Link

Link is an ambitious WOWOW dorama about a bunch of people who are connected to bank robbery. You have Omori Nao (who was awesome in The Ravine of Goodbye) as a former policeman now bodyguard, Tanaka Rena as an OL working for said bank, Mimura as a nurse, Tamayama Tetsuji as a teacher, Kinpachi sensei as a politician aspiring to be the Prime Minister and Ayano Gou as the mysterious Sean.

Link starts off really interesting as we slowly get to see how the various characters connect to one another. The only thing I wasn't sure of was the Ayano Gou character and his mumbo jumbo about creating another facebook and how his weird storyline would link everyone together.

WHAT I LIKED

- All the characters having to make tough decisions of doing the right thing and the personal sacrifices that it cost them.

- Did I mention OL Tanaka Rena and Mimura as a nurse? I really liked Mimura's performance. Tanaka Rena not so much. I used to think she was a good actress but all the dorama acting has been mediocre to bad.

- The final Kinpachi sensei politician twist. Would have been even better twist if the dorama didn't hinge on Ayano Gou's character. Kinpachi sensei's character needed a lot more screentime.

WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE

- Way too preachy. Some of the lines are way to expositionary and spell everything out matter of factly. Obvious lack of invisible exposition is a sure sign of a bad writer.  

- Ayano Gou should not have been the connecting character so to speak. Everyone on this show makes difficult life changing decisions and the star should have been Kinpachi sensei's politician. This show should have been more about him doing whatever is necessary because the ends justifies the means versus the other characters who are about doing the right thing regardless of cost.

This should have been the crux of the dorama instead of the people are connected sos facebook wannabe crap. Link tries to present it that way but it could have been done way better especially without the emphasis on Ayano Gou. In the end, he was only connected to three characters.

- Don't security guards have a code of ethics in regards to client privacy? Its not like Kinpachi sensei killed anyone or molested a child. Is anyone surprised a politician accepts illegal loans?

SUMMARY

Link shot for the stars like Lady Joker but the script is not smart enough and falters. I enjoyed most of it until the last episode when it fell apart though Ayano Gou's shadow hung like guillotine over the series' ending from the get go. I'd rather watch WOWOW try and fail than another idoru dorama though. Watchable up to last episode.