The 124th Drama Academy Awards (Spring 2025) - Best Drama

Overall Ranking Top 3

1) Nami uraraka ni, Meoto biyori
2) Zoku zoku Saigo kara nibanme no koi
3) Taigan no kaji

Voters Ranking Top 5

1) Nami uraraka ni, Meoto biyori

2) Damemane

3) Musashino Rondo

4) Caster

5) Parallel Fuufu

TV Reporters Ranking Top 5
1) Nami uraraka ni, Meoto biyori
2) Zoku zoku Saigo kara nibanme no koi
3) Anata wo ubatta sono hi kara

4) Shiawase wa tabete nete mate

5) Taigan no kaji

Judges Ranking Top 5
1) Taigan no kaji

Zoku zoku Saigo kara nibanme no koi

3) Shiawase wa tabete nete mate

4) Angel Flight

Nami uraraka ni, Meoto biyori

Source: The Television

The 124th Drama Academy Awards (Spring 2025) - Best Leading Actor

Overall Ranking Top 3

1) Nakai Kiichi - Zoku zoku Saigo kara nibanme no koi

2) Shison Jun - Koi wa yami

3) Matsuda Genta - Jinji no Hitomi

Voters Ranking Top 5
1) Inoo Kei - Parallel Fuufu
2) Shison Jun - Koi wa yami
3) Masakado Yoshinori - Musashino Rondo
4) Mamiya Shotaro - Ignite
5) Abe Hiroshi - Caster

TV Reporters Ranking Top 5
1) Nakai Kiichi - Zoku zoku Saigo kara nibanme no koi
2) Shison Jun - Koi wa yami
3) Abe Hiroshi - Caster
4) Matsuda Genta - Jinji no Hitomi

5) Uchino Seiyo - PJ ~ Koukuu kyuunandan ~

Judges Ranking Top 5
1) Nakai Kiichi - Zoku zoku Saigo kara nibanme no koi
2) Shison Jun - Koi wa yami

3) Matsuda Genta - Jinji no Hitomi

4) Uchino Seiyo - PJ ~ Koukuu kyuunandan ~

5) Abe Hiroshi - Caster

Source: The Television

The 124th Drama Academy Awards (Spring 2025) - Best Leading Actress

Overall Ranking Top 3

1) Yoshine Kyoko - Nami uraraka ni, Meoto biyori
2) Koizumi Kyoko - Zoku zoku Saigo kara nibanme no koi
3) Kitagawa Keiko - Anata wo ubatta sono hi kara

Voters Ranking Top 5
1) Yoshine Kyoko - Nami uraraka ni, Meoto biyori
2) Kawaei Rina - Damemane!

3) Kitagawa Keiko - Anata wo ubatta sono hi kara

4) Matsumoto Wakana - Dr. Ashura

5) Ihara Rikka - Parallel Fuufu

TV Reporters Ranking Top 5
1) Yoshine Kyoko - Nami uraraka ni, Meoto biyori
2) Kitagawa Keiko - Anata wo ubatta sono hi kara
3) Koizumi Kyoko - Zoku zoku Saigo kara nibanme no koi

4) Sakurai Yuki - Shiawase wa tabete nete mate

5) Matsushita Yuki - Dear My Baby

Judges Ranking Top 5
1) Koizumi Kyoko - Zoku zoku Saigo kara nibanme no koi

2) Tabe Mikako - Taigan no kaji

3) Kitagawa Keiko - Anata wo ubatta sono hi kara

4) Sakurai Yuki - Shiawase wa tabete nete mate

Yoshine Kyoko - Nami uraraka ni, Meoto biyori

Source: The Television

The 124th Drama Academy Awards (Spring 2025) - Best Supporting Actor

Overall Ranking Top 3

1) Honda Kyoya - Nami urarakani, Meoto biyori

2) Dean Fujioka - Taigan no kaji

3) Miyazawa Hio - Shiawase wa tabete nete mate

Voters Ranking Top 5
1) Honda Kyoya - Nami urarakani, Meoto biyori
2) Yamada Ryosuke - Damemane
3) Miyama Ryoki - Ignite
4) Michieda Shunsuke - Caster
5) Sano Masaya - Dr. Ashura

TV Reporters Ranking Top 5
1) Honda Kyoya - Nami urarakani, Meoto biyori
2) Miyazawa Hio - Shiawase wa tabete nete mate
3) Takahashi Mitsuomi - Otto yo, shindekurenai ka
4) Mochizuki Ayumu - Koi wa yami
Shiono Akihisa - Mamono

Judges Ranking Top 5
1) Dean Fujioka - Taigan no kaji
2) Honda Kyoya - Nami urarakani, Meoto biyori

3) Miyazawa Hio - Shiawase wa tabete nete mate

4) Ichinose Wataru - Taigan no kaji

Takahashi Mitsuomi - Otto yo, shindekurenai ka

Source: The Television

The 124th Drama Academy Awards (Spring 2025) - Best Supporting Actress

Overall Ranking Top 3

1) Yamamoto Maika - Nami uraraka ni, Meoto biyori

2) Eguchi Noriko - Taigan no kaji ~ kore ga, watashi no ikiru michi! ~
3) Kaga Mariko - Shiawase wa tabete nete mate

Voters Ranking Top 5
1) Yamamoto Maika - Nami uraraka ni, Meoto biyori
2) Wakui Emi - Nami uraraka ni, Meoto biyori
3) Kichise Michiko - Damemane! 
4) Kamishiraishi Moka - Ignite
5) Tomita Miu - Damemane!

TV Reporters Ranking Top 5
1) Uchida Yuki - Zoku zoku Saigo kara nibanme no koi
2) Yamamoto Maika - Nami uraraka ni, Meoto biyori

3) Eguchi Noriko - Taigan no kaji ~ kore ga, watashi no ikiru michi! ~

4) Kaga Mariko - Shiawase wa tabete nete mate
5) Kita Kana - Mamono

Judges Ranking Top 5
1) Kaga Mariko - Shiawase wa tabete nete mate
2) Eguchi Noriko - Taigan no kaji ~ kore ga, watashi no ikiru michi! ~

3) Yamamoto Maika - Nami uraraka ni, Meoto biyori

4) Matsumoto Honoka - Angel Flight

5) Uchida Yuki - Zoku zoku Saigo kara nibanme no koi

Source: The Television

The 124th Drama Academy Awards (Spring 2025) - Best Theme Song

Overall Ranking Top 3

1) Dansu ni maniau - Koizumi Kyoko & Nakai Kiichi (Zoku zoku Saigo kara nibanme no koi)

2) Muchuu - BE:FIRST (Nami urarakani, meoto biyori)

3) Blue Amber - back number (Anata wo ubata sono hi kara)

Voters Ranking Top 5
1) Muchuu - BE:FIRST (Nami urarakani, meoto biyori)
2) Destiny - Ae! group (Musashino Rondo)
3) Hana no you ni - Ryosuke Yamada (Damemane! - Dame na tarento, manejimento shimasu -)
4) encore - Hey! Say! JUMP (Parallel Fuufu Shinda boku to tsuma no shinjitsu)
5) Damashiai - tuki (Caster)

TV Reporters Ranking Top 5
1) Muchuu - BE:FIRST (Nami urarakani, meoto biyori)

2) Dansu ni maniau - Koizumi Kyoko & Nakai Kiichi (Zoku zoku Saigo kara nibanme no koi)

3) Blue Amber - back number (Anata wo ubata sono hi kara)
4) Maria - Abe Mao (Dear My Baby ~ Watashi ga anata wo shihai suru made ~)
5) mimosa - Hamasaki Ayumi (Zoku zoku Saigo kara nibanme no koi)

Judges Ranking Top 5
1) Dansu ni maniau - Koizumi Kyoko & Nakai Kiichi (Zoku zoku Saigo kara nibanme no koi)

2) BEAT - WurtS (Koi wa yami)

mimosa - Hamasaki Ayumi (Zoku zoku Saigo kara nibanme no koi)

Muchuu - BE:FIRST (Nami urarakani, meoto biyori)

5) Blue Amber - back number (Anata wo ubata sono hi kara)

Source: The Television

Quick Review #143: "Watashi no otto to kekkon shite" - Summer 2025

Title: Watashi no otto to kekkon shite / 私の夫と結婚して　　　　　　　　　　　

Rating: 8 / 10

Recommended for: 

For those who are fans of the original webtoon and/or Korean drama series OR like time-travel second-chance-in-life revenge stories OR are fans of the main leads

* Potential spoilers ahead!

* I have not read the original webtoon nor watched the Korean drama series.

Liked:

- While I am not a fan of time-travel second-chance-in-life stories and did not want to start watching the Korean series because it had so many episodes, the fact that the Japanese version was much shorter at just 10 episodes definitely lowered the barrier to entry. And as a result, the pace of the story was fast, especially in the first half and in a way, prevented the developments from being too drawn out. Although I was initially a bit concerned about this being a direct copy-and-paste from the Korean version, I'm glad to see that this Japanese version had the typical elements of Japanese-style storytelling and retained the Japanese societal traits so the story was a lot more palatable than I thought.

- The acting of the 4 main leads i.e. Koshiba Fuuka, Sato Takeru, Shiraishi Sei and Yokoyama Yu was simply brilliant. If not for the four of them, this story might not have been compelling enough for me to finish watching everything in 3 days. Koshiba's transformation, not just in the external sense but also the internal emotions of her character, was believable and extremely interesting to watch. Shiraishi went all out to play such an obnoxious woman throughout most of the drama but towards the end, managed to show the pitiful side of how her character became so warped. Yokoyama definitely showed very convincingly how his character pretended to be smart and had an inflated ego based on empty confidence yet was downright dumb till the end. And for Sato, I'm sure many female viewers will be quite besotted with him not just because his image this time was visually appealing but also because his character was so much in love with the heroine and did so much for her. I also thought that the chemistry between Koshiba and Sato was very good and they did look quite compatible with each other.

- Perhaps due to the fact that this was an Amazon Prime drama with a top production house in South Korea so the production did come across as more polished and refined in terms of its visuals, cinematography and art design (costumes and sets in particular). Guess having lots of resources (or rather money) does help in making things better than the norm. The BGM and songs used in the drama were rather suitable for the story developments as well. If joint productions do bring out the best from both countries, I surely wouldn't mind seeing more of such collaborations. However, that would only work if neither side tries too hard to push for their influences to be highlighted more prominently than the other despite the story not being positioned to accommodate that. 

Disliked: 

- I'm still not a fan of this genre despite the quality of this drama. It will take a lot more novelty and a refreshingly different approach to change my mind about this because I've seen so many of such stories over the years.  And if you are looking for a revenge tale which will be gratifying enough to see the evil being punished for their deeds, I think this drama did end on a rather meek note especially the parts which tried to "redeem" or justify the deeds done by the baddies. They might have certain experiences which you can sympathise with but still, it doesn't make their actions understandable nor forgivable.

- While I do think that Sato's character would be pretty appealing to most female viewers, I felt a bit uncomfortable about him trying very hard to suppress and lower the tone of his voice when he was speaking. Perhaps the script was designed in such a way that he had to act in this way to show the aloofness of his character so as to contrast against the strong love he had for the heroine (he spoke very nicely and often gently to her compared when talking to others). This is just me but I actually prefer a male lead who can be effortlessly kakkoii without having to speak in such a low tone on purpose and coming across as awkward. As such, I think not being swept off my feet by this loving buchou probably lessened my level of enjoyment while watching this drama.

Quick Review #142: Gekijouban TOKYO MER ~ Hashiru kinkyuu kyuumeishitsu ~" (movie)

Title: Gekijouban TOKYO MER ~ Hashiru kinkyuu kyuumeishitsu ~ / 劇場版　TOKYO MER ~ 走る緊急救命室 ~　　　　　　　　　　　

Rating: 5 / 10

Recommended for: 

For those who are fans of the drama series but don't mind the movie's story being rather flat this time

* Potential spoilers ahead!

Liked:

- If you had enjoyed the drama series, you should be satisfied to see the return of most, if not all of the cast members (except the one who "died" in  the series and only appeared in flashbacks and photos) reprising their roles with the addition of new characters. Among them, An stood out most because her character was supposed to be the ex-girlfriend of Otowa (Kaku Kento) and the leader of Yokohama MER which had a completely different mindset as compared to Tokyo MER.

Disliked: 

- What really worked for the drama series did not seem to work wonders for the movie this time. While it may have been exhilarating and gratifying to see the Tokyo MER team overcome seemingly impossible life-threatening situations to save patients with zero casualties all the time, the formula got rather stale this time as I got very put off by some seen-that-done-that developments e.g. shouting loudly to declare that there were no casualties and the predictability of the story. Coupled with the fact that I actually know the Yokohama Landmark Tower pretty well and had stayed at the hotel there before, what I knew about this building kept bothering me as I watched how the characters go up and down that massive building with so much ease as if it was nothing. Perhaps it's just me but the added "reality" angle here by using an actual building actually backfired for me.

- To be honest, Yokohama MER was not a match for Tokyo MER in various ways. Other than An who could have potentially given Suzuki Ryohei a run for his money as the "leader of the opposite side", the rest of the Yokohama team did not have the same kind of name awareness as their counterparts in the other team so it felt like An was leading a group of literally unknowns. And to be fair to them, they also hardly got any airtime to show what their characters were like. Secondly, if it had been that the Yokohama MER team members were given ample time to show their mettle rather than appear as snobs who talked big and did nothing spectacular from the start, they might have come across as serious and credible competition against their seniors in the MER field. Due to these reasons, the Yokohama MER team never threatened the Tokyo MER team in any way at all so it felt like they were just there for no particular reason and purpose other than to emphasize the heroic deeds of the Tokyo team. I felt that it was especially a waste for An's character to be rather forgettable towards the end - there could have been more to show the clash of her ideals with Kitami (Suzuki) or the ex-lovers relationship with Otowa.