3 posts tagged “japanese drama”
Also known as: I'm Your Pet
Broadcast date: 4/9/03 - 6/18/03
Genre: Romantic Comedy
Cast: Koyuki, Matsumoto Jun, Tanabe Seiichi
Plot: Journalist Iwaya Sumire (Koyuki) has had a terrible day - her longtime boyfriend broke up with her and she got a demotion at work. On the way home, she finds an injured boy (Matsumoto Jun) in a cardboard box. After nursing him back to health, the boy claims that he will do anything in order to stay with her. So Iwaya takes him in as a pet and names him Momo, after the dog she owned when she was a child.
What is good: MatsuJun is pretty cute as Momo.
What is bad: The "ideal" man that all the girls want (Tanabe Seiichi) is a huge dork, whereas everyone calls him "cool."
Letter rating: B
Overall: Kimi wa Petto is a very cute show. However, there isn't a whole lot of depth to it. While you like the characters, there isn't anything to make you really feel for them. Iwaya seems to be stuck in this sadness, even when she's supposed to be happy. Takeshi shines when he takes on the Momo personality but is fairly dull as himself. This is something that you'd watch when you have nothing else to watch and you don't want to turn on your brain.
Buy it here!
Title (romanji): Rongu Rabureta ～Hyouryuu Kyoushitsu
Title (english): Long Love Letter ~ Drifting Classroom
Broadcast date: 1/9/02 - 3/20/02
Genre: Science fiction, romance
Cast: Tokiwa Takako, Kubozuka Yosuke
Plot: Misaki Yuka (Tokiwa Takako) is beginning a new relationship with Asami Akio (Kubozuka Yosuke). After accidentally losing his phone, Asami loses contact with Misaki. One year later, the two meet again. Asami is a high school teacher while Misaki is working at her family's flower shop. Misaki visits the high school to collect a debt from one of the teachers when Asami sees her and the two argue. Suddenly, the ground shakes and the entire school is transported somewhere completely different.
What is good: All of the actors do an amazing job. Considering a majority of the cast are high school students, this says a lot about their ability. Their emotions come across loud and clear.
What is bad: Since this is science fiction, the audience is asked to make quite a few leaps of faith. As a result, some of the 'science' part gets a bit muddled when Asami tries to explain what has happened to them. Also, the ending brings up more questions than it answers. You're left with a "wtf just happened" feeling.
Letter rating: B
Overall: I really liked this series. Sure, there were times when I thought that the writing was a bit weird. Some of the science stuff seemed very made up but this didn't detract from the show a whole lot. It was more about what these people were going through and how they were feeling. What actually got them into that situation felt like a sub-plot instead of the main plotline. I just wish the ending answered THE question than ran through the entire series. Instead, it opened up a whole new bucket of questions. This is a series I would recommend to someone a bit more familiar with Japanese culture. Especially since a lot of it deals with how people interact with those around them.
Title: Five (also known as Five Spies)
Broadcast date: 4/19/97 - 6/28/97
Number of episodes: 11
Cast: Tomosaka Rie, Suzuki Sarina, Shinohara Tomoe, Endo Kumiko, Chinen Rina, Karato Ryo
Plot:Five teenage female prisoners break out of prison and become spies for the man who helped them escape.
What is good: Some of the acting wasn't terrible.
What is bad: Everything else. The writing was horrible, the sets looked like someone put them together in their free time and the camera work is jerky at best. Even the opening sequence is difficult to sit through.
Letter rating: F
Additional notes:There was definitely some potential here. I went into this thinking maybe it was like some Japanese A-Team or something. Far from it. There were a few bright spots with some of the actresses. This was Fukada Kyoko's first series and while she has a very small part, her acting is still much better than some of the main actresses. Tomosaka Rie wasn't too bad either. However, Shinohara Tomoe was just unbearable to watch. The rest of them pretty much blended together to form some rather bland group of girls that I had to force myself to try to remember who was who. This is one of the few series I've watched that I tell people to stay far, far away.
