Idol Shikkaku

Drama following a young idol girl named Mimika who has to deal with the crushing weight of juggling her career, school studies, and social contacts when her group TETRA starts gaining popularity.

As Mimika starts to feel her losing control of her own life and perhaps her sanity,  the words of a concerned fan at a meeting event, "Please...don't die" hits her hard and thus our story begins, between the idol girl and the forbidden relationship with the otaku fans.

Starring members of the real idol group NMB48 including Mikana Yamamoto as the lead actress playing Mimika and Chihiro Kawakami, Rei Jonishi and Ayano Izumi as other members.

Koisuru Keigo 24 -Ji

 Story of a driven personal bodyguard named Tatsunosuke Kitazawa (Hikaru Iwamoto) who is put in charge of a young woman lawyer named Rika Kishimura (Mai Shiraishi).

Because of past trials and companies she has defended, she has earned the ire or victims of the cases who wish bodily harm on her, and thus, her firm has hired Kitazawa to protect her. But Kitazawa will have his hands full with her because this prideful young woman wants neither Kitazawa’s protection or even mere presence while doing her job and actively tries to get away from him!

After one episode I'm feeling like this won't be quite my cup of tea though it does have some great action scenes...and Yuki Matsushita (of all people) as the owner of the bodyguard agency!

Will probably check out a few more....

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!

Sayonara, Maestro

An almost identical reworking of the Mugi Kadowaki drama “Reversal Orchestra”: Genius musician at the top of their game who has to withdraw due to the hospitalization of a family member and then retires. Years later a small-town orchestra needs their guidance to build back interest in the music (or the evil government people will close down the orchestra for good)…Little by little they are coerced into taking the leadership role, which they then flourish at and find they love the music life after all.

Instead of Mugi Kadowaki as a lead violinist, we have Hidetoshi Nishijima as a conflicted Symphony Conductor. Other than that, it’s basically a real retread of the former, with even a bit of Gekokujo Kyuji  thrown in (which Sayonara Maestro ironically just took the place of)… Like the other shows, it seems they will focus each episode on the personal problem of a specific member, and they already delved into one of them...I can't say that sounds too interesting, though I'm curious about the Yuko Araki and Ami Touma characters...

Living No Matsunaga-San

 A  girl named Miko Sonoda (Hikaru Takahashi) finds out that her family is moving to another town just as she is about to start her graduation year at high school. Desperate to finish her school semester here with her friends, she moves in to a share house run by her uncle. While there she meets the gruff but reliable Jun Matsunaga ( Kento Nakajima) who, though they get off on the wrong foot,  eventually ends up standing in as her guardian while her parents are away.  In this close living situation, will romance soon follow? Well, what do YOU think, LOL. Seems to be a typical share house drama set-up, but Hikaru Takahashi is her usual adorable self so may be worth tuning in!

Kimi ga Kokoro wo Kureta Kara

 Just caught the first episode of the new drama“ Kimi ga Kokoro wo Kuretakara”, starring Mei Nagano and  Yuki Yamada as two shy childhood schoolmates who inspire each other to break out of their shells and reach for their goals, with one wanting to be a fireworks maker and the other a patissier.

Upon meeting again after some 10 years have gone by, an tragic accident happens, one that threatens to tear them apart forever. It is here that one is given a divine choice to set things right…but only at an unimaginable price.

This is one drama that I and WHOLE lot of others have been waiting for, and I’ve tried not give any spoilers for the show’s initial set-up, (though I’m not sure if it’s necessary, as it's basically in most drama's synopsis?)  In any case, we’ll see how this story progresses….though I must say it’s an incredibly melancholy and depressing affair so far...I'll definitely need to start watching a fun and humorous show to offset this one!

More J-Drama Deja-Vu: Nippon Maru Memorial Park

I’ve already covered the much-used appearance of the Yokohama Red-Brick Warehouse waterfront in so many dramas , but there’s a particular part of the park that’s now become quite fashionable as the backdrop recently. It’s the grassy area in front of the Nippon Maru Memorial Park with the striking image of the Yokohama Landmark Tower behind it:

Saw it first in Ousama ni Sasagu Kusuriyubi (with Kanna Hashimoto and Ryosuke Yamada in the clovers)...

Followed by a brief backdrop in Sexy Tanaka-San with Haruka Kinami and Meru Nukumi...

Most times you can see the masts of the Nippon Maru Ship sticking up behind them, but so far I haven't see them unfurled in any drama. In fact, I had to go onto Google to see what it looked like with the sails up!

Since then I’ve seen it in a few more places (though sometimes not quite at the same angle) in dramas like My Second Aoharu and Kotatsu ga Ienai…among others that I just can’t remember right now~!

In any case, love that this is becoming the new place where the characters have their “personal talk” scenes… hope to see more!

Amuro Namie and the Disappearing Music Catalog

My Physical Amuro Namie Collection

 There is a recent outcry of artists' complete catalogs disappearing from streaming/subscription services which once hosted them and every day you see new quotes on forums saying "What happened to _______'s albums?" And it isn't just music artists- movie and film services as well. All over, there are titles (ones that are bought and paid for!) disappearing from the platforms with no intention of returning.

At times like this, the security of owning the titles on Physical Media, whether they be CDs, DVDs, Blurays, etc, is a comfort, and more and more people are going back to the reliable format!

One of the artists that has had the J-pop community on HIGH notice is the disappearance of Amuro Namie's entire catalog of songs from subscription platforms. 

That is one horrible thought to consider, but I can at least take a breath and relax a bit...For though I only have a small collection of Namie Amuro's music, (Missing quite a few titles and doubles of others, LOL) it's all reliably there and on-hand any time I should want to listen to it!

As it SHOULD be- nobody better keep me from my Super Monkeys, LOLOL!

ALL PRAISE PHYSICAL MEDIA!!!