Review of Galileo Zero (Drama SP)

Title: Galileo Zero
Shown on: 4 Oct 2008, 9pm
Broadcaster: FujiTV
Cast: Fukuyama Masaharu, Miura Kazuma, Kitamura Kazuki, Nagasawa Masami, Watanabe Ikkei, Karina, Kanie Keizo, Maya Miki

Review:

This drama SP was shown on the same day the Galileo movie, "Yogisha X no Kenshin" was screened in the cinemas. As such, this was somewhat like a gimmick to boost interest in the movie and grab headlines since I believe this was the first time the drama SP was shown on the same day as the movie release. As such, you will see a live performance of the theme song for the movie, "Saiai" by Shibasaki Kou and Fukuyama Masaharu. I believe that was taken from the music programme, "Bokura no Ongaku". There was also a short trailer at the end but I think that was a bit too short and a tad boring as compared to the full version.

Anyway, coming to the SP, the timeline was 3 years before the Galileo drama started so you will not see Utsumi Kaoru (Shibasaki Kou). She only appears in scenes sporadically at the beginning and end when Kuribayashi (Watanabe) does a recap of what has happened.

Instead, Nagasawa Masami and Karina were added to the lineup for the sake of gender balance (eye candy for the guys?) since the cast is predominantly male and the limelight was definitely hogged by Fukuyama and Kitamura. That being said, Nagasawa was again playing a chirpy girl who is a student of Yukawa and I found myself being irritated by her again. On the other hand, although Karina was not as good as she was in Boku no Aruku Michi, she was still OK in this SP given that she has a small role.

As for Fukuyama and Kitamura, they were good in their own ways. Fukuyama maintained the same level of performance as Yukawa but I still cannot accept why he has to write those physics formulas everywhere just to solve the case. Anyway, he still manages to make Yukawa an interesting character. Kitamura was featured more prominently here in the SP as compared to the drama so it was good to see his interaction with Yukawa. And with two good-looking guys around, it only makes the watachable index go higher. :D

The biggest surprise here should be Miura Haruma. Although he didn't appear for a very long time, his resemblance to Fukuyama or should I say the adult version of Yukawa was so strong. I mean his appearance. His mannerisms are close to Yukawa but somehow, his style of acting is rather stiff, as if he's not at ease. I still feel that his acting skills need a bit more improvement but he has an advantage over his peers i.e. his looks and height. Frankly speaking, teenager actors like Kamiki Ryuunosuke are better in terms of acting but their appearances and images make it difficult for them to play slightly more mature roles. In this sense, Miura should be able to take on a wider variety of roles and in the process, improve his acting skills. Otherwise, he will soon be labelled as someone who looks good but cannot act.

With regards to the story of the SP itself, the highlight was of course solving the mystery. It is usually easy to guess who the culprit is but the rationale behind the unnatural happenings is what keeps people watching. Maybe it's due to the fact that the scriptwriter was overly ambitious in trying to include various subplots e.g. Yukawa helping Kusanagi for the first time thus leading to the tension for the main plot to be undermined. I hope that the movie version will turn up the tension since they have a lot of time just for one case. Since they have good actors like Tsutsumi Shinichi and Matsuyuki Yasuko in the lineup as well, it just wouldn't do for them to be confined in a lousy plot.

And my ratings for this drama SP...
Story: 7 out of 10 (A little lacking in focus and the tension factor)
Acting: 8 out of 10 (Kudos to the beach volleyball guys Fukuyama and Kitamura)
Theme song: 5 out of 10 (I don't think this SP has a theme song to its name so I decided to judge this category based on the drama's theme song)
Visual effects / Scenery: 7 out of 10 (The experiment scene was what deserved this. A bit of scenery here and there too. Oh, and for the guys, lots of bikini-clad girls at the beach too!)
Teamwork / Chemistry: 7 out of 10 (Yukawa + Kusanagi have good chemistry but I think Yukawa + Utsumi is a stronger pair. Kusanagi seems a bit too dependent on Yukawa at times and grumbles behind the latter at times while Utsumi dares to argue. The bickering in the drama was absent in the SP.)

Total score: 34 out of 50