An Ex-Yakuza's Work Is Never Done: Ninkyo Nuttiness in "Gokushufudo"

Tamaki Hiroshi as Ex-Yakuza Tatsu

 Tatsu was once a legendary Yakuza by the name of “Immortal Tatsu” who single-handedly took down an enemy organization …before leaving the business to start a family!

Now his focus is on the well being of his wife Miku (Haruna Kawaguchi) and their precocious daughter Himawari (Shiratori Tamaki) and his yakuza skills are now used to better his home life!

His Yakuza Tanto Blade, once a sign of fear...

...is now used to slice veggies...

...for making cute bentos!!

Sadly Wife Miku (Haruna Kawaguchi) is running late and can't stay...

...So breakfast ends up just Tatsu and Himawari!

A peaceful mealtime!

His fastidiousness has made him a hit with all the neighborhood wives, including Tanaka (Megumi) and Ota (Michiko Tanaka) who hilariously take advantage of Tatsu’s skills (and naive sense of camaraderie) to get him to help with all sorts of housewive things!

His past cannot help but creep back into his life, however. There is unrest within the Yakuza families and his former clan boss Kikujiro (Naoto Takenaka), Hibari (an almost unrecognizable Izumi Inamori) and Tatsu’s former kohai Masa (Jun Shison) are desperate to have him back and help abolish their foes.

Masa finds Tatsu out grocery shopping and cannot believe the once mighty warrior has been reduced to becoming a Mother Hen!

Tatsu would like to ignore things and stay committed to his family, but a confrontation with a rival gang lets him know that some Mob altercations are unavoidable and that he may have to step in…

This is a problem because though wife Miku is a scatterbrained and seemingly sweet natured woman on the outside (who can’t even make dinner without reducing the kitchen to rubble, LOL)…

…once she hears about Tatsu interacting with his old Yakuza colleagues, transforms into a LION and properly lays him OUT! Seems there’s ONE person whom Tatsu can only bow his head to, and that’s his lovely wife!!

So far seems like a pretty good dynamic, with shades of Ayase Haruka’s “Okusama wa, Tori Atsukai Chui” or Chiaki Kuriyama’s “Himitsu Chohouin Erika”, though a LOT more on the slapstick side!

Love the running gag of how lazy Miku can be in regards to housework, there’s this scene where Tatsu’s folding t-shirts and she tries to "help” in this utterly useless way that had me laughing out LOUD!

Also love the way that naughty Himawari keeps getting Tatsu into trouble by tattletaling on him, she is such a rascal! Loved her roles in “Nagi No Oitoma” and the recent “Kanojo ga Joubutsu Dekinai” and she continues her adorable troublemaking here!

PS: Jun Shison surprised me in this role as kohai Masa- when I first saw him in Heaven Gokuraku Restaurant, he was SO flamboyantly girly that I thought it was the ONLY kind of role he could play! Nice to see him in a straightforward role for a change!

Hey, come to think of it, he’s ALSO in Hanbun Aoi , as one of the manga employees!!! 

And speaking of Hanbun Aoi, Kenichi Takito is in this drama TOO, as another yakuza sprung from prison! Chalk up two MORE actors linked to that fateful asadora!

posted by zdorama @ zdoramaagain.blogspot.com

Minami Hamabe’s Delightful Return to the Absurd with “Talio Fukushu Daiko no Futari: The Eye-For-An-Eye Revenge Agency”

Minami Hamabe and Masaki Okada

 After Minami Hamabe’s dark and serious last drama “Watashitachi wa Douka Shiteiru”, I was eager to see her return to her fun ’n’ wacky roots, and her new drama “Talio Fukushu Daiko no Futari” with Masaki Okada is JUST what the doctor ordered!

Mami is a spry upcoming lawyer who is too overconfident for her own good, but her sense of justice is unparalleled, and she always gets to the bottom of things! “I’ve never lost an argument in my life” she confides as she boasts “I'm a First-Class Graduate of the Legal Training Institute!”, but her latest case may prove to be too much for her! 

As a child, Mami was like any ordinary girl, but when her hard-as-nails lawyer father Masahiro Shirasawa (Kenichi Endo) is framed by the mob, she grows up with a determined sense of justice and by 20 years old has already become a keen lawyer for the people.

The latest case she’s taken on is an unusual one. A woman named Watanuki has accused Zaitsu, the heir of a huge development corporation, of assault, but when he is cleared of charges and set free, she is contacted by someone who offers to get revenge for her at the sum of 100,000 yen!
Watanuki pays the amount, but is then told she must give an additional amount for him to proceed. She realizes that she is being scammed, and it’s here she hires Mami Shirasawa to look into things and hopefully get her money back.

It doesn’t take long for Shirasawa to track down the con artist machinating the scam, a weasally young bloke named Kensuke Kuroiwa (Masaki Okada). Using her sense of the law like a weapon, she beats the man into submission, has him return the money and then tells him to prepare to go to jail.

Kuroiwa begs off the police station, telling her that the Zaitsu case is darker and more corrupt than she can guess and that she needs his help to get to the truth of the matter.
Mami initially refuses, saying it wouldn’t be prudent to align with such an unscrupulous man, but when she digs deeper, she finds this Zaitsu more corrupt than she can handle, and soon the two are in an uneasy alliance to bring the man to justice!!!

A real joy to watch the two characters in action, and OH- if that wasn’t enough, why, the Apartment where Mami lives is none other than that all-familiar LOVE DISTANCE Apartment Complex used by so many tenants lately!

Aw man, so far a really FUN drama and if I may say so myself, the prettiest Minami Hamabe’s been yet! After Watashitachi wa Douka Shiteiru, she established that she was an actress to really keep an eye on, and with this I think Minami’s one her way to becoming one of the brightest new stars!

PS: And YES, Sabu, it’s yet ANOTHER drama with your favorite actor Kenichi Endo!!!

Hanbun Aoi At Last!

 Well, it's been a  long time coming, but after years of friends talking and recommending this asadora , I'm finally watching the 2018 NHK Morning Drama Hanbun Aoi!
Despite how many wonderful actors and actresses were in it, it wasn't until my recent love for cutie pie Mei Nagano that I realized I just HAD to see this drama, and after Sab shared his copy with me, I wasted no time digging in, and have already watched Week One!

Seems like a fun show and though Sabu says the show isn't particularly remarkable in any way, I expect to have many nights enjoying this one!!!

A Slave With An Unwilling Master- Sato rejects President Amagi’s request to dominate him, “Kono Otoko wa Jinsei Saidai no Ayamachidesu”

Company President Kyoichi Amagi (Hayami Mokomichi) has a masochistic streak and wants his subordinate Yui Sato (Airi Matsui) to dominate and humiliate him. Sato wants none of it, and has expresses so several times. However, the more he fawns over her and interrupts her work, the angrier she gets, and she always ends up losing her cool, giving him EXACTLY want he wants!

Probably a Pass on Yuina's Ramen Thing

 Hey, I love Yuina Kuroshima as much as the next guy, but BOY, her character of Shiomi Yutori in the new foodie drama "Gyoretsu No Megami" struck me as so snarky, rude, and arrogant that frankly I could barely get through the first episode...

I understand about the "little" guy with the heart of gold that teaches a bigwig company about passion, but you have to make the main character LIKEABLE at first- maybe Shiomi is fine for you all, but having the character's first scene with her going up to an established eatery, taking one sip of the ramen and after rudely asking "Is this supposed to be ramen?", declares it "lacking something" to the chef REEEEALLLY rubs me the wrong way!!!!

Of course they then have Yuina make a meal which promptly blows away the restaurant's dishes, all because the bigwig chefs have forgotten to make their meals with love. Blerg.

EDIT: Okay, after watching the whole episode, I guess the POINT is that Yuina is supposed to be unlikable? GEEZ, this is like that Karina drama "Kirawareru Yuuki ". Just because she's supposed to be rude doesn't make me warm up to the character any more....

Love Yuina but might have to pass on this one....

Plastic Love with Ayaka Wilson and The Gang

Just a few posts ago I was lamenting how I’d been left in limbo in regards to Ayaka Wilson’s earlier drama starring Wilson as a robot bride, and thanks to a very kind soul out there (and you know who you are), I was finally able to watch and complete the very cute Piple: AI to Kekkon Seikatsu Hajimemashita!

Such a fun show, and Ayaka is so cute as the titular AI Piple that I’m wondering where I can get one for myself!

So many adorable quirks but one that always made me smile was whenever they sat down for dinner- since Piple is an AI, she doesn’t consume any food, but for the sake of her hubby, she pretends to eat at mealtime!

There was one scene in particular that really tickled me- As the couple are having breakfast, you can see Piple watching Yuki as he eats his toast and drinks his coffee, copying his every move!

And if I can't afford an expensive AI, why, I’ll even settle for the emotionally addled Kaede Miyama whom, as played by Sakurako Ohara, is JUST as adorable in her own geeky, mumbly way!

Yeah, this was a drama well worth the wait!

Becoming Friends With Someone You Used to Hate, “Bokura Wa Kiseki Dekite Iru”

 Very thought provoking scene where Aikawa (Issei Takahashi) explains to Ikumi (Nana Eikura) about the kid he hated growing up and how much better life got once he made friends with him.