Friday, August 9, 2013

KAZOKU GAME (家族ゲーム)













Spring 2013

Kazoku Game is about an eccentric personal tutor named Yoshimoto Koya (Sakurai Sho) who claims a 100% pass rate into Tokyo University. Attracted by this specialist, Numata Kayoko (Suzuki Honami) and Numata Kazushige (Itao Itsuji) hire him to help raise their middle school son, Numata Shigeyuki's (Uragami Seishuu) grades. Yoshimoto agrees to tutor Shigeyuki on the condition that nobody interferes with his methods of teaching. The Numata's soon find out Yoshimoto is quite abrasive and tends to cause a lot of trouble that affects the family members. Curious and annoyed by Yoshimoto's presence, the elder son, Numata Shinichi (Kamiki Ryunosuke) searches for Yoshimoto's credentials and stumbles upon a dark secret that could get Yoshimoto fired. Who really is Yoshimoto Koya? What are his true intentions? Will Shinichi solve Yoshimoto's secret before his family is destroyed?

Recommendation: This is the second drama in which I've seen Sakurai Sho in a leading role. I was really impressed with his acting. To be honest, everyone did a great job. From the first episode I was hooked. I realized early on that this drama was more than a tutor teaching a kid how to study and so I knew what would basically happen in the end, but the way the drama was presented, with so much mystery surrounding Sakurai Sho's character and his setups made for a suspenseful and exciting drama. If you like dark comedy that twists and turns, this is a good one to watch. For me, I have to put in my favorite's list as I think this is a drama that I won't soon forget. Hopefully there will be another season in the near future. That would be...いいね~ (good).

Story: 1.0
Acting: 1.0
Directing: 1.0
Character Development: 1.0
Emotional Factor: 1.0

5.0 Out Of 5.0 Crowns

Wednesday, August 7, 2013

LEGAL HIGH

















Spring 2012

Legal High is about a young idealistic lawyer named Mayuzumi Machiko (Aragaki Yui) who seeks support for a difficult case and is inadvertently steered toward asking Komikado Kensuke (Sakai Masato); a veteran lawyer who has never lost a case. Unfortunately, Komikado is a selfish, greedy, irritable man who uses any means necessary to win. Begrudgingly, the two team up and after winning the case, Mayuzumi decides to work under the tutelage of Komikado. The two work well as a team even though their ideas of justice and winning cases are vastly different. Will Komikado's dirty tactics rattle Mayuzumi's strong moral values or will Mayuzumi's kindness and sense of justice melt Komikado's cold heart? It's a battle of total opposites!

Recommendation: I have to be honest in saying that I've somewhat lost interest in Aragaki Yui as well as Sakai Masato recently. I never really felt strongly about them in leading roles, but it goes to show what a good screenwriter and director can do for actors. There is no doubt that the two leads have talent, but after reading about the screenwriter Furusawa Ryota and Director Ishikawa Junichi winning the Television Drama Academy Awards, I got interested in watching this show. Unless someone has some major cache as a strong actor, I usually will look for dramas with quality writing and directing instead. In this case, I have to say I was quite surprised by Legal High. It is a comedy about lawyers and it is similar to watching an anime or real live manga. Taken in that context, I thought the show was great despite its extreme characters and situations. It was funny, witty, and entertaining. Sakai Masato does a really good job playing an eccentric lawyer and I would go crazy trying to practice talking so fast like he does in this drama. Aragaki Yui does well to support Sakai and the battle of morals and ethics between the two are quite fascinating. I had to give this my best rating because I think this drama is kind of unusual and so it should be seen because it's just weird and out of the ordinary. But that is why it was entertaining and I caught myself smiling after every episode. I watched the special episode as well and I look forward to season 2 coming this fall.

Story: 1.0
Acting: 1.0
Directing: 1.0
Character Development: 1.0
Emotional Factor: 1.0

5.0 Out Of 5.0 Crowns