Daily Yomiuri gives opinion on Katori Shingo's new drama
For Televiews, Wm. Penn writes about Katori Shingo’s latest drama in her column for the Daily Yomiuri. Here is an excerpt from the column:
How can Shingo Katori be so good in something so bad? He makes a credible Kankichi Ryotsu in the dramanga Kochira Katsushika-ku Kameari Koen-mae Hashutsu-jo (Saturdays, 7:56 p.m., TBS). Katori capably performs the crazy stunts and has perfected the debt-ridden cop’s facial expressions.He explained in one promotional appearance that it all revolves around getting the eyebrow movements just right.
Akimoto (Karina), looking pretty in pink, and Nakagawa (Mokomichi Hayami), who defies traffic regulations in a red sports car and wears a gold and black-striped uniform that must be the envy of every Hanshin Tigers fan, are also well cast in their cartoon character cop roles. So what’s the problem?
Despite local evidence to the contrary, life and prime-time TV are not comic books. The plot devices and storylines that work in animation and have kept the humorous manga going for over three decades just don’t translate well into a 58-minute dramanga format (72 minutes on opening night). All the high-decibel yelling is migraine-inducing unless you are up for an hour of pure, unadulterated slapstick silliness on Saturday evenings. In that case, this and Tomoya Nagase’s costume play spectacular Karei-naru Spy (Saturdays, 9 p.m., NTV) are the series for you.
Is it time yet to finally question the Johnny’s Jimusho monopoly on drama and dramanga roles (or at least the quality of the roles and scripts they are being offered)? None of the SMAPsters nor their juniors have had much to choose from lately. It’s more fun watching SMAP do the “Locomotion” cell phone commercial. It’s almost as good as the one where Brad Pitt lifts former sumo wrestler Musashimaru. Whoever is thinking up those clever cell phone comics deserves a chance at scriptwriting.
source: j!ent