J-Drama Diary Flashback!
I was scrolling back through my older posts on my still-hanging-on Livejournal account and was kind of surprised to realize it went all the way back to 2010! Scrolling through the posts brought back memories of specific moments in dramas, with some months being quite prolific to my overall fandom!
With that, I thought it might be fun to jump back and reminisce about what I was watching during the month of July back in 2014!
HERO 2
I really liked it, enough that I sought out all those earlier shows, and enjoyed them as well! Sadly it seems like Keiko Kitagawa's character in HERO2 was created solely to replace Takako Matsu's Amemiya character after she left, and once Matsu returned, saw little chance of Keiko returning! But with her own recurring series Ie Uru Onna, I guess Keitan's got her hands full anyway~
Hanasaki Mai Ga Damattenai
The original!!! I love how it's exactly ten years between this Anne Watanabe version and the cute Mio Imada version...there are probably a good amount of shows like this that would be great if rebooted with a fresh new cast (and room for cameos from the original) with dramas like Itarazu no Kiss and Waru (also a Mio Imada vehicle) all redone and well-received. As mentioned, I really liked both the 2014 version and the new 2024 take of Hanasaki Mai!
Zero No Shinjitsu
After falling for Emi Takei in Tokyo Zenryoku Shojo and Otenki Oneesan, this was Emi's first step to serious acting as the morose Dr. Matsumoto. As some of you may know, I'm not a super huge fan of medical themed shows as they all adhere to the exact same beats and cliches, but I found this one entertaining. Could be that at the time I was high on Emi Takei love, 'cause I also liked her NEXT medical drama "Fragile" a few years later...
PS: When in the WORLD is she coming back to dramas full time???
Shinigami-Kun
Boku No Ita Jikan
After months I finally wrapped this one up in July 2014. Haruma Miura/Mikako Tabe drama dealing with Lou Gehrig's Disease hit all the usual notes with tragedy dramas like these. At the time, the high notes for this drama was seeing Mizuki Yamamoto after her stunning turn in Summer Nude, and I also found particular thrill seeing Mieko Harada again, of course NOW it 's entirely bittersweet seeing Haruma Miura after his passing in 2020.
Boy, there was a time when ARASHI leader Satoshi Ohno was releasing drama hit after hit, and his drama as a caring Agent of Death in "Shinigami-Kun" was yet another fine character. Seems like I haven't seen Ohno in any dramas lately, though...wonder where he's been?
A fun drama, co-starring Mirei Kiritani as his harried supervisor who is always up in arms when he can't bring in his quota of souls...
