Busu no Hitomi ni Koi Shiteru

[From Daily Yomiuri, April 20, 2006, Wm. Penn, Televiews]: Satsuki may be a lost cause, but I did hold some hope for the new Fuji series Busu no Hitomi ni Koi Shiteru (Tuesdays, 10 p.m., Fuji network) about a variety show writer who falls in love with a woman who doesn't conform to the conventional definition of beauty.

Even though the first episode was pretty dreadful, it deserves a second chance because it promises a message about what true love is all about and is based on an essay by Osamu Suzuki, a writer for the SMAPXSMAP show, about his real-life wife Miyuki Oshima of the Mori Sanchu comedy trio. Tomoko Murakami, the star of this series, is also a member of Mori Sanchu, and she is quite good as Miyuki. One can really empathize with her character, a woman just a tad too plump for the current "one size (petite nine) fits all" society. While Miyuki has natural comedy talent, she dreams of being a real actress who is taken seriously. She wants none of the jibes and cruel insults of the Japanese comedy world.

The problem with this series is Goro Inagaki. Completely unconvincing, he seems to be sleepwalking through the role. Goro may be slender, but he ends up looking far more pathetic than our heroine. One dimly twinkling star for this one and for Murakami, hopefully a rainbow on the horizon.

STARRING: Murakami Tomoko, Inagaki Goro
THEME SONG:
NETWORK: FUJI TV
DURATION: April through June 2006