Unfiltered Recommendations: Must-Watch Dramas of Spring 2024 from Three Critical Watchers

Many “amnesiacs” this season

Kaoru Shimada (entertainment reporter): Looking at the household viewer ratings for the first episode of spring dramas, the top viewer is “Believe: A Bridge for You” (TV Asahi), starring Takuya Kimura (51), with 11.7%. The reasons for this are, of course, the focus on Kimura Takuya and the splendid cast. Kinya Kitaoji (81), Fumiyo Kohinata (70), Takumi Saito (42), Ryoma Takeuchi (31), and other famous actors appear in every single cut.

Mai Imai (columnist): “I was excited before the show aired about Kimura and Amami Yuki (56) playing a married couple, but the height difference between the two actors made me nervous. The height difference between the two actors has become a topic of conversation.

Tamami Hiyama (Columnist): At first, the cast of this drama was like “VIVANT” (TBS), where information on the cast was only released for Kimura, and his co-stars were a mystery. But it was not talked about at all. The script was written by Yumiko Inoue, who worked on the “Emergency Interrogation Room” series and the “BG – Personal Bodyguard” series, so I think the story is in good hands, though.

Imai: Due to the Johnny’s s sexual assault issue, the original script was scrapped, and the theme was decided on in January of this year. Because of the rush work, the detailed setting was not properly done. There was a scene in the first episode where the main character erases the evidence left on his computer, but the data is still on the server and can be recovered even if it is put in the trash. With today’s Japanese forensics.

Hiyama If an accident occurs at a bridge construction site, there is no way that only one person in charge of the general contractor, even if he is the general manager, can be put in jail.

Shimada There are a lot of impossible settings in this season. I think the most common is “amnesia,” isn’t it?

Imai: There are five amnesia films this season. In “Re: Revenge – The End of Desire” (Fuji TV), the main character played by Eiji Akachu (30) is attacked by someone and loses his memory in the second episode. The main character, who had been bedridden for months, suddenly wakes up and walks briskly. His beard has grown, but his hair hasn’t. …… There are too many things to be picky about.

Shimada “Re: Revenge” is an original story, but there are many original works this season.

Hiyama I think it is because Nippon TV had a big trouble with an original story.

Imai: That may be part of it. Also, Haruna Kawaguchi’s (29) “silent” (Fuji) was a hit as an original work by a scriptwriter who just made her debut, so maybe they have high expectations.

Shimada: I feel that original works are popular among women. Men like historical dramas such as “Taiga” and manga series that have a clear vision of what will happen next. On the other hand, female viewers may prefer things that have no foreseeable future.

Hiyama: Even so, there is too much amnesia in original scripts. Isn’t that the case with the Tsuki 9 drama “366 Days” (Fuji)?

Shimada Alice Hirose (29) and Go Atsushi Maeda (24), who had a mutual love in high school but could not become lovers due to a slip-up, are reunited as adults. Just as their feelings for each other are reciprocated, Goh Atsushi is bedridden due to an accident……. They are both good actors, but the story is too tragic to be told. Goh Atsushi is an actor who shows with his facial expressions. You have to look into his eyes and wonder how long he’s going to stay in bed.

Hiyama: After all, he has amnesia, doesn’t he?

Imai: He played a high school student after all. I thought he would only appear briefly in a reminiscent scene, but he played back every single scene and went on for a long time.

Hiyama: The inspiration was the famous song “366 Days” by HY. It is a song about lost love. Since Fuji TV had a hit with “silent,” I think they think they can go for a ″setsu na kei″ drama in which the main character goes through a painful and painful experience.

Shimada: There has certainly been a string of “sad” type of works. The same was true for the last Geki 9 “Kimi ga Kokoro wo Gitaeru Kara” (Because You Gave Me Your Heart). But even the last episode was not a hit, with an average household rating of 6.6%.

Hiyama: We have to abandon the successful experience of the “impatient” type. If this line persistently continues on various stations, we will lose viewers.

Shimada: Go Atsushi had a series of good works such as “Promise Cinderella” (TBS) with Fumi Nikaido (29) and Gan-chan (Takenori Iwata, 35) and “Elpis: Hope or Disaster” (Fuji) with Masami Nagasawa (36). It’s kind of a waste.

Imai: Because there is no way I can act. I’m sleeping all the time (laughs). It’s the script, after all. A high school student in his twenties and amnesia, which is a staple of Korean dramas, is a strange makunouchi bento.

Hiyama: This is also an amnesia drama, but “Kururi: Who fell in love with me? 〜(TBS),” which is also an amnesia drama, is interesting to watch. What do you think?

Shimada: The lead actress, Meruru (Ikumi Airu, 22), has a surprisingly wide range of acting skills.

Hiyama: TBS’s Tuesday 22:00 slot is filled with dramas that make girls happy. The same was true for “Runaway Shame,” “The Story You Read the Day You First Fell in Love” with Fukada Kyoko (41) and Ryusei Yokohama (27), and “Promise Cinderella” with Fumi Nikaido and Atsushi Goh.

Shimada: “Kururi” has three male counterparts. It’s nice to be able to choose your type.

Imai Like a love game.

Hiyama And they all like “me. It’s a common pattern in shoujo manga.

Imai: “9 Border,” also by TBS, is also about amnesia. In this one, Kohei Matsushita (37), who has lost his memory, is playing his guitar on the street and suddenly grabs the hand of Haruna Kawaguchi, who stops by and asks him, “Do you know me? …… The setting of the encounter is too abrupt.

Hiyama And then they fall in love (laughs). Even excluding the amnesia element, it is quite chaotic. If it had been before, it would have been possible with just one heroine, but that wouldn’t be seen anymore, so for “9 Border” I prepared three main characters, aged 19, 29, and 39, aiming at a wide range of generations.

Imai: Apart from Kawaguchi, we have Haruka Kiminami (38) and Meiiku Hata (22), both talented actors, but having three of them makes the content thin. All the stories are half-hearted. Moreover, the portrayal of the 19-year-old is far removed from the actual 19-year-old, who is “a ronin student who just met a guy on a matching app and he proposes to her. This is what a middle-aged person thinks of a 19-year-old.

Hiyama: I wonder why Fuji and TBS make so many amnesia stories on the same station. I thought they should have talked about it.

Shimada In terms of girl-pleasers, did you see “Tokyo Tower” (TV Asahi), starring Ren Nagase (25) and Yuka Itaya (48)?

Imai: Yes. A love story between an older woman and a young man is rare and good, but the content was a surprise. There was a cat under a car, and Nagase, a college student who rescued the cat, was asked by architect Itaya, “There is a shower in my office. It’s as if we’re being shown the fast-forward to the act of …… porn, where Itaya, the architect, asks Nagase, the college student who rescued him, “There’s a shower in my office, do you want to take a bath? The script is too violent. I’m not drawn in by a story that’s too unrealistic.

Reality is important even in amnesia

Imai: Back to the subject of amnesia, “Unmet: Diary of a Brain Surgeon” (Fuji) starring Hana Sugisaki (26) was very good. This is my No. 1 this season. Tatsuya Wakaba (34) is a really good actor.

Shimada: He used to play a child actor. He is just so natural and pleasant to watch without being too fake. It is also interesting because he is an actor that we don’t usually see in commercial TV dramas.

Hiyama: There is a freshness to it. If it weren’t for the problems with Johnny’s, Wakaba would never have been cast opposite him (laughs).

Shimada: Sugisaki has done “It’s love! 〜(NTV), but this time she has a memory disorder that allows her to remember only one day. Isn’t it hell already? But the disabled people she plays don’t give a very negative impression. As an actor, she has a mysterious charm.

Imai: She is very good at playing a “hard worker” without being overbearing.

Hiyama: Is it really possible to play such a role? Hiyama: She plays a role that you wonder if it is really possible to play such a role, but by having her play it, it becomes more realistic.

Imai The content of the film is also very carefully crafted. The realism of the disease is depicted well, and the message of “living with the disease” is conveyed without being too dark. The supporting cast includes actors such as Arata Iura (49) and Amane Okayama (29), who give a great sense of security.

Shimada: I still like the Sunday drama “Antihero” (TBS) the best.

Hiyama A lawyer played by Hiroki Hasegawa (47) says to a murderer, “I will acquit you. He plays an elusive role, either an angel or a devil, and is extremely scary when he flips a switch. I thought he was a professional actor.

Shimada: Takumi Kitamura (26), who plays a fellow lawyer, is quiet and dark, but his forwardness adds a nice touch. Also, Mayu Hotta (26) has improved a lot in the last few years.

Imai: She looks different no matter what she does. Her performance as the Shogun in “Ooku” (NHK) is powerful and dignified, yet her acting is sensitive.

Shimada In “Even If I Forget You” (TV Asahi), which was broadcast last October, she played a woman who falls in love with a man who also has amnesia (laugh). She played a sad role, but she got the part well. This time, she plays a cool lawyer and is very sharp and has a strong character.

Imai: I also really like “95” (TV Tokyo), although the ratings for the first episode are struggling at 1.9%.

Hiyama: Me too. 95″ does a good job of recreating the atmosphere of that era.

Shimada: Like the cigarette vending machine where students can buy cigarettes.

Imai If people who spent their youth in 1995 saw the film, they would be deeply moved. When we were conversing in the living room, there were breaking news all the time: “Shoko Asahara has been arrested. And it was real news footage!

Hiyama: Kaito Takahashi (25), the lead actor, is not bad, but he still seems to have lost the dullness of his role as Masayasu Wakabayashi in “But I Have a Passion” (Nippon TV).

Imai If he had a little more acting ability, this drama might have had more buzz.

Shimada So you’re saying that if either the script that everyone is satisfied with or the actor’s ability is lacking, the viewers won’t follow.

From the May 24, 2024 issue of FRIDAY