The Spider and The Monster: Two New FL Legal Dramas

 Caught the first episdoes of two new dramas featuring savvy female lawyers as the leads of the show, the Netflix series MONSTER with actress Shuri, and the NTV drama RIKON BENGOSHI SPIDER starring Maryjun Takahashi.

MONSTER tells the story of a young genius woman named Ryoko Kannami (Shuri), who, on a seeming whim, decides she would like to “try” being a lawyer. Having passed the bar years ago while still in high school, she is taken in by the KEIKO UKUSA LAW FIRM, run by Keiko Ukusa (YOU) who seems to have a connection with her.

She is partnered up with Sugiura Yoshihiro (Jesse) who, as usual for these kinds of shows, ends up mostly there to be amazed and exasperated by Kannami’s eccentric ways, though of course he is also surprised when her quirky style produces results and scores them victories.

with Tsubasa Nakagawa as the "hacker" guy

I really like Shuri in the role of Kannami, a character who would be right at home being played by someone like Fuka Koshiba or Mitsuki Takahata, winsome and yet super smart, gentle and yet quietly aggressive!

NEXT UP, Maryjun Takahashi stars in RIKON BENGOSHI SPIDER as Asuka Mikumo, a woman who was once burned by a marital relationship and has since forged a career as a Divorce Attorney for those feeling like they are trapped in a relationship and cannot get out.

Nicknamed the “Spider” for her way of ensnaring her opponents with her meticulous and intricate investigations, she is a formidable foe for the lawyers who go against her, and it’s exciting to watch how she gets them in her clutches!

First episode features Yui Ichikawa as an abused woman desperate to get herself and her child away from a tyrannical husband...

Not to worry as once they are on the case,  there is now actual hope for her and her family...

Nice dynamic- Reminds me somehow of the Yuki Amami drama “Goritekini Arienai” and her team, and in the same way, Mikumo has herself a small group around her to help in the investigation, including Kouhei Iguchi and Nagisa Shibuya.

As far as legal dramas go, MONSTER and SPIDER feel very different, with Monster feeling like a NHK show and Spider feeling like a WOWOW show (of sorts). And MONSTER is a full 45 minute show while SPIDER is one of those 22 Minute affairs. But they all follow basically the same J-drama beats, and they BOTH feature male partners who give silent fist pumps at every victory!

Jesse in Monster:

Iguchi in Spider:

PS: Looking up SHURI to see what other shows she might have done that I had seen- (My first experience with her was, I believe, her role in MOTOKARE MANIA), and reading her bio info, I was STUNNED to find that she is the daughter of actor Yutaka Mizutani (famous for, among others, his long-running AIBO series) and former CANDIES vocalist RAN ITO! Whaaa!

HUH!~ Who woulda thought! Certainly not me- Heck, I'm not sure I even knew that Mizutani and Ito were married! Just like in Hollywood where actresses like Dakota Johnson, Maya Hawke, Margaret Qualley, etc, are taking up the mantle from their parents, I am constantly surprised by how many young J-drama actors and actresses currently out there are related to stars of the past generations!

PPS: Oooh, and I must also mention that the ubiquitous Love Distance Apartment made yet another appearance, this time in the first episode of Monster where they go to question a witness!

The Love Distance Apartment- Where will it turn up next?!

Trouble in Paradise: “Sky Castle”

Compelling drama about a series of rich Physicians' Families living in the fantastic affluent gated community  SKY CASTLE, who will do anything to further their own successes in both work and for the educational future of their children, even if it resorts to cutthroat tactics!

There is the Asami Family, composed of Husband Hideyo (Seiichi Tanabe), surgeon at the hospital, obsessively-driven daughter Ruri (Miu Arai), youngest daughter Maju (Noa Shiroyama), and the outspoken and calculating wife Sae, (Nao Matsushita).

There is the Nikaido family, with demanding husband Wataru (Kosuke Suzuki), apologetic wife Kyoko (Manami Higa) and smart but always lectured and berated son Sho (Fuga Shibazaki)...

…the gaudy and, truthfully, rather unrefined Natsume family, composed of unkempt doctor husband Ryutaro (Chikara Honda), the loud wife Misaki (Maryjun Takahashi) and their unassuming son Kensaku (Shion Matsufuji).

Above them all is the seemingly on-top-of the world Saejima Family. Husband Tetsuto Saejima (Jun Hashimoto) is next in line for a huge promotion at the Hospital he works at, and Wife Kaori (Naho Toda) has secured a deal with a genius tutor who has just helped their son Haruto (Riku Ohnishi) pass the college entrance exam with flying colors!

They are the envy of all the others in the neighborhood, and it looks like there is nowhere to go but up for them…so it is a real SHOCK to everyone when, one evening Mother Kaori climbs to the top of the highest tower in town- and LEAPS to her DEATH!

This rocks the community and leaves everyone unsure of what is  happening around them. Following Kaori’s death, Husband Tetsuto finds he has lost his promotion at the hospital and abruptly, he and his son pack up and leave.  What on earth has occurred here?

The families don’t have time to think, however, for in no time, a new family has moved in the the unoccupied house, and these are the Minamisawas. Unlike the other wives, wife Izumi (Fumino Kimura) is a down-to-earth sort, more comfortable digging in her garden than rubbing elbows with the elite. Their son Aoba (Manato Sakamoto) is the highest-scored student at school, a real feat since he seems to have had no fancy tutor help and has achieved it all on his own!

. And as for Husband Kohei (Ryohei Otani), he’s the physician who has been hired to take the promotion slot meant for Tetsuto Saejima, much to the surprise of the other doctors!

 When wife Izumi goes to introduce herself to the neighbors, she is treated politely but curtly by the housewives, especially Sae, who makes it clear that she is the top hen in this neighborhood!

 Though her reaction is cordial, once she leaves, her disposition changes and hints at a past filled with some animosity towards those affluent wives of Sky Castle. What can their connection be?

And then there’s the mysterious genius Tutor Ayaka Kujo (Koyuki). Boasting a 100% success rate for her students, she doesn’t come cheap, and adheres to a cold and stringent method of teaching, but there is something about her that gives off a sinister vibe that one cannot put a finger on…

Gotta say that after only ONE episode, I am already HOOKED on this show- such GREAT characters and scenarios. Additionally, for anyone who’s seen dramas like “Mother Game”, you can always count on Fumino Kimura to shine as the”common” personality among the haughty and posturing socialites, and though her agenda is still not yet revealed, she’s already my favorite character and I can’t wait to see what unfolds!