Notes On "Utsubora"

Recently wrapped up the dark noir/erotica WOWOW drama "Utsubora" (Moray Eel) and had some thoughts on it...

I was captivated by this story of a faded writer named Mizorogi (Yukiya Kitamura) who, upon the suicide of a woman named Aki (Atsuko Maeda) whom he had stolen a manuscript and plagiarized as his own, is confronted by an identical woman named Sakura (also Maeda) claiming to be the woman's twin sister. 

Captivating and mysterious, the woman takes over Mizorogi's life in both his writing and "under the sheets" as they eventually engage in a sordid romantic tryst, even as he struggles to uncover if this woman is truly a twin sister, or the deceased victim herself seemingly back from the grave!

Meanwhile Mizorogi's own editor Tsuji (Fujiwara Kisetsu) himself is starting to doubt that the recent stories he is penning have come from his own hand. And when talking to fellow authors like Yatabe (Ikkei Watanabe) and Nomiya (Akiko Hinagata), they seem to share the same opinion!

And while all this is going on, the police detectives (Hajime Okayama,Kohei Takeda) are not far behind, concerned because not only does the deceased Aki have no credentials to prove who she is, neither does the mysterious Sakura! They suspect foul play, and if, as they suspect, Sakura is simply Aki pretending to be her own twin...then who is the dead person lying in the morgue?

A GRIPPING drama that had me on my toes throughout its ENTIRE run with its twists and turns, and a SPECTACULAR performance by Atsuko Maeda who simply SLAYED as the dual roles of both the deceased writer Aki and her brooding twin counterpart Sakura!

A really great cast- when was the last time I saw Akiko Hinagata in anything? LOL!

Ooh, and also MUST mention the always adorable Yuna Taira, here as the naive niece of Mizorogi, the eternally cheerful and wide-eyed waif Koyomi...who, behind her happy smile holds some dark secrets of her own!

I wasn't planning on writing an after-viewing wrap up for this one,(while engaging, I found the conclusion a bit underwhelming)  but I found I just could not stop thinking about Utsubora even days after finishing it! Finally had to jot down my thoughts and in the end did a write up proper!

WOWOW certainly are becoming the kings of the murky, dark and desperate dramas!!!

Props to them for keeping me on my toes with these fresh ideas and concepts!

Anata ni Kika Setai Uta ga Arunda

A introspective drama focusing on the dreams and aspirations one has while growing up and what becomes of them as you become an adult. Anata ni Kika Setai Uta ga Arunda begins in a classroom full of flippant and joking teenage students who seem to not have a care in the world as they misbehave and tease their harried new teacher.

Looking them over, the morose teacher (Rena Tanaka) tells the class that she has just turned 27. They make fun of this statement, but she cuts it short with a deadpan statement to them, saying “In 10 years, YOU will all be turning 27. And when that time comes, I sincerely hope you have less regret than I.”

This is a sombre message to the schoolkids, who for the first time have to wonder what their future has in store for them….

We then fast forward 10 years to the current year where we are checking in on all those students and where their lives have led them. Some are depressed, some despondent, some gamely trying to make it, but if there’s one thing clear, it’s that life never goes the way you expect it to.

Featuring Ryo Narita, Sairi Ito, Kisetsu Fujiwara, Shuhei Uesugi and Atsuko Maeda (among others) as the students, each episode focuses on a different student and what has happened in their now adult life.

Each episode is very short (about 20 minutes each) so I expect this one to go by pretty fast...

PS: Why is this drama so doggone DARK! It's like a WOWOW drama, every scene is that greenish blue yechhhh...