JDorama review: Boss 2

Title: Boss season 2 Broadcast dates: 4/14/11 - 6/30/11 Number of episodes: 11 Genre: Detective Cast: Amami Yuki, Takenouchi Yutaka, Tamayama Tetsuji, Toda Erika, Mizobata Junpei, Kendo Kobayashi, Nukumizu Youichi, Hasegawa Kyoko, Narumi Riko Plot: Two years have passed. Nodate (Takenouchi) has received a promotion, thanks to the work of Osawa (Amami) and her team. Now it is time to bring the team back together. What is good: Amami Yuki is an amazing actress. What is bad: Kimoto (Toda) is missing from most of the series. Letter rating: A

I absolutely loved the first season of Boss so I was looking forward to the second season. For the most part, it didn't let me down. The only part I didn't like was Kimoto's "banishment." While they tried to replace her with two characters, it just wasn't the same. Granted, I would love to see Kurohara Rika become Kimoto's protege of sorts. That would be a pretty awesome spin-off.

My favorite part of the series is that it is a detective series but it keeps humor in their lives as well. It's not all stuffy or anything. I am really looking forward to news of a third season.

JMovie review: Liar Game: The Final Stage

Title: Liar Game: The Final Stage Release date: 3/6/10 Genre: psychological thriller Cast: Toda Erika, Matsuda Shota Plot: Kanzaki Nao (Toda) and Akiyama Shinichi (Matsuda) have finally reached the final stage of the Liar Game. Will they be able to beat the game and shut it down for good? What is good: Toda Erika's acting has finally reached the level to match Matsuda Shota's. What is bad: The ending was a bit of a letdown. Letter rating: B

I think my biggest problem with this series is how little the plot changes. The players still need to work together in order to beat the game but no one wants to. It's frustrating. It also makes the game's result obvious. In the end, I liked the series. I just would have liked it with a little more variety.

JDorama review: Liar Game 2

Title: Liar Game 2 Broadcast dates: 11/10/09 - 1/19/10 Number of episodes: 9 Genre: psychological thriller Cast: Toda Erika, Matsuda Shota, Kikuchi Rinko Plot: Once again, Kanzaki Nao and Akiyama Shinichi are thrown into the Liar Game. However, their goal is not to obtain the most money. It is to take down the Office and end the Game forever. What is good: It's nice to have an actual rival for Akiyama to deal with. What is bad: The outcome is still predictable. Letter rating: B

This season picks up awhile after the first season ended. Even though there are new players and new challenges, the outcomes are still the same. Since the advertise the Final Stage movie in the very beginning of the show, we already know that Akiyama and Kanzaki will advance to the next rounds. Luckily, the different challenges keep the show entertaining. I wonder what the movie will be like.

JDorama review: Liar Game

Title: Liar Game Broadcast dates: 4/14/07 - 6/23/07 Number of episodes: 11 Genre: psychological thriller Cast: Toda Erika, Matsuda Shota Plot: Kanzaki Nao (Toda) is idiotically honest. She unwittingly finds herself entrapped in the Liar Game, where the goal is to deceive your opponents out of their money. If she does not win, she will end up deeply in debt. She turns to Akiyama (Matsuda), a swindler recently released from prison. Together, they fight through each level of the game. What is good: Matsuda Shota is awesome. What is bad: The final episode is two and a half hours long. Letter rating: A

I absolutely loved this show, up until the final episode. Toda's acting as the naive Kanzaki was adorable. She really made you believe that the world would be a better place if everyone was honest with each other. Meanwhile, Matsuda was able to bring forth both the cynical and caring sides of Akiyama. The two of them got me hooked way faster than the plotline, which isn't awful but can get a little tedious at times.

The annoying part was that the final episode was so long. They recapped the entire series and added little snippets of what some of the off-screen characters were doing at the time. The additions made the long episode bearable but I don't think we really needed an entire recap of each level of the game. I wanted to fast forward through most of it but I was afraid I would miss an important piece of information.

In the end, that final episode didn't ruin the whole series for me. Not only did I enjoy it immensely, I am anxiously waiting to watch the second season. I hope it doesn't let me down.

JDorama review: Boss

Title: Boss Broadcast dates: 4/16/09 - 6/25/09 Number of episodes: 11 Genre: Detective Cast: Amami Yuki, Takenouchi Yutaka, Tamayama Tetsuji, Toda Erika, Mizobata Junpei, Kendo Kobayashi, Nukumizu Youichi Plot: Five years ago, Osawa Eriko (Amami) was sent to America as a demotion. Now she has returned to lead a new team of misfit detectives. What is good: It never turns into "Bad Guy Of The Week." What is bad: It ended! (But there's a second season coming!) Letter rating: A

I heard amazing things about this show. Knowing how hardcore fans can get rabid about "awesome" shows, I can reluctant to watch it myself. I'm sorry I waited so long!

The show mostly revolves around Osawa. It flips a little between her personal life and her extraordinary detective skills. I'm happy that they didn't delve too far into either arena. The show would have sucked if it was based on "You can't get a husband." On the other hand, I think it would have been too dry if it focused solely on the detective work. It was a great balance between the two.

I'm not going to go into each of her subordinates individually because that would take way too long. I enjoyed seeing the transformation of Kimoto Mami (Toda) from a stand-offish loner into an actual part of a team. Since there is a second season on the way, I hope to find out a little more about Iwai (Kendo) and Yamamura (Nukumizu). They were great secondary characters but they seemed to get tossed out to make room for everyone else. I'd like to see them make their own transformations.

This is most definitely a must see. Don't wait!

Jmovie review: Death Note - The Last Name

Title: Death Note - The Last Name Release date: 11/3/06 Genre: Supernatural drama Cast: Fujiwara Tatsuya, Matsuyama Kenichi, Nakamura Shido (voice only), Kaga Takashi, Toda Erika Plot: In the sequel to the first Death Note movie, the game between Light/Kira (Fujiwara Tatsuya) and L (Matsuyama Kenichi) continues. This time Kira finds himself a partner in idol Amane Misa (Toda Erika). With two Death Notes on earth, will L be able to prove the connection between Light and Kira? What is good: It is enjoyable watching Light and L trying to outwit each other. What is bad: Since this is mostly psychological, there isn't a lot of action going on. Overall rating: A Overall: I really enjoyed the first Death Note movie yet I was disappointed that there wasn't more interaction between Light and L. This movie definitely delivers that. While lot of the first movie was familiar to me since I watched part of the anime, I knew almost nothing about the sequel as it takes place in the episodes I haven't seen yet. I love watching Matsuyama as L. In my opinion, he was the absolute perfect choice in casting. I can't say too much else about the movie without giving away big spoilers. If you are a Death Note fan, you definitely have to watch this.