Looking forward

A quick note about forthcoming j-dramas that have caught my eye.

Perhaps the biggest surprise is the announcement of a second series of Zettai Reido. I don’t remember hearing that the first series got great ratings, and I found it quite a slow, pedestrian police drama. Still, I’ll watch this new series to see where they take the idea next.

Most interesing drama is from the channel WOWOW, who offer up Ningen Konchuki. The mix of ARATA as a lead actor, the midnight time-slot and WOWOW’s previous good record with dramas means I’m definitely anticipating something special. The synopsis tells us it’s about a woman with an ability to effortlessly pretend to be something she’s not, such as an actress, doctor, novelist. An intriguing idea.

Bull Doctor is a series about a pathologist and a detective who don’t get on, but work together to solve crimes. It seems a bit like Voice in that it has a pathologist sloving crimes, and it even has Ishihara Satomi in it. This one could go either way. Ishihara Satomi may have been in some good stuff over the years (Voice, Puzzle, Reinonryoshuka...) but she’s also starred in some real clunkers (Tobo Bengoshi, Hidarime Tantei EYE). Nevertheless, it’s definitely on my list of things to watch.

Lastly is a drama I’m looking forward to mostly due to the cast. Eita and Mitsushima Hikari star in Soredemo, Ikete Yuku. I don’t know much about the storyline at the moment, apart from it involves a death in the family some years ago and a chance meeting brings up the old memories. It’s probably going to be one of those dramas that tries to make you cry in every episode, but with those two actors in the lead roles it should still be worth watching.