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OMG, 1 quarter of 2015 just passed and Spring 2015 season will start soon. Why does time fly so fast? Well, this season, there's a lot of misses for me because I ended up watching dramas that were not in the list and so many drama were dropped or I haven't continued watching it again, but there are some interesting drama that this season has offered. So all in all, not a bad season. Lots of heavy drama, being it's winter season, but there are some light drama being offered as well.


Maru Matu Tsuma ~ The drama that I thought of dropping end up to be one of the drama that I follow religiously every week. I don't like Higashiyama but his character here is equally not likeble, which may offset each other that I ended up watching it. I love the characters here, from the self rightous newscaster but literally useless husband at home, a very reliable perfect wife to the point that it's creepy, a mother in law who kept on changing men, and the whole herd of annoying extended family in their own way. Behind the what seemingly to be the perfect married couple lies the hidden past and this drama slowly peels out the past and then like a whirlwind all those stability just crumbled so fast. I kept rooting for Hikari and was so angry when the drama team gave such ending. I wonder what kind of message that the team wanted to convey with such ending. What strikes the most from this drama is how past is so important to some people and how easy good deeds disappear with just 1 dark past. Selfishness is also so striking in here, mostly from Masazumi's family. How they just abuse the family relationship is just too much for me, but I can easily see this happening in real life as well. All 'asking for favor' but never had the thought of returning it, is all too familiar. An interesting drama to watch and you'll be kept on the edge on what will happen to Hikari at the end of each episode.

Mondai no Aru Resutoran ~This drama was not in my list at all, but I read some rave comments on it and decided to give it a try, and wow! I think this is one of the more controversial drama because it covers so many heavy topics, but at the same time still can deliver some heartwarming humour in between. In this drama you'll find sexual harrashment at the high level with all the male employees to the male boss are just assholes (yes assholes, seriously) and gender discrimination is literally a norm in the company. Then we also have characters of hikimori, okama, stalker, a dumbass, a book smart, a street smart and many more colorful characters. That being said, at first glance, this drama will look like pushing feminism button too much, especially with all the male characters look like assholes, jokers, and jackasses. But what caught me the most is what Tamako said at the beginning that she just want to do a good work (ii shigoto shitai). This got nothing to do with feminism. This is just what a professionals are strive to do, doing what they're good at and get the done. It's the environment that hinders it just because she's a female. This drama is depicting all the social issues that it covers at the extreme side, but that's how drama is. Drama is supposed to be extreme (drama!) so that it catches our attention. The drama team is doing a very good job in combining all these extreme cases with the heartwarming outcomes, humours, and more importantly beautifully done food that would make you crave for a coq au vin, and your brain will have a new anthem for awhile, 'Mondai Girl' by Kyary Pamyu Pamyu.


Ouroboros ~ Having Oguri Shun & Ikuta Toma in the drama made me read the manga. But how much of the manga is translated to the drama? Well, as far as I know, they only follow the exact same cases as the manga, up till episode 5. After that, it's all different. I have yet finished this drama because I'm waiting for the subs, but so far waiting for the sub is worth it! Shun & Toma already have the chemistry from Hanakimi era and it's interesting how they both have grown and give us different vibes here (well, the drama theme also plays apart). At first, I only saw Shun's Dano is so spot on, but after awhile, I can see better interpretation of Ikuo from Toma. The Ikuo who's being caught between 'family' and his job as a detective and his wavering on the revenge are all shown in his flickered bits of expression and it's quite heartbreaking. I can somehow see what the ending will look like without searching for spoilers, but I'd still have a glimps of hope that it won't end up like Maou. Anyway, great drama with the twists and turns.

Second Love ~ I think this is the only rabu rabu drama that I watch for this season. When watching the current rabu rabu drama, I think we have to stop comparing them to the old dramas. The era is different (not 80s or 90s anymore), the people who make them is different, the target audience also has changed, But, having said that, we can freely compare this to other rabu rabu drama in this era. My take would be any rabu rabu drama from 2010 onwards. Lately I see some trend of rabu rabu drama with lots of skin, for example, Shitsuren Chocolatier, Hiru Gao, Garasu no Ie (I just named those that I watched, don't intend to go further). While having lots of those bed scenes may be meant for showing passion plus fan service, there's a very thin line between expression of love and lust. For Hiru Gao and Garasu no Ie, it's somehow acceptable to have that many bed scenes (but it's not even that many) as the theme is more on the marital affairs, so love and lust are just mixed together. But when you put the same method and the love themed drama, and by the way, Second love has more bed scenes than Hiru Gao *gasp*, that many bed scenes came across to me as overdo and the supposedly to be love looks more like lust and raunchy. It's a potentially good drama, but somehow the drama team shifted their focus to the bed scenes instead more on the story, or character development, or even to guide Kame & Fukuda Kyoko's chemistry. From his past performance, I thought Kame can express that yearning with his eyes, but I find that he's holding back here. Why? I don't know but I'd blame the director for that. The insert song by MISIA is beautiful though and it's always placed neatly to get into the mood, but Kattun's KISS KISS KISS is somewhat off. It felt right on some episode but not every episode. Really, it can be a better drama as minus the yearning point, I actually like Kame's acting here. Sigh.

When we talk about fan service, Johnny's surely knows how to deliver, and this drama is basically it. The plot in every single episode is simple, you melt your fuzz ball into the hot water and poof, there's your new onii-chan, and your onii-chan somehow is always an ikemen, one of them is even sparkling throughout the whole episode. Then you have the whole episode where you can assess whether you want your onii-chan or not. If he's not to your liking, you can return him to the shop for disposal. WOW! So convenient! You have to always keep in mind that this drama main focus is fan service, nothing else. If you don't do that, you'll get miffed with the blurred presentation of your onii-chan behaves like your butler or your handsome boyfriend. The only character who actually acts more like an onii-chan is Toi (played by Kishi Yuta). Everything else is just absurd and over the top in this drama. Then you also have to remember who's the target audience of this drama, it's those younger fangirls. That's why all the boys are Johnny's Jnr. So, if you want to have something extra light with too many pretty things and boys to look at, this is just for you. Forget about the story, it doesn't really matter with all the pretties. LOL!


Koko ni Aru Shiawase ~ I actually adore this drama. It's just a simple drama setting in a small town in Fukuoka. The main character by Matsuda Shota is just a regular everyday people who struggles on what he wants to do with his life. Basically he has no goal, no motivation and later no job and the relationship with the girlfriend turns shaky as well. In the midst of it, he suddenly made a decision to visit his childhood friend in Fukuoka, and that's where the story begins. We have lots of interaction between Hiroyuki and Chieko (his childhood friend's grandma). Turns out that the grandma has been waiting to meet Hiroyuko for years. Seeing the places, spending the time with the grandma, slowly Hiroyuki gained his life goal and start living again. Well, sounds simple, right? But actually what this drama teaches us is that there are so many little happiness everywhere, even 'here.' We just need to find ways to appreciate it and we'll be better off happier than we are before, which is what Hiroyuki did experience. A lovely slow pace drama and it also advertise the beauty of Fukuoka (NHK drama specialty), good for unwinding your thoughts.

Oriento Kyuko Satsujin Jiken ~ it's a 2 episode SP, but fret not, you don't really feel that 4 hours just flew out of your window watching this because there're so many characters with their own colors and motives and there're so many clues, hints, facts and chain of event as you'd expect of an Agatha Christie's novel. Off course, it's much better with subtitles. And with the huge list of veteran actors in this drama, you won't be disappointed in the acting department. While I like Nino as leading role, I also like him in a supporting role here.

Taishi Kakka no Ryourinin ~ Hmm. to me this drama is just an obligatory watching. Nothing else. We all know Sho-chan cannot cook for his life, the food indeed look nice, but that's just appearance only. Secondly, the storyline is just dull. I cannot find anything that could catch my attention further and found myself doing something else while watching this drama. Not sure what to make out why they cast Sho for this except for rating.


Tensai Tantei Mitarai ~ Include this because... how can I not include this? Tamaki is so smouldering here while solving a case. He makes Koichi looks old and short (well, he is, but hey, he is supposed to be the ouji in Kinki Kids LOL). But having said that, the drama starts with a prediction of a murder, which is interesting. Tamaki's character is rather eccentric and his partner, Koichi's character is more like a butler than a partner XD. We'll see the 'to be continue' at the end. There's going to be a drama? Another special? Look forward to it.

So, where's the rest? What happened to the original list?

To catch up list:
Zeni no Sensou ~ I need to pick up watching this. 1st episode was too intense for me and lately I need some lighter drama with less stressful heavy stuff, especially concerning money. Not giving up on this.
Zannen no Oto ~ I like this drama, but the sub was slow and I don't feel like watching it RAW. Tamaki's character here is not bad. He's just well... like lots of other new dads in real life. The drama explore the new dad's behavior that annoys the new mother eg. not helping with the chores, especially if there's no maid around. This drama tries to convey to the public that hey, the era is changing, guys, buck up because ladies ain't going to keep quiet and be a super mom while you're out there earning money for the family.
Ryusei Wagon ~ I love 1st episode, it's like a roller coaster and the due uncles combi is really a joy to watch! But again, this drama plays a lot with emotion and I don't feel like having this for now, but definitely will pick this up in the future.

Dumping bin:
Ghost Writer ~ b.o.r.i.n.g. I just totally lost interest after 1st episode, so I dropped this completely.



And, we already have the Spring 2015 season line up! This time, I don't think I'll have lots of things to watch, unless there're some rave review somewhere.
It's always good when there's a compilation of short synopsis on each drama like what arama did here, and my list are:

Yokoso, Wagaya E ~ Hm. Not expecting Aiba-chan to lead a Getsu9 so soon, but it'll be a good exposure for him. I won't expect much on this unless they do something unexpected for this drama. His dad here is played by Terao Akira, who is Nino's dad in Yasashii Jikan! I like lots of his works, even his acting in Casshern. Having Sawajiri Erika is interesting here, and I'd like to see whether they develop something for Aiba-chan and Erika.

Dr Rintaro ~ I like the premise and I like Sakai Masato's acting. But where's Hanzawa Naoki season 2?

Tenno no Ryoriban ~ Basically I'll just watch whatever Sato Takeru is on, and there'll be food here. Yeah.

Algernon ni Hanataba wo ~ This could be a new platform for Yamapi. To me, he sucks in rom com, which they kept on pushing him on. And I really hope he shows improvement and if possible nails it in this drama. Saw the Navi clip and it looks promising.

I'm Home ~ Well, what can I say. It's Kimutaku, plus Ueto Aya and the synopsis sounds interesting.

Scapegoat ~ Kuroki Hitomi as politician. Sold. But only watch if there's subs for this. It'll be a heavy drama.

LIQUID - Oni no Sake, Kiseki no Kura ~ it's a sake brewing drama for goodness sake! How not to watch?

Not sure list or a reminder that there's such drama:
Tatakau! Shoten Girl ~ This popped up because of Chiba Yudai and shotengai concept. If not because this 2 things, this drama won't be here :p.
Kokoro ga Pokitto Ne ~ It's been awhile since I see Fujiki Naohito in a drama, but I'm not sure how much screentime he'll have here, and whether the story is engaging enough to continue watching. I have a feeling I won't touch this drama at all.
Ishitachi no Renai Jijo ~ Is Saito Takumi now a specialist in messy love affair drama? I'll watch this if I'm in the mood, but other than that...

Why the list is still long? Why? I thought I should be shorten up my drama watching.
So, what's your list?

Date: 2015-04-08 03:56 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] tilmon.livejournal.com
Such a lot of doramas! All I watched this winter was Hanamoyu and tokusatsu. And for spring, I will keep watching Hanamoyu and tokusatsu, and will also watch Mother Game. How do you manage to find time to watch so many shows?

Date: 2015-04-08 11:21 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] spsn.livejournal.com
Hellow!
Taiga drama and tokusatsu is quite a handful to watch, no? hehe...
Lots of drama I watch are SP, only 2 hours span, for the full series drama, I'm taking my time to watch, that's why lots of them are not done yet :). The barometer for how many to watch is based on stress level, more stress, more to consume LOL.

Date: 2015-04-11 08:10 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] tokeruyouna.livejournal.com
I've dropped almost every drama I tried from winter season . . .


Dr. Rintarou: I didn't think the plot explained anything about it, and I dislike Sakai Masato and Aoi Yu, but then when I scrolled down and looked at the rest of the cast, it is full of actors I totally love, so I thought I might at least try it. Then I saw a CM for it by accident when I was watching a variety show, and it looked . . . scary. Not like, horror, but like the type of thing that bothers me. So now I don't know. I want to know how much medical-type stuff is in it because the CM made it look like a lot more than the plot summary did.


The ones I'm most looking forward to this season are:

Fuben na Benriya--I'm hoping for some nice scenery, and the title is intriguing.

Boku no Tsuma to Kekkon shite kudasai--I hate Uchimura but am curious about the plot.

Kokoro ga Pokitto ne--This screenwriter is really hit or miss for me, but his hits are totally hits. You might want to at least try it, as his ren'ai dramas tend to be very different from most of the ones you see these days.

LOVE Riron--The guy who wrote the self-help book this is based on says totally normal stuff as if it is a revelation, so this might be good for mocking purposes.

Ren’ai Jidai--This is based on a book by one of my favorite screenwriters, and the story is totally 90s-style (I've seen the kdrama version). I really hope it's good . . .


I'll probably also check out: Replay & Destroy, She, Yami no Bansousha, and Yume wo Ataeru.

Date: 2015-04-12 04:40 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] spsn.livejournal.com
wa! your expectation of drama is high LOL, you dropped mondai no restaurant too?

Lemme know if Kokoro ga Pokitto ne is a hit because I miss Fujiki, but not feeling to watch it if it's just so so XD

Watched 1st episode of Algernon, not bad, Yamapi is watchable there, they have to stop giving him romcom.

Also watched Isatashi... the only nice thing from that episode is the sakura scene when there's no dialogues... LOL

Date: 2015-04-12 08:54 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] tokeruyouna.livejournal.com
Not really, I just tried a ton of dramas hoping to find a hidden jem or two (seems to have failed this past season). I didn't even try Mondai no aru Restaurant because I totally hate that type of drama.

Have you watched Slow Dance? It has Fujiki and is slightly old-style romance. Actually, do you have all the dramas you've seen listed somewhere?

I agree about Yamapi at least staying away from romance, though I'm most definitely not watching his drama this season.

Date: 2015-04-13 09:00 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] spsn.livejournal.com
haha, i totally get what you mean with monday no aru restaurant, it's not for everybody kind of drama :)

Well, hopefully this season works better?

My drama list... I have it... in excel LOL that's because I need to make directory for my HD, I can make it nicer and post it here too LOL sort out by year? that'll be great eh?

I'm reading the book now for Yamapi's drama and now I wonder whether I should continue watching it... not the kind to make you feel warm & fuzzy.

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