Ando Lloyd Review

Title: Ando Lloyd

Tagline: A.I. knows LOVE?

Genre: Sci-fi, Futuristic, Romance

Episodes: 10

Broadcast period: 2103-Oct to 2013-Dec

Cast: Kimura Takuya, Shibasaki Kou, Oshima Yuko, Kiritani Kenta, Honda Tsubasa and Endo Kenichi.

Matsushima Reiji (Kimura Takuya) is mathematical genius with a bit of an awkward stance. He works as a professor at a college with his younger sister who is equally brilliant as he, as his assistant professor. After meeting his girlfriend Ando Asahi (Shibasaki Kou) while playing Shogi online, the two fall deeply in love and decide to get married. All this changes when Reiji one day notices that a fellow researcher dies in what seems to be an accident, but Reiji firmly tells his sister that he is next in line, as he has found a list circulating online of people who will die: and he is next on the list. Reiji leaves the office in order to save the next one on the list after him: Asahi. He calls Asahi and declares his love for her, which confuses Asahi, especially when someone calls her right after. This makes Asahi suspicious and she leaves to check his office, where Reiji’s sister tells her about the list. Shortly after Reiji’s announced as missing and presumed dead, while in fact he had been murdered.

Unaware of this, Asahi is heartbroken and the next morning is pushed on the train rails by the same murderer that killed Reiji, but is saved by someone looking exactly like Reiji, yet is completely different than him. He introduces himself as an Android from the future with the mission of saving her from the same people, or in this case androids that killed Reiji. Now the questions remain why was Reiji killed, and why do they want to kill Asahi?

Okay I guess I spoilt a bit of the first episode, sorry.

This drama is not what I has expected: I kind of thought it would be a Kimura Takuya version of Absolute Boyfriend which is why it took me 3 years to begin watching, but it kind of reminded me of Terminator.

Anyhow usually a recipe for a good Japanese drama you would need two things to make it good: 1. A good plot, and 2. Kimura Takuya. Occasionally you need a 3. which is a great cast, but most of the time Kimura is enough. So basically you have an all ingredients, including no. 3, BUT then why is not a 5 star you ask? Well, that might have to do with me having quite the standards for sci-fi/time-travel dramas. As a fan of both categories, I have one thing that I mind: love stories between robots and humans. I won’t indulge but those kinds of stories make me uncomfortable. Also the plot kind of felt dumb at the end… I need a decent explanation for it – I really didn’t understand how feelings/emotions can become particles, and not to mention something that connects the future as well as makes people send emails, or whatever… But I guess that is Japan for you, not everything has to make sense.

Other than that, this drama is really thrilling, and I would recommend it to action and sci-fi lovers.

☆☆☆☆ / 4 out of 5 stars

♥♥♥½ / 3½ out of 5 hearts

Tenno no Ryoriban Review

Title: Tenno no Ryouriban

AKA: The Emperor’s Cook

Genre: Period, Romance, Comedy, Family, History

Episodes: 12

Broadcast period: 2015-Apr to 2015-Jun

Cast: Sato Takeru, Kuroki Haru, Kiritani Kenta, Emoto Tasuku, Sugimoto Tetta and Suzuki Ryohei.

In 1904, on the countryside Akiyama Tokuzo (Sato Takeru) was raised as a the third son of the Akiyama family. Completely different than his brothers, Tokuzo is a failure who is unable to keep his interest in anything for more than 3 months. After being kicked out of the monastery, after he had decided to become a monk, his father decides to marry him into a merchant family.

After falling in love with his wife, Tokuzo decides to stay in order to make her happy, but soon his heart begins to waver as he does not enjoy what he is doing, and becomes depressed. That is until he one day while delivering foods, he arrives at an Army Infantry where he meets a Sergeant that cooks for the army. While conversing the Sergant offers Tokuzo a cutlet, which makes Tokuzo completely astonished.

Soon Tokuzo ignores his chors and goes to the Infantry every day - which is eventually noticed by his father-in-law. So, in the middle of the night, Tokuz decides to leave for Tokyo, in order to become a fully fledged chef...

Okay so this is probably my first period Japanese drama, like real period, as in before the world wars, so I was a bit hesitant about watching it. Though I am very unused to this types of genre, I found myself quite enjoying the entire thing. I loved the 'realness' of it, the honesty, the cast, the screenplay and of course the storyline. The only thing I really didn't like as much was the storyline in Paris, which was sort of one of the main stories, but yeah everything else was quite good. I loved Sato Takeru's diversity in the drama: from a spoilt 16 year old kid, to a mature 57 year old father. But to be fair, they ALL were quite awesome, so that is just me being biased. So I actually would recommend this drama, but as an serious watch - not just something for laughs.

☆☆☆☆/ 4 out of 5 stars

♥♥♥♥½ / 4½ 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

Zettai Reido 2 Review

Title: Zettai Reido 2
Genre: Police, Crime
Episodes: 11
Broadcast period: 2011-Jul to 2011-Sep
Cast: Ueto Aya, Kiritani Kenta, Yamaguchi Sayaka, Maruyama Tomomi and Kitagawa Hiromi.

After the death of Tsukamoto Keigo (Miyasako Hiroyuki) in the SP, the team gets split up, and the most of the members get transferred into a special unit, the undercover team. Sakuragi Izumi (Ueto Aya) has issues fitting in, since she is so slow at learning how to lie and to fake identities also the death on Tsukamoto is bugging her, but her real problem is her partner: Takigawa Shinjiro (Kiritami Kenta) who is a genius in undercover operations, and is very strict. He is to teach her everything he knows in the three months he has left in the unit…

This drama is a lot like the typical Japanese police dramas, and yet not; it’s a lot more action-packed and pretty nerve-wracking. Now, I’ve watched a lot of police dramas, mainly with the CSI and Cold Cases (like the first season of Zettai Reido), but this is my first time to watch something about undercover agents (and that also covers all the American series I’ve watched). And to be honest, I was shocked! Didn’t know that all those things they do are legal.. lol..
The lead characters make a superb team; I wish they had given them some more screentime together; it’s very limited in my opinion.
On the other hand, it’s simply just a Japanese police drama, no problems between the officers, no love story and no serious issues expect for one…

☆☆☆☆ / 4 out of 5 stars

♥♥♥ / 3 out of 5 hearts