Yubi 指

Frankly speaking, it's been some time since I watched a 2-hr SP which gave me a strong sense of satisfaction. At least I feel that I've not wasted my time on this which exceeded my initial expectations. Of late, most of the SPs I've watched were either too sloppy in trying to wrap up everything within a short timeframe or too draggy because of over-emphasis on redundant or boring developments. However, it's probably because of the fact that Yubi is based on a bestselling novel by Matsumoto Seicho who's famous for his works like Suna no Utsuwa, Kurokawa no Teccho and the currently showing Kemonomichi, thus the story is condensed in such a manner that the pace doesn't go into overdrive or crawling mode.

Goto Maki did very well in this SP. Well, I've never really liked her as an artiste and I've only seen her act once in Yanpapa. However, she really showed off her versatality in this difficult role who engages in homosexual relationships. The bed scenes were extremely steamy and they are probably not suitable for the younger audience since there's also nudity. This drama SP should show that she's capable of adult roles in future.

Hoshino Mari was outshone by Goto here but she also did pretty well especially when she was struggling with herself as to whether she should oblige the bar owner's request just to find out more information on Yumiko. Somehow, Hoshino has been overtaken by a lot of upcoming actresses and it seems like she's having problems landing a role in a regular season drama. And she's supposed to be older than Goto but I just get the feel that based on appearance only, Goto can pass off as a mature lady as compared to Hoshino.

The title of this SP, Yubi, meaning finger has a special significance because the original novel's title wasn't this. It seems that in the lesbian relationship, they keep their fingernails short for a specific purpose. Watch this to find out because I don't think it's appropriate for me to write it here due to the presence of young members.

Out of a score of 10, I will rate this 9. If the BGM of this SP can be improved, it would have made the impact of the story much better.

Just a recap of the storyline here. If you don't want spoilers, skip this section now.

Fukue Yumiko was an aspiring actress 3 years ago and was barely making ends meet while taking supporting roles in a theatre group. She met Suzuki Kaori for the first time at a noodle shop when the latter helped her pay for the food because she had no money with her. However, this situation changed when she met a rich man's wife Tsuneko who frequented a lesbian bar she worked part-time at. This job was given to her at the recommendation of the leading actress in the theatre group, Miho and it turned out that Miho was also in love with Yumiko. Yumiko had no intention of getting involved with them as she already had a boyfriend.

One day, Yumiko returned home to find her boyfriend sleeping with another woman and she turned to Miho for refuge. As a form of exchange for providing shelter, Yumiko slept with Miho for the first time and learnt some tricks which she subsequently used on Tsuneko. Thus, Yumiko shuttled between Miho and Tsuneko while trying to achieve her goal. Tsuneko even tried to help Yumiko get jobs of CMs and dramas so as to build up her profile.

Disaster struck as Tsuneko and Miho got jealous of each other. Tsuneko wanted Yumiko to leave the theatre group but the latter tried to avoid the issue and see Miho on the sly. However, Tsuneko barged into Miho's place and slashed her face for revenge. As Yumiko wanted to send Miho to the hospital, Tsuneko took it as a sign that Yumiko didn't want her and committed suicide. Later, when Yumiko rushed to find Tsuneko, she was already close to dying but Miho dragged her away quickly so as not to get implicated.

In order to fulfil Yumiko's wish to be the lead actress, Miho used her injury as a reason to let Yumiko take over her role. This led to her being spotted by a film director and they even got engaged while shooting a movie. Yumiko told Miho that she wanted out of the relationship which the latter agreed to without much resistance. However, Miho came to pester Yumiko again so she killed Miho.

Yumiko and Kaori who has become a TV reporter, meet again 3 years later but Yumiko doesn't remember her at all. When Kaori is following up on a case about dogs' murders, she happens to catch Yumiko throwing away the corpse of her dog in the park and accuses her of being the culprit for the serial murders. However, Yumiko manages to prove that she's not which results in Kaori being relieved of her duties. Out of grudge and curiousity to find out about Yumiko's past, Kaori even sleeps with the owner of the lesbian bar to get more information. When Kaori gets to know the truth, she insists on exposing Yumiko who pleads with Kaori to kill her instead. In the end...that's up to you to find out.