49 final impressions

Finally finished watching this drama and will happily move on to the next.

The drama seems to lose its way near the end and take a few odd turns. From breaking the fourth wall to a cameo for Golden Bomber. There is some set up that looked like it was meant to go somewhere but ended up being forgotten at the end and left things overall unsatisfying. Which is a bit frustrating as it also got stronger for a couple of episodes making this quite uneven. Also I despise suicide being used as a plot device, which this series does do, so that left a bitter taste for me.

It was nice to see Dan's father actually become more likable. Though it felt like it was at the expense of Dan as his plot did not go very far and still felt incomplete. But at least both became characters that could be sympathized with, as I felt there was not nearly as much of that in the first half of the series. And I really wanted to see much more of Dan than what we got and would have loved to have gotten to see more of him as he really felt undeveloped compared to his father. In any case Sato Shori at least did a great job playing the two roles as it was never confusing to tell who he was because of the different mannerisms he portrayed with them. It does make me interested in seeing what else he can do as an actor.

And talking about plots that felt underdeveloped the whole Chicken Basket sub-plot with connected plot with Dan's sister's deadbeat boyfriend are among those. But mostly because the conflicts and resolutions in the second half for them felt rather rushed and of course characters were not developed enough to really care much about what happened to them. Honestly these two sub-plots could have made for a drama on their own and it probably would have come off much stronger for it.

The love-triangle or whatever it was also felt lackluster. Takami Sachi (Yamamoto Maika) ended up coming off as rather cruel to how she treated Dan so I find it hard to believe she would be a good pairing for him. And Minaduki Mana (Nishino Nanase) really had little going for her outside of being a love interest. I feel sorry that the actresses were given such poorly written characters to work with.

Yasui Kentaro was the one who stole the series for me. Sure Shori did well with his acting which was impressive but every scene with Yasui in it he was the one I was fixed on. He just had a natural charisma with this character and truly impressed me. I would have loved to have seen the drama from the prospective of his character honestly. Perhaps some of the flaws would have been smoothed out that way.

Jinguji Yuta does not seem to be the acting type. With young and inexperienced actors you can give them some leeway as some of it will fall on the director but seeing how well Shori did, especially compared to how wooden he was in the drama he was in before this, I am willing to believe that Jinguji is just not good at acting. He was awkward in Sprout and in this, and neither in a good way. He may be able to get okay, as he at least has the fact that his character in this series was rather flat and the small story line he was given was fairly lackluster, but again I would have expected just a bit more.

In the end this drama did make me take notice of Shori's improvement as an actor and I have come to see Yasui as a Junior that genuinely interests me. So this was hardly a complete loss. And even then it was not a terrible drama, just not a great one, which still places it above at least a couple of other drama series from the NTV late night line up I have already watched. It just tried to do far too much without doing the right build up for it and should have kept things simpler.

With that though I am more than willing to move on and start up a new drama series.

49 first episode impressions

Moving along with catching up with the NTV late night dramas it is time for me to watch 49.

From the start it is easy to see that this will be a human drama, that is to say something that really focuses on the characters than an overall story line. Though 49 does give itself one to help drive everything by adding in the touch of the supernatural by having Kagami Dan (Sato Shori) being possessed by his father's spirit.

So far we basically have gotten the set up for the series in the episode. I do not think there is enough to really judge Shori's acting ability, though I began watching Hungry! recently as well and it is easy to tell he has improved from that. This does seem like a role that would help him improve even more as long as the director is good enough to lead him in the right direction.

Jinguji Yuta is another I have seen in a lackluster performance for his first drama role with Sprout. It is even harder to tell if he has improved since then and his character does not seem like one that will get much spotlight. But perhaps I will be wrong and we will see more of him and hopefully will be able to see improvement with Jinguji's acting skills.

I feel rather foolish for not recognizing the actress for the character Takami Sachi, Yamamoto Maika, until I looked her up. She was in Kamen Teacher and a couple other of these late night NTV dramas. This is her first chance as a lead female character in one though, and from what I can recall of her past roles I have faith she will be good in this. Her character in this drama seems the most sympathetic so far.

I was about to write that I have not seen Yasui Kentaro in something yet but then I remembered BAD BOYS J. Yet I have a hard time recalling how he was in that, but even the better actors in that series did not come off as good in that mess so it is probably for the best. We only have the briefest of introductions of his character, Yashiro Kento, so far but it does look like there will be more of him and the rest of the basket ball team in the next episode and beyond.


The first episode did not really grab me, but neither did the first half hour of Kamen Teacher yet I found myself loving that series by the end of the hour. So I am more than willing to give 49 another episode to get me more interested in the story it is trying to tell. If anything it has some colorful characters to round out the cast and it should be fun to watch them I hope.

Fan Status 2014: Johnny's Junior

I really miss the days of prominent Junior groups. Sure there are plenty of Juniors that I am interested in and enjoy watching but it seems harder to keep track of them as they are getting constantly shuffled around.

I still have high hopes for the Bakaleya6, even if the grouping is basically non-existant these days. But I like all six individually and still think they all have a lot of promise, even they end up debuting separately.

Lately I have come to like Iwahashi Genki and Jinguji Yuta. As someone who is usually shy I can feel like I can relate to Genki a bit. And seeing him trying to push past his shyness is encouraging. Jinguji is not the kind of idol I usually care for but I feel every group needs someone who is willing to put himself out there, which he seems to have no issue with doing. In fact it is those traits combined that I think makes Jinguji and Genki a good match for a group. And I have a lot of faith that these two will get a debut in a matter of time with how they have been steadily pushed for a while.

Of the other Juniors I do not have many that I feel as attached to. Sure there are plenty that I enjoy watching on the shows but in general I think I would be happy if any of them debut. Which is something that frustrates me is that there are so many talented Juniors that could do well after they debuted but there is no way to debut them all without over saturation.

The only Junior that is starting to catch my notice is Nakamura Reia. While he has been a Junior for some time he did not stand out much to me before. Probably in part because he was one of the younger Juniors and outside of thinking they are adorable I am not interested in them much. So now that Reia is older my interest is growing. Right now I think he has a lot of potential that hopefully will be utilized as he gets chances to participate in activities, like Gamushara.

As it is I feel like I am better off just vaguely knowing most of the Juniors and wait until the next debut to start dedicating time in getting to know them better. I do not care for that as being a fan of Kis-My-Ft2 and the members of Johnny's WEST before their debuts has made their debut announcements so special to me. Especially Kisumai. With Junior groups getting constantly shifted, if they exist at all, I know that there is little to no chance of getting to feel that joy again anytime soon.

Johnny's makes a Sexy Family

Apparently Johnny's wants to use the word 'sexy' enough so it stops looking like a word. Or that is my theory as I cannot give any feeling to having it attached to more units outside of apathy anymore. It has lost any real meaning to me other than Johnny's wanting to connect something to Sexy Zone.

This time it looks like there are new Sexy Zone sub-units, it is not made really clear in the announcement for them so I am assuming this is what they will be. But Sexy Boyz is back but this time it is a trio lead by Marius Yo with Jinguji Yuta and Iwahashi Genki. Matsushima So gets his own unit called Sexy Show that has Matsukura Kaito and Matsuda Genta. The 'Show' in Sexy Show is actually written with the kanji 松 which can be read as 'sho' (with a long 'o') and is the first kanji in all three members names where it is read as 'matsu'. So that name is basically a pun and is probably one of the more creative group names Johnny's has come out with for a while.

Yahoo! Japan News article (Japanese)


I will admit I am a bit interested in the new units but it will really depend on what happens with them. I doubt they will get their own CD releases as SZ is hardly a best selling group for Johnny's even though their numbers have been improving. Instead I see this as a way to give So and Marius the chance to do something other than be forgotten in the background. I would love to see at least unit songs come from this, especially as it means actually being able to hear what the two sound like singing these days.

As well as a good way to promote the Juniors that will be a part of these new units. Jinguji and Iwahashi have topped my 'most likely to debut' list for a while and Matsukura has been near the top himself. Matsuda I do not feel so certain about as his pushes have not been as steady as the other three but perhaps this is the break he needs to get to that level. In any case I feel extremely confident that we are looking at future debuted Johnny's with at least some of these four.

Of course it is hard to tell what announcements like this really mean until some time has passed as any long term Johnny's fan knows how fluid things can be when it comes to new units. (Nakayama Yuma w/ B.I. Shadow/NYC boys/NYC/Nakayama Yuma solo anyone?) I personally just cannot wait until 2015 and we get a new FIVB debut unit so 'sexy' can stopped being used in new group names for Juniors.

SHARK returns, sorta

The next late night NTV drama has been announced and it will be the first sequel for the time slot. SHARK will get a sequel series titled SHARK ~2nd Season~ and will premiere April 19th.

NTV OHP (Japanese)

The lead this time will be Shigeoka Daiki, who will play a bassist in a rock band called Cloud 5.

The other Johnny's in the cast are fellow Johnny's WEST members, Hamada Takahiro and Kamiyama Tomohiro, and Juniors Yasui Kentaro, Abe Aran, Hagiya Keigo, Iwahashi Genki, Jinguji Yuta, Matsukura Kaito and Negishi Aomi.


It is rather interesting that this time they are going for some of the younger Juniors for this. But I guess Jinguji and company are getting older, though most do not look it. I will be surprised if Hagiya is not the drummer in this. And I would assume Yasui will be given the role of the vocalist of the band. The rest I can only guess as that much information is not up on the site. I am rather curious about Negishi, as I do not recall seeing him before at all. Though with this drama role I am certain that will change.

With the returning members of the cast from the first season, Hamada and Kamiyama, I do wonder how this is to tie in to the first season.

But overall I need to get my laptop back so I can see about catching up with dramas so I can get around to eventually seeing this.

Q&A Month! (2012): Question 8

And finally finishing this up. So one last thank you for everyone who left me a question to answer for this.

This question comes from nanu b: the scense or the main point of the shounen club used to be the presentation or introduction of the jrs, and between the jrs you could easyly spot the main jrs that would make it(debut) sooner or later , right? 
nowadays shokura is just a program were you can see 3 or 2 debut groups plus a guest
(who is obviously another debut sempai) and see games where the participants are also debut sempais! 3 years of this and I don´t have a clue about who are the main Jrs! they push the baka team then split the baka team , then for months you see Taiga and Juri at front then Hoku and Jessy, then noon boys then snow man then jrs all over the place (just backdancing ) but no one is clearly a main Jr!
I love HSJ, ABCZ and Sexy boys are cute and everything but what about the jrs?
my question is : What are your thoughts about Shokura, the Jrs of this "era" and the debuted sempais that are still in the show?
I´m sorry for the intro of the question
No need to apologize. Honestly the amount of focus on debuted groups on Shounen Club in the past couple of years has bothered me as well. I would say it has gotten better with the longer length of the program as they can fit in another performance on the show and it seems to be going to the Juniors. But I would rather see more Juniors and less of the debuted Johnny's. Though it looks like there is a good chance the Hey! Say! JUMP members will be leaving the program when the new season begins in April, as they seem to be sidelined by Sexy Zone and A.B.C-Z nowadays and do not seem to serve much of a purpose on the show.

I would love it if SZ and Ebi get less of a presence on the show as well, maybe never give them more than one performance each for an episode and no longer have them participate in the Junior game segment. I think that should strike an okay balance for now, though Ebi should probably start moving towards leaving the program now that they are getting their own shows to be in.

They have made it hard to figure out which Juniors to follow if you want to focus on those most likely to debut. I think the best way to figure that out now is to look at which ones get work outside of the program. But I think Jesse and Matsumura Hokuto would be safe bets as they do seem to get steady focus when it comes to the older Juniors.

I think the four of the Sexy Boyz grouping are definitely Juniors to watch as well. Johnny's seems to have a thing about putting Juniors they seem to have plans for in groups of four, like Four Tops, Ya-Ya-Yah and B.I.Shadow. Of course not all of the SB four will debut, I would put money on Jinguji Yuta and Iwahashi Genki having the best shots at a debut though.

In fact with the Johnny's WEST 4 debut announcement I think it is safe to say that there are going to be debuts between now and 2020, so I am anticipating the next debut after JW4 to be a FIVB group for 2015. I can definitely see Jinguji and Genki being placed in that group seeing as I do not believe they have been attached to Twenty Twenty. And of course they will need to have some other Juniors debut with them so SC is not useless for trying to find who will debut next yet.

Shori 49

The next late night NTV drama to replace Kamen Teacher has been announced. It is titled 49 and will star Sato Shori for his debut in a leading role. The drama will begin on October 5.

The Juniors that will be in the drama are, Jinguji Yuta, Yasui Kentaro, Teranishi Takuto, Morita Myuto, Shimakake Ryuya, Takahashi Fu, Abe Aran, and Haniuda Amu.

NTV 49 OHP (Japanese only)


Not sure about the plot of the drama outside of the fact that Shori will play a first year high school student and there is something about his father involved. Honestly I am just happy that it seems to be a drama not based around delinquents. I may like those types of dramas but not season after season.

I am curious to see how Shori as a lead actor works out. I knew eventually he would get a chance like this and I was pretty sure it would be for one of these late night dramas. Of course it may take me a while to get to watch this as I am still working on my back log, but with any luck I will be much closer to catching up by the time this starts.

I would not be surprised to find that the theme song for this drama will be the untitled A-side on Sexy Zone's upcoming single. In fact with the single being released in October it is timed just right to have a drama tie-in like this. And if it is indeed the theme song for this drama then having it by only Shori, Nakajima Kento and Kikuchi Fuma like BAD BOYS was would make sense in the fact it would not be the first time they have done it.

Sprout mid-season impressions

After taking my time with getting back to this drama I am finally working my way though it. If only because I hate to leave things unfinished.

I still cannot say I am actually enjoying this drama series. If there is anything keeping me from dropping it midway it is that I do like the members of the cast. And I like them enough to try to get through all twelve episodes of this.

There are not many romantic tropes I hate more than the whole idea that there is one true destined one for someone in the whole world. Not because I do not believe that love cannot last a lifetime but rather because with this trope the only reason for a couple to be together it that they are destined to be. And because the trope relies on this it usually fails to build on why the couple work well together as a couple leaving "because I said so" as the answer to that. To me that does not work and I do not see why Ikenouchi Miku and Narahashi Sohei should be together, outside of them being so boring it would better they be boring together than to be boring with other people.

Of course what is a romance series without love triangles, though it looks like the series is going to make it even more complex by adding others into the equation. But for now it is settled with Sohei with Ozawa Miyuki (Kojima Fujiko) and Miku with Katagiri Hayato (Jesse). While Miyuki and Hayato are no great personalities I do find them slightly less boring than Sohei and Miku at least. If only because they do more than just think about things and will actually act on their thoughts.

It is probably a bad thing that I am much more interested in Miku's friends than her and her romantic troubles. They just seem more interesting even though there is so little of them shown. But I imagine a series about them would be a lot of fun as I can see them getting into all kinds of hi-jinks  because there is no way anyone's life could be as boring as Miku's.

While Jinguji Yuta is cute in this, that is about all. Though there is not much to his character, Katagiri Wataru, other than being a plot device. Which probably makes it a good thing that he is not in many scenes in this drama so far.

Every little moment that Takigawa Naoharu (Hashimoto Ryosuke) is on the screen I find a reason not to close the video file.


Watching this series reminds me why I am not a big fan of high school romance series. Especially when they come from shoujo manga. Everything moves at a snails pace and you can usually tell who the main character will end up with from the first chapter. Though to give Sprout some credit at least the guy is not a jerk that treats the main character terribly.

I still cannot believe that this story manages to stretch itself out over six more episodes. Why? Just why?

SMAP and Juniors Joy!!

For the theme song of SMAP's Katori Shingo's spring drama, Kasuka no Kanojo, the Juniors that will be in the drama, Morimoto Shintaro, Iwahashi Genki and Jinguji Yuta, will join the group in singing the theme song for the drama. (JE News Daily) The three will sing in the chorus of the song, which is titled Joy!!.

There is no release information for the single, but seeing as this is the second song SMAP has recently announced it is probably safe to assume that they will have a new single in the near future with both songs on it.

I am really happy for the boys, for Genki and Jinguji this will be the first time they are on a CD while of course for Shintaro this is his second after headlining for the Snow Prince Gasshoudan one shot CD release.

I do hope that the song will have a PV that will also include the three, it will make the single a must buy for me as Shintaro has been a Junior favorite for years now and Genki has been growing on me. That and anything SMAP with Juniors tends to be great.

And it would be even better if SMAP could take the trio with them on the music programs to perform the song, but I am sure I am wishing for way too much there. But no harm in dreaming.

Massu's Strange Fruits and Shingo gets company

Masuda Takahisa will be doing a play in the spring of this year titled Strange Fruits. It will run in Tokyo at the Tokyo Globe Theatre from May 3rd through May 26th. It will then move to Osaka at Theatre Dramacity to run from May 28th - June 2nd.

Not much else is known about the production.

OHP (Japanese only)


Katori Shingo's upcoming drama series Kasuka na Kanojo has announced some more of it's cast and it looks like there will be a few more Johnny's joining Shingo. Kitayama Hiromitsu was announced to be joining the cast on the blog of a staff member of the drama and there is a scan of a magazine article out that confirms that Juniors Morimoto Shintaro, Jinguji Yuta and Iwahashi Genki will also be in the drama, with those three playing students at the school Shingo's character works at.

The drama will air next season on Fuji TV.



Looks like there is at least one drama confirmed for my to-watch list for the next season. Of course I need to finish catching up with the ones from past seasons before I do get around to it. But perhaps this will be good motivation to finally do that.

I am really happy that Shintaro is in another drama again. I figured it would only be a matter of time before he got another drama role. And it looks like Jinguji and Genki are getting strong pushes. Of course Jinguji has been pushed for a while but Genki's push has been much more recent and it does not look like it will stop anytime soon. It will be interesting to see how he does acting. But I think this probably explains why he was added to Sexy Boyz and Kuramoto Kaoru taken out of the group for the upcoming Sexy Zone concert tour. Now to see if the members for that group stop changing or not.