Mondai Bukken: Problem Property!

Rio Uchida and Takaya Kamikawa in Mondai Bukken

A young woman realtor in sales suddenly put in charge of problem housing, a young man obsessed with psychic phenomena, and a mysterious man with decidedly dog-like capabilities. Put them all together and you've got  “Mondai Bukken-“Problem Property”! Our story:

Emiko Wakamiya (Rio Uchida) is a young woman working for Oshima Real Estate who gets transferred to a small subdivision of the business called the Sales Exception Office, located not in the building but in a luxurious mansion in town!

There Emiko meets the young head of the department Masahiro Oshima (Ryubi Miyase) and his trusty dog Inuta.  A sudden transfer, she has no idea what this department does...or what they have in store for her!

She soon learns through the intermediary Katayama (Chikara Honda) that Emiko’s new job will be checking out troubled properties that the company owns, and thanks for Oshima’s geeky obsession with the macabre, the problems ALL seem to be of a ghostly and supernatural kind!

The first job she is given is to check up on a property which has had FIVE suicides within it and is considered “CURSED! "Cursed????! EEEK!" thinks Emiko!

As a real "scaredy cat” which she attributes to some kind of childhood trauma, Emiko totally balks at this new job prospect, but she is reminded that she was a mediocre worker in the company before, and if she expects to keep her job, she must apply herself here and get results!

Nervous and unsure of herself, Emiko finally sums up her courage and makes her way down to the cursed apartment. She doesn’t have a clue how to start this case, but she is met at the apartment by a strange, dashing man who seems to have a grip on the situation and a gift for sniffing out the facts!

? ? ? ? ? ? 

The name’s name is Kotaro Inugashima (Takaya Kamikawa), and he informs Emiko that he has been sent by the company to assist her, and has been briefed on the situation of the cursed property...and immediately takes control of the investigation!

Besides the very dog-like name, this “Inugashima” has many attributes that remind Emiko of a dog as well- heightened sense of both hearing and smell and able to run at high speeds, all of which help with the investigation but keep Emiko flustered throughout!

Together they work through the clues: the witnesses, the possible suspects who might set up such a scene ,etc, etc, and they even have the help of former police detective Jiro Arimura  (Kento Hamano) to help them on the case! 

By the episode's end, the crackerjack team has uncovered the truth about the supernatural goings-on at the supposedly cursed apartment, and the case is considered closed!  The tenants are free to resume their residence there, relieved of any ghostly apparitions or doomsday curses!

Back at the office the next day, Emiko gushes that she really couldn’t have done it without the help of Inugashima-and is SHOCKED to find that no one has heard of this person and that no one at the company has sent any agent to help her! 

EHHHH??? This leaves Emiko to wonder just WHO that Inugashima IS…and is it just her imagination, or does Oshima’s dog look strangely reminiscent of Inugashima himself….? 

It can’t be! Or...CAN it? 

LOLOL!

As you all know I love Rio Uchida and her role as the addled Emiko Wakamiya charms throughout and it's a kind of fun set-up, so we’ll see where this one goes!

Posted by zdorama @ zdoramaagain.blogspot.com

Believe~Kimi no Kakeru Hashi

 Takuya Kimura stars as Riku Kariyama, an architectural designer with great skills and success. He has confidence in both his designs as well as his relationship with work associates, where he is respected and well-liked!

Maika Yamamoto

Hayate Ichinose

Kinya Kitaoji

As the head designer of a prominent bridge set to be the crowning achievement of a town, it seems he only has highs to look forward to- that is until tragedy strikes. While on location doing routine inspections to the bridge, a serious fault is discovered and, once failing, sets in motion a horrific collapse of the entire structure, causing both injury and even death.

Though there are lots of factors to the incident and much finger pointing, as the head designer of the project, Kariyama takes it upon himself to accept full responsibility for the accident, and after a sensational trail, is sentenced to a prison term.

Though now in prison, Kariyama still holds fast to his dignity and reserve, believing what he has done by taking the burden of the responsibility off the company and fellow workers by placing the fault in his initial architectural designs.

But we will learn that  there have actually been NO faults in his part of the project, and that the blame falls squarely on the supplier of the support cables, of whom which they secretly replaced quality materials with shoddy replacements. No, the real reason Kariyama has taken the blame is due to company president Osoda’s request, who feels that if the truth were to come out, the company themselves would be blamed for associating with the faulty supplier.

Osoda promises  that if Kariyama takes the blame, he will make sure his punishment is light and will surely be returned to the company in due time.But of course, these promises soon fall by the wayside as greedy people in positions of power make their own moves within the company.

For his part, Kariyama intends to endure his sentence silently, believing it is for the sake of all. But when his wife Reiko (Amami Yuki) visits him, she only has two things to report. One, that what he’s doing is not noble protecting people with his silence, but rather lying and deception. And furthermore, she adds that though he never noticed when they were together, she is dying of cancer, and, as it stands, he won’t be out until she has long passed.

It is faced with these hard truths that Kariyama takes stock in what he has done and said and, with the help of his lawyer Akizawa (Saito Takumi),  asks for a retrial so he can finally speak the truth of the tragic accident and clear his name.

But with so much at stake, there are many who can benefit from him remaining imprisoned and  use all their connections to sabotage his attempts at freedom. At the same time, there are those out there who are seeking the truth of the matter, and who will work tirelessly to have Kariyama’s voice heard and the corrupt individuals exposed!

Takaya Kamikawa

Ryoma Takeuchi

Fumiyo Kohinata

Takumi Saito

Chikako Kaku

Yuki Amami

As usual for  Kimura Takuya vehicles, Believe~Kimi no Kakeru Hashi is a real event, with huge stars simply crammed into the cast in all prominent roles and this one looks to be a fast-paced and gripping show!

So far it seems to be a character-driven series rather than a political/business one, and that’s a good sign. Lately lots of dramas have taken the VIVANT route and (IN my opinion) simply been bogged down with technical government/political stuff...I know this is a popular genre right now, but I get a real headache trying to wade through so much technical jargon, political figures, departments, etc.... hope this one doesn’t fall to the same trope!