Kindaichi Shonen no Jikenbo S04 (Neo) Review

Title: Kindaichi Shonen no Jikenbo Neo

AKA: Files of Young Kindaichi Neo

Genre: Mystery, Suspense

Episodes: 9

Broadcast date: 2014-Jul to 2014-Oct

Cast: Yamada Ryosuke, Kawaguchi Haruna, Daiki Arioka, Asari Yosuke and Narimiya Hiroki.

This is the fourth season of the drama following young Kindaichi Hajime - the grandson of the great detective Kindaichi.

Kindaichi Hajime (Yamada Ryosuke) together with his friends Nanase Miyuki (Kawaguchi Haruna) and Saki Ryuta (Daiki Arioka) have joined the school Mystery Club. As always they are an unrepeatable trio, but school isn’t easy when being Kindaichi Hajime, as murder is always around the corner, even in the club next door. And when the Hell’s puppeteer Takato Yuichi (Narimiya Hiroki), a crime producer - making plans of how to commit the perfect crime for payment, seems to be behind a lot of the killings, Hajime can’t keep still and decides to fight him directly and uncover the tricks the way he knows - in the name of his grandfather…

Finally at the fourth season of this drama and I know I should have expected it, but the deaths are way too circumstantial for Hajime to be there every single time. I mean more people die in this drama than average, and those three are witness to too many murders compared to the regular high school student.

That said, besides the acting not a single thing was even interesting, and yeah I count the murders in too. I didn’t know who the murders were a lot of the time, but usually I could guess when a famous/known actor/actress guest starred there was a 95% they were the killers, and sometimes the way of killing was just ridiculous. Also after the murders, and confessions of course, Hajima had this idea of ‘understanding’ the killers and talk to them - which was bull. I mean the way these people are killed is just coldblooded, why would you need to talk to them? Sorry I don’t see remorse or regret, so yeah.

All in all an interesting drama with loop holes.

☆☆½ / 2½ out of 5 stars

♥♥½ / 2½ out of 5 hearts

Kindaichi Shonen no Jikenbo 2014 SP Review

Title: Kindaichi Shonen no Jikenbo Gokumon junku Satsujin Jiken

AKA: Kindaichi Boy’s Accident Files 2014 SP / The Files of Young Kindaichi 2014 SP

Genre: Mystery, Suspense

Broadcast date: 2014 January 12

Cast: Yamada Ryosuke, Narimiya Hiroki, Kitamura Kazuki, Kawaguchi Haruna, Daiki Arioka and Wu Chun.

The special continues after the Shanghai story.

Kindaichi Hajime (Yamada Ryosuke) is forced to go to a well-known cramming school in Tokyo called Gokumon, famous for providing results immediately. He is taken by his two friends Nanase Miyuki (Kawaguchi Haruna) and Saki Ryuji (Daiki Arioka) who are afraid that Hajime might not continue till graduation with his grades. Arriving at the school they are met with a scream and find a dead body. When the police arrive they are surprised about how indifferent the fellow students are. Shortly after Lee Byron (Wu Chun) pops up and shows Hajime a letter he had gotten from a man calling himself “Puppet Player from Hell”, and explains him that his sister pointed him and as the mastermind behind the murders that happened in Shanghai.

As he is reading the letter he spots a man doing a magic trick and vanishes. Running after the man, Hajime and his friends are led to a warehouse where a message of a challenge is waiting for him…

Okay, yes I am a bit obsessed with these dramas, by these I mean classic, but they are really good. And this special is also pretty good, considering the scale they go through. This time it is Malaysia, and they really go there, which is nuts, but compared to the Shanghai special, this one is a bit more believable - and I sort of knew some of the trick. I am surprised that the Japanese aren’t tired of the same tricks over and over again.

Besides Wu Chun being a bit weird actor, the rest are really good, and the special appearance from Nickhun made me laugh out loud, but even though he didn’t really say anything (not that I remember anyway) his acting was better than Mr. Chun.  

So… to watch, not to watch? If you have watched the other you should, and even if you didn’t it’s still great :)

☆☆☆½ / 3½ out of 5 stars

♥♥♥ / 3 out of 5 hearts

Kindaichi Shonen no Jikenbo 2013 SP Review

Title: Kindaichi Shonen no Jikenbo Hong Kong Kowloon Zaiho Satsujin Jiken

AKA: Kindaichi Boy’s Accident Files 2013 SP / The Files of Young Kindaichi 2013 SP

Genre: Mystery, Suspense

Broadcast date: 2013 January 12

Cast: Yamada Ryosuke, Kawaguchi Haruna, Arioka Daiki, Seung Ri, Wu Chun, Kiritani Kenta, Vivian Tsu and Komatsu Takuya.

This is the story renewed once again with a different cast and storyline.

Kindaichi Hajime (Yamada Ryosuke) together with his friends Nanase Miyuki (Kawaguchi Haruna) and Saki Ryuji (Arioka Daiki) travel to Hong King when Miyuki gets chosen as a stand in for a model that refused in the last minute. Arriving in Hong Kong they are excited to sightsee, but it is not long lived as Miyuki gets kidnapped. While running after the kidnapper they end up in a ruin which has been made into a park, and they meet Yang Lan (Kawaguchi Haruna) who looks exatly alike Miyuki. They find out that she is the model that had refused, but for some reason was worried about Miyuki since people where after her. Hajime decides to take her to the model contest and make her pose as Miyuki so that they might be able to find the kidnapper.

At the contest they meet waiter Kim Yong Dong (Seung Ri), police officer Li Bai Long (Wu Chun), talent searcher Takigawa Ryuta (Kirirtani Kenta) who found Miyuki, designer Ivy Liu (Vivian), and Xin Li (Komatsu Takuya).

While dining a man at their table dies after drinking champagne which was poured by Yong Dong, and he immediately gets suspected for murder, but that’s when Hajime steps in…

Oh man, no matter which year these are, the mysteries are all just as weird. And the way they are made are just as messed up, and practically impossible if it were a real crime. Or that is what I think, but I guess that is what makes it interesting for viewer. Yamada is okay as Hajime, I sort of was not expecting him to be as good as he is, but I think he did a good job making everyone believe he is Hajime. The rest of the cast is great as well, though I really felt it was weird having the Chinese cast in a Japanese drama, but also some of the acting was really bad. It might have something to do with the script, but I was face palming myself almost all of the time.

The story was good, but had a lot of bad points which made me pretty bored most of the time.

All in all it is good if you are a fan of the actors, but don’t expect anything grand…

☆☆☆½ / 3½ out of 5 stars

♥♥♥ / 3 out of 5 hearts

Engine Review

Title: Engine
Genre: Family, Comedy, Romance
Episodes: 11
Broadcast period: 2005-Apr to 2005-Jun
Theme song: I Can See Clearly Now by Jimmy Cliff
Insert song: Angel by Aerosmith
Cast: Kimura Takuya, Koyuki, Toda Erika, Ueno Juri, Nakajima Yuto and Arioka Daiki.

After being kicked out of the Italian race team, Kanzaki Jiro (Kimura Takuya) returns to Japan, to re-join the japanese race team. As he returns home, he finds out that his father has made the house where he had grown up in, to a orphanage, and the fact that he hates children doesnt help him with the fact that he is to live with them. Being a orphan himself, before he was adopted by his father, he feels with the children and accepts living there. Taking care of the children are a teacher, Mizukoshi Tomomi (Koyuki), a male nurse, a cook, his father and his older sister.
As he is rejected by the coach of the japanese race team, and he tries to solve the issues of his dream, he gets tangled up with Tomomi-sensei, and the 12 children; he learns from them, and they learn from him..

Hmm, looooove this one!! Instead of a high-school teacher being the one helping the students, it's a racer helping orphans or children that aren't being helped. I loved it, all of it. Loved Kimuras acting, him pairing up with Koyuki, who by the way looks stunning with him, the oldest and wisest of the children Ueno Juri, the over the top loud girl Toda Erika, the smart ass Nakajima Yuto, the overprotecting brother Arioka Daiki, the deliquent Ishida Hoshi and all the ADORABLE children! Gossh, I watched it several times. Thuss the ending was to sudden and we didnt really see how the ending happend (trying not to spoil), and the "what-happend-in-the-future-speech" was unnessesary. But I still loved it, and made me wanna start a orphanage myself, hehe.. *dreams of a japanese orphanage*

☆☆☆☆½ / 4,5 out of 5 stars

♥♥♥♥ / 4 out of 5 hearts

Jenji's verdict
Okay. Kimura Takuya is... AMAZING. I cant believe it. He is sooooo guuuuuuuuud !!!! Ive had the drama on my pc for a while now and thn i watched it and im like "WHT HAVE I BEEN WAITING FOR" . Seriously there arent many of these kind of dramas. Those that give u such strong,, feelings. Like its a really nice story and i love that its an orphanage thats so cool, i mean its sad. But i think orphan kids are cool. Not that its cool to be orphan. I mean. Orphans are special and should be treated right. They should get all the support possible from people around them. And i loved the way Jiro handled them. Like anyone else he would. Like he so straightforward and i think that is why the kids love him. Seriously that guy he so cool. And the drama is okay realistic.. sometimes in dramas they kinda overdo it so you think "yeaa right as if tht would ever happen" but here they are okay. 


☆☆☆☆½/ 4.5 out of 5 stars

♥♥♥♥♥/5 hearts out of 5 hearts