Influence Episode 1

 This WOWOW show had my attention at Suzuki Honami and Otsuka Nene.

 

It also has Hashimoto Kanna and Wakana Aoi. 

Suzuki Honami is a writer is Otsuka Nene writes a letter to her wanting to tell Suzuki Honami a story about her friendship with her two friends where they committed murder.

We get this flashback story about how Otsuka Nene's character played by Hashimoto Kanna meets her friends and how life was trying to fit in among the apartment residents.

In WOWOW fashion, some very dark stuff happens and we get an intriguing revelation at the end of the episode. Can't wait to watch the next one. Thanks to subie06 for subbing and you can get the raws from dramahd.me. Watchable and for people who like dark WOWOW shows.

Shitteru Wife Episodes 3~11

I enjoyed the first two episodes of Shitteru Wife and it was a decently watchable time travel love story.

The main character Zenzaki was annoying but as time went on I started to enjoy Shitteru Wife more and more and I would say it became my most anticipated jdorama every week.

Part of it is because Hirose Alice is pretty good and partly because Shitteru Wife does a good job of making me want to see the two main character together.

Romantic doramas are about putting interesting and fun obstacles in between two characters so that the audience wants to see them together and Shitteru Wife does a pretty good job.

Not nearly must watch but very very watchable feel good jdorama. Thanks to Citrinesubs for subbing and I downloaded the hardsubs from the website.

Poison Daughter Holy Mother Episodes 1+2

WOWOW has always churned out good jdoramas and the first two episodes of 2019's Poison Daughter Holy Mother is no exception.

The first episode is about this actress played by Adachi Rika who is trying to move from supporting actress to main actress and how her mother is controlling her life.

Like most WOWOW shows, the acting is great and it looks better than most jdoramas. 

The second episode is told from the mother's perspective and it was a very absorbing episode.

Not quite must watch but very good and if you are after some WOWOW goodness, Poison Daughter Holy Mother is highly recommended. Thanks to HPriest for subbing the series!

Uchi no Musume Kareshi ga Dekinai Episode 7

What a good episode! I was initially lukewarm on this series because it seemed like a fourth wall breaking, generic lots of ikemen jdorma with slight humour but the more I watch it the more I like the characters and episode 7 shows that the series has heart.

At the heart of Uchi no Musume is of course the cute mother daughter relationship between Kanno Miho and Hamabe Minami. Its a bit too cute and fluffy but and in episode 7 Kanno Miho shows why she is one of the best actresses in jdoramaland.

I am impressed with the casting of Hamabe Minami's parents. I really think they can't do any better!

The one character I feel sorry for is Gon-chan. He literally is the definition of a supporting character with nothing going for him. 

Uchi no Musume Kareshi ga Dekinai is turning into a pretty watchable jdorama!

Tengoku to Jigoku ~Saiko no Futari~ Episodes 1+2

By the jdorama gods, we actually have a show with a female detective over 25! It is amazing!

WHAT IS IT?

Tengoku to Jigoku is a body swap jdorama featuring a detective played by Ayase Haruka and a serial killer played by Takahashi Issei. The twist is that the detective in the killer's body has to stop him er herself from getting caught and forever ending up in prison so its a story of both helping each other to cover a crime and at the same time plotting their each other's downfall.

WHAT'S GOOD ABOUT IT?

There's nothing particularly good about Tengoku to Jigoku except I am happy to see Kitamura Kazuki and Nakamura Yuri who are my favourites. The tone of the show is slightly comedic but not really funny despite the heavy subject matter of a serial killer.

WHAT'S BAD ABOUT IT?

Nothing really except I don't care about either character after two episodes. Might give it another episode before giving up.

 WHERE CAN I GET IT?

You can get the raws from dramahd.me and the softsubs from softsub.net.

SUMMARY

Very meh first two episodes. The subtitle Saiko no Futari is actually 'the two psychos' so hopefully the series might get crazy after episode 3. For fans of Ayase Haruka and Takahashi Issei but otherwise nothing to see here.

Anonymous Episodes 1-4

One of the biggest news in Japan last year was the suicide of professional wrestler Kimura Hana after receiving a lot of online bashing from appearing on Terrace House. The case highlighted the fact that the barrage of anonymous online criticism can have detrimental effects on people and Anonymous seems to me is a response to that case.

Anonymous is special department that deals cyber bullying and trolling with Katori Shingo as the main character Banjo. Its a great acting gig for him because all he has to do is look grumpy and and not say any lines until the end of the episode.

The other main character is played by Sekimizu Nagisa and I just hate it when they cast yet another early 20s actress as a detective. I call it the Ueto Aya syndrome; casting actresses who are way to young to be surgeons/doctors etc because Japan can't possibly have a 30 something actress acting alongside an ojisan. Its bloody annoying because it must take years for a police officer to go from koban duty to detective.

Besides the annoying and idealistic main heroine, there is not much to complain here. The subject matter of online bashing is of interest to me. Nowadays we can see how powerful and how dangerous this online mob mentality is and should people be able to hide behind the veil of anonymity when spreading lies and venom?

Storyline wise, nothing stands out yet. I would say its a watchable jdorama for the subject matter but the show is nothing special. Watchable if the subject matter interests you.

Dance with me Jmovie review

I have been anticipating this movie since I read about it some time ago. After all, its not often you find a Japanese musical. The last one I remember seeing was Sono Sion's Tokyo Tribe which I hated.

Anyway, Miyoshi Ayaka is the main character in this movie who goes with her niece to see a hypnotist and is actually hynotised so that she must sing and dance whenever she hears any music.

Unfortunately for her, once she realises what had happened, the hypnotist has run away it basically turns into a road movie about finding oneself. 

There is one thing I don't like about Dance with Me and that is I don't think the movie makes full use of the concept. I expected it to go crazier and it felt like they could have made most of the movie with something else.

Its still a fun, feel good movie in the same vein as Swing Girls about being true to yourself and I had a fun time but keep your expectation low and don't expect too much from the concept. Watchable.

Cold Case Season 3 Episode 9

 

It is not often that the topic of race comes up in jdoramas. After all, Japan is a mostly homogeneous society. However racial issues are everywhere and its interesting whenever it comes to the forefront.

The murder victim in episode 9 of Cold Case is a Japanese war orphan. Left behind in China as a child, the victim was raised by a Chinese foster parent and discriminated by the Chinese for being Japanese.

The victim returns to Japan with his son and is discriminated by the Japanese for being Chinese and being able to work because he can't speak nor write.

It is the sad story of someone who is not accepted by both countries and does not have a place to belong.

Not a must watch episode but I found the war orphan thing interesting especially the Chinese foster parents who took the Japanese kids in the Japanese orphans going back to Japan even though they were culturally Chinese. 

Not must watch but I found the subject matter fascinating. I wonder what the story of the original series was about? I have to mention that I love the camaraderie between the characters.

Uchi no Musume wa, Kareshi ga Dekinai Episodes 1~3

Uchi no Musume wa, Kareshi ga Dekinai which translate to My Daughter can't get a Boyfriend is set in an alternate reality where Kanno Miho and Hamabe Minami are unlucky in love. 

Kanno Miho is a successful writer of love stories well past her heyday and Hamabe Minami is the daughter who is an otaku. 

Sawamura Ikki is Kanno Miho's childhood friend who runs a taiyaki shop and he looks like Toda Erika dangerous levels of skinny.

I did not find the three episodes funny, only slightly amusing but our two mains have decent chemistry.

Its not boring but its not exciting either as we watch the romance writer who is not good at romance fret over the romance problems of her otaku daughter.

I am watching because I like Kanno Miho and Sawamura Ikki. If you want an easy to watch mother daughter jdorama, this might be for you. Slightly watchable and thanks to aonousagi for the subs!

Kyouen NG Episode 1

 

Its a mystery how a show like Kyouen NG is not subbed Nakai Kiichi and Suzuki Kyoka in it as former lovers and famous actors who have never acted together since they broke up many years ago. Now they have to act together for the first time in ages in a new dorama and can the two actors who hate each other manage to work together?

I can watch Nakai Kiichi and Suzuki Kyoka fight all day. The question is will I be interested in all the other characters? The twist of the show is every other pair of actors in this new dorama are also kyouen NG aka hate each other and don't want to act together.

Looks like the hook of the show will be our main couple solving each pair's problems per episode. I am not super excited about the concept but I am willing to give it a shot. There is a version on Avistaz with Japanese subs so I recommend that one to make watching easier.

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.