Jikou Keisatsu ( 時効警察 -2006-2007)

Starring:
Odagiri Joe as Kiriyama Shuichiro
Aso Kumiko as Mikazuki Shizuka
Toyohara Kosuke as Jumonji Hayate
Fuse Eri as Matarai
Mitsuishi Ken as Morosawa
Eguchi Noriko as Saneie
Iwamatsu Ryo as Kumamoto
Hida Yasuhito as Hachisuka
Guests
Azuma Chizuru (ep1)
Takada Seiko (高田聖子) (ep1)
Ikewaki Chizuru (ep2)
Shioyama Misako (塩山みさこ) (ep2)
Tanaka Yoji (ep2)
Katagiri Hairi (ep2)
Onishi Takeshi (大西武志) (ep3)
Tanaka Tetsushi (ep3)
Ogawa Tamaki (ep3)
Nagasaku Hiromi (ep4)
Hirota Reona (ep4)
Okina Megumi (ep5)
Azuma Mikihisa (ep5)
Nogi Ryosuke (ep5)
Iizawa Momo (ep5)
Yoshitaka Yuriko (ep6)
Moriguchi Yoko (ep6)
Hazuki Riona (ep7)
Matsui Ryoko (松井涼子) (ep7)
Moro Morooka (ep7)
Tayama Ryosei (ep7)
Noguchi Kaoru (ep7)
Sakurai Atsuko (ep8)
Maki Yoko (ep8)
Hirokawa Mitsunori (廣川三憲) (ep8)
Ayata Toshiki (綾田俊樹) (ep8)
Nomaguchi Toru (ep8)
Inuyama Inuko (ep8)
Negishi Toshie (ep8)
ROLLY (ep9)
Ryo (ep9)
Tsugumi (ep9)
Sasano Takashi (ep9)
Muramatsu Toshifumi (ep9)

Kiriyama Shuichiro works as an information management officer in the prefectural police station. As he is very observant and has interest in the unresolved cases which have gone past the legal time frame (statute of limitations) i.e. the culprit cannot be charged even if he/she is caught, he investigates the cases without permission with the aim of "confirming" the culprit only. Some charateristics of this character would be his dark green spectacles, his wallet containing 20,000 yen at all times and he likes udon and nyuumen.

This drama was sort of a disappointment. Don't get me wrong. As usual, Joe-kun rocked my world. This man is a talent beyond anyones imagination. Why isn't he world reknowned? Dunno.

Anyway, the disappointment stems from the fact that both seasons of episodes were sickeningly repetitive. Then there is the fact that they hint to a "romance" and then the second season just blew it off like a north winter wind. What the.....?

This had a good start and then it fell apart as the series continued and I got bored as hell. I watched in angst just hoping that since the story was repetitive they would heat up the romance....but that failed me too.

There is only so much that Joe-kun can do. What a waste of perfectly superb acting skills that got flustered in this weak drama. *sigh*

License To Live (1998)

Starring:
Hidetoshi Nishijima - Yutaka
Shun Sugata - Shinichiro
Lily - Sachiko
Kumiko Aso - Chizuru
Sho Aikawa - Kazaki
Yoriko Douguchi - Miki
Ren Osugi - Murota
Hiromitsu Suzuki - Kurume
Kosuke Toyohara - Doctor
Kôji Yakusho - Fujimori
Masahiro Toda - Akira Ueda
Michiko Yamamura - Ueda's Mother
Taro Suwa
Akira Otaka - Garbage Man
Masaharu Ishibashi - News Announcer

Twenty-four year old Yutaka wakes from a coma after 10 years, only to find that the family he remembers from before the accident has fragmented. His parents have spearated, his sister moved to the US, and he can't even find his mother. Confused, he tries to find old friends, only to discover he has nothing to talk to them about. He sets about bringing his family back together, but is halted in his tracks by a chance encounter with the man responsible for his accident.

This was an overly slow movie. Slooooooooooow! Lots of still shots. And those stills were seconds long.

The focus of the movie was to show how Yutaka's life had changed in the 10 years he was in the coma but instead it showed that maybe being in a coma wasn't so bad.

I was terribly confused as to why his family didn't take the first plane, train, automobile to his side once he had awaken. Instead we find him with his father's best college buddy who was not so interested in being the babysitter.

This was listed as a comedy but to me it wasn't that at all. Yeah, there were some cute moments that had you smile but not so much so to make you laugh. The best moment, I thought, was when Fujimori dragged Yutaka to an exotic massage parlor. But after the experience, it wasn't all that to him. Even though he was in a 24 year old body, his brain still functioned as that of a 14 year old....so sex wasn't the experience he had imagined or not imagined...depending on how you look at it.

Surprisingly, it was the last scenes at the very end of the movie that had me. Yutaka-"Did I actually exist?" Fujimori-"Yeah, you existed." And then the surpising ending that had me in tears. It was so sad. Just thinking about it now makes my heart ache......................

It was hard getting through this movie because it wasn't an action nor comedy. But the ending was worth the time...............

Casshern (キャシャーン, Kyashān-2004)

Starring:
Yusuke Iseya - Tetsuya Azuma/Casshern
Kumiko Aso - Luna Kozuki
Akira Terao - Dr. Kotaro Azuma
Kanako Higuchi - Midori Azuma
Fumiyo Kohinata - Dr. Kozuki
Hiroyuki Miyasako - Akubon
Mayumi Sada - Sagurê
Jun Kaname - Barashin
Hidetoshi Nishijima - Lieutenant Colonel Kamijo
Mitsuhiro Oikawa - Kaoru Naito
Susumu Terajima - Sakamoto
Mayu Tsuruta - Burai's wife
Ryo - San Ikegami
Tetsuji Tamayama - Sekiguchi
Yoko Moriguchi - Luna's mother
Miku Sato

Casshern is based on a Japanese TV-series. In it, the viewer is transported into the future where they world has just seen a big war between an army from the East and an army from Europe. The East won, even though there are still rebellious factions that try to overthrow the government. The war has ravaged the world, and more than ever there is a need for peace and harmony. A scientist is conducting research into a new technology, that can rejuvante bodies and make mankind feel more alive again. The government is not interested in this technology, since they fear it could endanger their position, and the scientist is forced to work together with a sinister organization. As you can probably guess, something goes wrong and before you know it a group of all-powerful superhumans roam the planet, intent on destroying everything and everybody, so that they can rebuild the planet from the ground up.
Enter Casshern, the son of the scientist responsible for these problems. He had died during the war, but his body came back to life in the same way the superhumans did. He gets a special super-armor in order to fight the superhumans and battle commences, especially when he discovers that the superhumans are for some reason holding his mother hostage.


Hmm? I bought this and finally watched it. I have to say there are some fansubbers out there who would do a way better job than this professional junk. LOL!

This movie is for an appreciating taste. This movie left me with a headache. It was good......for some people. I couldn't really get into it. I really tried but about found myself going to sleep. My oldest son seemed to like it.....I think.

Lots of action. Very, very, very fast paced. I think that is what made my head spin. I couldn't seem to catch up. There was tooooooo much going on and the story didn't seem like it was being held together. Something wasn't right with this movie.

This was Frankenstein meets Star Wars meets Tron. The visual effects didn't help one bit. I think that was bit of a distraction too. It was dark and the color red was prominent. This was a Japanese movie....the effects should have been over par. They weren't. Where was George Lucas when they needed him?

There was definite eye candy. Tetsuji-san only had a bit part. Ugh! He was dead in about 30 minutes of the movie. Damn!

Iseya Yusuke


Kaname Jun


Tamayama Tetsuji