Shinai naru Boku e Satsui wo Komete

 Eiji Urashima (Ryosuke Yamada) is a seemingly happy-go-lucky college student who always has a bright smile on his face and a quick laugh on his lips...

But this is only to hide a hard truth about him: he is the son of a notorious serial killer codenamed named “LL” (Taichi Saotome) whom, though apparently killed in a fire, still remains in the memories of the townsfolk.

 

No one knows about Eiji’s dark connection to the notorious killer, not even his girlfriend Kyoka (Mugi Kadowaki), though he knows in his heart he must tell her some day.

But the choice is taken out of his hands when several events occur....

One is that a NEW series of killings had begun, and detective Momoi (Yuki Sakurai) recognizes it immediately as the work of LL, or at least a virtual exact copycat. She and her superiors seem to have a past connection to the old case and they are dedicated to solving this new development.

And the second and more damning reason Eiji’s connection to LL comes into focus is because during the times of the brutal killings, Eiji has no memories at all. It is as if he’s blacked out the last few days.

And it’s only under deep digging that he finds out an even more horrible fact: He may have a SPLIT PERSONALITY, and when evidence of the bloody crimes turn up in his possession,  he realizes his other self may be the KILLER!

When the news of the new serial killings makes the news, his relationship to the killer is revealed at last. And when he finds that his "other" personality KNEW one of the victims, he becomes the MAIN suspect!

While dealing with this new "split" personality and all the evils possibly connected to it, his life is put in turmoil where everything precious to him is taken away. It is up to him to investigate his own other self and solve the mystery of his crimes...

WHOA,, not gonna lie, this is a COMPLETE 180 turn from Rosuke’s last drama “Boku no Kawaii wa Madamada Hatsutentojo” where all he had to worry about was losing his cute appeal!  And while I have no doubt that his character will be innocent of the murders, (I will be SHOCKED if he turns out to actually be the killer), it is a far cry from the sweet and wholesome boy I'd just seen! 

PS: I'm surprised this is a Fuji TV show- A drama this dark and bloody seems a LOT more up WOWOW’s alley!

(Dis)order In The Court: “Ichikei no Karasu”

Yutaka Takenouchi and Haru Kuroki

 Chizuru Sakama (Haru Kuroki) is a efficient if rigid young judge newly appointed to the first Criminal Court.  She meets her new team including head judge Komazawa (Fumiyo Kohinata) who take a bemused interest in the seemingly uptight Sakama.

Sakama’s belief that everything is easily black or white helps her make snap judgements and clear cases quickly, so it is with great consternation when she meets an outspoken teacher during a talk with kids who challenges her methods and says there is always room for grey areas.

Flustered at the arrogance of this individual, Sakama considers reporting him as an act of contempt (LOL), but she is further stunned when she learns that this guy is actually part of her TEAM!!!

His name is Michio Iruma (Yutaka Takenouchi), a thoughtful and pensive fellow who, unlike the fastidious Sakama,  isn’t so fast to judge the individuals in front of him in court. Listening to the testimony, he is known to take it upon himself to investigate claims and find out the truth of the matter in his own!

Of course, this enrages the new Sakama, who argues against Iruma’s involvement with the cases, but little by little she begins to see how his ways bring light to the murkier aspects of the crimes they are dealing with and allows them to make fair and precise judgments.

I have to say, after watching the first episode of Ichikei no Karasu, this seems TOTALLY like a clone of the Kimura Takuya series “HERO”, and in fact, Iruma’s entire character, his speech, methods and demeanor all channeling Kohei Kuryu’s eccentric and “out-of-box’ style of the law. They even mimic Kuryu’s odd shopping network addiction  with Iruma’s collection of curious case mementos!

As well, so far Haru Kuroki’s character of Chizuru Sakama seems to be a version of  Takako Matsu’s Amamiya or Keiko Kitagawa’s Asagi, the flustered and aggravated partner who eventually comes around to the Hero’s way of thinking….

PS: Is it just me, or doesn't the outside of the Court House look totally fake? It looks completely made out of Photoshop! LOL

Posted by zdorama @ zdoramaagain.blogspot.com

Notes on Unsung Cinderella

After a long delay thanks to the COVID19 situation, the Satomi Ishihara medical drama Unsung Cinderella finally got started up and I JUST finished watching the first episode! Satomi plays Midori Aoi, a hospital pharmacist who prefers a hands-on approach to how her medicine helps her patients, a habit that puzzles her colleagues and  infuriates the Doctors whom she is working under.

As pointed out, Aoi is like this almost superhuman database of medical knowledge, eclipsing her superiors and even the doctors themselves! Fanciful and far-fetched, but I rather like this aspect of the show, watching Aoi racing around up and down the stairs doing her diligence is pretty cool to see-

No, it’s the rest of the characters that I have a problem with- in every show like this, the hero (or heroine) always clashes with SOME naysaying superiors and patients, but BOY, these spoiled patients whine and bellyache like they own the place, and MAN, the doctors and administration are so comically OBTUSE as to be unbelievable! 

Not only are they shown complaining that the nurses DARE call them when a patient is dying, but actually throw FITS when told of repeated misdiagnoses, crying for Aoi to be demoted and harshly reprimanded for her DARING to point out an error that would have KILLED the patient!

SO many of the higher ups DEMAND Aoi to be punished that one gets the feeling like the Hospital WANTS to kill their patients and would have succeeded if not for that MEDDLING Pharmacist!!!

Super heroics aside, I’m waiting to see if they give Satomi Ishihara’s character any depth aside from the super pharmacist persona. It occurs to me that maybe they're leaving the personable storyline to Aoi’s new underling Kurumi Aihara (Nanase Nishino), since she seems to have more personality than Aoi? The show DOES seem to be being told from her point of view?

Also starring a bunch of old friends as fellow pharmacists with Yuki Sakurai, Kai Inowaki, and as Maya Miki as head supervisor....

Speaking of familiar faces, it’s a hoot to see both Nanase AND Kei Tanaka reunited again after the bloody brouhaha that was Anata No Ban Desu! 

LOL, Kei almost looks like he recognizes Nanase from Anata No Ban Desu!

And it's not JUST them-Throw in Kou Maehara as a young doctor and Kanazawa Miho as a fellow pharmacist and you’ve got FOUR alumni from Anata No Ban Desu in this show!

By the way, there is ONE thing pretty unique to this medical drama- at the end of the episode,  during the ending credits, they showed a dreamy scenario where you see what happens to the patients after they’ve left the hospital and have gone on with their lives and grown up.

Dunno if it was just for the girls in this episode or they’re gonna do that for each chapter. Very cool and actually pretty sweet way to end the show.

OKAY, got two more episodes to watch, let’s see where this thing goes….

Posted by zdorama@zdoramaagain.blogspot.com