J-Drama Deja-Vu: "The Love Distance" Apartment Again

 Was thrilled to see that after months on hiatus due to the COVID19 lockdown, the Takahisa Matsuda drama "Rental Nan mo Shinai Hito" has once again resumed shooting, and besides enjoying it thoroughly, in the latest episode I saw with Kaho Tsuchimura (who is still as adorable as ever) as the client, it's revealed that the apartment she lives in...

Is the same one used in both Youkai Sharehouse...

and of course in the Asami Mizukawa drama Love Distance!

That's becoming QUITE a popular place!!!

Crush Of The Day: Kaho Tsuchimura

I remember back in 2016 watching the Satomi Ishihara/Tomohisa Yamashita drama 5ji Kara 9ji Made and remarking that although I loved Satomi , the the best thing about the show was the side storyline featuring a then unknown (to me) Rin Takanashi as Momoe Yamabuchi, the geeky fangirl secretly into Yaoi manga and having to deal with a very real love interest-

And now, here we are in 2018 and I’ve just finished watching the first starring vehicle for Rin Takanashi as online gaming director Misa Chigasaki  in the romance drama Koi Ga Heta Demo Ikimasu…but once again, rather than the main story, the thing I loved most about it is the side-storyline, THIS time featuring Kaho Tsuchimura as Chihiro Enomoto, a shy and inexperienced woman dealing with her first “womanizer” relationship!

Back with 5ji Kara 9ji Made, I remember saying I wish that Rin Takanashi’s character Momoe had her own spin-off show, and I found myself wishing the same thing for Chihiro’s plight- for though I love Rin Takanashi and though she was the prettiest I’ve ever seen her, her romance seemed so run of the mill and over done that I barely had any interest when her story was on, and I found myself only waiting for Chihiro’s scenes to come on!

To be true, Chihiro’s plight wasn’t any less cliched or predictable than Misa’s, but Kaho Tsuchimura was SO sweet and lovable as the naive and vulnerable girl coming off a failed engagement with a cheating fiance who befriends a so-called love-‘em and leave ’em ladies man named Hashimoto (Yasushi Fuchikami) who tells her he can teach her to win her man back.

Of course his lessons in life and love can’t go without leaving a mark on the innocent Chihiro and the more time she spends with him, the more attraction she inevitably develops.

She knows that she's being a bother to him but uses sex as a way she believes will keep him interested. But you can tell that she means something special to him, too, and it’s these moments they are together just enjoying each others company that makes the drama for me.

Chihiro is such a sweet character, you really find yourself pulling for her, and though you know it will be predictable all the way, you can't help but keep watching!

After the drama was over I ran to Dramawiki to see if I’d seen Kaho Tsuchimura in anything else, but it looks like she’s new to the scene as her credits only list a few dramas and two movies! Hopefully we’ll be seeing more of this girl- really loved her in this drama! Sorry, Rin! You were beautiful, but it was the sweetness of Kaho that did it for me this time!

Posted by zdorama @ zdoramaagain.blogspot.com

Rin Takanashi Takes The Lead in "Koi ga Heta Demo Ikitemasu"

I first discovered cutie Rin Takanashi in the quirky Satomi Ishihara drama "5-ji Kara 9-ji Made" as the yaoi manga loving Momoe and my atttraction went to full love with her turn as the adorable RIn Ito in the Maki Horikita drama Higanbana, and since then I've been waiting for Rin to lead a show of her very own...and it looks like we've got it with Koi ga Heta Demo Ikitemasu!

 Rin plays Misa Chigasaki, a fussy and dominating editor for an online Gaming App company who doesn't believe in romance and is quick to shoot down any ideas her underlings come up with that have even a hint of being cliched or fantastic. Still, despite her gruff demeanor, they look up to her and respect her, and her boss (Terawaki Yasufumi) has even confided to her that she is going to be his choice for his successor as CEO when he steps down!

At home, Misa lives with her soon-to-be-married friend Chihiro (Kaho Tsuchimura) who is a front desk  clerk (along with a pretty but ultimately sneaky girl named Rikako, played by Rio Uchida) . Chihiro is a kind and thoughtful girl who is concerned that the attitude Misa is taking will leave her an old maid with nothing to keep her company in her old age except for pets. But she assures Chihiro that she is fine living this way and won't fall for the tropes of romance.

So it is with some irony that the next day while jogging, she experiences the most cliched and overused tropes of romance when she meets a young man named Keisuke Oshima (Kei Tanaka):

 He meets her when his dog comes up to her. He says the dog is always attracted to pretty girls. He offers to buy her a tea for her troubles. And, most damning of all, she twists her ankle trying to get up and when she is caught in his arms....she feels a tug in her heart! NO! This can't BE! She's experiencing ALL the cliches in Real Life!

She doesn't know what to make of it, feeling foolish for falling for a man in such a run of the mill way. but her attraction turns to anger when her promotion to CEO of the company is cancelled, and the person they hire instead...is Keisuke himself!!!

She's beside herself with frustration, but can hardly stop to figure things out when she finds Chigusa is experiencing her OWN problems with life and love. Misa says that they should forget about all men and fight back...but somehow they find themselves drawn back again and again...what kind of fates lie for these girls?

So far it seems like an interesting show, though most of the choices the girls make frustrate me, but I'm so interested to see what happens to several of the characters, and by the next-week preview I see that actress Maho Nonami is going to be appearing, so i've got THAT to look forward to as well!

Posted by zdorama @ zdoramaagain.blogspot.com