Recently Wrapped Up!

LOTS of shows ended  in the last two weeks and I thought I'd do a quick recap with small summaries and my ratings. 

 Enjiya

9/10

A series that really would have benefited from being given  more room to breathe than a mere 6 episodes! The tale of Nao and her team of theatrical con-artists for hire, Enjiya has so much potential for bigger stories, as it is we only got about 3 cases and we didn't even get to delve into the other members' back stories in any detail. still, was thrilling and heart-wrenching for the episodes we got, and who knows? We can cross our fingers for more!

Omameda Towako to 3-nin no Moto otto
8/10

This was s spirited drama in the vein of shows like "Ore no Hanashi wa Nagai ", where smart, fun and witty dialog is the style du jour! Each episode was filled with wonderful scenes of the ever0set-upon Towako dealing with life, love, work...and those three pesky ex-husbands of hers!

If I have a complaint, it's that I wish the show ended on a stronger note, instead of the weak fizzle we got...

Hyouchakusha
9/10

A gripping mystery  that reminded me of the best Stephen King books like The Dead Zone, where , in a world where everything seems to be going to Hell in a handbasket, hope comes from an unlikely source- a shy and reserved young man who holds the vision that can save us...or take us down! Had me on the edge of my seat throughout!

Ukiwa~Tomodachi Ijou Furin Miman
10/10

Already gushed how much I loved this drama and Mugi Kadowaki's sincere portrayal of the lonely Maiko. A story with  long stretches of pondering and reflection, you were rooting for the slighted spouses throughout, and I have to say I was entirely satisfied with the show's thoughtful resolution. You don't see dramas like this one too often.

Kazoku Boshu Shimasu
3/10

A fairly pedestrian family drama, I didn't get into this one as much as most did. A story about three parents who come together to help each other raising their children, this had pretty much all the cliches you would expect and then some...

Dream Team
3/10

Another one I was disappointed to find I didn't like that much. Considering how much I love Naomi Zaizen and Sayaka Yamaguchi, I really wanted to dig this one, but after a while it started feeling like a filler NHK Asadora. While at first I was rooting for the women, by the mid-point I realized they were all going nowhere fast. Come to think of it, NHK made this, so I might be on to something...

Chijou No Seppun
7/10

VERY cliche, rote and predictable romance chestnut, but somehow I just couldn't stop WATCHING this, and of course it ALL comes down to ADORABLE Yurika Nakamura, whose clumsy, stunned, and stammering behavior made every scene fun and entertaining to watch! Watching her stumble through her first love, ya just HAD to stick around to see what she would get into NEXT!

Kareinaru Ichizoku
7/10

A very serious and gripping period drama about the power wrestling going on within the banking world...and one man's own family! All the while I was beside myself wondering just HOW the persecuted would get out from under the thumb of the tyrannical power-holders... Alas, I was to find I was watching a tragedy and not a success story. Quite sombre show and a VERY downer last episode, while at first I didn't like it, I found I could NOT stop thinking about it. Powerful.

Hakozume~Tatakau Koban Joshi

10/10

Whoohoo~! A very fun, entertaining and even serious show starring Erika Toda and the adorably hyper Mei Nagano as two policewomen working out of a police box, this was one where the whole cast came together to make a very fulfilling show, one that I wished would go on forever!!! Maybe a sequel or even a Special? Need more!!!

Hakozume 終わり

 Wrapped up the Erika Toda/Mei Nagano Buddy Cop drama “Hakozume~Tatakau Koban Joshi” today and it was sent off in fine fashion! usually not a fan when these detective dramas feel obligated to add an overarching backstory/mystery to the character’s story, but this one worked out fine, wrapping things up with a spirited finale to an entertaining little show!

Such great characters in this drama- Mei Nagano and Erika Toda have great chemistry together but even the other players like Shohei Miura, Yuki Yamada and Muro Tsuyoshi  helped make it into a fully developed show!

Another one I’ll miss now that it’s over!

Posted by zdorama @ zdoramaagain.blogspot.com

Police In A Pod: Mei Nagano and Erika Toda in “Hakozume”

 All Mai Kawai wanted to do was settle for a humble civil service job to please her Father. But with mediocre test result, the only one she was able to get was being a cop in a police box. It’s not what she wanted and after weeks of dealing with belligerent traffic violators and ungrateful townsfolk, Mai is just about ready to turn in her resignation.

Before she can turn it in to her supervisor Igasaki (Muro Tsuyoshi), however, she is told she will be pairing up with a new partner, the former “ace” of the Metropolitan Police force Seiko Fuji. 

Upon meeting, Fuji is smart, official and friendly, though she seems to have arrived at the police box under dubious circumstances. On patrol, Kawai is amazed at how sharp Fuji can be, even bringing in a burglary suspect by simply looking at his shoes! 

Fuji is a constant thorn in the Main Department’s side when she constantly usurps their cases before them, a point that drives chief Hojo (Yusuke Hirayama) crazy!
He is constantly on his subordinates Minamoto (Shohei Miura) and Yamada (Yuki Yamada) to solve the cases before Fuji, but it is a tall order indeed! 

And in the meantime, detective Miwa Makitaka (Nanase Nishino), who is Fuji’s replacement inthe department, is having to deal with being the only female in a decidedly “guys club”of a workplace!

Kawai is keen to turn in her resignation and restart her life, especially when she sees how her best friend Mei (Karen Otomo) is living life stress-free and has even bagged a new boyfriend!

But the steely Fuji isn’t the ace for nothing, and between unofficial “Girls’ Nights” at the apartment between her, Kawai and Makitaka (where they let down their hair and talk out problems)…

…or firsthand experience when tracking, chasing and ultimately “taking down” a criminal, he hopes to show Kawai that this job of theirs can be valuable and worthwhile!

So far, seems like a quirky little show which i enjoyed immensely, and if that wasn’t enough, we got a TON of “J-Drama Deja-Vu” Easter eggs, with Fuji and Kawaii visiting “That Urban Apartment” which I mentioned so many times…

When the girls have to investigate a suicide claim, the apartment that they have to go to...

...is the same one Kotaro and gang lived in in Kotaro Wo Hitorigurashi!

And in a callback to one of Mei Nagano’s older dramas (where she and Muro Tsuyoshi played Father and Daughter), the spiral walkway at the Metropolitan Police Center where they grudgingly have their drills:

Is the same walkway used for the ending credits to her excellent show “Oyabaka Seishun Hakusho”!!

These and many more reasons to check this fun drama out!

EDIT:

Noooooo, it's just been confirmed that Mei Nagano has been diagnosed with the COVID19 virus and has been ordered some time off! From Tokyohive:

Hope those minor ailments are all she has to deal with! Wonder how this will affect the rest of Hakozume's filming schedule....

Be well, Nagano-san!!!