The 2nd Tokyo Drama Award

Best Drama Grand Prix: Aishiteru ~ Kaiyou ~ (NTV)

Outstanding Drama Awards: ROOKIES (TBS) / Kaze no Garden (FujiTV) / Arifureta Kiseki (FujiTV) / Sora Tobu Tyre (WOWOW) / Okaimono (NHK) / Keiji Ichidai ~ Hiratsuka Hachibee no Showa Jikenshi (TV Asahi)

Outstanding Local Drama Awards (dramas produced by TV stations outside of Tokyo): Okome no Namida (NHK Sendai) / Momoyama Onigiri ten (Sapporo TV)

Best Leading Actor: Nakai Kiichi (Kaze no Garden)

Best Leading Actress: Amami Yuki (BOSS)

Best Supporting Actor: Endo Kenichi (Kiri no Hi)

Best Supporting Actress: Toda Erika (Ryusei no Kizuna)

Best Newcomer: Mizobata Junpei / Kawashima Umika

Best Scriptwriter: Kuramoto Sou (Kaze no Garden)

Best Producer: Tsugiya Hisashi (Aishiteru ~ Kaiyou)

Best Stage Direction: Miyamoto Rieko (Kaze no Garden)

Special Award: Ogata Ken / The Art Direction Team of "Kurobe no Taiyo" / Staff of TV Tokyo drama, "Choujikan Dorama Shinshun Wide Jidaigeki"

Top 10 dramas which viewers want to watch again (Tsutaya)

1) Hana Yori Dango (Inoue Mao & Matsumoto Jun)

2) Maou (Ohno Satoshi & Ikuta Toma)

3) Long Vacation (Kimura Takuya & Yamaguchi Tomoko)

4) Kisarazu Cat's Eye (Okada Junichi & Sakurai Sho)

5) Ryuusei no Kizuna (Ninomiya Kazunari & Nishikido Ryo)

6) Orange Days (Tsumabuki Satoshi & Shibasaki Kou)

7) anego (Shinohara Ryoko & Akanishi Jin)

8) Ichi Littoru no Namida (Sawajiri Erika & Yakushimaru Hiroko)

9) Tokyo Love Story (Suzuki Honami & Oda Yuji)

10) Code Blue (Yamashita Tomohisa & Aragaki Yui)

The 59th Television Drama Academy Awards (Autumn 2008)

Best Drama - Ryusei no Kizuna (TBS)

Best Leading Actor - Ninomiya Kazunari (Ryusei no Kizuna)

Best Leading Actress - Miyazaki Aoi (Atsuhime)

Best Supporting Actor - Ogata Ken (Kaze no Garden)

Best Supporting Actress - Toda Erika (Ryusei no Kizuna)

Best Director - Kaneko Fuminori & Ishii Yasuharu (Ryusei no Kizuna)

Best Scriptwriter - Kudo Kankuro (Ryusei no Kizuna)

Best Drama Theme Song - Beautiful Days by Arashi (Ryusei no Kizuna)

The Television Special Award - Ogata Ken

Ryusei no Kizuna OST

Title: Ryusei no Kizuna OST
Catalog number: NQCL-2016
Number of discs: 1
Date of release: 3 Dec 08
Price: 2500 yen (inclusive of tax)

Ryusei no Kizuna DVD Box

Title: Ryusei no Kizuna DVD Box
Date of release: 15 April 08
Price: 19,950 yen (inclusive of tax)
Number of discs: 6
Total run time: 486 minutes
Published by: TBS
Distributed by: TC Entertainment

Review of Ryuusei no Kizuna

Frankly speaking, I had mixed feelings about this drama right from the start because of several reasons.

First of all, putting Higashino Keigo and Kudo Kankuro left a big question mark in my mind. As we know it, Higashino is very good at suspense thrillers which focus a lot on the emotions of the characters. One particular outstanding work from him was Byakuyakou, which was truly a dark tragedy from the start to the end. However, Kudo is more known for his unique brand of humour as seen from Kisarazu Cat Eyes, Tiger and Dragon and Manhattan Love Story. To put it in another way, not everyone appreciates Kudo's way of writing stories so that's why the critical success of his works are usually not reflected in the ratings. As such, I really wondered how Higashino and Kudo could be put together in the first place.

Secondly, the trio of Ninomiya Kazunari, Nishikido Ryo and Toda Erika wasn't really what I expected. I had always held the belief that Toda is still far from the level of acting that Ninomiya and Nishikido are capable of. Although at the end of the drama, my impression of Toda has changed to a certain extent, I still don't consider as very outstanding yet. She will get better over time, provided she gets the good roles. Anyway she has youth on her side.

Coming to the story itself, I have not read the novel yet. Well, to put it more accurately, I have only read a few chapters where the trio i.e. Koichi, Taisuke and Shizuna are still kids. Compared to the drama which alternated between adulthood and childhood and uses a lot of flashbacks to describe events in the past, the novel seems to be taking a sequential approach, at least from what I'm reading now. That is why I was rather frustrated by the drama's way of handling things. I would prefer a sequential approach rather than be confused by the constant shuttling. This is a major grouse I have about the story but you can be sure that this problem will go away as the story progresses.

Like what I said just now, I was very worried about Higashino's style vs. Kudo's humour. In the first few episodes, the small drama-within-drama directed by Koichi did not really blend well with the central theme. I guess Kudo wants to keep the story light at some points instead of making the drama dark as what Byakuyakou did but I didn't like the contrast at times. The first trick scheme was kinda boring and corny but the Takayama version was fun. Luckily, they toned down on the humour towards the later stage or I could have given up halfway. I wanted to watch this drama for the heavy emotional plot, not for humour.

With regards to the ending, I think it was pretty well-done. I suppose it is similar to the novel but I will make a comparison between the genres after finishing the novel. Right from the start, if the murderer was known, there would be no fun along the way to keep the viewer hooked. True enough, the truth is not as simple as it appeared. I'm glad to see the twist at the end. It was great, really. However, the only grouse I have is that the clues showed up too late. Until the last episode, you would probably not have seen the twist coming. I had my suspicions when that culprit lit his cigarette and was visibly shaken by the revelation that he had inevitably screwed up at the crime scene but could only confirm my guess when there was a close-up shot of the umbrella in question.

This is one drama where I reinforced my belief that Nino is easily one of the best actors in Arashi, or maybe in Johnny's Jimusho. The most memorable scene was when Taisuke (Nishikido) asked Koichi (Nino) whether he was OK with the fact that Shizuna (Toda) is in love with Togami (Kaname) and he shouted that there was no way he was OK with that. Bravo! さすが、ハリウット俳優! ^__^ No wonder, Clint Eastwood got him to act in Iwojima kara no Tegami. Other than Ohno who displayed the same intensity of acting in Maou and Ikuta Toma who is very versatile, I think there are not many actors in the same batch of JE guys who can do as well as Nino at the moment. Nino has certainly strengthened his reputation as a good actor through this drama.

As for Nishikido, too bad that he is overshadowed by Nino this time. However, he has managed to put up a performance in stark contrast of what he did in Last Friends. The only thing I don't like is probably the fact that he emphasized too much on the frivolous and carefree side of Taisuke. He should have been given more time to show Taisuke's sensitive side.

With regards to Toda, she displayed great chemistry with her "brothers" and should be a big visual feast because of her cos-playing. To be frank, she did look very pretty in some of the outfits. However, her acting flaws show up when she's with very strong actors so she may need more time to bring out the essence in her performance.

One person I must mention will be Nakashima Mika's role, Sagi which means trickster. Well, her role is not in the novel so she's probably there more for comical relief. Although that scene of her singing in George Clooney's restaurant's staircase was quite cheesy, I think Nakashima's presence was quite interesting. This character is really different from the Nakashima who sings. Her interaction with Nino is also worth looking out for.

As for the theme and insert songs, ORION is a better fit for the atmosphere of the drama and grows on me over time. On the other hand, you can only hear Beautiful Days at the beginning of the drama or when the trailer runs so the influence isn't that strong. Nonetheless, both songs are good by their own virtue.

And my ratings for this drama...
Story: 8.5 out of 10 (Although I didn't like the first 5 episodes or so, the extremely well-done finale and climax scenes deserved this score.)
Acting: 9 out of 10 (The trio were good in their own ways but this 9 is mainly for Nino.)
Theme song: 8 out of 10 (I prefer ORION though.)
Visual effects / Scenery: 7 out of 10 (Not much variety since they are mostly set-scenes but I like the rooftop above George Clooney's restaurant and the hill where the siblings saw the meteor shower.)
Teamwork / Chemistry: 7.5 out of 10 (The siblings deserve a 7. The extra 0.5 is for Nino's great work with the real culprit in the last episode.)

Total: 40 out of 50

Autumn 2008 drama satisfaction ranking by Oricon (straight after the first O.A.)

This is a survey done by Oricon to find out the satisfaction level after watching the first episode of the drama.

1) Aibou season7 (TV Asahi) 79.9

2) Black Monday (TBS) 76.7

3) Ryuusei no Kizuna (TBS) 73.8

4) Kaze no Garden (FujiTV) 72.7

5) Room of King (FujiTV) 70.8

6) Team Batista no Eikou (FujiTV) 69.7

7) Shouni Kyuumei (TV Asahi) 69.6

8) Gira Gira (TV Asahi) 69.1%

9) Yume wo Kanaeru Zou (NTV) 69.0

10) SCANDAL (TBS) 67.4

Autumn 2008 drama anticipation ranking (Oricon)

This is a survey done by Oricon to find out which dramas are highly anticipated by viewers prior to the start of the season.

1) Ryuusei no Kizuna (TBS) 59.6 points

2) Team Batista no Eikou (FujiTV) 58.8

3) Bloody Monday (TBS) 54.3

4) Aibou season7 (TV Asahi) 53.1

5) Innocent Love (FujiTV) 50.9

6) Celeb to Binbou Taro (FujiTV) 49.4

7) Yume wo Kanaeru Zou (NTV) 49.2

8) SCANDAL (TBS) 48.7

9) Room of King (FujiTV) 47.7

10) Shouni Kyuumei (TV Asahi) 47.3

Romaji lyrics of "Beautiful Days" by ARASHI (Theme song of Ryusei no Kizuna)

Title: Beautiful Days
Artiste: ARASHI
Lyrics and melody: Takuya Harada

sora ni kagayaku yo kirari
hoshi ga jiwari
nijindeku yo
kanashii hodo kirei da ne

hanashi wo kiite hoshii koto
are mo kore mo aru keredo
nigiri shimete dakishimete
shiwakucha no mama

hoshi ni negau to itsuka
kanau to iu keredo
yume no naka de shika bokura
towa ni mou aenai

sora ni kagayaku yo kirari
hoshi ga jiwari
nijindeku yo
kaeri michi namida ga tomaranai
boku wa zutto
sora ni omoide ga borori
namida horori koboreteku yo
kanashii hodo kirei da ne

kanashimi wo wake atte
namida no kazu herasu yori
yorokobi wo wakachi aenai hou ga tsurai ne

mabuta no oku ni utsuru
koboreru egao ga
ima demo yuuki kureru yo
mou ichido aitai

sora ni mukatte utau yo
sou utau yo koe no kagiri
fushigi dane hitori janainda
boku wa zutto
sora ni mukai te wo furu yo
kono te furu yo chikara komete
sore ga bokura no sain

tanoshiku temo kurushiku temo
mou bokura wa aenai donna ni negatte temo

sora ni kagayaku yo kirari
hoshi ga jiwari
nijindeku yo
kaeri michi namida ga tomaranai
boku wa zutto
sora ni omoide ga borori
namida horori koboreteku yo
kanashii hodo kirei da ne

sora ni mukatte utau yo
sou utau yo koe no kagiri
fushigi da ne hitori janain da
boku wa zutto
itsumademo wasurenai yo
wasurenai yo kimi to itsuka
sora ni egaita mirai

PV of Beautiful Days by Arashi - Theme song of Ryusei no Kizuna

Here are some screenshots of the PV for Beautiful Days by Arashi. Basically, there isn't a central storyline in the PV. The members are in a room filled with light bulbs on the ceiling as some CG graphics play in the background.

Romaji lyrics of this song will follow soon.

Romaji lyrics of ORION by Nakashima Mika (Insert song of Ryusei no Kizuna)

Title: ORION
Artiste: Nakashima Mika
Lyrics and Melody: Momoda Rui
Release date: 12 November 2008

naita no wa boku datta
yowasa wo misenai koto ga sou
tsuyoi wake janaitte kimi ga
itte ita kara dayo
I believe


iki ga tsumetaku naru kaeri michi ni
tada hoshi ga yurete iru

tashikameta bakari no
awai nukumori sae
mou wasure sou

hito wo suki ni nareru koto ni
hajimete kizuita ima wa

naita no wa boku datta
tsunagatta fuyu no seiza
kono sora ni kiete kanai you ni
mitsumete itan dayo
I believe

kajikanda te no hira
hanarenu you ni itsu made mo furete itai

tsutaetai kotoba wo kuri kaesu no ni
mata koe ni naranai

tawai nai koto de waratte
yasashiku tsutsumu yo kimi wo

nagare boshi kazoeteta
kimi to deaeta kiseki ga
ima boku ni
ikite iru imi wo
oshiete kureta kara
I believe

naita no wa boku datta
yowasa wo misenai koto ga sou
tsuyoi wake janaitte kimi ga
itte ita kara da yo
I believe

itte ita kara da yo
I believe

Ryusei no Kizuna Merchandise - Hayashi Rice & Beef Curry Packs

Title: Ryusei no Kizuna - Hayashi Rice & Beef Curry Packs
Price: Open (Determined by individual retail outlets)
Date of release: 14 Oct 08 (for a limited period only)
Available at: Supermarkets, convenience stores, TBS Store and TBS ishop

Ryusei no Kizuna and SCANDAL off to a good start! / Autumn 08 dramas' debut episodes ranking

Source: Mainichi Shinbun

Ryusei no Kizuna made its debut on 17th Oct 08 with the highest first episode rating of 21.2% among fellow Autumn 08 drama competitors. Meanwhile, SCANDAL which started on 19 Oct also achieved a relatively high rating of 16.9%.

With all Autumn 08 dramas having shown their first episode, this is the ranking so far on the basis of the debut episode's ratings:

1) Ryusei no Kizuna 21.2%

2) Kaze no Garden 20.1%

3) Celeb to Binbou Tarou 17.6%

4) Innocent Love / SCANDAL 16.9%

6) Team Batista no Eikou 15.2%

7) Salaryman Kintarou 13.8%

8) Scrap Teacher 12.6%

9) Gira Gira 12.2%

10) Bloody Monday 11.4%

11) Room of King 10.4%

12) Shouni Kyumei 9.6%

13) Oh! My Girl! / OL Nippon 8.3%

15) Yume wo Kanaeru Zou 7.1%

Ryusei no Kizuna's shooting stars earrings for pre-order

The shooting stars earrings will be worn by Toda Erika who plays Shizuna in the drama. The shooting stars are in three colours i.e. clear, sky blue and blue spinel which represents a pure heart, the brilliance of youth and the complicated lives of the three siblings. This product is now available for pre-order via TBS ishop at the price of 18,900 yen. Note that the product will only be made upon the receipt of orders so they will not keep stock of this item. In addition, there will be a time lapse before the item is delivered.

Ryusei no Kizuna 流星の絆 - Autumn 2008

Title: 流星の絆 Ryusei no Kizuna
O.A. Start Date: 17 October 2008
Timeslot: Fridays, 10pm
Original novel written by: Higashino Keigo
Scriptwriter: Kudo Kankuro
Theme song: Beautiful Days by ARASHI
Insert song: ORION by Nakashima Mika
Broadcaster: TBS
Official website: here

Cast:

Ariake Kouichi - Ninomiya Kazunari
Ariake Taisuke - Nishikido Ryo
Ariake Shizuna - Toda Erika
Togami Yukinari - Kaname Jun
Hayashi George - Omi Toshinori
Hagimura Shinji - Shitara Osamu
Togami Masayuki - Emoto Akira
Ariake Touko - Ryou
Ariake Yukihiro - Terashima Susumu
Kashiwabara Yasutaka - Miura Tomokazu

Note that Nakashima Mika will also be acting in this drama. Details unknown as yet.

Theme song release info:

Title: Beautiful Days
Artist: ARASHI
Catalog No.: JACA-5122 (the limited edition with DVD)
Published by: J-STORM
Distributor: Sony Music Entertainment
Release Date: 5 November 2008
Price: 1680 yen

Insert song release info:

Title: ORION
Artiste: Nakashima Mika
Date of release: 12 November 2008
Price: 1223 yen
Published by: Sony Music Associated Records