Ryusei no Kizuna First Impressions

Well it seems like sub groups are catching up with the new season of J-dramas and the first episode of Ryusei no Kizuna, starring Ninomiya Kazunari, Nishikido Ryo and Toda Erika, is out subbed.


I heard that they made it lighter in tone than the novel, which I like because I don't really like dark. What I didn't know about the story was that it began before the siblings became con artists, which while not that much of a big deal still threw me off as all the PR for the drama made sure to mention they were con-artists, which had me assume that's what they would be from the start.


I love everyone in their roles. I had only seen Nino in Letters from Iwo Jima and loved him then and it's no different for in Ryusei no Kizuna. I think he's great in his role and pulls off Koichi's unwillingness to really react or care about anything outside of his family and the murder of his parents. I really get the feeling that without his siblings he would be completely lost.


I haven't seen Ryo in an acting role but had heard good things. I think he plays the role of Taisuke well. It's easy to over do the stupid in a character like that but Ryo seems to be able to draw the line to keep the stupid fun and charming instead of overdoing it and taking it to the level of annoying.


Erika is another one of the leads I've never seen in a role, but I enjoyed her in the episode as the sister, Shizuna. Her character completes the trio well and I can easily see how she will become a problem for her brothers in their goal to get revenge, as she's definitely the heart of the group as Koichi is the brains and of course Taisuke the brawn.


Honestly I'm not too interested on the storyline itself but I love the siblings, especially their interaction, and want to keep watching for them. So it's really a series if not for the actors I probably wouldn't continue watching, even though I have a feeling this just might be one of those dramas that just takes time to warm up.


The flow of the episode seems off, though it's hard to tell if it's because of the jumps in time that were used to give the back story. I'm hoping now that they don't need to fill us in on the past so much this problem won't show up in the other episodes.