Sengyou Shufu Tante - Watashi wa Shadow Episodes 3-7 Screenshots

Warning: Possible spoilers ahead

Sengyou Shufu Tante has turned into the surprise of the season so far. What started out to be a run of the mill drama about character development of the main character (played by an actress who gets mixed reactions from fans no less), has developed quite an interesting plot. The main character, Serina, is not only trying to grow stronger through being a detective, but she is also trying to hold onto her husband Takefumi. Takefumi is being persued relentlessly Chihaya, her boss. However, Takefumi and Chihaya are caught up in a power struggle for the company they work with, that involves Chihaya's husband and Serina's father being the main villains of the show. So far, Fukada Kyoko's acting has been mixed. Sometimes she overacts, but she does fit her character well. She does an ok job of portraying her character's struggles and nuances. Fujiki Naohito's acting has also been mixed, but that's mostly because he's playing a character that seems to be intentionally flat. The supporting cast in general, has been pretty solid, with an excellent performance by Kiritani Kenta. But what makes the show interesting is the storyline, with all the behind the scenes drama. This drama is expected to have 9 episodes altogether, so that would leave about two episodes left over.

Ranma 1/2 Trailer and CM's

With only 9 more days until the premier of the Ranma 1/2 special, I found a video clip of all the trailers and CM's so far. Enjoy. :)

Nazotoki wa Dinner no Ato de Episodes 4-6

The quality of the cases on Nazotoki wa Dinner no Ato de have picked up the last three episodes. Each of them have done something to intrigue my interest and have more depth than the first three episodes. Episode 4 included a case in which Reiko was misunderstood as a suspect for murder. Episode 5 involved a dispute between a manga author and illustraitor. Episode 6 had an intriguing case which was confused for a "curse." However, the comedy is still hit or miss and Kitagawa Keiko's character, Reiko, has yet to do anything noteworthy. There's not much development for any of the characters so far. The butler, Kageyama, is keeping it interesting with his brutal honesty towards Reiko and his impressive deductive skills. The acting is ok. Nothing great but nothing bad either.

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Himitsu Chouhouin Erika Episode 6 & 7 Screenshots

The case in episode 6 involved a religious cult under the disguise of a counciling center. The purpose of the religious cult was to drug its members to use them for sex, which was suppose to "purify" their dirty souls. Episode 7 involved a girl who liked to swindle men for money. She became a swindler after her and her boyfriend broke up, leading to him becoming rich and famous. Episode 6 I thought was ok, but episode 7 proved to be pretty interesting. Some small elements related to the plot were revealed. One of Totsuka and Erika's ex-comrads, Inukai, appeared in episode 6. Inukai will also be in episode 8, possibly revealing some of Erika's past. Meanwhile, at the end of episode 7, Totsuka gave money to an unknown woman. There seems to be something that Totsuka is hiding. Overall, this drama seems pretty interesting.

Himitsu Chouhouin Erika Screenshots

I've recently picked up a third drama, called Himitsu Chouhouin Erika, starring Chiaki Kuriyama. It's a late night drama, and episodes are 30 minutes long. Kuriyama plays the role of Erika, a housewife who has a past as a spy. Now, she's been recruited to be a part-time spy again. It's a pretty interesting show, the best of the three currently airing dramas that I'm watching at the moment. It's lighter and softer for a spy drama, dealing with cases such as plastic surgery malpractice and blackmail. The humor isn't outright hilarious, but it's delightful and cute. There's also some good mysteries that are interesting such as Erika's past, and her boss, Totsuka's past. Kuriyama fits well into the spy role, and she uses her action skills that were so good in movies such as Battle Royale, Kill Bill, and Azumi.

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Nazotoki wa Dinner no Ato de Episode 3 Screenshots and Review

Episode three's case involved a politican being murdered by one of his lovers. This episode I thought was the weakest of the three episodes so far. For one, it's getting annoyingly repetetive that Keiko's narration at the beginning of each episode talks about her character's wealth and how much more money she makes than her boss, who is also a wealthy detective. The other problem was the case. Once again, it lacked depth, and it was way too predictable. It was way too easy to guess who the culprit was. The episode added nothing to the plot until the last two minutes, where we get a ship tease between Reiko and Kageyama. The interaction between the leads and Kageyama's method of solving the case was still interesting, but there wasn't much else to this episode. With that said, the preview to the fourth episode does look interesting. I'm hoping for something good from next week's episode.

Clip of Gakky's New Hair Cut for Ranma 1/2 Special.

In the middle of filming for the live-action adaptation of Ranma 1/2, which airs December 9th, Yui Aragaki cut her hair for her character Akane. What surprises me a bit is that Gakky voluntarily decided cut her hair short to bring her character to life. She's been a fan of the Ranma 1/2 manga and seems pretty dedicated to her role in the drama. About her hair, Gakky had this to say: “I didn’t hesitate at all when it was time to cut my hair and just did it. It wasn’t really that much of a moment for me. Many people around me were surprised to see me with my hair so short, but some actually remembered the days when I had a similar hairstyle.”

As for how she looks, I think she actually looks pretty good with shorter hair. In Zenkai Girl it looked like Gakky was finally starting to get too old to play school girl roles, but this new hair style makes her look five years younger. She kinda looks like a young Ryoko Hirosue when she had short hair. I haven't read the manga or watched the anime, but I'm anxious to see this special. It has a good cast with plenty of good actors and actresses that includes Shousuke Tanihara and Kyoko Hasegawa in other roles.

Here's a couple more pics
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