Nobunaga Concerto 信長協奏曲 (2014)

I generally like period dramas, regardless of the country origin. I like the historical and cultural references and enjoy researching, seeking historical accuracies while watching. Sometimes I will have Chrome up and be searching away while watching. Add a dash of romance, wit and cast I like, the drama will not be far from the top of my favourites list.

Nobunaga Concerto definitely satisfied these criteria. At first glance, one may associate the title with manga titles like Nodame Cantabile. But the story is very different. It’s about a high school boy who time slipped back to the warring states era and took Oda Nobunaga’s identity. A historic background with Oguri Shun, and Mukai Osamu was definitely enough to get me started.

While it is not quite true to historical events, it retains key events in history, characters, the alliances and betrayals. It weaves in a modern character and ideas of present society and draws laughter in the audience through the witty conversations and plot twists.

Rating: ❤︎❤︎❤︎

Actors/actresses to watch for: Oguri Shun, Osamu Mukai

Date デート (2015)

This show takes 2 characters of opposing types (career woman vs a hikikomori NEET) and tries to tell a story on what love is and that marriage is not just a contract but about two people who are in love. I take that the drama tries to respond to the societal need to encourage more men and women to get married. Unfortunately, the drama does not quite inspire and there is little development between the two.

Rating: ♥

Actors/Actresses: Anne, Hasegawa Hiroki

Worth watching: Nakajima Yuto