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

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

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

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

ANDO LLOYD

Fall 2013

Ando Lloyd is a new drama starring Takuya Kimura and Kou Shibasaki. Kimura plays a genius physicist named Matsushima Reiji who is employed as a professor/researcher at Tokyo Imperial University. He has been studying about wormhole theories and one day tells his fiance that, based on a "kill list" circulating on the internet, he will be next in line to be killed. He also states that she will be targeted as well, but he will do everything in his power to protect her. His fiance, Asahi Ando, played by Kou Shibasaki first thinks that Reiji is fooling around, but soon realizes that someone is definitely coming after her. Just when she is about to be killed, someone that looks just like Reiji swoops into the rescue. At first she is happy to see him, but soon realizes that he is not Reiji. He explains that he is an android sent by a "client" from the year 2113 with one sole mission; to protect her from being killed no matter what. Who is the client? Who is trying to kill her and why does this android look like Reiji?

Recommendation: After I watched the first episode of this drama I was curious to know who the director was because the style seemed very familiar to a drama called "SP - Security Police" which I just posted a review about. Lo and behold, one of the directors (probably the main one) was Takafumi Hatano the director of "SP". Just realizing this made me cringe and boy did I cringe throughout this drama. I will give him and his team credit for trying to create a descent science fiction story, but in my opinion science fiction is one of the hardest genre's to work in. More importantly though, I just don't understand why Kimutaku agreed to work with Hatano (maybe he had no choice). If he was working in Hollywood, I would compare Hatano to Michael Bay; someone who loves intense action scenes and CG, but everything else is sub par. This was the case with "Ando Lloyd". Kimutaku and Shibasaki do their best with what they could work with. Kimutaku does a good job playing two different characters, but there are SO many holes in the plot and it doesn't slow down enough to have a chance to develop any of these characters. Even the supporting cast was hollow. The only scene that I felt emotionally drawn in was in episode 4 when Lloyd had to kill Navier. Why couldn't they have more androids like him? What gets to me the most is that, overall, this wasn't a smart drama and as a sci-fi story, if it isn't smart, it's less intriguing and becomes pointless to watch. Are these androids seriously from the future? I would definitely have a better plan of disposing one human being than what these 'droids thought up of. Who came up with adding English phrases? There was no need to do that and it just came off as uncool. The director is clueless here. What kind of story does he want to tell? The focus shifts from sci-fi to romance to social issues, but doesn't develop them nearly enough. It was low and uninspiring to steal from "The Terminator," "The Matrix," and even "Dragonball". I seriously got tired of constantly seeing the same action scenes that start out with the initiation of the Asura OS and then seeing Lloyd stagger and fall (I seriously think Lloyd staggers and falls to the ground in every episode). Also, the sappiness of protecting a loved one and over preaching of societal issues caused by humans was overkill; it just starts to come off as disingenuous.  Finally, as I mentioned in my "SP" post, the worst (and I would like to emphasize the word WORST) fight/action/kill scenes are the ones that end with characters fighting to the death but suddenly when one character is about to be killed...they have a conversation! (Yes, I would like one cup of coffee with a crumpet before I kill this guy...really?). I would like to mention that this type of scene occurs in EVERY single episode in this drama. Hatano also recreates the final scene from "SP" and just seems to copy and paste it into this drama. I'm talking about the part when The Last Queen shoots and "kills" a few main characters, but they miraculously survive. That was just offensive.

I would like to apologize for my rant above, but as a huge Takuya Kimura fan, I'm just disappointed with his recent dramas and sadly, it seems like his days of posting high TV ratings may have come to an end. Obviously I am not a director or actor so I will never know how much work it takes to develop and produce a drama series, but I'm a die hard fan of dramas and sometimes I wonder if he has a say in what kind of drama he wants to be involved in. Recently, I've been thinking about some reasons why Kimutaku is posting lower ratings. Yes, I do think one reason is that he is getting old, but I also think that he is not marketing himself to the audience that grew up with him. I feel like he is still trying to appeal to a younger, "popular" crowd and in this drama, there are some up and coming young and beautiful stars that he surrounds himself in and it doesn't look right. I would hope to see him solely in another love story/family drama in the role of a father or any drama that can focus on his abilities as an actor instead of being involved with a team focusing on glitz and glam. If you like Kimutaku or Kou Shibasaki and don't mind watching a drama that doesn't require much thinking then I would recommend this one for you. For everyone else, steer clear from this one because you will only be left frustrated. A.I. knows love? Yes, A.I. knows love! But please show it and not just say it!

Story: 0.5
Acting: 1.0
Directing: 0.5
Character Development: 0.5
Emotional Factor: 0.0

2.5 Out Of 5.0 Crowns

SAIKOU NO RIKON ~ THE GREAT DIVORCE! (最高の離婚)

Winter 2013

Saikou no Rikon ~ The Great Divorce! is a romantic comedy about a couple who constantly argue and bicker about every little thing. They don't see eye to eye and their personalities are so vastly different that it's hard to contemplate how they got married in the first place. Nearby, a seemingly happy couple suddenly encounters a major problem when a secret is accidentally revealed. Why do people get married? and why stay married when it's so hard to do so? Could the only solution be...divorce?

Recommendation: (Spoiler alert!) The screenwriter and directors of "Soredemo, Ikite Yuku" return with another high quality drama, this time working on a romantic comedy. I wanted to write a review sooner, but I didn't have access to the last few episodes for a long time. I'm so glad that I was able to finish watching this drama though. It was well worth it from start to finish. The story of two couples going through trials and tribulations and their coincidental run-ins with each other complicates an already difficult situation. It was fun to see how these characters interacted with one another as they all had different personalities and views on marriage. The story really gets to the heart of what marriage actually is. The acting was great especially by Eita who played Mitsuo Hamasaki, a high strung yet kind and caring young man and Ono Machiko who played Yuka Hamasaki, a careless free spirit. They had great chemistry and I'm starting to believe that Eita may be the most versatile Japanese actor right now in the drama world.
I enjoyed the directing and I'm a fan of the screenwriter Yuji Sakamoto. This drama is not fast paced and there is a lot of dialogue, but most of it is not meaningless banter. Also, there are a lot of dramas that have this "cliche" shooting style which I despise and I'm grateful this style is avoided. Obviously, directing is very important and I felt the difference in this drama. The directors begin the story with quarreling couples that evoke a feeling of hopelessness. Many times, as a viewer, I can "predict" or sense that the ending is going to be happy or sad, but even though you know the outcome, a good director will keep you on your toes. It was great to have some funny scenes that were not outright hilarious, but quite subtle and quirky. For example, I loved the scene in episode 4 when Mitsuo is cooking cabbage rolls and his eye glasses fog up. The beer scene in episode 6 when all four main characters are sitting at the table having a serious conversation was really good. I also liked the contradictory scenes like when Mitsuo needs to blow off steam and rents pornography, but later begs Yuka to refuse becoming an actress in that field or when Ryo Uehara (Go Ayano) talks to a senior citizen at the park about protecting his yet-to-be born daughter from scandalous men, when he himself acted the same way. The drama was able to project what it means to grow as a person. Again, this is very subtle, but I think it mirrors what happens in real life. In the real world, it's hard to change who you are once you reach adulthood and I think by trying to make marriage or even your everyday life to work, you need constant reflection. That reflection was manifested in the last scene when Mitsuo gets his routine dental check up and states that he used to get irritated and corrected people who called him "Hamazaki" instead of "Hamasaki" but now he doesn't mind being called by either name. The last episode was nice to include a scene in which Mitsuo and Yuka walk back to their apartment for the whole night which was similar to the scene where they first met after a major earthquake. In my opinion, this was a smartly written and well executed drama. There is no perfect drama, but this one was a gem. 

Story: 1.0

Acting: 1.0

Directing: 1.0

Character Development: 1.0

Emotional Factor: 1.0

5.0 Out Of 5.0 Crowns

HANZAWA NAOKI (半沢直樹)

Summer 2013

This drama is about a man named Naoki Hanzawa who is the head of the loans division at the Osaka Nishi branch of the Tokyo Chuo bank. After being labeled a scapegoat for a 500 million dollar loss for providing an unsecured loan to Nishi Osaka Steel which files for bankruptcy protection, Hanzawa must face an internal investigation team that is seeking to oust the person responsible for the mishap. Hanzawa denies responsibility and rushes to recover the 500 million dollars before he is shipped out of the banking industry.

Recommendation: So most people have probably heard about this drama since it trended upwards in TV ratings basically every week. The final episode received a 42.2% rating which was the highest since 1989 and the 4th highest rated drama episode in history. It surpassed Kaseifu No Mita which aired two years ago as the most popular drama since 2000.
My initial thought about the drama was that it would be a little complex to follow since it deals with financial corruption, banking regulations and the like. However, it was quite the opposite. Voice-overs were quite common in the show to explain certain financial concepts to make it easier to follow. From the very first episode, the show was quite exhilarating. I was taken by surprise with the depth of the characters and the story-line with all its twists and turns. Also, the final episode is a nail-biter and quite intriguing. The acting wasn't superb, but I give Masato Sakai who plays Naoki Hanzawa a lot of credit for making this drama popular and great. The antagonists were also quite good especially Kagawa Teruyuki who plays Owada Akira. This drama truly lived up to the ratings it received. I think above all else, it was truly entertaining to watch. This is definitely a can't miss drama. I wouldn't be surprised if there is a second season.

Spoiler alert: The final episode lived up to expectations and Masato Sakai gave a powerful performance worthy of an Academy Award. I thought the last scene was perfect when the chairman demoted Owada and transferred Hanzawa to a different division. I believe the chairman felt threatend by Hanzawa especially since he could not be controlled when interrogating Owada. It was a shrewd move by the chairman as he could still hold power within the bank safely without Hanzawa stirring up trouble. Owada in turn, becomes an ally of the chairman on the board as Owada has no other choice but to follow his orders since he basically saved his job.

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

5.0 Out Of 5.0 Crowns

SUMMER NUDE

Summer 2013

Summer Nude is a drama about a young man named Asahi Mikuriya (Tomohisa Yamashita) who has been waiting patiently for a girl named Kasumi Ichikura (Nagasawa Masami) to return home after leaving the seaside town 3 years ago. Every day he greets a billboard with Kasumi's photo on it believing she will return to him one day. One day Asahi who is a professional photographer takes pictures of Natsuki Chiyohara (Karina) during her wedding. Unfortunately, Natsuki's husband-to-be runs away with cold feet. Later, Asahi asks Natsuki if she can help out at a small beach front restaurant since she used to be a cook. Natsuki befriends Hanae Taniyama (Toda Erika) who is in love with Asahi for the last 10 years, but Asahi only thinks of her as a friend. Natsuki decides to help Hanae capture Asahi's heart, but will he be able to forget his only true love?

Recommendation: So just a warning, but I'm going to be adding some spoilers so stop reading if you haven't seen the drama yet. I had high expectations for this drama. First of all, it was a "Getsuku" (Monday at 9 pm) drama from Fuji TV and second of all, it had a great cast. I couldn't wait to see Tomohisa Yamshita, Toda Erika, Nagasawa Masami, and Karina together in one drama. BUT, although it wasn't a terrible drama, it was disappointing for me. Even the title, "Summer Nude" made me think it was going to be quite exciting, but the whole drama was quite slow. I liked how the drama started off. You have a young man waiting for a woman that he's had a crush on for 3 years. You have a young woman having a crush on that same man for 10 years and then you have an out of town girl that was dumped on her wedding day who starts to have feelings for the same man. It seemed like an intriguing drama, yet, the direction and pace couldn't keep the tension up. I felt like the problems that were presented were solved too easily and I could see the outcome way before they actually occurred. I like Tomohisa Yamashita, but lately it seems like he's coming down to earth. I mean I don't know if it was his acting or his character, but he was too laid back and unexciting. There was hardly anything to like about him. I think this was the case for most of the characters so I blame the director and script writer for not having more scenes to develop the characters. I did like Toda Erika's character and I hardly ever see her in these types of dramas where she is not serious all the time, but her eventual lover, Kirihata Hikaru (Kubota Masataka) was hardly developed and I didn't care for him at all. Karina was good, but Yamashita and her characters just didn't build enough emotional equity that made me want to feel glad that they finally got together. There were a lot of scenes that reminded me of summer nostalgia, but those nostalgic feelings were not aroused in me when watching this show. Nagasawa Masami is hardly in it either. If you like the actors in this drama (and the acting wasn't bad at all) then take the plunge and watch it, but for others wanting even a tiny bit of excitement, skip it and go to the beach instead.

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

3.5 Out Of 5.0 Crowns

WOMAN

Summer 2013

Woman is a drama focusing on the life of a single mother and the struggles she encounters as she tries to take care of her two kids. Koharu Aoyagi (Hikari Mitsushima) plays the young mother. Due to certain restrictions, she doesn't qualify for welfare and desperately searches for a way to support her kids after her husband, Shin (Oguri Shun) dies in an accident. As her financial situation turns for the worst, Koharu's only hope is to reconnect with her estranged mother, Sachi Uesugi (Tanaka Yuko) who abandoned her when she was a child.

Recommendation: This drama was very difficult for me to rate. I really liked it. I think the screenwriter, Sakamoto Yuji, contributed to another great drama. Mitsushima Hikari is fast becoming one of my favorite actresses and the whole cast including the two kids do a really great job of acting. The story also is not what I initially thought it would be. It has a few twists that keep it from being an ordinary "single mother enduring life's struggles" drama.
After saying all these positive things about it, I have to say that it is a drama that I may never want to see again! It has its uplifting and cheerful moments, but it was quite heavy for me as well. Sometimes I just felt certain aspects of the story were too coincidental and would be overwhelming for any human being to go through. So my suspension of disbelief in this case ended before the drama was over. Still, my ratings are obviously subjective. This was a great drama and I'm sure Mitsushima Hikari will be a strong contender for the summer season's Television Drama Academy Awards.

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

4.0 Out Of 5.0 Crowns

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

DRAMA CRAZY SHUT DOWN

A few days ago, the awesome drama website, Dramacrazy.net shutdown. I've been studying for my licensure exam so I haven't been able to watch dramas on a continuous basis. Anyway, after a few hours of studying in the middle of the week I was looking forward to watching episode 9 of Saikou No Rikon (The Great Divorce) starring Eita. Man was I disappointed when I got the "file not found" message! I immediately thought something was wrong with my computer, but after a few more clicks and a few more days of getting the same result I looked online to confirm that it was indeed true that the website was shutting down. I do not know the fate of the other drama sites, but hopefully something positive will come out of this. I just want to take the time to thank the staff at Dramacrazy.net for providing free episodes of dramas that I used to pay for at video rental stores. You will be missed!

LAST CINDERELLA

Spring 2013

I apologize for the late entry, but I believe I will be posting more frequently as I graduated from my program last month, yay! Anyway, I just finished watching Last Cinderella which is a romantic comedy about a woman named Sakura (Shinohara Ryoko) who is a workaholic and never really focused on her love life. Because of this, she feels like she is losing her femininity and as she is closing in on 40, things are not getting any easier for her personally. One day, she suddenly meets a young man named Hiroto (Miura Haruma) who sweeps her off her feet. Around the same time, an old friend/rival, Tachibana (Fujiki Naohito) returns to town. She first struggles to understand why and how a younger man could be attracted to her, but she cannot resist Hiroto's charm at the same time. Sensing something is awry, Tachibana plays the role of the wise but cool friend pretending not to care about her decisions but keeping an eye out for her nonetheless. Will Sakura fall for Hiroto? Or will Tachibana come to her rescue?

Recommendation: I have to say it is always fun to watch Shinohara Ryoko act. She is one of the best in the business I believe that can carry a drama on her shoulders. She can bust out the witty sense of humor, but also be serious or sad when appropriate. I also liked the veteran Fujiki Naohito and both Shinohara Ryoko and Fujiki Naohito played off each other's roles well. I was surprised by Miura Haruma as this was the first drama that I've seen him in. He was quite a natural and I think he will improve. As for the story, there were very funny moments, but maybe because of watching so many dramas, I feel like I can easily get bored of the usual patterns. That said, I wasn't sure whether or not to be pleased or upset about the ending because it wasn't what I was expecting. I guess that is a good thing, but at the same time, it didn't seem like the "proper ending" and it was a bit abrupt in my opinion. Still, it was worth watching and the other cast members were good as well. There are some dark moments, but overall the drama is light and funny.

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

4.0 Out Of 5.0 Crowns