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
Hotaru no Hikari Details
Title: ホタルノヒカリ
Title (romaji): Hotaru no Hikari
Title (English): Glow of Fireflies
Genre: Romance, comedy
Broadcast network: NTV
Season 2
Episodes: TBA
Viewership rating: TBA
Broadcast period: 2010-Jul-07 start
Air time: Wednesday 22:00
Theme song: Kimi ga iru by Ikimono-gakari
Hotaru no Hikari 2 Synopsis :
In "Hotaru no Hikari 2," homebody Hotaru Amemiya becomes romantically involved with a manager named Seichi Takano (Naohito Fujiki). Hotaru Aemiya now seriously considers marriage.
Hotaru works for a famous interior design company. It's a glamorous job but Hotaru's private life is totally the opposite of glamorous. She lives alone, and when she isn't working she's mostly lazing about her rented house in training wear. She's not interested in men. In fact, she isn't interested in anything.
"I'd rather lay around than fool around," is her motto.
Her landlord is a bar owner, and one day his son, who has just separated from his wife, comes to inspect the rental property, not knowing that someone is living there. He is shocked at the mess, but not as shocked as Hotaru. He turns out to be her boss, Takano. -- Japan Times Online
Hotaru no Hikari 2 Story :
Three years ago, the heart of Amemiya Hotaru, the ‘dried up female’, had settled on Takano ‘Buchou’, and the ‘dried up female’ was supposed to have grown up. However, right after that, Hotaru was posted as a project team member to far-away Hong Kong. She is cut off from ‘Buchou’ and devotes herself to work.
Then, three years later, Hotaru returns to Japan after finishing the project. She is assigned to the First Planning Department, where ‘Buchou’ belongs, and immediately begins work as one of the team members. However, both the staff as well as the mood in the company have changed a great deal. The planner, Seno Kazuma, who seems to be a frivolous guy, leaves work at precisely 5.00 p.m. because he is on a ’9 to 5 contract’. Another colleague, Sakuragi Mika also quickly goes back once she has “finished her own work”. Meanwhile, ‘Buchou’ and Hotaru work as mere superior and subordinate. Big Sister Yamada and Futatsugi
Shoji, who are aware of the development between the two of them, whisper to each other, “Once a man and woman are separated for three years, they will no longer be like they used to,” as they watch Takano and Hotaru, “A person will change after three years. I am different from the person I was at that time.
You’re the only one who hasn’t changed.” ‘Buchou’ leaves Hotaru and goes to meet the lovely Asada Konatsu. “What have I done these three years?” A depressed Hotaru spends the night together with Seno …!?
Hotaru no Hikari 2 Cast and Starring :
Ayase Haruka as Amemiya Hotaru
Fujiki Naohito as Takano Seiichi
Itaya Yuka as Yamada Sachiko
Yasuda Ken as Futatsugi Shouji
Mukai Osamu as Seno Kazuma
Usuda Asami as Sakuragi Mika
Kimura Tae as Asada Konatsu
Ishii Momoka as Asada Chinatsu
Takahashi Tsutomu (高橋努) as Izaki Hosaku
Nakabeppu Aoi as Sugishita Mana
Ichikawa Tomohiro (市川知宏) as Matsushoji Goya
Kimisawa Yuki as Takebayashi Atsushi
Ide Takuya (井出卓也) as Umeda Shota
Sato Chiaki as Tsubaki Haruno
Yanagisawa Takahiko as Mukunoki Shin
Mashita Rena as Shiina Ayumi
Production Credits
Original writing: Hotaru no Hikari by Hiura Satoru
Screenwriter: Mizuhashi Fumie
Chief Producer: Hazeyama Yuko
Producers: Mikami Eriko (三上絵里子), Uchiyama Masahiro (内山雅博)
Directors: Yoshino Hiroshi, Nagumo Seiichi, Ishio Jun (石尾純)
Music: Kanno Yugo
Hotaru no Hikari 2 Photos :
Watch Hotaru no Hikari Season 2 Trailer and Video here
Tatta Hitotsu no Koi Details
Title: たったひとつの恋
Title (romaji): Tatta Hitotsu no Koi
Also known as: Just One Love / Love of my Life
Format: Renzoku
Genre: Drama, romance
Episodes: 10
Viewership rating: 11.61
Broadcast network: NTV
Broadcast period: 2006-Oct-14 to 2006-Dec-16
Air time: Saturday 21:00
Theme song: Bokura no Machi de by KAT-TUN
Tatta Hitotsu no Koi Synopsis, Story, and preview
A story of pure love between the son of a man who runs a ship repair factory beset with financial troubles and the well-bred daughter of a national jewelry chain store owner. The backdrop of the story is Yokohama.
If you feel you have lost the purity of your soul by watching stories about womanizers seducing impudent women, or by carrying out calculated maneuvers in your own love life, here is a story for you. A boy and a girl from highly different social backgrounds meet and fall in love. Their love, of course, faces a lot of obstacles. The setting is in Yokohama, a modern port city known for its romantic atmosphere. Hiroto Kanzaki (Kazuya Kamenashi) works hard every day and night for the survival of a small ship repair factory (inherited from his father) as well as the survival of his mother and younger brother, who are suffering from health problems. Living such an underprivileged life, Hiroto has forgotten how to smile. In contrast to him, Nao (Haruka Ayase) is the daughter of a popular jewelry shop owner in a fashionable street in Yokohama. She attends a prestigious exclusive women's college and grew up cheerful and blessed with affluent love. From the moment Hiroto meets her, his closed mind slowly opens up to Nao, who is so innocent that she utters whatever she thinks. Their three close friends, who are also 20 year old's, play an important role in their developing relationship.
The scriptwriter is Eriko Kitagawa, who earned the nickname "The Goddess of Love Stories." This classic love story enables those who are in the same generation to feel empathy, or be envious of the characters' lives; and the rest, who were once 20 years old's, to reminisce about their own "Love of My Life."
Tatta Hitotsu no Koi Cast and starring :
Kamenashi Kazuya as Kanzaki Hiroto
Ayase Haruka as Tsukioka Nao
Tanaka Koki as Kusano Ko
Hiraoka Yuta as Ozawa Ayuta
Toda Erika as Motomiya Yuko
Kaname Jun as Tsukioka Tatsuya (Nao's brother)
Saito Ryusei as Kanzaki Ren (Hiroto's brother)
Zaitsu Kazuo as Tsukioka Yasuhiko (Nao's father)
Tanaka Yoshiko as Tsukioka Mitsuko (Nao's mother)
Yo Kimiko as Kanzaki Akiko (Hiroto's mother)
Oshima Yoko (works in Hiroto's factory)
Taguchi Hiromasa (works in Hiroto's factory)
Guests
Takahashi Mai as Yuki (ep4-5)
Namioka Kazuki as Yamashita (ep4-6)
Anan Kenji (ep7)
Ikeuchi Hiroyuki as Saito (ep7-10)
Wakaba Ryuya (ep10)
Hiraizumi Sei (ep10)
Yanagita Erika (ep10)
Kato Yoshika as Nao's friend
Akita Makoto
Production Credits
Screenwriter: Kitagawa Eriko
Producer: Nishi Norihiko
Director: Iwamoto Hitoshi
Music: Ike Yoshihiro
Episode Titles
Ep 01: Love across classes
Ep 02: Holding hands
Ep 03: We're through
Ep 04: My rage, your tears
Ep 05: You won't be around
Ep 06: Our secret
Ep 07: But, I...
Ep 08: Goodbye
Ep 09: We can definitely meet again
Ep 10: Just one love
Photos of Tatta Hitotsu no Koi
Watch Tatta Hitotsu no Koi -[MV] Precious One video here
