Watashi ni XX Shinasai Promo SP (2018)

Shown three months prior to the screening of the actual full length feature, the Watashi ni XX Shinasai SP is nothing more than an extended movie promo for the live action version of Ema Tōyama's shojo manga, popularly known in English speaking countries as Missions of Love. The special capitalizes on the steady proliferation of love games in Japan, adapting a format that introduces the movie's characters in a slightly racy but PG-13 manner. Don't be fooled for the anime-like appearances and characterizations, combined with the outrageous scenarios presented, serve no other purpose than clickbait in the sea of pure love-high school romance themed manga adaptations. Suggestive and naughty, it can be perturbing for its nonchalant treatment of high school kids in compromising, illusory situations---making this particular promo a tease in another sense of the word.  

If you happen to belong to the more mature and discerning segment of the viewing demographic, it would be best to steer clear from this thing. If you're a fan of the manga or simply a curious cat with time to spare, be advised that you can likewise skip the promotional special and just watch the movie to get your fix. This 4-part feature has little to no artistic or entertainment value, it contributes nothing to the original story, except being a sad representation of a growing trend which incidentally speaks of an underlying social issue. [1]  

The popularity of these female-targeted love games has been tackled by recent dramas such as Otona Joshi and Watashi ni Unmei no Koi Nante Arienaitte Omotteta, and despite their formulaic nature, both have directly and indirectly championed the supposed healing effect and soothing impact of these escapist diversions on the lives of  countless women, old and young alike. Not interested in making any such commentary, this promotional special is simply content with providing straight live-action sketches of the so-called romantic encounters and courting rituals that serve as the cornerstone of these games. To do this, the SP follows the romance gaming exploits of high school student and popular web novelist, Himura Yukino (Tina Tamashiro), who's looking to inject some love and romance in her published work. At the behest of her editor, she tries out a love simulation game to find out what makes people's hearts beat faster in order to meet the demands of her readers. She goes through four (4) levels of the game, interacting with characters whose profiles match the boys around her.

In this virtual world, class representative Shiguro (Yuta Koseki), cousin Akira (Kanta Sato) and fellow web novelist Dolce (Daichi Kaneko), all vie for her love and attention. Now imagine a shojo manga chapter unfolding with an interactive spin, much like those Choose Your Own Adventure books of yore, wherein the protagonist is given pretend control over the outcome of the story. The simulated game more or less operates in the same manner by giving Yukina ridiculous game options and subjecting her to every love scenario cliché. 

Regardless of whether you consider the whole proceeding as an over the top fantasy or a useless delusion, the show mimics the modus of a love game by having our heroine thwart the advances of the school heartthrob, her childhood friend and her cocky work rival. Done with deadpan precision, the male actors deliver their lines as one would expect of 2d characters, while the lead female character is shown to make choices that have no bearing or consequence in her real life. Mostly annoying in its predictability, not to mention disturbingly creepy at how characters easily infringe upon each other's personal space, this promo special is an effective reminder of why such stories should remain firmly rooted as animated figures on the mobile screen. After all, exaggerated ardor and forced proximity in this day and age are merely flights of fancy. 

RATING: 
EXTENDED MOVIE PROMO 
LOVE GAME SCENARIO
2D CHARACTERS
TOTAL SCHLOCK

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Demo, Kekkon Shitai! (2017)

They say there's someone out there for everyone---Demo, Kekkon Shitai! sets out to convince viewers that it's true. Following the so-called "konkatsu boom of 2009", marriage-hunting has become such an enterprise that it has spawned its own sub-genre in Japanese television, reflecting not only the changes in the concept of dating in the new millennium, but also, perhaps, in an attempt to inspire singles to eventually take the plunge and walk down the aisle.

Kuriyama Chiaki plays Fujita Haruko, an illustrator of BL manga who's reached her limit at being alone. She's spent all her adult life absorbed in her work that she's neglected to have a personal life outside of it. Realizing that she's not getting any younger, she sets out to find herself a proper husband. Taking advice from her assistant (Sano Hinako), she goes out of her comfort zone and starts attending matchmaking parties, group dates, and even accedes to go on a blind date.

Awkward and insecure, Haruko has trouble opening up about her life's passion. Her fear of being judged and rejected stems from a failed relationship with a man who was repulsed by her line of work. As a last ditch effort to give love a try, she ends up registering at a matchmaking agency in hopes of meeting Mr. Right.

Demo, Kekkon Shitai! follows the lead of other marriage-themed tanpatsu dramas like Ketsuekigata-betsu Onna ga Kekkon suru Hoho and Propose Kyodai wherein characters meet their life partners and conveniently tie the knot without consequence or deliberation. These projects are designed to be easy on the eyes, requiring not much thought or introspection, always ending with a picture of the happy bride and groom. They're short and uncomplicated, serving no other purpose than to rally support for a flagging social institution. They can be fun and charming as abbreviated romantic comedies but they're hardly representative of reality.

The problem with this particular offering is that while it hits all the beats and goes through the motions of a fast-tracked love story, it doesn't sell the fantasy or the plausibility of the union as well as its precursors. It suffers from poor characterization in the sense that viewers are told how Haruka loves BL manga without exactly being told why she made it her life's work. It's a relationship non-negotiable but it's treated more as a disadvantage than a hard line which should not be crossed. By the 25-minute mark, she's gone through at least seven prospective matches, all of them passing caricatures and stereotypes without any elucidation of  why they're considered to be unacceptable and unsuitable men. And therein lies the irony---for the supposed comedic parts of the story are made at the expense of similarly situated characters in search of their own happy endings.

It's also quite difficult to say whether it was done intentionally or not, but this one-shot special feels slower and longer than it actually is. So much time is spent searching and waiting for the person she's meant to be with that precious little time is spent in actually seeing them interact as a couple. It is assumed that they're compatible with each other but viewers don't get to see how Mr. Right influenced or changed her life for the better. 

  

RATING: 
TYPICAL KONKATSU DRAMA 
THIN CHARACTERIZATION
SLOWS DOWN TO A CRAWL

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Watashi ni Unmei no Koi Nante Arienaitte Omotteta (2016)

As far as holiday features go, Watashi ni Unmei no Koi Nante Arienaitte Omotteta is like that Hallmark romantic movie that one would occasionally indulge in and actually enjoy without the need to over analyze things. Sweet, warm and comforting in its predictability, it ticks all the boxes needed for a satisfying romantic comedy, right down to that premature wedding proposal, under the sponsorship of a popular jeweler with a flagship store in Motomachi. It's a neat and uncomplicated love story, anchored by charming performances from its lead actors who exude a natural rapport, making the supposed transition of the characters from friends to lovers a seamless development.

A delightful, romcom puff piece, this television special has characters that meet cute, fall in love, and surmount superficial conflict to presumably live happily ever after, under the warm glow of a Christmas tree. All things considered, it doesn't introduce anything new to the genre but it's cheeky enough to acknowledge its own trappings and cute enough to tide over any viewer who's experiencing heavy melodrama fatigue.

Shirano Riko (Tabe Mikako) is a career-driven, love game creator who gets commissioned to design a mobile game for an app development company that's looking to expand its female market. She meets the curt and condescending CEO, Kurokawa Seichiro (Takahashi Issei)---who initially ridicules the concept of cultivating unrealistic female fantasies but later relents to changing his attitude and approach, under Riko's guidance, to capture the attention of project leader, Momose Haruka (Oomasa Aya).

Riko sets Kurokawa to work, schooling him in romance inducing "patterns" found in trendy dramas and encouraging him to mimic and test out the behavior of the stereotypical male characters in her games in order to to determine which one would set Momose's heart aflutter. In acting as his dating guru and wingman, they become fast friends. They start talking about things that matter in between planning their next course of action as they continue on with the love and relationship mentoring.

When Kurokawa swoops in with impeccable timing to save Riko from an embarrassing situation, she becomes acutely aware of her growing feelings for her timid mentee. She's taken by surprise and simultaneously torn when all their preparations yield a positive response from their once oblivious  and elusive co-worker. 

The setup for the show is nothing new but writer Oshima Satomi makes clever use of poking fun at trendy dramas and shoujo manga tropes without necessarily dismissing the reasons behind why they're so popular to female viewers and why such story devices endure. All the references to male stereotypes and variations to certain scenarios are done in good humor with the kind of self-awareness  and self-deprecation that acknowledge their absurdity. But no matter how repetitive or contrived they may be, the show ultimately rises to the defense of such characters and situations, recognizing their power to enthrall and inspire, as can be gleaned from Riko's rebuttal of Kurokawa's flippant attempt to ridicule her work at the beginning of the program.   

Watashi ni Unmei no Koi Nante Arienaitte Omotteta pays reverence to the romcom formula by going through the same motions of any such love story, selling the magic of romance even as it attempts to temper the fantasy. The show does not veer away from audience's expectations, opting for the most conventional ending, with the show's last fifteen minutes providing the most clichéd resolution to an otherwise decent and well done romcom.

The moment Riko blurts out her feelings, the show goes on autopilot to reach the anticipated ending. Running through decorated, tree-lit streets, across a famous shopping district, a lighted ring box would await our once loveless heroine. It's not a question of whether or not Kurokawa and Riko get together (because they do) but how they get together that will truly capture your attention. There's a lot to love about the said journey for the show excels in building upon light moments with honest dialogue to carry the scenes. The more elaborate and comic attempts at initiating romance are likewise memorable, of which there is Kurokawa's hilarious yet unsuccessful attempt at emulating character types and an all-night viewing marathon of a capsule, 90s-inspired trendy drama with Riko providing live commentary as an added treat. It's not perfect but it's good enough, in terms of viewer satisfaction, it's hard to find fault in it. 

RATING: 
ENJOYABLE IN ITS PREDICTABILITY
CHARMING LEADS
CAPSULE TRENDY DRAMA
POKES FUN AT SHOJO MANGA TROPES

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Strawberry Night SP (2010)

Strawberry Night is the first book in Honda Tetsuya's popular detective series which features a hardboiled female detective, constantly at odds with the rigid, patriarchal system of her chosen profession. Adapted into a standalone special in 2010, this 2-hr feature provided audiences a taste of the kind of brutal and gruesome cases that comprise the author's brand of macabre fiction and similarly introduced a dark and complex heroine in Lieutenant Himekawa, whose single-hearted focus in her work can both be admired and despised. It also marked the beginning of a string of adaptations which came out in the form of a television miniseries in 2012, followed by a full-length motion picture in 2013 entitled, Strawberry Night: Invisible Rain, and then capped off by another t.v. special on the characters following the events of the film.

In 2016, the book, Strawberry Night, was translated into English, published under the title, The Silent Dead. With the book now available to a wider audience and the series having reached the end of its run, it's as good a time as any to revisit the special and see how it stacks up against the other made for t.v. offering in the series.

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When a body wrapped in a blue plastic tarp is found near a pond in a Tokyo suburb, Lieutenant Himekawa (Yuko Takeuchi) and her squad from the homicide division of the Metropolitan Police are called in to investigate the unusual circumstances behind the crime. It's a baffling case---the man who was brutally murdered came from a modest background with no known enemies, and it's a complete mystery as to why the body, with its stomach carved out, was dumped in such a conspicuous place. The case takes a rather bizarre turn when a second body is found with the same signs of torture and cause of death, but there appears to be nothing to connect the two victims together.

The police's only lead is an exchange on a message board discussing a site on the dark web, which has Himekawa convinced that they're dealing with a methodical killer with a high body count. She alerts her superiors of this possibility but has trouble convincing them of the merits of her theory. With her right hand man (Hidetoshi Nishijima) stuck behind a desk and rival detective, Katsumata (Takeda Tatsuya), breathing down her neck, Himekawa has to struggle against professional impediments and personal prejudice to usher the case forward, bringing to light a world where death is proffered as a spectacle.

The Strawberry Night SP is a solid adaptation of its source material, being arguably the best of the lot, simply for supplying viewers a structured story. It also happens to be the only one in the series that offers a sense of closure to the case, all the while touching upon issues such as social injustice and apathy, law enforcement inefficiency in criminal apprehension and gender discrimination.

Well-paced, with the deductions made being logically sound, this television special, for the most part, is an engaging mystery that also makes use of the more sinister aspect of the dark net. It has a perpetrator that exploits the dichotomy of life and death, attracting victims to witness a person's demise as if it were performance art---the most chilling part of it all, is that these people were willing participants and patrons to this Sunday theater, who can even be considered as accessories after the fact.

There is sufficient information provided about the protagonist, the killer and the victims to make this a well-rounded effort. The motivation behind the killings might be a bit extreme but it's often the type of existentialist dilemma that is featured in this sub-genre of Japanese television and cinema. The material does not shy away from everything that's vile and sordid and for this reason credit should be given to screenwriter Yukari Tatsui for keeping the story moving and intact without relishing the gory details. Furthermore, director Yuichi Sato's command of every frame provided subtle hints and sufficient exposition to the case without giving away the big reveal of the identity of the sought after criminal. It's a twist that not many will see coming and this is probably one of the few times when the endeavor to misdirect viewers really pays off. 

But perhaps the highlight of the show is not so much the commission of the crime---which is horrific in itself---but rather, the depiction of how the traditional policing model in Japan can hamper the resolution of cases. Extremely bureaucratic and political, police officers and detectives are shown to be mired in jurisdictional and intra-agency rivalries, often withholding information and reluctant to cooperate with each other. The Iron Gun's unorthodox methods of securing information provide a nice foil to Himekawa's intuitive reasoning and impulsiveness, turning the special into a contest on which detective will first crack the case. 

Entertaining though it may be, the Strawberry Night SP is far from perfect, given a weak third act and an overbearingly defensive heroine. Given her traumatic past and present hostile work environment, it's understandable how an ambitious woman like Himekawa would have a chip on her shoulder but it is quite unsettling to see her lashing out indiscriminately at people who care and support her. There's also quite a leap in logic at the very end on her part when the mastermind is uncovered and an unearned display of empathy towards a virtual stranger that is somewhat puzzling to say the least. The gallery salute and the insertion of a ghostly apparition seem out of place with the overall tone of the series and lastly, there are a number of questions  left unanswered regarding the true status of Himekawa's relationship with a certain colleague.  

RATING:
WELL-PACED CRIME PROCEDURAL
TROUBLED, COMPLEX HEROINE
OFF-PUTTING GHOSTLY APPARITION
WEAK THIRD ACT

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Stranger Bakemono ga Jiken wo Abaku (2016)

Television shows that feature supernatural creatures embroiled in crime investigation are nothing new. They tend to resurface intermittently considering that the combination of two genres provide some gothic flavor to a show that would otherwise just be another crime procedural. Forever Knight and Moonlight had the undead making use of their abilities to fight crime while the Korean series Vampire Prosecutor featured another creature of the night in search of truth and justice. Stranger Bakemono ga Jiken wo Abaku somewhat follows in this tradition by introducing two immortals that surreptitiously assist in solving a murder case despite their initial reluctance to get involved for fear of drawing attention to their kind. It panders to the idea of supernatural creatures mingling with common folk, unidentified and inconspicuous, whose movements are confined by a society of their own. What makes this different is that while similar shows are mostly about the search for meaning and purpose in the face of eternity or the atonement of past sins, this drama special curiously places stock on the need to dissociate from humanity and the ability to forget (--lessons which its male protagonist refuses to learn).

Misugi Akira (Katori Shingo) and his mysterious companion, Maria (Nakajo Ayami), arrive in Tokyo to fulfill a promise to admit Itou Kaori into their vampire clan when she comes of age. But they never get to meet the girl. For on the day of her 20th birthday, while waiting for Akira to pick her up, Kaori falls prey to a killer that leaves puncture marks on his victims and collects their blood. Akira, being in the vicinity of the crime, is taken in by the authorities for questioning and later released. He arouses the suspicion of Detective Saeki (Hagiwara Masato), who looks into Kaori's past and discovers a remote connection between them. To prevent the detective from pursuing this lead, Akira and Maria decide to aid the authorities and search for the criminal in order to prevent the exposure of their immortal clan.

Despite its flat execution, an ongoing debate about the nature of humanity is waged within Stranger Bakemono ga Jiken wo Abaku. From the point of view of beings that consider a lifetime as a mere bleep in time, humans are argued to be frail, petty and cruel, unworthy of concern and intervention. And while, initially, there are two focal points to this drama special's narrative, the ongoing manhunt for a serial killer only plays second fiddle to Akira's tale as a hundred-year old vampire dissenter. It takes a rapid detour from the investigation of a gruesome crime to uncovering the history and reappearance of a man thought long lost and dead. What it does quite successfully is to draw appreciation for a character whose thoughts and actions consistently reflect a strong belief in keeping memories alive, so much so, that he is unable to abide by the rules of the clan to distance himself from the business of mortals. It does quick work of heavy themes such as life, love and loss but acquits itself in explaining why a man on the verge of taking his own life would eventually choose to live forever.

Good characterization aside, the special does come with a number of problems. Foremost of which is that it lacks originality and imagination. It resorts to tired images of vampires and serial killers. The unnatural dialogue between the detectives (obviously hewn from a textbook on criminal psychology to profile the killer) combined with the regular-issued black attire and sullen disposition of the show's vampiric creatures just smacks of lazy writing. Most confounding is that it leaves out details regarding the origins and customs of the clan in question. Among these include making roses a daily nutritional source as a substitute to blood without explanation, brushing aside Akira's role and responsibility as consort, and opting to dress an exalted lady of ranking like a Gothic Lolita on her way to Comic-Con. Often bland and expressionless, with the occasional glare every quarter of an hour, the acting is far from good but it would also be a stretch to call it atrocious. While thematically strong, Stranger is ultimately guilty of cutting back on the finer points of the myth surrounding its supernatural creatures, when more insight on how and why they are so would have made this show infinitely better.

RATING: 
GOOD CHARACTERIZATION
UNDEAD HERBIVORES
ANCILLARY MURDER MYSTERY
UNTAPPED ORIGINS OF THE CLAN

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Koi (2013)

This TBS drama special based on Koike Mariko's award-winning novel has two things going for it. First, it has the notoriety of a bestseller that has for its subject, a crime of passion, and second, it has a strong and recognizable cast of actors able to render this tawdry affair into an unforgettable piece of melodrama in spite of being a crime-exploitation. As a period piece, the special leverages a soundtrack designed to capture a decade marked by political conflict and changing social attitudes. In terms of motif, Koi highlights the reckless, sordid and ugly facets of that "one great love" which defies all reason and the early stirrings of misguided feminism.

This is a love story stripped of any conventional romance, and even though it manages to put across its heartfelt sentiment depicting strong emotional ties, it does not appear to operate within the boundaries of a prescribed thesis to support or justify its characters' choices. The special is full of characters that are hopelessly consumed by an amorous intensity that is rarely reciprocated.

Koi recounts one dying woman's summer of love and unexpected devotion to a couple whose relationship she saw fit to protect at any cost. Set in the early 1970s, the material has radical views pertaining to women, sexuality and marital relations, at times arguably championing a love that is fiery, relentless, and defiant---and by all accounts doomed. There are radical ideologies at play in this and an indication of an open relationship carried out behind closed doors, or in this case, offscreen.

   

Novelist Koike Mariko provides a heavy-handed dig on different kinds of love and its many complications, but for all its histrionic declarations and liberal mustering, refuses to offer a solid message or a word of caution regarding its premise. Is it simply because the heart wants what it wants? Or that love comes with its own set of shackles? Is one type of love greater than the other? If so, then the show has difficulty navigating this self-constructed, murky terrain, and in the end, the material in itself appears unconvinced of the worthiness of personal sacrifice in defense of such credo and the murder committed in its wake.   

A middle-aged ex-con, named Yano Fumiko (Harada Mieko), is tracked down by a non-fiction writer (Watabe Atsuro) interested in learning what drove her to murder a man in the idyllic resort town of Karuizawa in 1972. Choosing to unburden herself to a sympathetic stranger, Fumiko shares memories of her youth, recalling a time when student protests broke out in the streets, cherry blossoms were in full bloom, and how meeting a university professor and his wife for a part-time job would challenge and eventually alter her perception of love and marriage. As a young woman (Ishihara Satomi), she admits finding herself instantly enamored with the dashing Katase Shintaro (Iura Arata), who was about to embark upon translating an erotic novel, and equally in awe of the latter's liberal, free-spirited half, Hinako (Tanaka Rena), who shrugged off social convention. In her mind, the spouses make the perfect couple; she reminisces of happy, carefree days spent together at a time when they took a shine to her.

From hereon out, the drama special tiptoes around the actual formation of this ménage à trois as Fumiko transitions from an outsider to playing the part of friend, little sister and lover to the Spouses Katase. Scenes are cut to favor the depiction of young, unrequited love even though it is quite clear that the relationships between the characters are far more complicated than presented. This can perhaps be attributed to the limitations of the medium in which the story is told but there are enough clues within the show to insinuate that Fumiko's feelings extended to both Shintaro and Hinako. There are subtle reminders utilized to communicate this to viewers such as shots showing an impressionable student smack dab in the middle of a handsome, urbane couple, a seemingly chaste kiss goodbye, teary-eyed assurances and an appeal, entreating each other not to disrupt the existing unit.    

All the above elements make for a compelling if not scandalous piece of television, if it were not for the need to downplay the sexual relations and controversial views of its characters on love. There's little to no dialogue about how and why Fumiko regarded the Katases with such reverence, adjudging the relationship as inviolable and whatever alternative to it as dirty and unacceptable. Without the necessary dialogue or disclosure on the philosophy behind the foregoing relationships, the driving force behind the commission of the crime becomes ambiguous and the choice to leave or stay in the present state of affairs nugatory. It remains unclear whether or not the work adopts a liberal stance on marriage, celebrating the concept of agency with an underdeveloped feminist agenda as subtext.

Despite its theoretical shortcomings, Koi works because the actors in it sell the drama. In retro outfits, Tanaka Rena and Arata make a stunning, cosmopolitan couple believably worthy of envy and desire, while Ishihara Satomi channels both innocence and quiet rage, playing a young woman desperate to salvage a relationship. In conclusion, a working familiarity with the novel on which the show is based provides added complexity, whereas the intentional repression of any socio-political views render this drama special open to a number of interpretations. The viewer gets to pick which version they prefer.  

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For those interested to gain more insight on the relationship between the characters and the perceived significance of the period and place in which the story is set, see Mina Qiao's analysis of the source novel entitled, Sexuality and Space: Tokyo and Karuizawa in Mariko Koike’s Koi. You can also download the pdf copy of the article sponsored by the Japan Foundation here. 

RATING: 
ABSORBING MELODRAMA
CONTROVERSIAL VIEW ON LOVE
DYSFUNCTIONAL RELATIONSHIPS 
COMPELLING PERFORMANCES

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Tsuki ni Inoru Pierrot (2013)

Kitagawa Eriko may have once  been hailed by TIME magazine as Japan's soap opera queen but her recent serials have not been well-received by a plugged-in generation inept at making meaningful connections. Lately, she seems to have gained better favor in crafting sentimental one-shot specials where her signature style provides enough emotional impact without falling into grating melodrama. Tsuki ni Inoru Pierrot is a good example of how her penchant to write unwieldy encounters between flawed, relatable characters is much suited to a short television format. Her brand of kismet gets more mileage this way.

In this special, the sale of a children's book entitled Tsuki ni Inoru Pierrot in an online auction provides the opportunity to bring two strangers together. Middle-aged receptionist, Tamai Shizuru (Tokiwa Takako), has surrendered herself to living a monotonous life, sharing a roof with her grandmother and mother. She's lonely and worn out, unable to imagine a life beyond their provincial town. But when a handwritten recipe is discovered wedged between the pages of the book she recently purchased, she decides to reach out to its previous owner, Tobuse Wataru (Tanihara Shosuke), supposing the same to be a keepsake. This thoughtful gesture sparks a personal correspondence between the two and they soon find themselves conversing about everything and anything under the sun. Shizuru is, of course, thrilled at the prospect of having someone to share her life with but she's uncertain of his feelings and equally unsure if the connection they have is real or just a passing fancy. 

Short, sweet, and brimming with hope, this drama special tugs at the heartstrings in the same manner as April Story highlighted the beginning of a new love. Kitagawa Eriko, however, provides a crucial difference in that while the latter featured a fresh-faced girl ready to explore the world, Tsuki ni Inoru Pierrot  has, for a protagonist, an older woman who's known heartbreak and been made timid with age. What's interesting about this is that it's not just a love story or some tale about having the courage to take risks. It captures the dilemma and lethargy of a character bound by filial duty and increasingly put down by people around her who, unintentionally or not, have shamed her for being an old maid. Tangentially, the special also takes a swipe at how the elderly are seen as a burden to society and how ageing can be treated with a certain level of derision.     

And while references to social ills and marginalized sectors have been a fixture in most of her dramas, what's consistent about Kitagawa's works is that her characters are always written to be all too human, portraying a sense of restlessness, if not having somehow lost their way. They're beautiful and broken, needy yet proud, and in this respect, Tsuki ni Inoru Pierrot's Shizuku is no different. Tokiwa Takako delivers a performance with a thorough understanding of the self-doubt and dedition that clutches at the heart of women of a certain age. She's extremely likable in this role, and there's a certain honesty and nuance in her acting that alerts viewers to Shizuku's past that made her retreat to a quiet life of drudgery. Tanihara Shosuke, on the other hand, plays the good guy to a tee. Receptive and kind, the fact that the leading man is a divorced father lends some dimension to the character but Shizuku's story is simply, better carved out. The best part of the show is the communication between the characters. It's a natural and free-flowing exchange of thoughts and feelings, personal and sweet without being utterly cloying. In a time when a dearth of emotional honesty is often supplemented by a display of histrionic outbursts in television and cinemas, this is indeed a rarity.   

RATING: 
SACCHARINE GOODNESS
SHORT FEATURE
LIKABLE CHARACTERS
SUPERLATIVE PERFORMANCE BY TOKIWA TAKAKO 

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Teddy Go! (2015)

With major networks favoring police procedurals and crime dramas to fill in their programming slate, Teddy Go! is a slight compromise and an unusual reprieve from such series stock. It's a four-part miniseries that is basically a murder mystery that plays out as an off-kilter comedy with a paranormal twist. At it's center is an immobile, innoxious, knitted bear with a myriad expressions, bringing about the cute and funny in a scenario that could have easily conjured up childlike terror associated with the very of idea of spirits inhabiting playthings. Thankfully, it doesn't veer off its light and silly path, providing juvenile humor without much thought as to the cause behind such phenomenon or the creepy nature of certain encounters.

Yamase Kazuko (Morikawa Aoi) is a freeter who just got dumped by her boyfriend and lost her job. She tries to blow off steam in a shooting gallery where she wins herself a knitted teddy bear, which she cheerfully takes home, only to discover the same to be inhabited by the spirit of private detective, Amano Yasuo (Aikawa Sho). The deceased detective suckers Kazuko into assisting him in investigating the death of a married couple whom he believes to have been murdered as a result of a cram school admissions scam. Together with Amano's old partner, Fuyuno (Hiraoka Yuta), Kazuko sets out to help Amano resolve his "unfinished business" in order for him to cross over and find eternal rest.

The narrative in Teddy Go! proceeds predictably and does not offer anything new to material of the same ilk. In so far as the main mystery is concerned, it parades the usual list of suspects and lets go of any pretense of making the case complex or overly serious, instead shifting the focus on the bond between Amano and Kazuko. There's an odd dynamic to the relationship wherein Amano calls the shots and hands out instructions but, in fact, he's utterly dependent on  the actions of a frivolous girl because of his newfound, cuddly, corporeal state. This is the part where cute meets fluff---and the prop steals the show for being able to convey different emotions, arguably better than its human co-stars. 

The murder case might have been facile and pedestrian but the show does something right in mining the humor and absurdity of having a tough, grizzly detective embodied by a harmless stuffed toy. Comic sketches have been built around this very premise and while the timing and execution can be a bit off at times, some of the punchlines do manage to land. Morikawa Aoi and Hiraoka Yuta work best acting alongside an inanimate object while Aikawa Sho brings as much attitude in voicing the knitted blue bear despite his limited screentime. Attempts at emotional sentiment generally come off as a misstep---the bit about the estranged daughter is pure filler and less effective in drawing a reaction compared to scenes involving a torn up toy or a spirit about to cross over to the netherworld. Childish and unpolished, Teddy Go! is for a younger audience that would wholeheartedly embrace its use of stodgy visual effects, occult caricatures and over the top acting. Older folks might not see much value in it but that blue teddy bear would certainly win over a lot of kids.    

    

RATING:
PEDESTRIAN MURDER MYSTERY
OFF-KILTER COMEDY WITH A PARANORMAL TWIST
BEST ACTOR IS A KNITTED BEAR 
UNEVEN COMIC TIMING

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