YIPS Back on my Viewing Schedule!

Bakarhythm and Shinohara Ryoko in YIPS

After being dropped by its initial subbing team back in 2024, the Bakarhythm/Ryoko Shinohara crime drama YIPS is happily being subbed by a new group and after all this time,  I'm finally going to be able to check it out! And so far, it's been GREAT!

In sports there is an ailment called YIPS, those cases when an athlete suddenly psychologically loses the ability to do some move or action anymore, and this drama tells the story of two people suffering from a similar psychosis. There is Toru Morino (Bakarhythm), a police detective who, after years of being lauded as the genius ace of the department who always cracks his cases, suddenly finding him unable to properly do his job due to the overwhelming expectations laid upon him.

And then there is Miko Kuroba (Ryoko Shinohara), a famous crime novelist who, after years of penning best seller after best seller, is faced with the same crippling burden of over-expectation for her new work, and when she sits at her desk, finds herself unable to come up with a single idea.

By chance the two characters end up at a popular new spa, and while they ming their own business at first, Morino instantly recognizes Kuroba and begins pestering her with questions about her new novel, and why her last few were so mediocre. How Rude!

Through his words, Kuroba realizes this guy has been criticizing her works on social media under an alias, and calls him out! While they immediately begin to bicker and get on each others' nerves, it is cut short when they discover a dead body floating in the spa pool nearby!

As a mystery writer, Kuroba is thrilled to be witness to such a crime, gushing "This is the first time seeing a real life corpse!" to the detective heading the case, the pompadour coiffed Sakai (Ryosuke Mikata). But Morino seems determined to keep out of it, perplexing her, until he reveals his position as a detective and his malady of being psychologically unable to complete his investigations.

It's here that Kuroba comes up with the novel idea for them to pool together their efforts- she'll help him with his shortcomings in the investigation, and she'll use the knowledge she gains from the case to get out of her book writing slump!

With two such opposite characters (Kuroba an outspoken loudmouth and Morino a mumbly recluse), you'd think this partnership can't last, but what do you know, they really compliment each other, and make signifiant headway into the crime- including zeroing in on cutie-pie guest of the week Reina Triendl as their main suspect....

Yes, when these two put their heads together, it seems they can crack any case! And with some success, they may even get over their self-imposed YIPS syndromes and get back to their jobs in earnest!

I was initially drawn to this drama for the Bakarhythm connection, however it's not a Bakarhythm-scripted show this time, and rather one he's simply co-starring in. Nonetheless it's fun and he and Shinohara are GREAT together!!!  This will be a drama well worth the long WAIT!

Close Encounters of the Baka Kind: Bakarhythm Returns with "The Hot Spot"

Akihiro Kakuta and Mikako Ichikawa in THE HOT SPOT

Been enjoying the new drama THE HOT SPOT, about a woman working at a Hot Springs hotel who finds out her co-worker is an extraterrestrial alien of vaguely superhuman strengths, and to whom she uses to make her hectic job easier! 

Mikako Ichikawa stars as Kiyomi Endo, a sensible single mother of one, who spends her days as a matter of routine: Get up, make breakfast for her daughter, bicycle to work, do her duties at the front desk of the hotel, go home at 6 and make dinner for her daughter who comes home from cram school at 8. 

At the front desk with co-workers Isomura and Sawada (Kaho and Maki Sakai).

Manager Okuda (Naoki Tanaka)

It's a complicated job, but somebody's got to do it!

This all changes one day when, bicycling home from work, she accidentally swerves in front of an oncoming truck-and is saved by the swift speed of her senior at the hotel, Takahashi (Akihiro Kakuta). Stunned by this sudden outburst of strength, she is further confused when he implores her to not breathe a word of the heroic deed to anyone. Why?

This secrecy really piques Kiyomi’s curiosity and the next day at work, she keeps at him until he finally confesses a most unbelievable statement: that he is an ALIEN born to a human father and alien mother!  He'd rather no one know about his secret and asks her to PLEASE keep it to herself!

"An ALIEN?"

"An Alien."

"..."

At first thinking him off his rocker, with a few demonstrations of his “powers”, she is convinced, and at once realizes that someone with his gifts is JUST the kind of thing she needs to help her in her busy day at work dealing with all the multitudes of problems the front desk receives! 

"With these powers, you can help me with my customer service problem!"

"You might be overestimating what I can do..."

Nonetheless, the dynamic duo gamely tackle the problems, and whaddaya know- they succeed! Takahashi's alien powers might JUST be the thing to keep the staff's sanity at the Onsen!

Scriptwritten by the mad mind of BAKARHYTHM, this is yet another FUN drama in the vein of his slightly sci-fi comedies like Suteki Na Sen TAXI and the excellent BRUSH UP LIFE, full of zany dialog, wacky scenarios, kooky and chatty best friends, and of course, true HEART at the base of it all! 

Kiyomi and friends Minami and Hazuki (Kami Hiraiwa and Anne Suzuki)

Skeptical friends being introduced to the "Alien"

On the case!

From the beginning, this was the SOLE drama I was looking forward to this season, and so far it has been everything I’ve hoped for!!! Can’t wait to see more!!!

...And On The Subject of Bakarhthym...

Shinohara Ryoko and Bakarhythm in "YIPS"

 We're still high off the vibes of the wonderful Bakarhythm drama "Brush Up Life" and have been treating it with doses of Non-REM no Mado, but it looks like we've got a whole new show to look forward to!!!

In sports there is an ailment called YIPS, those rare cases when an athlete suddenly loses the ability to do some move or action anymore. And in this new drama , Bakarhythm plays a detective who has suddenly lost the ability to solve his cases. Paired up with Ryoko Shinohara, an best-selling mystery author suffering the same kind of writer's block, they make up for what the other lacks and are able to get the job done!!

From Yahoo news:

The main characters of this work are mystery writer Miko Kuroba (Miko Kuroba, Shinohara) and Toru Morino (Toru Morino, Baka Rhythm), a detective in the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department's First Investigation Division. Miko has released a series of bestsellers since her debut and has become a popular writer, but now she is no longer able to write and is working as a commentator on Wide Show as a side job, which is almost like her main job. On the other hand, due to something that happened to Morino, his arrest rate went down and he was unable to solve the case. Both of them suffered from yips, which causes them to suddenly become unable to do things they normally do without thinking because of pressure.

The two meet by chance at a sauna facility where they were visiting to escape from work, and after encountering a murder case, they decide to team up as buddies. Miko is intrigued by the incident, saying, "I can pick up material for a novel'' and "This is the first time I've seen a living corpse.'' Morino, on the other hand, shows a keen insight as a detective even though he is not familiar with investigations, and works with Miko to get closer to the truth. Their investigation leads to the culprit, and they try to question the suspect himself, but Morino's yips kicks in. A mystery writer who can't write and an elite detective who can't solve the problem. A thrilling mystery comedy begins in which Yips buddies who are in a bad state sometimes help each other and aim to restart even as they struggle.

Not a Bakarhythm-scripted show this time- one he's simply co-starring in, but it certainly sounds like fun and I'm eager to check it out! Coming out in April of this year, can I wait that long???

Brush Up Life おわり- Another Masterpiece from Bakarhythm!

Just wrapped up Brush Up life, the drama with the similar premise of Suteki Na Sen Taxi about a woman who, at death's door, is given the chance to be reborn and re-do her life all over again to "fix" her past missteps and choices, and, as expected, was simply and utterly AMAZING!

From the get go I was entertained by the way main character Asami Kondo (Sakura Ando) took on the task of reliving her life with the intention of getting good points for her inevitable afterlife, and af first the show was very wacky indeed! But as the show went on and the stakes got higher, what developed was an introspective and HEARTFELT drama, one that had me totally engaged and ENTHRALLED all the way to the end!!

Lots of opportunities for wackiness, but what really came through was the love of family and the power of friends and friendship, especially the kind you make when you are very young and carry with you throughout your entire lives. This show made a point of how precious these kinds of things are and are meant to be cherished and appreciated. 

As those who've seen Suteki Na sen Taxi's more sombre episodes, Bakarhythm has an impeccable talent for mixing the most outlandish ideas with some of the sweetest and touching moments, and Brush up life was yet another fine masterpiece!

With Brush up Life, I can safely say that he has become one of my all time favorite screenwriters, one whom I will gladly await upon each and any new projects he does! An A-PLUS from Me!!!!