A 2024 "Black Jack" Special

 Just caught the special drama featuring the infamous Tezuka Osamu manga BLACK JACK, that mysterious doctor with almost supernaturally gifted skills in surgery. This was standalone one-shot drama, a real shame because it was SO darn compelling and entertaining!!!

Issei Takahashi stars as the titular Black Jack, complete with fright wig shocked hair and Frankenstein scars, while Yuno Nagao (the actress playing “young” Asami in Brush up Life) plays his miniature assistant Pinoko. When there is a seemingly impossible surgery to be done, Black Jack is the man to call....

Shizuka Ishibashi also stars as Black Jack's nemesis Doctor Kiriko (swapped from a man in the manga to a woman here, (though I guess someone dubbed the “Grim Reaper” really holds no official gender!) Loved the confrontations the two had!

Kai Inowaki appears as a man looking for answers to the supposed suicide of his friend, and whom seems to think this mysterious doctor Black Jack holds the key to the truth, learning little by little about him as he watches him do his miracles to those inflicted by some major malady…and of whom can pay his exorbitant fees!

The Black Jack SP juggled three separate stories and while they were good, I wish I could have seen a whole SEASON of customers and cases. Additionally, the support characters like the aforementioned Dr. Kiriko surely deserved a whole episode all to themselves!  Would have loved to see these things expanded and explored!

I’ve been reading online that fans of the original Tezuka manga series and anime aren’t big on this adaptation, and as someone who has been stung by bad cinematic interpretations of beloved works, I completely understand, but as for me I have no real investment in the source material and I thoroughly enjoyed myself! MORE, PLEASE!

Posted by zdorama @ zdoramaagain.blogspot.com

Just Gonna Jump In Anywhere: “Chimudondon”

I saw that someone had begun subbing the 2022 asadora “Chimudondon” earlier this year, and had uploaded their latest efforts onto DO. Looking over the screencaps, lead herione Yuina Kuroshima looked JUST cute enough to pique my curiosity, and without anything else on the schedule, said "What the heck!" and downloaded the latest week’s worth to check it out.

Unfortunately for me, I was late jumping onto this ship and the subbing team were already up to week 6 (and no apparent access to the back-episodes I could see), however, as anyone who’s watched ANY asadora knows, these shows take a LONG time time to get off the ground story-wise, what with introducing the Mother and Father, townspeople etc, before the heroine is even born! Then there’s always a few weeks developing the child as she grows up, meets friends and eventually finds the inspiration that will become her dream and the overall goal of the drama as well. Only THEN will the show shift into it’s actual storyline when the heroine leaves home to find her dreams…and happily, it’s HERE that week 6 begins!

Heroine saying goodbye to family: Yukie Nakama, Haruna Kawaguchi, Moka Kamishiraishi

The REAL start of any asadora: Leaving Home!

Yes, by some lucky coincidence, the very first episode I began watching (ep.26) BEGINS with character Nobuko Higa (Yuina) getting ON the BUS and leaving for Tokyo to pursue her dreams of becoming a chef!! What lucky timing!

Below: with Tsurutaro Kataoka. (Is this guy in EVERY asadora??? LOL)

Reacting to the prices at Restaurant but thoroughly enjoying the food

From there we waste NO TIME introducing the cast of the second arc: The people of the Restaurant, the townspeople of the city, and her interaction with all of them as she ekes her way step by step into the world of cuisine.

Meeting the staff and new boss: Meiko Harada, Masanobu Takashima, Kai Inowaki

 

I HAVE to say how freaking ADORABLE Yuina is is here- so cute, fun and spazzy, she reminded me why I first fell in love with her back in her “Ashi Girl” days. Like actress Riho Yoshioka, Yuina has a 1000 watt smile that just MELTS you whenever she flashes  it with a twinkle in her eye!

As far as the rest, well, NHK asadoras have SO MANY flashbacks in every episode for every person and thing that I QUICKLY caught up to the whole family dynamic (including her folks at home; sisters Haruna Kawaguchi and Moka Kamishiraishi as well as Mom played by Yukie Nakama. Frankly, their story arcs don’t interest me as much, and I'm just biding time til they get back to the Yuina storyline.

Then again, the side-characters' stories in asadoras rarely interest me. I always talk about Takayuki Yamada as Ryoko Kuninaka’s brother in “Churasan” and how I was ALWAYS bored when it focused on his rock musician storyline, pretty much the same thing here whenever it’s about the Haruna and Moka stories, TBH. 

But I guess we’ll see how the stories progress anyway- they may in fact develop into compelling arcs that I’m invested in, and I’ll definitely be watching more Chimudondon if Yuina’s story stays as fun and interesting as this sixth week’s was!

Posted by zdorama @ zdoramaagain.blogspot.com

A Masterful Juggling of Story Arcs in "One Day~Seiya no kara Sawagi "

A veritable ALL-STAR cast, headlined by Kazunari Ninomiya, Miki Nakatani and Takao Osawa, the new mystery/Suspense drama ONE DAY: SEIYA NO KARA SAWAGI follows three different people as their paths diverge and intersect after one fateful Christmas Eve where a man is brutally murdered at a popular gathering place in town.

There is local newscaster Kikyu Kurauchi (Nakatani), an intrepid reporter who is determined to investigate and expose the murder case- even as her news program is being threatened with replacement by a cooking show!

There is eccentric Tokio Tachiaoi (Osawa), a restaurant Chef whose Christmas plans are thwarted by a chance encounter with the murder suspect when a huge pot of demiglace gets knocked over during the altercation, throwing the restaurant’s plans and honor up in the air…

…and then there is the mysterious murder suspect himself, Seiji Suguroji (Ninomiya), a seemingly calm and collected man who wakes up in the plaza on the ground next to a dead man and no recollection of what has happened or how he got there!

Along with these three are people like Mansaku Mitsutani (Eguchi Yosuke), a hard-as-nails investigator who knows far more than he reveals- Upon arrival at the scene, he wrests the case away from main investigator Karen Karumiya (Wakana Matsumoto) though he is from an entirely different division…and may have ulterior motives for being there!

Mizuki Fuehana (Taishi Nagakawa) and Yuan Yahata (Anne Nakamura) are two components to the puzzle of whom we cannot be sure of where their alliances are. Both of them contact Suguroji in his attempts to evade the authorities, but are they there to help or hinder?

And finally, there is adorable Sako Tachiaoi (Riko Fukumoto), little sister of chef Tachiaoi and junior reporter for the same station which employs Kurauchi…and is in fact rumoured to replace her!

(Already fell in love with Riko as the irresistible RinRin in Trillion game, and here's yet another great role for her!)

 Other familiar faces we see are those of the likes of Shinya Kote, Yuki Sakurai, Kai Inowaki, Tomomi Maruyama, and even Koichi Sato! All of them are intertwined throughout the story...

From just the first episode, ONE DAY is VERY intriguing and I would LOVE to see how it all ties up! My only worry is: Will this all just come down to Corrupt Police/Politicians like ALL the other crime/suspense dramas end up?

Guess We'll have to watch and see......

PS: I was just marvelling to my friend about how many stars from my "Golden Age" of Jdrama watching are here: Osawa, Nakatani, Eguchi, Sato...all of whom were among my FIRST wave of actors and actresses I knew back in Mid 90's. Who knew they'd still be here headlining shows some 25+ years on!!!