Thursday Theater Higashino Keigo Mystery #review

Mokuyo Gekijyo Higashino Keigo Misuterizu

Writer -  Higashino Keigo
Network -  Fuji TV
Episodes -  11
Released -  2012, July - Sept
Genre -  Suspense, Mystery, lite Comedy

   

CAST

Kenji Sakaguchi, Koutaro Tanaka, Takashi Sorimachi, Masanobu Ando, Kento Senga, Haruma Miura, and more

SYNOPSIS

11 short stories collected from three novels "Hannin No Inai Satsujin No Yoru," "Ayashii Hitobito," and "Ano Koro No Dareka".

REVIEW

Bravo on another job well done.

Short, concise, and riveting as to be expected in Japanese dramas of this type.

Each episode is stand-alone but begins with this guy

Kiichi Nakai

who is attempting to solve his own mystery prior to introducing us to each episode.

It was great to see some old actors reappear on screen, too, whom I've listed in the credits above.

However, each episode is its own mystery that stars a new cast of characters.

The mysteries all ended with a plot twist, but there were a few times when I knew who it was even knowing the twist was on its way.

They're fun to watch, don't take forever to tell, and stick to the plot w/out added info, recap, or aside characters to bog down the story.

My only disappointment is the time it is taking for Season 2 to show up, because if you watch all 11 episodes, you'll know this isn't the end.

When you buy into a Series of Romance novels but are led to believe each is a stand-alone, only to reach the final chapter and discover you need the next book in order to find out what happens...

This was one of those types of dramas, and its been a lo-ong time since then, too.

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Zeni no Sensou #review

銭の戦争 

Drama -  War of Money
Genre -  Drama, suspense
Writer  - Park In kwon (comic), Noriko Goto
Network -  Fuji TV
Episodes -  11
Released -  Jan - Mar, 2015
Ratings -  13.4%

CAST

PLOT

Shiraishi Tomio loses everything. His money, job, and fiancé, and becomes homeless. The path he chooses is that of the moneylenders who drove him to the very bottom. 

REVIEW

Bravo on a job well done, and a well thought out cast of players for these unusual characters.

I know this isn't the first time a Japanese producer used a Korean manhwa to create live action, but hat's off to whomever decided to give this a chance because it worked.

Just too bad (as usual) that there is zero romance, zero chance of seeing any romance blossom, and zero HEA in that regard, but then it wouldn't be a Japanese drama, would it?

This time, the subs were back to being piss-poor but not entirely illegible -- just annoying enough to make me notice but not annoying enough to make it tough to watch.

Timing was the real issue here, with each episode starting out alright and then the 15-minutes-in sponsor break occurs and . . . argh!

On a personal experience basis, translating isn't the toughest job in the world and doesn't require possession of a college degree to perform, so I just don't get why or how it is that difficult for whomever to do their job AT LEAST satisfactorily.

The story itself is riveting -- even if it is done-to-death -- because of the original spin the writer took to tell the tale.

The ending surprised and didn't surprise -- just left me feeling a little empty inside.

Tomio being the good guy then the bad guy, then reverting back to the good guy before turning bad guy again occurred throughout the show, but the ending is left to ones own interpretation as to what he became next.

Despite his age and controversy, I love Kusanagi-kun and was really glad to see him playing the lead -- he's a terrific actor who lends himself well to whatever character he portrays, though it is a bit hard not to see him as opposed to a transformation.

This is not as dark a drama as you might suspect and had just as much comedic relief as it did nail-biting suspense.

The bad guy deserves credit for his portrayal of the nemesis because he really went all-out and convinced me he's evil but with a sense of humor.

Highly recommend this if you haven't watched yet.

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Mop Girl

モップガール

Format -  Renzoku
Genre -  Mystery, fantasy, comedy
Episodes -  10
Viewer Rating -  10.2
Network -  TV Asahi
Broadcast -  2007, Oct to Dec

Cast

Synopsis

Kitagawa plays the part of the slow but hardworking Momoko, a low-ranking employee at a funeral services company who carries a mop as part of her job. However, Momoko happens to possess a strange ability. Whenever she comes across the corpse of someone who has left strong feelings behind, she travels back in time to save that person from his or her fate. --Tokyograph

Review

I just wish I had ignored everything when this first aired and watched it in its entirety.

Then I realized that even if I had wanted to do that, it wasn't possible because it took YEARS for every episode to upload online in order for me to watch them all.

Plus, when this first aired, the cover, the coverage, and the synopsis drove me away.

And I don't know why, because this turned out to be a hidden gem I was more than pleased to have watched and wished afterward that it would go on for another 10 episodes.

Momoko is 21 and making every effort to live her own life in her own way and not be influenced by her Head of a Hospital father or her Doctor brother.

She wants to run a Bridal Catering Business but fails in her first attempt because among other things, Momoko is kind of dumb and tends to make a lot of mistakes.

So, a temp agency sends her to work at a Funeral Planning place.

The Mop Girl reference enters the picture because her new job entails her having to clean up the various crime scenes the local police ask this Funeral Planning business to visit.

It is Momoko's job to mop up the blood.

Asami Reina plays Momoko's best friend, and Shosuke Tanihara is her overlord at the Funeral business.

He ends up having to help Momoko every time she's sent back to right wrongs.

When she was a little girl, Momoko ran out into traffic and nearly died when a wayward motorcycle came flying toward her, but a young woman pushed Momoko to safety.

That woman was seriously injured, and when little Momoko clasps her savior's hand, the woman tells her to carry on the business of helping those who need it most.

Now that Momoko is working with the dead, that prophecy comes into play, and when Momoko touches an object owned or worn by the deceased, she is taken back in time and made to re-write the death scenario.

A lot of Japanese humor is involved, and Momoko says and does some weird stuff along with making a lot of weird faces.

I didn't watch this for the humor, though.

I stopped enjoying Japanese humor about a decade ago.

Why I watched and enjoyed this one is because I like their ability to take an otherwise redundant subject and work magic again and again.

So what if each episode showed someone dying and then Momoko brings everything back around.

Each instance was new and with a new set of characters, so it had merit.

What I'm really anxious for from Japan is to start seeing real romance, real affection for one another, and more touchy-feely kinds of action in a well-written and all-star cast line-up.

I won't hold my breath, though.

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