Tuesday, July 21, 2015

Bloody Monday (I) : Genius Hacker Vs Genius Terrorist, who will be the winner?




Title : Bloody Monday
Genre: Action, Suspense
Episode: 11
Broadcast period: Oct - Dec 2008
Theme Song: Over the rain - Hikari no Hashi by Flumpool

CAST:
Miura Haruma as Takagi Fujimaru (Falcon)
Kawashima Umika as Takagi Haruka 
Sato Takeru as Kujo Otoya
Narimiya Hiroki as Kanzaki Jun (J)
Tokunaga Eri as Anzai Mako
Fujii Mina as Asada Aoi
Kichise Machiko as Orihaya Maya 
etc.

Just recently, I had a chance to watch Bloody Monday where Haruma Miura played  a genius hacker against the terrorist group. How can I say about this dorama? Ehm, I think the story is very good yet the dorama is not that wow. Why? First of all, I really understand that Haruma Miura was still very young that time, so about his acting,.. Hemm... So so..  But, watching Bloody Monday was enjoyable enough for me. Narimiya Hiroki caught my attention and he played brillianty his role as the genius mathematician terrorist. We know that sometimes villains are more attractive than the heros, just like in this dorama. Here is my review on Bloody Monday. Check this out!

Synopsis (from d-addicts)

After a biological terrorist attack kills off the population of a Russian town; Japan's Public Safety Special Third unit, code name THIRD-i, believes that the terrorist organization responsible plans to unleash the same virus known as Bloody X into Tokyo. Subsequently, THIRD-i recruits the help of genius hacker Takagi Fujimaru to find out what happened in the Russia. However, as Fujimaru becomes involved, he soon finds out that he is in over his head and that the terrorist groups influence reaches not only his school but even the police. Fujimaru must now rely on his skill as a hacker to unravel the organizations sinister plot and find out the truth behind "Bloody Monday."


Review, Peeling the Dorama


Story and storyline

Based on an action manga with the same title by Ryumon Ryo and Megumi Koji, it is guaranteed for its story quality. At least in my opinion, a story about a young genius hacker, terrorist group, and national defense  is cool.

The story is started with a scene in Russia, a japanese woman kissing a Russian. Wait, it is not kissing actually, but killing. Yeah, killing by kissing. She is Orihaya Maya, the spy. Skip her for a bit. Takagi Fujimaru is just an ordinary high school boy except the fact that he is also the popular hacker  'Falcon' that used to hack the data system of Third-i Division, a special division regarding national defense of Japan. Sugoi ne! Cool, isn't it! Eventhough hacking is a serious crime, I will not deny that a hacker is cool. Hacking is an art too! Ha.. Anyone agree with me?

The terrorist group, a group of people who believe that Japan is a rotten country and need to be destroyed. They believe that to punish people at fault, they need to be the God who can control the life of other people. They come with an idea to use a very dangerous virus that able to kill human in minutes, called Bloody X. Their project is called Bloody Monday which means last Monday for Tokyo's people except the group. Tokyo is under terror and it can be vanished everytime. The Third-i Division that is responsible for public safety found that it's hard to handle this terrorist group. Then, Falcon is a big help for Third-i. Can you imagine a hacker who save a country? No need it, just watch this dorama. :)

Falcon logo. Cool, isn't it? (img source: here)

Something that I found interesting was about the young people that too much powerful here.  The leaders of the terrorist - J and K. J or Kanzaki Jun played by Narimiya Hiroki is a young genius mathematician who has unusual way of thinking. He enjoys making mathematical equations about his actions with the group. K is believed as the true leader of the terrorist behind J's shadow. What? K is a high school girl? J's little sister and Falcon's classmate? Yup! K is Anzai Mako who always stayed around Fujimaru before she was known as K. It was a big shock for me too. How can such a young people can be a leader of a terrorist group? Furthermore, J and K against Falcon - another high school boy? Too good to be true, I think. Seems like Third-i that consist of very capable officers are not an equal match to that young people. Hahaha.. Very unrealistic! But then, I remember that BM is shonen manga story. Lol. Got it!

I almost forgot about Orihaya Maya. She has a big portion in Bloody Monday. She works for money and she was hired by K. Before her identity got caught by Fujimaru, she was a new transfer teacher at the high school. She is always around in this story. Not only the first scene, the last scene is also with her. What an important side character she is.

Orihara Maya (img source: here)


It is easy to watch the dorama. The storyline is easy to understand. Even the theme is a little difficult for me - a non-tech person. I don't understand how Fujimaru did his jobs with hacking but you must agree that it is not important. The most important thing is how the story goes and what the result of this war. 


Setting and Costume

The Third-i headquarter is awesome. It looks like a real office of an elite division. Or is it just my imagination? Ha.. The school, the terrorist place, the city, etc - I think I have no complain about the location settings. They're perfect! Costumes? Hemm...  No complain again! I like Third-i uniforms, Takagi's style, J's style and also Otoya's messy hairstyle. Haha.. Sato Takeru looks funny in his hairstyle like that. I love you SatoTakeru! Haruka - Fujimaru's little sister - is always cute even though her acting was just so so. :P

Sato Takeru and his weird hair style


Actor and Actress

Like I wrote above, I really understand that Haruma Miura was still very young when he played his role here. Yeah, his acting somehow is not the best of him, just mediocre. It is really different with his perfect act in Last Cinderella. As a young boy who involves in a serious tragedy, lost his family, friend and saw many people die - I couldn't feel any desperate feelings of him. His eyes doesn't say anything, just plain and it seems so fake to me. Sorry to say tho. The same thing goes to Kawashima Umika who played Takagi Haruka and Fujii Mina who played Asada Aoi. Both of them sure are cute girls but talking about their actings here, I will say a big No. While, this is the first time I saw Fujii Mina , I've seen Kawashima chan for several times (Code Blue, Papa Doru). I will say that she just can't act. Yeah, don't worry, it's all just my opinion.

Narimiya Hiroki as J (img source: here)

Thumbs up for Narimiya Hiroki (J), Sato Takeru (Kujo Otoya),  Kichise Michiko (Orihara Maya), Matsushige Yutaka and Yoshizawa Hisashi. They played their roles very good. Narimiya's smile is unforgettable remark of J. One of my friends said that his smile is like Joker's smile, an evil and ambigous smile. You deserve it J! Orihaya Maya played by Kichise Michiko is always beautiful yet dangerous, she has a charisma of adult woman. While, 2 outstanding character of Third-i officers are Kano Ikuma (played by Matsushige Yutaka) and Kirishima Goro (by Yoshizawa Hisashi). They looked cool and their expressions are so real. Last, Sato Takeru. He has unique look and expression. I can't really describe what it is, but he is very good in BM.

OST and Theme Song

I like the OST. It helps in the developing of the story and make some scenes more intense and dramatic. And the theme song is over the rain - hikari no hashi  performed by Flumpool is good enough. It was not really caught my attention but the song is good. I just feel like the song is not that memorable for me. What kind of song do you think would suit a dorama about a hacker and terrorist? What a fool question, isn't it? Lol.

Well then, that's all my review on Bloody Monday. You may not agree with me, so share your opinion with me and let's talk about dorama.

I give  7.75 /10 for Bloody Monday (season I)