Kindaichi Kosuke vs Akechi Kogoro SP (2013)

Country: Japan
Format: movie special
Genre: historical, detective
Cast: Yamashita Tomohisa, Takei Emi, Ito Hideaki, Endo Kaname, Asaka Mayumi, Emoto Tokio, Oshinari Shugo, Kusamura Reiko, Magy, Haniuda Amu, Masuoka Toru
Synopsis: Kindaichi Kosuke is a rookie detective who got fast fame by discovering few crimes, but being so young, he does not get a lot of job offers. One day he is called to investigate a missing person case of two pharmacy families who have been on the foot of war for years already. The more he investigates the deeper into the secret he falls. At the same time, old detective Akechi Kogoro takes interest in Kindaichi Kosuke and decides to keep a eye on him to see him working. 

Rating: 3/5

To tell you the truth, then I have not been impressed or interested in “Kindaichi Kosuke vs Akechi Kogoro” for a single time and it continues even after watching it. Only difference for me is that now I see it as SP of “MONSTERS” with time travel to past. 

Risou no musuko (2012)

Country: Japan
Format: drama in 10 episodes
Genre: family, school, comedy
Cast: Suzuki Kyoka, Yamada Ryosuke, Fujigaya Taisuke, Sawamura Ikki, Nakajima Yuto, Takeda Kohei, Irie Jingi, Emoto Tokio, Kaneko Nobuaki, Waki Tomohiro, Miyoshi Ayaka, Kendo Kobayashi, Suzuki Anju, Moromizato Daisuke, Yoshinaga Jun, Hayashi Kento,
Synopsis: Suzuki Umi is single mother whose life's purpose is to get his son to buy a house for her. Despite the fact that they are poor, she wants to grow Suzuki into perfect son by giving him expensive Meifu private school and stuff, but things change dramatically when Dachi leaves Meifu for delinquent boys school, where Umi started her part-time job, in order to protect mom from other guys. What is really "perfect son or mother"? What is the most important in their lives? and all other questions arise in their minds and hearts...  
Rating: 4/5 (Actually it is 3,5, but I do not have this half system)
Before watching it, I thought that Daichi is some Oedipus-complexer guy and wanted to see it because of Fujigaya Taisuke, but it turned all up-side-down as I fell in love with Yamada’s 

 acting and found out that he really does not have Oedipus-complex and „he is not a mama-boy, "he just loves his mother“. Yamada Ryosuke’s acting is seriously one of the high-lights of the drama – you can see him sweet, laughing, crying, beaten up, beating up, angry, bath-scene, cross-dressing. Maybe love-troubles are the only things that are missing, but at the same time there are girl-troubles and Daichi is not that interested in women. You can really say that Daichi is late-bloomer and as a male he is useless, but as a son he might be perfect, may be too perfect, but you seriously must watch it till the end to have a conclusion of their story. But there were some annoying things about him – 

firstly, holding your pointing finger up while running to school is not normal, that only made me realize how weird and short are Yamada’s fingers. Secondly I did not like that he had to repeat the Australia story all the time, but as I understood then this was like a good luck charm to make the punch work – it was with all the other characters and their moves too. On the other hand, (not making fun over Yamada)  Yamada pulled everything off and he even sings a couple of lines in the movie – so if you want his version of “Happy birthday” then try to record it.   

 Mother, Umi-san, was actually a great mother – it seemed that she might be too self-centered 

and stuff, but as the drama goes on, she gets aware of her maternal instincts as she starts to worry about him much more. Umi-san is very good at manipulating with Daichi, so he would do anything to please her. She has some small dreams and secrets of her own, but because of Daichi and poorness, she has lost her feminine side and will to do anything else. She has a big appetite – eating 3-4 people portions at once  (reminds me at the moment, eating 2 people portions as a meal.. woah.. I might end up fat by the end of this year .

Kobayashi Kouji is involved with Daichi’s life more than once and things get once more complicated and then calm down again. He is the one character who I ended up hating and then a bit loving again. He is weak, mama-boy, lying son of a bitch. Gomen, but his mother is worst bitch, who actually made me cry in the last episode. I bet that each child will hate and be afraid of this kind of mother, but because she is mother, the child still loves and respects her. I must say that Nakajima Yuto suits into this geeky weak worm-like role, but I feel like he was pretty much the same in “Sensei wa Erai”.
There are many-many-many different characters in drama – each episode extends the cast 

 and Kaneko Nobuaki even plays 4 different characters.  Also there are Goro-san, Habu, Wanikawa, Hyozuka, Zou-san, Tanba and his sister,  Minoru-san, Ikeda-sensei and etc. With whom all kind of jokes are connect to. From second episode till the end you will laugh. I do not know why they made the first episode depressing and not funny at all, but from second episode it is great comedy.

I know that I have not mention much about other characters, but it is because they mostly have one episode about them, but Mifune Kengo is an exception as his story goes on and on till the end. Fujigawa Taisuke was sooooooooo hot(?)They do not show Mifune that much nor let you 

fully understand him, but he is that kind of character who makes one appearance in episode and you know that you love that character. Compared to Daichi and all other characters, he is mature, manly, strong and wise at the same time. I most enjoyed UmixMifune relationship. They were great buddies – listening each other’s problems and stuff . Mifune saw the ideal mother in Umi and I do not really know what Mifune was to Umi – maybe a second son?    

It did not get higher stars because it is the drama you watch and have a great laugh and then do not watch it again.. at least for me. But I do recommend if you want a break and want to enjoy Yama-chan’s acting (getting too personal with the chan-thing?)

The Seaside Motel (2010)

Country: Japan
Genre: romance, comedy, surreal, yakuza, (contains sex and violence)
Format: movie
Cast: Ikuta Toma, Aso Kumiko, Narumi Riko, Yamada Takayuki, Tamayama Tetsuji, Emoto Tokio, Furuta Arata, Nukumizu Yoichi, Kojima Hijiri, Ikeda Tetsuhiro, Yamasaki Mami
Synopsis: There is a motel named The Seaside Motel between a rural mountain area, where no water is found near to it or in it. A lousy swindler Kameda Masayuki (Ikuta Toma) is sent there to sell 50 fake body creams. A call girl Candy (Aso Kumiko) enters his room by mistake. As they try to swindle each others money, they find more things in life. A businessman Ishizuka Tatsuya wants to spend the first night with his cabaret girlfriend Marine in the room next to Kameda's. In the other room a former yakuza Asakura Yosuke is staying with his cat-crazy girlfriend Rui, but is interrupted by a childhood friend, yakuza Aida and his younger follower Chi-bo. The last room is occupied by Ota and his wife, who tends to be jealous. Night is full of lies and everyone lives will be changed, but no-one really meets others. What will happen when the sun rises?
Rating: 5/5
It looks like 4 different stories and they really are different, except that one's story is totally connected with others. It makes the feeling that "If he/she was not there or would not have said this, then it would not have happened!". There is impossible to say that the movie is love movie or a tearjerker - there is love, sadness, fright, mystery, friendship, it is totally surreal, but all logical at the same time. Really important is to check time when watching, because the time is always different - another scene might show the time which happened before the last one. Stories are very unexpected and everything really is related! One thing leads to another and you can see that everything has at least two sides of it. What seems good at first can end up being bad.
I liked the sounds in it and amazing shooting. There is not used a usual technicals, which makes even more interesting to watch it. now to the 4 stories...

Room 102. Kameda and Candy. I think that everyone agrees if I say that they are most likely to stars of the movie. I liked that it gave another view of Candy's work, because I have thought several times, why some women have this kind of work. It was so fun to see how they totally lied to each other, but finally were lost in their own lies too, but at the same time it showed that if a person plays around to much, then in the end others won't know if he/she speaks the truth or not. It reminds one lamb story, but I am seriously not going to write it here.

I loved some quotes by them. "A fake thing can turn into something genuine" and "Woman look into the future, but men worry about the past". I find those quotes true. It was the first movie I have seen by them, but I find Ikuta Toma an excellent actor. He has great face expressions, he seems to be able to act any character and he looks so true.

Room 103. Ishizuka and Marine. I do not know what to say about them. Ishizuka was total a*****, so he totally deserved what happened to him. Marine was really cute, but she was soooooooo stupid. Yamasaki Mami really is flexible! It is sooo amazing!!
Room 202. Yakuza stuff. In this room the most sickest things happened. The torturing part is the worst. If other rooms had just 2 people, then it had 5 people.

Riu (Narumi Riko) really asked too much. I was just watching and even I felt my head exploding. She is too freaking naive and there are to much cats.
Room 203. Ota and his wife. I think that they had the smallest screen time, but they changed much in the storyline, but not as much as others. I  liked that their story showed how to go trough grief, which made it really sad.
I think that's all.. (I am really tired as it is almost 2 am in the morning). Almost all the characters act in it, not just actors, but characters too, which I think makes it harder for actors. There are so much lies, but in the end the truth reveals as "A lie has a short legs".

Also the movie shows that your life can be changed by a total stranger who just passes by. Just because you see this person, he/she already is part of your life. Just that second might change something. While staying in hotel or riding a train/bus, think about the person in the other room or sitting next to you. His/her life and problems - we do know nothing about them, ne? ^^