Nanase Futatabi (七瀬ふたたび -2008)

Starring:
Renbutsu Misako as Tanaka (Hida) Nanase
Shioya Shun as Iwabuchi Kosuke
Miyasaka Kenta as Hirose Akira
Ichikawa Kamejiro as Detective Takamura
Sainei Ryuji as Detective Eto
Kaku Tomohiro as Henry (Kishitani Naoto)
Mizuno Miki as Sunadori Fujiko
Yanagihara Kanako as Mayumi Ruri
Kohinata Fumiyo as Hida Seiichiro
Kitamura Soichiro as Masuda
Imai Tomohiko as Nishio Masahito
Guests
Nakamura Kumi as Tanaka Shizuko (ep1)
Ito Yumiko (伊東由美子) as Akira's aunt (ep1)
Achiwa Satomi as Nanase's aunt (ep1)
Izawa Hiroshi (伊沢弘) as retirement home director (ep1-2)
Yasuda Sachiko (安田祥子) as Watanabe (ep1-2)
Tashiro Tadao (田代忠雄) as Shinozuka (ep1-2)
Mori Koko (森康子) as Takahashi (ep1-2)
Hirabayashi Kotaro (平林弘太朗) as bartender (ep1-5)
Hamada Michihiko (浜田道彦) (ep1-2)
Oshita Genichiro (大下源一郎) (ep1)
Sakamaki Takahiro (酒巻誉洋) (ep1)
Abe Shohei (阿部翔平) as assistant (ep2)
Nagasawa Nao (長澤奈央) as woman in red (ep2)
Cho Songha (チョウ・ソンハ) as serial killer (ep2)
Yamauchi Nata (山内ナタ) as bank clerk (ep2)
Karauchi Hideki (蔵内秀樹) as guard (ep2)
Shirakawa Masayuki (白川正之) as waiter (ep2)
Yoshida Natsumi as beautician (ep2,4-6)
Nakahira Yoshio (中平良夫) as Sakata (ep3)
Ito Eiko as Masuda Naoko (ep3,5)
Ono Ryo as real estate agent (ep3)
Hasegawa Hiromi (長谷川博己) as Takeda Yuji (ep3,6)
Waki Tomohiro as Sudo Takeshi (ep3)
Takase Misaki (高瀬岬) (ep3-4)
Higashiyama Mami (東山麻美) as Koyama Sayaka (ep4)
Kaku Chie (加來知恵) as woman at Yuji's home (ep4)
Ube Hiroyuki (宇部洋之) as Toshi (ep4)
Abe Shohei (安部翔平) as Kanzaki (ep5)
Miyamoto Yume (宮本侑芽) as Inoue Misato (ep5-6)
Hasegawa Mayumi as Inoue Kaori (ep5-6)
Mitsuishi Ken as Sakura Shogo (ep6-9)
Sakurada Seiko as Gomi Yuriko (ep7-8)

A suspense story about a girl with an ability to read people's mind. Together with her psychic friends, Nanase, the telepath, tries to save others from danger and fight those who try to abuse her power. --NHK

I really, really, really loved this drama. Something about the thought of all of us having a hidden talent like reading minds or controlling our surroundings or even crossing time is really not a new idea but the way it was brought out in this story was amazing. Every character was superb in their abilites. I even loved the "romance" between Nanase and Kosuke.

This scene was so beautiful. *sigh* I wanted to be Nanase!!!

The end....well, I can't say if it was a happy ending or a sad ending. Oh there were some really sad parts. I cried the last 20 minutes of the whole last episode. I was moved beyond to tears and then some. But most of all, the "thought" that Nanase narrated to everyone's mind was so moving.....*sigh* OMG! I think I'll tear up some more. I loved this drama so much I have it downloaded to my hard drive ready for DVD burning.

Night Time Picnic (Yoru no pikunikku, 夜のピクニック-2006)

Starring:
Tasuku Emoto ... Koichiro Takami
Sosuke Ikematsu ... Junya Sakaki
Takuya Ishida ... You Nishiwaki
Tomohiro Kaku ... Shinobu Toda
Shihori Kanjiya ... Rika Gotou
Rosa Kato ... Anna Sakaki
Madoka Matsuda ... Chiaki Kajiya
Aki Nishihara ... Miwako Yusa
Mikako Tabe ... Takako Koda
Ai Takabe ... Ryoko Uchihori
Narumi Konno

Following last year's sensitive Way of Blue Sky, director Nagasawa Masahiko continues to deal with coming-of-age tropes in Yoru no Picnic (a.k.a. Night Time Picnic). The film follows a group of high school students on a strenuous day-long hike during which they discover new sides of themselves. The story is adapted from author Onda Rika's popular same-titled novel, which earned Onda the Yoshikawa New Literary Writer's Award and the second Honya Award. Yoru no Picnic features a talented young cast including Tabe Mikako and Nishihara Aki who previously appeared in Way of Blue Sky, Ishida Takuya (Rough), Ikematsu Sosuke (Yamato), model Kato Rosa, and Kaku Tomohiro (Hana and Alice). Takako's (Tabe Mikako) high school has a unique tradition. Every year, the school's 1000 students walk 80 kilometers in 24 hours. As this is her final year of high school, Takako decides to work up the courage to talk to her stepbrother You (Ishida Takuya), whom she has never spoken to before. Classmates who are unaware of their relationship read something more into their awkward overtures.


This movie is a relatively slow moving, timid piece of work. I don't recommend it if you were looking for that "something, something". To some this would be considered boring. I'll admit that I was "this close" to just turning it off but I held on. This about friendships, relationships, trust, and betrayal.

It's a moving piece. Very thought provoking. I can't say much without giving away the plot and then the whole thing wouldn't be worth watching.

What if there was someone who was always there but you thought hated you but was more afraid of you? Would if this person was closer to you than you ever knew but didn't know how to be with that someone? Confusing? Trust me it's hard writing this without giving away the ending.

In the end, don't give up hope. Watch it till the end. It's very sentimental. I teared up at the end. It's a happy ending..that's all that I'll say.

Medaka (めだか-2004)

AKA: Night School

Starring:
Mimura as Meguro Takako
Harada Taizo as Shiina Ryousuke
Eita as Sakuragi Taku
Sudo Risa as Kawahara Yukiko
Yamamoto Taro Yabe Hiroki
Kinouchi Akiko as Kawashima Taei
Hiraoka Yuta as Takasugi Junpei
Kuroki Meisa as Yoshizumi Asuka
Izumiya Shigeru Kariya Rokuro
Yamazaki Shigenori as Oyamada Osamu
Ichige Yoshie as Meguro Mizue
Kohinata Fumiyo as Taneda Naofumi
Asano Yuko as Kunimi Shouko
Hayashi Ryuzo as Morimura Seiji
Kato Koki as Takei Kou
Asahina Eri as Yamamoto Eri
Endo Yuya as Nemoto Yuuya
Sato Megumi
Sato Kazuya
Izawa Ken (ep1)
Kaku Tomohiro (ep3)
Koide Keisuke (ep3,5)
Sakai Wakana as Kariya Keiko (ep7)
Katayama Reo
Yanagisawa Takahiko
Masana Bokuzo


Takako Meguro's dream has always been to get married and quit her job. But one day, she finds herself working as a teacher at a night school. At first, she is unmotivated and doesn't take her work seriously. But she soon finds out that work at night school is tougher than she thought. There's a high-school dropout, a businessman, a cabaret girl, and many others—every student is either strange or extraordinary in one way or another. Half of the students are older than Takako, and she discovers that one of the students was her classmate in elementary school.

Now that she sleeps during the day and works at night, Takako is unable to attend drinking parties to meet guys. She starts to think that's how life is, and she should go with the flow.

But one night an incident ignites Takako's passion for her job, which explodes into an angry scolding of her students. --Fuji TV

OMG! I found a drama with Eita! I love him! He's just so my type! Tall, dark, and....oh, so gorgeous! HEHE!

I have to say that the Japanese like to shove down your throat school-life morality! I don't know how many shows that I've seen the teacher teaching hard-to-teach kids. Let's see....Gokusen and GTO are some examples. This one is a bit different as the "kids" are a mosaic of drop-outs of different ages.....a few older than the teacher herself. The setting....night school. Definitely different....but as the "kids" learn about themselves the teacher learns as well.

I've never heard of this drama until I literally fell upon it. This one is totally underrated. This one needs to be pushed to the masses!!

Endo Yuya


Hiraoka Yuta

Just had to add a few guys that you don't normally see up front and in leading roles but their supporting characters make major impacts....and they're cute too!