Japanese Summer TV Season: Part 3

[walkwithheroes]

Two more dramas watched. This time they were very different, so I really cannot compare them to one another. I can say they brought very different emotions out of me. First was JOKER Yurusarezaru Sosakan, crime drama with a twist. Second was Unubore Deka, a pure comedy that plays off all the suspenseful crime dramas from the 1980s and 1990s.






JOKER: Is a drama that I was a bit scared to watch. I had read a few things that made me think it would be scary. But, you know, it wasn't. I mean, I'm fairly certain half the characters are crazy, and there are some moments that made me cringe, but it was not a horror-type drama. I'm not sure how I feel about someone taking the law into his own hands, but I can get past this as it's just a drama. The truth is all the gritty stuff is balanced out nicely with some much needed humor.


Overall I like the drama and I think I'll continue to follow it. In fact, I think I'll try to watch two or three episodes at a time - it's that kind of drama. Once it's finished, you want to find out what happens next.



Unubore Deka: Is written by Kudo Kankuro, the man who brought us Ikebukuro West Gate Park, # Kisarazu Cat's Eye, Tiger and Dragon, Manhattan Love Story, Mirai Koshi Meguru, among others. So, if there are two things you can be sure of it's: the dialogue will be snappy and rapid paced and the characters will be beyond weird. Oh, and a lot cast members from Kudo's past works are sure to show up in guest spots.


The story is fairly basic: a love lorn inspector looks for love while solving crimes. The only trouble is he falls for the criminal every time, and because he's always around he ends up solving the case every single time. Of course, he gives the criminals a choice - jail or marriage. They chose jail. Poor guy.


This is, so far, my favorite of the drama season.



Four dramas left: Moyashimon, GOLD, Hotaru no Hikari 2, and Natsu no Koi wa Nijiiro ni Kagayaku. I'm waiting for subs on the first three. Subs for Natsu are out, but I have to wait.

Comments

[darkeyedwolf.livejournal.com]

What I find unexpectedly awesome about Joker is how it's so damn funny. Vigilante justice, doom, dead children, and hilarity.

[walkwithheroes.livejournal.com]

I agree. The drama is dark with all this death and then - hilarity ensues. I love when a show can do that sort of thing. I'm enjoying it.

[jamieguo48.livejournal.com]

Unubore Deka sounds interesting. Does he know they're a criminal because he always falls for criminals or what? Thanks for the input on dramas since I've been looking for a good Japanese drama to watch, I think I'll check this out.

[walkwithheroes.livejournal.com]

He doesn't know. I've only seen the first episode, but basically: he meets a woman, falls in love at first sight, a case comes up and the woman is somehow connected to it, he spends all his time trying to woo her, and because of that he ends up solving the crime. She's the one who did it and he knows just how - so things go from there.