Starring:
Katori Shingo as Shiomi Eiji
Takeuchi Yuko as Shirato Mio
Shaku Yumiko as Ono Yuki
Matsuda Shota as Kudo Naoya
Yagi Yuki as Shiomi Shizuku
Motokariya Yuika as Shizuku’s mother
Terajima Susumu as Shijo Kengo
Ikeuchi Junko as Hishida Keiko
Miura Tomokazu as Anzai Teruo
Bitoh Isao as Hirakawa Tatsumi
Tamayama Tetsuji as Kamiyama Shun

Bara no nai Hanaya is a Japanese drama that aired in the winter of 2008. It was 11 episodes long and was one of the more popular dramas of the season, securing an average rating of 18.6%.

The synopses of this drama online are misleading, I tell you! I thought that this drama was just about a single father who owned a flower shop, and so I thought, ‘well, that doesn’t sound too interesting.’ But I noticed that the drama has really high ratings, especially for this season, and kept hearing from others to pick up this drama, so I did. And boy, am I glad I did. So now let me summarize the storyline. Without leaving out the most important part of the series.

Shiomi Eiji is a young single father of a young girl, Shizuku. Unfortunately, Shizuku’s mother passed away during childbirth. He is the owner of a flower shop and one day finds a blind woman, Shirata Mio, outside his shop, taking refuge from the rain. He invites her in, and she eventually gives into his kindness. The two hit it off pretty well and since Mio is new in town, he offers to help her out if she ever needs it. The two become close friends.

What Eiji doesn’t know about Mio is that she actually isn’t blind and isn’t new in town, either. She is a nurse at a reputable hospital. The hospital’s director is the grandfather of Shizuku and believes that Eiji treated his daughter cruelly and wishes to exact revenge for never loving his daughter. What follows is a complicated love story, complete with neighborhood friends and the problems of parenting.

Now see, if I had known about the whole revenge plot beforehand, I would have definitely started this drama earlier. While the storyline is very much the Asian-overly-dramatic type of storyline, it doesn’t really seem that way. This is probably due in part to the many veteran actors and actresses in this series as well as a few new faces. And I have to say that for being so young, the girl who plays Shizuku is great!

It would have been easy to make this storyline into that sort of overly cheesy and ridiculously dramatic show, but the directors and producers took it in a different route. Katori Shingo and Takeuchi Yuko are both brilliant in expressing this type of complicated yet pure relationship, without making you groan.

The minor characters were also fleshed out pretty well and held their own ground, even though there weren’t really any subplots. It’s okay, though, because the main storyline had so much depth to it that there wasn’t any need more side stories.

Overall, this is one series worth watching. It will make you feel every feeling you’ve ever felt in your entire life! Can be a bit of a tearjerker, even if you don’t cry easily to tv and media (like me).

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.

Starring
Kato Rosa as Tachibana Ayaka
Matsuda Shota as Date Naoto
Sakai Ayana as Hojou Rina
Maeda Ai as Miki
Saito Shota as Sugino Kenichi
Ihara Tsuyoshi as Onoue Yuichiro
Katase Rino as Fujimura Sawa
Nakajima Tomoko as Fujimoto Mina
Toyohara Kosuke as Osawa Kengo
Fukikoshi Mitsuru as Koda
Ozawa Maju as Reiko
Kato Kazuko as Tachibana Mariko
Izumiya Shigeru as Minomura Tatsukichi
Morimoto Leo as Hojou Terumori
Hayami Mokomichi as Shiratori Takuya

Jotei (translating into ‘Empress’) is a Japanese drama that aired in the summer of 2007. It was broadcast by TV Asahi on Fridays nights at 11:00. There were 10 episodes and averaged ratings of 11.6%. The theme song is Kanata by Nanamusica.

Jotei starts off set in the high school of Tachibana Ayaka. She is the student council president and Sugino Kenichi, her admirer, is vice-president. He is the only son of a rich and powerful family. Hojou Rina is the daughter of a well known politician. Since Kenichi aims to be a politician, the Sugino and Hojou family have matched up their son and daughter to be married. Rina lets Ayaka know this and reminds her that as a daughter of a poor Snack shop-owner, she is no match for Kenichi. However, this is no indication that Ayaka is interested in Kenichi.

Ayaka’s mother is being threatened to sell her Snack shop and is terminally ill, something she had been hiding from her daughter. After a particular traumatizing experience, her mother is hospitalized and shortly after passes away. Ayaka has never known who her father is, but at her mother’s death bed, she is told that he is still alive. Ayaka quits school and moves to Osaka to work as a hostess. She is determined to become the Empress (Jotei) of the night world to take revenge on powerful people who had taken advantage of their positions. But the road to become an empress is not easy and there are those who don’t want their high status to be taken away.

In Osaka, she meets Date Naoto and the two become friends. However, the club’s mama (the owner) warns Ayaka that she fears that he is yakuza trying to take advantage of her. When Ayaka confronts Naoto about this, he tries to rape her, but she struggles and shouts that she aims to become the empress of the night world. Surprisingly, he stops his advances and decides that he will support her goal. He tells her that he wants to become a yakuza boss. The two form an alliance.

The drama chronicles her life as a hostess and trying to get to the top. She must secure the richest and most powerful men as her regular customers in the club. She later moves to Ginza, Tokyo because one cannot truly be an Empress of the night world if they are not well known in Ginza. But in Ginza, the powerful men of that world include Kenichi’s boss, Onoue Yuichiro, and Rina’s father. And Rina doesn’t want Ayaka to become an Empress and tries to hinder her by any means.

Though the beginning was a little slow, I became interested by the end of the first episode. Although, I suppose the introduction to Ayaka’s background was necessary to show her determination to become someone with power. The two leads Kato Rosa and Matsuda Shota were both excellent in their roles, though Kato started off a little slow. And Matsuda Shota’s overly long hair bothered me at times.

Sometimes I feel sorry for Sakai Ayana, because she has to play the part of an absolute bitch (and often the antagonist in several dramas). And her character of Hojou Rina is rather one-dimensional, as are some of the other ‘villains’ in Jotei. Rina doesn’t seem to have any real drive behind her motive. Why does she do what she does? Because she hates Ayaka? It’s too shallow of a reason for me to swallow sometimes.

Something I found a little hard to believe was how dramatic the hostesses would act when their lives were ‘ruined’ because they fell from the top. And how all the club mama’s were so kind to Ayaka - why? Can the bosses really be that gracious and considerate all the time?

I did like how the writers showed a distinct difference with all the hostesses when they were working to when they were getting ready or leaving. All the fighting and arguments were done in the back room while getting ready or when the club was empty after a night of working. It really showed how luxurious everything was when the club was open, but after the night was over, there was basically no one they could rely on in the club.

The finale disappointed me a bit. Some of the events that happened felt out of character and were just done for the sake of wrapping up a storyline in a pretty like package. Like the series was going in one direction and suddenly, the line became skewed in the last episode.

Jotei has very little fluff and comedy in it. A bit dark and tragic, perhaps it really does portray life in Tokyo night life. It was also interesting to see how different people used their power and status. I enjoyed the series, but thought the finale didn’t measure up to the rest of it.

Buy the boxset: Japan Version