Sunday, February 16, 2014

LEGAL HIGH 2



Fall 2013

Masato Sakai and Yui Aragaki return as Kensuke Komikado and Machiko Mayuzumi respectively in "Legal High 2". Still undefeated in court, eccentric lawyer Komikado continues to wallow in his victories. Enter Haruki Hanyu; a handsome and spirited young lawyer who traveled the world and returned to Japan to gain experience under Komikado. Hanyu's perspective on the outcomes of a trial differ greatly from Komikado's, but they have great respect for each other. After leaving Komikado's law firm, Hanyu joins the Public Prosecution office which is working on a highly publicized murder case. Coincidentally, Komikado and Mayuzumi are hired to defend the suspected murderer. Is Komikado's days as a undefeated lawyer numbered? Will Hanyu's idealistic "win-win" strategy beat Komikado's "winning is all that matters" style? 

Recommendation: The ratings for the second season of "Legal High" were much higher than the first season. One reason is probably due to the fact that "Hanzawa Naoki" just ended and there is a Masato Sakai boom presently in Japan. I was quite happy with the first season, but I think the second season started out even better. From the get go, there was the usual slapstick, over the top humor that made the first season memorable. I'm still at awe as to how Masato Sakai can talk so fast. What I found really interesting about this drama is that, I thought I would get tired of each new case that was presented in every episode. This was the same format from the first season with the only difference being the Ando Kiwa murder case starring Koyuki which progresses throughout the drama, but most of the cases were quite good and were thought provoking. Despite the drama being a comedy, it presented some deep social issues. The characters all have a distinct trait, whether it be Komikado pointing his finger and swiping his hairline, Hanyu snapping his fingers and stating an Arabian quote, or Hattori-san revealing another talent or skill he learned while traveling overseas. Even judge Beppu played by Ryoko Hirosue returned from "Legal High SP" to show how much she loves actual field work. The little twist in the end caught me off guard too. I have a feeling that people will either really like this drama or hate it. Kensuke Komikado can be really annoying at times, but overall I laughed a lot and I also shed a few tears (probably from laughing a lot). I also liked the slow motion battle scenes that developed during the opening credits. Overall, I highly recommend this drama. Just remember that it is a bit crazy and over the top. 

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

5.0 Out Of 5.0 Crowns


Saturday, February 1, 2014

UMI NO UE NO SHINRYOJO (海の上の診療所)















Fall 2013

Umi No Ue No Shinryojo is about a young doctor named Kota Sezaki (Shota Matsuda) who is hired to practice on a boat clinic called the Kaishinmaru. The Kaishinmaru travels to rural islands located in the Seto Inland Sea due to the lack of medical resources in the area. Dr. Kota is talented and highly skilled, but his reasons for accepting the job is a mystery. What is immediately known by the staff of the Kaishinmaru is that Dr. Kota is single and falls for beautiful women a bit too quickly. Will he eventually find that special someone or will he be destined to sail on the Kaishinmaru empty handed?

Recommendation: I've seen Shota Matsuda in "Hana Yori Dango" and "Tsuki No Koibito". I wasn't a huge fan of his, but he showed some range in this drama as an eccentric young doctor. I enjoyed his acting, but despite his best efforts, the drama as a whole was a bit dull and slow. I think it was meant to be a bit on the slow side, in a way showcasing the calm and serene life of rural Japan. I did enjoy the beautiful shots of the ocean and mountains, but as a drama it didn't arouse much excitement in me.

If I could sum up the drama in just a few words, the story is really all about misunderstandings and miscommunication as Dr. Kota repetitively visits one island after the next and falls in love with the first beautiful woman he sets his eyes on, only to be dumped or realizing that said beautiful woman already has a lover. The first episode started out mysteriously, but all the mysteries and tense subplots ended up being nothing more than misunderstandings that were resolved easily. Also, every person or acquaintance of said person he encounters has an accident which is not only coincidental, but just too patterned for my taste. In the end, I had a hard time trying to figure out what exactly this drama was about. I thought the last two episodes were good, but it was a little too late. I really felt Emi Takei's character, Mako chan could have been utilized better. I would have added more scenes that develop the relationship between Dr. Kota and Mako chan like maybe adding more scenes of walking through the countryside and talking about a variety of issues. Their relationship just felt awkward to me and to have them come together in the end didn't feel realistic.

If you want to see a drama that's a bit slow with some subtle humor and you like Shota Matsuda then by no means, please watch this drama. Unfortunately, for me, it was a bit light in terms of story, character development and overall excitement. I think the Kaishinmaru can sail on without me.

Story: 0.5
Acting: 0.5
Directing: 0.5
Character Development: 0.5
Emotional Factor: 0.5

2.5 Out Of 5.0 Crowns


Wednesday, January 15, 2014

MISS PILOT













Fall 2013

Miss Pilot is a drama about an aimless young woman named Haru Tezuka (Maki Horikita) hunting for a job. She is a bit unfocused and not really sure what she wants to do for a career. Without much thought, she takes an exam to train as a pilot. Suddenly Haru finds herself in a competitive field full of smart and determined students. After "flying" for the first time in the flight simulator, she finds the inspiration that she was always looking for and vows to become a pilot. But will her sheer determination and strong will be enough to reach her goal?

Recommendation: The first time I watched Maki Horikita in a drama was from her small part in "Densha Otoko". I had a feeling she would receive bigger roles and in no time I saw her in "Nobuta Wo Produce" and "Innocent Love". I really liked her in the movie "Always San-chome No Yuhi" as well. I think she is a good actor, but unfortunately this drama did not take advantage of her skills. I thought the plot would be a strong one and it was an interesting plot because there probably aren't a lot of female pilots in the world, but this drama came out a little on the flat side for me.
The story of someone drifting through life and finding something passionate to reach for is nothing new. From the first episode this drama felt like a marketing tool for ANA. Now, I understand that ANA was a huge part of this show, but I didn't think they needed to spend the first three episodes having the P-kuns (pilot trainees) taking tests and experiencing how the grounds crew and mechanics do there jobs (boooring). I did like the ring tone from the drama, "Good Luck" that went off during the ANA orientation from a student's cell phone and it was nice that they added Koichi Iwaki who was also in "Good Luck". Still, I think there was too much time spent on the ins and outs of the aviation industry instead of focusing on character development. I didn't care much for any of these characters probably until the fourth episode. By that time I was hardly into this drama. The actors in general really had no chemistry, or maybe they just didn't include necessary scenes to form that chemistry. This was not a good thing because the characters were supposed to be bonding as a team. I mean, other than Haru and Chisato, I cared less about whether the rest of the cadets passed; they were so underdeveloped. The actors seemed to act out their lines word for word like they were reading directly from a script. But what can the actors do if this is what they're told to do? There was not a lot of creativity in the directing. I like to call this cookie cutter directing. It was so by the book and quite easy to read. It wasn't exciting at all. To top it all off, it was quite cheesy and overly sappy. Good dramas can move you to tears, but the bad ones try to force you to tears and that never works. Not everything was bad about this drama (episode 4 was probably the best) as there were some moving scenes and harsh obstacles that needed to be overcome by the characters, but it wasn't enough and it was difficult for me to root for them. I would have loved a really tense love triangle develop between Haru, Chisato Oda (Saki Aibu) and Konosuke Kunikida (Takumi Saito) but that didn't happen.
All in all, I don't think you will miss out if you don't watch this drama, even Saki Aibu who I  like wasn't great in this drama. Unfortunately, "Miss Pilot" had a lot of potential, but it never really takes off.

Story: 0.5
Acting: 0.5
Directing: 0.5
Character Development: 0.5
Emotional Factor: 0.5

2.5 Out Of 5.0 Crowns

Wednesday, January 1, 2014

DOKUSHIN KIZOKU (独身貴族)

























Fall 2013

Dokushin Kizoku is a drama about three people who are single and have different perspectives on marriage. Mamoru Hoshino (Tsuyoshi Kusanagi) is the president and creative director of Kinema Etoile, a film production company founded by his late father. He is brilliant and has a keen sense for talent, but he is also peculiar when it comes to his personal daily habits. He has strong beliefs in being single and has no desire to get married as he likes to spend his personal time in a way that he chooses. On the other hand, Mamoru's younger brother Susumu (Hideaki Ito) was previously married, but is currently going through harsh divorce proceedings. Unlike his older sibling, Susumu is outgoing and has good social skills. He loves women, but is not interested in long term relationships. Yuki Haruno (Keiko Kitagawa) has struggled with previous relationships and recently declined a marriage proposal. She has dreams of becoming a scriptwriter and believes that marriage will hinder her efforts in her pursuit of that dream. She is not against marriage though, as a matter of fact, she strongly believes in it. Due to an inadvertent opportunity, Yuki takes one final chance to make her dreams come true. The choice she makes thrusts herself into the lives of the Hoshino brothers. Will they ever discover true love that will eventually lead to marriage?

Recommendation: First of all HAPPY NEW YEAR! It is also my birthday! I will be enjoying a sukiyaki dinner with the family tonight. Anyway, to kick off 2014, I wanted to write my first post today. I just finished the last episode of this drama last night and it was a very good one. For the fall season, I was planning to watch about 5 dramas and this one was not included. After seeing that the ratings averaged around 11% without great up swings or down swings I gave it a shot and I must say that this is probably the sleeper hit for the fall 2013 season. The synopsis didn't draw me in, but it was quite different than what I imagined. The story is a romantic comedy, but it is probably more romantic than comedic. I really loved the details of the sets, particularly Mamoru's office and his apartment were really nice. Due to the story revolving around movies, I really enjoyed the music, quotes, and various references made from older movies and people in the the movie industry. The drama created a "romantic" kind of tone and mood that reminded me of films probably made in the 1920's to 1950's. Even the characters personified those older times. Mamoru, Susumu, and Yuki have their issues with marriage, but their characters are pure in heart, honorable and chivalrous. I immediately attached myself to the characters and the actors really did a good job in terms of chemistry and playing their roles. The only issue that I had with this drama is that the story is nothing new. In fact it is quite overdone in terms of the plot. Still, the drama was executed nicely and Kusanagi, Ito and Kitagawa really portrayed their characters well. That's why I think it is a must see, especially if you are into romantic dramas. Yamashita Tomohisa also makes a minor appearance in two episodes which I thought was interesting. If you're looking for something romantic to watch, don't skip this one; it will fill your heart with dreams.

Story: 0.5
Acting: 1.0
Directing: 1.0
Character Development: 1.0
Emotional Factor: 1.0

4.5 Out Of 5.0 Crowns