I finally finished the new drama that I said that I was watching a few posts ago. It was an on and off process for me but I decided to fully commit to making it to the end of this drama. The drama is know as "Omukae Death" and was directed by Nagumo Seiichi and Tsukamoto Renpei. I'm just finding this out now but the drama is also based off a manga that was created by Tanaka Meka. Fukushi Sota and Tsuchiya Tao return to the small screen respectively for "Omukae Death".
The plot tells about the angel of death who runs around in a pink bunny suit trying to send all the wondering spirits to the afterlife. He seeks the help of a female student who can see ghosts. She one day finds a boy who can not only see ghost but is able to let them possess his body. A new bond forms as both of them team up to solve the cases of the spirits who can't pass on. They have a 49 day limit before each wondering spirit becomes evil.
Everything about this drama seemed silly to me at first viewing. I didn't know what genre this drama was truly going for but I guessed comedy. The drama tries really hard to balance both on a thin string knowing that this thin string is going to break. I just couldn't take this drama seriously because every time a serious occurrence happened, The comedy element made the harshness fall of death ears. Each episode was well planned out with the characters meeting different spirits from all ways of life. A death god dressed in a hot pink bunny suit is too strong of an image to shake off.... The character's don''t even seem to take themselves seriously so why should I? The whole concept was a huge comedy showcase to the point that I almost quit watching. My actions had to do more with how I perceived what the drama was going to be compared to what it actually was. I pushed myself to watch the first episode then the next. By the second episode, the way the drama worked became more familiar to me so I began to put myself in it. Saving souls and the possession qualities in the drama saved the whole structure from falling flat. Episode 9 pulled out all the stops filling the drama's final with a well managed balance of emotion and comedy. Got to wonder why the whole drama wasn't written as well as episode 9. Our two main character's don't have a true understanding of themselves yet either and that makes for some awkward moments as well.
Can somebody name a drama that has Sota starring in it where he isn't acting wacky? "Star man"was my first introduction to him and he played an alien. Yeah...... so you can only imagine the weird shenanigans that he was up to in that drama. Believe me.....(Covers eyes). Here he had to play nine different character's for each episode since there isn't an episode that where he doesn't get possessed. I loved watching him act as each person who possessed him. It was one of the best most interesting things about "Omukae Death". His actual character is a little annoying and brutally honest without meaning to be. Please don't let anyone get him started on explaining a subject. You would be listening to him all night. Sota can act. Lets hope he can get different types of roles in the future though. Tao plays the cute ruff tuff girl who is already set in her ways and has no plans to change. Both characters clash constantly in the beginning because she's used to riding solo then this boy comes along who can also see ghosts. She said, "AINT NOBODY GOT NO TIME FOR THAT!!!" She gave me life when she gives Sota's character the death stare that can stare daggers into anyone's skull. I think many viewers were rooting for a relationship to form between them but too many outside distractions were present in the beginning. Suzuki Ryohei plays the angel of death who is super enthusiastic about his job. That bunny suit had to have been hot during the filming process. Lets hope it wasn't summer cause I would have had to pray for him. Gosh, this guy can't get anymore adorable with his over dramatic acting. I'm smiling just remembering him and his dancing. The child actress, Hamada Kokone was super cute along side Ryohei as the angel of death's sidekick. People have raved about this little girl since she stared in 2013's "Oshin". Seeing her in this makes me want to go give "Oshin" a peek. Kadowaki Mugi also wasn't bad as the spirit who's friends with Tao's character. Her origins are shouted in mystery until......
I don't have too much to say about the way this drama was shot nomore than the shaky camera that sometimes would occur during certain shots. I'm not sure why directors did this but it made me think of a reality show that has a cameraman who can't steady the camera. The shots on location were nice but nothing a Japanese drama watcher hasn't seen before. I really liked the grassy field shots.
If your a fan of any of the actors or actresses in this drama then you should watch it but "Omukae Death" isn't amazing. You might get a good laugh here and there. Then you might also learn about the strong connection between people even in death but the best part of the show is the final episode where things take a left turn to explain the whole picture of whats going on. Suzuki Ryohei now has been added to my "favorite Japanese actors list".
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