Minami Hamabe Back with New "Alibi Breaker" Special

 I fell in love with Minami Hamabe in her stint as the rascally troublemaking idol Junko Kuroba in the 2019 drama “Pure” (which I wrote about here), but it was her next drama “Alibi Kuzushi Uketamawarimasu” which really showcased her as a rising star to watch! 

As it was the first full drama I watched with Minami, (Pure was a mere 3 episodes) I’ve always had a sentimental attachment to the Alibi-breaking Tokino Mitani, and so when it was announced that Hamabe would be returning for a reunion speical, I was dying to check it out!

All the regulars from the 2020 series have returned as well, with Ken Yasuda back as the irritable detective Yoshiyuki Saji and Ryo Narita as the bumbling detective Yuma Tokai, also Tokio Emoto and Masanobu Katsumura, reconstructing the old team to once again take on new crimes and new alibis to break...

Ryo Narita

Shotaru Mmiya

Masanobu Katsumura

Tokio Emoto

WELL, after just finishing watching the special , I must admit to being mostly...underwhelmed. For some reason they decided to start the show with Saji being an absolute PILL to Junko, starting things off on a bad foot, at least in MY viewing experience! Secretly using Kuroba to 'solve" his cases is one thing, but forbidding her from offering her services (even deleting her webpage) to the public is a jerk move, in my opinion.

Was waiting for the moment where he slinks back to her and asks for her help, instead  it's almost framed like he's doing HER a favor by using her alibi breaking skills at the end. Which I guess it is since Kuroba's so gung-ho about using her brains to crack the cases, but still...

Will say that this special is just cram-packed full of secondary characters to keep track of: Rin Takanashi, Shotaro Mamiya,Shono Hayama, Yuma Yamato, Wakana Matsumoto, Akiko Hinagata, etc, etc, Egads, with all of them running around, this special felt more like an extended variety show sketch than a drama episode proper, and quite often felt like a mess!

Rin Takanashi

Shono Hayama

Wakana Matsumoto

Akiko Hinagata

Yuma Yamato

Ryosuke Yamamoto

Really, there was like 3 different arcs going on at the same time, and none of them particularly gripping or imaginative (come on, invisible ink as a crime method is something a 3rd grader would come up with!), and after all that brouhaha, still left the conclusion open-ended to leave room for more sequels (or even new series)…very exhausting!

So yeah….was glad to see the old gang again, and love that Minami is really curating her backlog of enduring characters, however unless they’re going to tighten up the cast and plot devices, it might be best to leave this one to stand on its own….

(Would love to see Hamabe reprise her role of Mami Shirasawa of “Talio Fukushu Daiko no Futari” - now, THAT would be something to see!!!

Crush of The Day (Again!): The Lovely Miss Yuko Araki

 Just wrapped up  the entertaining “Tanshin Hanabi” after a long while (watched the first episode some time back but decided to wait til its completion to continue), and though initially turned off by the drama’s infidelity-filled set-up, I sensed there was something more going on, and, sure enough, the drama soon changed from a story of a married guy hooking up with a childhood crush to a much more intricate tale of lies, deception and seduction!

Once things picked up I was invested in the show, but by FAR the main allure of Tanshin Hanabi was the stellar performance by stunning Yuko Araki as Hana Takeda, the seeming “Femme Fatale” of the show, whom ensnares her men (and women) into falling for her with an entrancing and convincing “Damsel In Distress’ act.

But is it ALL an act? As we see this sultry and slinky women ingratiating herself into the life of her former childhood sweetheart’s life and threatening to destroy it with her whimsical ways, we see all the different facets or her personality that she hides, and begin realizing there may be more truth to her plight of helplessness than we initially think... 

Don’t know how much of a faithful fellow I would be in such a similar situation because OH BOY, Yuko pulls out all the STOPS with this one- presenting herself as both a luscious, tigress of a woman...and yet a fragile, clingy waif at the same time, a combination that would have just about anyone fall for her!

"Angels while they are asleep", a trope you can also apply here....

As you can see, Yuko just dazzled in every scene she was in and I had my hands full trying to screencap it all! Thus here you see the works of my feverish Yuko Araki-fueled mind!

This is the third time Yuko Araki has simply RUN AWAY with my heart- as you may recall, I fell hard for her in the delightful “Motokare Mania” and "Love Love Alien",  and my eyes have never been far off her since! From then I've enjoyed her appearances like the seductress Yuka Kusanagi in the awesome “Roppongi Class" and sweet and naive Nanaka Hiraki in "Million Yen Woman":

...but BOY HOWDY, her role as the vulnerable Hana Takeda is really one of her best!

PS: OOOOOH, poring over her dramawiki stats, looks like Yuko appeared in the recent GALILEO TV Special "Kindan No Majutsu" from 2022, a movie that I have acquired but have not watched yet! WOWOW, now I've GOTTA see it!!!

Kindan no Majutsu is based on a Keigo Higashino novel that unfortunately hasn't been translated into English, so this will be an exciting fresh dive where I know absolutely nothing about the premise! Can't wait to check it out and see just where Yuko Araki's character will fit within the hierarchy of this wonderful ongoing series!