I have to say it, I'm not feeling this season. Part of the reason is that this spring has been a snooze-fest, for dramas, except for Waru, which I loved (but it's partially my fault too, since I decided to wait for Invisible and My Family to finish and binge-watch them... and I still haven't done it lol. It also seems like I've slept on some good titles like Nanba something and the Kimutaku one, I want to try them both).
Anyway, I'm going to be pretty selective this time, because of time, long watchlist etc etc, you know the drill (not counting the BLs tbh, because they start airing earlier/later than the others and because I'm ending up watching them all for science).
Bonus titles: Unicorn ni Notte, but I've heard that the 1st episode was nothing much, so we'll see in the future, and the one with Haru and Mamiya Shotaro, which I'd watch only for Mamiya because it seems boring :D So, as of now, these two aren't on my list, but as always I'll keep my eyes open.
Anyway, I'm going to be pretty selective this time, because of time, long watchlist etc etc, you know the drill (not counting the BLs tbh, because they start airing earlier/later than the others and because I'm ending up watching them all for science).
Old Rookie
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Preview
Date: From 9.00 p.m., Sundays, 26 June 2022
Station: TBS
Genre: Sports
Scriptwriter: Fukuda Yasushi (Kakenai?!, Good Partner, Doctors Series)
Cast: Ayano Go, Yoshine Kyoko, Nakagawa Taishi, Okazaki Sae, Masuda Takahisa, Inagaki Kurumi, Izutani Rana, Takahashi Katsumi, Eikura Nana, Sorimachi Takashi
Synopsis: Shinmachi Ryotaro (Ayano Go) is a professional soccer player who devoted his life to the sport and even represented his country. However, an injury caused his performance to slump. After this, he played for the J3 League. But he is suddenly forced to retire as a soccer player and hit with the reality that he has no skills besides soccer. And at the age of 37, it is rather late for Ryotaro to join the workforce. As his two daughters Izumi and Meisa (Inagaki Kurumi, Izutani Rana) are proud of him for being a soccer player, he cannot break the news to them just yet until he can tell them about his second career. Ryotaro comes across a sports management company Victory headed by Takayanagi Masashi (Sorimachi Takashi) and decides to work in this line on account of his wholehearted love and respect for sports even though it involves working behind the scene as a representative and manager of athletes. Even so, he still has difficulty coming to terms with his retirement. It is not easy to change jobs at 37 and he also faces a big hurdle at work. Will Ryotaro choose soccer or his new life?
I'm always, always scared of Ayano Go, because he has the ability to pick such shit projects that I can't bring myself to watch them. This one is a sport drama, he seems super cute, the cast is good, in the 1st episode there's a hot Yokohama Ryusei... I REALLY hope it's good, Ayano, please.
Junai Dissonance
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Date: From 10.00 p.m., Thursdays, 14 July 2022
Station: Fuji TV
Genre: Romance
Scriptwriters: Tamada Shinya (Anonymous, Densetsu no Okaasan, Joker x Face), Obayashi Rieko (Rabu Kome no Okite, Edo Moiselle, Nodoka no Niwa), Kuramitsu Yasuko (Ukiwa, Alive, Scandal Senmon Bengoshi Queen)
Cast: Nakajima Yuto, Yoshikawa Ai, Higa Manami, Takahashi Yuto, Kakei Miwako, Wada Masato, Hata Mei, Fujiwara Taiyu, Jinbo Satoshi, Tezuka Toru, Mashima Hidekazu, Tomita Yasuko, Mitsuishi Ken, Sato Ryuta
Synopsis: Nitta Masaki (Nakajima Yuto) arrives at a high school as a music teacher to replace its former teacher Kosaka Yukino (Kakei Miwako) whose disappearance has caused an upheaval. The night before his first day of work, Masaki was playing the piano at the school’s music room when he encountered a student Izumi Sae (Yoshikawa Ai). He becomes the assistant form teacher of her class. Masaki appears to be a fine young man who understands students but he is actually a calculating person with an inferiority complex from being compared to his older brother all his life. The missing person case soon brings Masaki and Sae closer to together. Although he begins to realise that he has developed special feelings for her at some point, he refuses to acknowledge that what he feels is love. Meanwhile, Sae has no doubt that she loves him. The two of them eventually part ways without facing up to their true feelings. However five years later, they unexpectedly meet each other again. Sae is an adult now and there does not seem to be any obstacles between them except for one thing. Masaki has a wife. What Masaki and Sae had before was a pure love that never crossed the line. Their reunion creates a dissonance that gradually strains their relationships with the people around them and starts to head toward ruin.
Mh. I'm tired of teachers falling in love with their students, but it seems that the story takes place few years later when she's an adult.
Let's hope it's good? I like Nakajima Yuto a lot, I want the drama to be good.
Ishiko to Haneo ~ Sonna Koto de Uttaemasu?
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Preview
Date: From 10.00 p.m., Fridays, 8 July 2022
Station: TBS
Genre: Legal
Scriptwriter: Nishida Masafumi (Totone-chan, Jikken Keiji Totori)
Cast: Arimura Kasumi, Nakamura Tomoya, Akaso Eiji, Oideyasu Oda, Sada Masashi, Koseki Yuta (guest star)
Synopsis: Called Ishiko because she is obstinate, 28-year-old Ishida Shoko (Arimura Kasumi) graduated at the top of her class at Tokyo University’s law faculty but has failed the bar exam four times. Although she tells the people around her that it is not that she cannot become a lawyer but that she ought not to, Ishiko gave up on the bar exam out of fear that she would fail again. She has been working as a paralegal at her father Ushio Wataro’s (Sada Masashi) law firm. 34-year-old Haneoka Yoshio (Nakamura Tomoya), a high school graduate who dropped out of university in the US after six months and spent several years wandering around the country, passed the bar exam on his first try thanks to his photographic memory. He professes to be Haneo with a personality as light as a feather and brands himself an unconventional talented lawyer. In reality, he lacks the ability to respond to situations and his train of thought grinds to a halt when the unexpected happens. The two of them with their own inferiority complexes are thrown together when Haneo makes the acquaintance of Ishiko’s father and comes to the law firm.
Listen, I have a Feeling about this drama. More specifically, I feel (more like I hope) like this couple could have crazy good dynamics. Finger crossed!
Teppachi
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Date: From 10.00 p.m., Wednesdays, 6 July 2022
Station: Fuji TV
Scriptwriters: Honda Takaaki (Lion no Oyatsu, Gekikarado, Rental Nanmo Shinai Hito), Seki Erika (Gossip, Gosaigyou, Shinmai Shimai no Futari Gohan), Morohashi Hayato
Cast: Machida Keita, Sano Hayato, Shiraishi Mai, Kitamura Kazuki, Sato Kanta, Tokito Yuki, Ichinose Hayate, Sakaguchi Ryotaro, Ikeda Eikichi, Fujioka Maito, Kudo Asuka, Kiriyama Ren, Kubota Yuki, Yuki Kosei, Mizusawa Rintaro
Synopsis: During his high school days, Kokusho Hiroshi (Machida Keita) was the rugby club’s ace who attracted national attention. However, he sustained injuries owing to his self-centred and aggressive style of playing. He was criticised by his teammates and remained isolated until he stepped aside. After graduating from high school, he lived a carefree life without a regular job. Then one day, he has a brush with the law because of a fight that gets him sacked from his job at a construction site and evicted from the apartment that he had been living in for falling behind on the payment of his rent. Hiroshi is at his wits end when a man calls out that he will introduce the perfect job that comes with a fully equipped dorm and three meals a day for someone like him who is proud of his physical strength. It is to work for the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force which defends the country’s peace and security. “With a name like that, weren’t you born to become a member of the Self-Defense Force?” Hiroshi initially refuses but makes a half-hearted decision to become a trainee. Despite the gruelling training, this turns out to be his true calling.
Seems like in the 1st episode Machida Keita has a lil ponytail.
Yes, this is me being selective.
I expect nothing from this drama, I'll probably watch it very fast and only for the pretty.
Preview
Date: From 9.00 p.m., Sundays, 26 June 2022
Station: TBS
Genre: Sports
Scriptwriter: Fukuda Yasushi (Kakenai?!, Good Partner, Doctors Series)
Cast: Ayano Go, Yoshine Kyoko, Nakagawa Taishi, Okazaki Sae, Masuda Takahisa, Inagaki Kurumi, Izutani Rana, Takahashi Katsumi, Eikura Nana, Sorimachi Takashi
Synopsis: Shinmachi Ryotaro (Ayano Go) is a professional soccer player who devoted his life to the sport and even represented his country. However, an injury caused his performance to slump. After this, he played for the J3 League. But he is suddenly forced to retire as a soccer player and hit with the reality that he has no skills besides soccer. And at the age of 37, it is rather late for Ryotaro to join the workforce. As his two daughters Izumi and Meisa (Inagaki Kurumi, Izutani Rana) are proud of him for being a soccer player, he cannot break the news to them just yet until he can tell them about his second career. Ryotaro comes across a sports management company Victory headed by Takayanagi Masashi (Sorimachi Takashi) and decides to work in this line on account of his wholehearted love and respect for sports even though it involves working behind the scene as a representative and manager of athletes. Even so, he still has difficulty coming to terms with his retirement. It is not easy to change jobs at 37 and he also faces a big hurdle at work. Will Ryotaro choose soccer or his new life?
I'm always, always scared of Ayano Go, because he has the ability to pick such shit projects that I can't bring myself to watch them. This one is a sport drama, he seems super cute, the cast is good, in the 1st episode there's a hot Yokohama Ryusei... I REALLY hope it's good, Ayano, please.
Junai Dissonance
Date: From 10.00 p.m., Thursdays, 14 July 2022
Station: Fuji TV
Genre: Romance
Scriptwriters: Tamada Shinya (Anonymous, Densetsu no Okaasan, Joker x Face), Obayashi Rieko (Rabu Kome no Okite, Edo Moiselle, Nodoka no Niwa), Kuramitsu Yasuko (Ukiwa, Alive, Scandal Senmon Bengoshi Queen)
Cast: Nakajima Yuto, Yoshikawa Ai, Higa Manami, Takahashi Yuto, Kakei Miwako, Wada Masato, Hata Mei, Fujiwara Taiyu, Jinbo Satoshi, Tezuka Toru, Mashima Hidekazu, Tomita Yasuko, Mitsuishi Ken, Sato Ryuta
Synopsis: Nitta Masaki (Nakajima Yuto) arrives at a high school as a music teacher to replace its former teacher Kosaka Yukino (Kakei Miwako) whose disappearance has caused an upheaval. The night before his first day of work, Masaki was playing the piano at the school’s music room when he encountered a student Izumi Sae (Yoshikawa Ai). He becomes the assistant form teacher of her class. Masaki appears to be a fine young man who understands students but he is actually a calculating person with an inferiority complex from being compared to his older brother all his life. The missing person case soon brings Masaki and Sae closer to together. Although he begins to realise that he has developed special feelings for her at some point, he refuses to acknowledge that what he feels is love. Meanwhile, Sae has no doubt that she loves him. The two of them eventually part ways without facing up to their true feelings. However five years later, they unexpectedly meet each other again. Sae is an adult now and there does not seem to be any obstacles between them except for one thing. Masaki has a wife. What Masaki and Sae had before was a pure love that never crossed the line. Their reunion creates a dissonance that gradually strains their relationships with the people around them and starts to head toward ruin.
Mh. I'm tired of teachers falling in love with their students, but it seems that the story takes place few years later when she's an adult.
Let's hope it's good? I like Nakajima Yuto a lot, I want the drama to be good.
Ishiko to Haneo ~ Sonna Koto de Uttaemasu?
Preview
Date: From 10.00 p.m., Fridays, 8 July 2022
Station: TBS
Genre: Legal
Scriptwriter: Nishida Masafumi (Totone-chan, Jikken Keiji Totori)
Cast: Arimura Kasumi, Nakamura Tomoya, Akaso Eiji, Oideyasu Oda, Sada Masashi, Koseki Yuta (guest star)
Synopsis: Called Ishiko because she is obstinate, 28-year-old Ishida Shoko (Arimura Kasumi) graduated at the top of her class at Tokyo University’s law faculty but has failed the bar exam four times. Although she tells the people around her that it is not that she cannot become a lawyer but that she ought not to, Ishiko gave up on the bar exam out of fear that she would fail again. She has been working as a paralegal at her father Ushio Wataro’s (Sada Masashi) law firm. 34-year-old Haneoka Yoshio (Nakamura Tomoya), a high school graduate who dropped out of university in the US after six months and spent several years wandering around the country, passed the bar exam on his first try thanks to his photographic memory. He professes to be Haneo with a personality as light as a feather and brands himself an unconventional talented lawyer. In reality, he lacks the ability to respond to situations and his train of thought grinds to a halt when the unexpected happens. The two of them with their own inferiority complexes are thrown together when Haneo makes the acquaintance of Ishiko’s father and comes to the law firm.
Listen, I have a Feeling about this drama. More specifically, I feel (more like I hope) like this couple could have crazy good dynamics. Finger crossed!
Teppachi
Date: From 10.00 p.m., Wednesdays, 6 July 2022
Station: Fuji TV
Scriptwriters: Honda Takaaki (Lion no Oyatsu, Gekikarado, Rental Nanmo Shinai Hito), Seki Erika (Gossip, Gosaigyou, Shinmai Shimai no Futari Gohan), Morohashi Hayato
Cast: Machida Keita, Sano Hayato, Shiraishi Mai, Kitamura Kazuki, Sato Kanta, Tokito Yuki, Ichinose Hayate, Sakaguchi Ryotaro, Ikeda Eikichi, Fujioka Maito, Kudo Asuka, Kiriyama Ren, Kubota Yuki, Yuki Kosei, Mizusawa Rintaro
Synopsis: During his high school days, Kokusho Hiroshi (Machida Keita) was the rugby club’s ace who attracted national attention. However, he sustained injuries owing to his self-centred and aggressive style of playing. He was criticised by his teammates and remained isolated until he stepped aside. After graduating from high school, he lived a carefree life without a regular job. Then one day, he has a brush with the law because of a fight that gets him sacked from his job at a construction site and evicted from the apartment that he had been living in for falling behind on the payment of his rent. Hiroshi is at his wits end when a man calls out that he will introduce the perfect job that comes with a fully equipped dorm and three meals a day for someone like him who is proud of his physical strength. It is to work for the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force which defends the country’s peace and security. “With a name like that, weren’t you born to become a member of the Self-Defense Force?” Hiroshi initially refuses but makes a half-hearted decision to become a trainee. Despite the gruelling training, this turns out to be his true calling.
Seems like in the 1st episode Machida Keita has a lil ponytail.
Yes, this is me being selective.
I expect nothing from this drama, I'll probably watch it very fast and only for the pretty.
Bonus titles: Unicorn ni Notte, but I've heard that the 1st episode was nothing much, so we'll see in the future, and the one with Haru and Mamiya Shotaro, which I'd watch only for Mamiya because it seems boring :D So, as of now, these two aren't on my list, but as always I'll keep my eyes open.