Nazotoki wa Dinner no Ato de #9 & #10 [Final]

Ratings (Kanto) :

#9   [15.2%]

#10 [15.4%]

Average: 15.9%

My Ratings : #9 4.5/5 || #10  4.5/5 = 4.08 (avg)

I like this two-part episodes' case...

(man.. I seem to like cases with family secrets involved lately XD)

Oh Kageyama... I think he got really distracted because he lost the baseball bet :D

First we had him deduced wrongly (though this is caused by another surprising factor *spoiler*).

Then he became a murder suspect (ending of eps 9).

And...  he was arrested... by Kazamatsuri lol

Reiko, on the other hand, had fun with all the chances she had to tease Kageyama instead XD

Oh... I think it's cute that she still believes in Santa Claus :D 

& me... laughed a lot watching Kazamatsuri XD

kind of disappointed that he didn't get to know Shourei-san's real identity

but.. Merry Kazamatsuri indeed. XD

I don't have much to say really because I enjoyed these two episodes.

I still think my favourite character is Kageyama because I always love a Sherlock... if only the focus was given more to him... *wishful* well..not that I like to watch Sho act that much.. anyway...

Kitagawa was a pain a watch. I'm going to stay away from her works in the near future for a while.. Honestly, I love seeing her [appearance]...  I think she's beautiful but she is not a good actress. Beauty alone is not enough if you're acting.. especially as the lead. I know some people don't care about this & even praised her performance(?) but I'm one of those who couldn't let this pass (just because she's cute etc) once I see this fact.. it will bug me for the rest of the series.

Thank goodness for Shiina Kippei.. Well, I wouldn't consider he balanced all the badness out completely but it was reassuring that at least one of casts can really act. Kazamatsuri was annoying in the first few episodes but I grew to love his character (who always had surprising luck/miracles lol).. random: in these two final episodes, I started thinking he might have used Inspector Clouseau (I just watched the Steve Martin's version few days ago) as a reference lol

That "See you soon" in end is really suspicious.. should be referring to DVD release, right? I shudder to think of the possibility of a sequel (X_X) *dnrw*

Three doramas reviewed loosely ... I feel accomplished..because I can't seem to finish reviewing Kurosagi & Code Blue in the past... lol.. Well I didn't include summaries & screencaps because obviously I'm lazy... I used to review like this (on Friendster) for ProDai & Galileo (which was re-posted here).. rather than a review, it's more like "what I think of this episode" thing... oh well.. different people, different style :P

I look forward to next season doramas~~~

..and Ohno's "Mou Yuukai nante Shinai" on Jan 3rd (yes...I had to say it) which I definitely could not watch real-time because I have Linear Algebra final exam the next day. Will try to watch it in the weekend because I would be burning with curiosity (=major distraction) if I don't. XD

Kaseifu no Mita #9-11 [Final]

Ratings (Kanto) :

#9   [27.6%]

#10 [28.6%]

#11 [40.0%]  (!!!!!)

Average: 24.8%

My Rating :  #9 4.5/5 || #10 4.5/5 || #11 5/5 = 4.44 (avg)

The 9th episode was a balanced episode between comedic and serious moments IMO.. Mita quitted the Asuda Family and... worked for the annoying neighbour next door. It was like a slap in the face (for some weird reasons, I cringed watching Kii-chan at school & Mita appeared to take Tsubasa-kun home). The reason why Mita is so ready to take orders - even impossible ones - was revealed in this episode... The children knew about it and stopped her in time. & for the first time, Mita lost her composure and got mad with them. They reminded her that she didn't have to do all these and begged her to return to them on her free will.

And Mita is back in the 10th episode... & it was decided on her free will.  Mita was beside herself in this episode. She's becoming more human XD .. Anyway.. I love the scene where the children appeared at the amusement park to like... save Mita. They insisted on her to stop buying family set food, sit, & left those food untouched until the closing time. I thought it was sweet that they said they'll eat those food if she ever return there again :')  Another thing that amused me was the father's priceless look when Urara told him that she fell in love with him lol

I'm starting to see that in the end, it's not just about knowing the truth about father's affair (and reluctance to being a father), or mother's death or Mita's background... it's how they choose to move on with life after knowing all that. I love how this dorama emphasizes on that matter without covering the darkness of the those truths. It's like... yes, yes, it's hard to understand why it happened, it's complicated, it's upsetting... but you are still alive anyway... you're responsible to keep on being alive...& to live your life to the fullest.

After watching the 11th episode, I kind of understand why the rating was 40%... GOSH. What an eventful episode. I cried and cried again... Best scene would be the moment Mita finally smiled again *just thinking about it made me want to cry again*. Such beautiful moment & great performance by Matsushima-san. I was so happy that some of the characters hugged her... I was like "Please hug her, Arumi-san. Please hug her for me"  & they hugged <3... and Kii-chan too. Now I kind of wish to see Matsushima-san & Miyu-chan act as mother and daughter XD .. I love how this episode was more to the bright side, bringing people back together and - depending on how you see it - promising happy endings to those who deserved it. 

I want to believe that human relationships can be that beautiful... that you don't have to be family or relatives to understand others' pain... & don't doubt it when it happened & when people could support each other even though they are clearly strangers. And of course, we could think of it logically ourselves about what should & shouldn't been done.. but once in a while we want to hear it from someone else's mouth to really convince ourselves to do what we are supposed to do. I always think that advice works better this way. Like most of us who would not listen to our own advice unless it's repeated to us by another person... another voice that isn't ours.

Perfect ending is perfect.

HUNTER #9 & #10 [Final]

Ratings (Kanto) :

#9 [10.9%]

#10 [11.5%]

Average: 11.0%

My Ratings : #9 3.8/5 || #10 4/5 = 3.74 (avg)

In the 9th episode, the dorama seem to have a change in atmosphere... it's like watching a movie sequel of a popular dorama (e.g HanaDan & Trick). It wasn't really bad, I just thought it was weird.

Initially, I thought I would hate Akane... but I ended up liking her character anyway. It was even better after the reason of her disappearance was revealed. I think she's my second favourite character in this dorama (despite her lack of appearances in some episodes) after Gondo <3

Speaking of Gondo... I got to see a different side to him in these two conclusion episodes.. which was pretty cool. (I almost wish that this dorama was about him XD... but fret not.. he's in a Lucky Seven spin-off four-episode dorama which I'm so totally going to watch <3)

It was clever of them to make use of the internet to spread about what they know. I was kind of amused about the video site (fictional I think).. as the video plays, comments would appear on the video itself. Interesting feature to play with..to be honest, if it really exists (but must have an option to turn it off :P).

Pretty mundane episodes really... but most of HUNTER episodes weren't any better either. Sometimes I think it's the combination... like when the case was interesting, the casts' performances weren't that great & vice versa... worst.. maybe the problem relies on the regular characters? Hmm.. that's what I get from watching an episode a week..

I'll try watching this again - marathon-style this time - and make a recap later.

NazoDi, Kaseifu, HUNTER #8

Ratings (Kanto) :
FTV Tues 9pm || NazoDi #8 [15.4%]
NTV Wed 10pm || Kaseifu #8 [29.6%]
FTV Tues 10pm || HUNTER #8 [11.3%]

My Ratings : NazoDi 4.5/5 || Kaseifu 5/5 || Hunter 4.5/5

Hunter... not much to say really but I enjoyed this episode... :)  Rather than being the hunters this time, Machiko-san was the one hunted by her husband. Turn out the husband was more of a verbal abuser *shakes head disapprovingly*. 

Gondo was really funny in the beginning!... he was singing happily, which I take as a sign that he's recovered. Ah...really wish there are more of his scenes!

It actually bugs me from the beginning about what Rei's sister is up to... running away like that, leaving her daughter behind... & now it seems she has become a murder suspect (& wanted)?! I can't wait to watch the conclusion to Akane's mysterious disappearance.

Episode 8 of Kaseifu had the highest rating so far... In this episode, Mita finally talked about her past. And with that, she quits being the housekeeper for the family. I feel like hugging her when she talked from beginning to end of her background, still slightly in her dull robotic way, while the family listened... I think the family wanted to hug her too when she finished :/

This was Mita's episode. The character had more visible changes... she's more vocal than before (the scene at the hospital)... As the family getting on nicely with each other, the focus moved to Mita. I don't know what it would be but I'm hoping for a happy ending for Mita too... (I'm taking the I-want-everyone-to-be-happy stand when I watch this :P)..& it seems from this episode, it should be seeing her smile again.

Lol at the beginning dream... that was so random (but it gave Yui the idea that Mita might not have always been that way...)


Moving on to NazoDi... Kitagawa was less annoying in this episode, part of it was because I was busy recognizing the side characters :P (totally seen them before lol)... Many funny moments. Including Kazamatsuri XD (as usual).. Kageyama had his own funny moments XD (caught being at ease at filming set while re-enacting a  scene from the dorama)... & Reiko in the beginning lol.. But ah. The case this time... a sad love story (part of the blame goes to stupid Reiko).  *sigh* I actually wanted to see the scene she gave the love letter though because I'm curious of the boy's reaction...

NazoDi, Kaseifu, HUNTER #7

Ratings (Kanto) :

FTV Tues 9pm || NazoDi #7 [15.1%]

NTV Wed 10pm || Kaseifu #7 [23.5%]

FTV Tues 10pm || HUNTER #7 [8.8%]

My Ratings : NazoDi 4/5 || Kaseifu 5/5 || Hunter 4.3/5

HUNTER's 7th episode was Gondo's episode. There weren't much Rei x Gondo scenes though... only in the beginning (which just further my interest seeing them as a pair) :D... Somewhat an interesting episode... OH! Fukikoshi Mitsuru guested in this episode. Superb performance *amazed*. 

Gondo wasn't like his usual self. I find it a bit unconvincing how he came to associate himself Emi/Risa. I think this is because I don't know the character that well to know that he's capable of doing this... It can't be helped, right... he didn't have many scenes in the previous episodes... 

Also, the bounty huntresses started talking about quitting... & in the next episode, Machiko's husband appears???

The [accidental] stabbing in the end took place at the same filming location for Maou <3! XD

It's the place Hideo died/final showdown between Naruse & Serizawa~

Kaseifu... iya... this was a great episode! 

I think too much.. Girlfriend was only sad/disappointed about his new [ex-]boyfriend..she wasn't going to kill herself or anything.. she told father though that she wants to get back together. 

Asuda family finally reunited... Cried more watching the second half ... 

Father wants to try again...his family forgives him... He told girlfriend that he wants to marry her & want her to be the mother for his children. Of course, she didn't accept... 

The children got more curious about Mita's background especially after she told them she killed her husband & son in the previous episode. Oh, yeah.. I'm glad Yui is back to her old self.. (& the actress seems to be relieved too 'cos I noticed her acting is back to natural again :D)

Sometimes I wonder why I even bother watching NazoDi... both its lead actors aren't that good in acting... the cases were interesting but they were nothing special that would make you really go "OH!" *sigh* Iya...it's because I'm writing this review, I guess.. I don't really want to give my opinions (even if I hated the dorama) without finishing them. I would want to remain positive and give the dorama a chance until the final episode..

Kazamatsuri was fun to watch (again) XD.. His reactions to people who gave him erm.. not-so-nice feedbacks regarding his family business's produced cars were hilarious. Of course, the fact that Kageyama arranged for the whole case to be recorded on cameras (with the power of Hosho group) so that Miss Reiko (who is recovering from a back sprain) would not miss anything was also funny... *I think it's Kageyama himself who wanted to XD* Is that even allowed in the real world...? lol 

But that Kazamatsuri loves camera so much.. so I get to watch him do more funny things from the front (he interacts with the cameramen too much XD) .. I suspected it's the hatmaker all along :P but I didn't have any logical explanations (only I thought it's weird that a hat didn't have its own box, so maybe he's the culprit this time??--like that.. oh lol) to put things together like Kageyama did. 

From previous episodes, I said I don't think Kitagawa is lady-like for this character but she sure could pull of the spoilt bitchy side of a lady with money & power. 

Again, it made me think... (-.-") What's the point of her working as a police detective?

p/s: Just watched Gantz (both parts)... I didn't think that I would cry at the ending, but at the Ferris wheel scene, I did... it was so sad. & I totally predicted correctly what Kurono chose to do XD... now I'm interested to read the manga. 

       Random thought: Has Kanata Hongo always been overacting like this, or just for this particular super annoying character? 

       Random thought 2: Now I'm convinced that Yoshitaka can only act these kind of characters... It's really annoying the way she whines, because it was really some effortless acting (if you can call that acting) on her side, like it's already part of her personality. But I might still consider watching her other works... because somewhat I think her range isn't just this much.. I just have to find one that where her character isn't [hopefully] whining all the time.

NazoDi, Kaseifu, HUNTER #6

Ratings (Kanto) :
FTV Tues 9pm || NazoDi #6 [14.9%]
NTV Wed 10pm || Kaseifu #6 [23.4%]
FTV Tues 10pm || HUNTER #6 [10.2%]

My Ratings : NazoDi 4/5 || Kaseifu 4/5 || Hunter 3/5

A Jun-centric episode for Hunter... Not a fan of the character or the actress (-_-")... decent episode, I guess. Am I the only person who's a bit annoyed by the way Yonekura-san got wide-eyed erm.. at some scenes? Does she do this for her other characters? It's becoming like a generic expression of hers (in this dorama) when she's angry, annoyed or surprised... or combination of any of these three... it looks unnatural sometimes...

Next episode seems to revolve around my favourite pair... <3

And Kaseifu~ Grgghhh.. Yui was so, so, so annoying in the first half of the episode! I thought: "WHAT THE HECK IS WRONG WITH HER???" Just like previous episodes, since this character have a bit of temporarily(?) personality change, the actress' acting style seem to change a bit... (or maybe it's only me nit-picking on things :D) .. maybe she couldn't bring herself to like the changes her character (therefore can't understand her character well?) went through which made her act not so natural.. It was restrained at times, like she's trying too hard... And GAH. *goes back to the character* Yui tried to kill herself (& then she chickened out after she ordered Mita to kill her (-_-"))! I got mad at this point, thinking that she's taking her family problems too far.. like a first-world problem kind of thing? What the heck? Fortunately, Mita made her realised this... like having a home and family that loves her.. Seeing the ending scene about bedsheets made me think, maybe... maybe the character change was becauseYui blamed herself for not appreciating the things her mother do for her... especially when she somewhat could have prevented her death if only she listened more to her mother's worries...

Yui finally wants to forgive her father... as long as father shows that they are important to him. A chance! A chance to return to his children and live as a family again. BUT.. that scene in the end could ruin this chance... ex-girlfriend called father again. She seems to be at the top of a building... maybe she already knew that her new boyfriend was only toying with her..thus wants to kill herself??? EHHH?

Another decent episode for NazoDi... though I'm loving every Kazamatsuri moments in this episode :D Episode 4 indeed has improved a bit of my impression of him... & I saw cats! Black and white cats! Kageyama dotting on a cat! lol... OH! and Kazamatsuri getting stomachache because he ate cat's food :P... The murder case was pretty worthless.. I mean.. the murderer was stupid to think the victim is a threat to his family (he really thought highly of himself, huh)... actually the victim wasn't even thinking about him anymore...

Oh yeah... it seems the director for this episode is more to the comedy side?? :P



p/s: Aragaki Yui is the heroine of Ohno's New Year Dorama SP!!!!! I'm happy not because I like seeing her act, but because finally, Ohno has someone famous playing as the female lead in his dorama (though it's only tanpatsu)... Wasn't she the VIP guest on Himitsu who liked Ohno's  pretty venous arms (*edit* not muscular... I remembered wrongly, that was Kanjiya Shihori.. I think~) ??? lol lucky her! she gets to stare at them again/more during filming~ :P
Got a better gist of the story... I'm hopeful (for what, I don't know :P)~ Somewhat I think Aragaki will learn much from seeing Ohno's acting.. *biased fan here XD*

p/s2: Garo : Makai Senki 最高！Kouga x Kaoru 最高！:D So obviously I've already re-watched and watched anything new before the new series... lol.. I love how the world in Garo is being expanded to include new characters like Makai Priests and other kinds of Makai Knights... & also new kinds of Horrors..  Hmmm... I'm kind of suspicious of Leo-kun who works with Kouga...

NazoDi, Kaseifu, HUNTER #5

Ratings (Kanto) :
FTV Tues 9pm || NazoDi #5 [15.9%]
NTV Wed 10pm || Kaseifu #5 [22.5%]
FTV Tues 10pm || HUNTER #5 [12.4%]

My Ratings : NazoDi 3.8/5 || Kaseifu 4/5 || Hunter 3.8/5

Kaseifu got me a bit teary again in the end :)

It's Kakeru's episode this time! I like him the most from the beginning actually... but I don't like seeing him went through all that in this episode.. Sigh. I guess having father leave home triggered this "rebellious" phase in him. I kept going "No, no! You don't start going after/doing bad things like this! It won't go away!" ...& my idealistic (or positive?) side even said "You just hang in there! It's going to be okay!" lol Oh well.. Mita erm... saved the day again. Don't know why I feel like she had became more human in this episode... I cried at the part where Mita finished spraying annoying neighbour's wall. Oh, Kakeru... <3 

Another thing I realised from this episode... forgiving or begging for forgiveness can be hard, but it is always a good option :) Father finally realised the extra-marital relationship he had meant nothing. Was it love? Maybe he really felt it was love on his side... But can't say the same for the girl. After seeing the reality himself, maybe he was thinking something like "to leave your family for something as shallow as this was really stupid" when he saw the girl's new boyfriend. 

& Yui... *shakes head/disapproving look* She IS NOT mature enough to take care of her family. Being too consumed by anger of what her father did made her blind to her siblings longing for their father. She was acting irresponsibly... (though actually we can see this from the beginning when she doesn't really care what food to serve them :P).. which makes her unfit to take on the role of a parent. Yes, the father didn't act so much like a father should be but he's still an adult. We can expect him to at least fulfill his duty as a guardian to his children.

I really want the family to get back together again...with father finally knowing how to be a good father to them. I think the kneeling scene was a good start for father.. I don't think it's a coincidence that Kakeru ended up kneeling to his basketball team members in the end asking for forgiveness :P. All thanks to Mita~ If not for Mita, father wouldn't have had rushed home to handle the neighbour's complaint and kneel down to apologize for his son's misbehaviour... & they wouldn't have that ramen family moment...

Nosy neighbour is annoying... Somehow I suspect that she'll go (or is currently going) through a divorce which is why she acted so bitchy like that. But maybe... it's really her nature XD

Back to Yui.. I'm getting irritated by her character... and while I type out this Kaseifu review, I suddenly had thoughts that she might be pregnant in future episodes... *just a random thought really*.. and senior doesn't seem like someone who will take responsibilty.. (going to be like father and mother's story??? hmmm)

Mita has/had a son!

HUNTER's 5th episode was okay, I guess... I thought it was quite impossible for them to crack a 20 years old that even the police couldn't solve... but just by asking someone that police didn't believe long time ago, they were able to find the real culprit... Cases like these always have random(?) people you didn't expect to be the culprit... (I'm thinking of "Ryuusei no Kizuna" & "Triangle"// Random fact: Both Emoto Akira & Omi Toshinari were in "Ryuusei")... Kiritani (Jun-chan) was acting all cutesy again in this episode *slightly annoyed* --- I'm glad she wasn't the lead character. Once again, I felt Toda Keiko looked so different here... maybe it's the hair.
I like the chemisty between Rei and Gondo, they look like a good pair (it's because of their heights I think).. wonder if they have ever been paired in a dorama/movie before...

Pretty decent episode for NazoDi... Dunno why I'm getting some Trick vibe in the beginning lol... Speaking of Trick... maybe, just maybe, NazoDi could have a better watching experience if they involve Director Tsutumi Yukihiko in the team.. oh well.

Oh. The comic strip style is back. I'm guessing that it's a director-dependent thing & when I checked the wiki, I was kind of right. This episode was directed by the same person who did the first two episodes. Anyway.. it seems I've changed my impression on Kazamatsuri since previous episode haha.. I was surprised that he's doing his work properly in this episode (kind of) but maybe it's because the case involved the author of a popular manga he reads(?)... I love to see the manga-loving side of Kageyama hehe.. Was a bit annoyed by Kitagawa acting all cute lol.. it seems that I couldn't tolerate any cutesy acting this week (Kiritani in HUNTER included).. :D

Meikyuu guitar version BG music in the end... <333

I saw Bananaman's Himura in the preview for next episode..not sure if it's him (not fond of his acting in "My Girl").. but I look forward to next episode because it's directed by a different director..


p/s: I didn't know Garo has a new series!! lol And Takenaka Naoto was in the 1st episode as a Horror! Garo was something I randomly picked to watch on TV few years ago (same as Nodame Cantabile)... it was dark and unlike other heroes kind of TV shows (tokusatsu shows) I've seen on TV so I got sucked in watching pretty fast :P  *plans to re-watch everything from the beginning*

NazoDi, Kaseifu, HUNTER #4

Ratings (Kanto) :
FTV Tues 9pm || NazoDi #4 [16.7%]
NTV Wed 10pm || Kaseifu #4 [19.5%]
FTV Tues 10pm || HUNTER #4 [12.0%]

My Ratings : NazoDi 4.5/5 || Kaseifu 4.5/5 || Hunter 4/5

What's with these fourth episodes??? ALL were really good! lol

I don't know why, suddenly I feel excited to watch HUNTER ...maybe because I got used to the characters already?

Anyway, they didn't catch anyone this time.. but the fourth one deals with a marriage swindler. It was kind of sad how the old man wanted to help her change without telling her he knew who she was.


And Kaseifu... GOSH. This family is truly a dysfunctional family! I know Kii-chan went that far to get her family together again (the kid is so sweet! but maybe she's too young to understand how bad it is that their father wanted a divorce and thought of leaving them behind)... but a young child like that, threatening to end her life (why I'm not surprised? children copy what their parents do) if her family doesn't get back together - WHAT IS WRONG WITH THIS FAMILY?

So it wasn't really a shock that the Kaito-kun could talk about killing someone like that in eps two... to think that Mita was a danger to the family and people around the family... they need Mita! For some weird reasons, they need Mita to keep them sane (I guess?). As I understand the reason why the father doesn't act much like a father should be from the previous episode, I like seeing him frank about his feelings ("I don't know.") when Kii asked him if he loves her. I got a bit teary-eyed at the scene the father slap little Kii... (it was appropriate IMO, I mean this child just threatened to jump off from the 1st floor for pete's sake!). Those stones Kii keeps... I didn't expect it would be quite symbolic here... (& I totally predicted Mita had the father's stone all along!).. In the end the father leaves the house because Yui wanted him to..


I got a bit teary-eyed for NazoDi too... The episode..or rather the case didn't follow the usual formula this time so it was refreshing to watch. Is it that hard to recognise the lady Kazamatsuri erm.. have a crush on is his own subordinate??? Hmm. And. From the beginning, I already feel that Kitagawa isn't ladyish enough to play this role... Her role, Reiko, is full of contradicting traits! I'm kind of curious why she pursues a career in the police department...  Is this a problem of the way she play the role OR the character itself is this flawed???  Bad acting or flawed character? I'm inclined to think the former is the problem.

Anyway... that aside, the scene Kazamatsuri arrived (as if he's Reiko's prince on a white horse or the white horse itself XD) was really funny! & Reiko tried to cover her face from being recognised by him. They were at the same place to attend Reiko's friend's wedding.

I love the fact that this episode has Morimoto Leo and Kobayashi Ryoko (MAOU'S SHIORI!)'s cameo appearances. Weirdly, I kyaa-ed during the scene Kageyama saved Ryoko's character from falling down the stairs... I was thinking that if this is Ohno's dorama THEN that scene was supposed to be... Naruse & Shiori reunion!!! LOL

Trust Kageyama to take on the role as Reiko's fiance that easily ..sasuga.. XD

This episode makes one think (or maybe only me XD) whether Reiko and Kageyama will end up like the old mistress & her butler (50 years!)... I thought the ending scene was kind of sweet. Kageyama asked her how long will he be calling her "my lady"... (I'm still on the Kageyama-likes-her theory) in which she reassured him that the time he call her "madame" will come XD...

It is wrong to think that they'll end up together, right? I mean... this isn't like "Mei-chan no Shitsuji" XD Why do butlers in doramas have to be this good-looking??? XD

NazoDi, Kaseifu, HUNTER #3

Ratings :
FTV Tues 9pm || NazoDi #3 [16.4%]
NTV Wed 10pm || Kaseifu #3 [19.8%]
FTV Tues 10pm || HUNTER #3 [11.5%]

My Ratings : NazoDi 3.5/5 || Kaseifu 3.8/5 || Hunter 3/5

Nothing much to say about HUNTER's 3rd episode... except maybe it's nice to see how their bounty-hunting activities had started affecting their lives... at least Kazumi's marriage life.

Kaseifu no Mita...I'm starting to think what would happen if Mita isn't working with the Asuda family... I mean.. whoa. It's as if this family shouldn't have exist in the first place. In this episode more things were revealed about the father's extra-marital relationship & *SHOCK* something about the wife. The mother was the kind of person who would threaten her life to get what she wanted. *offtopic-ish* My biology teacher in secondary school was someone who got married to a person like this. She told the story casually though... that the man would go crazy (???/It sounded like a threat to me) if she doesn't marry him.

I personally don't think it's right to do things this way & also to give in to someone like that. This kind of explains why the father isn't so much like a father to them (since the 1st eps) because it was (really) against his will to start this family.. Anyway.. I can't help noticing the actress who plays Yui kind of have forced expressions during scenes she got mad at her father.. the change in character was kind of awkwardly shown (but understandable though). But she's really scary when she's mad! I have to remind myself that this isn't a horror movie. :P

Oh, yeah. It was fun watching the other siblings "stalking" Mita-san. Another side of Mita was shown... she went to an amusement park, ordered a 2-person set of food and just sat until it's closing time as if she's waiting for someone to come. What was that?

& OH Yui... Her anger made her *foolishly* order Mita to spread about the affair at father's office. This incident caused the father to be discharged from his current project (that ironically uses family as a theme).

NazoDi had a somewhat interesting case...  hmm... It seems like they have lessen the comic-like scenes I find annoying in the beginning episodes. The flow is actually better now without those erm... special effects(?). Kageyama continues to attract me (Sho always gets interesting characters! *whines-Where is my new Ohno dorama?????*). I mean... seriously.. tokusatsu heroine? lol.. but in the end I was completely deceived by that! I didn't realise it would serve as something important :P

At first I thought Kageyama might hate his mistress/or serving her.. but it seems it's not? He's sharp-tongued alright..but he's acting like a teenager who bullies the girl he likes :P




Ah. Another thing. It hurts my heart to listen to "Meikyuu" in the end 'cos I didn't get to purchase the LE version of the single. I'm feeling better now after I re-watched "Uta no Onii-san" again :P and also I found a place where I can buy it (I don't care if the price doubled/multiplied :P)...

NazoDi, Kaseifu, HUNTER #2

Ratings :

FTV Tues 9pm    || NazoDi #2 [16.1%]

NTV Wed 10pm || Kaseifu #2 [18.7%]

FTV Tues 10pm  || HUNTER #2 [11.8%]

My Ratings : NazoDi 4/5 || Kaseifu 3.5/5 || Hunter 3.5/5

HUNTER --- Meh. Still not feeling anything. But that old mother's [mother of the criminal the bounty huntresses caught this time] acting caught my attention.

I really love actors/actresses that use their eyes to convey their characters' feelings. Which is why I love Ohno Satoshi & Alec Su as actors... *off-topic-ish* Some actors/actresses act as they supposed to according to their script & still you feel they have some kind of emptiness in their eyes.

Excerpt from Enshinge@LJ's translation of a magazine article about Ohno (link):

When we asked, he says that way before he received the script, when he was initially offered the role and was told about “what it was about, and what the role would be like,” his antennae had already started working. 

“Like, what kind of person would I be acting as? How would I express that as? And then the history and the background of the time in which it’d take place. It’s just that various things that have to do with it keep welling up in my head.”

It's kind of ironic that this came from someone who doesn't like acting that much but still can do it better than those so-called actors/actresses who do their work half-heartedly. Oh well.. can't expect all of them to use method acting if they prefer other ways that I don't like very much to act...

.... *feeling some anger on absence of new Ohno dorama in 2011 coming up again XD*..

Moving on...

Episode 2 of Kaseifu was just okay for me. The ultimate (I think) order was given. Killing someone. WHOA. Okay it wasn't really a "WHOA..." moment (in fact, actually I was a bit disturbed that a kid could think of killing someone for the sake of the society..*boy, you think too much*). I'm glad he learnt something in the end. It wasn't much, but I can see that Mita is really as much human as everyone else (maybe because there were more talking scenes that didn't involve work). Really curious of why she can't smile. Father actually wanted to divorce on the day the mother committed suicide. Kii is has become more attached to Mita. I love the scene she asked Mita to sing along with her. LOL. Mita sang monotously in a not really tone-deaf way.

NazoDi was fun - the case was interesting - with a number of cute scenes. But I really don't find Kitagawa ladyish... yet? (I have to wait??) Chemistry is better(?)...I think. Not really talking about the characters' chemistry. It just looked like Kitagawa has gotten comfortable acting with Sho. Butler Kageyama doesn't really do his job that well XD I mean why can't he wake his master up early... I kind of suspect that he hates being a butler and/or serving wealthy ladies. Hmmm. But I love his bookworm side. Getting excited seeing books like that...haha.. "I'm going to return it later I after I read it!" Oh... I also always do like the victim did, you know. Using whatever paper I found nearby as bookmarks :D 

Also... Gardener Kageyama's dinosaur! Epic! for the Jurassic Park fan in me XD.. 

I've fallen in love with "Meikyuu Love Song"! It takes time to warm up with this song but now it's stuck in my head..hehehe The PV was cute and fun.. It's "Aiba Sugoroku" once again though it kind of have "Love So Sweet" PV's vibe to it... It doesn't take long for me to declare it a favourite (My best 3 Arashi PVs are Truth, Love So Sweet & Meikyuu Love Song)..

NazoDi, Kaseifu, HUNTER #1

Decided to watch three doramas for fall 2011 :P 

Unless it's a dorama with actors that ARE good at acting, I'm picking doramas based on the plot & HD space lol.

I'm watching...

1. Nazotoki wa Dinner no Ato de [the dorama that got me all worked up because it's Sho's dorama & not Ohno's dorama this season lol]
2. Kaseifu no Mita
3. HUNTER ~Sono Onnatachi, Shoukin Kasegi~ 

Ratings :

FTV Tues 9pm    || NazoDi #1 [18.1%]

NTV Wed 10pm || Kaseifu #1 [19.5%]

FTV Tues 10pm  || HUNTER #1 [9.8%]

My Ratings : NazoDi 3.5/5 || Kaseifu 5/5 || Hunter 3.5/5

I watched all exactly in this order. Man..the quality! The quality of their acting is really obvious! 

NazoDi is a detective dorama where the butler is more detective-like compared to his master (an heiress who happened to work as a police detective)... and his master's partner/or superior? (who also happened to be a billionaire who chose to work as a public servant). I've never been a fan of Sho's acting abilities (It's me nit-picking I guess.. I find him always smiling and his understanding of his character seem lacking). I wasn't much impressed by Kitagawa either after watching Mop Girl. I thought she would have at least improved a bit (Mop Girl was from 2007) but judging from the first episode, it doesn't seem like she did. If any, I thought it got worst than before. For now, JUST A PRETTY FACE. Her fanboys may say otherwise but then that will just put them on the same level with Sho's fangirls :P. To be honest, I think Sho's performance is better. But that may be because he doesn't have to smile a lot (it's a bit like his character in YamaTaro). Shiina Kippei is a good actor (love his expressions) but his character is kind of annoying XD. Somewhat he reminded me of TRICK's Yabe (but Shiina wasn't as expressive as Namase Katsuhisa). I do still look forward to Episode 2 (butler doramas get my attention since I saw Mei-chan lol~). My favourite character is Sho's Kageyama because he gets to call his master stupid XD. I think it started from the moment he was in the box near the vegetable market, unable to move from his spot to stalk his master XD. *I'm sounding more like a Sho fangirl lol*

NazoDi seems comedy-like. There were scenes laid out in a comic strip style. But it's somewhat dark too (not in a Maou way). If they intend it to work like a dark comedy or something, it's not working for me. (OR is it supposed to be a satire type dorama???).

Fresh from watching NazoDi, I moved on to Kaseifu. GOSH THE DIFFERENCE... The kids alone are better actors/actresses compared to Kitagawa. *oh the horror* Among these three doramas, I look forward most to watching Kaseifu's future episodes. It was a promising 1st episode. In a way, I felt somewhat enlightened. Haven't watch Matsushima-san's recent doramas... so it's been a while since I saw her acting. I've always love watching her because she can play many kinds of roles. Here she plays a housekeeper who just started working with the disorganized Asuda family. Her character is a mysterious one. She's an excellent worker but she's always expressionless, unaffected and speaks in a monotone way. The scene where she bought little Kii to the river was... wow... it shows how she really takes her job seriously. Like VERY seriously. I laughed at the part where she hosed the family's nosy neighbour down. Was she really just doing her job (to avoid the fire spreading to the neighbour's house)? Or was she doing some kind of revenge in defence for the family she's working with? MYSTERIOUS. & the father. I bet the father had an affair (which is why the mother committed suicide?) Anyways, Aibu Saki is in this too, playing the aunt role (from the mother's side of family) & thank god she isn't the lead. The kids' acting were natural which makes it a pleasant watch.

HUNTER. I don't know yet what to feel about this dorama. It's the first time I see Yonekura Ryoko acting (saw a bit Okusama wa Majo on TV but not long enough to leave me any impression on her acting). It's good, very expressive :). Kiritani Mirei is in this too. Her character is the cutesy type (which annoys me at time but no doubt will make her fanboys happy :P) but she's the kind who have a pretty face and is a better (but not necessarily good) actress than Kitagawa. I like the side characters too... good actresses. Toda Keiko looks youngish in her character, to the point where I wasn't sure it was her at first. And there's also... Tanihara Shosuke! I like watching him in Mop Girl. His character in HUNTER have the same vibe with his character in Mop Girl (didn't watch his doramas much though) minus the Romeo part :P.