I'm Home Review

Title: I’m Home

Genre: Family, Drama, Suspense, Mystery

Episodes: 10

Broadcast period: 2015-Apr to 2015-Jun

Cast: Kimura Takuya, Ueto Aya, Tanaka Kei and Mizuno Miki

“About half a year ago, I was in an accident. I lost nearly 5 years of memories. Everything is a blur. But there is one thing for certain. My wife and kid's faces seems to be wearing masks in my eyes.” (intro)

After an accident, Ieji Hisashi (Kimura Takuya) wakes ups with partial amnesia unable to remember the past 5 years of his life. While spending 6 months in recovery, he finds out that the woman he used to be married to is his ex-wife and that he got re-married to Ieji Megumi (Ueto Aya) and they now have a son. To make matters worse he us unable to see the faces of his wife and child: he sees them wearing masks. After losing the top position at his job and being demoted, he finds himself unable to get his life back without his memories.

In his possession, he had a bundle of 10 keys, which he has no idea whom they belong – so he decides to trace back his memories and return the keys, unknowingly that his life isn't as simple as it looks...

Hmm, I am not sure I got the real suspense explained in the summary, but if you watch the first 10 minutes of this drama you’ll understand it immediately.

This drama is what me and Jenji call “A Takuya Drama”, meaning it is perfect for him and he just makes the character his, so you will be amazed no matter what. The thing about this is that he only appears once a year with a drama, and every time he does he either makes a “what is this” or a “dear God yes” types. So, having him do a “Takuya Drama” is very nice to experience. I have personally loved Ueta Aya since her first dramas, so having her in the role as a mother/house mother is quite the difference – and opposite Takuya even better. The only thing I was annoyed about was that they weren’t great in hiding the actress’s pregnancy. I mean I could see her bump - even if they tried with ‘movie magic’ to make it look like she’s not, I could tell (blame that on my years of TV watching). But the general audience wouldn’t necessarily notice.

The drama was great to watch, and very enjoyable. I felt his frustration and hers – and I liked how everything made sense at the end. So, this drama I most defiantly would call a great drama with a good story and superb acting.

☆☆☆☆ / 4 out of 5 stars

♥♥♥♥ / 4 out of 5 hearts

Kazokugari Review

Title: Kazokugari

AKA: Family hunter

Genre:  Mystery

Episodes: 10

Broadcast period: 2014-Jul to 2014-Sep

Cast: Matsuyuki Yasuko, Ito Atsushi, Endo Kenichi, Kitayama Hiromitsu and Mizuno Miki.

Hizaki Yuko (Matsuyuki Yasuko) is social worker, working in a childcare center. Every day she deals with children with abusive parents, and takes them away as a precaution measure. Sometimes she manages to get the children completely away from the parents, other times she tries to get the parents to ‘clean up their act’ so that the children can return. Either way she never gets thanked or any gratitude for her work, yet she is unable to let go. The situation at home isn’t much easier as her Alzheimer struck father and gambling mother can’t seem to function without her.

Sudo Shunsuke (Ito Atsushi) is high school arts teacher with no interest in his students or their lives, especially when they don’t seem to care for his existence – not that he tries to change that. Being undeceives and quite bad with social situations he after a one-night-stand ends up having a girlfriend who happens to be a coworker whom he doesn’t care for – yet he is unable to break up with her.

These two meet at a police station when a female student claims to have been raped by Sudo, and Hizaki won’t let him defend himself – basically thinks he is a rapist. After the allegation clear up the two get involved in another case where a family is set to have committed ‘family suicide’, but police officer Mamihara Koki (Endo Kenichi) believes they have been murdered – and both Sudo’s and Hizaki’s name come up during the investigation…

Sorry for the long into. I was wondering what to tell and what not to, and to be completely honest, the less you know about the main story the better. This drama has a very ‘dark’ and ‘dramatic’ tune, which kind of gave me the creeps. Not as in noir, but as in the dark side of frustration. Like what people are capable off and why they would either think that way or do it that way. I liked the way it was going and how slow the pace was, it really was not action packed – rather sad with a dim of light. 

I started this because of Ito Atsushi, I don’t know what it is but I like him. The rest of the cast was quite good, though the younger cast overacted just a bit too much for my taste.

All in all: a good drama with a bit of ‘borderline to crazy’ feel.

☆☆☆☆ / 4 out of 5 stars

♥♥♥♥ / 4 out of 5 hearts