Fall 2008 Drama Reviews

So instead of doing a drama preview and separate review, I bring to you near-end of season reviews! Short and sweet, hopefully. Well, even though I haven’t finished any series yet, I’ve been dying to do this! Dramas are so nice…they make a great study breaks, haha =)

Celeb to Binbo Taro

Starring: Ueto Aya, Kamiji Yusuke, Kunitaka Ryoko, Kashiwabara Takashi
It’s the story of a rich girl (Ueto) who’s the daughter a major hotel chain owner, who also runs her own fashion line. She meets a poor widower with three young kids (Kamiji) and blah blah stuff happens. Basically it’s a drama with almost everyone really exaggerated, where the villian’s motive is nowhere to be found (yet? who knows). But, it’s still a fun watch for when you’re bored.

[Jdrama] Hachimitsu to Kuroba

Starring:
Narumi Riko as Hanamoto Hagumi
Ikuta Toma as Takemoto Yuta
Harada Natsuki as Yamada Ayumi
Mukai Osamu as Mayama Takumi
Narimiya Hiroki as Morita Shinobu
Murakami Jun as Hanamoto Shuji
Seto Asaka as Harada Rika
Takizawa Saori as Teshigawara Miwako
Kimura Yuichi as Lohmeyer-senpai
Matsushige Yutaka as Professor Shoda
Maekawa Yasuyuki as Teranobori Yasuhiko
Kashiwabara Takashi as Nomiya Takumi
Izumiya Shigeru as Yamada Daigoro

Hachimitsu to Kuroba is a Japanese drama that aired on the winter of 2008. Even though it was based off of a super popular manga and anime of the same name, the drama failed to live up to that popularity, averaging ratings of only 8.9%.

Winter 2008 Drama Preview

New season, new dramas, and a renewed spirit! This’ll be my first drama preview post as just my first impressions on the dramas I’m planning on watching and reviewing.

First Impressions

Shikaotoko Aoiniyoshi

A very unlucky man is forced to move his post at a university lab to a girl’s high school in Nara, where the deer roam around freely. Ogawa Takanobu moves into an apartment/inn of some sorts with a bunch of his co-workers. Life in Nara is quite different from Tokyo and Ogawa has probalem adjusting, including a student who seems to hate him. And not to mention that there seems to be someone tailing him and writing telltale notes on his classroom blackboard. So far, I’ve found Shikaotoko Aoiniyoshi to be quite interesting. Even though, it takes place in Nara that’s depicted as mostly slow-paced and not very exciting, the drama is full of life. I also love that the humor is very dry; there doesn’t seem to be any slapstick to be seen. I also have to mention that Tamaki Hiroshi and Ayase Haruka have pretty unflattering hair compared to their previous hairstyles. Maybe it’s supposed to be reflect on their location.

[Jdrama] Koukou Kyoushi 2003

Starring:
Ueto Aya as Machida Hina
Fujiki Naohito as Koga Ikumi
Kyomoto Masaki as Fujimura Moroki
Sonim as Kudo Beniko
Narimiya Hiroki as Kamiya Yuji
Aoi Yuu as Ezawa Mami

The initial description of this drama is “forbidden love” between a teacher and a student. However it is much more than that. It starts out as Hina (Ueto) skips class with her friend Beniko (Sonim). They later split up and Hina runs into a man at the game arcade. They become somewhat like friends and go back to his apartment. There, Hina freaks out and pushes him away, and the two end up only sleeping side by side the entire night. The next day at school, the man she met last night is her new math teacher – Koga Ikumi (Fujiki). However, he doesn’t seem to recognize her. He’s a genius, fairly young and good-looking, making him extremely popular among the all-girl student population. The real reason he has come to teach at a school is because he is dying of a brain tumor – he left his previous life suddenly and seeks to live out his last days peacefully. No one except his doctor knows that he is dying.