Ghost Negotiator Tenma. 天魔さんがゆく [series]

Ju-On confused with Ghostbusters on anti psychotics that dont work. 

Having just spent the last ... hour... oh god I just checked the time and its really an hour... ranting online with a friend about which world we want to live in out of the anime / gaming realms we love (inspired by a 9gag post) I thought I would continue to shirk and just write on here for a bit. 

We ended up deciding on Final Fantasy as a whole franchise (though that may be cheating) because we could then also holiday in Kingdom Hearts. 

I would get to be Rikku from FF 10 and live with Kadaj and Reno from FF 7, but go for holidays to stay with Ariel and we could go out on the pull for princesses together (her prince and my CGI silver haired evil gorgeous would never know) 

Oh god Im seriously digressing here. My point was that Im already in nerd squee mode so it seemed fitting that I start this post for Tenma san.

Cast list: 

Domoto Tsuyoshi - Tenma Kawaguchi 

Haruna - Akira Minagawa 

Sarutoki - Daikaku Keizo 

Serina - Mukunoki Riko 

Sato Jiro - Hokai Tendo 

Morisaki Hiroyuki - Ashikaga Minoru 

Kamakura Taro - Ohira Santa 

Funassyi - Funassyi 

As you might have noticed, there is a name in the cast list which isn't in the drama wiki. It was my first encounter with Funassyi and it was just too weird! Watching it now would make more sense but back then it was just too weird... but actually... desired effect i guess. 

Akira's face when she encounters Funassyi was exactly the same as mine. Just a " ... " and nothing else. Seen as Funassyi is even adored by Show Luo, 

(so random to see pictures of Show and Fun hanging out together in articles popping up on my internet feeds) 

so I thought why not chuck him in the credits too. He certainly is getting around these days. 

Funassyi's little cameos in Tenma san is not the only weird addition by far. There are bumbling idiot ghosts each episodes plus the greatness of Sato Jiro playing Tenma's dead dad - who is the BEST I cant even explain. 

I desperately want the DVD of this series in case there are extras of Domoto and Sato just d*cking around, ad libbing and laughing because all of their scenes together seem to be just that and I could have watched a whole program of just those two talking sh*t. 

Its a mumbled Kansai-ben garbled bumbling stupid story with a perfect cast, one of the best dramas I've seen in ages. There were no English subs at the time I watched, not sure if there are now or not but its not the easiest one to understand. But I watched it with my very own kansai boy so at least that helped me. 

The strong dialect twinned with the constant references to other dramas and movies makes it an in joke fest. 

Domoto is so funny. His dead pan acting is perfect for this useless idiot of a character, 

and Haruma (Yankii kun to Megane chan) was just a great match for him, showing off not only how much a good actress she is but also her comic timing and bravery. 

Not giving a single f*ck was given about looking stupid - it was up to Domoto's level of brilliance. I thought. 

I just could not get over the pairing of Sato Jiro and Domoto Tsuyoshi as father and son. God, that was the best thing I had ever seen, I really wished there had been more of their scenes together. 

Its from director Fukuda Yuichi, who worked on Saru Lock, Tokyo Dogs, 1 Pound no fukuin and Yuusha Yoshihiko, so we KNEW this would be a good one but seriously I think I broke myself laughing so many times. 

 And I have to say, it was really too scary in places! Actually yelled out a few times because of the ghosts... sneaking up Ju-On style and being all dimly lit and bloody. Too much, Fukada, too much! It was great. 

It really is Ghost Busters in Japan. Same outfits, same uselessness, but with Ju-On ghosts rather than slimer and the Michelin man. Great stories, nice touching moments, fantastically funny cowardice, and unbelievably genius ad libbing skits. 

There isn't much beginning and end to the drama as such, only that Akira starts working for Tenma san in the first episode so we kind of follow her progression, and as she wants to get the hell away from them in the last episode but cant because they are like crack. Ghost hunter crack. 

We follow these three bumbling idiots trying to save the souls of ghosts and help them cross over to the other side and leave the humans they haunt in peace. One major problem seems to be Tenma san's complete lack of ability to brave it out and not faint at the sight of a ghost. 

He says really cool things in front of Akira, we all swoon a little, and then a ghost pops up and he promptly faints leaving Akira and Daikaku to fend for themselves. In fact, many times he sends Akira off on her own to deal with the ghosts with some crappy excuse as to why he cant do it himself, barking commands to her from behind a door. 

His fainting is accompanied swiftly by the appearance of his dad to impart some words of ... wisdom...ish, which prove to be the most nonsensical moments of the show.

I got hooked in this absolute madness and really wish they would do a reprise in a special or a second season. 

I could quite happily watch a spin off series of Sato Jiro's character d*cking around in heaven with his mates. I really really REALLY hope they at least do a special. But I dont think they will.   

I am thankfull to this drama for many things... 

For making me love Domoto, yes. 

For giving me more baka Sato Jiro, of course - goes without saying. 

For showing off Haruna as a great actress to follow in the future, definitely. 

Thankful for showing me I actually do understand a little bit of Kansai ben so maybe I have some ray of hope that I will understand my other half's parents when I meet them..... Well yeah. 

But I still think I'm going down in firey flamey flames of Rescue style staring at fire even though you are a fireman flames. But obviously that's not Tenma san's fault. Although, if he turned out to be personally responsible I wouldn't even be surprised.

~

yankii-kun to megane-chan ヤンキー君とメガネちゃん [series]

how can someone so pretty gurn like a cornish pasty

naka riisa is on top form for this comedy drama series. i think she is one of the funniest actresses on tv. pairing up with narimiya hiroki to form a duo of bizzarely perfect chemistry. i laughed all the way through.

both naka and narimiya can pull the most stupid faces and do constantly. 

their friendship (forced on him by her) is great. 

narimiya plays yankii (deliquant) shinagawa, naka plays class president adachi.

she has a past that surprises everyone and is the reason she seems to understand shinigawa so well. 

and man did she look good as a yankii! so cool.

izumi (hongo kanata) is adachi's rival in schoo and rinka (kawaguchi haruna) is a friend from her past who turns up one day to put a spanner in the works.

along with chiba (koyanagi yu) who they save from his agoraphobic life, the group become a weird choice for the student council, constantly having to prove their worth to a student body that doesnt really have faith in any of them apart from izumi. (hongo looks great in this drama. doing his unimpressed prince of tennis face all the way through)

adachi's grandad is played by ito shiro and is a really cool character. i liked him a lot. they often talk while sat on their porch - a bit like hotaru and her manager from hotaru no hikari. i wouldnt be surprised if it was the same house. The porch looks the same.

i like those moments where adachi looks normal and quiet, then we suddenly jump back to her being mental super school girl, chasing shinigawa around like a completely neurotic screaming banshee.

narimiya spends most of his time up on the school roof smoking and naka spends most of hers running around like a tw*t.

mostly do these things together while bickering and squabbling like a pair of moody ducks. 

although they have this argumentative banter they do seem to always be trying to keep the other out of trouble. and failing. completely.

They have no idea that they like each other for ages. They are both so stupid and wrapped up in their own issues to notice things like that. The whole premise is very silly and to be honest, typical of a Japanese school comedy. I think this had me laughing more than most though.

it does have a very sweet story but i just loved how funny it was. i cant get enough of naka's slapstick humour, and throwing narimiya into that world of stupidity was genius.

it was full of gokusen-like fights, a bit of will-they-wont-they romance, some great facial expression from naka, hongo and narimiya, and a completely far fetched story line. yay!

~