Onto Another Emi Takei Blackmail Drama

Just started watching the Emi Takei/Dean Fujioka drama "Ima Kara Anata wo Kyohaku Shimasu (May I  Blackmail You?)" and it's a bittersweet situation: On one hand it's a decent drama and Emi Takei as the naive, simpleminded college student is captivating and charming, but on the other hand it's a burden knowing that the story will be altered and compromised as the episodes go on due to Emi's untimely pregnancy.

As far as the first episode goes, it's a lot of fun with Emi as Mio Kanesaka, a ditzy girl  who gets a strange DVD in the mail from a mysterious man who says he has her boyfriend Sato captive, and unless she pays 6 Million dollars, he will kill him.

 

This surprises Mio, not least because she doesn't have a boyfriend and has no idea who this guy is! Looking over the message, she realizes the sender has mistaken her for someone else.

She calls the number the video has instructed, and has the sad news of having to tell this would be "Intimidator" that he made a mistake and has sent the threatening video to the wrong girl!

The kidnapper's harsh demeanor turns to comical befuddlement when he realizes the flub he made, and attempts to disconnect.

 But Mio, a sweet and caring girl, is worried that Sato will be harmed, so in the most unbelievable act of good will, offers to pay the 6 Million anyway! The Kidnapper realizes he is dealing with one weird individual and attempts to hang up. much to Mio's chagrin.

The next day Mio is still worried about the date of Sato, when she is paid a visit by the kidnapper himself! He was so intrigued by this strange girl who would pay 6 Million dollars for someone else, that he just had to see her himself.

His name, we find out, is Kanji Senkawa (Dean Fujioka), and along with his partners Meguro (Hiroki Miyake) and Tochiotome (Haruka Shimazaki) run an unorthodox detective agency of sorts, where they are hired to "intimidate" people for their clients. And though they don't know it, Mio will soon become an unwilling participant in the strange case of Sato.

So far seems like a good show and it's heartbreaking to realize that the story that is being set up now will ultimately fall by the wayside when the drama is reconstructed to focus on Fujioka's character instead of Emi's. But I'll enjoy it while it lasts, and it's nice to see Haruka Shimazaki (last seen as Saenai's daughter in Super-Salary Man Saenashi) in a more charismatic role...

...with all this tinkering, I don't expect this drama will amount to anything great, but who knows....
Posted by zdorama @ zdoramaagain.blogspot.com