Deadly Friend: Kyouso No Musume

HOLY TOLEDO, Kyouso No Musume is one of the most GRIPPING psychological dramas I’ve seen in YEARS!!! The story of a high school whose foundation gets shaken when a mysterious transfer student arrives and begins doling out her own brand of psychotic justice upon those she deems corrupt had me on the EDGE of my SEAT from its first MINUTES and never let go!!!

As the show begins, we see a young girl named Ichika (Hana Toyoshima) being brutally bullied  by a girl named Miyu (Yui Oguri), wringing a rag full of dirty water onto her and slicing off her hair as she demands money from her.

Her weak willed brother Kazuma (Taiyu Fujiwara) is even witnessing the bullying, but is too much of a coward to do anything about it.

As he’s about to flee from his shame of inadequacy to protect his sister, he bumps into a haunting girl who has been watching it all.  He doesn’t know it yet, but she will soon be completely involved in the life of him and his family’s matters!

Heading to class, he is shocked to find the girl is his newest classmate! Her name is Sara Kiritani (Mizuki Kayashima), a new transfer student, and, choosing a seat next to Kazuma, gives him a knowing smile as if to acknowledge the secret they have between them.

In the meantime, the bullying of Ichika has continued and increased. And with no one to turn to, she is contemplating suicide. But just as she’s about to take the leap off the roof of the school building, she is stopped by the sombre Sara, who manages to talk her down, telling her not to worry and that she will stop the bullying.

Confronting the bully, Sara at first offers to trade places with Ichika, and bully Miyu has no problem shifting the torment to her. But this is all part of Sara's plan, and soon Miyu finds out just how crafty and tricky Sara can be!

By recording all the bullying, Sara has begun blackmailing Miyu's family  with the videos and in the end, Miyu and her family have no choice but to move away in disgrace! Thus Sara has solved the problem, and Ichika (and Kazuma) are both grateful...

But there is something very sinister about Sara's methods, and as she begins ingratiating herself into their lives, they find that there is something diabolical lying beneath that good samaritan outlook of hers!

When a suspicious student named Aki (Riko) pries into Sara's past, we see just how truly cold-hearted she can be when faced with adversaries of any kind.

Ichika and Kazuma must choose between believing in this girl who has single-handedly saved them from despair...or accepting the blackness that is suddenly engulfing the school and all those connected to it! And all the while Sara is getting closer to their family, for secret reasons of her own...

MAN, Mizuki Kayashima is absolutely MESMERIZING as the dark and brooding Sara Kiritani, and I cannot help but CHEER her on, even as her "good deeds" get blacker and blacker. Yes, this drama is painting Sara in a negative light as she extracts revenge on the baddies, but in this day and age, to see someone ready to DO something about the problems while others merely look on or pretend to not see, is something to applaud!!

GOTTA see MORE of this one!!!!

Tokusatsu GaGaGa, Ojisan Version

 Oji Mitsutaka (Hidekazu Mashima) is a successful and “kakkoi” businessman for a design firm who is loved and respected by his underlings and fellow co-workers.

Though his subordinates Rio (Miu Tomita) and Miki (Ayu Manaka) rely on jewelry, trinkets and idols to give them strength through their work days, they don’t think that their cool superior would have any use for such stuff!

But what they don’t know is that Mitsutaka is secretly in love with cute things, in particular a Pikachu-esque character named Pagtaro whom he obsesses over, collecting every toy, concession and plushie he can get his hands on!

Yes, Oji Mitsutaka is a secret otaku for all things cute, and just like Fuka Koshiba’s character of Kano Nakamura in the wonderful “Tokustatsu GaGaGa”, he has to hide his love of the genre, sneaking around to get his treasures, and just like Kano, has the same woes trying to get those elusive collectible toys from the vending machines, peeking around til the kids are gone to tiptoe over and take his chances!

When confronted by a guy (Tsubasa Imai) who sees him cradling his toys, he defensively says “It…it’s for a nephew!!” before fleeing the scene in shame!

And JUST Like Fuka, who had a panic attack cleaning up her obsession-draped apartment when her strict Mother was coming to visit, Mitsutaka has a similar meltdown when he finds his nephew Masumi (Taiyu Fujiwara) is set to arrive at his doorstep!!!

 

Besides all of these troubles, Mitsutaka also has to deal with a fussy co-worker named Wataru Naruto (Renn Kiriyama) who sneers at baubles like toys and idol paraphernalia, saying it clutters the workspace and invites laziness.

 But when push comes to shove, Mitsutaka’s love of all things cute and squishy win out and he stands up against him, saying that such things can only benefit the individual, garnering much applause and love from his dedicated subordinates!!!

As an almost carbon-copy of the Fuka Koshiba show, it goes without saying how wonderfully WACKY this drama is, and as I watch it, it makes me want to go back and watch Fuka in action again! Guess that’s what Youkai Share House is for!