5-ji Kara 9-ji Made

Japanese title: 5時から9時まで
English title:  From 5 to 9

10 episodes

Aired on Fuji TV
From 2015 October to December

Main cast:

Ishihara Satomi as Sakuraba Junko

Yamashita Tomohisa as Hoshikawa Takane

Tanaka Kei as Kiyomiya Makoto

Takanashi Rin as Yamabuchi Momoe

Hayami Mokomichi as Kimura Arthur

Furukawa Yuki as Mishima Satoshi

Yoshimoto Miyu as Ashigaka Kaori

Ono Takehiko as Terada Kouei

Kaga Mariko as Hoshikawa Hibari

Shison Jun as Hoshikawa Amane

Saeko as Mouri Masako

Nagatsuma Reo as Hachiya Renji

Takada Hyoga as Satonaka Yuki

Tsunematsu Yuri as Sakuraba Nene

Toda Keiko as Sakuraba Keiko

Ueshima Ryuhei as Sakuraba Mitsuru

Production credits:

Original work: Manga 5-ji Kara 9-ji Made by Aihara Miki

Screenwriter: Koyama Shota

Producer: Goto Hiroyuki, Kinjo Ayaka

Director: Hirano Shin, Tanimura Masaki

Music: Dewa Yoshiaki, Habuka Yuri

Review: +/-

Title: Girl teaches English at a language school. I guess, the timetable for her classes is from 5 to 9.

Girl: She's passionate about her job and her dream is to go to New York. She's pretty, kind and self-willed. I can believe that several men are in love with her.

Boy: He's a Buddhist monk, in charge of a temple, which is a kind of family "business". He's serious, earnest but lacks some social skills.

Other boys: As I said, there are two other men in love with Girl. I can't say much without spoilers but they are not really interesting.

Other girl: Her marriage with Boy has been arranged by her family and Boy's grandmother but she really wants to make it work.

Plots/relationships: Boy and Girl are both great characters and I believe that they can be together, that she fills something in his heart. However, the biggest problem of this drama is the pure stalking going on.

Of course, dramas have to contrive to make their characters meet again and again. I stopped counting the chance encounters in the drama I'm currently watching. Another way is to make one of the party interested. But since the other cannot reciprocate so soon, or there is no drama apparently, he (since it's usually the man) has to resort to stalking despite Girl's protests. I know I let it pass in Secret garden but the difference is that Girl here is clearly very upset to be pursued in that way. And it is upsetting to watch.

Something else I didn't like: the villains are caricatures. One of them has a motivation that doesn't make sense, as for the other, the motivation for their entire behaviour is revealed in the last minutes of the last episode... so too late.

Other characters: Families and her co-workers. There are two other relationships that are developped between secondary characters.

What the...?: Weird fakeouts.

Clichés: Embarrassing first meeting. Opposition of his family. Insta-love. Rain. Stalking.

Funny: Yes.

Bottom line: I watched it two months ago and I couldn't remember how it ended so I took it as a sign as I was unsure about the + or +/-. Once again, there was potential because most of the characters are interesting, even original, but I couldn't overlook some of its flaws.

Oh! my girl!!

Japanese title: オー！マイ・ガール！！

9 episodes

Aired on NTV
From 2008 October to December

Main cast:

Hayami Mokomichi: Yamashita Kotaro

Yoshida Riko: Sakurai Anne

Kato Rosa: Fuji Mineko

Tomosaka Rie: Yasuno Makiko

Okada Yoshinori: Ishida Ken

YOU: Ozora Hinako

Furuta Arata: Sugawara Hirofumi

Kaga Takeshi: Ishizaka Kazuo

Notes:
- Hello Little Hotaru! And you, co-worker from Star no Koi! Oh! And from Star no Koi there is also in one episode the manager!
- Rewatching

 

Review: +

Title : That’s the kind I remember: generic and nonsensical. Besides, the exclamation marks are ridiculous.

Boy : He works for a magazine writing article but his dream is to publish a novel. Meanwhile he writes cheesy « cellphone novels » which is something you write with your phone on an online platform. He’s an idealist (cynics would say « loser »).

Girl : She’s his 6-years-old niece and before you think "What’s this drama? That'’s illegal and creepy." this drama is not romance. I don’t know what this genre is called but it is the one in which a grumpy old man begrudgingly befriends a neglected cute kid. Except, here, the man is young and handsome.

Back to girl, she’s a child actress, she’s spoiled, she’s very poised with people, unfazed by her fame and a true professional. But she’s still very much a kid : she throws tantrums, sulks and needs to be taken care of.

Girl : She’s Girl’s manager/assistant. Mmm, now that I think about it, she doesn’t have much of a personnality besides doing her best at her job. But it wasn’t distracting while watching and she’s a likable character who felt real. (+)

Plot : Each episode is self-contained while building the overall story. People grow, learn things, there are real emotional stakes, it doesn't strain plausibility too much. (+)

Other characters: There is a single mother who's a co-worker of Boy and his confident. His boss who's too lenient with Boy considering that he skips work a lot. The enemy, a fellow journalist who takes his job seriously so though his personality is quite bad, you understand his frustration with Boy. Finally, there are Girl's mother who is really selfish and the President of their agency. Oh, I almost forgot the neighbours - I think they're supposed to be funny but they were more annoying to me.

Funny Factor? A little.

Music: Good.

What the...?: Girl and her mother live together and no one has figured out that they are related?

Bottom line: Though I was totally shipping some characters, it's more a family show than a romance. It's an enjoyable drama that delivers emotional moments and did not make me cringe. (+)

 

Top 10 Drama actors Crushes

So, let's get full-on, unabashedly superficial!

But, first, because we have to do this seriously, a definition of « crushes » for the purpose of this post. Basically, all leads in drama are handsome but for reasons, some appeal to me more and make me want to check out (but not always watch in their entirety) dramas in which they appear. These crushes are based on looks and on the characters portrayed. Obviously, I don't know them. Nor do I want to. In this case, fantasy is better.

Note: I chose pictures in which I could recognise the actor, based on what I know they look like in dramas.

Hum... no surprise for number One.

     1- 山下智久 Yamashita Tomohisa.

Born in 1985.
Lead in Nobuta wo produce, Kurosagi, Buzzer beat, Proposal daisakusen, Summer nude. In his dramography, I haven’t watched Code blue past the 1st episode coz of serious real-life stuff like blood and grim surgeries. [Edit: since then, I've watched and reviewed Monsters, Algernon ni Hanataba wo and From 5 to 9, so yeah, he's still number 1, no contest].

This Google images search just killed my heart.
One hour later:

     2- 郭品超  Dylan Kuo.

Born in 1977.
Lead in Prince + Princess 2 and Borrow your love.

     3- 速水もこみち Hayami Mokomichi

Born in 1984. 

Lead in Oh ! My girl !!!, Zettai Kareshi, Rebound. Also supporting in From 5 to 9.

     4- 藤木直人 Fujiki Naohito.

Born in 1972.
Lead in Hotaru no Hikari, supporting in Proposal daisakusen.
So nice and earnest.

     5- 敖犬  Ao Quan

Born in 1982.
Lead in Brown Sugar macchiato and only guest in The legend of Brown sugar chevalries :(. 
I like his features (especially his ears! :) ) and his character is fun.

    
  6- 주원  Joo Won.

Born in 1987.
Lead in Bridal Mask (Gaksital). Based on one drama but I plan to watch more of him. [Edit: since I've wrote this post, he's played the same role as the next one on this list. Lead in Nae Il's Cantabile. Is it random or do I have a type lol ?] So intense.

Wow, it was weird to see him cheerful in the results of my Googling!

     7- 玉木宏 Tamaki Hiroshi.

Born in 1980.
Lead in Nodame Cantabile and Love shuffle.

     8- Mike He.

Born in 1983.
Lead in Love contract, Devil besides you (DNF) and Love keeps going (DNF), guest in 1 episode of Yukan club. As you see, it's because of Love contract, because he was quite terrible in Love keeps going. I couldn't get into Devil besides you but he was okay in that.

     9- 고수  Go Soo

Born in 1978.
Lead in Marrying a millionnaire.

     10- Jimmy Lin.

Born in 1974.
Lead in My Lucky Star. He's on the list based on this drama I watched years ago so it really left me an impression. After rewatching and reviewing it for this blog... yeah, he belongs on this list.

Honorary : 

(I've had a crush on you but I won't watch a drama because you starred in it.)

- 吳尊 Wu Chun

Born in 1979.
Lead in Romantic Princess and Hana Kimi taïwanais (DNF).
After I started watching Hana Kimi, I got this weird impression that he looks like my brother (He does not !) and got creeped out.

- 김범 Kim Bum

Born in 1989.
Supporting in Boys over Flowers.

And this guy: 고주원 Go Joo Won

Born in 1981.
He isn't in any dramas I've watched but coming across these pictures when I was searching for Joo Won makes me want to check them out.

 

2020 June 16th edit : I changed this list in order to remove an actor I used to like, since his turn in Capital Scandal, one of my early fav dramas. Even his terrible hairstyle in the last part of Coffee House couldn't turn me off. But I just found out he has been convicted of sexual assault so... yeah, now he's just awful and disgusting.

Rebound

Japanese title: リバウンド

Aired on NTV, April/June 2011
10 episodes

Main cast:

Aibu Saki: Oba Nobuko

Hayami Mokomichi: Imai Taichi

Kuriyama Chiaki: Mimura Hitomi

Katsuji Ryo: Kazami Kensaku

Hankai Kazuaki: Kamiya Takayuki

Wakamura Mayumi: Morinaka Ran

Nishiyama Maki: Naito Yuki

Ito Kazue: Oba Tomoe

Ishizuka Hidehiko: Oba Mutsumi

Note:
Aibu Saki and Hayami Mokomichi who were in Zettai Kareshi are reunited in this drama. Also present is Ueno Natsuhi who has a small role here but was Riiko's "best friend" in ZK.

Review: +

Girl: Nobuko has always been overweight but recently with the help of a dietetician she slimmed down and got a job in a fashion magazine, something she wanted for a long time. However, she must be very careful with what she eats because she can rebound (gain a lot of weight) very quickly. We really get to know her in the drama (though sometimes the characters sum it up for us): she's meddling, always wants to help, gets into impossible situations because she can't tell the truth for fear of disappointing people and she's cheery and really expressive. (+)

Boy: He's a pâtissier and inherited the shop from his father. He's really impulsive, has a somewhat bad character, feels easily down especially when it comes to his shop but he's also very talented, dedicated and loyal. (+)

Plot/relationship: The relationship between those two is the main plot but it is intertwined with her job at the fashion magazine and relationship with her boss as well as with his quest to make delicious cakes, with her help. The series starts with a lot of talk about her weight and it remains a big element of the story but episode after episode, the focus shifts to issues like what path to choose for one's life, big dilemmas, happiness. The answers are kind of similar to what I've seen in most dramas but the ride is interesting. (+) I could see the resolution in the last episode from miles away but it was cute.

Other characters: I didn't really care for her parents or Kenzaku, an ex-boyfriend of hers. (-)
But I really enjoyed her boss who is a well-done cliché of a fashion magazine editor-in-chief and her best friend who is the introvert to Nobuko's cheery and is a character I'm less used to see though I think there are a lot of people like her in real life. (+)

Funny factor? Again, especially at the beginning but it's quite funny.

Music: Two days later, I don't remember it.

Bottom line: This drama is a good surprise. This premise is tricky but it managed to tackle some topics about life choices. The characters are all likeable but still flawed, something that is acknowledged in the drama itself. It rings true. I couldn't wait for the next episode. It's a (unexpected) +!

Zettai Kareshi

Other title: Absolute Boyfriend
Japanese title: 絶対彼氏。

Aired on Fuji TV - Spring 2008
11 episodes + Special

Main cast:

Aibu Saki as Izawa Riiko

Hayami Mokomichi as Tenjo Night

Mizushima Hiro as Asamoto Soshi

Sasaki Kuranosuke as Namikiri Gaku

Maya Miki as Wakabayashi Fujiko

Ueno Natsuhi as Ito Mika

Nakamura Shunsuke as Asamoto Masashi

Minemura Rie as Yoshioka Tetsuko

+ in the Special:

Kuninaka Ryoko as Kamiya Ayumi

Uchida Asahi as Nanase Jun

Notes:

- I haven't read the manga this drama is based one.
- Since I watched it just after Buzzer beat, I couldn't help but notice that Aibu Saki and Maya Miki star in both, and that they have characters called Kamiya and Riiko (Riko in BB).
- I want to watch the Taiwanese adaptation to compare but I haven't to this point.
- I watched this drama twice and I didn't remember much from the first time. I have to say that I liked it better the first time maybe because I had such low expectations.

Review: +/-

Title: Makes sense since 01 or Tenjo Night is a robot conceived to be the Ultimate boyfriend.

Girl: She's more of a relatable character. She doesn't have confidence in her skills and in one episode, she was a bit too defeatist (which is realistic but rarely makes for a nice viewing experience). However, she is energetic, funny-cute but not in a grating way. She was well-acted too.

Boy: He's a robot. That's the premise. The actor and the sound made a good job of making us aware of that. So Night was designed to love Riiko but he is totally clueless and keeps doing embarrassing stuff. However, he is very earnest and we end up caring for him. I also noticed that he doesn't have many facial expressions but still we know what he's "feeling".

Other boy: His family owns the company for which Riiko works as a temp. At first, he's slacking, seemingly not caring about work. Then we realise that he is actually caring about his grandfather's legacy. And writing this part of my review, I realise that I don't have much to say about him. Although we see that he is loyal and perseverant, he's kind of bland in my mind.

Relationship/plot: I have a problem with the premise. It's tragic. When I first started to watch, I thought: "This can't end well." It's also a problem with love triangles. Real love triangles which are the ones where the two love interests have equal chances with the one in the middle. Some dramas take the easy road and make one love interest less interesting or make us know from the beginning which one we should root for. But the main problem is that Night is a robot and it raises deep issues. It's really hard to pull off putting these issues in the center of a light drama. That's why, the first time I watched, I was worried and then pleasantly surprised by how it was dealt. But, the second time, I couldn't gloss over the seriousness/wrongness of what happens.

Apart from that, the relationships between people and how they progressed are believable.

The B-plot, which at first bored me, then made me think I'd like to see more of it, unravels slowly. The company where they work made pastries and the plot is about Riiko gaining confidence in her talent as a pâtissier and Soshi pushing for a return to the roots of the company (valuing taste over aspect) and working towards a goal. We learned of Riiko's dream of becoming a pâtissier some episodes into the drama and I wish it was more prominent before because it seems to come out of the blue.

The Special takes place three years after the final. It goes deep into the ethical issues by making a storyline with new characters. Which requires to care about them but it's hard to because they are new characters that we don't see much and were "antagonists". We're also too busy caring about the original characters. Speaking of which, I was disappointed not to see more of the Asamoto pastries plot. It felt like it was ditched in the middle of the special to make place for the "new" storyline. Of course, this new storyline has a point and is linked to the main one but for me it felt artificial. Now that I think about it, it feels like an after thought. "Oops! We forgot to deal with these issues! Let's do a special."

Other characters: There is the crazy landlady, the wise women who owns a bar. Most people are good people. One is perfect, like she is not jealous, not envious, she is confident, gracious... Does this kind of people exist? Well, not all characters are like these, some are "enemies" but they have clear motivations that make them complex and not total cartoons.

Funny Factor? Yes, at the beginning. Comes from some characters and Night's embarrassing actions.

Music: I liked the music but it was more of a background music. This isn't a criticism since I think some dramas go overboard with their use of music.

Bottom line: I'm sorry I can't get past the premise.
It's still not a minus because I give minus to dramas that triggered deep annoyance in me or caused me an bitter shock.

Wow, that was hard not to spoil! Hope it makes sense!