Hallyudorama » Zettai Kareshi

Zettai Kareshi SP (Part 2)

Mytor — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 11:55:37 +0000

Does anyone here know whether Japanese actor-model Hayami Mokomichi is really half-Filipino? DramaWiki says he has a Japanese father and a Filipina mom but I seriously doubt the veracity of this info. I checked out his official site but all I could get from his profile is that his favorite sport is basketball. Hehe, so much for my elementary Nihonggo.

Hayami-san reprises his role as robot lover Tenjo Night in the SP of Zettai Kareshi.

Here’s the second part of my summary:

Nanase discovers the video that Dr. Kamiya was watching a while back.

Upon returning home, Rikko discovers that the chip is gone, including Night. Night was taken to Kronos Heaven where his main chip was successfully repaired. After the chip is installed, Dr. Kamiya is disappointed to discover that his ego has not yet awakened.

Night wakes up and leaves the laboratory to go to Asamoto’s product presentation.

At the presentation, problems arise. There has been a delivery mistake, which has prevented Rikko from creating the new products. Meantime, the food critics are already getting impatient. Night, who overhears the problem, quickly leaves and returns with the dough Rikko made for her cream puffs. He suggests baking them instead for the presentation. They hesitate at first until Soshi agrees.

Just like in the past, Soshi and Night assist Rikko in making her cream puffs. However, upon hearing that only cream puffs will be served, the guests start to leave–all except for one old man.

Later we learn that he’s Iwanaga Shuugoro, a world-renowned food critic. Mr. Iwanaga is impressed by how Rikko’s cream puffs taste exactly like the original Asamoto cream puffs. While everyone is still reeling from Mr. Iwanaga’s comment, Soshi’s dad gets a heart attack.

Night volunteers to take Soshi’s dad to the hospital and injures himself in the process.

At the hospital, Soshi’s dad tells his sons that he is ready to die because he knows that he has raised them well and they are now ready to take over the business. While Night reflects on this, Dr. Kamiya and Nanase find him and repair his injured leg.

Riiko finds them at the rooftop and confronts Dr. Kamiya about stealing Night’s chip. Riiko asks the doctor to stop her experiments. She’s worried that Night might become immobile again, just like what happened three years ago and this time she might not be able to overcome the pain of losing him.

Because of his injury, Night shuts down suddenly and falls from the rooftop. Riiko tries to save him but they both fall. The shock causes Night’s ego to awaken and he is able to save Riiko from a deadly fall.

After seeing this, Dr. Kamiya takes Night away.

Meanwhile, Namikiri’s assistant finds out more about Dr. Kamiya. He learns that Kamiya used to work for a U.S. company known as GIACK, handling top-secret military information. Namikiri thinks it might have something to do with robotic weapons.

Back at Kronos Heaven, Dr. Kamiya copies Night’s settings and installs them on Nanase. She reveals that ten years ago she had a boyfriend named Nanase Jun who died in a car accident. Three months before the accident they wrote their dreams in separate letters and placed them inside a time capsule, which they buried under a tree. Ten years after, they promised to open the time capsule together. Since then, Dr. Kamiya has been blaming herself for Jun’s death. She created Nanase to open the time capsule and to fulfill Jun’s dream in his place.

Meantime, the chief releases Namikiri just in time for the men in black a.k.a., GIACK robots to appear. They came to get Dr. Kamiya and use her experiments for their military programs.

Night and Riiko talk about the past. Riiko tells him that she was hurt because Night kept his condition from her. She tells him how devastated she was during that time. Night promises to protect her this time and asks her to start over. Meanwhile, Soshi, who’s looking for Riiko, sees the two hugging.

Later, Night bumps into Soshi and the two talk about the letter he left Soshi before he died. He tells Soshi that he will definitely make Riiko happy this time. Soshi is devastated by this but accepts defeat.

Namikiri takes Night and Riiko to look for Dr. Kamiya before the GIACK robots get to her first.

The chase is on.

Night and Nanase use their extraordinary strength to stop the enemy’s vehicle.

Namikiri is able to stop the men in black by disabling their functions.

Dr. Kamiya and Nanase finally dig up the time capsule. Kamiya learns that Jun’s simple wish was to start a family with her and to grow old together. Kamiya is devastated that she cannot fulfill this dream.

Nanase, however, tells her that she has already fulfilled this dream since Jun continues to live in her heart (awww). There is no reason for him to exist anymore since a robot like him cannot fulfill Jun’s dream to have a family and grow old. This realization gets to Night.

When Riiko returns home, she finds Soshi waiting for her. He tells her to stay true to her feelings and not worry about him.

After much reflection, Night makes a painful decision. The exchange between him and Namikiri is touching.

Night: Why…am I a robot?
Namikiri: 01, it’s a fact that you’re a robot. But you are more human than any person because you have a warm heart. That’s why you can seriously love someone, right?
Night: Can I make a family? I can’t grow old. Even now, I will continue to love Riiko without ever changing. I am the only one who won’t change. I am a robot but above all else I cannot live a life with Riiko. Namikiri, please erase me from this world.

Riiko hears everything and the two say their goodbyes. For the first time, Night sheds a tear.

Riiko visits Soshi at the new Asamoto shop.

The end.

Zettai Kareshi SP (Part 1)

Mytor — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 16:13:10 +0000

Zettai Kareshi returned with a two-hour SP last March. Despite the anticlimactic ending, overall I thought the SP was packed with all the stuff that I liked about this drama—Night’s extremely cheesy and hilarious antics, Soshi’s silent suffering and Namikiri-san’s unflinching loyalty to his robot. Of course, a Zettai Kareshi episode won’t be complete without the tearjerker scenes and life lessons. I’ve written a pretty long episode guide so I’ll be posting it in two parts.

The SP revolves around the inevitability of death and learning to move on after a loss. As Soshi’s father puts it:

“Humans inevitably die someday. Since we know death is imminent we do our best to live life to the fullest. When you’re about to die, you want to leave something behind for those around you. Even if you pass away, you want those you leave behind to live happily. I’m able to do my best to live because I thought this way.”

This reflection finally puts an end to Riiko’s dilemma as Night makes the difficult choice between life and death.

The SP is set three years after the final episode of the drama. Kronos Heaven has been able to produce and market their robot lovers under the helm of the new robot developer, Dr. Ayumi Kamiya. Despite the growth in sales, Dr. Kamiya is unsatisfied and thinks that a perfect robot would have to have feelings like Night. She sneaks inside the warehouse where Night is stored and restores him.

Meanwhile Riiko and Soshi are back from Paris where Riiko has been studying to become a patissier. The two were tasked to take over Asamoto’s newest branch. Later at the welcome party with their colleagues, Soshi and Riiko announce their engagement.

While walking home, Riiko spots the bench where she gave Night a scarf. While reminiscing, a group of thugs takes interest in her. To Riiko’s utter surprise, Night comes to her rescue.

At home, Riiko’s landlady Tetsuko is happy to see that Night is back. However, Night does not remember her nor Soshi since his memories from three years ago have been swiped clean. Soshi, who’s shocked to see Night, is forced to introduce himself only as Riiko’s boss.

The next day, Night cooks Riiko her favorite omelet rice for breakfast. She contacts Namikiri and tells him about Night’s return. Namikiri goes to her apartment to see for himself but Night does not recognize him.

Riiko then gets a surprise visit from Dr. Kamiya and her robot assistant Nanase. Namikiri, who has been missing in action from Kronos Heaven, hides inside the comfort room.

Dr. Kamiya and Nanase explain that Night was restored but his memories from three years ago will only be recovered once the main chip in Riiko’s possession is repaired. They convince Riiko to turn over the chip but she hesitates and asks for some time to think it over. Upon hearing this, Namikiri reveals himself and objects to the plan. Once Dr. Kamiya and Nanase are gone, Namikiri tries to go inside Night’s program but fails due to the password change.

At work, Night follows Riiko around, proclaiming his love for her. Riiko’s colleagues are pleasantly surprised to see Night back and accidentally tells him that Riiko is already engaged.

While explaining the new products for Asamoto’s new branch, Riiko gets distracted by Night who again shows his affection by writing “I love Riiko” on the window. This does not escape the attention of Soshi’s brother who now doubts Riiko’s ability to open the new shop. We learn that in the last three years Asamoto’s sales has been overtaken by new desert shops, putting more pressure on Soshi and Riiko to succeed in their project. To make things worse for Soshi, he accidentally sees his father’s medical record, indicating that he is at risk for a heart attack.

After work, Riiko runs after Soshi and assures him not to worry about Night. Soshi tells her that he’s distracted about something else. He’s leaving Riiko behind for a while to check on the new store’s construction site.

Back at Kronos Heaven, Namikiri successfully recovers the new password for Night but the chief finds him.
Namikiri tries to dissuade him from supporting Dr. Kamiya’s desire to develop a robot with an ego. Nanase finds out about Namikiri and detains him for stealing company information.

Meanwhile, Dr. Kamiya watches a personal video of her with a guy who looks exactly like her robot assistant Nanase. Each of them wrote a letter containing their dreams and placed them in a time capsule, which they buried under a tree.

At home, Riiko makes her cream puffs for Soshi. She contemplates about turning over Night’s main chip.

During an interview for Asamoto’s new products, the journalist is unimpressed by Riiko, who now starts to lose her confidence as a patissiere. Night sees all of this and tries to cheer her up.

Meantime, Soshi suddenly decides to go back to Tokyo upon receiving a call from Riiko. He sees Rikko at the restaurant but steps back when he overhears Rikko talking about her confusion over Night’s return.

While walking, Night sees Soshi and the two talk about Riiko. Soshi tells Night that he has fulfilled his promise, referring to the letter Night left before he died, asking Soshi to take care of Rikko. However, Night does not remember anything about the letter.

Night is about to take Riiko home but receives a mission from Dr. Kamiya orders him to find the chip. To distract Rikko while Night searches for the chip, Dr. Kamiya takes her for a ride and once again tries to convince her to hand over the chip. After rummaging through the house, Night sees the chip.

To be continued…

Zettai Kareshi (Absolute Boyfriend)

Mytor — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 10:13:17 +0000

Perhaps love by nature is a sorrowful thing. Do you agree? Well, that’s just one of the themes of Zettai Kareshi. This drama toys with the idea of finding the perfect lover or kareshi. What would happen if a robot solely dedicated to love is just within your reach? Will s/he really be the right one for you?

I wasn’t interested in watching a sci-fi Jdorama at first but since I wanted to venture into all types of Jdoramas, I tried this one, and despite the bittersweet ending, it was indeed a fun watch.

The story begins with a company called Kronos Heaven who has finally able to develop a robot lover. They then choose Izawa Riiko (Aibu Saki), a bumbling, single woman to partake in the trial. At first Riiko is hesitant to participate in the trial, even refusing to give Robot 01 a name. In the end, she is touched by his loyalty to her and names him Tenjo Night (Hayami Mokomichi).

The drama shows the development of Riiko and Night’s atypical relationship. At first, Riiko only sees Night as a convenient partner as he never fails to perform his role as the perfect boyfriend. She later on develops true feelings for him.

And looky looky! It’s Abe Tsuyoshi as Robot 02 or Toshiki-san. Abe-kun played the role of Mimasaka Akira in the Hana Yori Dango series but unlike his adorable character in Hanadan, his role in this drama is a bit on the villain side.

Making things even more complicated for the robot-human couple is Asamoto Soshi, played by the uber ikemen Mizushima Hiro. Soshi is Riiko’s charming and immature boss who develops feelings for her. And this is where things get really interesting. What I liked about the drama is that the love triangle actually worked. Even as the drama ended, I couldn’t really decide on who I wanted more for Riiko.

But as art imitates life, you can only choose one.

Despite the unrealistic plot, the drama opens up important reflections on love and relationships. Is there really such a thing as a perfect lover? Does a perfect person equal a perfect relationship? And can an imperfect person be the right one for you?

Technically speaking, the drama had good visuals, the dialogues were a bit on the corny side but nevertheless adorable and the acting was okay. Oh, and I love the ending song Okaeri (Welcome Home) by Ayaka, who by the way broke the hearts of so many fangirls by recently marrying Mizushima Hiro (Soshi). I would have hated her too if I didn’t love her strong vocals.

To download hard-subbed episodes of this drama, go here.

Credits: SARS Fansubs, DramaWiki

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