Tokyo Hinkon Joshi Episodes 1~3

In the beginning of episode one if Tokyo Hinkon Joshi, we see our main character Mako having meeting up with 2 friends in a high class restaurant. The camera shows that the 2 friends are well dressed as they look over the very expensive menu deciding on what to have for lunch. 

They ask Mako what she wants for desert as this restaurant is famous for their deserts but Mako says she doesn't need desert. The two friends are talking about various estheticians aka skin care places and the camera focuses on Mako's hands and we notice that she is not wearing any accessories not her nails painted. Mako is clearly uncomfortable and make and excuse to leave. 

As she leaves magazines fall from her bag and we learn that Mako is a writer and is doing research on Tokyo Ginkon Joshi or Tokyo Poverty Women. Women who are facing financial hardship and there are no safety nets to help them besides the sex trade.

Tokyo Hinkon Joshi is the story about a slightly naive writer who herself is on the edge of poverty teaming up with sex trade writer interviewing women living in poverty relying on the sex trade to survive. The thing about Japan is that it is difficult for women to become regular employees and there is a huge underclass of non-regular workers who a second job at night just to survive and there is this scene where Mako asks her boss why she has not increased the number of female regular employees.

Tokyo Hinkon Joshi deals with the questions of do these women fall into poverty because of their own life choices or is it because society has made it very difficult to get of poverty even when they try their best? Episode 1 deals with a university student and how she gets flamed when the article comes out.

If you feel like you have been watching too many feel good jdoramas lately and are in need of some WOWOW reality and depressing stories, Tokyo Hinkon Joshi is for you. The episode 3 story with Kirishima Reiko and her sister with mental health issues is sobering. No one is subbing yet  but luckily jptv.club has the Jp subs. Very watchable if you are in the mood for some heavy stories.

15 things about taiga dorama Gunshi Kanbee

1. It has been such a long time since I watched a taiga dorama which was Shinsengumi! for the second time in preparation for Ryu ga Gotoku Ishin! on PS4 long, long time ago. I decided it was time to slog through another 50 episode taiga and chose Gunshi Kanbee.

2. Gunshi Kanbee or strategist Kanbei is about Kuroda Kanbee who worked under Oda Nobunaga and Toyotomi Hideyoshi. 

3. Gunshi Kanbee is a political drama about a world where if your family allies with the wrong lord, you are screwed and everyone in your family will have to commit seppuku if you lose.

4. Despite the fact that this is a world where people can be ordered to seppuku for all sorts of reasons, it is also a world where enemies can easily walk into each other's camps to negotiate without much fear of not getting out alive.

5. Takenata Naoto is the best actor of this show as Toyotomi Hideyoshi. I first saw him in Shall we Dansu? and he is a great actor. Problem is he has been phoning it in for so long in small jdorama parts I was happy to see him in a part where his energy is required.

6. Takenaka Naoto and Kuroki Hitomi are best couple and their chemistry is really good. I don't think they've ever been in a dorama as a couple, have they? 

7. Eguchi Yosuke is good as Nobunaga.

8. Despite the fact that Kuroda Kanbee is supposed to be a brilliant tactician, he does not do enough especially compared to Yang Wenli. I know one is a historical and one is a fictional character, so it is unfair to compare but Kanbee only has two big tactical victories. I guess bullshit tactical ideas that lead to magical comebacks don't really happen in historical battles.

9. It also has to do with the fact that people in those days had to do whatever their stupid lord said and most of the times Kanbee's hands were tied.

10. For some reason I was so happy to see Shokotan in a taiga dorama. lol

11. After learning about the history of Himeji, Osaka and Fukuoka castles in Gunshi Kanbee, I want to visit them again and I have not been to the Fukuoka castle ruins despite having been to Fukuoka so many times.

12. I remember seeing a jmovie called Chacha some time ago and did not realise she was such an important historical figure. The one character I hate in Gunshi Kanbee is Chacha so maybe I will seek the movie out in the near future to see the story from her perspective.

13. Some scenes are absolutely beautiful. Appreciate all the hard work going into making 50 episodes.

14. As someone who has played, read stuff around Oda Nobunaga and Toyotomi Hideyoshi, it was so education to see the story from the point of view of a third character trying to keep his bloody clan alive.

15. I can't really give it a must watch because I compare it too much to LoGH but I had fun binging the 50 episodes. Very watchable. I might watch Dou Suru Ieyasu in the future which will be very weird because Okada Junichi is playing Nobunaga. I do feel like watching more historical stuff.

Nanyoubi ni Umareta no? Episodes 1~3

Besides Kaso Girei and Sexy Tanaka, the one other super enjoyable jdorama that I am enjoying very much this season is Nojima Shinji's Nanyoubi ni Umareta no? Yes the living legend Nojima Shinji, one of the best jdorama writers ever. It has been a long time since I did that a best jdorama writer post and it is way overdue for an update.

Iitoyo Marie is Sui who has been a hikikomori for the last 10 years because of a traumatic incident back in high school. Sui is supported by her father played by Jinnai Takanori, struggling manga artist who is also struggling to pay rent which gets empathy points from me. On a side note, way too many characters in jdoramas magically find a big house for free so I automatically care about this daughter-father combo.

Jinnai Takanori is given one last chance at job by drawing a manga for famous author Kumon Ryuen who wants to write a pure love story. The twist is that the main character for this manga will be based on the daughter Sui so that Jinnai Takanori's love for his daughter will show through his drawings.

Nanyoubi ni Umareta no is basically a shoujo manga-ish triangle love story with the mystery being what happened back in high school. The twist is that our heroine Sui is also being observed by a sadistic writer along with his single mom editor and very funny sex friend. 

Nanyoubi ni Umareta means what day of the week were you born? and I will not spoil why it is the title of the story and I suspect it will be repeated a few more times before the end. Nanyoubi ni Umareta is so well written, I am laughing all the dialogue and Nojima Shinji knows how to give each of the characters their nuances and idiosyncrasies. 

Iitoyo Marie is absolutely amazing as Sui. She plays her with the right amount of awkwardness and determination that makes me want to support her. Everyone is great in their role even Jinnai Takanori who usually overacts too much but is good in this role.

I am trying not to get excited because 3 episodes are too early and so far it has essentially been a story about a bunch of people spying on a hikikomiri trying to overcome her demons but Nojima Shinji's dialogue just makes everything shine. Very recommended and would not argue if anyone said Nanyoubi ni Umareta no? is a must watch show. Can't wait for the next episode!

Sexy Tanaka Episodes 1-4

WHAT IS IT ABOUT? 

Tanaka Kyoko (Kinami Haruka) is a 40 year old OL who is looked down upon by her peers for being modest and simple. However Tanaka secretly performs as a belly dancer at a bar as Sali. Tanaka's colleague Akari (Nukumi Meru) finds out that Tanaka is actually Sali and starts to get obsessed with Tanaka.

WHAT IS GOOD ABOUT SEXY TANAKA?

+ It reminds me a bit of Saito-san where it is about friendship between women where the older one teaches the younger woman to rethink her values but Sexy Tanaka throws a twist at it with the younger woman Akari seemingly having everything but not having whatever Tanaka has. There is also a strong hint that Akari might be more stalker than friend and I hope it is more for comedic purposes.

+ It is also a fun comedy about relationships with the Shono character who desires a woman with all of Tanaka's characteristics but is too blind to see it and is always too straightforward with women.

+ I really like the 4 main characters and their chemistry is really good.

+ Did I mention that Sexy Tanaka is very funny?

+ This might be Kinami Haruka's career defining role?

WHAT IS NOT GOOD

 - Nothing!

SUMMARY

Funny dorama about belly dancing which is really about seeing the value in other people and looking for something to live for. Fingers crossed the rest of the series will be just as good. Very watchable. Big thanks to luwuang for hardsubbing!

Kaso Girei Episode 1

It is said that Japanese are born Shinto, married Christian and die Buddhist. Religion is not that important in Japan as are most countries where it is often use for politics and power. However cults are common in Japan and with the previous Unification Church being stripped of its religious status, cults and religion are at the forefront of Japanese news.

Kaso Girei reminds me very much of Scams on Netflix. Scams was low budget dorama which was basically a handbook on how to scam people and Kaso Girei has the same smell of being a handbook on create your very own religion... I mean cult.

One of my favourite and best side stories from Ryu ga Gotoku series is the shooreh pipi cult story sort of based on Aum Shinrikyo but nowhere as horrible,

Kaso Girei is the story of two guys, one a very successful executive public servant (Aoyagi Sho) with an interest in religion and writing and the other in game development (Daito Shunsuke). They both have an interest in religion and decide to team up to create a religious themed game.

The public servant abandons his incredible job and life for this dream and finds out that game guy was fired and they both lost everything. How do two people with no jobs survive? Think of a new religion!

I am trying not to get too excited about Kaso Girei but I have a feeling it will be Scams V2 which is a good thing. I just want a fun handbook on how to create your own cult with some fun stories. Watchable first episode and fingers crossed! Big thanks to monchi for subbing and raws are available at nyaa under 仮想儀礼.

Tokyo Girl jmovie review

 

Speaking of time travel movies, I was browsing Yahoo Auctions when I came across the very striking Kaho movie poster. Why have I not heard anything about this movie before and sought it out immediately at avistaz. Kaho plays a high school student who is not happy that her widowed mother plans to get remarried to literary professor.

Kaho storms out of the meeting with her potential father and an earthquake happens and she drops her mobile phone which falls down to 1912 and is found by a boy named Tokijiro. Tokyo Girl is basically a time travel movie about a girl from 2008 talking to a boy in 1912 who is a struggling writer who is a disciple of Natsume Souseki.

I would like to point out that if this movie happened in 2023, the mobile phone would last 2 days at most. The old clamshell otherwise known as garakei last for a long time on one charge. The scary thing is that 2008 was not that long ago and technology has advanced so much!

Tokyo Girl is a fun little low budget story about two people in the past and future trying to communicate using interesting ways. Unfortunately Tokyo Girl has the budget of a dorama special so no Kaho in Meiji fashion or any big sets in the Meiji era. As a fan of Sakura Taisen, I really wanted to see more of that era. Maybe I should hunt for a movie set in the Meiji era that is not Kenshin.

I rather enjoyed Tokyo Girl although it was not as colourful as the poster. It is cute and fast paced and I would say watch it if you are a Kaho fan or like a simple movie about communicating across time. Watchable.

Summer Time Machine Blues jmovie review

Anonymous commented in my review of the first two episodes of Toki wo Kakeruna, Koibitotachi that the director also did Summer Time Machine Blues. I was very sure I had seen it but I have not reviewed it so it was an opportunity to watch it again. Another time travel jmovie I remember is Bubble Fiction with Hirosue Ryoko and Abe Hiroshi. One day I will rewatch it.

Summer Time Machine Blues is set during a hot summer where members of a high school sci-fi club who share a club house with the photography club and unfortunately someone broke the remote control by spilling coke all over it and the students are unable to turn the air con on manually. Somehow the sci-fi club members find a time machine in the middle of their clubhouse and the movie is about their hijinks as they try to rewrite the past and save the air con remote.

Summer Time Machine Blues is very similar to Toki wo Kekuruna. Its got a low budget retro look, the humour is understated and I would say its a sci-fi comedy with a nostalgic filter. Kudos to the writer for making a movie mostly set in a school. However I did find the pacing a bit slow and it took a while before it got to the fun comedy bits of going to the past and trying to avoid your past selves. Of course you have your time travel paradoxes with the members finding out that they themselves were the originators of certain problems because of time travel.

I had to watch the movie in two parts and I much prefer the fast pace of Toki wo Kakeruna. It is funny watching young Eita, Maki Yoko and Ueno Juri in this 2005 jmovie. They look so freaking young. There is a strong teenage exuberance and innocence to this story but I did not find it fun and the pacing felt slow.

Ultimately I did not find Summer Time Machine Blues that fun. I don't dislike it but I much prefer Toki wo Kakeruna and I think the director's style suits 25 minute doramas rather than movies. Only watch if you want to see the above mentioned actors before they hit the big time. I think it is a cult classic bit the movie only gets a meh from me.