Ikebukuro West Gate Park

This might seem rather light-hearted at the beginning, but it takes a pretty serious to dark turn towards the end. At the beginning Makoto runs around solving other people's problems and hanging out with his friends. This, of course, was preceded by the murder of his friend/girlfriend, which was dealt with in episode two and then fizzled out, with only the occasional flashback. Of course we find out who did it; I even guessed it. But by the end, the darkness caught me so off guard I didn’t feel right. More people die. And a character I didn't want anyone to touch dies. Yakuza, thieves, crooks, kidnappings, murders, gang warfare, police – Makoto comes into contact with all of it. It's not exactly a relaxing film, so if you're in the mood for something more serious about Ikebukuro and crime of all kinds, check it out. What’s more you see a young Yamapi, Ken Watanabe (I'm sure everyone knows him from The Last Samurai with Cruise), Tsumabuki Satoshi, Kubozuka Yōsuke (plays a pretty good maniac), Koyuki (who also starred in The Last Samurai), but all of them pale in comparison to Nagase Tomoya, who was great as Makoto. I hated his mom and I hated Hikaru (they were both whiny, each in a slightly different way, but it still got on my nerves), but otherwise I liked the characters. Plus, this dorama is set in 2000 and it's funny how in every episode Makoto's phone rings with those MIDI ringtones. Everything in general is still so shabby. But it fits this one. A weaker 4 stars. (27.11.2010)