Minami Hamabe Back with New "Alibi Breaker" Special

 I fell in love with Minami Hamabe in her stint as the rascally troublemaking idol Junko Kuroba in the 2019 drama “Pure” (which I wrote about here), but it was her next drama “Alibi Kuzushi Uketamawarimasu” which really showcased her as a rising star to watch! 

As it was the first full drama I watched with Minami, (Pure was a mere 3 episodes) I’ve always had a sentimental attachment to the Alibi-breaking Tokino Mitani, and so when it was announced that Hamabe would be returning for a reunion speical, I was dying to check it out!

All the regulars from the 2020 series have returned as well, with Ken Yasuda back as the irritable detective Yoshiyuki Saji and Ryo Narita as the bumbling detective Yuma Tokai, also Tokio Emoto and Masanobu Katsumura, reconstructing the old team to once again take on new crimes and new alibis to break...

Ryo Narita

Shotaru Mmiya

Masanobu Katsumura

Tokio Emoto

WELL, after just finishing watching the special , I must admit to being mostly...underwhelmed. For some reason they decided to start the show with Saji being an absolute PILL to Junko, starting things off on a bad foot, at least in MY viewing experience! Secretly using Kuroba to 'solve" his cases is one thing, but forbidding her from offering her services (even deleting her webpage) to the public is a jerk move, in my opinion.

Was waiting for the moment where he slinks back to her and asks for her help, instead  it's almost framed like he's doing HER a favor by using her alibi breaking skills at the end. Which I guess it is since Kuroba's so gung-ho about using her brains to crack the cases, but still...

Will say that this special is just cram-packed full of secondary characters to keep track of: Rin Takanashi, Shotaro Mamiya,Shono Hayama, Yuma Yamato, Wakana Matsumoto, Akiko Hinagata, etc, etc, Egads, with all of them running around, this special felt more like an extended variety show sketch than a drama episode proper, and quite often felt like a mess!

Rin Takanashi

Shono Hayama

Wakana Matsumoto

Akiko Hinagata

Yuma Yamato

Ryosuke Yamamoto

Really, there was like 3 different arcs going on at the same time, and none of them particularly gripping or imaginative (come on, invisible ink as a crime method is something a 3rd grader would come up with!), and after all that brouhaha, still left the conclusion open-ended to leave room for more sequels (or even new series)…very exhausting!

So yeah….was glad to see the old gang again, and love that Minami is really curating her backlog of enduring characters, however unless they’re going to tighten up the cast and plot devices, it might be best to leave this one to stand on its own….

(Would love to see Hamabe reprise her role of Mami Shirasawa of “Talio Fukushu Daiko no Futari” - now, THAT would be something to see!!!

2023 Kohaku Uta Gassen: The 74th Red & White Songfest "Borderless"

The 74th Red and White Song Festival promises a lot of things, but I have a feeling it will ultimately go down as "the year without any Johnny's acts", a detail that can't be missed when you consider how much they've come to be almost synonymous with the show (especially ARASHI and its members)...

This year's host duties are set by Hiroiki Ariyoshi, Kanna Hashimoto, Minami Hamabe, and Kozo Takase, and promises  a "New Year's Eve That Transcends and Connects"!!  WELL...I don't know about THAT, but let's check it out!

This year's Players and participants:

Ceremony Opening Acts:

Atarashii Gakko!  “Otona Blue”

I was introduced to Atarashii Gakko! from the strangest of places- Captain Disillusion's Youtube Channel where the videos effects tech made a few PVs for the energetic girls! Who knew they'd be opening the show this year!

JO1 “Newsmile”

Suzuki Masayuki   “Megumi no Hito”

Perfume “Fake it”

Stray Kids “Case 143”

Tendo Yoshimi  “Dotonbori Ninjo”

Strawberry Prince “Sukisuki Seijin”

Ryokuoushoku Shakai  “Character"

Kitani Tatsuya   “Where Our Blue Is”

Sakurazaka46 “Start Over!”

Jyunretsu  “Datte Meguri Aetanda”

Ano “Chu Tayosei”

Be:First  “Boom Boom Back”

Juju  “Toki no Nagare ni Mi o Makase”

NiziU “Make You Happy”

Le Sserafim  “Unforgiven”

These sexy gals make me wonder, when are they EVER going to get BLACKPINK to appear here????

Yamauchi Keisuke “Koisuru Machikado”

Nogizaka46 “Ohitorisama Tengoku”

Go Hiromi "2 Oku 4 Sen Man no Hitomi" 

Hey guys...remember when breaking was a fad? LOL

Milet / Man With A Mission   “Koi Kogare”

Mizumori Kaori “Hyuga Misaki”

Seventeen  “Fallin’ Flower”

Mrs. Green Apple "Dancehall"

A new group that I really dug!!!

Sakamoto Fuyumi "Yozakura Oshichi"

Fuyumi doing THE Kohaku song of hers.

Oizumi Yo  “Ano Sora ni Tatsu Tō no Yō ni"

I was surprised TWICE didn't make it to this year's show, then found out that a new subunit  comprised on TWICE's Japanese members Mina, Sana and Momo called MiSaMo was gonna represent!

Full disclosure Sana and Momo BOTH my TWICE double biases!!!

NewJeans  "OMG", "ETA", and "Ditto" medley

When they first announced the guests for this year, I was excited to see NewJeans on the preliminary list- then they disappeared from lsitings for awhile...good to see they still made it!

DISNEY SPECIAL MEDLEY

The halftime show centered around Disney celebrating 100 years, but all I could think was, "That Steamboat Willie Mickey Mouse goes into Public Domain tomorrow!"

Then, on to part TWO....

Offiial Hige Dandism “Chessboard”

Sheena Ringo “Marunoichu Sadistic”

Yuzu  “Beautiful”

QUEEN with Adam Lambert , obviously NOT appearing on-site.

Miyama Hiroshi “Donka Zaka”

Superfly “Tamashii Revolition”

Gen Hoshino “Life”

Ito Ran “Candies 50th Anniversary medley”

Was looking forward to this one! Ran singing classic CANDIES hits against the backdrop of vintage Candies footage!

Must say Ms. Ito looking FINE as heck!

Yoshiki “Endless Rain”, “Rusty Nail”

Yoshiki back with another "All-Star" rock band, doing the classic X tunes....

A real soft spot for "Rusty Nail" !

Pocket Biscuits/Black Biscuits  “Yellow Yellow Happy”, “”Timing”

If I may say, this is the performance I was MOST interested in seeing, mostly because I was dying to see what Vivian Hsu was up to! Always LOVED "Timing" and was the highlight of the show for me!

Yakushimaru Hiroko “Sailor Fuku to Kikanju”

Terao Akira  “Ruby no Yubiwa”

Ado “Show”

Aimyon “Ai No Hana”

Elephant Kashimashi  “Oretachi no Ashita”

Sada Masashi “Cosmos”

Ishikawa Sayuri  “Tsugaru Kaikyo Fuyugeshiki”

Fujii Fumiya “True Love”, “Shiroi Kumo no yo ni”

YOASOBI “Idol”

Gotta say, this performance coulda been the show's closer, VERY festive touch!!!

Fukuyama Masaharu “Hello~Sobo” Kohaku Special Medley

Though "HELLO" was the very first song I ever knew from Masaharu Fukuyama, this is the first time I'm realizing it's sort of a signature song of his?? Cool!

Misia Kohaku Special 2023

And once again we have MISIA closing the activities. 

With the new format of the Kohku, somehow I was half expecting them to do away with the "Girls VS Boys" aspect of the show, yet they still had the polling and the eventual "victor" of the festivities...

I love how tiny Minami is, she looks photoshopped into most scenes, LOL

And that wraps 2023!!! 

See U all on the Flipside!