Wednesday, July 18, 2018

ドラマ (Dorama) Time! 20

Wow. It's been a whole entire six months since my last J-drama review. Honestly I have no excuses, other than that after trying a few, I only came across three dramas this year that I could stick with, and I literally finished the third one yesterday. Suffice it to say that I've been taking my time, perhaps dragging my feet, whatever you want to call it. But the summer broadcast season just started, and I didn't want to leave this review undone before starting my summer selections. So here goes! The first two dramas were viewed without subs at first and then with English subs, and the last one was viewed on Netflix with Japanese subs. In the order that I started them:

ブランケット・キャッツ  (Buranketto Kyattsu/Blanket Cats) - NHK/2017
  • Shusuke was a high-level furniture designer who originally cared more about his job than his wife and her seven cats. When his wife passed away, he gave up his career for a small furniture repair business in an old house, where he dutifully takes care of his late wife's cats as penance.
  • Shusuke's friend/neighbor/veterinarian Misaki (Kichise Michiko, 'Seshiru no Mokuromi') encourages him to move on with his life by adopting the cats out. Each episode features a different person seeking to adopt a cat, seven episodes for seven cats. Shusuke allows each person to take their cat of choice home on a three-day trial basis. Spoiler: Most of the cats end up back with Shusuke. 
  • Each cat has a special blanket chosen for them by Shusuke, and he insists that each cat is accompanied by their blanket when they go to their prospective owner's home. Hence, 'Blanket Cats'.
I can't quite remember when I heard about this drama. It came out last summer, so either I was late to the party, or I actually started it late last year and kept setting it aside. That's not to say that this show is uninteresting, though! I actually love this show because it exudes that homey, unaffected feeling that 'Shinya Shokudo' and 'Wakamonotachi' gave me. Due to lack of exposure, allergies, and superstitious parents, unfortunately I'm not a cat person. Yet, I was charmed by the relationship that Shusuke has with his cats. He cares about them more than anyone else, even though they exasperate him and do whatevertheheck they want to do on a daily basis. Plus the show deals with real human issues such as grief, bullying, aging and memory loss, infertility, and even suicide.


ラブリラン (Rabu Riran/Love Rerun) - NTV/YTV/2018
  • In all her 29 years of life, graphic designer Sayaka (Nakamura Anne, 'Totsuzen Desu ga, Ashita Kekkon Shimasu') has never been in a relationship. Her only experience with love is her 15-year crush on her high school friend Ryosuke (Otani Ryohei, 'Ubai Ai, Fuyu').
  • On the eve of her 30th birthday, Sayaka finally decides to confess to Ryosuke. But then she blanks out and wakes up three months later with a completely different style, a significant memory gap, and a new ex-boyfriend. Apparently she'd been dating her co-worker, Shohei.
  • Shohei lets Sayaka continue staying at his apartment until she gets her memory back. The relationship didn't end well and they still have to work at the same place everyday, so awkward is an understatement. Especially when Shohei's other ex-girlfriend tries to speed up the memory recovery process so that she can be with Shohei instead of Sayaka.
  • As Sayaka remembers more of the past, she realizes how much her lifestyle and romance priorities have shifted. Will it be Ryosuke or Shohei in the end?
I had high hopes for this drama because I'm a fan of Nakamura Anne's persona (she's sporty and flirtatious, has almost a Western vibe to her), and this is her first starring role in a TV show. Originally I thought the drama would explore the struggles that 30-something women face, and how Sayaka chooses between changing because she wants to and changing because of what she thinks will please the men in her life. And the show did start out like that. But eventually it just devolved into the same old love triangle story, with her wavering between two men who both claim to not want her anymore. It could've been fresh and then it just... wasn't. Still enjoyed Nakamura Anne's performance, though.


士のグルメ (Nobushi no Gurume/Samurai Gourmet) - Netflix/2017
  • Now that he's retired and has time to enjoy life, 60-year-old Takeshi decides to use his abundant free time to explore his surroundings and indulge in delicious foods (mostly Japanese, but some Chinese, Korean, and Italian dishes too). Some of his selections are random, but others are influenced by nostalgia.
  • Each episode features a different dish. Takeshi has an imaginary samurai persona, and that samurai steps in to embolden Takeshi to act or speak in situations which he would normally shy away from. 
I'm pretty sure I'd heard of this show previously, but I didn't look it up until after I came across an article of Japanese recommendations on Netflix. It's an easy drama to watch, with 25-minute episodes and plenty of shots of food! My personal favorite is the episode where Takeshi works as an extra in a film for a day. Despite the many Japanese dramas that I've watched over the years, I don't know much of what goes on behind the scenes, so it was nice to see an example of what a typical shoot might be like from the extras' perspective. This show is excellent if you just want something light-hearted to help you sharpen your Japanese listening comprehension.

I appreciated all three of these dramas in their own way, but if I had to choose a winner this time, it'd be a tie between 'Blanket Cats' and 'Samurai Gourmet'. 'Samurai Gourmet' is sweet, occasionally silly, and visually captivating, but 'Blanket Cats' has a ton of heart and probably would've been the overall winner if only there were more than seven episodes. As always, I'd encourage you to try them all!

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