Ten no Hakobune Eps 1-3

Corruption has always been a staple of WOWOW doramas as much as the triumvate of the prosecutor, police and reporter main characters. Ten no Hakobune, a 2012 dorama is also about corruption but its about something I've never heard of before; Official Development Assistance.

Have you ever wondered why rich countries like to give foreign aid? We know that countries don't go to war if there is nothing to be gained. ODA is a roundabout way for politicians to get money from their national coffers and there are a select few who are able to participate in getting a share of the handouts.

Mizuno Miki plays the daughter of a poor farming family wrecked by a major earthquake. She manages to go to Todai and has to work as a hostess to make ends meet and support her parents but she gets wind of this ODA business and with the help of Miyazato (Ihara Tsuyoshi from Hatsukoi)  finds a job as a consultant and gets involved in the business of international money laundering.

I really like that Ten no Hakobune is not preachy. Sure, its got an idealistic reporter but it also shows the exhilaration of pulling of deals and bribing the right people. We see Mizuno Miki coping with the dirty world that she descends into but it poor countries, its a way of life and if someone has to profit from this, it might as well be her. I really like Mizuno Miki's character in this one. She feels real and complicated. We know tragedy occurs which is one of the usual end results of corruption but at the same time, I can't help but root for her character.

Solid 3 episodes so far. Huge thanks to Avallac'h for subbing this. No idea how it got under my radar two years ago. There's no good heavy dorama this season that I've seen so far and jdoramas are always in need of more real life stuff with a good story and characters. Very watchable from me.