Fruits Takuhaibin

About halfway through the drama "Fruits Takuhaibin~ Fruits Delivery Service and what a wonderful show it IS!!!

Returning to his hometown after his company in Tokyo went bankrupt, Shinichi Saita (Gaku Hamada) runs into an old acquaintance Misuji (Suzuki Matsuo) at a local restarurant who, upon hearing of his layoff, offers him employment at his business. 

What kind of business IS it? Shinichi wonders, but instead of explaining, Misuji simply takes Shinichi to the place, and after a brief introduction to the staff, including Masakane (Yosi Yoshiyoshi Arakawa) amd Mizuko (Fukiko Hara), learns that Misuji’s business is in fact an escort service under the name “Fruits Delivery Service!”

The girls themselves are the "fruits", and as he is introduced to the girls on hand, they’re even named after various fruits, and among the many he meets are

Ichigo (Rio Yamashita)

Mikan (Eri Tokunaga) 

Lemon (Rie Kitahara)

Yuzu (Rina Uchiyama)

Momo (Riko Narumi)

and Suika (Nuno Uraji)

He is then instructed to hurry up and deliver Mikan to her latest appointment! “B-But I haven’t even said I would accept the job…” he stammers, but he is whisked off, already employed by the company as far as they’re concerned!

And as he follows the girls through their various jobs and learns of their individual circumstances that led them to the escort business, the quiet and naive young man learns about life and all its harsh realities.

He will soon learn that the problems are a bit closer to home. On his first day back he runs into his high school friend Emi Motohashi (Riisa Naka), and upon calling up their mutual friend Oda (Tomoya Maeno), spend  happy evenings drinking up and reminiscing about the old days.

But what he doesn't realize is that Emi’s life since he’d departed hasn’t run as smoothly as he thinks, and though she keeps it a secret from everyone, Emi herself has gone over to the escort trade. How will this discovery affect their friendships and their lives?

LOVING the show so far and it’s a thrill to see which new actress will be the next “fruit” that gets introduced (each episode tends to feature one girl’s story), some are pretty, some tuff and coarse, and OH MAN the “Dragon Fruit” story STOLE THE SHOW for me!!!

This is one very touching and heartfelt drama and Saita is a perfect character to follow as he is both new and naive about the ways of the sex trade and yet kind and passionate about people and their well being. Easily the best character I’ve seen Gaku Hamada play!

Posted by zdorama @ zdoramaagain.blogspot.com

The Inevitable Upgrade of Fukakyon

A common trope of J-drama characterization is when they introduce a shy, introverted and awkward character they will dress them in suitably dour/bland clothing so the viewer can ‘get” the person’s personality right away, but as the episodes go by, they will slowly start dressing them in brighter and more appealing clothes, making the viewer subconsciously warm up to them even if they don’t immediately realize it.

And so when the first episode of  "Hajimete Koi wo Shita Hi ni Yomu Hanashi” started off showing Kyoko Fukada in smart but decidedly frumpy clothing which was thick and bulky:

...I knew that they would start slowly dressing her in more attractive clothing as it went on..
And indeed, as soon as they started introducing the romantic elements to the show, they began upping Kyoko’s wardrobe game, making her look more outgoing, but DAMN, by episode 6 I gotta say, this is getting out of hand- Kyoko’s character is supposed to be so awkward and inexperienced in love that she’s grown up believing no one could possibly be attracted to her, and while it may have been kind of believable in her first episode attire, LOOK AT HOW THEY’VE BEEN DRESSING HER in recent episodes:

COME ON, Kyoko is so damn radiant, vibrant and beautiful it is IMPOSSIBLE to fathom that this girl doesn't realize how attractive she is and that she hasn’t been getting hit on for YEARS by guys every day of her life! This is one FINE lookin’ lady!!!

And even in the classroom, Kyoko is a complete and utter smokeshow:

Man, no wonder all three main guys are going ga-ga over her lately- with a HOT teacher like THIS, it would motivate ANY guy to do his very best and go for the gold!!!

Posted by zdorama @ 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