Marks no Yama ep 1

The subs for the great hope to save last season is finally here! Its based on an award winning novel which was turned into a movie in 1995. Unfortunately, I've not been able to track down the movie. The first episode is very hectic as it introduces a lot of characters and the pacing never lets up but its easy to keep abreast of who's who as I eagerly anticipated learning what the main story actually is and how all the characters are connected.

There's Kamikawa Takaya as this dedicated cop Goda Yuichiro. The coach from Pro Golfer Hana as his best friend and former brother in law who works for the Ministry of Justice. Kora Kengo aka the guy from Solanin is Mizusawa and Tado Naho is a nurse who takes care of him after he is released from prison. Mizusawa seems to have some mental problems, maybe short term memory loss as he has to write reminders in his notebook. Konishi Manami is a reporter who is looking into connections between politicians and yakuza and of course, what dorama would be complete without Kita Yoshio as lawyer who represents yakuza.

The first half of the series is mainly about a 3 police investigations. Cop shows are all about procedures and Marks no Yama does it very well. I don't understand why crap shows like Zettai Reido have to add some stupid morality angle to police investigations and make it boring. There must be some stupid law that says mainstream doramas not on Wowow cannot be realistic and gritty for fear of corrupting society or something. In short, I was very impressed by the police investigation parts and it bodes well for the series.

The first episode gives us some background information on the numerous characters, gives us two murders and finally the big hook at the end of the episode. We find out that the murders were done by Mizusawa. Why reveal who the villain is at the end of the first episode? Because it seems like Mizusawa is committing the crimes based on orders written into his notebook! A most interesting concept! A series of murders being done by someone who may not know what he is doing. It begs the question of who the mastermind is and the purpose of the killings. (Most likely revenge)

Thank the jdorama gods for Wowow and the subbers for doing this series. I am so tempted to watch the series raw. Anytime I come across a series this good, it makes smile all the bad doramas worth it. Definitely a must watch show.

Kurohyo Ryu ga Gotoku Shinsho

 I think I've mentioned a few times that I was a big fan of Ryu ga Gotoku series which is known in the West as Yakuza. The Takashi Miike movie was just an excuse for him to go nuts while ignoring the main story from the first game. Kurohyo is based on the psp spin off game which I have not played. When I first saw pictures of the game, I was not interested because its a young protagonist and they are clearly trying to go after the Monster Hunter crowd. After playing 5 games using Kiryu Kazuma, I don't think I can accept a young punk as the new protagonist. The only possible spin off I would love to see would be a grown up Haruka.

Saito Takumi aka the rich kid from Chase plays Tatsuya, the hero of the series. It is interesting to note that Takumi is 29 while the Tatsuya is supposed to be 18, which is a good thing. An 18 year old johnny would have doomed the series from the start. Tatsuya is this jobless bum who has a hot sister, wears the same tracksuit every single day and does not know how to zip his top up. Oh yeah, he's pretty good at fighting too.

One day, one of his friends gets into trouble and he has to rescue him from some yakuza. There is a huge fight and Tatsuya blacks out. When he comes to, he discovers that all the yakuza have been killed but he doesn't remember doing it. A short time later, he is blackmailed to enter this tournament called Dragon Heat as they have footage of him killing the yakuza. Fans of Ryu ga gotoku would know that Dragon Heat refers to Kiryu Kazuma's finishing moves.

Saishoku, jan ken....

Yes, Kurohyo is a martial arts dorama in the vein of old school B grade movies like American Kickboxer 2. Its even got the stupid all loser will be killed by the yakuza organisers story. With the mystery of who set Tatsuya up, the cute daughter of a yakuza boss, a hostess who has a thing for Tatsuya and lots of blood and MMA style fighting and you have the formula for what makes Ryu ga gotoku such an awesome series.

Ah, Jewel. I have spent so many hours and virtual money so that I can go karaoke and ping pong with the hostesses in Ryu ga gotoku.

The fighting in Kurohyo is pretty good. For some reason, we can only see good fighting in low budget shows like Kurohyo and Holyland and not in the more expensive mainstream doramas. Actually, for a low budget mightnight dorama, Kurohyo looks very good. There's lots of blood and the fighters end up with bruised faces which is something you don't usually see because censors are always ok with violence as long as the effects of it are not shown. Of course, Tatsuya gets a magical doctor who can heal his wounds quickly which is a necessary evil considering the amount of fights he gets into throughout the series. It is interesting to note that Iwagi Koichi and Haru play the same characters in the game and dorama.

I pretty much enjoyed the first 10 episodes of Kurohyo. Some minor plot holes did not detract from the awesome fighting, humour and eye candy. This was the world of Ryu ga gotoku. Guys being macho and cool, cute girls and lots of violence. If it were any manlier, I would have grown chest hair from watching it. It was really fun to see Kabukicho and recognise all the places from the game series. I never got around to going there when I was in Japan but it is an absolute must for my next trip. The shops and small alleyways in Champion district really do look the same in real life!

Is he going to turn on the water, untie her or touch her someplace other than her heart?

I was ready to declare Kurohyo a must watch when the big stupid twist is revealed at the end of episode 10. A twist so stupid and useless that I was praying that there would be a good explanation and pay off in the final episode. Sadly that didn't happen and then the climax of the final confrontation in the last episode was so fucking retarding that I am convinced it was the result of the writers not taking their happy pills. It so goes against the tone of the series. Why couldn't they have kept things simple?!!

This overtanned dude is Nagoshi, the producer of Ryu ga gotoku series.

Sigh. For Ryu ga gotoku fans and jdorama fans who are looking for some violence, this show is worth watching. Just make sure to prepare yourself for the last episode which will leave a bitter taste. Or better yet, don't watch the last episode. Hope the story of the game is different but with my backlog of games at the moment, it'll be a long while before I find out.

Why the long face when surrounded by two beauties? Probably because he's underaged and can't drink under Japanese laws.

Tatsuya's probably got a closet full of the same clothes.

Kita no Kuni Kara eps 1-10

When xploring first started subbing Kita no Kuni Kara, I was interested but the source files were edonkey links which I can't be bothered with and it was 24 episodes for a family dorama that was aired in 81. How good could it possibly be? All I can say is, I've learned this lesson: if someone decides to sub an old dorama that does not have a johnny, there is a huge likelihood that it is a classic.

The old man from Golden Bowl.

Kita no kuni kara is a story about single dad Kuroita Goro (Tanaka Kunie) who was born in a rural area near Furano in Hokkaido. He moves to Tokyo, gets married to a hairdresser Reiko (Ishida Ayumi) and they have two kids, Jun and Hotaru. One day, Reiko leaves the house to leave with the man she was having an affair with and Goro decides to take Jun and Hotaru to back to his old home for certain reasons.

Goro brings his Tokyo bred and born kids with him and suddenly they are faced with living in a wooden shed in the middle of nowhere, with no electricity and a nearby stream as the only source of water. Jun, the lazy and irresponsible son goes nuts. How does one survive with no freaking tv? I don't watch tv anymore but back in the day, television was the equivalent of internet. It was the time when the hot topic of discussion was whether tv was good or bad for kids. I'm pretty sure parents today would be happy if the only thing they had to worry about was whether their kids were watching too much tv.

That's Ishida Ayumi, the old lady from Wedding Planner and Home Drama back in her prime.

So the basic premise is single and recently divorced dad brings city kids to live in harsh climate of Hokkaido. The son is always whining and pouting which is understandable but the daughter Hotaru, is a daddy's girl who is always thinking about her dad. But what holds Kita no kuni kara together is Goro. After all these years, I now finally know who the old man Ogawa Makoto from Momusu was spoofing in all those skits.

Nakajima Tomoko, I think she was the vet in Ushi ni Negai.

Goro is the ultimate underdog. He is uneducated in the ways of the modern world but is an expert in living in the wild, which is part of the reason that he wants to raise his kids in Hokkaido. He never did anything for them through all their years in Tokyo and he wants to raise them using the only way he knows how. His stubbornness in his single minded attempt to provide for his kids by himself is admirable and you can feel how strongly Goro believes in what he is doing when he refuses help from the water and electricity department and insists on providing for his family through his own means.

Matsuda Miyuki, mom to Matsuda Shota and Ryuhei. They've probably been told how hot their mom was by countless fans.

Goro has that said stoic face that says a thousand words. I just love how everything is so understated. His reasons for coming back to Hokkaido and his relationship with Jun and Hotaru. Its all reading between the lines. The emotional scenes are really awesome with how raw they are. One of my favourite scenes is the Christmas lecture in episode 7. Its just a simple lecture by an uncle with the quiet hum of the car in the background, the camera mostly on the uncle with great reaction shots of the kids as they realised what he is telling him.
 

 Iwaki Koichi, the veteran pilot in Good Luck!

That scene reminded me of the climax of the jmovie Poppoya. Simple and raw and letting the build up and the actors carry the scene without sad music and neon lights camerawork pointing to the audience that it is suppose to be a moving scene. If this scene were done today, the uncle would be overacting thinking it would translate to passion. It is the normalcy of the delivery that makes it impactful. Plus, I'm pretty sure the uncle was in Battles without Honour and Humanity so the kids knew to listen attentively.

Nothing says 80s like indoor smoking and not caring about the kid.

The other star of the show is definitely the Hokkaido scenery. Makes me want to go there but on the other hand, I've seen the cows and rolling hills in so many movies and doramas that I'm too lazy. To me, Oyaji and Hitotsu Yane no Shita has always been the standard for family jdoramas but the first 10 episodes of Kita no Kuni Kara makes a strong point to be no.1. If you are a jdorama fan, this is a must watch because it is a classic. Big thanks to xploring for subbing 1-8 and to Chuks for continuing the series. You can easily grab the series from here.

Pro Golfer Hana ep 4

The coach is so hilarious. The rest of the show sucks especially the overacting villainess but I just want to fast forward to coach's story every episode. This is probably funnier if you've read/watched Ace wo Nerae which is a so bad its good dorama. I was laughing so hard I had to rewatch this scene straight away. Certainly made my day.