Deadly Friend: Kyouso No Musume

HOLY TOLEDO, Kyouso No Musume is one of the most GRIPPING psychological dramas I’ve seen in YEARS!!! The story of a high school whose foundation gets shaken when a mysterious transfer student arrives and begins doling out her own brand of psychotic justice upon those she deems corrupt had me on the EDGE of my SEAT from its first MINUTES and never let go!!!

As the show begins, we see a young girl named Ichika (Hana Toyoshima) being brutally bullied  by a girl named Miyu (Yui Oguri), wringing a rag full of dirty water onto her and slicing off her hair as she demands money from her.

Her weak willed brother Kazuma (Taiyu Fujiwara) is even witnessing the bullying, but is too much of a coward to do anything about it.

As he’s about to flee from his shame of inadequacy to protect his sister, he bumps into a haunting girl who has been watching it all.  He doesn’t know it yet, but she will soon be completely involved in the life of him and his family’s matters!

Heading to class, he is shocked to find the girl is his newest classmate! Her name is Sara Kiritani (Mizuki Kayashima), a new transfer student, and, choosing a seat next to Kazuma, gives him a knowing smile as if to acknowledge the secret they have between them.

In the meantime, the bullying of Ichika has continued and increased. And with no one to turn to, she is contemplating suicide. But just as she’s about to take the leap off the roof of the school building, she is stopped by the sombre Sara, who manages to talk her down, telling her not to worry and that she will stop the bullying.

Confronting the bully, Sara at first offers to trade places with Ichika, and bully Miyu has no problem shifting the torment to her. But this is all part of Sara's plan, and soon Miyu finds out just how crafty and tricky Sara can be!

By recording all the bullying, Sara has begun blackmailing Miyu's family  with the videos and in the end, Miyu and her family have no choice but to move away in disgrace! Thus Sara has solved the problem, and Ichika (and Kazuma) are both grateful...

But there is something very sinister about Sara's methods, and as she begins ingratiating herself into their lives, they find that there is something diabolical lying beneath that good samaritan outlook of hers!

When a suspicious student named Aki (Riko) pries into Sara's past, we see just how truly cold-hearted she can be when faced with adversaries of any kind.

Ichika and Kazuma must choose between believing in this girl who has single-handedly saved them from despair...or accepting the blackness that is suddenly engulfing the school and all those connected to it! And all the while Sara is getting closer to their family, for secret reasons of her own...

MAN, Mizuki Kayashima is absolutely MESMERIZING as the dark and brooding Sara Kiritani, and I cannot help but CHEER her on, even as her "good deeds" get blacker and blacker. Yes, this drama is painting Sara in a negative light as she extracts revenge on the baddies, but in this day and age, to see someone ready to DO something about the problems while others merely look on or pretend to not see, is something to applaud!!

GOTTA see MORE of this one!!!!

The Unhappy Divorcee: Takako Matsu in “Omameda Towako to Sannin no Motootto”

Just started watching the spritely drama “Omameda Towako to Sannin no Motootto”, the story of a thrice divorced woman and her three hapless ex-Husbands!

Takako Matsu is Towako Omameda, a career woman working in a Architect Design Firm. Though she is more than capable at her job and her associates respect her greatly, in her personal life, things aren't quite the same!

with Maryjun Takahashi

Once out of her workplace, things have a habit of just not going her way, and we find that Towako is a very unlucky sort of gal…When she passes by a row of bicycles, you just know she’s going to knock the first one over, resulting in a domino effect of ALL bikes crashing down! 

When opening a packet of soy sauce with her bento, the shoyu always ends up getting all over her nice white outfit instead of her food...

When she tries to adjust a loose screen on her window, the frame goes out into the street...

 ...and when she absent-mindedly strolls through a construction area, she isn’t surprised at all when she falls hip-deep into a muddy hole! That’s just the way things always work out for her!

She does have two bright spots in her life, a sunny and sensible young daughter named Uta (Hana Toyoshima) and a best friend Kagome (Mikako Ichikawa) with whom she can get drunk and talk her troubles over. 

Towako would love to get back out into the dating game, but besides her terrible luck, her three ex-husbands have a way of continually butting into her business, even inviting themselves over for drinks and conversations over meals! Somehow, she just cannot get these guys out of her life!

There’s third husband Shishin Nakamura (Masaki Okada), a man that unfortunately works with Towako in the same company as an adviser. Haughty and arrogant, Towako has to deal with his attitude on a daily basis!

Second ex-husband is Kotaro Sato (Akihiro Kakuta), an easy-going but weak-willed guy who always seems down on his luck but takes full advantage when he’s around Towako and friends!

So far, he's the one ex-husband I have a hard time ever seeing married to Towako.

And then there’s Hassaku Tanaka (Ryuhei Matsuda), Towako’s first husband and the father of Uta. A former company man, he now runs a restaurant, which Towako learns about when she discovers her daughter is still in touch with him.

 Out of all exes, he seems the most stable and Towako even finds herself drawn to him whenever she is down. Of course, seeing the two together, I instantly got "Quartet" vibes as it was like seeing Maki Maki and Beppu Tsukasa all over again! 

In fact, the writing style and direction of this drama reminds me a lot of that drama. In ways, it feels like an unofficial “sequel” of sorts- In fact, I think this is like what it would have been if Beppu and Maki married and got divorced!

So far a pretty fun and very likeable show though (of course) at times those ex-husbands become too much to deal with! And yet, even then, there is a lot of humor and witty writing to be had, and I feel this drama has the potential to become a big fave!!!

Looking forward to seeing where this one goes!