I must confess I haven't watched the dorama "Tokyo Airport" of which this "Tokunoshima Airport" is a spin-off, so I've possibly missed a few references here and there (though I got the baseball one in the last episode, LOL). Still, this very short dorama (4 episodes, 15 minutes each) is in my very humble opinion enjoyable just the same, with the kind of humor you might find in a 4-koma manga, if you know what I'm talking about. Last but not least, Koike Eiko is - as always! - superbly gorgeous (and also pretty scary, portraying this crazy control freak, LOL). All in all not a masterpiece, ok, but still a totally watchable, funny miniseries ^__^

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I had watched this, like, 15 years ago and back then I had liked it. Upon rewatching it some 15 years later (and most of all: HAVING READ THE BOOK MEANWHILE!!!), my judgement is now different (after all, I'm not the same person I was 15 years ago, I think it's just normal that my tastes have also changed). The movie is not too bad, it still gets the passing grade, but the production made too many bad choices: instead of adapting the brilliant novel faithfully, they changed and/or cut too many details, thus crippling the story. The cast was also just so-and-so (the best actress - Takeuchi Yuko - only had a minor part with a few lines). Watchable, but nothing special. I remember I originally liked the sequel "Rasen / Spiral" much more, one of these days I'ma watch that one as well so as to see if I still think so or what, LOL

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I often say that one of the (many) reasons why I like J-dramas so much is the incredibly vast variety of genres and of topics they address, and the great freedom the writers have. Now, this dorama is a perfect example of that! Where else could you have a whole series depicting banks for what they really are (the portmanteau "banksters" immediately comes to mind!) and thus having a bank's big gun as the villain, all the while having as the totally improbable heroes an old guy, a young and inexperienced fellow and two incredibly funny yakuza? Nowhere else, ne? ^_^;
Particularly worthy of praise, as always, Nagase Tomoya's performance, but also Kohinata Fumiyo's and Matsushige Yutaka's - who add some much needed comic relief moments (plus, one of the most tragic and romantic scenes ever!) - and last but not least, Okamoto Aya's; besides, she's to die for in this, period. The only reason why I don't give this beautiful dorama a full 10/10 is that I'm a bit dissatisfied with the ending; after having built up all that tension with such a despicable S.O.B. of villain, I'd personally want said villain to be utterly crushed, disgraced, humiliated, destroyed at the end (Kusturica's "Black Cat, White Cat" comes to mind, if you know what I'm saying, LOL). This "let's give the guy a hand" just doesn't sit right with me...

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This isn't the first "regional dorama" I've watched, and just like the others, this one too is set in a beautiful scenery and has a deep, heartwarming story. Another big plus, at least for me - I love the Tōhoku accent, seriously! - is that this "Watashi no Ao Oni" is set in Yamagata Prefecture. But the biggest plus, as far as I'm concerned, is that the main role is played by the lovely Murakawa Eri (I found her positively radiant in everything I've seen her in so far, and I keep asking myself why they don't cast her more often!) - oh, and I also like a lot Kamishiraishi Moka! Anyway: a solid plot, with flashbacks intertwining with a fairy tale written by a local author and ending up with a poetic story and a lovely message; some very good acting; last but not least, some nice music. What more can you ask for?

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Hitsudan Hostess is a short dorama which brings on the screen the life of Saito Rie, who managed to become Ginza's (and therefore, Japan's) number one hostess despite being deaf since age 2, wrote a bestselling autobiography and later (though this has happened after the dorama was made) became the first hearing-impaired person ever to be elected as a local assemblywoman in Tokyo. The story is really moving, the acting very good (particular praises to Kitagawa Keiko, the late Tanaka Yoshiko and Sasano Takashi - plus, it's always a pleasure to see Toda Naho) and the message conveyed so heartwarming.

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Wakui Emi (as soon as she cuts that dreadful "ramen hair" she sports at the beginning of the series ^_-) goes back to being the same, absolutely adorable actress who had previously graced the audience in "Pure", and she delivers a solid performance throughout the entire dorama. Talking about great performances, Takeda Testsuya's would deserve a standing ovation, period. The problems lie with Sorimachi (who seems a bit out of place here, imho), with Hosho Mai (I liked her a lot in "Shomuni", but here she's just irritating, sorry), and most of all with the scriptwriting, which has its moments but also many faults - particularly the last episodes which are imho plainly silly. Too bad, it could've been much better than this...:/

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One of the best doramas I've seen, unfortunately partially tainted by an unispired last episode; without giving anything away, let's just say that after a 10-eps-long emotional rollercoaster (you laugh, you smile, you think, you cry...the whole 9 yards, really! Huge congrats to the writers!), the ending feels suprisingly plain, flat and dull. Too bad, 'cause it would have deserved a full 10/10 otherwise. Who does deserve a perfect 10 anyway is the lead (seriously, Nakayama Miho could make even reciting a shopping list an interesting watch; when, instead of a shopping list, there's a beautifully written script, the result is just superb of course) as well as the supporting cast (those adorably funny scenes portraying the trio of brother+kohais!). Solid score, great scenery. A must watch! :)

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Kanno Miho's performance was very good, but not even that is enough to save this dorama. Poorly scripted, unoriginal, predictable, cheesy. In a romantic drama the audience is supposed to root for the leads, but that's very hard to do here since the main male character is such a selfish, weak, spoilt and despicable 1st-class a-hole. And the way the elderly characters are written is just a disgrace: bidimensional characters, almost caricatures...one is little more than an ornament, always wearing a traditional dress and a faint smile and watering flowers or serving tea or such things, the other's a drunkard who speaks like a punk (those family scenes are supposed to add some comic relief, but they're just embarassingly bad). What a waste of Kanno Miho's talent! :/

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Having watched this while I was finishing watching "Chiritotechin" - and since both shows focus on rakugo - it would have been hard for me not to compare the two. And what can I say? "Tiger & Dragon" wins hands down!!! Not only is this hilarious (a very short synopsis could be: "Nagase Tomoya plays a yakuza who wants to become a rakugoka - hilarity ensues"), but moreover I think that the whole concept of intertwining the original rakugo stories with funny events - reminiscing of those very same original stories - involving the characters of this brilliant dorama, thus presenting us viewers with a very original take on the classics, well, is simply put a fantastic idea! Apart from being brilliantly written, this dorama is then equally brilliantly acted by the always über funny Nagase Tomoya - with honorable mentions also for Nishida Toshiyuki and Kiritani Kenta. Furthermore, Ito Misaki and Aoi Yu are both as gorgeous as they come (too bad the latter doesn't get enough screentime here!). Oh, and last but not least, "Crazy Ken Band" play the opening credits song! All in all, a perfect 10!

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Very interesting concept, and I want to praise the writers for managing to squeeze some deep, thought-provoking stories in those tiny 35' eps.! Unfortunately, as far as I'm concerned, the last two episodes ended up being just so-and-so (due to main characters I had a hard time relating to, and also due to endings I didn't really like), and that was quite a bit of a let-down after the first two eps. which were instead absolutely great. So, the first 2 would deserve a 10, the last 2 a 6...let's meet in the middle: 8/10 ^__- p.s. the 2nd season, not having imho any weaker ep., gets a full 10/10

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This could've been a great movie (yep, I meant "movie" indeed, you'll see why right away), on par with "The Magic Hour" and such. How? They should've: 1) gotten rid of 4/5 of the dorama (which imho is filled with useless characters - the innkeeper, the onee-san and her husband, the fisherman, the japanese-guy-with-dyed-hair-pretending-to-be-Russian and so on); 2) re-written Aibu Saki's character as something else than this childish, selfish, insufferably spoiled brat; 3) added some scenes from Golden Era movies (either from real movies, like they did in "Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid", or if that hadn't been possible, at least with re-shot b/w scenes reminiscent of those old cinematic gems). Unfortunately they didn't do that, and what we're left with here is - once again, as I always point out in my reviews: IMHO - a waste of film (not to mention, an unforgivable waste of Nagase Tomoya's, Koike Eiko's and Fubuki Jun's acting talent!

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