Not cool season again. I consider Gokusen to be the most intersting of these.
1. Big Money! [ビッグマネー！~浮世の沙汰は株しだい] (Finished 12/12)  Tags: Mystery, Business, Drama "Big Money!" is a human drama with a suspense twist about a young man who learns the tricks of the trade about stock exchange from a well-experienced investor. The backdrop of this story is the elaborate world of banking and the stock market. Shirato Norimichi (Nagase) lives off the money his parents send him, and his winnings at pachinko while waiting to find permanent employment. One day, Shirato is recruited by a mysterious elderly gentleman by the name of Kozuka Taihei (Ueki). Shirato later finds out that the small, yet mild mannered Kozuka was once a legendary trader. Although clouded by the mystery surrounding Kozuka, Shirato begins to work for him. In time, Shirato finds himself being mesmerized by the wave of numbers of the market. Sometime later, Shirato learns Kozuka's real intentions...he wants to bankrupt one of the world's leading banks, Matsuba Bank. The two men of very different ages then try to go up against Matsuba and the elite bankers that work at the giant Matsuba such as Yamazaki Fumihiko (Harada). I remember watching it to the end, and it's not particularly great as the bulk of it is just watching graphics with ascending and descending lines. It can totally grip and I enjoyed it more in the past, but now did not work out for me. Overall Rating: 6/10 |
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2. Golden Bowl [ゴールデンボウル] (Finished 2/11)  Tags: Romance, Drama Focus, concentration, proper posture and good release are the hallmarks of a good bowler. Welcome to Golden Bowl bowling alley. A bit rundown and small but no worse for wear, the Golden Bowl is stockbroker Akutagawa Shu's favorite haunt. A regular, he likes nothing better than the rumble of the bowl running down the alley and crash and crackle of the pins tumbling down. When a beautiful, older and married neighbor - who shares the same name as his old flame Hitomi - makes an appearance at the Golden Bowl, things start to heat up as Shu teams up with her to challenge some pro bowlers. Will Shu be as lucky with Hitomi as he is with the pins? My hate for spokons overwhelmed as it feels horrible for me every time it touches bowling . Not seeing anything great here either. Overall Rating: 5/10 |
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3. Artificial Beauty [整形美人] (Finished 3/11)  Tags: Comedy, Romance A woman's life all depends on her looks. So what happens if she's born ugly? This story is about a girl, nowhere near attractive, who was born where ugliness runs in the family. This pitiful girl, who has no luck with men, thanks to her "not so pretty" looks, turned to her last resort: a face lift. She travels all the way to the Mediterranean to transform into a living beauty. Now she can finally get her hands on love and happiness. After returning to Japan, she starts a glamorous life as a fashion model: something she had always longed for. Still, day after day, she is obsessed with the feeling that her big secret may come to light. The face lift was able to change her face, but not her "ugly personality." She's an artificial beauty: vulnerable, fragile, and struggling for love. Will she manage to get the love of her life? Three episodes in, and all I see is constant fooling around. No seriousness, no good comedy, nothing that would catch the eye. Overall Rating: 5/10 |
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4. Shiawase no Shippo [しあわせのシッポ ] (Finished 3/12)  Tags: Drama Mio is just your average young woman. She lost her mother two years ago, and has been living alone ever since. One day, her father shows up out of the blue. She hasn't seen him since her parents were divorced, twenty years ago. Now, he wants to mend fences; to rebuild their father-daughter relationship. Mio hesitates, but begins to feel a need for "family." When I see a boring concept like this I expect some kind of bonus to make it all watchable - and when I find none it gets even more disappointing. Overall Rating: 5/10 |
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5. Wedding Planner [ウエディングプランナーSWEETデリバリー] (Finished 3/11)  Tags: Comedy, Romance This is a love comedy that takes you behind the scenes of the latest bridal businesses, as well as the human drama of engaged couples, seen through the wedding planners' eyes, as they help to put on weddings. Toru Oomori works in the accounting department of a medium-sized firm. Unable to escape restructuring by his company, he gets sent to work at an affiliated company, "Sweet Bridal," as its president. Toru realizes his days as a salaried worker are numbered. That's why he's determined to increase sales, and regain lost ground. But there's just one major problem though... An incident that happened one year ago makes work here, very miserable. Complete mess due to so-so concept, leads and especially humor. Lots of fuss with little essence. Overall Rating: 5/10 |
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6. Gokusen [ごくせん] (Finished 2/12)  Tags: Action, Comedy, Youth, Drama The story of a young, idealistic teacher who enters Shirokin Gakuen in hopes of making a difference in the lives of students. However, Yamaguchi Kumiko is in for a rude awakening when she finds she will be the homeroom teacher of 3-D, the hardest class to maintain in the school. The students have multi-coloured hair and sloppy uniforms and show absolutely no respect for her. The leader of the class, Sawada Shin, is lazy but bright. He shows interest in Yamaguchi when he notices that she is different from other teachers. The students try to bully her into making her quit, but their attempts don't get them far. What the class and the rest of the school do not know is that Yamaguchi Kumiko is actually the 4th generation heir to the Ooedo Group, a notorious yakuza clan. Even though her family would like her to take the title of Ojou when her grandfather dies, they have accepted that Yamaguchi would rather be a teacher. Eventually, the students learn to respect their quirky teacher because of her devotion to them, and they even give her a nickname: Yankumi. I'm not a fan, did not like anime much either. And seeing that at least three elements are borrowed from GTO in first episodes of Gokusen does not add credibility. Overall Rating: 6/10 |
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7. Yume no California [夢のカリフォルニア] (Finished 5/11)  Tags: Life, Drama Shu is a senior at a low-ranked university. Kotomi is a struggling model. Keiko has a desk job at a small company. All of them are former classmates from junior high school. All of them are not satisfied with their current lives and want to find something better but can't seem to. Reflecting many of the conflicts and anxieties of today's youth, these three turn to each other for support to find the meaning in their lives for which they are searching. The problems of plentiful 2000s with their "end of history" were alien to me back then, but nowadays even more. What this drama focuses on is anxieties of finding one's place in life and having suicidal urges because of that. It's just so wrong and potentially harmful that I would not want to recommend it to anyone. Feels like useless farce to current me. Overall Rating: 5/10 |
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8. Romance [로망스] (Finished 3/16)  Tags: Comedy, Romance, Drama Fatal love strikes us out of a sudden and helplessly takes us deep down into the sea of fervor, giving us no choice but to yield. This drama beautifully unfolds the forbidden passion between a teacher and a student. Chae Won and Kwan Woo meet for the first time at a rural seaside village flower festival. They fall in love at first sight, not in their dreams have they known that Chae Won is the teacher at Kwan Woo's high school. The second time they meet is at the classroom where they realize the situation and become bewildered and embarrassed. The love story between the two young people is overlapped with Kwan Woo's tearful success story and this inspire the viewers with high emotion. It's done so carelessly and directionless that just can't take it seriously. Overall Rating: 5/10 |
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9. Buang Banjathorn (2002) [บ่วงบรรจถรณ์] (Finished 1/15)  Tags: Historical, Romance, Drama, Fantasy Heartbroken and disappointed in love, Praenuan decides to visit the estate her estranged, late father left her in his will. There, she finds an enchanted bed that transports her back in time where she meets Laoperng, whom she later falls for. But there's trouble when Praenuan's estranged husband, who cheated on her, wants to reconcile with her. It looks like a sick joke. Can't believe someone made it and some watch it. Somehow, even worse than usual. Overall Rating: 5/10 |
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10. First Love (2002) [ファーストラブ] (Finished 11/11)  Tags: Romance, Drama Kasumi is shocked to discover that her older sister's fiance is the man she first fell in love with five years ago in high school. At the time, he was her high school teacher and ultimately quit his job racked with guilt over their relationship. Kasumi was deeply hurt and struggled for a long time to overcome her sadness. Now the two of them must come to terms with their secret past before the ones they care about in the present are hurt. Sadly, absolutely horrible despite participation of Fukada Kyoko who had rather naive simple role. All characters are so weird and mentally non healthy that just can't enjoy or recommend it. Overall Rating: 5/10 |
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