KudoKan :D

TOKIO's Tomoya Nagase (31) is once again teaming up with screenwriter Kankuro Kudo (39) for a new drama series this summer. This will be their third one together, after "Ikebukuro West Gate Park" (2000) and "Tiger & Dragon" (2005).

Titled "Unubore Deka" ("Conceited Detective"), the show is an original comedy about an unusual detective (Nagase) who has a habit of falling in love with every female suspect, and his conceit leads him to believe that they are also in love with him. When he finds evidence of their crimes, he confronts them with an arrest warrant and a marriage proposal at the same time, giving them a choice between the two. Although his actual name will apparently not be mentioned during the show, he is known to everyone as "Unubore" for his conceit.
- Tokyograph

THIS! Definitely made my day :D I've been a fan of Kudo Kankuro since watching Tiger & Dragon (this is actually one of my favourites, along with another KudoKan drama, Kisarazu Cats Eye). His work is just... wacky. His brand of humour might not be for everyone, but it's definitely funny to me. T&D is especially good because it brings rakugo (traditional Japanese art of telling comedic stories while sitting - sit-down comedy I guess? :P) to the public. I mean, I wouldn't have heard of rakugo if not for T&D. This does prove that the right medium can ensure our tradition is kept alive, no?

Anddd I'm flailing because it's Nagase! LOL I love his acting in T&D, and he's done well in comedy so far. Who can forget the bumbling yakuza heir turned high school student in My Boss My Hero? And the cool singer who's actually a dork in real life in Mukodono/Mukodono2 - this was such a hit while in college if I remember correctly haha.

Hmm the story seems similar to Kimi Hannin Janai Yo Ne, starring Kaname Jun. What's even more weird is Kaname is going to be in this drama as well LOL. Toma's fans must be dancing with joy as well since he's part of the cast, together with Nakashima Mika(that weird lady in Ryusei no Kizuna). Oh well, I guess I have to just wait and see this coming season then. At least, something new to look forward to after the exams :DD

Iryu: Team Medical Dragon

Status: Seasons 1-2, both 11 episodes each, complete & subbed

Synopsis: This is a medical drama about a genius surgeon in cardiology, Asada Ryutaro and his quest to complete a team for performing outstanding surgeries. The first season revolves around Asada's return to Meishin Hospital and creating Team Dragon to perform a Batista surgery. The second season saw Asada being transferred to another hospital and his team broken up. He needed to create a new team almost from scratch, with the final goal being a heart transplant surgery. This drama is adapted from the manga, Team Medical Dragon which I believe is currently translated into Malay as well? Both dramas enjoyed high ratings and a few awards.

Eye-candies: Sakaguchi Kenji as Asada Ryutaro (not the usual 'pretty boy' type, if you know what I mean), Koike Teppei as his assistant, Ijyuuin Noboru, and Uchida Yuki as Kataoka Kazumi. Kanata Hongo and Yamamoto Yusuke also appeared as guests in Season 2.

Why you should watch: Here I'm primarily talking about Season 2. I've watched Season 1 a long time ago and can't recall that much haha. The story is brilliantly engaging, and the surgeries performed in this series were so dramatic, I guess to emphasize on the genius ability of Asada and his team. Among the surgeries done was one on an elderly patient during a total blackout where the surgeon had to perform under flashlights and the medical technician had to pump the heart and lung machine manually. Another one was on a patient with a very rare blood disease and there wasn't enough blood for transfusion. This time around, there were even diagrams and explanation for the surgeries, making it easier for people with non-medical background like me to understand the action.

Each new character was also pretty well-developed, getting enough background story to explain their characteristics and reluctance to join the team. Even Noguchi the antagonist's background was explained and he was made to appear as a human who buried his conscience a long time ago in his quest to rise to the top. 

To sum it up, I like this drama because of the story and the casts. If you have a liking for medical dramas, then this certainly should be on your to-watch list.

Another litre of tears?

Hm I know some people would be happy to read this piece of news. A special one episode drama (something like a made-for-tv movie) of 1 Litre of Tears will be shown this 5th April. This time, Asou-kun is already a neurosurgeon and he recounts Aya's story to one of his patient. Haa sambung la menangis lagi satu liter kan :P



Exams. Coursework. Meeting.

Daikirai desu.

Nodame Cantabile

Status: 11 episodes (completed)

Synopsis: Chiaki is a talented musician in Momogaoka College of Music. He is a pianist, but in reality, he wants to be a conductor. However, a fear of flying has prevented him from pursuing his desire to be with his mentor, a famous conductor in Prague. His neighbour is Noda Megumi, a talented but lazy pianist who actually wants to become a kindergarten teacher.
One day, Chiaki blew up at his teacher and as a result, he had to change and share a teacher with Nodame. So a romantic comedy begins...

Eye-candies: Tamaki Hiroshi as Chiaki Shinichi, Eita as Mine Ryutarou, Ueno Juri as Noda Megumi(Nodame)

Why you should watch: This drama is absolutely hilarious. It's special effects are truly "manga-like", especially Nodame's "Gyabo~". Another thing that had me laughing hard was Chiaki's facial expressions. He can really come up with outrageous faces hahah... Nodame's love rival(s) were equally hilarious. There's Masami with his Afro-hair (yes, Chiaki attracted male admirers hahah) & a new guy who I can't remember his name. Their attempts to gain Chiaki's attention are so funny haha...

Apart from that, the setting is pretty interesting. This is the first time I've watched something so 'musical'. They had an orchestra and the actors were also playing instruments e.g. piano (Chiaki & Nodame), violin (Mine & Kiyora), timpani etc.

Chiaki was played very well by Tamaki. He looked totally different from his previous roles. Cool, proud and very controlled. He's talented, can cook and can clean the house. Though a bit conceited, he actually cares about the people around him. I think Chiaki would make a perfect boyfriend haha... Ueno also pulled it off quite well. The strange accent and klutzy character made Nodame much more interesting to watch.

And if you really enjoyed this drama, don't forget to watch Tamaki and Ueno as guests on Bistro SMAP, where they had to judge food cooked by members of SMAP (which includes Kimura Takuya haha -- download if you wanna see Takuya cooking :P). Tamaki's reaction was hilarious! And Ueno, she sometimes talked like her character, Nodame hahaha...

Sidenote: HYD2 has started! F4 certainly has become much better after a year haha. *coughruiandsoujiroucough* And Toma/Junpei was great! 15 episodes for this season, I wonder if I have enough space --;;

My*Boss, My*Hero

Status: Currently airing (7 out of probably 11 episodes)

Synopsis: Sakaki Makio is the 27-year-old son of a Yakuza boss. He's strong, fights really well and always lucky in gambling. However, he's extremely stupid. I say extremely because he doesn't even know how to write his own name and whether 25+5+5>27 which resulted in a huge loss to the group. His father decided to send him back to school by threatening that if he doesn't graduate from school, he'll never be the boss. So begins his life as a 17-year-old kid in a private (and a tad wacky) high school called St. Agnes.

Eye-candies: Nagase Tomoya as Sakaki Makio, Tegoshi Yuya as Sakurakoji Jun, Aragaki Yui as Umemura Hikari

Why you should watch: This drama is absolutely hilarious! Lawak cam hape je haha. If you're looking for something to cheer you up, this is it. The story's a bit outrageous and the scenes are sometimes over the top, but as long as it makes me laugh, I don't care. One scene has Makio dressed as a 'power ranger' and inhaling laughing gas to change his voice. Another has him flying across buildings just for the sake of pudding (The whole school is totally obsessed with pudding).

Aside from humour, this story does has some lessons for the viewers (like any other J-doramas). Each episode shows how Makky learns new things, rediscovers his youth etc. So it's not totally pointless.

Nagase plays his role quite well. The various outrageous facial expressions he came up with hahah... Another plus point - Nagase himself sang the ending song, Sorafune. I'm currently addicted to this song hhaha...

Oh, this drama is actually based on a Korean movie with the same title. I don't know how well this drama corresponds to the movie since I haven't watched it, but most probably only the base storyline is the same.

Tiger & Dragon

Status: 11 Episodes (complete & subbed) + 1 special episode(subbed)

Synopsis: This award winning drama series tells the story of a yakuza[Japanese mafia] member Toraji, whose job was collecting debts. He encountered Ryu, a clothing store owner who's also the estranged son of a rakugo story teller[rakugo is the art of telling Japanese comedy stories while sitting down i.e. sit-down comedy]. He decided to quit yakuza and learn rakugo. However, there's one problem. He looked so scary that people were afraid to laugh at him. Plus, his jokes were always lame. Finding the rakugo stories 'old' and incomprehensible[well, he's a bit of a baka haha], he decided to tell rakugo using his own style. He modified the stories to fit in with modern times & events that happened around him.

Eye-candies: Nagase Tomoya as Toraji [He's the bumbling guy masquearading as a cool singer in Mukodono], Okada Junichi as Ryu...

Why you should watch: This is a unique drama. Who would expect that it actually contains elements of traditional Japanese culture? I certainly enjoyed watching how the writer managed to modify the traditional rakugo stories to fit in with modern times. Each episode is about one rakugo story intertwined with events happening in Toraji's life. Basically, you get two version of the story. The traditional one, and the modern yakuza-flavoured version as told by Toraji. It does help that the events are usually hilarious and the dialogues are funny.

I think this drama is not everyone's cup of tea. But give it a try. When have you ever watched something that is educational yet funny at the same time? heh this was one of the few dramas that I managed to watch twice. [An incredible feat considering I've only finished 50% of the drama series that I started..]

@ Arfah - Ader rumours Tiger & Dragon 2!

Goong [Palace]

Status: 16-20? episodes, still airing..latest episode is no.6

Synopsis: How would you feel when you overhear a guy's marriage proposal being turned down, and then finding out that that's your future husband? You'd probably freak out.. That's what happened to Chaegyung. She overheard Shin, the crown prince of Korea, proposing to Hyorin, his secret girlfriend. A few days later, she was told that due a promise between her grandfather and the old king of Korea, she has to marry the crown prince. Initially reluctant, both of them agreed to the proposal with different motivations. Life as a 'Cinderella' begins for Chaegyung, but can she have the same happy ending?

Eye-candies: YUL! haha :P Shin, Hyorin

Why you should watch this: Totally different from 1Litre, this drama is light hearted and fun to watch. Sometimes it reminds me of Hana Yori Dango because the heroine is a feisty, middle-class girl thrown in to mix with the upper-class of society. CG's actions are so fun to watch [sometimes bordering on stupidity - 'could you believe that girl is the crown princess' acts]. Throw in some conspiracy from the family of the ex-future king[he died in an accident-so his wife and son lost lots of things] to gain their rights, you get a mix of comedy, romance and intrigue. Plus, you get to see them wearing Korean traditional costumes most of the time [the headpieces looks uncomfortable..] and learn a bit about the royal traditions. Since Korea is now a republic, I'm not sure how accurate this would be, but I guess the writer would have researched this before writing the manhwa. [yep..this drama is again an adaptation. This time from a famous Korean manhwa with the same title]

1 Rittoru no Namida

1 Litre of Tears
Status: 11? episodes, still airing.

Synopsis: This is the story of 15-year-old Ikeuchi Aya who was diagnosed with Spinocerebellar Atrophy[did I spell that correctly? hmmm...] and her struggle to continue her life as normal as possible. The disease causes her to lose control of her body, leading to difficulty in walking, talking and even swallowing. This is based on a true story, published in a book under the same title, It was written by a girl who suffered from the same disease and died at the age of 25. At the end of each episodes, there would be pictures of the writer with her friends and family during various stages of her life. The series is also peppered with quotes from the book.

Eye candy: Ikeuchi Aya[Sawajiri Erika], Asou Haruto[Nishikido Ryo], Dr. Mizuno[Fujiki Naohito]

Why you should watch: If you like tearjerker stories, this one is for you. It's touching and heart-wrenching at the same time when you see how hard Aya tries to lead a normal life... How she continues to go to a normal high school eventhough she had to use a wheelchair... How she had to give up a lot of things because of the disease...And she faced it all with a smile on her face. I think Sawajiri Erika did a good job in potraying Aya. And this is her first drama if I'm not mistaken. If you do decide to watch this drama, prepare a box of tissues nearby. It'll come in handy :P

Hana Yori Dango

Ever heard of the Taiwanese series Meteor Garden? It was quite famous a couple of years back. Did you know it was based on a Japanese manga called Hana Yori Dango? Well, it looks like there's now a Japanese version of the drama as well. Currently airing in Japan, this drama stars Matsumoto Jun, Mao Inoue, Oguri Shun etc. [Those are the only names that I could remember hahah]

I've read the manga, but I haven't watched MG. So I can only make the comparison with the manga. So far so good. The story sticks to the manga. The actors & actresses seems to potray the character as depicted in the manga. And it has quite a good theme song as well.. the christmassy Wish sung by Arashi.

What's this story about? Well, to summarise, it's actually the love story between Makino Tsukushi and Domyouji Tsukasa. Tsukasa's the leader of F4, the rulers[or more accurately, the flowers- Flower4] of Eitoku Gakuen. Tsukushi hates her school and went up against Tsukasa when he tried to bully her friend. As a result, Tsukushi's high school life turned to hell as she was 'red-tagged' by F4. Unexpectedly, the bratty and baka Tsukasa began to fall in love in with Tsukushi, while Tsukushi has a secret crush on Hanazawa Rui[the cool member of F4].

This manga is funny because of the ways Tsukasa tried to win Tsukushi's heart. But it also has some endearing and heartwarming moments. Not to forget the fact that it has some moral lessons as well. The heroine is also not some brainless bimbo, but a strong willed and determined girl. I think that's what make it different from other shoujo mangas. The art in this story gets better at the end. You can actually see the difference quite clearly. Compare the drawings in the first volume and the last. Heh..it's totally different.

Back to the drama, Oguri Shun as Hanazawa Rui is totally cool hahah.. Inoue played Tsukushi quite well. And Matsujun..haha I can only laugh at his hairstyle..but his acting is not bad. The settings and costumes in this drama is also good. They really dressed the students up in branded goods[Omega watches, Chanel handbags etc] and have them drive expensive cars. Must have got lots of companies to sponsor them heh..Oh and I love the scene where Tsukushi punched Tsukasa..ahaha..