Preview of "Nare no hate no bokura" - Summer 2023

Title: Nare no hate no bokura なれの果ての僕ら

Official website: here

Official Instagram: here

Official TikTok: here

Official Twitter: here

O.A. Start Date: 28 Jun 2023

Timeslot: Mondays at 12.30am (first episode starts at 12.59am)

Broadcast by: TV Tokyo

Original manga by: Utsumi Yae

Theme Song: "Roberia" by HiHi Jets

Cast: Inoue Mizuki, Inukai Atsuhiro, Kitahara Yuzu, Oohara Yuno, Kudo Haruka, Kusano Taisei, Kabashima Hikari, Saito Ryuu, Oohara Sakurako, Nishimura Takuya, Abe Rin, Sugou Araki, Kuramoto Ryuhei, Niihara Taisuke, Yuutarou, Matsubara Toma, Nishida Kouki, Yoshida Reika, Sakumoto Takara, Konno Ayaka, Yabana Rei, Nakamura Riho, Wagazuma Miwako, Hinagata Akiko & Mori Kanna

Preview of "Akujo ni tsuite" (Drama SP)

Title: Akujo ni tsuite 悪女について 

Official website: here

O.A. Dates: 10pm on 27 Jun and 4 Jul 2023

Broadcast by: NHK

Original novel by: Ariyoshi Sawako

Cast: Tanaka Minami, Kiryu Mai, Yoshizawa Hisashi, Hosoda Yoshihiko, Izumisawa Yuki, Omi Toshinori, Tokoshima Yoshiko, Hayashiya Shozo, Watanabe Makiko, Toda Keiko & Hashizume Isao

Preview of "Keiji Shichinin Season 9" - Spring 2023

Title: Keiji Shichinin Season 9 / 刑事７人 Season 9

Official website: here

Official Instagram: here

Official Twitter: here

O.A. Start Date: 7 Jun 2023

Timeslot: Wednesdays at 9pm

Broadcast by: TV Asahi

Cast: Higashiyama Noriyuki, Tanabe Seiichi, Kotaki Nozomu, Shirasu Jin, Tsukamoto Takashi, Yoshida Kotaro & Kitaoji Kinya

When the end is not really the end - a new trend of having SPs shown one week after the finale?

Is this the start of yet another new trend in the Japanese drama industry?

After the conclusion of FujiTV Spring 2023 drama "Kazama Kimichika - Kyoujou 0 -" on 19 Jun 2023, it was announced that there would be a SP showing on 26 Jun to "depict what happens after the ending of the drama series, feature the miniature Lego block creations by Igami Yukiha (Hotta Mayu) and do a recap of all cases and episodes in the series".

Now, my first thoughts upon seeing this piece of news were - why is there a need for a SP after the finale? Why can't they finish the story properly within the finale? Is FujiTV trying to "cheat" viewers into watching this so-called SP when I strongly suspect that the bulk of the airtime will be hogged by the recaps rather than the "after-the-ending" events?

Just when I was already annoyed by this, "Anata ga shitekure nakutemo" - also from FujiTV (coincidentally??) - announced that there would be a SP on 29 Jun after its supposed "finale" was shown on 22 Jun 2023. According to what they claimed, this SP will describe the events which happened in the months after the Niina couple (Iwata Takanori & Tanaka Minami) decided to get a divorce until the Yoshino couple (Nao & Nagayama Eita) supposedly reconciled at the end of the finale.

I have the same doubts here - why can't they fill in the gaps in the finale instead of doing yet another SP? And based on past experience, such SPs tend to dangle the bait of having new content to watch but the proportion of recaps will make you feel like you have been forced to re-watch the wrong drama again in 45 mins.

To put things in perspective, doing a SP after the finale of a drama series isn't a new thing. However, the more common trend to date has been putting the SPs on paid streaming portals affiliated with the TV stations (NTV & Hulu are especially notorious for starting the spin-offs and after-stories arrangement although other TV stations are following suit these days) but there is usually a time gap between the broadcast of the finale and the release of this SP. In these two examples though, the SPs are supposed to be shown just one week later after the broadcast of their finales. And it certainly doesn't look like a mere coincidence that both dramas are from the same TV station.

With regard to this new phenomenon, J-CAST News did an interview with professor Kageyama Takahiko from Doshisha Women's College of Liberal Arts and a former producer of Mainichi Housou made the following observations:

* Although the trailer for the SP of "Anata ga shitekure nakutemo" suggested that the content was meant to "supplement" what was not described in the finale, this might not be an ideal format to conclude the series. And it will no doubt make people feel bewildered that the finale is actually not the end of the story. As such, it may be more appropriate to describe the SP as the "most/real final episode" especially since the SP should also be considered as part of the entire drama series.

* Usually, the first episode is the most watched episode in a drama series and ratings tend to go downwards for subsequent episodes until the finale. As such, by tagging an episode as the finale, it will no doubt attract viewers' attention again. By introducing a SP after the supposed finale and announcing it only after the finale has aired, it looks like a deliberate business decision by the TV stations to push ratings up again but this could backfire as viewers are left wondering which is the real finale.

* In recent years, most, if not all dramas do not last the entire season i.e. 13 weeks over a 3-month period. Especially with staggered start and end dates where some may start 3 or 4 weeks into the season, most dramas these days tend to range from 8 to 11 episodes except for comparatively shorter ones like those on WOWOW or streaming portals which can sometimes be as short as 4 to 6 episodes. Before the start of a new season, there are bound to be "free timeslots" vacated by the dramas which had ended and these are nicknamed as air pockets. Usually, TV stations would show once-off variety shows to fill up these slots but the ratings for such shows tend to be low. In comparison, by airing content from the same drama, there is a certain amount of viewership to tap. This yet again could be seen as a business decision which will bring more benefits than making another variety show just to fill in the gaps. 

Personally, I do not like the emergence of this trend as a blatant attempt to make viewers tune in to one more episode of possibly 80-90% of recaps. Much as they may claim that it's meant to be an after-story or fill in the gaps of the finale, I simply do not fancy the prospect of wasting my time over another episode which may not add value to the original ending. Perhaps there would be new insights and information to make the ending more complete but the risk of wasting time for that small amount of new stuff vs. re-watching the entire drama makes me very reluctant to give these SPs a chance. Perhaps the sole consolation would be that FujiTV did not put these SPs on their streaming portal FOD so at least it's not a hard-sell tactic to make people become subscribers just for these SPs.

What do you think about this trend? Would you like to watch these post-finale SPs or prefer everything to be covered within the original finale? 

The challenges in the hands-free and total control approaches of artiste management as seen from Hirosue Ryoko's & Nagayama Kento's recent scandals

Following Hirosue Ryoko's recent affair scandal and the arrest of Nagayama Kento for marijuana possession last week, the topic about the right amount of control and intervention in artiste management is back into the limelight. There have been some articles discussing if these scandals could have been avoided had their agencies been more aware of what their artistes were up to and stepped in before they got out of hand. Of course, there is only so much that an agency can do in keeping their artistes out of trouble but ultimately, these artistes are adults and should be personally held responsible for heir actions.

Daily Shincho published an article on 16 June 2023 talking about Hirosue's problematic behaviour over the years along with her management's unusual stance of protecting her image at all costs. Back in 2014, I also translated the articles about her alleged affair with Sato Takeru. Here are some key highlights from these sources which may give a clearer perspective into how her management situation had evolved over the past 20+ years:

Coincidentally, the part about how Hirosue was having her way with no one to give her a reality check and her agency's zealousness in covering up her behaviour with a perfect image corresponds somewhat to Candle Jun's claims that their marriage life suffered partly due to the expectations and restrictions placed on them by her agency and family.

* In the 27 Feb 2014 issue of "Josei Seven", it claimed that Hirosue Ryoko and Sato Takeru were allegedly having an affair as she was caught spending the night at the apartment block where he lived at. Sato was 9 years younger than her and she was already married to Candle Jun at that time. Prior to that, they were said to have visited a spa together. However, both parties denied the report at that time.

* In response to this affair allegation, Inoue Yoshihisa, the president of her agency Flamme, made the following comment in the 13 Mar 2014 issue of "Shuukan Shincho":

"There are as many as 200 apartments in the block where Sato lives at. You can't claim that Hirosue went to his apartment just based on that report."

A veteran reporter commented that Inoue's argument was a display of his desperate attempt to protect his artiste at all costs despite the photos taken when she visited Sato's apartment block. It was believed that Hirosue had promised not to do the same thing again thus Inoue went out of his way to speak up for her.

* This was in stark contrast to what happened to Karata Erika who was exposed 3 years ago for having an affair with the then-married Higashide Masahiro. Flamme had issued a statement saying that Karata was sorry for what she did and she was repenting for her weakness and stupidity. It pledged to prevent a recurrence by disciplining her. However, Karata herself never commented nor apologised publicly on what she did.

This then led to an influx of calls to the agency's PR department which ultimately chose to ignore all media and public queries when it got too overwhelming. Over time, the agency probably thought that the storm died down and they managed to get away with the backlash despite not doing anything concrete.

3 years on, Karata may have returned to being an actress in movies but the damage has been done and she still isn't being offered any roles in TV dramas as compared to her then-lover who managed to get back to work in a few months.

* Perhaps it was from this past experience that Flamme had initially issued a strongly-worded statement that they had given Hirosue a stern warning for her thoughtless actions when she first denied the affair. However, once Bunshun published another report in the following week with her handwritten love letters to Toba Shuusaku and further details of their affair, the agency had no choice but to apologise and put Hirosue on indefinite suspension. If not for the damning subsequent revelation and initial denial, the issue could have just ended with a warning to Hirosue.

* A look into Hirosue's relationship with Flamme could probably offer an explanation as to why her agency treats her differently from other artistes. When she debuted in 1995, she joined Geiei Production which was where Inoue first became her manager. A few years later in 1998, Inoue set up Flamme together with Hirosue who had shot to stardom very quickly in the late 1990s. Being the agency's biggest earner and most well-known artiste, it was not a surprise that she enjoyed special treatment. However, her psychological state gradually became affected once she got busier and the expectations on her to maintain this youthful and innocent image became increasingly harder to maintain since this was not really in line with her true character.

It was around the same period that rumours of her relationships with models and actors and going out to party at nightclubs became a regular thing. Problematic behaviour such as perpetual lateness on filming sets, talking on her mobile phone while keeping her co-stars waiting during rehearsals or taking taxis on long journeys without paying started to hog the headlines.

Whenever she got into trouble, it was always Inoue who apologised and got her out of the mess she created. Besides the obvious reason that the agency's survival depended on their top artiste, he also owed a debt of gratitude to her for having a part in Flamme's success as it grew into a mid-size agency with many actresses. As such, it was not surprising that Inoue had to resort to extreme measures to protect her from the scandal with Sato back in 2014.

* However, Flamme's overzealous stance in protecting Hirosue was seen as a major factor in the situation getting out of hand this time. Bunshun's report was extremely detailed with the handwritten love letters and information of her rendezvous meetings with Toba. Due to the fact that this was the second time that she was caught in an affair scandal and both happened while Candle Jun was away from home due to work, the situation this time may have been prevented if the agency had been stricter with her when the first scandal happened almost 10 years ago.

As such, it appears that Hirosue was not the controllable type and her agency had knowingly and purposely adopted a hands-free approach in managing her.

On the other hand, Nagayama Kento's situation seems to be that he was already getting out of control prior to being caught and the agency had no way of keeping him in check. As seen from the reports that came out soon after his arrest, his agency PAPADO had no idea that he was arrested until they saw the news in the morning. Logically speaking, an artiste who gets into trouble should contact his/her manager or family so that they can go into damage control and get legal help for the artiste. The thing is, did the police not allow him to contact people following the arrest or did he choose not to contact his agency voluntarily since the relationship between them seemed to be on the rocks?

Secondly, there were allegations that he was not cooperative about doing PR work for his projects. On one hand, it is a reflection that Nagayama may have been unprofessional about doing what he should do but it also means that his agency was not able to "control" him when it comes to work. I would expect that the contracts would specify PR commitments for the cast even for supporting cast members. In "Reversal Orchestra", he may not be a first or second-tier supporting actor in terms of airtime but his character was pretty significant as a potential member of the love triangle with the leads and someone who affected the heroine to a great extent. However, he was conspicuously absent from the PR tour so I was wondering then what had happened to him. If it was stated in the contract that he had to participate in PR but he willfully chose not to and the agency couldn't do anything about it, that goes to show that they are really unable to manage him effectively. If there was no contractual obligation to do PR, it is no wonder that he may be able to get away with his behaviour even if the agency had tried its best to convince him to cooperate.

Honestly speaking, whatever the artistes do in their private lives is entirely their own responsibility. The agencies can only intervene as far as the artistes allow them to but that's more applicable to the big names who have a say. Usually, the artistes who are just starting out or haven't reached a certain status may find themselves being imposed with certain regulations by their agencies so as to protect their images and keep them out of trouble. For example, many idols were imposed with the no-dating restriction but once they got to a certain age or left their groups, this no longer became an issue. In that sense, this is probably a necessary step for risk management when it comes to managing artistes although it may sometimes be viewed as over control and excessive interference with the artiste's private life.

However, once an artiste gets too big to manage, this is where there is a fine line between giving them the freedom to do what they want and over-intervening with their affairs. In recent years, one notable trend is that whenever there are reports of artistes being involved in relationships, the standard phrase has become "since this is their private matter, we will leave it to them to handle". The agencies tend not to answer to these reports on behalf of their artistes and also not try to deny, reject or object to these relationships, at least in public. This was quite different from the past where some would issue strongly-worded denials or lie through their teeth that the parties involved were just friends even with photographic evidence.

On the artiste's part, being successful equals to having a say. Of course it wouldn't feel good to have the agency interfering in your private life so there is bound to be some pushback compared to the early days when the artiste just started out. It can be difficult finding that balance between the right amount of control by the agency and the right amount of autonomy that the artiste enjoys. However, when that freedom is abused or there is no one who can keep the artiste grounded, this hands-free management style may backfire on everyone when the artiste gets into trouble.

On hindsight, it also felt as if Flamme didn't really learn its lesson in crisis management - both from Hirosue's 2014 scandal and Karata Erika's episode 3 years ago. Just sitting out the storm by waiting, playing dead or ignoring the issue is not going to solve the problem. The situation with Hirosue would probably not have gotten to this state if there was no initial denial on her part. As you may have read from the opening paragraph in Bunshun's second report about their love letters, it does give the impression that Bunshun was very offended and annoyed with Hirosue's lie that their report was not true. And that's perhaps why they were very quick to retaliate in the strongest manner possible. Regardless of whether the matter with Sato was true or not, the fact that she had 2 affair scandals during the course of her 13-year marriage with Candle June also meant that people would see her in a harsher light.

As for Nagayama, his situation offers a look into the possible scenario when you have an artiste who is on bad terms with his agency and cannot be managed effectively. One may argue that if PAPADO had managed to keep him under control for work matters, it would have an impact on how he behaved in private. The thing is, the company can only go so far in managing him and anything beyond that could come across as over-intervention. This also coincides with what Candle Jun had talked about - even the spouse of the celebrity must behave in a certain way dictated by the agency. Ultimately, even if the agency keeps Nagayama on his toes for work, he can still destroy everything with one single action of his own choice in his private life. And since there are rumours pointing to the fact that Nagayama was supposed to leave PAPADO this month, it may explain why there was a lack of active involvement and interest in managing him because most companies won't bother spending time and resources on an employee serving notice after submitting his resignation letter. This is especially so if Nagayama really does have the intention to leave and has made that clear to his agency.

People management is a very difficult thing to do in the workplace. What complicates this further in artiste management is, the artiste is both the employee and the "product" of the agency. On one hand, the agency has to manage the artiste effectively in order for him/her to make it in showbiz since its survival depends on the success of the artiste. To prevent defects or damage to the value of their priced "product", the agency often has in to step to eliminate undesirable elements from affecting their artistes. However, it also has to keep its employee happy so that they can keep him/her for as long as possible. These conflicting stands will mean that the management has to strike a fine balance between regulating the employee's behaviour and keeping the artiste happy. And when this happens, it definitely won't be surprising to see an agency being unable to take a firm stand against bad behaviour from its artiste since its survival also depends on this very "employee".

The press conference of Candle Jun in response to his wife Hirosue Ryoko's infidelity scandal

Just when you thought that the scandal would die down after Hirosue Ryoko's admission of her affair...the next installment in the saga came in an unexpected manner.

Perhaps if Hirosue did admit straightaway that she was having an affair, things might not have gotten this messy because the following week after her denial, Bunshun published the private letters and exchange diary written by her and her lover Toba Shuusaku. This was said to be the key factor that led to her admission since the proof of her infidelity was out in the open. It makes me wonder though - who had access to these private correspondence and leaked it to the media? And is Bunshun going to stop at this revelation or go ahead with more private revelations?

It may be common for the cheated-on spouses to speak up for their cheating husbands or wives in the Japanese entertainment world but most of the time, they issue written statements to the media only instead of appearing in person. As such, for them to come out into the open voluntarily like what Hirosue's husband Candle Jun did on 18 Jun 2023, it was definitely very unusual in more ways than one.

 

First of all, he was said to have organised the event on his own and there were no staff members present on site so he even had to be at the reception for the registration of the reporters. In addition, there was no host to help with the proceedings of the event so he was effectively both the MC and interviewee. Last but not least, the reason or rather purpose of this press conference was seemingly about giving his version of the story about his marriage and his wife's affair but it was intertwined with various topics like his thoughts about peace, disaster recovery efforts and SDGs so it makes people wonder what his true intention was.

For those who are interested in reading the full transcript of what he said, you can view Nikkansports' report here.

Frankly speaking, my first thought after reading about this press conference was, is he trying to help Hirosue clean up her tattered image or put himself in a more favourable position for future divorce proceedings? By giving all these details about their troubled marriage and painting her as a somewhat emotionally unstable person who was a repeat offender when it came to affairs, it certainly doesn't help in repairing their strained relationship nor make it possible for them to reconcile. And much as he tried to say that he wants to protect their children including the eldest child from Hirosue's first marriage, all these details will no doubt remain in the public domain for a long time and affect the kids as they grow older.

On the other hand, for him to go to this extent and washing dirty linen in public, it comes across as a desperate attempt to clear the air about the misunderstandings about him and her and save their marriage especially since he mentioned death threats, rumours and false allegations made against him. Compared to Hirosue, he is not exactly a celebrity and may not have the same resources to give his version of their story in the public domain. As such, a lot of what is known about him and their marriage comes from media reports which may not be accurate or in line with the truth. And since the situation facing him may be quite dire now, this could be why he had decided to step out at this moment. 

No doubt at this stage, it is his word against hers for now until Hirosue herself decides to go public with her version of the story. I don't think that her agency will allow her to self-destruct like that though because they probably won't be able to control what she says and the narrative if they do a press conference. As such, the preferred handling method should be letting the storm die down over time. However, with Candle Jun stepping out like this and giving first-hand information away so freely, this storm probably won't end so soon especially since it is developing from a relatively straightforward affair scandal to one with a troubled marriage exposed for all to see. 

My purpose of translating this is not to take sides or criticise one side for being more at fault. 

What I thought was especially worth highlighting among the various points Candle Jun made was what the spouses and family members of celebrities have to bear with to stay outside the limelight and yet have untruths being circulated against their own will but they have no way of setting things straight. And when something happens to the celebrity, these people are the ones who may have it a lot worse but nobody knows about their pains. Especially since most media outlets paint an entirely different picture of Hirosue now as compared to what her husband says (the good things about her), the gap between these two extremes only serve to divide people further as to how they view this issue. As such, please do not get overly affected or upset over what may be said by Candle Jun or the media because it is normal that we will all have differing opinions even if we are looking at the same thing. 

And there are always two sides to the coin.

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Given the length of the press conference, I will just list down the key points pertaining to the scandal and their marriage. 

* He apologised for the inconvenience and trouble which his wife caused to everyone.

* Clarified that Hirosue has never neglected her duties as a mother despite what some media reports claimed. She is a great wife to him and the best mother to their three children. She does her best for everyone in the family and is a wonderful woman.

* He has always known that his words would be misinterpreted and/or taken out of context ever since he married Hirosue in 2010. However, this wasn't the sole fault of the media because he himself was also not careful with his words. As such, it created the misunderstanding that he would "do something" to retaliate against his wife's affair scandal when he made a public comment on 11 Jun that everyone should "look forward" to what he was going to do in the near future although he didn't mean it that way.

* When he first met Hirosue, she was emotionally unstable but had gone through a complete change after marriage to become a good wife and mother. She used to contact him almost every night by phone calls and letters right from the beginning which he was happy about but also worried about her young son at that time. He suggested bringing her son along when they went out. At that time, the boy was very resistant to any adult men who came close to his mother and would kick and beat these people so it was important for them to spend time together and for the boy to accept him. Candle Jun revealed that he was friends with the boy's birth father and promised the latter that he would raise the boy well.

* Despite what others said in the media, they were a happy family.  However, at the time when they got married, her agency's president made him promise that he would not release any photos of them together or talk about their family in public. Although he was not able to understand why he had to do that, he was aware that his unconventional appearance including his looks, tattoos, ear piercing would probably reflect negatively on Hirosue. And in order to meet the expectations of her agency and family, he stopped going out at night, hanging out in entertainment districts, taking on jobs which required him to work at night and drinking outside because he didn't want the media to write about anything controversial which could hurt her and their children. This was in huge contrast to his pre-marriage lifestyle.

* As he doesn't know the entertainment industry well, his own guess as to why Hirosue's behaviour changed drastically was due to the pressure of meeting expectations from everyone around her especially since she debuted at a very young age. And being someone who expects a lot from herself, she tried to deal with all these which ended up causing damage to her psychological health.

* Candle Jun went to great lengths to state that Hirosue was a very hands-on mother and would do her best for the household and kids without paying too much attention to her appearance e.g. no make-up, no perfume or not doing much for beauty. However, when she was under immense pressure, she would suddenly dress in a loud manner, put on heavy make-up and be unable to sleep at night. She developed the habit of writing down her thoughts and had to be in constant contact with anyone so as to feel at ease.

* Despite her problematic behaviour multiple times, he was constantly told by her agency to tolerate this and hide it from the public. As such, there was nothing he could do but to look on helplessly from the sidelines. And he felt that the person who had it worst than him or her agency's president when Hirosue behaved like this was her mother. Given that Hirosue would distant herself from anyone who tried to drive some sense into her whenever she behaved strangely, her mother could only look on and bear with the pain of seeing her daughter be like this as she didn't want Hirosue to push her away. No matter what happened, his mother-in-law would just tolerate everything even as she often came over to take care of their kids. Even Hirosue's relatives and friends were unable to say anything frankly to her. However, as Hirosue's behaviour got worse, Candle Jun realised that her family seemed to be supportive of her getting a divorce as the solution to the problem. This was when his mother-in-law asked him if he could at least give a date as to when he would divorce Hirosue when he asked for help to deal with the situation.

It was also then when Hirosue would start going out at night because she viewed Candle Jun's silence to her erratic behaviour as a sign that he was angry at her even though he actually didn't want to agitate her further by speaking out.

* Hirosue's behaviour would escalate for the worse whenever she was told off so she would often make unreasonable requests such as asking people to sing karaoke with her till dawn or go to the beach with her on short notice or stay by her side all the time and not leave her alone. However, Candle Jun couldn't confide in anyone nor seek help because he was made to promise to keep this behaviour a secret.

* Candle Jun said that he had always been receiving intimidating calls, messages and letters ever since he got married. There was even a death threat in 2011 where about 30 police officers came to ask him to cancel a public event in Shibuya but to date, they haven't been able to find the culprit nor know the motive.

* The couple's second son and youngest daughter did not know that their eldest brother's father is not Candle Jun until this affair scandal broke. They had planned to tell the younger children about this when they grow older so for this to be known in such a way, it was difficult and he worried about how they would be affected even though they are innocent parties in this issue. He also felt bad that his neighbours, both at his residence and office, were so concerned and worried for him but thankful for their words of encouragement. He called upon everyone including the media and netizens to be mindful of what they say and report on for the sake of their children as well as the other party's children (Hirosue's lover) because they are innocent victims and should be left out of this. If there is anyone who wants to hear what he has to say, they should come to him directly instead of disturbing the children. He also felt regret over not stopping Hirosue earlier and if he had gone to Toba's place earlier to talk to him, he might have been able to stop this from being revealed in public.

* Currently, Hirosue and the children are staying at somewhere safe arranged by her agency while he sleeps at his office or atelier. Before the scandal broke, Hirosue's mother revealed that Hirosue already wanted to divorce him because she felt that he would get angry when she talked to people on the phone in the middle of the night. Hirosue herself also told him not to come home as she was stressed and couldn't sleep when he was around. He had to move out in the end because she brought up the topic of divorce to their kids even though they hadn't talked about it and asked them to choose between staying with their father or mother. As the sons wanted to protect Hirosue, they chose her on the spot while their daughter kept on crying. The last time they were in contact was the day when she issued her public apology for the affair and she said sorry to him over the phone. (Source)

* There was once in the past when he went to meet another man who Hirosue had an affair with without her knowing. The other party felt that she was abnormal at that time and they reached a settlement then. However, he did not mention who this person was.

* He went to visit Toba's wife to apologise for what happened but stopped short of meeting her because he didn't know how Toba would feel to see him come alone as he saw Toba's car there. Candle Jun then dropped a written message into the mailbox but received no reply. Before he could talk to Toba directly, the latter had already released an apology statement on the same day as Hirosue did. When he searched online for the phone number of Toba's office, he was further angered by the staff who answered the call and even asked him why he was calling despite identifying himself by his real name. The staff claimed that Toba was working remotely elsewhere and there was no further word from him. Candle Jun claimed that he will be consulting a lawyer on the next steps to take. (Source)

* He was fully aware that whatever he said here would destroy what her family has been protecting all this while and may torment Hirosue further. However, he wanted to be able to talk to her directly on what to do for their kids and there was no way he could reach her other than making his thoughts known through this press conference. (Source)

* Candle Jun's real name is Hirosue Jun because he took on her surname after marrying her. In Japan, the wife usually takes on the husband's surname upon marriage but it was reported that he did the reverse. This was so that their eldest son from her previous marriage would not have to change his surname a second time because Candle Jun married his mother.

The 115th Drama Academy Awards (Winter 2023) - Best Drama

Overall Ranking Top 3

1) Brush up life
2) Oooku Season 1
3) Wana no sensou

Voters Ranking Top 5

1) Maiagare!

2) Brush up life

3) Suki suki wanwan!

4) Yuugure ni, te wo tsunagu

5) Wana no sensou

TV Reporters Ranking Top 5
1) Brush up life
2) Wana no sensou
3) Oooku Season 1
4) 100 mankai ieba yokatta

5) Maiagare!

Judges Ranking Top 5
1) Brush up life

2) Oooku Season 1

3) Wana no sensou

4) 6 byoukan no kiseki ~ Hanabishi Mochizuki Seitaro no yuuutsu ~

5) Keishichou Outsider

Source: The Television

The 115th Drama Academy Awards (Winter 2023) - Best Leading Actor

Overall Ranking Top 3

1) Kusanagi Tsuyoshi - Wana no sensou

2) Nishijima Hidetoshi - Keishichou Outsider

3) Takahashi Issei - 6 byoukan no kiseki ~ Hanabishi Mochizuki Seitaro no yuuutsu ~

Voters Ranking Top 5
1) Kusanagi Tsuyoshi - Wana no sensou
2) Kishi Yuuta - Suki suki wanwan!
3) Fukushi Souta - Oooku Season 1
4) Sakurai Sho - Daibyouin senkyo
5) Nishijima Hidetoshi - Keishichou Outsider

TV Reporters Ranking Top 5
1) Kusanagi Tsuyoshi - Wana no sensou
2) Tsumabuki Satoshi - Get Ready!
3) Fukushi Souta - Oooku Season 1
4) Nishijima Hidetoshi - Keishichou Outsider

5) Yamamoto Koji - Oooku Season 1

Judges Ranking Top 5
1) Kusanagi Tsuyoshi - Wana no sensou
2) Takahashi Issei - 6 byoukan no kiseki ~ Hanabishi Mochizuki Seitaro no yuuutsu ~

3) Nishijima Hidetoshi - Keishichou Outsider

4) Yamamoto Koji - Oooku Season 1

5) Yamazaki Ikusaburo - Liaison - Kodomo no kokoro shinryoujo -

Source: The Television

The 115th Drama Academy Awards (Winter 2023) - Best Leading Actress

Overall Ranking Top 3

1) Ando Sakura - Brush up life
2) Tominaga Ai - Oooku Season 1
3) Inoue Mao - 100 mankai ieba yokatta

Voters Ranking Top 5
1) Ando Sakura - Brush up life
2) Fukuhara Haruka - Maiagare!

3) Hirose Suzu - Yuugure ni, te wo tsunagu

4) Inoue Mao - 100 mankai ieba yokatta

5) Tominaga Ai - Oooku Season 1

TV Reporters Ranking Top 5
1) Ando Sakura - Brush up life
2) Inoue Mao - 100 mankai ieba yokatta
3) Tominaga Ai - Oooku Season 1

4) Kitagawa Keiko - Themis no Kyoushitsu ~ Legal seishun hakusho ~

5) Fukuhara Haruka - Maiagare!

Judges Ranking Top 5
1) Ando Sakura - Brush up life

2) Tominaga Ai - Oooku Season 1

3) Inoue Mao - 100 mankai ieba yokatta

4) Kadowaki Mugi - Reversal Orchestra

5) Kita Kana - Tokyo no yuki otoko

Source: The Television

Johnny's Jimusho's follow-up actions in response to the Johnny Kitagawa sexual assault issue & my thoughts

In response to the sexual assault issue surrounding its late founder Johnny Kitagawa, Johnny's Jimusho announced on 26 May 2023 the following actions it has taken or will take going forward to address the problem and adopt preventive measures.

1) Establishment of a contact point for psychological consultation and care 

* This will be effective from 31 May 2023

* It is of utmost importance that the psychological health of its artistes, be it former or current, is taken care of regardless of whether they have spoken out about being personally affected by this issue or their status with the agency.

* As such, this service is available to all Johnny's Jimusho artistes and staff members, even those who had already left as of now.

* With privacy in mind, the psychotherapists and licensed psychologists who will be manning this service, will provide the best care possible to each and everyone who comes for the consultation. 

* Supervisor: Kamoshita Ichiro - psychologist and had held these positions in the past i.e. Minister of the Environment, State Minister of Health, Labor and Welfare and Health, Labor and Welfare Committee Chairman. Honorary member of Japanese Society of Psychosomatic Medicine and the advisor of Japanese Society of Psychosomatic Internal Medicine.

2) Establishment of a special team comprising of external experts to identify problem areas and come up with measures to prevent future recurrences

* This problem has brought to light the governance issues in the company.

* After consulting various experts, former Public Prosecutor General Hayashi Makoto who is currently a lawyer, was suggested to lead the special team handling the analysis of the company's problem areas and come up with measures to deal with them. 

* Other members in the team include Asukai Nozomu (psychologist, director of National Network for Victim Support and chief director of Victim Support Center of Tokyo) and a female researcher in the field of clinical psychology who is involved in the support of victims of sexual assault crimes (name to be revealed later as the procedure to get clearance for her involvement in this from the organisation where she works at is still in progress)

3) Appointment of 3 independent directors who will implement the measures put forward by the special team and management changes to prevent future recurrences

* Nakai Tokutaro - Vice Minister of the Environment and has extensive experience in being an advisor in corporate reforms. 

* Shirai Kazuyuki - Japanese baseball player who has been the coach of the Japanese national baseball team since 2021 and has provided coaching and support to various companies

* Fujii Mari - Vice chairman of the Daini Tokyo Bar Association and holds the post of investigation committee member and advisor to harassment issues. Experienced in the investigation of corporate power harassment issues and her legal work focuses on corporate law issues such as corporate governance and compliance

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Much has been spoken about this sexual assault issue involving Kitagawa Johnny ever since the BBC documentary aired and was credited for setting the discussion going publicly as compared to the hush-hush rumours and silence in the Japanese media for many years.

I'm not going to go into details on this issue (there should be a lot of information out there if you want to read about it) but would like to just offer my take on the response from Johnny's Jimusho so far from a layman's perspective:

- The tricky issue here is, the perpetrator is dead. Any legal action taken will probably be against Johnny's Jimusho for its poor management controls and for the personnel who allowed the unacceptable conduct to go on, whether knowingly or not and actively facilitating these acts to happen or passively turning a blind eye to what was done. And that leaves a pretty bad aftertaste at least for me because the one responsible got away with it while those who may and may not be involved (all the artistes and staff in Johnny's now) will have to bear the repercussions, be it actual damage or undesirable reputations effects.

- I was sort of expecting Julie K. Fujishima to hide behind a written statement again during this scandal so I give her credit for at least appearing in the apology video with her face clearly shown. However, the content of the video and choice of words leaves much to be desired - be it the denial of knowing what happened, being unable to speak out or ask her uncle and mother about what had happened or that she was in no position to do anything. I get the part that she might not be able to question the authority back then when these acts reportedly happened during their reign and total control of the agency but it is unbelievable that she had no knowledge at all since the rumours were going on for decades. And I found it quite odd that she was speaking at such a slow speed in the video, as if she was reading from a script and made sure that she pronounced each word syllable by syllable for clarity. Maybe she was advised to do so by her lawyers but it did come across as staged and they were probably not her own thoughts. Sincerity is clearly lacking here.

- There have been questions or criticism about why some Johnny's artistes used to speak so fondly of Kitagawa Johnny and constantly shared interesting or funny anecdotes with him in variety shows, concerts or interviews despite what he did to his victims. Let's put it this way, everyone probably shows a different side to different people depending on the nature of their relationships. And it's a well-known fact that Kitagawa had favourites among his artistes and treated them differently from the rest. From the accounts which have surfaced so far, he also seemed to be the type who would "cut off" someone if the latter did not do his bidding. While he may have been a harmless and funny elderly man to some of his artistes, you can't deny that he also had a darker side which he showed to his victims. 

The people who admired and looked up to him all these years may need time to confront these uncomfortable facts dished out in the public right now. Rumours swirling for decades are one thing but personal accounts in the media with the victims being prepared to disclose their identities takes this to another level. It's unreasonable to expect the artistes to switch tones and criticise Kitagawa overnight just to be seen as politically correct or in line with what society expects them to do. They may feel enraged, upset or even betrayed to find out that the person they used to trust and respect turned out to be like this. And there is a likelihood that the agency may not have authorised them to speak out on this issue so attacking them for not saying something, not saying enough or taking a stand seems to be going a bit too far at the moment. Even the timing of who says what at what time becomes an attacking point.

- There is another article from Bunshun which looks at the media's response to this issue. Will be talking more about this aspect in another post.

- With regard to the actions announced as outlined above, it remains to be seen if they will indeed be effective. However, doing something concrete is better than being ambiguous about what they intend to do so hopefully, this will turn out to be something positive in the end. The thing though is, I think there needs to be controls in future to avoid having Julie K. or anyone else having the power to veto against everything. If this isn't addressed, any suggested measures while well-intended and supposedly should be effective may not achieve its intended purpose.

The 115th Drama Academy Awards (Winter 2023) - Best Supporting Actor

Overall Ranking Top 3

1) Tanaka Kei - Reversal Orchestra

2) Matsuyama Kenichi - 100 mankai ieba yokatta

3) Sometani Shota - Brush up life

Voters Ranking Top 5
1) Akaso Eiji - Maiagare!
2) Nagase Ren - Yuugure ni, te wo tsunagu
3) Ukisho Hidaka - Suki suki wanwan!
4) Sugino Yosuke - Wana no sensou
5) Kikuchi Fuuma - Daibyouin senkyo

TV Reporters Ranking Top 5
1) Sometani Shota - Brush up life
2) Matsuyama Kenichi - 100 mankai ieba yokatta
3) Tanaka Kei - Reversal Orchestra
4) Terawaki Yasufumi - Aibou season 21
5) Akaso Eiji - Maiagare!

Judges Ranking Top 5
1) Tanaka Kei - Reversal Orchestra
2) Matsuyama Kenichi - 100 mankai ieba yokatta

3) Sato Takeru - 100 mankai ieba yokatta

4) Hamada Gaku - Keishicho Outsider

5) Suzuki Nobuyuki - Ninja ni kekkon wa muzukashii

Source: The Television

The 115th Drama Academy Awards (Winter 2023) - Best Supporting Actress

Overall Ranking Top 3

1) Kaho - Brush up life

2) Nagasaku Hiromi - Maiagare!
3) Kinami Haruka - Brush up life

Voters Ranking Top 5
1) Takahata Atsuko - Maiagare!
2) Nagasaku Hiromi - Maiagare!
3) Kaho - Brush up life
4) Kuwabata Rie - Maiagare!
5) Matsumoto Wakana - Yuugure ni, te wo tsunagu

TV Reporters Ranking Top 5
1) Kaho - Brush up life
2) Kinami Haruka - Brush up life
3) Igawa Haruka - Wana no sensou
4) Yamashita Mizuki - Maiagare!
5) Matsumoto Honoka - Liaison - Kodomo no kokoro shinryoujo -

Judges Ranking Top 5
1) Nagasaku Hiromi - Maiagare!
2) Saito Yuki - Oooku Season 1

3) Katahira Nagisa - Wana no sensou

4) Ono Karin - Wana no sensou

5) Yamashita Mizuki - Maiagare!

Source: The Television

The 115th Drama Academy Awards (Winter 2023) - Best Theme Song

Overall Ranking Top 3

1) I love you by back number (Maiagare!)

2) BETTING by Katori Shingo x SEVENTEEN (Wana no sensou)

3) Hoshizukiyo by YU-KA (Hoshi furu yoru ni)

Voters Ranking Top 5
1) I love you by back number (Maiagare!)
2) We are young by King & Prince (Suki suki wanwan!)
3) Life goes on by King & Prince (Yuugure ni, te wo tsunagu)
4) BETTING by Katori Shingo x SEVENTEEN (Wana no sensou)
5) Rinjuu Love by Macaroni Enpitsu (100 mankai ieba yokatta)

TV Reporters Ranking Top 5
1) BETTING by Katori Shingo x SEVENTEEN (Wana no sensou)

2) I love you by back number (Maiagare!)

3) Rinjuu Love by Macaroni Enpitsu (100 mankai ieba yokatta)
4) Tanpopo by Ikuta Rira (Oooku Season 1)
5) Algernon by Yorushika (Yuugure ni, te wo tsunagu)

Judges Ranking Top 5
1) I love you by back number (Maiagare!)

2) BETTING by Katori Shingo x SEVENTEEN (Wana no sensou)

3) Hoshizukiyo by YU-KA (Hoshi furu yoru ni)

4) Life goes on by King & Prince (Yuugure ni, te wo tsunagu)

5) Akatoki Reload by aiko (Ninja ni kekkon wa muzukashii)

Source: The Television

Thoughts about "Tsukuyomi-kun no kindan no oyashoku" Ep 1 (spoiler alert!)

The first word that came to my mind after watching this episode was "sensual".

Not that there was anything sexual or explicit about the drama but the way the filming of the scenes was done and the pacing of the developments created this very dreamy and sensual atmosphere that would be sure to tickle the viewers' senses, in a good way. 

First of all, the key theme of the drama was about having late night supper which is supposedly a sinful thing to do because we've all been told how bad it is to be eating after a certain time at night. Especially for the lead character Mikami Soyogi (Triendl Reina) who is a fitness trainer and has to have the perfect figure, eating has become somewhat like a taboo for her as she eats to survive, not to enjoy. As such, it was no wonder that when Tsukuyomi Yuuga (Hagiwara Riku) cooked a late night meal for Soyogi under rather unusual circumstances, the cinematography was probably done in a such way to show what kind of a temptation this would be for Soyogi. As a viewer, it is nothing surprising to be able to see and listen to the food being prepared on screen but for a brief moment, I thought that I was even able to imagine how it would smell. This is thanks to the deliberately slower-than-usual close-ups lingering on the food to make it look so tempting which would no doubt whet your appetite. I really think that this is something best not to be watched late at night and on an empty stomach because it is going to be such a tough fight against temptation. In this sense, I think this can be considered a success as a food-themed drama.

Secondly, the leads are definitely pleasing to the eye. There are a number of similar pairings this season featuring older women with younger men. While my personal favourite for now is Kurashina Kana and Kikuchi Fuuma who have a sizzling hot chemistry on screen (thanks to the way they hit it off real quick in their drama), these two have the potential to become a really sweet couple as the story progresses. I was especially impressed with Hagiwara who definitely looked like he could be the next heartthrob through this drama. The issue though is, this drama already introduced potential problems which would obstruct the lead couple's path to happiness so it looks like it won't be a straightforward journey for them after all. Some misunderstandings here and there but most likely, it wouldn't be the heartbreaking kind of agony for the couple.

Perhaps the more surprising thing is seeing the handsome brothers i.e. Yuuga and his elder brother Asahina Taiga (Asaka Koudai) who seriously look like they are in a BL universe of their own. In fact, the first episode made it look like there was a weird and ambiguous tension between them and frankly speaking, it was a tad sizzling to see their interactions. If I didn't know beforehand that they are brothers, I would be really mistaken about the nature of their relationship. And I must say, from the first time I watched Asaka in "Anata no ban desu", he sure has come a long way to look as good as he is now.

In summary, the first episode turned out to be better than I expected. Since I don't expect any surprises with the love story part, I think that I would be staying more for the food scenes and the couple pairings (yes, both the lead couple and the brothers). Since each episode is about two-thirds of the norm in terms of length, it is short enough as a quick night snack without feeling overburdened with angsty developments. Unless something major happens to turn me off, I think I should be able to stay with this till the end.

Thoughts about "Nichiyou no yoru gurai wa..." Ep 1 (spoiler alert!)

This turned out to hit closer to home than expected.

I was already prepared for this to be an emotional ride considering that the three lead characters each had their life struggles and the story was going to show how their newfound friendship is going to help provide a little emotional boost to make things slightly easier for themselves. However, diving straight into their issues in an as-a-matter-of-fact manner meant that there was no gradual transition or soft landing into the heavy parts of this story so it might be a bit uncomfortable for some viewers.

Of the three, Sachi's story (Seino Nana) was described in greater detail in this first episode. The key facts known so far are:

* Sachi's mother Kuniko (Wakui Emi) was still fine up to the point Sachi was in high school so that means the accident which caused Kuniko to be wheelchair-bound took place sometime between her high school days and the time she became an adult.

* Sachi feels guilty every time she experiences a brief moment of joy because she feels like she doesn't deserve to feel happy. Which means that she could have been the reason why Kuniko became wheelchair-bound so she feels obligated to work herself to the max so as to take care of her mother. 

* Despite her frustration at Kuniko trying so hard to liven things up and claim that she can do things on her own although there are limitations, Sachi uses silence to respond to the incessant "nagging" from Kuniko instead of flaring up with angry words. This ignoring gets on Kuniko's nerves since she has no one to talk to due to being confined at home all day due to her condition. Besides Sachi's mental fatigue at doing everything on her own and having to hear Kuniko rattle on from the time she gets home, the lack of energy from working as much as she can must have taken a toll on Sachi physically. I get it because I don't talk too when I'm exhausted.

* Both mother and daughter know that they are stuck in a loop of never-ending frustration towards their situation and with each other but the good thing is, they both realise that they have to let off steam from time to time. That's better than letting the anger pent up and explode in a big way where things go out of control.

The part about them buying the most expensive ice cream in the convenience store - it's probably more than the most expensive ice cream tasting fantastic. Honestly speaking, they can't be that financially well-off given Sachi's single income but an once-in-a-while indulgence helps them to get out of that routine which frustrates them on a daily basis. The other significance in this action is probably for Kuniko to get out of their small apartment which is like a prison for her. That is why Sachi has to go through the trouble of bringing Kuniko along with her to the convenience store instead of just buying the expensive ice cream for them to eat at home.

As for Shoko (Kishii Yukino), what is known for now is that she's living on her own and seems to be estranged from her family for some reason. Under her loud and cheerful demeanour, there seems to be a deep sense of sadness and craving for company. Compared to Sachi or Wakaba (Nukumi Meru) who seem to be stuck in a rut due to their circumstances, Shoko looks as if she is carefree and enjoys the freedom of being on her own but the truth should be far from that.

Wakaba's situation is somewhat like Sachi but the only difference is that she doesn't have caregiving duties to juggle since her grandmother Fujiko seems healthy and well. However, Wakaba is stuck in the countryside and a factory where she doesn't enjoy working at and doesn't see any way for her to break out of this situation. It looks like Wakaba used to be in a rich family but something probably happened for her and Fujiko to have to work in low-paying jobs and rent a house. And the deep seething resentment towards Wakaba's mother (Yada Akiko) probably has something to do with their predicament.

As such, after having been subjected to such "heavy material" for about half of this episode, the bus trip turned out to be a total game changer in showcasing how the three women develop a friendship quickly and seem to be able to empathise with one another. However, it's more of like an unspoken kind of mutual understanding between them since they did not go into details on what is difficult in their respective lives. And what was unexpected was how they did not actually "continue" their friendship by choosing not to exchange contact details and keep the bus trip as a pleasant memory that they could reminisce from time to time. Of course, they will reconnect very soon again in the next episode or else the story cannot continue.

Although there are two guys introduced at this stage i.e. Ichikawa Mine (Okayama Amane), their guide for the bus trip and Sumida Kenta (Kawamura Kazuma), who will be paired up with them as love interests is still unknown. However, I have a feeling that Shoko will have the hots for Kenta because of her obsession with the name "Kenta" - the reason was explained in this episode. Sachi looks likely to fall for Kenta because of the "shining future" that he probably symbolises (reference to the shop which he owns) but Mine looks like he will be pining for Sachi at some point in time or at least take an interest in her life because of his "obasan" nosey-parker personality. 

In summary, I thought that this drama started off really well in showing the tough things we have to deal with in real life through the three main characters. There were some points when I felt so choked up and could really empathise or identify with the deep-seated frustration of the characters. Then again, it's not all gloom and doom since there are highlights and things to look forward amid the deep pain and sorrow. As such, this looks like a pretty good booster to get everyone in a better mood on Sunday night before starting a new week of tackling the challenges we all face in our lives as the title suggests.

Winners of the 26th Nikkansports Dorama Grand Prix (Spring 2022 - Winter 2023)

The voting exercise was conducted online between 30 March and 6 April 2023 where respondents chose from dramas shown between April 2022 and March 2023 for the 5 categories. A total of 74,832 votes were received with the most voters in terms of age group (in descending order) were those in their 40s, 50s, 30s, 20s, more than 60 and teens.

The total number of votes received are represented in brackets as follows:

Best Drama

1) Kurosagi (39,549)

2) Suki suki wanwan! (11,182)

3) Reversal Orchestra (3,315)

4) Shin Shinchoukouki (3,310)

5) 100 mankai ieba yokatta (2,720)

6) Shoujiki Fudousan (2,399)

7) Kindaichi shonen no jinkenbo (2,174)

8) My Family (1,780)

9) silent (1,641)

10) Yuugure ni, te wo tsunagu (1,295)

Best Leading Actor

1) Hirano Sho - Kurosagi (39,968)

2) Kishi Yuuta - Suki suki wanwan (11,350)

3) Nagase Ren - Shin shinchoukouki (4,472)

4) Yamashita Tomohisa - Shoujiki Fudousan (2,634)

5) Oguri Shun - Kamakuradono no 13 nin (2,577)

6) Michieda Shunsuke - Kindaichi shonen no jikenbo (2,329)

7) Ninomiya Kazunari - My Family (2,268)

8) Hayashi Kento - Hatsukoi no akuma (1,649)

9) Yamada Ryosuke - Ore no kawaii wa mou sugu shouhikigen!? / Shinainaru boku e satsui wo komete (1,628)

10) Kusanagi Tsuyoshi - Wana no sensou (1,401)

Best Leading Actress

1) Ando Sakura - Brush up life (19,559)

2) Hirose Suzu - Yuugure ni, te wo tsunagu (6,389)

3) Nagasawa Masami - Elpis - Kibou, arui wa wazawai - (6,289)

4) Inoue Mao - 100 mankai ieba yokatta (6,175)

5) Kadowaki Mugi - Reversal Orchestra (5,360)

6) Sugisaki Hana - Prism (4,128)

7) Kawaguchi Haruna - silent (3,871)

8) Yoshitaka Yuriko - Hoshi furu yoru ni (3,707)

9) Kuroshima Yuina - Chimudondon (2,799)

10) Arimura Kasumi - Ishiko to Haneo - sonna koto de utaemasuka? - (2,177)

Best Supporting Actor

1) Miura Tomokazu - Kurosagi (33,490)

2) Nagase Ren - Yuugure ni, te wo tsunagu (8,958)

3) Ukisho Hidaka - Suki suki wanwan (8,041)

4) Tanaka Kei - Jisoku kanou na koi desuka? / Reversal Orchestra (5,021)

5) Sato Takeru - 100 mankai ieba yokatta (3,889)

6) Meguro Ren - Maiagare! / silent (2,562)

7) Ichihara Hayato - Shoujiki Fudousan (2,456)

8) Hamada Gaku - My Family / Shin shinchoukouki (2,210)

9) Oideyasu Oda - Suki suki wanwan (1,342)

10) Yamamoto Koji - Kamakuradono no 13 nin / Kurosagi (1,336)

Best Supporting Actress

1) Kuroshima Yuina - Kurosagi (32,367)

2) Nakamura Yuri - Kurosagi (6,172)

3) Tabe Mikako - My Family (3,863)

4) Koike Eiko - Kamakura dono no 13 nin / Kyousou no bannin (3,707)

5) Kaho - silent (3,174)

6) Fukuhara Haruka - Shoujiki Fudousan (2,937)

7) Matsumoto Wakana - Tantei Romance / Yuugure ni, te wo tsunagu (2,824)

8) Shim Eunkyung - 100 mankai ieba yokatta (2,454)

9) Takiuchi Kumi - Reversal Orchestra (2,309)

10) Hirate Yurina - Roppongi Class (2,307)

Thoughts about "Nami yo kiitekure" Ep 1 (spoiler alert!)

Koshiba Fuuka literally carried the show on her own in this first episode with an impressive performance.

In the few times I had watched Koshiba's works, she was able to stand out in the cast even if the role wasn't that big. As such, I had faith that she would be able to do well in this drama which featured her with a huge image change and having to speak many lines quickly. Despite so, I was still amazed by how she did - the lines didn't come out muffled or incomprehensible despite her speaking speed and the loud and colourful image of Koda Minare strangely didn't seem out of place here.

The downside to this is, this sort of made her co-stars pale in comparison which of course may change in the later part of the story. However, at this stage, I can't deny that these characters did seem quite boring and hardly left an impression. Perhaps the sole exception was Nakahara Chuuya played by Katayose Ryota who was simply annoying from the start with his overly open display of affection for Minare but actually doesn't act in her best interests at times when he tries to impose his opinions on her. Kitamura Kazuki's character Matou Kanetsugu also didn't have much of the charismatic and influential director feel and came across more as a wilful ojisan at the moment.

What concerns me more about this drama is how the story is progressing. I was of the impression that this drama would be more about Minare's growth story in the radio industry and how she influences those around her but the part where there was a dramatisation of what she spoke in her first radio show felt really odd and didn't blend in so well with the main plot. As this appeared out of the blue without warning, it felt at first that what was depicted did happen. However, once Matou appeared in the dramatisation and his actions simply felt unnatural, it was a telltale sign that somehow this was all imaginary. And true to my guess, it turned out to be so. However, I didn't really feel any gratification about guessing correctly - what bothered me more was whether this was going to be the norm going forward. I get it that the intention was probably to show how Minare's words had the power to engage listeners as if they were seeing the story unfold before them and the ability of using radio as a medium to do it. Perhaps, there might be a better way to show this rather than this kind of dramatisation which don't seem to blend that well with the main plot's flow.

For now, I'll give this a couple of episodes just to get a feel of how things go. Much as I am interested to keep watching for the sake of Koshiba, if the story doesn't get interesting enough or her interactions with the supporting characters fail to be engaging, I think I might just drop this before the midway mark.

Thoughts about "Dr. Chocolate" Ep 1 (spoiler alert!)

I wasn't expecting much from this drama but surprisingly, it turned out to be decent despite some loopholes in the story.

First of all, when there are stories about some genius who excels in a particular field despite conventional knowledge or assumptions, it can get rather exaggerated as the character would be held up like some superhero who is very unlikely to exist in real life. That was precisely my biggest worry when it was made known that Dr. Chocolate is actually a 10-year-old girl who can perform surgeries more skillfully than most adult doctors. 

However, the story did give a proper explanation on how Dr. Chocolate came about. No doubt it was out of the norm for most children of her age, given her family background and her exposure to medical knowledge since she was much younger, it made sense that she was armed with so much knowledge. The thing though is, theory may not translate well into practice so on this part, it may not be so convincing to viewers that her practical skills could be attained through merely theory and simulation.

Secondly, the mystery surrounding Dr. Chocolate i.e. Terajima Yui (Shiroyama Noa) and Teacher i.e. Noda Tetsuya (Sakaguchi Kentaro) was revealed in no time. Most dramas would tend to drag this kind of revelation to somewhere in the middle of the story but bucking the trend turned out to be a good move since it allows the story going forward to focus more on the "who did it" and "why" after the "what", "when" and "where" had been addressed. And to have someone who is supposedly on the dark side to infiltrate into the Dr. Chocolate team means that the story should get pretty exciting as they try to find out the truth but with someone nearby to sabotage their efforts. Although the first episode did suggest something as the answer as to why Yui's parents were killed, I don't think that's the full story so it will take some time for the revelations to be out in full. 

Last but not least, I was of the impression that only Teacher and Dr. Chocolate would be the ones doing the surgeries but it turned out that Teacher can't do it because he has a prosthetic arm after his injury from the explosion and fire. The Dr. Chocolate team turns out to be an interesting mix of characters and we don't even get to know their real names. Through the nicknames given by Yui which reflect their unique traits, it is actually easier to remember so many people at one go like this. It would make sense for their background stories to be revealed as we go along so that's probably when we will find out their real names.

The thing is, since they are part of Team Chocolate, it was natural that their surgical outfits were brown in colour. As seen from the picture, they could hardly be seen in the night which I guess also helps in camouflaging. One thing which also slightly bothers me is them wearing these outfits well before they reach the location where the surgery is done - any potential issues with contamination here?

The timing of Okuizumi Nagisa's phone call to Teacher was somewhat questionable too. Did she know that the team was going to operate on the person supposedly responsible for the deaths of the Terajimas? And her over zealousness in pursuing their case coupled with her eagerness to find the true identity of Dr. Chocolate - it brings up numerous questions as to who she is and how she factors in the grand scheme of things. As for the potential loveline between her and Teacher...let's just say that this story probably doesn't need a distraction in this manner. And I certainly don't wish to see another "forced and out-of-the-blue" ending where Nishino Nanase ends up as the most unexpected mastermind again like in "Anata no ban desu".

Much as I think the surgical scenes were still a bit too unbelievable, the first episode didn't spend a lot of time on this part so it was still bearable to sit through them. For now, I'll probably stay on more for the main story but the patients they treat in each episode could provide the clues to the puzzle at the end so hopefully, these cases won't be too boring.

One final note here, I just don't get the obsession that J-drama scriptwriters have with painting Singapore as some place where black market doctors can ply their trade with ease, people running amok on the streets with guns or the place where people escape to after committing a crime. Rather than use actual place names, sometimes it's better to come up with something fictitious because it can get seriously offensive at times with these weird and negative associations by people who don't know a thing. It's not amusing anymore when it happens too many times.