Sutekina Sen Taxi (2014)

This dorama is about the different customers a time-taxi driver meets at a certain turning point of their lives, and takes them back in time to change it. The format is episodic, even when they sometimes tease us with a connection to past episodes, it does not affect the overall turn of events. I like stories like that and generally enjoy watching them, but this one has some aspects that add more to my overall enjoyment and makes want to watch more of it.

One of the biggest attractions of the drama is Takenouchi Yutaka and the way he plays his character the taxi driver Edawakare. Without knowing much of his past, each episode makes us discover a little more of his antics. He's completely awkward and indecisive, and is afraid of what others think of any of his actions. For him, every moment is a turning point, and he has to think over and over, weighing the pros and cons, being honest about himself vs conforming, and so on. Even so he's pretty blunt with his opinion about his clients' decisions, and shows much more confidence in the taxi driver's seat. Then when he smiles I stop really seeing whats going on and get absorbed with that beautiful smile of his. Seriously his smile feels so genuine, and is both cute and sexy.

Another aspect I fully enjoyed is the café he hangs out most of his free time. At first we see him just as a normal customer there, but later he see him getting closer and more involved with them, like a family. That was cute and homey.

Last but not least, our main subject matter, the clients, are very entertaining and distinct. Not all are likeable but you may relate to them. The ending of each episode sometimes go to familiar places and sometimes do something unexpected and surprised us.

Finally I'd like to say this dorama may not be for everyone, being formulaic and episodic, but if you do give it a chance, I'd see to give it at least 3 episodes before deciding to continue or quit. It is a must watch for any Takenouchi Yutaka fan ;)

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If you're looking for a good dorama with the non-complex kind of time travel and good stand-alone episodes to pass the time, I highly recommend you make the wonderful decision to watch Suteki na Sen-TAXI. (Sorry for the pun, I simply HAD to.)

This series is about Eda-san, a Taxi driver with a special Taxi that can bring his customer back to a time of their choosing to ''set right what went wrong'', to quote another great - and underestimated - series about time travel called Quantum Leap. So each episode is a stand-alone story about this or that customer going ''back to the futur--'' I mean... the past, till they get it right. There's a sort of continuity as well between the episodes with recurring characters (the staff at the Choice Café for example), the hilarious scenes from the impossibly confusing ''dorama'' Hanzai Deka, or the recurring no-time-slip-feeling joke, which gets more and more hilarious as time passes - even going so far as subtly referencing Doctor Who, at some point.

With the exception of the first episode, which was kind of weird, compared to the rest of the series, the stories are mostly light-hearted and funny, or bittersweet at most. Please don't let the first episode influence your viewing. It kinda sets the series to be dark and heavy, but that episode was really the odd one out.

I mentioned early in the review that this series is about the ''non-complex'' kind of time travel - that means, this is not Primer, you can watch this series without getting confused about timelines and paradoxes and stuff. That said, there are some paradoxes in the series that bothered me a lot, so, if you're like me, they're gonna bother you too. But the series doesn't address them - maybe the writers didn't even notice them - so just try and find some explanation for yourself or try to accept the matter as it is. Shouganai.

I liked the acting a lot, especially from the main cast. The guests were all good with some exceptions, but the fact that they were there for just the one episode makes it so it doesn't ruin your viewing. The Henzai Deka cast was delusional and over the top, so they were brilliant as well.
Fun fact: the creator of the series is actually one of the main cast's actors. I was a little surprised when I found out.

The music, especially the instrumental OP was great! I didn't like the ''time-slip sound effect'' very much, though - it became annoying after a while.

You can easily rewatch this series whenever you want, and you don't even have to watch it altogether because of its stand-alone episodes.

So then, I guess you have a general idea of the fact that life has many turning points, right? What kind of job will you land? What kind of house will you live in? What will you have for dinner? Will you watch this dorama or not?

Well?
What kind of choice will you make?

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If only a time taxi existed irl too...

Each episode features a different character attempting to change their regrets. I must admit that, in comparison to other episodic format dramas, I did not enjoy the majority of the stories. I thought they were over-the-top, and it was difficult to root for many of the clients. Episode 3 & 9 stuck out like a sore thumb for me the most.

In episode 3, we follow the life of a woman who is aware that the man she is dating is married but is indifferent. Throughout the episode, it's shot as if we're supposed to feel sorry for her.   Why should we, though? I would probably feel bad if she didn't know he was married, but she did. She even spoke to his wife a few times! Even if you felt sorry for her, your feelings were obliterated the moment she revealed she wasn't pregnant. Like ma'am????? 

I didn't like episode 9 for one simple reason: I didn't like the humour. There was too much back-and-forth, needlessly stretching it out to the 45 minute mark. I believe this is Japanese humour.

For the most part, I thought all of the actors/actresses did well. I wouldn't say there is a standout because they all appear to be on the same level. This does not diminish their acting abilities, but I found some of their voices extremely annoying to listen to. But not Takenouchi Yukata's voice. His voice is extremely soothing.

The opening sequence encapsulates the essence of this drama really well. The colours blended nicely together. I also liked the "Start" and "Retry" text. Small details like this increase the appeal of watching.

I enjoyed the jazzy music. Every time it was played, I vibed.

The concept was great, but the side plots ruined it for me. It was interesting to follow some morally ambiguous characters, but they needed to have at least one redeeming quality for me to root for them. Unfortunately, I couldn't think of a single positive trait for most of the characters here.

aight byeee~

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Was overlooking this drama for a while and decided to watch it andi don't feel like i waste my time at all. The story is simole but it gave you all sort of feeling, overwhelming and lively all the way through the end. It's been a while that i don't feel this way to any drama but this one seriously hook me in totally.

Great actors and guest roles are great also the music from aiko never made me disappointed.

Will keep this short but hope anyone who read my comment will give this drama a chance and watch it through, something that can clear your head after tiring week from works.

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STORY / ACTING: I would consider the plot of this drama eccentric and entertaining. The idea of incorporating various stories of each individual customer within each episode was very clever and satisfying. The main actor did a great job in his role as a "time-taxi" driver. His sophisticating vibe in this role made me drawn into riding a "time-taxi" (hopefully in the future if it's invented). The supporting actors were also great in their roles, especially in adding bits of light humor in every episode.

MUSIC: Music plays an essential role in film. When I found out that a jazz track was used as the opening theme song, I couldn't resist feeling euphoric. :D

Overall, I would recommend this drama to anyone who's interested in an "easy-going" storyline with a hint of comedy and a slice-of-life.

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AAAA-- I LOVE IT!!

Who I will recommend this to?
Those who like those manga-or-anime-feeling type-of-story.
For those who just want a light, fun, yet unsuspected stories.
Those who likes these actors in other drama (this is how I can find this drama)

Story:
its so interesting! the first episode is such a huge surprised and immediately rose my expectation for the rest of the drama. At first I'm a bit afraid that weather or not the other episode can be as enjoyable as the first one. Turned out I still enjoy the story until their last episode.
They got those comedic side yet I can still see, it got great moral lessons and remind us of decision making in life may impact us.

Cast/Acting:
Most of their cast are experienced actors. So its not a surprised that their acting is that nice.

Music:
The BGM music is nice. You got those signature music! Every time that play, you know you will enjoy this. And its so cute that they chose those old-music-radio-future-thingy sometimes too haha~

I've rewatch some of the episode that i like the most. And I still enjoy it haha~
I will certainly rewatch this in the future again and recommend it to friends with similar taste as mine.

Sadly,
Its too bad that its an old drama, cause its old enough to not have sub for some language. and if they did, you kinda need to search a lot.

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..VACANT. . .EN ROUTE..

..START. . .RETRY. . .RETRY. . .GOAL~!!..

..another moustache image of Yutaka-san and the younger version of Masu (my latest series I've watch him is on Ichikei's Crows)..

..indeed, one's life has a lot of turning points and a choices to make and to decide - those will shape our future..

..every scene is a lesson, time taxi is not real but the moral for each episode is a learning process - it always leaves us a lesson to take time to decide and be accountable for whatever the result will be since there is no turning back..

..this series is a comedy too..

..like some other reviewers. . .episode 8 really touch my heart, since we are all family oriented..

..this series for me and for those want to watch this, you may choose any episode you want to start since each episode are not related to one a other. .EXCEPT EPISODE 10 haha..

..I do love the ost from aiko, who are there on one of the episode (like kyary pamyu pamyu from Mondai No Aru Restaurant)..

..better to watch the movie too..

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