TV Drama Review #326 - Boku to Star no 99 Nichi 我和明星的99日

No.of Eps: 9
Yr/TV Stn: 2011/FujiTV
Cast:
Nishijima Hidetoshi ~ Namiki Kohei
Kim Tae Hee ~ Han Yuna
Kaname Jun ~ Hashizume Kazuya
Sasaki Kuranosuke ~ Takanabe Yamato
Taecyeon ~ Teson
Synopsis: (edited from Dramawiki)
So close and yet so far away...An inconspicuous body guard Namiki Kohei is assigned to be a body guard for a mega Korean super star, Han Yuna. Kohei is less than ordinary, a single man almost 40 and working part time at a security company. Despite his kind and attractive looks, he is surrounded by people who boss him around with unreasonable demands. He keeps a dream to himself, a desire to someday become an astronomer and find his very own star. He justifies not being able to fulfill this dream to lack of funds and issues with his family. Han Yuna, on the other hand, while having a perfect face and body, loves to eat junk food. She also has a kind heart for helping others in need. While every aspect of her life may seem like a girl's dream come true, she feels a certain solitude being in the entertainment industry. As Kohei and Han Yuna come closer and closer to each other, they become an inseparable couple, discovering true love...
Why should you watch? 
This is Kim Tae Hee's first full length Japanese drama, plus one of my favourite Japanese actor Nishijima.If you like 2PM's Taecyeon...then this is a must watch. His performance was better than I expected. Kim Tae Hee's acting quite convincing, but listening to her Japanese lines made her sound a little unnatural. However, I still respect her for acting in Japanese.
Why you should not watch?
The plot is standard and cliched. We already know what wld happen to a superstar-bodyguard love story when rumours are flying everywhere. There would always be a hero, in this case, Takanabe, but he would never get the female lead's love.
Nishijima's performance was not his best, perhaps the character does not suits him. Or maybe I was too used to see Nishijima is more serious roles. His chemistry with Kim Tae Hee was okay, but not great. Anyway the drama was too short for them to build up the chemistry.

TV Drama Review #325 - Kaseifu no Mita 家政妇三田

No.of Eps: 11
Yr/TV Stn: 2011/NTV
Cast:
Matsushima Nanako ~ Mita Akari
Hasegawa Hiroki ~ Asuda Keiichi
Aibu Saki ~ Yuki Urara
Kutsuna Shiori ~ Asuda Yui
Nakagawa Taishi ~ Asuda Kakeru
Ayabe Shuto ~ Asuda Kaito
Honda Miyu ~ Asuda Kii
Synopsis: (from dramawiki)
Mita Akari is a mysterious housekeeper who is completely unsociable. However, she is perfect in her housework and does whatever she is told, no matter how outlandish, as long as it doesn't involve smiling or revealing her past. She's been dispatched to the Asuda household where plenty of problems await, as the children have recently lost their mother and their father lacks confidence in his own role.  
Slacker's review:
"Kaseifu" is Japanese dramaland's miracle last year. Last epsiode hit 40% ratings, and no other dramas had this record after Kimura's "Beautiful Life" in 2000. Matsushima finally claimed back her "Queen of drama" title. 
"Kaseifu" looked like some ordinary family-related drama of a problematic family with a weird housekeeper. The drama's mysterious aura was kept very well up till the final episode. Mita's story was sad, and the scriptwriter did not let it unfold at one go. As every episode passed, the mysterious factor built up and and we were "forced" to watch the next episode, hoping to find out more about Mita and the family. The plot was really good.
I bet Matsushima had a hard time being expressionless throughout the whole drama. This is difficult acting. Mita spoke like a robot, and she's like a heartless human being with no feelings. Her speech was formal and standard, and at times I really thought she's not a real human being. Lolz~ Finally we got to see the more humane side of Mita, but too bad, she returned to her old self when she moved on to a new family. Excellence performance by Matsushima and it's great to have a back with a lead role.
Hasegawa is not a A lister, but his daddy role is very important in this drama. (He's the male lead~). Hasegawa portrayed Asuda very well. A father who had an affair, and later chased out by his kids. He learnt his lesson and became a better & responsible father.
Aibu Saki's Urara is the supporting female lead, and her character was not really focused in depth. Too bad I found her acting still the same. Aibu need to have a new image or else she is stuck at the same stage.
The kiddos - Kutsuna, Nakagawa, Ayabe and Honda did a good job acting as the Asuda children. Their acting were natural and convincing.
A drama not to be missed.

TV Drama Review #324 - Nankyoku Tairiku ~Kami no Ryouiki ni Idomunda Otoko to Inu no Monogatari~ 南极大陆

No.of Eps: 10
Year/TV Stn: 2011/TBS
Cast:
Kimura Takuya ~ Kuramochi Takeshi
Ayase Haruka ~ Takaoka Miyuki
Sakai Masato ~ Himuro Haruhiko
Yamamoto Yusuke ~ Inuzuka Natsuo
Synopsis: (from Jdrama weblog)
11 men were sent to the South Pole for the first time in February 1957 in a national project to explore Antartica. They were accompanied by a dogsled of 19 Sakhalin dogs. When they left for Japan a year later, they were forced to leave the dogs behind due to the bad weather. In January 1959, Kuramochi Takeshi and some others joined a third expedition to ascertain the fate of the dogs Taro and Jiro. Slacker's review:
"Nankyoku" is not your average Japanese drama. It's also not a drama about romance, so even if Kimura is leading, ratings wld be affected because of the nature of the plot. Nonetheless, this drama is really above the average. It's a touching, genuine story about a group of men and dogs who went to Antarctica for a expedition. It might be boring at first, but the storyline wld touch many hearts later on. I guessed the dogs made the drama alive. It's sad to see the dogs dying one by one as they tried to survive the harsh climate conditions. It's also touching to see Kuramochi trying all means to return to Antarctica to save his dogs.
Kimura obviously has aged quite a bit, but acting is still his usual quality. It's good that he challenged himself with characters like Kuramochi. While Kuramochi had a great relationship with his dogs, his romance with Ayase's Takaoka was less focused...very low profile. I wished that they cld give the couple more screen time together.
Sorry to say, Ayase hardly appeared in the drama, even though she's the female lead here. She's not leading the drama in fact. This is a guys' drama, so sorry la...even A lister also becomes flower vase.
The rest of the cast was great, especially actors like Sakai, Kagawa and Yamamoto. It's good to see younger actors acting in more serious productions rather than those exaggerating idol dramas.

TV Drama Review #323 - Sengyoshufu Tantei ~ Watashi wa Shadow 全职主妇侦探

No.of Eps: 9
Yr/TV Stn: 2011/NTV
Cast:
Fukada Kyoko ~ Asagi Serina
Kiritani Kenta ~ Jinnai Haruki
Fujiki Naohito ~ Asagi Takefumi
Synopsis: (from Dramawiki)
Asagi Serina is a housewife who loves her husband, Takefumi, to the extent that she would not mind being his shadow. However, his response to her excessive devotion is to attempt to avoid her “burdensome”, “gross” expression of love. With a wife’s naivety, she refuses to suspect her husband of infidelity, and initially gets frustrated. One day, with the help of her good friend, Motoko, Serina goes out for a meal with the men at the publishing company where Motoko works. The moment a man in the group makes a move on her, it is captured on film by the sleuth, Jinnai Haruki. Not wanting her husband to see the photograph, Serina starts working at Jinnai’s detective agency as an assistant. This ordinary, bumbling housewife grows stronger and improves her self-confidence through the skills she hones. Serina wants to support and help her husband instead of flaunting her new self to him because he is having a hard time. Aware of the problem that happened to her husband because of her over positivity, she sets about trying to solve it.
Slacker's review:
Fukada+Fujiki combi is something new to me. "Sengyoshufu" has this interesting storyline that even a housewife can become a detective! I was kinda skeptical about the drama, but the plot turned out better than I expected. Actually the main focus of the plot was how Serina found out what her husband Takefumi really did at work. He got this big secret plot hidden away from Serina. Ending was not a surprise, but I was glad Takefumi really loved Serina and realised his silly mistake.
Fukada's acting is still her usual kawaii style, but I enjoyed her performance this time round. Many ppl wld find Serina to be too naive and pitiful. I agreed she was taken for granted, and that's why it felt so great when she became strong and even managed to help Takefumi out. The whole drama was like a growing lesson for Serina.
Chemistry with Fujiki was alright, but that's because Takefumi was such a reserved person. I felt that Fujiki's acting was restricted. He was stiff in his role. Sorry Fujiki, you shld stop picking such roles la.
Kiritani's Jinnai was funny, and I enjoyed his scenes with Serina more. Too bad Serina only loves Takefumi, or else I wld really support Jinnai-kun!!
Theme song is "Spice" by Perfume.

TV Drama Review #314 - Ouran High School Host Club 樱兰高校男公关部

No.of Eps: 11
Yr/TV Stn: 2011/TBS
Cast:
Kawaguchi Haruna ~ Fujioka Haruhi
Yamamoto Yusuke ~ Suou Tamaki
Daito Shunsuke ~ Ootori Kyoya
Nakamura Masaya ~ Morinozuka
Takashi Chiba Yudai ~ Haninozuka Mitsukuni
Takagi Shinpei ~ Hitachiin Hikaru
Takagi Manpei ~ Hitachiin Kaoru
Synopsis: (edited from Asian Cinematic)
First is lineage and second is money for the host club at Ouran High School, one of the private and most prestigious schools in Japan which boys and girls from a privileged segment of society attend. The host club is a magnificent play group where well-off girls with too much time on their hands are entertained by six good looking guys, who are equally free. Fujioka Haruhi is the only commoner to enter Ouran High School on a scholarship because of her high scholastic standing. One day, Haruhi breaks the host club’s 8 million yen flower vase. Stuck with a debt, she is assigned by Suou Tamaki to make her host debut in order to pay off her debt. However, it turns out that Haruhi is a girl. Tamaki’s heart thumps hard in reaction to her lovely smile...
Slacker's review: 
To be honest, most Japanese manga-turned-live action dramas turn out to be below average. The storyline can be quite nonsensical with exaggerated acting, and everything seems so unreal. Ouran is another typical idol drama, but I managed to clear it. Maybe I am curious about the manga as it's quite famous. 2ndly, the drama turns out to be better than I anticipated. The exaggerating stuffs are still there, but it's quite entertaining.
Performance wise, Kawaguchi did a good job in portraying Haruhi. Her acting is rather natural and perhaps she's one of the few who does not need to exaggerate in the drama.
Yamamoto hardly stands out in his other works, but finally he got a lead role in an idol drama. Tamaki is very exaggerating, but equally funny. Without him, there's no Ouran hosts.
Daito stands out as the more matured and quiet Ootori. I thought it wld be interesting to see him fight for Haruhi, but Tamaki is his good bro la.
The rest of the cast are alright. The Takagi twins are quite interesting as well, though I don't like their bromance....just too cheesy.
Theme song is "FRiDAY-MA-MAGiC" by miwa. 

TV Drama Review #312 - Bull Doctor

No.of Eps: 11
Yr/TV Stn: 2011/NTV
Cast:
Esumi Makiko ~ Odate Tamami
Ishihara Satomi ~ Kamatsuda Chika
Inagaki Goro ~ Nakura Junnosuke
Shida Mirai ~ Takeda Mia
Synopsis: (edited from asian cinematic.com)
Tamami is a shrewd forensic pathologist who boldly acts according to her own convictions. She would do whatever it takes to reveal the truth behind the deaths of victims who have no voice, and pays no heed to the objections from those around her. But at home, she has trouble with household chores and communicating with her son, which makes her feel torn between work and family. Chika is a career detective who does nothing at the police precinct. She wants success in work as well as marriage, but her life spins around in aimless circles. Even though the two of them face off each other over strange, unnatural deaths and get into conflicts because they are the least compatible, they unravel these mysteries as if they are speaking for the dead.
Slacker's review:
It has been sometime since Esumi acted in a drama. The drama is pretty standard. We got 2 females, a pathologist and a police woman, who worked together to solve cases. In between them, there's a guy who seems to have ulterior motives. He's Tamani's colleague, and Chika's boyfriend (Nakura by Inagaki). Actually the drama is boring, but I am curious about Nakura. He's the mysterious guy with unknown intentions. Side plots include Tamami's family issues, and Chika's romance with Nakura.
Esumi always appear as a strong-willed woman and Tamami is one of them. I guess it's hard to see Esumi in a less manly role. Lolz!
Ishihara did not leave me with a strong impression, but she did a good job here. I liked Ishihara's chemistry with Esumi, but her chemistry with Inagaki is somewhat lacking...
I wondered why Chika likes Nakura...he did not seem to care much about her, and I thought he made use of her to get info...but well, Nakura is not an easy person to understand. Their relationship is really quite different.
Inagaki is quite good with mysterious roles, and Nakura happens to be the typical character Inagaki often acts. Among all SMAP members, I thought Inagaki is always underrated. He's one of the better singers in SMAP, and as for acting, he's not too bad as well. I thought Inagaki's image always restricts him, but we do need actors who can give this "creepy" atmosphere.
Shida's character is minor here, but the girl has grown a lot...nearly cld not recognise her :p Theme song is "Far As The Sky" by CHARICE.

TV Drama Review #301 - Rebound 减肥反弹

No.of Eps: 9
Yr/TV Stn: 2011/NTV
Cast:
Aibu Saki ~ Oba Nobuko
Hayami Mokomichi ~ Imai Taichi
Kuriyama Chiaki ~ Mimura Hitomi
Katsuji Ryo ~ Kazami Kensaku
Synopsis: (edited from Jdrama weblog)
Oba Nobuko came upon the strawberry shortcake of her dreams at some cake shop when she was 6 years old. After that, she single-mindedly “lived to eat” and weighed 78 kg by the time she was 22. However, she was dumped by her boyfriend, Kazami Kensaku. This spurred her to diet and she successfully lost over 30 kg within one year. She also got a job with Eden, the fashion magazine she adores. One day, Nobuko is ordered by her boss to go to cover an interview at Ange, a popular cake shop. In truth, Nobuko has been diagnosed by her family doctor as having a cake addiction, and cake shops are forbidden places to her. Once she takes a bite of a delicious cake, she cannot stop eating and she would rebound to her original 78 kg. Nobuko reluctantly takes her good friend, Hitomi, with her and heads to the cake shop which creates lines. She has a fateful encounter with the owner and patissier of Ange, Imai Taichi, and falls in love with him! She eats cakes for his sake, and her body …
Slacker's review:
I was glad to see my "Zettai Kareshi" couple returned in another rom-com. However, "Rebound" is not a good comeback from them. The plot was boring, lacked of climax, and it was weird to see the couple gained and lost weight at different timing. It's just unrealistic. 
Aibu portrayed Nobuko well, especially when she found out that Hitomi also likes Taichi. Aibu was convincing and natural.
As for Hayami, this is definitely nt his best performance. I did not like Taichi somehow, and Hayami looked kind of sloppy here.I cld nt understand why Nobuko likes him. He's just not gd enough for her leh.
Hardly watch Kuriyama's drama, but she's not too bad too. Just a pity that I did not follow much on Hitomi.
Theme song is "Boogie Wonderland" by Earth, Wind & Fire.

TV Drama Review #300 - BOSS 2

No.of Eps: 11
Yr/TV Stn: 2011/Fuji TV
Cast:
Amami Yuki ~ Osawa Eriko
Takenouchi Yutaka ~ Nodate Shinjiro
Tamayama Tetsuji ~ Katagiri Takuma
Hasegawa Kyoko ~ Tadokoro Sachiko
Mizobata Junpei ~ Hanagata Ippei
Narumi Riko ~ Kurohara Rika
Toda Erika ~ Kimoto Mami
Notable Cameos:
Shaku Yumiko ~ Numata Yoshimi (ep1-2)
2PM ~ 2PM (ep6)
Tanihara Shosuke ~ Ishikawa Futoshi (ep8)
Kimura Ryo ~ Kawamura Makoto (ep6)
Sakaguchi Kenji ~ Masaki Shogo (ep9)
Synopsis: (edited from Jdrama Weblog)
Two years ago, the Special Crimes Unit which Osawa Eriko headed, was embroiled in corruption and disbanded. Eriko had taken responsibility and went to America. When she was at the airport and about to set off, she had received a call from Nodate Shinjiro, the founder of the Special Crimes Unit who is both her contemporary and superior. He says Black Moon, the anti-government organisation, has claimed that the head of the police organisation, Chairman Kurohara Kenzo of the National Public Safety Commission, will be the next target of a sniper attack. Furthermore, there is a high possibility that he will be targeted at an event. Nodate orders Eriko to rush over because he has made the members of the unit head to the venue, and she agrees. At the same moment, Takakura Ryuhei, one of the leaders of Black Moon whom the Special Crimes Unit had arrested, escapes while under escort. Meanwhile, Kimoto Mami discovers a time bomb at a building behind the venue and starts to dispose of it. Katagiri Takuma, Yamamura Keisuke, Hanagata Ippei and Iwai Zenji split up to get the people to safety and search for suspicious individuals. While this is going on, Mami reports to Eriko that she has finished dismantling the bomb. However, when she takes a closer look at it, she realises that it is a fake bomb. Then, at that moment, Eriko detects the reflection of a gun’s scope. She stretches over Kurohara, but he is shot in the back. Katagiri receives Eriko’s report and rushes over to the place where the gun was fired. After that, a seriously injured Kurohara is forced to resign. The Special Crimes Unit is disbanded once again to assume responsibility for the shooting and Eriko goes to America. It has been two years since then.
Nodate, who has risen to become the counsellor as a result of the performance of Eriko and the unit, accepts an important case with the intention of securing another promotion. And, he revives the Special Crimes Unit ...
Slacker's review:
The most obvious change was the addition of 2 new ladies, Hasegawa and Narumi. Besides that, the plot was about the same, a bit more "cheesy", and there were some twists in some characters as well. To be honest, I was bored with the drama, so I did not watch seriously. Though some of the cases were interesting while some I just skipped through. Looks like I gotta take a break from such dramas.
Amami and Takenouchi's chemistry was good, but nothing new from them. Hasegawa's character was quite a surprise...towards the end. Narumi's acting still cld not convince me that she can act. Toda was great, but she only had a few scenes. What a pity~
There were a lot of cameos in Season 2, and the 2PM scenes were really funny. It just goes to show that the Koreans have dominate the Japanese mkt somehow.
I liked the cases with Sakaguchi, and Shaku Yumiko as they were more interesting, and it was great to see them back on small screens.

TV Drama Review #299 - Shiawase ni Narou yo 一定要幸福

No.of Eps: 10
Yr/TV Stn: 2011/Fuji TV
Cast:
Katori Shingo ~ Takakura Junpei
Kuroki Meisa ~ Yanagisawa Haruna
Fujiki Naohito ~ Yashiro Hidehiko
Naka Riisa ~ Sakuragi Marika
Synopsis: (edited from Jdrama weblog)
Takakura Junpei is an adviser at the marriage agency, B-ring. He is a go-between whose conviction is that “true romance has to blossom between two people even if they meet at a marriage agency”, and prides himself on a zero divorce rate. One day, Yanagisawa Haruna, an exquisitely beautiful lady who works at a prestigious company, comes to B-ring. When Junpei attends to Haruna, she specifies a reasonable condition that any person who can provide her with a comfortable life is fine. He immediately asks her to leave. This is how their encounter starts out. It comes at a time when he has just been hit hard by the marriage of a girlfriend he used to date to a friend of his. However, the next day, Haruna visits the B-ring to return a borrowed pen to Junpei and gets officially registered with the agency. Junpei promptly introduces Haruna to a member who is right for her. However, the man is intimidated by her beauty and flees. Anxious for Haruna, Junpei reluctantly invites her on a simulated date in order to rehearse for a “correct date”, but realises that he had truly enjoyed the moment. A man named Yashiro Hidehiko comes to B-ring. His wedding ceremony has just ended and his wife is pregnant. Marika, who is suspicious of Haruna’s background, begins to check up on her personal history, while Junpei developes feelings for Haruna...
Slacker's review:
Spring "Mon 9" was quite monotonous somehow, but it's still not too bad. "Shiawase" is a nice romance drama which got a somewhat mysterious element embedded in it. That's because Haruna and Yashiro's r/s was not clear cut to viewers in the beginning. Actually the storyline is ok, but the pace was a little slow to me, and the whole atmosphere of the drama was sort of dull. The cast was nt too bad (I like the guys), but our main lead Kuroki was stiff and expressionless. I wished they cld have picked another actress.
Shingo is one of the better actors in SMAP. I dare to say he's on par with Kimura, just that there might be restriction of characters for him. His performance was great here, but can't surpass his previous drama "Bara no nai Hanaya". (His character in Bara was really good!) Shingo was probably the main reason why I kept watching "Shiawase". Junpei is not those guys who tried to deny his own feelings. I liked how he enjoyed accompanying Haruna and stayed by her side when she was feeling down. Junpei was the typical Mr Nice man, and Shingo's acting was convincing. However, chemistry with Kuroki was ....alright only. I think the problem lies with our Ms. Model. She just can't act. I do not understand why she can lead dramas.
So, Kuroki's acting was really mediocre. She had no chemistry with both Shingo and Fujiki. She needs to learn what's acting ne.
Fujiki returns with a support role, and his character was neither good not bad. Yashiro was "unfaithful" to his wife, but I believed he nv loved his wife. He married her for his career. So, I cld tell he truly loved Haruna, just that they were nt meant to be. The best twist in the drama was Yashiro and his wife's plot. It turned out to be something unexpected.
Naka Riisa is getting popular, but she's still not getting solid roles. Nice to see Marika as she's quite a nice character. Sort of b*****y, but she's fun.
There was a cameo by "Boss 2" cast as well.
Theme song is "not alone ~Shiawase ni narou yo~" by SMAP.

TV Drama Review #297 - JIN 2 仁医-完结篇

No.of Eps: 11
Yr/TV Stn: 2011/TBS
Cast:
Osawa Takao ~ Minakata Jin
Ayase Haruka ~ Tachibana Saki
Uchino Masaaki ~ Sakamoto Ryoma
Nakatani Miki ~ Tomonaga Miki / Nokaze
Koide Keisuke ~ Tachibana Kyotaro
Synopsis: (from Jdrama weblog)
It has been two years since Minakata Jin went back in time to the closing days of the Tokugawa shogunate. One day, Sakamoto Ryoma arrives from Kyoto to seek Jin’s help. Ryoma says Katsu Kaishu’s mentor, Sakuma Shozan, has been attacked by a group of samurai warriors, called the Shinsengumi, and is near death. However, Sakuma survives because of Jin’s fervent treatment. As a troubled Jin worries that his treatments may change the course of history, Sakuma tells him, “Save people without hesitation!” After that, Jin, who has been treating the injuries of the people, is taken away by the Shinsengumi and asked to give Saigo Kichinosuke (later known as Saigo Takamori) medical attention, but...
Slacker's review:
JIN returns with the final sequel. I was pretty bored with Jdramas these days. Thankfully, there is still some up to mark productions. JIN 2 did not disappoint me. Plot was solid and cast was great as usual. We finally got to know the mystery behind the bandaged man which Minakata saw in present times. I liked how they developed Saki's character as well. She's one courageous woman! There are sad moments too, like the departure of Ryoma, and toucing scenes of Nokaze giving birth to her child. Lots of classic moments here....terrific!
Osawa's Minakata was not as cheerful as compared to the 1st series. Perhaps he was worried about Ryoma's safety. Minakata was rather serious throughout the drama, and that's understandable as the mood of the drama was rather solemn as well. Osawa's performance was one of the best I've seen this yr in Jdrama. Solid and expressive acting!
Ayase's performance was great as well. Saki was such a lovable girl. As much as I loved Ayase's performance in "Hotaru", I thought her acting in JIN was much more matured and polished.
Nakatani was awesome. I always liked the classy Nokaze, and thank goodness they did not kill her off in the drama!
Uchino was a veteran and awesome performance from him as well. Ryoma was the most impt character in the drama, and I liked the chemistry b/w Osawa and Uchino. Brothers indeed!
Koide's character was a little "darkish" here, but I cld understand his position. Loved the scene whereby he carried the injured Saki back to the hospital. The siblings scenes were really great.
For those who have watched JIN, you must not miss JIN 2!

TV Drama Review #287 - Taisetsu na Koto wa Subete Kimi ga Oshiete Kureta 是你教会了我重要的一切

No.of Eps: 10
Yr/TV Stn: 2011/Fuji TV
Cast:
Miura Haruma ~ Kashiwagi Shuji
Toda Erika ~ Uemura Natsumi
Uchida Yuki ~ Mizutani Aya
Takei Emi ~ Saeki Hikari
Synopsis: (edited from Dramawiki)
Natsumi and Shuji, who are teachers in a high school, are set to get married in half a year's time. However, the night before the school year's opening ceremony, Shuji becomes involved with the young Hikari without realizing that she will be a student in his class starting the next day. As Shuji struggles to help Hikari deal with the mental complex she is suffering from, he is also torn inside by his betrayal of Natsumi. Meanwhile, Hikari attempts to get closer to Natsumi, driven by feelings of jealousy and a desire to destroy the couple's relationship.
Slacker's review:
I think many ppl were led down by the plot. We were lost as the plot seemed to lose its direction, as if we were in a "merry-go-round". The characters seemed very confused themselves, and even the ending did not convinced me that they had "learnt" something. It was a weak "Mon9" (this is the prime slot for Fuji TV's dramas). The storyline was kinda weak, but it's actually a character-driven drama, so there were more depth for the characters' development.
Miura and Toda were no longer new names in the Jdrama world. Toda's name kept popping out everywhere. She's really hardworking, but lacks a role which cld make her stood out from the crowd. Toda's performance was much better than Miura, as the actress's acting was natural and expressive.
Miura, on the other hand, looked a tad old with his old fashioned hair styling. Seriously, he's too young to act as a matured man, and a teacher? Nt quite convincing to me. I don't like weak characters, so it's hard for me to like Shuji. He's a nice responsible guy who can be quite contradicted.
The actress who stole the limelight is Takei. A young actress who looked older than her real age. Her acting was quite convincing and rather natural. As for her character Hikari, I did not like her initially as she tried to come b/w Shuji and Natsumi. However, we got to know Hikari a lot better, and she's a girl who lacked her parent's love and understanding.
Theme song is "EXIT" by Porno Graffitti

TV Drama Review #286 - LADY~Saigo no Hanzai Profile~ LADY～最后的犯罪画像

No.of Eps: 10
Yr/TV Stn: 2011/TBS
Cast:
Kitagawa Keiko ~ Kazuki Shoko
Kimura Tae ~ Yuki Akira
Hiraoka Yuta ~ Shinbori Keisuke
Sudo Risa ~ Okui Marie
Kaname Jun ~ Terada Takehiko
Yusuke Santamaria ~ Tsuge Masaki
Synopsis: (edited from Jdrama weblog)
It is early days at the newly established Criminal Profiling Support Team (‘CPS’) by the Tokyo Metropolitan Police, when the first call for help in a full-fledged murder case comes in. A married couple has been brutally murdered and their only son has gone missing. There has already been two similar cases at different locations recently. At the direction of chief profiler Yuki Akira, Katsuki Shoko, a new profiler with the CPS and Terada Takehiko from the same unit, go to the scene of the crime to perform an analysis. Shoko and Terada link up with the First Investigative Division’s Tsuge Masaki, who has just finished his investigation of the scene, and start to tell Akira and the rest back at the headquarters about the crime scene through a wireless live camera feed. Shoko focuses her attention on images of the criminal’s actions while analysing the scene. The investigation task force views the murders as multiple crimes committed by a group of foreigners, but Shoko remembers the sense of discomfort she had felt at the scene and states that this murder and the previous two cases were the work of a lone criminal. At the CPS, everyone is engrossed in criminal information analysis, but the analysis does not quite get anywhere. Then, just as Akira had feared, the investigation task force receives a letter from the criminal. The members of the CPS are asked for the profiling. Akira announces it, but Shoko, who perceives the murderer’s feelings from the words in the letter and is unable to contain herself, bursts out with her opinion. The next day, the investigation task force publishes the letter in the newspapers according to Shoko’s opinion, but the brutal murder of another married couple occurs...
Slacker's review:
The recent trend of detective drama is to play with psychology. Psychology cld be used in many aspects, though I am not sure if such departments really exist in Japan's police force. We saw 2 kind of similar dramas last season. "Lady" is one of them, while the other is Fujiki's "Control". I gave up "Control" as the drama was boring, and the leading actor & actress had zero chemistry. "Lady" was slightly more interesting as there's a mystery ard Kazuki (her dad's case).
Seriously, I am quite bored with detective dramas (there's at least one every season). Well, what's made "Lady" different was how they cracked the cases, and it's interesting to understand criminal's mindset and worked your way out to nab them.
Acting from the cast was alright. I can't say they did well as such roles are nt challenging. Kitagawa has yet to impress me with her acting, but I preferred her in roles like Kazuki rather than some rich spoilt girl (Moon Lovers).
Good to see Kimura again. I thought her performance was better than Kitagawa. We cld see internal struggles of Yuki with regards to Kazuki's dad case.
Same for Santamaria. Tsuge was a fair guy, but he's quite mysterious in the drama as well. The veteran actor handled this mystery aura well.
Theme song is "Mukei Spirit" by Shibasaki Kou.

TV Drama Review #284 - Diplomat Kosaku Kuroda 外交官黑田康作

No. of Eps: 10
Yr/TV Stn: 2011/Fuji TV
Cast:
Oda Yuji ~ Kuroda Kosaku
Shibasaki Kou ~ Ogaki Rikako
Kaho ~ Shimomura Rui
Kagawa Teruyuki ~ Shimomura Takeshi
John ~ Lee Byung Hun (cameo)
Synopsis: (edited from Jdrama weblog)
Kuroda Kosaku, a diplomat with the Japanese Ministry of Foreign affairs receives secret orders from his superior to protect Japanese nationals, and moves from place to place around the world. Kuroda solves a case involving the kidnapping of a Japanese in South America, and heads to San Francisco next. His objective is to protect Mikami Shoko, the Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs, who is visiting to attend the WTO negotiations on agriculture. Kuroda, who enters San Francisco and checks on the security at the meeting, meets John, an informant, and listens to the movements of the FBI. After that, he meets Shimomura Takeshi, a former diplomat, again. Shimomura and Kuroda have a close connection from their work at the consulate in Mexico 11 years ago. When they part, Shimomura leaves Kuroda with the cryptic words, “I’m sorry”. At that moment, the murder of a university professor occurs within the jurisdiction Tsukuda Police Precinct in Japan. Detective Ogaki Rikako of Tsukuda Police Precinct is the first person to discover the dead body. Rikako is bothered by the time of the dead body’s discovery and tells her boss about it, but is ignored. At the negotiation meeting, the Vice Minister appears to be attacked by radicals. Kuroda, who suspects they had a man on the inside, is notified that a Japanese has jumped to his death … That man is Shimomura! Meanwhile, a suspect surfaces in the murder that occurred within Tsukuda Police Precinct’s jurisdiction from the footprints, fingerprints and articles left at the scene. The suspect is Shimomura. Rikako goes to San Francisco with his daughter, Rui, to identify Shimomura’s body and the evidence & meet Kuroda...
Slacker's review:
"Diplomat" is actually related to movie "Amalfi: Rewards of the Goddess", which was shown 2 yrs ago in Japan. "Diplomat" is not a sequel of that movie, even though the main character is still Kuroda (and acted by Oda).
Diplomat's storyline is very....serious. I was rather bored with the developments, but did not give up as I wanted to know what is Shimomura up to. No romance in this drama, and even the interactions b/w Kuroda and Ogaki was...cold. (Ok, I did not expect anything from them as well..haha!)
Oda is good in such serious roles, and he's quite charismatic as Kuroda. I liked his solemn face, but that also means he only had one expression most of the time. Chemistry with Shibasaki was alright. From the synopsis, it seemed that Ogaki was helping Kuroda, but in the drama, Ogaki was more following orders. The two of them were very distant to each other, though they were working on the same staff.
It's a total waste to see Shibasaki acting as a flower vase in the drama. They don't need an A-lister to act such minor roles. Ogaki was really plain ordinary and the character restricted Shibasaki's performance.
Nice to see Kaho again, and she's getting better. Lots of emotional scenes for Rui, and her character got more developments than Ogaki!
I think the best actor here is perhaps Kagawa. His performance was really great, and Shimomura is not those one-dimensional baddie.
Last but not least, we got to see Mr Lee cameo-ing for this drama. The guy spoke english throughout and I liked his scenes with Oda. Two charismatic men~~~haha!
Anyway, if you want to see a proper ending to this drama, gotta wait till later of the year for the movie version. I really don't like such arrangements, but that's how they earn big bucks...