[Drama] Orthros no Inu

Summer 2009

Episodes: 9

Starring: Takizawa Hideaki, Nishikido Ryo, Mizukawa Asami, Yaotome Hikaru, Harada Natsuki, Oshinari Shugo, Sasaki Kuranosuke...

The drama started out as the story of two man who seemed to be polar opposites. Ryuzaki Shinji is a man whose hands have an amazing healing power. With those hands, he is able to heal any injury or sickness that he wishes to heal.

On the down side, though, he seemed to be a cold, cruel murderer who has little interest in using his power for the good. His only interest was to play his game with the world, using his abilities to drive the people mad.

Aoi Ryosuke seemed to be a caring highschool teacher with a heart of gold. Little did the people around him know that he harbours a dark power of his own. His hands could suck the life out of people effortlessly.

Hasebe Nagisa is a detective who is caught in between these two men with unimaginable powers. When she discovered the powers, somewhere in her pea brain, she decided that it would be a good idea to let them meet.

On the other hand, a plotting politician, Sakaki who was healed by Shinji's powers planned to manipulate the two for her own political gain in hopes of catapulting herself to the status of Prime Minister of the country.

And blah, blah blah, insert some seemingly witty question to induce suspense. Totally useless since everyone's watched this except for me cos my life is miserable and fuck my job.

*****

I think this drama had a lot of interesting elements going on for it. And it was up to the screenwriter to make good use of it and make it into something brilliant. That didn't happen. It became a snoozefest. And since I never read the original work, I can't say if it was because they stuck to the story which was originally boring or it was because the screenwriter ruined it.

When I first heard the synopsis, I was really, really interested. So, I was watching this drama was it aired. But I lost interest and doubted if this was actually worth my time. Turns out, it wasn't really.

The whole idea of what an evil man with the power to help people and a good man with the power to harm would do is very enticing. There's infinite possibilities to how the story would progress, you can hardly predict the ending. Well, that is if the characters are as so. However, it seemed that Takki ain't got enough balls to play a baddie. If Ryuzaki was evil to the end, without conscience, cold, cruel, there'd be something more interesting to that.

This is one of the times when I really don't give a shit if the characters are many faceted. I just want an evil dude with the power to heal. No? I can't even have that. And his voice on the theme song is very annoying. The song sucked too. Takki ain't no singer. When he turned out to be good, my interest was gone. GONE! Like poof.

I took a liking to the character of Aoi Ryosuke from the beginning. And I will try to deny that it was because Nishikido Ryo played him. It is not because of that. It is because he was playing the damn character with that damn haircut which I so so like on him. Plus I have a thing for sad, tortured people who have a self-loathing tendency.

And the puppy eyes.

O~kay was that weird? I'll stop then.

Am I the only one who finds Nagisa annoying. I like Mizukawa Asami and her crack laughter. I usually like her characters cos they're all whee and stuff. When people play doting mothers I find them more rawr than whee.

Sawamura is bleh, and his perm is annoying. I don't get why men do perms. I mean, unless you're Domyoji, you can't pull that off. I can think of precious few who can. MatsuJun, Heechul and that's about it.

Ryo is so handsome in there. I can't help but say it. He is. And I usually would say I like men with some height. But I keep preferring the shorties, so I am going to stop making these things called standards. They're short, they're fat, they smell like sausages, it comes in a package, people. And Ryo is handsome here. The haircut is perfect.

My Johnny boys are so handsome. T_T I am moved to tears.

=D Decent ending, I guess. What's with the need for vague endings, I don't get. I don't like it when people leave things to the imagination. I just want them to tell me what it is and get over with it.

Also, the minor characters' sudden enlightenment after the death of Sawamura was too abrupt and made no sense at all.

Reitings: 3/5

[Drama] My Girl

Fall 2009

Episodes: 10

Starring: Aiba Masaki, Yuuka, Ishii Momoka, Murakami Shingo, Himura Yuki, Muroi Shigeru...

Kazama Masamune was mourning his lost love. His girlfriend, who's three years older, dumped him out of the blue one fine day and he never got over it. That was six years ago. Today, he works as a part-timer at a company that seems to provide assistants for photographers.

He was basically living in a daze, with neither ambition, nor aim. One day, he received news that the girlfriend died from an accident, leaving behind a five-year-old daughter. His daughter. Initially in denial, he made no initiative to get to know their daughter, Koharu, and sought out ways to escape.

When he found out that Yoko, his girlfriend, raised their child in secret so as to not burden the former highschooler, he mustered all his courage and offered to raise the child instead.

The drama follows the parent-child story of Masamune and Koharu, about how raising a child was able to cause the parent to grow stronger, more courageous and determined.

The last screencap is there because the dude has facial hair. Where is the facial hair in this drama?! Only one dude providing that is so not enough.
*****

Bland. That was Masamune for me. And Japanese dramas are not known for their brilliant acting. It was, however, a solid performance by Aiba's standards. If you have seen the man in something else, you would understand that he improved leaps and bounds in this.

The character is just a single-layered-what-you-see-is-what-you-get. There's no realism in this, no one decides to take a child in and changes within months into a dependable adult. No one gets hungover about a girl who dumps him six years ago either. Not at this day and age.

I started out thinking that kid is cute, and I am not a kid person. So, that says something. But she gradually got annoying. I hate it when kids throw fits. Makes me want to stuff them in a trash can till they shut the hell up.

I don't get why parents have to sacrifice for their kids. I really don't. I can't imagine myself giving so much for someone else. They say that's cos I am too young to have kids and crap. But seriously? My grandma was a mom of a few at my age. But that was then and this is now. Back in China, they marry away their daughters at the age of 12. I mean, they have yet to grow breasts at 12. Okay, fine I hadn't. I can't generalize...

I also wanted to punch Hina and that one-half-of-Bananaman dude. I can't stand them. At all. There were moments that you can tell, were directed to make you feel touched and sad. The Japanese and the Koreans, they like stuff like that. They watch a movie so that they can cry. That's just not my thing. Why do you want to cry?

Maybe I am insensitive, maybe I am dead inside. But you know? I don't get it. Plus the characters are bland. Best performance goes to Muroi Shigeru (Masamune's mom), that's a seasoned veteran showing her abilities, right there.

Aiba's performance did not make me squint at all. That was a big improvement, but there's just nothing memorable about the character. I wonder if it was written like that or did Aiba drain the character out of all its colours. Just a good guy with no ambition being turned into a responsible adult, I guess that's it. Noble effort on his part.

His first drama in a long time, his first lead role, he deserves some credit for making it not suck. And it didn't suck, at all. I enjoyed it quite a lot. There's some entertainment value in it. And the kid wasn't too annoying. So it was okay.

I love the song. So yeah.

Can I talk about how hot Aiba looks here? Can I? Can I? I will anyway. Whoa. Hotness. And he's got the best ass in Arashi. I like the ass. He wasn't too good looking in the first episode but he gradually got hotter. That's good.

Reitings: 3/5

[Drama] Jin

Fall 2009

Starring: Osawa Takao, Nakatani Miki, Ayase Haruka, Koide Keisuke, Takeda Tetsuya, Kohinata Fumiyo, Uchino Masaaki, Kiritani Kenta...

Minakata Jin, a doctor (neuro surgeon perhaps?) who has lost confidence in himself after he failed to safely remove a tumor from his fiancee's brain, found himself living in a state of despair since. His fiancee, Tomonaga Miki has been in a vegetative state since the surgery and Jin has avoided surgeries with the slightest bit of risk ever since.

One day, a patient who has been attacked on the face and is currently unrecognizable has been sent to the hospital. Jin performed a surgery on the man and removed what seemed like a fetus from the man's head.

When the mysterious man woke up, he attempted to escape (to an unknown place) with the fetus which was drenched in formalin, and some medical equipments. As the man attempted to jump from the building to return to a different world (his words, not mine) Jin, tried to stop the heavily injured man but fell from the stairs instead.

The next time Jin woke up, he found himself lying in a deserted forest with his medical equipments. Suddenly, a few men, clad in samurai outfit were fighting with their katanas. He thought it was a filming of some period drama until a man was cut in the head. The injured man is Tachibana Kyotaro.

It dawned on Jin that he traveled back in time to ancient Edo (modern day Tokyo). He eventually saved the life of Kyotaro and many others. While doing that, he was taken in by the Tachibana family, earned the trust of Kyotaro's mother Sakae and also the affection of Kyotaro's sister, Saki.

Jin then helped the country overcome the attack of the Cholera disease and was offered a teaching position at the Western Medicine Office. As Jin began to adapt to life in the Edo period, Sakamoto Ryoma, whom he got acquainted earlier on, brought him to Yoshiwara, which was THE red-light district to go to in Edo.

In Yoshiwara, Jin laid his eyes on Nokaze, a high ranking courtesan who looks like a carbon copy of Miki. Struggling with the doubts of the people of that period about his medical methods and his wish to return to modern day Tokyo, Jin attempts to make his way day by day... or something like that.

*****

I cannot stop watching this drama. It is present tense because I am still watching it. It is so good, I sat and watched 6 episodes of it without stopping except to pee and to drink. (I am on a diet... the thighs... the thighs are unsightly.) Anyway, this is the best I've seen in a while.

Firstly, I love period dramas. I love the costumes, I love how much green you get to see in them, I love the way they speak, I love everything about period dramas. Next, I love the cast. There's that annoying guy from "Sekai no Chushin, Ai wo Sakebu" movie! And coincidentally, Ayase Haruka was Aki from the drama version. And they're both in this! There's Takeda Tetsuya! He's that detective dude in "Byakuyakou". He also starred in that legendary drama "101st Marriage Proposal", not to forget, he's Kinpachi-sensei! There's Koide Keisuke! Nakatani Miki too... you get my drift...

I love movies, dramas centralized around the idea of time traveling. Love. This is because you will never know what happens until the end is revealed. This is because of the butterfly effect which was also mentioned in this drama. What happens now might cause repercussions in the future. You'll never know. Say, if I called the ambulance upon seeing a pregnant woman about to deliver, I might be saving... the ancestor of... uh... Darth Vader?

I love the idea that there's a possibility of traveling through time and be there to witness it when big things happened in the past. When Shih Huang Ti unified China, when Marie Antoinette was beheaded by the guillotine, when the Nanking massacre happened. Moments in history which, centuries later, will still be quoted as they are now. In this drama, it was the Bakumatsu. What Tokugawa Ieyasu started was put to an end. And Jin was there to see it. Cool eh?

Why the hell did they show the fetus during the 'opening' of each episode? Seriously, the fetus is scary. The freak factor in dramas and I have a love-hate relationship. Suspense and I, too, have a love-hate relationship. Mostly one-sided, but still...

I have to go finish it before I yakk. And Sakamoto Ryoma in this drama is total love. Hilarious, honorable, loyal. Makes me want to watch Ryomaden. But I really dislike Fukuyama Masaharu. It is something about the mouth. The character Ogata-sensei makes me T_______T. OMG so great and noble. I would have bawled in that scene where Jin was visiting him after finding out how much he did for him. I would have, had I not been thinking about how I have to work tomorrow. Sigh. OMG the end of Episode 07 was a tear jerking moment. OMG why?

It's a drama about humanity, love and sacrifice. You know, all that stuff you've heard before.

Now, there's that ending which I am so unhappy about...

I followed the drama for about 11 hours, take or give. I deserve a definite, clear ending, don't I? What is with that vague shit that they gave me? Seriously, what's with the trend nowadays? I want clear endings, who ends up with whom, who gets rich, how will they die, something definite. This ending is crap. What the fuck? And it isn't even good vague, it is bad vague. So the guy travels back to the future and there's Miki? What about Saki? Huh? I was rooting for her like crazy! Shit. I am unhappy. Screw this, was going to give it a 4.9. I'm giving it a big fat pile of shit now. Damn. Okay, I am cool, it is cool. Cool. Isn't it clear that there's a gap between the previous paragraph and this ending comment? I just finished watching and am so not pleased right now. So unfair, really. What about Saki? I tend to get too involved with dramas. You think? =D

So, like, what is up with the freaky fetus and the man who was injured? Like, seriously, a good drama will explain on those stuff. Or did I miss it? I tend to space off sometimes. So... no explanations? Sigh, the ending, the ending needs some editing. What a crappy ending for such a nice drama.

Reitings: 4.5/5 (Really crappy ending ruined it. No explanations on what seemed earlier on to be the key points to the drama. What will there be a second season? I hate second seasons.)

[Buzz] Saigo no Yakusoku

So they're making a drama SP together. Much buzz was generated when they announced that this is the first since V no Arashi - which, I have watched and I think it was a complete trainwreck, not watchable, full of crap. Noble effort on the boys' part considering the fact that they were fresh and all.

The five will star as five dudes (duh) in a building that was hijacked. MatsuJun will try to bang Kuroki Meisa's character (I totally made this up) because... hey, what else do you want to do when you're about to die? Kuroki Meisa is so pretty I think I am having a girl crush. And I don't get girl crushes easy cos girls are snotty and jealous.

Lets... look at the banner. I have to admit it is pretty... impressive, the banner. What I don't get is... that... what does it have to do with the storyline? And why topless? God knows I don't want to see Nino and Ohno topless. It will be a bag of bones and I would be disturbed. And Sho's shoulders... I have to laugh everytime I see them. They're so... sloping. HA HA. I know they think it is sexy and all... it's not bad, but if I want sexy... I find it elsewhere. Lets face it, these are no Gerard Butlers or Javier Bardems. (Gosh... Javier Bardem...) Maybe idol-ly and insane-y is how they should stay.

Hey, I am just saying... this is specialization I am talking about. You want coffee? Run to Starbucks, don't go to Starbucks for... uh... beef? Get it? But Sho's and Aiba's looks were kinda working. What? When you're desperately hungry, maybe they can find you some beef in Starbucks. Pies and stuff. No? They have them at my local Starbucks.

Conclusion: It is not like I can't wait for this. It is just that... I am a bit curious. But it seems serious and we know crack is what these boys deliver best.

[Drama] The Quiz Show II

Spring 2009

Episodes:

Starring: Sakurai Sho, Yokoyama Yu, Maya Miki, Matsuura Aya, Izumiya Shigeru, Oohashi Nozomi...

The drama revolves around a mysterious quiz show which offers the contestants a chance to make their dreams come true. But going through the quiz proves no easy feat for the contestants as the host and the director, who seem to know everything about the contestants, asked the contestants questions about their darkest, most secretive pasts.

Although the producer, Saejima Ryoko, objects to such a method of attracting high viewership ratings, everyone else seemed to agree to follow the lead of Honma Toshio, the suspicious director who has a strange, commanding presence over the host, Kamiyama Satoru.

Kamiyama lives in a dark, guarded room and appears to have lost his memory prior to hosting the quiz show abd suffers constant headaches with snapshots of his past appearing in his head occasionally.

Honma appears to bear a grudge but was able to work with Kamiyama to create a successful quiz show along with other crew of the show such as the diligent and driven Takasuji Reina.

*****

The theme song, I LOVE. I LOVE. So glad it is for this drama and not that other one with another member of Arashi in it.

It is only after really exciting dramas that I go by an episode-by-episode description of my thoughts because... uh... I am that psyched!

Episode 2

I have the first season, I guess watching it would clear some of my doubts about the show and I would know the path on which this drama will take on sooner. But I am so busy with my assignments and everything that I cannot really focus on it. Besides, it seems fun to wait a bit anyways. Just watch as the drama unfolds.

It appears that the amnesiac Kamiyama also has a multiple personality disorder and is controlled by the sneaky Honma for reasons that have yet to be revealed. I have a major presentation tomorrow and I am blogging about dramas. I rock.

Who the hell is this Misaki? Let me see, she drowned and Kamiyama was probably banging her before she died. Why does Honma appear to hate Kamiyama so? Perhaps Honma and Misaki are related? By blood? By love? I am going to make a daring prediction. I love predictions. I made one for Maou and I got it correct. This one proves a bit more twisted. Let me see... definitely not siblings, since their family names are different. Or Honma can be a fake name. Honma was banging Misaki when Kamiyama and all his Sakurai-hotness came along and snatched Misaki away. Something happened, like the boat Kamiyama and herself rode on went kaboom and then she drowned. Honma, pissed, decided to lock the amnesiac up and torture him. He is sadistic, that was why Misaki left him in the first place.

Someone hire me, I would be a good novelist.

The cast and the guests for this season appears to be much more famous as compared to the previous season. What a great cast, like Sho, Yoko, Maya Miki and Ayaya weren't enough, they had Aikawa Sho for the first episode, Minami for the second and then Narimiya Hiroki will appear for the next. Amazing.

I know Sho is like the star and all. He's the one people are tuning in to watch, but my goodness, Yoko turns me on like never before. What? I am only a girl. Kamiyama's constant headaches is getting old. Saejima's constant worries is getting annoying. YokoxAyaya seems to be a weekly thing. We like. Takasugi will be an important character before the drama ends. That, I think will happen since the cast kept suggesting it in the preview episode.

I didn't skip one minute and still the drama seems to just fly on by. It just fills my head with questions. I hate not knowing. Gah! I am putting my money on Honma being the mastermind psychic and Kamiyama is the puppet, chosen to torture. Evil!Yoko. Nothing more I can ask for. We look forward to next week's episode, with two presentations, 2 reports and one test in my head.

Reitings: