My second dorama to watch this year is Cold Case (コールドケース) which is the Japanese version of the US crime/detective show. It’s a 10-part series, centered around a group of detectives who take up unsolved cases from years ago. I enjoyed each episode because the plots were so varied, and there’s a ton of nostalgia too because some of the episodes flashback to the ’80s and ’90s and occasionally play pop songs from the era. なつかしい！. But, there’s also an episode in which the crime happened in the ’50s, and then an overarching story which takes place in the present. So there’s a ton of opportunity for the stories to go in many directions.
One of the things I really liked about コールドケース was the casting. Yoshida Yo (吉田羊) in the starring role did a great job, and the other detectives were strong and believable, each with their own mysterious pasts. None of them were explored deeply except for Yoshida’s character, but I’m hoping for another season so we can find out more!
If you like serious crime/detective shows, I highly recommend コールドケース. There’s no comedy or lighthearted moments, so if you are looking for hijinks you will be disappointed. But if you want good acting, believable characters, and a clever plot, give it a watch!
Lastly, check out the Instagram feed for the show to see photos of the cast which includes many guest actors. It’s fun to see them enjoying behind-the-scenes moments which is a huge contrast to the serious plots!
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/4, 1/125 sec, ISO5000 “Amazon and MoKo Sleeves” Cedar Park, 2017
こんばんは！How’s it going?
Today’s photo is of a couple of sleeves I have been using for my Chromebook and Kindle and absolutely love. They are both made from a really soft felt material which hardly weigh anything, but they are thick enough to provide some nice protection from shock and scratches. The laptop sleeve has slots on the back which will accommodate a Kindle and a cellphone, although it does add some bulk. Both of them have small slots for business card sized items. I keep some Instax prints in there.
Each one cost only about $10 and come in either light or charcoal grey and I opted for one of each color for a little variety. 😄
I probably didn’t need the laptop sleeve since I keep it safe in my messenger bag and the screen is protected, but I liked the Kindle sleeve so much that I had to have the larger sleeve as well.
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/4, 1/100 sec, ISO6400 “Amazon and MoKo Sleeves” Cedar Park, 2017
If you like either of them, you can find both at Amazon.com:
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/5.6, 1/100 sec, ISO1250 “Kindle PaperWhite” Cedar Park, 2016
For my birthday this year, my parents bought me a new Kindle Paperwhite. It is awesome! I’ve had an older Kindle “Keyboard” version for a while now (I blogged about it here) but have wanted a new Paperwhite version because of the upgrades.
Here is a list of advantages of new Kindle PaperWhite (which I named “Echo”):
Backlight: Not only can I read at night without the light on (which bothered Mariko), but the backlight adds some contrast for increased readability in daylight
Higher resolution: The text looks sharper and the display is more like a printed page
Smaller: Although the screen size is the same as my old Kindle, the bezel is smaller and I can “palm” it with one hand
X-Ray: I can find out more about the characters in the story by tapping on a name
Although the new Kindle is superior to my old Kindle (which I named “Persephone”), the old one is still useful and works great. And it has a couple of advantages over the Paperwhite:
Audio: I have loaded some nice classical guitar mp3s onto the Kindle, which I can play via the built-in speakers or the headphone jack
Having two Kindles is nice. I keep Echo (the new one) by my bed, and Persephone is in my messenger bag. Do you own a Kindle? I have to say, my Kindles are possibly my favorite technology gadgets. ❤
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/3.2, 1/75 sec, ISO6400 “Tuxedo Cat” Cedar Park, 2016
こんばんは！How’s it going?
So, one of our kitties is black and white – a “tuxedo cat”. I had never heard that term before, but I like it. And I heard that tuxedo cats are strange… not sure if that is a trait or not, but ours is certainly the odd one of the pair of kittens we got. They are sisters, so I thought their personalities would be more similar, but the tuxedo cat is really quirky. She’s a lot of fun!
Earlier this evening my friend Mikey and I went to see the movie “Shin Godzilla”. It’s in limited release here in the States so the theater was sold out. We both enjoyed the movie quite a bit! The special effects were great, and Godzilla was pretty amazing (and very destructive). This version reminded me of a Titan from “Attack on Titan”… anyone else think so?
What I thought was fun about the movie was that it was filled with so many recognizable Japanese actors. Seems like everyone had a cameo or starring role. I also thought Ishihara Satomi’s character was funny speaking English. It was just like her English in the dorama 5-9. It was silly and fun!
Lastly, the English acting from the gaijin was terrible… yappari (as expected). But all-in-all, I thought it was a good movie. And I am amazed at how many conference rooms could be shown in a single movie. They must have set a record. 😜
I watched the 11-episode manga-based action/mystery dorama, Tantei no Tantei (探偵の探偵) last week and was impressed with how good it was. I usually decide after three or four episodes of a dorama if I like it enough to continue watching, but Tantei no Tantei had me hooked from the first episode.
To start, Kitagawa Keiko (北川景子), who is one of my favorite actresses, is in the starring role, so that is a huge plus, and the rest of the cast is also strong, especially Kawaguchi Haruna (川口春奈) and Iura Arata (井浦新). The dorama just needed a good story, and it delivered on that as well.
Sasaki Rena – Cool and Calculating
There will be some spoilers below, so before that, I’ll just say that Tantei no Tantei is a dark mystery, with a fair amount of action (and blood), several plot twists, and a satisfying ending. If that sounds like something you are interested in, find this dorama and give it a watch!
******** SPOILER ALERT **********
The story starts out with Sasaki Rena interviewing at a detective school. We learn that her younger sister, Sakura, was murdered a few years earlier, with the killer receiving the help of a crooked detective. Sasaki states that she doesn’t want to become a detective, but wants to learn about detectives, so she can track down the person who led the murderer to her sister. It’s basically a story about revenge.
Rena and Sakura. This might be the only time Sasaki smiles in the entire dorama.
Sasaki eventually joins Suma Research, a detective agency, as part of a newly-formed “Anti-Detective” department. Her job is to keep an eye on corrupt detectives and expose them, but while investigating these detectives, she’s also searching for clues to finding the “Death God”, which is the name she calls the detective who was involved in her sister’s murder.
Anti-Detectives Minemori Kotoha and Sasaki Rena
I liked the fact that the episodes weren’t stand-alone mini-stories as so many doramas turn out to be. Each episode reveals more about each character, and the plot advances at a good pace. I liked the story so much that I binge-watched episodes 1-5 until 3 AM one morning!
Another thing I liked is that the story is gritty without being too gross. There’s a lot of fighting and plenty of blood in the story. At one point, one of the characters says, “Our detectives noticed that Sasaki Rena’s face has a lot of bruises on it.” Duh, that’s her face in like half the show! The make-up artists sure must have been busy.
Dirty FacesA semi-gruesome scene, where Sasaki rescues a kidnapping victim who is being held in a dark apartment surrounded my medical equipment. Yuck.
I also liked the fact that characters actually get killed in the show, and not just the criminals. One of the main characters, a police officer named Yuma, gets stabbed three times in the stomach, and dies in Sasaki’s arms. I was like whoa, no way! Unexpected! It seemed like that character was on track to become Sasaki’s love-interest, which would have been way too convenient for the plot, so his death was definitely a shocker. But then a minute later, we find out that Yuma is in the hospital, fighting for his life, and I thought how typical that was… none of the good guys die. In the next scene Sasaki sneaks into the hospital to check on Yuma’s condition and we find out he actually did die. Learning this, I was pleasantly surprised! (That sounds bad, doesn’t it?) What I mean is that it set a dark precedent that no character was immune to harm.
Unexpected Death
There were a few things I didn’t care for in Tantei no Tantei. For instance, there was a pivotal scene in episode 7 in which a police helicopter is hovering over a huge fight involving 20 or so people. It seemed like the police on the ground took forever to appear. In general, the police seemed completely inept… I don’t think they did anything beneficial. Yuma was only one who did anything, and he got killed. Anyways, that particular scene could have been handled better. It was awkward and not very realistic. Perhaps the producers could have brought in a better director for that scene.
I also didn’t care too much for episode 10, in which we are introduced to several other detectives from rival agencies. These were played by popular actors, and it seemed like such a shift in the feel of the story. For the first 9 episodes, we followed the same set of dark characters operating in a serious and unforgiving world, and then boom, episode 10 changes the tone with a comedic, light hearted, ensemble cast. It felt so forced. Like the cast of a comedy dorama made a guest appearance in Tantei no Tantei. The serious tone was lost. These new characters were squarely in the “immune to harm” camp.
The ensemble cast at work
Thankfully, the story shifted back to the dark tone at the end of episode 10, where the elusive “Death God” is finally revealed, and the final episode (11) was devoted to the confrontation between Sasaki and her nemesis. It was a satisfying end to the story, and I hope there is a sequel. The directors kept the door open so that the story can pick up immediately, so there is a possibility! Truthfully though, I don’t think the ratings for the series was high enough to warrant a second season. But I’ll hold onto hope.
Death God
Anyways, I would recommend this dorama to any mystery fans out there. Well acted and good story! Well worth the time – 8 out of 10 stars.
Bonus photo – the cast having some fun:
Out of Character
Like this:
LikeLoading...
My camera & photos
I use a Fujifilm X-series camera for most of the photos on this site and my Instagram. Why not pick one up for yourself?
