Just as good as the original SP!

If you liked the original SP, there's a high chance you'll like the drama as well!
Yoshida Kotaro gives another solid performance as the main character whose real age doesn't really match his heart's (meaning, he's so young at heart that he'll always fall in love at first sight - just to be brought back to reality before each episode ends, LOL) and whose best quality is that, despite being initially moved by maybe-not-so-pure-intentions and by a pretty self-centered attitude (always thinking that the woman is interested in him, LOL), in the end he always puts the other person's feelings and needs first, showing the moral strength of an Edo-period samurai. Such a beautifully written character, indeed! (oh, and while we're at it: it's so refreshing to have a middle aged man as the main character! I wish there were more dramas like this!)
The supporting cast also does a nice job, particularly Takahata Mitsuki and Ogura Shun, who make up with (acting) quality to what they might lack in (screentime) quantity, giving a lot of depth to their characters - so much friendship transpires through those meaningful - and often silent - glances they give Kururi-san everytime he goes off on a tangent, convinced as he is that he's found his next bride-to-be.
The script is mostly very well-written, although some episodes are definitely better than others - as it's to be expected; the music is really nice and adds to the whole viewing experience, just like the direction and photography.
I think the only "problem" this series has (and that's the reason why I don't give it a "perfect 10") is that it's tremendously repetitive after a while; in order to avoid being bothered by this aspect, I'd suggest you do like me and dilute the watch over a longer period, so that each episode can feel "fresh" (I totally think this is NOT the series you'd want to binge-watch!)

Citeste mai mult

The weakest season so far

I'm sorry to sound so harsh, but this fourth season of "Wakako Zake" was imvho even weaker than the third one.
Except for the occasional episode featuring interesting dishes (like for example the Chawanmushi, the Maguro and the Chūka ones), most of the rest is filled with bland and/or unappealing dishes (to name but two: corndogs and a "pizza" with fries and mayonnaise....URGH! >___<). I think there's a (not so) fine line between being a gourmet (i.e., someone who appreciates good food) and being a glutton (someone who wolfs down whatever comes their way, 'cause everything is good for them). Unfortunately, seeing (the anyway totally adorable!) Takeda Rina having culinary orgasms for stuff like the sliced-tomato-with-some-oil-on-top (hardly something you'd need a professional cook for, let's face it!!! >__<) or the plain baked garlic....well, it gave me the strong impression that Wakako-san has turned into a desperate glutton, and that's sad...if they keep going down that path, I can imagine a future episode of a future season titled "Bread Crusts And A Glass Of Water"...which from a philosophical point of view could still make sense, okay....but much less so considering that we're talking of a food drama, right? ^_^;;;

Citeste mai mult

The soul equivalent of a warm, fuzzy blanket on a cold, dark night

I was drawn in by the cast (what can I say? I have a soft spot for Kaho! ^___^) and by the deeply interesting premise (I'm a sucker for such time-related stories...so much so that, despite all my disdain for post-1980 hollywoodian productions, I'd still consider "recent" American movies like "Frequency" and "12 Monkeys" for a hypothetical personal top-100 of all time!), and indeed, Kaho is adorable here, and the plot is absolutely gripping.
The thing that really makes this movie stand out, though, is the beautiful message it conveys: that self-realization, as well as personal growth, can come through selflessness and caring for others. Such a lovely message indeed, particularly when the society we're living in, unfortunately, constantly encourages sociopathic behaviors instead (all is good as long as you don't bother the powers that be!), of course edulcorating them with sugarcoated definitions as "having a strong personality" (used for "being an arrogant ego-maniac") and "being competitive" (used for "trampling over others")...
That's why I wholeheartedly suggest this hidden gem: it's the soul equivalent of a warm, fuzzy blanket on a cold, dark night! ^___^

Citeste mai mult

They had me at "baseball" and "Okinawa". And indeed the baseball bits, as well as the Okinawan setting and the historical background which explains the main character's drive, are definitely interesting and worth watching. Too bad the afore-mentioned main character is such a despicable person (imagine Sergeant Hartman from "Apocalypse Now", only in a high school baseball club setting) that it was really impossible for me to actually root for him. The acting and directing are very good, the dialogues mostly well written, but there's way too much violence for my taste, and I just can't condone the "victory at all costs" message. Hence the low grade.

Citeste mai mult

The 1st season was perfect, and this is just as good!

There's an old Italian saying (of course, soccer-related - pardon, calcio-related ^__^) that goes like this: "squadra vincente non si cambia". That is, "never change a winning team" - meaning, when a formula works, there's no reason to modify it!
That phrase fits perfectly to this second season of the acclaimed dorama "Furuhata Ninzaburo": the first season had been basically perfect, so why should they go and modify anything for the following season?
Luckily they didn't, and the result is just as good as the original!
As always in series with an episodic structure, some episodes are better than the rest; if I were to name a personal top3, I'd say first #10 - a real masterpiece! - and right next #9 and #4 ^____^

Note: Due to the continuous numbering adopted by this series (episodes are numbered progressively, regardless of seasons/SP etc.; therefore the 1st season has 12 episodes, then comes the 1st SP - episode 13 - then the 10 episodes of this 2nd season - episodes 14 to 23 - and so on), 2nd season's eps. 10, 9 and 4 are, respectively, episode 23, 22 and 17

Citeste mai mult

You don't need to be a regular "aniota" in order to enjoy this!

I must confess I'm a rare specimen among japanophiles: I don't like anime. No, seriously, I honestly find those childish voices plainly irritating and the whole "moe" concept just gives me the creeps!
And that's *precisely* why I think that the fact that I've watched this "Koe Girl" and really, really, really liked it speaks *volumes* about its quality!
Thanks to a very well-written script, to a solid performance by the whole cast (particular praises to Fukuhara Haruka, Nakamura Yurika and Yoshikura Aoi) and to a wonderful production, you don't need to be a regular "aniota" in order to enjoy this lovely dorama, which manages to be at the same time funny (for example, the episode about screaming was positively hilarious!!!), moving (Fukuhara's performance made my eyes wet more than once!), endearing and entertaining - so much so that I didn't just *watch* it, I actually *binged* it!

Citeste mai mult

Hidden gem! ^____^

Maybe it's because I'm 46 and single myself (although, in my case, not because I got divorced, LOL). And maybe it's because of the uncanny resemblance between the ML's high-school crush and my high-school crush of 30 years ago (ok, "mine" was blonde, blue-eyed and freckled, but everything else - body figure, shape of the face, cheeckbones, ears, nose, profile, hairstyle, hands, character etc. - was strikingly similar). And maybe (and more seriously) it's because, let's be honest - who wouldn't want to have a second chance at youth with the consciousness and experience of an adult (only the consciousness, therefore minus the beer-belly and the receding hairline, LOL)?
Whatever the reason, I was hooked right away and this dorama left a huge impression on me (I'm not ashamed to admit that by the end my eyes were wet!).
A simple yet not shallow premise, nicely developed throughout the series and masterfully wrapped up in the last episodes. At times I laughed, and at times I was moved. Huge congrats to the author(s)!
The cast (although, I'll shamefully admit, mostly unknown to me) did a great job too (with only one notable exception, that is the 16 y.o. version of the ML's wife - I found that idol-turned-actress waaaaaay below par, sorry - one more example of the nefarious influence of the idol-system on acting quality...but that's another story).
The music was also a very nice element, needless to say, and so were the 80's references!
All in all, a perfect 10 as far as I'm concerned! Hidden gem! ^___-

Citeste mai mult

Where to start? Things like this "Yareta Kamo Iinkai" can only be done in Japan, LOL! ^_^; Ok, it's as weird as they come, but at the same time it manages to be funny and at times even moving for the humanity with which the head judge (that martial arts dude simply ROCKS, LOL) addresses the participants' stories. Too bad the other judges aren't that nice. The musician at least shows some (hint of an) emotion here and there, while the übercold businesswoman, always voting against the other two, never showing an emotion...URGH I just can't stand her! Oh, before anyone jumps at my throat accusing me of sexism, I would've disliked an emotionless businessman just the same - matter of fact, I just despise those icy corporate robots with their mistaken air of superiority regardless of their sex, LOL. Back to the dorama: nice jazzy score music here and there!

Citeste mai mult

As I started watching this "Koi to Uso", I must confess I was a bit skeptical. Part of me, in fact, was expecting (the proper verb would actually be "fearing") that it would turn out to be one of those "fake distopies" which abound in Western fiction (you know, those crappy stories whose equally crappy message ends up being "OMG we're so lucky that the society we live in isn't like that!" - whereas REAL distopies - from "1984" to "Brave New World" to "Fahrenheit 451" - are supposed to be the exact opposite, showing us WHERE our society will head if no action is taken).
I was underestimating Japanese writers, of course, and I publicly owe them an apology. Because here the "distopian" aspect is just an original pretext to produce an incredibly delicate but at the same time tragically romantic story, very well scripted as well as acted out by the cast. Particular mention, once again, for Morikawa Aoi, who's been my #1 favorite actress for quite some time (and I don't see anyone taking her place anytime soon).

Citeste mai mult

Being the old socialist that I am (though much less old and much more socialist than Bernie Sanders, LOL), you might understand I would've never watched anything with such a classist title, hadn't it been for a friend who wholeheartedly suggested it. And when, upon watching the first episode, I got so angry at the male lead for his behavior and actually thought about dropping this dorama, it was that same friend who managed to convince me not to do so. This is why, now that I've watched the dorama till the end, I feel the need to publicly thank that friend of mine. Hadn't it been for him, I wouldn't have watched this dorama that, albeit not being the best of all time, still has one of the best characters ever (namely, the female lead, masterfully portrayed by Ishihara Satomi, who managed to make me laugh one moment, and move me to tears just a few minutes later). The lovely message conveyed by this drama, in a nutshell, could be that love and goodness can change even the worst people and make decent human beings out of them. A lovely message indeed, albeit maybe not such a realistic one, let's admit. Anyway not in the big business world (where I have the strong impression only the scum rises to the top) and not in this Kali Yuga we're living in! Anyway, a great performance by the whole cast - and particularly by the leads - and the afore-mentioned message get this dorama a well-deserved 8/10 ^___^

Citeste mai mult

Being a sucker for some good Japanese horror story (what with the whole "let's give some closure to the spirits of the deceased so that they might rest in peace / proceed to their next life" and "let's scare the viewers with the atmosphere" concepts, rather than their Western counterparts of "let's shoot whatever's moving" and "let's throw in gallons of blood and teradecibels worth of screams"), of course I liked this. True, some episodes were better than others (#7 is wonderful; #3 extremely nice; #6 also very good; #2 and 4 not bad at all; only #1 and #5 are sub-par, imho) but it's still totally worth watching if you also like Japanese Horror. If you'd rather have those afore-mentioned gallons of blood and teradecibels worth of screams, instead...well...go to H....ollywood, you'll find plenty of stuff to your liking there, LOL ^_^;;;

Citeste mai mult

Not having being able to find subs for this, I've watched it without - therefore I can't say I understood everything - alas, not even close.
Nevertheless, the story is pretty easy to grasp (also because, being 46 myself, those situations felt awkwardly familiar, LOL!), the acting is great, the music fabulous. Although I'll take a seaside or rural setting over an urban one every day of the week, still I have to say I appreciated how they went and showed some more relaxing, lesser known and imho much nicer Tokyo neighborhoods than the overly used and, at least to me, overly obnoxious Akihabara, Shinjuku etc.
Can't wait to watch the following series! ^__^

Citeste mai mult

I was captured by the lovely music (Chopin's the best, seriously!) from the very first seconds, and my beloved classical music is a constant (and very appreciated, at least by THIS reviewer) presence in this tv movie / dorama SP. Another fabulous feature of this "Mesen" aka "Gaze" is the direction, so tremendously "hitchcock-esque"; the viewers are drawn right away in the eery atmosphere of this masterfully crafted thriller/noir. Last but not least, I confess having a soft spot for Kokubu Sachiko: she hopelessly charmed me from the very first time I placed my eyes on that fascinatingly mysterious face of hers, and it's always a pleasure to see her in movies/dramas (too bad her filmography is so short, and to add insult to injury, the dorama where she has the main role are basically impossible to find, sigh...). And though I'm not Nakama Yukie's biggest fan, I have to say she's absolutely *perfect* for this part! Oh, and I almost forgot the cherry on top: part of the movie takes place in Ginzan Onsen, Yamagata...such a suggestive scenery! Well, all in all, a solid, tragic plot which could've been written by Shakespeare, terrific directing, very good acting, amazing settings and fantastic classical music throughout all of it! In my book, that's a perfect 10!

Citeste mai mult