Sapuri サプリ

[j-walker]

Anyone watched the show "Sapuri" by Kame and Itoh Misaki? So far, it's ok. Anyone watching it too? It's currently still airing.

Here's the excerpt I got from Drama wiki site:

Based on a popular Manga, Minami (Itoh Misaki) is a single 28-year-old office worker in an advertising office. She's very work-oriented and her love is doubted by her boyfriend. One day, she meets Yuya (Kamenashi Kazuya), who is a special worker at her company.

-- piccu on D-Addicts


Tokyo, 2006. Minami Fuji is riding a train along Tokyo Bay. Weary from a day's work, she falls asleep while on the train. Her nap time is obstructed by the sound of somebody's cell phone ringing. She opens her eyes to see the phone lying unattended on a nearby seat. Reluctantly, she answers the phone. It's a man claiming to have dropped his phone. He wants Minami to deliver it to him before his job interview begins. However, since Minami too has a meeting she must attend, she takes the phone to the lost and found department of a nearby station.

On her way to work, Minami spots an old commercial being shown on a big-screen TV. She immediately takes a picture of it with her camera. That's when she realizes that someone else is also absorbed in the commercial. It's Yuya Ishida, the young man who called to have his cell phone delivered.

Kyotaro Imaoka, creative director of an advertisement agency, is having a meeting at an insurance company with Kunio Sakuragi and Satoshi Hagiwara. Minami soon joins the meeting. They have come to give a presentation for the new TV commercial for their company.

Meanwhile, Yuya has arrived at the place where he will have his interview. He is immediately given a tour of the office as well as a lecture on commercial planning. He has no idea that Minami has returned to the office and is having a meeting with Kyotaro and the others.

Later on, Yuya delivers mail to Minami. At first, she doesn't even look up at him. But when she does, it only takes 15 seconds—the same length as a television commercial—for Minami to realize that she had ran into Yuya while watching the commercial on the big-screen TV, and it was also his cell phone that she picked up on the train.

Source: wiki.d-addicts.com/Sapuri

[jade_frosts]

From Yomiuri (spoilers included):

Heroine Minami (Misaki Ito), a 28-year old commercial planner who takes her job very seriously, has just lost her boyfriend of four years because of her tendency to work all night. Ito seems more comfortable in this series than Densha Otoko, which made her a top star.

Ito's costar Kazuya Kamenashi, of the Johnny's Jimusho group Kat-tun, plays Ishida, the 23-year old younger man in Minami's life. Kamenashi seemed coolly comfortable in the role of the charming younger man in Episode 1 of Sapuri even though he was forced to suffer through the ubiquitous cell-phone-centered opening scene. He leaves his little pacifier-cum-communication tool behind on the train. It is found by Minami. They spar on the phone, but don't meet until later. It turns out Ishida is the new part-time staffer at the ad agency where Minami creates her commercial wonders (and where viewers learn a little about the weeks of work that go into creating those 15-second dramas).

Ishida really prefers the carefree surfing life, but gets the job because he is the son of a close (now deceased) friend of Imaoka (Koichi Sato), the agency's creative director. Thus, Ishida knows more about Imaoka's private life than the rest of the staff--including the fact the divorced Imaoka's 10-year-old daughter has come to live with him. This poses a major problem since he has been too busy creating commercials to create a relationship with her.

[jade_frosts]

This is yet another manga adaptation to add to the long list of adaptations the TV stations are whipping up each season. The first episode was alright, it wasn't exceptional but I'm not sure how long I'd stick around to watch this since I've never fancied Misaki Ito's acting (if there's any to talk of since Densha Otoko didn't demand much acting chops and she's been always been the forgettable wallflower in other roles).

FujiTV's probably hoping to generate good ratings with the pairing of Misaki and Kazuya but given the rather typical storyline and a cast I can't quite care for I'd rather rewatch my favourite drama on the ad world, Koi no Chikara, or focus my attention on Kekkon Dekinai Otoko which screens the following night. Abe Hiroshi's in his 40s but in my opinion, he's way hotter than Kazuya.

[beansprouts]

I tried to watch the first episode of Sapuri, managed to slightly go beyond the halfway mark before I gave up. I am really not into the co-workers fall in love type of show, and add in the older woman younger guy - cliche.

Itoh Misaki was as interesting as a piece of cardboard in Densha Otoko, thankfully she has got a better personality this time round, as for Kamenashi, I really can't stand him, so chances of me ever watching the rest of the series is close to zero.

This is like the hundredth time a Johnny Entertainment member is starring in a older woman younger guy series, is that like some kind of coming of age ritual thingy? Hideaki Takizawa in Majo no jouken, Matsumoto Jun in Kimi wa petto, Yamshita Tomohisa in Sore wa, Totsuzen, Arashi no you ni, Akanishi Jin in Anego andd now it's Kamenashi's turn.

[jade_frosts]

I tried to watch the first episode of Sapuri, managed to slightly go beyond the halfway mark before I gave up. I am really not into the co-workers fall in love type of show, and add in the older woman younger guy - cliche.

Itoh Misaki was as interesting as a piece of cardboard in Densha Otoko, thankfully she has got a better personality this time round, as for Kamenashi, I really can't stand him, so chances of me ever watching the rest of the series is close to zero.

This is like the hundredth time a Johnny Entertainment member is starring in a older woman younger guy series, is that like some kind of coming of age ritual thingy? Hideaki Takizawa in Majo no jouken, Matsumoto Jun in Kimi wa petto, Yamshita Tomohisa in Sore wa, Totsuzen, Arashi no you ni, Akanishi Jin in Anego andd now it's Kamenashi's turn.

I think they've been doing this older woman younger guy relationship every season. It's not a cliche I fancy but I'd probably gladly sit through it if I had my favourite actors and actresses starring in it i.e. Eri Fukatsu in Slow Dance. Now that you point it out, yeah every Johnny's Jr artiste of note has starred in such a series but with differing success.

Kamenashi is appearing everywhere nowadays. He's slated for a drama special this August. I can't stand him either, and I hope they don't do a Kindaichi series with him as Kindaichi because I totally disliked his portrayal in the drama special with Juri Ueno.

I'm giving Sapuri a miss too. Will focus on Kekkon Dekinai Otoko, Hanayome wa Yakudoshi and My Boss, My Hero. What are you following Beansprouts? Any that you think are good. This season has been a rather disappointing one though I'd say I'm not surprised.

[Grifis]

I just recently got into Sapuri by accident and it's not bad. The younger guy/older woman story is kind of getting old and the setting isn't exactly unique but overall I still like it. I'm not a fan of Misaki but I like Kamenashi. He's no gorgeous dashing prince but the boy has charisma. I'm drawn by his energy and natural acting. Very nice.

I think they've been doing this older woman younger guy relationship every season. It's not a cliche I fancy but I'd probably gladly sit through it if I had my favourite actors and actresses starring in it i.e. Eri Fukatsu in Slow Dance. Now that you point it out, yeah every Johnny's Jr artiste of note has starred in such a series but with differing success.

Kamenashi is appearing everywhere nowadays. He's slated for a drama special this August. I can't stand him either, and I hope they don't do a Kindaichi series with him as Kindaichi because I totally disliked his portrayal in the drama special with Juri Ueno.

I'm giving Sapuri a miss too. Will focus on Kekkon Dekinai Otoko, Hanayome wa Yakudoshi and My Boss, My Hero. What are you following Beansprouts? Any that you think are good. This season has been a rather disappointing one though I'd say I'm not surprised.

How is Abe in Kekkon dekinai otoko? I heard about this but haven't found it yet. I'm just starting to watch his At home dad and it's going pretty good so far. You know the young man/older woman thing is getting kind of old. They should start something new now, something like two men in love. I wouldn't mind seeing Kame and Jin from Kattun being the couple or some other two pretty men. The closest one I ever saw was Yasha. (I can't believe I'm watching dramas for younger men now. It must be that I'm getting old.)

[jade_frosts]

How is Abe in Kekkon dekinai otoko? I heard about this but haven't found it yet. I'm just starting to watch his At home dad and it's going pretty good so far. You know the young man/older woman thing is getting kind of old. They should start something new now, something like two men in love. I wouldn't mind seeing Kame and Jin from Kattun being the couple or some other two pretty men. The closest one I ever saw was Yasha. (I can't believe I'm watching dramas for younger men now. It must be that I'm getting old.)

I've watched the first two episodes. Abe is brilliant in Kekkon Dekinai Otoko. His performance as the obnoxious, blunt, eccentric and single-minded Shinsuke has been both vexing and hilarious. Shinsuke is warped - his character bent quite out of shape - but it's quite difficult to detest him because he does seem so vulnerable and lonely (and child-like sometimes) although I think it's pretty much his own doing. He also seems awkward around people and not very comfortable interacting with people save for his colleagues who 'gamely' put up with his quirks.

It should be quite amusing to see his character evolve when he falls in love with the poor Dr Natsumi Hayasaka (both Natsumi and Shinsuke lead terribly lonely lives outside of work). I'm not sure what she did to encourage him, but I'm certain she won't be very thrilled by his attention. All his colleagues believe a woman in his life will help whip his character into shape so I'm looking forward to seeing what changes he will make in the name of love. That coming from a man who says he doesn't need love. Heh. Shinsuke can be a real pain. I love Abe Hiroshi! It's nice seeing a man in a drama rather than boys.

$this->handle_bbcode_img_match('http://www.ktv.co.jp/shinsuke/cast/img/cast.jpg')

[beansprouts]

I'm giving Sapuri a miss too. Will focus on Kekkon Dekinai Otoko, Hanayome wa Yakudoshi and My Boss, My Hero. What are you following Beansprouts? Any that you think are good. This season has been a rather disappointing one though I'd say I'm not surprised.

I am only following My Boss, My Hero and Hanayome wa Yakudoshi. I saw the first two episodes for the former and really like it, I am a big fan of Nagase Tomoya, and I love his portrayal of a baka character in Mukodono, he did not disappoint this time round as a baka boss. As for the latter, I am really interested in watching the show but am waiting for the subtitled version to come out, my Japanese is crap so downloading the raw is pretty pointless for me. I am watching more anime lately due to the lack of good dramas, and indeed, the summer season was almost as bad as the spring season.

[jade_frosts]

I am only following My Boss, My Hero and Hanayome wa Yakudoshi ... As for the latter, I am really interested in watching the show but am waiting for the subtitled version to come out, my Japanese is crap so downloading the raw is pretty pointless for me. I am watching more anime lately due to the lack of good dramas, and indeed, the summer season was almost as bad as the spring season.

Well, Hanayome wa Yakudoshi is turning out to be disappointing . I think Ryoko Shinohara has grown into a great actress who brings personality and vivacity to her roles. She does the same in Hanayome, and I like her Taketomi Akiko character (even when she's whining and being a little manipulative to get her way with her reluctant accomplice and phony fiance Ichiro) but the problem here is the rather cheesy rural setting she ends up in. The Azuchi family is conveniently typecast by the scriptwriters so we have Ichiro, the estranged first son who has a chip on his shoulder where his mother is concerned (and strangely speaks Osaka ben although he's been working in Tokyo and was born and raised in Fukushima); Yukie, his mother, who is brutally honest and has exacting standards; Momoko, his sister, who seems to keep seeking refuge from her troubled marriage; Jiro, his younger brother, who is more interested in saving money to come to Tokyo than he is in girls; Fumiyo, his nosy aunt; and Kaori, his cousin, who hilariously and irritatingly sees Akiko as a threat, and behaves like a witch hell-bent on driving her out. I'm still watching this (at least Ryoko's more platable than Kyoko Hasegawa was in last season's Oishii Puropozu. That one made my goosebumps stand each time she pouted and tried to seem adorable ) but I can only feel that the drama will go all the way down from here if the scriptwriters persist in this.

[heavenNearth]

I haven't watch this drama yet but I'm going too. I'm watching a couple of jdorama right now and it doesn't hurt to add another one onto my list.

[strawberry]

You know, maybe the younger guy older woman thing really has got to do with the Japanese culture and societal influences in Japan as pointed out by Jade in another related thread.

[strawberry]

You know, I didn't like Kattun very much as well but I find Kame not bad now though I didn't like him too previously. I changed my mind about him when I saw the 2003 JE sports day. I thought he was very clam and composed as a sportsman, he was more likeable there too and Nobuta came along and make him likeable....and Nino was a riot and very cool when he did not care a hoot about Tang Ben Gang's 'threats' at the same event....but I know its all done in good fun. Nino got himself many new fans who watched this. I much preferred Kame's short hairdo then. Now, he's all glamed .....like Jun matsumoto and Sho Sakurai. Some of the guys are just more attractive when they were simple and less glamorous.

Among Kattun, I don't take to Jin and the group leader as well as that guy that I called the Jerry Yen look-alike. I am starting to accept the other 2 remaining members as well. Anyone knows what's the rumoured dispute between Jin and Kame something like they dislike each other? As popular as I heard Kattun is in Japan, I have not come across a single person I know who likes the group.

My sis commented that Yamapi's close friends all seemed to have attitude..I thought her statement was pretty funny..I know she's referring to Jin.

[jade_frosts]

You know, maybe the younger guy older woman thing really has got to do with the Japanese culture and societal influences in Japan as pointed out by Jade in another related thread.

Heh I suppose so since Japanese dramas are a reflection of present social and cultural trends although the younger man, older woman romance can be traced way back to Long Vacation (that's as far as I remember). It was said that Long Vacation spurred men to dump their girlfriends for older women.

As a reflection of the times, there've been quite a few dramas on hostess and host clubs recently. The most notable one was Yaoh from the previous season which starred Mabo from Tokio.

[jade_frosts]

You know, I didn't like Kattun very much as well but I find Kame not bad now though I didn't like him too previously ... Now, he's all glamed .....like Jun matsumoto and Sho Sakurai. Some of the guys are just more attractive when they were simple and less glamorous.

Among Kattun, I don't take to Jin and the group leader as well as that guy that I called the Jerry Yen look-alike. I am starting to accept the other 2 remaining members as well. Anyone knows what's the rumoured dispute between Jin and Kame something like they dislike each other? As popular as I heard Kattun is in Japan, I have not come across a single person I know who likes the group.

My sis commented that Yamapi's close friends all seemed to have attitude..I thought her statement was pretty funny..I know she's referring to Jin.

Well, that comes with being a celebrity. They have to be groomed at all times. I've never had much interest in Johnny's Jimusho bands so I have no idea what's going on. Maybe its a growing sense of rivalry. Beansprouts might know better.

There's one thing I've always wanted to know after looking at the Sapuri website. Why is there a pictorial blackout for Johnny's Jimusho artistes when they star in dramas? After all, we all know what they look like.

[Grifis]

You know, I didn't like Kattun very much as well but I find Kame not bad now though I didn't like him too previously. I changed my mind about him when I saw the 2003 JE sports day. I thought he was very clam and composed as a sportsman, he was more likeable there too and Nobuta came along and make him likeable....and Nino was a riot and very cool when he did not care a hoot about Tang Ben Gang's 'threats' at the same event....but I know its all done in good fun. Nino got himself many new fans who watched this. I much preferred Kame's short hairdo then. Now, he's all glamed .....like Jun matsumoto and Sho Sakurai. Some of the guys are just more attractive when they were simple and less glamorous.

Among Kattun, I don't take to Jin and the group leader as well as that guy that I called the Jerry Yen look-alike. I am starting to accept the other 2 remaining members as well. Anyone knows what's the rumoured dispute between Jin and Kame something like they dislike each other? As popular as I heard Kattun is in Japan, I have not come across a single person I know who likes the group.

My sis commented that Yamapi's close friends all seemed to have attitude..I thought her statement was pretty funny..I know she's referring to Jin.

I took a liking into Kame when I first saw him in Nobuta. I think he's very talented in various areas and quite mature for his age (and that makes him attractive.) There are many rumors as to why Akame were in a cold war for a while. Some said it was because Kame released seishun amigo (nobuta theme) under Shuji to Akira. Maybe that's the reason why nowadays Kame does solo on that song only. Who knows. But these boys fight all the time and it's not uncommon. The important thing is they get over it. Kame and Jin are old friends and they met when they first started JE so they have a long history. So it'll be hard to break that bond. After all Kame wrote Kizuna about Jin. Anyhow, the fight was a while back. I think now Kame and Jin are on good term again. Kat-tun is hot in Japan but yeah they're not very well known in my neck of the woods. The group is fairly new so it'll take some time. It's still a miracle how quickly they climbed up the chart in Japan though. I'm trying to get some Kat-tun novelties but it probably won't be possible till I go back to Japan again.

YamaP, Jin and Kame are close friends. I don't think Jin has attitude. He's rather childish and silly really.

[strawberry]

Well, that comes with being a celebrity. They have to be groomed at all times. I've never had much interest in Johnny's Jimusho bands so I have no idea what's going on. Maybe its a growing sense of rivalry. Beansprouts might know better.

There's one thing I've always wanted to know after looking at the Sapuri website. Why is there a pictorial blackout for Johnny's Jimusho artistes when they star in dramas? After all, we all know what they look like.

Exactly! when I visited the Dragon Zakura official site, all yamapi's pictures were taken out! I have no idea why they want to do this. I later figuired its a JE thing, prob something like copyright over their artists...kind of a little too extreme but I think so.

[strawberry]

I took a liking into Kame when I first saw him in Nobuta. I think he's very talented in various areas and quite mature for his age (and that makes him attractive.) There are many rumors as to why Akame were in a cold war for a while. Some said it was because Kame released seishun amigo (nobuta theme) under Shuji to Akira. Maybe that's the reason why nowadays Kame does solo on that song only. Who knows. But these boys fight all the time and it's not uncommon. The important thing is they get over it. Kame and Jin are old friends and they met when they first started JE so they have a long history. So it'll be hard to break that bond. After all Kame wrote Kizuna about Jin. Anyhow, the fight was a while back. I think now Kame and Jin are on good term again. Kat-tun is hot in Japan but yeah they're not very well known in my neck of the woods. The group is fairly new so it'll take some time. It's still a miracle how quickly they climbed up the chart in Japan though. I'm trying to get some Kat-tun novelties but it probably won't be possible till I go back to Japan again.

YamaP, Jin and Kame are close friends. I don't think Jin has attitude. He's rather childish and silly really.

To think that Yamapi once really dislike Kame! They had a cold war all those years in JE until Nobuta came along and changed things. Pi could not stand his attitude then but they are good friends now.

[strawberry]

I took a liking into Kame when I first saw him in Nobuta. I think he's very talented in various areas and quite mature for his age (and that makes him attractive.)

I like Kame's acting in Nobuta..very natural, funny and in a way, he made Shuji likeable despite being such a shallow character. i think he played his vulnerability very well.

[beansprouts]

Well, that comes with being a celebrity. They have to be groomed at all times. I've never had much interest in Johnny's Jimusho bands so I have no idea what's going on. Maybe its a growing sense of rivalry. Beansprouts might know better.

I don't really know much about KAT-TUN, because I belong to the camp who don't like them much. As for the apparent conflict between Jin and Kame, I only read about it forums as such, since I don't really watch KT's stuff, I am not able to gauge how true the rumours are.

KT has been around for years, since 2001 I think, when they were handpicked by Domoto Koichi to be his personal backup dancers. Since then they've garnered a solid fanbase who had rallied behind their debut for years. Shuji to Akira was a surprise to everybody, probably more than a few people were peeved that Kame debuted as S&A instead of with KT. It's no miracle that KT climbed to the top, the solid fanbase and intensive promos by JE before the debut all contributed.

^^ That sums up my miserable knowledge of KT.

JE do not allow any pictures of their artistes on the internet for reasons unknown to me, only small pictures of CD covers are allowed on their own website. Which is why official homepages for Sapuri, Nobuta, 1 litre and HYD all do not have pictures of the respective JE artistes starring.

[Grifis]

To think that Yamapi once really dislike Kame! They had a cold war all those years in JE until Nobuta came along and changed things. Pi could not stand his attitude then but they are good friends now.

Oh really? YamaP and Kame weren't too close in early years (maybe because YamaP was a senpai) unlike Kame and Jin (who seemed to be the best of friends) but I didn't know YamaP once really disliked Kame. What I gathered from forums is that YamaP isn't as social as Kame. In the Johny Jr days, Kame was an overall likeable boy in the group (and was admired by some underclassmen.)