Drama Thoughts: Shinigami-kun
I watched Ohno's 2014 drama and thought it was very enjoyable. It had moments of sadness, comedy and love of life.
It was interesting how death and the afterlife have been explored differed depending on world views. I felt that death portrayed in western tv series, knowing that you were going to die, would cause the character to be more inclined to live and to find a loophole out of the system. They would most likely have had fight scenes between Shinigami 413 and Akuma. Rather, in comparison from this drama series the characters themselves don't seek to extend their life or find a loophole in the system. They understand that they are going to die and need to cherish the remaining time that they have.
Shinigami 413 had character growth, being empathetic towards humans even when he was not suppose to. The duality played off between him and Akuma well done, since Akuma could grant the humans 3 wishes but take their soul, while all 413 could do was accompany the humans during their remaining time. 413 could only use words to persuade the humans to give up their deal with Akuma which sometimes may not have been enough.
Overall this drama was something to think about death and the afterlife but in a more light hearted tone. While there are other dramas that may have done something similar and more intense, it was a good watch and something to see (even if only just to see Ohno act ^_^)