jackyyjack

Still one of the gold standards of dorama. The type you completely fall into the plot and nothing else in the world matters, even when things are desperate in the story!

It may have been intensified by the "pandemic"

This man is the Takashi Miike of comedy. No holds barred.

Jan 2023 paper: "Influence of electromagnetic fields on the circadian rhythm: Implications for human health and disease". Too many 5G towers in Japan?

FL's insecurities and shojo-like fantasies are funny. It's an over the top satiric comedy about turning the big 3-0! Admittedly, the cutesiness of dealing with a milestone feels like something from the early 2000s. Yoshizawa plays a perfect businessman that it explains how he went from manga adaptations to a taiga about a tycoon.

After seeing clips of him in the all-male production of Mishima's Madame De Sade, I'm sorry, this man needs to be allowed back into acting. Japanese film/TV need it, or they'll fall even further behind. It's about producing the best product with top skills, which he has in spades. His private life should be his obligations to his family, no more.

His tyrant prince in Kingdom (2019) is very satisfying. They're rarely portrayed that way in serious dramas:D

That one gag about Oda Nobunaga outdoes the entirety of Kubi (2023).

Eps 2 is a must-see for Yagira's acting. Effortless aplomb in handling the whiplash tonal shifts.

It's interesting to compare Yamada, a character from a 1993~94 manga, to the Hidetoshi Nishijima character in Asunaro Hakusho (1993). Yamada is more realistic (social commentary) of a teen stuck in an economically depressed town, while HN played a rich guy confessing his crush on a college roommate (delicate psychology!) The pinning of one's hope on UFO is also better developed as characterization, than Pixar' Elio (2025).

There are enough gags for repeat viewing. In a cast stuffed with strong actors, the Shogun stands out by doing the least.

Is it easy to get help with mental health in Japan?

This is a mix of true crime, detective mystery thriller, and horror comedy of manners (Takeuchi could've had her own mini movie, lots of backstory there.) Director Kurosawa was starting to experiment in the 2010's, after the J-horror wave. And is there a movie that gathers more tragedies in one poster than this one? They're all solid actors too.

Who knew Yuya Yagira is this funny? I didn't! Is this why he was cast as Beato Takeshi?

It was her stepmom.

Depp's trials were aired on TV and one could not escape all the tawdry details in the news, day in and day out. I think it comes down to the local market's frame of reference. Higashide played roles that appealed to women, so he just needs to work outside that specific type now. Are there less opportunities to play villains, or characters one loves to hate in dorama?

In terms of acting roles, people would not find it believable if Higashide plays nice-guy dads, boyfriends, suitors. Everything else would still work.

Tabloids sat on what they knew until the virus outbreak. The timing was too convenient too.

People just feel sorry for the mother with 3 kids. If one day Karata finds herself in the same situation, people would want to support her too as the victim (to be sure, the married spouse had a vow to uphold, not Karata.)

Kubota was so sleek and mysterious in Cloud (2024), he would've been a Nikkatsu star! So impressive. They got him for Shogun 2? Hope he gets paid well!