Fall 2009 Dramas
New drama season~
SPOILERS AHEAD
IRIS
Kim Hyun Joon (Lee Byung Hun) is an assassin who belongs to a top secret organization known as the "NSS" whereas T.O.P is an assassin who works in another secret organization located in the United States called "IRIS" and was ordered to kill Hyun Joon. Seung Hee (Kim Tae Hee) is a psychological analyst who plays an important role in bring Hyun Joon into the "NSS." Jin Sa Woo (Jung Joon Ho) is Hyun Joon's colleague and falls in love with Seung Hee as well but keeps this to himself.
The series starts off with a Bourne Identity feel. The opening location is in Europe too and the camera shots and angel really reminded me of the Bourne movies. Lee Byung Hun plays the lead (aka GI Joe's Storm Shadow) and he's still as charming, but less asshole-ish than in GI Joe. The only other names I'm familiar with are Kim Tae Hee (playing the love interest) and Big Bang's TOP, who plays an assassin. Ooohhhh the previews made him look so BAMF. The cinematography is pretty and the high budget the drama received obviously shows through. The plot isn't obvious right from the first episodes but it's focused more on the interactions of the characters, which is nice considering it's been touted as a high action drama.
I honestly expected more action, but the drama and unexpectedly the comedy is there as well. The characters are easy to like, especially LBH who shows a much more different performance than Storm Shadow. From the dialogue, it's implied the show will take a darker, more serious turn in the coming episodes (yay more action!), but at least for now they're focusing on characterization viewers can actually care about them.
OHITORISAMA
33-year-old Akiyama Satomi (Mizuki Alisa) is a history teacher at the prestigious all-girls high school she once attended. One day, a young man named Shinichi (Koike Teppei) arrives at the school as a temporary instructor. He's ten years younger than Satomi, has only worked part-time jobs, and has neither money nor status. Although the other female teachers and students find him cute, he is completely not Satomi's type... or is he? Will love blossom between this unlikely pair?
The plot sounds a little fresh and interesting enough, if only the male lead didn't look like he was 16.
This is Teppei, he's really 23.
I couldn't get through the first episode without cringing at the thought of the female teachers acting sexually depraved around Teppei. I know it's common in dramas to have a hot teacher in which the opposite sex are all attracted to them (Gokusen 123) but they at least looked their age. Even one of the teachers who is supposedly 23, looks like his aunt or something. The acting isn't that bad and it would've been an interesting plot to see unfold. But Teppei's baby face doesn't really allow him to play his age and for me it's a shame because I can get past the creepiness factor I get when they fawn over him. And it didn't really help during the scene when his class said he would be so cute if he transformed into a rabbit, all I could see was rabbit!Teppei. I think I would've enjoyed Ohitorisama much more if the male lead looked a bit older and didn't have Teppei's cute voice.
TOKYO DOGS
Takakura So (Oguri Shun) witnessed his father's murder at a young age. Pledging to catch the killer, he grows up to become an elite cop in New York City, where the criminal lives. His character is cool-headed and disciplined, yet adapts well. Because of major drug dealings, he gets sent to Tokyo to conduct a joint investigation with the Japanese police. There, he gets teamed up with, Kudo Maruo (Mizushima Hiro), a detective from a special investigative division. Kudo is a hot-blooded fighting expert due to his earlier days as a delinquent, but he makes a strong impression with his stylish appearance and is always interested in going on group dates. His personality, interests, and investigation methods are completely mismatched with Takakura's, but the two somehow work together to crack the case they've been given.
This was one of my anticipated dramas this season. I love the cast! Especially Yoshitaka Yuriko, who plays the amnesiac girl Mizushima Hiro and Oguri Shun have to protect. She has the best semi-psychotic faces, especially the look on her face when she licked Matsuda Shota in Love Shuffle. This time around, she emotes more but she's still so cute! Oguri Shun plays a stiff type of cop with dry humor but he pulls if off well that watching him doesn't feel like he's a wall and can't emote. I really like him in the role and he definitely doesn't look bad in the suit. But Mizushima Hiro emotes way too much. His facial expressions range from [ !(0 o 0)! or <(0 . 0)> ]. It's so bad...which is unfortunate because he can play the cool type of character (Mei-chan no Shitsuji) or the normal guy (Zettai Kareshi).
I really enjoyed the first episode. The mood isn't as serious as I expected but the comedy between the characters is well timed, and spread out so that it's not too much. Some scenes were a little unrealistic, well Hiro's character in general is unrealistic. But one of my favorite scenes was the gun fight in the end. It wasn't over the top and reunited Oguri Shun with Narimiya Hiroki, even if only for a short time.
There were two more other dramas I wanted to check out, but no subs yet. I saw Samurai High School RAW and Miura Haruma is so adorkable. That's just one more drama to add to Iris and Tokyo Dogs. :3
Also, to new friends~ Welcome!
SPOILERS AHEAD
IRIS
Kim Hyun Joon (Lee Byung Hun) is an assassin who belongs to a top secret organization known as the "NSS" whereas T.O.P is an assassin who works in another secret organization located in the United States called "IRIS" and was ordered to kill Hyun Joon. Seung Hee (Kim Tae Hee) is a psychological analyst who plays an important role in bring Hyun Joon into the "NSS." Jin Sa Woo (Jung Joon Ho) is Hyun Joon's colleague and falls in love with Seung Hee as well but keeps this to himself.
The series starts off with a Bourne Identity feel. The opening location is in Europe too and the camera shots and angel really reminded me of the Bourne movies. Lee Byung Hun plays the lead (aka GI Joe's Storm Shadow) and he's still as charming, but less asshole-ish than in GI Joe. The only other names I'm familiar with are Kim Tae Hee (playing the love interest) and Big Bang's TOP, who plays an assassin. Ooohhhh the previews made him look so BAMF. The cinematography is pretty and the high budget the drama received obviously shows through. The plot isn't obvious right from the first episodes but it's focused more on the interactions of the characters, which is nice considering it's been touted as a high action drama.
I honestly expected more action, but the drama and unexpectedly the comedy is there as well. The characters are easy to like, especially LBH who shows a much more different performance than Storm Shadow. From the dialogue, it's implied the show will take a darker, more serious turn in the coming episodes (yay more action!), but at least for now they're focusing on characterization viewers can actually care about them.
OHITORISAMA
33-year-old Akiyama Satomi (Mizuki Alisa) is a history teacher at the prestigious all-girls high school she once attended. One day, a young man named Shinichi (Koike Teppei) arrives at the school as a temporary instructor. He's ten years younger than Satomi, has only worked part-time jobs, and has neither money nor status. Although the other female teachers and students find him cute, he is completely not Satomi's type... or is he? Will love blossom between this unlikely pair?
The plot sounds a little fresh and interesting enough, if only the male lead didn't look like he was 16.
This is Teppei, he's really 23.
I couldn't get through the first episode without cringing at the thought of the female teachers acting sexually depraved around Teppei. I know it's common in dramas to have a hot teacher in which the opposite sex are all attracted to them (Gokusen 123) but they at least looked their age. Even one of the teachers who is supposedly 23, looks like his aunt or something. The acting isn't that bad and it would've been an interesting plot to see unfold. But Teppei's baby face doesn't really allow him to play his age and for me it's a shame because I can get past the creepiness factor I get when they fawn over him. And it didn't really help during the scene when his class said he would be so cute if he transformed into a rabbit, all I could see was rabbit!Teppei. I think I would've enjoyed Ohitorisama much more if the male lead looked a bit older and didn't have Teppei's cute voice.
TOKYO DOGS
Takakura So (Oguri Shun) witnessed his father's murder at a young age. Pledging to catch the killer, he grows up to become an elite cop in New York City, where the criminal lives. His character is cool-headed and disciplined, yet adapts well. Because of major drug dealings, he gets sent to Tokyo to conduct a joint investigation with the Japanese police. There, he gets teamed up with, Kudo Maruo (Mizushima Hiro), a detective from a special investigative division. Kudo is a hot-blooded fighting expert due to his earlier days as a delinquent, but he makes a strong impression with his stylish appearance and is always interested in going on group dates. His personality, interests, and investigation methods are completely mismatched with Takakura's, but the two somehow work together to crack the case they've been given.
This was one of my anticipated dramas this season. I love the cast! Especially Yoshitaka Yuriko, who plays the amnesiac girl Mizushima Hiro and Oguri Shun have to protect. She has the best semi-psychotic faces, especially the look on her face when she licked Matsuda Shota in Love Shuffle. This time around, she emotes more but she's still so cute! Oguri Shun plays a stiff type of cop with dry humor but he pulls if off well that watching him doesn't feel like he's a wall and can't emote. I really like him in the role and he definitely doesn't look bad in the suit. But Mizushima Hiro emotes way too much. His facial expressions range from [ !(0 o 0)! or <(0 . 0)> ]. It's so bad...which is unfortunate because he can play the cool type of character (Mei-chan no Shitsuji) or the normal guy (Zettai Kareshi).
I really enjoyed the first episode. The mood isn't as serious as I expected but the comedy between the characters is well timed, and spread out so that it's not too much. Some scenes were a little unrealistic, well Hiro's character in general is unrealistic. But one of my favorite scenes was the gun fight in the end. It wasn't over the top and reunited Oguri Shun with Narimiya Hiroki, even if only for a short time.
There were two more other dramas I wanted to check out, but no subs yet. I saw Samurai High School RAW and Miura Haruma is so adorkable. That's just one more drama to add to Iris and Tokyo Dogs. :3
Also, to new friends~ Welcome!