Gals Galore in "Konkatsu Tantei"

A show from 2022 which I put on my "Plan To Watch" listing on MDL, however, it never got subbed, at least not that I saw. Only very recently did I visit a forum that showed Konkatsu Tantei HAD been picked up and fully subbed at some point, and I wasted no time grabbing it!

A fun, lighthearted comedy, Konkatsu Tantei tells the story of a self-professed "hard boiled" detective named Kurosagi  (Osamu Mukai) who goes through his life playing a hard-edged badass, especially in front of his impressionable kohai Yagami (Maeda Oshiro)

However, at night, eating his convenience store bentos alone, Kurosagi feels the void of not having a significant other to share things with. And when a bright billboard advertising a MARRIAGE MATCHING consulting company shines from across the way, he takes it as a sign that it's time to act!

Kurosagi is nervous about being in such a place and many times thinks of leaving. but before he can, he is met by the positive and energetic Madoka Kido (Riko Narumi), a gung-ho matchmaker who truly believes she can help anyone find their fateful marriage partner, and ASSURES him there is someone for HIM as well!!

 And so, despite his reservations, Kurosagi dives in headfirst, into the ups and downs of potential marriage matching with the guidance of his intrepid counselor Kido so he can meet the "one" and settle down!

A fairly basic plot but so much FUN and WOW, the guest stars appearing as Kurosagi's possible partners are ALL stunning beauties in their own right! Actresses like Akane Hotta (here as a shy and mousey type)-

Aimi Satsukawa, genki as ever

Maho Nonami 

Yui Ichikawa

...and even the bubbly Miwako Kakei among others, all of them seeking the man of their dreams!

Each of Kurosagi's attempts gets varied results and he usually ends up striking out for ONE reason or another, but Kido is always there to encourage and support him! In FACT, we soon quickly realize that SHE might be better than ANY of the actual clients she's matching him with!

Kurosagi's personal life outside of the marriage matchmaking game is filled with beauties as well, with women like his former partner's surly daughter Shinna (played by the pretty Natsumi Okamoto) who drops in to bug him.

...or even the bartender Kurano who works at the bar Kurosagi frequents (and who seems to have a fixation on him as well), played by Manami Hashimoto:

Seems like this guy is just SURROUNDED by babes of ALL walks of life! If ONLY he could get lucky and actually end up MARRYING one of them!

Aw, this was one heckuva entertaining little drama and I'm glad I was finally able to see it!

Back By Popular Demand! “Isekai Izakaya Nobu” Season 2!

 I had mentioned in my last gush about the cute timeslip culinary drama Isekai Izakaya Nobu getting the green light for a second season, and not only has it arrived, but subbing team monchi has already picked it up! Hallelujah!!

 
Our Second season begins much the same way Season One began: with Nikolaus and Berltholt having a duel of swords. But this time, thanks to the advent of the wonderful Nobu Izakaya, instead of honor, the two are fighting over which is the best dish, Salted Chicken or Soy Sauce Chicken, showing how much good food has changed them all for the better!

Yes, for now, it's ALL about the meals, and all the regulars are back as well:

Ryohei Otani as Nobuyuki

Rena Takeda as Shinobu

Shinnosuke Abe as Bertholt

Jin Shirasu as Nikolaus

Yutaka Kobayashi as Hans

Akane Hotta as Helmina

Yuzumi Shintani as Eva

Together they make best use of the time to whip up some standard izakaya fare- which is simply out-of-this-world for the old world tavern!

A traditional "foodie" drama dressed up with colorful characters and a fun sense of humor!

…and as usual, this is a drama that’s very dangerous to watch on an empty stomach!!!

Ahhhh, so hungry right now....

Notes on "Invisible"

 Not gonna lie, I was hoping I was going to like the new crime drama “Invisible” a lot more than I did- while on the surface it seems like a worthy successor to last season’s Avalanche, complete with a “loose cannon” type guy (Issei Takahashi) who is hell-bent on catching the murderer of his partner, somehow the show just hasn’t been wowwing me…

For one thing, Takahashi’s character aside, there just aren’t that many charismatic characters. Whereas Avalanche had an entire team (and leader besides) of colorful and very unique members, Invisible’s cast seems rather mundane and by-the-books..

Shibasaki Kou is the  titular “Invisible” Agent Kiriko,  working as a go-between between people who desire chaos and the terrorists who can make it happen, and I thought the drama was going to be a cat-and-mouse game between her and the determined Takahashi character Takafumi…

Instead she is brought in right away and spends the rest of the episode with a very annoying smug look on her face as she purposely gives these vague hints at who terrorists are and when the next attack will be. Very snarky!

It is up to the Shimura and the team to figure out what her words mean, and of course they eventually do,  but it's very anticlimactic for them to go back to her after diffusing the latest situation and Kiriko saying "Ah, I see you figured out what I meant..."

I tell you, it’s a lot less thrilling to have her already in custody when she’s giving her speeches…it would be like if Riddler was already in jail and THEN giving Batman the riddles to solve….

Ah, we’ll see where this one goes, such a shame, out of all the new dramas this season, Invisible was the one I was most counting on to blow me away!! Hopefully it can still do it in the coming episodes!