Sunday, January 31, 2010

Karei naru Spy華麗なるスパイ– Release July 09

 

Kumo Japan Drama sneak!!

Japan Drama Story:
Yoroi Kyosuke (Nagase Tomoya) 長瀬智也 used to be a swindler who cons people for their money. He was later captured and found guilty of 13 felonies. One day Japan government approached Yoroi Kyosuke (Nagase Tomoya) 長瀬智也 and offers him a deal of eliminating all his felonies if he works as a spy for the government. His job is to protect Japan from the threats of terrorist. Using his imitation ability, he started to work with government top secret agents. His partner Dorothy (Fukada Kyoko) 深田恭子 is one of the elite international spy. Together they stop the attacks of terrorist against Japan.

Feelings and comments:
No doubt Nagase Tomoya (長瀬智也) is funny. The problem with this drama is that the title and story line are too dull. Some of the jokes are very cold too. Still this drama is able to squeeze some laughing face out from you. Another attraction is Fukada Kyoko (深田恭子) with her sexy outfits. Just calculate how many cloths and costumes that she wears throughout the entire drama and you’ll be surprise.
    We often listen or watch news about terrorist incident happens around the world. The only thing that I can feel about it is fear. I suppose the threats of terrorist are no difference than natural disasters.

Things that caught my eyes:
The cross necklaces around Yoroi Kyosuke (Nagase Tomoya) 長瀬智也 really bugs me. He has to grab the cross before using his imitation ability. That just looks almost the same like the transformation of Kamen rider.

Japan Drama Rating:
Fun to watch. Nagase Tomoya (長瀬智也) is very good at comedy drama. His reaction always gives me a good laugh.

Purchase:
Original Soundtrack, 2009 Japanese Drama : Karei Naru Spy w/ Eng Sub

Drama Theme Song: Taiyo to Sabaku no Bara by TOKIO

Japan Drama Preview:

Sunday, January 24, 2010

Dandy Daddy? ダンディ・ダディ? – Release July 09


Kumo Japan Drama sneak!!

Japan Drama Story:
Izaki Ryunosuke (Tachi Hiroshi) 舘ひろし is a famous romance novelist. His novels are popular and he has lots of female fans. As Izaki Ryunosuke (Tachi Hiroshi) 舘ひろし novels are mainly about love and romance, he is also known as the expert in love and relationship. When it comes to love, he has all the answers. But when it comes to the relationship of his teenage daughter Izaki Akari (Minamisawa Nao) 南沢奈央, he totally becomes a father that over protects his child. At the beginning Izaki Akari (Minamisawa Nao) 南沢奈央 has no intention of starting a relationship. After a misunderstanding by his father and some crazy action taken by his father, she begins to date a young man name Kobayakawa Yuki (Ishiguro Hideo) 石黒英雄. This is the last thing that his father hopes for.

Feelings and comments:

The story of this drama is simple. It’s all about a playboy father that loves his daughter very much. Well, It’s actually former playboy father who over protects his daughter. What makes the story interesting is that the father is an expert of love that writes novels about romance. At most time the words of the father don’t match his action when it’s related to his daughter. That’s the funniest part in this drama.
There are another two couple of father and daughter relationship too, just that it’s not the main focus in this drama. But these additional relationships do makes this drama better. I think it helps to bring out the word “Cherish” to the viewers.
Honestly I think most fathers are like that. Perhaps I might not be able to understand fully until I myself become a father. That goes the same of being a mother too. Sometimes parents push too hard until children bounce back and hate them. Still no matter what, the bloodline is there. There’s always room for forgiveness between parents and children.

Things that caught my eyes:
I like the part where the father always tear the papers apart and tape it together later on. Whenever he thinks about the things that might happen to his daughter, he does it again. That’s not just any papers. It’s his work that he’s supposed to submit.

Japan Drama Rating:
Nice to watch. This is a warm hearted drama about a father that loves his daughter too much.

Purchase:

2009 Japanese Drama : Dandy Daddy w/ Eng Sub

Drama Theme Song: Sunrise ~LOVE is ALL~ by Hamasaki Ayumi

Japan Drama Preview:

Sunday, January 17, 2010

Ninkyo Helper任侠ヘルパー – Release July 09

Kumo Japan Drama sneak!!

Japan Drama Story:
Tsubasa Hikoichi (Kusanagi Tsuyoshi) 草彅剛 is a yakuza whose territory located at Roppongi. His theme of being a yakuza is to help the weak and those who needed help. Still he feels it’s getting difficult for yakuza to make a living in this modern world without cheating or breaking the law. One day he was call by his boss for an election of a higher ranking in the group. It turns out that he has to undergo a special test together with 5 other yakuza candidates. Only one out of six of them will be elected for the position. Their test is to work as helper in the elderly care facilities which situated in enemy territory.

Feelings and comments:
It’s been a while that I have not encountered a good drama until now. This drama can be considered one of the best that I’ve seen in months. I saw a lot of Kusanagi Tsuyoshi (草彅剛) dramas and I have to say, I never expect him to be so good in this drama. He totally stands out from all other characters.
No doubt it’s difficult to survive in this world, which includes Yakuza too. Perhaps the only way to earn a living is to equip ourselves with knowledge. It’s not just knowledge but the basic foundation that enables us to keep on learning and improving. That includes realizing the changes around the society. As for this case it’s the increase of the elderly people in society.
People get old. What do we do when our parents become old? Send them to elderly care facility or take care of them ourselves? These are the questions that we will face eventually. Perhaps there is no right answer. We just have to do what is best for all, meaning for the benefits of ourselves and our parents. Sacrifice the life of either one side is not going to help.

Things that caught my eyes:
I wonder how they make the tattoo looks real. At the end, it’s the acting of Kusanagi Tsuyoshi (草彅剛) that caught my attention.

Japan Drama Rating:
Worth watching. I’m surprise to see how talented Kusanagi Tsuyoshi (草彅剛) is. His acting really makes me continue watching and finished the drama. This drama also reflexes the elderly care problem Japan faces, or should I say we all are facing.

Purchase:
Original Soundtrack, 2009 Japanese Drama : Ninkyo Helper w/ Eng Sub

Drama Theme Song: Sotto Kyutto by SMAP

Japan Drama Preview:

Sunday, January 10, 2010

Buzzer Beatブザー・ビート – Release July 09

Kumo Japan Drama sneak!!

Japan Drama Story:
Kamiya Naoki (Yamashita Tomohisa) 山下智久 is a professional basketball player. He is good but still unable to give his best performance on the basketball court. His has a girl friend name Nanami Natsuki (Aibu Saki) 相武紗季 who is a cheerleader and works in the basketball team management. Shirakawa Riko (Kitagawa Keiko) 北川景子 is a violinist who struggle to become a professional. Temporally she has to work in a bookstore until she finds a job that suits her professional. One day Kamiya Naoki (Yamashita Tomohisa) 山下智久 accidentally left his cell phone in the bus and was later found by Shirakawa Riko (Kitagawa Keiko) 北川景子. Faith brought them together but they both have somebody else next to them. It wasn’t long until both of them knew that they were meant for each other.

Feelings and comments:
I like to play basketball and always keep tracks on the NBA news. This gives me a lot of knowledge and reasons to pick on this drama. Not that I intentionally want to criticize on this drama just that it’s easy for me to spot if they really are good in basketball. They might not be as good as professional basketball players but they definitely work hard on their shooting skills. Well, at least the drama is able to capture some good action.
As for the violin part, honestly I’m not sure. I just love the music that often practice by Shirakawa Riko (Kitagawa Keiko) 北川景子. Not sure if she really play that music.
As for the romance part, it’s sweet but nothing exciting. I’m actually attracted by Nanami Natsuki (Aibu Saki) 相武紗季. Her acting of being a bad girl friend image really stands out. I think we will see more of her drama later.
Overall I think there are too many stuff in the drama, for example French toast, basketball, violin, advertisement board and the sun flower. It just doesn’t have a good icon that really stands out special.

Things that caught my eyes:
The large advertisement board at the basketball park reminds me some of the old dramas. This method is used within a famous romantic drama, if not mistaken. There was a quote too back then. As for this drama it’s “Love makes me strong”

Japan Drama Rating:
Nice to watch. Overall the drama is good but lack of excitement. The basketball, violin and romances are there but just don’t quite hit the peek.

Purchase:
Original Soundtrack, 2009 Japanese Drama : Buzzer Beat w/ Eng Sub

Drama Theme Song: Ichibutozenbu by B'z

Japan Drama Preview:

Sunday, January 3, 2010

Ueno Juri to Itsutsu no Kaban上野樹里と5つの鞄 – Release Sept 09

Kumo Japan Drama sneak!!

Japan Drama Story:
This is a five episodes drama feature Ueno Juri (上野樹里) in five different characters and 5 different story lines. The story in each episode related to Ueno Juri’s (上野樹里) bag. In the first episode Ueno Juri (上野樹里) acts as a street performer with a guitar. In the second episode Ueno Juri (上野樹里) acts as an animator. In the third episode Ueno Juri (上野樹里) acts as a country girl that works in the city that almost get herself pregnant. In the fourth episode Ueno Juri (上野樹里) acts as an actor that runs away from work to have a day off. In the fifth episode Ueno Juri (上野樹里) acts as a student of a chef.

Feelings and comments:
Obviously the main focus of this drama is Ueno Juri (上野樹里). The story of each episode is just normal. How good this drama turns out really depends on the acting of Ueno Juri (上野樹里). There are no extreme characters in the entire story that can show off her acting ability. The only thing that I can see is how cute Ueno Juri (上野樹里) can be. After all, this drama is just about Ueno Juri (上野樹里). If you check out her profile, she actually performs well in couple of dramas. You can see her acting ability in Last Friends and Nodame Cantabile. As for this drama, I like the fifth or final episode best. One thing that you might notice is the style and presentation of each episode is different. Perhaps that’s because each episode is directed by different people.

Things that caught my eyes:
Definitely are the bags. The drama won’t tell which bags that they are referring to, so we just have to take a guess. The only episode that I couldn’t find any bag is the elevator episode.

Japan Drama Rating:
Fan of Ueno Juri (上野樹里) should watch it. One thing that fans might be interested is the singing part. She actually sings the theme song with the guitar on the street.

Purchase:
Not available

Drama Theme Song: Kaban no Banka by Ueno Juri

Japan Drama Preview: