This is a comedic look at First Tensh? Iga War (1579) and the life of the best Ninja in the clan. All he wants is for his woman to let him back into the house and to make just enough money to get by but she wants him to get a better job than just a Genin.

This role was almost taylor made for Ohno Satoshi with comedic confidence and talent. The choreography in this is excellent. Do not look for realism in this as it has lot of wire work in it, but sit back and enjoy the story and the fun. Mumon has the feel of an updated, comedic version of Sanjuro for those familiar with the Kurosawa film.

The music Tsunagu by Arashi and I fell in love with it before I watched the movie.

I would watch this again if I had people to share it with.

I hope you enjoy this as much as I did and I hope Ohno-san takes more roles like this one in the future.

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I am not a huge fan of whodunnit type shows, but my husband LOVES Poirot and he kept coming in and going did this happen? How about this? His conclusion is that this was a truer to the story than most of the versions he has watched. According to him most other versions streamline the complicated story and simplify the relationships.

That being said the first half of the show...I actually fell asleep...and had to back and re-watch about 40 minutes worth. The second half though was riveting and kept me entertained.

I am not gonna lie, I watched this for Nino, but the whole cast did an excellent job,

If you are a fan of the franchise or Agatha Christie or the genre I recommend this one.

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I had been waiting for this movie since it was announce I am a Huge Kame fan and I also love Lily Frankie so the two together what could go wrong? Right? As a Kame film it is not his usual venture, as a Lily Frankie work it is Exactly the kind of thing he normally does.
Lily Frankie (Pieta in the Toilet, Million Yen Women and his life story is told in Tokyo Tower (Me, Mom, and sometimes Dad)2007) doesn't take normal roles and his movies usually push society norms and thoughts.This movie is in the same vein.

The story was told well but you need to finish the movie to get to the thought provoking ending. It was tagged as comedy and I do not see how it can be. Medical, Family, Sci-fi I totally agree with.

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I love history, especially when it is humanized like it was in this story.  As an American we are taught one history, and the aftermath is usually skipped or glossed over.  I love seeing the same issue from different sides to see the whole picture.  I learned about events that were significant to Japan, but never heard of in my country.  The story that is told is the human story, one of survival, love and family.

The acting was superb, with this cast it would have been hard not to be.  You can tell there was pride in the work that they were producing and that they had invested themselves in telling the story right.

The music was good thematically and only repetitious when the story warranted it.  The Rewatch value of this for me would be to show someone else.  It is a heavy drama with little comedic parts or Action. It is straight story telling.

Overall I give it a 9 because It is an excellent piece of drama that pulls you in and makes you want to see more.

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This is a fictional  story framed around the illness of wind surfer Iijima Natsuki about the importance of councelling for the ill.  The story was well told and showed the many stages of dealing with terminal illness.  The acting never felt flat or forced not even from the child actress.  The music was repeative, Eric Clapton's Tears in Heaven played at LEAST 6 times in 2  hours.  The rewatch value is almost nil for me as I usually don't like this style of show, I only watched it for Ninomiya.

Why did I give it a 9 then?  Because the story was well told, nice, calm and inviting. I didn't tear up but the feelings were definitely conveyed.  Its kind of hard to use the word nice when speaking about a movie centered around terminal illness but that's what it was, nice.

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This movie is based on Ooku: The Inner Chambers  an ongoing Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Fumi Yoshinaga. The plot follows an alternate history of medieval Japan in which an unknown disease kills most of the male population, leading to a matriarchal society in which the Ooku becomes a harem of men serving the now female shogun. Set in 1715 (Shotoku era in real world) and it is a peaceful time where Samurai do not know the fear of dying in battle.

The inner workings of the harem are shown to have politics and romances (800 men to 1 woman) between harem members.  The story follows the life of a man who holds the bushido code dear, but is from a poor samurai family.  His path takes him places he never dreamed possible.  Ninomiya, as always, excelled with the part, you felt all the emotions with the character he portrayed.  Every one did a good job and not once did I feel not immersed in the story. There is BL elements to this story and it is folded in nicely and not portrayed as comical or over the top, it just is.

I would definitely re-watch this again with the right person.  I might even buy it on dvd.  Overall I gave it a 9.5 because yes it was kind of rushed but on the other hand nothing was really lost in the story telling you knew the protagonists story arc, and it showed there was more story to be told about the Shogun.

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I watched this as part of the watch challenge for 2018 and it was a movie my husband had wanted to see because of the sword choreography being talked up in reviews.

Story: They kept saying the guy was evil, but MOST of the things he did were shady, but not evil per se.  He is asked to comprise his ideals as a samurai, doesn't work well in a group, and has distain for a woman that lowered herself to save her husband and hates him.  If a movie is telling you one thing, but showing you another, it gets really really old really really quick.  Was he Paladin Samurai? by no means.

Acting: The lead does well with seeming to be devoid of emotion, without being devoid of acting.   There was no time when the immersion was broken by bad acting, and Mifune, who has a cameo part in this, does an excellent job.

The Ending.....what do we say about the ending....I was supposed to be part one of a trilogy that never got made.  When it ended we thought the moving was buffering....it wasn't, it was just done.

This way though you can give it a happy ending...or not if you like.

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I am going to start of by saying Takenaka Naoto as Kurosawa Kousuke was the real star of this drama.  I have loved him in everything I have seen him in and this was no disappointment.  His outfits alone are amazing. All the "Older generation" in this work are amazing and shown in much better light than most dramas from "Chairman" to the Architect to Kurosawa. They all seem wise and have feelings vs. the usual Stuck in their ways way older people are usually portrayed.

Now onto the rest of the cast and story, it is not as cut and dry as it seems with the first four episodes.  The twist happens and a great Juxta-positioning occurs.I will not spoil it, but It is worth a watch if you like family dramas or Dramas about brothers.  Romance is there but while it SEEMS the main focus, it really isn't.  Its a solid office/company/family drama that, like family, will make you sad, frustrated, happy and then satisfied by the end.

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I am writing this from the view of a long time MMORPGer and as a parent.  This is cute little story that almost made me want to resubscribe to WOW...then I remember my 8 characters pain and decided to let them be. 100 Levels and 400 pets later it is time to let them rest.  Oh right back to the review.  

It is cute, only 8 episodes so a tight story line.  It is a slice of life drama based on a true life story.  You believe this household exists and the bonds that are there even if only loosely.  

And yes Mom loves Kdrama, Alot.

Episode 8 though totally not needed for story progression, be warned.

I enjoyed this, I hope you do too

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I wasn't going to write this review as my overall impression is the same as my review for season 1.  I think this has all the markings of becoming this generations Hana Yori Dango or Itazura na Kiss or Hanazakari no Kimitachi e.  This is their relationship is on the next stage, and it is set up so they can do another season if they want to, but it isn't a cliff hanger.   It shows how brightly people shine while in a relationship, but separately the shine isn't the same.  It has been less than 24 hours since I marathon watched all 10 episodes, so I need to digest its re-watch value. One thing I do like is there is never any question whether they love each other, or whether one deserves the other (thinking female lead is below male lead or ugly). Instead its -  will the relationship last despite the obstacles they make for themselves.

I really enjoyed this, I hope you do to.

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I am writing this as HUGE fan of Shojo format dramas and anime.  It seems like the writer of the manga pulled every possible trope from this genre and put it in this story.  There are elements from Itazura na Kiss - Love in Tokyo, Hana Yori Dango, Hanazakari no Kimitachi e, and even Switch Girl!! 2. While predictable it wasn't annoying over the top at all.  There is not question (from the audience) whether they love each other, its whether they figure it out or not themselves.  Highlighting the insecurities of (I was going to say young, but I know 40 yr olds who act like this) immature girls.

I recommend this one if you love Shojo,  Even if you don't because they are over the top and frustrating, because this one is ...more believable?  More real?  More current times?  All of the above.  

So pull up some tissues, your netflix remote, and watch this generations Shojo classic.

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I started watching this to see more of Aiba Masaki's acting credentials.  I liked the story and there were no drag times as there are only eight episodes to tell the story.  If you watch this be prepared to watch bartenders making at least two drinks an episode if not more.  Romance, a hint of it, but that is all,  as if there had been more episodes the friendship would have become more.  

Over all the story telling was good, there are some big names in this that you should recognized the second they come on screen.  

I enjoyed it and I hope you do too.

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This is a real live action Manga/Anime in the truest sense.  If you watch this eight episodes series  expect silliness and over the top antics, but somehow compelling at the same time.  I picked this up because it was on Netflix and it was safe to watch on my phone for lunch break. At first i was like what is this crap, but after the first episode, I got used to the weirdness and went on to episode 2.  I think upon reviewing the first episode I commented it was on par with the first season of Power Rangers in cheesiness.  

So if you are looking for something to lighten the mood, and is short and sweet, this just might be a fit for you.

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This 1 Litre of Tears sad, I don't know if they are trying to encourage or discourage being foster parents.  It is one hour long so there is no time for lag or dragging. I liked how they didn't sugar coat anything though.  You definitely felt the joy, frustration, happiness and despair with the family as they bonded, fell apart and re-knit.  

This is from 2003 so the production value isn't super high but the acting was well done and immersed you well into the story.  I would recommend this story for some one looking for a good slice of life drama and only had a small amount of time to spend watching something.

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I write this from the point of a genealogist, which happens to be my second job.  Any time I research any person from any war my heart cries, they are more than dates and places to me.  This movie effected the same emotions in me, it made them especially difficult to reign in due the age of the squad involved.  I made comparisons like, 1868 is just after the American Civil War, where children were also fighting for which ever ideal they upheld.

It portrayed well every angle of war, not just the men's, not just the women left behind, and while it is told from the Aizu point of view, you still see all sides.  The beginning was slow as the set up for the war had to be done to put the rest into context.  The modern framework seemed tacked on, but I guess it is necessary to relate to people 140 years after the incident,

I do not seek out any war movies, due to how they effect me, but I watch this to complete my Yamapi watch list.  I do not think I will ever watch it again, but it is now in my memory and I learned yet another important part of Japanese history.

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