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| Synopsis |
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Points to Watch
This is a story of the complex relationship between a coffee shop owner played by Masahiro Matsuoka and a regular customer. Turning the genre's norm of one love story forming the core of the story, this drama uses a variety of characters to depict a variety of different forms of love. Instead of wondering if A will get together with B, this story shows a chain of unrequited love from A to B to C to D to E as the two main characters drift apart over the 11 episodes.
The script is by Kankuro Kudo and is his first attempt at a love story. He joins forces again with producer Isoyama - a combination that brought us "Ikebukuro West Gate Park" and "Kisarazu Cat's Eye" so popular with young audiences. Is this the birth of a new hit series?
Storyline
Next door to Chuo TV's offices is "Manhattan," a coffee shop for aficionados. The owner's (Masahiro Matsuoka) passion for coffee is almost a sickness and all he wants is for his customers to enjoy their coffee. He is a man of few words. If he has to say something, he gets his waiter Shinobu Gamo (Takashi Tsukamoto) to speak on his behalf. Owner's real name is unknown. He would prefer to be addressed as the shops' "Master" rather than its owner - not that anyone is aware of this. He gives his all to coffee. Despite his wishes, his regular customers don't really come to taste the coffee. They are there because of love. They use his shop as a place for dates, marriage proposals and break-ups. He doesn't show it, but it saddens him that his customers are so preoccupied with affairs of the heart and not the coffee.
One day, Nobuko Akabane (Kyoko Koizumi) visits his shop. Nobuko, who got caught up in a messy extra-marital affair which resulted in her having to leave her job at a top company, now drives a taxi. She looks anxious, as if she is waiting for someone and leaves the shop without touching her coffee. This happens again the next day. Nobuko had a customer - dance instructor Hideki Bessho (Mitsuhiro Oikawa) - who left his mobile phone in the taxi. Nobuko has made two appointments to meet with Bessho to return the phone, but on both occasions Bessho has failed to show up. One day, she appeared at the coffee shop all dressed up and tipped a cup of coffee over Bessho's head. The master watches developments in Nobuko's love life with great interest. He wants her to enjoy good coffee so decides to help her with her love life. But no sooner has he decided to do this that other love-related troubles begin to emerge. Be it screenwriter Maki Chikura (Aiko Morishita), voice actor Satoshi Doigaki (Suzuki Mastuo), new announcer Shiori Emoto (Wakana Sakai), actor Eiichiro Funakoshi (played by himself) or the waiter Gamo. And even the Master finds himself embroiled in affairs of the heart... | | TBS |
| Soundtrack and Theme Songs (1) |
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| 1. | Love Love Manhatten ラブラブ マンハッタン [TOKIO] | |
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| Drama Reviews (5) |
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!!WARNING!!
The review section may contain spoilers! Please understand
that you may find out about this drama's endings and plots!
| | 1. | If you can keep up [Rating: 8/10]
This drama should be called Manhattan Love Stories for its complex plot. As the drama moves on, there are actually 4 or 5 different love stories happening at the same time. I had a hard time keeping track of what's what and who's with who, and I had the drama on DVD. I can't imagine how anyone could keep track of that if they watched it as it aired once a week. However, my hats down to the writers of this drama for coming up with such a creative plot and elaborate plot twists (actually, they are more like love twists because characters seem to fall for so many different people here and there for no apparent reason). Still, if you don't get too critical about it, it's still fun to watch and if you love a good, complex/rich plot to keep you interested, this one is for you. The saving grace in all of this was the humor, it definitely had its moments! | | Reviewed by Hiro Toyo on 2 January 2006 | | 2. | keiken to jinsei to tamashii.. [Rating: 9/10]
another great drama by matsuoka-kun.. love the plot.. now i have total admiration for the scriptwriter's ability.. he can create a story out of 8 characters and reverse and change it anyway he liked.. sugoi.. i loved all the the 8 characters. but my favourites have to be tencho and shinobu-kun.. matsuoka masahiro acted really well, just by using his facial expressions he transformed into a cautious, but actually passionate on the inside person.. while tsukamoto takashi was great as both a girl and a guy.. suge kakoii..!! kyaa.. when he plays the guitar i really just melt.. other actors like koizumi kyoko, oikawa, morishita, sakai, matsuo etc. all did a great job.. i laughed a lot during the whole drama.. and i really did enjoy it.. watch it if you can, because it's something not worth missing.. ^^ | | Reviewed by arashinokoto on 11 June 2004 | | 3. | Mixed feelings [Rating: ?/10]
Matsuoka was pretty cute as the main character here, but otherwise I'm not entirely sure what I was watching. It isn't what I expected it to be at all, what with its five million relationship twists and weird characters. It's an okay watch that boasts some funny moments and a likeable central character, but don't expect too much plot or meaning out of this. | | Reviewed by calibration on 25 May 2013 | | 4. | yeah [Rating: 5/10]
I have to say i really enjoyed this drama, but because I fell in love with the tencho and shinodu characters.
There were a bunch of charcters that just got kinda annyoing a bit too much bit those 2 characters made up for it | | Reviewed by hiei1999 on 31 March 2005 | | 5. | Funny [Rating: 10/10]
Good performances by everyone and the story was pretty funny. It's a good dorama to watch if you have a chance to see it. | | Reviewed by Reggie on 16 May 2004 |
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| Comments From Users (43) |
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!!WARNING!!
This section may contain spoilers! Do not proceed if you
do not want to read about this drama's endings and plots!
| | 1. | Comments by Susan [Rating: 9/10]
This series was a laugh-riot throughout and well worth watching for Matsuoko Masahiro's portrayal of Tenchou alone. His inner-thought voice overs were funny as hell and completely adorable! Tsukamoto Takashi also shines as Shinobu, the mysterious part-timer working at Manhattan who turns out to have a crazier and funnier background then ever expected! I think the only downside to this series are the uninteresting and unenthusiastic side-characters and the less-than satisfying ending. Still, this is a classic Kudo Kankuro drama and I enjoyed this one as much as any of his other dramas and movies! | | 2. | Comments by Sleepingstar [Rating: 7/10]
By far silliest main character I've seen in any drama. Drama itself is also really silly and unrealistic yet complex comedy full of action, there isn't too many moments when there isn't happening something. All in all I liked it, but it might not be for everyone :). Cast was solid all the way, but I particularly liked Matsuokas performance as Tencho, that character was brilliant itself so it was nice to see role acted by a worthy actor. | | 3. | Comments by aiscess [Rating: 8/10]
The first episode was not good, I don't really like the love story of A and B, but it got better the following episodes. And it got so hilarious from the middle towards the end. I guess Shinobu's confession started it all. Amidst all the confusion, twist and turn of events, I'm just glad that the couple I cheered on really ended up together. | | 4. | Comments by Patazilla [Rating: 7/10]
Uuuuhm. No idea how to judge this one. It's something different, something quite quirky and strange. It's definitely no typical love story, but rather a very crazy and weird comedy. At some points it's quite boring but it has its owen unique humour which compensates for it. The characters are all total nutters. XD | | 5. | Comments by Jackykero [Rating: 5/10]
I could not finish this dorama, and that's rare.
I see what they were doing, it had its funny moments, but all in all things were developing too slowly, and there were a lot of bothering characters. I would have liked less characters but more developed, and more of a story rather than bits and pieces of it... | | 6. | Comments by outlaws0025 [Rating: 8/10]
At first I thought this just would be an average love story between Akabane and the Beshii-guy, but it all quickly changed from episode 2.
More and more different love stories was added to drama and it all just worked really really well. And the dorama is so hilarious! | | 7. | Comments by lovejdorama [Rating: ?/10]
Avail for trade*****
1~11, Format: 9 VCDs , Language: JAPANESE,
Subtitle: Traditional Chinese,, PIC quality: A,
Video Format: Great VCD Resolution, MPEG 1, NTSC 4:3,
Notes: Not watched Yet
to view my trade list:
http://www.geocities.com/reddashay/homepage.html | | 8. | Comments by maui [Rating: 8/10]
Kudo Kankuro is a genius man.This series is so original and very enjoyable.This drama's theme song singing by TOKIO is also fit well with the mood of the drama.Watch this if you like IWGP, Kisarazu Cat's Eye or Tiger&Dragon. | | 9. | Comments by EstherM [Rating: 9/10]
Subs are only available until episode 3 but boy I had a great time watching this. Something to look out for if you like Kudo Kankuru's work. Plus, it�Ls romantic in a really cool way. | | 10. | Comments by dokaben [Rating: 10/10]
A hilarious, clever romantic drama that spoofs the stereotypical...romantic drama. Great acting, particularly the Tencho. I'm amazed that this one doesn't get mentioned more often. | | 11. | Comments by chokakoi [Rating: 10/10]
This is an interesting show. The A->B->C->D->E etc etc way of explaining the relationships really tickles me... especially the part when it turned in the opposite direction. haha.. | | 12. | Comments by gaijinmark [Rating: 3/10]
This drama was written by the same guy that wrote IGWP and T & D, two other dramas that a lot of people liked that I hated. It's the same case here. I just don't get it. | | 13. | Comments by shooqie [Rating: 10/10]
you're jdorama journey is not complete if you have not at least watched one of Kankuro sensei's drama. And this is a MUST! Re-watchable as well. Anytime, Anyday.. ANY YEAR | | 14. | Comments by arashinokoto [Rating: 9/10]
super funny dorama deshita yo..! loved all the main cast a lot.. but tencho was the best, just with facial expressions he can make me laugh so much.. shinobu-kun saikou..! | | 15. | Comments by hiei1999 [Rating: 5/10]
the reason i like this drama soo much is that I fell in love with the tencho and shinobu characters. they made all the other characters barable (excuse my spelling) | | 16. | Comments by chibichan [Rating: 10/10]
its been a while since i watched this kind of dorama. its very hillarious how the tencho meddling into his costumer's love life, but it always end up the wrong way. | | 17. | Comments by raku [Rating: 10/10]
Wackey, clever, unpredictable, I LOVE IT!! Weel played all around, with Tsukamoto Takashi in a role that had me rolling on the floor. Even my boy liked it! | | 18. | Comments by yume [Rating: 10/10]
An absolutely hilarious, fast-paced drama about a big, fat love octagon! The character to watch is Nobuko, whose solos stand out to shining perfection. | | 19. | Comments by hitomi #1 [Rating: 8/10]
So under rated, because of huge stars? If you love subtle humor amidst a serious story, check this out. | | 20. | Comments by nakiko [Rating: ?/10]
I really want to see this --- Takashi Tsukamoto is a favourite of mine. Sadly it's not avalible yet. | | 21. | Comments by soupychan [Rating: ?/10]
I've seen only the first three episodes so far, but from that alone this is my favorite series ever. | | 22. | Comments by yami [Rating: ?/10]
watching..... I really should finish this since the first episodes were so funny! :) | | 23. | Comments by xhidex33 [Rating: 9/10]
The viewership sucked, but i thought it was great. Tsukamoto was adorable~~~~~~~~~ | | 24. | Comments by Okojo [Rating: 9/10]
One of the best love triangle i've ever seen!
Just great! Love Master! | | 25. | Comments by nagaioyasumi [Rating: ?/10]
Crazy, but so damn entertaining. Hearts Takashi as a man-girl! =) | | 26. | Comments by stuffed.with.fluff [Rating: 10/10]
Great. Awesome. Love it. That is all. Comedy AND coffee?! Cmon. | | 27. | Comments by mmyy [Rating: 9/10]
Fans of Kankuro Kudo's wackiness will not be disappointed! | | 28. | Comments by monstakarotte [Rating: 7/10]
Strange Characters, Strange Plot = Kudo Kankuro - LIKE! | | 29. | Comments by lynn [Rating: ?/10]
Downloading...Currently watching...Ep03 | | 30. | Comments by sw33t_laydee [Rating: 8/10]
this drama was nice. i liked the comedy |
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Read all 43 comments from users
| Users who voted for this drama (6) |
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| 1. | hitomi #1
Perhaps a drama not well known, shame that so many are missing a nice, interesting breezy show. Bunch of little dramas which connect with a coffee shop, more dramas like this are needed. | | 2. | Asja
Kudo is a genious. Another masterpiece by the original scriptwriter. For me it's as good as his "Tiger and dragon". | | 3. | Kachu
Hilarious and addictive! Love this one! | | 4. | blu4ev3r | | 5. | sword_of_heaven | | 6. | SpiritedAway |
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