Beautiful Life,” “Hanzawa Naoki,” and more… The top 10 best Sunday theater shows of all time that have moved everyone!

Sunday Gekijo” has undergone changes

Takahiko Kageyama (Media Critic) “Sunday Gekijo” has been broadcast on TBS since 1956 and is the oldest drama series in Japan. Until September 2002, it was provided by one company, Toshiba, and was known as “Toshiba Sunday Theater. I was involved as an assistant producer at Mainichi Broadcasting System, an affiliate of TBS, around 1990, and it had a special existence for us production people as a traditional signature drama slot. This time, the three of us have gathered to decide the “strongest Sunday Gekijo” by limiting our selection to productions from the year 2000 onward.

Oyama Kumao (Writer): Until ” Onna no Ie ” on March 28, ’93, you used to broadcast complete drama episodes. During the one-shot drama era, I had the impression that there were many home dramas starring women and watched by women. In April of the same year, the drama became a serial drama format and the theme changed completely. The mainstream dramas were those that featured male leads in love or work, such as ……, which soothed old men, and starred big names such as Masakazu Tamura and Koji Yakusho (68). This changed further in the ’00s.’ The first film of the ’00s was ” Beautiful Life ” (’00), starring Takuya Kimura (51) and Takako Tokiwa (52), both in their 20s at the time. The pure love love story between an unpopular hairdresser and a wheelchair-bound woman suffering from an incurable disease achieved an average rating of 32.3% for all episodes, the highest in Sunday theater history. Following this explosive hit, the Sunday theater turned into a drama for young people.

Mai Imai (Writer) Goro Inagaki (50) in ” Hypnosis” (’00) and“The Tragedy of M” (’05), Tsuyoshi Domoto (45) in “Gakko no Sensei” (’01) and“Motokare” (’03), and other popular actors from the old Johnny’s were selected one after another for the lead roles. The next turning point was in 2001, when the “Gakko no Sensei” (2001) and “Motokare” (2003) were made by popular members of the former Johnny’s group.
The next turning point came in 2001. The next turning point came in 2001, when “Hanzawa Naoki” set the course for the current common perception that “this is what we think of when we think of Sunday theater. The most appealing aspect of the show is the “good versus evil” aspect. Of course, we can enjoy the elements of harassment, but the famous line, “If you get beat up, you get beat back, double payback! and the bad guys, such as the boss, are defeated in every episode. It makes me feel great. The final episode recorded a 42.2% viewer rating, and “double payback” became a social phenomenon, winning the “buzzword of the year” award.

Kageyama: The director said in an interview that the production team did not expect “ Hanzawa Naoki, “ a gritty story set in a bank, to be a huge success. After Hanzawa, dramas based on Jun Ikeido’s novel, such as “Shitamachi Rocket” (’15 and ’18) and“Rikuoh” (’17), became a string of hits. It has become an indispensable part of the Sunday theater. The common theme of these dramas is that weak people face various difficulties and accomplish great things. I too enjoyed watching them every time, but as one would expect after several in a row, I began to think, “Oh no, not again. It is not that “it was good because the ratings exceeded 20%,” but that the viewers must consider the fact that they will get tired of it someday. It is not enough to say, “There are three loaches under the willow tree.

Oyama: I like “Rikuoh,” though!　It is a ″royal road″ pattern of a small business facing difficulties, but it is a down-to-earth story. A countryside company making footwear that is on the verge of going under revives itself by making running shoes, and it tries to grasp its dream while guffawing at small villains like the sales manager of a rival company who is trying to sabotage the company. There are no missions that seem to have been forced to be made up to make the story more exciting, and the story makes sense. The balance of the work is good.
In recent years, “Ship of Theseus” (’20),“My Family” (’22), “VIVANT” (’23), and others have generated a lot of excitement on social networking sites with people wondering who the mastermind behind the story was. The ratings were not bad, but they did not stick with me. For example, in “Ship of Theseus,” the main character travels back in time and works hard to clear his father’s false accusation, but in the process of searching for the real culprit, he changes the fate of his mother and wife who live in the present day. The film is so full of various elements that it is confusing to the viewer. Moreover, all the characters were made to look suspicious, and it seemed as if the story was structured for the purpose of having the viewer ponder about the culprit. In the end, I did not get the message of what the production team wanted to convey at all.

A timeless masterpiece

Imai: “VIVANT” had a top rating of 19.6%, a rare high in recent years, but I had a strong sense of deja vu from the American crime suspense television drama “The Blacklist” and could not get into it. I thought it would be extremely interesting to those who are not familiar with “The Blacklist,” though. It is a crime drama about a paternalistic secret organization, and the direction is the same, but the scale is very different. I was disappointed that Japan could be satisfied with this.

Kageyama: This is starting to sound like a snide commentary (laughs), but there are also many excellent works. I like “Orange Days” (’04) the best. It is an ensemble coming-of-age drama centering on Yuki, an ordinary college student played by Satoshi Tsumabuki (43), and Kou Shibasaki (43), a violinist prodigy played by Kou Hagio, and depicts the five main characters trying to move forward while facing their own problems and struggles. I will never forget how Hagio suffers from a disease that causes him to lose his hearing, and yet he tries his best to live his life, not wanting to be thought of as pitiful. In fact, I recently showed this work to my students in a college class I have, and the current college students loved it, saying it was “so good. It must be a timeless masterpiece.

Speaking of Kou Shibasaki’s films, “GOOD LUCK! (2003) was also excellent. The pilot, played by Takuya Kimura, and Shibasaki, who also works in the airline industry, fall in love, but it is not a simple love story. The pilot’s girlfriend is usually a CA, but Shibasaki is an airline mechanic. She has a sad past, having lost her parents in an aircraft accident, and the trauma prevents her from flying. This professional and human drama became a big hit with an average rating of 30.6% for all episodes. It became a social phenomenon, as the stock price of All Nippon Airways, which cooperated in the production, rose, and the number of people who wanted to work in the airline industry and the number of women who wanted to become airline mechanics skyrocketed.

Oyama: If the story takes place in the sky, I prefer “Sorobuki Koho Shitsu” (“Flying Public Relations Office”) (’13). It is an occupational drama set in the public relations office of the Air Self-Defense Force, and it carefully depicts the process of growth of Sorai Daisuke (played by Go Ayano, 42), a Self Defense Force officer, and Inaba Rika (played by Yui Aragaki, 36), a director at a TV station, as they face their own problems and challenges. Broadcast two years after the Great East Japan Earthquake, the film takes a head-on look at the relief efforts of the Self-Defense Forces at the time of the disaster and the difficulties they faced in the process. What it has in common with the works you mentioned, Kageyama, is that it has a romantic element, but it is not the only element, and the story is depicted from a larger perspective.

Kageyama: There were also good works based on real people. The Emperor’s Chef” (’15), starring Takeru Sato (35), is a dramatization of the story of Tokuzo Akiyama, who served as head of the kitchens of the Imperial Household Ministry during the Taisho and Showa eras, and how he rose to become the emperor’s chef after a period of training as a boy at a temple that did not last. The historical background is faithfully reproduced, and the cooking scenes are beautiful.
In fact, this work had been dramatized twice before, in 1980 and 1993. I joined Mainichi Broadcasting in 1986, and when I was a rookie, a senior staff member in charge of rebroadcasting asked me, “Is there any drama you want to watch again? I once mentioned the 1980 version of “The Emperor’s Chef,” when asked if there was a drama I wanted to watch again. He said, “It didn’t get good ratings, but it’s a wonderful work. The rerun got good ratings for a late-night show. Then, in 1993, a special drama was produced, and in 2003, “The Emperor’s Chef” was produced for the Sunday Gekijo as a special project for the 60th anniversary of TBS. Suzuki Ryohei (41) was in this production as the protagonist’s older brother, and his good performance caught the attention of the staff, leading to his subsequent starring roles in Sunday theater productions such as“TOKYO MER: Running Emergency Room” (’21) and“Gekkokujo Kyuuji” (’23). Oyama

Oyama: It is precisely because of the Sunday theater that we are able to faithfully reproduce the scenery and costumes of the era with a budget comparable to that of a movie. The same was true for “The Great and Powerful Family” (’07). It is a profound depiction of the prosperity and downfall of a wealthy banking family during the period of rapid economic growth. It was also impressive because it was a tragedy, which is unusual for a drama starring Takuya Kimura.

Imai:“JIN” (’09) is another important drama that showed the power of the Sunday theater. It is a bizarre story about a modern doctor, Jin Minakata, played by Takao Osawa (56), who travels back in time to the Edo period (1603-1868), but it is a wonderful blend of medicine and history. Jin struggles to save lives while battling the limitations of medicine, ethical dilemmas, and the conflict of possibly changing history again. The storyline was also fascinating as Jin builds a relationship of trust with Ryoma Sakamoto, played by Seiyo Uchino (56), and saves Ryoma from a fate of assassination – a fate that would have beenfallen by his own assassination. Period dramas tend to be shunned because they are expensive and do not get good numbers, but TBS is to be congratulated for taking the plunge with “JIN” and successfully adapting the manga into a live-action film.

Oyama: I have looked back on many profound works that should be called “the Sunday theater,” but there are also comedies and school dramas that deserve special mention. Gommenne Seishun! (’14), a story about the merger turmoil between a Buddhist boys’ school and a Catholic girls’ school. At the beginning of the first episode, Kannon Bodhisattva suddenly announces himself as the narrator (laughs).

Imai: The Kudo-kan world was in full swing. I love this work too. Heisuke, a teacher at a boys’ school played by Ryo Nishikido (39), is unreliable, weak in fights, and is assumed by his father to be a virgin. A teacher at a girls’ school, played by Hikari Mitsushima (38), feels destined for Heisuke and unilaterally decides to marry him. These two and other unique characters were worth watching.

Oyama: Perhaps because it did not match either the era or the audience demographic of Sunday theater, the average rating was 7.7%, the lowest in Sunday theater history. However, the theme of mutual understanding among different cultures, including men and women, while causing friction, is very modern. Perhaps now is the time to watch this drama.

Kageyama: Speaking of unique Sunday theater, “Papa to Musume no 7 nichijitsu” (2007) left a strong impression on me. In this story, the father, played by Hiroshi Tachi (74), and the daughter, played by Yui Aragaki, switch places. It was fun to watch him act like a high school girl (laughs). On the other hand, Gakki, who was a hot young actress, showed a fatherly gravitas and the air of a businessman, and she already seemed like a big shot.

Oyama: Hiroshi Tachi was always twitching. He said to Gakki, “Dad, stop it. Don’t touch my body. Looking back on it now, I wonder how they did that in the Sunday theater (laughs).
There is another unique home drama. It is an omnibus-style work, written by 10 of Japan’s leading scriptwriters, including Yuji Sakamoto, Taichi Yamada, and Koki Mitani, on the theme of “fathers and children. The stories by these successful scriptwriters are carefully crafted one by one, and above all, you can enjoy completely different approaches to the same theme depending on the scriptwriter.’ This is a very special film in the sense that it goes back to the very beginning, as it was a one-off drama on the “Toshiba Sunday Theater” until March 1993.

The unusual Yo Oizumi.

Imai: “Gekkokujo” is one of the important themes of Sunday theater as well as “kangen choshin” (good and evil). Dragon Cherry Blossom” (’21) is an unusual school drama for a Sunday theater, but the story of a high school student with an average deviation score of 32 and various problems who meets an unconventional teacher and is accepted into Tokyo University was exhilarating. The sense of security that a pleasant sensation awaits them at the end of the story is what keeps me watching.

Kageyama: The previous episode of “Dragon Cherry Blossom” was aired in 2005 in the Friday drama slot, and Masami Nagasawa (37), who played a student in that episode, appeared again as a lawyer. Nagasawa is a star actress, but I felt that her participation in this drama as a supporting character was a kind of entertainment quality.
Is there any recent work that left a lasting impression on you?　I enjoyed ” The Last Man -A Totally Blind Investigator-” (’23), in which a different Yo Oizumi (51) played a fresh and interesting role. He played the role of Godo, a veteran detective with a mysterious reason for not being cheerful and light on his feet, which was a complete change from my previous impression of him. He is paired with an excellent FBI agent, Minami, played by Masaharu Fukuyama (55), who is totally blind. The two are well-balanced, with Gomichi, who has his own dark side, and Minami, who is free-spirited and cheerful. The dialogue between the two, which is sometimes funny and sometimes serious, was interesting.

Imai: After “Hanzawa Naoki,” the unwritten rules of the Sunday theater have been established, and the “villain’s facial expressions” and the development of “being driven into a desperate situation and eventually defeating the evil” are common to many of the works. Anti-Hero,” which aired this year, is a “good versus evil” story similar to “Hanzawa Naoki. It is pleasant to watch because you can get intoxicated by the pleasure of it without thinking about it. Hiroki Hasegawa (47) plays Akizumi, a lawyer and former prosecutor, who suddenly says to a murderer, “I will exonerate you. The “dark hero” performance, which made the protagonist appear to be a bad guy but is actually a ……, differentiated it from other productions and attracted not only Sunday Gekijo fans but also younger viewers.

Oyama: Sunday Gekijo has taken on various challenges and has produced many memorable masterpieces. However, since “Hanzawa Naoki,” I feel that we have unconsciously used “Hanzawa Naoki” as the standard when discussing Sunday theater. It is an important work in the history of Japanese drama in the sense that it created a social phenomenon and shaped the Sunday Gekijo as we know it today. How about “Naoki Hanzawa” as the “Strongest Sunday Gekijo”?

Kageyama and Imai: No objection!

From the November 15, 2024 issue of “FRIDAY