Dorama of the Year 2001-IV Fall - Handoku

If I chose to watch something to the end this season, it would be Handoku as it's the only one that keeps surprising with new episodes.

1. Antique  [アンティーク] (Finished 2/11) Tags: Food, Comedy This story is about four men who work in a confectionary. Tachibana Keiichiro is the owner; Ono Yusuke is the superb baker that has a mysterious and mesmerizing aura; Kobayakawa Chikage is the waiter and close bodyguard of Tachibana; and last but not least is Kanda Eiji, the ex-boxer who loves cake so much that he becomes a waiter at 'Antique'. This is a refreshing, yet heartfelt comedy about the 4 very unique personalities that work until the wee hours of the night at the small confectionary. The series follows the romance, family life, and most importantly friendship that these 4 men from different generations experience. This is a confectionary with a "flavor" not like most. Located in the middle of an ordinary residential area, "Antique" stays open until 2 a.m. Every single thing in the shop is antique, in fact even the sherry glasses that water comes in look like they would cost 50,000 yen. On top of this, all the sweets that are sold are unbelievably delicious. The thing that is most peculiar about "Antique" though is that all 4 of the men that work here are very handsome, and each has an interesting past. Those that frequent the store also have a story to tell. I don't really see any serious attempts to go sideways for some strong narrative or personal stories from gourmet and boxing. It's done in a fancy way and has some nice actors, so can't rate too low.   Overall Rating: 6/10

2. Koi wo Nannen Yasundemasu ka  [恋を何年休んでますか] (Finished 2/10) Tags: Romance, Family Yuko, Mayumi, and Sakiko have all been married for some time, and are all reasonably happy. But they share their troubles, secret hopes, and dreams whenever they meet at Mayumi's beauty salon. This story highlights the lifestyles of women today--housewives in particular. Three FLs with their stories tear the narration all the time. It fills the screentime, but ends up rather shallow without decent script.   Overall Rating: 5/10

3. Lavender [薰衣草] (Finished 1/15) Tags: Romance, Drama Ah Xun and her sister Yi Cheng suffer from heart disease, making Ah Xun a target for bullying at school. Her only friend, Qing Chuan, gives her a glass bottle with a lavender sprig before moving away. They promise to meet again on Ah Xun's 20th birthday. Ten years later, Qing Chuan, now a famous singer named Leo, returns to Taiwan. Despite misunderstandings, Ah Xun and Leo reconnect and start a relationship. However, obstacles like Ah Xun's illness, Leo's girlfriend Maggie, and Ah Xun's admirer Xiao Tong, threaten their love. Feels rather mediocre and simple.   Overall Rating: 5/10

4. Sayonara, Ozu Sensei [さよなら、小津先生] (Finished 1/11) Tags: Comedy, Youth, Drama, Sports It was after Ozu passed 50, that he met his first major challenge in life. While working as the branch manager of his bank in New York, Ozu was given an order to do some deals that went over and above the law. He was later caught for being involved in those dealings and was arrested. After being released from prison, Ozu returned back to Japan to find that everything he worked for all his life had been lost: his job, his reputation, his family, and all of his possessions. All that he had left were expensive suits and the label of being an ex-convict. Ozu gets hired to be a temporary teacher at a private high school in Tokyo. There is a major problem though...he hates kids. Actually, the problem is worse than that, he hates people. He has come to not be able to trust people anymore, so he doesn't even see them as people. Which pretty much makes teaching anything to anyone out of the question. To make things worse, the kids at the school have lost all of their ambition. This teacher can't teach children, and he can't be taught. This story is depicted with a comedic touch, as Ozu and the students go through some violent, yet funny times on the way to his learning some valuable lessons from them. Can't stand Tamura Masakazu and sports, so outcome should not come as a surprise.   Overall Rating: 5/10

5. Star no Koi  [スタアの恋] (Finished 4/11) Tags: Business, Comedy, Romance Sosuke Nakata is just your everyday salaried worker. There is really nothing special that stands out about Nakata. He is a serious guy, whose life mostly consists of going back and forth to the office each day. Suddenly one day though, Nakata just happens to meet a certain woman by a coincidence she is the top star, Hikaruko Kirishima. Just by talking to her, Nakata is left standing feeling as he has just seen a dream. Several days later, Kirishima calls an emergency press conference. And there she announces: "I am now dating a gentleman by the name of Sosuke Nakata, a salaried worker, whom I intend to marry." An announcement about their "relationship" out of the blue! More than that, this top star's boyfriend is just your typical salaried worker!! What does Kirishima have up her sleeve as she hides behind her intrepid smile?! Nakata obviously has no idea about what happened at the press conference. He also doesn't know what lies ahead for him at work, and about Hikaruko's true intentions. Pretty tiresome as start is all about lies and even after lies are over, it goes on similarly irrationally and randomly. Not fond of leads, too.   Overall Rating: 6/10

6. Wednesday Love Affair  [水曜日の情事] (Finished 3/11) Tags: Romance 35-year-old Eiichiro and 33-year-old Ai lead a seemingly happy married life. A young couple with no children, they spend time together and enjoy each other's company whenever possible. But having a sweet wife like Ai doesn't always satisfy Eiichiro's irresistible cravings for excitement. The strength of their relationship is tested when Ai's long-time friend, Misao unexpectedly steps into their life and secretly seduces unsuspecting Eiichiro. This light-hearted drama explores the desires of men and women as Eiichiro and Ai struggle in their search for true happiness. Old adultery jdrama aren't particuarly good as there's not much to tell here, really, so the longer it goes the more boring it becomes.   Overall Rating: 5/10

7. Mia Jum Pen (2001) [เมียจำเป็น] (Finished 1/33) Tags: Romance, Drama Tawan is an orphan who lives a Cinderella life with her aunt and cousin Yardfah. She was treated like a servant and did whatever she was told to do. Her cousin’s dad and Tomorn’s dad arranged a marriage between her cousin Yardfah and Tomorn when they were kids. Years pass by, her aunt’s status changed but Tomorn’s dad wants to keep his promise to give his son away. Tomorn hates the idea but agrees to meet Yardfah before making his decision. He ends up falling in love at first sight but it was with Tawan instead. When Tawan’s aunt found out, she made Tawan pretend to be her daughter because she wanted his money. I just hope that lacorn eventually stop being abusive wacky mess already. Until that day I refuse to take them seriously. Overall Rating: 5/10

8. Wuri's Family 우리집 [] (Finished 2/20) Tags: Romance, Youth, Drama, Family The story is mainly based on a love triangle between Wu Ri, Da Eun and Tae Hee. However, it also covers the issue of family and friendship. The story is about two childhood best friends, Tae Hee and Wu Ri who have known each other since they were kids. Tae Hee secretly falls in love with Wu Ri. However, Wu Ri has always thought of her as his best friend and his love is only for a girl that he likes most as the first time he saw her namely Da Eun, a deaf and mute girl in university. Unfortunately, Tae Hee was extremely upset and the mother of Wu Ri's family was absolutely against the relationship between the two. Relatives relations are very rude, and deaf-mute person disability only adds cringe here, so it's not even decent for me.   Overall Rating: 5/10

9. Piano (2001)  [피아노] (Finished 2/16) Tags: Romance, Melodrama Han Eok Kwan is a gangster who, one day, discovers he has a hidden 10-year-old son named Jae Su. He meets Hae Lim and falls in love with her at first sight. Hae Lim is a widow with two kids, a 12-year-old girl named Soo Ah and 10-year old son named Kyung Ho. She just moved to Busan and opened a piano school. But somehow, her image gets destroyed and she finally accepts Eok Gwan's love and the two marry. But shortly after, Hae Lim dies in a boat accident. Years later, all three kids are older and were raised by Eok Kwan. Jae Su and Soo Ah are deeply in love with each other but they cannot express their love because they are family, although not by blood. Kyung Ho is a rebel and turns into a gangster too. The drama traces the struggles of these three kids and Eok Kwan. Gangster beginning is such a sick parody that I don't understand how it's put at the very start to generate initial impression. Both grownups and children with their bullying are so cringy that I just can't go on with all the irritation accumulated.   Overall Rating: 5/10

10. Sangdo  [상도] (Finished 2/50) Tags: Historical This is a story exploring the moral of a trader and the value of the wealth. The popular writer Choi In Ho tells a story about the legendary Korean merchant in Joseon Dynasty, Im Sang Ok (1779-1855). Not fond of merchant stories, need strong emphasis on historical context of events like in Ogon no Hibi, so my will to continue depends on whether history context can lure me in during first couple episodes - after all, Ogon no Hibi easily did by the middle of pilot episode. Sorry, but compared to Ogon no Hibi this is so-so and has next to zero interesting historical context so far.   Overall Rating: 6/10

11. School Teachers  [ガッコの先生] (Finished 1/11) Tags: Youth, Drama The story greatly resembles 3 nen B gumi Kinpachi Sensei with some stereotypical characters tacked on. There's the hardheaded father figure, who is a ramen shop chef, his tough school teacher daughter, Motoko, who hates Sakuragi, and an estranged older sister, whose dad disowned. Dad is renting out the estranged sister's old room to Sakuragi. Motoko and Sentaro's colleague, Onodera, has a huge Oedipus complex. Elementary school is instant no. It's absolutely not serious enough.   Overall Rating: 5/10

12.  Raeng Ngao (2001) [แรงเงา] (Finished 1/14) Tags: Romance, Drama Naive Mootha leaves her rural home for Bangkok, where she falls for her married boss, Janepop, despite her co-worker Veekit's affections. Tricked into an affair, she is publicly humiliated and, devastated, returns home and takes her own life, just as her identical twin, Moonin, returns from abroad. Guilt-ridden, Moonin assumes Mootha’s identity to seek revenge on Janepop. However, as she executes her plan, she finds herself falling for the kind-hearted Veekit, who unknowingly falls for the twin deceiving him. Early lacorns are horrible to my taste even though this one starts in a rather moderate fashion.   Overall Rating: 5/10

13. Handoku [ハンドク!!! ] (Finished 4/10) Tags: Medical As a former gang member, Hazama Ichiban witnessed the worst side of the emergency medical system and vowed to become a doctor to change it. With the aggressive passion he learned on the streets, Ichiban has worked his way to becoming a no-nonsense emergency medicine resident. But it is this same passion that he must learn to control when confronted with a situation beyond his help. Ha! Basically, Japanese verions of scrubs. Not finding it interesting enough though, not fond of actors, either. But at least it's varied, with many characters and nice directorship.   Overall Rating: 6/10

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