Kamenashi “Ratings Killer” Kazuya Strikes Again

Yamato Nadeshiko Shichi Henge pulls in 7.6% viewership share for episode 3

Why do people keep giving Kamenashi Kazuya (aka Kame, member of idol group KAT-TUN) leading roles in dramas? Maybe they’ll stop now, because his latest work, Yamato Nadeshiko Shichi Henge has gone from roughly 12% ratings for its first episode down to 7.6% for its third.

YamaNade (as Yamato Nadeshiko Shichi Henge is shortened to) has all the makings of a dorama that should be able to hold its own against the competition. The drama is based on of a shojo manga where a plain, skull-and-gore loving girl gets to live in a mansion with four handsome Flower Boys as they attempt to turn her into an ideal Japanese lady. I won’t place all the blame on Kamenashi, because the writers tasked with adapting the source material into a live action have probably alienated fans by removing most of the quirky/craziness that likely made people fans in the first place. I’ve only seen the anime, but if its anything like the manga, then YamaNade live action is way too mellow compared to the crack that is the source.

But Kamenashi has proven time and again that he doesn’t have the acting chops to carry a drama on his sholders, and he doesn’t have enough onscreen charisma to make up for his inability to act.

Bloody Monday 2.02

I’m not sure how I feel about this episode. I like it because it was thrilling and full of action and suspense of course, but some of the developments were, I think, questionable.  At least the writers have made Aoi’s death have a purpose. It’s had a real, albeit predictable affect on Takagi. In this episode, he no longer shies away from getting involved. He’s got people to protect.

Tokyo Dogs: Commentary

After Takakura Sho (Oguri Shun) is fired from the NYPD, he returns to Japan to find the man who killed his father. He is teamed up with Kudo Maruo (Mizushima Hiro) to protect a woman who may have a connection to the case.  However, the two men have completely different personalities and working styles, which causes friction during their investigation. Can they work together to solve the case?

Even before its October-November 2009 broadcast, Tokyo Dogs was sure to be a hit. After all, it was set to be broadcast during FujiTV’s golden, prime-time 9pm time slot and starred popular actors Oguri Shun (Hana Yori Dango, Hana Kimi) and Mizushima Hiro (Hana Kimi, Zettai Kareshi). When Tokyo Dogs finally aired, the dorama seemed to live up to its hype, with dynamic camera work, great acting, a solid soundtrack and plenty of funny moments in between the action.

However, I had to stop watching this show after about four or five episodes. The racism, xenophobia and over-reliance on stereotypes ruined Tokyo Dogs for me.

Bloody Monday 2.01

Bloody Monday holds the #1 spot for my favorite Jdrama ever, so it’s fitting that the first episode of the second season will be my first recap for my new blog.

For the unfortunate souls out there who have not seen the first season, Bloody Monday is basically about a genius high school hacker named Takagi “Falcon” Fujimaru who inadvertently gets swept up in the fictional anti-terrorism agency Third-I’s efforts to spoil plans to release a deadly virus in Tokyo. With top notch acting, cinematography, soundtrack and plenty of twists and turns, Bloody Monday was a critical success.

The second season started on Monday, and the writers of this show weren’t playing around. Things got real serious, real fast, and now Falcon must make the difficult choice of remaining neutral or aiding Third-i and risking the lives of the ones that he loves.

This was particularly hard to write a recap for because (1) in true Bloody Monday fashion, this episode jumps around a lot so there was a lot to cover and (2) this was a two hour special.