TV Drama Review #226 - JIN 仁医

No. of Epis: 11
Year/TV Stn: 2009/TBS
Cast:
Osawa Takao ~ Minakata Jin
Nakatani Miki ~ Tomonaga Miki / Nokaze
Ayase Haruka ~ Tachibana Saki
Koide Keisuke ~ Tachibana Kyotaro
Uchino Masaaki ~ Sakamoto Ryoma
Synopsis: (edited from Dramawiki)
Minakata Jin has spent the last two years in anguish, as his fiancee Miki lies in a vegetative state after an operation he performed. One day, he faints at the hospital and awakens to find himself transported back in time to the Edo period. He is soon attacked by a samurai, but he escapes with the help of a man named Kyotaro. Kyotaro suffers a serious injury to the head while trying to protect him, but Jin manages to save his life despite a lack of proper medical equipment. Because of that, Kyotaro's sister Saki begins taking an interest in Jin and becomes his assistant. Meanwhile, Jin is determined to find a way back to the present.
Slacker's review:
"JIN" is probably the best autumn drama I have watched last season. The theme itself was not very new (TVB's "Xun Qin Ji" got a similar cross era theme), but the plot was engaging. At first I thought the storyline would focus on how Minakata struggled to return to the modern era, but I got to see how the guy used his modern medical knowledge & techniques to help the Edo people. Of course, the highlight of the story was when Minakata met Nokaze, who looked exactly like Miki. I liked how the characters interacted with each other. While Saki was rather reserve, Nokaze was much more straight forward in her speech and behaviour towards Minakata. Ending was kinda ambiguous. Minakata in modern era was still in coma state, but there's a scene where Minakata actually slipped forward into time and saw Miki. Just as I thought he went back to modern era, the next scene was Minakata got up from his fall and he's still in Edo! (I think there will be an upcoming special soon...)
I have been waiting for Osawa's drama comeback, and his acting was great. Minakata is not those "overly serious" character, so I thought Osawa's portrayal was just nice; kinda funny at times, but not to the extend of exaggerating, and he could be very serious when he's operating on his patients. Chemistry with Ayase was not too bad, but the fireworks was with Nakatani. (Maybe Ayase looked more like a sister beside Osawa).
As much as I liked Ayase's character Saki, I thought I loved Nokaze more. This woman was much more sophisticated, probably it's because she's the top oiran. I loved the ending for the lady, as she's a like a caged bird who was set free and could lead a peaceful life.
Koide's Kyotaro is a support role, but there's a side plot b/w him and another oiran. I thought it's nice to see Koide in a more matured and serious role.
Uchino's Sakamoto is an impt character here, but seriously I found Sakamoto too "noisy". Haha!
Theme song is "Aitakute Ima" by MISIA.

TV Drama Review #224 - Koshonin 2 交涉人 2

No. of Epis: 9
Year/TV Stn: 2009/TV Asahi
Cast:
Yonekura Ryoko ~ Usagi Reiko
Jinnai Takanori ~ Kirisawa Keigo
Takahashi Katsumi ~ Katayama Kazuyoshi
Shirota Yu ~ Mariya Kyosuke
Osugi Ren ~ Takabayashi Shizuo
Asano Yuko ~ Yumisaka Fumiko
Synopsis: (from Dramawiki)
The new season opens with a string of deadly incidents involving guns sent to various people by someone known as "Summer Claus." The weapons seem to be part of a batch of 27 stolen guns, and so far 14 of them have been given out. Now it's up to Usagi and the rest of the SIT to recover the remaining 13 before there are any more casualties.
Slacker's review:

"Koshonin" is back with season 2, but I did not seem to enjoy it as before. Probably it's because the drama was no longer about how Usagi fits into SIT, but how Usagi & her colleagues dealt with "Summer Claus". "Koshonin" got a masculine theme, and the plot was pretty dry in content. The cases did not seem interesting too. I guessed the only thing I wanna know was who the hell was "Summer Claus". So, that guy was always around, and near Usagi...haha! Nice twist! Clearly, I was bored by "koshonin 2", but the upcoming movie version looks promising. Why? Sorimachi Takashi is in! Hoho~
Acting wise, the cast was great as usual, but nothing spectacular from them. Yonekura's performance was terrific, but I wish to see her in feminine roles someday~ Enough of the shuai qi Usagi :D
Takaoka Sousuke's Amari was killed in this season, pretty sad about that, coz' I liked to see Amari with Usagi.
Shirota's Mariya was still as weird as ever..haha! But his acting was good la, or else it's hard to pull off such a character.
Theme song "My Style" by Denda Mao. I love her songs~
P.S: Hopefully I can update on the movie version next yr. Till then~

TV Drama Review #223 - Untouchable

No. of Epis: 9
Year/TV Station: 2009/TV Asahi
Cast:
Nakama Yukie ~ Narumi Ryoko
Kaname Jun ~ Toyama Shiro
Sato Tomohito ~ Takafuji Shinichi
Ozawa Yukiyoshi ~ Narumi Koji
Synopsis: (edited from Dramawiki)
Reporter Narumi Ryoko loses her job at a first-rate publisher and ends up at a trashy tabloid called "Shukan Untouchable." She now chases celebrity scandals and sensational stories, but she hasn't lost her sense of duty or her persistence. While investigating her stories, she tends to notice details that imply some hidden truth beneath the surface, leading her to probe deeper into dangerous secrets.
Slacker's review:
I did not have high expectations for this drama, but I'm glad "Untouchable" proved me wrong. Initially, I thought the drama was the standard reporter finding her news and how she solved the crimes plot, but these standard scenarios were just "smokescreen" for the real case, and that is who's the murderer who killed all the victims in the drama. I thought the twists in the drama were interesting as people closed to Narumi was suspected one by one. Actually it was quite easy to guess who's the murderer towards the end of the drama, but the rationale for him to commit crime was just too crappy for me. Lolz~ Anyway, the truth was too much for Narumi to bear, pretty sad ne~
Nakama is always remembered for her role in "Gokusen" series, and that image was too hard to erase. Thus, besides that drama, her other dramas sort of flop in terms of ratings. "Untouchable" was not that bad, and this was my first time enjoying her role besides Yankumi in "Gokusen". I loved Narumi, though she seemed to be blur & kinda awkward. She's so funny when she saw her Shiro-chan, but she's very righteous when she's doing her work. I loved her scenes with her brother, Koji. It's kinda heartwarming to see them chatting at their house, and may be it's because they depended on each other after their parents were killed in an incident.
The guys here were clearly supporting roles. Nice to see Kaname again, but I wondered why he still can't lead a drama? It's a pity there's nothing going on b/w Toyama & Narumi la, though I wished they could bicker a little more.
Sato Tomohiko was more involved in the drama as he's the fella who went to chase news with Narumi. The twist for his character was nicely done, and for a few mins, I really thought he might be the suspect. (Dumb me~)
Ozawa is the other guy who is commonly known for his support roles. I loved the twist for Koji man! This guy got charisma~
Theme song is "Orion" by Girl Next Door while insert song is "Koko ni iru yo" by 72.

TV Drama Review #217 - Otomen 粉红系男孩

No.of Epis: 12
Year/TV Station: 2009/Fuji TV
Cast:
Okada Masaki ~ Masamune Asuka
Kaho ~ Miyakozuka Ryo
Kimura Ryo ~ Tonomine Hajime
Seto Koji ~ Ariake Yamato
Sano Kazuma ~ Tachibana Juta
Synopsis: (edited from Dramawiki)
The story centers around a popular high school boy by the name of Masamune Asuka, who is the top kendo fighter in the nation. Beneath his cool exterior, he is actually fond of sweets and shojo manga, and is skilled in sewing and cooking. When he instantly falls for a transfer student Miyakozuka Ryo, his secret is in danger of being exposed. On the other hand, Asuka & Ryo's classmate Juta, wrote a shojo manga based on their love story and named it "Love Chick".
Slacker's review:
"Otomen" was not supposed to be in my watching list, but I thought the plot seemed to be interesting. Based on the same titled manga, "Otomen" is a term used to describe boys who likes to do things that are deem to be girly, such as cooking, sewing, or even makeup. Through this drama, we can get an insight of how the society affects & restricts people through gender roles. I have to say this type of culture/mindset exists not only in Japan, but in all parts of the world. Asuka is quite a poor guy actually, coz' his dad decided to follow his heart to be a woman, and his mum was traumatised by this incident, so she hoped that her son would become a true Japanese man. Thus, Asuka can only do his favourite things secretly. Ryo, on the other hand, was the total opposite of Asuka. She did not know how to cook or sew, but she's very strong & courageous. Their innocent relationship developed quite late in the drama, as Asuka was not courageous enough to confess his feelings to Ryo. But well, you could feel that both of them liked each other for quite sometime~ Haha! The other interesting side plot was how Juta used their story for his manga, and how he chatted with Asuka's dad (who became a famous mangaka), without knowing his true identity. Anyway, this drama was quite entertaining with their class teacher, silly classmates & funny competitions. There were some unfinished business uncleared by the last epi, like Asuka's dad's case & Asuka has not confess to his mum tt he's an Otomen.
The cast here was quite new to me, since they are not A-listers yet. Lolz! Okada's performance was not too bad. Asuka was never "very man" to me though he practiced Kendo, probably because he really looked more like a flower boy. Lolz! I liked Okada's expressions when Asuka saw the lovely soft toys, cakes & desserts. (His face just brightened up~)
Kaho was not pretty to me, and her performance was average. She seemed to be stiff & kinda expressionless. Sadly, I was not interested in Ryo too, maybe it's because Ryo did not have much developments, as the story was focused on Otomens.
The other three Otomens, Tonomine, Ariake & Juta were quite different from Asuka. Tonomine was good with cosmetics & his magic hands could make girls so pretty. Ariake was a flower boy himself, weak & easily bullied by others. As for Juta, he's quite an observant guy & of course, he's a shojo mangaka! Hahaha! I thought I enjoyed these three characters more than Ryo somehow. Without them, "Otomen" would be plain boring.
Theme song is "lover soul" by Shibasaki Kou, she never fails to impress me with a good song.

TV Drama Review #213 - Orthros no Inu 双头犬

No.of Epis: 9
Year/TV Station: 2009/TBS
Cast:
Takizawa Hideaki ~ Ryuzaki Shinji
Nishikido Ryo ~ Aoi Ryosuke
Mizukawa Asami ~ Hasebe Nagisa
Synopsis: (from Dramawiki)
Ryuzaki Shinji who possesses a “God Hand”, the power to heal wounds and illnesses just by touching the patient, is in fact a dark introvert who does not reveal his true self to others. Aoi Ryosuke who possesses the “Demon’s Hand”, the power to kill a person just by touching him, is as kind and pure as an angel. When the demon meets the God, a fatal battle begins…
Detective Hasebe Nagisa gets caught by the criminals during a deep cover operation. Ryosuke, a man she does not even know comes to save her and she witnesses his “Demon’s Hand” in action. Thereafter she discovers by coincidence the existence of Shinji’s “God Hand” and brings the two together. Little did she know that this would cause great disorder to the world and even to her own life…
Slacker's review:
Surprise surprise! I never thought "Orthros" would be that interesting. Seriously, I'm reserved about "dark" dramas. Plus, with JE boys as leads, there seemed to be more doubts. Haha. Alright, I should not doubt too much. The plot was interesting, I was totally clueless about the direction of the plot, and I was still kinda clueless after every episode ended. (You just can't guess what would happen next!) Anyway, there's a twist in the drama, not a dramatic one, but if you know what's Orthros, then you should have gotten the hint. Well, I thought the development of the drama was great, I liked how those guys wanna get control of Ryuzaki, but like what Ryuzaki said, he's the one who got "control" over them. Initially, I thought there were sparks coming off b/w Ryuzaki & Hasebe, but nothing happened. Perhaps, that few scenes had been misleading? (But I believed Ryuzaki did like Hasebe, and he's concerned about Mio's illness). Ending was interesting too, but there were some unexplained details. I thought both Ryuzaki & Aoi had died, but I was wrong. Lolz! Luckily, in the end, they only lost their power. Finally, they could lead a normal life, without people trying to clone or make use of their power.
Takizawa has been absent from mainstream dramas for about 6 yrs, excluding his taiga drama "Yoshitsune" & those single-episode dramas in between. I still prefer Tackey's acting rather than his singing. (Not saying that his singing sucks, but his performance was better as an actor to me). "Orthros" gave him a chance to show his acting. Most JE boys were tagged for "being handsome, but can't act". Luckily, Tackey proved me wrong. Ryuzaki appeared to be a bad guy, as he kept asking for return before he cured someone with his "god's hand". Towards the end, I finally got a better picture of Ryuzaki's past, you just could not figure him out till the drama ended. Lolz! Chemistry with Nishikido was great, and like what I said just now, I loved the sparks b/w Ryuzaki & Hasebe. That few scenes b/w Tackey & Mizukawa made me anticipated the drama more. (I wondered why Ryuzaki had interest in Hasebe though. It's just not obvious at all! )
Nishikido was one of the few JE boys who could act. His performance in "Orthros" was not too bad, but not as spectacular as compared to his performance in "Last Friends". Also, Tackey sort of outshone him in terms of character. Ryuzaki just got this mysterious aura around him. Aoi, paled in comparison. Anyway, Aoi's character was established in epi 1, way more clear cut than Ryuzaki, who's a murderer & on death row. Unlike Ryuzaki, Aoi struggled with his "demon's hand". Aoi seemed to be confused with his power, but he easily killed a few people in the 1st few epis. It's fun to see how the two broke free of others' control and controlled the situation instead.
I always wondered about Mizukawa's role as Hasebe. This seemed to be a guys' show. So is she gg to be a flower vase? Not at all! Hasebe was like a "bridge" b/w the two guys. It's her who brought Aoi to Ryuzaki. It's her who let Aoi knew that there's a "God's hand". There was a scene where Ryuzaki forced Hasebe to decide on her collegue's wife's fate. I thought it was a confused & conflicted scenario as Hasebe herself struggled with right & wrong. Too bad, she could not save her colleague in the end. Finally, I loved the scenes & interactions b/w Hasebe & her daughter Mio. So heartwarming~
As for support cast, Sasaki Kuranosuke's Sawamura was very bad. Haha! Kudos to Sasaki for making this drama so interesting with his schemes. I hoped Aoi killed him in the last epi! Haiz...Sawamura was caught by Hasebe in the end. He should just die la. Lolz!
Theme song was "Hikari Hitotsu" by Takizawa Hideaki.

TV Drama Review #212 - Kyumei Byoto 24 Ji 4 救命病栋24时 4

No.of Epis: 7 + 4 epis of Kinkyu Special: ~Kyumei Kojima Kaede~ + 2010 Winter Special
Year/TV Station: 2009/Fuji TV
Cast:
Eguchi Yosuke ~ Shindo Issei
Matsushima Nanako ~ Kojima Kaede
Yusuke Santamaria ~ Sawai Etsushi
Kimura Tae ~ Yamashiro Saeko
Kitano Kii ~ Kamoi Chinatsu
Ishida Takuya ~ Kudo Ryosuke
Synopsis: (edited from AsianMediaWiki)
The nursing staffs of the Emergency Room must deal with chronic lack of manpower, lack of beds, & lack of doctors. Hospitals now often refuse to accept patients, leaving ambulances to search for the next hospital in the vicinity. A bride collapses during her wedding and is whisked away by paramedics. The ambulance have trouble finding a hospital. The condition of the bride worsens, while the groom becomes combative to the paramedic team. The ambulance stops in the middle road and at that time, Dr.Shindo steps out of the taxi to assist the ambulance.
The emergency room is struggling with Shindo, intern Kudo & two other doctors from other departments. Kaede finally decides to join Shindo's team after her court case. The new head of ER, Sawai, clashes with Shindo, as he does not like Shindo's working attitude & beliefs. Sawai is working towards a bigger goal, which is to fight for the better rights for ER doctors, and to improve & change Japan's current medical system.
Slacker's review:
The common problems with sequels are a lack of new elements in plot, and no breakthrough for the cast. Thank goodness, Kyumei 4 did not disappoint me too much, in terms of plot. (The 3rd season was by far the best up till now). Kyumei 4's theme was quite straightforward-the plight of ER doctors & nurses; they were overworked, not motivated, and they were scared that any mistakes they made, they would be sued by patients' families. Sawai wanted to change that situation, so that more doctors would join ER. However, he's quite naive thinking that the politicians would help him. It's a lonely and long war for him. Shindo was totally the opposite. He could not care less about all those things. To him, that's irrelevant. He only wanted to help as many patients as he could. Our poor Kojima was kinda stuck in between them. Kyumei 4 focused a lot on the ER staffs, while the side stories were abt the patients. We saw how other doctors struggled-some "escaped" from ER, some "volunteered" to join ER, and an intern, who could not be bothered as he's gg to work in his father's plastic surgery hospital. Overall, the plot was quite intensifying, and gradually everybody worked towards the same goal. As usual, the drama would end with a mega-big accident where some main leads would get injured. Lolz!
The drama was delayed for weeks because of our lead guy, Eguchi. And thanks to him, Kyumei 4 was shortened to 7 epis, with the last epi extended for 2 hours. Well, Eguchi's big problem here was there's no breakthrough for Shindo. His character has been kinda same from 1st season till now. He's still a reserve guy who did not explain himself & he has been doing things by his own, regardless of objections. Eguchi's performance was faultless, but Shindo was boring to me now. (Some more, there's STILL no sparks b/w him and Kojima! Haha!)
I'm very happy that Matsushima has returned to the small screen. The actress's charisma is still there and I liked her confident & smart image. The major issue for Kojima would probably be her court case from the start of the drama. But thanks to Shindo, Kojima decided to pick up her knife again. Although I liked Kojima...there's no big breakthrough for her character as well. Her role was quite secondary, after Sawai came into the picture.
Yes...this guy stole the limelight. Yusuke Santamaria has been acting in many support roles throughout his career. However, his roles were pretty ordinary to me most of the time. Finally, Sawai made a deep impression on me. Sawai looked pretty serious & expressionless most of the time. U would hate him for attending seminars, while his colleagues slogged like slaves to save people. His main motive all along was to restructure Japan's medical system, but he's an idealist to me. What he is doing needs a revolution. Haha! Well, Sawai was not that "heartless" after all, he still went to save people though he had quit his job.
Other support cast was great. Kimura Tae's Yamashiro was a single mother. Though she left ER so that she could take care of her son, she decided to return to ER to help Kojima & others. Her son got angry because she was too busy for him. It's touching to see her son hugged & forgave his mum. Ishida's Kudo was irritating at first, but after a patient's death, Kudo was full of guilt and he fell off a building, which nearly cost his life. Luckily, the guy survived & he has found the path for his career.
Dreams Come True's "Sono saki e ft. Fuzzy Control" is a super nice theme song. I loved all the Kyumei theme songs by DCT. They rox!
--14/07/09-04/08/2009--
Due to Eguchi's injury, Kyumei 4 had to be delayed. So, 4 episodes of Kinkyu Special: ~Kyumei Kojima Kaede~ was made to stall for the time being. Haha! Basically, the special was about Kojima working as an ER doc and she happened to meet 4 people who she had worked or saved before in the previous seasons. There were a lot of flashbacks of the dramas from season 1 to 3. It's nice to see recaps of the previous seasons, and saw how much our cast has changed. Hehe!
Looking forward to Kyumei 4's winter special.
--03/01/10 Kyumei Byoto 24 Ji 4 Winter Special--
Slacker's review:
The special started with Shindo meeting up Sawai at a closed down hospital in Nagasaki. Then very soon, we were brought back to a long recap of what happened in the drama. (I don't like specials doing super long recaps). So, I was disappointed that they wasted so much time recapping instead of showing a new case immediately. We were brought back to 2010 Jan, Kojima was being looked down by her superiors for holding the Head of ER position, just because she's a woman. ER dept was busy again as they got handle a number of patients from a major traffic accident, and just then, electricity was cut off! Luckily, the new case was exciting enough, or else I would be bored to death. Haha! Kudo returned to the team, while Shindo left to rebuild the shut down hospital's ER dept. Why must he always leave Kojima?? :(

TV Drama Review #209 - Koishite Akuma 吸血鬼男孩/恋爱恶魔

No.of Epis: 10
Year/TV Station: 2009/KTV & Fuji TV
Cast:
Nakayama Yuma ~ Kuromiya Ruka/Ayu
Kato Rosa ~ Natsukawa Makoto
Sakuraba Nanami ~ Takagi Kaori
Nakajima Kento ~ Handa Hiroto
Kondo Masahiko ~ Kaito
Synopsis: (edited from Dramawiki)
Ruka has yet to mature into a full-fledged vampire. His canines have yet to fully develop, which means he has not tasted human blood before. In order to get him prepared, he is cast down into the world of humans by Kaito, who's a veteran vampire. Ruka stays with Jiro, the owner of a Chinese restaurant, and enrolls in a high school. His homeroom teacher is Makoto, who's a cheerful but meddlesome. Makoto was surprised to see Ruka at first, because he looked exactly the same as Ayu, her first love. Makoto just could not stop herself from concerning Ruka, and her fiance, Fujii, is worried. Later, a vampire disguises as a teacher and controls the school. While trying to save Makoto, Ruka's vampire identity is revealed...
Slacker's review:
"Koishite Akuma" is a sweet high school romance drama featuring a young vampire. I thought the concept was nice, though the drama did not have much action or excitement. Plot wise, it was too predictable & plain. I thought it wld be nicer if they added more action for Ruka. Overall, it's still a watchable drama.
Nakayama, another Johnny's boy, is only 15 years old, and he's 9 yrs younger than his co-lead, Rosa. I did not think there's a mismatch problem here, and Rosa looked young for her age. Haha! But acting wise, Nakayama gotta work harder lo. He's really stiff & expressionless throughout the drama. (I know vampires gotta act cool...lolz!) Luckily, his smiles were lovely enough. Haha!
I thought Rosa really led this drama, cos I felt that the plot was revolving around her. Honestly, without Rosa, I don't think I would watch this drama. Rosa's acting has improved a lot, and the girl was very lovely as well. I liked her natural acting here, and the last few scenes with Nakayama were really touching. (Imagine Makoto gotta lose her beloved one for the 2nd time).
Other support cast was alright. Kaito & Ruka's relationship has always been interesting. Ruka was always "working against" Kaito as he refused to suck blood. But till their last scene, I thought Kaito was convinced that Ruka was just someone different.
Makoto's fiance was an irritating character, while Ruka's classmates were alright (there were the usual "boy crazy" girls). Sakuraba & Nakajima did reasonably well as Ruka's classmates.
Theme song "Akuma na Koi" is sung by Nakayama Yuma with B.I.Shadow.

TV Drama Review #200 - Mr. Brain

No.of Epis: 8
Year/TV Station: 2009/TBS
Cast:
Kimura Takuya ~ Tsukumo Ryusuke
Ayase Haruka ~ Yuri Kazune
Mizushima Hiro ~ Hayashida Toranosuke
Notable Guests:
Epi 1: Hirosue Ryoko, Ichikawa Ebizo
Epi 2: Gackt, Koyuki
Epi 3: Kamenashi Kazuya, Aibu Saki
Epi 4-5: Sato Takeru
Epi 5-6: Nakama Yukie
Epi 7-8: Kamikawa Takaya, Ichikawa Ebizo
Epi 8: Katori Shingo
Synopsis: (edited from Dramawiki)
Tsukumo Ryusuke is a quirky, yet brilliant neuroscientist, who's working for the National Research Institute of Police Science. Wielding a unique perspective and psychology, Tsukumo tackles the nation's most baffling crimes and scandals, going head-to-head with the most brilliant and twisted criminal minds. But his eccentricities and poor social timing can also aggravate people and circumstances, further complicating matters.
Slacker's review:
Well, I'm always excited about Kimura's dramas, and "Mr.Brain" did not disappoint me too much, though I did not find it as entertaining as Kimura's previous dramas. Maybe it's because I did not like detective dramas dealing with science. Haha! Overall, the plot was not bad, though some cases tend to be boring. I think TBS wanted to compete with Fuji's "BOSS", so they invited many famous actors/actresses to star as guests in "Mr.Brain". Well, I thought the inclusion of these guests did made me anticipated more for the drama. One thing which was good about "Mr.Brain" was they did not use a standard formula for Tsukumo to solve the cases, unlike Fukuyama's role in "Galileo". So, the drama was not that predictable. Also, there were animated scenes where the cartoon Tsukumo would explain the scientifc explanations for various reactions etc which were linked to the brain. (I thought that's something special ne~)
Kimura was back with his signature long hair, but he seemed to age a little here. Tsukumo is not a difficult character for Kimura to portray, since Kimura can be quite wacky at times. Tsukumo was quite a unique character. His prefrontal cortex was damaged, thus, though he had very high IQ, his appearance and behaviour were kinda odd. However, he's quite a sensitive guy who noticed the slightest details or expressions from others. So actually, Tsukumo was quite a complex character, as he's not easily understood. Haha! There were some interesting stuffs which i rmbed, like how he always had to explain how to pronounce his surname; he liked to read r-rated magazine, and he liked to eat bananas etc. Anyway, I liked Kimura trying on comedic roles, and his acting was hard to fault.
Nice to see Ayase again, though Yuri was very much a supportive role. I liked how Tsukumo made her "confused"...haha! I also liked how Tsukumo motivated Yuri to be a better scientist and continue to upgrade her knowledge. Loved their scenes together...it's really funny. Well, what a pity that there's no romance going on b/w them, though it's quite obvious that Yuri liked Tsukumo. (Maybe we shld have a special soon~)
Mizushima's role was a supportive one too, but I thought he was underused. Seriously, his role was too typical, and we could not expect much from him, in terms of acting.
As for the guests, I thought Gackt & Nakama were impressive! Kamenashi was alright, but his case was quite boring. Sato Takeru did surprised me a little, he's good. His case was quite interesting too. The lamest guest have to be Shingo! Hahaha! What a funny hijacker la! I think he cameo-ed to promote his drama which follows after "Mr.Brain".
Theme song was "Jump" by Van Halen.

TV Drama Review #198 - MW Chapter 0: Akuma no Game MW 第0章 恶魔的游戏

No.of Epis: 1
Year/TV Station: 2009/NTV
Cast:
Tamaki Hiroshi ~ Michio Yuki
Sato Takeru ~ Morioka Takashi
Tanimura Mitsuki ~ Watanabe Yukari　
Koide Keisuke ~ Sakurada Kousuke
Synopsis: (from Dramawiki)
The drama is set several months before the actual story in Tezuka's manga. The main character is a man named Morioka Takashi, who has lost his job and his home due to a recession. He ends up falling into a trap set by the diabolical Michio Yuki, and in order to protect the things important to him, he is forced to stain his hands in evil.
Slacker's review:
This is a drama special for the movie "MW", which is premiering this month in Japan. Plot was kinda dark & mysterious, but this is not a detective thriller. Seriously, the drama special was more about what Michio did before u got to know him more in the movie itself. (He's really a killing machine, with brains~) The drama special didn't explain anything about this "MW" thing, thus it seemed to be "no head no tail" for ppl who is not watching the movie. ("MW" is a chemical weapon btw). The drama special did not seemed to be linked to the movie in any way, and the ppl who were involved in this case were all killed, except for Yukari. Morioka & Sakurada made a grave mistake for believing Michio that they "could change the world". That's just a tactic Michio used to control the guys to help him commit crimes.
Tamaki's Michio is one of the leads in "MW", the other lead is Yamada Takayuki. Seriously, I thought Tamaki looked great as a villian in a movie. Haha! His expressions and the way he spoke were really "devilish". Sato's performance was not bad too. I rmbed the part where Morioka was forced to find out who killed his father. One of the two guys were the murderer, but if Morioka killed the wrong guy, he might get killed and could not save Yukari. Morioka went kinda hysterical at that point. Anyway, Sato's previous roles seemed to be more like a "pretty boy", but he proved that he could do more than that. Haha!
Well, I am not sure if "MW" wld come to SG, but I think the SP is worth a look if u wanna see a new Tamaki.

TV Drama Review #196 - Konkatsu! 结婚万岁

No.of Epis: 11
Year/TV Station: 2009/FujiTV
Cast:
Nakai Masahiro ~ Amamiya Kuniyuki
Ueto Aya ~ Hida Haruno
Sato Ryuta ~ Fukazawa Shigeru
Shaku Yumiko ~ Murase Yuko
Tanihara Shosuke ~ Nihei Takumi
Ryo ~ Takakura Makoto
Synopsis: (edited from Dramawiki)
Amamiya Kuniyuki is the unemployed son of a tonkatsu restaurant owner. He finds a temporary job that requires a married person, so he lies by saying that he has plans to marry, and he tries to find a mate through match-making sessions, where he meets Murase Yuko. Later, Kuniyuki is forced to keep up the charade by using Hida Haruno, he's good friend & a part-time worker from the restaurant. On the other hand, Shigeru, Kuniyuki's good buddy is also in love with Haruno.
Slacker's review:
It's a long-waited comeback for SMAP's leader Nakai to return to the drama scene. I have not watched his dramas before, though some of them were big hits. Well, my expectations were a little higher given tt the cast was quite strong. Sadly, it's another disappointment after "BOSS". The storyline was blend & the development was slow, and I found it hard to continue watching. The match-making sessions were funny, but too bad Kuni & Shigeru had not much luck. I thought the romance b/w Kuni & Haruno took too long to develop. I was rooting for this couple~! Initially, I thought Kuni liked Makoto, since he asked her to be his family, but the girl rejected him. (Thank goodness~) I thought "Konkatsu" was more about family & friendship ties, rather than marriage hunting or romance.
Nakai is not a good singer, but he's a good host & actor. Kuni was not a good character for Nakai to really show his acting. Nakai's performance was restricted, though he handled his character well. Kuni valued friendship alot, but was not observant when it came to romance. If Haruno never told him her true feelings, this couple would never be together. I wondered if Kuni really liked Haruno beforehand, maybe he did, but he did not know. It seemed a little sudden to see Kuni's realisation of his feelings as Kuni never showed his affections for Haruno before. I also liked the scenes b/w Nakai & Kohinata Fumiyo, who acted as his father. This dad-son r/s was quite interesting. I thought Kuni's dad really understood him well, though it's sad that Kuni did not like to eat tonkatsu.
Nice to see Ueto again. Haruno is probably very "un-Ueto" as this character did not act cute, and neither was she exaggerating. Happy to see Ueto trying all sorts of characters. Haruno was a simple & cheerful girl. She seemed to be optimistic, though having a hard time to find a job. Ueto did well in expressing her emotions, especially after Haruno confessed her feelings to Kuni, and told him that she would always be his good sister. Well, I'm happy that Haruno's efforts were not wasted la~~hehe!
Sato Ryuta's Shigeru was really a good buddy, and thanks to him, our Kuni-Haruno couple could be together. (It's sad to see him sacrificing his love though.)
Shaku Yumiko's character Yuko was alright, not particularly impressive to me. The interesting part was who Yuko ended up with in the end. That's kinda shocking, but I was glad that Yuko had realised what's more impt in a marriage.
Other support cast like Tanihara, Ryo & Ueda Tatsuya (Kat-tun) were great.
Theme song "Wedding Bell" by Puffy. Nice song from the girls.

TV Drama Review #195 - BOSS

No. of Epis: 11
Year/TV Station: 2009/FujiTV
Cast:
Amami Yuki ~ Osawa Eriko
Takenouchi Yutaka ~ Nodate Shinjiro
Tamayama Tetsuji ~ Katagiri Takuma
Toda Erika ~ Kimoto Mami
Notable Guests:
Yamada Takayuki ~ Tajima Shingo (ep4-5)
Shida Mirai ~ Ishihara Yuki (ep6)
Konishi Manami ~ Nishiyama Nanami (ep8)
Sorimachi Takashi ~ Takakura Ryuhei (ep10-11)
Synopsis: (edited from Dramawiki)
"BOSS" revolves around a group of peculiar detectives in a new division created to fight against an increase in atrocious crimes. Osawa Eriko is a beautiful career woman who has just returned from training in the U.S. and is appointed as the "boss" of this division. But despite her intelligence and capabilities, she can never understand a man's heart, so she can't find a husband. In fact, her assignment in the U.S. was really a demotion after she ruined her career track over a man. Even though the detectives are talented in the new division, they all have some kind of issue or flaw, and they are considered to be the "problem children" of the police force. So, the division's true purpose is just to isolate these problematic detectives.
Slacker's review:
I had high expectations for "BOSS", but sadly, the drama did not quite meet my expectations. Maybe I had watched too many detective dramas, so the storyline of "BOSS" was boring to me. My favourite Takenouchi was actually a support lead, so I was so disappointed with his character la. FujiTV tried to garner other A-listers to increase ratings la, but honestly, the drama did not looked any better to me. The main focus of the drama was how Eriko worked with a grp of guys who were deemed to be problematic. Besides cracking cases, the drama also spent sometime showing how other characters overcame their problems. As for Takenouchi, he's more like a flirt in the police force, and I hardly got to see him in action. I really wondered why he accepted this role. If the scriptwriter made good use of Nodate, I think the drama would be more interesting somehow.
I like Amami. She's one Japanese actress who got that confident look. I have enjoyed her performances in other dramas, but Eriko seemed kinda boring to me. (Alright, she's a police, must be more serious la.) I liked her scenes with Nodate, as she's more relax and she's always bickering with him. Haha! Besides work, nothing much happened to them, and I was "sad" again. Lolz! (ok ok...it's not a norm to have romance in jap detective dramas.) I also like to watch Eriko questioning the suspects; she's confident, and to some extent, arrogant. I think it's a psychological tactic to outbeat the suspects la.
Takenouchi. This was the 1st time I disliked his character. First of all, it's really "da cai xiao yong". It's definitely not a challenging role for him, though it was somewhat different from his past roles. Nodate was very cheeky and lame to some extent. Lolz~ I think he's trying to be comedic, but it's really not that funny to me.
It's nice to watch Tamayama in action, though his character Katagiri was expressionless, and he's always very cool. Seriously, I think Katagiri was the more impt male lead compared to Nodate.
I think Toda has been working very hard, coz' this is the 3rd drama she's in within a year. May be she shld take a rest? Lolz! Kimoto was also a very cool girl, and she got some weird attitude problems. I think Toda's acting was getting better, as her character had developments, and I finally got to see a "brighten up" Kimoto.
Other support cast was alright, but they didn't left me a deep impression. There were many guests in the drama, but I just mentioned a few well-known ones. Shida Mirai & Sorimachi Takashi's cases were quite interesting. I could not recognised Yamada straight away when I saw him. He has changed too much. Lolz!
Opening & ending themes are "Alright!!" & "Best of My Life" by Superfly.

TV Drama Review #194 - Yako no Kaidan 夜光的阶梯

No.of Epis: 9
Year/TV Station: 2009/TV Asahi
Cast:
Fujiki Naohito ~ Sayama Michio
Kimura Yoshino ~ Edamura Sachiko
Natsukawa Yui ~ Fukuchi Fujiko
Synopsis: (edited from Dramawiki)
Sayama Michio is a young and callous beautician who will stop at nothing to fulfill his ambition. Coming from an impoverished background, he suddenly becomes the darling of the beauty world. He holds women who desire beauty captive and puts on several different faces when dealing with Murase Minako, the female owner of the place that he works at; Hatano Masako, a woman of leisure; Edamura Sachiko, an editor of a female magazine; and Fukuchi Fujiko, an editor of a weekly magazine to come out tops. He also gets involved with two detectives who are investigating him for a prior incident.
Slacker's review:
"Yako no Kaidan" is a novel by famous detective series author, Matsumoto Seicho. This drama was a little hard to digest, and the way the drama was filmed was different from the standard norm of detective/thriller dramas. There's a narration guiding us throughout the drama. Hahaha~! Actually, the plot was quite simple, as the drama told u that Michio had committed a crime right from the start. We got to see Michio dealing with various women, and his motives were quite clear la. But, I pitied those women lo, coz' they lost their lives for this man. U might find the drama kinda crappy somehow, but surprisingly, I was quite curious what wld happened to Michio in the end. Hehe! Ending was alright, though they did not show the exact fate of Michio. At least, he finally admitted his crimes & repented.
Finally, Fujiki got to lead two dramas this season, but the other drama was not interesting to me. It's kinda cheesy to watch Fujiki saying "I kill You" to the women. (Well that phrase had another meaning...) I thought Fujiki's acting was average, as his expressions were kinda stiff. (Honestly, Fujiki is not a very expressive actor la, but handsome actors are hard to come by~lolz!) Michio was a character who depended on women to achieve his ambition. I didn't like him as a guy la. He's really like xiao bai nian. Lolz! Well, I was a little surprise as he really loved Fujiko, butta, he could not save her in the end. That's saddening ne~
The interesting part was the actresses. It has been a long time since I last saw Kimura. I liked her acting, and of course, there's more developments to Sachiko la. From purely in love with Michio, to sacrificing her life for him. Sachiko seemed to change quite alot...and eventually, she was killed by Michio. All I cld say is..."Love is blind".
Nv seen Natsukawa's previous works before. Fujiko was quite a mysterious character from epi 1. I always wondered her motives. Initially, I thought she liked Sachiko..lolz! But I am sure they're not lesbians. So, she has been following Michio for so long. That's the surprising part. Anyway, I liked Natsukawa's performance here. Like Sachiko, Fujiko decided to protect Michio till the end, and I wondered why they were so silly to do that. Haiz~~(Love is blind mah!)
The other support cast was great, especially the older actresses who were filrting with Michio. Lolz~
Theme song is "Crime of Love" by Fujiki Naohito.

TV Drama Review #185 - Kurobe no Taiyo 黑部的太阳

No.of Epis: 2
Year/TV Station: 2009/FujiTV
Cast:
Katori Shingo ~ Kuramatsu Hitoshi
Kobayashi Kaoru ~ Takiyama Kunpei
Yusuke Santamaria ~ Kizuka Kazutoshi
Ayase Haruka ~ Takiyama Sachie
Fukada Kyoko ~ Kawaguchi Ayako
Synopsis:(edited from Dramawiki)
Kuramatsu Hitoshi, the supervisor of Kumagai Group’s Kuramatsu Team, and Takiyama Kunpei, the assistant manager of Kansai Electric’s Kuroyon Building Office, were the two greatest contributors to the completion of Omachi tunnel, the most challenging undertaking in the journey to finish the Kurobe Dam.
Slacker's review:
"Kurobe no Taiyo" is a 2 epi drama special. Basically the plot focused on the Kurobe Dam project and didn't focus much on characters' development. The drama could be rather boring to most people as the storyline itself was kinda technical & dry. However, u get to see the difficulties they faced and how people sacrificed themselves for this huge project.
Another side plot was about Takiyama family. The youngest daughter Mitsuko suffered from leukemia and couldn't survived for long. It's a struggle b/w Takiyama Kunpei and his family. And because of Mitsuko, Sachie decided to marry Kizuka, though she obviously liked Kuramatsu!
Nice performances from the cast. It's great to see Katori again, he looked very different this time round. It's a pity that Kuramatsu didn't end up with Sachie. If he had tell her his true feelings, the girl wld be his la. (Sbbzzz...) Though Ayase was the female lead, I thought Fukada's character was more interesting. Ayako's lover was killed while working at the dam, and she had a sad past. Luckily, Kuramatsu was there to support her.
Though I didn't like the boring parts of this drama special, I enjoyed the scenes b/w the main characters.

TV Drama Review #184 - Love Shuffle 旋爱/爱情洗牌

No.of Epis: 10
Year/TV Station: 2009/TBS
Cast:
Tamaki Hiroshi ~ Usami Kei
Karina ~ Aizawa Airu
Matsuda Shota ~ Sera Ojiro
Tanihara Shosuke ~ Kikuta Masato
Kanjiya Shihori ~ Kagawa Mei
DAIGO ~ Oishi Yukichi
Yoshitaka Yuriko ~ Hayakawa Kairi
Kojima Hijiri ~ Kamijyo Reiko
Synopsis: (from Dramawiki)
Usami Kei is a salaryman who has risen in status due to his engagement with Mei, the wealthy daughter of his company's president. Shortly after she breaks off the engagement, a power failure leaves him stuck in the elevator of his apartment building. Trapped with him are three others living on the same floor - Airu, a trilingual interpreter, Ojiro, a model photographer, and Masato, a psychiatrist. While waiting, their conversation hits upon their love lives and the question of whether there is truly only one fated partner for everyone. As a result, they decide to try "shuffling" their relationships with each other.
Slacker's review:
One big to draw as to why i watched "Love Shuffle" was the screenwriter, Nojima Shinji. Well, Nojima didn't disappoint me, but this drama would not be everyone's cup of tea. The plot featured modern city dwellers and showed their perceptions of romance through shuffling their partners. The concept was new and interesting, but somehow the drama didn't appeal to me on the pilot episode. I guessed the reason was because "Love Shuffle" got a character-driven plot. Every character had in-depth developments, showing how they appeared to be on surface, and how they struggled with their own emotions & thoughts. So that's why the storyline did seemed to be kinda boring or weak to me. But as the drama continued, I got to understand the characters more as they revealed their motives for participating in the "shuffle". I liked the interactions between the characters, and how they went along with their individual dates. You could somehow guessed who would end up with who towards the end of the drama, and I was quite please with the ending. Butta, watching Usami becoming a politician was kinda far-fetched to me...hahaha!
Tamaki is always trying something new with his choice of characters. Usami was a typical salaryman and he's the only fella who's against the shuffling. (but his gf Mei wanted to participate...) Tamaki's performance was alright, nothing new from him actually. His expressions were quite funny, though exaggerating at the same time. I didn't like Usami with Mei , but he definitely looked good with Ai Ai (Airu).
This is probably my first time watching Karina in a drama, and I thought her performance was not bad! Her chemistry with Tamaki was really good, and I like her character Airu as well. Airu was a straightforward person compared to Mei & she got a fun-loving personality. Oh! I like Airu's little red car too...so cute!
Matsuda was definitely "very hot" in the drama. Honestly, I thought his character really stole the limelight (I supposed Tamaki's the main lead). I liked his hairstyle & image la, he looked very handsome while being a photographer and taking pics of his dates. Sera seemed to be those guys who were "very easy" with relationships, but as he met his "opponent" Kairi, we finally got to see the real Sera, who's trying to hide his real feelings from others etc. I liked him pairing up with Yoshitaka, though the latter really seemed kinda odd most of the time. Lolz!
Tanihara was probably the most senior actor here, kudos to his performance as Kikuta! Kikuta was so nice to everybody, but nobody really knew his intentions. He's "instructing" Kairi on what she shld do before commiting suicuide on her 20th birthday...and his main reason for joining the shuffle was because one of them looked like his ex. (that's quite a surprising twist...)
Luckily, Kikuta was not a evil guy like what i nearly thought. There's only four words to describe his actions...and the words are "yong xin liang ku". Haha! One more thing, Tanihara's eyes could be quite "seducing" when he looked at others...hoho!
Kanjiya's Mei and Daigo's Oishi were pretty alright to me la. They finally got married in the end, but I didn't like this couple throughout the drama. May be their characters were just not interesting to me.
Yoshitaka's Kairi was an interesting gal. I thought her acting was good. She always seemed to be very quiet, talented in arts, and suicidal. Kairi got that spooky aura around her. Though Kairi was expressionless most of the time, I really liked the moments when she smiled, like her scenes with Sera, and when Usami got her a panda soft toy etc. (She's lovely when she smiled..)
Kojima's Reiko was a "revolutionary" character. She's a married woman, and her motive to participate in the shuffling was to find a guy to make her pregnant. Imagined her husband actually knew what she's doing and supported her doings. Wow....really modern ah. Well, the drama did tell us who's the real father to her kid in the end. I thought Kojima's performance was not bad, as Reiko was really seductive with her expressions and her behaviour.
Earth, Wind & Fire's "Fantasy" was the theme song for the drama, while The Bangles's "Eternal Flame" was the insert song. It's always nice to see Japanese dramas using english oldies as theme songs.

TV Drama Review #183 - Kiina 奇异搜查事件簿

No.of Epis: 9
Year/TV Station: 2009/NTV
Cast:
Kanno Miho ~ Haruse Kiina
Hiraoka Yuta ~ Yamazaki Takeru
Sawamura Ikki ~ Miyabi Kazuma
Koike Eiko ~ Endo Sakura
Synopsis: (from Dramawiki)
At first glance Haruse Kiina is a completely normal 29-year-old. However, Kiina is the head of a special investigation unit nicknamed "Beppan" which deals with strange cases. With an unorthodox approach to solving crimes, she draws on her exceptional memory and powers of observation, and gets so absorbed in the pursuit of these cases that she forgets to eat or sleep til she solves the mystery.
Slacker's review:
It's nice to see Kanno back in a new drama! But this time round, "Kiina" seemed to be too similar to her previous drama "Hataraki Man". So what are the similarities? Firstly, Kanno's Haruse was paired up with another rookie in the drama, and that was Hiraoka's Yamazaki. (It's the same in "Hataraki Man" where Kanno was paired up with Hayami.) Secondly, both characters had some super powers-Kiina had a photographic memory, she can just flip the books and rmbed everything. As for her role Matsukata in "HM", she wld be in her "workaholic" mode when she wrote her reports etc. Thirdly, Kiina loved to eat sweet stuffs, while Matsukata loved to eat natto sushi. Fourthly, both Kiina and Matsukata didn't seem to have much luck in romance...haha! Next, both girls had some distinct trademarks when they did their poses..lol! Also, both dramas were based on respective cases in each epi.
Enough of listing the similarities. Even with so many similar stuffs, "Kiina" is still a quite unqiue drama of its own. It's a crime-solving drama, but the cases were related to unexplainable circumstances, supernatural or otherwise. Of course, in the end, the suspects were all humans. Lolz! But it's a nice way to see how they used the unconventional way to commit crimes. What's more? Some of the cases were actually based on real life cases! Even though Kiina might have her way on how to solve the crime, she always went to ask for more scientific explanations from Kudo, who's working as a scientist. (And he's Kiina's ex bf!!)
I enjoyed Kanno's portrayal as Kiina, and she didn't remind me of Matsukata in "HM", which was good. Kiina was a little exaggerating when she's not solving cases, but I liked how she enjoyed her sweet snacks and how she talked to her friends. Once she's following a case, we get to see a different Kiina on a "serious mode". Kiina cld be a little indecisive at times, and she cld be a little "different" when she spoke to Kudo? Ha! Well, I just wished that they cld find some better looking guys to act as her ex la.
Hiraoka's performance was alright, he's more like a complement to Kiina, and their chemistry was not bad la (though no romance b/w them). Yamazaki was quite a funny fella, like how he was so scared of ghost etc. Also, he yearned to join other policemen to solve the normal cases, but Miyabi always put him under "Beppan". So Yamazaki kinda "ren ming" in the end, and slowly, he changed his attitude while working with Kiina.
Other support cast was great, I think two of the cases were linked to the policemen, including Miyabi. Koike was too underused though...
Theme song "Change the World" by Michi.

TV Drama Review #181 - Triangle 三角迷踪

No.of Epis: 11
Year/TV Station: 2009/KTV & FujiTV
Cast:
Eguchi Yosuke ~ Goda Ryoji
Inagaki Goro ~ Kuroki Shun
Hirosue Ryoko ~ Sachi
Aibu Saki ~ Goda Yui
Kohinata Fumiyo ~ Maruyama Keita
Synopsis: (edited from Dramawiki)
"Triangle" starts with the murder of a 10-year-old girl in 1984. 15 years later, after the case goes unsolved and passes the statute of limitations, a doctor named Goda Ryoji suddenly quits his job as a doctor and joined the Interpol. In 2008, he meets Sachi, a traveling artist in Paris, and shortly after Goda returns to Japan, he becomes involved in the expired murder case when a detective, Kuroki, receives an anonymous phone call with regards to the case.
Slacker's review:
Initially, my expectations for "Triangle" was high, because it's not those simple or cliched thriller plots. But well, after watching a few epis, I knew that the storyline would be going round & round until the final epi, where everything wld be revealed. The excitement of the drama didn't continue for long as the suspects were soon "cleared" from the case. There were lots of twists in the drama, like how Goda's friends were involved, Sachi and her real brother, how Kuroki's father turned out to be a good guy, and finally...the murderer who had always been there with others etc. The twists were nicely done, but I disliked the fact that the case wasn't progressing as the storyline moved on. I also didn't like how Goda always knew what happened next or who's involved in the case indirectly/directly. Actually I think the main theme for this drama is to let people know that they should lead their own lives, because living your lives for someone/some incidents was a painful process, and in the end, you might not gain anything. Though for Goda, I think at least he found the person responsible for the death of his childhood friend, and he could finally let go...
It's nice to see Eguchi again, and he hasn't changed much. Actually Goda was not a very challenging role for him, coz' he's one stiff person who's always suspecting other ppl's motives etc. Eguchi's acting was great, but the character didn't really have much development. Liked his chemistry with Hirosue, though they didn't end up together...what a waste~
Glad to see Hirosue back with a lead role...Sachi was an interesting character as there's lots of character development for her. She was a "substitue" daughter ; found her long lost brother, and later how she decided to find out the truth with Goda etc. I wondered if Goda would lose himself if he had not met Sachi. The ending for Sachi was a sad one...but nicely done. Well, Hirosue proved that she could act, and I liked her in "Departures" too. Looking forward to her next piece of work...
Finally, Goro redeemed himself from his previous drama, which I thought was quite a mess. Acting wise, Goro was still the same, though I didn't think he need to do much. Kuroki was just a normal detective who's helping Goda to solve the case. He's more of a support role, but I liked his chemistry with Goda. Sometimes they didn't seem to click, but they could be good partners in work. Kuroki's main problem was his father, as he's one of the prime suspects involved in the case. As a son, he couldn't trust his father, and doubted him. Soon, he gotta faced another challenge as he couldn't trust the colleague beside him. I thought there could be some romance b/w Kuroki and Yui, but nothing happened....haha!
Kohinata is a veteran, saw him in many dramas, and this is one of the few dramas where his role was really crucial. Actually there's only one scene to hint that Maruyama was involved in the murder case, but the plot quickly "dismissed" the fact that he was involved by using Sachi's dad as the scapegoat. So, I think it wld be hard to guess that he's that fella everybody was looking for all these yrs. Hahaha! Anyway, it's still quite exciting to see Maruyama vs Goda/Kuroki.
Thumbs up to other support cast like Aibu Saki, Tanihara Shosuke, Sasaki Kuranosuke & others, they did made the drama "more fun" by contributing more confusion...haha!
Themesong "Sayonara wa Iwanai" by Oda Kazumasa. It's quite a nice song and some of the instrumentals in the OST are nice too.
If you don't mind getting a little confused or likes to see how the characters got suspected, then "Triangle" could be quite an interesting drama for u.