What I'm watching this summer
The cast of Starman ~ Kono Hoshi no Koi ~ souce: Oricon
Being a consistent fan of Jdramas is never easy. Sometimes (or most of the times actually) you have to plough through a bunch of utterly distasteful series just to find one or two gems that you dearly love. The previous drama season was easily the least distracting factor in my life, since it only afforded a number of disappointments and watchable dramas were few and far between. I hated myself for finishing the concoction of banality and egregious acting that was Last Cinderella just to find out the ending was exactly what I had anticipated, though to be fair, Sakura's antics and her banter with Rintaro were probably the drama's saving graces.
This season, on the other hand, is looking extremely promising. Woman was hands-down a must-watch for me, because I absolutely loved Soredemo, Ikite Yuku. From now on, anything that has Sakamoto Yuji + Mitsushima Hikari or Sakamoto Yuji + Eita is gonna be pretty much an automatic must-watch for me. Now, there have been people saying that Woman may surpass Soredemo and I beg to differ. Not until Woman gives me some sort creepy cold-blooded killers/criminals. One of the reasons I loved Soredemo so much was that it did not compromise anything to give the audience a faux happy ending, but right now, Woman is geared towards the direction of Mother, which means things will probably work out for everyone in the end (which I do hope for in a drama like Woman, mind you). I still love Woman's beautiful execution and excellent performances from the amazing Hikari and the rest of cast, though, and Nikaido Fumi is gorgeous.
So to get to the main point of this post, if you haven't started watching Starman, watch it. It's awesome. I mean, it has Hirosue Ryoko, so you know for sure this drama is gonna have some talent worth watching. It also has three kids. Which means cuteness overload (and the end of me). And finally, it has Fukushi Sota. He's tall, young and handsome - need I say more? So far his role hasn't given him many opportunities to boast his acting chops (or the lack thereof), but I do hope that this boy is not just a pretty face.
80% reason why I'm watching Starman souce: Oricon
As for the other dramas of the season, I'm also watching is Double Tone. Nothing much I can say about it since I only watched episode 1, but I like the concept it introduced. Nothing boundary-shattering, but it's definitely something fresh and the drama is also nicely executed with solid believable acting. I actually also started watching Summer Nude, and it's been mediocre so far lol. Erika was the only reason that kept me awake through the first episode - she's probably the only bright spot in a drama about summer, the beach and a love triangle. Sounds familiar?
What are you watching this season? Any recommendations?