Love Revolution

Cast:
Esumi Makiko - Asaoka Kyoko
Fujiki Naohito - Suga Eichiro
Yonekura Ryoko - Endo Mariko
Manabu Oshio - Yabuki Mamoru
Yamazaki Ginojo - Yoshida Kiyoshi
Yamamoto Keiichi - Takuya Fukuda
Nishioka Tokuma - Katagiri Kenzo
Toda Maiko -Katagiri Akiko

TV Station: Fuji TV

Telecast: 2001

Theme Song: Kiss of Life - Ken Hirai

STORY

Love revolution is one of my all time favourite Japanese Drama and that's why I've decided to write a review and share it with all of you. What makes this drama is so wonderful to watch is the story, the perfect cast, the great actors and also a very good theme.

The story focused on the love life of Asaoka Kyoko (Esumi Makiko) who is a 32 years old heart surgeon who's longing to have a perfect boyfriend. Despite that, Kyoko looks stunning, is smart and beautiful but she is always unlucky in love. In fact, many men are intimidated with her intelligence and beauty. Her boyfriend dumped her in Italy when they were supposed to have a rendezvous there. Kyoko arrived in Italy only to find out that her boyfriend was with another woman. Feeling devastated, she is still determined to look for a perfect guy. While she was still in Italy, Kyoko decided to meet her best friend there, a pretty and carefree stewardess, Endo Mariko (Ryoko Yonekura). They bumped into a fortune teller who stood in front of a church and she seemingly pointed at Kyoko (actually, it was just not too clear which one was being pointed at by the fortune teller, was it Kyoko or Mariko) and telling her that she will come back to this church wearing a wedding dress.

Was that really true? Both of them feeling perplexed and decided not to believe in it although they were intrigue by it. On the journey back to Tokyo, Kyoko helped a chubby guy who got stomach ache, it turned out that he was a chef and also the owner of a very famous Italian restaurant. His name was Takuya Fukuda (Yamamoto Keiichi). He later invited Kyoko and Mariko to his restaurant in gratitude to for saving his life. Both girls got introduced by Takuya's friend, Yoshida (Yamazaki Ginojo) who works as an assistant of a politician, but neither Yoshida nor Takuya put much of interest in Kyoko because they were too intimidated by her. All of them later on went out to see a stage play with a very absurd story. However, Kyoko and Mariko managed to notice a young and attractive actor called Mamoru Yabuki (Oshio Manabu). Mariko instantly got so attracted to him but in fact, Mamoru seemed to be much more attracted with Kyoko. Takuya, the chef, was besotted with Mariko's beauty and he was devastated when he found out that Mariko liked Yabuki instead of him.

The adventure of Kyoko's love story began when Yoshida's boss, Kenzo Katagiri (Nishioka Tokuma) a big politician was hospitalized in the hospital of where Kyoko worked. Kenzo was suspected of faking his illness to avoid a scandal and he was being investigated by a suave, intelligent and playboy reporter, Eichiro Suga (Naohito Fujiki). Eichiro Suga tried to find the latest scoop by sneaking into the hospital pretending to visit a patient there, but Kyoko managed to stop him from doing that. However, Eichiro, being a guy who could get anything he wanted, put on his charm on Kyoko. He kissed her all of a sudden. Kyoko feeling so confused did not push him back in fact she accepted his kiss. Was this guy really falling in love with her at first sight or was he just trying to get what he wanted? That's where her love story began. Yabuki decided to give Mariko a chance to know him more, since he knew that Kyoko started dating Eichiro. Kyoko have another rival, Katagiri Akiko, the daughter of Kenzo Katagiri who fell head over heals to Eichiro. Meanwhile, Yoshida can only admire Akiko from afar because he knew that he could not stand a chance if he compared himself to Eichiro. So who will end up with whom?

REVIEW

The Love Web/Triangle

What makes a good romantic-comedy great? The answer is the love web part. A love story will be very boring if there is no competition, sacrifice, jealousy etc. In this drama you can see everything. Each character has the task to fight for their love, to find out what they seek in love and to search for the real love of their life. Kyoko fell in love with Eichiro Suga, whom at the very beginning of the story has made me kind of confused of his true love with Kyoko. Mamoru Yabuki, the struggling actor who was far younger than Kyoko, fell in love with Kyoko but decided to give it a shot with Mariko for the sake of forgetting Kyoko. Akiko, who is so determined in getting Eichiro, did everything to stop Kyoko and Eichiro to be together. It is interesting to see each character has their lover interest which makes us wondering who will end up with whom. The spices heat up in this love web when there is a possibility that Kyoko might end up with Mamoru Yabuki at the end since there were number of times Eichiro made Kyoko so upset for a stupid reason. Do you really want to know? Kyoko was offered to do a Ph.d while Eichiro got an opportunity to work in Washington to be a reporter there.

Kyoko did not tell this to Eichiro because if he found out he might not want Kyoko to blow that opportunity. Meanwhile Kyoko did not want Eichiro to lose his opportunity to work in Washington. When Eichiro found out about it from Mariko-who blabbed to Eichiro out of her jealousy of knowing Mamoru loves Kyoko- he broke off the engagement and left for Washington. That is the biggest disappointment in this series, but I thanked God for that since it happened in the middle of the series which managed to bug me for a while. So, in the middle of the story it sort of left me guessing. This leaves the possibility of Mamoru to fill in the position to be Kyoko's boyfriend. Again, I was so intrigue to know what's going on with Kyoko-Eichiro's relationship at the end. When Eichiro came back from Washington, he went to the bar when he used to hang out with Kyoko and her friends. As he opened the door, he saw Mamoru was kissing Kyoko. Ouch, I almost bit my nails out seeing that scene. Kyoko was actually could not forget Eichiro and vice versa, but the hurdles to be together again always came out as surprising. Will Eichiro end up with Kyoko and finally propose her? Will everybody get everyone at the end? I guess this is why they called this drama 'Love Revolution'.

The Actors/Characters:

I should say that this series has a magnificent cast! Esumi Makiko, is one of my all time favourite Japanese actress. She is stunning as Kyoko. Her voice might not be the average cutie Japanese girl because she has this big voice that can make you feel surprise at times. For a beautiful lady like her can really pull out that voice. Then again, I guess that's part of Kyoko's character.

All I can say that she is great. Another point goes to Naohito Fujiki actor/singer. Yes, he is also one of my favourite actors after Takuya Kimura. Eichiro Suga is a suave, lady-killer reporter who is willing to do anything to get what he wants. Nao is the perfect man to play this role. No wonder after the success of 'Love Revolution' his name suddenly sky rocketed in Japan and recently he got a nickname "Prince Charming" because of this role. I believe only Nao is suited for this role. He just got the look for that.

Yonekura Ryoko, she was a former ballerina, no wonder that her legs are beautiful and strong. Aside from that, she played a very lovable character. Bubbly to be exact because whenever Mariko is around, all the guys will be swept off by her feet right away. The only part that makes me a bit disappointed with her character is her jealousy of Kyoko. I just could not believe that she could betray her friendship to Kyoko just because she found out that Mamoru liked Kyoko. Even though at the end they became friends again, still I was disappointed with Mariko.

Yabuki Mamoru was played by Oshio Manabu, a young and talented actor/singer (he is the lead vocal of a popular Japanese punk band called 'LIV'). My first impression of Oshio when I first saw him in this series was striking. He is tall. Well, I think all of the main cast, Esumi, Ryoko, Nao and Oshio are tall, which made me think that when you watch this series is like watching models walking around on the catwalk. Despite their tall build, they are good actors. Anyway, Mamoru Yabuki's character is a bit annoying at times because he kept on persuading Kyoko to give him a chance to be her boyfriend. His way of persuasion was a bit too much I guess, he even proposed to her. For goodness sake, the girl did not love you, just give it a rest. The surprising part of Mamoru is that he turned out to be the eldest son of Kenzo Katagiri, which made him the older brother of Akiko. Because of his path to be an artist instead of politician that is why he left his family and lived on his own to pursue his dream. He did become a well-known actor at the end.

Comments:

There is not more space for me to praise this lovable drama. It is a great drama. Once you watch it, you will get addicted to the story, infatuated with the characters in the drama and will become the biggest fan of the actors. The theme song is also my favourite. Ken Hirai is the most talented singer/writer who has created a wonderful. A theme song in Japanese drama is always crucial because it also reflects the drama itself. In this drama, not only the story has successfully won the viewers in Japan, but the theme song managed to be a hit song in Japan too. You will get hook with the theme song. So, need I say more..this drama is highly commended! I give it five big stars.