5 reason Kenja no Ai might be this year's best jdorama

1) KENJA NO AI IS A VISUAL FEAST FOR THE EYES.

Jdoramas usually light everything up and look like a crappy soap opera. WOWOW and NHK shows usually have a grittier more movie like look. Ken no Ai reminds you that this is a visual medium and creates so many stunning images.

2) GREAT MOVIE LIKE SOUNDTRACK

I'm not talking about memorable tunes cause there are non in Kenja no Ai. I'm talking about how the music doesn't overpower the scenes but rather enhances them.

3) DARK STORY ABOUT REVENGE AND FRIENDSHIP.

Every single revelation instead of being just a twist for the sake of a twist adds another complicated layer to the relationship between Mayuk-chan and Yuri-chan.

4) ITS NOT A SHOW ABOUT HOW COMPLICATED AND SOMETIMES ILLOGICAL HUMAN RELATIONSHIPS ARE.

Sick of the 'hey let's just all get along and be nice to each other' jdoramas? Kenja no Ai is about how a lot of times in real life, we have to pretend to get along. My favourite character is Yuri-chan. She's the bad guy but I can't hate her because how damaged she is. Everyone in this show is kind of trapped by past sins and don't know how to set themselves free and instead smile and pretend to be happy while living with great burdens.

5) GREAT ACTING BY EVERYONE INVOLVED.

I was expecting to hate Naomi but I didn't mind his acting.

 WHAT I HATED

There is one thing I hate about Kenja no Ai and that is the fight scene in the last episode. The music and shot composition was great but the fight itself was so fake. It was like those sentai shows where the bad guys just throw themselves on the ground. How could the director be satisfied with that crappy performance. It felt like the two actors were so scared of physical contact and I'm not talking about the fake ass punching.

SUMMARY

I do not have enough superlatives to describe Kenja no Ai. I'm just sad that it so much better than most jdoramas but not many people have seen it. Definitely deserves to be subbed.

Japan loot second raid of 2016

Sakuraba Nanami poster. It says I like judicial clerks. Yes the judicial clerk association of Japan hired Sakuraba Nanami for this.

Thanks to bframe for getting the two posters for me. Maybe judicial clerks play some special role in Japan.

My favorite shirt from this trip. Should have gotten the Megadrive and Dreamcast ones but I have way too many shirts. Now I regret not buying because how many shirts have the Sega logo?

Saturn controller at the back.

My second favorite shirt because its a Reinhard von Lohengramm shirt! Need more Legend of Galactic Heroes goods. There was a Rossen Ritter shirt as well which I didn't get.

You can't watch anime and not know this shirt.

I like the Sonic at the back.

Really crappy Berserk shirt. Can't even tell its Guts.

Shibuya with Tachikomas from the Production I.G store.

Got a new 3DS, Xenoblade, Uppers and Rose and the old Castle of Twilight for the Vita. No second hand cause I want to support the developer.

Genie Ibun Roku aka Tokyo Mirage Sessions. Second hand cause it was too cheap to ignore.

Root Letter Premium Edition. I played the PS4 demo and quite enjoyed it.

Ryu ga Gotoku fan from TGS.

Bigger battery for Wii U controller, USB Y cable to connect HDD to Wii U, USB C female port so I could connect my mp3 player to my phone, Ryu ga Gotoku badges and 20000 yen in PSN currency. I also got a usb to 3DS adapter but I can't find it atm.

Persona 5 TGS bag.

Production I.G Store and One Piece Migiwara Store and Nakano summer festival

The shops are right in Marui (otherwise known as 0101) in Shibuya. Production I.G is of course the super talented house that animated Ghost in the Shell and Psycho Pass.

I don't really care about One Piece.

I did try out the VR thing and it was ok.

I really wanted that Psycho Pass over 900 t-shirt but I've got way too many shirts already.

I had just watched A Living Promise / Jinsei no Yakusoku and was pleasantly surprised to see a yatai in Nakano.

The movie is available at doramax265 and has not been subbed to my knowledge. I don't think its on avistaz. Highly recommended movie.

They started at the south exit of Nakano station.

And moved south.

The yatais are a lot smaller than the one from A Living Promise but it brought great memories from the movie.

Afterwards there was a taiko performance at the north exit. Really awesome.

The taxi driver guy in the middle turns out to be buchou / boss of the organisation and he gave a short speech. It was surreal because of watching so many doramas and movies about shopping area organisations and everyone was shouting buchou!!!! there was a JR! chant which I assume is his nickname.

All three yatais got together for a dance/shout off...

And then headed north up Nakano broadway. I miss Nakano. The good thing about Nakano is that its within walking distance to Koenji which has interesting nightlife as well. :)