[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.)

[Drama] Boku no Aruku Michi

Fall 2006

Episodes: 11

Starring: Kusanagi Tsuyoshi, Karina, Sasaki Kuranosuke, Kohinata Fumiyo, Motokariya Yuika, Megumi, Suga Kenta, Tanaka Kei,

Ootake Teruaki is an autistic man who finds himself constantly quitting his jobs because of his colleagues who were too quick to judge and refuse to put in effort to understand his disability. With a doting mother who gave him endless encouragements and a patient, supportive childhood friend, Miyako, Teruaki gained a newfound courage to work at the zoo in which Miyako is the vet.

Initially, fellow animal handlers at the zoo were impatient with Teru's disabilities and were often irked by him. But as time goes by, they warmed up to Teru. Straightforward, hardworking and innocent Teru won the colleagues over and was gradually growing attached to Miyako.

When Miyako decided to marry her boyfriend, Teru and his family, worried that Teru might not be able to take it, slowly explains to Teru that things between the childhood friends will not be the same after the marriage. On the other hand, Teru's extraordinary ability to memorize word-by-word has allowed him to excel in his job. How will Teru be able to cope with the workplace without Miyako? Will Teru and Miyako's bond be broken by her marriage?

*****

Bah, I expected it to be as good as "Boku no Ikiru Michi". But it isn't. I am disappointed. The slow-paced storyline was okay. I am fine with slow-paced stories as long as there's enough character development and something special.

I didn't like the drama at all. Not to mention the fact that the ending is oh-so-predictable, the journey towards the ending is a boring one too. The only thing about the drama I like, is Karina. xD Kusanagi Tsuyoshi used to be hot, around... 1996. xD Well, times change.

Not every drama/movie about a mentally/physically challenged person is good. For this, the emotional attachment is lacked. I don't feel for Teru at all. Everything is just annoying. The majority of the characters are annoying. The only character I feel something for is Kohinata Fumiyo's character. His guilt towards his own son, who is also autistic, and how he tried to make up to it eventually. That's something. How an old man who made a mistake, a cruel one too, and then realized his own mistake when he was left alone, with no family. Oh course, the fact that he took the steps to make amends after getting to know Teru and getting to like Teru. Oh and the kid, the kid nephew. Isn't he that kid from "Kuitan"? Gotta love that kid.

Don't like the theme song. Don't like most of the drama. Don't like.

Reitings:
2/5

[Drama] Triangle

Winter 2009

Episodes: 11

Starring: Eguchi Yosuke, Inagaki Goro, Hirosue Ryoko, Aibu Saki, Tanihara Shosuke, Kohinata Fumiyo...



To be added. Just preparing...

Reitings: ?/5

[Drama] Ashita no Kita Yoshio

Winter 2008

Episodes: 11

Starring: Kohinata Fumiyo, Matsuda Ryuhei, Konishi Manami, Kuriyama Chiaki, Kaname Jun, Namase Katsuhisa, Yoshitaka Yuriko...

Kita Yoshio found his life in the pits after a series of events. He decided that he would end his life in 11 days from when the drama started picking up on his life - on his best friend's death anniversary.

Yoshio then met a lot of people in his remaining 11 days who will collectively change the course of his life. A significant presence was a mysteriou cabaret club manager who loves to quote his father's advice about life, named Yashiro Heita and his girlfriend Hasegawa Rika, Idol Yoimachi Shinobu, some cabaret girls.

Mizuho, Yoshio's beloved ex-wife will also come into the picture within the so-called miraculous last 11 days of his life. In addition to all these people, there's an investigator who is silently following their traces in order to uncover the mysterious death circumstances of Mizuho's second husband.

Will all these events change Yoshio's plan? Will his determination to commit suicide waver? xD Well yeah considering how this drama was aired in early 2008... my attempts to increase suspense surely wont work. xD

*****

After the first episode, the rest seems kinda slow and boring. When I reached the 6th episode, I was thinking~ go kill yourself already. Kohinata Fumiyo scares me shitless. Seriously. That man is freaky. No freakin' wonder the series never even got a 10% after the first episode which was a wee bit more than 12%. But then the drama picked up its pace towards the end, making it a wee bit exciting again.

I was watching the pre-show special where Kohinata and Matsuda were conversing about the drama. Matsuda Ryuhei is a person who seems to be difficult to talk to. xD And scary in a way. But gosh, that facial hair and the shorter head of hair. AH~ ♥ So glad to see him a character that is somewhat... NORMAL.

The two brothers, Ryuhei and Shota~ they have the same... aura. Very introverted and they think on a different level than others. The answers they come up with for questions are like... weird. But when they get into character, they can really convince you that they are the character. They can play a pimp, a yakuza, a punk. Its... convincing.

Kuriyama Chiaki. Purrty~ So glad that she got paired up with Ryuhei! Though her character is a drag and a selfish one at that, forcing Heita to do shit for her so that she can be free of guilt and stuff. RAWR! xD Konishi Manami too. Purrty. Upon first seeing Yoshitaka Yuriko, I knew I've seen that face somewhere (but then its hard to not see any of the actors and actresses before. xP) to find out that she's that younger sister in "Noriko no Shokutaku". She's hilarious and very cute in here. Well, yeah, cos she's mentally fucked up... err, I mean crazy. That character, I mean.

Kaname Jun. Ah~ xD Lol, I should really [SHUT THE HELL UP]. Moving on~

I really wanted to quit watching by the 6th episode. But I'll went on watching. Completion is necessary. In the end, its just a story about a person with Multiple Personality Disorder. Depends on how you look at it, really. Or you can see it as the final act of defiance against his normal way of life for a timid person who always lied to himself to make things easier. In the end, he faced reality and its shittier than what he convinced himself to be. But then good things came out of it as well. Like Shinobu, Heita, cabaret girls... you know~~ people.

If we want to see laughter in the future, we have to take the tears that comes along in the future. I guess this is what it is about. I think. Wait, I am not sure. Matsuda Ryuhei's hotness distracted me from the storyline. xD

Ratings: 2.5/5

A final bit to prove that I was right on how facial hair makes a man... a MAN. xD LOL.

[Movie] Kisarazu Cats Eye: Nihon Series

2003

Starring: Okada Junichi, Sakurai Sho, Sato Ryuta, Tsukamoto Takashi, Okada Yoshinori, Sakai Wakana, Kohinata Fumiyo, Yakushimaru Hiroko, Furuta Arata...

[Warning: Lotsa spoilers. Beware.]

Half a year passed and Bussan found himself alive and kicking. The quintet yet again found themselves involved in crazy shit and getting out of trouble illogically easily.

Bambi retains his Mr. Kisarazu title for two years. The future scene where the four became crazy old men pestering a pizza delivery guy who looks exactly like Bussan showed that Moko and Bambi remained together - or not. Really I cannot tell which is the truth and which is crap in the Kisarazu Cats Eye series. But yeah, Bambi and Moko are still tight... Moko still seems to have a thing for Bussan. Anyways, Bambi seems to have beaten Bussan to the title, yet again.

Master, still married. Still horny despite marriage. Still manage to retain his wife's affections by saying "I love you".

Ani... we now know Ani's real name and it is too complicated to call therefore, Ani is fine with being Ani. Ani is still stupid.

Ucchie is no longer such an enigma. It has been revealed in the previous series that his dad is a spy for the CIA. Well, I'd think that his dad is an English-speaking wacko who loves the sea and Ucchie's mom probably have kinky games to play with his dad while his dad dresses up as a sailor.

Ozzy is back!!! T_T But there's a twist! xD

Kishidan is back too! xD This drama is getting more and more hilarious with every spawn it throws out.

The moment they sing the Kisarazu Cats Eye theme song. I choked. I seriously choked. xD OMFG like... Okada Junichi is not like this~ unless when he is high. I think he gets high before filming such characters.

The boysies' adoration for Aikawa Sho is just... I can't even begin to express how ridiculous this is. This reminds me of Stephen Chow and his ridiculous movies which I just cannot tear myself away from. Though nowadays, I cannot hold an interest for more than a month. Sad. Me.

Anyways, xD CAMEOS are great.

So, this time, there will be Korean hostess club, money forgery, an old flame of Mirei's and lots and I mean LOTS of Yassai Mossai. xD Oh yeah and their other worldly experience of sex and crabs. (Not pubic lice, the crabs you eat. Like the ones with the hard shell.) And... how can I forget the Gomingo Monstaaa...

Yeah, to sum it all up in a few words: Pure Crap.

Rating: 2.5/5 I am extremely entertained. Extremely. But... seriously? I don't get it at all. xD Its kinda like... its so bad, its good.