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| Kanjiya Shihori in Kimi Hannin Janai Yo Ne? |
A few weeks ago my friend Car and I were taking about NHK Taiga dramas and the actors who appeared in them. At one point she was talking about an actress but couldn’t recall her name. She said, “it was that one actress from Ryomaden with the funny name that you said you used to think was unattractive but saw her in another drama and thought she was cute”.
By the clues “actress with the funny name” and “Ryoma”, I’d already figured out she was talking about actress Shihori Kanjiya, and I HAD told her about seeing her in a mystery comedy called Kimi Hannin Janai Yo Ne” and liking her a LOT in it, but I didn’t recall thinking she was “cute”, seeing as how that just AIN’T Shihori Kanjiya’s STYLE! Quirky, yes… but cute?
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| Kanjiya Shihori with Kaname Jun |
Thinking about Kimi Hannin Janai Yo Ne, I then realized that I actually hadn’t even finished watching that drama and it was still sitting on my backup harddrive! I dusted it off and started watching it again all over from the beginning, and I GOTTA SAY…Shihori IS really CUTE in this!!! Not in the “Beautiful” sense, but more in the “Adorably spazzy to the point of wanting to cuddle her” kind of Cute!
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| "Ehhhhh!" |
Such a hilarious comedy- Kanjiya plays a would-be mystery novelist named Morita Sakura who, because of her keen eyes of observation and a freakish photographic memory, is invaluable to hapless Police Investigator Udagawa (played by Jun Kaname) who pays her to help him solve cases so he can “save face” within his troupe. Only problem is, she’s an utter realist, and Udagawa’s a romantic fool who falls in love with all of his suspects, leaving the two to bicker almost non-stop! Additionally, the other police team members(who don’t realize Morita is helping solve the crimes) think she’s just a wannabe novelist snooping around for book inspiration and frequently harass her! Sounds mean, but it’s all done is such a comically silly way that ya just GOTTA laugh!
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| "D'oh!!!" thinks a bummed Sakura |
If it sounds like I’m overly harsh on Shihori Kanjiya, it’s probably because just about the FIRST thing I ever saw her in was the 2009 drama “Love Shuffle” and oh BOY was she an unlikeable character- it wasn’t until I saw her in “Buzzer Beat” as Kitagawa Keiko’s best friend Mai that I even began liking her! After watching her in Ryomaden, I DID finally respect her as an actress, but seeing her in Kimi Hannin Janai Yo Ne is a totally new side of her!
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| with Karina in Love Shuffle |
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| with Kitagawa Keiko in Buzzer Beat |
Looks like I’ll have to stand by my original observation that Shihori Kanjiya is CUTE in this one- she really steals the show, and that’s saying something when you figure that each episode features a different beautiful actress as the latest murder suspect, from gals like Sayaka Yamaguchi, Nana Katase and even Ayaka “Sailor Venus” Komatsu, among others…
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| Yamaguchi Sayaka |
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| Katase Nana |
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| Komatsu Ayaka |
Heck, even Morita’s merciless book editor (played by the luscious Nana Ogawa) is a total babe!
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| Ogawa Nana |
With all this eye candy, knowing that Kanjiya is STILL the main reason I want to watch this show is impressive indeed! Looks like when you get right down to it, I actually REALLY like her!!!
