Believe~Kimi no Kakeru Hashi

 Takuya Kimura stars as Riku Kariyama, an architectural designer with great skills and success. He has confidence in both his designs as well as his relationship with work associates, where he is respected and well-liked!

Maika Yamamoto

Hayate Ichinose

Kinya Kitaoji

As the head designer of a prominent bridge set to be the crowning achievement of a town, it seems he only has highs to look forward to- that is until tragedy strikes. While on location doing routine inspections to the bridge, a serious fault is discovered and, once failing, sets in motion a horrific collapse of the entire structure, causing both injury and even death.

Though there are lots of factors to the incident and much finger pointing, as the head designer of the project, Kariyama takes it upon himself to accept full responsibility for the accident, and after a sensational trail, is sentenced to a prison term.

Though now in prison, Kariyama still holds fast to his dignity and reserve, believing what he has done by taking the burden of the responsibility off the company and fellow workers by placing the fault in his initial architectural designs.

But we will learn that  there have actually been NO faults in his part of the project, and that the blame falls squarely on the supplier of the support cables, of whom which they secretly replaced quality materials with shoddy replacements. No, the real reason Kariyama has taken the blame is due to company president Osoda’s request, who feels that if the truth were to come out, the company themselves would be blamed for associating with the faulty supplier.

Osoda promises  that if Kariyama takes the blame, he will make sure his punishment is light and will surely be returned to the company in due time.But of course, these promises soon fall by the wayside as greedy people in positions of power make their own moves within the company.

For his part, Kariyama intends to endure his sentence silently, believing it is for the sake of all. But when his wife Reiko (Amami Yuki) visits him, she only has two things to report. One, that what he’s doing is not noble protecting people with his silence, but rather lying and deception. And furthermore, she adds that though he never noticed when they were together, she is dying of cancer, and, as it stands, he won’t be out until she has long passed.

It is faced with these hard truths that Kariyama takes stock in what he has done and said and, with the help of his lawyer Akizawa (Saito Takumi),  asks for a retrial so he can finally speak the truth of the tragic accident and clear his name.

But with so much at stake, there are many who can benefit from him remaining imprisoned and  use all their connections to sabotage his attempts at freedom. At the same time, there are those out there who are seeking the truth of the matter, and who will work tirelessly to have Kariyama’s voice heard and the corrupt individuals exposed!

Takaya Kamikawa

Ryoma Takeuchi

Fumiyo Kohinata

Takumi Saito

Chikako Kaku

Yuki Amami

As usual for  Kimura Takuya vehicles, Believe~Kimi no Kakeru Hashi is a real event, with huge stars simply crammed into the cast in all prominent roles and this one looks to be a fast-paced and gripping show!

So far it seems to be a character-driven series rather than a political/business one, and that’s a good sign. Lately lots of dramas have taken the VIVANT route and (IN my opinion) simply been bogged down with technical government/political stuff...I know this is a popular genre right now, but I get a real headache trying to wade through so much technical jargon, political figures, departments, etc.... hope this one doesn’t fall to the same trope!

The Cool as Ice Maika Yamamoto

Been loving the fun "Yami Baito Kazoku" comedy about five would-be robbers forced to work as a fake family to expose bigger criminals working in the underground, and it's mostly for Maika Yamamoto's wildly entertaining turn as Misaki, the "Sister" of the fake family (along with Ouji Suzuka as Brother, Ken Mitsuishi as Dad, Yumi Aso as Mom, and Toshiki Ayata as Grandpa)! 

While at first content to act out as the sassy rebellious teenage sister/daughter, by episode 3 things have ramped up enough that the fake family have found themselves in hot water amongst the real criminals. It's here that Misaki's real skills make their debut, MUCH to the SHOCK of her fellow family members!

Held up by common thugs during a run, they are told to give everything up. The family insist they have nothing, but "Sis" Misaki remembers that she DOES have something in her pocket for the gang member...a knuckle sandwich!!

Besides being the general badass of the group who uses her skills to clobber the bad guys whenever they’re in a pinch, she’s frequently irritated by her own teammates and can be seen giving them a swift kick in the pants whenever she deems it necessary!

In one episode the family must go undercover at an onsen. But when Dad and Grandpa decide to take a dip in the bath while on the mission, Misaki lets Pop know JUST what she thinks about the diversion of the plans!

"Brother" invites Misaki to a Curry House, but when she realizes there is no restaurant in sight,  she confronts him and he admits he brought her out...just so he could go on a date with her! The no-nonsense girl is quick to mete out her irritation (LOLOL)

But when her fake Brother is being blackmailed by his ex girlfriend and her new beau, Misaki steps up like a real big sister to expose them and make quick work of the so called bully... (and the ex-girlfriend better watch out, too!)

Awww man, Maika is sooooo KAKKOI!!!

As many of you know, Maika’s no stranger to the “kick-butt female character”- her turn as the karate champion love interest in Anoko no Yume wo Mitan desu was an absolute scene stealer, and showed she had a real FLAIR for the genre!

Sure, the dude she was fighting was only EXILE dancer Mandy Sekiguchi, but wouldn't YOU want to cheer her on as well?! HAHAHA! 

She's even continuing the butt kicking tradition in the new Aiba Masaki thriller/comedy "Kyou Kara Hit Man" as one of his kool and tuff-as-nails partners Chinatsu! Actors and actresses fear being typecast in a certain style or genre, but if this is the route Maika's going, adding beauty and brashness to her arsenal, I think she's got a winning combination!

(PS: Yes, we know that's a stunt-person in the middle there, just pretend, LOL)

Posted by zdorama @ zdoramaagain.blogpsot.com

Fractured Family Fugitives in “Yamibaito Kazoku”

Just caught the new wacky comedy “Yamibaito Kazoku” and so far it's real hoot!

A group of low-level thieves are put together to do some low-stakes home break-ins, but when they flub the heist, they flee the scene in a van and accidentally strike down a pedestrian (Mitsu Satoshi) in the street.The horrified quintet speeds away, crossing fingers that the victim will live through the accident.

Unfortunately, their crash is spied upon by a sinister looking man. His only given name is Sanji (Fukikoshi Mitsuru) , and with the dirt on these would-be crooks, thinks of what to do with them.

The next evening, he calls the five of them over to a remote location with the news that the man they struck has died...and that if they don't want him to turn them in, they'll have to do something for HIM...

...however, he reveals that what he wants from them is to do ANOTHER CRIME!

Their first order is working their way into the home a wealthy businessman and stealing his fortune. However, the place is tightly guarded, and the only way to get in is  by becoming neighbors with them, getting friendly and then infiltrating the place. 

To do that, Sanji plans to use the distinct characteristics of his five new underlings to pretend to be a mild mannered FAMILY living next door, get CLOSE to the targets and then, undercover, find the fortune and make off with it!

there is  Kenzo Ogawa (Mitsuishi Ken), to play the Father role...

Kanae Hara (Yumi Aso) playing Mother...

Toru Kuribayashi (Ayata Toshiki), as  doddering Grandfather...

freeter Misaki Kubo (Yamamoto Maika), playing the Daughter...

…and at the heart of it is Suzuka Ouji as Tanaka Hayato, a guy who has always had bad luck and chickens out at every important moment in his life. Every moment he regrets, and NOW he'll be playing the family SON!

"Smile- You're now officially a FAMILY!"

Introducing themselves to the mark as the innocent "Family" next door....

The exchange goes well and they seem to hit it off, but as they leave, this faux family just can't see this thing succeeding! What have they gotten themselves IN to!

In this show we'll see the hilarious misadventures of this would-be criminal family as they take on the tasks of the mysterious Sanji…who may have a few secrets of his OWN!

And as they take on caper after caper, who's to say they won't find strength in each other just like a REAL family?

OKAY, this is the FIRST drama of the season that I’ve been entertained by, and even though it smacks heavily of the Hongo Kanata drama “Crime Family” from a few seasons back, has had me chuckling throughout and is so far the only one I’ve officially put on my Drama Watch List! 

With 12 episodes at a mere 30 minutes apiece, it should be a light-hearted breeze to watch each week!