Maou (魔王) - Drama Review

Before I had started to watch this series, I was a bit skeptical. Here was a show that featured two members of Japanese pop groups in the lead roles. Would they be able to pull off a solid show? And a dramatic suspense show at that? Well, I found that I didn't need to be skeptical at all. The show turned out to be quite well done and the characters were great. But before I explain what I liked, here's a brief overview.

Maou is, put simply, a revenge drama. It focuses on the two primary characters of Naurse Ryou, played by Ohno Satoshi, and Serizawa Naoto played by Ikuta Toma. Naruse is a brilliant and accomplished lawyer, who is well known for his generosity and kindness and being able to win cases. Serizawa is a police detective who is known for being brash and undisciplined. The two seem unrelated in the beginning but that soon changes. It seems that Naruse has a well-planned revenge scheme that he hatches against Serizawa and those around him, including friends and family. The reason for revenge, as shown later in the story, is that Serizawa and his friends used to bully kids at their middle school, and one of the kids that is bullied is eventually killed, stabbed by Serizawa on accident. Serizawa, who's family is wealthy and powerful, gets him off for the crime and he goes on to live his life and become a police officer. Naruse is the older brother of the boy that died in the stabbing. His mother also died of a heart attack following the younger brother's death and thus, Naruse has lived alone and bitter for the following decade. So the story is of Naruse's revenge plan against Serizawa and those around him.

How is this plan executed? It is a detailed and intricate system whereby Serizawa receives a red envelope containing some clue and a tarot card that holds some significance. Soon afterward the target would receive a similar envelope and the same tarot card. Finally, a third individual only slightly related to Serizawa or the target would receive the same tarot card and another item, usually the means to kill the target. What would happen is that the third individual would be the trigger, becoming angry at the target for some reason, pushed by the envelope's contents and then go to confront the target, who would then also become angry over the confrontation. The results would then lead to the target's death and the killer, who would have killed the target accidentally would then be represented by Naruse and released due to it being self defense. Naruse does it this way to re-enact the setting of Serizawa'a release after killing his brother before. Only the people dying are Serizawa'a friends. It seems complicated but is shown in the drama very well and there is no confusion as it is explained. As the people begin to be murdered, Serizawa and his fellow detectives move trying to identify the true killer, never sensing it could be the angelic Naruse.

Other issues emerge as the story develops: family problems within the Serizawa household; cracks in friendships; adultery between coworkers; and the truth behind the killing. I won't spoil anything but things are definitely not as clear as they appear initially. And in the midst of all of this is a young woman named Shiori, who has the ability to touch an object and see brief images of events that occurred around it in the past. She assists the police in efforts to help them in their investigation but she soon falls for Naruse, complicating matters further. As the story moves forward both Serizawa and Naruse begin to see their pasts in real terms and develop as characters. Their fates and their paths are destined to cross and it is well worth the journey to follow them on this path. Again, I won't spoil the ending or anything major...just suffice to say that the story is well told and worth the watch.

The acting is well done in this series, and by far Ohno Satoshi steals the show as the tragic and yet brilliant villain Naruse. His cold dead stare will haunt you after a few episodes and become synonymous with the deaths occurring in the story. He is one of the best TV villains I have seen and has a definitive human side that will make you root for him when you know you shouldn't be. Toma, as Serizawa, is also quite good as the emotionally tortured detective with a haunted past. As his friends soon begin to fall around him it is quite clear he is ensnared in a deadly game of which he is an unwilling participant, and the drama that emerges out of the cat and mouse game between Serizawa and Naruse is fun to watch. The supporting cast is excellent, especially Serizawa'a father and the other detectives. The story is haunting, suspenseful, and will challenge you. It is Shakespearian in tone and epic in scope. Take the time and watch all eleven episodes. It is well worth it. Until next time, mata ne!

Great Teacher Onizuka (GTO) - Drama Review

Looking at the drama Great Teacher Onizuka (GTO), it is tough to put aside its history. It was a manga in its original form, and then an anime series, and has also been produced as a live movie. So, of course, the show has a long pedigree. On top of that is the enormous hype that goes along with it. Just type into google the phrase "best Japanese dramas" and GTO appears at the top or near the top of every list. And this is a show that ran from July to September of 1998, so it has a few years under its belt. That is a lot of pressure to bear for the show as I started to watch it. I asked myself, "could it really be that good?" The answer is, yes it can. The show is excellent. But before I pour on the accolades, let me go into a brief description of what the show entails.

The show is essentially about a man named Eikichi Onizuka, played to perfection by Sorimachi Takashi, who used to be the leader of a biker gang. Onizuka, now working odd jobs, wishes to be a teacher. when presented with the opportunity, he leaps at it. Though completely unqualified, through some crazy circumstances, he is offered the job of homeroom teacher in a private school. The problem is, his students in the class are trouble to each other and to him. We have all heard the plot before, where the good natured teacher takes on a class of bad kids and transforms them through the power of symbiosis or whatever you want to call it. And it would be easy to label this in that category as well. However, the key difference here is, the teacher is sort of a troublemaker himself. Sort of? Maybe I am being too soft. Here is a man that unabashedly watches pornography with women around, dresses unlike a teacher would, is willing to strike another student if necessary, and teachers for that matter, is always looking to score money, and is not shy about eyeing any woman that passes his way. His coworkers loathe him, and his students scheme to get him to resign. His only supporters are the school director who feels his brand of teaching might spark some energy into the school, and his friend who works for the police force.

Through the course of the 12 episode series, he works to show his students that not only is he a good teacher, but that they are not quite as bad as they might believe they are. An example of his methods include having a couple of class con artists subjected to harassment from a large group of motorcycle gang members one night; another method involved bullying a student in class who was doing the same to another student, to show why it was pointless. His methods come across as extreme and yet refreshing as well. He deals with things in a very simplistic manner that feels more akin to "an eye for an eye" than mere revenge. And the students have more than deserved their punishments by the time Onizuka exacts them. Once the students learn their lesson they typically side with Onizuka and realize he isn't much different from them at all. Of course the other teachers and supervisors despise Onizuka and his methods and want him gone.They constantly work to undermine him and make his job all the more difficult. The only two coworker allies he gains through the course of the show are Azusa Fuyutsuki, the younger female teacher at the school, and the classics teacher, Fujitomi Makoto, both of whom see the good that Onizuka is doing for his students.

As the show progresses, the troubles become worse and begin to trickle out of the school and into the the media, the Ministry of Education, and as the problems grow, so does the tension and dramatic air of the show. Bear in mind that this show is a drama and a comedy. While there are funny points, especially involving Onizuka, there are quite serious moments as well. Some of the issues tackled in the show involve rape, severe bullying, the death of a classmate, prostitution, extortion, and even simpler ones such as exam pressure. Those are merely the problems the students face. In regard to the adult coworkers the problems are more political, financial, and involve specific such as stalking, marriage issues, obsession, bullying at work, and accepting kickbacks at work. That only scratches the surface of the range of subjects covered in this show, but it illustrates that this is not simply a romantic comedy or other typical drama. I found myself looking at the problems faced by the students in relation to the problems exhibited by the adults within the school and it made me reflect on the environment we provide for our kids in the world and how we raise them. And maybe that was the intent.

Notable performances from Sorimachi Takeshi (as Onizuka), Matsushima Nanako (as Fuyutsuki), Nakao Akira (as head teacher Uchiyamada Hiroshi), and of course the students, too numerous to name. Do yourself a favor and go watch this show. It's only 12 episodes long and you will not regret it. It's fun, dramatic, and has a great message about being passionate about living. What are you waiting for? Check out my links on the front page and find this show, now! Until next time, mata ne!