"In Your Dreams"; The Signature ZARD Line!

 Talking to a friend once and we were discussing the songs of ZARD, when I mused, "whenever Izumi needs to throw in a catchy hook, she uses her "In Your Dreams" line!" When my friend said he didn't know what I meant, I said, "You know, like in Yureru Omoi, she sings that line "Kimi to Aruki Tsuzuketai...In your dream", and in Fushigi Ne, she says practically the same line, "Sotto nemurasete in your dream"!" And with a little variation, she used it in at least two other songs, Nemurenai Yoru O Daite and  If You Gimme Smile!

In Your Dreams, the signature Zard Line!

I See What You Did There

 As some of you may have guessed by the long-time banner above of NHK asadora Agri, one of my big fave actresses of yesteryear was Misato Tanaka, and I was thrilled to see her as a guest character in an episode of the Shingo Katori drama “Anonymous”.

Playing a woman who has begun cheating on her husband, she secretly takes out her phone to use a dating app to contact her lover…and I had to laugh to see that the app was named “With Love”!

As some of you may know, one of Misato’s first starring vehicles was a romance drama with Misato and actor Yutaka Takenouchi in a “You’ve Got Mail” scenario, and the drama was called..you guessed it, WITH LOVE!

LOL, Just a little inside joke for her fans!

Tengoku to Jigoku: Psychona Futari 終わり

 An absolutely RIVETING conclusion to Tengoku To Jigoku, the body-swapping drama which had been EASILY my FAVORITE drama of 2021!!!

The tale of a determined detective who switches bodies with the psychotic serial killer she is chasing took the best acting efforts from both Haruka Ayase and Issei Takahashi, and I have to say that by the show’s conclusion this may be some of the finest acting I’ve ever seen by either of them!!!

Also props to the supporting cast like Junpei Mizubata and especially Kazuki Kitamura, the brash, arrogant and yet highly intelligent and motivated detective Mitsuo Kawahara who is always hot on the heels of the body-swapped duo as they try to wrangle themselves out of their predicament- This was a character that I never quite knew what to expect from and he surprised me every time!

An A+ drama that had me on the edge of my seat as the show took you through its elaborate twists and turns culminating in an entirely satisfying Wrap-up!!

I was excited about this ever since first hearing about it in the new drama announcement, blown away by its first episode and throughout its entire run, Tengoku to Jigoku has ALWAYS been my #1 favorite drama on the air! A definite 10/10!!!

The Return Of The Unfortunate Detective

 A FUN mini-drama FINALLY gets a proper series!!!
Some of you may remember how much I LOVED the VERY short mini drama series "Oshii Keiji" starring Shunsuke Kazama as the titular Takafumi Oshii-san, the Clouseau-like bumbling detective and his ever-suffering partner Haida, played with great candor by Ren Ishikawa...
I was ALWAYS in stitches each episode and at the time I moaned how tragic it was that this great comedy only got a mere THREE episodes, wishing for a full series. Well, I finally got my wish as the newly christened “Yappari Oshii Keiji” just started and it’s gonna be a full 10 episode drama!!! So far at two episodes in, it’s as fun as I remembered and I’m confident that it will continue to tickle my funny bone!!!!

When we check in on Oshii, his suspension is over and he is back on the force. His former partner Haida has long since been promoted out, but he is now aided by the cool but apathetic Toru Yokode (Atsuhiro Inukai) and the mousey but hard-working Kurumi Mirayama (Sei Shiraishi).

With such an oddball assortment one wonders how they will do on a case, but the team manages to function as well as can be, and together they crack the murder mystery wide open!

Was disappointed with the lack of Ren Ishikawa in this- as some may remember, this is the drama which made me a big fan of hers, thankfully she is replaced by yet ANOTHER huge favorite of mine, Sei Shiraishi, who continues to win my heart over and over again!!!

Kind of a running gag that, while Oshii is constantly immobilized and hypnotized by all the beauties he deals with, the dorky Mirayama holds no effect on him at all. Bet they build up to an episode where Oshii finds out what a FOX Sei Shiraishi is under all that mousey makeup!!!

Uchi no Musume wa Kareshi ga Dekinai

Miho Kanno and Minami Hamabe return in a wonderful new Mother/Daughter drama with "Uchi no Musume wa Kareshi ga Dekinai"!!

Aoi Minase (Miho Kanno) is an eccentric Romance Novelist who is on the downward slope of her success. “The era of Aoi Minase may be over!” she laments as her latest serialization gets cancelled and her long standing literary agent quits, only to be replaced by a younger guy.

Aoi’s last serial was a murder mystery, something she was not too succesful with, and they tell her her last chance is to go back to the romance books she was so well known for.

But for a Single Mother long out of the love game, she just doesn’t have the spirit in her to write any more romantic stories.

This concerns her introverted and studious teenage daughter Sora, who besides being her Mom’s closest ally, has been taking care of the finances and bookkeeping for the two. Aoi’s extravagant style of living, in glorious apartments and stylish clothes and meals has to go, but Aoi just cannot shrug off the rich and famous lifestyle she has been leading!

This causes clashes between the two, and whenever they need time to cool off, they always go down to the taiyaki shop run by Gon-chan (Ikki Sawamura) and his father (Masatoshi Nakamura) Besides being the place where the young Sora works, Gon has been Aoi’s friend since they were in elementary school. Somehow they always help the mother and daughter smooth things over.

A chance encounter with an “Ikemen” guy (Keisuke Higashi) where Sora has stumbled with her coffee while looking at the sky, gives her her first brush with interest in the opposite sex. Sora’s life has been an otaku obsession of manga and BL stories, but for the first time she thinks a guy’s attractive!

And so it is that when Mom Aoi confesses she has absolutely no idea of what to write for her last career-saving novel, Sora puts herself up for sacrifice, telling her, “You can write about ME! I will go out, fall in love and start a relationship! Surely THAT will give you some ideas?”

A STINNED Aoi, who has always thought her frumpy daughter would NEVER get a boyfriend, LEAPS at the idea and they make a pact!

Things seem to be off on a smooth launch, but when Aoi goes in to see a physical therapist about her “frozen shoulder’ problems, it happens to be the same guy that Sora was interested in…and MOM falls for him, too! This will SURELY throw a wrench in the Mom and Daughter’s plans!!!

I mentioned it before, but it is still a SHOCK to see actresses whom I’d primarily known for teenage roles start doing parental roles, and I confess it is still hard for me to see Miho Kanno as Minami’s Mother! But they are both GREAT here, especially Minami, whom is quickly becoming one of my BIG favorite young actresses!!!!

Can't wait to see more!!!

“ The Diary of A 38-Year-Old Divorcee Who Has Tried a Dating App”

 38sai Batsuichi Dokushin Onna ga Matching Apuri wo Yattemita Kekka Nikki

“ The Diary of the 38-year-old Divorcee who has Tried a Dating App”

Pretty Sayaka Yamaguchi stars as Chiaki Matsumoto, a 38 year old divorcee who, as she approaches 40, is hoping to recapture some of the youth she has lost.

Lamenting to her best friend Rika (Machida Marie)about how sad it is that she only loved one man her entire life, Rika recommends a dating app where she candip her toes back into the dating scene.

Not a minute has gone by when Chiaki is inundated with various replies. Seems she is a hot commodity, but when she ventures out on her first date with a young college guy, he seems detached and cheap. At first chalking it up to the age gap, she realizes that this cad only wanted to hook up for easy sex.

With the mind now of all the different expectations the matches have of her, Chiaki dives back in with caution, and after meeting a gentle natured boy who happily wants to spend time with her as a friend, she goes all-in with this dating app scene!

 In time, she really gets into the swing of things,making the most of the dating app and enjoying the thrill of spending time with a new, exciting fella each day!

Even her friend Rika and her boss are amazed at her success, but Chiaki confesses that she only ever dates these guys platonically, spending the days and evening with them but coming home alone.

So it is that Chiaki is beside herself in confusion when she winds up waking up naked in a bed with a boy whom she has spent the night with! And to show what a light-hearted and FUN show this is, Syaka thinks to herself, “How did I get into this predicament?” She's about to go through it in her head, but adds, “First things first, let me put my panties on.” LOLOLOL!

I must say, after seeing Sayaka playing so many crazy, cold-hearted and psychotic women lately, it was nice to see her going back to her “pretty woman” roles!

I already mentioned in my Alice Hirose post about how much a femme fatale I think Sayaka can be when she really sets her mind on it, and here we have her in the wonderfully cliched but eternally enduring “Beautiful Girl who doesn’t know how beautiful she is” character~!

So awesome seeing how radiant she looks all dolled up for her various dates, each with its own different feel, from classy to scholarly, sweet to sassy!

And OOHHH, that lingerie-clad ending credits, oh my heart....

And if taht wasn’t enough, we ALSO have the return of good ol’ loveable Aiko Sato, an actress I liked very much back in the day but haven’t seen hide nor hair of her in YEARS! So nice to see her again!!

Posted by zdorama @ zdoraamagain.blogspot.com