JAPANESE DRAMA DATABASE: EVE ~Santa Claus Dreaming~

Eve ~Santa Claus Dreaming~

WHAT IS "EVE" ALL ABOUT?: Ikariya (the old cop from Odoru Daisousasen) played the assisstant to some influential figure whose daughter was all messed up, and who comes to Karasawa (who plays the psychiatrist Koizumi Santa) and asks him to counsel the daughter without her knowledge. Since Santa is a compulsive gambler he's hard up for money and takes the job even though he's queasy about the ethics.

Turns out that she's the same girl he took to the hospital nine months earlier when she had passed out drunk (on the roof of Fuji's Odaiba) preparing to jump. As it happens she woke up in the hospital and saw Santa's best friend Takahashi (a surgeon) holding the Santa Claus hat Santa had been wearing (it was Christmas Eve), and it turns into a very complicated love triangle.

I definitely recommend this drama. It was my favorite of that season after Aoi Tori. If you watch it, pay attention to the cool way they use dramatic rearrangements of some classic carols to create tension. Oh, and there's a side plot about Santa's daughter who is bow legged and wants to live alone with her Dad now that Mom's dead (who, by the way, was killed in a traffic accident after taking tranquilizers, a pattern Hazuki Riona's character seems to be repeating.) There's a lot more in this tightly packed drama, and the only thing I can complain about is the ending, but it looked like they might be setting it up for a special or something. "Eve" is played by Karasawa Toshiaki, Takahashi Katsunori and Hazuki Riona. Karasawa was a doctor (psychologist) and cured Hazuki who came from a very rich family but lack of love. Of course, as usual, there was a love relationship between the three. Karasawa's appearance was as awful as Oishi Kankei (I missed him in Tokyo Cinderella Story). He had abandoned himself since he felt guilty on his wife's death. The way he cured the patient was against by other doctors hence he is almost jobless. He was so poor that he always could not pay his rent on time. In fact, he saved the money for paying back the school loan from his father who owned a hospital. Hazuki Riona was rich but she felt so lonely. She got a habit to take a lot of pills with alcoholic and her father's housekeeper hired Karasawa to disguise himself as a chauffeur to cure her sickness. The first ep is like what Luke said but then it gave you a surprise since Hazuki was drunk. When she woke up, she thought that the Santa was Takahashi. The storyline then started with the misunderstandings. IMHO, the story is not too bad and it's even a bit "touchy". The performance of Karasawa is excellent and even Hazuki is not too bad. She just "fits the role". It's a bit hard to decide whether Takahashi is a bad guy (since he wanted to marry Hazuki so much that he lied a lot and even cheated his best friend, Karasawa).

Starring: Puffy, Karasawa Toshiaki, Hazuki Riona, Takahashi Katsunori and Ikariya Chousuke
Theme: "Mother" by Puffy and "Be the Man" by Celine Dion
NETWORK: FUJI TV.
REVIEWS:

I watched this and I loved it! It's a very good drama and I think each of you will like it as well. Although, I was surprised to hear the "Titanic" song on this drama though.... - KNDY