HamsapSukebe

I absolutely adore Saitou-san. Its the suburban housewife dorama to end all suburban housewife doramas because at the heart of it, its about Mano-san, played wonderfully by Mimura. Season 2 seems to be basically a rehash of season one and if one dorama this season got its casting wrong besides Hanzawa Naoki, Saitou-san 2 with Kiritani Mirei (Arakawa Under the Bridge) as Saitou-san's future friend.

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What's with Kiritani Mirei besides the fact that she looks like she is just skin and bones? She's a 23 year old actress who looks like a high schooler and plays the mother of a 10 year old. As bframe said, absolutely ridiculous. The husband must be guilty of statutory rape unless she's the stepmom. Its worse than casting Ueto Aya as a housewife who's been popping too many happy pills. Right from the get go, Saitou-san 2 has lost me. They tried to cover it up with many characters and herself proclaiming how young she is but is she playing a 30 year old who looks 18 at most?

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Skipped towards the end and I was so happy when Mano-san showed up that I watched the scene twice. Those two have a magical chemistry between them and that's something Kiritani Mirei will not have with Mizuki Arisa. You're better of rewatching the first season. Why rehash the same story with a actress who is much worse?

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Gah, D-addicts is down! Anyway spoilers ahead for those who haven't watched ep 4 of Woman yet. Just want to ask how come the kids are not bullied in school because their dad's a chikan? What happened to Japan hating on people who are related to alleged criminals? Episode 4 was a mixed bag of an episode for me.

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That leukemia tease in the beginning of the episode had me thinking, please don't make this a fatal disease dorama.Still, the tease made me confident Woman wasn't going down that route although there have been lots of hints. It'll probably be something non-fatal.

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Then we get to the obligatory crying porn part of the series with the story about Riku and the dog. Its expected padding when doing a 10 episode or so series. Its cool though since its about the teacher wanting Riku to do an intelligence test and us finding out he can memorise a whole lost dog advertisement. The crying part just felt unnecessary.

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Then we get to the very pivotal Shiori and her mom in the karaoke scene. I've got to say, what the fuck is up with the floaty shaky camera in this scene??!! This is such an important scene and the camera's just swaying left and right distracting me the performance. To be fair, I don't think Nikaido Fumi (Shiori) is good enough to blow us away but I'd rather see her fail rather than get distracted by the camera.

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What I feared true was revealed; Oguri Shun was not a chikan. Cue one million Oguri Shun fangirls sighing in relief.What was revealed though is equally exciting; that Shiori used to extort poor salaryman by crying chikan and she did it to poor Oguri Shun out of jealousy and insecurity. Oguri Shun got beat up by drunks and pushed to his death all because of Shiori.

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For the revelation to come this early means that Shiori's guilt and her mom's desire to protect her will be the main story for the series. Maybe they should have called this series 'Mother 2'. Mother of two step-sister, one of which caused the death of the other sister's husband.

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Having the revelation this early also asks the question how is Koharu going to find out? Are we going to have another confession scene by Shiori? Are we going to get more shaky camera work that will take me out of the moment? All I know is I'm staying far away from schoolgirls on trains next time I go Japan.

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Then finally comes the awesome storybook scene about the monster Ugikuku who eats children's souls. That scene was awesome. The storybook voice over and selling of the news. Not a fan of fatal disease storylines though. We still don't know what the disease is anyway. Is the dorama going the way of a Shiori redemption storyline? I just want to see Koharu bitch-slap her step-sister when she finds out.

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Someone wrote a very thorough piece on Woman Ep 4 in the comments section. I was writing a response that became longer and longer and I though, screw it, I'll just write my response as a follow up post as there's so much to say about episode 4.

To me, the kids had their great crying scene at the end of episode one. Sakamoto Yuji blew his crying kids wad on that one. Not saying the kids can't cry for the rest of the series but not to set it up in a premeditated and too obvious way like the story with the dog. It feel like redundant crying. Still better than Beatiful Rain, the Transformers of crying porn.

I have to give Shiori some doubt with her acting cause maybe she was following the director's vision plus the shaky cam thing. One could think Natalie Portman was a bad actress just based on Star Wars. As Antspace pointed it was Shiori slowly collapsing and it was only in the end that she took of her mask. My gut feeling is Nikaido Fumi is not up to the task but I hope she blows me away in the remaining series.

I don't really feel anything for Shiori's character. I feel for her mother though. Mother torn between loyalties to two daughters. Ok, she's not really torn but it at least gives an interesting conflict after the Oguri Shun is a chikan got put down. Ep 4 killed my vision of a powerful scene where Shiori shouts at Koharu, "Your husband molested me!" It might still happen and if it did, Shiori will be the biggest villain ever in jdoramas and I will personally go to Japan and do unspeakable things to her.

I still don't know what she is. Anon1 thinks she's a failure at being a pitiful villain.She's not exactly Futaba's brother in Soredemo Ikite Yuku. I love that character. It was such a powerful depiction of an irredeemable character and it made me pity him without changing what he is or making excuses. I just don't pity nor care about Shiori which is a bad sign.

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Antspace, wrong diagnosis would be awesome although I doubt this would turn into a medical malpractice dorama. Speaking of of masks, let's see where the doctor's wooden and slightly creepy persona takes us.

Where does Woman go from here? Assuming its 10 episodes, we got another 6 of Koharu is dying and someone needs to take care of her kids. Not a fan of that but I hope Sakamoto Yuji can make it interesting. Koharu is probably going to end up in hospital in episode 9 so before that she has to find out her step-sister is a chikan entrapment specialist.

Is the conundrum of this dorama going to be 'I hate my mom and my step-sister who killed my husband but someone's got to take care of my kids'? Not exactly filling me with as much excitement as 'my husband molested my sister, got beat up and pushed to his death by a mob and now I need to ask her and my mom to take care of my kids'.

Anon2, going from Oguri Shun is a chikan to him commiting suicide for a person who's happily married with two kids is kind of a hard sell. If he were depressed and had been unemployed for a long time and knows that he won't be able to get a job with a chikan records then it would make more sense. I just want this to be a classic jdorama so bad.

Wait, I just realised something. This father of 2 who loves the dangerous sport of mountain climbing never thought to buy life insurance for his family?

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How funny is it that Minamisawa Nao is doing two doramas in a row where her father dies at the beginning at the series and both series are about discovering the circumstances surrounding her father's death? Outousan wa Nido Shinu is a story whereby the father (Endo Kenichi) dies under strange circumstances and all sorts of information that the family does not know about him comes out at the funeral to the shock of his family.

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It starts out kind of funny but it ends up like Shinzanmono which becomes very repetitive. There are some weird things for the sake of plot like the family not being concerned with the circumstances of dad's death until the middle of the series. If you've seen doramas about workaholic fathers, you know what to expect. Why can't Japanese kids in doramas just be grateful someone is working their ass off so they can enjoy life? Very pedestrian but not bad enough to warrant a do not watch label.

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Awwwww, poor plant.

They kind of pulled a bait and switch with the ep 5 preview. I thought Koharu was going to tell Usuda Asami about her leukemia and it turned into Usuda Asami telling Koharu that she's divorced. Looks like Suzuki sensei finally did it with Ogawa Somi in real life, lol.

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Gave me flashbacks to the Suzuki sensei movie church scene. lol

So Woman, which started out as a fractured relationship dorama is now just another leukemia dorama. I just can't get excited about that. The Japanese government should pass a law that there be no leukemia doramas for the next 10 years. Let's bring back the good old blind/deaf/limping/wheelchair cute girl doramas.

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That said, Mitsushima Hikari killed the last scene. She can make the cheesiest lines believable because she says it with such conviction that I actually believe she will somehow beat this disease. However, one has to consider the fact that she has no money and will probably need to continue working to make ends meet. If anyone can make me sit through another fatal disease dorama, its Mitsushima Hikari.

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I like how the doctor underplayed his reaction to Mitsushima Hikari's performance.

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Don't really care about the training doctor's story. She finally got her big scene today where she reveals her motivations and she's having first world problems compared Koharu so meh.

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So we have this scene where Koharu's mom and step-sister completely ignore her and her kids. It doesn't work for me cause its not like they were on friendly terms to begin with. The relationship was not built up enough for the cold shoulder to mean anything. Its more like deep down, Koharu knows that her kids will either end up in an orphanage or with her mother.

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Yes, why don't you. Plenty of trains in Japan or you can use the Tokyo Sky Tree.

I've still got not feelings towards Shiori. I like the mother-daughter moment where Shiori is whining and her mom's taking down her pictures and there's a playful moment. A mother's ability to love a monster of a child is an interesting subject to look at.

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This was such a cruel scene.

The way I see Woman going is Shiori and her mom are going to find out about the leukemia, they are going to feel guilty and they are going to take care of the kids. I am going to have to stop thinking about what might have been an just enjoy the ride.

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Actually after thinking about for a while, the whole reason for this leukemia thing is probably a bone marrow transplant from Shiori. Sakamoto Yuji chose leukemia for a reason and is probably shooting for the 'I hate you but I need your bone marrow' speech as the highlight of this series. Now if only I can figure out why he made Oguri Shun a mountaineer.

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Applause for WOWOW. Once again, they have crafted a first episode that had me on the edge of seat figuratively even though I knew what was going to happen. There is something about WOWOW directing and acting that makes it miles ahead of almost everything else. Whether its having great directors, a policy against overacting or an absense of idols, I just wish the other networks could have a similar standard in quality.

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Of course, great first episodes don't make a good series. Suitei Yuuzai had a brilliant first episode and it turned out really bad. Jadefrost wrote a review and this is her summary;

While the story is intriguing and the acting is generally good, it is complicated, uneven in some parts and unwieldy because of the many characters and threads to bring together. Do not expect the kind of tension and exhilaration in Marks no Yama. I would choose to watch a WOWOW detective drama anytime over one from the other networks but it might have been better had they been more circumspect in the type of material to adapt to screen.

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The first episode had the Marks no Yama thrill for me and I could see interesting conflicts being set up. Like Marks, Lady Joker was previously made into a movie as well. I'd rather it be unwieldy than talking at the audience (Gekiryuu) or just plain bad overacting (Hanzawa Naoki). On a side note, I just can't continue watching Hanzawa Naoki cause of the acting. Every fucking scene in ep 3 makes me want to scream, "Why do you have to overact so much as if its a slapstick comedy??!!!".

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Jadefrosts' comments have encouraged me to temper my expectations although I am now riding a high as I type this. I can see where it can get way too complicated. There's kidnapping, industrial blackmail, discrimination, issues of haves and have-nots and the detective from Marks trying to uncover it all. The cast is godlike and its great to see Yada Akiko and Motokariya Yuika in bit parts.

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Now the difficult question would be whether to continue watching it raw or wait for incyphe to finish subbing. If only WOWOW shows had Japanese subs. Don't miss yet another brilliant WOWOW first episode. I am ready for a drop in quality but hopefully it turns out to be a solid jdorama.

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Goddamit, there was no way I could stop watching after episode 3 and in the end jadefrost's review was very spot in. It starts off as a very exciting detective dorama but becomes overly ambitious in wanting to tackle a lot of issues. If you're waiting for the rest of the subs, be prepared for a drop in pacing. There are no spoilers in this review.

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THE GOOD

- Good guys who are forced to make very difficult decisions and don't whinge about it. Its like Soratobu Taiya except there is no clear right path. The president has to balance his responsibility to Hinode Beer and its shareholders but also to his family members. You understand why he made the decisions he did.

- Never did it become preachy or the characters feel like they are talking at audience.

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- Generally good acting throughout the show including from some actors who are prone to overacting. cough, guy above.

- The villains are portrayed as people and no one turns into gwahaha, muahaha I am evil.

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- Mr Lan Evo as the bad cop is fun to watch.

- Akiko Yada and Motokariya Yuika keep my engaged when things are slow.

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THE BAD

- Turns from action series with great characters to character dorama with minimal action/thing happening. I wasn't bored cause it had nice character moments but the excitement wasn't there anymore.

- The dialogue is bloody difficult to understand and watching with a dictionary in hand without Japanese subs doesn't help much.

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THE UGLY

- Someone needs to tell the guy above that only Dragonball Z character furrow their eyebrows all the time.

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- Hinode Beer president singing in the 80s.

I really want to give Abunai Keiji a try. Lol. Kamikawa Takaya was in it as well. The first five episodes were uploaded in 2005 so I doubt they're alive now.

SUMMARY

jadefrost's review pretty much prepared me for it. The WOWOW doramas losing steam curse strikes again. The only recent WOWOW show that had a great finish that comes to mind is Hitori Shizuka. Not must watch overall but man, the first four episodes were really good. I applaud the effort WOWOW. Now if only someone would sub Furueru Ushi.

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It took me a while to muster enough motivation to watch this episode. For the first time, I did the retiming without really watching. I guess I'm still bummed out by the not-a-chikan thing. I did another two attempts before I could sit down and watch it through.

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I liked the scene in the beginning. Koharu hates her mom but has to do it for her kids. Koharu's mom knows she is lying and wants her out of their lives for Shiori's sake. Shiori the emotional zombie wants Koharu to stay probably because of her guilt except there is no hint of it. The mom wants nothing of Oguri Shun in the house to torment the poor NEET but Mr. Shinya Shokudo is saying that this is what the mom actually wants. I like the fact everyone's doing stuff for their own reasons and wearing their own masks.

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For Sakamoto Yuji to go this route, Shiori cannot be an expressionless girl. The audience needs to see hints of some sort of emotion trying to creep its way out of her mask because we're currently 100% inferencing her motivation and feelings. A good example would be Koharu's smile at her mom. Shiori acts like she's been smoking some weed and is chilling while listening to her music.

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Its sweet but you can see she's forcing herself and she's holding something back.Maybe Mitsushima Hikari should have been playing Shiori. The doctors backstory is that his wife died of leukemia as well. Ho hum.

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Then we get to the ending scene with Koharu's mom claiming responsibility for Oguri Shun's death who BTW has climed Everest which is a great feat. There's the question of how much of it is real. There's probably a part of her that feels responsible for Shiori's actions. Was it to explain why she doesn't want Oguri Shun's stuff in the house or to drive the point that she's not comfortable with Koharu around? I don't really care either way. A lot of the tension has been lost.

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So Koharu is going back to Oguri Shun's hometown and to the delight of squealing fangirls, we will be getting more Oguri Shun flashbacks. For me, Woman has been derailed and lost all that tension from eps 1-3. One can only hope that it gets back on track and doesn't end up like Minna! Esper Dayo!

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I gave the first episode of Double Tone a must watch. The whole time travelling shared dreams with a mystery thing was brilliant. While in the end I can't rate it a must watch, I still think its a pretty good series.

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Double Tone is less science fiction and more of a character based dorama. Afterall, the target audience for this show are the older women. We don't really get the do trying to change the past and random stuff happens in the future ie; all the usual stuff we get from time travel shows.

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Its more about the two Yumis. One who knows she is about to die and one who is still dealing with death and them having this relationship despite having not met each other. What Double Tone is is a very efficient, straightforward dorama with a high concept. Nothing gets stretched out for too long, except for the creepy detective part.

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What it needed to be a must watch in my eyes would be killer acting and directing which is decent but not close to Mitsushima Hikari level. I'd still recommend this dorama. Props to NHK for once again producing another smart and solid dorama aimed at older women, something other networks usually fail at.

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On an unrelated note, Dragon's Crown is taking away all my time from doing everything else. Whoever thought that Golden Axe + online RPG would be so addictive...

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THE GOOD

- Moriyama trying to be a good guy is funny. Watching his true nature trying to come out every time is a hoot. And Ghandi of all people? Lol.

- Moriyama trying to hide his cat secret.

- Sagara's plan which starts happening in ep 5. Season 2 needed a main story and it's been hinted throughout the first 4 episodes and its finally happening. I'll like to see Sagara fail though. Could we see some opposition from Minagawa sensei?

- Sagara letting nurse Miyabe in on his plan.

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THE BAD

- Sagara sensei doing nothing clever in the first 4 episodes. He was basically blackmailing Moriyama. (to great effect I might add) Watching Sagara subtlely manipulate people using their emotions is what made the first season and the SP must watch shows. However, I like how he made the anesthetist his ally by appealing to his potential for good in ep 5.

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THE UGLY

- The horrible acting from a lot of the young women playing patients or their family members. Obviously the casting director is not recruiting professionals.

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SUMMARY

Moriyama single handedly kept the first four episodes afloat. Let's see what Fukuda Yasushi has in store with Sagara's plan this this time. I'll actually like to see Sagara fail in the end. Watchable with potential to be good.

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After Woman crashing and burning and Doctors 2 not reaching the heights of the first season, Yabe Kenzo 2 is turning out to the best dorama this season for me. Its kind of rare for a second season to be better than the first. I don't really remember how good the first season was. I only wrote a review for eps 1-3 and I don't think I considered it must watch in the end.

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When I read that Kanjiya Shihori and the glasses dude were going to be replaced by a little girl, I was very skeptical. I think it worked out great. There are a few running jokes involving the girl, her dad the police chief and Yabe Kenzo every episode.

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Leon? Lol.

The little girl still solves the cases but Yabe Kenzo's blind luck still plays an important role. In a way without Kanjiya Shihori and glasses dude, this feels more like Yabe Kenzo's dorama although the girl plays the same role that they did. I guess she doesn't have as much screen time as Yabe Kenzo does the information gathering and she pops up at the end to tell him the conclusion.

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Episode 5 is just brilliantly funny. There's a comedic multiple assignation scene that was executed just brilliantly especially in terms of logistics. Jdoramas always have problems in terms spacing and making sense during actions scenes such as the ending of Sennyu Tantei Tokage and especially when there is stabbing involved. Kind of sad that I'm praising a jdorama for getting small things right though that was really an complicated sequence of events.

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I was waiting for the quality of the episodes before passing judgement and so far, for the five episodes I declare Keibuho Yabe Kenzo 2 a must watch. The ending of ep 3 was really educational. Quality could drop or I may get tired of the running jokes but at least Yabe Kenzo won't do a Woman and try to be too many things. It knows what it is; a stupid comedy with a bumbling detective and does it very well.

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On a gaming note, Ryu ga Gotoku Ishin's been announced. Yes, Kiryuu Kazuma is going to be Sakamoto Ryuma, lol. I love Ryu ga Gotoku Kenzan which was a retelling of Miyamoto Musashi's story. It was so fun cause I read Vagabond and have seen the dorama series. Sakamoto Ryomo, I know more as a supporting character from Jin. Its not like he has an epic rivalry with Sasaki Kojiro to look forward to. Kiryuu, I mean Ryuma is definitely going to fight some Shinsengumi. Can't bloody wait! Maybe he'll survive his assassination attempt and go on a Shinsengumi hunting spree. :)

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I was hoping for a Battle Royale lite dorama but Limit is less survival dorama and more about character archetypes and delving into their problems as the series progresses. You got Sakuraba Nanami as the former nice girl who was once betrayed and doesn't want to be betrayed again, Ogawa from Suzuki sensei playing Ogawa, bullied girl who overacts and turns crazy when she turns the tables etc.

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Could have been better if execution were improved. You've gotta turn off your brain for some things but the dorama hasn't gone anywhere interesting though the ending of episode 6 did stir my interest. I can't even say it s watchable dorama. I'm only watching for Sakuraba Nanami and Ogawa but neither do anything interesting with their characters. Doesn't suck but not much to see here.

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Eps 7 and 8 are two very different episodes. Ep 7 is mainly about Oguri Shun going back to see his mother. There's this contrived plot about how he write a letter to Koharu and left it at the tuckshop for Koharu to find years later. Either Oguri Shun's manager said, "He's not going to be in this dorama unless he's got substantial scenes" or Sakamoto Yuji decided that Woman needed to pad its story. The only plus thing from the Oguri Shun thing is his mom asking him why he hasn't gotten life insurance and he doesn't even have an answer for it.

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Woman is the opposite of Going My Home. Going My Home had a simple and beautiful story that needed 6-8 episodes at most but got stretched to 10 but maintained its realistic and quaint feel. Woman has a straightforward story that is filled with needless distractions that as someone put it makes us realise that we're watching a dorama when most of the show is realistic and gripping. Its like a totally dramatic wrestling match where you believe they two wrestlers want to kill each other and then they do some stupid fake-looking spots that remind us oh, this is wrestling.

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Poor Nozomi finding her mom on top of her own sister.

Episode 7 though starts with a great scene between Koharu and her mom. Koharu's mom knows she knows and runs through a gamut of responses from being nice to Koharu, to saying how happy she is to be here to pleading for Koharu to hate her.

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Mitsushima Hikari and Tanaka Yuko killed this scene.

The ending scene of Koharu's mom zoning out cause Shiori left while Koharu finally tells her about her illness is also great but they should not have been in the same episode. There should have been more time for the anger and emotional confusion to breath. The Koharu vs sister scene was not a strong enough ending for ep 7 IMO and episode 8 should have been more of an exploration of the tension between Koharu and Shiori.

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I really liked Shiori's line here which convinces Mr. Shinya Shokudo to continue living in his ignorance.

I'm just so happy that Shiori is out of the house. I didn't care about that throwaway scene with the classmate telling Shiori's mother why she was bullied. More Koharu and her mom is where this dorama should go. Despite my misgivings about two great scenes in one episode, episode 7 was riveting to watch notwithstanding my Oguri Shun should have been a chikan bias.

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Woman might not reach the classic must watch status of Seredemo Ikite Yuku but the acting and directing is still better than most shows. I feel sorry for poor Mr Shinya Shokudo aka Namakemono-san. He is in the dark about everything and I want to see his reaction when he finds out. Meh for episode 7 and must watch for ep 8.

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Aren't you playing another boring housewife character in another dorama this season?

Yes, I know I swore never to watch another dorama starring Fukada 'Can't Act' Kyoko but after Gekiryuu is so bad that it even her acting in this is better than anything in Gekiryuu. Plus, she actually looks even more pleasing to the eyes in Namonaki Doku than I can remember. The words 'tight clothing' and 'assets' come to mind.

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I feel like she is going for a pose in this scene but didn't go through with it.

Anyway, Namonaki Doku is mystery dorama. Koizumi Kotaro once again playing the everyman who marries into a rich family and is tasked by his boss/father in law with dealing with the death of his father in law's driver's death by bicycle. Somehow this office worker gets involved doing police work trying to determine the father's cause of death and unlocking some skeletons in the closet.The story is pretty decent but the performances are nothing special. Still miles better than Gekiryuu though.

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Is anything going on in her head?

The story is solved at the end of ep 5 and suddenly we jump into a different story involving random people getting poisoned. Namonaki Doku seems to be two separate stories with Koizumi's character getting involved in both. Problem is, his character is very boring.

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Over concentrating deer in headlights look that only Fukada Kyoko can do.

Still can't muster any interest to continue watching although the main suspect is being played by Eguchi Noriko who can act rings around Fukada Kyoko. I'm guessing this is based on a series of novels featuring Koizumi's character. There has to be a hook to make his character interesting in the novels right? In the dorama, he's just a boring generic nice guy.

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Pretty much nothing to see here except Fukada Kyoko making stupid faces. There are times where I thought her acting here is OK and then she pulls that stupid overacting deer in the headlights/ there's nothing on top face. Can some director tell her to please act normally. Its as if she's so aware of the camera and she interacting with it instead of being in the scene.

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Didn't your father die in another dorama last season?

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The 'my body is here but my brain is not' look.

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The what ice-cream should I have for supper look.

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Yes, I went through five episodes of bad acting to feast my eyes.

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What a great episode! Shiori leaves the house and Woman becomes even better. Maybe they should have called this Mother 2 instead of Woman since its more about mothers and daughters. Mother regains get her estranged daughter back but loses her 2nd one. I still don't get the purpose of the welfare guy's story but whatever.

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So many great scenes in this episode. Namakemono finding out about Koharu's illness and what Shiori did in one go. Poor fella. The quiet scene between Namakemono and wife looking at Shiori's photos. Koharu and her mother in the kitchen scene. I was thinking please don't mix up your memories of Koharu with Shiori cause that would be very bad.

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The best scene is Namakemono confronting Shiori. Shiori said that Namakemono was the one person she did not want knowing how bad she was. Maybe she knew that her father is the one person who will not baby her and help her hide her head in the sand.

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I loved when when Namakemono asked Shiori, "Do you know what atonement is? Whether you can do it is another thing altogether." Suddenly I got the realisation that Shiori's mother is a horrible mother. That she's overcompensating for what she did to Koharu and is enabling Shiori to run from reality. Its obvious from Shiori doing nothing but listen to her mp3 player all series but Namakemono's response as a parent is so different.

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Then Namakemono comes up with a great line to sum up Shiori. The worst person in the world is someone who does not realise what they have done. It describes Shiori to a T and why she's such a hateful character. It also tells me that this is what Sakamoto Yuji was going for and that Shiori's pot smoker acting was intentional. Shiori is a character to be hated.

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While Shiori and her mother were thinking bury their head in the sand in the sin would go away, Namakemono is already thinking of selling of the house and business to compensate Koharu. As he said, you have to try to atone.

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The episode ends with this great scene of Nozomi crying and revealing that she knows. There's this scene in the middle of the episode after Koharu's mom tells Koharu that she is unable to be a donor where you see Nozomi walking up the stairs and acting a bit troubled when she answers her mom. Its gives you a second to think 'was she listening?' before your attention is brought back to Koharu and her mom.

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Looks like Shiori is going to be the donor. Fingers crossed crossed Sakamoto Yuji can pull it off and make this compelling tv.

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Power Game is a very, very bad jdorama. It is set in the world of advertising where two rivals guy Shirosaki and Kuroiwa compete to suck up to the rich and famous and gain advertising contracts.

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Things happen that make absolutely no sense and despite Shirosaki being the son of the advertising god, all his success in the three episodes have been due to Shiraishi Miho randomly appearing and helping him out.

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At least Power Game is very aware of that its a bad show unlike Gekiryuu and the actors just chew up the scenery especially Hakamada Yoshihiko as Kuroiwa. I find myself laughing at the absurdity of it all instead of the jokes being clever ala Yabe Kenzo.

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I like the cast so I'm going to continue watching too see what stupid explanation they have for Shiraishi Miho's character. Unfortunate, Power Game is not a so bad its good dorama. Its just bad.

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When Chuks posted the link to the Sakamoto Yuji interview in the comments section, I knew I had to translate this thing. This is only half of the first part of the interview and it took me a couple of days and asking friends to help with bits and pieces. My Japanese is crap so lots of mistakes here and there. Its going to take me a while to translate the whole thing and I can't guarantee I'll do it.

I need to finish Zero no Kiseki so I can get straight on either Sora no Kiseki or Sen no Kiseki, can't decide which. This Eiyuu Densetsu series is the most wordy RPG I have ever played. If anyone's got any corrections, please let me know. If anyone with decent Japanese wants to translate the rest of the interview, even better!

Because of the killer, the sister is there

Ekirebi! Writer and mystery author Abiko Takemaru says Soredemo Ikite Yuku is as a once in 50 years masterpiece. Just recently the long-awaited DVD was released. Memories of the dorama’s script and actors have resurfaced. I requested to talk to screenwriter Sakamoto Yuji of this drama. The very rich and interesting dialogue has been split into 4 parts.

Abiko: Last time there was no announcement of the DVD. I thought this is a dorama that everyone should see. So I wrote the previous review.

Sakamoto: I was encouraged by the review.

Abiko: Did you think about the bad ratings or small numbers? This time did you plan to do 11 chapters from the beginning?

Sakamoto. Yes. I did not want to do a shortened story.

Abiko: As one would expect nothing was cut, but did the numbers had any effect at all on the fact there are no deleted scenes/extras and no announcement of the DVD.

Sakamoto: It seems there are no extras. Extras not are necessarily influenced by ratings. Its an unfortunate consequence and I think the producer was sour about it.

Abiko: But with your previous work "Mother" had a considerable popularity. Did you think any of the numbers would come out a little better?

Sakamoto: My job is not having to worry about the ratings while writing this and I'm not writing just for that. Summer doramas are always very difficult in terms of ratings. Because it was summer, I I made a dorama about adventure.

Abiko: Didn't the DVD sell well?

Sakamoto: DVDs don't sell well in this era. Well, what can I do about it? But there is an impression that sold well in comparison with the ratings for Mother.

Abiko: Eh? Mother had good ratings right?

Sakamoto: No, the ratings were not good. This is a part of the illusion since the ratings went up towards the end, but on average the ratings were low. Mother is an April program and Soredemo Ikite Yuku is a July program. Personally I don’t think there would changes. (in the ratings)

Abiko: There is a mistake putting it in the summer season?

Sakamoto: I can't deny that, it is evident that doramas don't rate well in summer. People are not at home because of the obon festival. Normally the numbers as a whole go down....

PAGE 2

We were prepared to from the very beginning for that.

Abiko: Dorama ratings in general have fallen, haven’t they? Not to mention this time its also a dark dorama. I thought that it couldn’t be helped if I couldn’t get the numbers. Then later Kaseifu no Mita’s last episode got over 40%. I couldn’t believe it. An unbelievable rating appeared. I unexpectedly watched the whole of Kaseifu no Mita. I thought it was an overly simplistic and overly easy to understand dorama and no matter how you think about it, the story is nonsensical. Don’t you feel that compared to the old days, dorama making is about looking down on the viewers? Well, that could simply be my impression because of my old age.

Sakamoto: I don’t think they treat the audience like idiots . It is true that not easy to understand doramas and do not get ratings. TV is about ‘explain explain explain’: It’s the Mito Komon predetermined ending. I think Its not about writing for idiots but rather writing in good faith. (not sure about this one)

Akibo: About looking down (on the audience), don’t you think you have to do it or else they won’t understand?

Sakamoto: Even to make something that its very easy to understand requires much effort and devotion. Today’s doing variety and doramas today. Compared to the past, this business is more difficult. In the past planning and scripts are less detailed, photos were simply taken. Now its ‘ you have come all the way here’ or ‘use that hand or this hand’. There is no doubt that it takes tremendous effort to make a hit dorama.

Abiko: Sakamoto-san said that you did not care about audience ratings while ago, but what about the other staff? For example anyone who is depressed?.

Sakamoto: There was no sign of anyone who was depressed on set. There was a sense of accomplishment and everyone was proud of the launch. No matter what the numbers were, everyone was excited for the launch. The producer was mostly ashamed but I can feel that the sense of accomplishment was there from the director, actors and everyone on set.

Abiko: Well I’ve rewatched the whole thing on DVD.

Sakamoto: Thank you.

Abiko: I want to say it again, in my review I asked whether or not this dorama was an illusion. (laughs) After watching this dorama, I thought I had been cursed because the basis for judging other shows has gone up…

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With the crazy ratings that Hanzawa Naoki is having, I had to try to continue the series after giving up on ep 3 due to the acting. I gave up on Japanese subs cause it just too difficult. Is this another Kaseifu no Mita, a horribly written and acted dorama that inexplicably managed to get golden era of Jdorama ratings or is it actually good? The answer lies somewhere in between.

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THE GOOD

- Classic underdog put so many unfair challenges before him that the audience wants to see him win. Regardless of what I felt about the acting, I wanted to see Hanzawa turn the tables. The story on the whole is quite good.
- Hanzawa using his brains to win and not the believe in doing the right thing and good results will magically happen that we see too much of. More smart protagonists and less self righteous ones please.
- Hanzawa not forgiving his boss. At least it wasn't a straightforward bullshit turn over a new leaf ending.

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THE BAD

- The overacting. I said in my previous review this is a banking anime and so many characters act like anime characters. Why???? This isn't a comedy like Doctors. When the mistress had to do some acting, OMFG of all the gravure idols in Japan they could have used.....
- We still have contrivances like Hanzawa's boss at the aquarium and daughter gives him origami crane and says shigoto ganbatte. I know what the writer wants to say but isn't there a less obvious way to do it? Oh wait, I don't think I've seen any subtle acting in this.
- Ueto Aya is a horrible casting choice for a housewife and the less said about her acting the better.

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THE UGLY

- Kurosaki showing up at the end of episode 6 with even more overacting.Its as if the director told him to ham it up even more to make his character an even bigger threat or something. Is Kurosaki supposed to be funny because he's making faces all the time? Is this show suppose to be a comedy?

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Exactly how I felt when I saw Kurosaki's overacting face.

SUMMARY

I can sort of understand why its so popular. Hanzawa Naoki is the new Salaryman Kintaro, the serious salaryman hero for this new era. I don't find the constant overacting lending itself to a banking dorama that takes itself seriously though. Watchable underdog story and I for one am glad its nowhere as bad as Mita.

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Damn you Sakamoto Yuji!! Why are you so good? Lol. There are a lot of elements in this episode which echo some points he made from his interview from Abiko. I still haven't gotten around to cleaning up the 2nd half of the first part of the interview. Will probably be up by Sunday night. The first half is a beautiful story about Nozomi knowing that her mother is sick and tying it back to the Uggikuku story.

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Still don't see the point the welfare department father and Tanimura Mitsuki story. Will it turn out to be a genius sub story like Kaneda from KDO? Suzuki Rio who plays Nozomi is awesome and the script and directing really allow the scenes the breathe. She's the anti-Ashida Mana for me. Not trying too hard to be cute.

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From ep 9 eye-opening (for me at least) realisation that Shiori was been trying to escape her guilt this whole time and doesn't know how to atone, we see her come face to face with the guy who pushed Oguri Shun. I was thinking if this is why Oguri Shun wasn't a chikan and something crazy happens, I'll take back everything I said.

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Nothing crazy happens but it was more of a Shiori staring into a mirror scene. Its as if her asking the guy to come with her to see Koharu is Shiori telling herself she needs to be honest in her apology and that her previous apology was more of her being wrecked by guilt rather than a desire to atone. The mirror looks back at her and says 'it wasn't my fault'.

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The biggest WTF this episode was how did Shiori's mom even knew where she was? From trying to run away from the problem, Shiro's mom has moved to 'you'll never be forgiven' and 'you need to think your life is over'. Big pendulum swing for me. Namakemono's answer is to face it head on while the mother's response went from denial to total surrender. Maybe it was her way of saying Shiori's life is no longer her own and she should go for the test to ensure that Koharu and kids have a chance to be happy.

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The second half is a long and great family scene with Koharu coming clean to her kids about her illness. Its when Woman has simple scenes with great dialogue that I forget I'm watching a dorama. The end teaser looks like Shiori's bone marrow is not going to match. Maybe they want us to think that but I don't really care either way. Still not a fan of the leukemia angle and Oguri Shun having such a big role.

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I still have my problems with this show but the execution in ep 10 is just beautiful. Whatever happens, I'll be watching for the acting and directing.

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Second half of Part 1 of the interview. Apologies for shoddy quality. There are quite a few perplexing lines for me. I can read most of it but I have a hard time understanding his point so some lines seem machine translated. This Abiko dude knows how to speak in bloody long and difficult sentences. The original Japanese interview is here. Corrections and suggestions are most welcome.

PAGE 3

Abiko: I was shocked by this show and wanted to say to people involved in making TV doramas, "If this can be done, you guys have to work harder!" In terms of Dialogue, acting and execution. If novels and doramas can promise to make them good and not uninteresting, that would be great. From the beginning this dorama has been about being real.

Sakamoto: Yes.

Abiko: As for that secret (about the quality of the show), who's intention/will power was it that made this possible? What type of the miracle of collaboration, chemistry or from an original script with a strong idea that the scriptwriter Sakamono-san. Can you tell me in detail the start of your plan?

Sakamoto: After I did Mother for Nipponterebi, I could not decide on what to do next. At that time, I heard from Fuji TV about the bare bones plan for 'there is a killer and there is his sister'. I thought it was interesting, very interesting. For doramas, the past and the future are must both exist in the story. You can't do doramas only about people who have suffered from traumas in the past live difficult lives. However, if the viewer can forsee or anticipate the future (of the story) then the dorama can continue. I had to plan for what will happen.

Abiko: Certainly.

Sakamoto: As for dorama planning, even if you have special plans or settings, sometimes you have cases where what's going to happen next has not been written. After coming to do standstill, I thought there was a destination to this project and I went to 'I want to makes this dorama!'. After that I asked Eita-san and he agreed to do it. After that, it could finally move forward as a TV dorama.

Abiko: At that time the of screnarios has not started, right? At that time, Eita's character (the victims brother) hasn't appeared, right? As for the murderer and his sister, did you want Eita-san to play the murderer?

Sakamoto: At first, that is what I thought. In my head, I had the image of Eita-san as the murdererer and at that time, Eita-san also indicated his interest (in the role). After that, I was thinking of the plot and from out of the people associated with the victim came the main character...

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PAGE 4

Sakamoto: Well, there are a variety of factors that lead me to this decision. First, I could not write from the murderer's point of view. The victim's family, I put to the side and I could really feel the plot start to advance.

Literally: If you don't determine (what is) good or evil,you can write anything.

Abiko: So the story starts from 'there is a killer and there is his sister'. In the beginning what were the components that you wanted to write? Heating up the materials/story about the people involved with the crime. From before, this is your writing style isn't it?

Sakamoto: Well...... actuallly its not. I did not feel that its would have been easy to expand on the dorama.

Abiko: In this case gathering the necessary materials, hunting for scenarios and developing them. What is the nucleas of what you were developing?

Sakamoto: I haven't brought any story materials yet. Well,before writing anything the only thing I determined was that it was not going to be black and white. In regards to Soredemo Ikite Yuku, it means the victim's family. The victim's families go through a lot of things and I wanted to paint that confrontation. I wanted a dorama about two characters with different thoughts and positions meeting. So I wanted to see whatever themes flow from it.

Abiko: There is an interview where Mitsushima-san said she was offered the job and her schedule didn't match and she had to refuse, However I read that you really wanted her for this role.

Sakamoto: When Mother was other, I wanted to next job to be with Mitsushima-san. The keyword that come out for me was 'younger sister'. Please do this Mitsushima-san. I want you to do this. That was my intention at the start of the plan though it was pretty big.

Abiko: from there, if I'm not working or repeat Shinahan while trouble this and that producers and directors and we willl or realigning the plot.

Sakamoto: A lot of TV doramas are shot in Tokyo, right? So from the start I wanted to set it in the countryside. No matter how much effort you put into it, there are people who are tired of seeing Tokyo. The only things I thought about were going to the countryside and the dorama looking different from usual.With that, we decided to go to locations like Nagano and Yamanashi...

Saitou-san 2 ep 1

Woman ep 4

Further thoughts on Woman ep 4

Otousan wa Nido Shinu

Woman ep 5

Lady Joker ep 1

Lady Joker eps 2-7

Woman ep 6

Double Tone ~Futari no Yumi~ eps 2-6

Doctors: Saikyou no Meii 2 Ep 2 - 5

Keibuho Yabe Kenzo 2 eps 1-5

Limit eps 1-6

Woman eps 7+8

Namonaki Doku eps 1-5

Woman ep 9

Power Game eps 1-3

Sakamoto Yuji - Soredemo Ikite Yuku interview Part 1

Hanzawa Naoki Eps 3-7

Woman ep 10

Sakamoto Yuji - Soredemo Ikite Yuku interview Part 1B