This Season’s Best: Unmet: Aru Nogekai no Nikki おわり

When I was at about the halfway point in the Hana Sugisaki/Ryuya Wakaba medical drama Unmet, I already knew without a doubt that this was going to be the best drama of the season, and indeed, the show only got better and better as it headed towards its conclusion, and with the final episode now done, has proven that all expectations have been fully met!

Ryuya Wakaba was great as Sanpei Tomoharu, the charismatic "center" of the drama, and WOWWW, the level of acting Hana Sugisaki held in her portrayal as the amnesiac-but-still-positive Miyabi Kawauchi has to be her FINEST yet, conveying SO MUCH with just facial expressions, head tilts and body language, so much with few words and few gestures. I was happily surprised at how much time they spend just lingering on scenes and letting the characters “breathe’ between dialog…so many of the great pivotal scenes filled with mostly silence between the characters….

I’ve long said that I’m not a huge fan of medical dramas as they all tend to skew to the same tropes, however, while Unmet of course had some of it, I was constantly surprised by the directions they chose to follow, surprised by unexpected developments, all keeping me on my toes until I realized to myself: "HEY! I'm really INVESTED here!!!"

Ryuya Wakaba

Hana Sugisaki

Iura Arata

Michiko Kichise

Terrific story aside, it MUST be said that the MAIN strength of the show is the awesome acting of everyone involved, not just the main leads, but the immediate supporting cast as well. This was a veritable "cast of hundreds", OK, more like dozens, but all colorful and likeable...

Below: Takumi Ozaki, Nakamura Riho, Kasumi Yamaya, Kayo Noro

Amane Okayama and Erika Ikuta

And I have to give a special mention of Chiba Yudai as Kota Hoshimae- he was the emotional character who stood in for us, the viewers, reflecting OUR feelings as he cheered happiness for Miyabi, crossed fingers for hope, and shed tears when misfortune befell our vulnerable heroine. It was his reactions that got the most out of me!

All of them together  produced a strong, gripping drama, one I was totally invested in for the past few months!

I was having dinner with a friend over the weekend, and I gushed “MAN…Unmet is SO GOOD right now, and I'm praying that the last episode continues on the same trajectory...please, don't screw up the ending!!”  And as I watched the last episode, besides crying my eyes out for MOST of the show’s duration, I was also very nervous about how it might end. But I need not have worried, for the drama delivered one of the best, concise and clear endings it could have, causing me to breathe a sigh of relief…even as I shed even MORE tears!

Aw Man, Hana Sugisaki MUST get some kind of accolade for this drama…it was the number ONE drama of the season, BAR NONE, and most of it was due to her and her wonderful creation of Miyabi. This was one real MUST SEE drama!

Posted by zdorama @ zdoramaagain.blogspot.com

Is This The Real Life? Riho Nakamura Shines in "Cinderella Is Online"

In the online gaming world of "Tenkyo", Riho Nakamura plays a badass character named ViVi, highly skilled and respected by all her colleagues. She has an unusual relationship with an online character named Leon, who marries her out of convenience for the game and drops her just as quickly! But it's all in a day for the vivacious Vivi who doesn't let anything bother her!

That's in the gaming world- In reality, she is a humble student named Ichika Arisawa who unlike her online persona, has no interest in love or romance (a tried and true trope for the ages!), unlike her best friend Umi (Anna Tsuihiji) , who is swooning because a popular boy named Asahi Onoda (Toshiki Seto) is coming!

Ichika herself has no interest in boys- but the two already have a connection that she doesn't know about...that this boy Onoda is in fact Leon, her online partner for months!!!

Fate steps in one day when Ichika is at a restaurant blissfully playing Tenkyo when who should walk in but the Big Man on Campus Asahi Onoda!

He sees the girl playing on her laptop and doesn't give it much thought...

...until he walks by her...and realizes SHE is VIVI!!!

He makes no attempt to approach Ichika, but keeps his eye on her and thus is there when she happens to lose a sneaker when chucking it at the head of a bully. Rushing to slip the shoe back on, in complete Disney Cinderella style, he is immediately captivated by her....

But when Ichika realizes she is interacting with that super popular boy, she instantly becomes shy and with a quick, "Will ya look at the TIME?!"...DASHES away!!!

LOL, seems that though she may be as tough as nails in the gaming world, in real life she isn't QUITE as brave! A very UN auspicious first meeting between the two! LOLOL

I will be the first to admit that this kind of drama with High School Kids, High School Romances and the World of Video Gaming isn't my cup of tea at all, but Riho Nakamura is SO DOGGONE CUTE in this that I just HAD to check it out!!! 

The first episode of this drama was very charming , but I can already see by the previews of the upcoming episodes that it will soon fall into the usual boring and trite make-up-and-break-up teenage romance tropes that all these school dramas do. Will see how long I can stick to it!