Dark Tower: Crime and Corruption in “Sakura No Tou”

 Just watched the first episode of the crime drama “Sakura No Tou~ Cherry Blossom’s Tower” and this one really hit the ground running, with its dark and gritty style.
Ren Kamijo (Hiroshi Tamaki) is a morose and brooding detective working for the Metropolitan Police Department who keeps his feelings and methods to himself as he works his cases.
As a child, he looked up to his father who was also a Police Officer. But beneath his Dad’s happy exterior he always sensed something sad about him, and he is devastated when he commits suicide.

Knowing that a huge part of his Father’s frustrations was the politics he had to deal with on the force, and Ren has grown up believing the only thing that matters is power. power to control some and be shielded from others. And so he has had only one goal in mind, to move up the ladder of command in the department til he is at the top of the “tower”, and  to get there he throws integrity to the wind, using the most unscrupulous of methods to get what he needs to solve his cases, not caring if he has to break some laws himself to do it!

He will have a huge uphill battle on his hands, as the Metropolitan Police is in the middle of a huge power struggle between several splinters at the top, including Sendo (Kippei Shiina), Yoshinaga (Ken Mitsuishi) and Gondo (Kotaro Yoshida), all of whom want the same goal of complete control. 

Sendo is a colleague of Kamijo and takes him under his wing in an effort to use him to promote his office. In this they are kindred spirits for Sendo also wants to move up regardless of what it takes, and gives Kamijo an unofficial nod to do what he sees fit!

On that front, Kamijo has a team of people with equally questionable ethics to help him, the savvy Cabaclub Bar Mama Komiya (Saki Takaoka) and ex-detective Kariya (Jun Hashimoto), all of whom collude with kamijo to frame, extort and threaten the suspects until Kamijo can make the arrest!

One person who frowns upon  Kamijo’s methods is Sawa Mizuki (Ryoko Hirosue), his childhood friend who is also a detective in the department. As she is not an “elite” like Kamijo, she is lower in rank and can truthfully not expect to get much higher. Still, she is passionate about her job and is constantly frustrated when the higher-ups’ bickering and games prevents them from doing their job.

When Kamijo is assigned to head the case of a Bank Robbery gone wrong, Sawa has a chance to reconnect with Kamijo and remarks how dark he has become since they were kids.

But the darkness runs deeper that she can imagine, and though they initially team up to investigate, once his unethical ways come to light, her conscience is torn between the results he gets…and doing what is right.

A veritable ALL-STAR cast here with heavy hitters as all the principle roles, and we even have saucy Risa Naka back in another one of her trademark “sassy spoiled girl with evil streak in her” roles as the daughter of Sendo and a possible romantic interest of Kamijo’s…or perhaps something more sinister?!

Oh Man, this is building up to be one heck of a drama, in the vein of KUROKOCHI,  JOKER: YURUSAREZARU SOSAKAN, or BORDER, with the lead as a conflicted person who shows as much depravity as he does heroics! I’ve written about how much I love these anti-heroes in dramas and it’s been intriguing to say the least!

PS: I really like the look of Hiroshi Tamaki as the hard-as-nails detective Kamijo...at times seems to be channeling Steve McGarrett of Hawaii 5-O! Maybe it's the hair...

Posted by zdorama @ zdoramaagain.blogspot.com

A Magnificent Revenge: Miho Nakayama et al in "Kenja No Ai"

An absolutely smoldering performance by Miho Nakayama as a beautiful woman who plots an elaborate magnificent revenge scheme on the woman who has systematically taken everything of importance to her since childhood...

When Literary Agent Mayuko Takanaka (Nakayama) was a child, she was surrounded by a loving family with nurturing parents and a kind grandmother in a warm, cozy house with a flower garden and swing set.

 She even had a first love of sorts, with a young author named Ryoichi Sawamura rooming in the cottage below.

Every thing seemed perfect…until the new neighbors moved in and she met young Yuri Asakura.

Upon meeting they instantly become friends, but even from the beginning  Yuri shows a greedy and selfish side, asking if she can have the pretty necklace that Mayu is wearing.

Wanting to respect her new friend and not wanting to rock any boats, the young Mayu reluctantly gives it up, but this is just the beginning of what Yuri will demand of her in the years to come. Yuri is jealous of everything Mayu has- her happy childhood, her nice family, her quaint home...and wants to steal all of it.

As the two women grow to teenagers and then to adulthood, Yuri goes from taking gifts and jewelry from Mayu to stealing the man she loves and even destroying the relationship Mayu has with her parents. It seems that anything Mayu has, Yuri suddenly NEEDS to have it, too, no matter who she hurts or what she damages. 

By the time they are adults, the now grown Yuri (Saki Takaoka) and Ryoichi (Seiichi Tanabe) have married, a goal Yuri is delighted to have made…simply because now Mayu cannot have it.

The always reserved Mayu keeps her heartbroken feelings inside, but when Yuri and Ryoichi have their first child, a boy named Naomi, Mayu dreams up a diabolical revenge on Yuri to get back at her for all the hurt she has given her and all the love she has stolen.

 Her plot is a far-reaching plan which will take years to enact and must be done with the utmost of care. Inspired by a novel she read long ago in her father’s library, she intends to steal the love of Yuri’s child away from her by slowly and meticulously winning his favor, grooming him so that he sees her as the most desirable woman in the world, and then, when he is of age, seduce him and steal him away!

She starts off by nurturing his trust and confidence whenever the clueless Yuri and Ryoichi leave him with her when they go on trips. Mayu uses the time to bond with Naomi by sharing confidences, playing games where they ‘keep secrets’ from his parents. Soon Naomi cannot wait for his trips to Mayu's house!

The boy adores Mayu and she is forever doting on him, touching him and stroking his hair whenever he needs soothing. As she does, she builds him up and he in return looks upon her with great reverence and awe.

 Soon he is crushing hard on his “Aunt”, proclaiming that when he grows up, he wants to buy her gifts and marry her, a statement that causes Mayu no small satisfaction!

As Naomi (now played by Ryo Ryusei) grows into a young man, Mayu teaches him all about the world around him, fine dining, fine literature and fine etiquette.

As Mayu has meticulously crafted, Naomi now looks upon her as the most interesting, amazing woman in his life, someone he places above all others and loves with all his heart. His  adoration of Mayu naturally grows to become physical attraction as well, and with her blessing, the two take the step towards a romantic relationship, starting a secret affair behind closed doors....

Mayu knows that once the two finally consummate their relationship, Naomi will be under her spell for good, and her revenge will be complete! But what she could never have predicted in her plans was that SHE would fall in love with Naomi as WELL! Her magnificent revenge against Yuri has become her one true solace...

Things are about to come to a head, and the actions Mayu, Naomi, Ryoichi, and Yuri take will have a profound effect on all of them… Personalities clash, feelings are finally spoken out...and dark secrets are revealed....

Holy Mrs. Robinson, this was one hell of drama, and while I wouldn’t call it an erotic drama per se, the sexual undercurrent playing beneath the drama’s entire run was so damn electric, Miho Nakayama has never looked more devastatingly beautiful!

I know that there are a lot of people who feel Mayu’s motivations are entirely CREEPY, (especially the part where she’d bonding with the young Naomi), but somehow I find her completely sympathetic, and you can see how Naomi has reason to love this woman with all his heart- despite her ulterior motives to get close to him, the two have nurtured a relationship most “real” couples lack.

Man, It’s been a day and I still can’t stop thinking about this drama. You know how when you’re watching a show’s last episode and it’s looking like things will end on a positive note…and then you see that it still has a half hour to go and you KNOW it’s gonna have one of those Hoshi No Kinka kind of conclusions…

Well, without giving away any spoilers Kenja No Ai ended on a similar note and while it wasn’t the ending I wanted, it was an ending that seemed …right, somehow…enough that I accepted it fully and am here still thinking about it…

I’m in a VERY melancholy mood right now!
 Posted at zdoramaagain.blogspot.com