Toshi no Sakon Episodes 1~4

 

Toshi no Sakon is about the marriage between a 24 year old Wakana Aoi and a 44 year old husband. I thought that this show might be interesting with the age gap stuff. Toshi no Sakon is also similar to Romance Doll in that the couple gets married after a quick courtship and problems don't appear until later.

However, unlike Romance Doll, there are two major problems with Toshi no Sakon. First is that there is no chemistry at all between Wakana Aoi and the husband. The second reason which is related to the first is that the writing is very shoujo aimed at 14 year old girls style.

The dialogue and characters are super stilted and fake and it is neither realistic nor funny. You need no further proof of the fakeness of this show than the details around Wakana Aoi's job.

I gave it 4 episodes but this is the fakest marriage jdorama which I have ever seen, which is saying something. Unless you are in the target audience, avoid.

Romance Doll Jmovie review

 

Aoi Yu is in a movie about sex dolls. Do you need any other reason to watch this movie? If you don't, then the movie is available on Netflix. If you need more reasons to watch then, keep reading.

Takahashi Issey is an unemployed sculptor who stumbles upon this factory that makes sex dolls.

The boss played by Pierre Taki is not happy with Takahashi Issey's sculpt of breasts so they have a plan where they hire a model on the pretense of making fake breasts for cancer survivors and that's where Aoi Yu comes in.

Things happen quickly, Takahashi Issey and Aoi Yu get into a relationship and get married.

However, Takahashi Issey can't tell Aoi Yu the truth and their relationship based on a lie starts to crumble and he can't even go home on time to his wife.

At this point I start to wonder why do I even care about Takahashi Issey's character who is just running away from his wife?

Stuff happens and the couple are forced to finally confront each other and wow, I can see why Aoi Yu did this movie because the scene and dialogue between the couple is so real and raw.

It is a story about how people can be together but not be together and about how a wife is not a love doll.

Good movie to watch and I really enjoyed Takahashi Issey's subdued acting in this. Very watchable and memorable.

Cold Case season 3 Episodes 1~5

I thought about proclaiming the following after the first two episodes of season 3 but now I can say this is turning out to be the best and must watch season of Cold Case!

First two episodes and episode were really, really good. Episode 5 really scared me because of the villain. 

If you are looking for a no-nonsense police show to watch, you can't go wrong with Cold Case especially with the quality of season 3. Hopefully the 2nd half is equally as good! Thanks to earthcolors for subbing!

Shitteru Wife Episodes 1+2

WHAT IS IT ABOUT?

Shitteru Wife is a jdorama about a Wife who does not allow husband to play video games and he has to secretly play in closet room. 

Husband runs into kouhai who confesses that she used to like him and husband is thinking if he had made a different choice in life, he would not have to secretly play video games in his own home.

Husband runs into Yabe Kenzo with the fakest stuck on facial hair ever and is given the keys to time travel. 

Husband buys a PS4 with his secret savings and wife drowns the PS4 so husband decides to travel back in time to get him a wife who will let him play his PS4.

WHAT'S GOOD

+ Its a typical time travel feel good jdorama. Husband finds out that the grass is not always greener on the other side and messing with the past also messes with the life of others blah blah blah.

+ Hirose Alice is fun to watch.

+ You can't go wrong with the time travel formula because we already know how the character development beats are going to be. 

+ Teaches all wives to let their husbands play video games or husband will time travel.

WHAT'S NOT GOOD

- Nothing bad so far.

THE MEH

= I don't think Shitteru Wife will rise above watchable for me but it doesn't need to as long as it is feel-good fun.

CONCLUSION

Shitteru Wife does not reinvent the wheel but as long as it can give me a smooth ride, I am onboard. Watchable.

Alice in Borderland review

WHAT IS IT ABOUT?

Alice in Borderland is a Netflix tv show which is a cross between Gantz and Liar game. The story is about a bunch of people are transported to an empty Tokyo where electronics do not work to participate in deadly games in order to extend their visas and continue living.

Our main character is a chap named Arisu, the black sheep of his family who spends his time playing smartphone games and his smartphone game skills help him to survive the Borderland because every game as a solution like Liar Game. So if you parents are nagging you about being on your phone all the time, point them to this show.

THE GOOD

+ Its an action suspense jdorama with a very significant budget. Normal jdoramas can't get this type of budget no matter how many Johnnys you throw at it.

+ Great suspense because anyone can die similar to Gantz.

+ The Shibuya scenes in the first episode and scenes are empty Tokyo are so real. Rarely do I think about how good the CG is when watching jdoramas.

+ Tsuchiya Tao makes for a pretty good action heroine. 

+ The action scenes are really good. Better than the crap that Miike Takashi shoots.

+ I watched the whole 8 episodes in one day. Super engrossing.

THE BAD

- The ending ends in a cliffhanger and how I view the series on the whole will depend on what the truth about Borderland is. I am not going to lie and I wish they could have put the money into a Gantz live action series but it would have cost twice as much.

SUMMARY

Alice in Borderland is a well done action suspense jdorama and I am so happy to see one that is not constrained by budget and has good actions scenes. Well done to the director Sato Shinsuke who did the Gantz movies and Inuyashiki. Must watch and please support it on Netflix.

Jmovie review Mother (2020)

After The Forest of Love, the next Netflix movie on my list is Mother starring Nagasawa Masami and Abe Sadao and written and directed Omori Tatsushi who directed the Ravine of Goodbye.

Mother is one of the most depressing movie you will see because Nagasawa Masami plays a horrible mother who does not care for her son at her.

You are just watching this weak excuse of a person treat her son like garbage and as the viewer I was hoping she would show him some kind of love and that he would grow up ok because he has every single excuse in the world to be a horrible person.

From young, the mother teaches the son how not to listen to authority and how not to work and to steal.

I won't spoil what happens but I could not stop staring at this movie and there is a line that the son says at the end that is just so gut wrenching. 

As much as I dislike Nagasawa Masami's acting she does a decent job playing the no good mother.

This movie will haunt me for a long time and if you are into dark and depressing movies, its a must watch. Thanks to Faiz Ikari for recommending Mother. I should check out the rest of Omori Tatsushi's movies because he is very good at telling stories.

Please watch Mother on Netflix so that they can make more great Japanese movies!

Jmovie review: The Forest of Love

As a long time Sono Sion fan, this movie has been on my to watch list for a very long time until today when I decided to restart my Netflix subscription and give it a go.

The Forest of Love is a movie about two girls who were going to be in an all girl Romeo and Juliet play in high school, a sleazy conman Murata Joe played by Kippei Shina and three guys wanting to shoot a movie and submit to a film festival who get involved with the girls and Murata Joe.

The Forest of Love feels like Sono Sion in his element but it also feels like a Sono Sion greatest hits movie because there are so many elements from his previous movies thrown in. However after the disappointing Shinjuku Swan 2 which I should have written about its good to see Sono Sion on top form.

Sono Sion is probably Japan's best director along with Koreeda Hirokazu. He knows how to frame shots and create great dialogue scenes that you can't turn your eyes away from. 

If I have one complaint its that the movie did not need to be 2 and a half hours. A good editor could have easily trimmed it to 2 hours and the story would have been more impactful. 

I am glad Netflix gave him all this money to make a movie but I wish they had given him a shorter leash in terms of runtime.

A word of warning: The Forest of Love is a sick and disgusting film and not a movie you want to watch if you want to feel good. I actually thought about stopping halfway because I thought it might be too heavy after a stressful day at work.

The Forest of Love is Sono Sion near the top of his game and could have been a must watch with better editing. There is a tv series version of this on Netflix which might play better or it might not.

I was actually worried about which one to watch first and decided to go with the movie because it came out first. I still have not watched the tv show version of Love Exposure yet.

Please support and watch on Netflix so Sono Sion can make more movies for them!

Very watchable movie that is not on the level of Love Exposure but is very Sono Sion and every memorable. For fans of Ryu ga Gotoku 7 aka Like a Dragon, Kamataki Eri from the game is in the movie! 

Sensei wo Kesu Houteishiki Episode 1

Sensei wo Kesu Houteishiki is a show about this teacher who has a creepy smile played by Tanaka Kei going up against a bunch of annoying student bullies who are trying to get rid of him.

Maybe there is an interesting story here but what got my attention the most was the very horrible acting by the students. 

You don't watch jdorama expecting good acting unless a show has Mitsushima Hikari or Abe Hiroshi but this is just revolting bad acting.

If the idea of a show about a creepy smiling teacher who puts up with evil bullies in order to turn the tables back on them sounds promising to you then give it a look but I just wanted to see the teacher bash of the hell of them. Avoid. 

Yoru ga Dorehodo Kurakutemo Episodes 2~4

If I have one complaint about Yoru ga Dorehodo Kurakutemo; the story about an assistant tabloid editor who's deceased son is accused of murder, is that the script is not nuanced enough and can be too blunt at times but I like the subject matter of crime, media and the police.

There is another issue that comes into the forefront in the second half of the series which is foreign workers in Japan. 

There are people who use studying as a front to work. There are people who have to work to pay back money to agents who arrange for them to work in Japan. 

Ultimately, Yoru ga Dorehodo Kurakutemo is the story of a father who wants to honour his son's life because they never got to patch up their relationship and about how jumping to conclusions can have disastrous consequences.

Not as good as Siren no Zange but still watchable because of subject matter but a bit lacking in execution.