Keiji to Kenji: Shokatsu to Chiken no 24ji jdorama review

Last year I watched the sequel of Keiji to Kenji called Keiji to Kenji, Tokidoki Hanji and it was suprisingly fun and watchable. It was light and funny and Kitamura Yukiya was good as the lead. The concept first season is still the same, Kiritani Kenta and Higa Minami play siblings, one is a cop and is assistant to a prosecutor.

The key to Keiji to Kenji that makes the humour work is that the prosecutor that Higa Minami works for played by Higashide Masahiro (Akutou) is in love with her, is antagonistic to the brother and is sort of childish and is always wanting to take on more serious cases. From the beginning I thought these 3 work very well together.

Imada Mio is also in the show as the only female detective of the team. She features a lot more prominently later in the series and my jdorama senses tell me she might have been shooting another jdorama.

I also enjoyed Muroi Shinji as the head prosecutor who has a penchant for sweet things. He is one of those actors I refer to his most famous role which is Muroi Shinji in Odoru Daisousasen. I wonder how I would like it if I rewatch this super famous series which I never found that good but has spawned so many sequels including a Muroi Shinji movie that came out last year.

Like the second season, Keiji to Kenji is about the tension between police who want a warrant for every suspicious person and prosecutors who want physical evidence before issuing anything. 

The only character I don't buy is Okunuki Kaoru as a former judge who running her own restaurant. I get that being a former judge means she can join in discussions and give insights but no one would give up the guaranteed job security and money of a judge!

I have to mention that this series has the funniest and most believable reason for a hikikomori to get out of his room. You know how hikikomori is always a plot device in jdoramas and hikikomori is 'cured' after one episode when it is a complicated problem. Just want to say that the ending of episode 2 had me laughing a lot.

I will say that I can't remember a police/crime show that made me laugh this much.

Now I am very tempted to go back and rewatch season 2.  Too bad they could not afford Imada Mio.

Keiji to Kenji does not finish as strong as it started but it is a cut above the usual jdorama police shows. Very watchable.

Gannibal season 2 Episodes 3~8

 

The last episode of Gannibal was released today. Had to extend my Disney+ sub for another month just to support this show which sucks cause there is nothing else for me to watch on it. 

The final action scenes were lackluster of all the great tension filled action throughout the series. I can't believe they introduced this new Goto family member only for him to be done by a poisoned knife. I kept waiting for him to pop up as a zombie in the hospital.

I was expecting a great big fight in the end with Ano Hito / That person but Daigo ending beating up a few underlings and Keisuke did not even put up a fight which was disappointing because he never did anything and was indecisive. The real final boss fight turned out to be boring.

However, thinking about the ending, this show is about the new generation not carrying the evil practices and hatred of the old generation. That is what Keisuke was trying to do and while I wanted to see a Daigo and Keisuke kill everyone final battle, I understand the ending that we got.

I can't give this a must watch like for season 1 but I still had fun. I am so happy that Disney made a mature and violent jdorama. This is something that is missing from jdorama-land. Disney, you have my money as long as you make mature Japanese shows. Very watchable series and well done.

Zoku Zoku Saigo Kara Niban me no Koi Episode 1

 

The second sequel to Saigo Kara Nibanme no Koi is here. I don't remember much about the first sequel. I remember the characters and Kamakura setting and that's it. I was surprised to see Nakai Kiichi and Kyon Kyon are still not together after 2 seasons. I guess if they do then it is the end of the series?

The one reason I am excited about the sequel I don't think anyone asked for is that Sakaguchi Kenji is back. He has not been acting for a very long time time because of health problems but him being back is a good thing. I remember seeing him once since he left the industry in a wrestling wrestling youtube video or something because his dad and brother are wrestlers.

Anyway, Kyon Kyon is one year away from retirement contemplating what to do with her second life.

Nakai Kiichi retired but went back to work to deal with tourists in Kamakura. Who are these crazy people who have more than enough money to retire and would still rather work?

We have a scene at the very famous Slam Dunk spot in Kamakura with Mandarin speaking tourists getting in the way of the locals.

I love the scene where Kyon Kyon who works tv producer asks why doesn't Netflix invite her to make a show for them? I can imagine every writer and producer in jdoramaland wanting that Netflix money and freedom. Hmm, looks like Okada Yoshikazu has written 2 Netflix shows so far. I will need to start up my Netflix soon but I am putting if off because there will be way too many Japanese shows to watch.

The highlight of the episode is the dinner scene between Nakai Kiichi and Kyon Kyon. Coincidentally, they were both going back home from attending funerals, Nakai's was a colleague who joined the same year and Kyon Kyon's was her boss. Their dialogue was funny and sad and Okada Yoshikazu's script writing abilities were in full force. These two have perfect chemistry and I can watch them talk about anything.

Looks like Ishida Hikari is going to be Nakai Kiichi's new colleague and love interest and Yamaguchi Momoe's husband is going to be Kyon Kyon's new doctor and love interest.

I am keeping my expectations very low for this. According to my reviews, season 2 was basically a retread of season 1. Let's see what Okada Yoshikazu has up his sleeve. Watchable first episode. I need to get back to Kamakura one day.

SandLand anime review

When I first saw the visuals for Toriyama Akira's SandLand, I just thought it was Go! Go! Ackman set in the desert which Sandland is. I had no interest in watching SandLand, even with the Toriyama name. Reason being that I did not like where Dragonball became, Goku getting even more hair colours, all sort of fushion characters and Vegeta getting screwed all the time. I have a friend who is big into the current Dragonball stuff but it feels like a series that should have ended long ago and I thought Toriyama's best days were behind him.

Since I have Disney+ for Gannibal, I decided to give SandLand a go and I was hooked from the beginning. SandLand is set in a country where water is scarce and humans think demons are all not good and responsible for all the bad things in the country. The demons all look like they belong as monsters in DragonQuest. The main character Beelzebub, the prince demon is another Go!Go! Ackman. His funny trait being he think he is a bad demon when he isn't and he is another Goku.

What makes SandLand work is the Rao. He enlists Beelzebub's help and has the best backstory in anime. From the first episode, SandLand had me hooked when I realised the show was about racism, corruption and not getting tricked by government propaganda. This why I feel in love with anime in the first place. Shows for kids that deal with mature issues in a way that is entertaining and not preachy.

I love the tank battles. I never knew tank battles could be so exciting and I wanted more. Should I start watching Girls Und Panzer? I wanted more single episode stories of our group of adventurers and their tank. 

Watching SandLand, I am reminded of Toriyama who started Dragonball as an adventure story with a young Goku, Buruma and Oolong. This feeling of fun and sense of adventure.The only negative is that Belz is kinda of overpowered when he did not need to be. Toriyama does power him down in the second half though.

I want more adventures in Sandland, especially with the tank. That is the heart of the show. The 3 characters going around in the tank. I will definitely buy the game when it goes on sale unless the game is that bad. Very watchable anime.

Watashi no Takaramono Eps 1+2

Watashi no Takaramono starts with wife played by Matsumoto Wakana busy preparing the apartment for husband played by Tanaka Kei to host his colleagues. She gets the name of one of his colleagues wrong and he takes it out on her afterwards. 

Basically the beginning of the episode is Tanaka Kei being this grumpy husband who treats Matsumoto Wakana very badly while she keeps smiling at him. She talks about making babies after 5 years of marriage and Tanaka Kei brushes her off and says let it happen naturally. What sort of man would refuse to make babies with Matsumoto Wakana? The writing of this story is defying belief and he just continues to abuse her.

At this point I am thinking what is the point of watching all this abuse? Why would the audience want to watch this many scenes about a guy being a dick to his wife. Is this dorama about how they got to this point, maybe Matsumoto Wakana did something wrong in the past?

We get more about Matsumoto Wakana's past, especially this childhood friend who was two years her junior and they often met in the library and because this is jdoramaland, they reunite again at same library. At this point, I am thinking this is married woman has affair story, the staple of jdoramas. Matsumoto Wakana has a shitty husband so audience is rooting for affair but I am still not seeing the hook of the story.

What happens next is that Tanaka Kei forces himself on Matsumoto Wakana. Then she goes off, runs into old friend at the library again and has sex. Friend goes off to Africa to save the kids and gets blown up in a terrorist explosion explosion.

The thing is, Matsumoto Wakana is got pregnant and she gets a DNA test which confirms Tanaka Kei is not the dad. Seeing as real dad is dead we finally get the hook of this jdorama. Wife who gets pregnant by lover plans to swindle rich husband of all his money by claiming that child is his. Tanaka Kei should have realised the first red flag when Matsumoto Wakana says to him that it is his child. I mean what other person's child could it possibly be???

It finally makes sense. All that abuse is to justify the crime of paternity fraud in the eyes of the viewer. In episode 2, we get to see the story from Tanaka Kei's perspective. Basically his workplace is bad and he is taking it out on his wife. I like Kitamura Kazuki as his coffee shop owner/confidante for Tanaka Kei but sad to see him playing supporting roles when he should be headlining jdoramas.

I could not get into Watashi no Takaramono at all as much as I like Matsumoto Wakana. This melodramatic paternity fraud jdorama is too much for me. Definitely not the type of jdorama for me. Meh.

House of the Owl Episodes 1+2

 

Disney Plus' House of the Owl has a lot in common with Netflix House of Ninjas. Instead of a family of Ninjas, the head of the house is the fixer of Japan played known as the Owl by Tanaka Min. The Owl operates in the shadows, covering up scandals and influencing the corridors of power and despite having loads of money, basically has one assistant similar to Karasawa Toshiaki's Fixer. 

Like House of Ninjas, House of the Owl is about the Owl's family who are all freaking idiots and disfunctional, especially the useless oldest son and looks like Mackenyu is going to be the other main character but there is nothing interesting about his character besides that he studied in the US and is working for an NPO in Japan.

I am glad that Tanaka Min is the main actor for this show because I doubt it would have happen for a jdorama made by Japanese. They would have cast for ratings. However, there is something about House of the Owl that I cannot stand: It has so much cringey and unnatural dialogue, even with the English dialogue especially the Mackenyu scenes.

It feels like the the dialogue might have been translated from English to Japanese and some of the English subs I do not agree with. House of the Owl feels very much like a Japanese show made for people for do not watch jdorama. I think most of the all, the writer is not good.

I really wanted to like House of the Owl but I can't. I get 2nd hand embarrassment from the god awful dialogue. I am physically unable to continue to the 3rd episode after the 2nd episode. The bad guy is supposed to be charming but creepy but the Hasegawa Kyoko's character just comes off as being obliviously stupid.

I don't hate House of the Owl like Amazon's Ryu ga Gotoku. It is just a shame that it is not very decent. You are better of watching Karasawa Toshiaki's Fixer. Do not watch.

Look Disney, if you want a good jdrama make me your producer and I will get Nojima Shinji or Sakamoto Yuji or Ozaki Masaya to do the script and throw lots of money at Mitsushima Hikari.

Shiroi Kyoto 2019 jdorama review

I wrote about the first episode of the 2019 remake a long time ago. I think I might have watched episode 2 but I never finished the series for some reason. Recently I have been thinking I need to revisit the 2003 series because I think watched the original show from HK dvd rips where they combined 2 episodes together into 1 dvd and I should download and rewatch in 1080.

Shiroi Kyoto or White Castle refers to climbing to the top of the university hospital hierarchy. Being the professor of the surgery department means that every morning you can lead a stupid procession and look at the charts of every patient without looking them in the face.

Our main character is super ambitious super surgeon, Zaizen Goro played by Okada Junichi. The lucky bastard married into the Zaizen family with Kaho as his wife and for some reason he spends all his time with his mistress played by Sawajiri Erika. 

I understand that no man can resist Erika-sama but at the expense of Kaho? And Kaho who plays the wife is hardly in the first half of the 5 episode series. The 2003 Fuji TV show is 22 episodes so TV Asashi has gone the opposite route and made a lean 5 episodes cutting a lot of the fat but it is the fat that makes a steak taste good.

On the other side of the coin is Zaizen's friend Satomi who is a doctor dedicated to his patients and his research. As Erika-sama aptly puts it, Zaizen saves lives to further his ambitions and Satomi saves lives because he cares for his patients. FYI Japanese fans refer to Sawajiri as Erika-sama. lol

Iitoyo Marie plays the daughter of Professor Azuma, the once mentor to Zaizen and Satomi who has a thing for Satomi. The casting of this remake is excellent and not to mention Mimura in a small role as a nurse.

The most entertaining role for me is Kobayashi Kaoru as Zaizen Mataichi, Goro's super rich father in law who wants a professor as a son-in-law and will use his wealth and connections to get Goro to the top of the white tower.

Shiroi Kyo has been remade many times because the story is excellent. It is hard to compare with the 2003 series because it has been ages since I have seen it but my sense 2019 remake is not as good. Not enough episodes to show the friendship between Zaizen and Satomi.

Not enough Kaho until the second half and maybe too much Erika-sama? Hard to fit everything into 5 episodes. I enjoyed it but non the the episodes gave me a must watch feeling. It felt like Zaizen got to the top really quickly and the fall in the 2nd half was a bit slow in pacing and had a tad too much overacting.

Still enjoyed this version of Shiroi Kyoto. Makes me want to rewatch the 2003 version so I can make comparisons. Maybe I won't like the 2003 as much after all these years?

If you have not seen Shiroi Kyoto, watch the 2003 one first unless 22 episodes is too much for you or you are a fan of Erika-sama. Very watchable.

Tsugunai The Unforgiven Blu Ray

Tsugunai is near the top of my list for jdoramas that I like a lot more than I should. I love the cast with Tanihara Shosuke who now does morning tv, Kimura Tae and the late Ashina Sei. The story of this homeless doctor solving a murder mystery was a fun 3 episode show and unfortunately, there is no 720 copy of the show. Not in Avista, jptv or nyaa. So my only option was to buy a bluray copy.

I have always wanted to support jdoramas and I am glad I can do that buy watching them on Amazon Prime, Disney + and Netflix but the cost of a bluray set is around 20, 000 yen. The minimum wage in Tokyo is 1,113 yen. Two days worth of wages will not even buy a jdorama set, even at used price.

Since this is only a 3 episode show, the price is nowhere near that expensive. The full retail price for Tsugunai is 9000 yen but I got it second hand for about half the price. Yes, I am aware that the market for jdoramas is limited to Japan and they have to make their money back but average person can't afford this. Same with the price of anime in Japan. The average person can't afford 20, 000 yen on a tv show when it can buy a lot of meals.

If I ever buy another bluray jdorama series, it will either be a series that I really love or something I am unable to find online. 

Bloody wished NHK had done a sequel to this.