Title: akihabara@DEEP Broadcast date: 6/19/06 Number of episodes: 11 Genre: Action and Adventure Cast: Kazama Shunsuke, Ikuta Toma, Himura Yuuki, Hoshino Gen, Matsushima Hatsune, Kosaka Yuka, Honjou Manami, Kitamura Kazuki Plot: A group of otaku come together to form a troubleshooting company. They try their best to solve the problems of the people in Akihabara. What is good: Kitamura Kazuki is an awesome villian What is bad: Maybe it's because the concept of Japanese otaku is so foreign but they seemed to overreact to just about everything. Letter rating: A+ Overall: I went into this series expecting something along the lines of Densha Otoko. However, I think this is so much better because it doesn't revolve around the life of one person. You have six people, each with some sort of oddity. Each of them turned to a website, Yui's Lifeguard, in order to help them live their daily lives. It's through this website that they come together and become friends. It was really awesome to watch these people grow into something more than just otaku. They really become close friends.

On the other side, you have Nakagomi Takashi (Kitamura Kazuki) as the bad guy. Kitamura played the bad guy in the latest Densha Otoko special. I think he may be getting a little too close to his otaku side! While Nakagomi is a creepy character, Kitamura plays him perfectly. He really was my favorite character here.

I would recommend this series to anyone interested in the otaku culture. You may not understand a lot of things if you don't have at least a tiny grasp of what otaku means to the Japanese people. "Otaku" in America is very different from "otaku" in Japan. If you can make that distinction, I think you would really enjoy the series.

Title: Bambino
Broadcast date: 4/18/07 - 6/27/07
Number of episodes: 11
Genre: Cooking drama
Cast: Matsumoto Jun, Fukiishi Kazue, Karina, Sato Ryuta, Uchida Yuki, Kitamura Kazuki, Sasaki Kuranosuke
Plot: Shogo Ban is a college student with dreams of becoming a professional cook. After working at an Italian restaurant in his hometown, he is sent to Tokyo in order to learn more. Once there, he learns that realizing your dream is not always as easy as one might think.
What is good: Kitamura Kazuki steals the spotlight as the head of the dining room at Trattoria Baccanale
What is bad: It would be nice if Ban (Matsumoto Jun) had more than two emotions.
Letter rating: B-

Overall: A lot of MatsuJun's roles revolve around his prettiness. This isn't an exception. The show is filled with close-up shots of him licking his lips or being contemplative. Once in awhile, we're treated to a genuine smile. The role of Ban (aka Bambinp/Bambi) doesn't require a lot of work on his part. He is either really excited or really depressed with little to nothing in between. While the older characters in the show chalk it up to being young, it gets old after awhile.

Yet it's still easy to get swept up in the magic of the restaurant. Yonamine Tsukasa (Kitamura Kazuki) spends his time dazzling the ladies in the dining room while the kitchen workers manage to get through a long busy day without even getting a spot of sauce on their white shirts. Adding to that magical feeling is the lack of time progression. There is only one point in the show where the audience is filled in on how much time has passed. The rest of the time we are left to assume this is a daily grind for the characters.

I found Bambino to be a decent show that is mostly carried by the secondary characters. There is little reason to care about Ban beyond "you're supposed to." It's definitely more fun to watch the interactions between the eccentric dessert chef and everyone else or the three managers of the restaurant. Even though I know the main theme of the show was "work hard to follow your dreams," I felt somewhat unfulfilled at the end. I would have liked to see Ban grow a bit more, not only as a person but also as a professional chef. Hopefully there will be a special showing that Ban can really transform into a master chef.