This Season’s Worst (?) Actor

Dog not feeling it.

 As all the dramas of the season slowly work their way towards their conclusions,  there will soon be awards hailing the best shows, the best actors, and best actresses from the quarter. And while there are MANY to vote for in those categories, I have but one contender for WORST actor of the season: Wakana Matsumoto’s DOG in “Saionji-San wa Kaji wo Shinai"!

Saionji: "Riki!"

True, the dog is a small part of her scenes, but in every one he is distracted, spazzy and hyperactive, and I just can’t help but get taken out of the scene as Wakana Matsumoto struggles to do her scenes with him, LOL!

Riki: "Let Me OUTTA Here!!!"

For Example: A usual trope of a pet owner in shows is to have the main character holding the pet’s face in her hands as she talks to him, usually to complain about her day at work, etc....

 but in this scene, “Riki” absolutely won’t stand for having Wakana hold him in one place, much less hold his face in her hands! Very funny to see her finish her conversation with no one in front of her!

In the scene, Saionji san is supposed to having a relaxing walk with a prospective beau Matsuya Onoe , happily chatting away while their dogs walk with them...

 While Onoe’s dog is calmly walking alongside his owner, Riki is making every effort to break away from Wakana and it’s taking all her effort to hold him back!

This was another scene that made me laugh- anyone with a dog knows well the big deal that happens when you arrive home, with the pet showing his happiness and excitement over your return~

In Saionji-san, not only does the dog not jump up with excitement when the family returns home, when the girl calls "Riki, we're home!", he doesn't even look at her when he wakes up, instead immediately looking off-camera to someone off screen!

OKAY, maybe Riki ain't the WORST actor, shall we call him...the most DISTRACTED???

Bet he would win that poll with flying colors! LOLOL

Wakana Matsumoto and Our Nominee

I See What U Did There: Fun with Wakana Matsumoto

Ganbare, Saionji-san!!!

The fun drama "Saionji-san wa Kaji wo Shinai" features the oft-used trope of the "Two People Who Don't Get Along Pretend to be a Couple", with Wakana Matsumoto and Hokuto Matsumura as the respective leads. We're at the point in the drama where Wakana's character (the titular Itsuki Saionji) is desperately fighting her romantic feelings for Kusumi, making it hard for them to work together!

Even working on her computer is a task when the one she's trying NOT to think about sits down right next to her! He still thinks their alliance is a mere transaction but she's slowly falling head over heels for him!

Over beers Itsuki laments to her friends Himari (Kayo Noro) and Yosuke (Takashi Tsukamoto) about her plight. "I cant get him out of my mind!" she sighs, and it's here they suggest she try blind dating to get her mind off Kusumi.

"Yes!!" Itsuki thinks- a new guy to forget about a guy!

WELL, we all knew this point in the drama where she falls for her fake partner was going to happen as ALL dramas using this chestnut have them, however I HAD to LAUGH when, after starting a matchup app and making a date, Itsuki hooks up with her blind date...

...and the guy playing her prospective new boyfriend turns out to be none other than actor Matsuya Onoe!

LOL, As some of you may remember, both he and Wakana were a married couple in the turbulent drama "Yangotonaki Ichizoku", only in THAT one, Wakana's personality was on a TOTALLY DIFFERENT level- Whereas Saionji-san is thoughtful, level headed and kind, Wakana's character of Mihoko Miyama was of a manipulative, selfish and scheming dragon woman, with vitriol aimed not only at poor Tao Tsuchiya, but also her schleppy husband Onoe as well!

So funny to see them in Saionji-San as these shy and nervous blind daters being oh so polite to each other! On the dog walk with Saionji, Onoe's character says, "We Seem Like  Good Match!", oblivious to the fact that in another reality, he was in the Marriage from HELL with her! HAHAHA!

Not that it matters, because after trying a few more of these blind dates, Saionji eventually gives up and admits to herself that she's in love with Kusumi anyway! And of COURSE, we know that Kusumi HIMSELF is secretly falling for HER, too! How THAT will all turn out you can pretty much guess, but I must say I've been really enjoying Saionji San so far nonetheless!

PS: Love these behind the scenes photos with Matsuya Onoe and Wakana, showing that despite how their characters may interact onscreen, how sweet the two really are with each other!

PPS: Must also say again how friggin' CUTE Wakana is here!

Mystery to Iu Nakare

 Masaki Sudo stars as Totono Kunou, a college student with a keen eye for observation and a flair for cooking. He is in the middle of making one of his favorite curry dishes, when he is unexpectedly visited by the police who are investigating a nearby murder- and witnesses say they saw HIM doing the killing!!!

Kunou insists he is innocent, but the Head Detective Yabu (Kenichi Endo) is convinced of his guilt and roughly interrogates him for over four days! Being a bright and concise fellow, he gives many reasons why the allegations against him are untrue, but Yabu intends to keep him there until he breaks.

While he is there, Kunou makes several observations about the other detectives working the case, including Seiko Furomitsu (Sairi Ito), whose cat just died, 

Yuto Ikemoto (Matsuya Onoe) who’s going through marital problems, 

and Narikai Aoto (Michitaka Tsutsui), a detective Kunou recognizes from a serial killer case years ago where he was in the news for putting up a false arrest charge against a suspect.

Kunou uses his logic and sensibilities to help the three with their problems and see things in a new light, and slowly they come to believe Kunou must be innocent, even as the evidence is piling up against him.

And so, despite their leader’s confidence that Kunou is guilty, Furomitsu, Ikemoto and  Aoto work around Yabu to dig up clues of a more unbiased nature to help get Kunou out of the hot seat so they can focus on uncovering the true murderer out there!

I know this sounds like a very basic plotline, but I have to tell you, this drama is SO DAMN WELL WRITTEN! The dialog is TOP NOTCH and while watching it, I even thought to myself, “I can’t remember the last time the first episode of a Detective Drama BLEW ME AWAY like this one! It’s SO GOOD!!!!

I think it’s funny that the first thing I really remember seeing Masaki Suda in was the Satomi Ishihara drama Jimi Ni Sugoi, and he was presented there as kind of a “pretty boy” if you will. But with the recent “Konto Ga Hajimaru” and now Mystery to Iu Nakare, he is proving himself to be SUCH a versatile actor. As someone who can seemingly fluctuate between the “kakkoi” guys and the “character” type roles, he reminds me of a young Tom Hanks. Yeah, that’s how much I dig him in this!

Mystery to iu Nakare could EASILY be my favorite drama of the season so far!!!