Executive Crush Status: Ryoko Kuninaka

(Kekkon Dekinai Otoko Rave Pt.II)

I first got introduced to the wonders of Ryoko Kuninaka as the sweet and mousey Tamura Chisato in Brother Beat and had already developed a crush on her back then, naturally when I got around to seeing “Churasan” that love went even higher, but BOY, I gotta tell you, I’ve never loved her more than I did in Kekkon Dekinai Otoko-

Talk about Manic Pixie, she was SO freaking ADORABLE, it seemed like every action she did was worthy of turning into gifs: spazzing on the phone, trying to get out of a date, or even just sitting in a room and eating cake!

Her sweet, excitable and naive personality made a perfect contrast to the realistic and mature Doctor Hayasaka, and when the two meet up and become friends (after meeting for first time when Michiru accompanied Kuwano to the hospital) the buddies become the whole spirit of the show: hyper and optomistic and sensible and responsible. The pair's scenes just made the show!

Michiru is such a hyper and excitable girl that she is always making cute gestures with her hands, and her eyes (and eyebrows) have got to be the most expressive I’ve seen- always  GREAT reactions out of her, just take a look as this gif where she’s simply answering the question if she likes Italian Food. "Italia? Suki, Suki!!”

So Kawaii!
Besides how darn cute she was, naturally the fact that she was the “young and genki” character of the show, she was always presented in hip, flowery, bright colors, lacey and frilly ensembles, oooh, just the thing I like, LOL! Another factor may be that I’m so used to picturing her as Uemura Eri in Churasan, that seeing her with pretty styled hair and mascara and heavy eyelashes as Tamura Michiru just knocks me out!

Michiru with the Gang: Eiji, Saori and Chizuru...

...AKA Takashi Tsukamoto, SAKURA and SHEILA

Cute Salesgirl!!!

You know, I remember seeing Ryoko in dramas like Hotaru No Hikari, Celeb To Binbo Taro, and Hungry! and thinking “Huh, even though she’s as pretty as can be, Ryoko seems so plain in these roles.” But seeing her in dramas like this one reassure me that the magic I saw in Brother Beat and Churasan wasn’t a fluke, it’s real!

Posted by zdorama @ zdoramaagain.blogspot.com

Crush of The Day: Yui Natsukawa

Yui Natsukawa as Dr. Natsumi Hayasaka

 (Kekkon Dekinai Otoko Rave Pt.III)

And there’s Dr. Natsumi Hayasaka. I cannot begin to tell you how much I love, love, LOVE  this character, she is definitely one of the BEST and most believable characters I’ve seen!! 

Quite a twist when you consider that when I first began watching it, though I was in love with both Ryoko Kuninaka and Reiko Takashima's characters, Natsumi was portrayed as this this plain, middle aged gal who spent nights playing pachinko and visiting manga cafes, so at first, though pretty in her own way, she just didn’t interest me. 

Natsumi Hayasaka, a woman well versed in omiai...

Dining in Ramen Shops Alone...

and frittering her evenings at the Pachinko Parlour

 But then, a funny thing happened. They began to pair Natsumi up with Michiru as good after-work friends where their hobby became spying on Kuwano and making fun of his uncool and quirky ways. OH MY GOSH, these scenes were the most HILARIOUS bits EVER, Kuwano is SUCH a dork, and the girls’ reactions when they see his eccentricities come out are so Fun and ANIMATED!

Meeting For the First Time

Bonding over the eccentric Kuwano

Becoming Best Buddies

Frank Discussions

Spying on Kuwano

 Take this one scene where the two of them come across Kuwano trying out hats. They’re all terrible hats and they have fun at his expense, but when he really buys one, their laughter turns into incredulation:

 It was scenes like this that made me realize how great Natsumi’s character was- while Michiru was giggly and flighty, Natsumi always had a practical take on things. And at some point of course, you realize that despite Kuwano’s faults, Natsumi really likes him, and little by little I began to cheer her on, til she grew into my favorite character on the show!

Doctor/Patient Relationship...and maybe more?

 I said how this show is made by its three female leads, but when you get down to it, it’s really Natsumi who is the show’s “romantic lead role” against Hiroshi Abe’s Kuwano character. And in fact, looking for pictures online, I’ve noticed that some of the DVD Box Set case artwork does indeed feature Shinsuke and Natsumi’s image  as the “main” picture, with the rest of the cast smaller beneath them, validating her as the "main girl", LOL

I was SO invested in their story, can’t remember the last time I was LITERALLY WRINGING my HANDS during the last episode ‘cause I wanted so, so badly for them to get together and have a “happy ending” (Whether they DID or not is for you the viewer to find out, let’s leave it that I WAS satisfied with the way it turned out)...!

Man, Yui Natsukawa is soooo soooo great in this role, she made you as the viewer understand and know exactly what she is feeling with just her eyes, whether she is happy, confused,  serious. And, Oh MAN, the times when her feelings are hurt by some cruel offhand thing Kuwano has said to her, I’d be there with my heart breaking right next to her. I fell SO IN LOVE with her!

After about halfway through the show, I had to run over to dramawiki to see if I’d seen any other dramas that she appeared in, where I was surprised to see Aoitori listed as one of her early dramas. AOITORI? Aoitori is one of my favorite dramas, but for the life of me, I just could NOT remember seeing her in it. 
I dug up my old Aoitori discs to try and see which minor character she might have played…where I was stunned to realize that Yui was THE MAIN FEMALE CHARACTER! WHAT! Ye GODS, my memory of what the “woman-on-the-run-from-her-abusive-husband”  in Aoitori looked like was so hazy, perhaps someone who looked like Noriko Sendo variety, I would NEVER have guessed that the actress playing Kahori Machimura was Yui!   

As Kahori Machimura in "Aoitori (1997)

    Although only roughly 9 years earlier than Kekkon Dekinai Otoko, Yui looks SO much YOUNGER here, and in fact at times I couldn’t even associate this woman with the loveable Natsuki Hayasaka…until she SMILED! Then those wonderful dimples of hers came out, and I could see that it was indeed the same girl I’m loving so much!

Yui and Etsushi Toyokawa in Aoitori

 So strange to think that all the while I was watching Kekkon Otoko Dekinai, getting obsessed with Yui Natsukawa and wondering why I hadn’t seen such a terrific actress in anything before, while all along she was in my memories just waiting to be re-discovered and loved!

with An Suzuki in Aoitori

I really want to check out some of her other dramas, and a good candidate to seek out is 2011’s Shiawase no Kiiroi Hankachi, which she once again co-starred with Hiroshi Abe, this time as husband and wife! (She also guested in two episodes of Abe's "Shinzanmono" series)
Ah me, if I didn't make this clear already, Yui Natsukawa is the best reason why Kekkon Dekinai Otoko has resonated so strongly with me. She reminded me just what it is I love about Japanese Dramas, characters and stories you care about and really take to heart. Cheer, Yui!

Posted by zdorama @ zdoramaagain.blogspot.com