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.

~

Dr. DMAT ドクター ディーマット [series]

*Insert squeely tagline about Okura being awesome here* 

So when looking at the poster for this show I though maybe Okura had made a pride of orange show with all the furrows of worry and staring at accidents to ponder and shout orders while people are endlessly dying around him - you remember Rescue right? 

Well, yes, it does go a little bit that way, but no where near as comically as Rescue. 

They have moments of arguing around dying people instead of saving them, the monologues that seem to make 2 desperate minutes last for a whole presidential speech about who to save and why. But its more realistic than Rescue. Maybe only because Rescue is so stupid that you couldnt really get much more ridiculous behaviour around tragedy. 

Dr DMAT is drama following a group of doctors called DMAT who act as paramedics to be first on the disaster scene but with the skills of fully trained surgeons and A&E doctors and nurses. This is a real thing by the way.

In this drama they are a trial team newly joined by the unwilling main character Yakumo Hibiki and his best friend nurse Yoshioka Rin. 

Did you notice I did this post in DMAT colours?

Yakumo's sister is in a coma due to his decision to save another patient before her in a scenario we have constant flash backs to. That decision plagues him as he hides in the GP office, comes out into the ER, and reluctantly goes out into battle with DMAT. 

He has to fight his demons while saving the world one person at a time and really I think they managed to keep the balance of his gloomy guilt ridden angst and his new fighting spirit pretty well. 

Full cast list: 

Okura Tadayoshi - Yakumo Hibiki 

Kato Ai - Yoshioka Rin 

Takimoto Miori - Yakumo Haruko 

Ichikawa Mikako - Isesaki Kumi 

Aso Yumi - Hasegawa Kumiko 

Sato Jiro - Kozone Tatsuya 

Hosshan - Murakami Kazushi 

Matsuo Satoru - Hanada Takichiro 

Takizawa Saori - Mizuno Sachiko 

Takaki Yuya - Komatsu Kenji 

Hidari Tonpei - Yakumo Raizou 

Ishiguro Ken - Sakuraba Shusaku 

Kunimura Jun - Isesaki Katsuichi

I was upset when they killed off really great characters, I was also dying with laughter at some epic furrows of worry pride of orange style moments - but not so much. It was more serious feels than staring off into the orange sky for no reason feels.

I loved Okura in ROMES so much that when I saw he was in another drama I was super happy. 

I think he has a wide range and I think he can keep going really successfully with his acting, but I hope that he gets to do something really different next time. 

I would love to see him play someone really quirky instead of angst filled and troubled. I think comedy is just waiting for you Okura!

Literally everything I watch recently has Kato Ai in it. She is everywhere I turn like a stalker from a crime drama, lurking round every corner with a weird camera angle and ominous music.

But this stalker, it seems, is a really nice face to see. I didnt think there was anything super special about her but I always find myself happy when she turns up in a drama, so there must be something about her.

Sato Jiro popped up again but not as a comic relief, just a shouty shouty man. He is a great no bullsh*t doctor who stomps around with the wisdom of a sage getting things done like a repo man on his last job of the day. 

A really nice mixture of personality traits. I just love love love him in any thing - he can do no wrong so I guess I cant comment so well on him.

There were some interesting side stories, some new additions to the team later in the drama to turn things up a a bit, and just so many lives hanging in the balance waiting for these guys to stop arguing and put them in an ambulance.

Ichikawa Mikaki (samurai high school) is so striking some how. There is something slightly annoying but immensely great about her. 

Her character in this drama is pretty much that way also but the annoying and awesome traits are due to very different things. 

She is a ball buster kind of woman, the hospital chief's daughter, a genius surgeon, and an arrogant bitch. But we just have to love her. 

I really like her acting style, the only really that annoys me about Ichikawa is that she mumbles so much I have a hard time understanding her speech.

There are some big moral questions each episode. Almost every one has a theme and message to it. But you see it coming a mile away, you know how its going to play out but I think that's because you know how it should play out. 

It would be interesting for someone with a none functioning moral center to watch this and see if they would agree with the decisions being made and the logic about who to save first and who deserves what level of priority in their treatment.

There are some really nice moments, and some proper tear jerkers where I really hated the show for killing off someone I really liked. 

It was only a couple of characters though, considering it is a disaster drama they manage to save many of the people pretty much all the time. Maybe it was serious enough already, they didnt want to make it too depressing.

Its not Pride of Orange but its worth watching purely because Okura is f*cking awesome.

~

Yūsha Yoshihiko to Maō no Shiro 勇者ヨシヒコと魔王の城, Yūsha Yoshihiko to Akuryō no Kagi 勇者ヨシヒコと悪霊の鍵 [series]

Dragon Quest interpreted by Sato Jiro and Fukada Yuichi. Drunk on sake. At 3 AM. 

ユウシャ!よし行こう！ 

This review is of both series of Yūsha Yoshihiko; series one is Maō no Shiro and series two is Akuryō no Kagi. Dont watch the first episode of series two first by mistake like I did. It won't make any sense. Not that it makes much sense anyway.

This show is the adored mentally challenged child of Director / writer / screenwriter Fukuda Yuichi: (Tenma san ga Yuku, Watashi no Kirai na Tantei, Tokyo Dogs, Saru Lock, The One Pound Gospel, 700 Days of Battle: Us vs. the Police), this drama is bonkers from start to finish. 

Sporting Sato Jiro as Hotoke - and after having watched the extras it is easy to see the two of them made up most of the madness as they were going along - plus a cast of well respected actors making fools of themselves in the weird ass roles they were given to play. 

It is based around computer game (specifically dragon quest) style and story line. There are fantastic game play mimicking moments like Yoshihiko smashing up everything in one of the villager's houses. 

There are useless bandits, weird monsters that don't make much sense, and a whole range of spoof-coloured skit-induced cameos from various comedic actors all making monumental arses of themselves. 

I will always remember this comedy series fondly as its pretty much the sealing tape on the absolute win box of my getting together with Mr awesome awesomeness Hanzawa Naoki to my Hana, who I'm sure will feature now and then on here. 

Laughing so much at this series was the icing on the christmas cake that was our first fantastic winter together so yay Yoshihiko.

Yamada Takayuki plays the hero, with a band of idiots around him he may well be the stupidest of them all. 

An utterly useless accidental hero who is a raging pervert and completely gullible - especially when it comes to being mislead by the bad guys. And the girls.

There are bad spells, brainwashing, magic rings, demons, and copious scenes paying homage to other cult dramas such as Crows Zero and other well loved favourites. 

There are some brilliant cameos which I wont name and spoil because I think it would be funnier to discover while watching. 

Only I can't resist talking about Oguri Shun making a brief appearance to duel with his Crows zero buddy Yamada Takoyaki in a clumsy ridiculously pathetic bickering fest that barely results in battle. 

The bandits were great, but the main four's dead pan acting was the best. The only thing that topped that was Sato Jiro being a complete mental for the entire program. He is the king of everything and should continue to be in every drama ever. 

Daito Shunsuke squeal.

These episode aren't very long. Its super low budget high humour, and the story is good enough to have at least some semblance of a point to it.

The actors and the direction, the half scripted dialogue and the babbling banter make this show stand out from anything else. 

Well, it stands away from anything Fukada Yuichi hasn't had a hand in.

His style is unmistakable and I think he and Sato Jiro should DNA fashion some crazy babies and fill the world with glorious madness.

They are a match made in Hotoke heaven. 

Hotoke beeeeeam!

~