Kurosagi

 Japanese title: クロサギ

Aired on TBS
From 2006 April 14 to June 23
11 épisodes + a movie (2008)

 Main cast:

Yamashita Tomohisa: Kurosaki (Kurosagi)

Horikita Maki: Yoshikawa Tsurara

Ichikawa Yui: Mishima Yukari

Yamazaki Tsutomu: Katsuragi Toshio

Okunuki Kaoru: Hayasa

Aikawa Sho: Kashima Masaru

Tayama Ryosei: Momoyama Tetsuji

Kato Koji: Shiraishi Yoichi

Note: This drama is based on a popular manga that I haven't read.

Review: +

 

Title: Kurosagi is the nickname of the main character, it means "black swindler" which is to say, the ultimate swindler, the swindler of swindlers.

Boy: He's like a super hero. Dark origin story: check. Disguises: various. Super power: being incredibly clever and self-controlled. Motives: taking revenge and helping victims. He is lonely, has turned off his emotions due to a tragedy and in order to devote himself to the destruction of swindlers but you can see glimpses of kindness. Glimpses. (+)

Girl: She wants to be a prosecutor so she's at odds with Boy's occupation which consists in breaking the law. She's very normal but I found her a bit bland. It's weird because she has her own agenda and expresses herself but I didn't find her interesting. I feel like she was more a token character because someone had to point out that there are laws etc. Besides, I didn't get why she loves him, just because he's hot and mysterious. She should be intrigued, maybe attracted to him but he's so indifferent to her, she ends up acting like a doormat. (-)

Relationship: Weak. Were the relationship between the two main characters a lot more compelling, it would have been a Fav but... as I said, Girl is boring, and there is no chemistry. The romance subplot isn't organic, it seemed like they had to add it. You know there is a problem when you ship another girl with Boy. (-)

Plots: Each episode, Boy takes down a swindler. Each time, it's a different scheme, with fake(s) identity(ies). It often requires suspension of disbelief but it's entertaining. (+) I just wish it would have been a bit more serialised.

 

Other characters: - Girl's best friend: I like her though she can be mean. We have some backstory, she's lively, she’s way more energetic than Girl. (+)

 

- Foe: A policeman who wants to arrest Boy. I just can't with him. His characterization is all over the place, his backstory is the least credible thing in the drama and he laughs maniacally for no reason like a villain in a C-movie. (-)

 

- Allies: I didn't really get them. There is a old man who is very important and I warmed to him in the latest episodes but in the first ones, he's just disgusting, kind of creepy, like he was supposed to be mysterious but ended up as annoying. There is a woman who cares for him and I didn’t really get her either. (-)

One backstory is dropped for each character and then almost never heard of again, except for Boy. Even for him, we see the same images again and again and only at the end, we get some additional flashbacks fleshing out the origins story.

 

Funny factor: Hmm no.

Music: I liked it.

 

Bottom line:

 

Two things saved this drama for me and made it compelling to watch:

1) Yamashita Tomohisa is magnetic in this drama, I just can't take my eyes off him in this drama. (Corner of superficiality: his hairstyle in this drama suits him and his character perfectly. Look at the picture above! It's actually promo for the movie but I like it better -except for the tear...- and anyway, it's closer to how he looks in the drama, since his movie hair is less black.) 

2) Swindling plots: original, interesting guest characters, new and distinctive challenges.

However, I can't deny the shortcomings: Most characters are uninteresting and you feel like you don't know them and can't understand them. A romantic subplot is shoehorned.

It also feels like they wanted to keep stuff for a second season that never happened.

But a movie happened. I was hoping resolution, Boy finally taking down the big boss that ruined his family and I was disappointed. It was like a random episode of the drama stretched to two hours (so too long) only with less Girl (she has maybe 5 minutes of screen time but she doesn’t do anything), an obsession with Julius Caesar by Shakespeare I didn’t totally get and an added emphasis on Old Man which would have been interesting if I, you know, was interested and not grossed out by him.  Movie:  -

Proposal Daisakusen

Japanese title: プロポーズ大作戦

Aired on Fuji TV
April - June 2007
on Monday at 21.00

11 episodes + a Special (March 2008)

Main cast:

Yamashita Tomohisa: Iwase Ken

Nagasawa Masami: Yoshida Rei

Fujiki Naohito: Tada Tetsuya

Eikura Nana: Oku Eri

Hiraoka Yuta: Enokido Mikio

Hamada Gaku: Tsurumi Hisashi

Mikami Hiroshi: the Yosei/Fairy

Notes:
- I rewatched it for the second time and my opinion hasn't changed.
- Hello Manager and one of the coworkers of Hotaru no Hikari.

Review: +/-

Title: Like I ended up doing in most reviews, I’ll  actually use this section to give a short synopsis. In this drama, Boy attends his childhood friend’s wedding. He loves her but never confessed and is full of regrets. Every episode, he returns to a point in the past, starting in high school, to change his actions and better convey his feelings to her hoping she won’t get married to another man.

Girl: She’s nice. Though she has liked Boy since they met as kids, their relationship is based on teasing and she has never managed to confess to him.

Boy: He’s a quiet guy. His present self works hard to change the past and does really cute things for Girl but his past self was at best, totally clueless and more likely but worse, a tool. Therefore it’s too easy to understand why Girl would move on.

Other boy: He’s socially awkward but very earnest.

Friends: I talk about them early in the review because they are important in this drama. Though it’s in the background of the romance story, the friendship theme is indissociable. Girl’s best friend is energetic, joyful and she likes to go out with boys. Boy has two friends: one of them is sincerely in love with Girl’s best friend and has no shame expressing himself openly though he always gets rejected, the other is calm, mature, smart, in a word, cool.

Relationship: Ouch. This is where this drama falls apart. My opinion.

1^st: No chemistry between Boy and Girl. I buy them as friends but not as lovers. Their interactions are mostly teasing and I get that it’s hard when you grew up together to change the relationship you have but the will-they/won’t-they tension was lacking.

2^nd: There is no deep discussion between Boy and Girl, like discussing their dreams, their problems. Emotion only comes from their repressed feelings towards each other and common memories of their school years. Which is not enough to make me believe that two people are endgame.

3^rd: Past Boy didn’t seem to care that much about Girl’s feelings and she was right to move on to Other boy with whom she has better chemistry and who is a great guy.

4^th: Boy is actually quite selfish. He realises he has loved Girl for 14 years, which I’m not convinced of, and decides to win her back. But their love seem childish while her relationship with Other boy feels more mature. Indeed, their characters go better together while her feelings for Boy are kept alive in part by nostalgia.

Funny factor: Running gags. Also Boy keeps talking about events or using catchphrases before they happen, which is fun if you are really familiar with these Japanese pop culture references.

Music: Okay.

Bottom line: This is a high-concept drama. Bonus point for originality but the format of each episode gets tiring. Introduction: he goes into the past. Conclusion: he comes back. Seeing only “moments” in their lives was a bit superficial. I didn’t root for the main couple but I have to say that the returns to the past were well-handled and interesting, as a concept. I don’t know how it could have been better but it could have been way worse so +/-.

Gaksital

Other title: Bridal Mask
Korean title: 각시탈

Aired on KBS2
2012 May 30 to Sept 06
28 episodes

Main cast:

• Joo Won: Lee Kang To
• Jin Se Yun: Oh Mok Dan
• Park Ki Woong: Kimura Shunji
• Han Chae Ah: Ueno Rie
• Chun Ho Jin: Kimura Taro
• Kim Eung Soo: Konno Goji
• Jun Noh Min: Dam Sa Ri
• Ahn Hyung Joon: Jun Katsuyama
• Song Min Hyung: Governor Wada Ryo
• Son Byung Ho: Jo Dong Joo

Note: Apparently it's based on a famous manhwa.

Review: + (from memory)

Title: Appropriate since it's about a hero who fights injustice and protects the Korean people during the Japanese occupation, wearing a traditional mask representing the bride. I don't remember why he chose this mask.

Boy: Ha! You're handsome, smart and passionate. You also have lots of resentment in you and it makes you cruel on occasions. In real life, you would be way too intense but you are interesting. Unfortunately you become a little bland in scenes when you act sweet.

Other boy: I don't know how to treat him. The fact that it's really hard for me to describe his personality here is, I think, a problem. I can just say that he's loyal, obstinate and passionate too.

Girl: so. So. SO brave. And kind. If I were to be cynical, I would say that she is too perfect. Anyway, I just have to admire her.

Other girl: She acts like a psychopath. She disgusted me at some points. But other times, I felt for her because she sold her soul and she's paying the price for that.

Plot: It was good, the stakes were high and you didn't know what was going to happen. But maybe fewer episodes would have been better because it was dark and heavy and I need some "light" from times to times in my series. But the bigger problem was...

the Relationships. Fortunately, the plot didn't need the characters to be dumb but it sometimes relied on the relationships in a way that isn't very credible. My other issue is that most romantic relationships started in the past which makes them pretty static. I can understand that developing the romantic relationships is not the most important in a drama in which life-threatening situations happen at every turn but these relationships are accomodated to serve the plot so they are not as powerful as they should be. They feel like plot devices which undermines the characters.

Other characters: There are mAAAny characters. The big bads are really interesting and chilling which makes up for one or two annoying cartoonish villains. I'll also say that while it's pretty much good against bad, there are more nuanced characterizations.

Funny factor: Nope.

Music: I don't remember it.

Other points: Period! Action! Elaborate fights!

Bottom line: It's a plus because: Good plots. Interesting characters. Heroism. Extreme backdrop. It's not a Fab because of other boy and the love relationships (both issues are linked).

A discussion of what happens after the jump so stop here if you haven't watched it yet.

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) +!

Absolute Boyfriend

Taiwanese title:  絕對達令 / Jue Dui Darling
Aired on FTV/GTV - April/July 2012
13 episodes

Main cast:

• Goo Hye Sun (dubbed): Guan Xiao Fei 官筱菲
• Jiro Wang: Wan Ni Te 萬奈特
• Kun Da: Yan Zong Shi 嚴宗史
• Cherry Hsia: Luo Mei Jia 羅美佳
• Na Wei Xun: Lei Wu Wu 雷霧霧

Notes:
- Still haven't read the manga.
- I will compare to the Japanese version.
- I DID NOT watch this drama entirely, I stopped at episode 4. So I'll review up to this point. I don't know if it gets better but this drama didn't hook me.

Review: DNF (episode 4 included)

Girl: Typical Taiwanese drama main character. She's earnest but dense when it comes to relationships (a bit too much in her case). She's likable but boringly standard: she doesn't have anything that stands out.

Boy: He's a robot. It's not as obvious as in the Japanese drama in which Night's moves are mechanical, we see him recharge, we see through his electronic eyes. However, Nai Te is socially awkward and too upfront about his love for Girl and it creates problems for her, more serious than in Zettai Kareshi in which they were mostly embarrassing. This Nai Te is more handsome than cute.

Other Boy: One of the biggest difference with ZK, he's actually closer to his manga counterpart, from what I've heard. He's a childhood friend of Girl and has a crush on her which he tries to hide by making fun of her. It's so obvious that I wanted to scream at Girl to get it already. I didn't really care for him at first because he was too serious and not fun at all but he grew on me by being good at his job and assertive.

Plot/Relationship: True triangle. But since Other Boy is in love with Girl from the start and Girl is more accepting of Boy than in ZK, I feel that there is less building to it. (When I stopped, I still didn't know what were Girl's feelings).

Subplots include how to earn money to pay for the robot (that leads to Jiro Wang cross dressing if you're into that kind of things ;) )and shenanigans at work (different from the manga in which they are in high school). Contrary to ZK, I'm not sure what their firm is into. Girl wants to be part of the pool of Secretaries but I really didn't care about this plot since it came out of nowhere and the actual secretaries were a cliché trio of meangirls.

Compared to ZK, I actually prefer the best friend storyline in this drama.

Other characters: I liked Other boy's brother and a random co-worker who played almost no role but who stood out because she seemed like a cynical person who walked into the craziness of a drama. I should also note that the inventor of the robot is more ostensibly extravagant.

Music: I remember that the opening theme song is quite good and I like the closing one which is... intense.


Bottom line: I haven't spend enough time on this drama to feel strongly about it (in a good or bad way) so this review must be boring. But there wasn't any character or story I care enough about. SO DNF.

Big

Korean Title: 빅

Aired on KBS2 - June/July 2012

16 episodes

Main cast:

Gong Yoo as Seo Yoon Jae/ Kang Kyun Joon

Lee Min Jung as Kil Da Ran

Shin Won Ho as Kang Kyun Joon

Suzy as Jang Ma Ri

Yoon Hae Young as Lee Jung Hye

Jang Hee Jin as Lee Se Young

Ahn Suk Hwan as Kil Min Kyu

Baek Sung Hyun as Kil Choong Shik

 

 

Review: -

Title: Big. Because the mind of a 18 years-old gets into the body of a 30 years-old man, I guess. But the drama is not about what it is to be "big" (an adult). Apart from the aging aspect, no relation to the Tom Hanks movie.

Girl: She's a high school teacher. She's normal. She's fine. Boy is too. The characters were better than the drama. The actors are good (I even like her father played by someone I complained about in a previous review) and Special mention to Gong Yoo! They were not the problem, the...

Relationship/Plot was. I wanted to DNF this drama but since I am writing this blog, I finished it to review it properly. So I kept watching but I kept comparing it to Zettai Kareshi and Rooftop Prince, and I kept wanting to rewrite the drama, instead of being drawn into it.

Big tries to sell us a controversial couple: a teacher and the 18 years-old boy who found himself in the body of her serious boyfriend. Yep. I think that if you decide to do something controversial, you have to be confident to own it and pull it off. But the drama is inconsistent in the way it deals with this premise. Sometimes ignoring it, sometimes flaunting it (He always calls her "Teacher", Kang Kyun Joon really looks like his age in his real body), sometimes trying awkwardly to say "it's okay". Anyway, I wasn't sold, I didn't want Da Ran and Kyun Joon together.

That's not even the only problem. Others include a mystery that takes way too long and too many fakeouts to be discovered and is not totally resolved, two characters who are transparent plot devices  (I felt really bad for one for how he was (not) treated), and a cop-out of an ending.

Other characters: Their family. Nothing particular but I want to mention some characters I really like: her brother and Ma Ri ("double double crazy"!).

Funny factor? D-stories involving C-list characters. Kind of funny but pointless. Funny moments at the beginning then none (as it's often the case).

Music: Okay.

Bottom line: There were cute bonding ideas, decent characters that were sadly wasted because it was too hard to enjoy when I was cringing at the couple and at the plot.

After the jump, discussion of the plot and of the ending. What I want to change... For those who watched it... and if you haven't, you can still read on since you won't watch it anyway, right? ;)

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!