Winter 2009 Drama Ratings Ranking

The Winter 2009 drama season has finally ended and here is the report on the ratings ranking as well as some input on the dramas which I've seen. To date, I've only finished Zenigeba, Triangle and Love Shuffle while I'm still in the midst of Kiina and Voice. And coincidentally, these two dramas which I've yet to finish are in the Top 2 for this season. The ratings for this season are pretty horrendous, so as to speak. The difference separating Kiina and Voice is a mere 0.01% and all Top 3 dramas failed to cross the 15% mark. One-third of the dramas went below the 10% mark. I would have thought that when the weather is cold, more people would stay at home to watch TV. Anyway, these ratings do not take into account people who actually record these dramas and watch at their own leisure time. Recently, there is talk that Video Research has developed a technology to capture figures of the number of people recording the shows so this may lend a bit more credibility to the ranking as well as reflect the true tastes of the viewers. Oh, I almost forgot that I haven't finished Uta no Oniisan too...

First up, we have Kiina from NTV which scored an average of 14.57%. I'm only 3 episodes into this drama. It's not that I don't like this drama but rather the episodic storyline doesn't give me any motivation to continue watching. I will finish up this drama soon though, maybe side by side with Voice. Frankly speaking, these two dramas are very similar to each other. Both are suspense stories which focus on investigative work BUT the approach is different. Kiina may look like a supernatural story on the surface but there are lots of theories and logic behind each phenomenon presented. As such, I thought the story wasn't as far-fetched as I expected. Nonetheless, it can be a bit mind-boggling to hear all those big words so I'll do a more detailed review on this once I finish.

Next up is Voice from FujiTV which scored a mere 0.01% lesser than Kiina. I've watched 5 episodes of this and I've toyed with the thought of dropping this. I must admit that I kept comparing this drama with Kiina and found that I liked the latter more. More on that when I complete the remaining episodes. Again, the main reason stopping me from watching this faithfully every week is the episodic nature. If the story doesn't develop over the course of the season, it's hard to get the viewers to continue watching the same format over and over again.

Third on the ranking in Mei-chan no Shitsuji which seems to be a big hit among the younger audience. I did not watch this drama so I can't comment much on this. From the looks of it, this seems to be a comedy featuring lots of ikemen. Another version of HanaKimi?

And here's the rest of the ranking plus a few comments I have...

4) Triangle - 12.36% (I was fuming mad when I got to the last episode. More on this later. It made the same fatal mistake as Koori no Sekai. And both dramas are from the same TV station. They simply didn't learn their lesson.)

5) Hisatsu Shigotonin 2009 - 12.33% (Didn't watch this)

6) Uta no Oniisan - 10.76% (Still in the midst of this)

7) Arifureta Kiseki - 10.56% (Didn't watch this)

8) Tokumei Kakaricho Tadano Jin - 10.32% (Didn't watch this)

9) RESCUE - 10.00% (Didn't watch this)

10) Zenigeba - 9.94% (Superb! Matsuyama Kenichi puts up another brilliant performance! Mimura also surprised me in a good way. Shiina Kippei was magnificent too. The story, though short, managed to condense the developments nicely and didn't have too much excess. Detailed review coming up!)

11) Love Shuffle - 8.82% (This is something which you either love it or not. Nojima Shinji's style of comedy may be a bit lame at times e.g. the panda joke but I loved the twists and humour. Review coming soon!)

12) Akai Ito - 8.52% (Didn't watch this)

13) Honjitsu mo Hare Ijou Nashi - 8.30% (Didn't watch this)

14) Kami no Shizuku - 6.20% (Enough said about this)

15) RESET - 5.60% (Didn't watch this)

Hang on for more updates about the new Spring 2009 season!

Review of Kami no Shizuku Ep 1 to 3

Disclaimer: For those who are big fans of Kamenashi Kazuya or like the drama adaptation of Kami no Shizuku very much, you may wish to give this review a miss. I am stating my honest opinions on the drama which may not be music to the ears for some people. As such, to prevent you from getting upset over my personal views, I really suggest that you can consider whether you want to read further on.

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I have decided to give up on this series after watching the first 3 episodes. In fact, the thought of giving up already crossed my mind before I finished Ep 2. However, I thought of giving this series another chance but Ep 3 failed to impress me. It only strengthened my belief that I should not be watching this anymore. In fact, I should never have started.

Like what I said before, I had my reservations as to whether Kamenashi Kazuya is suited for this role. I did not read the manga so I have no idea whether his potrayal of Shizuku is close to the original. I don't really care for that since I'm not a manga fan anyway. Usually, I will be very upset if the adaptation differs too much from the original but this time round, I do not have a basis for comparision. The problem here is that the drama feels very much like a last-minute slipshod piece of work and Kamenashi's acting plus his combination with Naka Riisa are not helping things either.

First of all, the packaging and overall feel of the series should deviate more towards the elegant and high-class spectrum. Even I can see that the cover of the manga has more effort put into it as compared to most titles. Wine, being a drink which is not consumed that regularly and commonly as compared to juices or even beer, has a air of mystique and elegance to it. However, looking at how these people drink wine makes it not so appealing after all. Gulping is a big no-no and seeing how Tomine (Tanabe Seiichi) acts like a lunatic while munching on the corks just puts me off.

Besides that, Kamenashi simply does not bring out that genius feel of Shizuku. Before the drama started, my impression of Shizuku was that he's an unwilling genius when it comes to wine. He doesn't want to know so much about it yet he has the talent that puts him above the rest. However, what I've seen so far is Shizuku depending largely on the help rendered by people around it. I just don't see how talented Shizuku is supposed to be. At least Kamenashi doesn't show it. He strikes me more like an average guy who happens to hit the jackpot by chance.

However, I must say that Naka Riisa is a bigger eyesore in the series. I hate girls like that. Her character, Miyabi may have some knowledge or should I say trivia for wine but I don't really feel as if she's of much help to Shizuku. Coupled with the fact that I don't like Naka's acting at all (strikes me like a bimbo following Shizuku all day long), I can't bring myself to like this combination. Not even a single bit.

And finally, the theme song is another big irritation for me. I know there's an issue of using theme songs by the lead actor or actress most of the time especially when it comes to Johnny's artistes. However, I cannot comprehend why the producers allowed a song from KAT-TUN to be the theme song. The image does not match at all! It is really a blind decision which I simply think that it's extremely detrimental to the series. A good theme song could have been some saving grace.

Despite boasting of using a bestselling manga as the story base and a pretty good cast, the lacklustre story and acting (the leads) plus that horribly mismatched theme song spoilt the viewing experience for me. Totally. No wonder it is now languishing in the single digit ratings region: 10.3% --> 7.3% --> 6.2% --> 5.0% --> 6.0%. It should be the hardcore fans who are still tuning in to this.

If you are a Kamenashi fan, I'm sure he has better works in the past especially Nobuta wo Produce. The problem is, he's not able to bring out the essence as yet, not so of the fact that he's a lousy actor all the time. He has done better before BUT this role doesn't suit him, clearly. He seems to be at a very awkward stage. He doesn't look that manly yet to be an adult and he's too old to play a kid. So...maybe he should do something about his image like Yamashita Tomohisa. Although I'm also not quite impressed with Yamapi's acting, I think he has a smoother transition to adult roles because of his beefed-up figure and emphasis on masculinity these days. You can't look like a young guy who's immature, hanging around, frivolous etc and expect to get serious roles with substance. It doesn't work.

My last words about this: Don't bother with this drama. It simply isn't worth your time. And I wasted close to 3 hours of my time which I do regret.

Winter 2009 Drama Preview - Kami no Shizuku

Title: Kami no Shizuku (The Drops of God)
Broadcast by: NTV
O.A. Start Date: 13 Jan 09
Timeslot: Tuesdays, 10pm
Original manga by: Agi Tadashi
Official website: here



Cast:

Kanzaki Shizuku (Kamenashi Kazuya)
Toomine Issei (Tanabe Seiichi)
Shinohara Miyabi (Naka Riisa)
Kiryuu Ryoko (Toda Naho)
Kawarage Shigeru (Masu Takeshi)
Honma Chousuke (Taguchi Hiromasa)
Seller (Sasaki Nozomi)
Kito Ryuusuke (Hirakata Motoaki)
Minamoto Saori (Hagi Mika)
Saionji Maki (Uchida Yuki)
Fujie Shiro (Tatsumi Takuro)
Doi Roberu (Takenaka Naoto)
Kanzaki Yutaka (Furuya Kazuyuki)

Reason for watching this:

Definitely not for Kamenashi Kazuya. It's the story which seems interesting. If done carefully, I believe this is going to be a classy piece of work. Much as I absolutely detest the choice for the lead character, if the story keeps me engaged, I guess I can bear with it till the end.

Then again, I believe it is partly due to Mr. Kamenashi that I cannot find the manga at our local Kino. Seems like the fans snapped up the first few volumes to do some background studies before the drama starts.