:: Sixtwentyseven ::

Enomoto Kei (Ohno Satoshi) is a security "otaku" working for a security firm, devoted to improving the securities system on a daily basis. He is not an easy person to familiarize oneself with, always collected and calm, unapproachable, a maniac in Physics, Science, Architecture and profound in other basic theoretical foundation. He is certain and proud of the fact that there is no key which he cannot unlock.

One day, Kei is asked to help reveal a mystery behind a locked room murderer. While he lacks any interest in solving the mystery, he is inevitably intrigued by the term, "Closed Doors" and decides to take on the position. He works side by side with Aoto Junko (Toda Erika) and Serizawa Gou (Sato Koichi), who are lawyers working at a major law firm. Junko is pure and forward, acting upon her instincts while Serizawa is a prideful elitist who sees time as money, and therefore, will not take on any job that is unprofitable.

Possessing a vast amount of knowledge and acute insightfulness, Kei is able to unlock the closed doors and unravel the secrets leading to the solution. (Credits: Dramawiki)

I have actually started this recent drama (Spring 2012) based on my friend's recommendation that this drama has really got him hooked (well, part of the fact is that my friend is crazy about Toda Erika). But nonetheless, once I've started on the drama I am hooked as well (not by Erika though).

Kagi no Kakatta Heya is different from other Japanese detective dramas as it purely focus on locked room cases. Locked room cases are cases whereby a crime has occurred and on the front there seems to be no way to enter or exit the crime scene. And it is this mystery theme that got me hooked to this drama. Each episode will conclude one case (with the exception of the last case of course to end the drama with a climax) and that's the plus point for Japanese dramas in general as it is short and sweet to the point.

Ohno Satoshi is a member of Arashi, who has also provided the ending theme for the drama but he is unfamiliar to me as I did not manage to catch any of the dramas he starred in. However, as Endomoto Kei, Ohno Satoshi did a pretty decent job by keeping a straight face throughout the drama, no easy feat mind you. Toda Erika and Sato Koichi provided the laughter in this drama with in some witty moments, making this drama not as serious as it can be.

Throughout the drama, they have also invited well known actors to act as the main lead for the story. Tamaki Hiroshi, Shida Mirai, Aibu Saki are just some the well known names that acted in this drama, bring it additional star power.

Overall, this drama is really enjoyable and it has been some time since I've watched a drama and wanting to straightaway go on to the next episode. 16% rating during its run? Justifiable.

Continuing with my never ending list of dramas to catch up, I've decided to choose a more recent and light hearted drama to watch. Boku to Star no 99 Nichi is Kim Tae Hee's first japanese drama. Although Kim Tae Hee was introduced to the japanese public through IRIS, that was essentially an imported drama. This drama is her first japan feature.

Boku to Star no 99 Nichi is a light hearted drama comedy about a bodyguard and the star he is supposed to protect. Namiki Kohei (Nishijima Hidetoshi) is a 40 year old part time bodyguard who seems to have no dreams of the future and is easily bossed around by his family and boss. Han Yuna (Kim Tae Hee) a top korean star invited to act in a drama. Their fate crossed when Namiki is assigned to protect Yuna for 99 days. As Kohei and Yuna come closer and closer to each other, they begin to fall for each other. What will happen after 99 days? Will they go their separate ways?

For the start, Kim Tae Hee looks absolutely fabulous in here. I'm also very impressed with her command of Japanese as usually foreign artists will be struggling with the command of the language, especially with the amount of lines a main lead will have. However, Kim Tae Hee, together with Taecyeon of Korean boy group 2PM, perform admirably for their grasp of the language.

Nishijima Nidetoshi is not unfamiliar to me as I've watched another drama that he starred in. The only difference is that the former drama has a more serious tone while this is the first time I've seen him in a comedy drama. I thought his performance was good, but probably not spectacular enough. On the other hand, the 2nd male lead, Sasaki Kuranosuke, who acted as a top japan superstar Takanabe Yamato in the drama, stole the scenes in the drama with his larger than life comedic acting. However, this is what I expected from Sasaki Kuranosuke because he is a very versatile actor who is really good with his facial and body expressions. And he clearly deliver in the show because all the comedic moments are created by him.

I wouldn't say the drama is exciting nor unexpected. However, the quality of the production is still high and the overall story holds, with few loopholes here and there. If you're looking for something unexpected, this is clearly not the one for you. After all, you do not do something unexpected in romantic comedy dramas.

I would say people would definitely be drawn to this drama due to the Kim Tae Hee factor. I'd say this because besides looking absolutely radiant in the drama, Kim Tae Hee offers something different from the japanese actresses. In a way, because she's a foreign actress, it was refreshing in a way. Do catch the drama if you have not done so!

Hello everyone and Happy New Year to all~~

I've just realised that I didn't put any Xmas greetings nor New year greetings, hence the late shout out.

Well, I thought I'd start of the new year by continuing what I did last year by reducing the back log of J-dramas. I thought I should start off with something short hence I chose Juunen Saki mo Kimi ni Koishite. Afterall, I'd consider this drama on the light side.

Juunen Saki mo Kimi ni Koishite, roughly translated as I'll Still Love You In 10 Years talks about a time travel story. Onozawa Rika (Ueto Aya) works as a editor for a book company and is in charge of an up and coming author Hidaka Koji (Gekidan Hitori) and demanding accomplished author Hamada Azusa (Watanabe Eri). One day, she suddenly meets a mysterious man Maruyama Hiroshi (Uchino Masaaki) who is stalking her. When she confronts him, Hiroshi told her that he is her husband from 10 years in the future and ask her not marry him when the current him proposes to her.

Ever since Ueto Aya broke away from her cutesy roles like the ones in Attention Please!, I have been following her dramas like Zettai Reido and Nagareboshi. I used to hate her acting in those cutesy roles, but Zettai Reido really changed my opinion of her. I do think her acting has matured as each drama goes by. We do know she can't survive on those roles when she matures, but at last I feel she is giving her performance the credit that it deserves.

In Junnen, Aya continues to produce an assured performance in the drama. I do think that the plot is as stretched out as it can be given that it's only 6 episodes. The ending is of course predictable, given that we all like nice endings, but nonetheless the drama is still worth the watch. Uchino Masaaki also gave a solid performance in the drama, especially in the various scenes where the younger and older him interacts with Rika. If you find Uchino Masaaki familiar, he appears in JIN as well.

Oh, I absolutely love the song "Time of Love" by Crystal Kay. I thought the song compliments the feelings that the drama should evoke.

You can sample the song below:

Instead of watching a full drama series, I've decided to watch one of the various one episode TV special instead. Digging through the trough of SP that I have not touched, I've decided to watch Hitsudan Hostess first since it's was aired close to 2 years ago.

Histudan Hostess is based on the real life story of Saito Rie, who became Ginza's number 1 hostess despite being deaf. Kitagawa Keiko star as Saito Rie in this adaptation. Rie became deaf at age 1 due to an illness. Despite that, her mother attempted to give Rie as normal a childhood as possible compared to normal children. She also sent her to calligraphy classes when she was young. However, as she graduated from high school, she begins to realise that people still have prejudice against the deaf. Her family wanted to protect her by asking her to stay at home but she is determined to find her own footing. A chance encounter with a host owner lead her to join her club to be a hostess. Initially, she still had obstacles in her job but gradually began to excel in her job by communicating with her clients with pen and paper. "Hitsudan" means communicating through writing in Japanese. However, her mother disapproved of her job. Determined to prove her mother wrong, she strive to be Japan's No. 1 hostess.

I have not read the original novel by Saito Rie, but I would like to believe the scriptwriter has more or less followed the novel. Hitsudan Hostess does not serves to be heavy, but I was touched by the story, especially at the ending 15 minutes which is essentially the essence of the TV special. The ending footage includes the real Saito Rie as well, and I got to say she is a real beauty in person. But what I was more impressed was the acting of Kitagawa Keiko in this drama as she almost has no lines in the whole 90 minutes, save for a few. Even so, when she speaks, she has to speak creditably like how a deaf speaks, which I feel is pretty convincing. Most of her acting require a strong display of facial expressions, which for an actor requires some skill as well. I do think that in this aspect, she has pulled it off creditably. Of course, with as a hostess, Keiko is dressed in several beautiful dresses and kimonos, which is a great plus point to watch the drama as well.

Continuing with my backlogging of Jap dramas, the next show still lying around is Nagareboshi. As compared to Boss 2, which i took pretty long to complete, the time I took to finish Nagareboshi is somewhat much lesser. I will explain why later in this post.

Takenouchi Yutaka is the main lead Okada Kengo, a diligent employee in a local aquarium. All seems well on the outside for the Okada family, but Kengo's sister Maria (Kitano Kii) is sick with liver problems and needs a transplant. Due to Japan laws, only relatives are allowed to donate their livers to Maria, but all of them shunned away from the family. It is at this time that Kengo met Makihara Risa (Ueto Aya), a sex trade worker who is forced to pay off her brother's Shuichi (Inagaki Goro) debts. Risa is also facing problems with her brother's debts and his swindling ways. With both sides in desperation, Kengo trying to find a donor for his sister and Risa trying to start a new life away from his brother, they decide to enter a "contract marriage" where Kengo will pay Risa for her "donation" of her liver while Risa acts as his wife. But as go along the plan, they discover about that their feelings for each other is true.

This drama particularly reminds me of Bara no Nai Hanaya, not because of the similarity of the story but because of the usage of certain items and the pace of the story. For Nagareboshi, they used the Moon Jellyfish that links the two main characters together, as well as the shooting star to describe if their relationship will turn out as it is. (If you didn't understand, it's because I'm trying not to reveal too much). The pace of the drama, although slow for some, is just right for me. Anything faster and I'll feel the writers are trying to rush the story. Some dramas like Bara no Nai Hanaya can't be fast, and this is also true for Nagareboshi.

Another aspect I really liked about the drama is that every shot is beautiful. I especially loved the shots they took in Yamanashi, where Mount Fuji served the backdrop with a lake in front. The scene, taken in autumn, showcased the beauty of the spot with everything in red hues.

As for the storyline, of course I do think certain things are a bit far fetched, but a drama is a drama, so I wouldn't take all those things into account. Nonetheless, this drama does have its pulling strength. If not, I wouldn't complete it in 2 nights. Do watch it, as I think it's a beautiful drama.

And of course, Takenouchi Yutaka is pointlessly handsome.

Phew! I thought I would never write this article for some time! It has been a loooong while since I've last completed a Japanese drama (just did a quick check and realised my last entry for a Jap drama is in Oct 2010!!). Well, I'm just glad I've finished this one as I have tons of Jap dramas to backlog and waiting for me to clear.

Boss 2 carries on the story from season 1 where most of the cast members are still the same. Takenouchi Yutaka is Nodate Shinjiro, counsellor to the Countermeasures unit in the Metropolis Police Division (MPD) headed by Osawa Eriko (Amami Yuki). As compared to season 1, Toda Erika's character Kimoto Mami has reduced screen time and only featured at the beginning and the ending of the drama. In replacement of her character, two characters are introduced: Kurohara Rika (Narumi Riko), computer expert and daughter of the division police chief and Tadokoro Sachiko (Hasegawa Kyoko), forensics experts and a direct replacement for Kimoto Mami in the drama.

Similar to the first season, there is always a major case that will be revealed at the final few episodes while the other episodes are used to develop each character's story. In this sense, there is no surprise in Boss 2. However, the production team has managed to retain the uniqueness of the comedic acts in Boss 2, although I'd say, barely. Boss 2 also seeks to shift its focus towards the relationships between the characters as season 1 focused on each member and how were they chosen to join the Countermeasures team.

I'd say Boss 2 is a decent sequel to season 1. However, the storyline and the level of entertainment did not surpass the previous edition. That said, it is still enjoyable to watch and I'd definitely recommend the drama to be the drama to catch if you're tight on time. Maybe, just maybe...

I missed Superfly's My Best of my Life too much.....

p/s: Superfly's opening and closing theme ROCKS as usual.

Judging from the past few posts, I bet anyone has realised that I have not been watching nor reviewing any Japanese dramas. I'm glad to say I've managed to finish just one of the many j-dramas lying around in my storage and hence providing my review on it!

Gaikoukan Kuroda Kousaku or Diplomat Kuroda Kousaku is the sequel of the movie Amalfi, which was produced in conjunction with the 50th anniversary of Fuji TV. Kuroda Kousaku is a Japanese diplomat working overseas in the Central Americas Bureau. The story starts in Mexico where an incident 11 years ago caused the death of his friend's wife, and Kuroda feels remorse for not protecting her. However, when the friend Shimomura came to meet him in San Francisco and subsequently committed suicide, it left Kuroda with a lot of question marks. Kuroda's suspicions increased when he spotted someone who looked uncanny like Shimomura at the airport after the incident. Kuroda decides to fly back to Japan to uncover the mysteries.

If I were to say Amalfi is well written, then I would comment that the scriptwriter for Gaikousan Kuroda Kousaku is excellent. From the first episode, the story is instantly grabs your attention and by the time i watched the second episode, I was left wanting to know more. Japan has excellent authors for thrillers, and this is no different. The story is well panned out over 10 episodes, and each episode will let you to have something to think about before watching the next episode. Oda Yuji as usual gave a solid performance as Kuroda while Shibasaki Kou, who acts as his partner detective Ogaki Rikako, puts in a confident performance. An added bonus to the show is the appearance of Lee Byung Hun, who is Kuroda's childhood friend and US informant. His lines were delivered purely in English and I must say his English is pretty good.

An excellent detective thriller as expected and if you have the time, you must catch it! A pity though, that the average rating for this drama is only 10.4%.

Sunao Ni Narenakute or loosely translated as "hard to say I love you" is written by Kitagawa Eriko, who is famous for works such as Tatta Hitotsu no Koi, Orange Days, Overtime and Long Vacation. Hence, when this drama was announced, there was much anticipation. Furthermore, with cast members like Ueno Juri, Eita, Seki Megumi and Tamayama Tetsuji, one can expect this to be a good drama.

The story is about 5 person who follow each other on twitter and decides one day to meet up for a gathering. "Linda" is the main organiser, who is actually a magazine editor trying to get a story out regarding the usage of twitter and the effects it has on the people involved. "Haru" is a substitute teacher for a prestigious private school who just couldn't pass the examination to become a full fledged teacher. "Nakaji" is an aspiring photographer who could only get work taking photos for AV models while also living under the shadows of his dad. "Doctor" is an ethnic Korean struggling to make ends meet as a underperforming salesman selling medical products. "Peach" is the last member to join the group, who is Haru's real time friend but has a troubled past being a mistress of a married man and getting shunned by him after she got pregnant. The story tells the struggles of every character and how they overcome it through each other's support.

At first when I watched the first 3 episodes I was afraid this story will be like "Last Friends" where Ueno Juri and Eita were in it as well. Among all the Japanese dramas I've chosen to watch, Last Friends is considered to be one of the dramas that has the heaviest and darkest content, talking about domestic violence, lesbianism and incest. Sunao comes close, however it did not go that deep, which I feel luckily it did not. I will not comment much on what happened in the show but I do have to admit Kitagawa Eriko's scriptwriting is indeed different from the rest of the scriptwriters. In her shows, it seems to be more precise and more dense, making the content richer.

However, it is still disappointing that there are quite a number of characters which I thought seems excessive. Haru's brother Shu, who has a drug problem, together with one of her students who is also into drugs and even main character Peach herself, Kitagawa did not give them much room to grow, or to end these characters well. In a well scripted drama, having these loopholes is somewhat disappointing.

Have said that, the drama is still a pretty good production. The soundtrack for the drama is rich as well and differ from other dramas by using not self composing their own tunes but instead used various international songs to provide the background music. Expect a lot of music from the Ting Tings that is featured in the drama.

Moteki has be one of the more entertaining dramas that I have watched over the years. In fact, TV Tokyo has been producing some pretty quirky productions and they have made this their selling point for their dramas. And since Moteki is a late night drama, you'd expect some scenes to raunchy according to Japan TV standards, which is still pretty conservative as compared to other regions.

Moteki is a general term in Japan for someone becomes popular and attractive to others. Moriyama Mirai stars in this drama as Fujimoto, who is unpopular with girls, not fantastic in work and basically no direction in life. All that changed suddenly when four of his female acquaintances suddenly called him for a catch up. Will Fujimoto, the Moteki finally find love among the four?

And since it's a late night drama and the theme of Moteki is about being popular with girls, eye candy is natural for this drama. In fact, the actresses featured in this drama is pretty popular, such as Nonami Maho, Matsumoto Rio, Kikuchi Rinko and Mitsushima Hikari.

Okay, I got to admit I watched this drama for eye candy and I pretty much know that TV Tokyo's offerings is more on the entertaining side, especially for this genre of dramas. However, the only difference of this drama is that the actor and actresses who agreed to star in the drama are pretty power packed themselves. Hence, despite the loose plot, I thought each of them gave their best abilities to act out their respective roles. Hence, if you're watching this drama, just take everything with a pinch of salt and just relax and enjoy all the fun on offer in the drama. Afterall, why so serious for a after midnight show?

Onslaught with my review of Japanese dramas! This year's summer drama is pretty exciting and quite a number of well known actors and actresses are back with new dramas this season. One of my favourite actress is Ishihara Satomi and I was pretty pleased she's back with a decent drama in Tobo Bengoshi. I liked Satomi-chan ever since H2 era (she was exceptionally kawaii in that drama!).

Tobo Bengoshi, or Fugitive Lawyer, talks about an upright lawyer who was framed for murder, arson and embezzlement. Kamiji Yusuke of "Celeb to Bimbo Taro" stars in this drama as the main lead Narita, who was framed for killing his mentor, setting his lawyer firm on fire to destroy evidence and embezzling money through shoddy paperwork. In order to prove his innocence, he escaped from police custody to become a fugitive so that he can search for evidence to prove his innocence. Along the way, he met ordinary citizens who were bullies by people abusing the law and decides to help them as he continue to search for clues.

The line up of this drama is pretty heavy, with experienced actors and actress such as Kitamura Kazuki, Yada Akiko, Sato Jiro, Toyohara Kosuke in the drama. Hence, the acting quality of this show is pretty good. Also, since Tobo Bengoshi is adapted from a manga of the same title, and usually manga adapted stories are better in story telling, the pace of the drama is well even out as well. However, just like Shinzanmono, the drama is slow off the blocks are I thought the first few episodes are slightly draggy. Because the ending focuses on the main plot, I thought the sub plot towards the end where the lawyer continues to help ordinary folks can be shelved off and instead continue to develop on the main plot itself. Nonetheless, Japan scriptwriters does not disappoint on detective stories and this is no exception. The ratings for this show is also pretty decent with 9..1% viewership average.

Do catch this drama if you're a Ishihara Satomi fan, as I thought her previous outings on popular dramas is a tad disappointing.

Summer seasons usually provide the best line ups of dramas and this season is particularly exciting as all the tv stations are going all up with a wide array of dramas to choose from. In fact, I'm already breaking my personal record of catching up with 8 dramas this season. Usually on average, I only catch up with 4 dramas per season. Hence, this shows the potential for this season. I shall kick off my review with this season's tearjerker, Mioka.

Mioka is the name of the main protagonist acted by Yoshitaka Yuriko who finds out that she has an incurable brain disease and has the most one year to live. She ran up to her school's rooftop where she often hanged out, intending to jump off the building to end her life. However, she is stopped by a fellow student Taichi, who himself has a fear of height but still prevented her from jumping. From that incident, love blossomed between them but the cruel fate of time is still ticking away from Mioka. Will the love between the two stand the test of time?

As you progress to watch Mioka, you can't help but compare Mioka with Ichi Ritoru no Namida, one of the most successful tearjerkers starring Sawajiri Erika. Afterall, the disease affecting Mioka seems to be very similar to the one in the latter show. However, that is where the comparisons between the two stop. In Ichi Ritoru no Namida, the storytelling is more about the struggles of the main character, and in the end how she accepted her fate and live her life to the fullest. In Mioka, the emphasis is more on love, between the two young lovers, between the family members and between friends. It tells of the gratefulness that even though I may have this disease, you're still there to love me till the end no matter in what state am I in, and for that I'm truly grateful that I exist in this world and thank you for loving me.

Even though I termed Mioka as a tearjerker, I'd say the tear content is minute as compared to Ichi Rotaru no Namida. In fact, I hardly recall shedding a tear in this drama. That is not to say this show is poor. On the contrary, the show played perfectly to the theme of gratefulness of love, and the soundtrack emphasizes on that. The theme song "Hotaru" by Fukuyama Masaharu is an excellent choice for this drama and bascially you can feel the lyrics of the song in the drama. Do give it a go for this drama, and the average 10% of the Japan population will agree with you that they enjoyed watching it as much as you do.

Doing some quick fire posts trying to cover some backlog since I've watched so many dramas and yet not sharing it here. As I've said in previous posts, there's quite a few good dramas this spring season and of course there's some really disappointing ones (read: Tsuki no Kohibito and NO, I don't feel like reviewing it because I think it's a waste of time). Japan scriptwriters seems to be still in the mood for detective stories, hence besides Zettai Reido which I reviewed it earlier, Shinzanmono is another that is available for this spring season.

Abe Hiroshi stars as Detective Kaga, who is new to the Nihonbashi police precinct as he has just transferred over to. Newcomers to a particular location are called "Shinzanmono", hence the title of the show. The first case Kaga is handling is the murder of a woman named Mitsui Mineko, who like him, is also a shinzanmono. Detective Kaga will need to use his keen sense of deductive reasoning to find out the real killer in a town where everyone seems to be keeping secrets that they do not want others to find out. Kuroki Meisa and Mizobata Junpei are the other notable names in this drama.

Usually, dramas or movies with Abe Hiroshi will not disappoint. However, I do feel that Shinzanmono, although is nice to watch, is somewhat lacking in the story telling department. As usual, Abe Hiroshi gives a solid performance with his confident acting and the rest of the cast gives a good performance. However, the story is a bit slow moving in the beginning even though as one progresses with each episode, it should lead the detective closer to the real killer. The story only gathered pace at the later half of the series, which a tad disappointing as the potential for the drama is there.

Nonetheless, it is still an enjoyable drama to watch and the Japanese clearly love their detective stories, giving it a 14.9% rating. However, fans of Kuroki Meisa may complain as she clearly does not feature as much as the leading female character in the show, who is already murdered. Thus, if you want to see more of Kuroki Meisa, I's suggest you watch "Dance, Dance Subaru" instead.

I'm not sure what is the trend of previous years, but 2010 spring season has sprung quite a number of good dramas. One of those is Team Batista 2: General Rouge no Gaisen. People who have been following the series on the movie screens shouldn't be unfamiliar with this series since this has been shown on big screen with Takenuchi Yuko and Abe Hiroshi as the main leads as Taguchi Sensei and Shiratori respectively. I've also reviewed Team Batista no Eiko, which is the part 1 of this series, both movie and drama versions.

Ito Atsushi and Nakamura Toru reprises their respective roles in part 2 of this series where instead on dealing with medical malpractice within the hospital, a bigger scandal looms when the ER department lead by the brilliant but erratic Hayami sensei is quietly building up discontent among the department. However, when both of them dig further, they uncover something bigger which both of them may not be able to handle.

As per normal, people may start to compare the movie version with the drama version. No doubt there may be similar characters such as Hayami Sensei. However, that's where the similarities stop. Compared to Part 1 where the drama and the movie version is pretty similar, albeit with an extended version for the drama version, this second drama series takes a life on its own, which I personally feel is a good move by the writers. There's no point for the drama version to be the same as the movie version as there's no link at all between the two.

The overall feel of the drama is pretty positive, with each case ending at the end of each episode, of course with the main exception for the main plot that is building up as the drama goes along. The pace for the show is good and atypical of medical dramas. Acting is good with experienced actors such as Kato Ai and Shirashi Miho complementing the three main characters. The average ratings for this show is 14.4% (Kanto Region), which is considered very good for a drama rating. Do catch it if you can, and of course if possible, do watch part 1 of the series first to get a basic understanding of the two main characters. However, if you decide to start on the series, it's still fine as the drama does not carry any baggage from the previous series.

Just realised for the past few reviews that I have made was all on movies or other stuff that I have posted and the last drama review I made was way back in March and it's not even a new drama. Hence I thought why not I update the scene a bit with a new review for a drama.

So far, the summer season for the Japan drama season has ended for a couple of weeks. However, they are still a few dramas that chose a later start date hence it's still screening currently in Japan. I've caught a few nice dramas since the start of the year and I thought I kick start the drama review with a Spring drama called Zettai Reido, or "Absolute Zero" in direct translation.

Zettai Reido talks about a special department in the Tokyo Metropolitan Police where unsolved murder cases will be sent to this department for storage and to be reviewed if any new lead or testimony comes up. Each case has a statutory of 15 years, after which the case will be dropped and all evidence retrieved disposed of.

Ueto Aya stars as the main lead in the show as Sakuragi Izumi, a rookie in the department. Although she is most inexperienced of all of her colleagues, she has an uncanny ability to be able to feel how the victims think before each of them met with mishap. Of course, this is not about some special ability but rather able to sense.

I would say this is the first show that I enjoyed with Ueto Aya in it. Previously, I really couldn't stand her over the top acting in dramas like "Attention Please!" which i thought was plain irritating. It was nice to see her deviate from those cutesy pie image to one of a serious actress (although I do admit I enjoyed Celeb to Bimbo Taro). As with most Japanese scriptwriters, they truly excel in writing up detective stories, hence this drama will not disappoint with each case that crops up. This is also backed up with a very decent rating of 14.4% during the Spring season. The insert songs for this drama is pretty good too, with Love Psychedelico providing both the main theme and the insert song. In summary, this drama is a pretty entertaining drama and deserves your 45 minute attention for 11 episodes.

I believe some readers will find this post slightly amusing as this show is clearly not last season's offering. However, as this season is showing season 2 of Team Batista, I thought there a need to watch the first season to know what the story back then.

If you find the title familiar, that's because there's a movie version of the same title. It was acted by Takeuchi Yuko and Abe Hiroshi where Yuko was the female version of Taguchi-sensei in charge of investigating the allegations while Hiroshi is the government official assisting Taguichi-sensei in solving the mystery.

Taguchi-sensei is in charge of the psychosomatic medicine department, where basically his job is to listen to the complaints of the hospital patient. The hospital is also famous for its Batista surgery, which is one of the more difficult t cardiac surgeries. Prior to the mystery, the team has 27 consecutive successive surgeries, which is considered as an amazing achievement. However, after the 27 surgeries, 3 consecutive patients have died in succession on the operating table, and the chief is concerned with the deaths. Hence, Tanguchi-sensei is assigned to find out the root of the problem. Shiratori-san, the Ministry official believes that these 3 deaths are murder by of the team members and is determined to find out who it is.

The problem with dramas having a movie of the same title is that people are bound to make comparisons and this drama is no exception. I do have to admit that Yuko and Hiroshi makes a good team but for this instance, the leads acted by Ito Atsushi and Nakamura Toru is no flash in the pan either. Both of them had put up very credible performance in the show. However, what I felt was a let down was the drama tried to drag the story too much by adding a few more sub plots into the story. Generally, the movie version seems to triumph in this aspect as the whole storyline focus on one outcome while the drama version was dragging its storyline, seemingly to fulfill its episode requirement.

However, given the fact that the original storyline remained, the drama is still a very much enjoyable show and these drama shows actually shows the prowess of japanese dramas for its medical drama. A good show to catch and I thought it'll be good to catch this show first before watching Team Batista season 2.

A few apologies for a lack of posts for close to a month. Not that I have not stopped watching my fave japanese dramas, but it's just that whether it's worth to give a mention about it.


For short, managed to finish Code Blue 2 once I managed to wait for the english subbed version to be released. A bit surprised with the ending of the show, but from the looks of it, with the ending that it portray, there may be a high chance that there will not be a sequel for the show. It has managed to close several incidents that was left hanging in the first season, but I won't be surprised if a third season or a movie version is coming up. After all, the drama has been popular for both its series and the SP that was aired prior to season 2.

To be frank, a lot has been commented on the net that season 1 seems to be better, but i think season 2's aim is to look at the thoughts of each character. Also, with impending death of one character early on in the series, the mood is somewhat somber. However, that should not be the case for criticism as the show needs to address that and how each character matured from it.

Overall, a good drama, but with all the niggling small issues with the show, it did spoil the overall entertainment value. Nonetheless, still the best drama of the season.

This is a bit peculiar to me as I remembered watching this show before but when I (re)watched it again, I didn't find any parts familiar to me. And besides I've heard of this show way back and managed to complete it just recently. But it still bugs me: why I managed to miss out on such a great show?

Kiritani Shuji (Kamenashi Kazuya) is a popular guy in school who can gets along with everyone. However, to him getting popular is just a game to him, thus he doesn't have any real friends in school. However, he has one person he can't stand in class and that's Kusano Akira (Yamashita Tomohisa). To Shuji, Akira is plain irritating. He laughs, talks and acts fuuny. Things change when a new transfer student, Kotani Nobuko (Horikita Maki), appeared. She's a girl with no self confidence and is content to be bullied around. Shuji, unable to accept bulling, eventually teams up with Akira to "produce" Nobuko, to change her to become the most popular student in school. Together in the journey about friendship and youthfulness, they changed themselves as well for the better.

Again, how I managed to miss this show is at best bewildering. This show is like 5 years ago, with high rating of close to 17%, almost quite impossible to miss. However, I'm glad that I managed to watch it. Especially important is that I'm able to see the improvements made by Yamapi and Maki in terms of their acting through these 5 years. I could really say they have matured in their acting, especially for Yamapi.

Do catch it if you missed it out like me!

I just realised I haven't been giving reviews for Jap drama recently due to being on par with the current season's shows; being lazy/busy that I have no time to blog; and I didn't clear my stockpile of old shows to catch up.

Also due to the distraction of taiwanese dramas for the past 2 months, I sort of neglected my old jap drama stockpile as well. But I did managed to finish this classic from 2005. If you find the title familiar, it's because this title has been adapted onto the big screen as well, with the irresistible Takeuchi Yuko. The show is adapted from a novel of the same title by Takuji Ichikawa who also wrote 2 other novels that was adapted into movies and dramas.

The story starts with Takumi and his son Yuji struggling living their lives properly from the death of his wife Mio a year back. Being the doting mother, Mio has wrote a picture book telling Yuji to be strong upon her death. When she die, she will be far away at another planet to live. However, she promised to him that she will return when the rainy season comes. Yuji believes in this story and thinks that his mother will come back when the rainy seasons arrive. One rainy June morning, Yuji runs out into the forest to the special place where he used to play with his mom. His father chases after him to get him to go out school. However, when they reached the place, they saw his mother Mio seating in a corner and alive and well. However, she has completely no memory of them or any incidents regarding their lives.

I have watched the movie version before and I remembered crying buckets. Now I watched the drama version and I still cry buckets about it. As compared to the movie version, the drama version may be longer, and for some people they considered it to be draggy. But I would beg to differ as having longer hours will enable certain parts of the story to be better explained. In this case, the story I feel is better explained, but of course they did change certain parts so that they can explain why certain incidents happen in the show. I won't drop any hints so that at least you could find it out yourself how the differ for the drama and the movie version.

Overall I was pretty surprised with the cast. Mimura looks absolutely pretty in this show! As compared to Call Centre no Koibito, I would consider it to be completely different in terms of style. I was also pleasantly surprised with Narimiya Hiroki's acting in the drama as the roles he usually portray is not the serious kind of roles as Ima Ai ni Yukimasu.

For a show that let me cry buckets load, it has to be a good show. haha! Just give it a try and you'll be touched by it.

At last I've completed this series!

Oh the series isn't too bad, but due to the fact that the subbers had delays in the subs that's why it wasn't completed until recently. Nonetheless, I thank the subbers for their hard work to complete the project!

It was an interesting choice for me to choose this serial to watch as it greatly differs from the genre of serial that I'd choose normally. The story talks about an executive who was demoted from the main office to a local call center to handle customer complaints. The story revolves around the happenings around the call center.

I guess it deserves the overall 6.1% kanto rating as it takes a bit of patience to finish this serial. Again, I must emphasize that the serial isn't too bad, but the pace and the storyline is so typical jap style. After watching some much jap dramas over the years, you can deduce a kind of "pattern". Furthermore, with no famous cast in the drama, it lacks the star power to pull viewers in as well. Nonetheless, the storyline is refreshing as dramas seldom focus industries like this.

Not highly recommended, but I wouldn't condemn it as well.

Ok I got to admit I was a bit lazy with this post. After all, I have completed this drama since early October. But here goes the review.

Sometimes you would think, if there's Kitagawa Keiko, Yamapi, Aibu Saki and Mizobata Junpei in a show, (1)It's a pure idol show (2)the show wouldn't be too bad. Frankly speaking, I was kinna disappointed with the show. Sure, Keiko's acting was pretty good, Seeing Aibu Saki acting as a bad ass lady is pretty refreshing, but Yamapi is totally disappointing in this show. I mean, his acting was alright in Proposal Daisakusen, but in this show he looks absolutely stoned.

Furthermore, although this show has a basketball theme, there's only like one serious basketball game scene in the whole series. Urgh!!! Can't they just insert a few more games? I know the relationships in the show is important, but they looked kinna draggy in a way.

Nice show to follow, but disappoints me in general.