Pet Daishugo: Pochi Tama

[Source: Daily Yomiuri, January 27, 2005, Wm. Penn] It is just one of those immutable laws of nature: A choice time slot, a talented actress and a refreshing new topic for a continuing drama alone are not enough. To pull in the public, they must be backed up by a believable plot, memorable dialogue and an attractive cast.

One would think a romantic comedy starring Yuko Takeuchi as a graduate student in animal behavior studies, which is ambitious enough to include scenes of London, Isahaya Bay, a Harris hawk and half the population of the animal world, might have something going for it. But "irritating" is the adjective that most accurately sums up Fukigen na Jiin (Ill-humored Gene).

I was feeling a little ill-humored myself after an hour watching that menagerie. If you want entertaining studies in animal behavior, detour quickly to Pet Daishugo: Pochi Tama (Fridays at 7 p.m. on TV Tokyo, TV Osaka). You won't be disappointed.

My last major hope for the winter season faded Jan. 17 when Takeuchi demonstrated she will be fighting an incredible battle trying to keep Fuji's highly touted Monday night golden hour afloat all by herself. She gives it a good try, but with the script she is stuck with, she is like a salmon swimming upstream.

Viewers who can get past the pitiful plot will still have to face a story littered with animal world puns. Some of these little interludes are animated for our viewing pleasure and to help the zoologically challenged get the joke.

The first pun to be tackled is the heroine's name. Yoshiko is her real name but the Chinese characters also can be read "jinko." Her ex-boyfriend Prof. Nanbara (Masaaki Uchino) loves to call her the latter, which also is, of course, a pun on the English word "gene."

Yoshiko (Takeuchi) soured on men after she found Prof. Nanbara, a Japanese researcher she met and lived with in London when she was an undergraduate, cheating on her. She tries to understand men by simply applying the laws of nature (i.e. the male of the species (osu) is driven by a desire to mate with as many females of the species (mesu) as possible to pass on his gene line). But, of course, she is only human and rather than accept this straightforward cynical view, she is bound to invest a lot of emotional baggage in the mating process.

While in London, she has also casually met Shiroishi (Masaya Kikawada), who also just happens to be a student of the fictional Hiyodorigoe University.

After the commercial break, the script charges ahead a few years. Yoshiko is now a graduate student and she again runs into Shiroishi, who is a part-time teacher in the university-affiliated primary school. Just to make sure all sides of the triangle are in place, Nanbara shows up for a year as a visiting lecturer at the university. He is obviously still interested in linking his gene line with Yoshiko's and he is not bashful about admitting it. The professor quickly announces to all the researchers in the department that Jinko is his former girlfriend.

Yoshiko, like one of her trapped insects, doesn't have a clue about how to get rid of this pest and to make matters worse her Harris hawk takes this opportunity to fly the coop. The only bright spot is that Shiroishi has invited her on a "medaka" catching date. She goes off happily tromping through the pond collecting little fishies for his students only to discover that they are really destined for the classroom of a beautiful, fashionable teacher Shiroishi wants to impress. This woman, of course, would never be caught splashing about in rubber boots herself.

Yoshiko is again disgusted by the male of the species, thanks to these two unattractive specimens. But wait, is that her Harris hawk circling in the distance?
Yes, it is. And Prof. Nanbara has climbed up on the roof with Yoshiko, and they are both squawking and flapping their arms about. They succeed in getting the attention of the bird (and everyone else on campus). The hawk zeroes in on them and swoops down for a landing on the professor's arm.

What a pair these zany zoologists make. But watch out! Nanbara is scheduled to become overpossessive and start exerting control over Yoshiko's cell phone in Episode 2.

Just where can a script like this possibly go?

Yes, Takeuchi is a salmon swimming upstream all right, and why would viewers want to join her on that arduous journey? Rating: Just one star fish for this deserted beach.

STARRING: Takeuchi Yuko, Kikawada Masaya, Uchino Masaaki
THEME SONG:
DURATION:  January through March 2005
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