redraw of a drawing of shima from june 06 :]

heres the old drawing btw and the reference lol

VIVANT EPISODE 7 THOUGHTS

(protip: never read the official episode titles from TB/S on T/Ver. Episode 7's could be considered a spoiler)

Wow. And wowowwow...

Pictured: Me finding yet more details I missed during the first two watchthroughs

Pictured 2: My reaction when I notice something brought up in this week's episode actually makes a statement/profile we saw a number of episodes ago look really suspicious.

First: Holy shit what the hell?! WHAT THE HELL NOGI?!

Second:

Kohinata, you're not off the hook! I don't remember which episode Kohinata's Nagano gets interrogated, but if I recall...didn't we learn that he was former JSDF? Isn't that what made him a prime suspect to Nozaki and Public Security? I kind of remember him saying how he left the forces...but wasn't he active in the 80s? We learned this week that Balka fell into civil war in 1983 and that Nogi Suguru (Nogi's dad) is reported dead in 1984 when he ends up dragged into the factional conflict. He did have a reaction when Nogi name-dropped Zayir/Zahir and Nogi F did go right up to his face and sniff him, stating he literally smelled "off"/suspicious.

(Kohinata always plays sus characters. I don't mind if in the end, it turns out he's just an old dude who wanted to hang out with a younger woman because his marriage is on the rocks, but MIU404, MOZU and even S1 of Emergency Interrogation Room set me up for years of doubt XDDD.)

Shinjo (gone from sus to maybe sus idk) brought up good points: why didn't Suguru communicate with Public Security in the 80s to tell them he was alive. I wonder if a flashback episode is around the corner...the late 70s to 80s seem like they might be really important. If Nozaki is in his 50s, then any older character we've seen could potentially be important a future flashback episode. If there's one planned.

Nozaki Mamoru = Canon gay lead? IN PRIMETIME JP SUNDAY NIGHT TV?!

(I'll take it. Even if they forget about it or reverse course)

One of the only pieces of good news in this episode--writers confirming, as much as jdrama will allow them to outside of a BL drama, that Nozaki is gay. Not only that but he had loved another man: Liu Mingxuan. (And that it seems like Liu liked him first before he noticed or wanted to commit but did? Maybe he was closeted back then and worried it could be used against him?)

Nozaki: Well, in your position, it's not like you can have a normal love life, can you? (pause) Nogi: Nozaki-san...? Nozaki: Yeah? Nogi: Could it be that you... Nozaki: (laughs) I'm sorry. I can't help but look [at you]. Nozaki: You look just like him. Nogi: I do? Nozaki: It's like I'm looking at the junior who I lovedーLiu Mingxuen. He was a colleague of mine when I worked as a liaison at the embassy in Beijing. Nogi: And I look like him? Nozaki: Yeah. But he's not in this world anymore...

I did find this part oddly curious? worrying?:

Nozaki: He worked so hard for me. He was serious and tried so hard to get me to like him. But because of that... (smile fades) I ended up going over the line during the interrogation <-- this part Nogi: So then...that's when...? Nozaki: If I had actually paid a little bit more attention to him, he wouldn't be dead. That, for me, is my one failure.

The part I "highlighted", the "I ended up going over the line during the interrogation" (other TLs welcome!) part, has me wondering...what happened. And when. He's jovial and charismatic, but Nozaki still is a state intelligence officer. What could've happened?

I'll also headcanon that Nozaki sharing his story about his last lover and how Nogi resembles him, is a roundabout way of confirming Nogi's question was maybe "Could it be that...you like me?".😇🙏

I don't watch BL dramas (because I simply don't know which ones are?), but I've seen the odd drama or two with vaguely-gay-but-we-won't-say characters (with some exceptions: Nigehaji, for example has three). The fact that so far Nozaki is older, has been in love, exudes life experience, and has a different personality and energy from the usual gay characters I've seen in jdrama, is something. He also cares. He's competent at his job. He comes off as really cool, too.

Also his wink is dangerous. I take 500,000+ pts in damage each time (thank you.).

I'm very inclined to believe that despite the increased frostiness and visible gradual distancing in their friendship (see: the last two episodes T_T)), Nozaki was being honest. I also would like to believe that Nogi's line to him later was somewhat reciprocal?

(I know we love to see Nozaki be all close to Nogi, but I'm actually also really enjoying the frostiness of their relationship and how they're both trying to maintain façades more than ever with each other--Nogi as he tries to deceive Nozaki more and Nozaki as he tries to act as he always has despite the very significant information he's been learning about Nogi's true identity)

But as much as I'm inclined to believe his story, jdramas have the ability to betray and I'm steeling myself ahaha.

Nogi's cryptic message to Nozaki on the plane

I totally misread this scene at first as an "end of relationship" moment...but I later felt it was a compliment...then a potential coded message? Jdrama detectives on twitter think it may have been purposefully cryptic/metaphorical as a message to Nozaki, even planting a kind of signal to him--"if something goes wrong, watch for my signals" or something. (Among so many other possibilities)

But it also felt...affectionate? Nogi gently placing his hand on top of Nozaki's and gently clasping(?) it before talking to him felt genuinely kind. The slow letting go of his hand felt, sad almost?

The first idiom used is apparently quite old (1800s) and together with the second half reads:

あなたは鶏群の一鶴、眼光紙背に徹す

(For the sake of keeping it cryptic and rare-sounding, following the proposed definitions in the dictionary):

"You are a great figure among men; one who is able to read between the lines"

Literally (extra deep?):

You are a singular crane among a flock of ducklings chickens, able to read between the lines

Given how later the tracker Nogi removed and placed in some kind of signal blocking pouch, is reactivated and leads Nozaki, Chenggis and his officers to the site with the unconscious/dead Vostania members...Nozaki notices the "calling card" left by Nogi too before he receives a message that really catches his attention. I wonder if in that moment Nozaki's ability to "read between the lines" and grasp at the deeper meaning behind the evidence he finds kicks in.

I also feel like Nogi F realizes that he can trust Nozaki? Or at least that he believes he's exceptional and intelligent?

(I also believe that Nogi F was the one talking to Nozaki during that scene. Sorry Yuusuke! XD)

Now...my most recent "AFHDSKJHFSD AAAH" and "HMM 🤔🤔🤔🤔" discovery--

6 BEPPAN BODYCAMS BUT ONLY 5 ARE NAMED ON THE SCREEN IN THE CONTROL ROOM!!!

The most recent find--

The members of Beppan chosen for the Vostania-Tent meetup interception mission that were all gunned down by Nogi all had their bodycams named...except for Nogi's. That's such a strange thing to overlook.

Not only that, but weren't they all wearing bulletproof vests? Were the bullets in Nokor's gun for piercing bulletproof vests? I don't think the 6 willingly would go into danger without their vests...

COPIUM: Nogi and the Commander are in on it. This is their operation. Nogi didn't betray Beppan. Commander Sakurai's reaction may have been because of Nogi's methods and/or who was shot. If any of the 4 survived, it'll be interesting to find out what they think... (I think that...maybe each group in this series will have traitors of different kinds in their midst? Or maybe we learn about other members of Public Security, Beppan or Tent that neither of the revealed agents of either group are aware of?)

EDIT: THIS GUY LIVES! (credit to the fans in the VIVANT thoughts tag on Twitter) In the "Next Arc" trailer when ep 3 ended, they show Kumagai's actor, Nishiyama Jun, in hospital robes:

Now I'm extra curious. If the others are dead and only Kumagai and Kurosu live (please live), then maybe the Commander and Nogi suspected someone among them was a mole?

Sam is also in that trailer (earlier video?) maybe that wasn't him in episode 5 hahahahaha (denial)

H*rry P*tter -- Nozaki the geek

I made another post about this, but the HP reference and DVD set drop is actually likely really important, I think. I really do believe it's to find a subtle way to keep Drum by Jamine's side and keep watch over her (whether for Public Security or because his intuition is going wild and he's worried for her safety) The post is here and in summary, my realization is that his words to Drum as they leave Jamine's hospital room has me thinking he's setting Drum up to keep near-continuous watch of her later on!

Nozaki : Alright then Drum, let's go grab a bite to eat. Drum: 😄😄😄!!! Nozaki : See you, Nogi Nogi: (nods, smiling) Nozaki (as he leaves Jamine's hospital room with Drum): Oh yeah, that's right, there's no Mongolian [version]— Make sure you translate it properly for her [while she watches], alright?

Also, for real though, I'd like to believe that during happier times for everyone in that franchise's boom, Nozaki was definitely a fan and did the midnight lineups and dressed up with his buddies (or relatives?) for the movies and books. If he's not using a ruse, my headcanon is that he's been able to enjoy life in some ways and indulge in some hobbies.

(Also: If I were to romanize スネイプ社, it'd be using Mongolian Cyrillic romanization. "Snape Co." is too awkward lol and from what small research into Mongolian I've done, "sna" will not produce the same sound as it does in English. Maybe Snép? Snaype? Snaïp?? Snêip??? Snayipp??)

Is this is a hint that he's going to act as a double spy...?

I'm excited and scared to see how Nokor and Nogi will face off. Nino's delivery of the line "Hey there, brother of mine" was menacing in the episode 8 preview. (I'm only familiar with Matsumoto Jun's acting in 99,0%)

I wonder what Nozaki received on his phone. And poor Kurosu...he's living up to the kanji associated to him in the early promo cast announcement teaser of 信頼 (shinrai - trust, faith), but it's getting thrown back in his face in the worst way by this apparent(??) betrayal by Nogi?? I feel awful for Kurosu--he put a lot of faith in Nogi believing this betrayal, the capture, and the injuries, were all part of his plan...when apparently they're not. I want to go back in time to this moment:

I wonder if each character's kanji words will mean they'll each come face to face with that crashing down on them. Kurosu is sure to trust Nogi less, if at all, if it turns out this was all part of some bigger plan....maybe? A bit of a "One must fall before they can come back stronger" type of theme? (I wonder how Kurosu ended up partnered up with Nogi?) I'm still so sad over his "This is all part of the operation, right?" and "You did this because it's part of the plan, right?"....Kurosu really trusted Nogi.

To end (Because I could go on for a while I think)---

Nozaki and his "Oh wow oh no this sucks. It would've been great if someone had stuck another tracking device on Nogi somehow without him noticing, eh?" pose (Chenggis, meanwhile: $@%#!$#!%):

Chenggis being cute. CHENGGIS BEING CUTE??

Wink = 5,000,000pt damage

Thanks for reading to the end. Sorry if my thoughts were all over the place--I made a draft of this on Monday and meant to post it but was out in the evening and came home and was too tired XD;;.

English is not my first language, nor is Japanese, so please forgive me for any mistakes.

It’s about this interview.

I don’t think this is the one the other anon mentioned but still. In this interview Ayano and Tsuneda were asked something like “What made you aim for your current job?” and Ayano talked a little bit about Faiz. His answer begins at 15:43.

He told us that he didn’t really want to pursue acting as a career, and that he thought it was just a good way to earn some pocket money (and also that he didn’t think highly of actors). Then he mentioned his first experience with director Ishida Hidenori. It took 23 takes to shoot his first cut. He thought that it was ok as long as he delivered his lines properly but the director would say “Not good, do it over”. Ayano was frustrated because he didn’t know what he was doing wrong. He thought he was embarrassing himself in front of the adults around him. He felt as if he was in the classroom and someone came from behind and suddenly pulled his pants down, exposing everything for everyone around to see it. So he got pretty sulky and frustrated about it to the point of feeling murderous intentions (I can’t tell if he was exaggerating or not). After finishing those 23 takes the director went over to him and said something like “Those watching don’t care if this is your first time in a play. They’re watching thinking we are professionals. We feel the potential of a professional and we’re doing this together, so face it properly.” Those were simple words but that moment, those words, would stick with Ayano forever. “Ah, so there is a place where adults face things with all their might”, he thought. Because of that Ayano wanted to surprise the director, he wanted to be recognized by him.

You could say that director Ishida was Ayano’s switch. It was then, because of Ishida, at that place, for the first time, that Ayano decided he wanted to become an actor.

They talked a bit about MIU404 as well but that part was not in the video for whatever reason.

Here’s a twitter thread with the translation of the written portion of the interview.

Now I love (?) Faiz for another reason! xD

wow... we talk about faiz’s influence in a negative way a lot but here’s a rare positive one! got a cute and talented lad to take acting seriously.

i can’t help but laugh a bit at the “those watching think we’re professionals” part though. tbh those watching were mostly 7 years old and probably wouldn’t have noticed if the acting of a side character was a little stiff.

but on the other hand i really respect everyone in charge who treats kamened rider like it is, in fact, important and a big deal, bc that’s how i’ve often thought of it too. mr ishida’s practiced wisdom...

Autumn Jdramas (Sept version)

It continues to be a bit of an odd schedule with Japanese dramas coming out at a staggered rate for autumn. I've caught three of the police dramas, but I'm mostly looking forward to Tamaki Hiroshi's Gokushufudo and I'm hoping it's as amazing as the basis sounds. If anyone still remember him from the lovely days of Nodame, that man sure knows how to handle a kitchen knife! Diver Stars: Fukushi Sota To be honest, I am both pleased and disappointed by this drama. Pleased because the premise, script and characterisation are interesting and surprisingly complex for something coming out of Japan. The main character is a grey character who appears to be unofficially employed by the police force, but uses unconventional, at times bordering on criminal and unethical, methods to ensure a criminal gets adequately punished. This can range from tampering with evidence to setting things up so a guy gets killed by his own gang. What is disappointing is...Fukushi Sota. I think this is the third time I've tried to sit through something with him, and he's...even worse than Yamazaki Kento. I mean, at least with Yamazaki I can kind of ignore his acting and just focus on his pretty face. Unfortunately the script here is so interesting I wish they had cast a better actor who could take advantage of the character complexity, instead of trying to just "act cool" and grandstand in every scene. The main character is a conflicted, traumatised and slightly unhinged guy who's probably a lot more empathetic than what we're getting, which is a smart-mouthed smug-faced uncontrollable brat. Your mileage may vary; but I think if he took a page out of Suda Masaki's book in Class 3A, this would have been perfect. I think Suda's gotten the perfect tone for the villains now and that is - don't look arrogant, just be confident, because what's scarier than someone looking constantly pleased with himself is someone calmly blowing up the classroom like it's a normal thing in graduations. Kiwadoi Futari Stars: Yamada Ryousuke, Tanaka Kei This drama comes on the heel of the brilliant MIU404, and is in a completely different league in a bad way. It takes the usual trope of 2 complementary-contrasting characters for a police drama, but even after the entire episode I can't tell what they're supposed to be because they're both dumb and reckless. I don't know who the scriptwriter is, but they really shouldn't be doing this genre. The two characters keep interrupting stressful emergencies with - not even lively banter, but just exchanges that make the audience more worried about their intelligence than trying to understand their different view points. Both Tanaka and Yamada give it a good go, but the drama has no idea what it wants to be. It interrupts tense moments with really idiotic humour that just does not belong in this genre - and I'm not saying that humour doesn't belong, but just that it has gotten humour all wrong. It really needs to have a look at well-written suspenses like Boss and MIU404 to see how humour should be incorporated into a tense plot. (** I've just discovered that it was adapted from a book, which may explain why the characters keep pausing during time-critical moments to chat. Some things really don't translate well into live action.) Oretachi wa abunakunai Stars: Suzuki Nobuyuki, Sano Hayato In the vein of Oyabaka (which I actually finished watching, by the way, and it was hilarious), this is a police drama that is determined not to take itself seriously. If you enjoy anime comedies, I think you will love this. It's snappy and fast-paced, self-aware and ridiculous, without the awkwardness of Oyabaka's random ad-libs. I've never watched the 2 main characters act before, but they bring suitable aplomb to their over-the-top characters. Just don't watch this for any action or suspense, because a comedy is what it is.

Looks delicious! But there’s coriander in there. Ayano dislikes coriander so Ibuki was the only one who didn’t eat it xD They put something else on his plate if I remember correctly xD

Oh! They sent Gama-san a fax! Those don’t exist in my country anymore so I didn’t notice before xD

The bold japanese text says something like “Gama-san, could you ask what it’s written here?”

Not sure why Itomaki was unable to translate the Vietnamese text with google translate or something but I did find a blog post that explains in detail all of the vietnamese phrases used in this episode and a more in-depth reason behind the numbers. It’s in japanese but auto-translate does a decent job.

I can’t not notice stuff now that I know...!

Gama-san uses a flip phone xD

Oh wow! There’s an entire extra bit in the DC version! Watching the on-air version got me thinking ���if they know so much why are they not doing anything to prevent it?” but this scene explained quite a lot! Captain Kikyo poked at capitalism and at the government incompetence and compliance! No wonder it got cut. Shima said that there are close to 3000 Japanese Supervising Organizations (Maybe? LIke... 管理団体 - Kanridantai?) and they can’t get around to check ever single one of them to determine whether or not they’re illegal.

The guy referred to foreigner students as human resources, talked about them as if they’re mere objects...

This dorama is a lot different than other police doramas out there. Not your typical “newly formed task force overstepping and doing another division’s job”. Like... It’s so weird how people from forensics or cyber crime or whatever go out of their way to arrest the suspects, you know? But then we have MIU... Their job is done. And the story progresses naturally. It’s frustrating for Ibuki but I like it xD

I wonder how much research Nogi-san did before writing MIU404... She did a really good job!

Also... Usagi-san on the shelf, right above Ibuki’s head <3

“Kono sekai ga dai kirai”... “I hate this world”... Poor Mai-chan...

They’re getting scolded xDDD

So this episode takes place around June 13th, 2019, a thrusday.

Backstory! Backstory! Backstory! <3

Too close!

Something causing hyperventilation and a lot of frustration... Feels like trauma to me =/

“Why do Japanese people hate foreigners? (...) If they don't hate us, then why are they so mean? We come here to work because Japanese people don't have enough workers. We work to meet their needs. In Vietnam, there are many electrical appliances from Japan. Many Japanese companies. They're beautiful. Cool. Everyone wants to go to Japan. It's a dream. But Japan doesn't need us. What they want... Are those who don't complain... Don't say anything... And don't cost money. Working robots!”

Ibuki just... Listens to her.

“I didn't want to hate Japan...”

Ibuki went from just listening to not knowing what to say. But I mean... What do you even say to someone who’s feeling like that? I can only imagine how she’s feeling. It’s not just disappointment or betrayal... It’s almost some sort of... Grief. And it hurts. Deeply.

Kudos to Phongchi and her outstanding performance in this scene... Made me cry ;-;

Moments like this show us they’re getting closer I think =)

And doing some more research, I couldn’t find much about how being called a snail is regarded as an insult in Vietnam...

Ibuki: “Is our country’s sin our sin as well? (...) Even if I apologize... It won’t save hundreds of thousands of people who are treated like robots. I wonder, how can everybody be so okay with it?”

Shima: “Isn’t it because we can’t see it? It’s easier not to see it. Once we became aware of it, our world would shift slightly. And when we realize that gap, we either run away... Or we choose to close our eyes again...”

Heavy stuff...

Backstory!

Too close!

Ibuki is sniffing Shima xDDD I need to gif that xD

The entire conversation was really nice. A bit of comedy to balance the heavy stuff without being too much.

And Shima himself said that he’s suited to be a detective... While Ibuki presents this... Innocence as a cop. I love it so much! <3

Also... The next bit was a scene with no cuts and so much text! Ayano did a good job!

Cute xD

Not sure how threatening to beat Mizumori up equals threatening  Shima, but ok I guess xD

Shima now knows how to deal with Ibuki behaving like a kid xD More or less anyway xD

“Natsuku na! Natsuku na!”, Shima said xD

Natsuku is an interesting word/expression.

They’re definitely getting closer!

みんなが笑顔の世界

本当にMIU404が大好きなドラマで人生の中で一番好きなドラマ。

自分ほぼドラマは見ないけどこれだけは本当に見てた。

そんなMIUで未だに思い続けてることがある。

それは最後、クズミが病室にいた時に「どれから聞きたい？」的なことを言ってそれきり口を噤んだシーンのこと。

あんなにお喋りだった彼が一切あれ以降口を開くことがなく、黙秘を続けてるという報告。

その時に思ったのがまだ逮捕される以前にクズミは「みんな、みーんなが笑顔になれる世界。いいやろ」ってようなことを言ってた。

その時はまだクズミが散々クズみたいな人生を歩んできたことを知らなかった時での回。

だからこそ思う。

たとえクスリだろうと何だろうと“みんながただ笑顔”でそこにいるだけの世界。

ひいては自分に危害を与えてこない世界。

それこそが彼が望む世界だったのかもしれないな…と。

彼だから、そんな人生を歩んできた彼だったからこその。

I really love "MIU404" and it's my favorite drama of my life.

I don't watch most dramas, but this is the one I really watched.

There's one thing about "MIU" that I still think of even now.

At the end, when Kuzumi was in the hospital room, she said, "Which one do you want to hear first? The scene where he said something like that and then kept his mouth shut.

After that, he didn't open his mouth and kept silent.

At that time, before he was arrested, I thought that Kuzumi said "Everyone can smile in the world. It's a world where everyone can smile.

At that time, I didn't know that Kuzumi had lived a lot of scrappy lives.

That's why I think.

It's a world where everyone is just there with a smile on their face, whether it's drugs or not.

A world where everyone is just there with a smile on their face and no harm comes to them.

Maybe that's the world he wanted to live in...

Because of him, he led such a life, and because of him, it was the world he wanted to live in.

I just realized there's a Director's Cut with additional lines and scenes for episode 3 and have no idea where to watch it...? Could it be the UNe/xt version? Or that the VIVANT discs will have extended Director's Cut versions of all the episodes I wonder?

Edit: oh wait it seems like the episode digests available on Tv/er all contain scenes from a Director's Cut it seems?

I'm watching the 2 hr VIVANT Matsuri /Emergency Live Broadcast special and they showed a scene I hadn't seen before where Kawai (HR) and the company men go raid Nogi's house. In the scene, we see Nogi hand Kawai his passport. As Nogi walks away, the following exchange happens:

Kawai: Excuse me—your wallet and smartphone as well, please. We would like to take a look at your credit card use history as well, so your cooperation would be most appreciated... Nogi: Are you serious? This is too much, you know. Kawai: Do you understand the position you're in right now? The prime suspect in this whole incident, is you.

(we transition to the scene with F and Nogi where F says "Shit! This pisses me off!!")

That'll be fun it if it turns out we<ve been given snippets of the Director's Cut versions. I wonder how much dialogue was left out. (with MIU404 there was a lot for a few episodes)

The versions on Tv/er all seemed shorter than the advertised extended times, but I figured that was due to TV ads. Maybe there will be a DC version announced for the disc release.

Also, this whole VIVANT Matsuri SP is so cool. I'm really enjoying it! (There's a cute reaction shot where Chinggis' actor mouths "That's me!!" when Chinggis' debut scene happens. teehee)

jdrama scriptwriters

It's only recently I've started noting some scriptwriters keep popping up for shows I like. Many big production (especially multi-season) shows would have a different scriptwriter responsible for different episodes. For many others, the scriptwriter's style is defining for the drama and is often predictive of the story's quality. Here's a few names I've noticed over the last few years.

Hayashi Kouji - Iryuu series, Boss series, Code Blue series (seasons 1 and 2) etc. The 2000s dramas were his highlight. All 3 series named above were quick-paced and snappy, and he handled ensemble casts very well. Each character was well-defined in their personalities, preferences and motivations. The plot was generally well-researched and tight, with multiple things happening at once but generally able to keep hold of loose ends. His more recent dramas have been less interesting. Doro-Kei was funny but a bit too unbelievable, and Top Knife was unusually bland. My forever regret will be him not writing a full series of IMAT no Kiseki.

Nogi Akiko - Lucky Seven, NigeHaji, Unnatural etc Nogi Akiko's CV is interesting. On the one hand you have quirkly manga/novel adaptations like Juuhan Shuttai!, Nigeru ha haji daga yaku ni tatsu, Okitegami Kyouko no Bibouroku and on the other hand some fast-paced police procedurals in Lucky Seven, Unnatural, and MIU404. While her original slice-of-life series Kemono ni narenai watashitachi was bitter and a difficult watch, she has really come into her own in the police procedurals. Both Unnatural and MIU404 have cases that highly reflective and musing of human character, and is able to strike an emotional key where many procedurals don't. They also characteristically have a main plot which drops small hints throughout the first parts of the series, and makes it a fun watch to keep the clues in mind week to week.

Kaneko Shigeki - Propose Daisakusen, Summer Nude, Sekai hito muzukashii koi This guy came up with a bunch of well-received rom-coms in the 2000s, but he's actually great at doing slice of life and finding meaning in the mundane. I have fond memories of the much under-appreciated Voice, about a group of pathology trainees: the cases were so ordinary yet so very relatable. Boku Unmei no hito desu and Momi keshite fuyu were both a bit of a difficult watch, but Ore no hanashi wa nagai was surprisingly homely, just like sitting down and listening to your family rant for an hour each week. Slightly annoying but somewhat endearing, just like most of our unexciting lives.

Mutou Shougo - HanaKimi (2007), Kazoku Game, Kaitou Yamaneko, 3 nen A gumi - imakara minnasan wa, hitojichi desu I thought I'd make mention of this guy because his tone is so recognisable. It's hyperbolic and slightly deranged, and with vivid social commentary. His story-telling style is as close as you'd get to Japanese anime, but he knows how to take advantage of the live action media and make the story seem grounded in reality.

jdrama 2020 autumn (oct #1)

Talio ~ Fukushou Daikou no Futari Stars: Hamabe Minami, Okada Masaki I went into this with high(ish) expectations because I like Okada, and while I've never watching Hamabe (except for like half of the first episode of her most recent drama with Yokohama Ryusei), I've heard that she's the next up-and-coming. Also, the premise looked unusual - a lawyer working with a conman, so it should be cute and tense and cerebral all at the same time. I'm not sure what went wrong. To start with, Hamabe's character is not cute. She (and I mean the character, not necessasrily the actor) is not even very convincing. A child without a mum who then loses her dad at a young age to grow up in a foster family to have that much (undeserving) self-assurance, naivety and social ineptitude is...astounding. She comes across as someone highly book-smart but socially tone-deaf, which would be fine for a normal prodigy who grew up with a very sheltered home life, but just unbelievable when she would have spent the last 10+ years living under someone else's roof and trying to get along with a family and siblings who are not her own. Your social cognition gets an early start when you realise people around you aren't there for you unconditionally. Her tics are also not cute or funny. I'm not sure what they're trying to build by her always saying "I'm telling only you this but I was the valedictorian" only to have her do something dumb afterwards. Is it to show that she's smart? Or that she's dumb? Or just socially inappropriate? Her doing the kiss and shoot motions during her confrontations are also not cute or funny, and really jolts you out of the story to the point of me having to fastforward things to get through the whole episode. Okada Masaki's character isn't well-defined in the first episode, and that may be intentional. They've left it so that he reluctantly works with her but is still clearly in the grey zone. But their dynamic come across awkward and not as clearly defined as these partner stories ought to be. For example - MIU404 has a rational vs reckless type, or Keiji to Kenji has a materialistic vs sentimental type, or even Kimura's recent BG2 has his socially observant type up against Saitou's socially awkward type. The idea with these screen partnerships is that they are complementary to make it worthwhile, and contradictory to make it interesting. The only clear traits about the two of them is that Hamabe's character is a lawyer hence supposedly law-abiding, and Okada's character is a borderline law-breaker. But she uses some very dodgy methods that I'm not sure would pass off all that well with the real law-abiders - stalking, blackmailing, going against her superiors without talking to them. And I'm not sure if I just stopped paying attention at that point but - did she really just steal the key evidence for her client by getting someone else to steal the data, then running off with the money?? So much for sticking to the path of justice. Okada's character is also not leading enough with his street-smartness, and in fact his motivation for actually helping her or working with her remains unclear. So basically the two of them aren't different enough for you to feel they need each other, nor are they on equal enough footing for their conflicts to be worthwhile. I normally really like Okada, but I think I've decided he's best staying in goody-too-shoes roles, because he just comes across here as creepy and annoying. For the sake of my remaining goodwill towards him, I had to stop watching. Gokushufudo Stars: Tamaki Hiroshi, Kawaguchi Haruna Mostly Japanese comedies don't do very well, but I think the year is in dire need of comedies. How do I put it? It is what it needs to be - it's full of gags, not much plot, and lots and lots of ridiculous posturing and misunderstandings. Most of the time the humour does get it right. It's certainly nice to see Tamaki get back into something light-hearted because he's actually got great comic timing. Kawaguchi's acting is much more natural these days (or maybe because everyone is trying really hard to over-act in this one?), which is nice. But I really worry about an entire season of this, because even by about 2/3 through the first episode, the gags were starting to wear a bit thin. I hope they've added some backstory and plot, because I'm not sure it can sustain itself for the whole season. I also wish whoever's doing the camera work could just chill it on the shaky cam and filters, because there's enough spinning and jolting to make me carsick (and I don't normally get carsick), and the filters make everything fuzzy. The actors really do give it a good go, and it's propped up by some solid veterans, but again...I really hope there's some plot to all this because it can tire very quickly.

MIU404 is amazing. You get a dorky/serious cop pair and a serious younger/tired older cop pair. Their female chief is amazing, too. Plus, Suda Masaki doing his best Kujo Kiriya cosplay.

this all sounds so good... i just wanted to watch it bc mr ayano seems so cute in it but now there’s all these other reasons too. one of these days i have to stop getting obsessed with cop shows but. today is not that day

jdrama 2020 spring

For those who haven't been paying much attention to what's happening for Japanese TV, and more as a record for my future self who may want to look at the disaster that was 2020, the spring season had meant to be the pre-Olympic season. Given that the Olympics would attract the attention of most Japanese audiences, the TV channels had invested most of their hopes (and budget) in this season. Much awaited sequels for Hanzawa Naoki, Haken no Hinkaku, the Japanese remake of Suits, and BG were to lead the season, while star-studded casts filled out the rest with Ryuu no Michi, Unsung Cinderella, MIU404 and Miman Keisatsu. Almost every A-lister was on the roll. But, like many things in the last 3 months, that was not to be, even as Japan admirably took reins of its earlier explosion and kept the local outbreak under control. None of the above listed shows except Suits managed to screen, while smaller scaled shows managed to scrape past the quarantine and make their way to the networks. Bishoku Tantei ~ Akechi Goro | Official site Stars: Nakamura Tomoya, Koike Eiko The premise of this is one of those silly things that can only arise from a manga. A private detective goes around solving cases that are related to food, and in the first case he accidentally creates his arch nemesis, a beautiful woman who connects with her psychopathic inner self and finds a second career as an assassin for hire. She enjoys killing people, so why not, she reasons, do it while helping others who want to kill people but don't know how to go about it. I only recently watched Legal High, and it was only then I realised that not so many years ago, Koike Eiko went by sexiness rather than good acting. It's remarkable how much she's come from that, especially if you watch her act in Toma's recent Watashi no hanashi ga nagai. This series brings her back to the femme fatale or murderous vixen trope, which she clearly enjoys. Unfortunately, there's not much else to enjoy about the series. Nakamura is far less interesting here than he was in Nagi no Oitoma. What might have worked as a manga with its dramatic grandstands and aggressive flirtations come across as awkward and difficult to believe when transplanted to real life. There is also not much "life" in this series...the story exists in its own bubble of reality, and the world around it seems empty and soulless - again a set up that works with manga but feels poorly fleshed out in live action. Silent Voice 2 | Official site Stars: Kuriyama Chiaki I have a fond spot for Kuriyama, who has always been one of the more versatile actresses of her age. The first season was enjoyable - Tateoka Ema might come across at first glance to be a wallpaper, but she has a special skill of extracting information from suspects by their subconscious reactions and gestures. It's as if the American Lie to Me was crossed with Amami Yuki's KinTori, Kuriyama manages to dominate the camera by the way she controls the flow of the investigation or reacts to the information presented. Almost all of the scenes take place inside the interrogation room (one reason why this season managed to screen without glitch), but still remain gripping for 40 minutes each time. Tateoka's side kick has changed from Shirasu Jin to Baba Toru, as the former has joined a cooking show set in a fictional town of European characters played by Japanese actors...so, let's not start. Byouin wo Naoshikata | Official site Stars: Koizumi Kotaro, Takashima Masanobu I had no idea what to expect when I went in, and I was pleasantly surprised. Apparently based on some true events, the story is about the revival of a small district hospital by a brave hospital director who brings in a number of radical reforms. It sounded mind-numbingly boring, but turned out to be a remarkably pleasant watch. It's nice to see Koizumi go back to playing his type (instead of his recent roles as the mastermind villain) as a smiling, unflappable, optimistic yet realistic and big-hearted gentleman. In fact, Arihara is so perfect it's hard to believe someone like him exists in real life, yet it is also very hard to dislike him. One amazing scene was when he, as the new vice director, gets confronted by the entire frontline staff over his decision to pare down and standardise medical supplies, and one of the senior nurses challenge him with, "What if we make a mistake because we're not used to the equipment?" He smiles graciously and says without a hint of irony, "Let's avoid that from happening; after all, we're all professionals." In the hands of anyone else, it's hard to avoid making that line sound patronising or passive aggressive, but there's something about Koizumi's manner that makes you believe it's heartfelt. I'm not sure how the Japanese health system works, and it seems quite different to what we're used to. The impression I get (and feel free to correct me if you're familiar with the system) is that there are numerous small privately owned hospitals, which has the right to refuse to accept or refuse to treat certain emergency patients. As one recent newspaper article alluded to, during the height of the Covid outbreak, one ambulance circled the streets of Tokyo for hours before finally a hospital agreed to accept the patient. Beyond that though, I'm getting to the stage of life (or career?) where management is interesting, if only on a theoretical level. Good doctors do not often make good medical administrators, and doctors also classically respond poorly to being managed, but whatever health system you work in, hospitals are a money-draining exercise, and sometimes these result from considerable wastage and inefficiency. It doesn't quite have the drama or stakes of Ikeido Jun's underdog series, and that's to its benefit. It's smaller scale and as a result much more intimate and relatable, as though this story might take place on your neighbourhood.

So today is April 4th... 404... So I’m gonna resume watching MIU404 <3

Aaaaand they’re already arguing xD

The guest from episode 5! According to mydramalist, her name is Phuongchi, a “Japanese idol of Vietnamese descent”. She’s a really good actress as well, iirc, and I’m almost certain she has no accent outside of her role. I like her! And I like Mai-chan!

Huh. So Mai-chan taught Shima and Ibuki how to work on this job on their first day? Jimba mentioned that Kokonoe said he should’ve been the part-time worker “yesterday as well” so I wonder... How long have they been working on this operation?

“Calm down, don’t wiggle your tail.”

“I don’t have a tail.”

You clearly do, Ibuki xDDD

And this time Ibuki was the one calling Shima “Baka, baka, baka, baka” xD He’s... Shy? Embarrassed? Which is weird, for me, since in my mind Ibuki is this straightforward guy who just, you know, would casually invite a girl he likes to move in with him. Huh. Totally forgot about this!

Also, Mai called them “Reji” when she asked them to stop fighting. Apparently it means cash register (according to tanoshii japanese) or in this case, cashier. Good to know!

Kokonoe is SO certain the perpetrator is a foreigner. This is not him relying on his instincts like Ibuki. This is an inexperienced, biased cop jumping to conclusion based off of his own beliefs. But he’s learning. Jimba is there to make sure he at least consider other possibilities.

Shima’s face after Mai rejects Ibuki xDDD Also, the way Mai says “Ibuki iranai” is really cute xD

I still find it odd that Ibuki is going “You didn’t realize my charm yet, Mai-chan” or something like that. I was there with Shima complaining about his insistence. Like... Nogi-san said that she didn’t want Ibuki’s type to be your typical pretty, or skinny or anything like that, hence the whole “kyuru kinda girl” thing...  So his “I don’t have confidence but if I don’t jump in I don’t have a chance” is just so uncharacteristic of him now, for me anyway.

Civilian’s safety first.

The pursuit sequence was really nice. Kokonoe saying “stop pretending to be foreigners” showed us that he’s listening!

While this dude is still having fun xD