Although the premise of this "Bureau Of Transformer" might remind many of you of the "Men In Black" franchise, believe me, the two couldn't be more different: whereas that one was the typically shallow and silly Hollywood production featuring Americans saving the day by shooting down everything that moves (all while throwing around equally shallow and silly lines, which the audience is programmed to find "cool" - but let's not delve too deep in there), this one instead is a profound, thought-provoking tale filled with humane characters and poetic scenes.
Why don't I rate it higher, then?
Well, in all honesty, the subs are a bit of a hit or miss (some episodes are well done, but some are of rather poor quality, to the point that several lines are barely comprehensible, unfortunately) and this, alas, hinders a bit the viewing pleasure. And the same can be said of the script: some episodes are little masterpieces, seriously...but others are just "meh". Generally speaking, I mostly found the last third of the series to be of lower quality, compared to the previous two thirds (and also a bit too dark and depressing - whereas one of the strong points of this drama had been, until there, its humor).
The cast did a very good job, with honorable mentions for Chen He among the main cast, and Charlene Chen and Maggie Lee among the guests.
The music is top-notch, and so are direction, photography and editing.
Not *absolutely* perfect, but still very enjoyable. 8/10

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Although I won't go too much into details, so as to avoid major spoilers, I have to say that right until literally just a few minutes before the end of the last episode, I was pondering within myself whether I was gonna give this a 9 (or more probably an 8, 'cause it did have its faults anyway - more on this in a while), but then imho the writer decided to ruin everything just for the sake of a silly, shallow, "hollywoodian" final scare. If I ever rewatch this, I'll make sure to stop watching before that point (just as with an American TV series I liked as well, but only except the very last minutes, "Point Pleasant" - but that's another story).
Too bad, 'cause otherwise this dorama could've been a much better one, more coherently Japanese (in that horror is used also to convey deeper moral messages), despite the fact that it still had some script problems (most of all, the inconsistence in some characters' behavior - namely, the FL's BF and the mom - but also the fact that it had too much going on for only 7 episodes, and the writer wasn't able to wrap everything up nicely anyway).
Acting wise, another great performance by the lovely Shiraishi Sei and Kuroki Hitomi, whereas the rest of the cast was ok but nothing to call home about, imho. Direction, photography and music were also OK.
All in all, if you're a fan of Japanese horror, a pleasant watch.

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I had pretty great expectations for this "Konto ga Hajimaru", given how it was written by the same scriptwriter who had previously penned that little masterpiece by the name of "Ore no Hanashi wa Nagai", and also considering how the three male leads (Suda Masaki, Kamiki Ryunosuke and Nakano Taiga) are basically the top of the crop of young J-actors (yep, as I stated in my profile, I do pay much more attention to *actresses*...but that doesn't mean I can't be objective when faced with acting talent), and I'm happy to be able to say, this drama didn't let me down.
The script, just as expected, was really very good (maybe not *absolutely* perfect, but pretty close); the cast was great (kudos also to the female leads: I knew I was gonna get a good performance by Arimura Kasumi, but I must confess not knowing well the other two, Furukawa Kotone and Yoshine Kyoko, and they were a nice surprise, both really beautiful AND talented - particularly the former, playing that marvelous character!), and the "packaging" (directing, editing, photography, OST) was, as I consider totally key, perfectly supporting the script, rather than trying to stand out so as to cover its faults (as it is, alas, the case of many modern series, all form and too little substance).
All in all, highly recommended! ^___^

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First things first: I owe Kazama Shunsuke a public apology (Japanese-style, with deep bow and all that).
While reviewing "Cheat", in fact, I had been quite harsh to him, doubting his acting skills - although I *did* add that "....maybe the fault lies with the script...". Apparently, that was it indeed, as in this "Oshii Keiji", also thanks to the masterfully written script by Uda Manabu (such a talented writer, seriously!), Kazama was nothing short of brilliant! ^____^
Add a pretty good performance by the rest of the cast (let me spend a word for the totally gorgeous Ishikawa Ren and Yasuda Seia!), the afore-mentioned great script (mixing nicely elaborate mystery plots with so many absolutely hilarious scenes!), an extremely nice soundtrack and a definitely better than average production value...and what you get is, simply put, a lil' gem of a drama.
Can't wait to watch the sequel too! ^___-

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Akagawa Jirō is a real household name in Japan, when it comes to mystery novels (plus, a gazillion dramas and/or movies adapted from them!), and particularly loved are his series about Holmes, The Calico Cat, and about these Three Sleuthing Sisters (I have no idea why, for this adaptation, they felt the need to add an extra sister, LOL...but since they're all cute, nice and funny, I'm not gonna complain...^_^;...)
It's therefore no surprise that the mystery plots featured in this drama were well written and always interesting; mystery fans won't be let down.
Acting-wise, though, don't expect too much: the guest stars were, in all honestly, mostly terrible and contributed greatly in bringing down the average acting grade; the main cast did ok though (I must confess not being a fan of Namase Katsuhisa normally, but he was particularly good here, and the comic relief scenes between him and the always funny Muroi Shigeru were mostly hilarious; too bad Takenaka Naoto's part is so small, as he was just a ghostly presence throughout the whole series, except for one episode where he actually appeared in flesh and had some screentime). Oh, talking about episodes, as it's always to be expected in this type of drama, some were better than others.
Last but not least, the music commentary was always on spot, imho, and added to the overall quality.
All in all, a nice mystery interspersed with comedic elements and a nice family in the center of it all.
It felt much older than it actually is (in the best sense possible: I mean it reminded me of a drama from the Golden Era! ^___^)

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I have to confess that, upon finishing this "Mushoboke", I just had to sit on it for a while before deciding how I was gonna rate and review it.
Don't take me wrong, I've found the script great (more on that in a while), the acting very good (the ML, Kitamura Yukiya, doesn't have many leading roles in his filmography, alas...but I find him a brilliant actor indeed!), the music commentary and OST absolutely superb, and the cinematography classy, innovative and artistic in the best possible sense of the word (as in, NOT artsy and pretentious...there's a whole lot of substance here! Take the "baseball" scene in episode 6 for example...a pure stroke of genius!).
The only thing is, it's a lot darker and much more depressing than I had expected it to be.
The author, Abera Hidenobu (young and talented scriptwriter, I'm definitely gonna keep an eye on him!), didn't sugarcoat it much, quite the opposite...the traumatic psychological consequences of the ML's jail time are a constant presence in the drama...sometimes they'll end up resulting (bitterly) funny, but most of the time they're just a deeply sad reality.
But then again, I asked myself: doesn't that make the drama's message (about how we shouldn't waste our life but rather treasure what - and who - makes it special and brings some light into the darkness) so much more powerful?
And that's when I realized I just had to reward it with the top grade.
Yep, this "Mushoboke" can be pretty gloomy here and there, some scenes will make you cry...but you'll be left with a nice aftertaste and a lovely message in the end. Once again, my hat goes off to both the scriptwriter and the ML, it wasn't an easy feat to make me relate to such a main character, but they managed to do so brilliantly.

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It was pretty natural for me to compare this "Koeharu!", on the one hand, with "Dasada" (both dramas have a cast consisting, mostly, of Hinatazaka46 members), and on the other hand, with "Koe Girl" (both dramas tell the story of a girl who wants to become a voice actress).
In regards to the former, although both dramas convey nice, uplifting messages (and that alone earns them an extra point as far as I'm concerned!), "Dasada" was imho the better written one; it had a light but not shallow approach and the comedy parts were at times hilarious, whereas in "Koeharu!" the comic relief is more often than not ridiculous rather than funny, and there are some more serious, realistic, borderline gloomy moments (not a problem per se, of course! But the two aspects combined felt a bit confusing, honestly >__<).
The acting, though (and this, despite the less convincing script!), is imho definetely better in "Koeharu!", proof that the girls have indeed honed their skills meanwhile, kudos to them! ^___-
The "problem" - and the reason why I can only give this a "7", despite being a full-fledged "ohisama" (= Hinatazaka's fan ^_^) by now - is that "Koeharu!" loses quite badly when compared to "Koe Girl", particularly script-wise.

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Much better than the parent series!

I honestly don't remember the last time I had found a SP episode better than the series it originated from, 'cause normally it's the other way around and SP episodes tend to be, alas, complete let-downs.
It could very well be that, not having liked the original dorama that much (I rated it 5 out of 10), I had set my expectations pretty low and was therefore positively surprised?
Or maybe that I was quite happy to see Morimoto Leo again (I dearly remembered him from the "Shomuni" franchise)?
Or perhaps that the writer was different than the one from the series, and this one is way better (considered how he managed to give some depths to those previously bidimensional characters)?
Whatever the reason, I must say I've really enjoyed this "Alibi Kuzushi Uketamawarimasu Tokubetsuhen"! ^__-

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If you're a fan of Hinatazaka46 (the idol group previously known as "Hiragana Keyakizaka46"), there's a pretty high chance you'll appreciate this, as I did. If not, be warned that this is a drama with an all-idol cast, so don't expect something filled to the brim with acting talent, or you'll probably be let down.
That said, some of the girls did objectively well enough, acting-wise; the script is simple yet very uplifting and, at times, even pretty funny; the music is kinda catchy (though, in all honesty, not really my cup of tea...but that's a matter of personal taste, and as such, as my Latin ancestors would have said, "non est disputandum" - "ain't no matter for debate", LOL).
All in all, a cute little drama with a cute little plot filled with many cute idols and some pretty nice, positive messages to boot. Indeed, what the drama conveys about the importance of friendship and about the whole "better be 'lame' but real, than 'cool' but fake" is a big part of why I'm giving this such a high grade. ^__-

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This special double-episode "Bank Over! Shijo Saijaku no Goto" is, very simply put, a brilliant, hilarious comedy!
The premise is simple: two guys enter a bank to rob it...just to find there two more guys doing exactly that!
What follows is a masterfully scripted, very well acted and excellently filmed and directed lil' gem!
One by one we'll discover, in a series of flashbacks, the various characters' stories, what brought them there, their motives and (sometimes) secrets...and the story will proceed with twists and turns and loads and loads of fun along the way.
Now, I don't give this a "perfect 10" just because of a coupla pretty minor details that could have (imho) been done a little better/differently, but I was so positively impressed by this script that, upon finding out that the screenwriter (who's worked, either solo or in a team, on *dozens* of dramas BTW - some of them I had already watched and appreciated, and I'm probably gonna check out quite a few of the rest!),well, finding out that he didn't have a profile page here on MDL, I simply *had to* spend around an hour creating one...^_^;;;
I wish there were more dramas/SPs like this one, seriously! ^___-

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You might think I'm being horribly partial by giving this drama such a high grade, considering how I'm the one who actually subbed it...but it really is the other way around, seriously! I decided to sub this (and given my basic knowledge of Japanese, it's been a real pain in the you-know-what, believe me - no surprise it took me so long to complete it, ehm...^_^;...) precisely because I had read about it, watched a coupla RAW episodes, and immediately thought "Oh, my...this is just my cup of tea!"...the kind of madly creative and out of the ordinary drama that, on the one hand, I totally dig, and that unfortunately, on the other hand, was most probably bound to be ignored by subbers, 'cause it's not really popular with the Western audience (let's face it, it's pretty niche!).
Upon watching (and re-watching every scene a gazillion times while subbing, LOL), my initial impression was confirmed, and I sincerely think that this is a real lil' gem!
The script is very well done, the acting very good, each story has a different flavor and manages to surprise the viewers in a different way; the music is nice and the whole series is neatly directed and edited.
Some episodes might be better than others (and then again, it all comes down to your personal preferences), but I think each had its own quality: an original, politically incorrect message in the first episode; a thought-provoking dystopy, paired with a lovely humane message, in the second one; one of the most surprising (and personally, scariest) endings ever in the third one; a tremendously Dantesque retaliation in the fourth one; and last but not least, a profound metadrama in the final episode.
I wish there were more dramas like that, seriously! Perfect 10 as far as I'm concerned! ^___-

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Beautifully delicate movie about a sad, touching historical event

This "Seeing Nara Again" aka "Tracing Her Shadow" is based on a true, sad and very touching historical event: the "war orphans" left behind by the Japanese in formerly occupied parts of China at the end of WWII, raised by Chinese foster parents and then, from 1972 (when China and Japan re-established official relations), in part migrated to Japan in search of their biological families. That's the premise of this movie, where a Chinese granma, Chen nana (masterfully portrayed by Wu Yan Shu aka Estelle Wu, whose performance in the lovely drama "When We Were Young" had also really impressed me, BTW) flies to Japan in search of her Japanese foster daughter, who's moved back to Japan years ago and suddenly stopped writing. In her search, the granma is helped by Hatsumi / Xiao Ze, a young woman, half-Japanese and half Chinese, daughter of another war orphan, and by Yoshizawa-san, a retired Japanese policeman (and kudos to the respective actors, Ying Ze and Kunimura Jun, who were also really good).
What follows is a beautifully delicate movie, filled with many meaningful scenes that illustrate both the differences between China and Japan (to name but one: when the granma sits at the kotatsu the first night, but then in following scenes we see her sitting in a plastic chair - 'cause of course she wouldn't be used to sitting on the floor!) and also the hardships and troubles these war orphans (but also Hatsumi!) had to face - all done in a very delicate way, not force-fed down the viewers' throats as is the case of many Western productions, but rather suggested in an inobtrusive manner that adds greatly to the movie's value (another example of this lovely approach could be in the few funny scenes that lighten up a bit what is of course a pretty sad story - take for example the hilarious scene at the butcher's, or when our trio trick the paramedics into leaving the ambulance unattended so that they could answer the phone).
I really would've given this movie a "perfect 10" grade, weren't it for the next-to-last scene (the one preceding the last one with the beautiful enka song).
WARNING: HUGE SPOILER AHEAD!
I really didn't understand why Hatsumi and Yoshizawa-san would give granma Chen false hope knowing that there was none...it felt cruel and really out of place to me.../.___.\
Apart from that scene, though, this is a real masterpiece and I therefore give it a well-deserved "9"!
Wholeheartedly recommended!

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The first two seasons (and also the first two SP episodes) had been *absolutely* brilliant, but then the following SPs and the third season had been, in all fairness, weaker and weaker. It was therefore unexpected, but luckily this "Final Series" basically went back to the series' roots: a brilliant script with elaborate plots that worked like clockworks, the correct amount of comic relief (that is, minimal doses, so as not to become obnoxious), and most of all a tremendously satisfying mystery part (even avid fans of the genre, who are therefore used to all the tricks of the trade and are hardly ever surprised by crime writers' twists and turns, will probably be pleased - at least, so was I ^__^).

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Honestly, I find this third season to be weaker than the ones before it. Don't take me wrong, it's still entertaining and anyway better than most detective shows, but it just isn't as good as the first two seasons. I felt the series started getting worse after the first two SP episodes (which were both very good!); the 3rd and 4th SP were okay but not great, the 5th was quite bad, and this season that came after it is just so-and-so. Some episodes are still very good, but some much weaker (like the double episode season finale, for example); Furuhata's character is borderline annoying in a coupla scenes, and the way Imaizumi's character is written just isn't funny anymore, more like embarrassing. The jazzy score is always great though.

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A very entertaining action comedy!

The first installment of the "Detective Chinatown" trilogy is a tremendously enjoyable action comedy with loads of action scenes and just as many hilarious moments. The mystery part itself is also pretty darn good, with enough twists and turns to keep your attention and interest throughout the whole movie. The cast does a good job (my only "complaint" is that Tong Li Ya's role is so damn small, *sighs*...) and the production value is top-notch, with direction, photography, editing and OST all together contributing highly to make this a very entertaining movie. Can't wait to watch the sequels! ^___^

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