I usually watched “Strawberry Night” (Fuji TV / 2012) episodes in pairs since they had a tendency to extend cases beyond an episode. Because it was so late in the game I thought that the episode in question (9) would be a shorter case, but this ended up being another two-part tale! It was also better than average, and helped me gain insight into two things: I wanted to know what was going on with Himekawa Reiko and Kikuta (puppy dog prince Nishijima Hidetoshi), because anyone with eyes could tell that there was SOMETHING there. When I watched this in April 2012, I hadn’t watched the prequel, so I also wanted to know more about Himekawa’s relationship with her parents and how she had been coping with her assault since… and boy did this episode deliver. (more…)
Tag: j-dramas
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Day 14: Best Concept
I think any drama who models themselves after a popular role playing game (Dragon Quest) is going to be an instant winner, and luckily enough the “Yuusha Yoshihiko” series is one that did it and did it well! It basically takes RPG conventions and amplifies them to the nth degree. (more…)
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Day 13: Yearly Review (2013)
Winter
Mahoro Ekimae Bangaichi
Nakuna, Hara-chan
Shotenin Michiru no Mi no Uebanashi
Saikou no Rikon
Sharehouse no KoibitoSpring
Cheap Flight
Doubles ~Futari no Keiji~
Last Cinderella
Soratobu Kouhoushitsu
Nine: Nine Times TravelsSummer
Double Tone
I Hear Your Voice
Yamada-kun to 7-nin no Majo
Master’s Sun
Two WeeksAutumn
Ando Lloyd
Glass no Ie
Hana no Kusari
Medical Top Team
Koi
Miss KoreaRealizing now that I never got the opportunity to talk about some of the dramas I watched last year, but I think doing one of these towards the end of the next year is perfect timing. HAH. (more…)
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Day 11: Best Directing
When it comes to directing, sometimes I look at musical direction (improperly placed music can really kill a vibe), but was I just looking for an opportunity to post beautiful shots? Maaayb…yes.
[lightgrey_box]Slightly image heavy.[/lightgrey_box]
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Day 10: First Drama
“I really wished… I really wished for a quiet life. Then I got involved in their game.”
Makino Tsukushi
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Day 9: Craziest Drama
The way I look at it, you need to watch at least one or two dramas that go from 0 to 100 real quick — dramas that are absolutely ridiculous — to make you appreciate that it could be so much worse. Fortunately, “Glass no Ie” was one from last year that fell right into my lap. You have the worst husband (Kazunari) who remarries a beautiful woman named Rei, and his two sons: a naive aspiring lawyer (Kenji) and the politically ambitious Hitoshi who has the hots this new wife. Yep!!!
To make matters worse, the husband’s jealousy is evident from first glance… and by first glance, I mean when Kazunari glances at Hitoshi sneaking a peek at his wife’s cleavage during breakfast. Ah yes, nothing completes a morning meal like inappropriate and lingering stares.
Funnier still is that even though Kazunari is deeply insecure and threatened by his son (his ideological opposite, go fig), he didn’t see Rei leaving him or the affair coming. You’re really going to act all brand new when your son was making eyes at your new wife for the past five episodes? OK.
(More) Reasons to Watch: If you enjoy emotional adultery of the nth degree with a flair for the dramatic… or trainwrecks!
Honorable Mention: Long Goodbye (NHK / 2014). Classy, yet crazy! (ETA) “Iron Man”. How could I forget Iron Man? I watched four episodes and nah. NAH -
Day 8: A Drama I Started But Can’t Finish
There are so many reasons why I leave dramas unfinished; sometimes there aren’t any subs available, and sometimes they’re being streamed at sites I don’t care for. In rare cases, they’re just shows I need to give a second chance to — I thought I was going to hate PRIDE because I hated hockey. Fortunately I thought wrong, and you should all watch it because it’s wonderful! Hockey is still 100% whatever though. While the list of dramas I’ve left unfinished is somewhat lengthy, none of them bother me as much as these three:
“Yae no Sakura” (NHK / 2013)
“Arang and the Magistrate” (MBC / 2012)
“Deep Rooted Tree” (SBS / 2011)Common factor: they’re historical dramas! Jidaigeki or (fusion) sageuk, it’s not happening. It’s a big miracle that I was able to get through the second season of JIN, because while the political intrigue was really interesting at first, I started getting bored. BAKUMATS-WHO?
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Day 7: Biggest Surprise
Most Japanese procedurals start in the same way: you have a leader-type who’s been made an outcast for some reason (a failure to perform, bureaucratic sabotage, personal trauma), persuaded to work again by a fellow […]. To ensure their success, they’ve assembled a special ragtag team of misfits with a specific set of skills — at this point, they are very unclear because all they appear to be is incompetent. Of course, there’s a reason for all of this! At the end, they overcome their differences and work towards one singular goal. Or you’ve got an eccentric who comes in to really ~shake up~ the status quo and show their resistant team members the TRUE meaning of justice blah blah blah… sound familiar?
SEE: BOSS, Doubles, Keizoku series, Ogon no Buta, MR. BRAIN, etc.
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Day 5: Worst Kiss
Seeing is believing, and I believe with every fiber of my being that this is one of the worst kisses I’ve ever seen in any drama ever. I mean, what is this? Are you trying to tell me that this is the emotionally driven kiss of a lonely woman who hates the world she lives in and loves the one who gets her? Worse yet is that there was such a hilarious build up the entire episode around Hara-chan being able to kiss Echizen. Some of the greatest romances don’t even need a kiss; conversely we have Amamiya and Kuryu (HERO prime) who did not even share a smooch until the movie. Which was released SIX YEARS AFTER THE DRAMA. I’d rather not have anything at all than bear witness to the following disappointment:
… (sigh)
Honorable Mention: “Dekichatta Kekkon” (Fuji TV / 2001). The horizontal samba that lead to the main couple’s shotgun wedding (and baby) took place off screen, but the worst was when they celebrated the birth of their child with a hokey-ass high five. WHAT. EVEN.
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Day 3: Currently Watching
Omnibus dramas are always very hit and miss! It breaks my heart to say that watching “Oyaji no Senaka” has not been the most enticing of experiences so far. The second episode, whose screenwriter (Sakamoto Yuji) has written not one, not two, but three of my favorite dramas ever couldn’t even do it for me. Heartwarming? Hardly. Just slightly frustrating and mostly confusing. Oftentimes I’m left wondering what the emotional hook is supposed to be, and a little distracted by the concept — fathers and their children (daughters so far) are the only ones who seem to exist in the universe of this show. The first two episodes used time skips that I’ve found to be very lazy devices for character/plot development, and it’s just been a lot of telling and not showing. The running time can’t even be used as an excuse, since there are other omnibus dramas (see: “Loss Time Life”) who have been able to use the ~45 minutes to tell a singular story efficiently. It might sound like I dislike this drama quite a bit, but I’m giving it the benefit of the doubt because 1) I’ve only watched two and a half episodes, 2) I feel like it has a lot to offer, what with future performances by Oizumi Yo, Ono Machiko, Endo Kenichi, and Watanabe Ken.
(More) Reasons to Watch: I definitely think this has potential, and I remain optimistic. It could be worse! It could be “Higashino Keigo Mysteries“…
Honorable Mention: “My Secret Hotel” (tvN / 2014), “Aoi Honoo” (TV Tokyo / 2014). Can these even be considered honorable mentions? I’m still watching them!
