Quick Review #84: Anata no ban desu Gekijouban (movie)

Title: Anata no ban desu Gekijouban / あなたの番です　劇場版

Rating: 1 / 10

Recommended for: 

Those who wish to watch the characters of "Anaban" again but in a reshuffled setting and don't mind a ludicrous storyline

SPOILERS AHEAD, PROCEED WITH CAUTION~

Liked:

- Just for the sake of indulging in "Anaban" nostalgia, it was fun to see the residents gathered together albeit with some additions, omissions and new relationship dynamics. Those who ended up dead in the drama were resurrected for this movie so that should be something that their fans would love to see. There were two big surprises for me - the identity of one of Kuroshima's ex-boyfriends who turned out to be the murderer as well as the identity of the father of Ono-chan's (Nao) unborn baby (you will only find out about it at the end though and it was so shocking).

Disliked: 

- Since the story in this movie wasn't a continuation from the drama series and started off with a key change in the setting i.e. it was Shota (Tanaka Kei) instead of Nana (Harada Tomoyo) who went to the residents' meeting that set off the chain murders, a lot of things had changed as a result. While the residents still had issues with one another that provided some murderous intent here and there, this part actually didn't feature much in the movie's storyline. Instead, it was a spider web of sorts extending from Kuroshima (Nishino Nanase) that led to what happened on the cruise ship so the other residents really felt no more like a live background with nothing much going on for them. 

I was not impressed by the scriptwriter still tapping on parts from the drama series when the movie's storyline was reportedly positioned as a new one. It felt like these elements were stuffed into the storyline for the sake of milking the popularity of the "Anaban" franchise thus this hampered the flow of the story. It would have been better if a totally unrelated story was done with the existing characters instead.

- Given the number of characters involved, a 2-hr+ movie simply isn't enough to give everyone an opportunity to do their thing. As such, some characters were too forgettable because they hardly had lines and airtime. Some like Ono-chan who was easily one of the most interesting characters in the drama, didn't even feature prominently in the murder cases on the cruise ship. And I also wondered why they had to get Kadowaki Mugi to play such an insignificant role. It felt like a huge waste of talent to gather the cast and yet not utilize them to their full potential.

Winners of the Tokyo Drama Award 2020

Drama Series Category

Grand Prix: Idaten ~ Tokyo Olympic Hanashi ~ (NHK)

Excellence Awards:

- Kore wa keihi de ochimasen! (NHK)

- Anata no ban desu (NTV)

- Ore no hanashi wa nagai (NTV)

- Nagi no Oitoma (TBS)

- Koi wa tsuzukuyo dokomademo (TBS)

- Byouin no naoshikata ~ Doctor Arihara no chousen ~ (TV Tokyo)

Drama SP Category

Grand Prix: Kyoujou (FujiTV)

Excellence Awards:

- Stranger ~ Shanghai no Akutagawa Ryuunosuke ~ (NHK)

- Switch (TV Asahi)

- America ni makenakatta otoko ~ Bakayarou souri Yoshida Shigeru ~ (TV Tokyo)

- 2020 nen Gogatsu no Koi (WOWOW)

Local Drama Category

- Tonari no Masara (NHK Fukuoka)

- Himawarittsu ~ Miyazaki Legend ~ (TV Miyazaki)

Individual Awards

Best Leading Actor: Ikuta Toma (Ore no hanashi wa nagai)

Best Leading Actress: Kuroki Haru (Nagi no Oitoma)

Best Supporting Actor: Sato Takeru (Koi wa tsuzukuyo dokomademo)

Best Supporting Actress: Ito Sairi (Kore wa keihi de ochimasen!)

Best Scriptwriter: Kaneko Shigeki (Ore no hanashi wa nagai)

Best Director: Tsukahara Ayuko (Grand Maison Tokyo)

Best Theme Song: "I LOVE..." by Official Higedandism (Koi wa tsuzukuyo dokomademo)

Foreign Dramas

- Serenade of Peaceful Joy 清平乐 (China)

- Crash Landing On You 사랑의 불시착 (South Korea)

- Repercussion กรงกรรม (Thailand)

Sources: Modelpress / International Drama Festival in Tokyo

Winners of the 28th Hashida Award (2019)

Hashida Award Winners
- NHK morning drama "Natsuzora"

- NHK travel programme "Bura Tamori"

- FujiTV anime "Sazae-san"

- Yamamoto Mutsumi (Scriptwriter)

- Matsushige Yutaka ~ for his great acting in dramas such as "Kodoku no Gurume" and "Shiroi Kyoutou" which left a deep impression on and was well-received by viewers.

- Okada Junichi ~ for his energetic acting in taking on vastly different roles such as in "Shiroi Kyoutou" which strengthened his position as an actor

- Hashizume Isao ~ for his strong screen presence in various works like "Yasuragi no Toki ~ Michi"

Hashida Newcomer Awards
- Tanaka Kei ~ for his fresh acting in works such as "Anata no ban desu" and "Ossans Love" which created a huge social phenomenon and captivated many viewers

- Hirose Suzu ~ for her refreshing acting as the heroine of NHK morning drama "Natsuzora" which resonated with many viewers

Source: Natalie

The 102nd Drama Academy Awards (Summer 2019) - Best Drama

Overall Ranking Top 3
1) Nagi no Oitoma
2) Anata no ban desu / Anata no ban desu - Hangekihen -
3) Kore wa keihi de ochimasen!

Voters Ranking Top 5
1) Kore wa keihi de ochimasen!
2) Anata no ban desu / Anata no ban desu - Hangekihen -
3) Semi Otoko
4) Kantan na oshigoto desu. ni ouboshitemita
5) Nagi no Oitoma

TV Reporters Ranking Top 5
1) Anata no ban desu / Anata no ban desu - Hangekihen -
2) Nagi no Oitoma
3) Kore wa keihi de ochimasen!
4) Natsuzora
5) Dakara watashi wa sashimashita

Judges Ranking Top 5
1) Nagi no Oitoma
2) Natsuzora
3) No Side Game
4) Kore wa keihi de ochimasen! / Anata no ban desu / Anata no ban desu - Hangekihen - / Kansatsui Asagao

Source: The Television

The 102nd Drama Academy Awards (Summer 2019) - Best Leading Actor

Overall Ranking Top 3
1) Tanaka Kei - Anata no ban desu / Anata no ban desu - Hangekihen -
2) Ooizumi Yo - No Side Game
3) Yamada Ryosuke - Semi Otoko

Voters Ranking Top 5
1) Tanaka Kei - Anata no ban desu / Anata no ban desu - Hangekihen -
2) Yamada Ryosuke - Semi Otoko
3) Ooizumi Yo - No Side Game
4) Karasawa Toshiaki - Voice 110 Kinkyuu Shireishitsu
5) Miura Haruma - Two Weeks

TV Reporters Ranking Top 5
1) Tanaka Kei - Anata no ban desu / Anata no ban desu - Hangekihen -
2) Ooizumi Yo - No Side Game
3) Yamada Ryosuke - Semi Otoko
4) Miura Haruma - Two Weeks
5) Harada Taizo - Sado

Judges Ranking Top 5
1) Ooizumi Yo - No Side Game
2) Yamada Ryosuke - Semi Otoko
3) Tanaka Kei - Anata no ban desu / Anata no ban desu - Hangekihen -
4) Oomori Nao - Sign - Houigakusha Yuzuki Takashi no Jiken
5) Muro Tsuyoshi - I Turn

Source: The Televison

The 102nd Drama Academy Awards (Summer 2019) - Best Leading Actress

Overall Ranking Top 3
1) Kuroki Haru - Nagi no Oitoma
2) Tabe Mikako - Kore wa keihi de ochimasen!
3) Hirose Suzu - Natsuzora

Voters Ranking Top 5
1) Tabe Mikako - Kore wa keihi de ochimasen!
2) Kuroki Haru - Nagi no Oitoma
3) Harada Tomoyo - Anata no ban desu / Anata no ban desu - Hangekihen -
4) Fukada Kyoko - Lupin no Musume
5) Ueno Juri - Kansatsui Asagao

TV Reporters Ranking Top 5
1) Kuroki Haru - Nagi no Oitoma
2) Hirose Suzu - Natsuzora
3) Tabe Mikako - Kore wa keihi de ochimasen!
4) Ueno Juri - Kansatsui Asagao
5) Harada Tomoyo - Anata no ban desu / Anata no ban desu - Hangekihen -

Judges Ranking Top 5
1) Kuroki Haru - Nagi no Oitoma
2) Ueno Juri - Kansatsui Asagao
3) Hirose Suzu - Natsuzora
4) Tabe Mikako - Kore wa keihi de ochimasen!
5) Sakurai Yuki - Dakara watashi wa sashimashita
Kimura Fumino - Sagideka
Fukada Kyoko - Lupin no Musume

Source: The Television

The 102nd Drama Academy Awards (Summer 2019) - Best Supporting Actor

Overall Ranking Top 3
1) Takahashi Issei - Nagi no Oitoma
2) Shigeoka Daiki - Kore wa keihi de ochimasen!
3) Kusakari Masao - Natsuzora

Voters Ranking Top 5
1) Shigeoka Daiki - Kore wa keihi de ochimasen!
2) Yokohama Ryuusei - Anata no ban desu / Anata no ban desu-Hangekihen-
3) Masuda Takahisa - Voice 110 Kinkyuu Shireishitsu
4) Miyake Ken - Semi Otoko
5) Takahashi Issei - Nagi no Oitoma

TV Reporters Ranking Top 5
1) Takahashi Issei - Nagi no Oitoma
2) Shigeoka Daiki - Kore wa keihi de ochimasen!
3) Kusakari Masao - Natsuzora
4) Nakamura Tomoya - Nagi no Oitoma
5) Yokohama Ryuusei - Anata no ban desu / Anata no ban desu-Hangekihen-

Judges Ranking Top 5
1) Takahashi Issei - Nagi no Oitoma
2) Kusakari Masao - Natsuzora
Nakamura Tomoya - Nagi no Oitoma
4) Takasugi Mahiro - Sagideka
Miyazawa Hio - Gisou Furin

Source: The Televison

The 102nd Drama Academy Awards (Summer 2019) - Best Theme Song

Overall Ranking Top 3
1) Uma to Shika - Yonezu Kenshi (No Side Game)
2) Yasashii ano ko - Spitz (Natsuzora)
3) Aitaiyo - Tezuka Shota (Anata no ban desu - Hangekihen -)

Voters Ranking Top 5
1) Doushimasuka, anata nara - Abe Mao (Kore wa keihi de ochimasen!)
2) Fanfare! - Hey! Say! JUMP (Semi Otoko)
3) Make It Hot - Snow Man (Kantan na oshigoto desu. ni oubou shitemita)
4) Aitaiyo - Tezuka Shota (Anata no ban desu - Hangekihen -)
5) Uma to Shika - Yonezu Kenshi (No Side Game)

TV Reporters Ranking Top 5
1) Yasashii ano ko - Spitz (Natsuzora)
2) Uma to Shika - Yonezu Kenshi (No Side Game)
3) STAND-ALONE - Aimer (Anata no ban desu & Anata no ban desu - Hangekihen -)
4) Doushimasuka, anata nara - Abe Mao (Kore wa keihi de ochimasen!)
Aitaiyo - Tezuka Shota (Anata no ban desu - Hangekihen -)
Asagao - Orisaka Yuta (Kansatsui Asagao)

Judges Ranking Top 5
1) Uma to Shika - Yonezu Kenshi (No Side Game)
2) Yasashii ano ko - Spitz (Natsuzora)
3) us - millet (Gisou Furin)
4) Aitaiyo - Tezuka Shota (Anata no ban desu - Hangekihen -)
5) Fanfare! - Hey! Say! JUMP (Semi Otoko)
Reboot - miwa (Nagi no Oitoma)
Sonachine - Tempalay (Zadou)

Source: The Televison

Winners of Nikkansports Dorama Grand Prix (Summer 2019)

There were 855 valid votes for this round of voting between 12 Sep and 19 Sep where the top 5 for each category in each season would then be eligible as nominees for the annual awards.The numbers in brackets indicate the number of votes received for the drama and/or actor/actress.

Best Drama
1) Natsuzora (140)
2) Anata no ban desu - Hangekihen - / No Side Game (122)
4) Kore wa keihi de ochimasen! (73)
5) Nagi no Oitoma (42)

Best Leading Actor
1) Ooizumi Yo - No Side Game (209)
2) Tanaka Kei - Anata no ban desu - Hangekihen - (156)
3) Karasawa Toshiaki - Voice 110 Kinkyuu Shireishitsu (71)
4) Higashiyama Noriyuki - Keiji Shichinin (66)
5) Miura Haruma - TWO WEEKS (42)

Best Leading Actress
1) Hirose Suzu - Natsuzora (191)
2) Tabe Mikako - Kore wa keihi de ochimasen (129)
3) Fukada Kyoko - Lupin no Musume (109)
4) Ueno Juri - Kansatsui Asagao (85)
5) Sawaguchi Yasuko - Kasouken no Onna (73)

Best Supporting Actor
1) Kusakari Masao - Natsuzora (165)
2) Yokohama Ryuusei - Anata no ban desu - Hangekihen - (65)
3) Kamikawa Takaya - No Side Game (39)
4) Takahashi Issei - Nagi no Oitoma (35)
5) Tokito Saburo - Kansatsui Asagao (33)

Best Supporting Actress
1) Yamaguchi Tomoko - Natsuzora (82)
2) Matsushima Nanako - Natsuzora / Nishino Nanase - Anata no ban desu - Hangekihen - (73)
4) Matsu Takako - No Side Game (55)
5) Maki Youko - Voice 110 Kinkyuu Shireishitsu (44)

Source: Nikkansports

And so, this is probably why the ending of "Anata no ban desu" was "incomplete"...

If this article is to be believed, there is a valid reason why the ending of "Anata no ban desu" was "incomplete". I have highlighted the key points here and tried to avoid posting any spoilers so you can read this without any worries:

- Despite the high rating achieved by the finale, NTV has been flooded with complaints on the phone and online because of many unanswered questions in the ending. It was estimated that more than 90% of posts and comments online were from dissatisfied viewers.

- Despite the real killer being arrested, the final moments of the finale hinted at more new mysteries and the presence of yet another mastermind.

- Apparently, this was done on purpose by NTV because there is supposed to be another 2-part special episode which will be streamed via its affiliate company Hulu on 23rd and 29th September. Akimoto Yasushi who conceptualised the story, will answer all the questions from the viewers in this programme.

- The producer of "Anata no ban desu" initially wanted to add a telop at the end of the finale saying that "the story will be continued on Hulu" but the NTV director in charge of programming was furious about this and objected to the idea. This was because this producer had created a big fiasco back in 2017 when the "real ending" of Summer 2017 drama "Aishitetatte, Himitsu wa aru" starring Fukushi Souta was shown on Hulu after the airing of the final episode. The director concerned was said to have scolded the producer for ignoring the interests of viewers and that this was wrong morally.

- Due to the absence of such a telop, the viewers were left with an "incomplete" ending with many unanswered questions causing a lot of confusion.
However, if the telop was included, this could have caused a bigger outburst from viewers and get NTV into trouble with BPO (Broadcasting Ethics & Program Improvement Organisation) for its overly aggressive tactics to make people sign up for Hulu just to watch the full ending.

- NTV is said to be bidding its time to find the right moment to make the announcement about the SP. Although fans would probably be glad to have the complete answer, they would probaly be eager to flood NTV with criticism over the way it is done as well.

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Apparently, NTV still hasn't learned its lesson from 2017 when it was scolded for airing the real ending of Fukushi Souta's drama on Hulu. At that time, they even tried to argue their way out by saying that the Hulu episode was not the true ending but the explanation was hardly believable. Anyway, NTV has never been afraid of courting controversy and this probably won't be the last time it will pull a publicity stunt and have it backfire on them.

To me, a TV drama is meant to be shown entirely on TV. If you want to have alternative content like "Tobira no mukou" which explains more about the stories behind the characters, that's fine because I see it more as "enrichment" content which I can choose to view or not and probably doesn't matter so much to the main story. By showing the drama on a free-to-air channel, everyone should be entitled to watch it without having to pay extra unless you are subscribing to a cable network like WOWOW. And mind you, I am actually paying subscription fees to watch Gem which is related to NTV so I am not getting access for free.

As such, when it's a critical part of the story such as the ending that is deliberately shown elsewhere for no apparent reason other than to compel people to sign up for a paid service, I find this rather immoral. If you have no intention of delivering the full deal, I probably wouldn't have bothered watching the drama from the start if you tell me this upfront. After 6 months of following this drama, you are telling people that you have to pay to watch the ending? And so what if I do sign up for Hulu? When not all of the content can be viewed by international viewers due to region restrictions, it is meaningless for me to pay for such an "incomplete" service because I don't get all of what I want. And this is precisely why I still do not want to sign up for Netflix or other similar services even though there are some Japanese content which I want to watch.

Regardless of when NTV makes the announcement about the SP, they will surely suffer a backlash. Sooner or later doesn't make much of a difference. As far as I am concerned, I will be done with this drama when I watch the finale on Gem tonight. No way am I going to sign up for Hulu just to see Akimoto tell me the answers. Oh well, I probably won't be able to see it even if I do sign up because of region restrictions again! 

Winners of Nikkansports Dorama Grand Prix (Spring 2019)

There were 2,477 valid votes for this round of voting between 18 June and 25 June where the top 5 for each category in each season would then be eligible as nominees for the annual awards.The numbers in brackets indicate the number of votes received for the drama and/or actor/actress.

Best Drama
1) Inhand (812)
2) Anata no ban desu (297)
3) Strawberry Night Saga (266)
4) Perfect World (213)
5) Natsuzora (134)

Best Leading Actor
1) Yamashita Tomohisa - Inhand (876)
2) Tanaka Kei - Anata no ban desu (310)
3) Kamenashi Kazuya - Strawberry Night Saga (265)
4) Matsuzaka Toori - Perfect World (160)
5) Kubota Masataka - Radiation House (113)

Best Leading Actress
1) Yoshitaka Yuriko - Watashi, teiji de kaerimasu (483)
2) Nikaidou Fumi - Strawberry Night Saga (482)
3) Hirose Suzu - Natsuzora (364)
4) Harada Tomoyo - Anata no ban desu (356)
5) Amami Yuki - Kinkyuu Torishirabetsu 3 (314)

Best Supporting Actor
1) Hamada Gaku - Inhand (808)
2) Matsumura Hokuto - Perfect World (229)
3) Kusakari Masao - Natsuzora (183)
4) Eguchi Yosuke - Strawberry Night Saga (108)
5) Hakamada Yoshihiko - Anata no ban desu (89)

Best Supporting Actress
1) Nanao - Inhand (838)
2) Kimura Tae - Anata no ban desu (290)
3) Matsushima Nanako - Natsuzora (135)
4) Yamamoto Mizuki - Perfect World (117)
5) Sugisaki Hana - Idaten ~ Tokyo Olympic Hanashi ~ (106)

Source: Nikkansports

Top 10 best couples from the Spring 2019 drama season (Crank-In)

Crank-in conducted a survey on 10,429 respondents from their teens to 60s where they chose the best couples from the Spring 2019 drama season. Here are the top 10 couples with the names of the actors/actresses in brackets:

1) Kakei Shirou & Yabuki Kenji - "Kinou nani tabeta" (Nishijima Hidetoshi & Uchino Seiyo)

2) Higashiyama Yui & Taneda Kotaro - "Watashi, teiji de kaerimasu." (Yoshitaka Yuriko & Mukai Osamu)

3) Ayukawa Itsuki & Kawana Tsugumi - "Perfect World" (Matsuzaka Toori & Yamamoto Mizuki)

4) Igarashi Iori & Amakasu An - "Radiation House" (Kubota Masataka & Honda Tsubasa)

5) Kataoka Hiroshi & Kataoka Kaori - "Shuudan Sasen!!" (Fukuyama Masaharu & Yagi Akiko)

6) Mihara Natsumi & Honjo Akiyuki - "Hakui no Senshi" (Mizukawa Asami & Sawamura Ikki)

7) Himekawa Reiko & Kikuta Kazuo - "Strawberry Night Saga" (Nikaidou Fumi & Kamenashi Kazuya)

8) Tachibana Haruka & Saitou Hikaru - "Hakui no Senshi" (Nakajo Ayami & Kotaki Nozomu)

9) Higashiyama Yui & Suwa Takumi - "Watashi, teiji de kaerimasu." (Yoshitaka Yuriko & Nakamaru Yuichi)

10) Tezuka Nana & Tezuka Shota - "Anata no ban desu" (Harada Tomoyo & Tanaka Kei)

Source: Crank-In

Preview of "Anata no ban desu" - Spring & Summer 2019

Title: Anata no ban desu あなたの番です It's your turn
Official website: here
Official Instagram: here
Official LINE: here
Official Twitter: here
O.A. Start Date: 14 Apr 2019
Timeslot: Sundays 10.30pm
Broadcast by: NTV
Cast: Harada Tomoyo, Tanaka Kei, Nishino Nanase, Asaka Koudai, Nao, Yamada Maho, Mikura Nana, Ootomo Karen, Kanazawa Miho, Tsubokura Yoshiyuki, Nakao Masaki, Koike Ryosuke, Isaka Ikumi, Araki Towa, Hakamada Yoshihiko, Katagiri Jin, Matobu Sei, Wada Toshihiro, Nomaguchi Tooru, Hayashi Yasufumi, Kataoka Reiko, Minagawa Sarutoki, Tokui Yu, Tanaka Yoji, Nagano Satomi, Sakata Masanobu, Okata Hisako, Minemura Rie, Takenaka Naoto, Ando Masanobu, Kimura Tae & Namase Katsuhisa