SOREDEMO, IKITE YUKU (それでも、生きてゆく)

Summer 2011

Soredemo, Ikite Yuku or loosely translated as "Even So, I Will Live On" is a story revolving around a murder of a young girl named Fukami Aki. The murderer, Toyama Fumiya happened to be a friend of Fukami Aki's older brother. 15 years after the incident, the older brother, Fukami Hiroki unknowingly meets with Toyama Fumiya's younger sister, Toyama Futaba. Both the families involved in the tragedy live with grief, despair and deep regret. Despite a sorrowful past, Hiroki and Futaba seek a path of hope for their families and for themselves to move forward with their lives.

Recommendation: Although I usually skip sad dramas I really enjoyed this one. The acting, the depth of the characters, the complex story, the different perspectives of the tragedy from both the victim's family and the criminal's family were so well done. It is heavy, but there are some funny and quirky scenes as well. It is not mainly about the tragedy itself, but more of how the families of both sides of the tragedy live on. The story also hit home in a way because I personally went through a tragic event 15 years ago so it was strangely coincidental. The ratings weren't very high, but the drama as well as Eita who played Fukami Hiroki, the screenplay, and the director all won awards at the 70th Television Drama Academy Awards. I don't know all the contestants for best actress, but I think Mitsushima Hikari who played Toyama Futaba may have been robbed. She's an excellent actress. The story too was a complex one with an ending that I didn't expect. I thought there would be more of a resolution regarding Toyama Fumiya and between Hiroki and Futaba, but looking back I think the ending made the story more authentic in a way. Personally, I would like to see a special as I was really attached to the characters. Bravo for such a well made drama!

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

5.0 Out Of 5.0 Crowns

NAZOTOKI WA DINNER NO ATODE (謎解きはディナーのあとで)

Fall 2011

Nazotoki Wa Dinner No Atode or (loosely translated as) Solving Mysteries After Dinner is a mystery/comedy drama about Reiko Hosho (Kitagawa Keiko), a rookie detective who is actually the heiress to the uber wealthy Hosho Group. Having to work murder cases under an inept detective named Kazamatsuri, she begrudgingly asks her newly hired butler Kageyama (Sho Sakurai) to assist in solving cases. Kageyama is not only a reliable butler, but to her amazement he is quite brilliant in deductive reasoning. Having a lot of pride, Reiko has a tough time handling criticism from her own butler, but she begins to realize that there is much more to learn from Kageyama than just solving mysteries.

This series was actually quite good. It was the first time I watched Sho Sakurai act and I was surprised to see him play a pleasant mannered butler very well. I'm not a huge fan of Keiko Kitagawa's acting, but both actors had good chemistry and it was enjoyable to watch. As a mystery/comedy, each episode was light hearted despite most of the cases involving murder. The CG worked for the most part and Kippei Shiina who played the non-sensical Kazamatsuri was, well non-sensical. I have a feeling that there will be a second season as I think there is room for the main characters to grow and their relationship to develop further. If you're interested in watching something that can be funny and is not heavy despite the stories being about crime then this drama is for you, but take your time as you may want to decide after dinner!

P.S. - As far as I can remember, in all the dramas I watched with an Arashi member, another Arashi member would pop out in the last episode playing a small role. In this case, I didn't notice it happening.

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

4.0 Out Of 5.0 Crowns

KASEIFU NO MITA (家政婦のミタ)

Fall 2011

Kaseifu No Mita is a drama about a strange housekeeper named Mita Akari. She is beautiful, intelligent, and does her job exceptionally well, but something about her is amiss. She is distant, doesn't smile, and doesn't open herself up about private matters particularly about her past. One day she is assigned to care for the Asuda family; a dysfunctional bunch who can't seem to get out of each other's ways especially since the father is unconfident in dealing with family issues and the mother recently passed away. But soon, they become intrigued by Mita's work ethic and gradually attach themselves to her presence while she desperately tries not to involve herself in their personal lives.

Recommendation: I find myself quite lucky that I found this series because I really had no intention of watching it. I was intrigued after looking over some ratings for the dramas in the fall season and found out that Kaseifu No Mita was getting huge ratings. I had to see what the fuss was all about and I wasn't disappointed. I actually watched the first 7 episodes consecutively (with a few bathroom breaks in between) and had to stop only because it was 3 am in the morning. I haven't had that experience in quite awhile. Matsushima Nanako plays a robotic housekeeper, Mita very well. I would say if Mary Poppins or Mrs. Doubtfire had a dark side, it would be Mita Akari. I really enjoyed the screenplay and/or the way the actors improvised in many scenes. Usually in group scenes there would be one actor speaking and the rest would just look on without moving, which does happen in this drama, but the kids tend to improvise well and are really great. Honda Miyu who plays Kii was adorable and the father played by Hasegawa Hiroki was funny. I really thought Aibu Saki was really good too playing a boneheaded sister in-law. As in most dramas there are extreme situations and you will find a lot here, but the story is quite fascinating and I was caught off guard. I would have to say this is somewhat of a dark comedy, but it provides valuable lessons about family relationships. There is a mystery that deepens after each episode and I couldn't believe the last episode had a rating around 40! I wholeheartedly recommend this series and if I was asked to watch this drama again, I would definitely say, "shochi shimashita."

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

5.0 Out Of 5.0 Crowns

NANKYOKU TAIRIKU (南極大陸～神の領域に挑んだ男と犬の物語～)

Fall 2011

Nankyoku Tairiku is about three Japanese Antarctic expeditions that occurred after World War 2 or during "post-war era" Japan. During this period, Japan was in the process of rebuilding itself, but there was still a lingering mixture of bitterness and failure within the country. In the winter of 1957, Japan was one of many nations to take part in the International Geophysical Year which was an international scientific research project. After a few setbacks, the country backed up the expedition and with the help of 19 Sakhalin huskies, a group of explorers set off on the ice-breaker Soya to head towards Antarctica. What awaited them was a brutal yet inspiring journey into a land that was barely touched by man.

Recommendation: This drama was based on a famous true story about two dogs, Taro and Jiro who survived in Antarctica for about a year after the crew of the first expedition left all the dogs behind due to harsh weather conditions. I remember watching Nankyoku Monogatari which was a movie about the same story with my parents when I was young and it was a very sad movie. I am one who usually skips these types of dramas, but I wanted to see more of the background behind the expedition which the drama provides.
In any case, the show itself was good and the first episode especially drew me in, but after a few episodes, it kind of slowed down and I was a bit disappointed with the acting and directing. Excluding Kimura and the dogs, everyone just seemed to play robotic roles. I generally like Sakai Masato, but jeez, he had this constipated look in all his scenes! The acting for the most part felt forced and I thought even for a 10 episode series, it felt a bit stretched. Still, it was nice to retell a story about a country in dire need of inspiration and if you want to understand more about the expeditions this is a drama for you.

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

3.5 Out Of 5.0 Crowns

ZENKAI GIRL (全開ガール)

Summer 2011

Zenkai Girl stars Aragaki Yui as Ayukawa Wakaba and Nishikido Ryo as Yamada Shota. Wakaba grew up in poverty and resented her father for being harassed by debt collectors. She vowed to learn the ways of the law and to become smarter and stronger, never having to look back at her poor past again. She dreams of making it big one day and according to her plan she is offered a job at a famous law firm, but strangely her main job is to babysit Hinata, the firm director's daughter. To get to the top, she accepts the position. One day she meets Yamada Shota at the same nursery where she dropped off Hinata, but is disgusted by his weakness and lack of future outlook. Hinata on the other hand becomes good friends with Shota's son, Pitaro which complicates things between Wakaba and Shota. Although both Wakaba and Shota have different mind sets on what is important in life, their lives constantly intertwine and Wakaba begins to see more in Shota than meets the eye.

Recommendation: Being Gakky's first major role in a drama, I was curious to see this series. I am a fan of her work, getting to see her in Code Blue and some comedy shows. Before watching it though, I had a bad feeling about the male leading role played by Nishikido Ryo. I think he is a descent actor, but I am not a big fan of his. Anyway, after watching the first few episodes I knew how this one was going to end. It was filled with cliches and lacked any kind of impressive acting. Gakky wasn't that great, but I put more blame on the directing and screenplay as well. It just wasn't exciting and I didn't feel a strong connection between Gakky and Nishikido at all. The two kids who played Hinata and Pitaro were much more engrossing and it was actually funny at times to see them giving advice to their adult counterparts. I was waiting for more drama between Wakaba and Shota which never developed and their love for each other just seemed to come out of nowhere. I kept telling myself, "how can a woman like Wakaba ever fall in love with such a pill bug like Shota?" He's a good, kind man who cares a lot for his kid, but that's it, he was really a lifeless character. I was like, "come on Shota, do something crazy, take a risk!" but it never really happened until the very last episode which was just too late for me. Having invested hours watching all the episodes, I wanted more from this series, but it never really blossomed. In the end, I remember the relationship the two kids had more than the relationship that the main characters tried to create. No need to waste your precious time on this one unless you are a die hard Gakky fan. If I could send a present to the director, it would be a pill bug!

STORY: 0.5
ACTING: 0.5
DIRECTING: 0.5
CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT: 0.5
EMOTIONAL FACTOR: 0.5

2.5 Out Of 5.0 Crowns