Marumo no Okite 2014 SP Review

Title: Marumo no Okite 2014 Special

AKA: The Tradition of Malmo

Genre: Family, Comedy

Air date: 28 September 2014

Theme song: “Maru Maru Mori Mori!” by Kaoru to Yuki, Tama ni Mook

Cast: Abe Sadao, Ashida Mana and Suzuki Fuku.

Three years has passed since Kaoru (Ashida Mana) and Tomoki (Suzuki Fuku) moved in with Mamoru (Abe Sadao), and both Kaoru and Tomoki are now 5^th graders. Kaoru dreams of becoming an idol and is popular with her classmates, and Tomoki loves insects and reads about them constantly. When a fellow female classmate shows interest in Tomoki’s books, Tomoki decides to ask Mamoru for advice. Also, Mamoru helps enroll Kaoru in “idol training school”, an afterschool where kids take classes to become future idols, though it is very expensive. At work he gets opportunities to follow his creative style and travel abroad, but Mamoru is not sure of what he wants, as he can’t leave the children.

At the same time their mother returns, wanting to live with them again. This leads to Mamoru being unsure about the children’s future; whether he is with them, because they need him, or is it because he needs them…

I love this drama, and this family. The dynamic is amazing, and the characters are so well written, you can just enjoy it. The acting is on point, and the family relations are relatable, which makes it a great watch. Even though I felt the overall dilemma was a bit “recycled”, it was alright. It has funny moments, and sad moments as well, but for me the most enjoyable part was watching the family interact.

So all in all, a fine special, with good acting!

☆☆☆☆ / 4 out of 5 stars

♥♥♥♥ / 4 out of 5 hearts

Botchan 2016 SP Review

Title: Botchan

Genre: Period, School

Broadcast date: January 3, 2016

Cast: Ninomiya Kazunari, Matsushita Nao, Furuta Arata, Yashima Norito, Mitsuhiro Oikawa and Yamamoto Koji.

Botchan (Ninomiya Kazunari) is a newly educated teacher who hates injustice and lies. After being offered a job far from his hometown, he is sent to a rural town. Here he meets several different characters, but is put in a pinch when he tells his honest opinion to the school’s vice-principle (Mitsuhiro Oikawa). Unlike every other teacher in the school, Botchan tells the truth, which leads to a fight of power versus honesty…

Sorry for the short summary, but this is one special that would ruin the entire thing if I spoiled too much.

It’s been a while since I’ve seen Ninomiya in a drama – Yowakutemo Katemasu (2014) I think was the last, so having him do a TV SP is quite refreshing. But generally, any drama or movie he does is good, so I never hesitate to watch his dramas or movies.

This special is good as it doesn’t focus on disharmony of an institution but the chaos too much harmony can bring. I love that the setting is in the early 19’s, which gives it and form of discipline yet shows that children will always be children no matter the year. Nino does a great job, and so does the rest of the cast.

To sum up, the special is interesting and fun to watch, so I would recommend it to history and school drama fans.

☆☆☆☆ / 4 out of 5 stars

♥♥♥♥½ / 4½ out of 5 hearts

Kamen Teacher 2014 SP Review

Title: Kamen Teacher 2014 Special

Genre: School

Airdate: February 14, 2014

Cast: Fujigaya Taisuke, Shiraishi Mai, Watanabe Natsuna and Kubota Masataka.

“To save the dilapidated field of education, Iikura of the Department of Education created the Kamen Teacher system, a teacher allowed to use violence. Gato Koichi, a politician working for educational reform, sent one Kamen Teacher to St. Fictional High School to use force. However, that special teacher, Araki Gouta, had doubts about leading with force. Will it be force that saves the ruined educational system? Or...?” (Intro)

This special is right after Araki Gota (Fujigaya Taisuke) loses his student, and is sent out to Kaku Gakuin. A month ago a female student fell from the school’s rooftop, presumed as a suicide, and because of that her boyfriend Amakawa Atsushi (Kubota Masataka) firmly believing it was an attempted murder, the school is terrorized by him and two of his fellow students.

When Gota arrives he is shocked by the yellow line in the classroom, separating students and teachers: the students are not allowed to cross it, nor are the teacher allowed to. Of course being who he is, he crosses the line and decides to hand out papers directly to the students, much to everyone’s surprise. When Amakawa enters the class Gota is beat and told that all teachers are crap; which Gota sees as a challenge, but he soon finds out that the students aren’t the real problem…

Compared to the drama I kind of liked this special a bit more. I don’t know if it is because of the actors are better at acting compared to the idol/newer kind of actors in the drama, but the overall special was very good. The idea of the ‘Kamen Teacher’ or ‘Masked Teacher’ is a dumb idea and honestly doesn’t make sense, but besides that the storyline is completely true to the current issues of the educational system. Japanese High School dramas usually are about the special cases or/and classes, but this special talks about the most current one: teacher-student relations. The drama does it too, but there is just too much Yankee all over that drama, it becomes over-seen. If you have watched the drama and liked it, this special will be a nice treat. Though if you haven’t, it’ll still be okay to watch.

☆☆☆☆ / 4 out of 5 stars

♥♥♥♥ / 4 out of 5 hearts

Library Wars SP Review

Title: Library Wars: Book of Memories

Genre: Action, Comedy, Romance

Origin: Japan

Release date: April 27, 2013

Cast: Okada Junichi, Eikura Nana, Tanaka Kei, Fukushi Sota, Kuriyama Chiaki and Suzuki Kazuma.

Continuing from the movie, this special is about managing regular life and that of being a ‘protector of books’.

After being stroked on the head Kasahara Iku (Eikura Nana) is starting to believe that Dojo Atsushi (Okada Junichi) might be her ‘prince’ who saved her favorite book years back. While worrying how she’ll face him, after all she has said to him, she is visited by her parents, who have come to see her job. The only problem is she had told them she was a clerk, and not a solider in the special task unit.  Dojo, because of his personality is at first very upset of her lying about her profession, but decides to help her out. Komaki Mikihase (Tanaka Kei) on the other hand keeps a close relationship with Nakazawa Marie (Tsuchiya Tao) a hearing impaired girl that visits the library every once in a while. After recommending a book to her, about a hearing impaired girl falling in love, Komaki gets arrested – and it’s up to the LDF to save him…

I was trying not to spoil much of the special, as it is a special, but I am not sure that I gave it a good summary. Oh well… The special is a bit different than the movie, as there are way too many restrictions to TV versions compared to the movies, but they still managed to make it both interesting and quite genuine to the movie. I watched the entire thing in one go without any breaks, and I really like the entire relationship with Dojo and Iku, I can’t really put my finger on it. The age gap is pretty apparent as well as the height difference, but they grow on you… or me. All characters are written with finesse, and they are just my cup of tea.

Okay, I won’t spoil anymore. It’s is a good watch, but you’d need to watch the first movie though…

☆☆☆☆ / 4 out of 5 stars

♥♥♥½ / 3½ out of 5 hearts

HERO SP Review

Title: Hero SP

Genre: Legal, Crime

Broadcast date: 03 Jul 2006

Cast: Kimura Takuya, Tsutsumi Shinichi, Ayase Haruka, Suzuki Kosuke and Bengaru.

Five years after being transferred from the Josai branch, Kuryu Kohei (Kimura Takuya) is relocated to Yamaguchi: a town that is practically owned by the Kimura family. In the office he is put together with a paralegal who’s not only uptight, but is called a ‘weirdo’ by his coworkers as he rarely does anything that can be called social.

When a murder occurs in small town Yamaguchi, people are shocked to find out that the towns favorite Takida is arrested. Takida works for the Kimura family, and is liked by people more than the son of the founder. So everyone in the office refuse to take on the case as they most defiantly will be hated by the towns people for prosecuting him. The case is eventually given to Kuryu and as thorough as he is he decides to look at the case from every single angle..

Hmm, I liked it better than the drama, but that is only because they kept the originality yet had it be quite more ‘modern’. I was worried that I would be bored since the other actors weren’t there but it kind of refreshed everything and made it quite funny. Though I didn’t expect that kind of outcome of the SP, I have to admit I was entertained most of the time. So kind of worth it, and if you have watched the drama, the SP is kind of a must in this.

All in all, quite good.

☆☆☆½ / 3½ out of 5 stars

♥♥♥♥ / 4 out of 5 hearts

Akumu-chan 2014 SP Review

Title: Akumu-chan Special
AKA: Nightmare-chan Special

Genre: Fantasy, Comedy

Broadcast date: 2014-May-02

Cast: Kitagawa Keiko, Gackt, Yuka, Kimura Manatsu, Hamada Mari and Momoiro Clover Z.

After the sacrifice and death if Shiki Takashi (Gackt), Mutoi Ayami (Kitagawa Keiko) and Koto Yuiko (Kimura Manatsu) are not bothered by anybody anymore - that is until Yuiko by accident looks into a girl’s unconsciousness.

At the annual "Difference in Age Cultural Exchange" Yuiko is reluctantly chosen as one of the representatives from the class, and arriving at the High School she looks into the eyes of the Student Council President. By that she has noticed her unconsciousness, and even has a prophetic dream about her: she is hurting her classmates, and even gets killed by Ayami’s Dream Prince. Scared by her nightmare she turns to Ayami-sensei, who unwillingly is dragged into the things again. But for some reason the nurse Hirashima Kotoha (Yuka) is involved in the dreams. How are things connected?

I remember Akumu-chan as one of my favorite j-dramas because of the story and the way the characters are portrayed. Also this is one of the few dramas that made me complete absorbed at the end.

So is the special good? Honestly, I thought it was pretty dull. I like Momoiro Clover Z, but I felt it was too much of an idol special. The entire thing had a bit of “lala” acting to it. Lol, now you are wondering why the rating is so high? It is so simple you are not going to believe it: Kitagawa Keiko. Seriously her acting is amazing here, and she seriously uses everything and pulls everyone with her, making everything brilliant.

The story in all was okay, and the theme was great too, so yeah I laughed and enjoyed it a lot!

☆☆☆½ / 3½ out of 5 stars

♥♥♥♥ / 4 out of 5 hearts

Hajimari no Uta SP Review

Title: Hajimari no Uta

AKA: Song of the beginning

Genre: Human drama, School

Broadcast date: 2013-Sept-23

Cast: Matsumoto Jun, Eikura Nana, Toda Naho and Kunimura Jun.

Nakahara Wateru (Matsumoto Jun) is a rookie photographer living in Tokyo. He is offered an opportunity for a career, to go to Hagi and make a pictorial of the small town. Sounds like an easy job, but for Watery Hagi is not just any town, it is his hometown, which he had left in order to follow his dreams. When he arrives in Hagi he meets up with his family but also visits his old school, where he encounters his high school girlfriend Imachi Natsuki (Eikura Nana) working at that very school as a teacher, and also as the teacher in charge of the choir club. Natsu and Wateru had made the promise to become teachers together once they finish college, but Wateru had broken the promise, and Natsu takes advantage of that by making him be the pianist in the choir club.

While working both as a photographer and a pianist Wateru notices the beauties he had forgotten, and starts to find himself loving what he is doing…

This being a Matsumoto Jun drama I have to admit, I am a bit surprised. This is not exactly his genre, but somehow he manages to make it his own. The thing about this and this is also the biggest part for the rating, is that the special is way short. Yes 1½ hour is not a lot to begin with, but seriously I didn’t get much of it. The “growth” part should have gotton more screening time, else was just short. Maybe it is because it’s because of the huge amount of stories in it that makes it so long. With that I mean we get the main story, the love story, the friend story, the school story and the family story. Making that in 1½ hours is a bit tight, and they don’t really manage to ‘fill’ me… On the other hand acting is great, and the scenery is amazingly beautiful.

Is it recommendable? Yeah, but don’t expect the big thing here…

☆☆☆½ / 3½ out of 5 stars

♥♥♥ / 3 out of 5 hearts

Kagi no Kakatta Heya 2014 SP Review

Title: Kagi no Kakatta Heya Special

AKA: The Locked Room Murders

Genre: Mystery, Detective

Broadcast date: 2014-Jan-03

Theme song: Face Down by Arashi

Cast: Ohno Satoshi, Toda Erika, Sato Koichi and Fujiki Naohito.

The story continues after Enomoto (Ohno Satoshi) leaves Japan, after the case of the missing diamonds. Serizawa (Sato Koichi) has been successful in many of his cases due to the extra time he has got with not following around Enomoto, and Aoto (Toda Erika) has become more familiar with her work after having become a real lawyer on her own. Even though they have not heard of Enomoto for a long time, the two secretly miss the “Team Enomoto” and the mystery cases.

When Serizawa arrives early at a client’s home, he sleeps in his car after spotting a man looking at him, and is woken by the client’s niece. The two enter the locked room only to find him murders. At the same time Aoto is looking for a man who has saved a man’s life, but had no way of entering the room except with a key. There she meets Enomoto again, who solves the case in matter of minutes, and decides to help Serizawa in finding the locked door murderer…

This drama has a certain ‘feel’ to it, which I had forgotten about. But when watching the special all the emotions and the ‘feel’ I had watching the serial, I remembered when watching the special. The comedy was great and awesome as always, and the crime was amazing due to the point it being actually reasonable and not theatrical. I was actually very interested in seeing how the killer did it, which I couldn’t do in any way even if it was possible to guess. I love these actors, Ohno of course, Erika as always, but I really enjoyed Koichis comedic role. I love that Erikas character has become smarter in guessing the murders, and also I love Ohnos character becoming more interesting, with that I mean his past and most definatly his way of dealing with his knowledge..

So recommendable? Yes, but you should watch the drama, just for the sake of the amazing cast.

☆☆☆☆ / 4 out of 5 stars

♥♥♥♥ / 4 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

Blackboard Part 3 - Yume SP Review

Title: Blackboard part 3 - Yume

AKA: Blackboard: Dream

Genre: School, Dreams

Broadcast date: 07 Apr 2012

Cast: Matsushita Nao, Kamiki Ryunosuke, Kato Shigeaki and Matsui Jurina.

This is the last one out of 3 stories about the school system changing in Japan.

Takizawa Momoko (Matsushita Nao), on the verge of a breakdown, runs home in tears after her pupils make a fool out of her. She has been bullied by her pupils ever since a student named Omiya Masaki (Kamiki Ryunosuke) begun to ridicule her and effecting the class. As she feels cornered and decides to jump from her terrace, but is pulled back by her mother, who talks sense into her. Not wanting to give up, she gets her act together and hits hard on the pupils actions. This she succeeds by intimidating the students with point loss and adding bad resumes if they don’t listen. Every student complies, except Masaki who says his famous line “I don’t understand”. When in class he refuses to do his assignment, Momoko notices that something isn’t right.

Maybe Masaki really doesn’t understand? This becomes the start of a row of misunderstandings…

Despite the fact that it reminds me of all other Japanese high school dramas, this one is much more a realistic story with the actual student issues. And the teacher really shows the hardships of being a teacher vividly. On the other hand the ending seemed a bit too cliché-ish, but that’s Japan for you. The characters, young and old, were portrayed well and show the growth of a young actor (Kamiki) which I enjoyed a lot.

That said, this is probably the one everyone would see considering the time.

☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ / 4 out of 5 stars

♥♥♥♥ / 4 out of 5 hearts

Blackboard Part 2 - Ikiro SP Review

Title: Blackboard part 2 - Ikiro

AKA: Blackboard: Survive

Genre: School, School violence

Broadcast date: 06 Apr 2012

Cast: Sato Koichi, Shida Mira and Kanjita Shiori.

This is the second out of 3 stories about the school system changing in Japan.

Gota Akira (Sato Koichi) used to be a student of Shirahama’s (Sakurai Sho), and he has a hard time understanding the students hate for school, since he had a hard time being able to go to school at all. Never the less did he become a teacher, but with a different vision than most teachers. He became infamous in his previous school as a “violent teacher” meaning he uses corporal punishment towards delinquent students, which most schools are having a hard time dealing with, mainly ‘school violence’ meaning the school is getting vandalized.

On his very first day he meets the root of the problem, Furusawa Yukari (Shida Mira) who was forced into suspension, and has come back, but ruined several classrooms with two of her friends. When the two meet, Gota uses ‘his fist’ on the delinquents, and gets a lot of attention, not only by teachers, but also parents and the media..

I actually like this one more than the other one, even though it’s Sakurai. This one focuses more on the students and the school as a general, and also makes you wonder about different kinds of situations. Okay yes, the delinquent part does make it more my kind of genre, but on the other hand the storyline seems more school-related. The actors are doing a good job, even though it does get lengthy at the end. Somehow they manage to get it swirling in its own bad habits, but yet it has the flavor of excitement.. LOL.

It’s good, and worth 2 hours of your time - or mine at least.

☆☆☆½ / 3½ out of 5 stars

♥♥♥♥ / 4 out of 5 hearts

ST Keishichou Kagaku Tokusou-han SP Review

Title: ST Keishichou Kagaku Tokusou-han

Genre: Police

Broadcast date: 2013-Apr-10

Cast: Okada Masaki, Fujiwara Tatsuya, Shida Mirai, Kubota Masataka, Miyake Hiroki and Ashima Sei

“To cope with diversifying of crimes, the Metropolitan Police Department gathered the top 5 investigators from the National Research Institute of Police Science.  Then they were granted with a special investigation privilege. It is called “Scientific Taskforce”. ST” for short. This is a special unit to fight against crime and destroy the wicked by the use of science as their weapons.” (Intro)

Becoming the captain of his very first team, Yurine Tomohisa (Okada Masaki) is surprised to find out that his team seems very cold. The so-called ST is a team of 5 people: the leader, Akagi Samon (Fujiwara Tatsuya) who is a forensic medicine expert, Aoyama Sho (Shida Mirai) a profiler with a master degree in psychology from US, Kurosaki Yuji (Kubota Masataka) a chemistry expert, Yamabuki Saizo (Miyake Hiroki) another chemistry expert and Yuuki Midori (Ashima Sei) a physics expert.

When a, what seems to be a random shooting occurs, the ST are called out, but are met with dislike by the rest of the police force, mainly due to the ST teams attitudes. Yurine soon finds out that all members suffer from medical condition such as insomnia, obsessive-compulsive behavior, severe claustrophobia, aichmophobia (fear of sharp object) and the leader himself is a hermit, basically is a hermit with face to face situations. He himself is a perfectionist, and soon realized why he is put in the group as the captain..

I like it, a lot actually. Weird people, a great cast, and on top of that a good storyline, makes me happy. I actually hope they would make a drama out of this, because I really had a good time watching this. Even though I sort of knew who the killer was, I have to admit, I really did like the way the story progressed. Instead of saying it was about figuring out the killer, it is more about these people and how they persuade everyone else to believe them, which makes this kind of like a rapid talk drama (they speak fast when they explain stuff, expecially the leader, phew!)

Anyways, a good 1½h spent on this, NO REGRETS!

☆☆☆☆ / 4 out of 5 stars

♥♥♥♥ / 4 out of 5 hearts