After the first few minutes, I was expecting it to be one of those awfully hollywoodian stories where an incident occurs and, scratching the surface, all the characters are revealed to be rotten to the core (typically hollywoodian, corruptive, luciferian message, btw). I was underestimating Japan, of course (my bad, as having watched more or less hundreds of J-doramas + dozens of J-movies, I should have known better!), and at the end of this dorama (alas, too short and a bit confused) the message conveyed was very different! Very good performances by Morikawa Aoi and Matsuoka Mayu!

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Please allow me not to mince my words: this "Yudo" is really a freaking M-A-S-T-E-R-P-I-E-C-E!!!
Wow, seriously, I've watched it a coupla weeks ago and I'm still getting goosebumps just by thinking about it, so good it was!
The script is absolutely P-E-R-F-E-C-T, it works like the finest of Swiss clockworks and *every single scene* is a total delight to watch. Even the most minor of side characters feels tridimensional, and the scenes involving them are fabulously deep and brilliant (take for instance the beautiful subplot involving the "haafu" and his mother! Or the fantastically bittersweet one with the old couple!).
The acting is top-notch, as one would expect from such a *stellar* cast!!!
The production value / "packaging" literally reaches Himalayan heights too.
This goes directly in my personal top10 of all times!!!

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Very delicate and nicely original take on the old trope "high school student + teacher love", this "Sensei Sayonara" positively surprised me for its beautiful script, the good to great acting performance by the main cast, and a totally decent production value / "packaging" (direction, photography, music commentary etc.).
Hard to explain the originality of this little drama (and most of all, why you might wanna give it a chance even though you might be turned off by the premise) without spoilers, so here we go, consider yourselves warned and if you don't wanna get any of those, stop reading now!
The afore-mentioned originality lies in the fact that the drama constantly juggles two different storylines: on the one hand, in the past, we get to see the beautiful-yet-tragic love between the ML (then a high schooler himself) and his homeroom teacher (played by Kita Kana who's nothing short of brilliant here, her last scene literally gave me goosebumps!); on the other hand, in the present, we see the sweet (and rest assured, completely chaste) love between the FL and the ML, who's now become a homeroom teacher (and a widow). In both cases it's the student who initiates everything, and it both cases the relationships are portrayed in an absolutely pure, not-in-the-least naughty way.
So why don't I give this a perfect 10? Well, honestly, Kita Kana and Watanabe Shota both did really well, whereas the rest of the cast (even more so in comparison to the Himalayan heights reached by those two) was good but nothing more (most, like Hayashi Meari, are pretty young so there's still a lot of room for improvement of course, ganbatte kudasai!)

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So, basically, the Japanese Government has decided to address the NEETs (people Not in Employment, Education nor Training) problem as well as the always declining birthrate, and...
Wait!
I know you've already read the synopsis, I'm not such a lousy reviewer as to needlessly repeat it, trust me...so bear with me for a few more seconds, will ya?
Where was I?
Oh, yeah:
...and they came up with a master plan: to have a dorama made, starring Kumada Rinka as the ideal wife (she's beautiful, kind, feminine, honest, sweet...add a few dozens more qualities and you'll get close to understanding how perfect she is in this!) so that even such old and staunch bachelors as yours truly would actually change their mind at least for the duration of the dorama and think that it'd be nice to get married.
I swear, these Japanese are a clever bunch! Chapeau, guys! ^__________^
p.s.
Jokes aside: it's a refreshingly clean, sweet and heartwarming lil' dorama, with a beautiful script and great performances by the whole cast! Highly recommended!!!

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I couldn't help comparing this "Itoshi no Nina" with "Kakafukaka", given how both dramas belong to the "romance" genre and (sort of) deal with the (very difficult) topic of sexual assaults; whereas "Kakafukaka" (which I tend to call "Kakà, fa kakà" in my head - Italians will get the pun better, it roughly translates as "It Sucks") did the most idiotic thing possible, that is, glamourized the whole thing, at least "Itoshi no Nina" attempted to face the topic more seriously, and managed to be a lot deeper - not such a feat per se, as the other one had been the paragon of shallowness!
Unfortunately, the result is still a bit half-baked, imho mostly due to the fact that it's not so easy to treat such a topic, within such a genre, in such a short series. And indeed, the characters' development often felt way too fast and abrupt; had the writer had more room to work with, she might have accomplished it better. As is, we have a very solidly written ML and a mostly well written FL, with the other characters being only roughly sketched and therefore often behaving inconsistently. Thusly, the story barely manages to get the passing grade, imho.
The cast did very well though, particularly the two leads, Hotta Mayu and Okada Kenshi, both delivering a very good and touching performance! Standing ovation for both!
A pretty high production value and a very nice and catchy song complete the package.
p.s.
Sorry for the following rant, but I just HAVE TO add this (WARNING - SPOILERS AHEAD): I've noticed comments describing the ML as "one of the perpetrators", much to my astonishment! >____<
The guy had NO FOREKNOWLEDGE WHATSOEVER of the kidnapping, and when he found out he took action and set the girl free, fleeing with her and bringing her to safety. Considering him "a perpetrator" means either NOT HAVING WATCHED THE DRAMA AT ALL or else BEING A SEXIST WHO THINKS HE'S GUILTY BY DEFINITION BECAUSE HE'S A MALE. Whichever is UTTERLY WRONG imho.

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"Forrest Gump" meets "Shomuni", with lousy results

I must confess not being a big fan of those - tremendously popular - oversimplifications of movies or dramas that could be formulized as "A = B + C" (I've recently noticed one of those, for example, in relation to the fabulous C-drama "Reset", labeled by some as "Speed meets Groundhog Day"), but this time I myself can't resist the temptaion of summing up this "Ii Hito" as "Forrest Gump meets Shomuni"! ^_^;
The problem is that whereas the latter was often hilarious, this one was mostly just ridiculous; and as for the former, they shared indeed a "definition" of "good person" that I happen to just totally disagree with. In fact, if you'll pardon my "hegelian dialectic", I really don't think that a good person is someone so naive and immature that doesn't even know what evil is ("Thesis"), but rather, someone who knows very well ("Antithesis") and decides to renounce evil and be good instead ("Synthesis"). Adults with the minds of a 5 years old kid aren't "good people", but the very definition of "simpletons" if you wanna be polite (or "retards" if you don't - and as annoying as I've found this ML who could only repeat, like a parrot, the same trite sentences throughout the whole drama, and the rest of the time just ran and shouted, rinse and repeat - well, I'm not so sure I wanna be polite in his case! =__=)
So, as you by now I'm sure have already guessed from my loooong introduction, I've found this drama's script to be reeeally bad. The "good guys" were annoying, the villains ridiculous (compared to the sneezing manager and his minion with the horrible haircut, even Dick Dastardly from "Wacky Races" was a credible, realistic and sober villain!), the plot almost non.existent, the dialogues and the message both trite and silly.
The cast's performance was also mostly abysmal (no surprise, given the material they had to work with) and only a coupla managed to do somehow well regardless (namely, Ito Shiro and Kanno Miho).
The production value was also nothing special, and the directing, instead, specially annoying - what with the constant zooming-in-and-out and the characters taking turns to stand in front of the camera and recite their lines (seriously, it felt like something a lousy high school club might do - and it'd still be annoying, but at least they'd have the excuse of being young and inexperienced; what was this director's excuse? .\___/.)
The only thing I was completely satisfied with was the OST, which was really marvelous (and the only reason why this doesn't get an even lower rating from me!!!)
So, 10/10 to the music, and extremely low ratings for the other categories.
My suggestion is: steer clear of the dorama and simply buy the OST! ^___-

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Whenever I see Odagiri Joe cast as the lead, I know from the beginning that chances are I'm in for something quirky and funny - and more often than not, outrageously so. And this "Jikou Keisatsu" was no exception, LOL! ^_____^
Indeed, the premise was exactly like that: outrageously quirky and funny (although, the ethically-conscious me was not fully on board with the "culprits get away with it" concept, I must confess >___<). The premise was mostly well developed and the mystery plots mostly well written (though, as it is often, if not always, the case with such episodic mysteries, some episodes were indeed better than others).
The cast did very well (besides, Odagiri Joe + Aso Kumiko are the perfect combo, seriously!!!) and the music was good too (the background music played during the "solution scenes" was particularly nice!); I have mixed feelings about the directing/editing though, as in a coupla episodes those were so chaotic that I got motion sickness! >___<
All in all, a nice dorama; I'm gonna watch the following seasons too! ^___-

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Even better than the drama...perfect10!

I would suggest you watch this movie only *after* the dorama ("Eizouken ni wa Te o Dasu na!" - which is basically the same title as this movie's - only, in Japanese), as you'd miss out on a tremendously witty and funny series otherwise! Nevertheless, the movie can stand by itself, and since the first twenty minutes or so are basically a recap of the drama's most important moments, even those who haven't watched the drama can appreciate the flick.
I normally am a bit wary of movies following dramas, as it's been my experience that most of those can't keep up the original quality and end up being a let down; but it certainly isn't the case of this "Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken!"....quite the opposite, I personally found it even better than the drama itself - which it's quite a feat, given how the drama had already been almost perfect!
A solid script, some great acting, nice music, himalayan-high production value...what's not to like? Perfect 10!

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I must confess having been taken quite aback by this drama's first episode. In short, and trying to avoid spoilers, it wasn't what I had expected. But after the initial surprise, I recalibrated my expectations and in the end I was utterly satisfied by this show! ^____-
The script is as crazy and quirky as they come, being a perfect example of the typically Japanese paradoxical comedy - a genre at which they excel, indeed! Expect lots and lots of wild fantasy (such a refreshing contrast to the ever-surging wave of bland, neutered, politically-correct homogeneity which has laid waste to the Western scriptwriting world, and has started attacking Japan as well, alas). Dialogues are witty and funny.
The acting is mostly superb (apart from one or two minor characters; but the three leads are all impeccable - a virtual standing ovation to them! Oh, and to the lovely Konishi Sakurako as well - too bad her role is not a leading one T__T).
Some pretty nice music and a tremendously high production value complete the package.
Highly recommended! Oh, and be sure to watch the following movie as well!

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Interesting premise, totally ruined by a lousy script

Apart from the cheesy title, this "Zambi" had a pretty interesting premise, with a first episode full of eery atmosphere. But from them on, unfortunately (and particularly from the start of the zombie outbreak - pardon, "zambi" outbreak ^_^;...), the whole thing was completely ruined by one of the lousiest scripts I've ever seen, filled to the brim with inconsistencies, plotholes, horribly poor dialogues, and idiotic scenes (just a few examples - SPOILERS AHEAD, jump to the next paragraph if you want to avoid them! - out of all the teens in the dormitory, apparently only one had her phone with her - like, seriously?!? - but then when the FL awakes inside the coffin, she has a lighter with her - and when another girl is stuck climbing outside a window, she repels a "zambi" using a big spray can - where did she find it? and where had she hidden it until then?!?...as for the dialogues, a memorable example is when one of the girls gets killed - UNMISTAKENLY killed, what with the knife stuck in her heart, the eyes wide open and dead - and in the next scene, a girl asks "Was she really dead?" - Duh! Whaddaya think, girl?!? >_____<)
The acting was quite poor, but with that script, there's nothing they could have done about that - and some of the girls showed how well they can act in another drama, "Eizouken ni wa Te wo Dasu na!" (more on that in my upcoming review of that title).
The music was nothing worth calling hoe about it, either.
Summing it all up: watch it only if you're a Nogizaka fan.

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This "Byplayers" is one of those gems that the J-drama scene produces time and again, and that time and again are vastly ignored by the non-Japanese audiences, alas.
In Japan it's been pretty successful (leading to two more seasons and a movie!), but unfortunately only this first season got subbed so far.
Of course this is partially explainable with the fact that it's quite hard to translate dramas like this into another language, so full as it is with cultural references, inside jokes, quotes etc.
But I'm afraid that the biggest "problem" is the average age of the leads - and that's particularly sad, specially for "oji-sans" like me! T_____T
If you wanna take my advice though (and take a break from the more usual dramas and their mostly "ageists" casts, give this a try, as it's really very good! ^___-
A meta-drama with a cast filled to the brim with great Japanese actors (both as leads as well as the weekly guests), most of them playing themselves, though of course in fictional situations (you know the "...no Satsukyu" series? A bit like that! ^___-)
A great declaration of love for dramas and the people working on (and mostly, IN) them!
The acting was superb, as expected; the script really brilliant; the music, imho, spectacularly good!
What's not to like? Perfect 10! ^___^

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Although the premise of this "Bureau Of Transformer" might remind many of you of the "Men In Black" franchise, believe me, the two couldn't be more different: whereas that one was the typically shallow and silly Hollywood production featuring Americans saving the day by shooting down everything that moves (all while throwing around equally shallow and silly lines, which the audience is programmed to find "cool" - but let's not delve too deep in there), this one instead is a profound, thought-provoking tale filled with humane characters and poetic scenes.
Why don't I rate it higher, then?
Well, in all honesty, the subs are a bit of a hit or miss (some episodes are well done, but some are of rather poor quality, to the point that several lines are barely comprehensible, unfortunately) and this, alas, hinders a bit the viewing pleasure. And the same can be said of the script: some episodes are little masterpieces, seriously...but others are just "meh". Generally speaking, I mostly found the last third of the series to be of lower quality, compared to the previous two thirds (and also a bit too dark and depressing - whereas one of the strong points of this drama had been, until there, its humor).
The cast did a very good job, with honorable mentions for Chen He among the main cast, and Charlene Chen and Maggie Lee among the guests.
The music is top-notch, and so are direction, photography and editing.
Not *absolutely* perfect, but still very enjoyable. 8/10

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Although I won't go too much into details, so as to avoid major spoilers, I have to say that right until literally just a few minutes before the end of the last episode, I was pondering within myself whether I was gonna give this a 9 (or more probably an 8, 'cause it did have its faults anyway - more on this in a while), but then imho the writer decided to ruin everything just for the sake of a silly, shallow, "hollywoodian" final scare. If I ever rewatch this, I'll make sure to stop watching before that point (just as with an American TV series I liked as well, but only except the very last minutes, "Point Pleasant" - but that's another story).
Too bad, 'cause otherwise this dorama could've been a much better one, more coherently Japanese (in that horror is used also to convey deeper moral messages), despite the fact that it still had some script problems (most of all, the inconsistence in some characters' behavior - namely, the FL's BF and the mom - but also the fact that it had too much going on for only 7 episodes, and the writer wasn't able to wrap everything up nicely anyway).
Acting wise, another great performance by the lovely Shiraishi Sei and Kuroki Hitomi, whereas the rest of the cast was ok but nothing to call home about, imho. Direction, photography and music were also OK.
All in all, if you're a fan of Japanese horror, a pleasant watch.

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I had pretty great expectations for this "Konto ga Hajimaru", given how it was written by the same scriptwriter who had previously penned that little masterpiece by the name of "Ore no Hanashi wa Nagai", and also considering how the three male leads (Suda Masaki, Kamiki Ryunosuke and Nakano Taiga) are basically the top of the crop of young J-actors (yep, as I stated in my profile, I do pay much more attention to *actresses*...but that doesn't mean I can't be objective when faced with acting talent), and I'm happy to be able to say, this drama didn't let me down.
The script, just as expected, was really very good (maybe not *absolutely* perfect, but pretty close); the cast was great (kudos also to the female leads: I knew I was gonna get a good performance by Arimura Kasumi, but I must confess not knowing well the other two, Furukawa Kotone and Yoshine Kyoko, and they were a nice surprise, both really beautiful AND talented - particularly the former, playing that marvelous character!), and the "packaging" (directing, editing, photography, OST) was, as I consider totally key, perfectly supporting the script, rather than trying to stand out so as to cover its faults (as it is, alas, the case of many modern series, all form and too little substance).
All in all, highly recommended! ^___^

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First things first: I owe Kazama Shunsuke a public apology (Japanese-style, with deep bow and all that).
While reviewing "Cheat", in fact, I had been quite harsh to him, doubting his acting skills - although I *did* add that "....maybe the fault lies with the script...". Apparently, that was it indeed, as in this "Oshii Keiji", also thanks to the masterfully written script by Uda Manabu (such a talented writer, seriously!), Kazama was nothing short of brilliant! ^____^
Add a pretty good performance by the rest of the cast (let me spend a word for the totally gorgeous Ishikawa Ren and Yasuda Seia!), the afore-mentioned great script (mixing nicely elaborate mystery plots with so many absolutely hilarious scenes!), an extremely nice soundtrack and a definitely better than average production value...and what you get is, simply put, a lil' gem of a drama.
Can't wait to watch the sequel too! ^___-

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