JDorama review: Honey and Clover (TV)

Title: Honey & Clover Broadcast dates: 1/8/08 - 3/18/08 Genre: Romance, Slice of Life Cast: Narumi Riko, Ikuta Toma, Harada Natsuki, Mukai Osamu, Narimiya Hiroki Plot: A group of art students try to make sense of life and love. What is good: The characters seem a bit more human this time around. What is bad: The first half of the show is still pretty boring plot-wise. Letter rating: B - Overall: I've now watched the anime version, the movie version and the TV version of this franchise. Of those three, the television series is definitely the best version. I believe that is because the writers gave a little more humanity and depth to the characters. Ikuta Toma, who played Takemoto Yuta, is a great comedic actor. As such, he was able to make all the crappy things that happen to his character seem a bit less apocalyptic but the big changes still had a big impact. Also, Narumi Riko's Hagu has a lot less creepy than any of the other versions. I'm not sure how she did it but she took a very creepy, little-girl-looking character and transformed her into a shy woman who is plopped into a strange new world. So, while I'm still not a huge Honey and Clover fan, I'd definitely watch this version more than once.

JDorama review: First Kiss

Title: First Kiss Broadcast date: 7/9/07 - 9/17/07 Genre: Romance Number of episodes: 11 Cast: Inoue Mao, Ito Hideaki, Hiraoka Yuta, Matsuyuki Yasuko, Gekidan Hitori, Abe Sadao Plot: Mio (Inoue Mao) is a young girl with a heart condition. She agrees to a complicated surgery that will either save or kill her. Before the surgery, she visits her older brother Kazuki (Ito Hideaki) for one last summer of fun. He promises to help her find her first love in order to show her that life isn't as bad as she thinks it is. What is good: All of the actors did a great job. What is bad: The show has an extremely slow start. Letter rating: C+ Overall: I started watching this show months ago. After the first three episodes, I just couldn't bring myself to watch more of it. It wasn't until I decided that I had to finish it that I sat through the rest of the episodes. I really enjoyed the acting in the show but I felt bad that the material they were given wasn't very good. The Mio character spends a majority of the time as a spoiled little girl and even when she learns that she's being a bitch, she still doesn't want to change her ways. Her brother, Kazu, mostly caters to her every whim and when he decides to stand up against her, he feels overly guilty about it. The show did get a bit better toward the end though it's really not worth sitting through the first half of the series just to get to it.

Jdorama review: Nodame Cantabile Shinshun Special in Europe

Title: Nodame Cantabile Shinshun Special in EuropeBroadcast date: 1/4/08 - 1/5/08 Genre: Romantic Comedy Number of episodes: 2 Cast: Ueno Juri, Tamaki Hiroshi, Becky, Wentz Eiji Plot: Nodame and Chiaki have moved to Paris to continue their musical schooling. Chiaki competes in a conducting competition while Nodame tries to figure out what she wants to do with her talent. What is good: Watching both Nodame and Chiaki evolve into a true couple What is bad: The secondary characters aren't nearly as interesting as the ones from the series. Letter rating: A- Overall: This was a very good ending to the live action series. It has a definite ending that doesn't leave any questions beyond "where will their lives go now?" I thought that both Ueno Juri and Tamaki Hiroshi did fabulous jobs as Nodame and Chiaki. While I am now addicted to the show and would love to see more, the specials did give us a definite ending that I am happy with. I can definitely see myself watching the entire series over and over again.

JDorama review: Nodame Cantabile

nodame.jpg Title: Nodame Cantabile Broadcast date: 10/16/06 - 12/25/06 Genre: Romantic Comedy Number of episodes: 11 Cast: Ueno Juri, Tamaki Hiroshi, Eita, Koide Keisuke, Takenaka Naoto Plot: Noda Megumi, despite her extremely unusual behavior, is a piano prodigy. However, she wants to become a kindergarten teacher. Chiaki Shinichi is a musical perfectionist and Nodame's (Noda's nickname) next door neighbor. Nodame falls madly in love with Chiaki but can he ever accept someone as strange as this girl? What is good: Ueno Juri and Tamaki Hiroshi both shine in their respective roles as Nodame and Chiaki What is bad: There wasn't anything particularly bad about the show. Letter rating: A Overall: From the first episode, I was hooked on this series. Besides having a good mix of comedic and romantic moments, there was some really good classical music. My favorite moment was when the S-Oke performed "Rhapsody in Blue." This is the first time that I have seen Ueno Juri (Nodame) and Tamaki Hiroshi (Chiaki) perform and, I must admit, I was impressed by their acting abilities. There are quite a few sight gags that require a lot from the actor. Both of them pulled it off very well. I'm looking forward to watching the specials as soon as I can.

Jdorama review: Taiho Shichauzo

taiho-shichauzo.jpgTitle: Taiho Shichauzo Translation: You're Under Arrest Broadcast date: 10/17/02 - 12/12/02 Genre: Police comedy Cast: Ito Misaki, Hara Sachie Plot: Based on the best-selling manga, this is the story of Natsumi (Ito) and Miyuki (Hara), two outrageous female traffic police officers. What is good: The cast had pretty good chemistry with each other. What is bad: Most of the episodes are boring. Letter rating: C- Overall: I watched this show in the hopes that Ito Misaki had the ability to play a character that isn't a shy, submissive Japanese woman. She definitely pulled it off here. Natsumi is the complete opposite of Ito's Aoyama Saori from Densha Otoko. The problem here isn't the acting. It's that the stories are fairly boring. The show starts off well with Natsumi and Miyuki kicking a lot of criminal ass but then it swerves away from that. Yes, they still get into fights once in awhile. They just aren't the same as the fights from the early episodes. And by the end of the series, Natsumi is using guns instead of her fists. Considering there are only nine episodes in the series, the transition from "wild girls" to "sweethearts of the police station" goes quickly.

If you're a fan of the manga or the anime version, you might enjoy this. However, don't expect anything particularly deep to come out of it. We never really get to know the girls beyond their deep friendship for each other. It would have been nice to get into why Natsumi was so violent or why Miyuki likes cars so much. Alas, we are left with the "because this is how they are" type of reasoning for everything. At least the studio didn't try to drag this out for 26 episodes.

A third season of Gokusen!

I absolutely loved the first season of Gokusen. The second season wasn't nearly as good. Despite that, it has been announced that there will be a third season premiering in April. I hope that they don't make the same mistake they did with the second. Maybe they will change things up a little instead of making it a direct rehash of the first season. (Though it wouldn't hurt if they brought back MatsuJun!) Luckily, Nakama Yukie will be back in her role as Yankumi.

Jmovie review: Honey & Clover

honeyclover.jpg Title: Honey & Clover Release date: 7/22/06 Genre: Romance, Slice of Life Cast: Sakurai Sho, Aoi Yuu, Seki Megumi, Kase Ryo, Iseya Yusuke Plot: A group of art students try to make sense of life and love. What is good: The acting isn't terrible. What is bad: It takes a long time for the movie to get even vaguely intersting. Letter rating: C- Overall: I haven't read the manga that this movie is based on but I have seen the anime adaptation, which I thought was mind-numbingly boring. The movie is pretty much the same. There were some minor changes from the anime version. I chalk this up to the fact that the movie is only about 2 hours long while the anime ran for 26 half-hour episodes. Either way, I'm guessing the source material is as boring as the two adaptations. We aren't given any real reason to care about these characters or why we should be pulling for them to be successful in their lives. When the characters begin to get interesting, they all stop talking to each other, tossing us back to not caring anymore. This much be fairly popular in Japan since there will be a drama series starting next year. I can only hope that the drama will give a little more oomph to the characters.

Jdorama review: Maison Ikkoku

maisonikkoku.jpgTitle: Maison Ikkoku Broadcast date: 5/12/07 Genre: Romance Cast: Itoh Misaki, Nakabayashi Taiki, Kishimoto Kayoko, Kishibe Ittoku, Takahashi Yumiko Plot: Godai (Nakabayashi Taiki) is a rounin, a student who has failed his college entrance exams, with obnoxious neighbors distracting him from studying. When Otonashi Kyoko (Itoh Misaki) becomes the new apartment building manager and moves in, Godai falls in love with her at first sight. He hopes to pass his college entrance exam so he can win her heart. What is good: It stays true to the anime. What is bad: It is boring. Letter rating: D Overall: I did not like the Maison Ikkoku anime. While I generally like romance stories, this seemed to be about people who were either complete losers or completely oblivious to the world around them. This drama sticks close to that synopsis. Very little got accomplished in this two hour drama. We were introduced to some characters and one plotline was completed. Everything else is left hanging. It felt like this was a prologue to a new series or possibly the beginning of a series of specials.

I wish there would have been a bit more external conflict in the series. As it is, almost all of the conflict in the story takes place within Godai. Even the annoying neighbors don't present any real conflict since Godai just lets them walk all over him. If you are a fan of Maison Ikkoku, you might enjoy this but don't expect to get any resolution out of it.

JDorama review: Hanazakari no Kimitachi e

hanakimi.jpgTitle: Hanazakari no Kimitachi e Also known as: HanaKimi Translation: For You In Full Blossom Broadcast date: 7/3/07 - 9/18/07 Genre: Romantic comedy Cast: Horikita Maki, Oguri Shun, Ikuta Toma Plot: Ashiya Mizuki (Horikita Maki) is a Japanese girl living in America. When her idol, athlete Sano Izumi (Oguri Shun), stops competing in the high jump, she moves to Japan to attend his all-boy high school in order to make him jump again. What is good: Ikuta Toma steals absolutely every scene that he is in. What is bad: It seems that Oguri Shun can only play one type of character. Letter rating: A Overall: I really enjoyed watching HanaKimi. While I started watching the show because it starred Oguri Shun, Ikuta Toma stole my heart. He was able to pull off goofy yet heart-warming at the same time. I'd like to see him in a ton of other projects. I was a little disappointed in Oguri Shun's performance. I've seen a couple of his roles now and they all seem to be exactly the same - a cute yet distant loner. It would be nice if we could try something a bit different for once. Sadly, I don't have much to say about Horikita's Ashiya. Sure, the character was determined and charismatic but she just didn't seem to come together totally. It was almost as if we, the audience, were missing something about her.

I would like to see a special episode though. I won't give away the ending for the show but it definitely leaves an opening for an awesome one-shot special. This is definitely a show that everyone should check out.