Change (j-drama Spring 2008)

[Guest jade_frost]

[Guest jade_frost]

TELEVIEWS / Viewers can look forward to 'Change.' Can voters say the same?

Wm. Penn / Daily Yomiuri Columnist

Get ready. Change (Fuji, 9 p.m.) is coming Monday. It has taken a while, but Takuya Kimura is finally on his way to save the day for Japan.

The quest for a quality political drama seems to have caused some production delays that pushed the series debut back three weeks. There have been media reports of grumbling at the network and worries that the late start will affect the timing of the summer series set for the Monday, 9 p.m. slot.

Can't quite see what the problem is myself. Until the private networks create more dramas that really excite viewers, staggering the start of each new season may be one of their best strategies for keeping the public interested in TV.

Most of this April's offerings have already bored or alienated viewers, so it is nice to have something new to look forward to in May.

Fuji has not yet revealed how many weeks Change will run, but if it should preempt a few of the between-season, special marathon, 180-minute, triple talento, super-duper, silly noise extravaganzas, will anyone really miss them? So bring on the Change already.

With the Japanese public's frustration with the political problems that have piled up over the past year and the excitement of the U.S. presidential race as a backdrop, the drama's Web site (www.fujitv.co.jp/change) is promising a political story that will provide the public with hope and dreams. That's an awful lot to expect from a mere TV series. But from the preseason publicity to the choice of Madonna's "Miles Away" as the theme song, the network does seems to be going all out on this one. As part of the advance PR for the series, Change tissue boxes went on sale on May 2 at a nationwide supermarket chain. By May 4, the supplies at my local store were all sold out. Can Change campaign buttons be far behind?

As for the story itself, Kimura plays Keita Asakura, 35, a primary school teacher from rural Nagano Prefecture whose recently deceased father had been a dietman from Kyushu. An all-around nice guy, Keita has no interest in politics and agrees to run only to get everyone off his back once and for all. But with the help of some sharp political operatives, he will be swept into the Diet and toward the prime ministership.

It's a rather implausible scenario, but in a world where Diet seats are passed down from generation to generation like the family china, not entirely impossible either.

Once elected, he's bounced about and manipulated by the elders of the Seiyuto (Political Friends Party) as he tries to use his power to change things for the better.

The all-star cast should help make the story both watchable and believable. The talented Eri Fukatsu plays his personal political secretary while Hiroshi Abe is the election strategist with a winning track record who knows how to get Asakura elected.

Rosa Kato is cast as a loyal young supporter who warbles his message of change to voters from his campaign sound truck.

Reportedly, filming of at least one of the outdoor campaign scenes had to be cancelled after Kimura attracted too big a crowd.

Once ensconced in the political world, he will be dealing with the party leadership. Akira Terao and Atsuo Nakamura play the party's general council chairman and secretary general, respectively. Nakamura should lend some added authenticity to the drama since the actor, best known for his role in the samurai tale Kogarashi Monjiro, actually served in the House of Councillors from 1998 to 2004.

Rounding out the big-name cast is Shiro Ito as the reigning prime minister, who holds the unflattering distinction of being the least popular prime minister ever. If Change is even half as good as it looks in the preseason publicity, the network will have a real winner on their hands. Do check it out.

The list of entertainers who have entered the political world is long and grows longer every year, but the number of continuing series that have attempted to portray the political world close-up is rather short. In fact, I can think of only two others. The first was Mona Lisa-tachi no Boken, an ode to the growing number of women in politics that aired on TBS back in the summer of 1987. Shinobu Otake starred as a grassroots candidate who vies for a city assembly seat. Then in the autumn of 2001, Koichi Iwaki starred in NTV's Let's Go Nagata-cho, playing a prime minister who very much resembled Junichiro Koizumi. Both of those series were considered rather groundbreaking for their time but were not particularly probing or penetrating.

How deeply Change will delve into the realities of the political world remains to be seen. But if TV ratings king Kimura succeeds yet again with this one, there will probably be some in the political world ready to urge him to follow so many of his entertainment world predecessors and actually run for office in the next election.

[Guest lena2008]

Takuya's photos and news on CHANGE. Soooo cute

http://www.geocities.com/gimgabinko/photo-change.htm

Many thanks to Takuya's world.

thank you so much I love him

[Guest magichouse]

im watching this for abe hiroshi, such a great actor

[Guest dionne_wu]

I watched Episode 1 with chinese subs -

Buckling under all the hype, I decided to give this a shot. Besides, I was itching to see Takuya Kimura in that nerdy getup. The politics part was a tad dry (you know how it can be) but the cast made up for it. Even with a couple of big names (like Abe Hiroshi, Fukatsu Eri), undeniably, the star is still Takuya Kimura. I don't understand how critics say his era is over just because the ratings couldn't beat Gokusen's. Considering that politics does not interest alot, the ratings alone are substantial enough to say he still has that power. Granted, Takuya may not be the best actor, however if Change can become enjoyable because of Keita, I'd say he has come a long way. I never thought I'll like politics, but heck, I like this drama as a whole!

As Asakura Keita becomes Prime Minister, one can't help but root for him in changing not only Japan, but himself.

[Guest jade_frost]

The first two episodes were somewhat interesting though not outstanding. Kimura Takuya looks like he's just going through the motions, Kato Rosa's character feels pretty unnecessary and Abe Hiroshi's talent seems rather underutilised but I like political intrigue so I'm going to stay tuned.

The question I'd like answered is just how bold will this drama be in tackling the issues facing Japanese politics or is the change superficial - a mere shift of the broadcast date of the spring Getsu9 drama because of the demands of Kimutaku's formidable manager?

[Guest jade_frost]

Episode 1 Synopsis

At an elementary school in Nagano. Asakura Keita is the form teacher of fifth graders. Well-liked by the children in spite of their teasing and able to do his beloved star gazing to his heart's content, Keita leads a fulfilling life.

At that moment, in the political world, which had no relation to Keita's life, the approval ratings for the Cabinet had plunged to a ten-year low. One day, the ruling party's legislator for Fukuoka and his eldest son, his successor, are killed in an accident. It is decided that a by-election will be held. To the ruling party, it is an election they cannot afford to lose because it will influence the general election. As they're finding it hard to decide on a candidate, Kanbayashi Masaichi , the leader of the ruling party, and his secretary Miyama Rika direct their focus on the second son Makoto had cut off. He is none other than Keita.

Rika leaves for Nagano to persuade Keita to run in the by-election but he rejects her because he has absolutely no interest in politics. Then Keita receives a call from his mother, Takae and is shocked by what he hears. Takae, who has been confined to bed since the accident tells him that she will run as a candidate in the election. Concerned about his mother's welfare, Keita stops Rika, who is about to return to Fukuoka, and undertakes the by-election himself.

Arriving in Fukuoka with Rika, Keita's election campaign begins. Nirasawa Katsutoshi, an election strategist, also hurries to the election headquarters. Miyamoto Hikaru, the niece of the election committee chairman, takes great interest in the Keita. Keita conjectures that Rika will probably give up on him being a politician if he loses this election. However, despite his initial bewilderment with the campaign, Keita gradually starts showing motivation. That is what he had taught his young charges as a teacher - run with all your might even if you know that you are out.

Keita is well-received by the females. He finally starts winning votes little by little. The eve of the election comes at last and just as Keita is about to make his last address, news of his father, Makoto's past dishonesty appears in the press. It's the strategy of his opponent. Even so, Keita carries on as scheduled. He begins his speech but then bows his head as he is heckled by the opposing crowd and acknowledges his father's dishonesty.

Rika is dejected but Nirasawa sends Keita's last speech to the television stations and doesn't give up. He tells Rika that he had never seen a person bow his head so unreservedly. Even Rika wasn't able to bring herself to stop Keita from making those heartfelt remarks, Nirasawa notes.

Polling day comes. Keita is trailing in the by-election by a large margin. That margin is finally reduced and as those at the election headquarters get excited, a news flash announces that Keita's opponent is projected to be the winner. Then Keita comes to apologise to all the people who had supported him. And at that moment, the news programme's ticker issues a correction of the news flash. Keita has been voted in by a narrow margin. The hushed election headquarters breaks out in cheers.

Keita goes to Tokyo as a legislator of the House of Representatives ...

[Guest jade_frost]

Episode 2 Synopsis

With the cooperation of Miyama Rika and Nirasawa Katsutoshi, Keita's sincerity moves the hearts of the people and he emerges the winner in the by-election.

Keita heads to Tokyo immediately and is welcomed by Rika and several staffers at the Diet. Because he is a Diet member elected in a by-election and not a general election, he wouldn't be pursued by the media ... so they thought. But he coincidentally encounters the current Prime Minister, Ukai Takehiko, along the corridor and is unexpectedly featured in a news programme. Keita, who has suddenly leapt into the limelight, is given the nickname "Prince of the Diet". Meanwhile, members from the same party point out Keita's acknowledgment of his father's past dishonesty and offer harsh words for his behaviour.

But only the party chairman, Kanbayashi Shoichi, defends Keita. He orders Rika to be Keita's secretary. Under Rika's instructions, Keita spends his days attending one of the Diet's standing committees without any understanding the proceedings. Amidst this, Nirasawa suddenly comes to live with Keita. Furthermore, Miyamoto Hikaru, who adores Keita suddenly visits his home with her belongings and declares that she is there to lend a hand. Keita is taken aback when he learns that she means to stay together with him and Nirasawa. Rika attempts to stop it but in the end her efforts are to no avail.

Keita meets a young member of the Diet, a man called Ubukata Tsuneo. The sudden death of his father, a Diet member, had resulted in him reluctantly standing in an election. Keita feels an affinity with him. As the two of them are talking about this in the dining hall, a news programme reports that Prime Minister Ukai faces allegations of sexual harrassment.

This is a dire incident that Prime Minister Ukai, who had been embroiled in scandals from the start, cannot evade. Approval ratings for the Cabinet also falls to 4% - lower than the consumption tax. On the other hand, Keita's popularity shows no sign of slowing down. Then Prime Minister Ukai finally announces his resignation.

On that day, Keita has a meal arranged with Kanbayashi. However, a man called Murayama comes to Keita's office with a petition. Rika urges Keita to wrap the meeting up as quickly as possible but Keita doesn't dismiss Murayama and instead listens to him.

Meanwhile, the party heavyweights - secretary-general Onoda Asao; Nihei Sakae, leader of the largest faction; and foreign minister Kakiuchi Tatsuhiko are with Kanbayashi, who is waiting for Keita. Kanbayashi asks them who will be the next prime minister will be. Then he makes a proposition.

Murayama finally leaves. Keita and Rika hurry to the Japanese restaurant that Kanbayashi is waiting at. As the two of them apologise after opening the sliding screens, they find that Kanbayashi is the only one left. Kanbayashi doesn't reproach Keita's tardiness. On the contrary, he tells Keita to run in the presidential election ...

[Guest mimi23]

Hi everyone!

Thanks jade_frost for the synopsis! I've already seen ep1 and loved it!

How many episodes are there by the way? I couldn't find out.

Go KimuTaku!

[Amethyst]

I just saw episode 1.

There are so many interesting facts that are noted. I did not know that there are more pets than children in Japan, low birth rate.

I'm not aware how a Prime Minister is being elect or how a parliamentary government work, since my country is a Presidential election, voted by the people. It was interesting how the system take place.

Takuya's character is very interesting, he look weak at first but he is actually a strong honest person.

Is'nt Hybrid cars expensive?

Looking forward for episode 2.

[Guest michtiu_888]

where can i watch this? i really miss a kimura drama .....

[Amethyst]

Hi michtiu_888 I downloaded from d-addicts.com, masayuki fansub ? uploaded with english subs.

[Guest jade_frost]

TELEVIEWS / 'Gokusen III' leading the pack in TV drama lineup

Wm. Penn / Daily Yomiuri Columnist

This week: the winners, the losers and the question marks on the horizon. TV viewers have voted with their remotes and chosen four winners from the spring season private network drama lineup. Meanwhile, the vast majority of spring offerings battle the single-digit ratings demons with scripts that are not really up to the challenge.

At present, the big winner is Gokusen III (Saturdays, 9 p.m., NTV) holding firm with Video Research Co. ratings of 25.1 percent, which is about as high as one can realistically hope to get anymore. Viewers have seen it all before--twice--but still can't resist watching ratings queen Yukie Nakama vanquish her foes and turn her motley crew of students into happy high school grads.

The only challenge to Nakama's supremacy comes from Takuya Kimura's Change, which debuted with 23.8 percent ratings last week. That seems a little low for a Kimura extravaganza, but those figures should increase. Eri Fukatsu and Hiroshi Abe gave excellent performances and did most of the heavy lifting in Episode 1 as the script called for Kimura's character to do little more than look disillusioned and disinterested.

But by Week 2, the Kimura sparkle returned as Asakura, dubbed the "kokkai oji" (the new young prince of the Diet), settles into his new job. He asks his savvy political secretary (Fukatsu) to explain everything to him in terms a fifth-year primary school student (and the rest of us) can understand, making the fast-moving script informative, clever and easy to follow.

By next week, Asakura should be taking over the prime ministership. The party elders, realizing his potential as a political panda who can enthrall the media, have decided the country can run on auto-pilot for three months. They'll install Asakura, reestablish the party's popularity with the electorate and then retake the position and power themselves in 90 days. But will Asakura really be such a pliable, political puppet?

The current public mood and political atmosphere are being skillfully conveyed in Change. With a fantastic supporting cast giving it their all, Episode 2 was a joy to watch and the first four-star effort I've seen in a long time.

The only annoyance is watching Kimura puff his way through yet another script. Reported to be a heavy smoker in real life, one wonders whether he requires that all his onscreen characters have a smoking habit, too? The local Fuji affiliate was rerunning his 1997 hit Love Generation (a 32.5-percent winner in its day) last week and he was puffing away in that series also.

One of the few bright spots in 21st-century Japanese TV has been the move away from smoking scenes in dramas. I hate to see Kimura take us back there.

[Guest HollyBeth]

Did anyone upload this on youtube or any other streaming sites??? I really wanted to watch this because I can't download from

sites right now...

Thanks everyone for the help...

[weirdnshort]

Ohh i'm watching this. it does seem interesting. took me a while to realise one of the actress is the lead from Jotei.. (?) Kato Rosa. Abe is awesome First time watching Fukatsu Eri... I see something sinister happening right now in the office. I don't think it's an accident that the PM died.

[Guest jade_frost]

Relationship Chart

[Guest HollyBeth]

Is this up on youtube or megavideo? I really want to see this.. Thanks for the help...

I was so happy to hear that the ratings are good for the show..

[feje210]

hi there! i'm a new fan of kimura takuya. i really love his acting because he give justice to all the characters he portrayed. i saw this drama with english sub on aznv.tv but you must register first to see this drama. if you want a raw version just search the drama on pandoraTV and you will be able to see this drama after a few hours it was aired. good luck!

[gerryg]

One of the few bright spots in 21st-century Japanese TV has been the move away from smoking scenes in dramas. I hate to see Kimura take us back there.

I know what you mean. The only series I saw him reframe from smoking was Engine. Although he presented a cigarette many times he never smoked any. I was thinking he was trying to quit but the script called for a smoker. Although I prefer watching smoke free scripts I just can't resist watching Kimura

[Guest jade_frost]

Episode 3 Trailer

Asakura Keita goes from elementary school teacher to a new member of the Diet after winning the by-election by a narrow margin. At that moment, Prime Minister Ukai Takehiko, who has had the lowest approval ratings in history, at last announces his resignation. As various speculations make their rounds, Keita is hit with an unbelievable situation.

Keita has been asked by Kanbayashi Shoichi, the chairman of the Seiyu Party, to run in the presidential election. He has already secured the support of senior party members. Despite Keita's bewilderment, the party's young Diet members place their confidence in him. Ubukata Tsuneo and the others want the voices of young people to be heard, adding to the referees for Keita. For whose sake am I becoming a politician? What should I do? ... Keita visits Nagano to see his students ... perhaps in a bid to find these answers. Miyama Rika chases after him ...