泣かないと決めた日 Naka nai to Kimeta Hi – Release Jan 10

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Japan Drama Story:
Tsunoda Miki (Eikura Nana) 榮倉奈々just graduated from university and was lucky to get hired by a big company. Tsunoda Miki (Eikura Nana) 榮倉奈々 is very happy and looking forward to start her working life anxiously. Now that Tsunoda Miki (Eikura Nana) 榮倉奈々 already secured a job in a big company, her future seems bright and things will be great. Unfortunately she learned that working place is totally the opposite of what she imagined in the first working day. Since the first day she starts working, Tsunoda Miki (Eikura Nana) 榮倉奈々 did not mix well with her colleague and worst of all becomes the target of bullies. Even her friend that she met who starts working in the company same time gives her a hard time without her noticing. As she started to lose faith and decided to quit her job, she realized that despite so many people did not believe her and hate her, there is still someone who can understand her and recognize her ability. From that day onwards, Tsunoda Miki (Eikura Nana) 榮倉奈々decided to stop crying and start fighting to win her spot in the company. She will not quit as her family is depending on her.

Feelings and comments:
I suppose the first important ability the main cast must have is cry. No doubt Eikura Nana (榮倉奈々) fits the criteria as she’s always been the one that cry easily in most emotional functions. There are total of 8 episodes in this drama. It’s a bit short but still I think it’s just enough as the story is simple. No point to drag on the bully scene as that’s just going to make viewers uncomfortable to keep on watching.
    The first job in our first year of working in a company, especially a big company is always the toughest time. That’s because we have to adjust from study life to working life. Normally it takes at least few weeks or months. It’s not just physically needs to adjust to the 8am~5pm working stamina, mentally we need to take on learning, lecturing, pressuring, forcing and sacrificing situation. These are just some of the changes occur that we need to face. At the end of the day, there can be only two results. Either we are able to fit in to the working society and find a spot which we have a value towards company or we surrender the fight and quit. I still remember the first month that I work in the big company SONY. For the first week of work, I slept right after I’m off at 5:30pm. I fall sick a lot for the first 6 month as my body are not use to the working environment. I made lots of crazy and stupid mistakes that cost millions of dollars to the company. My immediate superior spends lots of time lecturing me because when I cause a trouble or a mistake, he is responsible for it. It was quite an experience but right after I get through it, things become a lot easier. It might be hash and difficult at the beginning, but when you stand strong and don’t quit easily, good things will happen eventually. When that happens, it is considered a priceless treasure to you.
    There are lots of things that cannot be done in just one day. We just have to keep on working on it step by step until we complete it. The basic concept of working in a company is team work. It’s mostly impossible to get your job done by just yourself. Even if you’re capable of doing it alone, it’s going to be tough and time consuming. You need to work as a team member and get help from other colleagues so that the work can be done in shorter time, better quality, easily and most of all fun working on it.

Things that caught my eyes:
It’s great to be able to go up until the top floor of the building. Especially during working hour, it sure is a great place to release tension. Normally I don’t think security of the building will allow any people to go up there as those are the spots where people commit suicide.

Japan Drama Rating:
Nice to watch. A simple story that translates first working year is the most difficult period. Still we cannot run away but continue to fight for a spot to survive in the working society.

Purchase:
Original Soundtrack, 2010 Japanese Drama : Naka nai to Kimeta Hi w/ Eng Sub

Drama Theme Song: Don’t cry anymore by Miwa

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オルトロスの犬Orthros no Inu – Release July 09

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Japan Drama Story:
Aoi Ryosuke (Nishikido Ryo) 錦戸亮 has the ability to kill a person by just touching the victims. He is known as the person who possesses “The Hand of Demon”. As Aoi Ryosuke (Nishikido Ryo) 錦戸亮 tries to help a female detective name Hasebe Nagisa (Mizukawa Asami) 水川あさみ, he uses his power to kill a person. That is when his power is reveal to Hasebe Nagisa (Mizukawa Asami) 水川あさみ. With this enormous ability, lucky that Aoi Ryosuke (Nishikido Ryo) 錦戸亮 is just a high school teacher rather than a serial killer. He even turns himself in to the police but no conviction is done as there is no way to confirm his killing method. As detective Hasebe Nagisa (Mizukawa Asami) 水川あさみ digs deeply into this incident, she found out there is another person name Ryuzaki Shinji (Takizawa Hideaki) 滝沢秀明who possesses similar ability but in an opposite way. Ryuzaki Shinji (Takizawa Hideaki) 滝沢秀明 who is imprison by the authorities under death row has the ability to heal by touching. He is known as the person who possesses “The Hand of God”. When detective Hasebe Nagisa (Mizukawa Asami) 水川あさみ brought both “The Hand of God” and “The Hand of Demon” together to solve the mystery within she initialize an enormous disaster to human being.

Feelings and comments:
Sometimes I’m amazed by the ability of some actors that can bring out the best of a simple drama story or script. To be honest the story of this drama is predictable and similar stories have been told over thousands of times but still the outcome of this drama is not as bad as I think. Perhaps we just can’t really predict the results until the drama is air. That goes the same to movies. Some low budget and poor rating movies or dramas might just create unexpected high viewing rates.
    It’s interesting to imagine a person that has healing power or killing ability. It’s natural that public will reject the one that has killing ability and afraid of it. The public will accept the one with healing ability. It’s just a normal human nature reaction. Having the ability to heal and kill can actually create a large disturbance. It will affect the balance of the society and the concept of life we have. As there is someone that can heal and cure any injuries and diseases, we might not be careful with our life. People will start taking higher risk. Medical treatment might not be necessary and a must. Lots and lots of changes will take place if such a person with healing power existed. Is it a good thing or a bad thing? I’m not sure but definitely it will create some impact.
    Similarly scenario can be applied to those who have special ability and talent. For sure people will make full use or take advantage on the special ability or talent. When one is needed, then there is a value towards others. I suppose in another way of speaking, the value is define as salary. But still the only one that decides whether to use the ability or talent reminds within the person. The larger the impact or effect of the ability or talent, the greater the value it is.

Things that caught my eyes:
The cell that used to imprison Ryuzaki Shinji (Takizawa Hideaki) 滝沢秀明 reminds me of an Academy Awards winning picture The Silence of The Lambs. Trigger by the similarities between the famous movie and this drama, it increases the mysterious aura within. The conversation, the intention, the mystery and of cause the ability of the actors makes this drama successful.

Japan Drama Rating:
Nice to watch. It’s a clear simple story, pretty much like a fictional comic style story but what’s make it special is the actors. It’s their acting performance that keeps me continue watching this drama until the end.

Purchase:
Orthros No Inu Japanese Tv Drama with English Subtitles NTSC all region

Drama Theme Song: Hikari Hitotsu by Takizawa Hideaki

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魔女裁判Majo Saiban – Release April 09

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Japan Drama Story:
Yoshioka Toru (Ikuta Toma) 生田斗真 is a part timer who don’t have an actual job. He design and sell T shirt but business is not good. One day Yoshioka Toru (Ikuta Toma) 生田斗真 is chosen as one of the juror in a trial. Yoshioka Toru (Ikuta Toma) 生田斗真 and 7 other jurors are being selected in a trail of a murder case which involved a single mother who inherited a large amount of money. As the trial begins, strange things began to happen around the jurors. It seems a mysterious party trying to control the outcome of the trial by threatening the jury. In order to fight against the treats, Yoshioka Toru (Ikuta Toma) 生田斗真 teams up with one of the jurors - Watabe Izumi (Kato Ai) 加藤あい. In the other hand, Yoshioka Toru (Ikuta Toma) 生田斗真’s action are being watch closely as the mysterious party uses every tricks they can to control the results of the trial. That includes Yoshioka Toru (Ikuta Toma) 生田斗真’s girl friend Motomiya Kaori (Higa Manami) 比嘉愛未who is a newspaper reporter.

Feelings and comments:
There is a movie call Runaway Jury which is almost similar to this drama. Compare to the movie I think this drama still lack of the excitement. I suppose this type of topic still consider new to Japan.
    Trial by Jury, I think not every country can carry out such a process. The first qualification of being a juror is able to make decision or takes an opinion without having to influence by others. It takes a certain level of mental maturity to take on such a task. That’s because the faith or the life of a person may just depends on a simple “guilty or not” conclusion. I haven’t been to a trial nor become a juror before but I understand the responsibility within.
    Everybody has at least a secret. Some of us might do anything just to keep the secret safe. Especially if the secret might affect the benefits or welfare of a person, one can becomes selfish. If one discovers the dark secret of a person, it can be use against that person. It’s a mind game that we can easily encounter in politics, society and working area.

Things that caught my eyes:
The T shirt is a bit annoying but I’m surprise that they give it away as a gift.

Japan Drama Rating:
Interesting to watch. This drama air right before the actual jury system starts in Japan. It gives us a lot of room to think and compare the differences of jury system between Japan and US. This drama is a good way to inform and educate the jury system to the public in Japan.

Purchase:
Original Soundtrack, 2009 Japanese Drama : - Majo Saiban - W/ English Subtitle

Drama Theme Song: Keshin by Fukuyama Masaharu

Japan Drama Preview:

サムライ・ハイスクールSamurai High School – Release Oct 09

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Japan Drama Story:
Mochizuki Kotaro (Miura Haruma) 三浦春馬 is a simple high school student who is not serious about anything including his life. One day he came to a strange library and was introduce to an ancient book regarding a young samurai who die 400 years ago. The young samurai has the same name as Mochizuki Kotaro (Miura Haruma) 三浦春馬. As he started to read the book, strange things began to happen. According to his father Mochizuki Shinji (Kishitani Goro) 岸谷五朗, their ancestors seems to be a brave samurai who has the same name as Mochizuki Kotaro. Later Mochizuki Kotaro (Miura Haruma) 三浦春馬 was involved in an accident when trying to help his friends Nakamura Tsuyoshi (Shirota Yu) 城田優 and Nagasawa Ai (Anne) 杏. During the accident Mochizuki Kotaro (Miura Haruma) 三浦春馬 was unconscious and his body was taken over by the spirit of his ancestor samurai.

Feelings and comments:
The topic of personality change or character switch within a body is always a favorite idea for TV drama or movie. In this drama you can see a change within 2 souls in a body. No doubt this type of story has a certain guarantee of viewing rate. People are always curious on how it happens.
    I’m a bit disappointed in this drama because this type of topic can be very funny and fun to watch. Lots of humors and jokes can be included when an ancient samurai 400 years old was brought back to present. Instead this drama chooses to have serious teaching and lesson about life as the main theme. Unfortunately the drama is still unable to make a big impression with the couching from Mr. Samurai. 
    It doesn’t matter which year or which era you’re living. Life itself is a nonstop continues fighting from the day we’re born. We either confront the challenge and fight to survive or we just let things around run our life. We often said that history repeats itself. That is why we study history. So that we don’t make the same mistakes again, and we also learned that we have to fight in order to survive.

Things that caught my eyes:
It seems the makeup and dresses really help in changing a person. No doubt the acting ability comes first but still you can see the difference instantly if you add up all the small details. This drama really tests the acting ability of the main cast.

Japan Drama Rating:
Fun to watch. This is another character switch type drama. The main focus on this type of drama is the ability of main cast who can act between two different people.

Purchase:
2009 Japanese Drama : Samurai High School w/ Eng Sub

Drama Theme Song: Kodoku no Taiyo by monobright

Japan Drama Preview: