I couldn't help comparing this "Itoshi no Nina" with "Kakafukaka", given how both dramas belong to the "romance" genre and (sort of) deal with the (very difficult) topic of sexual assaults; whereas "Kakafukaka" (which I tend to call "Kakà, fa kakà" in my head - Italians will get the pun better, it roughly translates as "It Sucks") did the most idiotic thing possible, that is, glamourized the whole thing, at least "Itoshi no Nina" attempted to face the topic more seriously, and managed to be a lot deeper - not such a feat per se, as the other one had been the paragon of shallowness!
Unfortunately, the result is still a bit half-baked, imho mostly due to the fact that it's not so easy to treat such a topic, within such a genre, in such a short series. And indeed, the characters' development often felt way too fast and abrupt; had the writer had more room to work with, she might have accomplished it better. As is, we have a very solidly written ML and a mostly well written FL, with the other characters being only roughly sketched and therefore often behaving inconsistently. Thusly, the story barely manages to get the passing grade, imho.
The cast did very well though, particularly the two leads, Hotta Mayu and Okada Kenshi, both delivering a very good and touching performance! Standing ovation for both!
A pretty high production value and a very nice and catchy song complete the package.
p.s.
Sorry for the following rant, but I just HAVE TO add this (WARNING - SPOILERS AHEAD): I've noticed comments describing the ML as "one of the perpetrators", much to my astonishment! >____<
The guy had NO FOREKNOWLEDGE WHATSOEVER of the kidnapping, and when he found out he took action and set the girl free, fleeing with her and bringing her to safety. Considering him "a perpetrator" means either NOT HAVING WATCHED THE DRAMA AT ALL or else BEING A SEXIST WHO THINKS HE'S GUILTY BY DEFINITION BECAUSE HE'S A MALE. Whichever is UTTERLY WRONG imho.

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"Forrest Gump" meets "Shomuni", with lousy results

I must confess not being a big fan of those - tremendously popular - oversimplifications of movies or dramas that could be formulized as "A = B + C" (I've recently noticed one of those, for example, in relation to the fabulous C-drama "Reset", labeled by some as "Speed meets Groundhog Day"), but this time I myself can't resist the temptaion of summing up this "Ii Hito" as "Forrest Gump meets Shomuni"! ^_^;
The problem is that whereas the latter was often hilarious, this one was mostly just ridiculous; and as for the former, they shared indeed a "definition" of "good person" that I happen to just totally disagree with. In fact, if you'll pardon my "hegelian dialectic", I really don't think that a good person is someone so naive and immature that doesn't even know what evil is ("Thesis"), but rather, someone who knows very well ("Antithesis") and decides to renounce evil and be good instead ("Synthesis"). Adults with the minds of a 5 years old kid aren't "good people", but the very definition of "simpletons" if you wanna be polite (or "retards" if you don't - and as annoying as I've found this ML who could only repeat, like a parrot, the same trite sentences throughout the whole drama, and the rest of the time just ran and shouted, rinse and repeat - well, I'm not so sure I wanna be polite in his case! =__=)
So, as you by now I'm sure have already guessed from my loooong introduction, I've found this drama's script to be reeeally bad. The "good guys" were annoying, the villains ridiculous (compared to the sneezing manager and his minion with the horrible haircut, even Dick Dastardly from "Wacky Races" was a credible, realistic and sober villain!), the plot almost non.existent, the dialogues and the message both trite and silly.
The cast's performance was also mostly abysmal (no surprise, given the material they had to work with) and only a coupla managed to do somehow well regardless (namely, Ito Shiro and Kanno Miho).
The production value was also nothing special, and the directing, instead, specially annoying - what with the constant zooming-in-and-out and the characters taking turns to stand in front of the camera and recite their lines (seriously, it felt like something a lousy high school club might do - and it'd still be annoying, but at least they'd have the excuse of being young and inexperienced; what was this director's excuse? .\___/.)
The only thing I was completely satisfied with was the OST, which was really marvelous (and the only reason why this doesn't get an even lower rating from me!!!)
So, 10/10 to the music, and extremely low ratings for the other categories.
My suggestion is: steer clear of the dorama and simply buy the OST! ^___-

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Whenever I see Odagiri Joe cast as the lead, I know from the beginning that chances are I'm in for something quirky and funny - and more often than not, outrageously so. And this "Jikou Keisatsu" was no exception, LOL! ^_____^
Indeed, the premise was exactly like that: outrageously quirky and funny (although, the ethically-conscious me was not fully on board with the "culprits get away with it" concept, I must confess >___<). The premise was mostly well developed and the mystery plots mostly well written (though, as it is often, if not always, the case with such episodic mysteries, some episodes were indeed better than others).
The cast did very well (besides, Odagiri Joe + Aso Kumiko are the perfect combo, seriously!!!) and the music was good too (the background music played during the "solution scenes" was particularly nice!); I have mixed feelings about the directing/editing though, as in a coupla episodes those were so chaotic that I got motion sickness! >___<
All in all, a nice dorama; I'm gonna watch the following seasons too! ^___-

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Even better than the drama...perfect10!

I would suggest you watch this movie only *after* the dorama ("Eizouken ni wa Te o Dasu na!" - which is basically the same title as this movie's - only, in Japanese), as you'd miss out on a tremendously witty and funny series otherwise! Nevertheless, the movie can stand by itself, and since the first twenty minutes or so are basically a recap of the drama's most important moments, even those who haven't watched the drama can appreciate the flick.
I normally am a bit wary of movies following dramas, as it's been my experience that most of those can't keep up the original quality and end up being a let down; but it certainly isn't the case of this "Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken!"....quite the opposite, I personally found it even better than the drama itself - which it's quite a feat, given how the drama had already been almost perfect!
A solid script, some great acting, nice music, himalayan-high production value...what's not to like? Perfect 10!

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I must confess having been taken quite aback by this drama's first episode. In short, and trying to avoid spoilers, it wasn't what I had expected. But after the initial surprise, I recalibrated my expectations and in the end I was utterly satisfied by this show! ^____-
The script is as crazy and quirky as they come, being a perfect example of the typically Japanese paradoxical comedy - a genre at which they excel, indeed! Expect lots and lots of wild fantasy (such a refreshing contrast to the ever-surging wave of bland, neutered, politically-correct homogeneity which has laid waste to the Western scriptwriting world, and has started attacking Japan as well, alas). Dialogues are witty and funny.
The acting is mostly superb (apart from one or two minor characters; but the three leads are all impeccable - a virtual standing ovation to them! Oh, and to the lovely Konishi Sakurako as well - too bad her role is not a leading one T__T).
Some pretty nice music and a tremendously high production value complete the package.
Highly recommended! Oh, and be sure to watch the following movie as well!

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Interesting premise, totally ruined by a lousy script

Apart from the cheesy title, this "Zambi" had a pretty interesting premise, with a first episode full of eery atmosphere. But from them on, unfortunately (and particularly from the start of the zombie outbreak - pardon, "zambi" outbreak ^_^;...), the whole thing was completely ruined by one of the lousiest scripts I've ever seen, filled to the brim with inconsistencies, plotholes, horribly poor dialogues, and idiotic scenes (just a few examples - SPOILERS AHEAD, jump to the next paragraph if you want to avoid them! - out of all the teens in the dormitory, apparently only one had her phone with her - like, seriously?!? - but then when the FL awakes inside the coffin, she has a lighter with her - and when another girl is stuck climbing outside a window, she repels a "zambi" using a big spray can - where did she find it? and where had she hidden it until then?!?...as for the dialogues, a memorable example is when one of the girls gets killed - UNMISTAKENLY killed, what with the knife stuck in her heart, the eyes wide open and dead - and in the next scene, a girl asks "Was she really dead?" - Duh! Whaddaya think, girl?!? >_____<)
The acting was quite poor, but with that script, there's nothing they could have done about that - and some of the girls showed how well they can act in another drama, "Eizouken ni wa Te wo Dasu na!" (more on that in my upcoming review of that title).
The music was nothing worth calling hoe about it, either.
Summing it all up: watch it only if you're a Nogizaka fan.

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This "Byplayers" is one of those gems that the J-drama scene produces time and again, and that time and again are vastly ignored by the non-Japanese audiences, alas.
In Japan it's been pretty successful (leading to two more seasons and a movie!), but unfortunately only this first season got subbed so far.
Of course this is partially explainable with the fact that it's quite hard to translate dramas like this into another language, so full as it is with cultural references, inside jokes, quotes etc.
But I'm afraid that the biggest "problem" is the average age of the leads - and that's particularly sad, specially for "oji-sans" like me! T_____T
If you wanna take my advice though (and take a break from the more usual dramas and their mostly "ageists" casts, give this a try, as it's really very good! ^___-
A meta-drama with a cast filled to the brim with great Japanese actors (both as leads as well as the weekly guests), most of them playing themselves, though of course in fictional situations (you know the "...no Satsukyu" series? A bit like that! ^___-)
A great declaration of love for dramas and the people working on (and mostly, IN) them!
The acting was superb, as expected; the script really brilliant; the music, imho, spectacularly good!
What's not to like? Perfect 10! ^___^

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Although the premise of this "Bureau Of Transformer" might remind many of you of the "Men In Black" franchise, believe me, the two couldn't be more different: whereas that one was the typically shallow and silly Hollywood production featuring Americans saving the day by shooting down everything that moves (all while throwing around equally shallow and silly lines, which the audience is programmed to find "cool" - but let's not delve too deep in there), this one instead is a profound, thought-provoking tale filled with humane characters and poetic scenes.
Why don't I rate it higher, then?
Well, in all honesty, the subs are a bit of a hit or miss (some episodes are well done, but some are of rather poor quality, to the point that several lines are barely comprehensible, unfortunately) and this, alas, hinders a bit the viewing pleasure. And the same can be said of the script: some episodes are little masterpieces, seriously...but others are just "meh". Generally speaking, I mostly found the last third of the series to be of lower quality, compared to the previous two thirds (and also a bit too dark and depressing - whereas one of the strong points of this drama had been, until there, its humor).
The cast did a very good job, with honorable mentions for Chen He among the main cast, and Charlene Chen and Maggie Lee among the guests.
The music is top-notch, and so are direction, photography and editing.
Not *absolutely* perfect, but still very enjoyable. 8/10

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Although I won't go too much into details, so as to avoid major spoilers, I have to say that right until literally just a few minutes before the end of the last episode, I was pondering within myself whether I was gonna give this a 9 (or more probably an 8, 'cause it did have its faults anyway - more on this in a while), but then imho the writer decided to ruin everything just for the sake of a silly, shallow, "hollywoodian" final scare. If I ever rewatch this, I'll make sure to stop watching before that point (just as with an American TV series I liked as well, but only except the very last minutes, "Point Pleasant" - but that's another story).
Too bad, 'cause otherwise this dorama could've been a much better one, more coherently Japanese (in that horror is used also to convey deeper moral messages), despite the fact that it still had some script problems (most of all, the inconsistence in some characters' behavior - namely, the FL's BF and the mom - but also the fact that it had too much going on for only 7 episodes, and the writer wasn't able to wrap everything up nicely anyway).
Acting wise, another great performance by the lovely Shiraishi Sei and Kuroki Hitomi, whereas the rest of the cast was ok but nothing to call home about, imho. Direction, photography and music were also OK.
All in all, if you're a fan of Japanese horror, a pleasant watch.

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Akagawa Jirō is a real household name in Japan, when it comes to mystery novels (plus, a gazillion dramas and/or movies adapted from them!), and particularly loved are his series about Holmes, The Calico Cat, and about these Three Sleuthing Sisters (I have no idea why, for this adaptation, they felt the need to add an extra sister, LOL...but since they're all cute, nice and funny, I'm not gonna complain...^_^;...)
It's therefore no surprise that the mystery plots featured in this drama were well written and always interesting; mystery fans won't be let down.
Acting-wise, though, don't expect too much: the guest stars were, in all honestly, mostly terrible and contributed greatly in bringing down the average acting grade; the main cast did ok though (I must confess not being a fan of Namase Katsuhisa normally, but he was particularly good here, and the comic relief scenes between him and the always funny Muroi Shigeru were mostly hilarious; too bad Takenaka Naoto's part is so small, as he was just a ghostly presence throughout the whole series, except for one episode where he actually appeared in flesh and had some screentime). Oh, talking about episodes, as it's always to be expected in this type of drama, some were better than others.
Last but not least, the music commentary was always on spot, imho, and added to the overall quality.
All in all, a nice mystery interspersed with comedic elements and a nice family in the center of it all.
It felt much older than it actually is (in the best sense possible: I mean it reminded me of a drama from the Golden Era! ^___^)

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I have to confess that, upon finishing this "Mushoboke", I just had to sit on it for a while before deciding how I was gonna rate and review it.
Don't take me wrong, I've found the script great (more on that in a while), the acting very good (the ML, Kitamura Yukiya, doesn't have many leading roles in his filmography, alas...but I find him a brilliant actor indeed!), the music commentary and OST absolutely superb, and the cinematography classy, innovative and artistic in the best possible sense of the word (as in, NOT artsy and pretentious...there's a whole lot of substance here! Take the "baseball" scene in episode 6 for example...a pure stroke of genius!).
The only thing is, it's a lot darker and much more depressing than I had expected it to be.
The author, Abera Hidenobu (young and talented scriptwriter, I'm definitely gonna keep an eye on him!), didn't sugarcoat it much, quite the opposite...the traumatic psychological consequences of the ML's jail time are a constant presence in the drama...sometimes they'll end up resulting (bitterly) funny, but most of the time they're just a deeply sad reality.
But then again, I asked myself: doesn't that make the drama's message (about how we shouldn't waste our life but rather treasure what - and who - makes it special and brings some light into the darkness) so much more powerful?
And that's when I realized I just had to reward it with the top grade.
Yep, this "Mushoboke" can be pretty gloomy here and there, some scenes will make you cry...but you'll be left with a nice aftertaste and a lovely message in the end. Once again, my hat goes off to both the scriptwriter and the ML, it wasn't an easy feat to make me relate to such a main character, but they managed to do so brilliantly.

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It was pretty natural for me to compare this "Koeharu!", on the one hand, with "Dasada" (both dramas have a cast consisting, mostly, of Hinatazaka46 members), and on the other hand, with "Koe Girl" (both dramas tell the story of a girl who wants to become a voice actress).
In regards to the former, although both dramas convey nice, uplifting messages (and that alone earns them an extra point as far as I'm concerned!), "Dasada" was imho the better written one; it had a light but not shallow approach and the comedy parts were at times hilarious, whereas in "Koeharu!" the comic relief is more often than not ridiculous rather than funny, and there are some more serious, realistic, borderline gloomy moments (not a problem per se, of course! But the two aspects combined felt a bit confusing, honestly >__<).
The acting, though (and this, despite the less convincing script!), is imho definetely better in "Koeharu!", proof that the girls have indeed honed their skills meanwhile, kudos to them! ^___-
The "problem" - and the reason why I can only give this a "7", despite being a full-fledged "ohisama" (= Hinatazaka's fan ^_^) by now - is that "Koeharu!" loses quite badly when compared to "Koe Girl", particularly script-wise.

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Much better than the parent series!

I honestly don't remember the last time I had found a SP episode better than the series it originated from, 'cause normally it's the other way around and SP episodes tend to be, alas, complete let-downs.
It could very well be that, not having liked the original dorama that much (I rated it 5 out of 10), I had set my expectations pretty low and was therefore positively surprised?
Or maybe that I was quite happy to see Morimoto Leo again (I dearly remembered him from the "Shomuni" franchise)?
Or perhaps that the writer was different than the one from the series, and this one is way better (considered how he managed to give some depths to those previously bidimensional characters)?
Whatever the reason, I must say I've really enjoyed this "Alibi Kuzushi Uketamawarimasu Tokubetsuhen"! ^__-

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If you're a fan of Hinatazaka46 (the idol group previously known as "Hiragana Keyakizaka46"), there's a pretty high chance you'll appreciate this, as I did. If not, be warned that this is a drama with an all-idol cast, so don't expect something filled to the brim with acting talent, or you'll probably be let down.
That said, some of the girls did objectively well enough, acting-wise; the script is simple yet very uplifting and, at times, even pretty funny; the music is kinda catchy (though, in all honesty, not really my cup of tea...but that's a matter of personal taste, and as such, as my Latin ancestors would have said, "non est disputandum" - "ain't no matter for debate", LOL).
All in all, a cute little drama with a cute little plot filled with many cute idols and some pretty nice, positive messages to boot. Indeed, what the drama conveys about the importance of friendship and about the whole "better be 'lame' but real, than 'cool' but fake" is a big part of why I'm giving this such a high grade. ^__-

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This special double-episode "Bank Over! Shijo Saijaku no Goto" is, very simply put, a brilliant, hilarious comedy!
The premise is simple: two guys enter a bank to rob it...just to find there two more guys doing exactly that!
What follows is a masterfully scripted, very well acted and excellently filmed and directed lil' gem!
One by one we'll discover, in a series of flashbacks, the various characters' stories, what brought them there, their motives and (sometimes) secrets...and the story will proceed with twists and turns and loads and loads of fun along the way.
Now, I don't give this a "perfect 10" just because of a coupla pretty minor details that could have (imho) been done a little better/differently, but I was so positively impressed by this script that, upon finding out that the screenwriter (who's worked, either solo or in a team, on *dozens* of dramas BTW - some of them I had already watched and appreciated, and I'm probably gonna check out quite a few of the rest!),well, finding out that he didn't have a profile page here on MDL, I simply *had to* spend around an hour creating one...^_^;;;
I wish there were more dramas/SPs like this one, seriously! ^___-

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