Just finished: Galileo 2

When I started this blog I promised myself two things: One, I wouldn’t watch something just so I could review it and two, I wouldn’t force myself to write a review of something I had seen.

And that’s the problem I have now. This series has just drifted past my eyes in a pleasant but unremarkable manner, and now it’s finished I don’t really have anything to say about it. This, in itself, is quite a criticism.

Yoshitaka Yuriko was not a great replacement for Shibasaki Kuo (or even Kitamura Kazuki). Her character was too ill-defined, bossing around her superior at work but whining at the genius scientist. And as for the scientist, Fukuyama Masaharu can comfortably walk through each episode without really trying. It was up to his assistant, played by Watanabe Ikkei, to inject a little energy into the show.

And the two-part finale was a disappointment. It was a lot better than the slightly silly finale of series one, but I couldn’t help but notice that the solution wasn’t very scientific. But it was nice to see Aoi Yu back on TV in episode 8, playing an actress who used to be popular but, after a couple of dud films, isn’t so famous any more. I wonder how she prepared for that role...

Currently watching, or not as the case may be...

The slow demise of my computer has had two consequences. First, I've bought a new computer. Second, in transferring data across from the old PC to an external hard drive, I had the chance to decide what I would keep watching.

Last Cinderella fell at the second episode. It had one big problem: it just kept reminding me of Renai Neet, with its “older woman seduced by younger man with mysterious motives” theme. I found it quite frustrating to watch, with little new in the various relationships. I know the argumentative relationship between the two leads was meant to set up a kind of “Will they, won’t they” situation. But it was more like “Will they, won’t they ever shut up?”

Otenki Oneesan lasted until episode three. I tried to like it, because I'm a bit of a fan of Sasaki Kuranosuke, who was the pathologist with a huge crush on the crime busting weather girl. But I couldn't face it any more. There are two ways of making a character in a story look clever. One way is to make them say clever things. The other way is to make everyone else say stupid things. This series goes for option two.

Take Five didn't last too long, either. There was just a complete lack of camaraderie amongst the team. I know it’s only been one episode, but for most of that episode none of them seemed very happy to see each other. When the same attitude continued into the second episode, my patience ran out.

I'm still watching Galileo, and it’s the best thing I've seen so far (but I've still not watched Lady Joker or Miina Esper Dayo!) even though it’s not without its flaws. I wrote earlier it was nice to see Yoshitaka Yuriko in a less ditzy role. Well, I may have spoken too soon. I’ll stick with it because it’s still not too bad, but things are looking very grim this season.

Currently watching: Galileo

Whenever the police need help with a seemingly paranormal crime, they turn to eccentric scientist Yukawa Manabu. He solves it using his extensive knowledge of physics and his ability to write formulae on any available surface.

This is the second series, and Fukuyama Masaharu (in the lead role) is joined by Yoshitaka Yuriko as the rookie detective who's assigned to his cases. She's now the third person in this role, after Kitamaru Kauzki (who appears at the start of both series and in a film as Kusanagi Shunpei, the detective in the original novels) and Shibasaki Kuo (as Utsumi Kaoru, in the first series and a film).

Apart from that, not much else changes in this entertaining romp. While the idea of a genius solving a crime with a tiny piece of trivia is hardly new, this TV series keeps it fresh. Fukyama Masaharu is comfortable back in his old role, and it's nice to see Yoshitaka Yuriko playing someone less ditzy, for a change.

On the front cover of an English translation of a Galileo novel, it describes Higashino Keiko as the Japanese Steig Larsson. But while I enjoy Scandinavian thrillers, I'm glad that this drama steers clear of the slow, pondering pace of The Killing or Wallander. This is quick-moving, visually engaging and often very funny.

Just watched: Adrift In Tokyo

If you're feeling depressed that an actor as good as Odagiri Joe should end up in an ill-fated series like Kazoku no Uta, you can take some comfort in the fact that his 2007 film Adrift In Tokyo has finally been released on DVD.

It's directed by Satoshi Miki, and if you've seen any of his other work then you know what to expect. A storyline that meanders from event to event, with a surreal sense of humour. In this film, Joe plays a student deep in debt and Tomokazu Miura pays the thuggish debt collector who's demanding repayments. Then one day, the collector pays the student one million yen to walk with him across Tokyo. But he won't say why.

As the two men walk from one peculiar event to the next, they start to bond, and in the end they have to pretend to be part of a family. While all this is happening, we also see the co-workers of the debt collector's wife becoming increasingly worried about her absence. But, unable to believe that anything really bad has happened, they never take the situation seriously.

There's also a great cameo from Yoshitaka Yuriko as a schoolgirl who is convinced that the two main characters are father and son, and also Koizumi Kyoko (Saigo Kara Nibanme no Koi) as the schoolgirl's aunt who is also part of this pretend family.

It's a slow, dreamlike film and Satoshi Miki's signature use of logic runs throughout. Not a great deal makes sense, but once you get over that, it all makes sense.

Just watched: Yoshitaka Yuriko challenges Macbeth

Actually, the proper name for this program was "Yoshitaka Yuriko: 6 Days in London; I Challenged Macbeth" but if I put all that in the title, the whole thing would include two colons and a semi-colon, and that's a lot of punctuation just for the title of a blog post.

Anyway, recently I've been doing quite a tiring job, so I can't watch anything new because I don't know if I'm going to fall asleep halfway through. As such, I've been going back and watching old things I've seen before. In this forty minute documentary, Yoshitaka Yuriko has the impossible task of playing Lady Macbeth in English. In London. In six days.

It's not a proper production – the final play looks like it's staged in a room over a pub – but you can tell it's still stressful as she struggles to deal with a play that's in a foreign language. In one very awkward scene she breaks down and cries during rehearsals because she can't get it right. In fact, she seems to be getting worse.

In the end she makes it through, and the play is fine. People say nice things about her, but there's no denying that –from what is shown of the play – she's not a great Lady Macbeth. For a start, she's too young, and lacks the presence to make it work.

On the other hand, she was very brave to even try it. After all, she's a famous, successful actress who doesn't need to take risks. And this is illustrated in a scene where she goes to the pub with the cast after rehearsals. They ask her how many films she's been in, and she holds up a hand with one finger, and another hand with four fingers. "Five?" they say, very impressed that she's been in so many films. Then she has to correct them: "No. Fourteen."

Currently watching: Watashi ga Dekinai Riyuu

This drama follows the love lives (or lack-of-love lives) of three young single women. There’s the hostess bar worker who’s cynical about love, the bloke-ish lighting technician who’s forever stuck in the friend zone, and an over-serious virginal office worker.

The three of them share a house and give each other advice about their attempts to find love. It’s all quite innocent and naive, but still quite compelling. The three main actresses are well cast in their roles: Karina’s basically playing a less obnoxious version of the character she played in Parade, which is no bad thing. Yoshitaka Yuriko is perfect as the alluring hostess who oozes confidence but can’t actually get what she wants. Meanwhile, perhaps because she’s been in AKB48 for so long, Oshima Yuko makes a very convincing virgin.

There is a fourth main character, if the opening titles are to be believed, although she hasn’t appeared much so far. She’s the wife of a man that almost had a fling with Yuriko’s character. Quite how she’ll fit into this is still not clear, although episode four saw the two of them becoming friends unaware of the link between them.

This is an enjoyable soap opera-type drama, where almost every conversation between a man and a woman has a sub-text and if a woman says "I'm over him," you can expect him to turn up at awkward moments for the next few episodes.

Just watched: Gantz Perfect Answer

Actually, this film is pretty short on answers. Perhaps the manga it is based on has more detail about the hows and whys, but the film remains tight-lipped as to any possible explanations.

This is not a bad thing, though. The film is not about good versus bad, more like A versus B. In the second film, the story introduces the idea that the people we have been following may not be the protectors of humanity at all. Are the aliens really the aggressors, or Gantz and his followers? It hardly matters, because by now enough blood has been spilt (or splashed dramatically against walls) that there’s no chance of forgiveness.

Instead we are thrown into an hour-long fight scene that only pauses long enough for people to get their breath back. While I’m no expert of Japanese action movies, it’s the most physical and kinetic film I’ve seen since Versus. Beautifully acted, shot and choreographed, it carries you along with all the momentum of a roundhouse kick to the face.

The ending is good and wraps everything up neatly. While I think it’s perhaps a little idealistic, it is at least in keeping with the rest of the film. For what it is – a blistering action movie with occasional hints at something deeper – it’s difficult to fault.

Just watched: Gantz

Gantz started off as an manga, became an anime and is now a live-action film. People who’ve died are taken instantly to white room where they wake up alive and healthy and then a large black globe tells them to go and kill aliens.

Perhaps when I put it like that, it doesn’t seem like much, but it is an exciting and engaging film.  Ninomiya Kazunari, Matsuyama Kenichi and Natsune Watanabe are all good in the three lead roles, and Yoshitaka Yuriko pops up in a minor role as a student with a crush on the hero.

The special effects-laden sections where the team fight aliens of various shapes and sizes are tightly directed. The team has no choice but to fight, and there are always newcomers in the team who aren’t very well prepared. As a result, few make it back alive. This keeps things interesting.

Away from the action, the film is more sedate as our heroes are sent back to their homes when they’re not fighting aliens. They try to live a normal life while they piece together what is happening, and wait for the next time they’re suddenly taken to the white room to do battle.

It’s difficult to describe Gantz, because going into detail about a film as dynamic and physical and also enigmatic as this seems a bit pointless. The film doesn’t concern itself with explanations, you simply have to accept things and see what happens. Which is more or less the situation our heroes are in. A sequel is promised, with a tantalising last scene which leaves many questions unanswered.

I’m already looking forward to it.

Recommended: Ashita no, Kita Yoshio

It’s always a relief when a series that starts so strongly doesn’t fall to pieces by the end. In this series a man decides to kill himself in eleven days’ time and, after telling his plans to a slightly shady character, he falls into a whirlwind adventure involving TV talents, night clubs, assassins, multiple personalities and life insurance fraud.

After eleven episodes our hero has acted selflessly in front of enough people for them to beg him to not to kill himself, and the message finally gets through to him in the final scene.

It’s a heart-warming story, and nicely shot as well. The recurring theme of Andrew Wyeth’s artwork surprisingly plays a major part in the closing scene, which I didn’t see coming at all. This twist, albeit a small one, makes up in some way for the predictable (but satisfying) end of the show.

This drama has some great performances but most plaudits have to go to the directors (mostly Shimoyama Ten, but a few others too). This is perhaps the first j-drama for a long while where I’ve found myself appreciating the photography and composition of some of the shots.

Currently watching: Ashita no, Kita Yoshio

Over the long Easter weekend a bad knee kept me from any healthy outdoor walks I may have had planned, and so I spent the four days sitting down watching TV. I took the chance to catch up on a few things I’d always wanted to see and, of those, this was by far the most interesting. Five episodes in three days are usually enough to make me thoroughly sick of a series, but this one is keeping me intrigued.

In this series, a man – Kita Yoshio – decides to end his life in eleven days, and immediately is plunged into the most eventful eleven days of his life. In this mix is an ex-wife who hates him and who possibly murdered her second husband, a guy who’s helping him out while at the same time trying to bump him off for the insurance, a TV talent who’s trying to get out of the business, and a detective investigating the first wife but then gets sucked into following the ill-deeds of everyone else, perhaps thinking they’re all interlinked.

The improbable storyline is nicely written and genuinely funny, with some great performances. In fact, the acting is gold all the way down, with even minor characters catching the eye. It’s based on a novel, so I’ve got high hopes that it’ll have a decent ending. But it’ll certainly have to be terrible to ruin what is, so far, a splendid story.