The 113rd Drama Academy Awards (Summer 2022) - Best Leading Actress

Overall Ranking Top 3

1) Arimura Kasumi - Ishiko to Haneo - Sonna koto de utaemasu -
2) An - Kyousou no bannin
3) Haru - Mahou no rinobe

Voters Ranking Top 5
1) An - Kyousou no bannin
2) Arimura Kasumi - Ishiko to Haneo - Sonna koto de utaemasu -

3) Nagano Mei - Unicorn ni notte

4) Sugisaki Hana - Prism

5) Kuroshima Yuina - Chimudondon

TV Reporters Ranking Top 5
1) Arimura Kasumi - Ishiko to Haneo - Sonna koto de utaemasu -
2) Nagano Mei - Unicorn ni notte
3) Haru - Mahou no rinobe

4) An - Kyousou no bannin

5) Kuroshima Yuina - Chimudondon

Kuroki Haru - Boku no Neechan

Judges Ranking Top 5
1) Arimura Kasumi - Ishiko to Haneo - Sonna koto de utaemasu -

2) Haru - Mahou no rinobe

3) Kuroki Haru - Boku no Neechan

4) Nimura Sawa - Anata no butsu ga, koko ni

5) Kuroshima Yuina - Chimudondon

Source: The Television

The 113rd Drama Academy Awards (Summer 2022) - Best Supporting Actor

Overall Ranking Top 3

1) Akaso Eiji - Ishiko to Haneo - Sonna koto de utaemasu? -

2) Saotome Taichi - Roppongi Class

3) Yasuda Ken - Hatsukoi no akuma

Voters Ranking Top 5
1) Akaso Eiji - Ishiko to Haneo - Sonna koto de utaemasu? -
2) Sano Hayato - Teppachi!
3) Nishihata Daigo - Shin Shinchoukouki
4) Nishigaki Sho - Minato Shoji Coin Laundry
5) Saotome Taichi - Roppongi Class

TV Reporters Ranking Top 5
1) Saotome Taichi - Roppongi Class
2) Emoto Akira - Shin Shinchoukouki
3) Yasuda Ken - Hatsukoi no akuma
4) Mamiya Shotaro - Mahou no rinobe
5) Bandou Ryota - Unicorn ni notte

Judges Ranking Top 5
1) Nishijima Hidetoshi - Unicorn ni notte
2) Akaso Eiji - Ishiko to Haneo - Sonna koto de utaemasu? -

3) Saotome Taichi - Roppongi Class

4) Kagawa Teruyuki - Roppongi Class

5) Yasuda Ken - Hatsukoi no akuma

Source: The Television

Quick Review #11: Unicorn ni notte (Summer 2022)

Title: Unicorn ni notte (ユニコーンに乗って)

Season: Summer 2022

Broadcast by: TBS

Rating: 5 / 10

Recommended for: fans of the cast or those who want to have a basic understanding of IT start-ups

Liked:

- Kotorin & President Haneda i.e. Nishijima Hidetoshi & Hirosue Ryoko. It was just a pity though that their subplot wasn't explored in greater detail but the ending suggested that they have the potential to become an item.

- Hirosue Ryoko's weekly show - except for one outfit which I thought looked quite odd for a CEO, the others were very nice to look at. She certainly looked the part as a charismatic CEO but her airtime was really limited.

Disliked: 

- A story which doesn't really fit the title. To begin with, there wasn't a lot of emphasis nor indication that Dream Pony was to become a unicorn company or was actually working towards this goal. Coupled with the fact that its status at the end of the drama was a subsidiary of a listed/major company, that sort of deviated from the title's essence. However, if the title was meant to show that people with nothing to their name due to their backgrounds and lack of resources are very unlikely to achieve success like how elusive the unicorn is, Sana's state at the end of the drama would mean that she had defied the odds to become successful in both her career and love life.

- The lacklustre romance. Although it was implied that there might be a love triangle, it didn't really happen except for a brief period when Sana wondered if she liked Kotori romantically. And Kotori certainly didn't see Sana in the romantic sense other than being kind towards her. On the other hand, things between Sana and Kou were so bland and hardly engaging for viewers unlike some of the more successful love stories shown in this particular timeslot. A love story that doesn't make the viewers excited nor squeal in delight or wish for the couple to be together certainly cannot be considered as one which qualifies as a good romance story. I must say, I couldn't care less for what happened between Sana and Kou but I certainly was rooting for something to happen between Kotori and Haneda.

- In the early stages of watching this drama, I felt that it was quite similar to the Korean drama "Start Up" in terms of its vibe (youngsters trying to realise their dream against the odds with romance on the sidelines) but somehow, the passion and enthusiasm about starting one's business and working hard to make it in the industry was lost on me in this drama. And it certainly didn't help that the story sort of simplified many things in business and adopted a touch-and-go approach when it came to depicting challenges faced by Dream Pony. It was as if, a problem cropped up, they were troubled about it for a brief moment and someone came to save them like a fairy godmother without them actually doing much to save themselves. For example, the patent filing by a rival company was settled so easily through external help that it seemed nothing more like a slight dent to Dream Pony's journey. However, that certainly could have become a major issue which could cripple the company and I felt that Dream Pony didn't really learn from that episode. Likewise, until Kotori joined the company, it felt as if the company operated on a system of "do-it-as-you-like" to foster creativity and promote freedom etc. but basic business decorum (sending Oseibo and Ochuugen gifts to your associates and clients) and dressing appropriately for a business meeting (tattered jeans and a T-shirt, seriously?) were clearly not on their minds. Makes me wonder how the company could survive in the Japanese corporate world for 3 years? I know people tend to be a bit more lenient towards start-ups but they aren't in the creative field to begin with.

Status update of Summer 2022 dramas - 1 Aug 2022

Now that we are already a month into the Summer 2022 drama season, it's time for a recap of the dramas which I've watched, will continue watching and have already dropped. With this, you will know if I will continue to cover a drama with my episode reflections or will just round up at the end with a quick review. 

To read my past episode reflections posted on Twitter and Facebook, simply search for the hashtags on the Dorama World pages.

What I watched (at least 2 episodes; in order of start date):

1) Old Rookie

2) Unicorn ni notte

3) Teppachi!

4) Okutou 

5) Junai Dissonance

6) Yukionna to kani wo kuu

7) Ishiko to Haneo 

8) Kyousou no bannin

9) Hatsukoi no akuma

10) Mahou no rinobe

Dropped

1) Teppachi! (watched up to Ep 4) 

2) Okutou (watched half of Ep 3) 

In danger of being dropped

1) Unicorn ni notte

2) Kyousou no bannin

Will continue watching but may switch to doing a quick review at the end instead

1) Yukionna to kani wo kuu

2) Old Rookie

3) Junai Dissonance

To continue with episode reflections barring unforeseen circumstances

1) Ishiko to Haneo

2) Hatsukoi no akuma

3) Mahou no rinobe

In the last season, I only finished one drama to the end with episode reflections i.e. "My Family" while I did a quick review for "Koi nante honki de dousuru no". Considering that I've only dropped 2 out of 10 at this stage, it seems that the offerings this season are better in terms of quality and appeal, at least in my opinion.

However, things may change again in the span of an episode or two so it's still too early to tell which drama will make it to the end.

Preview of "Unicorn ni notte" - Summer 2022

Title: Unicorn ni notte ユニコーンに乗って (Riding a unicorn)

Official website: here

Official Instagram: here

Official TikTok: here

Official Twitter: here

O.A. Start Date: 5 Jul 2022

Timeslot: Tuesdays 10pm

Broadcast by: TBS

Theme song: "Shiwakucha na kumo wo daite" by DISH//

Cast: Nagano Mei, Nishijima Hidetoshi, Sugino Yosuke, Bandou Ryota, Maehara Kou, Ishikawa Ren, Aoyama Thelma, Yamaguchi Takaya, Takeyama Ruka, Terajima Mahoro & Hirosue Ryoko