Basically, over the life of the series, which ran this year from mid-April through June 24th, we will learn some in depth info about the five lead characters. We watch as they struggle with their problems like: their aversion to commitments, their lack of confidence, their unwillingness to either express the truth or to face it.

If that sounds kind of grim and disturbing to you, you can rest assured that the series is not completely or only about bumps in the road, it only seems that way. The cast is youthful, attractive, and their problems/issues are not too remote for most of us to identify with or relate to. As they’ve agreed to meet for the first time in the opening Episode, I’ll give you a little thumbnail sketch about each of them to help you decide if you’d like to watch this series.

Eita as Nakaji

Keisuke Nakajima is played by Eita who is in real life is 28 and has been working steadily in TV series and films in Japan for some time. He’s well liked and you’d have to say that his career is burgeoning as he’s gone from supporting roles to lead roles.

Nakaji and Haru

Here he is called Nakaji. The info he’s put out to the group is that he is a photographer. In reality, he’s a photographer’s assistant, in short a low level assistant in the skin magazine trade. He works on gravure idol photo-shoots. Throughout this entire series, he has a continuous and endless case of one bad hair day after another. As the series begins we learn that he has been involved with and is in love with a married woman.

Haru Mizuno is played by the award winning actress Juri Ueno. She walked off with an award for her role as a high-strung student trying to become concert pianist in Nodame Cantabile in 2006. She then followed with another award for her performance as a gay woman in the 2008 series Last Friends.

Juri Ueno as Haru

Haru has told the group that she is a teacher at a private high school. Her reality is that she’s a provisional teacher who is still on probation and she hasn’t gotten her full teaching license yet. Her character is attractive but has no self confidence at all. As a result, she’s never had a boy friend and has already past her 24th birthday.

Jae-Joong Hero is not only a Korean actor, but in his role in the series, he portrays a Korean living and working in Tokyo. He tells the group he is a Doctor, and that (Doctor) becomes his character’s name. In truth, he is a salesman for a medical supplies firm, and his track record is not too good.

Jaejoong aka 'Doctor'

He’s going to fall head-over-heels for Haru. The relationship has a good many stumbles, and week to week it seems that she loves me, she loves me not is the rule rather than the exception. That’s because Haru also really likes Nakaji. And because she can’t decide.

Megumi Seki appears as Peach. She’s tall and attractive with a willowy figure. Beyond that she’s an aggressive and sexually active woman. She’s only a sales girl in a women’s clothing shop but she’s implied to the group that she manages the store.

Megumi Seki as Peach

She will be attracted to two of the three male leads, and when we meet her, she is already pregnant by another lover. She easily bonds with Haru, and they become the supporting friend for each other.

The last of the main characters is Kaoru Ichihara or ‘Leenda’, played by Tetsuji Tamayama. He has told the group that he is an editor of a prestigious magazine, but in reality he is just an assistant editor who is being sexually harassed by his female boss who constantly promises better assignments and promotions in return for sleeping with her.

Tetsuji as Leenda

As you will see, he is the fifth wheel as well as the odd man out. Yet he outwardly appears as the most stable of the main characters while inwardly he hasn’t yet learned to face up to his reality. He too has his secret which will emerge in the coming weeks.

I’ve watched the whole series which you can find with either hard or soft subtitles. You’ll have to google to find them,  At times, I became angry at the characters for their indecisiveness, their inability to be honest even to themselves, and for letting their fears control them. Yet despite the anger, you do get caught up in rooting for them.

The series as a whole is far from upbeat, and despite the somewhat happy endings achieved by some of the characters. the series does not end with you pleased about the results for each of them. But the production hasn’t skimped on cost savings measures, and it is a visually attractive series. I won’t go as far as saying this is a must see, but it is diverting, and I did stay with it to completion.

For two video trailers go to:
http://asianmediawiki.com/Sunao_ni_Narenakute

Shinzanmono

I think shinzanmono means something along the lines of ‘new neighborhood people or person’, which is what Detective Kaga Kyoichiro is in Ningyo-cho. Kaga was just tranferred to the Nihonbashi precinct, is placed in charge of the case. With virtually all of the residents of the neighborhood’s main shopping street, harboring one secret or another, they will all emerge as suspects, Detective Kaga must use his keen sense of deductive reasoning to uncover the truth about these people as well as solve the case..

Much of that is from the synopsis provided on the d-addicts.com website. But it really doesn’t do the series justice. Calling it a detective show is truly an over-simplification. Unlike American detective shows where the detective solves a new crime each week, this series focuses on just the one case. We, much like Detective Kaga, are in the dark. Though we witnessed the murder in the opening episode, and have seen snippets of it, in flashbacks, in every episode that followed, we still have no idea. This is a literal, “Who done it?”

Detective Kaga is portrayed by Hiroshi Abe. He brings a quiet calm to the role, and from his simple white shirt without a tie, and black suit…he appears to be completely style-less. In that regard, he is similar to the classic American detective, Lieutenant Columbo, who was played in that classic series by Peter Falk. But unlike Columbo, who actively worked at being shambling, forgetful, and messy to deceive the suspects, Kaga is none of the above. At worst he is edging in the direction of being unkempt but hasn’t arrived at that station yet.

He is direct yet quite polite and courteous, sharp as a tack when it comes to smarts because he is sharp-eyed and listens to everything that is being said, and extraordinarily giving in the sense of calming and reassuring both victims and suspects to gain their confidence.

Though the series broadcast run has concluded, I’ve seen just the first five episodes as I must wait for the subtitles to become available. But from what I have seen, I can decidedly recommend the series. So let’s give you a leg up by introducing some of the characters to get you started.

Mieko Harada as the victim Mineko Mitsui

But first, who and what was the victim Mineko Mitsui all about? She’s a 40 something divorced woman, living alone in a small flat, who is also estranged from her 20 something year old son.

From what we can see in the flashbacks, she’s attempting to get her life back on track, and has moved into this neighborhood because she has discovered that this is where her son lives. She’s made quite a few friends in Ningyo-cho, and apparently was well liked. Mieko Harada had the role.

Meisa Kuroki as Ami Aoyama

The beautiful Meisa Kuroki has the part of Ami Aoyama. She’s a part-time freelance writer/reporter/stringer for some local magazines and newspapers. She also works as a part-time waitress to supplement her meager earnings from writing.

We come to discover that she is the girl friend of the murdered woman’s son. While appearing in each episode, she is also the narrator at the beginning of each episode.

Anne (just a single professional name on stage) plays the role of Nao Kawakama in Episode One. She’s a headstrong girl who can’t get along with her Mom who runs an upscale cookie shop in the neighborhood. Nao wants to go to Paris and study hair design. She also lies to the police under questioning about an insurance salesman who is a suspect. That’s her right above this paragraph.

In Episode Two, we meet Yui Natsukawa (above left) who plays the restaurant owner Yoriko. Her husband is cheating on her with various bar girls. Detective Kaga is on the trail and he questions one of the girls, Asami, played by Mao Miyaji (above right) about this suspect. We will meet Asami again in the 4th Episode.

Yuki Shibamoto as Maki

In Three we get to know more about Maki Yanagisawa played by the lovely Yuki Shibamoto. Maki had met and befriended the murdered woman. Maki also was fighting with her Mother and went missing soon after the police arrived to question her. In this episode. Gravure Idol Yuko Ogura also had a small role as a men’s shop manager. She sells Detective Kaga some ties and undershorts.

Yuko Ogura as The Sales Mgr at a men's Shop. She loves how Det. Kaga looks with the ties she's selling

Four introduces a curmudgeon of a watch repairman played by veteran Japanese actor Yoshio Harada. His surliness stems from his unhappiness and disillusionment because his daughter ran off and married (against his wishes) a young man whom he considered to be biker-trash.

The daughter is played by Haru and she and her father will not reconcile until she delivers a newborn son. Her husband is now working at a watch manufacturing plant. As for the watch repairman, he’s a suspect because he is known to have frequented the same park as the murdered woman Mineko. And both of them were seen in this park at the same time on the day she was murdered.

Miyuki as portrayed by Mahiro Konno

In Five, we meet Miyuki who is employed at the favorite bake shop of Detective Kaga, Ami Aoyama, as well as the murdered woman. Miyuki is played by Mahiro Konno. Her character is pregnant and was befriended by Mineko, who watched over the pregnant girl, as any parent might; only she wasn’t Miyuki’s mother. We also find out that Ami Aoyama met and talked with Miyuki about Mineko in this chapter.

That’s as far as I can go up to now. It’s very interesting to watch as each Episode introduces a new character, and as we get to know them, we find that Detective Kaga will help them as people who are in need of a helping hand, and yet as he helps them, we must consider that each of them is possibly the murderer.

This excellent production has charm, wit, humor, superior writing, and lots of style. The characters are fresh, and while their family problems are universal and not new, we can enjoy how Kaga works his magic and uncovers their secrets one by one.

Through five weeks, I still have no idea who killed Mineko. And neither does Detective Kaga, and therein lies the charm and magic of this wonderful series. You just have to return the following week, because solving the case has become as important to us as it is to Kaga. Okay, make that almost as important.

If it means that I could now watch someone like Mika Kayama (formerly known as Arisa Oda) or Yuma Asami in 3-D, then I would have to seriously consider a new television purchase. But S1 has two new 3-D releases of Mika and Yuma to coincide with the release of Sony’s 3-D Bravia television in Japan on June 19th.

I can easily see 3-D pornography fueling the sales of new 3-D televisions. Porn has fueled sales and spurred development in other technological areas, and I still don’t see movies and games that are in 3-D as being enough of a driving force to get someone to go out and drop a load on a new electronic purchase. But if more JAV releases start to come out in 3-D, it could really get people to buy a new TV and help drive down costs so that they become mainstream. And if you want to continue this discussion within the forum, there’s also a thread you can visit by clicking here.

Mika Kayama @ Softcore Sanctuary
Yuma Asami @ Softcore Sanctuary
How to Lure 3-D TV Customers @ Kotaku | Porn stars in 3-D Lure Customers to New Sony & Panasonic TVs @ Businessweek via News On Japan

I usually don’t watch shows such as Dancing with the Stars, but I would check it out from time to time if I am flipping through television channels and it happens to be on. And if I would have known early on that Nicole was competing on the show, I would have watched the show from the beginning of this season. Good thing that the episodes are available online to watch.

But the times that I was able to catch Nicole on the show live, she was simply amazing. She may have had a slight advantage over her competition with her background as a professional dancer, but congratulations goes out to her and to her partner Derek Hough for winning this season’s competition on May 25th.

Nicole is of Filipino, Hawaiian & Russian descent, was born in Honolulu, and is best known as the lead singer for the Pussycat Dolls. Below is a sample video that I found to give a preview for those who have never watched the show before. And speaking of Hawai’i, you should also check out Carrie Ann Inaba who serves as one of the judges on Dancing with the Stars, was also born in Honolulu, and is a mature beauty as well.

Links:
Nicole Scherzinger Official Site
Wikipedia | Dancing with the Stars site

The lead role of Rensuke Hazuki is played by the Japanese superstar, Takuya Kimura. He’s the CEO of the Regolith Corporation. Under his guidance, Regolith is about to pass the Mastpole Company, and become the number one brand name in interior design.

Simply described, he is in the furniture business and he’s very smart about it. So he’s successful, rich, and ambitious for more, much more.

Takuya Kimura and Chi Ling Lin

But he’s not content with just leading domestically (in Japan). He has bigger goals in mind. Namely – China. So he sets out to launch his brand with Shanghai as the location for the flagship store in China.

His right hand man is Cai Feng Jian who is played by Shota Matsuda. Though born in Tokyo, his character is a second generation Chinese. He and Hazuki met in college, and he has worked his way up through the ranks to his current position alongside Hazuki. His fluency in Chinese and his knowledge of the local laws will be invaluable to Hazuki. But Cai Feng is an operator himself. Through two episodes, he looks like he’s working for Rensuke , and he looks like he’s out to do whatever it takes for himself as well.

Then there are three key women. Aren’t there always Key Women?

Ryoko Shinohara as Maemi Ninomiya

Hazuki’s lead designer is Maemi Ninomiya. This role is played by the charismatic Ryoko Shinohara. She’s great at what she does, and she has known Hazuki since their school days. She has a huge crush on him, only he doesn’t know it. Because of her talent, and because she’s great at working with people, she has gotten a good deal of respect from Hazuki. In fact, she’s the only person employed at Regolith who is permitted to express an opinion, even if contradictory, to Hazuki.

Keiko Kitagawa as Yuzuki Ohnuki

Keiko Kitagawa plays a model called Yuzuki Ohnuki, who has set her sights on Hazuki. She’s proud, she’s tough, and she’s passionate about getting what she wants. She’s also the daughter of the head of Mastpole. She’s is often seen on the phone with Cai Feng…plotting something.

Chi Ling Lin as Xiu Mei Liu

L

There’s one more woman to be mentioned. She is Chi Ling Lin, a beautiful Taiwanese actress who I just saw in the John Woo epic Red Cliff 2. She starred opposite Tony Leung in that one. Here she plays a worker, Xiu Mei Liu, in the Shanghai furniture factory just taken over by Hazuki’s Regolith Corporation. She’s front and center in the workers protest against Regolith, because the plans are to take down the Chinese Furniture factory and put up a new Regolith factory. The Chinese workers are protesting as they fear they’ll lose their jobs.

Somewhere in the protests, Xiu Mei Liu meets Hazuki. His plan is to turn things upside down and make Liu the poster girl for his brand Regolith. It’s the carrot at the end of the stick concept. He hopes to soften her stance by making her a center piece for the new brand. She buys into his deal especially when he promises to re-employ all the factory workers.

Do you see where this is going? A Chinese girl, a beautiful Japanese model, and the steadfast designer all are suddenly thrust together, and none of their lives, including Hazuki’s will ever be the same afterwards.

Seems like a great concept – Kimura and three sexy ladies. Couldn’t ask for more. In Episode One, we meet the players, and things look good. In Episode Two, we find out that there’s nothing Rensuke won’t do, up to and including reneging on his promise about the factory workers and attempting to pimp out Xiu Mei to a Hotel Chain Owner who is opening a hotel in Tokyo and Rensuke wants the furniture contract. But Xiu Mei will have none of it.

I’ve seen the first two episodes and wow! Is Kimura playing against his usual good guy type? Is he really this scuzzy?  What’s going to happen to those lovely ladies all of whom are encircling him?

The images you see, are all from the first two chapters which I thoroughly enjoyed. And I can’t wait to find out what happens next.

I don’t get the opportunity to watch much television these days, but I might have to start watching Stargate Universe after finding out a couple of days ago that Ming-Na is a part of the cast.

Ming-Na is one of those few actresses that I need to check out whatever she is in because not only is she talented, but beautiful as well. She now stars on Stargate Universe as Camile Wray who is a human resources officer and part of a group that becomes marooned on an ancient starship on an unknown course that is billions of light years from Earth.

Ming-Na is also the first Asian American actress to play a lesbian character on cable or network television. So not only does her character have to deal with possibly never returning home, but also leaving behind her partner Sharon played by Reiko Aylesworth.

Below, I embedded the trailer and two other videos. I used to watch Stargate when it first became a syndicated television series back in the 90’s, so I will give this new series a try. New episodes air on Friday, April 2 on SyFy. You can also watch some episodes online via their website, so if you are interested, be sure to check it out.

Links:
Ming-Na @ Celebrity Channel
Ming-Na @ IMDB
Ming-Na @ Twitter
Stargate Universe @ SyFy
Stargate Official Site

Karina has the lead role and is just one of many Japanese beauties lighting up the screen in this 11 episode series. She does a superb job as Kinue Amano, a girl who was doing quite well selling bedding in the fictional top of the market Echizenya Department Store in Tokyo. Then one day she finds she’s been transferred to the Women’s Clothing Department.

Karina as Kinue Amano, looking like a plain Jane in Episode 1. This scene is in Paris where the series begins.

Kinue is clumsy, klutzy, and without any fashion sense what so ever. That’s her in the above picture by the River Seine in Paris, France which is where the series begins. She’s  just like the Andy Sachs character in The Devil Wears Prada. Her new boss is Chief Manager Miki Jinbo who is played by Hitomi Kuroki, and her role is styled to be like the Meryl Streep role as the world’s numero uno fashionista, Miranda Priestly, in TDWP.  So the stage is set. This looks like it could  be The Devil Wears Prada re-worked Japanese style.

Hitomi Kuroki as Chief Manager Miki Jinbo

But this is series, not a two-hour story for a single movie. So they had to open it up, give more characters more depth and bigger parts as well as adding in the department store wars. Think Nieman Marcus vs Bloomingdales vs Bergdorf-Goodman.

Plenty of nice threads to see, and these are worn by some of Japan’s most beautiful actresses. So even if high fashion isn’t your cup of cha, watching beautiful women is what you get week after week in this series.

Specifically, Kinue’s task is that she must attempt to balance her workload, her relationship of 8 years with her boyfriend, and navigate her way through the minefield of satisfying a very tough boss. It is a lot to put on anyone’s plate, and when you factor in that she knew nothing about style or fashion, the task seemed even harder.

As the series progresses, and Kinue grows personally, professionally, and of course , at the same time she becomes much more stylish,  the story seems to veer away sharply from TDWP model.

I think if you decide to watch this, just don’t expect TDWP. Even with the similarities and the fact that it starts as if it would be the same it simply wasn’t the same.

As a guy, I’m not particularly interested in fashion as a topic. Nor am I knowledgeable. I couldn’t tell you one designer’s style from another. They’re just names to me. But I did see TDWP back in 2006 in the company of a woman who worked for a major Chinese fashion magazine, and I liked it so I thought I’d give this series a chance.

Kinue Amano played by Karina now looking much more stylish

You should consider this one as there’s plenty of eye candy in this show.

To borrow Miki Jinbo’s trademark phrase in the series – Kekko! (Fine!).  I thought this was a fine series which seemed to hit a lot of different areas – success in the work place but not without a struggle for some; and broken hearts or broken dreams for others, and so forth. The ensemble cast was really good.

Elegant, stylish and very desirable

It played well as a drama, as a comedy, and as a life-affirming story. The only department that it failed in, and this was done intentionally, was the romance department.

It’s not as if it tried and failed, the romance had to be jettisoned otherwise the character of Kinue could not have grown in multiple spheres of her life.

Beauties on the Sales Floor

To summarize, this was a nice series to look at, it was entertaining, and at times a lot of fun. I liked it. Alot.

Water Boys

Admittedly, synchronized swimming is still in the Summer Olympics but aside from that you don’t hear much about it these days. It is sort of like ballet and swimming combined. Meaning that I could have a look at it with girls doing the swimming, but watching guys do this – I think not.

At least not for me. But I can see how Japanese girls might like watching a wholesome story that showed off a lot of guys in brief racing swimsuits.

So why I am doing an article about this? Well, I learned that buxom gravure idol Nonami Takizawa had a speaking role in this TV Special with appearances on both nights.

For sure this was no walk-on with Nonamin cast as an extra. She had a credible role and was involved with one of the original three guys who began as the entire synchro team before it got backing and expanded to 24..

But sadly, the producers cast her in a role completely different than what you would have expected. Remember, this was 2005 and Takizawa’s career as a gravure idol had just begun in 2004 with Venus, Pure, Se-jo!, and an I-One release called Mitsumete. None of these sold all that well, and are still available from cdjapan. Her first big selling title, Majeur was released on July 25th, 2005,  and cdjapan says this title is out of print. She hadn’t quite reached the rank of major star in the Gravure Idol world when Water Boys was broadcast nearly a month later on August 19th and 20th, 2005.

Yu Kashii as Kyoko Hanamura

Manami Konishi as Kyoko Uehara

Ayana Sakai as Reina Kakihara

Well we all know where Nonamin is today. But she didn’t get there based on her appearance in the Water Boys Summer Special. In fact, I am sad to say, that Takizawa as Buritani, was not the NT you know and love today. To begin with, they had her in a big wig and huge eye glasses.

Her role is most easily described with three words: Frumpy, Dumpy, and Lumpy. Never would I have assumed that these words could be in the same sentence as Nonami Takizawa. What’s more – the thought that terms like these could be used to describe her (then) is unthinkable. In fact, I almost didn’t recognize her when she first appeared on screen.

But it is true. She plays a character who has been obsessed with this one boy since kindergarden. At that time she had given this boy a nice chocolate. He wrote her a thank you note stating that if she gave him another piece of chocolate, he would marry her when they grew up. After more than a dozen years had passed, she still carries this letter around with her.

Nonami Takizawa as Michiru Buritani

Okay, let’s present the evidence. Yes, this is Nonami Takizawa as Buritani.

We can give her credit for taking the role, and covering up her assets most of the time. And it is especially rewarding to know that these days she’s adored by millions of men.

This TV Summer special did have some nice looking women in the cast. You can see Manami Konishi, Ayana Sakai, and Yu Kashii in images from this show above. All of these actresses have moved on to successful careers in Japanese television and movies.

I think her agent wanted her to break into TV dramas but simply selected a role that didn’t showcase her attributes. Possibly that error  (by her agent) has allowed Nonami Takizawa to reach the heights in the gravure field, while her acting career remains on hold for now. Hopefully some producer will take note of her.

If you die-hard Nonamin fans want a look at this you can find it in the completed Jdramas section at the Silent Regrets website. Aside from the extended synchro swimming scenes – the competition, the training, etc – it’s really not so bad.

She is shunned by other children at school, is given stale bread to take to school for lunch, and her birthday or Christmas were ignored by her Mom. At one point, while still as a child, she had attempted to run away. She tried to live in a cardboard box nearby. When she was driven back home by severe rainstorms, and hunger, her mother greeted her with an indifferent, “Oh you’re back? Didn’t you run away?”

We learn just about all of this in voice-overs and flashbacks in the first 7 minutes or so of this TV series. This child, named Yoko Matsuda, and played as an adult by TV actress Miho Kanno, grew up to be a woman who lacked both friends and family. She was totally lacking in any kind of happiness at all. So we are not surprised when she, after giving up all hope, decides to take her life by jumping off a bridge in Tokyo. She climbs up on the railing and jumps off. All that remains are her shoes. Roll intro.

Miho Kanno as Ai-Chan/Yoko Matsuda

After the intro we find that Yoko has not perished, she’s actually a strong swimmer/diver. She’s soaked to the skin, but alive, so she crawls ashore and makes her way to a nearby pub restaurant. Still dripping water, she orders a beer, then passes out.

Well luckily for her character, and for we viewers, she went to the right place because it is here at the bar/restaurant that we meet the characters who will become instrumental factors in her future.

Koji Tamaki as Officer Yuji Kataoka

The first is Yuji Kataoka, a policeman just approaching his mid forties, who has just transferred from the detective division to an admin division so he could spend more time with his young children. His wife Kaori had passed away four years ago and he had not remarried. But his outlook on life is amazing. He’s always smiling and is ever helpful.

Fumiyo Kohinata as Det. Iitsuka

Detective Hideki Iitsuka is like the bachelor uncle that all of us have in our own families. He’s really a sweet guy but is often overlooked or forgotten. He would like to have a girl friend but he will get super nervous when meeting a woman. He is the main comedic character in the series.

Hiroki Narimiya as Det. Yaginuma

Detective Yuusuke Yaginuma is a young detective, and former partner of Kataoka. He’s impetuous, driven, and kind of a thick-headed baka (idiot). This is true because as he pines away for Ai-chan who is really Yoko Matsuda while she works her way through her ‘amnesia’, he totally misses the avid signals tossed his way by a real beauty on the police force. More on her shortly.

Emi Wakui as Fusako-chan

There’s another key cast member and that would be Fusako Enomoto who was played by Emi Wakui. Fusako becomes great friends with Yoko/Ai-chan, and serves as a female chum and confidant. BTW Wakui was the star of the very first Japanese drama I ever watched. It was called Virgin Road, and I watched it broadcast on television in New York about 13 years ago.

Hiroko Sato as Officer Momoka Hamanaka

The last essential member of the cast (appearing in at least one or two scenes in every episode) is Officer Momoka Hamanaka and she is played by none other than former gravure idol Hiroko Sato, who looks great despite the fact that we only see her in a police uniform.

Okay, that’s the who. The why should you watch this heartwarming and moving drama can be summed up quite easily. It is the story of a woman who grew up without any kind of love, who attempted to throw away her life, who now finds herself living under the same roof with a family of a man with three small children and no wife.

When Kataoka’s good natured middle aged man (played by the effervescent Koji Tamaki) meets up with Miho Kanno’s Ai-chan, a surly and disagreeable woman, you just know you’re going to watch a feel-good story and changes will occur.

And you do – only not quite in the way you expected or hoped for; and not without some decidedly rough patches for all involved. I heartily recommend this 10 episode family drama which was first broadcast on Japan’s NTV Network from October 12, 2005 to December 14th, 2005, in the prime time slot at 10:00 PM. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

It is available on DVD from the California based Japanese Drama Store
http://www.jpdorama.com/JapaneseEng/dvdbox/Love_Song.asp
with English, Chinese, and Malay subtitles.

The theme song of the series is sung by the series lead actor, singer-songwriter, Koji Tamaki, in what was his first acting role in eight years at the time of the broadcast. You can watch and listen to him sing his song in a live concert performance in the following video.

Ordinary Miracle

The event that caused them to meet was anything but romantic. On their own, they each consider or think that a third person, a man standing by himself at the far end of the train platform, may be going to take his own life by leaping in front of an oncoming train.

Independently they watch him, and as the train approaches, this man edges toward the side of the platform of the oncoming train. They spring into action and barely pull this man back to safety from a sure death by punching him and wrestling him down to the platform’s surface..

Later in the Train Master’s office, this man angrily denies any thoughts of suicide. He claims he was beaten and kicked for no reason at all – out of the blue – is how he describes it.

The woman is called Kana Nakashiro and is played by the beautiful actress Yukie Nakama. The man is called Shota Tasaki and is played by Ryou Kase in his first lead role in a Japanese TV Drama Series.

Soon they are excused from further questioning as the man was not injured, or even bruised. They part company at the turnstile;  Shota heads back up for his train, and Kana leaves the station. Moments later,  Shota rushes down from the upstairs platform after initially boarding his train, and then quickly stepping off. He wants to find Kana. But she’s gone.

Or is she? They later meet by a seemingly random coincidence at a nearby coffee shop shortly after he has given up hope of seeing her again. We of course expected as much – these are the cast headliners – why wouldn’t they meet?

And so begins Ordinary Miracle aka Arifureta Kiseki.  What made each of them suspect this man was harboring suicidal thoughts? That is the premise of this series and the reason why we will continue to watch this drama – hoping their personal mysteries and the emotional scars that each carries will be revealed.

Shota is a construction worker who does plastering.  He lives with his grandfather and father. Kana is employed by a restaurant supplies & equipment firm.  She trains people to use the cooking techniques based on her firm’s appliances. She lives with her parents and her grandmother.  Neither Shota nor Kana appear to be happy, but they have to go about their lives and careers, because even with their insecurities and foibles, life continues.

This series is a moving tale of how ordinary people living their lives, who under an unusual happenstance,  meet, grow closer, and help each other heal. The road to that end is not easy, and some of the turns and twists that their journey takes are not always believable, but the story unfolds slowly and beautifully. There’s no glitter or over glamorization on the screen. This emphasis is on the story, rather than being a star vehicle for the lead actor and actress. If you are not familiar with any of the Japanese cast, then this drama will impact you even more, as you’ll come to  it with no predefined expectations.

The director doesn’t employ any video editing gimmicks and the like. Nevertheless, the series is sumptuously captured on video, and there are many supremely lovely images that make this story captivating. One of the unusual features of this series are the long takes, and the lack of tight closeups.

This intentionally creates a distancing between we the viewers and the actors. But this makes the words of the screenplay take on added value which will make you appreciate the story even more.  Speaking of which, the screen writer of this drama, Taichi Yamada, walked off with the Japanese equivalent of an Emmy for her script for this series.

This 11 episode series was broadcast on the Fuji-TV network at 10:00 PM on Thursdays beginning on January 08, 2009 through March 19th, 2009. There is a DVD with English, Chinese, and Malay subtitles, available from this California based seller – The Japanese Drama DVD Store (URL below).

http://www.jpdorama.com/JapaneseNDVD/dvdbox/Arifureta.asp

Also worth noting is that this drama’s theme song is called Dreams Are More Precious (Than Gold) and is sung by Enya. Listen to the song here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fHaE9ABXPtw