This Season’s Best: Unmet: Aru Nogekai no Nikki おわり

When I was at about the halfway point in the Hana Sugisaki/Ryuya Wakaba medical drama Unmet, I already knew without a doubt that this was going to be the best drama of the season, and indeed, the show only got better and better as it headed towards its conclusion, and with the final episode now done, has proven that all expectations have been fully met!

Ryuya Wakaba was great as Sanpei Tomoharu, the charismatic "center" of the drama, and WOWWW, the level of acting Hana Sugisaki held in her portrayal as the amnesiac-but-still-positive Miyabi Kawauchi has to be her FINEST yet, conveying SO MUCH with just facial expressions, head tilts and body language, so much with few words and few gestures. I was happily surprised at how much time they spend just lingering on scenes and letting the characters “breathe’ between dialog…so many of the great pivotal scenes filled with mostly silence between the characters….

I’ve long said that I’m not a huge fan of medical dramas as they all tend to skew to the same tropes, however, while Unmet of course had some of it, I was constantly surprised by the directions they chose to follow, surprised by unexpected developments, all keeping me on my toes until I realized to myself: "HEY! I'm really INVESTED here!!!"

Ryuya Wakaba

Hana Sugisaki

Iura Arata

Michiko Kichise

Terrific story aside, it MUST be said that the MAIN strength of the show is the awesome acting of everyone involved, not just the main leads, but the immediate supporting cast as well. This was a veritable "cast of hundreds", OK, more like dozens, but all colorful and likeable...

Below: Takumi Ozaki, Nakamura Riho, Kasumi Yamaya, Kayo Noro

Amane Okayama and Erika Ikuta

And I have to give a special mention of Chiba Yudai as Kota Hoshimae- he was the emotional character who stood in for us, the viewers, reflecting OUR feelings as he cheered happiness for Miyabi, crossed fingers for hope, and shed tears when misfortune befell our vulnerable heroine. It was his reactions that got the most out of me!

All of them together  produced a strong, gripping drama, one I was totally invested in for the past few months!

I was having dinner with a friend over the weekend, and I gushed “MAN…Unmet is SO GOOD right now, and I'm praying that the last episode continues on the same trajectory...please, don't screw up the ending!!”  And as I watched the last episode, besides crying my eyes out for MOST of the show’s duration, I was also very nervous about how it might end. But I need not have worried, for the drama delivered one of the best, concise and clear endings it could have, causing me to breathe a sigh of relief…even as I shed even MORE tears!

Aw Man, Hana Sugisaki MUST get some kind of accolade for this drama…it was the number ONE drama of the season, BAR NONE, and most of it was due to her and her wonderful creation of Miyabi. This was one real MUST SEE drama!

Posted by zdorama @ zdoramaagain.blogspot.com

Rika Akana Grows Up: Honami Suzuki in "Shufu Katsu"

Just about wrapped up the 2018 drama “Shufu Katsu” starring Honami Suzuki in the role of a middle-aged woman re-embarking on employment after taking time out to have kids and raise a family.

With such events mirroring Suzuki’s own, real life, one could make the analogy that the drama represents herself, and perhaps it does, but what really came across to me as I watched it was, “you know, this drama feels like a sequel to Tokyo Love Story.” I felt with some surety that if we were to check in on whatever happened to Rika Akana after she got married and grew up, Suzuki’s character of in Shufu Katsu was definitely IT!

Suzuki stars as Natsuko Miyamoto, a mother who goes to work at a supermarket when her husband Akira (Takashi Ukaji) drops a bomb that he has decided to quit his job to grow organic produce! 

Realizing that the family will need SOME kind of income, Natsuko goes job hunting with the intent of re-entering the business world.

 Things aren't that easy for a 30+ woman, however, and in the end, the only place that will accept her is the local supermarket Takaraya.

 Still, Natsuko is nothing if not enthusiastic, and uses all her energy to make this new job the best experience she can, and with her enthusiasm, helps make others around her strive to be the best they can be, as well!

Some nice bonus points for appearances of fave actresses like Ryoko Kobayashi and Kasumi Yamaya as employees of Takaraya Market who help Natsuko adjust to the fast paced life of a supermarket clerk...

As well we have Haruka Shimazaki as Natsuko's daughter Hana and svelte Sayaka Yamaguchi as a rival market exec who hopes to steal Natsuko away!

You know another thing that made me feel this way- Shufu Katsu felt SO MUCH like a generic KIKU TV family drama from the mid-90’s, my “golden age” of J-drama viewing, it gave me waves of nostalgia even though I was watching it for the first time! Lots about the Market and about marketing in general, but it was so family-centered that if felt more like a “Toshiba Theater” Sunday night drama than anything modern!

 Ahh, I could watch this forever, sadly this drama decided to have a mere 7 chapters, all of which is going by all too quickly!!

PS: Speaking of growing up, it’s a funny thing, but so many times during the drama, A thought occurred to me that Suzuki Honami looks like a grown-up version of Nana Seino!! Maybe it’s just me, but I had that thought at LEAST three times watching it. Same features, same hair and even that same beauty mark!

Posted by zdoramaagain.blogspot.com

Who's That Girl?

Who is this Lovely Lass???

Been quite enjoying the drama “Kekkon Aite wa Chusen De”, the drama of a future where, because of the declining birthrate, all available men and women between the ages 25 and 39 must submit to a government controlled program where they will be matched up with potential marriage partners.

So far it’s been an engaging show with likable characters, with Shuhei Nomura as a self professed Otaku with a cleanliness fetish,

Aimi Satsukawa as a meek girl trying to make it in the big city,

Ryohei Otani as an affluent son of an influential family,

...and it was really nice to see Rin Takanashi flex her sexy and savvy skills as haughty socialite Nana- (my GOSH she was so gorgeous here),

BUT one question kept running through my head every time they showed Nana working at her radio station job: who the HECK was the babealicious girl sitting BEHIND Rin Takanashi??

 Had No IDEA who she was, but she was so stylish, chatty and girlish that she immediately caught my attention!

Basically this girl was there to react to everything Rin Takanashi's character said, making for some WONDERFULLY adorable muggings!

It became a high point in each episode to wait for Nana to go to work so I could see this cutie in all her fun and goofy glory! I think she was supposed to be a cute, young contrast to Nana's older and jaded demeanor, and you can clearly see the age gap in theses caps!

At first i thought it was Yua Shinkawa as she reminded me so much of her character Ryuko Ishino in “Nou ni Sumaho ga Umerare”, but as I looked closer, it was some girl I am almost positive I’ve never seen before! (although I could be wrong, I’ve overlooked girls before)

The Dramawiki and Asianwiki pages don’t give me any clue but I’m going to leave this here for now and hopefully will be back with an edit when I find out just who this girl IS!

EDIT!!!!

After much digging and struggling with Japanese wikipedia articles (and a hefty use of Google Translate to help me navigate the sites), I was FINALLY able to find out who this girl was: Her name is Kasumi Yamaya, a bright and sparkly actress who has been in quite a few dramas over the years in bit-part roles over the years,( including her debut which was in the 2008 Kimura Takuya drama Change) as well as a singer under Avex! So the girl I thought was a newbie actually's been around quite awhile!

Digging even further, I found Kasumi played Rumi Komaki in Kamen Rider × Kamen Rider Wizard & Fourze: Movie War Ultimatum…because OF COURSE she was a Kamen Rider girl! As a rule, ALL new up and coming actresses I love seem to have graduated from Masked Rider High School!!! 

And if that wasn't enough of a surprise, I found that Kasumi’s currently in a drama I'm watching RIGHT NOW, playing Yuko Araki’s little sister in the Ryo Nishikido drama TRUTH! Huh! I Had NO IDEA the girl I was seeing playing Kanna was my mystery girl- I just did not recognize her! Well, whaddaya know!

I'll be sure to recognize her from now on!
Posted by zdorama @ zdoramaagain.blogspot.com