Tatami Potato

Orthros no Inu has put me in the mood for detective dramas, so I finally got down to watching Ryuusei no Kizuna, which had actually been sitting on my harddisk since it was out months ago, even before Orthros. (The consecutive Nishikido-sidekick choices are purely coincidental.)

Given the somber theme, I was pleasantly surprised to see wonderful crack-ish sense of humor reminiscent of Kisarazu Cat's Eye -- and later found out that they indeed shared the same scriptwriter. While KCE's hilarity was more in the event twists (delivered in a rewind/fast-forward, fill-in-the-blank technique much like a roller-coaster ride yet with smooth and comprehensible transitions), Ryuusei's was in the way it delivered the story-within-story down to the mock title sequence and cast intro and the consistent Post-It tagline (watch it to know the significance). I was slow in catching the parodic reference to lead actor Ninomiya's "Letters from Iwojima", and had since been curious if the others were also references to things I wasn't aware of...

I find it impressive how this series managed to be hilarious and touching and thrilling, and achieved all three magnificently. The child actors also did a good job of making me cry along with them. I'm not sure if some would find the solution predictable (I did suspect a twist but aimed it at the wrong person =P) but to me the emotional tension was strong enough to keep me on the plot track they laid out.

Speaking of lead actress Toda Erika, Liar Game will apparently continue its storyline in Season 2 winter this year, and conclude in a final movie next spring. Looking forward. \(^^)/

Next in the watching queue... probably Majo Saiban (having stalked the lead actor on-and-off from Hanakimi backwards to Akihabara@Deep and forward to Maou), before I make the descent to the seemingly dark, dark Zeni Geba... after which I have the seemingly true-crack Love Shuffle ready for detox, lol. But depending if my mystery appetite continues, they may make way for Odoru Daisousasen, an Oda Yuuji classic which I just heard of recently and is still in procurement process.

(I've had more than a year to get/watch the above dramas, so don't let the long list mislead you about the extent of my obsession... yet.)

(--After all, I haven't told you about other shows I stalk, na? ~_^)