Hitting the Pavement with "Keishicho Outsider"!

Just checked out the new show KEISHICHO OUTSIDER! So far a pretty great and entertaining crime drama starring Hidetoshi Nishijima and Gaku Hamada as two detectives with dubious pasts who are put together in a new crime unit to tackle the evildoers of the neighborhood, as well as Moka Kamishiraishi as a wide-eyed rookie assigned to the eccentric team!

Nishijima is Eiji Kagawa, a transfer from another precinct and formerly froma task force focused on Gangs, while Hamada is Kosuke Hasumi, a VERY “by the books” detective who instantly clashes with Kagawa’s loudmouthed approach to things. Add in Kamishiraishi's Nao Mizuki as the team’s new (and woefully clueless) recruit, and you’ve got slam bang of a team!

Each one secretive,  abrasive, and ODD in their own way, each one brings a special something to the table making them one of the best teams for the job...though their different personalities DO make for some colorful conversations!

A very fun and spirited show, with playful banter throughout, it is a joy just listening to the main characters talk and argue amongst each other!

Another bonus is that bside the main three actors, you’ve got a whole bunch of great support acts, such as Ainosuke Kataoka VI and Hikari Ishida as Moka’s separated parents,

Also Maho Nonami and Neru Nagahama as Ayako Kurama and Maki Yonemitsu, the station’s gossipy (and, in Ayako’s case, man-hungry) flighty females…

Toshiro Yanagiba as Kagawa’s former associate and mentor Kaname Fujiwara. (and the adorable and genki Ayaka Imoto as a girl helping out on the bar they go to have their talks!)

And last but not least, actress Yuka as the sassy and not-to-be-messed-with forensics expert Motoko Nishina! She really steals her scenes, using her sharp tongue to bite back at the guys when they try to order her around!!

An actress I really like, I really haven't seen her in enough things. We need to see her more often!

In any case,  had a GREAT time watching this and can’t wait for more!

Posted by zdorama @ zdoramaagain.blogspot.com

Sleeper Agents of Another Kind

Yuiko (Kimura Manatsu) and Mutoi (Kitagawa Keiko) in Akumu-Chan

 Just finished watching the latest episode of Akumu-Chan, and was once again properly blown away! I could say that the show is getting better and better, but even more than that, with episode 5, the show has moved up into another gear COMPLETELY! With its beginnings as a "Teacher/Problem Students" format, this drama has revved up into a real sci-fi action flick, with teacher Ayami Mutoi (Kitagawa Keiko) and student Koto Yuiko (Kimura Manatsu) using their dream precognition abilities like freakin' SUPER-POWERS!

Each Episode begins with Mutoi not wanting to get involved...

But when things get serious, she's determined to help!

  When two of the school's students have gone missing without a trace, it is up to Mutoi and Yuiko to find out what happened, and watching them run to the Health room and get into sleep position was as exciting as watching Bruce Wayne and Dick Grayson slide down the pole to the Batcave, it was like, "Aw, HELL YEAH, they're bustin' out the POWERS NOW!

Ayami goes into Sleep Mode...

...and Jumps Into the Dream State!

 No good superhero action drama would be complete without its villains, and Gackt as the sinister Dr. Shiki and his unwitting accessory to the crime, Health Aide Hirashima (Yuka) fit the bill perfectly! At this pivotal point, Shiki has split from the "Good Guys" and has gone on solo to become the enemy!

Shiki (Gackt) and Hirashima (Yuka)

 Throw in Fumiyo Kohinata as a wizened Commissioner Gordon/Alfred the Butler type Dr. Koto, and you've got yourself another traditional Super-Hero masterpiece complete with all the trappings!!!!! School is now in session!

Kitagawa, Kohinata and Kimura

Another Problem Averted thanks to the Dynamic Dream Duo

Posted by zdorama @ zdoramaagain.blogspot.com

Akumu-Chan Sparks a Childhood Memory...

Princess Keiko in Akuma Chan 

Watching this past week’s episode of Akumuchan where an enchanted Keiko Kitagawa romps through the lands of her dreams and chows down on a magical house made of out of candy and cookies reminded me of a hilarious comment my sister had made when our mother was reading Hansel and Gretel to us as kids...

The Fairy-Tale House of your Dreams!

 My mother read, "...And soon Hansel and Gretel came upon a house made entirely out of cake, candy and cookies! The two hungry children ran up to the house and began eating from it, pulling off candy canes and cupcakes and stuffing themselves, when...” “But MOM!” my sister interjected, “If that house was made of candy, what about the cockroaches?!” My Mother assured her it was a MAGICAL house, and therefore had NO bug infestations!

Cookies, Candy, Doughnut, and YES, even Waffles!

Keiko nibbling on a piece of Waffle

  Another funny comment made by my sister was when our mother was reading “Goldilocks and the Three Bears”, though I think only those living in Hawaii will understand it: As my Mother read, “Goldilocks had fallen asleep in the Littlest bed, when whom should come home but the Three Bears!  Entering, they had no idea that someone had been in the house ‘til they saw the bowls of eaten porridge…”   “But MOM!” my sister cut in again, “Wouldn’t the Bears have known Goldilocks was inside because of her slippers outside?” LOLOL! Anyway....

Back to Reality with Yuka and Keiko

“Akumu-Chan” continues to be a fascinating tale as long as it’s focused on the subject of dreams, dreaming and possible precognition, but sadly, for the most part, this show is turning into another “Students with problems gets help from Unorthodox Teacher” kind of drama. Too Bad, because the Dream-theory part of the show rocks, the characters are totally engaging and it is funny as heck! This show needs more dreams, less reality! AHAHAHA!
Posted by zdorama @ zdoramaagain.blogspot.com

Mop Girl Rides Again! (Well, Sort Of...)

Kitagawa Keiko in the new supernatural thriller Akuma-Chan

 Just finished watching the first episode of the supernaturally wacky AKUMU-CHAN, and for those of you out there who (like me) have yearned for the day when Kitagawa Keiko returns to her MOP GIRL roots, this drama will surely be the tonic! 

Kitagawa Keiko meets Kimura Manatsu

The story of a young girl with clairvoyant powers to see the future who teams up with an older sensei to help her prevent the calamities from happening is pure Momoko Hasegawa, only this time, Keiko's the senior and actress Kimura Manatsu is the child with "the gift"!

Yuiko Imploring Mutoi's help

"Now What Have I gotten Myself Into?!"

 Keiko plays Mutoi Ayami, a teacher with a seemingly wonderfully bright and perky personality that disguises her actual cold-hearted nature underneath. One day a new transfer student named Yuiko arrives and tells her that she is the only one who can save an old woman from dying. An unbelieving Mutoi refuses to act, and only after the horrific accident happens does she believe the child when she says  she can dream the future. Together with the girl and her eccentric scientist Grandfather (played by the equally eccentric Fumiyo Kohinata), they team up to stop future catastrophes from happening!

Kohinata Fumiyo, Kimura Manatsu and Kitagawa Keiko

"Your Dreams are getting me in Trouble!"

While the show leans more towards a realistic slant (the fantasy elements are kept in dreams and are meant to be "symbolic" of the events happening in the "Real World"), there's still enough mind-boggling surprises to keep Keiko Kitagawa constantly giving that wonderful open-mouthed stunned face of puzzlement, the interaction between her and the young Manatsu are charming, and throwing in cute YUKA as a rival schoolteacher (well, Health Aide) who is constantly at odds with her, this is a treat for older and newer Keiko fans alike!

Yuka trades barbs with Keiko

Posted by zdorama @ zdoramaagain.blogspot.com