Hanbun, Aoi weeks 1-7

It’s taken me forever, but I finally got round to starting Hanbun, Aoi. I had wanted to wait until the subs were done, but couldn’t resist Sato Takeru’s first asadora, so before I knew it, I had devoured six weeks’ worth of episodes. So much for slowing down!

In a small town in Gifu prefecture, two babies were born on the same day. Nireno Suzume (Nagano Mei) and Hagio Ritsu (Sato Takeru) are best friends who know each other inside out. Suzume is deaf in one ear due to a childhood illness, but that has not put a dent on her sunny personality. As Suzume works towards her dream of becoming a mangaka, Ritsu protects his friend quietly from the sidelines…

Hanzai Shokogun

I never thought there’d be a day when I could (remotely) root for a character played by Tanihara Shosuke, but the heavens must have been listening and there finally is a drama that allows me to do just that.

Muto Takashi (Tamayama Tetsuji) quit the police force a year ago after he lost his sister Sayuri to a crime committed by a juvenile offender. He now works at a detective agency investigating infidelity cases. One day, he is asked by Tamaki Keigo (Watabe Atsuro) of the MPD to take on a special case that he cannot refuse…

Love Shuffle

It’d be remiss of me to not write anything about Love Shuffle, given that the blog’s name comes from the drama. It’s smartly written, has a refreshing concept and truckloads of eye-candy and chemistry. It can be, however, an acquired taste – I fell in love with the drama only on my second attempt, but I’m intensely glad I gave it another chance, and now I can’t recommend it enough.

Four top-floor apartment dwellers – salaryman Usami Kei (Tamaki Hiroshi), trilingual interpreter Aizawa Airu (Karina), gravure photographer Sera Ojiro (Matsuda Shota) and psychiatrist Kikuta Masato (Tanihara Shosuke) are stranded in the elevator during a power outage and become acquainted with one another. They then decide to shuffle their partners in an attempt to find out whether there is really a soulmate out there for everyone…