Just finished: Bloody Monday 2

* spoilers? You know it! *



A sequel that’s better than the original? In this case, I think so. While the final climax is something of a damp squib and relies a lot on people not dying when shot in the chest, the build up is pretty imaginative. The clear highlight being the episode where they have to disarm a computer-controller sniper rifle held in the arms of a cuddly toy panda which is motion-tracking a small boy’s head as he plays in his room. Genius.

The drawback is that as the stakes get higher, those members of the cast chosen for their youthful good looks seem to struggle with the more emotional scenes. Hornet, the evil hacker, is supposed to be deranged and dangerous but just comes across as contrary – the kind of opinionated teenager we’ve all met on internet forums. Meanwhile, even the main star can’t seem to get across any emotional gravitas.

So, we’ve got a curious mix of clever stories and unengaging characters. Certainly, I think it helped that I’d seen the first series: since I’d seen them go through all that, I wanted to stick this out to the end. Had I come in on the second series, I do wonder how long I would’ve lasted.

Currently watching: Zettai Reido and Bloody Monday 2

Wahey! Someone’s subbing Zettai Reido! I was a bit worried about having all the episodes without any way of understanding what was going on. But recently soft subs came out, so problem solved.

This drama follows a division of the police force as they crack cases that occurred years ago. Aya Ueto plays the new member of the team, and so far, that’s about it. One episode in and the only other character to be given any depth is Yamaguchi Sayaka's (Shimokita Sundays, Zettai Kareshi), who plays a former profiler turned detective. There have already been suggestions that her career contains some devastating failure that caused her to change jobs. No one else has had more than a brief introduction such that you can identify them as the wise old one, the computer whiz kid and the boss.

Watching this gives quite a strong sense of déjà vu. It bares some similarities with Boss concerning profiling and a love for new (possibly fictitious) crime-solving methods involving technology. Not a problem in itself, but the fact that the cases are several years old does leave the show with a certain lack of urgency. Plus, it’s difficult for new evidence to be found without it looking very lucky and/or convenient. In the first episode, the killer filmed part of the murder and put it on his laptop, which was then sold to someone who recovered the deleted file, and… well, it goes on. This may need a few episodes to get going.

On the other hand, taking barely five minutes to get going is Bloody Monday 2. Two years have passed since the unsuccessful attempt to attack Tokyo and, while our former heroes are trying to lead normal lives, nefarious deeds are being played out that bring them all back together. I’m still miles behind – only just seen episode one, which is good enough to be a film in its own right. They can't keep this up, can they? Either way, I have high hopes for this.

Just finished: Bloody Monday

So, just in time for the second series to begin (part one already subbed and up on Silent Regrets – fast work!), I watch the end of the first. Entertaining enough, and the false finale of episode nine was a good way to set up the last two episodes.

The fact that I knew there was a second series did kind of dampen any tension as you can guess that most of the main cast make it through to the final credits in one piece. Plus, I think the terrorists spent more time killing each other than they did the police which was a convenient way of making them appear threatening without losing too many of the main characters.

Overall, it was enjoyable. Darker than your average piece of J-drama, and it kept on at a decent pace throughout. Sometimes you could be thinking the fast narrative was a way to paper over some of the more flimsy plot points but that’s overly cynical. It is, after all, meant to be a rollercoaster ride through a tale of subterfuge and lies. It never gets too close to any social commentary. Well, apart from the idea that the Japanese masses are socially inept drones and, as such, expendable. I know I’m not supposed to take that seriously, but I’ve seen it used as a plot point quite a few times now, I wonder if some writers out there mean it.

Currently watching: Bloody Monday

I’ve seen this described as “Japan’s 24” and since it’s coming back for a second series I thought I’d give it a go. It’s a tense thriller based around a terrorist organisation getting its hand on a virus which they intend to use on the Japanese public. The police have enlisted the aid of a genius hacker who isn’t yet out of high school and whose dad, just to make things awkward, has gone over to the side of the terrorists.

It’s certainly a cut above the other suspense-led programmes I’ve watched such as Boss, Majo Saiban and Team Batista no Eiko (which I gave up on) for the simple reason that the main characters are under genuine threat, although you may want to wait until the cliffhanger is resolved in the next episode before discovering who has actually died.

Perhaps its only failing is the title itself. It’s certainly difficult to give any phrase a sense of evil portent when you’re so clearly mispronouncing it. But that’s a minor thing. Overall this is a compelling adventure, perhaps somewhat improbable at times but it’s certainly a lot easier to suspend disbelief than with others of the same genre.

Currently watching: Tokyo Friend Park 2

About a week or so ago, I was looking for things about the film Virgin Killer Road (which I still haven't seen) when I found that the cast had been on this show to promote it. So I downloaded it, and found myself watching a game show in which famous people compete in silly games for prizes. I actually first heard of this show (without learning the name) a few years ago when I read about a Japanese game show in which contestants wore a special suit and flung themselves at a velcro wall for points - the higher the better. And the rest of the game follows in a similar vein, with a mix of physical challenges and general knowledge.

I enjoyed it, so started to look around for other episodes and found one with some of the cast from Bloody Monday. I usually see Kichise Michiko acting as a cold, impassive terrorist or as the cold, impassive Liar Game organiser so I couldn't pass up the chance to see her as a competitive, energetic normal human being. It turns out the Bloody Monday team were pretty good - I've seen a few episodes of TFP2 and they seem to be the best so far. So if I ever find myself needing to put together a team of celebrities to acheive a series of knockabout stunts for the chance of winning some golf clubs, I know who to ask.

Just browsing

Now that I’ve finished Akihabara@Deep, I’ve started looking around for something to replace it. Recently, I’ve seen good things written about Boss and Bloody Monday, so I thought I’d download the first episodes of each to give them a go.

While I enjoyed them both, they have similar styles and along with Liar Game 2, there’s quite a lot of unexpected twists, close-ups of clever people looking thoughtful, an awful lot of Toda Erika (pictured) (Liar Game 2, Boss) and an enormous amount of Kichise Michiko (all three!). I’d previously only seen her in Liar Game, where her character is a cold emotionless organiser of the games. As such, her acting skills were never really stretched, so it was a surprise to see her smile, laugh, pick things up, etc.



The trouble is, with all three programmes based around people pitting their wits against each other, it could get quite samey. One’s going to have to be put to one side for now. I just have to decide which, though. Could be tricky.