Suna no Tou

A story involving kids isn’t high on my drama-watching radar, but I felt I had to give Suna no Tou a go when I saw Kanno Miho and Matsushima Nanako on the cast list, more so when the latter was billed as the antagonist. While star power isn’t always a guarantee of quality, I was interested in what I thought would be an acting showdown between the ladies and hoped for the best.

Takano Aki (Kanno Miho) and her family move into a new high-rise condo, hoping that this would be the start of their dreams and a better life. However, she encounters the resident vainglorious housewives who ostracise her and make her life miserable, and only another neighbour, Sasaki Yumiko (Matsushima Nanako) seems to be a friend to Aki. As a series of abductions involving young children unsettles the neighbourhood, someone is also trying to tear Aki’s life and family apart…

Guilty Akuma to Keiyakushita Onna

Working through Tamaki Hiroshi’s repertoire of works, I landed on Guilty Akuma to Keiyakushita Onna. This is a revenge drama that’s not quite a whodunnit, but does show the futility of revenge pretty well. I enjoyed the drama generally, so I thought I’d pen some of my thoughts (with spoilers) on this.

Nogami Meiko (Kanno Miho) seems to be an ordinary pet groomer at a dog salon in Shirogane – she is quiet, nice and does her work well. However, Meiko has a dark past. Fifteen years ago, she was convicted of killing her nephew and brother-in-law by feeding them a poisoned chocolate cake, and sentenced to jail, even though she was innocent. Her sister later committed suicide because of this incident. Now that she is out, Meiko is intent on taking revenge on those who had a hand in destroying her family. In the course of her revenge, she encounters Mashima Takuro (Tamaki Hiroshi), a detective who is on the hunt for his missing mentor Miwa Shuhei – coincidentally, Miwa is connected to Meiko’s case…