Preview of "Itsuka, Hero" - Spring 2025

Title: Itsuka, Hero / いつか、ヒーロー

Official website: here

Official Instagram: here

Official LINE: here

Official X: here

O.A. Start Date: 6 April 2025

Timeslot: Sundays at 10.15pm

Broadcast by: ABC TV / TV Asahi

Theme Song: "HERO" by Ishizaki Huwie

Cast: Kiritani Kenta, Miyase Ryuubi, Nagahama Neru, Izumisawa Yuki, Sota Ryousuke, Hoshino Yuna, Denden, Koseki Yuuta, Komagine Kiita, Itaya Yuka & Kitamura Yukiya

Third-party Investigation Committee's Report on the Nakai Masahiro sexual violence case & FujiTV's role in it - Part 2: The Case

* Due to the number of parties involved, the committee had cited the positions held by the parties back then and used alphabets to refer to them for the sake of clarity. Note that the alphabets used do not correspond to the initials of these people. Refer to the Part 1 post for the full table.

As Chapter 2 of the full report talks about the corporate structure and businesses of CX and FMH, I will be skipping these pages and go straight to Chapter 3. The first two pages describe the key figures in this case of which more than half of the page was talking about Nakai but there was only one line describing the victim A. 

Rather than this being unfair treatment on purpose, I gather that there was a logical reason behind this difference. With regard to A, the committee could not go into great detail to describe her because this would inevitably provide key clues leading to her identity (albeit it's already an open secret now). In addition, the extensive description of Nakai's history probably had to do with illustrating the kind of control and influence he exerted over the FujiTV employees due to his position as a "well-known, experienced and popular TV host". In a way, this reflected the gap in their status in the workplace and also how much of a disadvantage A found herself to be in before and after the incident.

The sequence of events leading to the case and what happened were described from Page 38 onwards.

Comments in blue were added by me based on open information in the media and statements made by parties of interest so far and things which you can reasonably deduce from what was in the report.

November 2021

A was invited to a meal gathering by B which was attended by two other CX employees as he wanted to get her to appear in a CX programme that he was in charge of planning. On the next day after the gathering, A sent a thank-you email through the company's internal email system to B. In response, B asked to exchange LINE contact details with A which she agreed to.

The suite room gathering (November 2021)

• In the same month, B organized a gathering held at a foreign-owned hotel chain's suite room along with talent U and Nakai. 
• On 6 December 2021, B sent a LINE message to A asking if she could attend a drinking session in the evening of 18 December 2021 (Sat) which would be attended by U. 
• A told B that she was busy until 8pm that night and could only confirm her availability on the night before the date in question. She said that she would contact B again by then.
• On 11 December, B contacted her again and said that the following people would be at the gathering i.e. Nakai, U, B, i, j, female announcers Q, R and S as well as another female staff member. B asked A to come for the gathering which would start from 6pm at Roppongi as soon as she finished her previous engagement. (Note that the media had reported previously that these "gatherings" were held multiple times at Grand Hyatt Tokyo which is located in Roppongi although this has not been confirmed.)
• A replied that she would go for a short while if that was OK with B.
• On the day before the gathering i.e. 17 December, B sent LINE messages to A asking her to call him when she reached the hotel lobby on the first floor. 
• A replied that she understood B's instruction. However, B did not tell A that the gathering was actually to be held in a suite room in that hotel.
• On the day of the gathering, A called B as instructed and was directed to the suite room to join the event when she arrived at the hotel's lobby around 8pm.
• At the gathering, U, Nakai, B, the three female announcers and A were chatting over food and drinks while the three CX employees i.e. i, j and the female staff were attending to them by pouring drinks and distributing/plating the food. 
• The group talked about various topics such as a TV programme which was to be shown on the following day and U's thoughts about retiring from showbiz. It was pointed out during these conversations that there were some statements made of a sexual nature but the report did not say who said what.
• Around 9.30pm, B hurried A to leave the gathering under the pretext of her having work the following morning. However, the truth was that A did not have any work engagements and was "chased away" for being a killjoy at the party. 
• Female announcer S also left the gathering around 10pm.
• Note that there was a section about this particular gathering where something else happened but it did not involve A.

After the suite room gathering, B asked A to attend another 4 meal gatherings on different occasions:

24 December 2021

At CX's year-end party which was attended by cast and staff members, A, B and Nakai were also at the event. After this event, A sent a thank-you message to B. (It was not specified why she had to do so especially if the party was initially meant for "everyone".)

17 January 2022

After the recording of a CX programme, B asked A to come to a meal gathering at a yakiniku restaurant which was also attended by U, Nakai and the guests who had appeared in that day's recording. However, A said that she had an engagement early in the next morning and rejected the offer.

(Based on this description, the programme in question should most likely be "Matsumo to Nakai" and U should be Matsumoto Hitoshi. Since the show only became a regular series in 2023, the recording in January was most likely for the only episode aired on 19 February 2022 - the SP with 8 guests. However, it's not clear from the report how many of them did attend this gathering.

On a related note, if U was indeed Matsumoto, it would make sense why he would refuse to attend the committee's interview about this case given that he and Nakai are longtime buddies. Besides, Matsumoto himself is still taking a hiatus from work due to his own scandal so he probably wouldn't want more attention directed to himself. And this was on top of his problematic behaviour towards another female announcer also mentioned in this report.)

May 2022 

Former CX president Minato's 70th birthday celebration was held at a yakiniku restaurant. Besides Minato himself, A and B, another 10 CX employees also attended this celebration. Other than A, there was one another female announcer who was there.

According to B's testimony, he claimed that he could not remember if it was him who invited A to this event. There was no proof or testimony from this party's attendees about any inappropriate behaviour during the event.

August 2022

After the recording of a CX programme, Nakai invited U, B and some staff members to a meal gathering. Nakai asked B via SMS to invite some female participants and specified their surnames including that of A. B had actually asked A to come along before receiving Nakai's SMS but she rejected this with the reason that her throat was not well.

The BBQ gathering (31 May 2023)

• On 28 May 2023, Nakai sent SMS messages to B where he said that he had originally planned to play golf with 2 male celebrities (later identified in the media as Shofukutei Tsurube and Hiromi) on 31 May 2023. However, this had to be cancelled since the weather forecast for that day wasn't suitable for that. As such, he planned to hold a BBQ gathering instead. The following was their message exchange where Nakai asked B to arrange for some female announcers to come to the BBQ gathering:

    N: It will be boring if it's all guys. Can we get some ladies to come? However, those from outside the     industry wouldn't be good. Can we get any FujiTV female announcers to come?

    B: I'll try to arrange for some female announcers. What time and where are you planning to hold the     BBQ? Is it fine if I get 2 or 3 to come?

    N: I think it will be in the afternoon. There are many female announcers who I don't know so                 someone I know would be good. Hmm...who will be suitable...

    B: I am thinking of asking XXXX (the full name of A).

    N: Yeah, I know her. (laughs) However, getting just one might not be ideal so I trust that you will be       careful about who to ask.

    B: There are limited options considering that it's a Wednesday afternoon but I think those who appear     in morning programmes might be available. I understand what you mean about who to get for the        gathering.

    N: Yes, I'll leave that to you then.

• In response to Nakai's request, B asked A, another CX female announcer T and another female staff member to go to the BBQ from 2pm. B himself also adjusted his work schedule in order to attend this event.
• Nakai informed B that the venue of the BBQ was going to be at an apartment in Tokyo which he used "like a guest room". B himself had been to the place on multiple occasions in the past. A was informed that the venue was not Nakai's residence but rather a place where he used to host gatherings and events like wrap-up parties.
• The party was supposed to begin between 2.30pm and 3pm on 31 May.
• B arranged to meet the 3 female participants at a train station near the apartment at 2pm but announcer T was late. As such, B, A and the female staff member went to the apartment first by taxi. 
• During the journey, B told A that this gathering will be "beneficial" to her career. When the female staff member asked what she should do during the event, B told her to do things such as washing the dishes and serving the others at the party.
• The BBQ gathering's participants included Nakai, the two male celebrities, the 4 participants from CX and 2 male employees from TBS supposedly invited by Nakai.
• The apartment used as the venue had bedrooms, a living room, kitchen and an outdoor terrace.
• After having some light refreshments in the living room, the group headed to the terrace for the BBQ and later headed back indoors when it got dark.
• The 2 TBS employees admitted that they attended the event as ascertained during their company's internal investigation on 21 Feb 2025.
• According to the participants' statements, the two celebrities, the TBS staff members, B, T and the female staff member spent time chatting, eating and drinking at the terrace.
• On the other hand, Nakai was mainly in the kitchen preparing the food while A was helping him there with washing the dishes and serving the food. Both of them did not take part much in what was going on at the terrace.
• While some people said that there were no actions or words of a sexual nature at the event, there were also some who said otherwise.
• The event ended around 8pm and the 2 male celebrities returned home at that time. (This matched what Hiromi mentioned on TV when the media reports about their attendance at the party came out.)
• After cleaning up, Nakai said that he was hungry and invited those present to join him for sushi. However, T and the female staff member said that they had work either after the gathering or the next morning so they rejected the offer. As such, Nakai, A and B headed to a sushi restaurant.

 

The sushi restaurant gathering (31 May 2023)

• Nakai, B and A were seated at a table for 4 in the restaurant's dining hall instead of heading into a private room.
• During the 1-hr or so meal, B joked that A and Nakai should "go ahead and date". However, A rejected this suggestion immediately on the spot and said that this was impossible. With regard to this, B said that he didn't remember ever saying such a thing to Nakai and A but acknowledged the possibility of it having happened when he was interviewed by the committee.
• As Nakai had paid for the BBQ, B paid the bill at the sushi restaurant which came up to JPY 15,235. Some days later, B filed this amount as an entertainment expense for the "discussion of a programme" to CX for reimbursement.
• Nakai asked to exchange mobile phone numbers with A who went ahead with this because "he was around the same age as her parents, she respected his work as a host and trusted him as a senior in the TV industry". B was not involved in this exchange between them.
• After the meal, the three of them went their separate ways and headed home respectively.
• B testified during the committee's hearing that he did not have the impression that Nakai or A had romantic feelings for each other. He had also never heard of Nakai expressing interest in A as a romantic partner. The three of them also did not make any subsequent arrangements to meet up after the meal at the sushi restaurant.
• A sent a LINE message to B and SMS to Nakai to thank them for the BBQ and sushi meal.

 

The day of the incident (2 June 2023)

• 2 days after the above-mentioned BBQ, Nakai sent a SMS to A at 12.11pm to ask if she was available to meet for dinner that night.
• A wasn't resistant to the idea of meeting Nakai for a meal since they worked together thus she replied that she would be available after she finished work in Roppongi at 7pm. As A had always met Nakai for meals with B and other production staff members to date, she automatically assumed that this particular meal gathering would be the same as before i.e. in a group setting.
• In response, Nakai said that he would contact her again after gathering other people to come along for dinner with them.
• However, Nakai subsequently sent multiple messages to A from 5.46pm that he was unable to find other people to join them due to the heavy downpour. Although he was apprehensive about them being on their own, he still wanted to meet up with A for a meal. He then suggested that he would try to find a place which was private enough for them to meet comfortably despite expressing that it might be challenging to do so at short notice.
• In contrary to what Nakai said, it was discovered during the committee's hearing that Nakai had never contacted anyone else for this meal gathering nor called any restaurant to book a place for dinner.
• By 7.14pm, Nakai sent messages to A again and said that he couldn't find anyone else to join them. However, since they already made plans earlier, he said that they should still go ahead on their own. It was then when Nakai said that he didn't know many restaurants to begin with and suggested eating at the apartment where the BBQ gathering was previously held at.
• Even though A was reluctant to go ahead with the dinner, she had already revealed to Nakai earlier that day about how she was actually free that evening. Her position at work also made it difficult for her to say no to him at this juncture. Especially since she always saw how B and other directors were at Nakai's beck and call, she was worried about how her rejection would affect her career if Nakai complained to B about her. As such, even if she didn't want to meet Nakai by this point, she had no choice but to agree to meet him for dinner. 
• Despite so, A testified to the committee that her reply in the affirmative only meant that she would meet him at the apartment for dinner and nothing beyond that.

- Owing to the confidentiality clause between Nakai and A in their settlement agreement and concerns over privacy, the committee had asked both parties through their lawyers if they were willing to lift the restrictions and talk about what happened on that night during the hearings. This was to facilitate the investigation by the committee.

• A agreed to this request but Nakai refused to answer anything that fell within the confidentiality agreement. 
• In the end, what was determined to be within this scope was what happened from the time A entered Nakai's apartment to when she left on the night of 2 June 2023. 
• Both parties would answer questions by the committee about anything outside this scope.
• Even though there was this restriction imposed on Nakai and A, the committee was still able to piece together what happened through hearings with other parties in CX. 
• This allowed the committee to conclude that A had indeed been a victim of sexual violence inflicted by Nakai during the time when she was in his apartment on 2 June 2023. 
• In the investigation report, the definition of sexual violence according to the World Health Organisation's (WHO) "World Report on Violence and Health" in 2022 is as such: "any sexual act, attempt to obtain a sexual act, unwanted sexual comments or advances, or acts to traffic, or otherwise directed, against a person’s sexuality using coercion, by any person regardless of their relationship to the victim, in any setting, including but not limited to home and work. Sexual violence includes rape, defined as physically forced or otherwise coerced penetration – even if slight – of the vulva or anus, using a penis, other body parts or an object."

Preview of "Dear My Baby ~ Watashi ga anata wo shihaisuru made ~" - Spring 2025

Title: Dear My Baby ~ Watashi ga anata wo shihaisuru made ~ / ディアマイベイビー～私があなたを支配するまで～

Official website: here

Official Instagram: here

Official TikTok: here

Official X: here

O.A. Start Date: 4 April 2025

Timeslot: Fridays at 12.12am

Broadcast by: TV Tokyo

Original manga by: MANGAmuse, TV Tokyo & Mita Rihoko

Opening theme song: "Suki, kirai" by Phantom Siita

Ending theme song: "Maria" by Abe Mao

Cast: Matsushita Yuki, Nomura Kota, Nakamura Yurika, Nagatsuma Reo, Igita Natsuha, Sakura Mayumi, Iwaya Kenji & Yamaguchi Sayaka

Preview of "Kanojo ga sore mo ai to yobunara" - Spring 2025

Title: Kanojo ga sore mo ai to yobunara / 彼女がそれも愛と呼ぶなら

Official website: here

Official Instagram: here

Official TikTok: here

Official X: here

O.A. Start Date: 3 April 2025

Timeslot: Thursdays at 11.59pm

Broadcast by: YTV

Original novel by: Ichiki Kei

Theme Song: "Espresso" by Sabrina Carpenter

Cast: Kuriyama Chiaki, Ito Kentaro, Senga Kento, Maruyama Tomomi, Komiyama Rina, Tokunaga Eri, Shukugawa Atomu, Namiki Ayaka, Fuchikami Yasushi, Kurosawa Asuka, Takeno Sena & Nakamura Riho

Third-party Investigation Committee's Report on the Nakai Masahiro sexual violence case & FujiTV's role in it - Part 1: The Committee

The third-party investigation committee tasked with looking into the Nakai Masahiro sexual assault case and FujiTV's handling of the issue released its report during a press conference on 31 March 2025. The reports come in two formats i.e. the full version (291 pages) and the summary (58 pages). There is also an appendix which contains the results from the 2 surveys conducted with FujiTV employees and executives.

Due to the amount of information and extensive media coverage on this topic, I will be only translating and writing about highlights and key information derived from the reports in a series of posts. If you are interested in reading the reports, they can accessed via the links provided above.

While there are also documents about FujiTV's plans to revamp itself in view of what happened and what was pointed out by the committee, I will not be covering these. Frankly speaking, such "promises" ring hollow for now unless concrete and tangible changes are made and the effects can only be seen in time to come. As such, I feel that it is meaningless to talk about these at the moment.

This case may have happened in FujiTV but that's not to say other TV stations and companies may not have similar issues. Given the gravity of the case and the subsequent mishandling of the matter that led to the exodus of sponsors and the adverse impact it had on various FujiTV drama productions, this is why I am spending so much time and effort on covering this. Hopefully, these posts help you to understand what had happened and the lingering effects it will have on subsequent FujiTV dramas and possibly productions from other TV stations as well since it looks likely that things would not be the same for FujiTV at least for the time being.

To be honest, it is sickening to read the full story of what happened. Although Bunshun and other media outlets had already given a more-or-less clear account of the issue (while not verified in some aspects and some parts did sound like rumours and speculation), seeing the strongly-worded report by the committee which did not hold back on its criticism of Nakai, the parties who were involved and FujiTV as a company was indeed surprising and refreshing to say the least. I applaud the committee for its extensive investigation completed in a matter of just two months or so and hope that their work will indeed bring some much-needed vindication and justice for Announcer A in Nakai's case who kept getting criticised for "accepting the settlement money" even though the circumstances leading to that were unclear and other employees who had suffered similar harassment from other people in positions of power. Whether criminal proceedings will take place and whether the guilty parties involved will get punished in one way or another - that's still too early to tell though.

While A's identity was somewhat masked so far until the report's release, it has become very evident who A is given the clear indicators given about her identity. Despite so, I will continue using A to refer to her which is in line with the investigation committee's reports.

Due to the number of parties involved, the committee cited the positions held by the parties back then in brackets and used alphabets to refer to them for the sake of clarity. Note that the alphabets used do not correspond to the initials of these people - just in case the public mistakes this to be clues leading to their real identities and start a witch-hunt. Efforts were made by the committee to avoid mentioning specific names and key indicators of one's identity in most scenarios except for those who were already reported and named in the media for their involvement in this case and were deemed to have the responsibility to answer for their roles in this case.

There is another version of this report which indicates the full names of all parties which is not available for public circulation. This was due to concerns about the leak of personal data and confidential corporate information about CX and FMH.

In Part 1, let's find out more about the committee and how they conducted this investigation:

- At an extraordinary board of directors meeting of FMH held on 23 January 2025, the establishment of the third party investigation committee was decided. The aim of the committee was to provide an independent and unbiased assessment of the Nakai case and FujiTV's alleged involvement in the matter, analyze the causes and come up with suggestions of preventive measures. In particular, these 6 points needed to be addressed:

1. Whether CX and FMH were involved in the case
2. Whether there were similar instances like the case in question
3. The process from when CX and FMH came to be aware of the case and its handling of the matter
4. Measures of internal controls, corporate governance and human rights and their effectiveness
5. Identification of problems, root causes and advice on preventive measures
6. Other matters as identified by the committee

- The committee compromised of 3 leading members who were all lawyers and the chairman Takeuchi Akira is also a certified fraud examiner. The investigation was conducted by 18 lawyers who were supervised by another 5 lawyers. The committee also enlisted the help of 3 CX & FMH employees to facilitate the investigation and ensured that there were information firewalls between them and the executives of both companies as stated in the confidentiality agreements signed with them.

- A total of 16 committee meetings were held in the period from 23 January to 30 March 2025.

- The scope of the investigation was set for the period between 1 April 2016 and 26 March 2025. The reason why 1 April 2016 was set as the cut-off date was that CX and FMH had started using their current information management system since then and obtaining/analyzing data prior to this was deemed to be challenging and likely lower in relevance to the current case in question.

- 222 people including those listed in the table above, executives deemed to be relevant to this investigation as well as those who had already left CX and FMH were interviewed over 294 sessions during the investigation period. There were also 2 surveys conducted on the employees and other interested parties along with the establishment of a designated hotline for people to provide information.

- The committee engaged digital forensics company foxcale to ensure the security of the digital data collected and analyze it. Details of their investigation can be found on pages 287 to 291.

• A portion of the data from Microsoft Outlook and Teams were downloaded by CX and FMH through Microsoft Purview and passed on to foxcale.
• Data automatically saved and synced to One Drive through electronic devices issued by CX and FMH were also secured for the purpose of analysis.
• There was evidence pointing to the partial deletion of digital data deliberately by some of those who were investigated. In the report quoted by the media, Nakai had used mainly SMS as a communication tool while those in CX and FMH had used LINE and Microsoft Teams for external and internal communications. 
• While the foxcale team managed to recover most of the deleted SMS and LINE data, there was unfortunately a portion which couldn't be read. It was determined that 437 SMS items, 86 LINE chat items and 1,427 Microsoft Teams chat items were deleted on purpose. Of the individuals who had done this, B was singled out for having deleted 325 communication data items between him, another talent U, Nakai and Lawyer K between 9 January and 1 February 2025. As such, these actions strongly suggested that there was an intention to hide the facts of the case from this investigation.

Preview of "Shiawase wa tabete nete mate" - Spring 2025

Title: Shiawase wa tabete nete mate / しあわせは食べて寝て待て

Official website: here

Official X: here

O.A. Start Date: 1 April 2025

Timeslot: Tuesdays at 10pm

Broadcast by: NHK

Total number of episodes: 9

Original manga by: Mizunagi Tori

Cast: Sakurai Yuki, Miyazawa Hio, Kaga Mariko, Fukushi Seiji, Tabata Tomoko, Nakayama Yuuto, Okuyama Aoi, Kitano Kii, Nishiyama Jun, Doi Shiori, Nakayama Hinano & Asaka Mayumi

Preview of "Tokyo Holiday" - Spring 2025

Title: Tokyo Holiday / トウキョウホリディ

Official website: here

Official Instagram: here

Official TikTok: here

Official X: here

O.A. Start Date: 3 April 2025

Timeslot: Thursdays at 12.30am

Broadcast by: TV Tokyo

Insert Song: "Kanariya" by Sawamura Kirari

Cast: Kanawut Traipipattanapong, Takimoto Miori, Hayama Shono, Okamoto Natsumi, Paolo, Izuka Kenta, Murakawa Eri, Suwa Taro & Kazama Morio

Preview of "Parallel Fuufu Shinda "boku to tsuma" no shinjitsu - Spring 2025

Title: Parallel Fuufu Shinda "boku to tsuma" no shinjitsu / パラレル夫婦　死んだ“僕と妻”の真実

Official website: here

Official Instagram: here

Official TikTok: here

Official X: here

O.A. Start Date: 1 April 2025

Timeslot: Tuesdays at 11pm

Broadcast by: Kansai TV

Cast: Inoo Kei, Ihara Rikka, Matsukura Kaito, Nomura Kouta, Saito Nagisa, Kizu Takumi, Kyon, Nozoe Yoshihiro, Minamino Yoko & Yashima Norito

Highlights from TBS DRAMA COLLECTION 2025 Spring

The TBS DRAMA COLLECTION 2025 Spring event was held on 29 March 2025 which was streamed online and featured key cast members from the three upcoming dramas starting in April 2025.

Team "Taigan no kaji" (Colour theme: Pink & White) - Tabe Mikako, Eguchi Noriko, Dean Fujioka & Ichinose Wataru

Team "Ignite" (Colour Theme: Red) - Mamiya Shotaro, Nakamura Tooru, Kamishiraishi Moka & Miyama Ryoki

Team "Caster" (Colour Theme: Black) - Abe Hiroshi, Nagano Mei, Michieda Shunsuke & Okabe Takashi

There was a Q & A session where the cast members were asked 2 questions and if all 12 of their answers matched, they would get a luxurious fruit gift set sent to their filming studios. Here are the answers to the questions asked.

On the first day of filming, do you:

A - approach others proactively to talk?

B - wait for others to come and talk to you?

A- Eguchi Noriko, Ichinose Wataru, Abe Hiroshi, Michieda Shunsuke, Nagano Mei, Mamiya Shotaro, Kamishiraishi Moka, Nakamura Tooru and Miyama Ryoki (The "IGNITE" team chose the same answer)

B - Tabe Mikako, Dean Fujioka and Okabe Takashi 

What type of clothes will you wear to the filming location?

A - Comfort is the most important so anything which you can easily change out of

B - Being fashionable is the most important so you will put in effort to choose something nice and presentable

A - Eguchi Noriko, Ichinose Wataru, Dean Fujioka, Tabe Mikako, Okabe Takashi, Abe Hiroshi, Nagano Mei, Michieda Shunsuke, Kamishiraishi Moka, Mamiya Shotaro and Miyama Ryoki (The "Taigan no Kaji" team chose the same answer)

B - Nakamura Tooru (Actually, Michieda chose B at first because he saw the options wrongly so he changed his answer to A in the end. As for Nakamura, he said that since he drives to the filming location on his own most of the time, he makes sure that he isn't dressed too shabbily in case he needs to go shopping for things and people see him but doesn't go to the extent of being fashionable.)

Unfortunately, they did not manage to give the same answers until the end.

Towards the end of the event, when Ichinose was asked to perform a leg split in response to a question about their routines on the filming set, he accidentally tore his pants. He then had to leave the stage for a short while and came back with a black shirt covering his pants as he made his exit when the event wrapped up.

Quick Review #110: Kujaku no dansu, dare ga mita? - Winter 2025

Title: Kujaku no dansu, dare ga mita? / クジャクのダンス、誰が見た？

Rating: 2 / 10

Recommended for: 

Those who are fans of the cast and don't mind watching a frustratingly slow and illogical suspense-mystery

* Potential spoilers ahead!

* Disclaimer: I have not read the original manga

Liked:

- I admit that my primary motivation for watching this was Matsuyama Kenichi and as expected, I felt that he did a decent job as Matsukaze. Surprisingly, I enjoyed his interaction with Hirose Suzu as their characters developed a comradeship which somehow evolved to being that of a father-and-daughter dynamic with some funny and heartwarming moments.

- The part when the Endo father-and-son pair were reunited after 22 years was so bittersweet but such a joy to watch because of Sakou Yoshi and Narita Ryo's acting. I also liked their interaction with Kamii (Isomura Hayato) who was a key driver of their hard-to-come-by reunion.

Disliked: 

- I certainly did not expect to give such a low score to this drama because it did start off pretty promisingly - at least up to Ep 2. However, things spiraled downwards really quickly as the subsequent episodes felt like teasers with some miserable bread crumbs dropped along the way but nothing major or significant ever happened. This was further aggravated because of the fact that I was watching this one episode at a time and had to wait an entire week for each new release. If not for the fact that I really wanted to find out what was the truth and for the sake of watching Matsuyama, I would have dropped this around Ep 5 or 6. The pace then picked up considerably, in fact it felt like information overload in Ep 9. And yet, the ending was so underwhelming. How boring to learn the truth in this manner! What was even more damning was that there were so many questions which I felt were not properly addressed or the explanation felt unconvincing. This may have to do with the fact that the manga had not been completed until recently. 

Just to name a number of them:

• Why on earth and how did Haruo even get started to re-investigate the old case and arrive at his conclusion that Kyoko was involved? In order to live as a father with pride and not lie to Komugi anymore?
• The Hayashikawa family murders - even though this case was a key event that set a lot of things going wrongly, what and how it happened felt like an afterthought from how the truth was presented in the last episode.
• Same thing goes for Matsukaze's father Kuze - was that all to it? Nothing to do with the family murders?
• Why did Endo Tomoya not reveal that he was called to go to the scene of the arson when he was arrested? And why did he do that anyway?
• Why did Haruo move the baby to the second floor and hide this fact from his colleagues? The action itself wasn't bad or wrong so I fail to understand why.
• Endo Rikiro could hear the baby's cries from outside the house but didn't hear the commotion between the Hayashikawa couple and Kyoko? Seriously?
• How on earth did Akazawa know nothing about Kyoko's secret life? She set up a company, probably put her baby son in childcare, became pregnant with another man's child and disappeared for a while to give birth! By the time she brought the baby Uta to the Hayashikawa residence, that was 6 months after her birth. That means she must have been living apart from Akazawa for at least a year or so. Wouldn't Akazawa have attempted to see his son during that period and simply let her do what she wanted? And if she was still legally married to Akazawa, what about the birth registration of Uta?
• I didn't quite get how Haruo managed to adopt Uta who was in a welfare home before she was about to be adopted by her money-crazy uncle. If there was a family member or relative, I struggle to understand how Haruo could have adopted Uta legally even with the forged birth papers because he was effectively a stranger. And wouldn't the fact that he was an interested party i.e. one of the investigators of the case make his adoption act seem a bit questionable? The police had no idea on the whereabouts of Uta who was the survivor of such a serious crime?
• Where and how did Kyoko and the lawyer Narukawa link up? Did I miss something?
• What was the reason for that letter Haruo left for Komugi? He foresaw that he was going to be killed for re-investigating the old case and wanted Komugi to expose her birth mother? Seriously?

In view of the above, unless you are going to watch when all the episodes have been released and don't mind the suspense being so half-baked, I would really suggest that you steer clear of this drama.

- Given that there was such a star-studded cast, I felt that the story did not allow them to shine as much as they could. It felt like a total waste of talent other than making everyone look suspicious up to Ep 8 but the ending was such a letdown. What was all that hoo-ha about if there wasn't really a mastermind or big baddie at the end of this journey?

- Nowadays, many dramas do not have a separate credits roll and simply integrate that into the ending scenes of an episode. The problem with doing this with this drama's theme song playing in the background was that the volume was not adjusted properly and often interfered with the scenes when characters were still speaking. The part when the singer was hitting the high-pitched notes simply was jarring to the ears. This really got into the way when viewing the episodes and inevitably caused me to be quite annoyed. That was a pity though because I do like the theme song itself but not when it prevented me from hearing what the characters were saying.

Preview of "Jofuu ~ Josei ni XXXX tte hitsuyou desuka? ~" - Spring 2025

Title: Jofuu ~ Josei ni XXXX tte hitsuyou desuka? ~ / ジョフウ　～女性に××××って必要ですか？～

Official website: here

Official Instagram: here

Official TikTok: here

Official X: here

O.A. Start Date: 1 April 2025

Timeslot: Tuesdays at 12.30am

Broadcast by: TV Tokyo

Original manga by: Yachinatsu

Ending theme songs: "Kimi no tokomade" by MA55IVE THE RAMPAGE  / "Shinkiro" by Hakane

Cast: Yamazaki Hirona, Yanagi Yurina, Kusumi Koharu, Yui Ryoko, Inoue Yuuta, Beppu Yuki, Kasaya Akira, Shirato Tatsuya, Matsumoto Daiki, Fujibayashi Yasunari, Sekoguchi Ryo, Shibue Jouji & Yamazaki Shigenori

Quick Review #109: Yutori desuga nani ka - Spring 2016

Title: Yutori desuga nani ka / ゆとりですがなにか

Rating: 8.5 / 10

Recommended for: 

Those who are in the mood for a nice blend of light-hearted humour and serious life issues featuring great acting and lovable characters and/or are fans of the cast

Liked:

- While the story featured three guys who went through education in the yutori era, it was actually easy to empathise with their experiences and struggles because these are actually common themes across generations. For example, when we were younger, our predecessors probably also saw us being self-entitled and our behaviours incomprehensible to them. When it was our turn to be the seniors, we may have also felt the same way towards the later generations which came after us. As such, seeing how the yutori generation felt blamed and wronged by assumptions made about them and their struggles in life, it was actually more relatable and engaging to watch than I initially expected. Although some of the issues featured were a bit heavy, the light-hearted touch to projecting these topics made this drama a lot more palatable while not sacrificing the seriousness angle.

- The acting from the cast was definitely top-notch with the three male leads delivering such brilliant performances. I especially liked the trio's chemistry as their "friendship" developed due to odd circumstances and it really came across that they had a close relationship with one another. While there may have been less than desirable traits about these characters, you would find it hard to dislike them and I would dare say, they were so endearing and adorable to watch onscreen.

The pairings with the ladies in their lives were also very interesting. In particular, Okada Masaki and Ando Sakura were really good as an on-and-off couple and the wedding scene towards the end was such a classic. Seeing Mikami-sensei (Matsuzaka Toori) and Koreeda-sensei (Yoshioka Riho) in a romantic entanglement as Yamaji and Etsuko in an entirely different universe was so funny. Yagira Yuuya's wife played by Eren who rattled off criticism and harsh words so naturally in that fashion also provided much comedic relief and her husband who cowered in front of her despite acting tough outside - that was so hillarious.

Even the supporting characters such as Yoshida Kotaro did their part to elevate the story so there wasn't really any redundant or boring character.

Disliked: 

- There were some junctures which I felt that the humour dragged on a bit longer than desired (at least to me) so I thought that these could have been cut out to make the story flow a bit more smoothly. 

- The beginning of the story was a bit abrupt and out of the blue so it took me a while to immerse myself into the developments as I was a bit bewildered by the direction. I would have preferred a more "proper" start to introduce the characters rather than be thrown into the deep end from the start and feel disoriented.

Preview of "Sado off-road" (Drama SP)

Title: Sado off-road / サ道 off-road

Official website: here

Official Facebook: here

Official Instagram: here

Official TikTok: here

Official X: here

O.A. Date: 26 March 2025 at 2pm

Broadcast by: TV Tokyo

Original manga by: Tanaka Katsuki

Cast: Harada Taizo & Miyake Hiroki

Preview of "Yabusaka dewa gozaimasen" - Spring 2025

Title: Yabusaka dewa gozaimasen / やぶさかではございません

Official website: here

Official Instagram: here

Official TikTok: here

Official X: here

O.A. Start Date: 2 April 2025

Timeslot: Wednesdays at 12.30am

Broadcast by: TV Tokyo

Original manga by: Marita

Opening theme song: "Tick-Tack" by DXTEEN

Ending theme song: "Koi no guidebook" by Karen na Ivory

Cast: Matsumura Sayuri, Komagine Kiita, Hama Shogo, Tabata Shima, Katayama Moemi, Ando Sei, Sakurai Atsuko & Tonesaku Toshihide

Quick Review #108: Mikami-sensei - Winter 2025

Title: Mikami-sensei / 御上先生

Rating: 9 / 10

Recommended for: 

Those who want to watch an unconventional school drama with suspense elements and great acting from both the adults and "students"

* Potential spoilers ahead!

Liked:

- Unlike many school dramas to date, this story stood out for its unconventional and brutally honest take on various issues - some longstanding while others were more recent ones in this current age. Honestly speaking, there were quite a number of times when I wondered if TBS would get into trouble for being so point blank and critical with these viewpoints. At the same time, I also chuckled at how it poked fun at itself and others at times e.g. the Kinpachi-sensei style of passionate teacher being not so suitable for the current era. For the first time in a long while, there were no raised voices, incessant preaching or shouting matches and physical clashes between teachers and students but this didn't mean that there were no sparks flying within the classroom. Most importantly, the drama did not try to shove standard, right or single answers down the viewers' throats and kept emphasizing how important it was for us to think about issues and decide for ourselves only after knowing or finding out more about these topics. As such, this was reflective of how life should be - there are no best or single answers, what's good for you may not be for me and that we can all make informed decisions by not relying on others to think on our behalf or simply relying on groupthink.

- With regard to the suspense element, I thought that the story was pretty good at weaving seemingly unrelated events together to form a grand scheme of things naturally. Frankly speaking, while I thought that the bribery-rigged entry into Rintoku part was kind of predictable and a bit underwhelming towards the end, the other elements such as how one's action gave rise to unexpected events e.g. Kanzaki's "harmless and self-righteous reporting" setting off a fatal stabbing incident unwittingly were comparatively gripping and very engaging to watch. 

- Another thing which sets this drama differently from many of its predecessors was the positioning of Mikami-sensei (Matsuzaka Toori). While the drama's title was as such and that you couldn't ignore the fact that his presence was a huge factor in setting things into motion, he was never hogging the limelight and the people around him actually all had their moments to shine. As such, nobody really felt like an outsider or afterthought as the story progressed and really brought home the message that nobody and nothing is unimportant. One line that appeared in the drama had a similar nuance with this - "even though you said that now is an important period of life, is there really a period of time in life which is unimportant?".

Many a times, school dramas tend to focus a lot on the adults or teachers rather than the students especially for stories like this which dabble in revenge and revamp of the school or education system. However, I felt that the actors who played the students this time actually stood out more than initially expected and gave their seniors a run for their money. Perhaps it had to do with the fact that their popularity and name value were secondary in the selection process which was done via auditions and their suitability for their roles was the key deciding factor. As such, it felt like some of them were especially fitting for their characters and really brought their roles to life - my favourites were Okudaira Daiken, Makita Aju, Kubozuka Airu, Kiryu Sakura and Kageyama Yuka. On the adults' side, Okada Masaki, Yoshioka Riho, Tokiwa Takako and Hotta Mayu were really brilliant in their acting alongside Matsuzaka.

Disliked: 

- Perhaps the biggest issue with this drama was how emotionally charged and heavy the story was. As I outlined above, while the drama may not have very dramatic moments like shouting, raised voices, passionate expressions and the like, there were a lot of undercurrents and emotions boiling underneath the calm facade. This made me feel quite drained emotionally after each episode and certainly not the kind of mood I would like to be in on a Sunday evening with a new week ahead.

Likewise, the huge number of lines and a lot of content to consider and think about in the story created much work and overloaded my brain. I think you really need to be in the mood to savour the good things in this drama and pace yourself rather than attempt to binge-watch this.

Highlights from Matsushige Yutaka's Q & A session at the Singapore premiere of "Gekieiga Kodoku no Gurume" / "The Solitary Gourmet"

There was a 30-min Q & A session featuring Matsushige Yutaka i.e. the director, scriptwriter and lead actor of the movie "Gekieiga Kodoku no Gurume" (The Solitary Gourmet) at the Singapore premiere held on 19 March 2025. Note that the following is not a word-for-word transcript of the session but rather highlights. Some questions and answers have been edited/rephrased and additional information included for the sake of clarity and context.

Before the screening, there was a QR code flashed on screen for the audience to submit questions. You could either choose to stay anonymous or include your name. As such, during the actual Q & A, some of those who had provided their names were called upon to ask Matsushige their questions directly. Otherwise, the host was the one who asked the questions. As some questions were either similar in nature or asked about the same thing, it was clear that the staff had organised the questions to be asked beforehand rather than going through all the questions that were submitted through the QR code.

While questions raised here were largely in English, save for some Japanese greetings here and there, Matsushige had an interpreter with him onsite in Japan. As such, there were some gaps in the session as the translations were taking place both ways.

Although I felt that it was a good arrangement to submit questions beforehand rather than have awkward pauses in between the session and waste precious time waiting for people to raise their hands, it would be good to let the audience know beforehand that they had a chance to talk to Matsushige directly by submitting questions with their names. It was obvious that those who were called were quite taken by surprise so they were obviously nervous and fumbled with their questions. It was inevitable that the questions came out a bit messy and lacking in context than what I actually saw on the submission site. I also submitted a number of questions which were addressed during the session but without providing my name since it was a hassle to type that repeatedly before the screening was about to start.

Disclaimer: As I was seated very far at the back, there were some points when the audio from Japan was slightly muffled and I may have misheard certain parts. If you notice any discrepancies below, please feel free to let me know.

Questions are in bold/italics:

Matsushige-san, the "Kodoku no Gurume" series which is based on a manga has been made popular around the world after 10 seasons on TV. This time in the movie, you are not only acting as the lead character Inogashira Goro but also taking on the roles of the director and scriptwriter. How do you feel about this?

It's been about 13 years since we started with the TV drama series on a very small scale with a small number of staff members. As the only person who has been a constant in this series all these years, it was a natural move for me to lead the production of the movie.

As travel content creators on social media, we love sharing great food spots in Japan. However, we constantly worry about these places getting overwhelmed by tourists due to the tourism boom in Japan and whether these shops can handle the influx of customers. What are your thoughts about this issue when introducing food spots in Japan through the "Kodoku no Gurume" series? (question from audience)

There are indeed a lot more tourists in Japan these days especially from South Korea, China and Taiwan. While there are many places nationwide especially outside the major cities which may be pretty unknown even to the Japanese, we are very pleased to see that these delicious restaurants have received attention and favour from the fans as seen from the long queues that have formed. 

Have you been to Singapore and what is your favourite dish here? (question from audience)

I used to work part-time in a Chinese restaurant so I'm quite familiar with Chinese cuisine. I have the impression that Singapore has plenty of delicious Chinese food as well as other Asian cuisine to offer. While I may not know about a lot about these, the first thing I can think of is Hainanese chicken rice. It would be great if you can share more with me about the delicious food in Singapore which I should try.

Hi Matsushige-san, thank you very much for featuring my family's restaurant i.e. the chanpon place in Goto Islands. I was very excited to see this on screen and wanted to take this opportunity to say hi and thank you. (question from audience)

* The speaker is the eldest son of the family which owns the chanpon restaurant featured in the Goto Islands arc of the movie. His grandparents are running the place and he is currently based in Singapore with his family.

You should have told me earlier! (laughing) Wow, it's amazing to have this connection all the way from Singapore!

Due to the location of Goto Islands, the food and culture there have been heavily influenced by foreign nations such as China and South Korea so it has evolved into something which is uniquely different from that of the rest of Japan. The chanpon is an example of such a special dish.

I would like to ask how you manage to make eating look so appetising! I remember that there was a season of 5 episodes where you had to eat rather "adventurous" food so how did you manage to do that even for such foods? And please come to Singapore for a special season, thank you. (question from audience)

Oh, that should be about the "misadventures" in Season 5, right? Although I cannot recall all the dishes from then at this moment, there was a wasabi-don which was especially memorable. And of course, if you have any special food or those to be eaten in an unusual way at places not frequented by Japanese tourists, please share that with me too.

Since we deal with a variety of ingredients and dishes in the series, we usually ask the restaurant owners about the best way to enjoy the dishes so this helps me to show that to the viewers.

In Singapore, we sometimes have disputes with our neighbour Malaysia over the origin/birth rights of popular dishes. What are your thoughts about this issue when there are controversies of a similar nature surrounding Japanese food? (question from audience)

* The speaker used the term "being attacked by Malaysia" multiple times in this question. From what it seems, the question's context is probably with reference to controversies or arguments to date over which place was the origin of popular dishes such as chicken rice and chili crab.

I'm not sure if I understand this question correctly because we don't seem to see this kind of terminology used here in Japan.

In Japan's case, we do have some disputes (both historical and ongoing) with our neighbours at times. However, I think that at least through food, there is a lot that we can share with one another

as seen from how the women from different places co-exist in harmony on the remote island featured in the movie as they work towards the common goal of food research.

What is the next project that you are working on that we can look forward to seeing in future? (question from audience)

I think there is a need to discuss with related parties such as TV Tokyo on our next step so I do not know for now what's coming up. Our initial goal for this movie was for it to be well-received by the domestic audience so for this to go international and be loved by the world, this has been an amazing and unexpected adventure. In any case, I hope to continue the engagement with food through this series and that there will be an opportunity for us to share it with all of you in Singapore.

Preview of "Eien ni tsuite no shoumei" (Drama SP)

Title: Eien ni tsuite no shoumei / 永遠についての証明

Official website: here

O.A. Date: 22 March 2025 at 8.30pm

Broadcast by: NHK

Original novel by: Iwai Keiya

Cast: Sugino Yosuke, Ryuusei Ryo, Sekimizu Nagisa, Kakei Toshio, Kishimoto Kayoko & Ozawa Yukiyoshi

Review of "Gekieiga Kodoku no Gurume" (劇映画 孤独のグルメ) / The Solitary Gourmet

Disclaimer and clarification:

• While I like the "Kodoku no Gurume" drama series and have read and do own the Japanese version of the manga, I haven't actually finished watching all seasons of the drama version. As such, while I have watched up to Season 2, my review is primarily centered on the movie and just have a few references from the drama based on what I know so far.

• During the Singapore premiere of this movie, the host of the Q & A session said that there were 10 seasons of the drama series. Strictly speaking, this is not accurate because there were actually 2 seasons in 2022 and 2023 which were streamed exclusively on Paravi, Hikari TV and Lemino. In addition, there was a special edition titled "Sorezore no Kodoku no Gurume" shown last year to commemorate TV Tokyo's 60th anniversary. If these three are also taken into consideration, the entire "Kodoku no Gurume" series should have 13 seasons in total.

For those who are not aware of or unfamiliar with the "Kodoku no Gurume" series, one concern that you might have is whether you can still enjoy this movie without this prior knowledge. Based on what my companion who attended the premiere with me said, that wasn't an issue since the movie had an easy-to-follow plot. This being said though, if you are aware of some of the things which went on in the past or have some idea of who Inogashira Goro is, it might help you to enjoy this movie a bit more. 

To begin with, you might be wondering why the title of this movie is "Gekieiga" (劇映画) rather than "Gekijouban" (劇場版) which we tend to see in movie versions of drama series, novels, manga or anime. Both terms actually mean the same thing i.e. full-length feature films which are shown in cinemas. However, there is a difference in the usage of these terms and nuances surrounding them. Gekieiga usually refers to feature films where actors act in fictional stories. However, feature films which are non-fiction in nature and do not feature people's acting are classified under genres such as documentaries and cultural films. On the other hand, the term "gekijouban" tends to be used for remakes or re-edits of audio-visual works like anime and TV dramas or works and places a stronger emphasis on the original work which the movie is based on.

As such, based on the term "gekieiga" used in the title of this movie, it gives you an idea that most, if not all movie-goers, regardless of whether you have read the manga or watched the drama before, should be able to enjoy it as a standalone movie. If it was termed as "gekijouban", chances are, you would need some prior knowledge to make sense of the story. In fact, Matsushige himself chose the term "gekieiga" to signify that the movie is not merely an extension of the drama series and is a standalone feature film.

In a nutshell, the movie describes how Inogashira Goro (Matsushige Yutaka) embarks on a journey to various places to find the ingredients needed to make a legendary soup called "Icchan-jiru" as requested by the elderly father of his ex-girlfriend Sayuki. This is where I thought that knowing who Sayuki was would make a bit more sense to those who might wonder why Goro had to accept this request and go to such great lengths to fulfill this mission. In the movie itself, it doesn't really say clearly who Sayuki was other than hinting that she used to be a longtime acquaintance of Goro and she had asked her daughter Matsuo Chiaki (An) to look for Goro in case she needed help in future.

From this point onwards, if you do not wish to read spoilers about this movie, please skip the portion below and return only when you have watched the film!

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Despite the fact that the story was pretty straightforward, I felt that it was pretty well-structured and didn't feel like a prolonged version of the drama's episodes. While some settings may seem ludicrous or simply too good to be true and the shifting between arcs was a bit abrupt at times, I think that the movie turned out to be better than I thought in terms of the story. I was quite concerned initially as to whether the eating and visiting of restaurants alone would be sufficient to shore up a full-length feature film but thankfully, my worries were unfounded.

One thing which kind of bothered me was Goro's "drift" from Goto Islands in Nagasaki (the red circle in the Google Maps screenshot above) to some remote island in between that and Gujora in Geoje, South Korea (the red marker on the map). While I may not be that familiar with South Korean geography, I roughly remember where Geoje is based on my years of watching 2 Days 1 Night. Somehow, I had the impression that Goto Islands and Geoje are so far apart that it didn't seem logical for Goro to be swept towards there and survived in one piece. Looking at it on Google Maps sort of confirmed my hunch that it seemed way too wide with hardly any island between both places other than Tsushima and Jeju. Of course, given that the movie did not specify where exactly the remote island is (could have been much closer to Goto Islands than Geoje) and how long it took to travel from the island to Geoje when Daniel sent Goro there, I have to give the benefit of the doubt to the movie and assume that the scenario Goro was in could be remotely realistic.

I must say, Goro (Matsushige) doing what he excels in i.e. making solo eating look like such a relishing and gratifying experience was definitely the highlight of this movie. My viewing companion commented how good he looked when eating and making everything look so delicious so I guess this speaks volumes of Matsushige's success in bringing Goro to life and being able to win over first-time viewers of this series through this movie. Be warned though, don't watch this on an empty stomach because you might feel so hungry and craving for food while watching the movie. Truth be told, I was feeling peckish after watching this but had to suppress my urge for supper since it was already quite late at night by then.

One thing I wanted to highlight is the guest lineup for this movie. In many cases, the cast and staff credits tend to appear towards the end of the film so that there is a surprise element for the audience to see unexpected stars appear as guests. However, this movie laid out its "cards" from the start and I was especially excited to see Odagiri Jo's name on screen. Prior to watching this movie, I only knew about An, Isomura Hayato and Endo Kenichi's guest appearances so Odagiri turned out to be a nice bonus for me. Too bad that he and Uchida Yuki didn't have any scenes together despite playing a married couple who were taking some time off each other due to some issues. Special mention also goes to the actor playing Daniel who definitely made a strong impression on screen.

Endo's portrayal of Matsushige himself in the movie really cracked me up because he nailed the key characteristics of Goro and Matsushige and this was especially meaningful considering that they are good friends in real life. Oh, and the token of appreciation which Goro was given for appearing as an extra in "Kodoku no Gurume" which was filmed at Sincerite - that might not have meant much to those who didn't know. However, that pen with the banana character is actually the mascot of TV Tokyo i.e. the TV station that spotted a gem in "Kodoku no Gurume" and took a risk to make the drama series despite the skepticism over its commercial viability back then. 

Yoo Jae-myung's special appearance in the Korean arc cracked me up as his character and Goro were communicating in a mix of English, Japanese and Korean as well as body language. I would have loved to see more of Yoo though since he's one of my favourite Korean actors but I guess, it's better than nothing.

Considering that the movie seems targeted at an international audience, I thought that the subtitles left much to be desired. To begin with, there were chunks of dialogue which did not get translated for whatever reason e.g. some of Goro's monologues and the Korean parts from Yoo. I don't know if the subtitles have the same issue for all versions circulated outside of Japan but if the assumption is that a language is common knowledge in that country and you omit those lines on purpose e.g. English in Singapore or Chinese in Hong Kong or Taiwan, I feel that this defeats the aim of having subtitles in the first place. 

While the intention of having subtitles may be primarily to translate foreign language lines, there are also other uses for them such as those who can understand the spoken language but the diction or audio is not clear enough to be understood. And for those who have hearing difficulties, these subtitles allow them to enjoy the film as well. As such, I would have expected more care and effort in making sure everything gets translated. In addition, having translations alone is not good enough because you do need to get it correct. Even with my limited Korean proficiency, I could pick out some inaccurate or slightly off translations in the subtitles so this problem definitely did not help in the understanding of what was spoken.

And probably because this movie showcases a variety of foods from different countries, I felt that the Japanese influence of the movie was comparatively weaker than that of the original drama series. I get it that the nature of the story this time required the inclusion of non-Japanese dishes but it would be nice to have a film next time with a stronger Japanese angle beyond the usual things we already know.

This time, there is a new theme song by THE CRO-MAGNONS titled "Kuufuku to Ore" (空腹と俺) which literally means "an empty stomach and me". While I missed hearing the signature Goro tune from the drama series, I get it that the movie needs to distinguish itself from that so that explains a different theme song. Nonetheless, it would have been better if the lyrics of the song were translated so that non-Japanese speakers can get the fun and relevance of these with the theme of the movie or Goro's universe as a whole. For those who are interested, you can hear the song and view the lyrics here.

Last but not least, do keep a lookout for the little quirky things onscreen which probably make a bit more sense if you already are familiar with the series or know the Japanese language. For example, the license plate on Goro's car i.e. 5-6-3 is actually a pun on his name Go-ro-san. If you notice other interesting titbits from the movie, please feel free to share them with me.

On the whole, I felt that this movie was good in the sense that it offers a low barrier to entry for those new to the "Kodoku no Gurume" world yet establishes itself as a proper standalone film with a decent storyline rather than a remake of the drama/manga. At the same time, it also offers some things old, some things new for existing fans to look forward to. Despite this being Matsushige's directorial debut and he also had to juggle the role of writing the script and playing the lead character, I look forward to seeing more of his works especially if he is going to make more movie versions of this series. 

If this movie is playing in a cinema near you, do go ahead to check this out and indulge!