Jdrama Review: Akumu Chan (2012)

Akumu Chan
悪夢ちゃん
7/10 ♥

Taking another foray out of my comfort zone (I admit, my zone is pretty limited to rom-coms and the occasional K-melo) comes Akumu Chan. Nightmare Chan, or My Little Nightmare, is a bizarre little original drama about an elementary teacher and her student who have prophetic dreams. Throw in some science fiction technology that makes dreams viewable via a 'dream card' on a TV screen for perusal once a subject is awake, and you’ve got the makings of a what’s sometimes a creepy thriller-paced storyline. Yes, it’s a Jdrama and therefore episodic, but the overall arc is terribly fascinating and each character just nuanced enough to make their growth appealing, and their pasts gripping.

Kitagawa Keiko (Buzzer Beat) plays Ayami-sensei, a cheery faced teacher who behind her smile hides a thorny personality and general distaste for her profession, kids, and of course love. But she’s destined be a mentor for transfer student Koto Yuiko (child actress, Kimura Manatsu). This child’s eyes literally wobble inside her head when she ‘connects’ to another person’s subconscious, and she sees the future. They’re almost always foreshadowing dire consequences, but to change future she needs a dream interpreter. 

And.. is he the hero or the villain?

Rounding up the cast was a new face for me, but very recognizable I'm sure to a few people: Gackt. He's a bit weathered now, and those curls... Ack! But as the male lead in our drama here he is quite something. Is he the Dream Prince, who literally appears in Ayami's dreams riding a white horse? or is he a sinister, ambition driven scientist who only wants the secret to the dream card? He's alternately creepy and endearing, and so makes it difficult to guess. Props to Gackt. And his curls.

Read on for more non-spoilery thoughts, Episode Guide and Episode Reviews. 

Kdrama Review: God's Quiz Season 1 (2010)

God’s Quiz
신의 퀴즈
7/10 ♥ 

Oh dear. It’s another episodic crime scene investigation story – my least favorite genre ever, thank you American TV over-saturation for my dislike of the genre. Why on earth did I start this one then? Because I’m a glutton for punishment. Also, I like to branch out a bit and pretend that I don’t just watch mushy rom-coms. Also, after dropping Faith by episode 4 I was genuinely intrigued by the one actor that didn’t seem to annoy me. Oh well, this was only 10 episodes long.

Synopsis:

Ryu Deok Hwan plays brilliant doctor Han Jin Woo, who for some reason has consented to take a post as a medical examiner at the ‘National Scientific Criminal and Investigation Laboratory’ established in a regional Forensic Scientist office in Hanguk University. This is a fancy way of saying he works in what amounts to a morgue, doing autopsies on bodies that (in this case) almost always had bizarre or extremely rare diseases. The team is joined by detective Kang Kyung Hee, played by Yoon Joo Hee, who for the sake of viewers serves as the outside perspective, to whom all medical terms need to be explained.

Without using spoilers, I’m going to do this review a little differently, because I think we can look at God’s Review in two separate lights: generally, and by individual episodes. My verdict is that some episodes, particularly the early ones are not very good. But like all episodic shows, it takes a little time for viewers to get attached to the general cast. The dynamics of an investigation team are always the heart of this genre, and looking past the formula of disease/death-of-the-week episodes, God’s Quiz’s overarching plot and its characters are especially well done. 

A decent medical investigation drama? I guess I can deal with that...