Woman eps 7+8

Eps 7 and 8 are two very different episodes. Ep 7 is mainly about Oguri Shun going back to see his mother. There's this contrived plot about how he write a letter to Koharu and left it at the tuckshop for Koharu to find years later. Either Oguri Shun's manager said, "He's not going to be in this dorama unless he's got substantial scenes" or Sakamoto Yuji decided that Woman needed to pad its story. The only plus thing from the Oguri Shun thing is his mom asking him why he hasn't gotten life insurance and he doesn't even have an answer for it.

Woman is the opposite of Going My Home. Going My Home had a simple and beautiful story that needed 6-8 episodes at most but got stretched to 10 but maintained its realistic and quaint feel. Woman has a straightforward story that is filled with needless distractions that as someone put it makes us realise that we're watching a dorama when most of the show is realistic and gripping. Its like a totally dramatic wrestling match where you believe they two wrestlers want to kill each other and then they do some stupid fake-looking spots that remind us oh, this is wrestling.

Poor Nozomi finding her mom on top of her own sister.

Episode 7 though starts with a great scene between Koharu and her mom. Koharu's mom knows she knows and runs through a gamut of responses from being nice to Koharu, to saying how happy she is to be here to pleading for Koharu to hate her.

Mitsushima Hikari and Tanaka Yuko killed this scene.

The ending scene of Koharu's mom zoning out cause Shiori left while Koharu finally tells her about her illness is also great but they should not have been in the same episode. There should have been more time for the anger and emotional confusion to breath. The Koharu vs sister scene was not a strong enough ending for ep 7 IMO and episode 8 should have been more of an exploration of the tension between Koharu and Shiori.

I really liked Shiori's line here which convinces Mr. Shinya Shokudo to continue living in his ignorance.

I'm just so happy that Shiori is out of the house. I didn't care about that throwaway scene with the classmate telling Shiori's mother why she was bullied. More Koharu and her mom is where this dorama should go. Despite my misgivings about two great scenes in one episode, episode 7 was riveting to watch notwithstanding my Oguri Shun should have been a chikan bias.

Woman might not reach the classic must watch status of Seredemo Ikite Yuku but the acting and directing is still better than most shows. I feel sorry for poor Mr Shinya Shokudo aka Namakemono-san. He is in the dark about everything and I want to see his reaction when he finds out. Meh for episode 7 and must watch for ep 8.

Limit eps 1-6

I was hoping for a Battle Royale lite dorama but Limit is less survival dorama and more about character archetypes and delving into their problems as the series progresses. You got Sakuraba Nanami as the former nice girl who was once betrayed and doesn't want to be betrayed again, Ogawa from Suzuki sensei playing Ogawa, bullied girl who overacts and turns crazy when she turns the tables etc.

Could have been better if execution were improved. You've gotta turn off your brain for some things but the dorama hasn't gone anywhere interesting though the ending of episode 6 did stir my interest. I can't even say it s watchable dorama. I'm only watching for Sakuraba Nanami and Ogawa but neither do anything interesting with their characters. Doesn't suck but not much to see here.

Keibuho Yabe Kenzo 2 eps 1-5

After Woman crashing and burning and Doctors 2 not reaching the heights of the first season, Yabe Kenzo 2 is turning out to the best dorama this season for me. Its kind of rare for a second season to be better than the first. I don't really remember how good the first season was. I only wrote a review for eps 1-3 and I don't think I considered it must watch in the end.

When I read that Kanjiya Shihori and the glasses dude were going to be replaced by a little girl, I was very skeptical. I think it worked out great. There are a few running jokes involving the girl, her dad the police chief and Yabe Kenzo every episode.

Leon? Lol.

The little girl still solves the cases but Yabe Kenzo's blind luck still plays an important role. In a way without Kanjiya Shihori and glasses dude, this feels more like Yabe Kenzo's dorama although the girl plays the same role that they did. I guess she doesn't have as much screen time as Yabe Kenzo does the information gathering and she pops up at the end to tell him the conclusion.

Episode 5 is just brilliantly funny. There's a comedic multiple assignation scene that was executed just brilliantly especially in terms of logistics. Jdoramas always have problems in terms spacing and making sense during actions scenes such as the ending of Sennyu Tantei Tokage and especially when there is stabbing involved. Kind of sad that I'm praising a jdorama for getting small things right though that was really an complicated sequence of events.

I was waiting for the quality of the episodes before passing judgement and so far, for the five episodes I declare Keibuho Yabe Kenzo 2 a must watch. The ending of ep 3 was really educational. Quality could drop or I may get tired of the running jokes but at least Yabe Kenzo won't do a Woman and try to be too many things. It knows what it is; a stupid comedy with a bumbling detective and does it very well.

On a gaming note, Ryu ga Gotoku Ishin's been announced. Yes, Kiryuu Kazuma is going to be Sakamoto Ryuma, lol. I love Ryu ga Gotoku Kenzan which was a retelling of Miyamoto Musashi's story. It was so fun cause I read Vagabond and have seen the dorama series. Sakamoto Ryomo, I know more as a supporting character from Jin. Its not like he has an epic rivalry with Sasaki Kojiro to look forward to. Kiryuu, I mean Ryuma is definitely going to fight some Shinsengumi. Can't bloody wait! Maybe he'll survive his assassination attempt and go on a Shinsengumi hunting spree. :)

Doctors: Saikyou no Meii 2 Ep 2 - 5

THE GOOD

- Moriyama trying to be a good guy is funny. Watching his true nature trying to come out every time is a hoot. And Ghandi of all people? Lol.

- Moriyama trying to hide his cat secret.

- Sagara's plan which starts happening in ep 5. Season 2 needed a main story and it's been hinted throughout the first 4 episodes and its finally happening. I'll like to see Sagara fail though. Could we see some opposition from Minagawa sensei? 

- Sagara letting nurse Miyabe in on his plan.

THE BAD

- Sagara sensei doing nothing clever in the first 4 episodes. He was basically blackmailing Moriyama. (to great effect I might add) Watching Sagara subtlely manipulate people using their emotions is what made the first season and the SP must watch shows. However, I like how he made the anesthetist his ally by appealing to his potential for good in ep 5.

THE UGLY

- The horrible acting from a lot of the young women playing patients or their family members. Obviously the casting director is not recruiting professionals.

SUMMARY

Moriyama single handedly kept the first four episodes afloat. Let's see what Fukuda Yasushi has in store with Sagara's plan this this time. I'll actually like to see Sagara fail in the end. Watchable with potential to be good.

Double Tone ~Futari no Yumi~ eps 2-6

I gave the first episode of Double Tone a must watch. The whole time travelling shared dreams with a mystery thing was brilliant. While in the end I can't rate it a must watch, I still think its a pretty good series.

Double Tone is less science fiction and more of a character based dorama. Afterall, the target audience for this show are the older women. We don't really get the do trying to change the past and random stuff happens in the future ie; all the usual stuff we get from time travel shows.

Its more about the two Yumis. One who knows she is about to die and one who is still dealing with death and them having this relationship despite having not met each other. What Double Tone is is a very efficient, straightforward dorama with a high concept. Nothing gets stretched out for too long, except for the creepy detective part.

What it needed to be a must watch in my eyes would be killer acting and directing which is decent but not close to Mitsushima Hikari level. I'd still recommend this dorama. Props to NHK for once again producing another smart and solid dorama aimed at older women, something other networks usually fail at.

On an unrelated note, Dragon's Crown is taking away all my time from doing everything else. Whoever thought that Golden Axe + online RPG would be so addictive...

Woman ep 6

It took me a while to muster enough motivation to watch this episode. For the first time, I did the retiming without really watching.  I guess I'm still bummed out by the not-a-chikan thing. I did another two attempts before I could sit down and watch it through.

I liked the scene in the beginning. Koharu hates her mom but has to do it for her kids. Koharu's mom knows she is lying and wants her out of their lives for Shiori's sake. Shiori the emotional zombie wants Koharu to stay probably because of her guilt except there is no hint of it.  The mom wants nothing of Oguri Shun in the house to torment the poor NEET but Mr. Shinya Shokudo is saying that this is what the mom actually wants. I like the fact everyone's doing stuff for their own reasons and wearing their own masks.

For Sakamoto Yuji to go this route, Shiori cannot be an expressionless girl. The audience needs to see hints of some sort of emotion trying to creep its way out of her mask because we're currently 100% inferencing her motivation and feelings. A good example would be Koharu's smile at her mom. Shiori acts like she's been smoking some weed and is chilling while listening to her music.

Its sweet but you can see she's forcing herself and she's holding something back.Maybe Mitsushima Hikari should have been playing Shiori. The doctors backstory is that his wife died of leukemia as well. Ho hum.

Then we get to the ending scene with Koharu's mom claiming responsibility for Oguri Shun's death who BTW has climed Everest which is a great feat. There's the question of how much of it is real. There's probably a part of her that feels responsible for Shiori's actions. Was it to explain why she doesn't want Oguri Shun's stuff in the house or to drive the point that she's not comfortable with Koharu around? I don't really care either way. A lot of the tension has been lost.

So Koharu is going back to Oguri Shun's hometown and to the delight of squealing fangirls, we will be getting more Oguri Shun flashbacks. For me, Woman has been derailed and lost all that tension from eps 1-3. One can only hope that it gets back on track and doesn't end up like Minna! Esper Dayo!

Lady Joker eps 2-7

Goddamit, there was no way I could stop watching after episode 3 and in the end jadefrost's review was very spot in. It starts off as a very exciting detective dorama but becomes overly ambitious in wanting to tackle a lot of issues. If you're waiting for the rest of the subs, be prepared for a drop in pacing. There are no spoilers in this review.

THE GOOD

- Good guys who are forced to make very difficult decisions and don't whinge about it. Its like Soratobu Taiya except there is no clear right path. The president has to balance his responsibility to Hinode Beer and its shareholders but also to his family members. You understand why he made the decisions he did.

- Never did it become preachy or the characters feel like they are talking at audience.

- Generally good acting throughout the show including from some actors who are prone to overacting. cough, guy above.

- The villains are portrayed as people and no one turns into gwahaha, muahaha I am evil.

- Mr Lan Evo as the bad cop is fun to watch.


- Akiko Yada and Motokariya Yuika keep my engaged when things are slow.

THE BAD

- Turns from action series with great characters to character dorama with minimal action/thing happening. I wasn't bored cause it had nice character moments but the excitement wasn't there anymore.

- The dialogue is bloody difficult to understand and watching with a dictionary in hand without Japanese subs doesn't help much.

THE UGLY

- Someone needs to tell the guy above that only Dragonball Z character furrow their eyebrows all the time.

- Hinode Beer president singing in the 80s.

I really want to give Abunai Keiji a try. Lol. Kamikawa Takaya was in it as well. The first five episodes were uploaded in 2005 so I doubt they're alive now.

SUMMARY

jadefrost's review pretty much prepared me for it. The WOWOW doramas losing steam curse strikes again. The only recent WOWOW show that had a great finish that comes to mind is Hitori Shizuka. Not must watch overall but man, the first four episodes were really good. I applaud the effort WOWOW. Now if only someone would sub Furueru Ushi.

Lady Joker ep 1

Applause for WOWOW. Once again, they have crafted a first episode that had me on the edge of seat figuratively even though I knew what was going to happen. There is something about WOWOW directing and acting that makes it miles ahead of almost everything else. Whether its having great directors,  a policy against overacting or an absense of idols, I just wish the other networks could have a similar standard in quality.

Of course, great first episodes don't make a good series. Suitei Yuuzai had a brilliant first episode and it turned out really bad. Jadefrost wrote a review and this is her summary;

While the story is intriguing and the acting is generally good, it is complicated, uneven in some parts and unwieldy because of the many characters and threads to bring together. Do not expect the kind of tension and exhilaration in Marks no Yama. I would choose to watch a WOWOW detective drama anytime over one from the other networks but it might have been better had they been more circumspect in the type of material to adapt to screen.

The first episode had the Marks no Yama thrill for me and I could see interesting conflicts being set up. Like Marks, Lady Joker was previously made into a movie as well. I'd rather it be unwieldy than talking at the audience (Gekiryuu) or just plain bad overacting (Hanzawa Naoki). On a side note, I just can't continue watching Hanzawa Naoki cause of the acting. Every fucking scene in ep 3 makes me want to scream, "Why do you have to overact so much as if its a slapstick comedy??!!!".

Jadefrosts' comments have encouraged me to temper my expectations although I am now riding a high as I type this. I can see where it can get way too complicated. There's kidnapping, industrial blackmail, discrimination, issues of haves and have-nots and the detective from Marks trying to uncover it all. The cast is godlike and its great to see Yada Akiko and Motokariya Yuika in bit parts.

Now the difficult question would be whether to continue watching it raw or wait for incyphe to finish subbing. If only WOWOW shows had Japanese subs. Don't miss yet another brilliant WOWOW first episode. I am ready for a drop in quality but hopefully it turns out to be a solid jdorama.

Woman ep 5

Awwwww, poor plant.

They kind of pulled a bait and switch with the ep 5 preview. I thought Koharu was going to tell Usuda Asami about her leukemia and it turned into Usuda Asami telling Koharu that she's divorced. Looks like Suzuki sensei finally did it with Ogawa Somi in real life, lol.

Gave me flashbacks to the Suzuki sensei movie church scene. lol

So Woman, which started out as a fractured relationship dorama is now just another leukemia dorama. I just can't get excited about that. The Japanese government should pass a law that there be no leukemia doramas for the next 10 years. Let's bring back the good old blind/deaf/limping/wheelchair cute girl doramas.

That said, Mitsushima Hikari killed the last scene. She can make the cheesiest lines believable because she says it with such conviction that I actually believe she will somehow beat this disease. However, one has to consider the fact that she has no money and will probably need to continue working to make ends meet. If anyone can make me sit through another fatal disease dorama, its Mitsushima Hikari.

 I like how the doctor underplayed his reaction to Mitsushima Hikari's performance.

Don't really care about the training doctor's story. She finally got her big scene today where she reveals her motivations and she's having first world problems compared Koharu so meh.

So we have this scene where Koharu's mom and step-sister completely ignore her and her kids. It doesn't work for me cause its not like they were on friendly terms to begin with. The relationship was not built up enough for the cold shoulder to mean anything. Its more like deep down, Koharu knows that her kids will either end up in an orphanage or with her mother.

Yes, why don't you. Plenty of trains in Japan or you can use the Tokyo Sky Tree.

I've still got not feelings towards Shiori. I like the mother-daughter moment where Shiori is whining and her mom's taking down her pictures and there's a playful moment. A mother's ability to love a monster of a child is an interesting subject to look at.

This was such a cruel scene.

The way I see Woman going is Shiori and her mom are going to find out about the leukemia, they are going to feel guilty and they are going to take care of the kids. I am going to have to stop thinking about what might have been an just enjoy the ride.

Actually after thinking about for a while, the whole reason for this leukemia thing is probably a bone marrow transplant from Shiori. Sakamoto Yuji chose leukemia for a reason and is probably shooting for the 'I hate you but I need your bone marrow' speech as the highlight of this series. Now if only I can figure out why he made Oguri Shun a mountaineer.