Gurame (J-Drama 2016)

Completely forgettable, Gurame: The Prime Minister's Chef  is formulaic stuff that is not without its charms yet is lacking in anything of real substance.

You know as well I do that judging a book by it's cover is never a good idea. Kurumi Ichiki (Ayame Gouriki) is a perfect example of that old adage. On the service, she's just an ordinary waitress, albeit a young, pretty one with a sharp sense of wit about her. She also happens to be working at a traditional Japanese style restaurant with a customer base that includes high-ranking government officials. Unbeknownst to her fellow staff, Kurumi has more skills up her sleeve than just taking orders. A chance encounter with one of the aforementioned government figures, Seiji Koga (Kenichi Takito), turns Kurumi's world upside down and she suddenly finds herself cooking at the Prime Minister's official residence and being appointed personal chef for Prime Minister Ato (Fumiyo Kohinata). With Kurumi's superior cooking skill-set now out in the open, she finds herself butting heads with Haruki Kiyosawa (Issei Takahashi), the head of the PM's cooking team, who feels his territory is being tread upon. Luckily she has help in her sous chef, Tomokazu Tamura (Hiroki Miyake), to help her keep a cool head but can she manage to perform under pressure in order to maintain the rep of both herself and Prime Minister Ato?

By and large, Gurame is a rags to riches story but without our protagonist being all that destitute. She is, however, an ordinary person with a hidden superior skill-set and suddenly finds herself in a very surreal situation; cooking for the most high ranking official in the nation. Yes, like most dramas, you're asked to suspend disbelief. The main element of this show that occurs in each episode, of which there are 8, is that a threatening situation befalls the Prime Minister and his office and Kurumi is called upon to create a dish that conveys a message from the PM in order to make a point to the guest (PM's from other nations, Food company CEO's, rival candidates, etc.). Sure, the premise is silly, but it's all in good old fashioned light-hearted fun and on occasion, there is a semi-profound message to be had for the viewer. Gurame, I assume, is a show meant to showcase various high-class dishes in an attempt to ride the wave of newfound food appreciation in today's culture while injected a bit of food history in along the way. My biggest issue with this drama is that there is no over-arching story underneath the repetition of conflict that the PM faces in each episode with Kurumi and Tomokazu having to create a dish. Haruki is a suitable enough rival for Kurumi, in that he feels his position being encroached upon by someone who he deems unsatisfactory. We get it, he has a chip on his shoulder and he maintains that grudge for the entire series. However, there's really no background to him, so instead of coming across as a hardened individual that may be misunderstood, I'm left feeling like he's really just a jerk. There's also no struggle for Kurumi to overcome behind the scenes. It's simply just the challenging cook she faces in each episode. Somewhat interesting elements, such as the PM and his relationship with his mysterious daughter Riko (Risa Naito) for example, aren't really explored and heck, maybe they're not meant to. I should say, they're clearly not meant to because 8 episodes does not afford the writers a lot of time to flesh certain plot points out. Therein lies the problem. Most Japanese dramas are around 10 episodes, which isn't a lot, but they manage to feel more substantial than this. Giving the benefit of the doubt, I'll just accept that the writers didn't want anything deeper than what we got but I personally like a little more meat on the bone.

Unless you have an Ayame Gouriki bias, which I admittedly have, then there's really no reason for me to recommend Gurame. You hardcore foodies might have an okay time with it but I honestly wouldn't expect much. Confection! (Lee)

Grade: C+

Saki (J-Drama 2013)

This one was painful folks. Saki (サキ) is ridiculous on many levels and that's coming from a fan of the lead actress. I'd like to blame it on the fact that I'm just not the target demographic, but...

On the surface, Saki (Yukie Nakama), is a quiet, beautiful, successful nurse working in the children's ward of a major Tokyo hospital. However, when she's not showing that side of herself, she's living a much darker lifestyle filled with lies and manipulation. Hayato Nitta (Shohei Miura), is working for a local magazine and is approached by Saki who claims she is his older sister. Apparently they were separated years ago when they were just babies and he just happens to have been looking for his older sister. What a coincidence! Hayato is initially shocked and hesitant to embrace Saki and bring her into his life, but eventually, the two of them start getting close and he begins to feel as if he's truly gotten his sister back. Through their relationship, Saki  has a lot of questions for Hayato and she also seems to want a lot of details about specific individuals. Through a series of coincidences, or maybe not, Saki runs into certain men that she ends up seducing. They run the gamut from high-profile lawyer (Masato Hagiwara), to the chairman (Masanobu Takashima), of the hospital she works at! After the initial seduction, her not-so-sweet side comes out as she begins to prey on their weaknesses and manipulates them to the point where they feel like killing themselves. That's a powerful woman. However, why is she seeking out these specific men and wanting them dead? What exactly is their connection? As the proceedings unfold, Hayato grows more suspicious of his sister and you can only wonder if he'll have the nerve to eventually confront her. And if so, will Saki let him simply walk away?

There is drama and then there is DRAMA. Saki is over-the-top in so many ways, that at times it's a bit laughable. Don't get me wrong, Yukie Nakama is, in my opinion, one of the best actresses in Japan and her performance here is solid. Everyone else in the drama really does take a backseat to her ability as an actress. She's also the main reason I watched this series. It's just that the world her character lives in is so odd and far-fetched that you really have to suspend disbelief to find any enjoyment here. In regards to the other actors and actresses here, there really are no other stand-outs. Just a supporting cast serving their purpose. The musical cues, however seemingly insignificant, aggravated me, as did the song choices. My problem with them is that they didn't fit the mood of the show. Staying with the aggravation train, there are these moments throughout when Saki has finished mind-warping one of her victims that she celebrates by cooking herself a very expensive meal. I found it quite strange, but thought, "hey, that's just her thing", but frankly it annoyed me having to watch her eat, with close-ups of her mouth as she chewed. It felt excessive. I know, a small gripe, but a gripe nonetheless. The plot itself, the biggest thing a show has going for it, is Saki's biggest problem though. Once you, dear viewer, discover why Saki is hunting these men down, you'll either laugh out loud or shout an expletive at the screen. I opted for the latter and no, that isn't a good thing. It was just silly and to be honest, a huge let down when it all came to an end. When you painfully trudge through 10 episodes, you're expecting at least a semi-decent pay-off come episode 11. Sigh.

I can't find much good to say about Saki, aside from Yukie Nakama's performance, but even that isn't enough to warrant a recommendation. If I can make the analogy of a star baseball player being on a terrible team. His team loses all the time, yet he always performs well. You get the point, it's simply not enough. Some material is simply too flat for a star to elevate. (Lee)

Grade: D-

                                               (No clip, but here's a video for the theme song)

Naniwa Shonen Tanteidan (J-Drama 2012)

In Naniwa Shonen Tanteidan (浪花少年探偵団), cute elementary school kids and their equally cute, albeit in a different way, school teacher, help solve crimes in the big city of Osaka. Wait a second...okay, now the absurdity of that should've just sunk in. That being said however, this drama is actually a lot of fun. Embrace the absurd.

Shinobu Takeuchi (Mikako Tabe), is starting her year as a part-time teacher at Ooki elementary school. As expected, she has a varied group of students in her class, with three particular young ones standing out more than others. Ikuo (Koki Maeda), Teppei (Tatsuomi Hamada), and Hiroshi (Akira Takahashi), are all good friends and they, much like their new teacher, take a liking to sticking their nose where it doesn't belong. See, Shinobu sensei loves mysteries, detective stories, etc., and the boys love it as well, so much so that they start their own junior detective group. Ikuo serves as the leader, unofficially, while Teppei and Hiroshi help in doing the leg work. Ikuo's little brother Osamu (Oshiro Maeda), also helps the junior detectives but he's not old enough to officially join their group. Kids and their rules. When an incident occurs, involving one of her own students, Shinobu sensei decides to get way more involved than she probably should (or should legally be allowed to). Handling all the cases throughout the drama are detectives Shindo (Teppei Koike) and Urushizaki (Yasunori Danta), the latter being the older, more seasoned of the two, but both equally as bumbling and incapable. Each episode is a different, "case", and regardless of what's going on; whether it be a murder, a case of child abuse, domestic violence, you name it, Shinobu sensei and the Naniwa Junior Detectives are there to aid in solving the case. Aside from all the crime-solving, Shindo starts to develop a crush on Shinobu sensei over time because he's never seen, or met, anyone quite like her. She's bold, boisterous and strongly independent. Her unique traits also grab the attention of Yoshihiko Honma (Koji Yamamato), who is in town on business. He too seems smitten by Shinobu sensei's character. Ah snap, love triangle alert! To mix things up a bit, Shinobu sensei has a rival teacher in Haruna sensei (Fumino Kimura), the cold, stick-in-the-mud music teacher that also happens to be obsessed with businessman Honma. Between dealing with the stresses of being a school teacher, helping to solve cases, keeping the junior detectives out of trouble, dealing with two love-sick suitors and an overbearing mother (Keiko Matsuzaka), Shinobu sensei doesn't have a moment to herself. Sure, she's doing the community a lot of good by helping out, but is she in over her head?   

There's not an overlying story arch in Naniwa Shonen Tanteidan, aside from the sort of love triangle between Shinobu, Shindo and Honma. Meaning there isn't one particular case that gets dragged out over the series' 12 episodes. It's simply a different case every episode, aside from episodes 11 and 12 being a two-part finale. Really, that's okay by me. The characters are what's most important in this series, not the police work, which is incredibly suspect. I've honestly never seen such questionable police work. I mean, what detective lets a school teacher and her students in on a crime scene that they have no business being at? And Shindo divulges completely confidential information to Shinobu as if she's a member of the force. I know this is more of a comedy than a crime-drama, but wow, it just strikes me as odd and a bit too far-fetched...even for a drama. The detectives, as usual for a Japanese drama, are portrayed as incompetent boobs that couldn't do their job if they were paid for it...oh, wait...you know what I mean. However, they can be amusing at times, and I suppose that's what's important here. Tabe Mikako is the real star of the show, even if the show in question is named after the junior detectives. She's playing a character here that I've never seen her portray. Shinobu is strong, smart, independent and takes no shit. She often rips other characters a new one for stupid behavior and for me, it was enjoyable to watch her in this role. She often gives a heartfelt monologue at the end of each episode that really shows her ability as an actress. The junior detectives are all cute kids and amusing enough, but again, it just didn't feel like it was their show, aside from some narration on each episode from Osamu. I actually wouldn't have minded seeing more of them. 

Not every case is that interesting in Naniwa Shonen Tanteidan, but at least most of the characters are. Fans of Tabe Mikako will love her role here and the kids aren't annoying at all, which I find to be a rarity. It's largely light-hearted fun, with some incredibly heavy, out-of-left-field moments sprinkled in the next, however as a whole, it's quite entertaining. (Lee)

Grade: B -

Jiu (J-Drama 2011)

I keep getting myself into trouble by watching dramas for no other reason than a actor or actress that I like is starring in it. Now to most, this doesn't sound like an abnormal thing right? However, it's this kind of blind bias that has me suffering for hours. This time, Mikako Tabe did me wrong. Jiu (ジウ) wasn't all that bad, but it simply mismanages what could have been fairly decent material in the right hands.

Motoko (Meisa Kuroki), and Misaki (Mikako Tabe), are both agents working for S.I.T. (Special Investigation Team) in Tokyo. Motoko is your hard-as-nails, super-cop with an ice-cold personality to match. Misaki, on the other hand, is a soft-spoken, more level-headed agent that seems more comfortable behind a desk than out in the field. A situation arises where both women get involved; Misaki acting as a negotiator and Motoko armed and ready to take the bad guy down. Things don't exactly go as planned and Misaki is taken by the bad guy. Motoko, going hard as usual, shoots the bad guy in order to free Misaki, thus creating a public affairs nightmare for the Tokyo police force. Pictures of Misaki being held captive hit the front page news and word of Motoko's, shoot-first, ask-questions-later policy has everyone in an uproar. The fallout ends up with Misaki being sent to join detective Hiroki's (Kitamura Yukiya), team in a different department, but Motoko's actions actually end up getting her promoted to a very exclusive position; as an S.A.T. (Special Assault Team) member. The S.A.T. are a group of well-trained men that are called in whenever situations go from bad to worse. Motoko finds herself being the first woman ever to be enlisted into this boy's club and they aren't exactly the most welcoming bunch. She does find a bit of friend in Yuu (Amamiya Takashi), a man who definitely isn't all he appears to be. Meanwhile, Misaki is finding her new placement somewhat satisfying, as Hiroki informs her that they're on the hunt for a man only known as Jiu, (L). Jiu is a mysterious Chinese man with blonde hair, dressed in white, and he's responsible for various crimes; kidnapping, murder, you name it. Misaki really starts to get involved in the case, all the while developing a crush on Hiroki. On the other side of the coin, Motoko is also getting close and comfy with Yuu. Eventually, the members of S.A.T. are needed to assist the detectives in the hunt for Jiu, but as more information comes to light, it seems he may not be the mastermind of all this criminal activity after all. Who is this mysterious Jiu character? Why is he committing all these crimes? And why is his hair blonde!?

Jiu is a nine-episode series that's based off the written work of novelist Tetsuya Honda. Obviously, I haven't read this story, so I can't say for sure how faithful the drama is to the novel, but I doubt Mr. Honda had Lady Gaga's, "Edge of Glory", in mind as the main musical piece to accompany his work come to life. No kidding, this song plays at the end of every episode. In true Japanese drama fashion, there's usual a popular song placed into a drama and it plays in every episode during the last five minutes or so. "Edge of Glory", could not feel more out of place than it does here, but let's not get hung up on the song choice. Jiu could've been much, "harder", than it was. By that, I mean gritty and in-my-face. I mean, it really acts like it wants to. The material certainly lends itself to a world where bad things happen and consequences are a fact of life, but here, which is all too often the case in dramas, things are played a little too safe. I like the story; a mysterious man starts wreaking havoc in the world of these detectives; they're all suddenly left grasping at straws but the one, or two, cops that know what's going on are the one's nobody believes in. A tried-and-true underdog story of sorts. Speaking of everyone involved, it really feels like they're all playing character types instead of doing real acting here. Is it intentional? I have no idea, but Jiu, as a character, for example, feels more like he's ripped out of the pages of a manga, as opposed to feeling like a plausible villain. Motoko is cold and callous to a fault, where I wound up just finding her an impossible-to-deal-with annoyance. Misaki, on the other hand, doesn't fare much better because she's so fluffy and cute that you tend to scratch your head in bewilderment as to why she's taken seriously as a detective. Maybe just a poor casting choice? I still love you Mikako san, and yes, your character does show some progression. In terms of action, there are moments of, "damn, where did that come from!?", hardness toward the end of the series, especially in regards to Yuu, but that's also the problem. These edgy moments feel out of the norm for the series and instead of thinking it's cool, you're mostly left feeling like it was out-of-place.

Jiu is a drama that want's to act tough but ends up being lightweight. The acting is passable, but again, the parties involved are playing character types to the point of eye-rolling annoyance. Many of the plot's pieces fit together a little too conveniently and as a whole, nothing comes across as authentic. These people are far too, "pretty", to be doing what they're doing. This is strictly for fans of the cast and those who love suspending disbelief and I mean, love it. (Lee)

Grade: C

Mitsu no Aji (J-Drama 2011)

I hate myself. That has to be the only reason I sat through all 11 episodes of Mitsu no Aji (蜜の味). Okay, not the only reason, as I'm a big fan of Kanno Miho, but my God...sometimes being a fan can lead you down a dark road. Set your sails for incest (yes, you read that right)!

Naoko (Eikura Nana), is a young woman living in the rural town of Ushimado, eagerly awaiting her entrance exam results to Towa medical university. Her uncle, Masato (ARATA), a surgeon at the university, rushes to find out the results and ends up giving her the good news; she's in! Naoko is incredibly excited by the news, not only because she's been admitted to one of the top medical universities in Tokyo, but because she'll soon be by her beloved uncle's side; something she's been pining for. See, the two of them shared a moment in the rain back in Ushimado; a moment where their relationship changed, at least from Naoko's perspective. She stopped looking at him as just an uncle, but as a man that she's in love with. I know, weird right? Thank the heavens I'm not the only one that thinks this is weird, as Naoko knows that she can't tell anyone, especially Masato, about the way she really feels about her uncle. So she goes to Tokyo and begins her schooling, happy to be closer to Masato and seemingly content to adore him in secret. However, her dream to be by his side is soon disrupted as she's introduced to Aya (Kanno Miho), the woman (and fellow doctor at Towa university), that Masato has been dating for years. Naoko is crushed to know that Masato has a serious relationship and her uneasiness about it begins to show itself through her behavior. She becomes more distant with Masato and has an attitude whenever dealing with Aya. Naoko tries to seek comfort and distraction amongst her friends at the university; Norisugi (Mizobata Junpei), and Rai (Kimura Fumino), to name a few. Naoko's change in behavior does not go unnoticed by the ever-cunning Aya, with Aya soon taking steps of her own to ensure that Masato is her's and her's only. She pushes Masato towards marriage, even though she had rejected his proposal weeks earlier, and put's it on the fast track. Aya even invites Naoko and her friends to her home for dinner, all of this in an attempt to send Naoko a message that she better back off. Eventually, Masato begins to take notice of Aya's spiteful behavior towards his niece and the amount of time she focuses on work research, as opposed to him and their marriage, and he's had enough. He wants to call it quits with Aya and realizes that the only way for him to find some comfort in his life is to leave the country when an opportunity to study in Pittsburgh comes about. The news is sudden and heart-breaking for Naoko, but it's a necessary move for Masato and he leaves her with a memorable goodbye.

Aya refuses to file the divorce papers, thinking that Masato will be a different man when he comes back from studying abroad; even though he's given no indication as to when that will be. It's now 8 years later and Naoko is a doctor at Towa and in a relationship with her former classmate Norisugi. Her best friend Rai is dating another doctor, Yuji (Yamazaki Shigenori), who just so happens to be married. (This is a side-story that annoys more than anything else). Ah, good ol' fashioned adultery! Mind you, she's completely alright with this, but continues nudging him to divorce his wife. Everyone seems to have moved on from the mess of 8 years prior, but Masato has made his triumphant return to Japan in order to operate on head professor at Towa, Professor Takinohara (Masu Takeshi). Masato is a well-trained pro at this point and Takinohara needs him to keep the operation a secret because he's up for the position of medical director and he can't be perceived as weak or he'll never get the votes. Takinohara teams Masato up with Naoko and uncle and niece are once again together after all these years. All of those past feelings begin rushing through Naoko's head, even though she now shares a home with Norisugi and he wants to get married. Needless to say, things are getting complicated again. Masato still has no plans to get back together with Aya but they make a tentative plan to get along as professionals. No one knows about Takinohara's operation but Masato and Naoko, but that just lends itself to a perfect opportunity for Aya when it appears that things are looking a bit too familiar; 8 years ago familiar to be exact. Even if Masato wants nothing to do with her, there's no way Aya plans to let Naoko get so close to him again. Can everyone coexist without letting the past interfere after all this time? Will Masato and Naoko throw everything away to finally answer their true feelings for one another? And will Aya just relax and ease up from all the nasty back-stabbing and sneaky maneuvering?  

Mitsu no Aji is a Japanese drama that definitely has no shortage of drama. Before you get too excited after reading that, realize that it's not necessarily a good thing. This drama was so over-the-top in it's presentation, acting-wise, music-wise (oh that dramatic music whenever something "bad" was gonna happen, sigh), and even direction (flashbacks and effect-shots ahoy!) that I spent most of the time either laughing at what was happening or just angry. Angry at what was going on in the show but angry at myself mostly for sticking with this mess. The characters in this drama are incredibly unlikable and it's a fairly big cast to be annoyed with. I do mean all of the characters when I say this. I really had a hard time with Eikura Nana as Naoko; finding her extremely annoying, immature, and to be frank, just easy to dislike. That being said, anytime Aya had something nasty planned for her, or any of the other characters for that matter, I thought, "get on with it. these are the only interesting parts". Is it wrong that I only perked up in times when Aya's character had something nasty planned for the others? So be it. While we're on the topic of annoying character's, Rai, Naoko's best friend, was near unbearable for me. I think there were a few moments where I'd literally talk to my screen, wanting her to shut up. She's there to lend an ear to Naoko, but she spends the series sleeping with a married man, so she's better off keeping her mouth shut. Norisugi was actually a decent character until the end of the series when the powers that be suddenly decide to change his character completely. His behavioral change, while not unwarranted, seems to come out of nowhere. Last, but certainly not least, let us not forget that this story centers around a niece falling in love with her uncle. I'm talking blood relation here. To say it's taboo to engage in such a relationship would be putting it lightly, but hey, who am I to pass judgement. That being said, I just had an incredibly hard time rooting for incest to happen, thus making our protagonists unappealing. Hey, maybe you're cool with that and want to see what happens with such a story line, but trust me, Mitsu no Aji is a hard series to sit through and not just because of the subject matter.

I'm not going to soften my words here; I hated this drama. I didn't like any of the characters. The storyline, while at first intriguing, became uninteresting by the way it plays out, and the overall presentation made me laugh in an, "oh this is embarrassing", sort of way. Mitsu no Aji, or "A Taste of Honey", left me with a taste in my mouth, but it sure wasn't something as sweet as honey. (Lee)

Grade: F
 
Official "Mitsu no Aji" site (Japanese)