A Harem Romance

 
Also had time to check out the very, very silly comedy “Harekon”
After finding out her latest boyfriend has been cheating on her (her third such failed relationship) Koharu Maezono (Haruka Shimazaki) decides to swear off men and packs up to go home.

Upon arriving home, she finds out two things: One, that her family’s coffee shop is set to be seized due to debt incurred during her father’s (Ikkei Watanabe) illness, a real bummer since Koharu planned to work there...

...and two: That the mayor of the town has just announced that Polygamy will be LEGAL!

It seems the new trend is having a Harem Marriage, or, “Hare-kon” and in an effort to boost declining family rates, many towns have opted into this new thing!

Koharu is lamenting the closure of the coffee shop which she grew up in, when a dashing young man named Ryunosuke (Yu Inaba) comes into the cafe for a drink. He gushes over seeing her like a lost friend, but Koharu doesn’t remember him at all.

The next day he shows up back at the Coffee House with two beautiful women,Yuzu (Yurina Yanagi) and Madoka (Nana Asakawa) who Koharu is shocked to find are his two wives! Yes, Ryunosuke has embraced the new harem trend…and hopes to make KOHARU his third! 
Hearing about her money problem, he’s come with a bag of cash but surely this gift must come with some strings attached!

LOL,  Looks like it’s gonna be another “Heroine has a money problem but she can solve it by marrying an affluent guy” that seem to be so ubiquitous nowadays (gads, I still haven’t finished Konin Todoke yet and here we are with the latest!)

Funny, the whole time I was watching it, I kept thinking, huh, that girl looks a little bit like the girl who played Honami Suzuki’s daughter in  "Shufu Katsu”. Little did I know, that’s exactly who it was!

PS- been a few years since I stopped making these screengrab headers for my monthly livejournal entries...maybe I should revisit it sometime...was a pain to make but made the blog look so much nicer than the plain text it is now...

Rika Akana Grows Up: Honami Suzuki in "Shufu Katsu"

Just about wrapped up the 2018 drama “Shufu Katsu” starring Honami Suzuki in the role of a middle-aged woman re-embarking on employment after taking time out to have kids and raise a family.

With such events mirroring Suzuki’s own, real life, one could make the analogy that the drama represents herself, and perhaps it does, but what really came across to me as I watched it was, “you know, this drama feels like a sequel to Tokyo Love Story.” I felt with some surety that if we were to check in on whatever happened to Rika Akana after she got married and grew up, Suzuki’s character of in Shufu Katsu was definitely IT!

Suzuki stars as Natsuko Miyamoto, a mother who goes to work at a supermarket when her husband Akira (Takashi Ukaji) drops a bomb that he has decided to quit his job to grow organic produce! 

Realizing that the family will need SOME kind of income, Natsuko goes job hunting with the intent of re-entering the business world.

 Things aren't that easy for a 30+ woman, however, and in the end, the only place that will accept her is the local supermarket Takaraya.

 Still, Natsuko is nothing if not enthusiastic, and uses all her energy to make this new job the best experience she can, and with her enthusiasm, helps make others around her strive to be the best they can be, as well!

Some nice bonus points for appearances of fave actresses like Ryoko Kobayashi and Kasumi Yamaya as employees of Takaraya Market who help Natsuko adjust to the fast paced life of a supermarket clerk...

As well we have Haruka Shimazaki as Natsuko's daughter Hana and svelte Sayaka Yamaguchi as a rival market exec who hopes to steal Natsuko away!

You know another thing that made me feel this way- Shufu Katsu felt SO MUCH like a generic KIKU TV family drama from the mid-90’s, my “golden age” of J-drama viewing, it gave me waves of nostalgia even though I was watching it for the first time! Lots about the Market and about marketing in general, but it was so family-centered that if felt more like a “Toshiba Theater” Sunday night drama than anything modern!

 Ahh, I could watch this forever, sadly this drama decided to have a mere 7 chapters, all of which is going by all too quickly!!

PS: Speaking of growing up, it’s a funny thing, but so many times during the drama, A thought occurred to me that Suzuki Honami looks like a grown-up version of Nana Seino!! Maybe it’s just me, but I had that thought at LEAST three times watching it. Same features, same hair and even that same beauty mark!

Posted by zdoramaagain.blogspot.com

Onto Another Emi Takei Blackmail Drama

Just started watching the Emi Takei/Dean Fujioka drama "Ima Kara Anata wo Kyohaku Shimasu (May I  Blackmail You?)" and it's a bittersweet situation: On one hand it's a decent drama and Emi Takei as the naive, simpleminded college student is captivating and charming, but on the other hand it's a burden knowing that the story will be altered and compromised as the episodes go on due to Emi's untimely pregnancy.

As far as the first episode goes, it's a lot of fun with Emi as Mio Kanesaka, a ditzy girl  who gets a strange DVD in the mail from a mysterious man who says he has her boyfriend Sato captive, and unless she pays 6 Million dollars, he will kill him.

 

This surprises Mio, not least because she doesn't have a boyfriend and has no idea who this guy is! Looking over the message, she realizes the sender has mistaken her for someone else.

She calls the number the video has instructed, and has the sad news of having to tell this would be "Intimidator" that he made a mistake and has sent the threatening video to the wrong girl!

The kidnapper's harsh demeanor turns to comical befuddlement when he realizes the flub he made, and attempts to disconnect.

 But Mio, a sweet and caring girl, is worried that Sato will be harmed, so in the most unbelievable act of good will, offers to pay the 6 Million anyway! The Kidnapper realizes he is dealing with one weird individual and attempts to hang up. much to Mio's chagrin.

The next day Mio is still worried about the date of Sato, when she is paid a visit by the kidnapper himself! He was so intrigued by this strange girl who would pay 6 Million dollars for someone else, that he just had to see her himself.

His name, we find out, is Kanji Senkawa (Dean Fujioka), and along with his partners Meguro (Hiroki Miyake) and Tochiotome (Haruka Shimazaki) run an unorthodox detective agency of sorts, where they are hired to "intimidate" people for their clients. And though they don't know it, Mio will soon become an unwilling participant in the strange case of Sato.

So far seems like a good show and it's heartbreaking to realize that the story that is being set up now will ultimately fall by the wayside when the drama is reconstructed to focus on Fujioka's character instead of Emi's. But I'll enjoy it while it lasts, and it's nice to see Haruka Shimazaki (last seen as Saenai's daughter in Super-Salary Man Saenashi) in a more charismatic role...

...with all this tinkering, I don't expect this drama will amount to anything great, but who knows....
Posted by zdorama @ zdoramaagain.blogspot.com