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Anego

Title: アネゴ

Title (romaji): Anego

Genre: Romance

Episodes: 10, 1 Special (28 Dec 05)

Viewership: 15.7%, SP=11.4%

Broadcasted by: NTV

Broadcast period: 2005-04-20 to 2005-06-22

Air time: Wednesday 10:00pm

Theme song: KISS or KISS [Kitade Nana 北出菜奈]

(credits to dramawiki)
So, I actually typed this up at the airport while waiting for a flight so it may not be the best of reviews but hopefully they will get better.

I actually started watching this drama because in some Kattun interviews they always mentioned how Jin was in Anego. So I decided to give it a try since I found it online to download and because it had subs available. I actually had low expectations for this show because it didn’t really seem to gain a lot of publicity like some other dramas with JE stars in it, like Nobuta or Kurosagi. However, I have to say it was captivating.

The drama basically is about a gradually aging working woman (by aging I mean in early 30s) in Japan in hopes of finding her fated other. Naoko (Shinohara Ryoko) is neither unattractive nor ignorant, however, she fails to find anyone to be her significant other and is reaching a “critical” age in life where she should be getting married. In comes Kurosawa kun (Akanishi Jin) a new worker at her office who seems to have a crush on her. Add in a rival, Sawaki who is married to her “friend” Eriko (more like acquaintance who is super clingy) and viola! We have a love triangle….well sort of. In addition to this dish of characters we also have the now popular older woman younger man relationship cliche. For a better summary of the story though, I suggest you go to drama wiki by d-addicts and read theirs.

Overall, Shinohara Ryoko did a superb job. The role was made perfectly for her. Though she has seemed to play the workaholic before in Mukodono. However, her character here is spunky without being overly exaggerated and sympathetic when need be. Bakanishi did a decent job. He was actually watchable. I’ve seen him in Gokusen and he kind of just blended in a little with the crowd but hes able to stand on his own here as a male lead. I say he pulls off the sad look really well. I have to say though that Eriko (the friend) was extremely annoying, though I think her character was suppose to be portrayed that way since that’s how the actress described her character in an interview. If her job was to annoy, she did extremely well. The other male lead however, fared less well. He was neither good looking nor charming enough to have other characters in the show shower him with praises of adoration as if he is the ideal Japanese man. I thought his character seemed sleezy, especially since we all know he is married from the beginning of the show. The supporting characters all did well though.

I recommend the show to anyone who likes romantic comedies with some added drama. The music was well done and set the perfect mood for many scenes. The episodes usually always ended with a cliffhanger leaving you wanting more and more. I was immediately captivated from the first episode. Be prepared though for the Sawaki family who seemed more disturbing than dysfunctional. They are an annoying pair. However, for Bakanishi lovers he gets his share of screen time (though some would arguably say he needs more) and his character is lovable enough. I mean Kurosawa doesn’t get enough credit from Naoko. He’s the most decent person in the show yet no one seems to appreciate him. A suggestion on my part though would be to add more scenes of Naoko’s family and their interaction with Kurosawa. I found it really amusing when they got together. Especially Naoko’s father commenting about how Bakanishi has long legs. Lol. Anyways, I have to say this is a underrated drama that should have been promoted more. So give it a try, I bet you will be glued to the screen!

As a side note there is also the Anego Special out which is a short movie continues where the drama left off. I would review it but it did not have subs when I watched it. However, I daresay half of it comprised of flashbacks from the drama.

zefiris1	Latest page update: made by zefiris1 , Jan 19 2007, 6:47 PM EST (about this update About This Update Edited by zefiris1 1 word added 1 word deleted view changes - complete history)
	Keyword tags: Akanishi Anego Bakanishi Dorama Jin Kat-tun Kurosawa ryoko Shinohara More Info: links to this page