Fruits Takuhaibin

About halfway through the drama "Fruits Takuhaibin~ Fruits Delivery Service and what a wonderful show it IS!!!

Returning to his hometown after his company in Tokyo went bankrupt, Shinichi Saita (Gaku Hamada) runs into an old acquaintance Misuji (Suzuki Matsuo) at a local restarurant who, upon hearing of his layoff, offers him employment at his business. 

What kind of business IS it? Shinichi wonders, but instead of explaining, Misuji simply takes Shinichi to the place, and after a brief introduction to the staff, including Masakane (Yosi Yoshiyoshi Arakawa) amd Mizuko (Fukiko Hara), learns that Misuji’s business is in fact an escort service under the name “Fruits Delivery Service!”

The girls themselves are the "fruits", and as he is introduced to the girls on hand, they’re even named after various fruits, and among the many he meets are

Ichigo (Rio Yamashita)

Mikan (Eri Tokunaga) 

Lemon (Rie Kitahara)

Yuzu (Rina Uchiyama)

Momo (Riko Narumi)

and Suika (Nuno Uraji)

He is then instructed to hurry up and deliver Mikan to her latest appointment! “B-But I haven’t even said I would accept the job…” he stammers, but he is whisked off, already employed by the company as far as they’re concerned!

And as he follows the girls through their various jobs and learns of their individual circumstances that led them to the escort business, the quiet and naive young man learns about life and all its harsh realities.

He will soon learn that the problems are a bit closer to home. On his first day back he runs into his high school friend Emi Motohashi (Riisa Naka), and upon calling up their mutual friend Oda (Tomoya Maeno), spend  happy evenings drinking up and reminiscing about the old days.

But what he doesn't realize is that Emi’s life since he’d departed hasn’t run as smoothly as he thinks, and though she keeps it a secret from everyone, Emi herself has gone over to the escort trade. How will this discovery affect their friendships and their lives?

LOVING the show so far and it’s a thrill to see which new actress will be the next “fruit” that gets introduced (each episode tends to feature one girl’s story), some are pretty, some tuff and coarse, and OH MAN the “Dragon Fruit” story STOLE THE SHOW for me!!!

This is one very touching and heartfelt drama and Saita is a perfect character to follow as he is both new and naive about the ways of the sex trade and yet kind and passionate about people and their well being. Easily the best character I’ve seen Gaku Hamada play!

Posted by zdorama @ zdoramaagain.blogspot.com

Kokoro Ga Pokitto Ne 終わり

Just finished watching Kokoro Ga Pokitto Ne and it was such a  fun little show! Zany, spastic and heartfelt, this was a perfect show to watch at the end of the day while sipping tea...And wrapped up on such a nice note! Another whimsical 10/10 show for me!

Posted by zdorama @ zdoramaagain.blogspot.com

On a Kiko Mizuhara High with “Kokoro Ga Pokitto Ne”

A cautious Abe Sadao approaches the fiery Kiko Mizuhara

On a Kiko Mizuhara high right now and so when Hamanosilence suggested the 2015 drama  Kokoro Ga Pokitto Ne with Kiko as the headlining actress, my curiosity was piqued, and when I read up on it and found Tomoko Yamaguchi also starred in it, well, I just HAD to have it!! And sure enough, from the very first scene with Kiko spazzing out over getting fired from her job, I knew I was gonna DIG this one!

Kokoro Ga Pokitto Ne tells the very wacky story of a man named Kojima (Sadao Abe) who hates interaction with others and refuses to love.

This is because in the past he had a nervous breakdown at his job and lashed out at his wife. His world crashed around him: he lost his job, his wife, his home, and, in fact, his sanity! Eventually ending up as a homeless man, it was only through the help of a kind man named Shin Otake (Naohito Fujiki) who took him in and gave him a job at his secondhand store that he began to life again. But he is so afraid that he might slip back to the angry , abusing man he once was, that he tries not to talk to others and make contact. To be alone is the only way to insure he won’t hurt anyone.

  His life of solitude is shaken to the core when he meets the explosively lively, loud and energetic Miyako Hayama (Kiko Mizuhara)! 

 

Bumping into him one night, she makes quite an impression on the awkward and reserved Kojima, and when they cross paths again at his workplace, they become friends, or at least, if Kiko has her way, anyway.

For Kojima, despite his efforts to be alone, finds that not only is his entire time occupied with her, he even feels the twinges of attraction~this cannot be! He tries to keep his distance, and fight his feelings, but Miyako is too full of life to resist!

Furthering the stress, his home life is shaken when Otake’s fiancee moves in upstairs. Where the nights were once nice and quiet, they are now filled with the thumping sound of boxes and furniture moving, dishes clattering and loud laughter.

But nothing can prepare him for the biggest shock of all when he finally meets her, and he finds that Otake’s fiancee Shizuka (Tomoko Yamaguchi) is none other than his ex-wife! And when Miyako (who conversely has a crush on Shin) is ALSO invited to live at the Otake house, all manner of wacky hijinks ensue!

Watch with delight as the four characters attempt to have a nice dinner and pretend nothing is going on when beneath the skin every person (save the simple minded Shin) is raging with nervousness! LOLOL

Well! This is one ZANY show! Very entertaining as an all-out comedy,and  Kiko Mizuhara is a whirlwind of spazzy energy in every scene she's in!

Also very entertaining is Eri Tokunaga as Kojima's overproctective co-worker Fumi Itoyama, who has a crush of Kojima and hovers over him at work like a hawk, driving his nervousness to its limit! So funny!

And special mention must be made of Tomoko Yamaguchi... she's so great! Her "machine gun reparte" reminds us why she was so great as Minami in the classic Long Vacation!

Kind of hard to accept that Tomoko’s character of Shizuka is supposed to be the abused wife of Kojima’s since she dominates over him in every scene she’s in, and also hard to take how dense Fujiki’s character of Shin is supposed to be! But if it’s just about SILLINESS, then Kokoro Ga Pokitto Ne is the way to go!
Posted by zdorama @ zdoramaagain.blogspot.com