Oi Handsome! Season 2 Episode 1 review

The first season of Oi Handsome! was on of my favourite jdoramas of 2022. It did not make my top 5 list because the candidates were strong but if someone said it was the must watch and one of the best shows of 2022, I would not argue.

It was so good to have a father jdorama that could stand next to the classic that is Masakazu Tamura's Oyaji and be so smartly written.  The best thing is how smart and funny the writing is. I think most shows would try too hard to be moving but the dialogue in Oyaji flowed like a Sakamoto Ryuji comedy.

The whole family is back including Megumi as the mother who I still think is way too young looking despite all their efforts to make her look old. It is not a fatal casting decision but she is only a few years older than Kinami Haruka who plays the oldest daughter.

The beginning of episode 1 has the 3 daughters coming home one by one. There is a running gag that everytime a daughter comes in, she restarts this recorded dorama from the beginning. I wonder if this dorama by Matsuzaka Anna will pay off in later episodes. 

Youngest daughter Mika is with her mangaka boyfriend who is having so so success and is now pretty busy. Middle daughter Rika is not having any luck in meeting people. Oldest daughter Yuka says what's wrong if someone wants you just for your body? Such people are happy! I thought Yuka played by Kinami Haruka got together with No Con Kid in season 2 but apparently not.

Dad hurts his neck sleeping and has to put on this neck brace.

Rika is weak and has to try new drinks everytime she sees something new at a vending machine and ends up having the same drink with FujiTatsu who works in the same building who says as the punchline that his wife is also has a weakness for trying out new drinks. This can't possibly be a one off appearance can it?

Yuka is worried about her ability to attract men and this pays off in a funny scene at the end of the episode. 

She also meets this single older woman neighbour Oosugi played by Tomita Yasuko who she looks down upon and does not want to end up like her. Yuka also spends a considerable amount of effort to avoid Oosugi as all.

Funny scene where dad and daughter think of their ideal visions of what a marriage is.

Mika's mangaka boyfriend, Yuuji's version of what happened between him and a fan. I like that it is Yuuji's testimony on the top right. Very funny.

Yuka spends so much effort to avoid Oosugi and when she finally sits down with her... I won't spoil what happens but there is a great speech by dad Yoshida Kotaro at the end of the episode about not judging a book by its cover. 

Really funny and feel good episode. I was worried there would be nothing else to say after season 1 but looks like there is more story to tell. No one is subbing but huge thanks to glumlily for uploading timed Jp subs to avistaz. 

Umet Episode 1 review

Unmet starts with a doctor Kawauchi Miyabi played by Sugisaki Hana waking up and seeing a note telling her to read her diary. Miyabi suffered a brain injury two years ago and is unable to remember anything that happened yesterday. She can only remember things up to her brain injury. Memory loss is a staple of the jdorama genre but short term memory loss is a staple of romantic comedies and also mystery movies like Memento. The question is what is Unmet?

We have to accept that everyday Miyabi wakes up and has to read to years worth of diary material which increase everyday and get ready for work. She has to give herself more and more time or maybe she will just say avoid certain pages that are no longer relevant. 

To enjoy a story, one has to accept the premise and see where the road the premise leads you down is worth watching. A new doctor Sanpei Tomoharu who has been working in the US has been transferred to the hospital. I am relieved he is not throwing English words out every few seconds and he seems to have an interest in  Miyabi.

We find out while Miyabi still has her long term memory and is still working as a doctor, she does not operate because of no short term memory. I was thinking not only is medical knowledge continuing to evolve and improve, I would imagine there would be continuous professional development certification for doctors. I think the one big issue would be professional insurance. How much is the insurance for a doctor who cannot remember what she said to her patient yesterday?

We have Kazama Shunsuke as an agent of an actress who is also his wife who has lost her power of speech and will require surgery to get better. It feels like the actress is there to point out to the audience that disabled people have the right to work. Miyabi lost her short term memory like the actress lost her speech but she can still act. I am not too sure about medicine and especially surgery.

The doctor from America keeps pushing Miyabi to do more and says that while she can't remember practicing for surgery, the body will remember. That does make sense but I was perplexed why someone would play with fire. It is all explained away with the final twist at the end of episode 1 so I don't know how to feel about it.

I have a feeling every episode might try too hard to be moving and I am not sure I can buy this super doctor who can't remember yesterday but can do surgery in a hospital. I feel like Miyabi should be like Dr Blackjack instead doing all the secret surgeries plus not having short term memory means everyone's secret is safe.

I have trouble fulling accepting the premise but let's see where the story goes with episode 2 and what seeds for the main mystery will be planted? Unmet is not really Memento in a hospital but I am hoping there is an interesting mystery to unravel instead of a story trying too hard to be touching to justify a premise.

Yakusoku 16 nenme no Shinjitsu Episodes 1+2

When she was young, Nakamura Anne's father was arrested for the serial murders of schoolgirls and was found guilty and died in prison. 16 years later, Nakamura Anne is a detective and asked to be transferred back to her hometown of Nozomino which became known as a cursed town and it is not long before someone is murdered along with marbles stuff in their mouth, the signature of the serial killer.

Yakusoku is pretty standard uncover mystery in rural town with Nakamura Anne having a circle of friends who were in this movie making club with a script which had a script that was never shot as the writer/director's sister was one of the victims. Of course every member of the club will have their own secret for Nakamura Anne to uncover from the dodgy taxi driver to daughter of big company.

Yakusoku feels a lot like Triangle, a mystery with the dorama starring Eguchi Yusuke and Hirosue Ryokyo that was so bad that I compare every generic murder mystery show to it. Also, is Yakusoku Nakamura Anne's first main role? She is the better actress compared Araki Yuko from Suits but is she main actress material? I also forgot to write about Suits S2.

The writing does not feel solid. Hayabusa Shobodan feels focused while Yakusoku feels like cliche after cliche. The director shot the series with this soft fuzzy and grainy filter, perhaps to mimick the look of film but does not do it well. The visual style or vocabulary for a dorama series is important and nothing visually in Yakusoku impressed me at all. You can see from the screenshots everything looks dull and boring. I know Yakusoku does not have the budget of Hayabusa Shobodan but this is inaka. I guarantee there are beautiful scenery out there. A lot of WOWOW shows will use the grainy look but there is something wrong with the camera and shots in Yakusoku.

As for Nakamura Anne's acting? There is a lack of conviction in her voice, especially the voice overs. Her character needs to be a bit more hard boiled, needs to be seen suspecting everyone and thinking in her head along with the audience as she uncovers more clues. Her character of Kiryu Aoi just doesn't have that presence.

While at this point it may seem like I hate Yakusoku is that I don't. The two episodes were not as bad as Triangle was. At least every character isn't saying 'that incident 16 years ago' for every scene. There is a revelation in relation to the script in episode 2 that makes the mystery more interesting. If not for the script revelation, I probably would have dropped the series straight away.

I don't dislike Yakusoku and most importantly I have not fast forwarded any scenes yet so it is not a meh but also not a watchable show. It is a by the numbers rural town mystery which I don't mind watching but my jdorama senses are telling me that it will turn out the be forgettable because the execution has been pretty bland. Thanks to Monchi for subbing.

Saka no Ue no Akai Yane Eps 2~5 spoiler review

I have finished Saka no Ue no Akai Yane and I have a lot to unpack. The five episodes have been an exhilarating ride. The twists and turns were really well done but I need to  talk about spoilers.

The preview at the end of episode 2 spoiled that Ogura Sana (Kurashina Kana) was Sayako. While it was very exciting and creepy, I was worried that the story had fired its best bullet so early in the story.

Fear not because the truth is even better, Ogura Sana was no Sayako. Sana is who she said she was, a writer who won the newbie prize years ago but hasn't recovered from some mental illness and somehow starts to identify with Sayako the longer the works on the novel.

I really like this twist because there are so many layers to it. At the heart of this story is class divide/envy. Sana's parents being doctors, buying the house on the hill acting all superior and Sana acting out because she can do no wrong.

The host Obuchi and the editor Hashimoto both looking up from the bottom of the hill and wanting to burn the house down. A yes, Hashimoto. The other twist is that he is the one confessing the crime in Obuchi's autobiography and he actually wrote that book. 

The one thing I cannot understand is Obuchi's motivation. Obuchi wants people to treat him like a person instead of women falling down at his feet all the time. 

Hashimoto resents his mother and sister who was nice to him but I am not sure of his motivation of using Sana to impersonate Sayako and causing the deaths of Sana and Reiko (Renbutsu Misako). His motive isn't revenge. I guess Reiko and Sayako were both from uber rich families?

Did Hashimoto induce Sayako to murder her parents in the first place? I need a rewatch. I have a feeling a lot of things are implied and when I rewatch the show knowing everything, the clues will become apparent. Maybe Hashimoto's motivation goes back to the opening line of the fake autobiography. Like Sana said, maybe it was already predetermined.

I really enjoyed watching Renbutsu Misako as Obuchi Reiko. Her character has no redeeming traits but there is this humanity in her that is so warped that she cannot see the truth. She is a mirror of Sayako, both to families living on a hill (figuratively) but she cannot help but resent her family.

I was going to see I am not ready to proclaim Saka no Ue no Akai Yane a must watch yet until a rewatch but writing this spoiler review made me realise how good show was. I am sure I am going to love it after a rewatch and everything will be clear as rain.

If Saka no Ue no Akai Yane has one weakness is that it never addressed the fact that seeking a retrial requires some new evidence coming to light that was not considered in the first place. I guess Reiko is not that bright and just accepted everything the lawyer told her.

Saka no Ue no Akai Yane is the reason why I continue to watch jdoramas. Most jdoramas are to promote johnnys but WOWOW is about entertaining with great stories. Must watch.

Saka no Ue no Akai Yane Episode 1

It has been a long time since I have seen a gruesome and creepy thriller. Off the thought of my head, the first show that comes to mind is Kurosawa Kiyoshi's Creepy which was very disappointing. 18 years ago, a host called Obuchi convinced a schoolgirl Aota Sayaka to murder and dismember her parents. (Yes, do not watch episode 1 when you are eating food)

Obuchi was given a death sentence and Sayaka a life sentence because she was being brainwashed by Obuchi. During the trial Obuchi actually got his autobiography published, talking about how he took his first life as a kid which we see at the start of the episode.

Kiritani Kenta is now an editor at a magazine and wants to publish Ogura Sana's (Kurashina Kana) novel about the incident. Ogura Sana won a newbie writing award years ago and wrote a follow up which was shot down and both editor and writer started to interview more people involved with Obuchi and Aoda to get a better picture.

A very much like thriller and the execution of episode 1 is very good. Every character feels a bit off. An executive criticizes Ogura Sana's script as immature and from someone who does not know society well. Sana has a weird relationship with her controlling mother and we later learn that she was adopted.

My first thought is Sana must be Sayaka's sister and given up for adoption and the twist is going to be that Sayaka was the evil manipulator all along. The most interesting thing is how did sleazy host convince girl to kill parents?

Renbutsu Misako is the courtroom sketch artist for the Obuchi trial and is legally married to Obuchi. She is so creepy. I have read about women who fall in love with serial killers and watching her play this character is unnerving.

Never thought I would put Renbutsu Misako and creepy in the same sentence but good use of shadows can do that and the super bright lipstick makes her look even more demented

Speaking of good use of shadows...

Are they going to to a parents were abusive to girl to justify the murder?

WOWOW casting is top class. Kobayashi Ryoko in next episode? Yes!

And this Kurashina Sana smile with the freaking line creeped the hell out of me! I get why WOWOW spoiled the reveal because I am so creeped out but want to see WTF is going on? Is being in prison a lie? Great episode 1 WOWOW and I don't want to get too excited because it is easier to set up an interesting mystery then to make it consistently exciting. Thanks to Monchi for subbing!