上，她飽受主編、助理、設計師、甚至一流模特等“敵人”的欺辱。

It’s neither a complicated story nor a new idea, but for Japanese dramas, which have a long tradition of presenting social values in extreme ways — either simply inspiring or utterly dark — First Class has a bit of both sides and gets the balance just right.

這部劇並非情節複雜，也不是立意新穎。但對於素來善用極端方式（或單純勵志或完全暗黑）來呈現社會價值觀的日劇來說，First Class兼顧了二者，並且達到了完美的平衡。

Compared with last fall’s Hanzawa Naoki，which also has an office setting, in First Class the story focuses on ordinary staff rather than an elite group. The fashion-related working environment attracts younger audiences, and the perspective of a modern-day Cinderella struggling to climb up higher in the corporate hierarchy also sounds more intriguing than a story of vengeance. Besides, China’s The Legend of Zhen Huan already set a good example of how an underdog can survive in a ruthless jungle.

同爲職場題材的電視劇，不同於去年秋季講述精英圈故事的《半澤直樹》，《First Class》着眼於普通職員的生活。時尚相關的工作環境設置吸引了很多年輕觀衆；同時，相較復仇類的主題，現代版灰姑娘通過不斷努力並得到晉升的故事更加吸引人。說到“受壓迫小角色在殘酷環境中生存”的故事情節，古裝劇《甄嬛傳》就是個很好的例子。

Of course, First Class isn’t as elaborately produced as the long-running The Legend of Zhen Huan, in terms of its plot, details and emotions. But in only 10 hours, it delivers a story of passion, which draws out the fate of different characters and reflects the face of society.

當然，無論在情節、細節以及情感方面，《First Class》都不可能像《甄嬛傳》那樣精密製作，但是這部總計不過10小時的電視劇卻充滿了正能量，刻畫出每個角色與衆不同的性格，折射出社會現實。

In a time of Japanese TV dramas going downhill, the creators and writers of First Class certainly have done impressive job thinking outside the box, bringing hope to both fans and the industry.

在日劇一路下滑之時，《First Class》的導演與編劇無疑都成功的打破了定式，爲人們留下了一部印象深刻的作品，同時也給日劇愛好者和日劇行業帶來新的希望。