The episode opens with a man chanting looking up into the night sky, a bright light appears in the sky and then spotlights the man. A pair of creatures are backlit as they approach the man. The scene shift, Sakura played by Kanjiya Shihori (Hana Yori Dango 2, H2) asks her editor if she believes in aliens. Then explains that a man approached her asking that question at the train station, when she agreed he grabbed her and started chanting, what the man at the opening scene was chanting “Bentora, Bentora, Space People”, saying that it’s a chant to summons UFOs. The two of them swing around and chant but are interrupted by the return of the editor’s coworkers. Then the editor throws her current manuscript in the trash advising her to draw some attention to the manuscript next time. The scene shift to an amusement park where a monument to Alien Friendship is to be dedicated, Udagawa played by Kaname Jun (Himitsu no Hanazono, Tantei Gakuen Q) stands and watches a TV explaining the purpose of the park. Sakura dressed as an alien approaches and takes one of his lollipops. She’s selling space dolls that grant wishes.I love this goofy comedy mystery show and this one takes a few turns from the regular formula, but the mystery isn’t focus of the show it’s always more about the laughs this episode is no exception. The scene with the editor is usually good but I loved it as the co-workers caught the pair swinging around and chanting.Download the bit torrent file for this episode here and the soft subs here, screen shots of the previous episode here.
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Udagawa played by Kaname Jun (Himitsu no Hanazono, Tantei Gakuen Q) is at a play where an actress stabs another actor then turns to the audience and delivers a monologue. This is when Udagawa falls in love and has to be restrained by an audience member after launching into a standing ovation in the middle of the play. The scene shifts to Sakura played by Kanjiya Shihori (Hana Yori Dango 2, H2) editor’s office for a change the editor is quite impressed with a story idea that Sakura has come up with. The mystery revolves a round a Ferris wheel where the criminal suddenly disappears from the top. But the editor wants to know the trick to how he disappears. Sakura said she’s leaving that up to the imaginations of the readers or they could offer a reward and then publish the best submittal. The disappointed editor wants Sakura to disappear before tossing the manuscript into the trash. Udagawa is waiting at a department store rooftop amusement park for the actress who he’s fallen in love with. When Sakura in a mouse costume tries to sell them a balloon, then Udagawa and his new girlfriend witness the murder of the play’s director.This episode doesn’t follow the normal pattern of the crime, then Udagawa falling in love with the murderer this time he falls in love first, so the question becomes did he fall in love with the murderer this time and we don’t find out until they witness the crime together. Of course it takes Sakura’s skills to solve the case.Download the bit torrent file for this episode here and the soft subs here, screen shots of the previous episode here. Kimi Hannin Janai yo ne? キミ犯人じゃないよね? Ep4 Screen Shots
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Udagawa played by Kaname Jun (Himitsu no Hanazono, Tantei Gakuen Q) starts off the episode with a monologue introducing himself and Sakura played by Kanjiya Shihori (Hana Yori Dango 2, H2) but most of what he says is self delusion. Then the scene switches to a school at night the security guard patrolling the hallway finds the body of a teacher in the teacher’s room. The scene shifts to Sakura’s editor’s office, where Sakura tells her it took a whole week for her to come up with the dying message she used in the story, a corny pun on Clint Eastwood. The editor tells her to write a book that teases and teases the reader and holds them captive before she tosses the manuscript in the trash for a hole in one. Udagawa arrives at the school crime scene trips down the stairs and winds up looking like a seal in front of the school girls with his arms at his side and his head up.I love this show it’s funny and it follows the same pattern in each episode, a crime is committed, Udagawa shows up at the scene and needs to enlist the aid of Sakura to solve the case. But like Columbo where the crime is revealed immediately and it’s the mystery lover’s puzzle to figure out how he catches the murderer, in this show as soon as Udagawa falls in love we have the perpetrator we need to figure out how they did it and how Sakura will figure it out.Download the bit torrent file for this episode here and the soft subs here, screen shots of the previous episode here.
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Aren't You a Criminal?Morita Sakura played by Kanjiya Shihori (Hana Yori Dango 2, H2) begins the episode telling the viewer a little about herself, a neophyte novelist and job hopper she goes on to relate her encounter with the rookie detective Udagawa Kyosei played by Kaname Jun (Himitsu no Hanazono, Tantei Gakuen Q) in the previous episode and her involvement in the case. Then this week’s case is revealed as a restaurant owner is stabbed in the kitchen, the killer carefully spreading pasta over the body. Then the scene shifts to Shihori’s editor’s office. Her editor isn’t happy with the latest manuscript, Shihori’s written a mystery and nobody dies, she tells her she wanted to write a mystery where no one dies. But the editor tells her if you don’t kill at least three people there is no way the story will be sold, then holds the story over the waste basket asking Shihori what to do. At the murder scene a cop holds back spectators as Udagawa jumps a chain but winds up tripping and lands on his back. The school girls, and housewives who’d thought he was so cool, begin laughing, while the beat cop comes over and salutes and thanks him for the hard work. Inside the senior detectives observe the scene and think that it might have occurred after a fight and possibly a robbery.I’ve been watching Kaname Jun recently in Kamen Rider Agito, where he also plays a cop and he has the same friendly, clumsy nature that’s just is made for comedy. There’s some cheap physical comedy like him tripping and the crowd laughing but there’s also stuff like when he slides into the crime scene strikes a pose and declares he’d arrived and they way he falls in love in each episode. Shihori is another great source of laughs and while she not shown working as many jobs as the last episode, she still manages to hit the jobs crucial to the case. I just loved her expression when her editor turned her back her when discussing her latest story. I’d recommended this to fans of comedic mysteries like Kuitan or Mop Girl.Download the bit torrent file for this episode here and the soft subs here, screen shots of the previous episode here.
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Aren't You a Criminal?The drama begins as a murderer sets up the murder scene to look like a suicide. The scene shifts to a grocery store where Morita Sakura played by Kanjiya Shihori (Hana Yori Dango 2, H2) challenges the shop keeper to a game based on Morita’s ability to remember all the shop’s prices from the previous day, the prize, a bunch of organic bananas, the penalty would be double the price for the bananas. She displays phenomenal memory ability and then in a voice over explains that studying was always her weakness but it’s her dream to become a mystery writer. In flashback with see her being rejected and subjected to the criticism of editors, all stating that they couldn’t find one shred of talent in her work. So she’s started a series of part time jobs to support herself and to keep her going as she continues to write. Finally an admired writing team after reading her manuscript and agreeing that she has no talent, offer her part time work as an assistant. She’d been working with them for a month before one of the writers is killed, in the scene that opened the drama.Kaname Jun (Himitsu no Hanazono, Tantei Gakuen Q) shows up at the crime scene, he plays rookie detective Udagawa Kyosei and he involves Shihori in the case. This is a cute show with some decent laughs and a fairly interesting mystery. The best part is watching Shihori at her many and varied part time jobs. I’d recommend this to fans of offbeat mysteries like Kuitan, Sexy Voice and Robo or Mop Girl.Download the RAW video bit torrent file for the drama here, English soft subs can be downloaded here.
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Drake RiderKato Kazuki (Hotaru no Hikari, Jigoku Shoujo)The guitar case carrying makeup artist.Drake RiderYamamoto Yusuke (Hanazakari no Kimitachi e, Himitsu no Hanazono)As egotistical as Mizushima Hiro and his co-star in Hana KimiRider ScorpionScorpionYamamoto Yusuke & Mizushima HiroMizushima Hiro(Hanazakari no Kimitachi e, Gokusen 2 )Shaolin soccer Japanese styleThis show is so much fun, this 18th episode was a terrific as the two first meet and compete. Download links and screen shots of the first episode here. If you like fun, do yourself a favor and give this show a try.
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Shaku Yumiko co star of Bara no nai Hanaya and star of Himitsu no Hanazono with Patrick Macias even the cameraman is dazzled, me too!
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Episode 1 North Wind and the SunThe drama opens with a video of a woman explaining what she wants out of life, a child, a small apartment and flowers then cuts to Shiomi Eiji played by Katori Shingo (Saiyuuki, Galileo) as he arrives at the hospital, his daughter Shizuku has been born but his wife has died in the process. The rose that he carried, crushed in his hand along with his dreams. But he starts working part time jobs and raising his daughter showing her the world and flowers. The story skips to present day, Shizuku is wearing a hood over her face and leaving for school, her father reminds her to take an umbrella it’s supposed to rain. When Shiomi opens the flower shop attached to his house, he finds a blind woman standing in the rain, Shirato Mio played by Takeuchi Yuko (Pride, Lunch no Joou) he invites her in out of the rain. She accepts because she says a “Florist can’t be a bad guy”. Shiomi get’s a call from Shizuku’s schoolteacher, Ono Yuki played by Shaku Yumiko (Himitsu no Hanazono, Stand Up!!) there has been some trouble with his daughter and a new student who just enrolled. He tried to pull off her hood so he could look at her face.I wasn’t sure before watching this drama if I would care for it or not, the drama wiki listed it’s genre as human drama, romance and I often find that combination a little slow. One drama that comes to mind is Aoi tori which apart from a really nice performance by Suzuki Ana, just dragged on, to me seemingly forever. But with this cast there is no way that I couldn’t give this a try, the story was very interesting as were the characters. The line “a florist can’t be a bad guy” was repeated a few times and I wonder if that is foreshadowing, but that’s my speculation. There is a mystery going on however I won’t comment on that as I don’t want to give any spoilers. If the drama continues as well in the upcoming episodes, I’d recommend this to anyone who likes mysterious slice of life dramas like Yasashii Jikan or Himitsu no Hanazono.Download the English Hardsub bit torrent file for the first episode here. LoveSong is doing another fine job on the release and props to P-chan nice karaoke!
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Happy New Years, it’s either a time to look back at the previous year or look ahead to our hope and dreams for the future. This is my dream for 2008.Here’s my fantasy show which if I had millions of dollars I’d produce a live action version of the manga. The plot lends itself to the drama format exceptionally well, it’s a character driven story has some romance and a large dose of humor and it’s about otaku which have been popular in both drama and movies. It’s college setting and no action to speak of so it should be cheap to produce, the only expensive set would be the Genshiken club room which like Densha Otoko’s bedroom would require the purchase or rental of large amounts of otaku goods, figures, manga and old game consoles and of course the salaries of the large cast of my favourite actors and actresses.My dream cast for the men I’d pick either Satoshi Tsumabuki (Orange Days) or Hongo Kanata (Himitsu no Hanazono) as Sasahara, Ikuta Toma (Akihabara@deep, Hanazakari no Kimitachi e) as Madarame, Matsuda Shota (Hana Yori Dango , Liar Game) as Tanaka and Akanishi Jin (Anego, Yukan Club) as Kohsaka. For the women I’d love to see Horikita Maki (Hanazakari no Kimitachi e, Nobuta wo Produce) as Oguie, either Kosaka Yuka (Akihabara@deep) or Matsushima Hatsune (Akihabara@deep) as Ohno, and either Aya Ueto (Attention Please, Hotelier) or Ishihara Satomi (Nurse Aoi, Hanayome to Papa) as Saki.In the smaller roles Angela would be portrayed by Leah Dizon, and because this is a perfect world Summer Glau would be Suzy. Domoto Koichi (Sushi Oji!, Remote) would be Kucchi.Would you like to see this made into a drama and if you would what’s your dream cast. Another anime I’d just love to see as a drama is Ouran High School Host Club I thought Maki would make the perfect “Haruhi” ever since watching Hanazakari no Kimitachi e.
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Ah well that was a swell and satisfying ending to this great drama. All the loose ends were pretty much tied up and so that led to a great conclusion. As we last left off, Hinata had broken into Wataru’s “secret room” but by the time Kayo got to it, it was empty…all except the [...]
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