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!

Thoughts about the Singapore Premiere of "Gekieiga Kodoku no Gurume" (劇映画 孤独のグルメ) / "The Solitary Gourmet" - 19 March 2025

While I haven't had a lot of luck in winning at lucky draws or giveaways, I managed to get a pair of free tickets to the Singapore premiere of "Gekieiga Kodoku no Gurume" / "The Solitary Gourmet" on 19 March 2025, thanks to Japan Creative Centre. To be honest, I wasn't expecting this at all and had prepared myself mentally to go and watch this when the movie is released here at the end of this month. As such, winning the tickets came as an unexpected but very pleasant surprise.

Actually, I hadn't even expected that the movie version of "Kodoku no Gurume" would make it to our local cinemas. That's not because I have doubts over its popularity or the appeal of the title but rather, I've always had the impression that awareness of this series and the manga here in Singapore should be fairly limited to 知る人ぞ知る i.e. those who know know or those who follow Japanese pop culture. In fact, I was guessing that another food-themed movie "Grand Maison Paris" had a higher chance of making it here because the drama series "Grand Maison Tokyo" is available for viewing here on Netflix and Kimura Takuya is arguably more well-known than Matsushige Yutaka even to those who are not that familiar with Japanese stars. On the other hand, all seasons and SPs of "Kodoku no Gurume" can be viewed on Netflix Japan but not in Singapore. As such, to see that "Kodoku no Gurume" is coming to our shores first as compared to "Grand Maison", this speaks volumes of the series' popularity and the distributor's/sponsors' confidence in this title. Hopefully, the box office takings will be at least enough to cover the costs, considering that this is offered exclusively at The Projector and it's unknown as yet how the screening schedule will be like and how long this movie will run here in Singapore. 

The size of the hall is also worth considering when determining if the release is a commercial success. If the screenings are held in venues like the Yangtze Hall which was the venue of this premiere, it's considerably bigger than the usual theatres used for Japanese films in the past. This could be a good or bad thing though. While it will definitely be more difficult to fill up one hall, it will allow more to fit into one session rather than have multiple screenings with smaller audiences. I would assume that more sessions and bigger halls will incur higher costs so striking a balance is definitely challenging. I certainly hope that things will work out well because if Japanese films don't do well here in the box office, it can mean that we won't get to see more releases in future other than those which are featured during film festivals or not released on a commercial scale.

On the whole, this was a good event which went reasonably well, save for the undesirable behaviour of some members of the audience. Actually, at the beginning of the screening, there was already a "warning video" from The Projector reminding people to be mindful of their behaviour in the cinema and not disrupt others' viewing experience. I personally found that video quite interesting and witty - it was rather unlike similar warning clips in the past because it was so direct in highlighting the bad habits of some movie goers. 

However, there were still many who were late for the screening and made so much noise while looking for their seats. And even if you needed to find your seats in the dark, your mobile phone's light should not be moving around and shining into other people's eyes instead of being pointed downwards to the floor and onto the seat numbers on the chairs. The bewildering thing was, the seat numbers and rows were already illuminated in the darkness and there was quite a bit of light from the screen so do you really need that additional light from your mobile phone? I also had the misfortune of being seated behind this latecomer who came in past 8pm - the movie had already passed the halfway mark by then and our view was blocked for a while as a result. I can't help but wonder, shouldn't there be a cutoff point to prevent these latecomers from interrupting everyone else who made an effort to be on time? Of course, given that the timing of the screening coincided with the evening rush hour and the traffic situation was probably worsened by the rainy spell for the entire day, I get it that people could be held up despite their best intentions. However, it might be good for organisers to consider whether to set a cut-off time for admission for the benefit of those who are on time for future events. If I was at a movie which I paid for and my viewing experience was marred by this, I would be even more annoyed. Not that anyone deserved anything less for a free screening though.

The other thing which was truly unpleasant to watch, were the people who left before and during the Q & A session with Matsushige Yutaka. No doubt that he was not physically present here in Singapore, the fact that he dialed in from Japan (which is one hour later than SG) and the logistics, time and effort put into the preparation surely warranted more respect from those who turned up for this screening. While I understand that there may be many who came for the sake of the free screening and may not be fans of the series or Matsushige himself, it was basic courtesy not to leave while the Q & A was ongoing. At least for those who left while the credit roll was shown, the cinema hall was still dark and their movements were not that conspicuous and seen by Matsushige himself. However, those who left in the lighted cinema and while Matsushige was talking, it was downright rude. I wonder how he might have felt when he saw those people moving out of the hall. And those empty seats in the hall - it did come across as pretty embarrassing and not the kind of thing we probably want to show a guest from afar. In this sense, while I did feel that it was a pity that he could not come to Singapore personally to promote this film, I also thought that it was good for him not to see such discourteous behaviour in person. Would less people leave the theatre like this if he was appearing in person? Maybe not in his face but I suppose there would still be those who would try to leave before the lights come on.

Another possible reason for the disdain shown towards the Q & A session: the 舞台挨拶 / stage greeting culture is not so prevalent and strong here that people don't necessarily see this as something important or of value. The thing is, if the organisers tried to add value to the screening by arranging something like this and it's not often that we get to "see and talk" to the cast of a Japanese movie, we should show our appreciation by being physically present. And if organisers see that such add-ons are not appreciated, who would want to go to the trouble of arranging these things in future?

Last but not least, I was actually hoping for something special to commemorate the event rather it being just a pre-release screening where we watched a movie and left the cinema. Considering that this was a premiere, I was hoping to see some decorations or feature wall for people to take pictures with or the movie's pamphlet being given out so that it can be posted on social media for PR purposes. While there was a stand-up panel of the movie, it didn't quite stand out since it was placed alongside that of other movies. And the pamphlet which I got was actually placed at ABC Cooking Studio rather than at the screening venue itself. I don't know if this was actually made available at the venue but I didn't see it at the collection desk. It might be a far stretch to expect more such as being able to buy the movie's pamphlet booklet or merchandise but perhaps some small memorabilia for the audience might be good.

As for my review of the movie, I will be posting that on another day. With regard to the post-screening Q & A, highlights from that section will appear in a separate post. Do keep a lookout for both posts coming your way soon! 

Preview of "Sannin Fuufu" - Spring 2025

Title: Sannin Fuufu / 三人夫婦

Official website: here

Official Instagram: here

Official TikTok: here

Official X: here

O.A. Start Date: 8 April 2025 / Pre-release on Netflix from 1 April 2025

Timeslot: Tuesdays at 12.58am

Broadcast by: TBS

Theme Song: "Cheek to Cheek" by IMP.

Cast: Asaka Koudai, Asakura Aki & Suzuki Taiga

Quick Review #107: Ore Monogatari!! (movie)

Title: Ore Monogatari!! / 俺物語！！

Rating: 7 / 10

Recommended for: 

Those who are in the mood for a simple and cute first love story involving unbelievably innocent and cute characters and/or are fans of Suzuki Ryohei, Nagano Mei and Sakaguchi Kentaro

* Disclaimer: I have not read the original manga.

Liked:

- While I haven't read the original manga and cannot comment on how well/close the movie mirrored the plot, the story was straightforward so it was definitely stress-free watching and suitable for those who are in the mood for light entertainment. Considering that this was something from 10 years ago, it was also interesting to see the key actors/actresses in their younger days.

- Suzuki Ryohei actually beefing up for real and displaying fully immersive acting as Takeo, the cuteness overload from Nagano Mei (definitely irresistible for the guys) plus a cool-looking Sakaguchi Kentaro (eye candy for the girls) really helped to elevate this movie. Frankly speaking, given the simplicity and predictability of the story, it would have been difficult to sit through this if not for the great performances from the three of them. Although I had been concerned over the huge age gap between Suzuki and Nagano, they actually did look convincing enough as a high school couple.

Disliked: 

- The downside to the straightforward plot was definitely its predictability so it wasn't difficult to see where the story was heading. I thought that the film could be more concise in the last 30 minutes or so and leave some time for the happily-ever-after scenes instead of dropping these breadcrumbs of cuteness only in the ending credits. And the part about misunderstanding each other's feelings right from the start - that could have been averted if some of the characters did not engage in misleading moves but I guess that had to happen so as to propel the plot forward. While the criss-cross feelings situation might seem cute initially and provided much comedic relief, I was getting annoyed by this went on and on until someone finally gave a much-needed nudge to the leads.

Preview of "Jishin no ato de" - Spring 2025

Title: Jishin no ato de / 地震のあとで

Official website: here

O.A. Start Date: 5 April 2025

Timeslot: Saturdays at 10pm

Broadcast by: NHK

Total number of episodes: 4

Original novel by: Murakami Haruki

Cast: Okada Masaki, Hashimoto Ai, Karata Erika, Kita Kana, Izumisawa Yuki, Fukikoshi Mitsuru, Narumi Yui, Kurosaki Kodai, Tsutsumi Shinichi, Watanabe Daichi, Shibukawa Kiyohiko, Kurokawa Souya, Kiryu Mai, Igawa Haruka, Sato Koichi, Nishikido Ryo, Tsuda Kanji & Non (voice acting)

Preview of "Solokatsu joshi no susume 5" - Spring 2025

Title: Solokatsu joshi no susume 5 / ソロ活女子のススメ５

Official website: here

Official X: here

O.A. Start Date: 2 April 2025

Timeslot: Wednesdays at 1am

Original book by: Asai Mayumi

Narrator: Ootsuka Akio

Cast: Eguchi Noriko, Kobayashi Kinako, Shibuya Kento & Sasaki Haruka

Quick Review #106: Tokyo Sarada Bouru - Winter 2025

Title: Tokyo Sarada Bouru / 東京サラダボウル

Rating: 8.5 / 10

Recommended for: 

Those who are keen on a crime suspense story related to issues surrounding foreigner integration and prejudice in Japanese society and/or are fans of Nao and Matsuda Ryuuhei

* Disclaimer: I have not read the original manga.

* Potential spoilers ahead!

Liked:

- This drama was unexpectedly very upfront and frank about the issues pertaining to foreigner integration and prejudice in Japan which is a largely homogenous society. Especially since this drama was made by the national broadcaster and issues about foreigners can be quite sensitive and touchy, I was surprised by how these things supposedly taboo so far that were brought up for discussion in the story. One of the lines which left a huge impression on me was when one interpreter said that you don't have to love/like the foreigners around you but you have to realise and accept that these foreigners have helped to sustain the modern Japanese society in many ways which you cannot imagine or haven't realised or choose to ignore. As the world becomes more mixed like a salad bowl, the topics raised in this story are definitely food for thought for everyone regardless where you come from and whether you are in your home country surrounded by foreigners or a foreigner in another country.

One good thing was that the story didn't try to be overly dramatic and underlying emotions were conveyed in a relatively subtle manner. As such, it didn't feel too heavy and had the right amount of drama without feeling like a strictly-business suspense story. The downside to this was that you probably have to pay close attention to the story as some answers to questions were hinted at or went by in a fleeting moment e.g. why Kouda Mari's hair and clothes most of the time were in green and the significance of this colour to her.

- I liked the story's focus on interpreters and how communication can be facilitated or hindered due to the different languages we speak and whether there are interpreters to break down the barriers in communication. While I cannot comment on the quality of the interpretation of languages which I do not understand, I thought that the English (Sekiguchi Mandy) and Chinese interpreters were quite decent. 

In Matsuda Ryuuhei's case, I remember reading an interview that he did not know Chinese at all and had to learn from scratch to speak his lines. However, he sounded pretty natural 80% of the time so that's a reflection of how much his hard work had paid off. It's just that when he was speaking multiple lines or long lines at one go, the intonation tends to drift a bit and in Chinese, once the tone differs, the words can come across quite differently. On the other hand, Mikami Hiroshi's diction and intonation was quite spot-on so I could understand him a bit better in comparison. It probably also helped that he had lesser lines than Matsuda.

- Nao delivered a great performance as Kouda Mari, not just in terms of her green hair which was very eye-catching but also how she managed to convey the emotions of her character beneath that cheery facade. Her chemistry with Matsuda Ryuuhei was such a joy to watch especially in the later episodes when they bared their souls to each other and shared their traumas and painful pasts. Likewise for Matsuda, I think this was the first time I saw him looking pretty "normal" and suave because many of his characters I saw to date were either nerdy or on the eccentric side. While he maintained a straight face most of the time, I liked how he handled Arikino's emotional scenes and when he appeared vulnerable in front of Kouda.

Another surprise this time was Mikami Hiroshi who I had not seen on screen for a long time. While he may not have appeared a lot in this drama, his screen presence and suitability for his role Agawa was certainly impressive.

Disliked: 

- Frankly speaking, I didn't think that the suspense element of this drama was strong and the cases featured were somewhat straightforward. Other than the central theme of seeking out "Volunteer" and finding out the truth behind Oda's demise, there really wasn't much going on in the individual cases. As such, it can feel somewhat underwhelming for those who are in this for the suspense since the drama was more skewed towards the humanity side of things.

2025's Top 10 most desired female celebrities who you want as a girlfriend (Oricon)

Oricon conducts an annual survey on 1,000 men in their teens to 50s about which female celebrity they would like to have as their girlfriend and releases the results on White Day (14 March). Yoshioka Riho who has been No.1 for 4 consecutive years, is on her way to entering the Hall of Fame for this ranking, following the footsteps of Aragaki Yui who got No.1 for 5 years in a row. 

The numbers in the brackets indicate their rankings in 2024 while dashes indicate that they were outside of the top 10 for last year. Those who were in the 2024 ranking but does not appear in this year's edition include Hashimoto Kanna (No.4), Hirose Suzu (No.8) and Nukumi Meru (No.9).

1) Yoshioka Riho (1)

2) Hamabe Minami (3)

3) Imada Mio (2) / Koshiba Fuuka (6) / Nagano Mei (10)

6) Ayase Haruka (5)

7) Fukuhara Haruka (6)

8) Arimura Kasumi (-)

9) Nagasawa Masami (-)

10) Ashida Mana (-) / Honda Tsubasa (-)

Preview of "1995 Chikatetsu Sarin Jiken 30 nen Kyuumei genba no koe" (Drama SP)

Title: 1995 Chikatetsu Sarin Jiken 30 nen Kyuumei genba no koe / １９９５地下鉄サリン事件３０年　救命現場の声

Official website: here

O.A. Start Date: 21 March 2025 at 9pm

Broadcast by: FujiTV

Cast: Tsuda Kenjiro, Sakurai Hinako & Izumisawa Yuki etc.

Preview of "Otto yo, shindekurenai ka" - Spring 2025

Title: Otto yo, shindekurenai ka / 夫よ、死んでくれないか

Official website: here

Official Instagram: here

Official X: here

O.A. Start Date: 7 April 2025

Timeslot: Mondays at 11.06pm

Broadcast by: TV Tokyo

Original novel by: Maruyama Masaki

Cast: Adachi Yumi, Aibu Saki, Isoyama Sayaka, Takezai Terunosuke, Takahashi Mitsuomi & Tsukamoto Takashi

Quick Review #105: Solomon no Gishou - Autumn 2021

Title: Solomon no Gishou / ソロモンの偽証

Rating: 3 / 10

Recommended for: 

Those who want to watch a not-so-challenging suspense story and/or are fans of Bandou Ryouta and Yamamoto Maika

* Disclaimer: I have not read the original novel nor watched the Japanese movie & Korean drama versions.

* Potential spoilers ahead!

Liked:

- Despite not being the leads, Bandou Ryouta and Yamamoto Maika's acting here were pretty impressive and they stood out for the right reasons. While Bandou's character was largely evil, there were traces of kindness in his true nature which were handled very convincingly. On the other hand, Yamamoto's character may have seemed to be on the dark side as well at first but the twist towards the end as her true self was revealed was done very nicely.

Disliked: 

- The length of the drama could have been shorter because things were really draggy in the lead-up to the mock trial in school. Even after the trial began, the proceedings were pretty much sleep-inducing for me. Likewise, the so-called truth behind the case felt like all the hoo-ha was for nothing and if you have seen enough of similar suspense stories, it wouldn't take you a lot of effort to figure things out. Perhaps it would be good to make this into a 5-episode drama rather than 8 long episodes.

- While I do like Kamishiraishi Moka as an actress, her role here was not very interesting to watch partly because Fujino Ryoko was a goody-two-shoes model student who was somewhat going with the flow and being a passive party who reacted to developments rather than propel things forward. Although the story positioned her character as someone who took the initiative to start the mock trial and investigation, I couldn't help but feel otherwise. As such, it felt so annoying to see her getting all heated up and antagonising people along the way in the pursuit of the so-called truth.

- Miyazawa Hio's performance here was disappointing, at least to me. I get that he was at a bit of a disadvantage since he was older than those who played the students so this created a very noticeable visual age gap with them and made him look out of place. And to make things more challenging for him, the character Kanbara hardly betrayed any emotions for most of this drama so it made his acting look even more stiff and difficult to stomach. I have to admit, I found it really painful to watch his acting here and the bad memory of watching him for the first time in "Todome no Kiss" kept coming back.

Preview of "Taigan no kaji ~ Kore ga, watashi no ikirumichi! ~" - Spring 2025

Title: Taigan no kaji ~ Kore ga, watashi no ikirumichi! ~ / 対岸の家事～これが、私の生きる道！～

Official website: here

Official Instagram: here

Official TikTok: here

Official X: here

O.A. Start Date: 1 April 2025

Timeslot: Tuesdays at 10pm

Broadcast by: TBS

Original novel by: Akeno Kaeruko

Cast: Tabe Mikako, Eguchi Noriko, Dean Fujioka, Ichinose Wataru, Shimabukuro Hiroko, Tanabe Momoko, Matsumoto Leo, Kawanishi Kenshiro, Nagai Kana, Kotobuki Shouma, Yoshitama Honoka, Igarashi Mio, Nakai Tomo, Hagiwara Mamoru & Nishino Nagisa

Preview of "Douse shinu nara, Paris de shinou." (Drama SP)

Title: Douse shinu nara, Paris de shinou. / どうせ死ぬなら、パリで死のう。

Official website: here

O.A. Date: 16 March 2025 at 11pm

Broadcast by: NHK

Cast: Okayama Amane, Mori Yurito, Murakawa Eri, Nakamura Ozuno, Oideyasu Oda, Yuuchami, Watabe Junichi, Hoshi Kousuke, Seki Shuuto & Kataoka Reiko

Behind-the-scenes of TBS Winter 2025 drama "Mikami-sensei" and about its scriptwriter Shimori Roba

As "Mikami-sensei" continues to gather attention for its unconventional take on Japan's education system and various social issues, there have been a number of articles discussing its unique approach unlike other school dramas to date and its scriptwriter Shimori Roba. Read on for the behind-the-scenes trivia about this drama which will wrap up by the end of this month!

• "Mikami-sensei" is Shimori's first solo script for a private network drama. To date, most of her writing work was for stage productions. Due to the reputation of TBS' Sundays 9pm timeslot and the scale of the production, she was worried if she could do a good job as she was pretty much a newbie at everything.

• The first time she wrote a script was when she was in primary school.

• Shimori revealed that it was only until the last ten years or so that she finally earned enough to survive solely on writing. For a very long time, her main income was from non-theatre work so she had extensive working experience in various industries. As such, many of her works are related to or set in the workplace and she credits those days as pivotal to her writing.

• She founded the theatre group "Fuukin Koubou" in 1993 and began her activities with "serial number" since 2018. She admitted that as it can be difficult to survive solely on productions for her own company, she managed to grow her career by doing writing and directing for external productions.

• Shimori is known for being good at writing scripts based on actual events and historical facts through interviews and extensive research. As such, her stories tend to be a mix of real social issues and fiction. To date, she has created more than 100 works.

• The producer of "Mikami-sensei" i.e. Iida Kazutaka knew Shimori through a mutual acquaintance and had been to her stage plays from time to time. He then approached her to work on "Mikami-sensei" in spring 2020 after Shimori gained recognition and attention with her award-winning movie "Shinbun Kisha". As she believes that education is an important topic especially for the younger generation since they would be more receptive to new ideas and their thinking can be molded more easily to learn the right values and that she had never written about this genre in her plays, she told him that she was keen on this offer. 

• Through repeated discussions with Iida and Shimori's research, she found out that the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) does have a system of dispatching its bureaucrats to schools to be teachers for short stints. Since many people would have the impression that most civil servants are diligent but find it difficult to do as they wish in the public service, this conflict was seen as something which could provide interesting viewpoints in the story. Besides, bureaucrats in areas such as education and culture have been seen as somewhat "weaker" in terms of influence and power compared to those in other ministries. As such, she raised the idea of doing a story about a bureaucrat-cum-teacher sent from MEXT to a public school and Iida liked the suggestion. However, the proposal did not get approved eventually and was put on hold. 

• On hindsight, Shimori said that it was actually better that the proposal didn't go through back then because she felt that it would have flopped due to her inadequacy as a writer. She did not have a TV at home for about 15 years then and didn't even have the habit of watching dramas. After the proposal was turned down, she started to watch lots of dramas and movies in order to understand how dramas were made and what made a drama a success or a flop. That was how she finally built up her theory of what works or not through research and analysis of other people's works. She also credits her first foray into TV work such as being a co-scriptwriter for NHK's dramas "Gunjou Ryouiki" and "Kono hanasakuya" as being important in gaining actual experience.

• In 2022, Iida suddenly sent Shimori an email and said that he still hadn't given up on their project. She was happy to hear about the revival of the plan and looked forward to working with Iida. As such, they renewed discussions and decided on the story's direction to be that of solving the students' problems one by one which would eventually lead to the resolution of a big issue in the country at the end. In addition, unlike most school dramas where teachers and students were pitted against each other, they would unite to fight against the greater evil in this drama. While Iida liked the idea, Shimori started to self-doubt when she returned home after the meeting and wondered if this plan would actually work. Nonetheless, she had faith that Iida would make this drama a reality because he was extremely motivated to make a education-themed drama due to his original dream of becoming a school teacher. She also felt that she couldn't turn in a half-baked piece of work and needed to match up to his passion in the project.

• With regard to her original draft for Ep 1, Iida commented that they needed to start things off with a stronger impact. Just then, she was reminded of the stabbing incident involving entrance exam candidates outside the University of Tokyo in 2022 which was seen as a sign of societal stress surfacing in Japan. After making some adjustments to the settings, she incorporated a similar development in the first episode.

• While Shimori prides herself as someone who has read lots of good mystery stories to date, things felt different when she was the one writing it. As such, rather than focus on surprising people with revelations, she decided to focus on making her story as logical and believable as possible.

• When designing the character Mikami Takashi, Iida told Shimori that it would be good to make Mikami a dark hero. At that time, TBS was showing "Anti Hero" so she agreed that this might be a great idea. However, she didn't think that she could come up with a character like that. And besides, Mikami was not meant to be a hero but rather a new type of teacher. 

• Shimori praised Matsuzaka Toori for being a perfect hit for Mikami since the first script reading session and was very happy that he brought this character to life. Although Matsuzaka had starred in the movie "Shinbun Kisha" which was also written by Shimori, they didn't really have much direct interaction back then since the script was adjusted along the way with the producer and director. And since Matsuzaka's character in the movie did not actually achieve what he intended despite summoning his courage to do so, Shimori really wanted Mikami to be able to realise his goal this time. In addition, she has been a follower of Matsuzaka's works and watched most of them so she felt confident that no matter what she writes, he would be able to deliver. The fact that this is their second collaboration gave her the confidence that he could do it.

• In theatre, the playwright's writing style can be quite distinct but Shimori had to tone down a bit in this respect for the drama. As such, she didn't want to focus too much on the lines but instead tried to use other ways to convey the intended messages. For example, she quoted the scene in Ep 2 when Mikami gave Kanzaki a light push in the back and walked with him into the school which was filled with reporters at the gate rather than use words to illustrate the significance of this action.

• Since Shimori had been cooped up writing the script, she decided to attend the auditions for the student characters so that she could "get out of the house to meet people". However, she did not participate in the selection process. The experience was useful for her to see for herself who was chosen to play what character and how these actors are like because it would be impossible to watch all of their prior works. She was very impressed with the casting choices as some of the actors did not actually look or feel like the characters they were playing but after the necessary styling and make-up, they were transformed accordingly to look the part. She also expressed amazement at the pool of talent they managed to secure and looks forward to seeing how these young actors will grow in time to come. Among them, she cited Okudaira Daiken as being really impressive to manage a difficult role like Kanzaki.

• Amid her wide range of stories written to date, Shimori revealed that the common theme in them was to convey the message that people still have to live on despite what happens. As such, the importance of life and using culture and arts to protect lives are what she considers as extremely crucial themes.

• Shimori revealed that coming up with names in the story was very challenging because she had to avoid having similar-sounding names for the characters. Even the school's name Rintoku Gakuin was finally decided after a while because it would be best not to overlap with an actual school's name. While writing the script, she also had a table with the characters' names and the cast members' photos which helped her imagine who would say what line. As for other details in the character settings, those were decided together with the production team.

• As for the theme of "The personal is political" which gets repeated in the drama, Shimori revealed that this came from the feminism and student activism movements and she heard about it while doing research for another LGBTQ-themed story in the past. Although she had always thought that personal and political problems were unrelated, the idea that making it easier to live on a personal basis could change the political and social systems as well became apparent to her. As such, she really wanted to incorporate this belief in the story and was glad that through this drama, many people had become more aware about this.

• Through this drama, Shimori hopes that viewers will be able to see that there is hope in things changing in the future as long as one continues to live, no matter how unlikely it may seem right now.

Preview of "Ore no hanashi wa nagai ~ Spring 2025" (Drama SP)

Title: Ore no hanashi wa nagai ~ Spring 2025 / 俺の話は長い ～ ２０２５・春

Official website: here

O.A. Date: 30 Mar (Part 1) and 6 Apr 2025 (Part 2) at 10.30pm

Broadcast by: NTV

Theme Song: "Tomo yo" by SUPER EIGHT

Cast: Ikuta Toma, Yasuda Ken, Koike Eiko, Kiyohara Kaya, Sugino Yosuke, Imai Takafumi, Nishimura Masahiko & Harada Mieko

Preview of "Yamada Zenjidou no Fukuoka kurashi" (Drama SP)

Title: Yamada Zenjidou no Fukuoka kurashi / 山田全自動の福岡暮らし

Official website: here

O.A. Start Date: 20 March 2025 at 12 noon

Broadcast by: TV Tokyo

Original manga by: Yamada Zenjidou

Cast: Nakamura Aoi & Ohno Ito

Behind the recent trend of 25-and-above actresses jumping on the bandwagon of appearing in alcoholic drinks' CMs

Have you noticed that there has been a recent trend of young actresses in their mid 20s suddenly appearing in alcoholic drinks' CMs for the first time? If so, you may be wondering why so read on to find out more about the reasons leading to this phenomenon!

• In Japan, the legal age to consume alcoholic drinks is 20 years old. Although the age for one to be considered as an adult under civil law has been reduced to 18 years old since April 2022, the age limit of 20 still remains for alcohol and tobacco products. 

• There is actually a self-imposed rule in place since 2016 by 9 alcoholic drinks-related organisations that they would not get anyone below the age of 25 years old to appear in their CMs and that the CMs should not use any expressions that make people appear as if they are below 25 even if their actual ages are 25 and above. These moves were said to be meant to prevent underage drinking by featuring CM personalities who would actually look like "adults" rather than appearing as if they are too young to be drinking. In addition, the CMs these days tend to have self-imposed restrictions such as avoiding expressions that could lead to excessive drinking and sound effects such as the sound of alcohol going down the throat. 

• It is also worth noting that the TV CMs of alcoholic drinks are not shown between 5am and 6pm so these appear typically during primetime i.e. 7pm to 11pm when there are the most viewers. It is also common to see such CMs appear during the commercial slots of the dramas/shows which the actresses themselves are acting in. Getting a CM offer for a alcoholic drink is also seen as a testament to one's popularity and name awareness.

• As such, it has become more apparent that there are more young and popular actresses turning 25 and above who have started to appear in such alcoholic drinks' CMs for the first time. In February alone, Nagano Mei was unveiled to be the new CM heroine for Suntory's highball Torys while Sugisaki Hana was the new messenger for SUI, a gin product also from Suntory. Nagano herself confirmed during her CM announcement event that she finally got her first alcoholic drink CM deal now that she had turned 25.

• Looking back at recent years, Hashimoto Kanna and Fukuhara Haruka first appeared in alcohol-related CMs last year while the same applied to Hirose Suzu in the year before last. Imada Mio also took on her first alcohol CM in 2022. Nogizaka46 also started to appear in a beer CM after all of their members were 25 years old and above.

• A key reason behind getting these actresses to appear in the alcoholic drinks' CMs is said to be their cross-generational reach and name awareness. Nagano, Sugisaki, Hashimoto, Fukuhara, Hirose and Imada (the next asadora heroine) had all appeared in NHK's morning dramas thus the general public is largely aware of them. And since they do not appear so much on TV unlike talents, it would be a refreshing sight to see them in the CMs where they get to show off another side of them unlike when they act as other characters.

• Another factor is the gradual decline in the alcohol consumption of the younger generations. By getting these young actresses to promote the products and tapping on their huge social media following, it is anticipated that they would be able to achieve the best promotional impact for the products they endorse.

• It has also become more common and acceptable for young actresses at the age of 25 and above to openly talk about their love for alcohol or share episodes of their "drunken" episodes in variety shows and events. For example, Kawaguchi Haruna has a solo drinking video series on her YouTube channel which has close to 5 million views to date.

• This year, there will be a number of actresses who will turn 25 so they may be the next to appear in a new alcoholic drink CM soon e.g. Hamabe Minami, Kamishiraishi Moka, Mikami Ai, Kawai Yumi, Fukumoto Riko.

Preview of "Wagaya wa tanoshi" (Drama SP)

Title: Wagaya wa tanoshi / わが家は楽し

Official website: here

Official Instagram: here

Official X: here

O.A. Date: 13 March 2025 at 9pm

Broadcast by: TBS

Cast: Kohinata Fumiyo, Toda Keiko, Takahashi Kaito, Sakurai Yuki, Yamada Anna, Enari Kazuki, YOU, Iwasaki Kaneko, Kimura Midoriko, Kadono Takuzo, Inoue Jun, Murata Takehiro, Niwa Sadahito, Fukutome Mitsuho, Kitayama Masayasu, Ikushima Yuki, Masutome Yuria & Mita Yoshiko

Winners of the 15th Location Japan Taisho (2023/2024) and interesting trends from past years' winners

Location filming information magazine "Location Japan" announced its list of winners for the "Location Japan Taisho" on 20 Feb 2025 which highlights movies, dramas and anime works that helped in boosting awareness and popularity of their filming locations or where the stories were set in. The 15th edition of this award had 40 nominated works shown between 1 Nov 2023 and 31 Oct 2024 which featured 61 places/regions before 7 were selected as the final winners.

Judging was done by industry experts such as those from the Japan Tourism Agency and included the following 4 parameters: 

• Voting was by about 20,000 members of the public
• Level of support provided to the production teams by the local authorities
• Measures to boost the level of ease of travel to the locations
• Extent of change to the locations as a result of the exposure and increase in number of tourists

Note that some works were set/shot in multiple locations as indicated in brackets:

Grand Prix: "Meitantei Conan 100 man doru no michishirube" (Hakodate City, Hokkaido Prefecture) - Anime Movie

Runner-up: "Umi ni nemuru daiyamondo" (Nagasaki Prefecture / Nagasaki City, Nagasaki Prefecture) - Drama

Category - Voters' Choice: "Hikaru kimi e" (Uji City, Kyoto Prefecture / Echizen City, Fukui Prefecture / Otsu City, Shiga Prefecture) - Drama

Category - Filming Support: "Ano hana ga saku oka de, Kimi to mata deaetara" (Namegata City, Ibaraki Prefecture) - Movie

Category - Ease of Travel: "Sukidemo kirai na ama no jaku" (Yonezawa City, Yamagata Prefecture) - Anime Movie

Category - Regional Change: "Karakai jouzu no Takagi-san" (Kagawa Prefecture / Tonosho-cho, Kagawa Prefecture / Shodoshima-cho, Kagawa Prefecture) - Drama & Movie

Judges' Special Award: "Tomochika Suspense Gekijou [Sotoyumeguri Mystery Dogo sutorippujou renzoku satsujin]" - YouTube

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Looking at past years' winners, here are some interesting trends which I found with regard to the non-anime movies & dramas that were selected over the past 15 years:

• Movies seem to have a slight edge over dramas when it comes to the proportion of winners over the past 15 years - 58% vs. 42%. It could be that most movies tend to be shown to a nationwide audience as compared to TV series which may not be shown at the same time due to regional schedules and differences. For example, dramas shown in the Tokyo metropolitan area or the Kanto region may be broadcast at a slightly later date in other prefectures or not be shown there at all. As such, the limit in terms of reach may result in a difference in terms of the influence which the work has in terms of boosting awareness and popularity of its filming location(s).

• NHK's Taiga dramas and asadoras seem to be dominating this award as seen from 60% of the drama winners being from the national broadcaster. Coming in at a distant second is TBS with about 19%, FujiTV at almost 7%, NTV and TV Tokyo tied at close to 5% and TV Asahi at 2%. One possible reason is that the broadcast period for the Taigas (1 year) and asadoras (6 months) are at least double of the seasonal dramas (mostly ranging from 6 to 11 weeks). With a longer exposure period, it will no doubt enhance the impression that viewers have of the filming locations. 

• Netflix broke the monopoly by the TV stations for the first time last year with "First Love Hatsukoi" which was shot in Hokkaido. Considering the fact that the title can only be watched by Netflix's subscribers as compared to dramas on free-to-air TV stations, this also signals the possibility of OTT content having a wider reach and stronger influence on viewers compared to the past.

• While the format of this award has evolved over the years e.g. from having grand prix awards for both dramas and movies to a single grand prix award, the winners for the top title are spread evenly across both categories - 7 each. It is worth noting that although the Taigas and asadoras hogged the top spot in the 1st, 2nd, 4th, 6th, 9th and 14th editions ("Ryomaden" won the Location Japan Grand Prix and Drama Category - Grand Prix), movies took the title for 4 years straight until "Dousuru Ieyasu" broke the spell last year. If you consider this year's winner which is an anime movie, it does seem like movies have a growing influence on the public in terms of "promoting its shooting locations" as compared to TV dramas.

• Looking at the list of winners in terms of prefectures, the top spot is actually not Tokyo but neighbouring Kanagawa! Perhaps due to its proximity to the capital where many TV stations and production companies are based at and the fact that it has a variety of landscapes from mountains, the sea, beaches, islands and suburbs to offer as well as the prefecture's strong support for entertainment productions, this could be why works shot in Kanagawa seem to be recognised more for their influence and popularity on the public. As for the other top contenders, Hokkaido, Nagasaki and Shizuoka come in at a close second with 7 awards each while Nagano and Tokyo are tied at 6.

• On the other hand, some prefectures have not appeared on this award before. Surprisingly or not, they tend to be rather far from Tokyo or somewhat inaccessible due to reasons such as mountains or forests: Gunma, Nara, Wakayama, Tottori, Tokushima, Ehime, Kumamoto, Miyazaki and Okinawa. I'm a bit surprised by Gunma's omission though because the recent interview with the directing team of "Umi ni nemuru daiyamondo" did mention that their Hashima set was built in Gunma but I guess that was sort of concealed till the end of the drama and that the story was still largely based in Nagasaki. As for Okinawa, I'm quite certain that some dramas/movies would have been shot there especially those with a summer theme but it could be that the link between those works and the filming locations did not translate into strong benefits for the locality in terms of awareness or popularity through tourism income.

While I do not actively seek out filming locations of my favourite dramas and movies when I visit Japan, it can be fun to check out such places if I happen to be in the area. In addition, the impact of boosting a place's awareness and popularity through these entertainment works especially in the economic sense is definitely something which shouldn't be taken lightly. Sites like Location Japan offer a lot of information on these places so you can refer to such sites when planning your trips.

However, the downside of such heightened interest in a place is potential over-tourism which can have an undesirable impact on the local residents and spoil your experience at the same time. I'm sure we have read about the influx of tourists to places like the famous train intersection featured in "Slam Dunk", the "Kimi no na" fever to places in Gifu Prefecture or the endless queue at the cafe featured in "silent" when the drama was such a hit as well as complaints of unruly visitors and how they affected the residents around such locations. As such, while it's a good thing for local authorities and businesses to benefit from this trend of shooting location tourism, there is also a need to think about how to manage the crowds and ensure that everyone will have a pleasant experience visiting these places featured in your favourite works. On our part, we will also need to consider and ensure that we do not cause unnecessary disturbances to others while enjoying our time at these filming locations.