BECK (2010)

Country: Japan
Format: Movie
Genre: music, friendship
Cast: Mizushima Hiro, Sato Takeru, Mukai Osamu, Kiritani Kenta, Kutsuna Shiori, Nakamura Aoi, Brett Pemberton, Todd Shymko, Floyd Lee, Cinque Lee, Mikami Kensei, Kurauchi Sari, Shido Nakamura, Furukawa Yuta,
Synopsis: Ryusuke Minami and his sister Maho have grown up in the United States, but are now  back in Japan. Ryusuke is an amazing guitarist, but his bands always seem to fall apart. After another break up, he decides to create his own band with members that he believes in. He also meets a young high school boy Koyuki who takes interest in guitar playing. Newly formed band BECK has a fast way up with getting new acquaintances, upcoming concerts and CD debut, but every road has its ups and downs and sometimes the past just does not let go of you.
Rating: 5/5
I was more than impressed by this movie - everything was over the top - actors, acting, music, technical part, storyline - EVERYTHING!

Mizushima Hiro played the lead role of Ryusuke or Ray. I love that he can speak English really well, all thanks to the fact that he lived for 6 years in Switzerland and studied in English school. Most of the time Ryusuke is fine and normal, but he gets really irritated when someone in the band isn't improving or things do not go as he plans, easily said - he's really short tempered and when irritated he says rude things without thinking. His best friend is Eddie who became famous with his band The Dying Breed Eddie is played by Brett Pemberton - a participant in America's got talent season 6, a singer and a model, and Todd is played by Todd Shymko who is Canadian man who created Japanese band called SUPERFUNKTION and is its lead-singer.

Another really good friend of Ryusuke is Chiba - a guy who is brilliant at rapping, but is unable to feel satisfied by it and does not seem to find the place he belongs to. Kiritani Kenta made a wonderful job as Chiba. So far it's my favorite role by him. I am not a big fan of rapping if I exclude Eminem and rapping in Kpop, but I really enjoyed Kiritani Kenta in it - everything came out so naturally for him. Of course Chiba has this funky personality at times too and is almost as short tempered as Ryusuke.

Taira is the bassist and he is played by Mukai Osamu - bleach blond Mukai Osamu. I already feel that each guy I really adore has had bleach blond hair in some moment in their lives - and I am not talking only about idols. Taira is the silent hot guy, who pays attention to everyone others and understands everyone the best. He also has a weird habit of taking of his shirt on concerts. His motto should be "I have a history of taking off/losing my shirt" (Thumbs up if you know the song where the sentence is taken from)-. Anyway really hot guy, who always made me go "mmmm" whenever he was on screen.

I was impressed by the fact that Sato Takeru is so much younger from all the guys I have written before in this review and I admit that in the movie he seems even more younger than he really is. He was 19-20 when it was filmed, his character Koyuki is about 16-18 and most of the time he looks like 14-15. Some things about him will be written in Spoiler-review, because I do not want to spoil. At first, Koyuki is the perfect example of goody two-shoes - shy guy, who mostly follows and does favors for others. Until he finally breaks out from his shell.

Last but not least, the only main girl - Maho played by Kutsuna Shiori. Kutsuna Shiori was born and raised actually in Australia, that's why she felt connection with her character and that has given her a great English skills. She takes love interest in Koyuki, but the same time is tracked down by idol Yoshito - who is so over-rated by everyone. She makes the best fish-kiss scene ever, because it is so innocent and it is in the right place and everything is perfect for fish-kiss. In a weird way, I really like that scene.

Sorry, I forgot Nakamura Aoi, who is playing the part of Saku - Koyuki's friend and the drummer of the band. He is always happy and sees things positively. He is really cool character, but he is left aside most of the time. Mizushima Hiro and Sato Takeru actually did not know how to play guitar so they got lessons and practiced each free minute and night and got blisters from all that, but they were very great in the movie. As much as I know then other actors knew how to play these instruments before. The concert scenes are so amazing! I wish I had the chance to go to that concert too - I seriously love all live-concerts, especially the ones taking place outside. Their music was much better than the others on the festival, because they were real,  but others were just posers.
 Really cool music movie, which is worth watching because every actor makes such a great job in it and you can see how they enjoy it, so that all makes you enjoy it too. I forgot to mention it before, but it is based on manga by Sakuishi Harold,

SPOILER-review: I do not know if you already know or not, but they actually did not put Sato Takeru to sing - you cannot hear it. It was one thing I was looking forward to find out, if they let him sing or not, but they won't and to tell you the truth, I was satisfied with that answer! Koyuki is said to have angelic voice that takes breath away and makes you just listen, but I do not believe that there is such a voice in the world that everyone would love it. Many say that they could have recorded someone else singing and then dub it into the movie or other things like that, but that just would have been wrong. In the end it would not have been "that" voice anyway. So, I really enjoyed that they left it as it was and you can think on your own how he might have sounded. For example, I am pretty sure that if he had a higher voice then I would not have liked it - I fall in love with lower voices and they make me listen without thinking, but I know that some people prefer high voices.   

Deka Wanko (2011)

Country: Japan
Format: drama in 11 episodes
Genre: detective, comedy
Cast: Tabe Mikako, Tegoshi Yuya, Sawamura Ikki, Masu Takeshi, Ohkura Koji, Mikami Kensei, Watanabe Naomi, Ishizuka Hidehiko, Taguchi Tomorowo, Fukikoshi Mitsuru, Sano Shiro, Ito Shiro, Ueda Koichi, Imai Kazuko, Shimura Rena,
Synopsis: Drama: Hanamori Ichiko, a rookie detective with an amazing sense of smell, is newly assigned to the Tokyo Metropolitan Police. Having 7 men as her colleagues it is sure to get interesting as Ichiko tries to find her place in the cruel men's world with her cute poodle Patrache and Lolita clothes.
Christmas SP: Wanko is in France on holiday, when she suddenly pumps into Kiri, Koma and Duke in Paris! Yana's personal things got stolen and Shige's location is unknown. Wanko also meets a girl named Leticia whose boyfriend Shige is living in Japan. Things get more absurd when they are suddenly called back to Japan and Wanko ends up in parallel world in Edo-period. 
Rating: 4/5
It is definitely not another usual detective drama. It is based on same-named manga by Morimoto Kozueko.

Ichiko gets her nickname Wanko for several reasons - beside the fact that her nose is as good as dog's one ("Wan" is the sound the dog makes in Japanese and "Wanko" resembles a small puppy), her name meas "First/One Child", which is half translated by Duke who says "One-ko", which seems to others as "Wanko". Her clothes are absolute love and I noticed that many things were from Angelic Pretty shop (Girls, if you want to look as cute as Wanko then I added a link to shop), at least some of her head-dresses. She is talking to herself out loud a lot, which makes her annoying to others, but it is damn funny when the situation is rough. She is naive and never gets the atmosphere. Sometimes she rushes into the action with out confirming the facts, which leaves her into the situation of being kidnapped countless times. 

 Shigemura (Shige) is the best negotiator. I think he never visited the actual crime-scene, but he had 100+n ways to make the culprit to confess. He is the man with many mysteries. You never know what is his deal, because he never gives any direct answer when it comes to something personal. He might be as great in his job as he can be, but there are times when even he needs help. There are jokes about Sawamura Ikki dramas and his real life self too as some people say in drama that Shige looks like Sawamura Ikki.
 Koma is almost like a leader. He has been in the group longest with Shige and that is the reason why these two keep fighting with each other. Others describe him as a smoker with long oily hair - even when he has just washed them. (no room to add a picture)

Yanagi (Yana) is one of the most useless ones in the group. He is very emotional, always torn between Shige and Koma and he has a different taste in women as others. Even though he looks like he would not harm a fly, he gets really violent when he is irritated - Wanko feels his head kicks really often.Wada (Chanko) is a former sumo, who loves to eat. He is prone to accidents, even though he hardly gets into real action as he is too slow. He is a man of few words and like you know than every big chubby guy has one cute secret in the closet.

Kirishima (Kiri) is the ikemen of the force, even though you might had imagined him being taller while you read the manga, but well Tegoshi pulls it off with his powers too. Kiri is very short-tempered, most of the time seems to be angry and he is the one who must put up with Wanko the most. He actually almost becomes her trust-person, because she calls him a lot. He is forced to play newly-weds, cross-dress, go undercover as an idol and so on. I am going to ruin the excitement and say that you do not know until the end if Kiri has feelings for Wanko or not - there are some many  jokes and hints for it. I seriously think that it might be Tegoshi Yuya's best role ever, at least the most interesting. It was funny as they put in NEWS and Tegomasu related jokes, as you know, Tegoshi is a member of both of them. For explanation "Juice" and "NEWS" sound similar in Japanese and in movie, when Wanko says that in kindergarten Yuya and Takahisa fought for her, it is hinted to Masuda Takahisa who is Tegoshi Yuya's co-member in NEWS and duo-partner in Tegomasu.

Duke (just Duke) has been in the group for a year, he entered with Kiri, who is pretty much his best friend. Duke has grown up in States so he is bilingual with English being his mother tongue. Sometimes he even does not understand if he is speaking in English or in Japanese. Like I understood, then his mother was Japanese and father American. Even though Mikami Kensei should be pure Japanese, he makes a great accent in both Japanese and English.
From other characters the most important is Mikhail von alt Oppenbauer zon (also sometimes

written as Micheal). I bet that he and Wanko would start to date if Mikhail would be an human. He has a different relationship with Wanko - they are biggest rivals, but at the same time thier mutual understanding is incredible.. and actually from time to time Mihkail takes a human form in Wanko's imagination. I still do not understand why his name is Mikhail - it is Russian name, not German..
It is funny and not that serious drama. It does not suit for people, who are looking for realism, but I recommend it to people, who want to have a great laugh. I must say that only thing that stopped me from adding final star was the missing KirixWanko joke in the end of the SP. how to say it? The cherry was missing from the cake.

Saikou no jinsei no owarikata ~Ending Planner~ (2012)

Country: Japan
Format: drama in 10 episodes
Genre: drama, family, life&death, detective
Cast: Yamashita Tomohisa, Eikura Nana, Maeda Atsuko, Chinen Yuri, Ono Ito, Sorimachi Takashi, Mikami Kensei, Yamazaki Tsutomu, Kanie Keizo, Quests: Tamamori Yuta, Anne,
Synopsis: Ihara's family business is rather unusual - for 4 generations they have worked as funeral parlors. Second son Masato hated this job and left home some years ago. On one unlucky day Masato's  life is turned up-side-down, when he is close to losing his former job and receives a call from home - dad has passed away. Since older half-brother Kento is on one of his unknown trips and three younger siblings - cripple Haruka, university student Hayato and highschooler Momoko - still growing up at home, Masato takes the responsibility and takes over the household and continues 5th generation at funeral shop. At the same time, he befriends with local police, especially with young rookie Sakamaki Yuki, and co-operates with them in investigations.
Rating: 5/5
I did not think that it is going to be that interesting. It actually is not that sad as you might think from the synopsis and it is definitely much more interesting than usual detective dramas.

Masato has many different sides. As a manager he did his job, which made him bitch. In love he is playboy and cheater as his girlfriend (only mentions and photo) is in England. Other than that, he is very reliable, honest, caring, soft-hearted and loves his family the most. He also acts like the eldest son when Kento is not at present. It is very different role from Yamashita's previous roles and his acting is more natural. To my surprise, he was the first and only one from the main cast who knew how to act crying and I have a feeling that his amazing crying-scene was not made with fake tears..

Eikura Nana plays the part of Sakamaki Yuki. I liked Yuki's character. Despite being a detective and being surrounded by crime and murders, she keeps her positive way of life. She drinks much and most of the time ends up drunk as a fish so that Masato must push her home in cart. She has a special nickname for Masato - Masapyon, which was actually the nickname how Masato's girlfriend called him, which made me think if it is really suitable for a friend to call with same nickname as girlfriend does? She also proved that even police uses Google to search information - professional, ne?

There has been much comments about Maeda Atsuko. She almost got ban from acting together with Johnny's and her screen time was cut down, because ratings showed that viewers changed channels on when she was on screen, literally she was made into reason of  low ratings. I think it is unfair  accusation, because I find her acting bearable, well if we look that it was her 10th acting role, then it is slightly bad. At the same time, Haruka's character was partly in fault - she was too sensitive about her leg, time to time too emotional and annoying. I do not understand why they had put so much of her love story into drama, because others had only one episode about  their love life, so her continuing story was almost out of context. My complaints for Maeda Atsuko are that her acting of disabled leg

was horrible and too fake, also she should have opened her mouth more to have clearer pronunciation - her words were hard to understand. I hope that now on solo career she takes up some acting and singing lessons to improve herself, because otherwise she will be forgotten with some years.
Because Hayato and Momoko were the youngest and they were kinda similar, I am going to talk about them together. They both were more selfish and thoughtless then others, it might have been due to the fact they grew up without mother longer than Masato and Haruka. Momoko has an ability  to eat in every possible situation or if she does not eat the food, it ends in her face after she has again insulted Haruka. Neither of them has much screen time, so I cannot comment their acting much, I feel just sad that they beat up Chinen Yuri -.-

Kento, more referred as Ken-ni or Aniki (older brother), is very caring, but many of his actions did not seemed to be for the sake of others, more they were easier ways for him. He always left without saying goodbye and never revealed where he was or what he was doing. He also had serious doubts as, in the end, he still was only a half-brother to others. Well, later he has some other problems too, but about that in Spoiler review. The Ihara family had serious communication problems - they all loved and respected their dad, but their family life lacked in solving problems and helping each other. It is interesting to see how they are rebuilding the trust and family ties with each other. There is a saying that critical situations do two things - they break up people or grow stronger together.

I should mention Iwata-san too, but I bet any extra word about him, might be a spoiler, so you know where to find information about him ;)
In conclusion, it is a heartwarming drama, which combines family life, detective and even a bit supernatural. The star of the drama is Yamashita Tomohisa - he has made a great comeback since starting solo career. And this drama is watchable for all viewers as it is not that big tearjerker.
(The starting clip actually reminds me NEWS Bathday commercial some years ago..)

SPOILER review: The thing about Kento is that he has a tumor - a fast paced brain tumor, but I must say that the saddest scenes are when Masato finds out about it. Even Kento's dying is not that sad as drama shows long and clear his last moments. But more spoilers are attached to Iwata-san. As you might understand since one episode - he does not eat or drink anything and since another episode you start to think why anybody else has not seen him? At first, I thought he is like some kind of Masato's conscience. It would have been a good idea, ne??  I think it was in 8th episode where it comes out, that actually he was Yuki Grandpa's soul. Which is the reason why the drama is also supernatural. In a weird way it was not annoying at all. From all the episodes, there was only one thing I hated from the bottom of my heart - why Nagamine (Yuki's partner) had to die? He had just married and was becoming dad -.- It is way too unfair.