If I had a Nickel Every Time Takako Matsu was Suspected of Killing Her Husband in a Drama, I’d Have Two…Which Isn’t a Lot, But it’s Weird That It Happened Twice!!

Matsu Takako and Abe Sadao in Shiwase na Kekkon

Just caught the first episode of the drama “Shiawase na Kekkon~ Their Marriage” , starring Abe Sadao as Kotaro Harada,  a lawyer and TV personality who boasts himself as a lifelong bachelor…

That is, until by chance he bumps into the seemingly carefree Nella Suzuki (Takako Matsu) who sweeps him off his feet with her charm and innocence…and ultimately, into a happy married life!

But there is something odd about Nella that Kotaro can’t quite put his finger on,  and when he sees her meeting up with a dapper young man in secret and mentioning not a word about it to him, he begins to suspect the worst! 

Worried that she may be cheating on him, Kotaro finally finds and confronts the man, and, when asked to explain his business with his wife, gets a BOMBSHELL of information about her!

The man’s name is Kurokawa (Yosuke Sugino), and, far from being a cheating lover as Kotaro had suspected, is actually a DETECTIVE on the POLICE force keeping tabs on Nella…for suspicion of MURDERING her ex- husband some years ago!!

The case has been closed for some years now, but due to the urging of the detective, has been re-opened for investigation!!

Harada can’t believe what he is hearing. But as he learns about the case, his happily married life in now thrown into doubt and chaos. And though he wants to believe in his wife, there are so many things about her that he doesn't know....

What decision he will ultimately make regarding the police and his dear wife? Only time will tell!

HAHAHA, yeah, my first thought was, “This is like the set-up for “Quartet”, Takako’s excellent ensemble drama from 2017, where her character of Maki Maki was suspected of killing her husband, too! And though I don’t want to spoil anything for anyone out there who might NOT have seen Quartet yet, I will say that I’d bet donuts to dollars that we get the exact same outcome at the end of Shiawase na Kekkon that we did with Quartet…

I'm up to episode 2 and so far it's been really intriguing!!!

Another "Cold Case" Drama: OKURA: Meikyu Iri Jiken Sosa

 Just caught the first episode of "Okura: Meikyu Iri Jiken Sosa" with Takashi Sorimachi and Yosuke Sugino as two unwilling agents put together in a team set to investigate cold case crimes.

WELL, there ain't anything here you haven's seen a million times before in cop dramas like these: the "Loose Cannon" senior (Sorimachi) and the "Straight-Edged Newbie" (Sugino), Both men clashing even as they team up to solve the crimes....

Even the motivations are as overused as they come: the hell-bent agent whose partner was killed in the line of duty, the former ace detective who, due to a mistake, has been demoted to the dregs of the department, the daughter of the slain detective (Mai Shiraishi) who is now a hard-as-nails agent herself, you've seen these characters time and time again....

Along with them come the usual gang of misfits: the sassy middle aged woman, the absentminded person who doesn't care about the job, the "young whiz-kid" on the computers, even Jun Hashimoto as the kind, eccentric uncle type chief of the department  which harkens back to shows as far as Shomuni!

Takashi Ukaji

Sayaka Aoki

Maeda Oshiro

Jun Hashimoto

Avalanche, QUEEN, Crisis, Zettai Reido, etc, etc, we've seen this exact set-up so many times as to have lost count! And YET, despite all of that, I GOTTA ADMIT I actually found myself really enjoying Okura- I like the way Sorimachi and Sugino play off each other, and Takashi Sorimachi seems to be giving his all in the role of the unhinged investigator who has no problem breaking rules if it allows him to get his man!

Yeah, it's all so predictable, yet the journey is completely engaging - looks like this one might work! 

Also featuring Shunsuke Nakamura as  the "heavy" of the department who is constantly riding the Okura team...

Was also pleasantly surprised to see sweetie Arisa Mizuki here in a secondary support role as the forensics agent Shu Ibuse! Hmmm, after her portrayal of cold case forensics agent Sakurako in "Sakurako-san no Ashimoto ni wa Shitai ga Umatteiru", I'm beginning to see a pattern of roles here....

In any case, I'm Cautiously optimistic for this drama!

Posted by zdorama @ zdoramaagain.blogspot.com

Crush of the Day: Sayu Kubota

 When fans of the 2021 sci-fi flick DUNE went to go see it in the theaters, many were rightfully surprised to find they had been sitting through part ONE of the movie, with a whole 'nother as yet to be released movie to finish it.  WELL, that's JUST how I felt after watching the drama “Watashi Moratte Tsuioku Hen” (the story of a girl and a ghostly partner trying to solve the mystery of who tired to kill them)…and found out it continued to ANOTHER drama called  "Watashi wo Moratte: Koiji Hen”! ARGH! When was this going to be aired? And more importantly, was anyone going to sub it??? I had no idea, and could only cross fingers that the subbing team who did the first one would be picking it up!

Truthfully, I initially found the story of Watashi ga Hen to be very lightweight and basic, but it was the sheer power of the CUTENESS of actress Sayu Kubota in the lead role as the spazzy and energetic Natsumi Morikawa that made me really invested in this show, and no matter how cliched and predictable the storyline might be that week, I just HAD to tune to see her!

Balancing the character with both parts adorable and clueless spazz and svelte and composed OL, she was great in every scene, and by the halfway point of the show, knew I was hopelessly crushing on her! Screencap after Screencap, I just couldn’t stop!

This is great to see Sayu in a lead role here, as her main forte up to this point has been of the weird/quirky kind of charaters, much like her role of the morose (yet scene stealing) Suzu Masuda in "Hamaru Otoko ni Keritai Onna" with Nagisa Sekimizu and Taisuke Fujigaya ...here complaining about Fujigaya's bad cooking!

 

Speaking of cooking, I think the last thing I saw Sayu in before that was “Fermat No Ryori”, as the school-mate of main character Kitada (Fumiya Takahashi).  In the drama, they are both math geniuses, but when Kitada fails his tests, he gives up, til he finds inspiration in the world of cuisine. In the meantime, Kubota’s character has risen to a grand champion of mathematics. The episode build up to the day he meets her again and cooks for her.

 The first time I’d laid eyes on Sayu (or at last, I THOUGHT) was as the office love interest of Yosuke Sugino in the 2021 Haru Kuroki drama “Boku No Neechan”. I remember noting that this actress was VERY pretty indeed, unfortunately, the "pretty love interest" was all she was meant to be, and the drama didn’t actually delve too deeply into her character... But my interest in this girl was piqued!

Going onto Dramawiki, come to find out that I had seen Sayu in a BUNCH of earlier dramas, albeit some rather smaller roles, like the moody editing assistant Izumi Haruka in “Oh my Boss!” with Mone Kamishiraishi , playing a girl who is at first stand-offish to Mone but becomes friends with her over time...

Novice director Chiaki Sonomiya in “Hidarikiki no Eren", here with Kamio Fuju..

A bit appearance as Ibu Masato’s granddaughter in the Satomi Ishihara medical drama “Unsung Cinderella” (BTW, it’s insane how much Sayu looks like a young Emi Takei here!)

...I had also seen her as a suspect in the fun comedy "Oshii Keiji with Shunsuke Kazama...look how young she looks here!!!

And oh My GOSH, as SOON as I saw that Sayu had appeared in the Mitsuki Takahata drama “Kahogo no Kahoko”, I just KNEW which character she had played- “I bet Sayu played that pretty but moody cousin Ito!” and SURE ENOUGH, that’s EXACTLY who she was!

She plays a character  who is cold and bitter, but warms up due to Kahoko's sweet positivity. I remember distinctly thinking how pretty this actress was, HUH, who knew she would grown up to be the Sayu we know today!

Such great chemistry, and Sayu and Mitsuki even got to work together again briefly when she made a guest appearance in Mitsuki’s "Douki no Sakura” a few years later!

Funny that of all the glamorous roles Sayu has played and how stunningly beautiful she was in ALL of them, the one which finally hooked my heart was a goofy and zany character...with a bob-style haircut no less!!

Such is the power of a character! NOW...will some kind subbing team PLEASE pick up the second part of Watashi Moratte Tsuioku Hen so I can find out just how this story ends??!LOL

EDIT!!!

Went onto the awesome Drama Otaku site today and saw some WONDERFUL NEWS: Not only has Furritsubs (the team who did the first series) picked up Watashi wo Moratte Koiji Hen, they ALREADY subbed the first two episodes!!! Whooohooo, Can't WAIT to dig into this!!!

Posted by zdorama @ zdoramaagain.blogspot.com