Fumo Chitai eps 1-3

From the writer that wrote Karei Naru Ichizoku, comes Fumo Chitai another period dorama set in the post war era. I love Karei Naru Ichizoku despite KimuTaku nearly fucking it up with the overemphasis on his character. It was the first show that showed me as charismatic as KimuTaku is, he is not a real actor and can never do justice to character doramas. Check out my reviews here and here and I strongly recommend it if you're after a family and politics dorama with good acting.

So Mr Baker and Sachi's aunt were together in a previous life. :)

Fumo Chitai is about Iki Tadashi (Karasawa Toshiaki aka Kenji from 20thCB), a military strategist who was captured by the Russians at the end of WW2 and spent 2 years in a Siberian camp. The first hour of ep 1 is the story of how he survived his imprisonment and how he was released. The second half is about him trying to reenter society. He decides not to rejoin the army and put his family through more worries and joins Kinki Trading Company.

I keep dreaming about a talking deer...

At this point, I was thinking they should have spread the Siberian camp story as flashbacks throughout the series to show how the hard 11 years he had changed him. Perhaps even have him deal with the trauma and learn to come to terms with his lost 11 years. For some reason, the President of Kinki headhunted him and put him into the textile department. Iki struggles to prove himself useful and then the real reason that he was hired is revealed; to help Kinki Trading Co sell the Luckheed F-104 airplane to the Japanese government.

After Boss, it sure is nice to be in a dorama that doesn't defy logic.

However, the Grant Super Dragon plane is in the lead to be Japan's next fighter planes with the Defence Agency's chief having some personal interest in it and backed up by Tokyo Shoji bribing the Prime Minister's group. Iki's former colleague Kawamata Isao backs the Luckheed as it is the best plane for Japan. Having sworn off joining the defence department of Kinki Trading Co, Iki reneges on his promise in order to combat money politics influencing defence decisions. Thus begins the tale of Kinki Trading Co vs Tokyo Shoji lead by Samejima.

The best thing about all the secret meetings is the sushi!

I love stories about politics, power and money. I was a bit worried that Iki seemed to be idealistic but luckily he turned out to be a practical man. There's no way he can fight without resorting to bribery and industrial espionage as well. Iki starts off as the default good guy because Luckheed is superior to the Super Dragon but after ep 3, everyone is shades of grey. There are no innocent guys. Just people pushing their agenda and I love it. Backroom dealings, backstabbing and use of the media. No super idealistic ignorant idiots made to look like heroes like KimuTaku's Manpyo Teppei in Karei Naru Ichizoku.

Not a fan of where the Koyuki side story is heading...

You have the side story of an underling who does all the dirty work for Iki and is unappreciated and later sacrificed. Not to mention the reporter who helps to push Samejima's agendas but values his journalistic responsibilities not to suppress stories. Too often jdoramas look at the world in black and white and its refreshing to see one that has no good or evil. There is no need to give the audience simple answers. Rather it is better to ask difficult questions.

Geronimo, speak Japanese!

The acting in Fumo Chitai is excellent. Lots of big name cameos. Haven't seen Kita Yoshio yet though, lol. Its sad that Fumo Chitai has bad ratings. Its not profitable for them to do adult doramas like this compared to crap like Tokyo Dogs with its juvenile writing. I'm sure that any Japanese actor worth their salt would rather be on a show like Fumo Chitai despite the lack of exposure. Definitely a must watch dorama.