Showing posts with label kazunari ninomiya. Show all posts
Showing posts with label kazunari ninomiya. Show all posts

Thursday, November 23, 2023

A Masterful Juggling of Story Arcs in "One Day~Seiya no kara Sawagi "


A veritable ALL-STAR cast, headlined by Kazunari Ninomiya, Miki Nakatani and Takao Osawa, the new mystery/Suspense drama ONE DAY: SEIYA NO KARA SAWAGI follows three different people as their paths diverge and intersect after one fateful Christmas Eve where a man is brutally murdered at a popular gathering place in town.

There is local newscaster Kikyu Kurauchi (Nakatani), an intrepid reporter who is determined to investigate and expose the murder case- even as her news program is being threatened with replacement by a cooking show!
There is eccentric Tokio Tachiaoi (Osawa), a restaurant Chef whose Christmas plans are thwarted by a chance encounter with the murder suspect when a huge pot of demiglace gets knocked over during the altercation, throwing the restaurant’s plans and honor up in the air…
…and then there is the mysterious murder suspect himself, Seiji Suguroji (Ninomiya), a seemingly calm and collected man who wakes up in the plaza on the ground next to a dead man and no recollection of what has happened or how he got there!
Along with these three are people like Mansaku Mitsutani (Eguchi Yosuke), a hard-as-nails investigator who knows far more than he reveals- Upon arrival at the scene, he wrests the case away from main investigator Karen Karumiya (Wakana Matsumoto) though he is from an entirely different division…and may have ulterior motives for being there!
Mizuki Fuehana (Taishi Nagakawa) and Yuan Yahata (Anne Nakamura) are two components to the puzzle of whom we cannot be sure of where their alliances are. Both of them contact Suguroji in his attempts to evade the authorities, but are they there to help or hinder?
And finally, there is adorable Sako Tachiaoi (Riko Fukumoto), little sister of chef Tachiaoi and junior reporter for the same station which employs Kurauchi…and is in fact rumoured to replace her!
(Already fell in love with Riko as the irresistible RinRin in Trillion game, and here's yet another great role for her!)
 Other familiar faces we see are those of the likes of Shinya Kote, Yuki Sakurai, Kai Inowaki, Tomomi Maruyama, and even Koichi Sato! All of them are intertwined throughout the story...


From just the first episode, ONE DAY is VERY intriguing and I would LOVE to see how it all ties up! My only worry is: Will this all just come down to Corrupt Police/Politicians like ALL the other crime/suspense dramas end up?
Guess We'll have to watch and see......
PS: I was just marvelling to my friend about how many stars from my "Golden Age" of Jdrama watching are here: Osawa, Nakatani, Eguchi, Sato...all of whom were among my FIRST wave of actors and actresses I knew back in Mid 90's. Who knew they'd still be here headlining shows some 25+ years on!!!

Thursday, August 3, 2023

An Explosive Start For New Drama “VIVANT”

An All-Star PACKED Ensemble Cast in a Movie quality EPIC, starring Masao Sakai as a businessman who is in a quandary when a project he is in charge of accidentally sends 100 million to the Balka Republic for a Solar Infrastructure Development investment instead of the 10 Million promised. 

From the get go,  he is given a hard time getting the accidental 90 million back, with unanswered phone calls and unavailable contacts. In the end, he must venture to the Balka Republic himself to retrieve the funds, a trip which will have the most PROFOUND effect on his life!
One problem seems to lead to more, and as Nogi goes deeper into the labryinth of politics, he meets new allies and dangerous foes as the plot thickens and Nogi finds himself in the middle of a war between Terrorists, Counter-Terrorists, corrupt individuals and organizations...and a mysterious group known only as VIVANT.
Hiroshi Abe
Fumi Nikaido
Ryo Ryusei
Martin Starr
Fumiyo Kohinata
Koji Yakusho
Kazunari Ninomiya
Like I mentioned before, this is a jam-packed cast, with credits that seem as full as your average Taiga Drama! And with Lavish sets, beautiful locations and SLAM BAM Action scenes, Vivant seems more like a tentpole summer movie a la Christopher Nolan than your average drama!


Not sure if VIVANT is going to be like other Masato Sakai dramas like JOKER or Hanzawa Naoki, where the plot seems filled with technical money issues and corrupt power plays, or if it will focus more on the international espionage angle. With hiroshi Abe as co-lead of sorts, i'm hoping it leans more towards  cloak and dagger stuff like his Shinzanmono series, but I guess we'll see!!