That Oyabaka Seishun Hakusho Driveway

Was recently re-watching the 2021 drama "Konto Ga Hajimaru" and for the first time noticed that the walkway the characters walk to and from places to is the SAME driveway the ending credits for the comedy drama "Oyabaka Seishun Hakusho" (above) was shot! Same Yield sign, same orange light pole, etc!

Below: Taiga Nakano and Kyoko Yoshine in Konto ga Hajimaru

I'm also wrapping up a second watch of the Yuriko Yoshitaka news drama "Shiranakute Ii Koto" , and HAD to Laugh when I saw two characters walking by the SAME driveway as well!

Munenori Nagano and Nao Okabe in Shiranakute Ii Koto

(Guess it was still winer when this was shot 'cause those trees sure are bare!)

The surroundings are also used in lots of drams (especially the building roundtop which I've documented here), makes me wonder just how many times I've seen this driveway and didn't even notice it!

Favorite J-Drama Theme Songs: Oyabaka Seishun Hakusho's “Koshi Kondo” by Yuzu

 After being asked by a friend to recommend hime some of my favorite dramas to watch, I suggested the wonderfully fun and zany “Oyabaka Seishun Hakusho”, sadly after only ONE episode he dropped it, citing what he felt was "weak writing, unlikeable characters and general silliness", LOL! Well, I guess for each his own, but for those of us who love Muro Tsuyoshi’s zany brand of humor (most notable in dramas like “Yuusha Yoshihiko Maou to Shiro”, "Super Salaryman Saenai-shi", and even to a lesser extent “Hakozume”), Oyabaka is a real gem!

As a general rule when I introduce a drama to someone I will re-watch the show along with them so I will be refreshed on details and high points to talk about, and even though he dropped out on it, I continued re-watching the entire 7 episode series, and it was just as much good FUN as I remembered!

It was Oyabaka that first introduced me to both Mei Nagano and Mio Imada and it was interesting to revisit this drama now that I know and love them so much, seeing them all interacting in this near-slapstick comedy! But the thing I had forgotten MOST about this drama was its wonderful theme song “Koshi Kondo” (Business and Pleasure) by duo YUZU. 

Playing over the sweet and fun images of the principle cast running around, joking and laughing while screenshots of the episode played, this was an AWESOME ending song, one that really summed up the warm, chummy camaraderie that they all had with each other, and the song’s  70’s tinged tune always struck a nostalgic nerve that tugged on my heartstrings!

  I’m from the generation who know that a good theme song is easily 20% of what makes a drama GREAT, and I have to admit that the way each episode ended with the same heartwarming end song made the series all that much better!

After watching the whole thing, I had to hear more and found a great live performance Yuzu did of the song to a cheering crowd, and I was cheering right along with them!

As some of you may recall, I had made a post featuring some of my all-time favorite J-drama theme songs and though there were a ton from the 90’s, there was a distinct lack of later and more-recent shows. This is primarily due to most post-2000’s shows not having ending credits proper but just having the credits roll under the screen as the song plays while the show is still going on, but I do feel there is a general phasing out of long theme song segments as a whole, not only in J-dramas but TV shows in general...So it was really refreshing to realize that with Oyabaka there are STILL those endings that can really stir up the feelings and memories for me!

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!!!

Burn The House Down: “Mitarai ke, Enjou Suru”

Kyoka Suzuki and Mei Nagano face off in  “Mitarai ke, Enjou Suru”

A soft spoken and mild mannered young woman named Shizuka Yamauchi (Mei Nagano) seeks employment at the home of a rich and succesful woman model and online influencer named Makiko Mitarai (Kyoka Suzuki).

Though she is known as an impeccable woman of good taste and style, Mitarai is in actuality a messy and disorganized person, so she is need of someone who can clean her house, decorate tastefully, and cook meals, all covertly as to keep her image intact.

Yamauchi is excellent at what she does, and the house is put in perfect order. Though still standoffish towards Yamauchi, she is impressed with what she has done with the place, and  Mitarai agrees to hire her officially! 

But what Mitarai doesn’t know is that this Yamauchi has a hidden agenda for getting hired as the housekeeper. 

Yamauchi’s real name is Anzu Murata, and 13 years ago, she lived on this very property with her own family; Father Osamu (Mitsuhiro Oikawa), Mother Satsuki (Michiko Kichise) and little sister Yuzu (Yuri Tsunematsu), until a huge house fire destroyed their home and tore her family apart. Father shortly after divorced Mother, leaving her and the two daughters to struggle for themselves.

At the time of the fire,  little Anzu (young Anzu played by Tamaki Shiratori) spotted Makiko Mitarai among the onlookers… with a VERY satisfied smile on her face, as if all her wishes had suddenly come true! Because of this, she had always suspected Mitarai had something to do with the fire...

...and when Makiko went on to MARRY Anzu’s FATHER to start her OWN family with him (and all his wealth), her suspicions only grew. CLEARLY there is more to this woman than she lets on!

In the meantime, mother Satsuki becomes afflicted with a severe case of traumatic amnesia, where she cannot remember anything of the past and has shut down. Weak and confused, she must be regaled to a bed in a hospital, with her daughters looking over her.

Now as an adult and with 13 years of anonymity between them, Anzu plans to infiltrate the home base of her number one suspect in the ruination of her family: Makiko Mitarai herself.

Along with her little sister Yuzu and the computer skills of her friend (Kie Kitano) the resident "computer expert" of the drama), they hope to find clues and proof of Mitarai’s involvement of the house fire, as well as finding the truth of just WHAT actually happened all those years ago….

Belwo: Anzu trying to get close to Mitarai’s shut-in older son Kiichi (Asuka Kudo)...

….while little sister Yuzu uses her feminine wiles to get close to the younger son Shinji (Taishi Nakagawa). Seemingly friendly and cheerful, their only ture mission is to get as MUCH information out of them that they can- to bring Makiko Mitarai to jsutice!

A dark and brooding psychological revenge drama, yet I cannot help but think that not everything is what it seems at face value- in the coming episodes I fully expect people assumed to be friends turn out to be foes and even the ones painted as the pure evil ones turn out to be on the good side. In any case, I'm excited to see what develops!!!

 “Mitarai ke, Enjou Suru” is yet another NETFLIX exclusive J-drama (along with the Tomoya Nakamura drama "Hayabusa Shobodan") that I'm really loving this current season...looks like they are ramping up to become a great source of intriguing new shows!!!

Posted by zdorama@zdoramaagain.blogspot.com