Starman ~ Kono Hoshi no Koi Review

Title: Starman - Kono Hoshi no Koi

Genre: Romance, Sci-Fi

Episodes: 10

Broadcast period: 2013-Jul to 2013-Sep

Cast: Hirosue Ryoko, Fukushi Sota, Koike Eiko,

Kenchi a.m.m

Uno Sawako (Hirosue Ryoko) is a single mother with three boys that has been left by her husband who ran away from her and his family. Sawako lives with her grandmother and the three boys in a small town far away from Tokyo, and greets every day happily even with her luggage.

One morning while driving her youngest to childcare she almost hits a man (Fukushi Sato) swaying along the road, but barely manages to stop. When she walks out to scold the person, he passes out right in front of her. Captivated by his way of looking at her, she takes him home, and she finds out he has lost his memory due to shock.

After pondering she decides together with her best friend Misao (Koike Eiko) and her grandmother, to tell the man that he is her husband. When managing to make her children get on board, he wakes up, and the story of her younger husband ‘Hoshio’ begins…

I was pleasantly surprised, and I was sort of head over heels even though I have no idea why. I mean the story is seriously absurd, from memory loss to aliens, it really has the most bizarre situations, and I say that with having watched all other dramas. The relationship seems shallow when you think about it, but I was kind of liking it. The couple was cute, so where the kids, and the entire family was so adorable.

But I do think the main reason I liked it as much as I did was because I had absolutely no idea what was going to happen next episode. I was taken aback by everything, especially by the pace. It was fast!

So if you want a cute family story with a hint of the weird and the sci-fi, this is a great pick.

☆☆☆☆ / 4 out of 5 stars

♥♥♥♥½ / 4½ out of 5 hearts

Summer Snow Review

Title: Summer Snow
Genre: Family, Romance
Episodes: 11
Broadcast period: 2000-Jul to 2000-Sep
Theme song: Natsuno Osama by KinKi Kids
Cast: Domoto Tsuyoshi, Hirosue Ryoko, Oguri Shun, Imai Tsubasa and Ikewaki Chizuru.

After the death of his parents, Shinoda Natsuo (Domoto Tsuyoshi) had to take care of his two younger siblings; the half deaf brother Jun (Oguri Shun) and sister Chika (Ikewaki Chizuru), who is secretly dating Juns friend Suetsugu Hiroto (Imai Tsubasa). While running a bicycle shop, he also is the head and busybody of the family. By being simple minded and an easy-going person, he one day meets Katase Yuki, an OL who has never had a job, due to her heart illness.
The two of them are connected by several means; Jun starts to write to an OL lady named "Yuki", who happens to be Yukis fellow co-worker, and uses 'Yuki' as an alias. Hiroto gets busted for robbing, by a detective, who is the father of Yuki. So some way or another they are bound by destiny. After the meeting, they start having a common interest: diving. Then the story starts, of the snow that falls during the summer under the water, summer snow...

This drama is heart warming, and heartbreaking at the same time. I enjoyed watching this family, even wanted to be part of it. Domoto Tsuyoshis character was pretty amazing; a big brother willing to take tons of responsibility on his shoulders and not say a pip about it. I like that he starts to act like a dad, but then, probably realises it himself that, he becomes the protective brother. The characters individually are superb; I mean they all have something memorable, and interesting about them; being deaf and wating to achive a dream, teenage pregnancy, having a deadly illness and lacking responsibility.
The humour was great, but the romance was a bit geeky, which is typical for the 2000-2002 series in Japan, but then again it had its charme :P
Though the ending was a bit messed up, meaning confusing, I did kind of expect the ending, so I actually did not like it. But it's the type of endings that I love, unique and tough to deal with. Final words, watch it if you like good scripts and unique stories.

☆☆☆☆ / 4 out of 5 stars

♥♥♥ / 3 out of 5 hearts

(This drama probably deserves more, but it did not equal my expectations)