HERO 2

I think I might be a bit rusty with doing a drama overview - so please be patient.



I'm not sure that I've seen HERO season 1, but it came out in the early 2000's.  And so unlike so many others in 2014 that were the second season and with which I decided to start at the beginning - I just jumped into season 2 here.  

This is a story that falls into the legal/procedural bucket described in the 'Compartmentalizing' post. For some reason I thought that this was going to be a comedy (perhaps the first one was?), but watchers please do not be fooled.   This is neither comedy nor romance.   Each episode is stand alone except for the last two which make up a two-parter.  A very standard structure of a dorama of this type.

The primary character, Kuryu Kohei,  is coming back to his state law office after being away for the past 15 years.  Surprisingly some things have remained the same - I think there are 3 or 4 characters that were in the original show.  And Kohei - the overly casual prosecutor - seems to have remained the same.  He still wants to get to the bottom/truth of every case, even when it's easier to just process the criminal and send them to court.  This passion for doing a thorough job rubs off on his fellow state prosecutors and they all become more earnest, despite their initial frustration with his slow and methodical approach.

The primary subplot(s) are around the romantic entanglements the other prosecutors have with each other.   There's actually a cute - yet predictable - episode in which half of the team asks to be switched to work with different partners based on their romantic interests.  And of course when the changes are actually made, no one ends up with the person they had hoped to be paired with.  There is the old paralegal who likes the only female prosecutor, the young prosecutor who likes the only female paralegal and then two prosecutors who had an unfortunate break-up of their relationship a few years back. As subplots go, while predictable, it was sufficiently interesting - showcasing the depth of some of the characters.

And now for the most interesting part of this fairly routine drama - at least interesting to me as an American.  The legal system in Japan is structured somewhat differently than here in the States.  These state prosecutors (kenji) spend most of their time simply indicting people to go to court.  They are paired up with an "assistant" which I have to imagine is something akin to a paralegal - and who helps to handle the paperwork.   The kenji bring a suspect in and ask them a series of questions. Based on the answers to those questions, they decide whether or not to indict.   In the States indictments don't happen in a state attorney's office - they happen with a grand jury or in front of a judge - so this process was curious to me.   For most of the show I was unsure of whether or not the kenji were litigators - or if they were like the British where solicitors handle paperwork and another category of attorney (barristers) handle the litigation.  But, I learned in the last two episodes - when Kohei prosecutes a case - that they do indeed go into the courtroom.  But, in the all the weeks that elapse, it appears that they - as an entire office - has only had to go to trial once.   Very curious.....

All in, I wasn't too big of a fan of this drama.  I found only 1/2 of the cases to be interesting and the main character felt like he was phoning it in.  He was curious about his cases, but had little to no depth of interaction with his co-workers.  I was surprised by how bored I was considering the ratings for the first season were incredibly high.  Maybe I should go back to (re)watch that one instead.

I'm Back - 2015

Wow - It has been six years since I lasted posted on this blog!  And the one thing that is consistent throughout that time was the job that I had.  I have since moved on to another role and I guess I have a bit more work-life balance and this is a much smaller place with less to do.  So...I've found myself returning to Japanese drama watching!

To be fair, I've been watching dramas on and off during this time.  But, there are probably so many good ones that I've missed.  I have given myself a list of 10 or so over the past 3 years that received the highest ratings.

2014

• HERO 2 
• Doctor X 3
• Hanasaki Mai ga Damattenai 2
• Kyo wa Kaisha Yasumimasu
• S - Saigo no Keikan
• Hirugao
• Zoku, Saigo Kara Nibanme no Koi (season 2)
• Kinkyu Trishirabeshistsu
• Ashita, Mama ga Inai

2013

• Hanzawa Naoki
• Doctor X (season 2)
• Galileo (season 2) - watched?
• Legal High (season 2) - watched?
• Doctors (season 2)
• Last Cinderella

In looking up some of them, I've realized that I have actually started (and in many cases finished) the doramas from 2013.   But, I still have a ways to go in 2014 and 2015.  But, it seems like I stopped watching in 2009.  What does that mean for the 2010-2103 seasons?  I don't know yet.   It doesn't take very long to get through a whole season (about 6-8 watching hours), but getting through the list above is ambitious during a one week break - so we'll see...

I will get to the recap of the 2 most recent doramas that I've watched HERO 2 and Doctor X

Ryusei no Kizuna

I've been drama hopping for the past couple of weeks. I haven't really been able to get into any one series. I've started and stopped several from the past 3 years that were supposedly top shows - but none was able to hold my interest. And then I came across Ryusei no Kizuna. It has been on my list for a while, but for some reason I kept skipping over it. Well, I'm glad that I finally decided to try it out. It's my favorite since Orange Days.

Synopsis: I guess, I'd put this series in the 'Family' genre. The story centers on three siblings whose parents were killed when they were younger. They are bonded with each other in large part b/c they are committed to finding their parents' killer. Along the way they decide to engage in swindling activities - which leads to hilarious situations - and brings them closer to discovering the killer's identity.

Characters:
1) The oldest brother Kouichi - was the main character in Chichuie-sama. It was hard for me to see him as the older wiser serious brother b/c he looks so young to me. It was only in the scenes when his inner dork would show that I felt his character fit his face.

2) The younger brother - was the abusive boyfriend in Last Friends. I did not think that I would be able to see him as anything but that character. Surprisingly, I was able to forget about that character most times and see him as the naive and emotional younger brother.

3) The sister, Shizuna - was one the interns in Code Blue. Like in Code Blue she's supposed to be pretty attractive. But, she's so much more sentimental and less cocky about her looks in this series. I still don't see her as being particularly attractive -- but that's neither here nor there.


Impressions: This show has a wonderful mixture of humor and sentimentality. And it is only slightly predictable -- meaning at the beginning I had no idea how it would end, but within the last 2 episodes, it was pretty clear how things were going to end -- but I could easily deal with that.
It had enough sub-plots and twists to keep me engaged the whole way through. Also the main premise is one that you want to see to the end. If there's anything that I could complain about it would be the ending of the show. When you see what they're all up to now -- it was a bit vague and sappy for me. But, that only lasted for 5 minutes and was a very minor drop off in quality.
Two thumbs up for me!!

Oh No Veoh!

I used to use Veoh.com to download many of the doramas that I've watched. I'd then go to d-addicts to get the soft subtitles for the dramas. But, since Veoh has upgraded -- my normal routine has been disrupted. It seems that the new veoh does not work with my operating system and on top of that it causes my firefox to crash everytime I try to use it. Bah!

But the good news is that I have found an alternative location to view my Japanese dramas. So in the words of 30 Rock's Liz Lemon "suck it!" Veoh.

Compartmentalizing

I know that no one else reads this blog. I can't quite figure out how to make it searchable. But, I will one day and in preparation for that I thought it would be fun to have not just a summary of the shows that I've seen, but also a comparison of some shows to another. i.e. "If you like X drama you should check out Y drama" In my first step towards that, I am going to categorize the dramas that I've seen below. I will put them in order of my favorite types.


Working woman finding love: This type of show has the main character as a single woman at least in her mid-twenties who accidentally falls in love with another character. Usually there's some conflict preventing her from admitting the love at the beginning: either work, another boyfriend, a girlfriend/fiancee..something. But, in the end as expected the heroine makes it work with her beau -- usually learning a lot about what's really important to her. Most times this type of drama is approached from a comedic standpoint - but not always. If this type of drama seems interesting - you should check out:
Sapuri
Hataraki Man
Hokari no Hinkaku
Around 40
Kimi wa Petto
Zettai Kareshi
*Kekkon no Dekinai Otoko- the lead character here is a man

Quarter-life crisis: More like 1/5 of life crisis.: Kids in their 20s trying to figure out what life is all about. There's love and work and everything in between (often that's college).
Orange Days
Last Friends
Nodame Cantabile
Propsosal Daiskusen
Hatchimatsu to Clover (Honey and Clover)


Professional theme drama: I've seen two main types the medical drama and the police drama. They both focus primarily on the cases that these professionals face. The team has to overcome some unusual obstacle and they use their unusually high expertise to do so. Usually episodic in nature with three or four multi-episode cases in one season. It surprising how similar the the medical and the police dramas can be, which is why I've grouped them together. If you like watching ER - you should try:
Iryu
Team Medical Dragon
SP
Code Blue
Galileo

High school angst: This type of show is characterized by a girl and a boy who are at odds for most of the show, but clearly like one another. Usually there's a love triangle with a third person liking one of the two main characters (and sometimes a fourth). If this type of drama seems like fun to you - you should check out:
Hana Yori Dango (Boys over Flowers) - 2 seasons and a special
Hanazakari no Kimatachi e
*Nodame Cantabile (except this takes place in college)

Strong women kicking butt and taking names: These women kick butt either literally or figuratively (with their incredible minds). There's usually some minor love interest, but the focus of the show is on proving to the men that they can do it. If this kind of drama is exciting to you - watch:
Koshonin
Unfair

Family drama: This one can be a comedy or a drama or a slice of life type of show, but the focus of the series is on family dynamics: husbands and wives, women and their children, friendships or maybe all of those in one. There's usually some sort of social commentary about the state of Japanese life in the subtext.
Haikei, Chichuie-sama
Saitou-san
Karei-naru Ichizoku
Monster Parent
SCANDAL


The Classroom: Inevitably it's the high school classroom, from new teachers, to new students, to mean teachers, to mean students. These dramas usually have some "misunderstood" character element.
Queens Classroom
LIFE
Dragon Zakura

There's no "I" in TEAM: Team sports usually with a high school or college backdrop.
Ganbatte Ikimasshoi
Waterboys
ROOKIES

Hopeless Novice: The main character is starting out in a new field - usually this is a comedy or romance.
Attention Please (flight attendant)
Bambino! (chef)
Bengoshi no Kuzu (lawyer)

Sibling Rivalry: Brothers and sisters fighting for dominance - this is a comedy genre. This is actually my least favorite type as I stopped watching two shows of this type. But, if this kind of thing strikes your fancy try:
Kikken na Aneki
Seigi no Mikata


--And then there's the Drama Drama: These are tearjerkers that deal with illness/death or some other unfortunate circumstance. You know from the start that you will end up crying. I have not actually watched any of these -- as I tend to not want tv to make me depressed. But, from the descriptions I've seen here are some that look good:
Boku no Aruku Michi
14-sai no haha
Kaze no Garden
Bara no nai Hanaya

Going forward I will categorize any newly summarized dramas using this metric. Despite their being 11 different categories (a bit high) I think these groupings work. We'll see how it applies going forward.

K-drama v. J-drama

I love the break between Xmas and New Years for all of the drama watching I can do. I decided to try our a Korean drama - after hearing so much about them. There are many people who believe that Korean dramas are the superior drama of the East Asian dramas....I am not so convinced.

First drawback - the series are very long. -- Well, not all of them but they're definitely longer than a Japanese series which is no longer than 11 episodes plus a special. I had to hunt to find a short one and even that is 17 episodes (with 2 hour long episodes...).

Second drawback - They are primarily one genre- romance. Granted, I've only watched part of one series, but the descriptions of all the series I considered had to do with unrequited love or love triangles or something else related to love. The japanese dramas come in many genres: action, mystery, medical, sports, office, and romance. Even though I don't like all of the genres, I like the fact that there's variety to choose from. Keeps things interesting.

Third drawback - (and this is completely personal) I prefer the sound of Japanese to Korean. And I also think the Japanese actors are more attractive. It is probably that I've just gotten more used to watching Japanese people and slowly learning Japanese along the way.

Overall, I think that I will slowly continue to finish watching: The 1st Coffee Prince. But, I doubt that I will rush out to watch more Korean drama. I will just be patient and wait for the new seasons of Japanese dramas to come out

Haikei, Chichiue-sama

Synopsis:
A young apprentice chef works in a ryotei in Kagurazaka (a neighborhood of Tokyo known for its geisha houses). He is the son of a former geisha, now bar owner and the title of the series is dedicated to the letters that he writes to his unknown father. Most of the show takes place in the small ryotei with the other chefs, waitresses and the family owners. The background music is soothing and reminds me of another drama that I can't recall. The peaceful, small town mood of the dorama reminds me of Honey & Clover the anime (not the drama -- if the drama had managed to create the mood of this series it would've been infinitely more successful). It's a slow paced drama with hints of comedy -- good for an older female audience.

Main Characters:
This is a character driven drama -- in the genre of drama (although there are many humorous elements). The characters are very attractive (Naomi is actually very physically attractive). Because they are all so likable I empathized with each one of them. Even when there were conflicts between the characters it was hard to choose one side.

Conflict #1:
Between the okami-san "old boss" and her daughter the "new boss". The old boss was a consort to a powerful politician. This politician dies early in the series and the effect of his death is not only effects the family emotionally, but also financially. While he was alive he helped to support, through his influence, his lovers restaurant, Sakashita. With his death and the changing times, the mother and daughter fight over the fate of the restaurant. Should they hold out and try to preserve the old ways of the neighborhood or should they realize their fate and change along side the neighborhood. Despite how abrasive the 'new boss' is, you do feel for her having to assume so much of the responsibility of keeping the restaurant afloat -- and ensuring the livelihood of her family and the staff. The old boss is portrayed as much more loving and likeable, but really quite naive. The mediator between the two is Ryuu-san, the head chef. He has a calmness and reasonableness about him that seems to almost repel high strung people like the new boss. And he can see both sides of this dilemma - he loves Sakashita and all that it stands for, but realizes that financially it can't afford to remain in it's current state.

Conflict #2:
Between new boss and Yukino-chan, Ippei's mother (and everyone else). The new boss is a bit difficult and the most interesting scene is when she pretty much cusses out Yukino-chan and tells her just b/c she's had a child doesn't mean she's fit to be a mother. And what does Ippei do when his mother is being spoken to this way?? Nothing. As usual. But the new boss doesn't limit her crotchiness to just Yukino. She directs it at her husband as well. He unfortunately just takes it for the most part -- he seems beaten down by life. Her daughter is just as confrontational as her mother, but as of yet isn't as caustic. The daughter and mother b/c of their similar personalities. And let's not get started with the way she treats the waitresses. She's insufferable.

Conflict #3:
Between Yukino and Ippei. This one is simple to explain. Yukino does not tell Ippei who is father is. She doesn't tell anyone who the father is. Ippei, as he gets older, feels he has a right to know -- Yukino doesn't agree. When Ippei thinks that the writer is his father and Yukino refuses to confirm or deny, these two stop speaking. It's sad, but not terribly, b/c it's the sort of disagreement that parents and children get into and get over. You really see how much Yukino loves Ippei, despite her sometimes reluctance to express maternal feelings. It's sweet.

Conflict #4
Between Ippei and 'ojou-san' aka Eri. (and her family) I think you're supposed to feel sorry for Ippei as he inadvertently finds himself as the most likely suspect to become the husband of the new-boss's daughter. But, I didn't feel sorry for him. He was ridiculously oblivious and his inability to speak, if it will ruffle feathers, leads to him really hurting Eri's feelings. The old boss has set up a date between Ippei and Eri for Christmas eve. Even after he finds out that this is not just a friendly or familial meeting, it's a real date -- he can't tell Eri that he's not interested in the same way. Instead he gives his dopey roommate his ticket and tells him to meet Eri while he goes on a date with a girl he actually likes.
Now enters the most memorable one of all: Karasawa Naomi (Kuroki Meisa). She is the most beautiful Japanese woman I have seen in the dozens of doramas that I've watched. I am saddened when I think that the reason that I think she's so beautiful is because she looks Eurasian (although she is not). But that's still not enough to not be awed by her. The one thing that's a bit odd is that she looks years older than her mere 20 years of age. So, when looking at her and Ippei, who looks young for his age, they almost looked the same age -- but in some scenes she looked more mature....


I don't back the ending....Not at all! How can a show call itself successful when it does that. I understand the desire to not tie everything up at the end, but it should tie up some of the loose ends. For example we know that Ippei and Naomi spend the next 3 months together, but what happens after that? Do they stay together despite the distance? Does he move to Paris to be with her? Do they break up?? What the hell happens?
And then there are the 2 fundamental questions of the series: 1) Who is Ippei's father? 2)Does Ippei choose to work at the New Sakashita (thereby accepting the changing Kaguraza). These critical questions: one which the title of the show is based on, the second which the theme of the show is based around -- neither of them are answered! How bogus!

Bottom Line: As I'm writing this I realize how much I didn't like Ippei. He doesn't do anything. He seems incapable of making a decision on his own. And he doesn't ever stand up for himself or others. He's really very very lame. But all of the other characters are very interesting.