The Rest of 2012 Drama because the End of the Year is Approaching...

[spsn]

K the end of 2012 is near, 1 more day to go based on SG time and instead of writing about drama, I've doing screencaping documentaries and concert DVD (well, they're more fun actually but off course more time consuming. But again, it doesn't mean that I don't watch lots of drama. On the contrary, I think I watch more compare to last year. It's just that it doesn't get translated into words because I have to wait for subs for almost most of it. 2012 is full of medical, mystery, historical, detective drama. So, how on earth I can watch those without subs and enjoy the drama to their full potential? So, yeah, and by the time I finish the drama, months has passed and the new drama have lined up saying 'watch me, watch me.'

So, this time I'm just going to say what I like about those drama and what keep me watching them or why I dump them. I notice as well that I watch the least amount of drama on Summer season, and double or triple the dose for Fall season. Have anybody experienced this as well? I hope I'm not the only one because I feel like an acute drama junkie every fall season.



Spring 2012

37 Sai de Isha ni Natta Boku ~ I don't really normally watch Tsuyoshi's drama, because I don't really like him in general, can't understand his charm. But I do watch his movie/drama from time to time and I admit that he's a good actor. This drama is not exception. It's quite a heavy drama, not much humor, but you get to see the clash of idea that traditional old perception of doctors and the new age doctor who are focus more on the service, taking patients opinions etc into consideration (things that will be totally negated when you watch the other Fall season drama, Doctor-X). Off course, having Johnny's in a drama helps, I don't think Tsuyoshi is eye candy, but Hikaru from HSJ is LOL. What I find it very disturbing in medical drama especially those with setting of hospital is that the mentality of the hospital management and the politics. If that's the way people are running hospitals across the board, then patients are just merely statistics, guinea pigs for doctors to try new medicines on, and that kinds of worries me...


Ataru ~ Another SMAP drama and this time Nakai is challenging himself in the role of a person with savant syndrome. What I like about this drama is that it's a very entertaining and enjoyable and I look forward for this drama more than KagiHeya *gasp*. The cases are interesting and Chokozai popping out of nowhere in the crime scene is always hilarious. Nakai did a very good job in portraying Chokozai, from the behavior, movement, even the speech. I don't know how he detoxed all those ketchup and mustard that he consumed during the drama shoots though haha... If not mistaken, there'll be an SP for this drama in 2013, so let's look forward to more Chokozai!


Kagi no Kakatta Heya ~ By now we should all know that anytime an Arashi member staring a drama, the amount of promotion done will be over the top and it'll make you wonder whether the drama is that good or not. Thankfully this one meets the expectation. And don't forget, this one comes with the extremely cool OST too, Face Down, none other by yours truly  the boy band itself. I wonder whether they purposely only make cool song with cool choreography for Ohno's drama only. So, what's interesting about this drama is the Enomoto character. The drama cases are just repeated cases of crimes (mostly murder) done in a locked room and Enomoto is there to solve all of them. His motto, there's no room that cannot be unlocked. There're tons of awkward funny moments between Enomoto and his partners, Aoto and Serizawa. Yes, this drama revolves around Enomoto character and the ending of this drama just begging for a season 2 or SP or even a movie (like Lucky Seven, come on FujiTV, you like the money, right? You know what you need to do). The bonus point, Tamaki was guesting the last 2 episodes and you'd love to see the battle between Satou Manabu (Tamaki's character) and Enomoto. Overall it's a fun drama to watch and you'll let out a LOL every now and then.



Mikeneko Holmes no Suir ~ So, Oh-chan is not the only Arashi with drama for Spring 2012. I'm not sure why they have it together (inviting unnecessary comparison) and as the result we have 2 singles released at the same season. Yep off course, same principle, the OST is Your Eyes by Arashi also. But unlike KagiHeya, Mikeneko falls to the bucket of non performing over-promoted drama. Why? NTV promote this drama like hell, they even have Douyoubi no Aiba-chan (basically Aiba-chan was on NTV screen from afternoon till 11pm, from Tensai Shimura Doubutsuen, Mikeneko and Arashi ni Shiyagare). Though I don't have complains on Aiba-chan overload, but it'll be good if it accompanied with a good drama also, which NTV fails to deliver. This is one of the case that there's nothing wrong with the cast, even I think Aiba-chan did OK in this drama despite the fact that his acting skill is not strong compare to the rest of Arashi. The rest of the characters are also OK. I like Ohkura's character as well, which is smarter than Yoshitaro (Aiba-chan's character) and is good in sucking up to the supervisor and stealing credit from Yoshitaro but at the same time he has to be nice to Yoshitaro because he likes Yoshitaro's sister LOL. But the huge part of lacking in this drama is the storyline. The cases are not strong enough. There's up and down. I like the episodes where Kichise Michiko guested (Ep. 4-6). She really toyed Yoshitaro around and it's quite fun to watch, mostly because Yoshitaro is so gullible and naive. But the ending... sigh... and there's the part that doesn't make sense too. Yoshitaro is described of having phobia towards women, which is clearly showed in Ep 1, but after that there are times where Yoshitaro doesn't even flinch with the side of women, which is confusing, so does it mean he overcome his phobia? But anyhow, I finished the drama because of Aiba-chan, that's all. If it's other actor's drama, I wouldn't be bothered.

Papadoru While Arashi is dominating the mystery drama, Kanjani8 seems to take a different direction in Spring 2012. They're testing the market with the idea of having idols get married and having kids. Well, for the LOL part, I'd think this is just coincidence since usually drama is planned long way before the announcement. But it's so funny that Ryo-chan was the one taking this role and at the exact same period, his buddy, Jin, had the biggest saga in his entire career (well, he can't make any bigger saga, right? unless he quit Johnny's, which is... unlikely), similar to the drama topic, having a shotgun marriage with Meisa. Oh, the fangirls' furror will be remembered for quite a long time. And as a result, we won't see any other marriage arrangement soon from Johnny's. Well, back to the drama, so, though this drama has the LOL and heartwarming part, but it doesn't do that well. I'd think it has to do with the fact that maybe fans are not ready to accept the idea that their idols have their private life too and sooner or later they'll get married and have their own family. Other possibility, it may be different if the lady character is not an older single mother with 3 kids (but I love Yuka in here, she's so adorable and at least honest as a mother and a wife). You may want to check this out because this is a quite fun drama to watch. One point, I love the OST, it's 'Ai Deshita' by yours truly, Kanjani8.

Kaeru no Ojousama ~ This drama is similar to Glee, but instead of a high school setting, we have a small town people with various background but with the same common ground, they like to sing. I almost drop this drama and only pick it up not long ago because I basically have almost nothing to watch during Summer (yeah, summer is always dry) and my cousin told me that the drama was good. Well, it's good in away because Amami Yuki pulled the drama through. Her character is strong enough to hold the drama together, and plus, you get to see her sing! And it's the reunion of BOSS cast too with Tamayama Tetsuji, he's more kakkoii here than in BOSS, but we all know him from BOSS, right? If you like Glee, I'd think you'll like this drama as well. It has humor, some heartwarming moments, some angst and it's happy end too.






Mou Ichidou Kimi ni, Propose ~ Another drama from BOSS cast, Takenouchi Yutaka. Honestly, I haven't finished watching this drama because the sub just came in so slow, but it doesn't mean that the drama is not good. This drama will remind you to treasure what you currently have dearly, else you'll regret when it's gone. What's gone in this drama is the wife's memory. So, Yutaka's character as the husband Haru is trying to bring back the memories by reenacting the good memories that Kanako kept in her diary. But so far the efforts are futile because seems that Kanako becomes a totally different person. So, will Haru get Kanako back? Lots of angst here, but you get to see lots of eye candy ne because Yamamoto Yusuke is also in this drama ;) 

Legal High I thought I did a much longer review for this drama because this drama is the BEST drama of 2012, not only in Spring 2012. Sakai Masato is trully a good actor and this drama shows off his acting capability as Komikado sensei, the eccentric, lunatic and over the top emo lawyer who will do almost anything including all those in grey are between legal and illegal. And for contrast, we have the gullible Mayuzumi who has the strong sense of justice and disagreeing with all Komikado's method to win the cases. You'll be in for the roller coaster ride the moment you start to watch this drama. All the hilarity and the absurdity entrails in this drama are just fantastic! I wish they make an SP or 2nd season of this drama. It deserves a much better spotlight! And don't be fooled by this cheesy poster like me LOL!

Hayami-san to Yobareru Hi~ This is the SP. Basically if you like the drama, you'll watch this 2 episodes SP as well. And I like the drama because some of the family problems are real and we all can relate too. This time it's also continuing what we left off from the drama. Dad and Mom is meeting up but with no prospect of getting together (complicated relationship, ne hahaha). Dad thought that he has cancer and only left with 3 months to live (well he's not, is healthy and strong). We have conflict between Yoichi and Yuriko (finally? haha) because Yoichi didn't want to tell Yuriko that his ex is coming back to the company. 3rd son finally is in baking school and he likes it there. Lots of feels and lots of family love here. This drama is just warm and fuzzy though we have lots of angst (not the annoying kind) too.





Dumping bin:

• Kazoku no Uta - I can't even finish 1st episode, only 1 word, boring. Or I have too much expectation of Joe Odagiri.
• Mirai Nikki - Stop after Ep 4 because the story line is just kept on repeating, not sure if it'll change on the later episodes but I just can't watch the same plot over and over. It's initially on my list because of Kanata Hongo, but he again, didn't have lots of scenes because the list is Okada Masaki. So, if you're his fan, bet you watched this already :).

Summer 2012

Rich Man, Poor Woman ~ Made the longer review here. Bottom line, if you like K-drama, watch this and you'll find how fast this drama is compared to the standard K-drama. Plus it's happy end with all the cuteness overload! Ishihara Satomi is pure love here.











Dumping bin:

Summer Rescue ~ If you're Mukai Osamu fan, you'll watch this drama to the end, but I just give up on this one because it's just... boring, even the mountain scenes are just beautiful! I'd think I have high tolerance towards the drama that I watch, but this one... sigh... but Mukai is just sooo eye candy though and doctors in drama are always cool no matter where the setting is!

• Higashino Keigo Mysteries ~ This drama is star studded! Seriously! You'll be in awe when you see who are in this drama. And it's based on Higashino Keigo's stories. But what didn't work out in this drama? I stopped watching after 6th episode. This drama is based on short stories so 1 case is 1 episode and the next episode is a different story all together. The problem is that the story itself is not wow-ing, hence I lost interest on this drama. Moreover, Higashino Keigo himself condemned this drama. Well something is totally wrong when the person whose name is used as the drama title condemning the drama, yes?
• Plus, I won't watch Beginners and Boys on the Run because... I'm not into Kisumai and not really a fan of Maru

Fall 2012 ~ The season of lots of good drama

Double Face A much longer revie here. This SP has 2 episodes. And the ending is exactly like the movie. And the irony and the twist at the end is just so cynically good. Love this drama and Nishijima-san is really hot here hahaha...






Akumu-chan I haven't finished watching this drama because am waiting for the subs. But surprisingly Kitagawa Keiko and GACKT combi is good! This drama is more of pure imaginary, after all is about dream, just that those nightmares turn to reality, and Mutoi (Kitagawa's character) is there to sort of prevent the nightmare to happen and end up badly. Most of the time, the nightmare did happen, but after Mutoi manage to interpret it correctly, then they manage to turn around the nightmare outcome. I love the characters here and Yuka is here as the sneaky sweet face nurse. Plus we can't really tell what GACKT character is up to until the later episodes. He's just full of mystery and Mutoi doesn't like hum but at the same time need him (as Yume Ouji? hahaha). Good and fun drama to check out, but bear in mind that this drama has nothing to do with reality.

Doctor-X Gekai Daimon Michiko ~ Much longer review here. The rating shows it all. One of the highest rating drama this year and it's no joke. The good thing is that it's only 8 episodes so you can marathon it very quickly. A must watch if you like medical drama, and if you like drama with lots of political twist, you also want to check this one.








Kekkon Shinai ~ I feel like making a separate review for this drama because I love every bits about this drama but laziness got into me. I love how they relate all the events with the flower language. And everything has to do with love. Amami Yuki's character, Haruko, here is so kakkoii. She's the career woman, doesn't back down with all the challenges and held her head high. On the other hand, Kanno Miho's character, Chiharu, is actually strong girl, just that she needs the push every now and then. That's why despite the generation gap, Chiharu and Haruko get a long just fine. Then we have the guy, which unfortunately it's not a love triangle (me: huuuuuu), Tamaki's character, Junpei-kun. This drama explores the idea about marriage, how the current generation feel about marriage, their worries and qualms about this issue and best, also presented with statistics. And, we have the enactment of the issue presented for each episode on these 3 main characters' live. A good and fun drama to watch, though I feel that at the earlier episodes, Chiharu bounds to meet scumbags and getting hurt but I also bang my head when she let go a good catch at the end for love. Oh well, that'd drama, right? And, in relation to love, do watch the show V6 Love Victory! It'll serve as a good and fun reference :).

Ooku ~Tanjou~[Arikoto Iemitsu Hen] ~ Maybe it's not fair coming from me, an Ooku fan, but I love this drama too. And this drama depicts my fave portion of the manga as well. It's so heart wrenching and sad, but it has a bitter sweet ending. The love between Iematsu and Arikoto is just passionate and strong and it goes beyond just the physical interaction. I cried over and over again on each episode because it's just sad and the OST, Deepness by Misia, didn't help either. Sakai Masato as Arikoto is the right guy for Arikoto because he did a well done job on it and I saw Arikoto from the manga in him. And I found a new side of Tabe Mikako in this drama. She grows with this drama and I'm looking forward for her next role (well, not for long coz she'll be in Last Hope).

MONSTERS ~ Well, Yamapi is sure productive this year. He has 2 dramas! I like this drama because of all the hilarity of it. The cheeky detective with annoying and creepy behavior Hiratsuka and the gullible goodie newbie detective Saionji makes a good hilarious combi for us to enjoy. This drama is a short drama as well, with 8 episodes only and I haven't finished watching this as well because the subs are not in yet. I like Yamapi here unlike his earlier drama this year that I fully condemned and looks like he's having fun acting the character out as well. But this drama won't be a drama without Shingo leading because I just feel that this drama is made for Shingo. Off course, we have the OST, MONSTERS, which is a very cool song with cool dance moves as well.

Resident~5-nin no Kenshui ~ Another medical drama, but instead of the cool full fledged surgeon, we have the unreliable interns trying to break through the challenges ahead in the medical field. Despite the rating, I think this drama is OK and I enjoy watching it. The subs is incredibly slow though, so I couldn't grasp lots of the medical terms. Lots of angst as well in this drama but at the very least, Oomasa Aya character is not as naggy as the one in Mikeneko. Off course, the primary reason to watch this is because of Massu, but even if you're not a NEWS fan, you should give this drama a chance.



Osozaki no Himawari ~Boku no Jinsei, Renewal And finally, Ikuta Toma has a new drama. This drama is kind of laid back and it doesn't hit the point right away, but I enjoyed watching it. We have Jotaro who starts his life anew by becoming a volunteer in the town of Shimanto, Kochi prefecture. There, he meets a number different of characters, all with different personal problems and dilemmas and uncertainty of their future. One thing about this drama is that it has LOTS of beautiful scenery and I specially like the scene where Toma did th kayaking n the river. That scene really represents the drama theme that you'll see hope when you work hard towards the future.



Priceles ~ I saw lots of people rave over this drama, afterall, it's Kimutaku's. But I couldn't find the charm of this drama and I still haven't even started Episode 2! What's wrong with me? It's Kimutaku for heaven's sake. And no, I'm not one of those fans who refuse to see Kimutaku playing as a poor guy, in fact, I'm looking forward to it. But, I just don't see the pulling factor. Or maybe I don't like to see Fujiki as a bad guy? hahaha...










Dumping bin:

Going My Home ~ Stop watching it after 1st episode. Maybe because the story is too slow, but with the cast, I feel guilty if I delete this drama at all, so maybe I'll try to watch this again in the future.

• Hana no Zubora Meshi ~ This one is a food drama. But I'm not watching it. Sure the food looks delicious and all of them are the lazy people type of food, easy to produce and it's delicious. But it's sure damn boring if you just watch the young housewife lazying around the house because the husband is not around and finally feeling hungry then scrapping out her kitchen for something edible and 'Oh!' I'll make this... in repeats! Having Kato-kun there as the analyzer of this phenomenon is not helping because he's not really in the drama, so no, not going to continue watching it. BUT, the OST Pokoponpekoorya by NEWS s fun!

So, with this, 2012 ends, and we have 2013 Winter. What the TV stations are offering us though?

• Last Hope ~ It's Aiba-chan's. Off course I'll watch this and it's on FujiTV, not NTV so I have hope that the script will be better.
• Share house no Koibito ~ Potential Love Triangle... And Yuto-kun is in legal age already LOL
• Nobunaga no Chef ~ food drama. I'm in!

There are other dramas as well, but I'm keeping my reserve for them. Having too many items on the list may not result in me watching them anyway. And it seems that lots of the Winter drama are at the angst side, so, if it's a stressful drama, am not going to watch it.

Comments

[shadow-fox-13.livejournal.com]

I think Priceless is a drama which your in a mood or not, if yes, it light and enjoyable, if not it seem a bit boring

[spsn.livejournal.com]

I see, ok, then Priceless will stay in my HD in the meantime, I was very tempted to just delete them to make way for other stuffs haha...

[shadow-fox-13.livejournal.com]

you can always replace it, I'm sure you will find it here or there