No.of Epis: 10Year/TV Station: 2008/TBS
Cast:
Suzuki Kyoka ~ Takayanagi Takako
Hasegawa Kyoko ~ Kawai Hitomi
Fukiishi Kazue ~ Samejima Mayuko
Momoi Kaori ~ Shindo Tamaki
Toda Naho ~ Shiraishi Risako
Synopsis:
Risako invited four of her friends to her wedding with pianist Kukita. Then, she invited them to a bar where they played a game, the last person to return wld have to treat everyone. In the end, Risako didn't return and she disappeared. The four friends, who didn't know each other beforehand, became friends while searching for Risako. Later, it turns out that Risako knows their husbands and together with Kukita, they are trying to hide something from the the four women.
Slacker's review:
The web says "SCANDAL" is the Japanese version of "Desperate Housewives". I didn't watch "DH", but I don't think the drama is similar to "DH" at all. This drama isn't what it seems to be on surface. Well, we did have insights of the four women and their families. But then, the real plot was the missing Risako, the mystery part of the drama. It's interesting to see how two different themes can mix together. Initially, I wasn't impress with the development of the plot. It's quite boring to see 4 housewives having arguments with their "secretive" husbands. Also, to see Hitomi and Mayuko having some "affairs" behind their husbands were also quite predictable (and nothing really happened in the end). But what kept me continue watching was where the earth Risako was, and her husband Kukita was one mysterious guy. I wished the drama cld move faster, coz it's rather boring when the plot focused on their indiv families. The plot did a gd job in building up the "mystery" factor and the development of the story got better at the last few epis. I was wondering how were the four husbands connected to Risako and of coz' I was anticipating for the secret to be revealed. The secret was quite interesting, but the most surprising part was that Risako was actually hiding in the Shindo's hse all the while. Another fishy part which I still couldn't figure out was, did Kukita liked Takako? (I think he still loved his wife afterall...) Well, I think it's nice to see the husbands included in the big mystery. (Or else they wld really be "vase" liao.)
Cast was great, though we didn't get to see any young idol guys or gals. Hasegawa and Suzuki were also the main reason why I watched "SCANDAL". Interestingly, the two happened to be in the cast of "Karei Naru Ichizouku" too. I was a little sad that Hasegawa looked so unglam in the drama, the housewife role seemed to make her old. (though she's nt tt young..) Suzuki was great as usual, I enjoyed her performance here. Also, the four female leads had nice chemistry...haha! The guys were alright, but I thought Kato Toranosuke, who acted as Kukita, gave a nice performance too. The atmosphere ard him was always kinda mysterious. I liked his scenes with Suzuki too..hehe! And finally, Toda did pretty well too, though her scenes were not alot actually. (Lots of repeated scenes when Risako went MIA..)
Themesong "LOVE ~winter song~" by Fukuhara Miho is a very xmas-y song.
Well, I'm quite glad that I didn't give up this drama, though the 1st few epis were really average for me. It's nice to see a fusion of themes in japanese dramas thesedays and this drama is quite worth watching.
