Rundown Zoo

Kaito Yamaneko (2016)

2018-08-26T22:58:00.000+08:00

Tonally defective yet thematically complex, Kaito Yamaneko has this skittish energy that runs counter to the weightiness of its socio-cultural commentary resulting in one bifurcated mess of a series. It lends itself to sharp changes in mood, characterization and storytelling---so unnerving that even a Kamenashi Kazuya apologist would have trouble defending it. Unleashing a cascade of what appears to be utter nonsense amidst its bipolarity, it is consistent in its inconsistencies and yet curiously steadfast in advocating the identification and practice of core values even as it lumbers wearily to its befuddling conclusion.

It's easy to dismiss it as a loonier version of those page to screen adaptations of suspense thrillers that went off kilter (e.g. Bloody Monday and Jiu) but on closer inspection, it's more like the jdorama that has something to say but doesn't know how to say it.... or does it? The show in itself tackles too many social maladies and references historical events pertaining to Japan to be brushed off as whimsy or coincidence. Kaito Yameneko is zany, offensive and culture-specific, which leads this particular reviewer to believe that all the insanity and shaky tirades are intentional and should be taken as no less than satire disguised as pointless, childish entertainment.

Much like GTO and Gokusen, the main character of this series is someone who acts with righteous zeal and whose loud, fervid demeanor belies a capacity for brutality. Made out to be extremely abrasive, the great thief Yamaneko (Kamenashi Kazuya) is not exactly a lovable character---cartoonish to a fault, he wets his pants, sings out of tune, and wears flip flops during winter to air out a chronic case of athlete's foot. But make no mistake, he's out on a mission. As rogue agent turned ferocious ally of justice, he's out to take down a legendary crime boss and leader of the country's shadow government, Yuuki Tenmei. In the process, he exposes corruption and wrongdoing, steals from the rich to give back to the poor, deriding both the offender and victim for lacking in principles and being empty at their core.

Using the Stray Cat Detective Agency as his cover, Yamaneko tackles each case with the help of a kindly den mother (Otsuka Nene), a talented high school hacker (Hirose Suzu) and a reluctant but gullible magazine reporter (Narimiya Hiroki). Secretly working alongside them is his former handler, turned police detective, Sekimoto (Sasaki Kuronosuke), who obstructs the investigation every time detectives Kirishima (Nanao) and Inui (Ikeuchi Hiroyuki) get too close for comfort. It's all fun and games with ridiculous heist sequences until someone dies, a mysterious woman with a vendetta appears and the villain manifests himself in a spindly life support system helmet. When Yamaneko comes face to face with a ruthless mercenary known as the Chameleon, a modicum of danger and intrigue is introduced to the series only to have the tomfoolery resurface with renewed force.

Kaito Yamaneko is frustrating to watch as it shifts gears from one moment to the next without prior warning. Even when the chips are down and blood is spilled, the show makes room for a light-hearted intermission. Much like how socio-anthropologists and cultural psychologists write about theories on the search for identity in Modern Japan, the show is continuously at odds with itself, unable to determine whether it's supposed to be a slapstick caper or a wannabe political espionage thriller. The action sequences are likewise plagued with this schizophrenic touch, some being decently choreographed fight scenes, while others resembling a mix of the hammy 70s Batman scuffles with a little bit of the Three Stooges' smacks, slaps and kicks.

Replete with annoying shenanigans and cruel impassioned sermons, it can grate on the ear and try one's patience but at the same time one can also tell that it's intended to reach a particular audience. It makes mention of issues particular to Japan and paints a rather dim and sad picture of a society wherein the youth pass on the blame and do not take responsibility for their actions, where parents betray and give up on their children and politicians view their constituents as dumb sheep fit to be manipulated. The antagonist is virtually a phantom that is symbolic of a rigid but obsolete economic and social system that once provided wealth and prosperity but now struggles to cope with changes in the global age. The hero, being representative of a value system of a bygone era, is someone who is of equally questionable relevance and lost in the fray.

Kaito Yamaneko is the type of show that can be deconstructed in a number of ways---it has lofty ideas beneath a barrage of distractions, probably designed to soften its message and make it agreeable to a wide audience. Is it interesting or entertaining enough to pass off as a light, harmless series in the same vein as a Lupin III live action adaptation without need of figuring out the context in which it was made? Sadly, it's not. It's too jarring for a serious viewer and too abstruse for a casual one.

RATING:
SHARPLY BIPOLAR
TONE-DEAF SINGING
INTENDED SOLELY FOR JAPANESE AUDIENCE

LOOSE COMMENTARY ON JAPANESE SOCIETY

Scatterbrained Musings

2018-08-11T22:32:00.000+08:00

So what have I been watching?

Like any other jdrama viewer, I tend to watch an ongoing series from time to time. Black Pean was a show that I watched religiously for weeks during its 2018 spring release until I found myself one episode short of completing it. After the penultimate episode, I just couldn't muster the interest to see it. It was just too repetitive for my liking and the central debate posited about human skill versus technology did not only feel moot and academic, but it was driven up to extreme illogical reasoning. I also couldn't shake off the feeling that the revenge plot was borne out of a misunderstanding, making that storyline one empty, dissatisfying tidbit. Of course, I could be wrong about this but I'll find out eventually if and when I finish it.

In contrast to the disappointment that was the ratings juggernaut for the spring season, Aino Kekkon Soudanjo turned out to be an amusing, quasi-musical oddity. I personally found it to be quite entertaining and I attribute this to the fact that I saw it without any expectations whatsoever. Furthermore, actor Yamazaki Ikusaburo was rather exceptional in keeping the same level of energy in each episode, regardless of his co-stars' performance and no matter how silly the scenario.

Another welcome surprise was Ossan's Love. As the lengthier remake of the television special bearing the same title, the series had more meat in its story, in my book being the first BL story to get mainstream treatment with Tanaka Kei and Hayashi Kento playing the male leads. With there being more LGBT[Q] characters in Western television than ever before, jdramas have slowly followed suit featuring members of the said community in a more positive light. They've been represented well in dramas like Nigeru wa Haji da ga Yaku ni Tatsu, Kuragehime and Tonari no Kazoku wa Aoku Mieru---a far cry from the tortured and beleaguered characters in Last Friends, Sunao ni Narenakute and progenitor, Asunaro Hakusho. There's one more season to go, but for this year, in my humble opinion, the best of the lot would have to be NHK's Joshi teki Seikatsu. Brazenly realistic, touching without being melodramatic, the mini-series has a rather progressive take on the life of a transgender woman.

Opting to dig into my drama archive, I likewise saw Anata no Koto wa Sorehedo, which is about an extra-marital affair pursued by childhood acquaintances. The show chronicles how the betrayal and the lies impact the marriage of two couples but the supposed love which triggers the illicit relationship does not take as expected. This was a terrible misstep for the likable Haru, who was outperformed by Naka Riisa at every turn. Programs like these are often regarded as guilty pleasures but this series felt more like a tedious viewing exercise.

Rounding off this list is the Japanese drama remake of the 2016 Korean series Signal. A crime thriller with a bizarre twist courtesy of a portable radio transceiver, the premise appears to have been culled from the 2000 movie Frequency but it slowly establishes a difference agenda, playing with the idea of the possibility of changing events in the past and how such changes can affect the future. Detectives from different time periods converse as the clock strikes at 11:23pm, encouraging each other not to give up hope but I was rather of the mindset that the show was headed towards a dismal conclusion. Fast-paced and engaging, it's bogged down by histrionic performances and an ambiguous ending.

Will I be writing full reviews of any of the foregoing?

I really can't tell. Right now, the first order of business is to put my Kaito Yamaneko and Meishi Game reviews to bed. I'm trying to streamline the reviews and cut down on screencaps so this might take a while.

Writing Sucks

2018-07-28T20:54:00.000+08:00

Getting back into blogging is harder than I thought. After taking a break from watching Japanese dramas and East Asian movies for about a year, I was at a loss of where to begin. There's a wide selection of shows available and that doesn't even include the older dramas that I have yet to watch in their entirety or the ones that I need to revisit in order to finish writing draft posts that have remained unpublished for the past six years.

Those fairly familiar with this blog know that I don't post reviews of anything that I haven't seen fully which means regardless of whether the series is good or bad, I hold on to the bitter end before I even consider to write about it. But you see, writing has always been particularly difficult for me, so unlike the truly gifted ones who manage to consistently provide quality content, words don't flow as easily. As years go by, I've realized that I have equal trouble writing about the shows that I love and despise---extremely cautious not to oversell the former while not too dismissive of the latter, fearing my inability to give a show or series the fair shake that it deserves. Even though I try to be as objective as possible, these drama reviews will always have a subjective element to it. Like they say, it's all a matter of taste.

There's a handful of sites that provide drama recaps but I have always been partial to those that provide reviews and analytical essays. People may readily agree to disagree on the merits of a particular series but I do believe that reviews serve a purpose in the sense that they can be at times instructive, pointing out things and matters which one may have overlooked, and also affirmative in so far as a praise or critique may also align with one's personal observations. As conceited as it may sound, I believe that reading about other people's thoughts enrich the viewing experience, so dear accidental and/or sporadic reader, if you can spare the time, please do read on.

Watashi ni XX Shinasai Promo SP (2018)

2018-07-17T04:34:00.001+08:00

Shown three months prior to the screening of the actual full length feature, the Watashi ni XX Shinasai SP is nothing more than an extended movie promo for the live action version of Ema Tōyama's shojo manga, popularly known in English speaking countries as Missions of Love. The special capitalizes on the steady proliferation of love games in Japan, adapting a format that introduces the movie's characters in a slightly racy but PG-13 manner. Don't be fooled for the anime-like appearances and characterizations, combined with the outrageous scenarios presented, serve no other purpose than clickbait in the sea of pure love-high school romance themed manga adaptations. Suggestive and naughty, it can be perturbing for its nonchalant treatment of high school kids in compromising, illusory situations---making this particular promo a tease in another sense of the word.

If you happen to belong to the more mature and discerning segment of the viewing demographic, it would be best to steer clear from this thing. If you're a fan of the manga or simply a curious cat with time to spare, be advised that you can likewise skip the promotional special and just watch the movie to get your fix. This 4-part feature has little to no artistic or entertainment value, it contributes nothing to the original story, except being a sad representation of a growing trend which incidentally speaks of an underlying social issue. [1]

The popularity of these female-targeted love games has been tackled by recent dramas such as Otona Joshi and Watashi ni Unmei no Koi Nante Arienaitte Omotteta, and despite their formulaic nature, both have directly and indirectly championed the supposed healing effect and soothing impact of these escapist diversions on the lives of countless women, old and young alike. Not interested in making any such commentary, this promotional special is simply content with providing straight live-action sketches of the so-called romantic encounters and courting rituals that serve as the cornerstone of these games. To do this, the SP follows the romance gaming exploits of high school student and popular web novelist, Himura Yukino (Tina Tamashiro), who's looking to inject some love and romance in her published work. At the behest of her editor, she tries out a love simulation game to find out what makes people's hearts beat faster in order to meet the demands of her readers. She goes through four (4) levels of the game, interacting with characters whose profiles match the boys around her.

In this virtual world, class representative Shiguro (Yuta Koseki), cousin Akira (Kanta Sato) and fellow web novelist Dolce (Daichi Kaneko), all vie for her love and attention. Now imagine a shojo manga chapter unfolding with an interactive spin, much like those Choose Your Own Adventure books of yore, wherein the protagonist is given pretend control over the outcome of the story. The simulated game more or less operates in the same manner by giving Yukina ridiculous game options and subjecting her to every love scenario cliché.

Regardless of whether you consider the whole proceeding as an over the top fantasy or a useless delusion, the show mimics the modus of a love game by having our heroine thwart the advances of the school heartthrob, her childhood friend and her cocky work rival. Done with deadpan precision, the male actors deliver their lines as one would expect of 2d characters, while the lead female character is shown to make choices that have no bearing or consequence in her real life. Mostly annoying in its predictability, not to mention disturbingly creepy at how characters easily infringe upon each other's personal space, this promo special is an effective reminder of why such stories should remain firmly rooted as animated figures on the mobile screen. After all, exaggerated ardor and forced proximity in this day and age are merely flights of fancy.

RATING:
EXTENDED MOVIE PROMO
LOVE GAME SCENARIO
2D CHARACTERS
TOTAL SCHLOCK

Miss Sherlock (2018)

2018-06-28T07:35:00.000+08:00

Miss Sherlock reimagines Arthur Conan Doyle's beloved investigative tandem as an incongruous pair of women solving mysteries and preventing crime in modern day Tokyo. The latest in a long string of interpretations, this HBO Asia/Hulu presentation makes plenty of references to the original works and endows its characters a certain degree of similarity, but altogether feels like a different show on its own. Top billed by familiar faces, and produced with enough style and care, it's one of those series that you would expect to love but somehow don't.

There's just something amiss and faulty in its execution---so while there are amusing alliterations and superficial elements to it that remain recognizable, the core element, which is the partnership between Holmes and Watson, gets lost in the gender and race alteration. The series tries to provide a new take on the relationship but the cultural transposition somehow makes the bond between the two less evident and unconvincing. As a result, you have female counterparts that are like Holmes and Watson but they're not Holmes and Watson per se.

In this version, the titular character Sherlock (Takeuchi Yuko) is a female consulting detective working for the police department under the authority of Lt. Reimon Gentaro (Kenichi Takito). Highly intelligent with a petulant air about her, she has a reputation for being rude and disagreeable but her ability to piece together information and crack cases is matched by no other. Comprising the other half of this sleuthing duo is Tachibana Wato (Kanjiya Shihori), a doctor who just returned from a volunteer mission in Syria, currently in search of a new direction in life. Polite and well-mannered, she finds herself sharing a house with Sherlock and tagging along each adventure under the pretense of keeping her eccentric flatmate in line. Together, they face danger and solve mysteries, forging an unlikely friendship that Sherlock keeps denying the existence of until the very last minute.

The series has three (3) standalone cases that involve a missing bride, a vandalized artwork in public exhibition, and a family curse that allegedly compelled a mother to drink her child's blood. The remaining five (5) pertain to a series of crimes instigated by one person who goes by the moniker Stella Maris, otherwise known as The North Star, who guides wayward individuals to their true calling.

Keeping up with the times, Miss Sherlock updates the business of the main adversary from being the leader of an organized crime syndicate to charismatic head of a full blown extremist-terrorist group. The perpetrators are victims of abuse, social misfits and misguided social justice warriors that no longer respond to logic or reason, making each encounter with an adherent unpredictable and dangerous for Sherlock and Wato.

Giving Sherlock's nemesis the ability to alter people's thoughts and perceptions, gives the character a new passive-aggressive slant. To this extent, the show explores the thesis on how brain trauma can turn people into violent criminals and how emotionally scarred individuals can be made vulnerable to manipulation and suggestion. The downside to it is that the crimes as committed lacked refinement, most of them, impulse-driven. In effect, the criminal mastermind prompts people to act without making room for exigencies, thereby guaranteeing the failure of each mission at the hands of our dedicated duo.

The manner of the commission of the crimes and the resolution of certain puzzles also don't hold up to scrutiny despite the laborious set up of certain scenes. For instance, a weaponized smart pill is only lethal up to the time of the carrier's next bowel movement, the specs to a nuclear warhead written in blood on the wall of a prison facility would have long been erased using bleach as a cleaning agent, and how spreading a virus without discussing the mode of transmission from the infected host comes off as a huge contrivance, particularly when he's dispatched in a wide open space without incident.

Even without nitpicking at the cases, Miss Sherlock has one major flaw---and this is its inability to translate the strength and complexity of the relationship of the iconic characters from which this series is based on to the present adaptation. This plaid and kimono silk incarnation is built on an unequal and whimsical partnership, wherein Sherlock is the star and Wato plays second fiddle. A recent interview with actress Takeuchi Yuko even likened Sherlock's fondness of Wato to that of a pet. [1] Overall, the writers did not take into account the change in the dynamics of this friendship, with the script failing to convince viewers of the natural rapport between the leads. The gender reversal automatically affects the constitution of what is supposed to be the basis of female bonding, while the cultural relocation itself hinders characters from being too open and expressive. The character of Sherlock in this setting is too much of an anomaly, she sticks out like a sore thumb. Wato, in theory, exists to make her seem less severe and accessible but unintentionally comes off as too submissive and feeble. If the show comes back for a second season, the first thing that they should fix is the existing disparity in the roles assigned to these two characters, otherwise it will look inferior next to BBC's Sherlock and CBS's Elementary.

RATING:
GENDERBENT VERSION
HUMDRUM CASES
POOR RAPPORT BETWEEN LEADS
EXCELLENT PRODUCTION VALUE

Love Rerun (2018)

2018-06-12T07:27:00.000+08:00

Love Rerun serves up a nonlinear narrative to an otherwise traditional and cliché-ridden love story about a girl, her unrequited love, and an ostensible do-over in the romance department. It basically plays up the notion of second chances and the futility of clinging on to a past love amidst a quagmire of work-related issues and awkward living arrangements. Fully showcasing its shōjo manga roots, the set up includes the drastic transformation of an insecure, mousy girl into a stylish beauty with a case of selective amnesia as the trigger for the character conflict. Sharing the same giddy and hopeful qualities of Proposal Daisakusen, viewers get to witness and revel at the main character's first blush of love, but it has none of the emotional nuance or dimension of Mou Ichido Kimi no Propose to elevate the flimsy material.

Minami Sayaka (Nakamura Anne) has been in love with her childhood friend, Sagisawa Ryosuke (Otani Ryohei) for as long as she can remember. Single, about to turn thirty (30), and having absolutely no experience in love, she makes up her mind to confess her feelings to him on her birthday, hoping that he would see her as more than a friend.

Before the intended date, she closes her eyes to sleep, only to wake up in a strange apartment, in clothes that she would not customarily wear and in such a fashion that she could only dream of. Shortly after, a man enters the room telling her to leave as soon as she finishes packing her things. She rushes out of the building in a dazed state to discover that it's three months later, she got promoted at work, was cohabiting with a man named Machida Shohei (Furukawa Yuki), and that the said relationship was over. Apparently a lot of things have changed but she has no recollection as to how and why she got in her current state.

Utterly clueless with nowhere else to go, Machida agrees to let her stay with him until she regains her lost memories. She's back to pining after her precious Ryo-chan but this stranger of a man, who plays her reluctant host, has the inherent ability to move her in ways that she can't ignore.

Love Rerun opens with this fairly staged story hook that keeps viewers engaged and curious about what happened in those lost three months. What came about Sayaka's love confession? How did she get to be in a relationship with a younger co-worker? And more importantly, what caused them to break up? The series is at its best when it ties in Machida and Sayaka's past encounters to present events, making the whole affair a rediscovery of love as much as a perplexing breakup.

The missing pieces of the puzzle are rendered through flashbacks so sincere and tender that it's without question how Machida won Sayaka's heart. The fact that he knows the right things to say to prod her into action and takes notice of little things make it fairly obvious that he cares deeply about her but the reason why he keeps his distance is the show's biggest conundrum. Unfortunately, whatever intrigue sparked by its first half would slowly devolve into a circuitous array of hurdles as the main characters yield to misunderstanding and interference from supporting characters who are too quick to have a change of heart. It's a long, frustrating road towards a foregone conclusion and a disappointing reveal of the cause of the split---which is nothing that a mature and committed couple can't handle after a serious discussion.

RATING:
MYSTERY BREAKUP
NONLINEAR NARRATIVE
FICKLE CHARACTERS
CORNY ENDING

Demo, Kekkon Shitai! (2017)

2017-10-29T12:52:00.000+08:00

They say there's someone out there for everyone---Demo, Kekkon Shitai! sets out to convince viewers that it's true. Following the so-called "konkatsu boom of 2009", marriage-hunting has become such an enterprise that it has spawned its own sub-genre in Japanese television, reflecting not only the changes in the concept of dating in the new millennium, but also, perhaps, in an attempt to inspire singles to eventually take the plunge and walk down the aisle.

Kuriyama Chiaki plays Fujita Haruko, an illustrator of BL manga who's reached her limit at being alone. She's spent all her adult life absorbed in her work that she's neglected to have a personal life outside of it. Realizing that she's not getting any younger, she sets out to find herself a proper husband. Taking advice from her assistant (Sano Hinako), she goes out of her comfort zone and starts attending matchmaking parties, group dates, and even accedes to go on a blind date.

Awkward and insecure, Haruko has trouble opening up about her life's passion. Her fear of being judged and rejected stems from a failed relationship with a man who was repulsed by her line of work. As a last ditch effort to give love a try, she ends up registering at a matchmaking agency in hopes of meeting Mr. Right.

Demo, Kekkon Shitai! follows the lead of other marriage-themed tanpatsu dramas like Ketsuekigata-betsu Onna ga Kekkon suru Hoho and Propose Kyodai wherein characters meet their life partners and conveniently tie the knot without consequence or deliberation. These projects are designed to be easy on the eyes, requiring not much thought or introspection, always ending with a picture of the happy bride and groom. They're short and uncomplicated, serving no other purpose than to rally support for a flagging social institution. They can be fun and charming as abbreviated romantic comedies but they're hardly representative of reality.

The problem with this particular offering is that while it hits all the beats and goes through the motions of a fast-tracked love story, it doesn't sell the fantasy or the plausibility of the union as well as its precursors. It suffers from poor characterization in the sense that viewers are told how Haruka loves BL manga without exactly being told why she made it her life's work. It's a relationship non-negotiable but it's treated more as a disadvantage than a hard line which should not be crossed. By the 25-minute mark, she's gone through at least seven prospective matches, all of them passing caricatures and stereotypes without any elucidation of why they're considered to be unacceptable and unsuitable men. And therein lies the irony---for the supposed comedic parts of the story are made at the expense of similarly situated characters in search of their own happy endings.

It's also quite difficult to say whether it was done intentionally or not, but this one-shot special feels slower and longer than it actually is. So much time is spent searching and waiting for the person she's meant to be with that precious little time is spent in actually seeing them interact as a couple. It is assumed that they're compatible with each other but viewers don't get to see how Mr. Right influenced or changed her life for the better.

RATING:
TYPICAL KONKATSU DRAMA
THIN CHARACTERIZATION
SLOWS DOWN TO A CRAWL

Watashi ni Unmei no Koi Nante Arienaitte Omotteta (2016)

2017-02-18T10:57:00.000+08:00

As far as holiday features go, Watashi ni Unmei no Koi Nante Arienaitte Omotteta is like that Hallmark romantic movie that one would occasionally indulge in and actually enjoy without the need to over analyze things. Sweet, warm and comforting in its predictability, it ticks all the boxes needed for a satisfying romantic comedy, right down to that premature wedding proposal, under the sponsorship of a popular jeweler with a flagship store in Motomachi. It's a neat and uncomplicated love story, anchored by charming performances from its lead actors who exude a natural rapport, making the supposed transition of the characters from friends to lovers a seamless development.

A delightful, romcom puff piece, this television special has characters that meet cute, fall in love, and surmount superficial conflict to presumably live happily ever after, under the warm glow of a Christmas tree. All things considered, it doesn't introduce anything new to the genre but it's cheeky enough to acknowledge its own trappings and cute enough to tide over any viewer who's experiencing heavy melodrama fatigue.

Shirano Riko (Tabe Mikako) is a career-driven, love game creator who gets commissioned to design a mobile game for an app development company that's looking to expand its female market. She meets the curt and condescending CEO, Kurokawa Seichiro (Takahashi Issei)---who initially ridicules the concept of cultivating unrealistic female fantasies but later relents to changing his attitude and approach, under Riko's guidance, to capture the attention of project leader, Momose Haruka (Oomasa Aya).

Riko sets Kurokawa to work, schooling him in romance inducing "patterns" found in trendy dramas and encouraging him to mimic and test out the behavior of the stereotypical male characters in her games in order to to determine which one would set Momose's heart aflutter. In acting as his dating guru and wingman, they become fast friends. They start talking about things that matter in between planning their next course of action as they continue on with the love and relationship mentoring.

When Kurokawa swoops in with impeccable timing to save Riko from an embarrassing situation, she becomes acutely aware of her growing feelings for her timid mentee. She's taken by surprise and simultaneously torn when all their preparations yield a positive response from their once oblivious and elusive co-worker.

The setup for the show is nothing new but writer Oshima Satomi makes clever use of poking fun at trendy dramas and shoujo manga tropes without necessarily dismissing the reasons behind why they're so popular to female viewers and why such story devices endure. All the references to male stereotypes and variations to certain scenarios are done in good humor with the kind of self-awareness and self-deprecation that acknowledge their absurdity. But no matter how repetitive or contrived they may be, the show ultimately rises to the defense of such characters and situations, recognizing their power to enthrall and inspire, as can be gleaned from Riko's rebuttal of Kurokawa's flippant attempt to ridicule her work at the beginning of the program.

Watashi ni Unmei no Koi Nante Arienaitte Omotteta pays reverence to the romcom formula by going through the same motions of any such love story, selling the magic of romance even as it attempts to temper the fantasy. The show does not veer away from audience's expectations, opting for the most conventional ending, with the show's last fifteen minutes providing the most clichéd resolution to an otherwise decent and well done romcom.

The moment Riko blurts out her feelings, the show goes on autopilot to reach the anticipated ending. Running through decorated, tree-lit streets, across a famous shopping district, a lighted ring box would await our once loveless heroine. It's not a question of whether or not Kurokawa and Riko get together (because they do) but how they get together that will truly capture your attention. There's a lot to love about the said journey for the show excels in building upon light moments with honest dialogue to carry the scenes. The more elaborate and comic attempts at initiating romance are likewise memorable, of which there is Kurokawa's hilarious yet unsuccessful attempt at emulating character types and an all-night viewing marathon of a capsule, 90s-inspired trendy drama with Riko providing live commentary as an added treat. It's not perfect but it's good enough, in terms of viewer satisfaction, it's hard to find fault in it.

RATING:
ENJOYABLE IN ITS PREDICTABILITY
CHARMING LEADS
CAPSULE TRENDY DRAMA
POKES FUN AT SHOJO MANGA TROPES

Fragile (2016)

2016-12-30T20:00:00.000+08:00

Japanese medical dramas are often an indictment of the country's health care system and in this particular case, Fragile does not veer away from the norm. It's not about medical marvels or unusual cases, it doesn't focus on one person's acquired skill or acuity but instead prefers to emphasize the need for data collection and analysis. It does take a page off the Doctor X playbook in terms of throwing shade at the apparent incompetence of health workers who either cut corners or get too complacent with their work, but it also shares the same flaw as its popular counterpart in the sense that its main character is not half as interesting as the other characters around him.

Fragile adds a curmudgeonly pathologist to what appears to be a growing roster of ace doctors who could do no wrong. Kishii Keichitaro (Nagase Tomoya), is the lone pathologist in a university hospital full of doctors in a rush to treat patients without obtaining a conclusive diagnosis. He defies convention by refusing to don a white coat and foregoing idle pleasantries, thus drawing the ire of medical practitioners with his arrogant, holier than thou attitude of declaring his findings to be 100% correct and unimpeachable. Such assertion, though closer to the truth than, say, a surgeon that never fails, does very little of convincing his colleagues to heed his advice and exercise caution, resulting in a number of mishandled medical cases exhibited in the show's 10-episode run.

The series delves into the unacceptable occasion of having doctors dismiss serious medical conditions as minor ailments, erstwhile prescribing the wrong medication for ordinary ailments and diseases. Just about every doctor in the show gets it wrong, except of course, for the maverick pathologist who insists on finding the underlying cause of the patient's condition. It's not exactly House M.D. but it is a medical show that champions clinical pathology and its role in medical diagnosis and treatment.

Personality quirks and righteous speech aside, Kiishi, as played by a dour Nagase Tomoya, does not make for a compelling lead character. The show extols the commitment of Kiishi to his profession but the jdrama simply gets more mileage when the story is told from the perspective of the patients who fall victim to the system. Very little is said or known about the man that heads the said pathology department aside from the given information that he was an attending physician prior to being mentored by a naughty senior pathologist (Kitaoji Kinya) and that he once had a physical relationship with his former classmate (Koyuki), with whom he has forged a friendship.

Far from being the voice of reason or the heart of the show, the series conveniently wanders away from Kiishi and rests it sights on his young team composed of an efficient lab technician named Morii (Nomura Shuhei) and a trainee doctor named Miyazaki (Takei Emi). They're the ones that have sufficient story arcs wherein the former is faced with the opportunity to abandon his present station in pursuit of a lost dream, while the latter is forced to reassess and shed old habits to suit her chosen discipline. Furthermore, it's their exposure to the patients that taps into the emotional core of these harrowing stories of negligence and lack of empathy in the medical field.

Fragile hits its sweet spot when it manages to convey the human interest story within its quasi-medical procedural shell. The most memorable cases are the ones that hew close to reality and played less for dramatic effect but more for their honesty. The most powerful scenes involve---a quiet moment that passes between two young men contemplating their respective fates; a young woman frantically flipping through a notebook trying to offer information on procedures performed on a baby in need of medical attention; and a medical representative privy to the fact that the trial drug she's been peddling is not a miracle cure.

The show doesn't skirt around the fact that patients die and doctors who are at fault do not get demoted or get slapped with malpractice suits. It doesn't delve into the science of pathology but the concept and principles behind it, which makes the series easy to watch but hardly essential viewing. Kiishi's platitudes are kept to a minimum and the show pretty much does away with saves or surgeries akin to a Hail Mary pass. Miyazaki ends up doing way too much work for a trainee to the point of interfering with protocol but accuracy and realism rarely go hand in hand with these type of shows anyway.

RATING:
ANOTHER BLAH ACE DOCTOR
SUPPORTING CHARACTERS HAVE BETTER STORY ARC
NO MIRACLE SURGERIES
TRAINEE PATHOLOGIST DOES EVERYTHING

Tenshi to Akuma (2015)

2016-11-27T12:43:00.000+08:00

In Tenshi to Akuma, a female cop and a private lawyer, working under the auspices of the prosecutor's office, make up an ad hoc division of the police charged with reviewing unsolved cases. They go over the facts and sift through witness testimony in order to identify and facilitate the filing of criminal charges against the actual felon who has, for a time, eluded apprehension.

Makita Hikari (Gouriki Ayame) is a rookie officer, who was initially placed on active duty in consonance with a national program designed to increase the participation of women in law enforcement. After a short and unremarkable stint in homicide, she finds herself reassigned to doing clerical work, demoted to shelving case files in the Unsolved Cases Unit. Joining her as a deputized officer for the prosecution is Chajima Ryunosuke ((Watabe Atsuro), a sly and unctuous private practitioner who initiates the reinvestigation of cold cases on file. Together, they make a rather awkward, not to mention questionable, crime-solving duo with the young wide-eyed optimist insisting on swaying people to do the right thing and the cynical yet seasoned member of the bar electing to offer a plea bargain at the drop of a hat.

The curious thing about this show is that it's not a legal drama nor is it a crime procedural---the series is in fact built on amateur sleuthing through chronic, off-site interrogations of persons of interest. Unlike Cold Case: Shinjitsu no Tobira, the characters in this series are not driven by a new lead or the discovery of new evidence to reopen investigation, instead the show takes stock of select cases which fit the overarching concept of portraying how human beings can be duplicitous creatures. For this purpose, it concerns itself with uncovering the truth beneath the lies and distinguishing the so-called angels from the demons, calling attention to the unofficial use and status of plea-bargaining in the Japanese criminal justice system by showcasing the benefits and potential dangers attached to such practice.

Crafting stories around proposed and/or pending legislation is one unique feature of Japanese television. Whenever a change in government regulation is introduced or an amendment to the present economic or judicial system is proffered, one can more or less expect a corresponding drama series using the said controversy as its focal point. Productions of this sort belong to a broad spectrum---the really good ones can bolster public debate and discussion, while the crummy ones resort to fear mongering and blatant propaganda. Entries in this genre range from the highly fictional (Majo Saiban, Soshite, Dare mo Inaku Natta) to the profoundly moving (Hagetaka, Tetsu no Hone) and this is something that you can only find out upon actually watching the series.

Due to its episodic format, Tenshi to Akuma is middling in comparison to social dramas that herald change and call for introspection. The series just doesn't have a definitive point of view or insight on criminal plea bargaining. A majority of the episodes appear to favor plea bargaining by producing a favorable outcome to every scenario wherein past crimes could not be prosecuted without soliciting the cooperation of key persons involved in the act sought to be punished. On the flip side, it also allots time to present the lack of transparency in plea bargaining negotiations and the derailment of justice brought about by securing false testimony, but these episodes come out weaker despite being the main attraction of the story arc. Furthermore, the creation of the special division makes no sense, especially when the proponent has bones in his closet and the supposed muscle of the team is a skinny young woman with no field experience flashing a badge.

What's good about it is that the series presents an assortment of cases that provide a cache of differing means, motives and opportunities for the commission of the nine crimes investigated. The guesswork is fair and the best episodes involve sympathetic characters driven by self-preservation and acted without premeditation. The top half of the series is serviceable and mildly intriguing with men and women equally represented in their capacity for violence and display of malice.There are a few unexpected twists and a good deal of misdirection for certain episodes but they don't work as well if the viewer is keen on checking the runtime or spotting familiar actors.

Needless to say, one will watch this show because of the cases and not because of its main characters for there is nothing particularly dynamic about the partnership. Makita and Chajima start off as two strangers that have to temporarily work together and they remain as such long after their professional work is done. This can be construed as both an asset and a handicap of the series. The absence of any personal drama or emotional attachment between the characters allows viewers to focus on the mystery at hand, but this also means there's less incentive or push to watch the episodes consecutively, since there's no reason to be invested in such characters and each episode is a complete story in itself. Also, the female lead lacks distinction when pit against the suave yet smarmy delivery of her co-actor. To be honest, the part could have been played by any other young actress and it would not have made any difference.

RATING:
ASSORTMENT OF CASES
FAVORS PLEA-BARGAINING
BLAND FEMALE LEAD
BORING STORY ARC

Dias Police: Ihou Keisatsu (2016)

2016-10-15T10:53:00.000+08:00

Dias Police conjures up Tokyo as a city teeming with illegal immigrants, living on the fringes of society under the protection and guidance of an underground government. By procuring the services of such government, undocumented aliens, political refugees and criminal fugitives alike get a new lease in life, finding for themselves a safe haven on foreign soil. They coexist and thrive in one district, following certain rules of conduct, forming a community that looks after their own.

Peace and order is enforced by one man named Kubozuka Saki (Matsuda Shota), who plays the role of trouble shooter, dispute broker, neighborhood patrolman and criminal investigator. Widely recognized and referred to as the sole member and self-appointed chief of the dias(pora) police, Saki investigates and responds to any incident involving any member of their community. He identifies malefactors who pose a threat to their way of life and occasionally puts himself in harm's way just to save those in his ward. His duties range from giving street directions to the elderly, to facing off with hired assassins and gang members, to catching the culprit behind a string of murders that specifically target foreigners. Along for the ride is his sidekick, Suzuki (Kenta Hamano), a former bank employee who's on the lam for allegedly embezzling funds.

The series basically follows Saki and Suzuki on the job and on the trail of unsavory and dangerous characters in five cases served up in two episode installments. What sets this apart from other dramas is that it touches upon delicate issues that one won't normally see on prime time television and refrains from making any grandiose lectures, allowing each episode to speak for itself. The cases dealt with are gruesome and lurid in nature---the show features organ harvesting for profit, human trafficking, black market trading and hate crimes, all in a span of ten episodes. These scenarios are presented with honest brutality, often mitigated by some form of hilarity, in addition to some ridiculous maneuver on the part of the dias police that would send the bad guys running. The outcome of each incident is often oversimplified to the point of incredulity but each episode has enough disquieting imagery to hammer in the injustice, hostility and peril that these illegal immigrants face on a daily basis.

As a dark comedy that indirectly castigates the country's insular attitude, Dias Police essays an alternative to a homogeneous society by showing the potential of a diversified community. The series tries to bring this vision to life by having a supporting cast of foreign actors converge in a restricted locale, exemplifying a melting pot of cultures and ethnicities. Furthermore, the overall set design has a retro-ghetto vibe to it that does not lend itself to a specific time period which deceptively makes the show feel current without committing itself to a specific time frame. It has a unique look which is dingy but whimsical, where back-alleys and seedy rooms give way to a specialty restaurant abuzz with friendly folk, and crime scenes are paled by a roof deck where a replica of the Statue of Liberty looms above a group of women doing basic yoga poses.

No matter how serious or dire the storyline gets, or how many trigger warnings it may set off, the show is simply unable to shrug off the comic attributes of its source material. And while it has its share of human scum and violent thugs, there are also numerous characters in it seemingly lifted from the pages of the manga that make the show skirt reality. The sickle-wielding female enforcer, the conspicuously dressed and inked assassin, the large-nosed male porn-star wannabe and the silver-haired xenophobe leader are just some of the characters that make this series a tad outlandish and laughable. Combine that with the ways in which the only police officer in town comes to the rescue armed only with his wits and the odd household item (e.g. hand drill, mouse trap and a lighter), Dias Police tows the line between crime drama and satire, and it doesn't work all the time since over the top acting inevitably undercuts the drama.

Another thing that might bother viewers is that the series ends without revealing the true identity of its protagonist when such information was treated to be of some value or, at the very least, a point of interest in the story. The episodic format provides very little by way of character exposition despite constantly showing Saki in action. His roots remain a mystery and all that is known of him is that he speaks several languages and is resourceful enough to perform his job effectively. It has been alluded to that he arrived in Japan as a war refugee, but beyond that, the question of how and why he came to be the dias police does not appear to be of particular concern to the series.

RATING:
IMMIGRATION ISSUES
COMIC BOOK VILLAINS
DIVERSE SUPPORTING ACTORS
TRIGGER WARNING

Strawberry Night SP (2010)

2016-09-11T08:39:00.000+08:00

Strawberry Night is the first book in Honda Tetsuya's popular detective series which features a hardboiled female detective, constantly at odds with the rigid, patriarchal system of her chosen profession. Adapted into a standalone special in 2010, this 2-hr feature provided audiences a taste of the kind of brutal and gruesome cases that comprise the author's brand of macabre fiction and similarly introduced a dark and complex heroine in Lieutenant Himekawa, whose single-hearted focus in her work can both be admired and despised. It also marked the beginning of a string of adaptations which came out in the form of a television miniseries in 2012, followed by a full-length motion picture in 2013 entitled, Strawberry Night: Invisible Rain, and then capped off by another t.v. special on the characters following the events of the film.

In 2016, the book, Strawberry Night, was translated into English, published under the title, The Silent Dead. With the book now available to a wider audience and the series having reached the end of its run, it's as good a time as any to revisit the special and see how it stacks up against the other made for t.v. offering in the series.

* * *

When a body wrapped in a blue plastic tarp is found near a pond in a Tokyo suburb, Lieutenant Himekawa (Yuko Takeuchi) and her squad from the homicide division of the Metropolitan Police are called in to investigate the unusual circumstances behind the crime. It's a baffling case---the man who was brutally murdered came from a modest background with no known enemies, and it's a complete mystery as to why the body, with its stomach carved out, was dumped in such a conspicuous place. The case takes a rather bizarre turn when a second body is found with the same signs of torture and cause of death, but there appears to be nothing to connect the two victims together.

The police's only lead is an exchange on a message board discussing a site on the dark web, which has Himekawa convinced that they're dealing with a methodical killer with a high body count. She alerts her superiors of this possibility but has trouble convincing them of the merits of her theory. With her right hand man (Hidetoshi Nishijima) stuck behind a desk and rival detective, Katsumata (Takeda Tatsuya), breathing down her neck, Himekawa has to struggle against professional impediments and personal prejudice to usher the case forward, bringing to light a world where death is proffered as a spectacle.

The Strawberry Night SP is a solid adaptation of its source material, being arguably the best of the lot, simply for supplying viewers a structured story. It also happens to be the only one in the series that offers a sense of closure to the case, all the while touching upon issues such as social injustice and apathy, law enforcement inefficiency in criminal apprehension and gender discrimination.

Well-paced, with the deductions made being logically sound, this television special, for the most part, is an engaging mystery that also makes use of the more sinister aspect of the dark net. It has a perpetrator that exploits the dichotomy of life and death, attracting victims to witness a person's demise as if it were performance art---the most chilling part of it all, is that these people were willing participants and patrons to this Sunday theater, who can even be considered as accessories after the fact.

There is sufficient information provided about the protagonist, the killer and the victims to make this a well-rounded effort. The motivation behind the killings might be a bit extreme but it's often the type of existentialist dilemma that is featured in this sub-genre of Japanese television and cinema. The material does not shy away from everything that's vile and sordid and for this reason credit should be given to screenwriter Yukari Tatsui for keeping the story moving and intact without relishing the gory details. Furthermore, director Yuichi Sato's command of every frame provided subtle hints and sufficient exposition to the case without giving away the big reveal of the identity of the sought after criminal. It's a twist that not many will see coming and this is probably one of the few times when the endeavor to misdirect viewers really pays off.

But perhaps the highlight of the show is not so much the commission of the crime---which is horrific in itself---but rather, the depiction of how the traditional policing model in Japan can hamper the resolution of cases. Extremely bureaucratic and political, police officers and detectives are shown to be mired in jurisdictional and intra-agency rivalries, often withholding information and reluctant to cooperate with each other. The Iron Gun's unorthodox methods of securing information provide a nice foil to Himekawa's intuitive reasoning and impulsiveness, turning the special into a contest on which detective will first crack the case.

Entertaining though it may be, the Strawberry Night SP is far from perfect, given a weak third act and an overbearingly defensive heroine. Given her traumatic past and present hostile work environment, it's understandable how an ambitious woman like Himekawa would have a chip on her shoulder but it is quite unsettling to see her lashing out indiscriminately at people who care and support her. There's also quite a leap in logic at the very end on her part when the mastermind is uncovered and an unearned display of empathy towards a virtual stranger that is somewhat puzzling to say the least. The gallery salute and the insertion of a ghostly apparition seem out of place with the overall tone of the series and lastly, there are a number of questions left unanswered regarding the true status of Himekawa's relationship with a certain colleague.

RATING:
WELL-PACED CRIME PROCEDURAL
TROUBLED, COMPLEX HEROINE
OFF-PUTTING GHOSTLY APPARITION
WEAK THIRD ACT

Dokushin Kizoku (2013)

2016-08-28T19:07:00.000+08:00

Dokushin Kizoku is a romantic comedy series that is more like an homage to classical Hollywood films than an earnest depiction of contemporary single life. It has elements of the quiet, pristine romances prevalent in the Golden Age of cinema, at times, being out of touch with present day reality, often caught up in scenarios that would have otherwise been tolerable if this were made in a different century. It starts off with three single people with individual reasons to detest marriage and steamrolls its way to the rigors of the movie-making business and yet, it does not really make strides to push that particular subplot. At best, it's about how one self-proclaimed bachelor for life meets his one true love and reconsiders his view on marriage....but to say that's all there is would be myopic. The series is predictable to a fault and though it is peppered with sweet moments and lots of movie references, such timid intimations of love between the lead characters may not be enough to tide die-hard romantics through eleven episodes of near misses and forced endearments.

Hoshino Mamoru (Kusanagi Tsuyoshi) is the head of a film production company who relishes his time alone. He goes out on dates but pays the women no mind, firm in his opinion that matrimony and sharing his life with someone would be nothing but bothersome. Temporarily living in his apartment is his brother, Susumu (Ito Hideaki), who continues to carry on a dalliance with a revolving door of women even though he's about to be taken to the cleaners by his ex-wife. Though different in demeanor and attitude towards work and women, the Hoshino brothers agree on one thing---there's nothing more precious than being free and unhampered, for nothing beats living the single life.

Trouble brews on the horizon when the screenwriter they contracted fails to produce a script for their latest venture. With the company's investors ready to pull out at any moment and their aunt (Dewi Sukarno) imposing Mamoru's engagement to aristocrat, Genouzono Reika (Hiraiwa Kami) as a condition to providing financial support, the brothers scramble to salvage the impending movie project.

Susumu decides to pass off a screenplay written by aspiring writer, Haruno Yuki (Kitagawa Keiko) to the investors as a quick fix, but Mamoru objects to the said plan as a matter of principle. To keep the company afloat, he acquiesces to the arranged marriage and offers Haruno an internship to familiarize herself with the movie business while working on her screenplay.

Matters of the heart and work soon collide as Haruno attracts the attention of the Hoshino brothers. She gets swept off her feet by the younger and personable Susumu; slow to realize how the older and introverted Mamoru would be a better match for her creative sensibility and reticent personality. Though alike in many ways, these two inert individuals take a rather long and awkward path to finding each other, and not without the intervention of meddling bystanders and concerned well-wishers.

Contrary to its title, Dokushin Kizoku is not really about the swinging single life. Yes, it's a love story that takes root during the course of a movie production but, in its own way, it's also a circumspect tribute to cinematic endeavors in general. It has protagonists who are certified cinephiles who share a strong belief in film, not only as a form of artistic expression but also as a medium that captures the imagination and opens up worlds that would otherwise have been out of reach.

On the business side of things, each episode takes audiences through common problems encountered in putting together a movie project such as working with divas, hosting premieres, soliciting advertisers, casting choices and securing location permits. The series also manages to present the veritable conflict between the commercial and creative demands of the industry, including the existence of the proverbial casting couch. However, it often falls back on clichés, as if totally oblivious to the consequences of a breach in contract, the threat of a sexual harassment suit or the oft-discussed complications of having a workplace romance.

Dokushin Kizoku more or less tries to mesh what would have been a 50's prototypical romance with the supposed cutthroat film industry but is unable to adeptly present or explore each storyline from a fresh, unfiltered perspective. It remains pleasant and wholesome, which is part of its old school charm.

Characters would often speak about romantic love and destiny, citing lines in verbatim from stock movies such as Sleepless in Seattle and While You Were Sleeping and even serendipity comes at play, but the material's too chaste approach and often languorous pacing somehow tamps the magic of its so-called meguri aetera. With inspiration culled right out of celluloid dreams and music invoking a myriad love stories, it's a wonder how the romantic scenes allotted to its one true pairing were so few and far between.

There's just not enough of either the love story or the workplace drama---with symbolic tokens conveniently forgotten and professional impediments easily brushed aside. But while it may lack originality, it does manage to recreate the type of story where love and intimacy can develop without physical contact and where the gravitational pull between soulmates is so apparent that third parties have no choice but to nobly step aside.

As a side note, Kusanagi Tsuyoshi's performance at the end of episode seven deserves mention for what comes across as a sincere and heartfelt admission, while Hiraiwa Kami gets major props for playing an initially annoying side character, who ends up saving the day by boldly proclaiming, "there's no such thing as fate". Now if only she lost the birdcage headbands...

RATING:
PRISTINE ROMANCE
GEEKY MOVIE REFERENCES
LIMITED OTP INTERACTION
MEDDLING SIDE CHARACTERS

Stranger Bakemono ga Jiken wo Abaku (2016)

2016-06-12T18:20:00.000+08:00

Television shows that feature supernatural creatures embroiled in crime investigation are nothing new. They tend to resurface intermittently considering that the combination of two genres provide some gothic flavor to a show that would otherwise just be another crime procedural. Forever Knight and Moonlight had the undead making use of their abilities to fight crime while the Korean series Vampire Prosecutor featured another creature of the night in search of truth and justice. Stranger Bakemono ga Jiken wo Abaku somewhat follows in this tradition by introducing two immortals that surreptitiously assist in solving a murder case despite their initial reluctance to get involved for fear of drawing attention to their kind. It panders to the idea of supernatural creatures mingling with common folk, unidentified and inconspicuous, whose movements are confined by a society of their own. What makes this different is that while similar shows are mostly about the search for meaning and purpose in the face of eternity or the atonement of past sins, this drama special curiously places stock on the need to dissociate from humanity and the ability to forget (--lessons which its male protagonist refuses to learn).

Misugi Akira (Katori Shingo) and his mysterious companion, Maria (Nakajo Ayami), arrive in Tokyo to fulfill a promise to admit Itou Kaori into their vampire clan when she comes of age. But they never get to meet the girl. For on the day of her 20th birthday, while waiting for Akira to pick her up, Kaori falls prey to a killer that leaves puncture marks on his victims and collects their blood. Akira, being in the vicinity of the crime, is taken in by the authorities for questioning and later released. He arouses the suspicion of Detective Saeki (Hagiwara Masato), who looks into Kaori's past and discovers a remote connection between them. To prevent the detective from pursuing this lead, Akira and Maria decide to aid the authorities and search for the criminal in order to prevent the exposure of their immortal clan.

Despite its flat execution, an ongoing debate about the nature of humanity is waged within Stranger Bakemono ga Jiken wo Abaku. From the point of view of beings that consider a lifetime as a mere bleep in time, humans are argued to be frail, petty and cruel, unworthy of concern and intervention. And while, initially, there are two focal points to this drama special's narrative, the ongoing manhunt for a serial killer only plays second fiddle to Akira's tale as a hundred-year old vampire dissenter. It takes a rapid detour from the investigation of a gruesome crime to uncovering the history and reappearance of a man thought long lost and dead. What it does quite successfully is to draw appreciation for a character whose thoughts and actions consistently reflect a strong belief in keeping memories alive, so much so, that he is unable to abide by the rules of the clan to distance himself from the business of mortals. It does quick work of heavy themes such as life, love and loss but acquits itself in explaining why a man on the verge of taking his own life would eventually choose to live forever.

Good characterization aside, the special does come with a number of problems. Foremost of which is that it lacks originality and imagination. It resorts to tired images of vampires and serial killers. The unnatural dialogue between the detectives (obviously hewn from a textbook on criminal psychology to profile the killer) combined with the regular-issued black attire and sullen disposition of the show's vampiric creatures just smacks of lazy writing. Most confounding is that it leaves out details regarding the origins and customs of the clan in question. Among these include making roses a daily nutritional source as a substitute to blood without explanation, brushing aside Akira's role and responsibility as consort, and opting to dress an exalted lady of ranking like a Gothic Lolita on her way to Comic-Con. Often bland and expressionless, with the occasional glare every quarter of an hour, the acting is far from good but it would also be a stretch to call it atrocious. While thematically strong, Stranger is ultimately guilty of cutting back on the finer points of the myth surrounding its supernatural creatures, when more insight on how and why they are so would have made this show infinitely better.

RATING:
GOOD CHARACTERIZATION
UNDEAD HERBIVORES
ANCILLARY MURDER MYSTERY
UNTAPPED ORIGINS OF THE CLAN

Koi (2013)

2016-05-22T20:22:00.000+08:00

This TBS drama special based on Koike Mariko's award-winning novel has two things going for it. First, it has the notoriety of a bestseller that has for its subject, a crime of passion, and second, it has a strong and recognizable cast of actors able to render this tawdry affair into an unforgettable piece of melodrama in spite of being a crime-exploitation. As a period piece, the special leverages a soundtrack designed to capture a decade marked by political conflict and changing social attitudes. In terms of motif, Koi highlights the reckless, sordid and ugly facets of that "one great love" which defies all reason and the early stirrings of misguided feminism.

This is a love story stripped of any conventional romance, and even though it manages to put across its heartfelt sentiment depicting strong emotional ties, it does not appear to operate within the boundaries of a prescribed thesis to support or justify its characters' choices. The special is full of characters that are hopelessly consumed by an amorous intensity that is rarely reciprocated.

Koi recounts one dying woman's summer of love and unexpected devotion to a couple whose relationship she saw fit to protect at any cost. Set in the early 1970s, the material has radical views pertaining to women, sexuality and marital relations, at times arguably championing a love that is fiery, relentless, and defiant---and by all accounts doomed. There are radical ideologies at play in this and an indication of an open relationship carried out behind closed doors, or in this case, offscreen.

Novelist Koike Mariko provides a heavy-handed dig on different kinds of love and its many complications, but for all its histrionic declarations and liberal mustering, refuses to offer a solid message or a word of caution regarding its premise. Is it simply because the heart wants what it wants? Or that love comes with its own set of shackles? Is one type of love greater than the other? If so, then the show has difficulty navigating this self-constructed, murky terrain, and in the end, the material in itself appears unconvinced of the worthiness of personal sacrifice in defense of such credo and the murder committed in its wake.

A middle-aged ex-con, named Yano Fumiko (Harada Mieko), is tracked down by a non-fiction writer (Watabe Atsuro) interested in learning what drove her to murder a man in the idyllic resort town of Karuizawa in 1972. Choosing to unburden herself to a sympathetic stranger, Fumiko shares memories of her youth, recalling a time when student protests broke out in the streets, cherry blossoms were in full bloom, and how meeting a university professor and his wife for a part-time job would challenge and eventually alter her perception of love and marriage. As a young woman (Ishihara Satomi), she admits finding herself instantly enamored with the dashing Katase Shintaro (Iura Arata), who was about to embark upon translating an erotic novel, and equally in awe of the latter's liberal, free-spirited half, Hinako (Tanaka Rena), who shrugged off social convention. In her mind, the spouses make the perfect couple; she reminisces of happy, carefree days spent together at a time when they took a shine to her.

From hereon out, the drama special tiptoes around the actual formation of this ménage à trois as Fumiko transitions from an outsider to playing the part of friend, little sister and lover to the Spouses Katase. Scenes are cut to favor the depiction of young, unrequited love even though it is quite clear that the relationships between the characters are far more complicated than presented. This can perhaps be attributed to the limitations of the medium in which the story is told but there are enough clues within the show to insinuate that Fumiko's feelings extended to both Shintaro and Hinako. There are subtle reminders utilized to communicate this to viewers such as shots showing an impressionable student smack dab in the middle of a handsome, urbane couple, a seemingly chaste kiss goodbye, teary-eyed assurances and an appeal, entreating each other not to disrupt the existing unit.

All the above elements make for a compelling if not scandalous piece of television, if it were not for the need to downplay the sexual relations and controversial views of its characters on love. There's little to no dialogue about how and why Fumiko regarded the Katases with such reverence, adjudging the relationship as inviolable and whatever alternative to it as dirty and unacceptable. Without the necessary dialogue or disclosure on the philosophy behind the foregoing relationships, the driving force behind the commission of the crime becomes ambiguous and the choice to leave or stay in the present state of affairs nugatory. It remains unclear whether or not the work adopts a liberal stance on marriage, celebrating the concept of agency with an underdeveloped feminist agenda as subtext.

Despite its theoretical shortcomings, Koi works because the actors in it sell the drama. In retro outfits, Tanaka Rena and Arata make a stunning, cosmopolitan couple believably worthy of envy and desire, while Ishihara Satomi channels both innocence and quiet rage, playing a young woman desperate to salvage a relationship. In conclusion, a working familiarity with the novel on which the show is based provides added complexity, whereas the intentional repression of any socio-political views render this drama special open to a number of interpretations. The viewer gets to pick which version they prefer.

-o0o-

For those interested to gain more insight on the relationship between the characters and the perceived significance of the period and place in which the story is set, see Mina Qiao's analysis of the source novel entitled, Sexuality and Space: Tokyo and Karuizawa in Mariko Koike’s Koi. You can also download the pdf copy of the article sponsored by the Japan Foundation here.

RATING:
ABSORBING MELODRAMA
CONTROVERSIAL VIEW ON LOVE
DYSFUNCTIONAL RELATIONSHIPS
COMPELLING PERFORMANCES