Japanese title: 悪夢ちゃん
Aired on NTV
From October to December 2012
11 episodes
(A movie seems to be planned for 2014).
Main cast:
Update: Akumu-chan The Movie is to be released on May 2014.
Review: + !
Title: Akumu-chan is the nickname that Girl gives to a little girl who has predictive nighmares (akuma = bad dreams).
Girl: She's an elementary school teacher and pretends to be smiling all the time even though it's all fake. Her character is different from all the naturally nice girls in drama and the evolution of her character is really interesting. I love her (but I love Kitagawa Keiko).
Boy: He's a scientist and his true intentions are never clear. I was confused by his character who was nice but also slightly creepy. Maybe I would've been more interested in him with a different actor.
Plot: There is romance in this drama but it's in the backseat. The real stories are the story of Girl and also the stories of her pupils. One episode typically revolves around a pupil's problems and Little girl's dreams about it. There are interpretations of symbols in the dream and the stories are varied so it's really compelling. It's also slightly creepy and... really NTV? This is not a family drama. Though the mediocre special effects aren't scary, the themes can be disturbing for kids. The nighmares are really nighmares: there is physical and (more unsettling) emotional violence committed by children and/or on children. For grown-ups however, no problem.
Other characters: Little girl! So, so cute!! Can I adopt her (legally)?The other school teachers are typical comic reliefs. The nurse starts off weird but she becomes a real character later on.
Funny factor? See other characters.
Music: Serviceable.
Bottom line: At first, I stayed for the stand alone stories and the enigma of what these dreams are about. Then, I got engrossed in Girl's story as well. Though the finale was grandiloquent, I was impressed by how the stories told managed to make sense (I mean, once you've accepted that you can watch dreams in a TV). In the end, a + without question.
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