Oyaji no Senaka is what happens when you put Japan's best scriptwriters together with the best actors. Its not rocket science but its something that does not happen a lot in the world of jdoramas. Oyaji no Senaka is a collection of short stories about fathers and I went in expecting the worst oversentimental stuff and came out being impressed by the quality and nuance in the writing.
Episode 1 puts Okada Yoshikazu (Saigo Kara Nibanmeno Koi) together with Matsu Takako and Furuhata Ninzaburo in a beautiful story about a father and his daughter that suffers from panic attacks. Matsu Takako is so good it makes me wonder why she not in more jdoramas. The last time I saw her was in Unmei no Hito.
Episode 2 is my favourite so far. Sakamoto Yuji with Yakusho Koji (Shall We Dansu) and Mitsushima Hikari in a story about this sleazy boxing dad. The dialogue and chemistry is just funny as hell and the Matsuura Aya story got a huge pop from me. Sakamoto Yuji is king of writing great dialogue that say important stuff with spelling it out. Mitsushima Hikari is not convincing as a boxer though. lol
Episode 3 is something very different and funny while episode 4 is a more straightforward father son story. I must say the very plastic face of the dad in episode 4 was distracting.
Oyaji no Senaka is a must watch for episodes 1 and 2. I am not looking forward to ep 5 with Horikita Maki. (She clearly does not belong in the same sentence as Matsu Takako and Mitsushima Hikari) The question is of course whether the other writers are as good as the Okada Yoshikazu and Sakamoto Yuji and whether the stories will get repetitive.
So far my most favorite is Ep6 with Hashibe Atsuko as writer and Ono Machiko & Kunimura Jun as the filiation. 2nd is Ep3 and then the Sakamoto Yuji Boxer Story, in which the ending seems a bit too unrealistic. Apparently I like stories which are more down to earth. Looking forward to what Mitani Kowuki & Inoue Yumiko would offer.
ReplyDeleteToo bad they don't have Ryota Kosawa (Suzuki Sensei and Gaiji Keisatsu) on the screenwriter list. I think it would be fantastic if they hire him in this omnibus. Perhaps it has something to do with absence of book adaptation (all of his works are loosely book adaptations)
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