Saki Fukuda: "Quartet" drama episode's one and two recaps with screenshots

 Air Dates: January 18th to March 24, 2011 on TBS at 12:55 am  Ratings: ?

Main Cast:

Saki Fukuda as Shun

Yuya Matsushita as Takeru

Natsuna Watanabe as Kasumi

Toshiya Nagasawa as Tsukamoto

Takaya Kamikawa as Kuchinawa

 After forgetting to carry the reviews of this drama from Saki's old blog had to do a re-watch of it, that was okay as I can't ever get enough of her. Going to try to keep these recaps a bit brief as I'd like to put two episodes together, there was a total of nine shows so the last one will be the only episode to have it's own post.
 Should be easy to keep them brief as though Saki had the lead role in this series she didn't appear too much in these first two episodes. The shows ran for 24 minutes but once you take out the ending credits an episode really only lasted a bit over 22 minutes. Kind of a small cast too, those are the main characters above but others did come and go during the show.
 It's now two weeks later and I'm finally getting around to finishing this should ahve written more than two pararagraphs so I'm actually going to review all nine episodes in one sitting so wish me luck. First couple posts should be okay but the more you do the more your eyes tend to swirl around along with my brain getting even mushier.

EDIT: My brain didn't get too, too mushy towards the end but it was quite a chore doing all of these recaps in a row, should have done a few drafts or complete posts beforehand. But making things easy on myself is something which doesn't happen too often but hope you enjoy them all as I think they turned out okay.

 Though she had the lead in the drama we didn't see all that much of Saki in the first two episodes so this will probably be the briefest of all the recaps. Episode one did start off with the above two screenshots though they're actually from the third episode when Saki as Shun has a major transformation done to her looks.
 Shun and her brother Rin are two orphans form China now living in Japan and things aren't going too well for the siblings. Unsure if Shun has a real job but Rin is an amateur boxer who has dreams of turning pro. To support him and his sister he boxes in a real low life fight club that is also known for it's drug dealings and being very active in the sex trade. Shun has been quite successful at the club winning most of his matches which is why he dreams of becoming a pro, that also may be the only way him and Shun can escape their poverty.
 If Rin does become a pro and make some money the dream then for him and Shun is to leave Japan, not back to China but perhaps some South American country. However the owner of the fight club who is Tsukamoto has learned of their plans and is about to teach the pair a horrible lesson which is that no one defies his orders Tsukamoto is the 'evil villain' in this series, besides owning the club he is the biggest drug dealer in the area plus controlling all of the prostitution in the same area.

 For Rin's next match Tsukamoto has squared him off against his toughest fighter to teach the pair and everyone else you don't do anything without his permission. It's hard to call it a fight as Rin was totally outmatched, he was massacred from the very start of the bout. Shun desperately tried to get the fight halted but to no avail, when she tried to stop it herself she was held back by Tsukamoto's henchmen.
 The match could have been stopped but Rin's opponent knew no mercy so instead of leaving Rin passed out he went one step further. And that step was an ultimate one as he snapped Rin's neck, killing him in front of Shun who was merciless to stop the massacre. For the most part that's really the only things which involved Shun the first two episodes, as I mentioned we didn't see too much of her in these shows and only learned a bit about her past.
  Shun's future partner whom she briefly met once is named Takeru. His family was murdered by some drug dealers a few years back and he's on a revenge kick to bring down anyone associated with drugs. Takeru is a one man crew and has been very successful, he does manage to bring down so many small time dealers but it's a never ending battle as what he needs to do is bring down the big man. We do watch Takeru take down a few of these small time dealers in the first few shows but as a one man army they have to be small time or he would have a very slim chance of winning.
 Towards the end of the second episode it appears as though Takeru has finally met his end. He sets up a fake deal with two dealers but they turn the tables on him as their gang ends up pouncing on him at their warehouse and they start to neat Takeru into submission. Out of nowhere though a mysterious man suddenly appears, Takeru had wanted to be a one man army but this new character shows him how it's done. Our mysterious man was by himself and unarmed but managed to defeat the whole gang without breaking a sweat. Shortly after that Takeru passes out and the man carries him off which ends up being the conclusion of the second episode.
 These were okay shows but really could have been combined into one, little bit of filler to stretch it out a bit. After this show the episodes do tend to get much more interesting as so far we've really learned hardly anything about what the show is going to be about except for the revenge that's on the minds of Shun and Takeru. All of the episodes are reviewed in a row so for the next two shows just check out the next post.
 Usually I take so many screenshots but there wasn't much of Shun to take in these two episodes, probably took about 1/3 of what I normally take. Also hope these recaps are detailed enough without being too long or giving away too many spoilers. Someone else has done a review on a few of the episodes and those reviews are just way too long, just can't see the point in explaining every single thing which happens and they end up being posts which are easily 2,500 words or more.

Saki Fukuda: "Quartet" drama episodes three and four recaps with screenshots

 Air Dates: January 18th to March 24, 2011 on TBS at 12:55 am  Ratings: ?

Main Cast:

Saki Fukuda as Shun

Yuya Matsushita as Takeru

Natsuna Watanabe as Kasumi

Toshiya Nagasawa as Tsukamoto

Takaya Kamikawa as Kuchinawa

 Lot more of Saki for the rest of the drama's run, don't think you can top these pics as she looks more alluring than any series she's appeared in... wow!!!!

 Don't think his name was ever mentioned in the show, looked up the cast in so many places but couldn't find out who the character's name is. That character is the mysterious man who saved Takeru's life in the previous episode, we meet him once again as Shun is sitting in a jail cell. Not sure why she's there but the police did raid the club where her brother Rin met his death in a boxing match so that 's probably why but don't know if any charges were filed against her.
 That man is with his boss named Kuchinawa who is the head of a secret organized crime unit that goes undercover on dangerous and usually suicidal missions. Kuchinawa is in a wheelchair so he needs others to do his work and he accomplishes that by blackmailing them or by other low handed methods. They bring Shun to the morgue to see her brother one last time and there they make an offer to her, would she help them take down Tsukamoto?
 That sounds great to her as there's nothing more she'd like to do except of course to kill him. The problem is Tsukamoto knows her so how will she be able to get close to him and his organization to bring his evil ways to a halt? The above pic is how the new Shun looks as she says she's prepared to shear her long tresses, dye her hair and also get tattoos. That sounds good to me and I'm sure others as this new Shun though still mean and angry looks beyond jaw-dropping.

 After her transformation Shun is brought to the police station to set the wheels turning on the destruction of Tsukamoto. There she meets Takeru once again, their previous brief encounter had been at a bar and right off the bat neither wanted to work with each other. However as Kuchinawa explained the pair had no choice but to be partners as this was one dangerous mission which required at least two people. There is a third member of the team who they haven't met yet but she's already entered Tsukamoto's world as she's manged to become his girlfriend.
 Shun and Takeru eventually agree to work with each other as at least they both have the same motive for undertaking this suicidal mission and that's to bring Tsukamoto down. Actually both want their revenge to go one step further and that's to see Tsukamoto dead as he's destroyed both of their families.
 The most dangerous part of their mission is that they'll get no help from the police, this squad is a very underground one and their involvement in solving crimes always has to remain unknown. Shun and Takeru accept that and are ready to proceed with their mission and revenge. Where the pair is sent is a fictional place in Tokyo called Midori town, it's a small section where the police and most Japanese citizens avoid. Most of the occupants there are illegal Chinese immigrants, as long as they don;t cause trouble they're left alone by the police and the government.

 Though Japanese are unwelcome in Midori Tsukamoto has set up a drug factory there and usually spends most of his time there, probably to avoid the authorities. He's not well respected there by the Chinese but the factory does supply many with jobs, money and drugs so they out up with him. Shun and Takeru enter Midori under the premise they're wanted by the police and they figure it's the only place that's safe for them, at least that's what they tell everyone. At least Shun has the advantage of being an orphan from China, she can also speak the language quite well which is good as very few in Midori speak Japanese. For Saki fans it was also a nice bonus that it was a bit cool there!!!!

 Upon arriving in Midori Shun and Takeru get an overpriced single room as their base, not much time for sleeping though as they need to start their mission soon. Don't think there was a time limit to finishing the job but know that they needed to wrap up things very quickly for some undisclosed reasons from Kuchinawa. We then briefly meet a woman named Koharu who becomes a bit of a key figure later on in the series, actually it's Shun who meets her when she is at an altar praying for her brother. Koharu is from China and like Shun also wants to leave Japan but has no means to as her husband has recently died with the cause unknown.
 To wrap up these two shows near the end of the fourth episode Takeru is out wandering around Midori, however he can't speak Chinese so he runs into some serious trouble. He tries to buy drugs but is tricked and eventually led to a remote area where he is about to get hurt quite badly. Shun learns of this and runs to his rescue but when she arrives she's also beaten down and it looks like the pair's mission will end before it begins.

 Just when it looks like Shun and Takeru's lives are about to end out of nowhere comes a female who appears to be so high on drugs. This woman is Kasumi who is the third undercover agent on this mission and is pretending to be Tsukamoto's girlfriend. Kasumi is able to save the pair by throwing a miniature bomb at their would be assailants  This is the first time Shun and Takeru have met Kasumi, they knew of another helper on their mission but weren't told to protect her identity. Kasumi also told them that, her saving their lives should be the only time they meet as Tsukamoto is always suspicious of everyone including her.
 That brings us to the conclusion of these two episodes, bit longer of a review than planned. Then again it's two episodes squeezed into one post but then again two episodes just equal one normal episode of a drama. Few more screenshots of the breathtaking Shun, did explain things fairly well but these may help you follow the story better. After this post are three more for this series with the next one being the recap for episodes five and six.

Saki Fukuda: "Quartet" drama episode's five and six recaps with screenshots

 Air Dates: January 18th to March 24, 2011 on TBS at 12:55 am  Ratings: ?

Main Cast:

Saki Fukuda as Shun

Yuya Matsushita as Takeru

Natsuna Watanabe as Kasumi

Toshiya Nagasawa as Tsukamoto

Takaya Kamikawa as Kuchinawa

 The mission of finding Tsukamoto and his drug factory continue for Shun and Takeru though at the moment they're nowhere near their goal. In the previous episode we met Koharu with whom Shun has quickly developed a friendship with. Koharu's husband had worked at the drug factory which is the first lead Shun has had in solving the case. Her husband had died rather mysteriously and none of the workers at the factory will tell her exactly what happened.
 We also meet Koharu's brother who dislikes Shun and Takeru from the get go as both are Japanese whom he despises. You have to wonder why so many Chinese have come to Japan if they hate them so much, quite a few things were never touched in in this drama and no doubt it's because of the short length of it.
 But our two lead characters get another clue to finding Tsukamoto which is that Koharu's brother knows him slightly, he even runs a small gambling game for him. He didn't invite Shun and Takeru to the gambling den but they followed him there in the hope of finally locating Tsukamoto. The pair were in luck as when they were there Tsukamoto happened to arrive in his usual flamboyant style.

 Tsukamoto is a bit intrigued about a pair of Japanese people being in Midori and tries speaking to Shun who he has some beady eyes on. Luckily with her new looks Tsukamoto doesn't recognize her or at least at this time we don't think he does. Shun only speaks to him in Chinese so he doesn't have a clue to what she's saying but she challenges him to a duel. There are two mushrooms with one of them being poisonous, if he can eat one without dying she'll sleep with him. Naturally the perverse Tsukamoto accepts the challenge but after eating one he reveals to Shun that he's immune to all poisons, is that even possible?
 Once again though Kasumi comes to the rescue as she's there with Tsukamoto as to prevent the pair from possibly ending up together throws a tantrum. Kasumi practically throws herself at Tsukamoto who says he was just trying to make her jealous, Kasumi had to do it to save the mission and all of their identities from possibly being discovered.
 Meanwhile Koharu's brother has prevented her from seeing Shun and Takeru, when Shun does try to see her she is rebuffed by Koharu. What will they do know as she was the biggest link into locating Tsukamoto's drug factory. Even though her husband died there Koharu still went to the factory to give massages to keep the money coming in, after she was rebuffed Shun followed her there.

 Shun had no idea where Koharu was headed but following her paid off in a huge way as she discovered the whereabouts of Tsukamoto's factory. Surprisingly Takeru was also outside the factory as he had also followed a pair from the gambling den there. Now the question is what to do, it's quite a big factory that's heavily guarded plus quite a few work there, mainly Chinese but the top bosses are Tsukamoto's henchmen.
 Shun and Takeru are still unsure of their plans, to somehow break into the factory or go after Tsukamoto instead. While pondering their options the pair investigate the grounds of the factory to learn the layout and their searching finds them a gruesome discovery. They watch as one of the Japanese men from the factory is demolishing cars in a desolated area of the factory's grounds, what reason could there be for that?
 After that man had left they took a closer look at some of the cars and discovered blood oozing out of them. They then deduced that the cars were being crushed with corpses in them, Shun and Takeru had no clue as to where the corpses had come from and weren't until the eighth episode though we had seen bit and pieces of where they may have come from.

 Not as much happened in these two episodes or should I say not as much with Saki involved. Still quite an interesting show which gets even better as the next two episodes may have been the highlights of the series. As usual few more screenshots of you-know-who from these episodes though not as many as I would have liked but enough to fill in the details of what may have been left out of the recap. Episodes seven and eight follow this post, hope if you've read this far you'll finish reading all of these reviews.