I have a love-hate relationship with new drama season. On one hand, new dramas starting are always exciting and there’s plenty to sample from. On the other hand, the previous season has ended and now you’re in this kind of withdrawal from your favorite of the previous season. Sometimes it helps if there wasn’t anything too good last season, but usually, there’s one drama that I just need more of. Well, anyway, I’ve definitely been sampling quite a few of the dramas from this season and here they are:

Ando Natsu
This is the story of a young woman who wants to become a pastry chef who one day comes across a small Japanese sweets shop looking for a part-time employee. So, she starts working there and learning about the art of traditional Japanese sweets from them. I really liked Kanjiya Shihori in KimiHan and does anyone remember her from Hanadan 2 as Hinata Sara? And also has the crazy guy who was Manami’s boyfriend from LIFE, his role seems rather minimal, though. Unfortunately no one has picked up this series, but that doesn’t mean I won’t still be watching it =) And I can never refuse sweets…yum!

Code Blue
One of the more anticipated series because of its all star cast of Yamapi, Aragaki Yui, and Toda Erika. I admit I haven’t joined the Yamapi fanclub, but I really like Toda Erika and Aragaki Yui isn’t bad either. Also has Ryo in her usual type of role of the beautiful and very experienced __(fill in occupation)__. Basically this drama is Grey’s Anatomy with a helicopter and without the sex . I’m in!

Maou
Whee! Ikuta Toma! =) Mystery, suspense, thriller? I’m in! Of course there’s Arashi’s leader Ohno in his first starring role, and he has pleasantly surprised me as the two-faced lawyer. It’s an interesting type of mystery drama, since the culprit is already known, but I’m been captivated every minute of it. Does this drama remind anyone else of Death Note? L and Kira? I’ve always loved Death Note and I can never get enough of physiological thrillers… So far it’s been very good, and I’m a little surprised at the average ratings, but I suppose the genre can turn off even the biggest of Johnny’s fans/

Seigi no Mikata
It’s the story of two sisters: the older is a devil masked beneath a beautiful and intelligent woman, the younger is the victim of the older and the only one who knows of the older sister’s true evil ways. I don’t really like Yamada Yu and I don’t think she’s all that beautiful, either, but she’s quite entertaining as the evil older sister. The upside is that Shida Mirai is playing the younger sister and I have watched her in a number of roles and every time she impresses me. So far, it’s no different - this girl is going to be a big star (if she isn’t already). Plus what makes this drama so fun for me personally is that I’m the younger sister and when I was younger, I felt the exact same way as Youko (the little sister) feels, even though my sister isn’t actually evil (or is she?) Watching this, I just want to laugh and say “story of my life!!” haha… but watching just the first episode I just think…man, how can everyone think she’s actually nice….she’s a complete bitch to everyone and not just her sister!

Cat Street
Adapted from Kamio Yoko’s manga, this tells the story of a former child star, Aoyama Keito, who has cut off the world but slowly starts coming back when she starts attending a school for teenagers like her. It’s by the same author as Hana Yori Dango, so you know what to expect. Amazing storytelling with relateable characters. I’ve read parts of the manga myself and am looking forward to this finally airing! (starts in August) Stars Tanimura Mitsuki as Keito (remember her from Watashitachi no Kyokasho?). Also stars Kimura Ryo (Hana Kimi, Puzzle), Namase Katsuhisa (Gokusen 1-3, 4 Shimai Tantei Dan), and Kurokawa Tomoka (Detective Conan 1 and 2). I’m looking forward to this drama the most….start already!

Koizora
Drama adaption of the movie, which tells the story of Mika and Hiro’s painful love. I enjoyed the movie and I’m looking forward to better timing of the events and some backstory on their friends! The girl starring as Mika, Mizusawa Erena, is pretty unknown, so this could be her breakout role! Seto Koji is going to play Hiro and he’s from D-boys, which I known pretty much nothing about. Looking forward to watching Nagayama Kento aka Eita’s little brother in his supporting role. I think this one starts in August too.

Lotto 6 de San-oku Ni-senman Yen Ateta Otoko
It’s the story about a divorced man who suddenly wins lots of money in the lotto. It sounded sort of interesting, so I watched the first episode but never finished it. Maybe I’ll finish it eventually but I doubt it. Oh and it has that cute little boy from Last Friends in it!

Walkin’ Butterfly
It’s about this girl who has a complex about being too tall (partly because she is always rejected because she is too tall for her crush). One day she gets mistaken as a model when she’s delivering pizza to a fashion show and she realizes that her body is perfect for modeling. Unfortunately, she’s totally ungraceful and acts just like a guy, so it’ll be a tough climb to become a real model. Stars Nakabeppu Aoi as Michiko, who’s actually a model, Toray’s swimsuit model for 2008. Also stars Ishihara Satomi and Sakai Ayana in small supporting characters, which is a shame because they deserve to be the leading characters in some other drama on a bigger network. Generally, I find that TV Tokyo dramas are kind of weird, so I’ve never watched them before. But since this is adapted from a manga, it should be okay, right? Even though this one isn’t being subbed either, mostly I’m finding it easy to get through, as the language they use isn’t very complicated.

Honorable mentions
Shiro to Kuro - stars Nishihara Aki (Yuki from Handan, the hairstylist bitch from Last Friends) as Ayako, who’s in a love triangle with two brothers that have two opposite personalities. It’ll be interesting to see her finally star in her own drama, even though it’s daytime. I’d like to watch this but don’t know if I actually will.
Yottsu no Uso - sounds like Desparate Housewives, but I never got into that
Tomorrow - another hospital drama but it has Kanno Miho who is amazing
Here is Greenwood - adapted from a shoujo manga that I heard of but never read. and it’s also on a network with generally weird dramas
Taiyou to Umi no Kyoushitsu - seaside school drama that starts Oda Yuji who I only know about because of Oguri Shun’s Kisaragi. Also stars Kitano Kii from LIFE and a bunch of other young rising stars like Yamamoto Yusuke, Okada Masaki, and Tanimura Mitsuki (who’s also in Cat Street). Hm… maybe I should pick this up….

Starring:
Narumi Riko as Hanamoto Hagumi
Ikuta Toma as Takemoto Yuta
Harada Natsuki as Yamada Ayumi
Mukai Osamu as Mayama Takumi
Narimiya Hiroki as Morita Shinobu
Murakami Jun as Hanamoto Shuji
Seto Asaka as Harada Rika
Takizawa Saori as Teshigawara Miwako
Kimura Yuichi as Lohmeyer-senpai
Matsushige Yutaka as Professor Shoda
Maekawa Yasuyuki as Teranobori Yasuhiko
Kashiwabara Takashi as Nomiya Takumi
Izumiya Shigeru as Yamada Daigoro

Hachimitsu to Kuroba is a Japanese drama that aired on the winter of 2008. Even though it was based off of a super popular manga and anime of the same name, the drama failed to live up to that popularity, averaging ratings of only 8.9%.

The drama follows the lives of five art school students. Hanamoto Hagumi is a young naive girl form the countryside, but she is an amazing artists. Takemoto Yuta is an architecture student who is a bit lost in life, not knowing what he wants to do. Yamada Ayumi is a talented ceramics student. She’s in love with Mayama Takumi, an experienced architecture student. The last member of their group is Morita Shinobu, an eclectic young man, who despite being an amazing artist in all sorts of forms, doesn’t want to graduate. Right off the bat, many love triangles are introduced. Takemoto likes Hagu and Yamada likes Mayama, but he’s too busy falling over his boss, Harada Rika. She and Hagu’s cousin, Hanamoto Shuji, a professor at their school, were friends back when they were in art school together. One nice change that HachiKuro has is that although there is romance in the story, it’s not a strict romance story. It tells the tale of five students as they find their way in life and as always, life brings elements of romance into it.

I have read part of the manga and have watched all of the anime, so I was expecting something a bit more from the drama. And I’m sad to say that the drama really doesn’t live up to the manga and anime. With the transition from animanga to live-action, a lot of things are lost, especially the way artists can over-exaggerate anything without looking too outrageous. Unfortunately, that is not the case for the drama and much of HachiKuro’s slapstick humor is cut from the series and replaced with other attempts at humor (which doesn’t work as well). Like Lohmeyer-senpai….whose role here was 1000 times greater than in the original storyline. I think it was supposed to be funny, but it was just stupid. And not even the type of stupid that you can laugh at.

The fact that many plot elements were changed made the drama’s storyline less touching than the manga. Not to mention how some of the character’s traits were altered, making you wonder, “is this person really the same character?” (just think Morita…). And not to mention they took out the entire character of Kaoru…which makes Morita lose a ton of depth to his character.

Despite that, I enjoyed Ikuta Toma’s portrayal of Takemoto and his monologues are well done. And I have always really liked the Yamada-Mayama storyline; I find it so touching and real and pure. I love the character of Yamada Ayumi, actually. And Hirai Ken’s Canvas as the theme song was really great as well.

HachiKuro is probably a good drama for those who aren’t too familiar with the original storyline. But for the rest of us who had some expectations, they definitely weren’t met. It wasn’t even like Hana Kimi, where the drama was still good, even though there were changes made to the storyline. Okay, so HachiKuro’s not bad, but it’s not good and that’s bad enough, right?

Buy the boxset: Japan Version

New season, new dramas, and a renewed spirit! This’ll be my first drama preview post as just my first impressions on the dramas I’m planning on watching and reviewing.

First Impressions

Shikaotoko Aoiniyoshi

A very unlucky man is forced to move his post at a university lab to a girl’s high school in Nara, where the deer roam around freely. Ogawa Takanobu moves into an apartment/inn of some sorts with a bunch of his co-workers. Life in Nara is quite different from Tokyo and Ogawa has probalem adjusting, including a student who seems to hate him. And not to mention that there seems to be someone tailing him and writing telltale notes on his classroom blackboard. So far, I’ve found Shikaotoko Aoiniyoshi to be quite interesting. Even though, it takes place in Nara that’s depicted as mostly slow-paced and not very exciting, the drama is full of life. I also love that the humor is very dry; there doesn’t seem to be any slapstick to be seen. I also have to mention that Tamaki Hiroshi and Ayase Haruka have pretty unflattering hair compared to their previous hairstyles. Maybe it’s supposed to be reflect on their location.

Hachimitsu to Kuroba (Honey and Clover)

Probably one of the more anticipated drama for overseas watches would be Hachimistsu to Kuroba, more commonly known as Honey and Clover. It’s a story of five college students in art school and the drama and comedy that ensues from college life. The story starts when Hanamoto Hagumi, an amazingly talented painter among other things, starts school. It centers around Takemoto Yuta, though, who is mostly the narrator and falls in love with Hagu. There’s a lot of love triangles, random fun, and all sorts of art. I was really looking forward to this drama, but I was disappointed in the first episode. Some parts were funny, but other parts were just on the boring side and all in all I was not impressed. Fortunately, the second episode redeemed it a bit for me, but it’s still not as good as I had hoped. I have read a few chapters of the manga, and I’ve never watched the anime. I did watch the the movie and thought it was rather boring, though I found the manga to be pretty enjoyable. I just hope the drama will get better soon. But since the third episode’s rating is now below 10%, maybe all there is is hope.

Ashita no Kita Yoshio

I found this story synopsis to be quite intriguing. A man, Kita Yoshio, has always had a strange connection to the number 11. He has lead a life that he regrets and is sad about. He feel that the world hates him and there is nothing left for him to live. He had a wife, but she divorced him 11 years ago. He had one good friend, but he also died. Kita Yoshio decides to end his life 11 days from then, on the anniversary of his one friend’s death. However, fatefully, he meets Yashiro Heita who pulls him into a world he never knew about. This is the start Kita Yoshio’s most eventful 11 days. After being disappointed with Hachimitsu to Kuroba, I watched the first episode of Ashita no Kita Yoshio and was pleasantly surprised. The story is kind of trippy, but is really enjoyable. There’s a morbid side to it, yet it is very funny. Kohinata Fumiyo who plays the titular “hero,” Kita Yoshio is, so far, amazing. His character is really pathetic but at the time can relate to many people. I’m looking forward to watching the rest of this drama.

1 Pound no Fukuin

This is the story of a boxer who absolutely loves to eat. However this always gets into trouble since he needs to keep a close watch on his weight to stay in his weight class. One day, he meets a fledging nun, Sister Angela, and feels a strange pull towards her. I don’t know. The nun thing is really weird, but the juxtaposition of a nun and boxer is quite interesting. It’s weird, though, having Kame as the boxer cause he’s so skinny. Generally, it’s a little cheesy and dramatic (but what sports drama isn’t?). But Kame is nice to look at and Kuroki Meisa is really pretty.

Koshonin

I cannot resist a crime drama. Seriously. Koshonin is about the Special Investigation Team unit of the police. This team goes directly to the front line of a crime to negotiate with the criminals. The story focuses on Usagi Reiko, a new trainee in the SIT. She is the only woman on the team and the leader of the team lets her know straight up that she is not welcome. After watching the first episode, it seems that this drama is not about the crimes, but really mostly about police hierarchies and internal politics. Actually, I don’t find the actual case to be very interesting or engaging; what is interesting is the internal politics, perhaps the drama is a commentary on the rigidness of the system?

Still to start

Binbo Danshi

Two words: Oguri Shun! It’s the story of a poor college student who always lends a helping hand with other people’s debts, even though it always lands him into trouble (and he’s already dirt poor). This drama is either really good or really cheesy. I think I’ll watch it no matter what. That promo image is gold. Plus, it’ll also be an interesting ride to see him in a purely comedic role (a nice departure from Hanazawa Rui and Sano Izumi).

4 Shimai Tantei Dan

Yeah, just can’t resist mystery. It revolves around a team of 4 sisters who solves crimes. I’m interested to see what kind of mysteries the sisters will solve….Yukan Club-esque mysteries? (please, no more of those) or Galileo-esque mysteries? Hopefully this won’t disappoint. Also interesting to note that the abbreviation is 4STD.

Bara no nai Hanaya

I’m still not sure if I want to watch this drama. But it does have rather high ratings, I think the highest of the season so far. I dunno. Maybe. I do want to watch Matsuda Shota in a lighter role, though, since his recent leads have been rather dark characters (though he’s not the leading role in this one). What I gather about the story is that it’s about a single father running a flower shop and the people that he meets.

akihabara@DEEP

Starring
Kazama Shunsuke as Page
Ikuta Toma as Box
Himura Yuuki as Daruma
Hoshino Gen as Taiko
Kosaka Yuka as Akira
Matsushima Hatsune as Izumu
Honjo Manami as Yui
Kitamura Kazuki as Nakagomi Takeshi
Matsuda Satoshi as Tosaka
Izumi Masayuki as Shimoyanagi Konosuke

akihabara@DEEP is a Japanese drama that aired in the summer of 2006. It was broadcasted on Tuesday nights on TBS and was 11 episodes long. akihabara@DEEP was based on the novel of the same name by Ishida Ira and there was also a movie made in the fall of 2006.

Akihabara (often shortened to Akiba) is the electronic district of Tokyo. Not only that, it also contains video games, manga, anime, and its accompanying products. It is safe haven for those who worship these things, referred to as otaku. The story revolves around six otaku (Page, Box, Akira, Taiko, Izumu, and Daruma) who each have their own quirks. They meet and come together through a website they often frequent, called “Yui’s Lifeguard.” Through the website, they would chat with the webmaster, Yui, who would listen to their problems and give them advice and encourage them. She gathers them and together they form a company called “akihabara@DEEP,” (sometimes referred to as @DEEP). After the company first meets Yui in person, she mysteriously dies.

@DEEP is a “troubleshooting” company, meant to help the residents of Akiba. Each member contributes uniquely to the company. Box is a talented designer, but suffers from a complex where he must be clean at all times. He also has a phobia of women, but says he is okay around ‘2-D’ women, meaning anime charactera, female cosplayers, maids, and the like. Taiko is a desktop musician with an amazing ear for sound. He freezes up at the sight of flashing lights. Akira works as a maid in Akanechin, a maid cafe. (A maid is somewhat like a hostess in that they serve their customers and socialize with them, but without the all the luxury. They dress up in various maid costumes as their uniform.) She is also an amazing fighter, and wins money through cat fight competitions.

Izumu is the resident computer genius; only 16, she is the programmer of Yui’s site and her AI. Daruma is much older than the rest of the members; he loves to cosplay and is always wearing a costume. He acts as @DEEP’s accountant because the rest of the group doesn’t know anything about finances. Finally, there’s Page. Page is the appointed leader of the group. He has a stutter and often uses a computer program that changes text into sound instead of speaking. Though he doesn’t have any special abilities like the rest of the company, he is very compassionate and works to protect them.

While they work as trouble-shooters for Akihabara, they attract the attention of an otaku who has made it big, Nakagomi Takeshi. He is the president of Digital Capital, the leader company in the IT industry. He has a history with Yui.

Really, the story is rather stupid. And so much of it is just so ridiculous, you can’t believe it. Page’s stuttering can get really annoying to listen to and Daruma is not that fun to look at. But it’s so funny and enjoyable and the character development is pretty good. The series chronicles their ‘cases’ in Akihabara and how they come to be known in the district. The cases in themselves are really out there and silly, but even the more serious parts are dealt in just so ridiculously.

The characters are all quite strange, but after an episode or two, you warm up to them (except Daruma…he kind of bothered me throughout the first half). But seriously, are there any normal people in the series?! Well, I suppose that a bit of an overstatement, since maybe a few minor characters you see from time to time seen to be ‘normal.’ But that’s the way the series it: fun, quirky, and just plain stupid at times.

I did enjoy the Nakagomi storyline, though he is probably the most eccentric character out of all of them. It kind of freaked me out how weird he was, and at times I wondered why I was watching it at all. But I suppose, the craziness and randomness of the show is what made it fun to watch. And I absolutely loved the last scene. It’s priceless.

While akihabara@DEEP is not serious, it does take on a few serious points (though it’s covered with comic relief). Light-hearted and fun, this series will be enjoyed by anyone who appreciates an over-the-top underdog story.

Buy the boxset: Japan Version

Starring:
Horikita Maki as Ashiya Mizuki
Oguri Shun as Sano Izumi
Ikuta Toma as Nakatsu Shuiichi
Kono Mahiru as Hara Akiha
Kamikawa Takaya as Umedo Hokuto
Yamamoto Yusuke as Kayashima Taiki
Mizushima Hiro as Nanba Minami
Okada Masaki as Sekime Kyougo
Kimura Ryou as Senri Nakao
Ishigaki Yuma as Tennouoji Megumi
Kyo Nobuo as Himejima Masao (Oscar)
Iwasa Mayuko as Hanayashiki Hibari

Hanazakari no Kimitachi e (roughly translating into For You in Full Blossom, nicknamed Hana Kimi) is a Japanese dorama that aired in the summer of 2007 on Fuji TV. It aired on Tuesday nights at 9:00 PM. Its average ratings were 17.3%, though the finale hit 21%. Hana Kimi is one of the few dramas that has both an opening and ending theme song. The opening is Ikenai Taiyou by ORANGE RANGE and the ending is PEACH by Otsuka Ai.

Hana Kimi is a live-action adaptation of the popular manga of the same name. Though the drama uses the same storyline as the manga, the scriptwriters modified a few key point and a few minor characters. It chronicles the high school life of Ashiya Mizuki, a Japanese-American girl who admires a Japanese youth athlete, Sano Izumi. He was injured and quit high jump. Mizuki is determined to change his mind, so she decided to study abroad in Japan and tranfers to his high school, Osaka Gakuen. The only problem with this is that Osaka Gakuen is a boys’ boarding school.

So that’s the basic premise for the show. Mizuki is hiding her true gender from her classmates while trying to become friends with Sano, so she can convince him to start jumping again. While she is trying to accomplish this, she comes across various problems - her identity almost being exposed, unexpected family visits, rivalries, etc.

Watching Hana Kimi feels very much like a manga. Effects such as little hearts, flowers, special framing give the entire show an overdone comedic feeling. It makes the series very fun to watch and it’s hard to not to laugh out loud at certain points. As funny as some portions are, there are very dramatic moments as well that sometime come right after the high comedy parts. So, comedy and drama are written really well.

One big problem I had with the changes made to the script was the seemingly lack of friendship between Sano and Mizuki. In the manga, they were very clearly best friends. (So why are they always saying Mizuki and Nakatsu are best friends?) Mizuki helped Sano train; they were very comfortable with each other. Halfway into the dorama series, Sano and Mizuki still didn’t seem to be friends yet. Other characters would say things like “Mizuki is the one who made Sano start jumping again,” but it sure wasn’t shown. It wasn’t really until the eighth episode that Sano started being overprotective of Mizuki.

Plus, Sano’s character is kind of moody. I like Oguri Shun, but it’s hard to say if I liked him in this particular role, since the way his character was written is sort of iffy. I also didn’t like how Sano was written to be so aloof and not friendly with anyone. It made his character a lot harder to like and relate to, which definitely does not add to the drama. I began to like his character in the last third of the series, since his role became less moody and stand-offish and more friendly like Sano was in the manga. Well, in the end I liked him.

I did like the way Mizuki’s character was portrayed, though it got pretty cheesy at times. I also really enjoyed the Nakatsu falling in love with Mizuki storyline. The comedy was really well done and Ikuta Toma did a fantastic job with that portion. Well, he did a great job with the whole thing. Nakatsu could easily be my favorite character in the drama. The special framing of Mizuki in Nakatsu’s thoughts was a little over the top, though, as was many portions of the series (like with Umeda and Hara and the school events).

One of the things I missed most about the manga was the ending; I really liked the way the series ended in the manga. There were a lot of elements that were the same, but the key things I loved about the end were changed.

While Hana Kimi was not the best drama of the season, it was really entertaining. High in comedy but not lacking in drama, it’s something that can make you laugh out loud and pull on your heartstrings. I liked some of the changes the scriptwriters made to the series, but there were also a lot of things I really appreciate in the manga that weren’t present in the drama. Unless you hate over the top comedy, you’ll mostly likely enjoy this one.

Buy the boxset: Japan Version - Part 1 | Japan Version - Part 2