Name
Cast
Rating
(5-pt. system)
Aired
Synopsis
(Delicious Relations)
Karasawa Toshiaki
Iijima Naoko
Kusanagi Tsuyoshi
Morimoto Leo
One of my favourite Nakayama Miho dramas (not that I've really seen that many). Even though Karasawa Toshiaki is very cool (in a kakko-ii sort of way) throughout the whole drama, he and Nakayama Miho definitely share on-screen chemistry. I totally found myself rooting for them throughout. It a riches-to-rags story for Nakayama Miho when her father dies and her fiancé ditches her, but then she finds work in a restaurant where Karasawa Toshiaki is the chef. As a food connoisseur, Nakayama Miho wants to learn to cook from Karasawa Toshiaki but finds that making the food is very different as eating it...
(Arranged Marriage)
Matsu
Takako
Yusuke Santamaria
Kubozuka Yosuke
Sato Tamao Kawahara Ayako
A sweet drama about a "forced" omiai between Matsu Takako (newly ditched by her boyfriend) and Yusuke Santamaria (who needs to be married for career purposes, as he is to be sent abroad) that goes awry after both of them decides at first that each is not what the other person is looking for, but after rejecting each other, they have second thoughts. This isn't one of those "rollercoaster" dramas, but it has a very comforting flow, and despite no great ups-and-downs, it kept my interest throughout the whole story...
(House of Ogres/
Don't be a Crybaby)
Kelly Chan
Namase Katsuhisa Nishikino Akira
The reviews were certainly not complimentary, despite the huge popularity of Kyoko at the time. The story is about Fukada Kyoko who is sent to live with her mean relatives and ends up working at their Hot Springs resort, where she meets and befriends Kelly Chan, a Chinese illegal immigrant who is also the target of their bullying.
(Only loved by you)
Suzuki Kyoka
Inamori Izumi
Inoue Harumi
Kawai Gamon
Yoshikawa Hinano
Sorimachi
Takeshi
Esumi Makiko
Nishida Naomi
Ishida Yuriko
Shiina Kippei
Kimura Yoshino
A nice show about single people in their late 20's living in the city. Esumi Makiko is a hairdresser living with her two best friends (Nishida Naomi and Ishida Yuriko), when Nishida Naomi's younger brother (Sorimachi Takeshi) moves in as well. Despite the initial hostility, Esumi and Sorimachi find that they actually share a lot in common. Their friendship blossoms, and they learn to trust and depend on each other, but the presence of their respective partners (Shiina Kippei and Kimura Yoshino) makes it difficult for a love relationship to evolve. It's a great storyline, but the lack of on-screen chemisty between Sorimachi and Esumi (it is said that they despise each other and bickered constantly on the set!) prevents from being one of the all-time greats.
Tamura
Masakazu,
Hirosue Ryoko,
Mizuno Miki,
Ishida Yuriko,
Okada Junichi,
Kurogi Hitomi
A terrific family comedy - at times moving you to tears and other times, making you laugh out loud... Tamura Masakazu playing the role of a traditional Japanese father ("ganko oyaji") - being very stubborn and strong-willed. Mizuno Miki is his eldest daughter, a kindergarten teacher with no boyfriend but becomes unexpectably pregnant... Hirosue Ryoko is their second daughter, who drops out of college to marry a business elite (Todai graduate) but finds that her boyfriend is not what she thought... Okada Junichi (from V6) is the youngest, attending prep college for medical school but in fact, has no desire to succeed his father's business. (Tamura is a doctor with his own small hospital.) One day, Tamura meets Ishida Yuriko, a club hostess who promptly falls in love with him...