Korean Movie: Josee - 조제

 I was wondering what ever happened to Nam Joo-hyuk.  Last drama I saw was last year's "Twenty Five Twenty One" which I loved.  I didn't know he had gone into the military March 2023 and is due to be released Sept 2024.  I wonder why not the full 2 years.  Gonna have to research that.

I happened upon this movie from 3 years ago on Viki.  I will watch this one tomorrow.  It's just under 2 hrs.

Death's Game - 이재, 곧 죽습니다 - Episode 1 DEATH

I love Seo In-guk.  I think he's hot and he's also a really good actor.  Even so, I did start to watch one of his dramas that I really didn't like much.  I don't think I ever made it past the first episode but I did not abandon it for good.  I plan to go back again.

So, when this drama starts, Seo In-guk is Choi Yee-Jae and you see him get shot in the head.  From there the story goes back to when he was still in school. He is on the phone with his girlfriend as he's on his way to a job interview.  After he gets off the phone with her, as he's walking to the interview, a man comes running by and kind of bumps into him as he runs out into the traffic and stands in front of a truck that strikes him and bounces him onto the sidewalk right in front of Yee-Jae.  He frantically runs over to the man.  The man grabs onto Yee Jae's arm and he dies.  Yee Jae is freaked out.  Next scene he is at the job interview and he is seated with 3 other candidates.  The scene starts off with one of the men calling Yee Jae's name and asks him to answer the question.  Yee Jae, who is still in shock, asks the man to please repeat the question and the man moves on to the next candidate.  Yee Jae fails to get the position.

Since that failure, he had a difficult time getting a job so he takes on part time work where he can so he can survive and pay off his student loan.  Seven years later, he gets the opportunity to apply for a position at the same company he failed at.  Things appear to go well but upon leaving, he gets a phone call from someone asking him if he had invested money with this guy because it seems he ended up losing all the money people had given him and he ran away.  Yee Jae loses his mind and goes to the guy's apartment and bangs on the door.  He flies into a rage and makes a scene at the complex and he gets reported to the police.  At the police station, the cop tells him there's nothing they can do about him losing his money.  He invested his money willingly believing he was going to make a profit but it ended up being a loss, under Korean law, there is nothing they can do about that.

Yee Jae believes his bad luck and shitty life goes back to when he saw that man die in front of him.  Being a failure, he decides to take his own life by jumping off a building.  Next scene, he's on an airplane but with a different face.  He freaks out and then notices a woman in sunglasses sitting across from him.  She introduces herself as Death.  She says he has sinned and he's going to be punished by dying 12 times.  His soul will enter the bodies of 12 people facing imminent death and he will end up dying regardless of which body he wakes up in.  She wants him to experience for himself how painful death can be.  If he manages to avoid the deaths that they face, he may carry on living.  If he avoids death in one of those bodies, he will live the rest of his life in that body.  Yee Jae says he doesn't want to live because life has been hell.  Death asks him if he thinks death is the end of it all.  It is only the beginning.

Angel Flight - One Final Thought...

After watching the last episode to the very end, I'm praying for another series.  The way it ended...there MUST be another series.

Angel Flight - Episode 6 - THE FINAL JOURNEY WITH HER MOTHER

 I guess part of this story is going to be what happens between Rinko and her mother.  

As this episode starts, There's a village and Rinko's mother is laying down on a bed.  She has a net all around her.  It doesn't say where she is.  It doesn't look like a hospital though.  She reaches over to grab a pen and paper but it falls to the floor.  They then cut to Rinko in a coffin.  Turns out the team is taking pictures to send to an Argentinian company to show them how they arrange bodies.  Rinko says she's uncomfortable and Nami tells her, "Just close your eyes and be dead". Lol  Nami has an idea to put the cover on and take a picture like that but she pulls her back trying to lift the lid from against the wall.

The walkie talkie in the room goes off and calls Rinko to the office. When she gets there, the staff tell Rinko her mother has passed away.  Nami tells her to go be with her.  She's asked where will she go and Rinko said "her home? the hospital?" but they tell her she's not there.  She's in Mocomoco.  Shusuke tells her it's near Lake Titicaca (in Bolivia).

This may end up being a resolution episode for Rinko and her mother.  I wonder if it'll address Nami and her fiancee.  I do hope there is a season 2.  This was a great little mini series.  Even though the stories were all heartbreaking and sad, it was well done.

I have to opine on something I read online when I was just starting out with the episode in the made up town in Africa.  Someone had a blog where they were writing about dramas.  Kind of like me but he/she was summarizing up her opinions on each episode in 1 post while I've broken down my posts per episode.  It's more organized for me that way.  Anyway, he/she mentioned how the episode in South Africa was a little racist in how black people were portrayed as terrorists.  I didn't see it that way.  There was more he/she said about it but I didn't care to read any more.  I don't think it was intentional when they did that.  

Great mini series.  I want more.

I think I'll be watching Death's Game next week!

Angel Flight - Episode 05 - NAMI VS A MOST DEVILISH WOMAN

 This episode starts out with Rinko on a bus. While on one hand she tells her mother her boss asked her to return the next day due to a job they have lined up, Nami scolds her for not having stayed with her mother.  Rinko tells her the surgery went well and her mother told her to go back to work.  While at the airport, the famous "Lily" arrives and the press hounds her.  She's a young woman, maybe in her late 30s?  I'm not really good guessing ages.  She arrives with a much much older man.  Back at the office, the team clues in Rinko on who Lily really is.  She married a much older man and days later her died.  She married another older man and he died in an accident.  They believe she more than likely killed them.  While discussing this, someone says the next deceased is about to arrive.  Someone asks from where and someone else says "Cuba".  They cut to Nami and Yuya tells her she should take a break and he'll handle it.  She tells him she's fine; he'll hurt his back.  This obviously has to with her missing fiancee.

Lily runs out of a hotel room and she runs down the hallway.  There's a flashback scene where she is strangling a man on the couch.  She runs away and goes dancing.  The team discusses what happened and it turns out he drowned in the tub.  The body was taken to the hospital and Lily is with him.  Since he's a big Moroccan VIP, Angel Hearse has been given the case.  It'll be funny if it turns out Lily is innocent and just has bad luck with men.  It's certainly looks like she's guilty but dramas have a great way of explaining things!

Nami and Rinko arrive at the hotel to go over things with Lily and she is one cold witch.  She's on the couch smoking not really caring.  Nami said she's come back to discuss the casket and Lily told her to figure it out.  Nami said she heard she didn't identify the body and Lily told her she saw him drowned in the tub, what else should she do?  Damn.  She is cold.  Seems guilty but... maybe she's not?

Angel Flight - Episode 04 - THE VIETNAMESE INTERN WHO LOVED ANIME

E03 was yet another emotional episode.  The stories at the end explaining what happened in the lives of the two deceased characters before they passed made my mouth drop.  I love this about dramas.  You watch the show but then you find out what happened before that got them to a certain point.  Japanese dramas know how to really punch you in the gut with these.

E04 starts with a guy drawing in one scene and a woman sewing in another.  The girl is then seen walking around outside and she's obviously sad.  She stops walking and you can see a tear in her eye. The guy that is drawing is drawing the sad woman and he is crying.  They cut back to the sad woman and there's a truck coming down the road.  It jumps the curb and strikes the woman.

OMG.  I thought she was going to walk in front of it (because she was sad) but turns out it was a freak accident.

In a previous episode, we learn that Rinko has a difficult relationship with her mother.  Her mother had called her and said she was having surgery.  There are forms that need to be filled out and the mother tells her she'll send them over to her if she doesn't want to go there.  Last episode, Rinko remembers her bicycle getting stuck on train tracks when she was a little girl.  The train is approaching and the guardrails are down.  Little Rinko is desperately trying to get her bike off the tracks.  I'm yelling at the TV for her to just leave it when the camera angle changes and you see the guardrail with her mother standing there just looking at little Rinko struggling.  In the beginning of this episode, they revisit the phone call about the forms.

The girl who died in Japan was Vietnamese.  The plan is to cremate her there and then send her home because it's cheaper.  The story goes to Vietnam where an older man is talking to a picture of his deceased wife.  He's asking her if she's met up with their daughter Xuan.  In the background are 2 younger kids, probably about 10 years old.  The man is their father.  They walk over to him and ask if Xuan isn't coming home.  He hugs both of them.

Nothing much has happened and already I'm dying over here because these little kids won't see their older sister again.  Man and kids lost their mother and now the eldest daughter. 

The second story is about a Japanese couple who died in the US while on tour.  Angel Hearse is hired to bring them back.  This team points out "...only those two died on the tour".  Turns out, they were not a couple after all.  They were both at the same hotel, on the same tour and working at different companies. The spouses are enroute on the same flight and they're worried "all hell might break loose".

Nami arrives in Vietnam and sees the girl.  She is given Xuan's backpack and they take us to the moment Xuan was packing that backpack before leaving.  Her father mentions how she took on a huge debt to be able to go work in Japan.  Xuan assures her father it'll be fine.  She will make a lot of money there and she'll be able to send her sibblings to school and she can buy a house for them to live in.  He tells her to be a good girl.  She hugs her brother and sister and then her father helps her put on her backpack.  He tells her to take care of herself.  She walks out the door and waves goodbye.  She walks a few steps, turns around and with a big smile, she waves to her family.  They cut back to Nami loading up Xuan's body into their suv.

Since Nami was mad at Rinko for her "attitude", she left her behind and took Mitsuko with her instead.  Rinko was paired off with Yuya to handle the spouses of the deceased coming back from the US.

Excellent episode again.  You'll learn more about why Nami is so dedicated and what she did for one of her colleagues in the past.

Angel Flight - Episode 3 - A CORPORATION'S FUNERAL OR DINER OKAME?

E02 was just as emotionally exhausting as E01.  One thing is clear to me though...there is no way I could ever do that job.  I'd be crying from clock in to clock out time.  There is no way I could stop crying seeing parents mourning the loss of one of their children.  Or worse, having to bury their only child.  Ugh...there's just no way.

E03 starts off in Seoul. There are 2 business men at a hotel bar talking.  One of the men mentions someone who has been his friend since they were kids.  Then, a young woman in a hotel robe comes running in and asks what is wrong with "him".  She drags the 2 business men to a room.  They walk in and an older gentleman is on the floor faced down.  One of the business men runs over to him and says "president!?" and then they flash back to 1969 where there are 2 kids in a field.  The younger one sees a hearse and he freaks out.  The older one tells him not to be afraid.  His own father's funeral was small with not may people in attendance.  The older boy says there's no way he's going out like that.  He's going to go to Tokyo and become a president of a company and he said he'll let the younger boy work for him.  The young boy is excited and thanks him. "As long as I'm alive, I gotta dream big..." says the older boy.  He tells the younger boy his funeral is going to be huge as people from all over will be there.  He orders the younger one to invite the prime minister or he'll smack him.  The young boy says "Yes, boss!"

The scene goes back to the business man on his knees yelling at the body on the floor.  

Nami and Rinko are in Seoul to escort the body of an older woman who was there for an NCT 127 concert.  After speaking with her son back in Tokyo and telling him she'd be "home tomorrow", she had a heart attack and died.  Due to the typhoon coming, all flights out of Seoul were cancelled and both Nami and Rinko along with their Korean collegue, beg someone at a cargo airline to please take them to Japan.  They have a deceased VIP client.  The cargo airline agrees to take them.

In the meantime, back in Tokyo, Angel Hearse gets a visit from someone at the company where the deceased president was in charge of, and they asked them to please bring back the president's body.  Earlier in the episode, the team was discussing this death and how another company was given the buisness of bringing the president home.  The businessman told Angel Hearse the company they hired said they could not bring the body back due to the typhoon but the foreign ministry recommended Angel Hearse.

Nami tries to get the president on that flight as well but she's told there is no more room.  She's pretty determined to get shit done so, you'll need to watch to find out if she finds a way or not!

Angel Flight - Episode 02 - DEVELOPMENT ASSISTANCE THWARTED BY TERRORISTS

 After an emotionally exhausting E01, I can't wait to see what this one is about.  The title of this episode doesn't make sense to me right now but maybe once I get into it, it'll explain itself and I'll be more clear on it!

This episode starts in Japan with Nami watching TV at 0200 when she gets a phone call from someone she knows.  She says "terrorism?" and by 1100 she is walking into a meeting room at Haneda Airport (officially known as Tokyo International Airport).  There is a briefing as to what happened in South Africa.  I think it involves a company named Mubadal.  I Googled it looking for a country as it sounded like it was a place not a company.  In reality, there is a company named Mubadala but right now I'm not sure if that's what this company is supposed to be.

The guy doing the briefing says that they have hired Angel Hearse to take care of bringing back the dead Japanese citizens.  He gives Nami the floor and she says a few words.

Soon after we get to know the people who were killed.

One victim was an older gentleman was away on business.  He had told his wife he was going to retire and leave the younger kids to run things.  He said they could make plans to go on a trip to a hot spring.

One victim was a young woman about Rinko's age (according to the conversation she had with the parents).  It was her first time abroad and she had been nervous about going.  In a flashback, the girl's mother said the place was sketchy.

Another victim was a younger man whose father says his son's wife is pregnant. He shows Nami a text from his son that says "I don't feel like a father yet, but when I look at you, I think that I just need to be kinda like you". He then calls his son an "idiot" for dying before his child is born.  They then flashback briefly to 2 months earlier with his son smiling and laughing with his pregnant wife before taking you back to the pregnant wife in the present time.  She is on the couch by herself looking at her phone where there is an article about the families on their way to Mubadal.  She begins to panic.  Her mother appears and tells her she needs to focus only on the baby.  So, at this point, I see Mubadal is a location but it is made up.

Once in Mubadal, Nami and Rinko are taken to an area where the bodies of the 6 deceased Japanese citizens are being kept.  Nami approaches the first bodybag and unzips it to reveal the older gentleman that was away on business.

I'm going to end my post here so I can watch the rest of this episode.  I've watched just under 12 minutes and a lot has happened already!

Sorry for the poor quality pic below of Nami with the first of 6 bodies.  It's so difficult to get a good screenshot nowadays

Angel Flight - Episode 01 SHATTERNED DREAMS IN THE SLUMS - Part 2

I got involved doing other stuff last night and I ended up not having enough time to watch the rest of this first episode. 

Nami and Rinko arrive at HappyLand and we finally learn what happened to Yohei.

Angel Flight - Episode 01 SHATTERNED DREAMS IN THE SLUMS - Part 1

 The drama starts out showing what looks to be slums in Manila, Philippines.  It shows the word  "HAPPY LAND" so I immediately go and look this up.  The Tondo slums in HappyLand is the worst in the Philippines. How they live is heartbreaking.

You can read about it on these 2 sites I went to.
guardian.com HappyLand
lydiascapes HappyLand

So it start out with someone getting their ass kicked in HappyLand until I assume, he is dead.  In the next scene, a worried woman in Tokyo answers her phone. The embassy of Japan in Manila is calling.  Her husband walks in and she says she wonders if their passports have expired.  The husband takes the phone.

The first body to return to Japan is an old man who was traveling in Palau and died there.  You see the body arrive and they open up the temporary coffin to get to the body so they can start working on making him "look handsome" for the family.  When they do open the box, it emits an odor that sends the rookie employee outside to vomit.  The body is full of toilet paper rolls because it was used to soak up the bodily fluids.

The couple from Japan arrive in Manila and are greeted by someone from the embassy of Japan.  The couple is taken to the morgue and are told they need to identify the body.  They are warned that because he died from being assaulted, "it won't be pretty".  The husband tells his wife to stay and he will go and see.  They unzip the body bag and reveal the face.  He walks back outside with an expressionless face and he  confirms to the embassy official that it is his son.  He walks over to his wife and stares straight ahead and says to her "You shouldn't see him" and then walks away.

They flashback to 4 years before with the son putting on his backpack.  As he walks out the door, he turns to his mother and says "I'm never coming back here.  Bye".  The father sits in a chair with that same expressionless face as we see the son walking away.

This is only 11 minutes in and alredy I'm sad.  I get the feeling that the father and son had some issues that caused their only son to leave.  For whatever reason (they better tell us what happened at Happyland that caused him to get beaten to death) he ran off to the Philippines just to come home in a bodybag 4 years later.  That alone breaks my heart.

The employees (one of them is Yuu Shirota) all have these quirky things about them.  The rookie employee who is narrating this story, describes the president of the company as a mafia princess.  She had a few things to say about all of them lol

Angel Hearse is chosen to bring back the body of Sugihara Yohei, the son killed in Manila.  They get word that the body is missing.  The father stands looking at the empty slab and says "He can't cause enough problems, huh? Fool!".  There was definitely some shit going on between Yohei and his father.  So far, his mother has not uttered one word but you can see the pain in her face.

Angel Hearse gets a call from the father and he tells them he doesn't want the body back because he disowned him long ago. "He got what he wanted. So it is what it is. Bye".  Yohei's mother needs to say something soon.  

The president (Nami) isn't having any of it and she goes to Manila and takes Rinko (rookie employee) with her.  Upon their arrival, Nami meets up with the parents at the hotel and tells them she's arranged to meet with some of the Japanese community who knew Yohei and she asks if they would like to have lunch with them.  The father declines saying they're "tired".  So Nami and Rinko go alone.  I'm thinking Yohei may have had some kind of mental illness.  There was a scene where it was explained exactly who Yohei was, why he and his father were estranged and why he left Japan.

This is where I stop telling you more so you can go and watch it.  I tried my best to give you an idea of the show without giving away too much.  Go watch.  If I had a star rating of 1 to 10, so far, this would be a solid 9.

Angel Flight ~ エンジェルフライト

 I love Seo In-guk so when I saw his drama "Death's Game" was available on Amazon, I logged in to add it to my watchlist.  It was there that I saw "Angel Flight" as a recommendation.  The Synopsis, according to Amazon:

"Ryoko Yonerkura stars in this series written by Ryota Kosawa about specialists who transport the deceased back home.  The company Angel Hearse is run by Nami Izawa (Ryoko Yonekura) and Kashiwagi (Kenichi Endo).  A drama thta portrays love between the deceased and the bereaved..."

I usually go and check Asianwiki.com to see who else is in the drama.  I haven't watched Japanese dramas regularly for about close to 10 years so there aren't many actors I recognize.  However, I have seen some of the younger ones I used to watch.  Of course, they are all mature adults now so every now and then I do recognize one! 

I couldn't find anything about this drama on Asianwiki.  I looked at some of the actors and this drama is not listed for any of them.  Weird.  

I still researched some more and found 2 things.

First, I actually recognize one of the actors.  Yuu Shirota.  I remember seeing him in for the first time in Samurai High School which I watched because Haruma Miura (RIP) was in it.  First time I saw Haruma Miura was in Crow's Zero 2.  I had no idea who he was but he was so good looking and I eventually figured out who he was.  It was a little difficult because I don't think he's properly credited for his role.  Crow's Zero 2 is not listed under dramas he's been in.  Anyway, after seeing him in Crow's Zero 2, I found him on Bloody Monday and then Samurai High School where I saw Yuu Shirota.  Glad to see he is in this new drama!

Second thing I found is that Airhearse Interational is a real company.  I accidentally stumbled upon their website when I was looking for more info on the drama.  There's a notice from March 17, 2023 "An Amazon Original Movie "Angel Flight" created under our support and supervision started to be on air".

So, I'm about to watch an episode  and then start Death's Game.

Burn the House Down ~ 御手洗家、炎上する ~ Mitarai ke, Enjou Suru (SOME SPOILERS INCLUDED)

 Started watching this one over the past weekend and I finished it tonight.  I hadn't planned on watching it; didn't even know about it but Netflix recommended it.  I saw it was 2023 so I figured why not.  There were no actors in it that I had heard of but I decided to watch it anyway even though I didn't read the plot lol.

The story starts with a nice big house on fire.  A woman drops to her knees and says to a guy that it's her fault and she apologizes to him.  The woman is Satsuki, the woman of the house and the man is Osamu, her husband.  One of their young kids, Anzu, is there and she sees another woman in the crowd kind of smiling and then she leaves.

Years later, Satuski and Osamu are now divorced, and she is in the hospital with a case of amnesia.  She remembers her 2 daughters but she's not remembering a lot of other things.  It all stems from the stress of feeling guilty of having set the fire in her home.

Anzu is sure her mother was not the one who did it and she sets out to find out what happened.

Osamu is now married to the woman who was in the crowd smiling, Makiko.  We find out that Satsuki and Makiko used to be friends.  Makiko was divorced and raising her 2 sons who were the same age as Anzu and her sister Yuzu.  Makiko was struggling financially and she was jealous of Satsuki because her husband was a doctor and he made a lot of money.  Makiko and the boys would have dinner with Satsuki and her family not realizing how jealous she was of the family.

Anzu is sure Makiko was the one who set the fire 13 years ago so she and her sister, along with a friend who is computer saavy, was going to find evidence to prove it.

The story moved fairly quickly.  I was all set to see how the girls would find out the truth (Makiko set the fire on purpose over her jealousy) and how they would let it come out. Eventually, Makiko was cornered when presented with the truth by Anzu and she broke down and confessed.  She was arrested the next day but, there was a twist in the interrogation.  I was NOT expecting THAT twist at all!

Finally, just as the real truth was set to be revealed, there was yet ANOTHER TWIST.  I hadn't seen that coming either.

The last half of the last episode was shitty.  They could have spent 1 whole episode slowly getting to that ending.  For me, it was rushed.  And it was rushed in a terrible way.  I still really liked it and I recommend it!

Why Didn't I Tell You a Million Times? ~ 100万回 言えばよかった (SPOILERS)

Finished this one yesterday.  SPOILERS BELOW

I mostly loved it but was twice disappointed.  Once was Netflix's fault.  I was determined to watch this drama without looking at how many episodes it has; I like not knowing.  I thought E09 was going to be it because everything was wrapping up nicely but at the end, the part where they usually show scenes from the next episode, there WERE scenes and on the lower right hand side the usual 2 buttons... "watch credits" and "next episode".  I was very surprised and hopeful that this next episode would be some years later and Yui and Uozumi would be a couple with a baby boy they named Torino or Naoki.  Boy was I wrong.  

Episode 10 was kind of stupid.  We dealt with knowing Naoki had died and then finding his body.  We saw the funeral and cremation and found out how and why he died.  The end of E09 should have been the end.  I would have been annoyed that they didn't end it with Yui and Uozumi getting together but it would have been nice than what followed in E10.

Yui wakes up the day after Naoki has disappeared since the mystery of his death was revealed and the murderer was arrested.  As she's waking up, she's telling us she wanted everything to have been a dream.  She then hears something in her apartment.  She gets up and Naoki is in the kitchen cooking breakfast and Yui can see him!  What?  Right about there I was thinking, if this really was just a dream, they better explain what is going on.

Naoki is still dead but for some reason unknown even to him, he's been given time to go back.  No idea how long before he's gone again.  They decide to have Yui call Ouzumi to meet up.  When he arrives, he see Yui and she apologizes for having had to bother him they're talking when Naoki comes out from hiding behind a pillar next to Yui.  Uozumi freaks out.  They go out to eat and they talk.  

Yui tells Naoki she is going to invite his parents over.  They arrive and they say they were wanting to meet with her one last time.  Naoki is in a room close by listening to them.  He had told Yui he didn't want to shock them so he said he wouldn't meet with them.  It made me sick to listen to them talk about what a good son he was after the way they had treated him when he was a kid.  Even when he was missing his mother revealed that after Naoki left home, the only time his mother bothered to contact him was when they need Naoki to help his younger brother by giving more bone marrow to him.  Absolutely disgusted.  Naoki's father was just as bad.  Did not have anything nice to say and was so cold about it all.

At the end of E10, Yui and Naoki go to the beach and they sit on a log and talk.  He tells her over and over that he loves her.  She smiles and tells him she knows but he keeps telling her aishiteru until he is gone again, and this time, for good.

Why Didn't I Tell You a Million Times? ~ 100万回 言えばよかった

 After I finished S02 of Dragon Zakura, I needed another J-drama to watch.  Found this one on Netflix.  I chose it because I recognized Ken'ichi Matsuyama.  It's been a really long time since I watched J-dramas regularly so it's very rare that I will recognize any of the actors' names.

So, I recognized Ken'ichi Matsuyama's face and I proceeded to look at the names of the other actors in this drama and I saw one I knew.  Mao Inoue.  Our precious little Tsukushi Makino from Hana Yori Dango!  Once I saw she was in it, I knew I had to watch this. It's been nearly 20 years since I first saw her.  Since J-dramas were really difficult to find back then, I never really got a chance to see anything else she did after the last movie.  I will be making a list of her dramas and movies and will make sure I watch as many as I can find!

As I started to watch the first episode, it was slow.  I have this problem when I start.  I want to get to the "good" part right away lol.  It wasn't until almost halfway through the episode that I realized the girl I was watching was Mao Inoue.  The more I looked at her face, the more she didn't look like her but at the same time, she did.  It's years later and she is now 36 YO!  She was only 18 when she first took on the role of Makino.

I watched the first episode and just loved it by the end of it.  I started E02 but had to stop watching because it was late and I had to get to bed so I could get up early for work.  This weekend I plan to watch a couple of more episodes since it's Labor Day weekend and I'll have time!

I am still trying to figure out how I can bypass the black screen thing so I can make screenshots.  I miss doing that.

Dragon Sakura ドラゴン桜 Season 2

Abe Hiroshi is definitely my favorite Japanese actor.  I've been trying to watch every movie and drama he's been in but with access to so many Asian dramas available, it's been at a stand still.  UNTIL now!

I have been patiently waiting for S02 of Dragon Sakura ever since I first read about it.  I have to be honest and say that it's been many years since I saw S01 and I don't quite remember any of it but I do remember I loved it.

I don't remember Naomi-san from the first season so I had to look it up and make sure she was the same actress from the original.  While I was researching that, I noticed Masami Nagasawa was the lead in the drama "Last Friends".  If you haven't seen that one, OMG, you have to!  I had such a crush on Ryo Nishikido at that time because I had seen him in "Ichi Ritoru no Namida" but I have to say, after seeing "Last Friends", I couldn't help but see him as his character, Sosuke.  I still had a crush but I could never forget him as Sosuke.       

Anyway, yes, Naomi-san from S02 is the original actress.  I think it's great that she returned. 

As I started watching the first episode, I was unsure if I was going to like it.  As always, it started out a little slow for me but once I saw Abe Hiroshi, I was okay.

I'm just about done with the 3rd episode and so far it's great!  I meant to come here and do a quick summary but I didn't have time.  Once I'm done with E03, I'll try and do it.  

I do need to go back and watch S01 again!

[2022] Reborn Rich - 재벌집 막내아들 - Episode 16

 Yes, I skipped commenting on the last few episodes because I was too into the story.

Episode 15 ended with the biggest cliffhanger yet and I don't know what to make of it.  Less than 1 minute into this final episode and I am laughing because I think I know what might be happening.  I'm probably wrong but it could explain Do Jun's current location.  This does not look good for him again but with any luck, he'll figure a way out of whatever situation he's in!

Well damn.  I wasn't expecting this to twist all the way back.  This episode is just under 90 minutes so there's still some time to explain everything.

Finally done with this one and yes.  Yes, the ending wasn't great.  Still worth watching though.

[2022] Reborn Rich - 재벌집 막내아들 - Episode 13

 Last episode had a lot of really good twists but did not have the impactful cliffhanger from the previous 2.

Just about halfway into this episode now.  There's a part where I thought something was going to happen and when it didn't, of course I figured it's part of Do Jun's plan but next scene tells me, it clearly was not and now he is stumped about why things went down one way when the chairman had said it was going to go the opposite way... Hmm...

Hold up.  I'm confused again.  I can't tell if they went back a few hours or days prior to the present time or if it is present time and something else has happened.

Not even 10 minutes into this episode and yet again there's a situation where it's clear that Do Jun has gotten screwed over.  Was that part of his plan or is he going to be able to fix this on his feet?

Well, well, well...If I'm understanding things correctly, the leaker has been revealed.  

Now it looks like Do Jun is out in the cold.  The siblings think he's no match for them.  I wouldn't relax just yet.

[2022] Reborn Rich - 재벌집 막내아들 - Episode 12

 There are 5 more episodes left, including this one.  I should be done either tonight or tomorrow morning.

I'm a little concerned about the end of this drama.  I read there are a lot of people who didn't care for the ending.  One comment said they should have kept the same ending as the webtoon.  I was planning to read the webtoon after I'm done with the drama anyway so I guess I'll come back here after I see for myself.  I'm planning to read it, but I may not have a chance to.  I have limited free time but I'll do my best.

Nearly 6 minutes in and while everything starts out kinda normal, it soon becomes apparent that chairman Jin Yang Cheol is definitely not well.

Just under 10 minutes later, a bombshell.  As before, just when it seems Do Jun to have outsmarted someone yet again, he finds out someone screwed him over.  He's got that surprised expression on his face when he figures it out but...was he really screwed over OR did he plan for that to happen so he could execute the rest of his plan???

A minute and change later...OMG!  Was expecting this but not really since it didn't seem like it was going to happen after the end of ep 11 and the start of this one!  

So all of it, after the ending of ep 10 was a plan.  I wonder who it was that they didn't trust that they had to detour?  The doctor?  Who else knew?  I don't really remember seeing anyone suspicious though.  I'm sure they'll explain what happened.

So, while I was waiting for that explanation, I realized that what I thought was part of the plan, was not part of the plan.  The "chairman's oldest grandson" just threw a little grenade into the mix and it looks like something is about to fall apart.

Wow.  Things are not looking good after that grenade landed.  Do Jun finds a way out and then, in the elevator... oops.  Do Jun was reborn and he had a mission once he realized what was going on.  I'm sure he hated all his "family" members including his grandfather, the chairman.  But in the elevator scene, it feels like he's come to actually care about his grandfather or maybe he's just a sweet human and feels badly for his grandfather?

Almost 1/2 way done with this episode and it's been one surprise after another!  Great, great show!

[2022] Reborn Rich - 재벌집 막내아들 - Episode 11

Five minutes in...

I'm so confused by the beginning of this episode.  From the end of 10 to the start of 11, there is no explanation (yet) of what happened after the end of 10.  There is no hint of how much time lapsed between end of 10 and start of 11.  It doesn't seem like it was that long because of the conversations and everyone looks okay so I'm just very confused atm.

Three more minutes in...

Okay, now it makes sense lol.  They went back a little bit on that day that will eventually lead up to the end of ep 10 and I suppose the rest of ep 11 will be the aftermath.

Four more minutes in...

One of people in that family planned what happened.  Of course, I'm terrible at figuring things out so I don't know who the culprit is.  I have a feeling about what might happen in this episode.

Three more minutes in...

I'm confused yet again lol

Another minute in...

I suspected I knew who Do Jun was talking about but then I realized no, he's talking about someone else.  That was confirmed a few seconds later.  I am DYING to know what happened!!!

Three more minutes in (18:23)

Oooo... 

2 1/2 more minutes in... (2003_

Wait a minute... What???

Done.  OMG this episode was another emotional rollercoaster and I cannot wait to watch the rest on Sunday!!!

[2022] Reborn Rich - 재벌집 막내아들 - Episode 10

 This episode had me on the edge of my seat.  Last episode's cliffhanger was really good.  The outcome was a bit meh for me.  The cliffhanger made it seems like it was going to go one way but it did not.  

Once again, just when it seemed like Do Jun had been sidelined by one of his family members, he came out on top yet again in a big way. 

The cliffhanger ending here made my jaw drop.  I'm pretty sure I know what happened since there are about 5 more episodes left.  It left me saying "OH....SSSSSSSSSSSHHHHHIT!!!"

About to start 11 now!

[2022] Reborn Rich - 재벌집 막내아들 - Episode 09

 I keep forgetting to come here and say a few words about each episode.  It's just so damn good I watch 2 episodes and then start to watch something (non Asian) else to catch up on my American shows.

Do Jun has been playing his family on a level his grandfather didn't even know existed.  Of course he has the advantage of knowing what is going to happen but he still needs to think of a way to use that info to manipulate his targets.

So far, every episode is a combination of Do Jun making something happen and then make it look like one or more of the family members have figured out a way to one up him but have they really?  Even in this episode when Do Jun has played his aunt and she finds out and plays him back, has she really?  Even when she is gloating?

I'm up to the part where she asked her SIL how she was able to come up with her plan to save her from what she has figured out, was Do Jun's plan to get her shares of her department store.  I already have the feeling that though that plan may have taken the wind out of the prosecutor's (Min Yeong) sails, I feel like Do Jun expected something and clued in Min Yeong and they have planned a counter attack.  So far, Do Jun has had an answer for every play that's crossed his path whether it was planned or figured out in a hurry!

[2022] Reborn Rich - 재벌집 막내아들 - Episode 04

 I totally forgot to comment on episode 03.  I finished watching that and then moved on to the next episode.  I started watching this episode but had to abandon it because about 20 minutes in, the video screwed up and I couldn't get the episode to work.  I tried closing out all the windows and it still wouldn't work.  I rebooted my laptop and still, the video was working but the CC was not working.  Then the video was distorted and it lagged.  I went to FAQ and saw a big message that they were aware of the issue with the site being watched on Edge.  I switched to Firefox but had the same results.  I decided I'd check again in a few days and I spent time watching other non Asian shows in the meantime.  Today I checked Reborn Rich and it is working again.

I have 25 minutes to go to the end and so far, it was pretty uneventful until NOW.  At the 40 min mark more or less is when what I thought was going to happen, actually happened.  

I was thinking the end of this ep was going to go one way but then I thought it might be a set up for the benefit of someone's ears.  Do Jun is a smart kid and the convo he had with his grandfather might have been why he set this up.  Then again, I really suck at predicting outcomes unless they're pretty obvious.  Actually, sometimes even when they're obvious I don't see it coming.

Well, with about 15 minutes more left, the last 10 minutes proved me right and wrong.  Part of what I suspected was right but the rest of it, the one I suspected of being shady (because they made it too obvious I guess) is not the one that is betraying the family!

[2023] Have a Crush on You ~ 听说你喜欢我

 AKA Dear Doctor, Have a Crush on You or Love Heals

Synopsis from MyDramaList.com sounds like the Kdrama "Emergency Couple" which I really liked.  I'm going to watch some of the first episode tonight and will finish it off tomorrow after work.

I didn't copy the whole summary because it sounds like there might be a bit of a spoiler there!

"Ruan Liu Zheng returns to her hometown after 7 yearas and becomes a neurosurgeon at Bei Ya Hospital.  However, she did not expect to meet her ex-husband, Ning Zhi Qian, who is the most experienced neurosurgeon at Bei Yah Hospital. 

Ning Zhi Qian volunteers to be Ruan Liu Zheng's mentor in order to make up for the hurt he caused her.  Ruan Liu Zheng is no longer a weak and timid girl and shows resolute determination in both her work and relationship. During work, Ruan Liu Zheng clashes with Ning Zhi Qian but also works alongside him to save lives.  

[2023] Crash Course in Romance - Ep 01 (You and I, The Intersection of Two Universes)

We meet Nam Haeng-Seon and Choi Chi-Yeol in the first few minutes of the episode before we get to meet these 3 HS kids. One of them is Nam Hae-E (Roh Yoon-Seo).  I didn't catch the names of the other 2, a boy and girl.  As expected there's a rich kid, this time a female, who likes to taunt Hae-E and her 2 friends about how well they didn't do on their exams.

The rich girl gets picked up from school by her mother and gossips about how it sounds to her like the kids screwed up on their mock exams.  The girl says she might have the highest score this year.  Her mother gets excited but then tones it down so as not to jinx the outcome of the actual exam.  Her mother says she has bad news for her and the kid said she's "feeling generous" so she'll allow her to say it.  Her mother confesses that she couldn't get her a front seat at the exam class and the girl flips.

After watching a bit more, Hae-E's guy friend is Sun-Jae and it seems he's got a little crush on her.

Forgot to mention that Lee Bong-Ryun is in this. She was in Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha and Extraordinary Attorney Woo.

Haeng-Seon (who runs a side dish store) is Hae-E's mother.

After one of Chi-Yoel's classes, he's mobbed by the female students on his way to the elevator.  There's a girl who yells out that she made cookies for him and he hits the "close doors" button.  The girl, unphased by the rudeness, doesn't dissuade her from pursuing him.  

As he's walking out of the elevator, he's called by one of the school's employees.  Chi Yeol's assistant tries to mouth her name to him and he ends up calling her the wrong name.  She's annoyed but tells him she has a friend she wants to set him up with.  He politely declines by telling her he'd rather meet someone naturally.  The woman says her friend is a pianist and she's gorgeous but Chi Yeol still says "I'm good" and walks away with his assistant who says "I'm sorry" as he walks away.

This episode brings a "sticky situation" for Chi Yoel and a secret about Hae-E and her mother.  

Good drama so far!

[2023] Crash Course in Romance

Next Kdrama,  No special reason that I picked it. 

Synopsis from Asianwiki (with some changes I made):

Nam Haeng-Seon used to be a national athlete and now runs a side dish store.  She has a super positive personality.  She decides to enter the private education field preparing students for their university entrance exams.  Unexpectedly, she gets involved with Choi Chi-Yoel

Choi Chi-Yeol is a popular instructor in the private education field.  He works hard at his job.  With his students, he speaks without reserve and implements showmanship in his lessons.  He is wealthy and famous as well as popular but with increasing success he has become more sensitive, prickly and indifferent to people.  

Then he meets Nam Haeng-Seon with her super positive personality.  The relationship between them develops romanitcally.

I am a few minutes into the first episode and I see that Roh Yoon-Seo whom I LOVED in "Our Blues" is also in this.  

SIDE NOTE:

I am also going to restart 2 other Kdramas.  A Korean Odyssey cuz I really liked it and cuz Lee Seung-Gi and Lee Hong-Ki are in it.  I also really like Cha Seung-Won.  I wish Lee Hong-Ki did more dramas!

Also going to restart  The King: Eternal Monarch.  I hate Lee Min-Ho so very very much but I LOVE Kim Go-Eun so I'm okay with tolerating him.  I really liked this and I think I was almost done with it but it got left behind just like A Korean Odyssey.

Kiriko's Crime Diary on NHK

 Decided to watch this one next!

Fill in the Blanks (Kuuhaku wo Mitashinasai) - Episode 05

 Chika reveals to Tetsuo that before they started dating, she used to pass out.  It stopped after they started to date but started again after he died.

Tetsuo is at a brand new office belonging to a re-lifer friend and they are discussing an idea for a new business when he gets a call from Chika.  "Thank God you're alive".  Tetsuo learns that a Polish gentleman he met at the re-lifer meeting has gone missing without a trace.  He meets up with Chika and tells her he thinks his time with her will be short.

Tetsuo tries to understand why Chika is passing out again.  The answer may lie in her life with her parents and the way she was treated by them.  It appears the issue lies with her mother.  Tetsuo convinces Chika that it's about time they went to visit her parents since they haven't seen them in a very long time.  Knowing that he may disappear any day, he tells her there's something he has to do.  She reluctantly agrees to go.

When they get to her parent's home, everything seems normal until her mother starts digging into her.  She sits there, takes the verbal abuse in front of Tetsuo and Riku and says nothing.  Tetsuo's eyes start to water as he calmly defends Chicka.  Her mother doesn't let up and Tetsuo calmly continues to defend Chicka as her father begins to tear.   They leave the parent's home and Chika manages to smile a little bit as she turns to look up at her parents before turning around and heading home.

The website says that there are 10 episodes but it's actually only 5.  There are 10 total but 5 are subbed and 5 are dubbed. 

This was a pretty good drama.  Gotta figure out which one I'm going to watch next on this site

Watch the last episode here:  Fill in the Blanks Ep 05 (Final)

[2022] Reborn Rich - 재벌집 막내아들 - Episode 02

Jin Yang Choel died 20 years prior to the unveiling of the bust for which there was a big party at the beginning of episode 1.

At the beginning of episode 2, Hyeon Woo is trying to figure out what's happened to him.  He's still himself but now he's also the youngest child (Jin Do-Jun) of Jin Yang Choel's youngest son (who was basically disowned by the family because he married an actress).  It doesn't take long for Do Jun to realize what this means and he uses his knowledge of the family and of events that have already happened to change the course of history.  He does this a couple of times which eventually leads to Jin Yang Choel to accept his youngest son Jin Young Jae and his family back into his.

By the end of this episode, Hyeon Woo realizes exactly why he has returned as Jin Do-Jun.

[2022] Reborn Rich - 재벌집 막내아들 - Episode 01

 I just finished Behind Every Star.  I'm looking forward to season 2 (not confirmed or even being talked about yet by tvN or Netflix.  The way it ended, it needs a season 2.  I recommend this one!

Okay now, episode 01 of Reborn Rich. I read that this was a good one so I started this one last night. Once again it started off slow for me.  I think I mentioned I figure this is mostly because I don't know who is who yet.  It was slow but interesting.

Yoon Hyeon-Woo has been working for Soonyang Corp for several years.  He was hired when he was just out of school and knows pretty much every little detail about the company.

He's a loyal employee doing as he's asked and doesn't ask any questions.  He also looks after the family and is treated like a servant.  

At a beginning of the episode, the first few minutes are of Hyeon Woo having a large sum of money being deposited into his account.  He walks out of the bank and then we go back (I think it was a week prior?) to see how he got to that point.

The story starts on a day when the unveiling of a bust of the founder of Soonyang, Jin Yang-Cheol was to happen.  Hyeon Woo e meets with a new employee under him, Shin Kyung-Min. Kyung-Min admires Hyeon-Woo and he is completely star struck when he meets him.  He asks Hyeon Woo to teach him everything because he aspires to be just like him.  So Hyeon Woo takes him under his wing.

Just about at the end of this episode, there is a HUGE twist that I didn't see coming at all.  I have to confess though, I'm really bad about predicting where a story is going when I watch American TV shows but Asian dramas are quite predictable when you've watched enough.  I've been watching since the early 90s and this twist got me good.  By the end of this episode I was completely hooked!

REWATCH: [2008] Bara no nai Hanaya - 薔薇のない花屋

 Since I started to watch some new J-dramas, I've fallen in love with them all over again.  I went a lot of years without watching because they were difficult to find with English subs.  After not watching for a few years, I tried to watch some that I found but they didn't really interest me much.

I'm going to re-watch Bara no Nai Hanaya or "Flower Shop Without Roses".  I remember really liking this one and I don't remember it so I'm going to rewatch and see if I still like it.

This drama had 11 episodes and tonight I'm going to watch E01.

Behind Every Star (2022)

 I just finished E11 of 12.  I'm not going to write about this show since I completely forgot to start writing about it when I started to watch it. It was a nice drama and I can't wait to see how it ends!

Fill in the Blanks (Kuuhaku wo Mitashinasai) - Episode 04

 Tetsuo pays a visit to his grandmother and mother, who in E01 said she understood why he committed suicide.

Tetsuo goes to visit Saeki to learn the truth about how he died.  Eventually, he realizes what happened and when he gets home, he tells Chika everything he remembers that took him to that point and how he felt just before he died.

Tetsuo, Chika and their son Riku go on a trip to an amusement park.  Riku crosses a roped bridge and from the other side, he yells out to Tetsuo to cross over by calling him "Dad".  A surprised Tetsuo crosses over and then Riku yells out to his mother to cross over.  Chika stands there staring off into space and then she collapses.

Watch episode 4 here:  Fill in the Blanks Ep 04

Fill in the Blanks (Kuuhaku wo Mitashinasai) - Episode 03

 Tetsuo is invited to join the newly formed "Re-Lifer's Society".  On his way to the hotel (meeting place), he makes friend with another re-lifer and they talk about how they died.  The guy says he died by accidental drowning due to a rip current in the ocean.  Tetsuo tells him he died by accident when he fell off a building.

When they arrive to the hotel, they are met by protesters.  

Once seated, there are speakers that discuss why they have come back to life, the discrimination they face, and the hope that they can make the world a better place.

After the meeting, Tetsuo is alone in his room.  He takes in the beautiful ocean view and then someone slips a DVD under his door.  He picks it up and puts it in the DVD player, then sits down to watch it.

Mind blowing episode cliffhanger!

Watch episode 3 here: Fill in the Blanks Ep 03

Fill in the Blanks (Kuuhaku wo Mitashinasai) - Episode 02

 Last episode eluded that something happened between Tetsuo's wife, Chika and the guy he suspects murdered him, Saeki. Family friend Akiyoshi, who owns a store, asked Chika if Tetsuo knows about "what happened" with Saeki and she shakes her head "no".

Since Tetsuo wasn't able to get his old job back, Akiyoshi gave him a job at his store as a favor to Chika.  The other employees know he's a "re-lifer" and one kid in particular, does not like him and he doesn't hide it.

There are protests against re-lifers and they are discriminated against.

Watch episode 2 here:  Fill in the Blanks E02

Fill in the Blanks (Kuuhaku wo Mitashinasai) - Episode 01

Thanks to Facebook, I found out that NHK as been offering some dramas with English subs on their site.  I have no idea how long they've been doing this but I'm glad they are.  I was looking at the programs they have and there are quite a few that I want to watch.

So this drama is about a guy who comes back to life after he had died 3 years before.  There have been many people this has happened to and they call them "re-lifers".

Official cause of death for Tetsuo was suicide but he was murdered because there's no way he would have committed suicide.  According to the police report, suicide was the only possible reason.

Main character, Tsuchiya Tetsuo, was married with 1 son and believes he was happy so there was no way he died by suicide.  He has no way to prove it because he doesn't remember what happened. 

This first episode has him trying to get his old job back and trying to figure out who murdered him.  He thinks it was this security guy at work but again, no proof.  So he goes to the police to tell them he thinks he was murdered.

Watch this episode here: Fill in the Blanks Ep01