Mr. Brain Details
Title: MR. BRAIN
Format: Renzoku
Genre: Comedy, mystery
Episodes: 8
Viewership rating: 20.0 (Kanto)
Broadcast network: TBS
Broadcast period: 2009-May-23 to 2009-Jul-11
Air time: Saturday 20:00
Theme song: JUMP by Van Halen
Mr. Brain Synopsis, story and Review :
Tsukumo Ryusuke is a quirky, yet brilliant neuroscientist working for the National Research Institute of Police Science. Wielding a unique perspective and psychology, Tsukumo tackles the nation's most baffling crimes and scandals, going head-to-head with the most brilliant and twisted criminal minds. But his eccentricities and poor social timing can also aggravate people and circumstances, further complicating matters.
Mr. Brain Plot :
Takuya Kimura plays Ryusuke Tsukumo, a neurological scientist studying human nature at the Metropolitan Police Agency’s National Research Institute of Police Science. He tackles fundamental questions about human nature and overturns a few commonly-held beliefs along the way in a gripping mystery drama packed with plenty of emotional punch.
Ryusuke Tsukumo gets arrested himself for allegedly setting off an explosion. During his interrogation, he answers the questions using his keen sense of intellect and knack for deductive reasoning and turns the questions back on his interrogators, setting up inferences that point to a more likely suspect ...
Mr. Brain Cast and Starring :
Kimura Takuya as Tsukumo Ryusuke
Ayase Haruka as Yuri Kazune
Mizushima Hiro as Hayashida Toranosuke
Hiraizumi Sei as Funaki Junpei
Shitara Osamu as Kanda Junichi
Yamazaki Shigenori as Ochi Koichi
SHIHO as Mariko
Kinoshita Yukina as the cleaning lady
Isaka Shunya (井坂俊哉) as Namikoshi Katsumi
Hayashi Yasufumi as Iwabuchi Kiyoshi
Kobayashi Katsuya (小林克也) as Seta Ippei
Tanaka Yuji (田中裕二) as Natsume Mitsuo
Tortoise Matsumoto (トータス松本) as Nanba Jotaro
Daichi Mao as Sasa Miharu
Kagawa Teruyuki as Tanbara Tomomi
Guests
Ichikawa Ebizo as Takei Kohei (ep1,7-8)
Sugimoto Tetta as Kojima Hideki (ep1,3,7)
Takashima Masanobu as Doi Kenzo (ep1)
Yusuke Santamaria as Funada Tsutomu (ep1)
Toda Keiko as the host club customer (ep1)
Hirosue Ryoko (ep1)
Shiga Kotaro as Tsuchida Goichi (ep1)
Tsuda Kanji as Komine Kazuhiko (ep1)
Abe Ryohei as a yakuza (ep1)
Gackt as Takegami Teijiro (ep2)
Koyuki as Miyase Kumiko (ep2)
Matsushige Yutaka as Kishikawa Seiji (ep2)
Jinbo Satoshi as Tsumura Shusuke (ep2)
Fukui Hiroaki as Takada Hidekazu (ep2)
Hirayama Yusuke as Goto Hideki (ep2)
Ishiguro Hideo as Sugiyama Kozo (ep2)
Kawamura Yosuke as a detective (ep2,5)
Onoue Hiroyuki as a member of crime lab (ep2-3,5,7-8)
Kamenashi Kazuya as Wakui Masakazu (ep3)
Aibu Saki as Goto Megumi (ep3)
Koichi Mantaro as Dr. Chihara (ep3)
Hirayama Hiroyuki as Araki Akio (ep3)
Shinagawa Toru as Hyuga Shinichi (ep3)
Okuda Tatsuhito (ep3)
Sato Takeru as Nakagawa Masaru (ep4-5)
Kimura Tae as Nakagawa Jun (ep4-5)
Togi Hideki (東儀秀樹) as Yagi Hitoshi (ep4-5)
Takaya Yuya (貴山侑哉) as Kinoshita Shoji (ep4)
David Ito as Nishizaki Minoru (ep5)
Nakama Yukie as Akiyoshi Kanako (ep5-6)
Osawa Itsumi (大沢逸美) as Matsushita Yuriko (ep5-6)
Rokkaku Shinji (六角慎司) as Aoyama Koichi (ep5-6)
Yoshida Yo as Sakamoto Ryoko (ep5-6)
Kamikawa Takaya as Kitazato Yosuke (ep7-8)
Mitsuishi Ken as Aizawa Yoshiyuki (ep7-8)
Hamada Akira as Ozaki Kohei (ep7-8)
Suzuki Kazuma as Ozaki Shinichiro (ep7-8)
Shimizu Koji as Kikuchi Daijiro (ep7-8)
Obayashi Takeshi as Kawase Yozo (ep7-8)
Yamada Meikyo as Tsuda Yoshikazu (ep7-8)
Hayashi Tsuyoshi (ep7)
Katori Shingo as a hijacker (ep8)
Production Credits
Screenwriters: Makita Mitsuharu, Morishita Yoshiko
Producers: Ishimaru Akihiko, Iyoda Hidenori (伊與田英徳)
Directors: Fukuzawa Katsuo, Hirakawa Yuichiro, Yamamuro Daisuke
Music: Kanno Yugo
Mr. Brain bags top rating in Japan for first quarter 2009
Popular Japanese actor Takuya Kimura's latest television drama 'Mr. Brain' achieved a remarkable 24.8 per cent viewer ship and bagged the accolades for top rating for the first quarter of the year.
The first episode of 'Mr. Brain' even overtook last year's overall highest rated drama, 'Rookies'. This is a boost for the flagging Japanese drama market, where ratings have been dismal and uninspiring of late.
In this light-hearted drama, Kimura plays the role of Ryusuke Tsukumo, a gigolo who suffers a freak brain injury and becomes a crime-solving genius.
Before the series started, critics chided its storyline for being similar to another Japanese show 'Inspector Galileo' and the American hit crime-investigation drama 'CSI'.
But after the first episode, fans not only applauded the casts' performances but also agreed that it is different from the said dramas.
The broadcaster's decision to put a star-studded cast for 'Mr. Brain' has been a masterstroke in attracting the ratings. The regular cast includes Kimura, Mizhushima Hiro and Haruka Ayase.
Another highlight of the drama will be the featuring of a new guest star appearance in every episode. The first episode featured Ryoko Hirosue from the Oscar-winning film 'Departures'. Subsequent episodes will see the likes of popular artistes Sato Takeru and Kazuya Kamenashi.
However, not everyone is smitten with the drama. Netizens are complaining that the storyline is illogical, and may mislead kids. One of them questioned, "How can a person become a genius after injuring his brain? Children should not follow his example."
On a lighter note, the current success of 'Mr. Brain' has led to a series of commercial opportunities.
A bread company has already pushed out a series of "Golden Brain Bread" (Kimura's character is a blonde), and a Chocolate Bread with mayonnaise which includes the brain-enhancing ingredient DHA that is selling at 128 yen (S$1.96) each. - CNA/fa
Mr. Brain Photos : 
Watch Mr Brain Theme Song JUMP by Van Halen Video here
Tokkyu Tanaka 3 Go Details
Title: 特急田中３号
Title (romaji): Tokkyu Tanaka 3 Go
Also known as: Tanaka Express 3 / Limited Express Tanaka 3
Format: Renzoku
Genre: Comedy, romance, friendship
Episodes: 11
Viewership ratings: 08.8% (Kanto)
Broadcast network: TBS
Broadcast period: 2007-Apr-13 to 2007-Jun-22
Air time: Friday 22:00
Theme song: Yorokobi no Uta (Song of Joy) by KAT-TUN
Tokkyu Tanaka 3 Go Synopsis
After two years of preparation, Ichiro Tanaka finally enters a university disdained as a third-class one. Out of his ardent desire to become popular with girls, he by chance steps into the world of the railroad "otaku" (commonly called "tetsu"), getting deeply involved in the fascinating railroad world. This drama portrays Ichiro who, together with those lonely "tetsu" guys he meets there who "want to be popular so badly but are not," develops love and friendship and grows mature as a person. --TBS
Tokkyu Tanaka 3 Go Cast and Starring :
Tanaka Koki as Tanaka Ichiro
Tsukamoto Takashi as Hanagata Kei
Akiyama Ryuji as Momoyama Seiji
Kuriyama Chiaki as Meguro Terumi
Kato Rosa as Shibuya Kotone
Hiraiwa Kami as Kojima Riko
Kaito Ken as Makita Joji
Okouchi Nanako as Kato Miharu
Sakamaki Keisuke (坂巻恵介) as Kimura
Minami Shuhei (南周平) as Sasaki
Kimura Ryo as Tanaka Jiro
Endo Kenichi as Tanaka Katsuji
Saito Keiko as Tanaka Shizue
Yoshiyuki Kazuko as Tanaka Haru
Hirooka Yuriko as Momoyama Saori
Omi Toshinori as Momoyama Makoto
Sudo Kentaro (須藤謙太朗) as Momoyama Seitaro
Toyooka Masumi as Izumi
Hashimoto Jun as Master
Takahashi Issei as Mishima Ken
Nozuki Takahiro (野月貴弘) as Tetsu A
Minamida Yusuke (南田裕介) as Tetsu B
Tomikawa Kazuto (富川一人) as Tetsu C
Guests
Takagi Maria (gokon, ep1)
Tachibana Ayano (gokon, ep1)
Yamaguchi Misa (山口美沙) (gokon, ep1)
Tomikawa Kazuhito (ep1)
Tanaka Subaru (田中彗) as Tanaka Ichiro as a child (ep1)
Tanaka Juri (田中樹) as Tanaka Jiro as a child (ep1)
Passion Yara as a worker (ep3-4)
Manami (愛実) as Miki (ep3,4,8,9)
Noguchi Seiko (野口聖古) as Hitomi (ep3,9)
Takahashi Hitomi as Meguro Keiko (ep3,9)
Shitara Osamu as Terumi's father (ep3,8)
Takahashi George (高橋ジョージ) as George (ep3,10)
Harada Fumiaki (原田文明) as Professor Yamakawa (ep4)
Ato Kai as Professor Fujii (ep5)
Kikuchi Kinya as Kodera (ep5)
Denden as Maegi (ep7)
Kinami Haruka as Yoshie (ep7)
Kobayashi Katsuya as Iwashiro (ep7)
Nakagawa Reiji (中川家礼二) as Shimaoka (ep8-10)
Kamenashi Kazuya as Shibahara Toru (ep9)
Yokomi Hirohiko (横見浩彦) as Tetsu (ep10)
Kimura Yuko (木村裕子) as Tetsuko (ep10)
Matsumoto Jun
Production Credits
Screenwriter: Hashimoto Hiroshi
Producer: Isoyama Aki
Director: Hirano Shunichi, Kaneko Fuminori, Tsuboi Toshio
Music: Nakanishi Kyo
Episode Titles
Ep 01: My Tracks Lead to You!
Ep 02: You're the Lousiest Guy in the Whole World!
Ep 03: A 1-on-1 Battle with Your Boyfriend in Your Hometown!?
Ep 04: A Guy who Makes Lies into Truth
Ep 05: How Long Does it Take to be Friends?
Ep 06: Kindness is His Only Redeeming Feature
Ep 07: The Love Train's Maiden Journey
Ep 08: I Wanna Be Your Man, But...
Ep 09: A Teary-Eyed First Kiss
Ep 10: There's No Tomorrow for Us
Ep 11: Our Train Heads for the Future
Tokkyu Tanaka 3 Go Photos :
Watch Tokkyu Tanaka 3 Go Preview Video here
