Change eps 1-9

When you put KimuTaku and Abe Hiroshi together in a dorama, there's a 99% chance that it will be an entertaining one. The 1% chance being Hero. Everyone knows that this show is about KimuTaku becoming Prime Minister. We knew that this show is probably going to cater to the idiot masses so expect lots of dumbed down, idealistic stuff. Watching this show, I did not expect The West Wing. I however expected to be entertained by KimuTaku being kakoii, Abe being his fun self, laughing at some jokes and perhaps some simple political chess games.

Obligatory slow-mo walking as group shot.

Instead we have a dorama which feels like it was written by a 10 year old kid armed with a textbook on Japanese politics. No, I'm not faulting Asakura Keita's (KimuTaku) idealism. On a side note, why do his characters always have cool and memorable names like Satonaka Haru? Change just feels like a small scale dorama. It would have been more appropriate if it were about an everyman who is elected to be the president of some company, not the Prime Minister of Japan. Yes, there are budgetary constraints but there are many easy ways to get around it such as news reporting.

Abe Hiroshi just steals every scene he is in!

For example, we don't see him having meetings and consulting with his cabinet. We don't see him using Japan's version of secret service to locate an expert that he needed. Asakura Keita wastes his time visiting a kid in hospital multiple times. Yes, its to show that he is an everyman but ffs being Prime Minister is not about micromanagement, its macro! Its about the big picture. I guess I had images of KimuTaku doing cool Prime Ministerial stuff.


Someone once said that we should not review shows based on our expectations but rather what the writer wanted to tell. Its so blatantly obvious that the purpose of the show wasn't to entertain the audience with politics, it was to set up the ending in ep 10. The cliffhanger at the end of ep 9 is just so lame. There is no political fightback. The whole point to having an underdog is the fucking fightback. Asakura Keita should go down after the fightback, not before. Its like the Korean idea of sob dramas. Draw huge fucking arrows at a character telling the audience, 'look at how pitiful he is!'. Blatant sentimentality just makes me sick.

If I were PM, I would be going for a check up everyday. Horiuchi Keiko looks to hot to be 37. :)

Abe Hiroshi is criminally misused. If guaranteed way to make this show interesting is to rip of Shinsengumi with KimuTaku being Kondo Isami, the idealistic leader who is not as naive as he looks and Abe Hiroshi being Hijikata, the man who would do whatever it took to make Isami the leader but leave Isami's hands clean. That way, Kimutaku can still be the idealistic teacher but Abe can do all the backroom political dealings to entertain the audience. Yes, I know asking for a 'darker' show is uselss but goddammit if Shinsengumi can do it so should this show. Abe's character of Nirasawa has the potential to be the most interesting of all. His backstory is cool yet he is reduced to pure comedy relief.


Fukatsu Eri does a good job but the writing is so fucking shoddy. Her character's too naive to point of stupidity and in ep 9 she dares give KimuTaku a lecture on the 'evil's of politics? And Kota Rosa's character is a huge waste of screen time. For a story with this many characters, every character's appearance must have a purpose. Often times, it just feels like your typical workplace dorama with coworkers living together interspliced with clips from people pretending to be parliamentarians.


You can say that this series can be split into two parts. There's the kingmaker part which is too brief and uninteresting because there is no relationship between King and kingmaker. When maker turns on the king, its boring because there's no bloody battle. Their only tenuous link is Fukatsu Eri but she's such a weak character. Best friends make the best enemies. In short, this show is short on political relationships and does too much on the negligeble ones. I'm still going to watch it to the end and admittedly some parts are funny but ultimately this is a very forgettable show. If anything, I will remember it for how much wasted potential it had.

Abe Hiroshi as PM dorama? I'll certainly watch it!

Rookies ep 1-5

I'm a bit concerned for the youth of Japan if Rookies is any indication of how they are today. Rookies in short is basically a what if GTO was a baseball coach except GTO in Rookies, Kawato is basically a bumbling teacher who talks more bullshit than a politician. When Sato Ryuta was announced as Kawato, I knew it was trouble. Most people probably remember him as Makoto from Pride or Croissant from Utahime or the police dude from Galcir. The common theme for all his characters? Bumbling character for comedy relief. In all the shows I've seen him in, there was no hint of him being able to play the main character. 

Basically, he plays Kawato the same way. I've had a quick glance through a few chapters of the manga and (I could be wrong) it seems like Kawato in the manga is nowhere as extreme as in the dorama. Kawato in the dorama suffers the same problem as Yankumi in Gokusen, he is not kakoii. And unlike Yankumi, neither is he funny. All he does is scream and shout stupid slogans like a politician who does not know how to articulate himself properly.
He is like an idealistic dreamer who tells kids its ok to try to run before you can crawl. You see, Kawato has become the baseball coach of a bunch of so called delinquents. If these kids are actually representative of what being a bad kid in school in Japan is, I think Japan's future is in deep shit.

How I long for the days of GTO teenagers who don't trust adults. Now, we have a bunch of emo kids who wallow in self pity and cryas often as Korean doramas. Yes, I know Japanese love Korean doramas but wtf???? Aren't these kids suppose to be badass or something? They're like punks who act all high and mighty to hide the fact that they come to tears more easily than most girls. And all that bullcrap about friendship and stuff is so fake and empty. Back in the good old days, being masculine/macho in doramas was about being stoic. Being decisive. Being responsible. Rookies are about kids who think being men means making loud noises and being drowned in their emotions. These guys are about as pussified as Shinji Ikari.

And lets not forget all that stupid talk about Koshien. The basis of getting good at any sport is lots and lots of practice. Kawato and co are a lot of hot air. They spend more time making motivational speeches that don't make sense than putting in the effort. And Kawato's  obsession with dreams. OMFG. He's like this religious zealot who thinks he can brainwash people by repeating the same bullshit again and again. There's a line by Shogo in Muri na Renai which completely owns the two hours that Kawato has rambled about yume that I've seen in five episodes.
That said, this is after all an underdog sports dorama so there is always some entertainment value. Its just that I can't support a bunch of emotionally unstable people who are more suited to be in a Korean dorama. And ffs, couldn't they have gotten a female teacher who actually looks hot to support Kawato?

Ryokiteki no Kanojo eps 1-10

When I first heard of a Japanese dorama remake of Sassy Girl, I was filled with dread. Hotelier was a pathetic remake of a Korean dorama. How the hell were they going to expand a 2 hour movie, into 11? Not to mention the first half of the Korean movie really stretched my patience. Basically the crutch of My Sassy Girl are the two revelations and two inportant scenes, the conversation in the cafe followed by the running and the tree in the hills. I sorta thought about how they would have to space the dorama and concluded that the dorama would require Kimutaku/Matsu Takako chemistry and lost of comedy.

The best thing about the GTO movie and Over Time.

I heart leapt for joy when I found out Tanaka Rena would be in it. She doesn't do doramas and 11 episodes of Tanaka Rena is good enough reason to watch this show. Unfortunately, Ryokiteki no Kanojo proves that once again, movies should never be adapted to doramas unless there's a lot of backstory to tell.

Riko spying on Saburo checking out some JAV. :)

First main problem is absolutely no chemistry between Kusanagi Tsuyoshi (Saburo) and Tanaka Rena (Riko). I'm usually a fan of Tsuyoshi's doramas but this time he really seems to be sleepwalking through this role. On paper, he seems the perfect fit. He's always played the passive, lovable loser type of role but in this show, Saburo is such a boring and unentertaining charater. After watching 10 episodes of this show, I think Tsuyoshi is not suited for shows where he has to talk to much. Santamaria Yusuke is a much better fit. Think back to his and Iijima Naoko's fighting in wedding planner. The spark seems to be missing from Tsuyoshi and there's no light in his eyes. Yusuke is a bit too old but IMO, he'll actually bring some fire to the Saburo and Riko fights.

Didn't you use to do para-para in Shibuya?

Tanaka Rena tries but it takes two to make a relationship work. Towards the middle I got so freaking bored with the Saburo and Riko story that I was eagerly anticipating the side stories. The writers of course realised that stretching a two hour movie in 11 episodes is hard and instead of expand bits to make it work, they completely reworked the story. Problem is, they sorta took bits and pieces of the movie and plastered it all over a story about an abusive girl.

If I had a daughter like that the mum better look like Umemiya Masako!

The result is that the dorama feels so disjointed. Its sorta like watching the Departed. Its got the scenes from Infernal Affairs but feels to capture the spirit/magic. I just feels like they threw every jdorama convention they could think off and strung them together. There's no pacing in terms of build up of the story that when pivotal scenes from the movie happen, its just so meh. If it weren't for Tanihara Shosuke's Professor Kazushima, the show would be completely unwatchable.


Sigh, such a big waste of Tanaka Rena. The big question is, if this movie was not called Ryokiteki no Kanojo, would I still have rated it as badly? Probably. End of the day, My Sassy Girl was not a character movie. It was a movie with two nice revelations. Ryokiteki no Kanojo completely removed those revelations and basically came up with a remake in name but not in spirit.

Coin Locker Monogatari eps 1 and 2

Why does Haruna look so happy? :)

So close, yet so far....

I am grateful to Muri na Renai not only for being a good Natsukawa Yui show but also for introducing me Kojima Haruna. I've been listening to AKB48 for the past 2 years but never really learned their names and stuff. Coin Locker Monogatari is a really late night show (1.30am) so my expectations were really low. Plus, Muri na Renai showed that Haruna has a long way to go in the acting department and should stick to just looking pretty.

Hi, I'm just making a documentary on the length of seifuku skirts.....

..could you give me a better view?

In Coin Locker, Haruna plays Miki, a high school student who has a mysterious connection with the coin lockers in Shibuya station. She runs into the manager of the coin lockers and somehow manages to convince him to let her stay in his office in return for helping him in his duties. As the title suggests its a dorama about people who use the coin lockers.

Akiramike raises hand slowly...

How easily joshi kousei confuse tools for educational purposes for other things...

I think the running time of 23 minutes really helps the show unlike most midnight doramas. Its short enough that you don't get bored and really start analyzing the story or bad acting. And its knows it target audience very well; fans of AKB48. So we have interesting stories like a man who likes to document upskirt videos and a hot swimmer (Sugimoto Yumi) who works at a mysterious club.

I want to work at a Shibuya coin locker when I grow up....

Its light fan service entertainment. There's tons of possible stories they can tell so its kinda dissappointing that its only 4 episodes. So if you think you're in the target audience of Coin Locker Monogatari, definitely check it out. Who the fuck am I kidding. Haruna + fan service = must watch!

My, what big ears you have....

Jmovie review: Sundome

Let's get one thing clear, Sundome is bad, very bad. Its not even B movie level bad. Its C movie bad. And I think most home videos have much better lighting than Sundome. It has acting that makes crap Zettai Kareshi look decent. Yes, it is really that bad. I would be impressed though if they actually had a budget of like US$10k and 5 days to shoot it which they probably had.

I want to study at a Japanese high school when I grow up.

Kurumi taking off her pantsu and giving it to Hideo.

Nothing IMO can excuse the lack of proper lighting and shoddy camera work. If you don't have the budget to hire proper staff, why bother making a movie in the first place? Because this movie would still sell. Suzuki Akane + Tsugihara Kana + fan service = must watch. Its just a crying shame they didn't hire a decent director and staff. I'm sure any gravure director would do a decent job.

Why did I not have high school experiences like this? :(


Based on a manga, Sundome is about your generic Japanese dude, Aiba Hideo why likes to spend his time onani. Things change for him when this mysterious girl, Kurumi (Akane) transfers to his class. She teases him (sexually) and makes him promise not to onani. Can Hideo control himself for Kurumi's sake? What does she actually want from him? Things don't get easier when he starts getting involved with the busty Kyoko (Kana). Of course, during the course of movie he goes through things thatmost of us can only dream of.

Goddamn lucky bastard.

I praise God everyday for making these puppies...

I've got to say, Suzuki Akane isn't that hot. She's got the kawaii look and the short skirt and top does help a lot. The highlight of the movie are the ways she tortures poor Hideo by letting him pull the strings of her g-string or taking off her underwear in front of him. This are the things sukebes like me dream of.

What are two fine ladies like you doing in the wild?


Its just that Tsugihara Kana is so much better looking. She has a much better figure and if her uniform were as short as Akane's I would die from nosebleeds. Sundome 2 just came out so obviously there are plenty of people who saw the first movie. Hopefully they'll have enough money to hire actual professionals. I have to stress again that if you want to watch this, be prepared for the worst movie that you have ever scene but the fanservice is worth it. :)

Need a hand?

Muri na Renai eps 1-5

When I wrote my review of Hatachi no Koibo ep 1, I sorta outlined what I thought an older man, younger woman dorama needed to suceed. Sadly that dorama quickly became boring and was a complete waste of Sanma and Masami's talents. If there's one dorama I want too done well, its the older man dorama. I'm bloody sick and tired of boring younger men shows because it'll all be about the older lady and the guy(s) are basically plot devices.

They don't look compatible, do they? The fact that the script and acting make it work is testament to this show's greatness.

I wanted to watch Muri na Renai for Natsukawa Yui. The only other show I have ever seen her on besides KDO was Aoi Tori and was desperate to see how good she really was. I was perplexed at the casting of Sakai Masaki as the main character. There are plenty of cool looking old men in jdoramas who could easily convince the viewer that they can attract younger women. I had skimmed through the first episode and was kinda disappointed at the total lack of chemistry between Natsukawa Yui (Kaede) amd Sakai Masaaki (Shogo) and immediately put it into my to watch when bored list. I thought lack of on screen chemistry meant disaster. I am so happy to be wrong.

I want KDO 2!!!!!!! What's that girl group in the background?

KDO really opened my eyes because it was the one dorama where the characters were so fucking well written that they were real. Well, Muri na Renai is basically the spiritual successor to KDO. The first step to making and older man dorama is making the characters real. To give them quirks and personality. Shogo is a former big time musician he is now a successful music executive. However, he was divorced because he chose a life of freedom rather than a life of familial responsibility.

They could have done so much funny stuff with Shogo and Kaede's mom! This is one show I wished they would pad it out cause I enjoy the characters so much.

He is always faced with the repercussions of his decision as his ex wife is happily married and his daughter grown up. Shogo runs into Kaede, a struggling actress with an irresponsible boyfriend who everyday questions the decisions she made in life because of her lack of success. Shogo continues to help her while all the while unable to express his feelings to her.

Seeing Natsuki Mari and Kaede's mom go nuts over Shogo's songs are hilarious!

I really enjoy the dialogue in this show, particularly between Shogo and Kaede. It is as well thought out as the dialogue in KDO. There's always a theme and gives us little insights into their characters as well. For example, Kaede's line about wanting to believe that luck plays nothing in success because it means that all her hard work so far has been futile. This also shows her pride and is reinforced by her not wanting to give in and return to her hometown. Even Shogo's line about dreams makes more sense than that tripe from the coach in Rookies.

Asako's dad: since I'm not her actual father, it wouldn't technically be incest. :)

I was surprised that the show wasn't written by the KDO writer. Okada Yoshikazu has an impressive resume and makes me want to watch MOther & Lover and Last Present even more, two jdoramas with unfinished subs. Its as if he saw KDO and Hatachi no Koibito and realised that instead of writing characters for sake of story, he should instead write characters and let them tell the story.

I love this mug shot of Kojima Haruna. Moe~~~~~

What can I say about Natsukawa Yui? She is definitely in my list of greatest jdorama actresses ever. While Kaede is still a variation of Hayasaka in KDO, the incredible acting has imbued the character of Kaede with depth no other actress can. The way she so easily does a laugh to mask Kaede's sadness or her icy look of wanting to kill her useless boyfriend Shoji. You feel her frustration and tiredness from her seemingly endless struggle and cheer when she is happy. You can see the deperation in her smiles as she tries to get Shoji to change. You will fall in love with Kaede, just like Shogo because she is not superficial.

Ini, mini, minie moe.....

The second key to making the relationship work is to let it build naturally. Shogo's acts of kindess make us root for him. We get to see how happy he is when Kaede is happy. We get to see his anxiety and fear in not wanting to get hurt. I like his line about how youth of today is the same as during Shogo's time. Its basically the youth wanting to forge their own identity and the adults shaking their heads because it is different. We can take is remark and turn it around and say that falling in love is the same whether one is 20 or in Shogo's case 60. Except his fortune and mansion balance against his age.

My, what nice legs you have....

And lets not forget Kojima Haruna from AKB48 as Shogo's daughter. OMFG, she is like the younger version of Tomosaka Rie, with less talent. At least I finally know one of the names of the members of AKB48, lol. Its a shame her acting is crap. There is one scene that would have been so fucking great in 6. Its still good but the build up was so great nothing short of heart wrenching is inexcusable. Oh well, I guess they have to protect Haruna-chan.

Sick of Haruna yet? I'm not! :)

Or maybe not. Another similarity between this and KDO is the self-restraint in not making the show too melodramatic. After the Korean explosion and renai movies like Sekachu, there has been too much crying and stretching of storylines. Where the whole purpose of an episode is to show one scene and everything else is just filler. Like KDO, you can tell that scenes and dialogue have a purpose. So far, this has been a brilliantly paced show.

Luckiest old fart in the world.

Yes, this show so far has proven that a show starring a diminutive 60 year old man and great actress can work. Seriously this show is so fucking brilliant. I can't believe the ratings were crap. Can't Japanese watch anything without bishounen who can't act? And I can't not mention the theme song. I think Sakai Masaaki's real life parallel's Shogo's and helps bring believability to his character.


Go watch this show now and restore your faith that Jdoramas can be about great acting and writing! Shows like this make wading through crap like Last Christmas and Kimi wa nanin ja nai worth it. Now to watch my AKB48 PVs. :)

Home Drama 1-5

Talk about all star casting! Domoto Tsuyoshi (Summer Snow), Yusuke Santamaria (too many to mention), Inoue Mao (HYD) and Sakai Wakana (too many to mention as well). OK, Sakai Wakana may not be that big a name but she's been in a lot of shows and she's always intrigued me. Like Ogura Yuko, I want to see what's behind that high pitched, squeaky anime voice of hers. Can she do more than her usual stereotypical anime like supporting characters? Actually we already found out the answer in Enka no Joou but when I think of her, I still think of her role in Churasan. I guess she was overshadowed by Amami Yuki in Enka.

I would be happy too living under the same roof with these 3 beauties!

In Home Drama, a group of Japanese tourists in Thailand are involved in a horrific accident. The survivors return to Japan to pick up the pieces. Shogo (Domoto Tsuyoshi) then suggests that they live together. These group of strangers bound together by tragedy somehow end up living under the same roof.


I would describe this show as Summer Snow with a large family. Not because of Domoto Tsuyoshi but because of its slow, melancholic nature. It is the perfect show to unwind to. Home Drama moves at its own pace and is a feel good show without being overtly sentimental. I'm not clamoring to watch the next episode but I know it will definitely put a smile on my face.


Home Drama is less about people grieving over their loved ones and more about strangers playing family. Every character has a story to tell and I await to see how their tenuous family ties can survive. Everyone is nice and cordial but underneath it all, there is a feeling that a lot of things are not being said. The 8 strangers coming together is all a facade. A way of them to cope with grief by ignoring it. By cutting ties with the past and establishing a new role.


I really hope that grief over the accident will resurface. While the formulaic solve a person's problem every episode would still work, it is their flimsy foundation of a family that will provide the best entertainment. And I never thought I would say this but this show need more Inoue Mao. I'm pretty sure her time to shine will come. Only watch it if you are in the mood for some laid back, feel good drama.