Shibatora (シバトラ -2008)

Starring:
Koike Teppei as Shibata Taketora
Ohgo Suzuka as Hosho Mizuki
Tsukaji Muga as Hakuto Shinsuke
Miyagawa Daisuke as Shinjo Toru
Minami Akina as Ayukawa Tamaki
Uchida Shige (内田滋) as Nanbara Kantaro
Sotaro (聡太郎) as Uzaki Tei
Matsuda Tamaki (松田珠希) as Manabe Yuna
Konno Narumi as Miyagi Mei
Maya Miki as Chiba Sakura
Fujiki Naohito as Fujiki Kojiro
Supporting & Guests
Imada Koji as Kinoshita Mitsuo (ep1)
Omiya Taro as Hosho Mitsuhiko (ep1,10)
Tsubaki Takayuki as Iketani Noboru (椿隆之) (ep1)
Yagami Ren as Urazawa (ep1)
Nishiyama Sosuke as Mizumoto (ep1)
Yamane Kazuma as Takagi (ep1)
Haru as Rumi (ep1)
Kawano Naoki as Kusunoki Yuji (ep1-4,7-10)
Daito Shunsuke as Kato Gakuto (ep1-4,9-10)
Miura Ryosuke as Kanazawa Takeshi (ep1-4,8-10)
Suenaga Haruka as Machida Rika (ep1-4,7-8)
Suzuki Ryohei as Mura Hiromi (ep1-4,9-10)
Kuranuki Masahiro as Mori Bunmei (ep1-4,8-10)
Suzuki Taku (鈴木拓) as Class 2-B Adviser (ep1,2,4)
Takahashi Tsutomu (高橋努) as their supervisor (ep2)
Karato Ryo as Mizoguchi (ep3)
Koike Ayame (小池彩夢) as Yagi Yuria / Mary (ep5)
Kono Yoichiro (河野洋一郎) as Yagi Yuria's father (ep5)
Takaku Chigusa (高久ちぐさ) as Yagi Yuria's mother (ep5)
Hiraga Masaomi as Ochiai Takeo's relative (ep5)
Tengenji Ryu (天現寺竜) as an artist (ep5)
Sakamoto Mitsunari (坂本三成) as as a police detective (ep5)
Ito Keita (伊藤圭) as a police detective (ep5)
Kawano Yoshiko (川野良子) as an announcer (ep5)
Hashizume Ryo as Ochiai Takeo (ep5-6)
Harada Kana (原田佳奈) as Chiba Yuri (ep5-6)
Shida Nanako (志田菜々子) as Ikushima Toko (ep5-6)
Aoki Shinsuke as Iwaki (ep5-6)
Ohira Natsumi as Ikuno Yayoi (ep7)
Yuge Tomohisa as Shishido (ep7)
Kohata Ryu (木幡竜) as Kanai Masaki (ep7-8)
Ideguchi Tetsuya (出口哲也) (ep7-8)
Kiriyama Renn as Igarashi (ep7-8)
Haruki Misayo as Machida Rika's mother (ep7-8)
Okouchi Hiroshi (大河内浩) as Kosugi (ep9-10)
Kyo Nobuo as Ino Takayoshi (ep9-10)
Sugiura Takao (杉浦太雄) as Wakabayashi (ep9-10)
Nakagawa Shingo as Fudo (ep9-10)
Toma Sora (藤間宇宙) as Masuda (ep9-10)
Inoue Waka as Tokiwa Ryoko (ep9-10)
Abe Ryohei (ep11)

No matter how you look at him, Shibata Taketora is just a quiet, ordinary junior high student. He looks so vulnerable that bullies try to rip him off on the streets, but he is actually a police detective and an expert swordsman in kendo. Taketora has a special ability to see the "hands of death" around people whose life is nearing the end. One day, Taketora is assigned on undercover operations. He sneaks into a high school, a maid cafe and a juvenile detention center... With the cooperation from his various friends, he gets to the bottom of the matters. --Fuji TV

This was a pretty good series but typical. Nothing spectacular really. The idea of the story was good though. Again another thought provoking Japanese series that left a huge moral to the story.

A good time waster but was hoping for a really good ending. I will say there was a twist that I wasn't expecting. I was really shocked. I really wasn't expecting it so that left a good feeling for this drama.

The acting was average and Fujiki-san looked horrible with that bleached hair. WTF? Go back to dark brown or black, leave the bleach behind. It made my eyes bleed.

I wish there had been more depth to this story and more money spent because this drama could have amounted to something............

.....and poor Teppei-kun. He will always be portraying a teenager as he ages. I don't think he'll ever look mature. Maybe he's lucky....or not.