Jdrama: IWGP (and Kudo Kankuro)

Title: Ikebukuro West Gate Park
Episodes: 11
Year: 2000
Genre/Tags: mystery, action, comedy, gang, thriller, torture, blood, some sexuality/nudity
Rating: 8.5/10

[Story]

“Living in an area known for its juvenile crime, 21 year-old Makoto has become a member of a youth gang called the G-Boys. Known for his cool head and ability to get things done, Makoto becomes a key trouble-shooter for the gang by diffusing tense situations and keeping his friends out of harm’s way. However, the death of his girlfriend and an escalating turf war with a rival gang threaten to be more than Makoto can handle.”

I have no idea who wrote that synopsis at jdorama but it’s half-wrong. Makoto (Tomoya Nagase) is not a member of the G-boys. You will realize the importance of this point as you become more engrossed in the Ikebukuro life. If you have seen Kudo Kankuro’s past works, you’ll notice immediately that this is also one of his. If you haven’t noticed, that’s fine. The big problem is not knowing who Kudo Kankuro is. Kudo Kankuro has written the screenplays for Kisarazu Cat’s Eye, Tiger and Dragon, Ping-Pong, 69, and many others than you can check at imdb. I would recommend watching T&G, or Kisarazu for starters and tackle IWGP if you want more. As much as I love Kankuro, his sense of humor would not attract everyone. First, if you are not a native Japanese, the majority of his punchlines are going to be useless because they are related with Japan’s pop culture from the 80s and 70s. I’ve lost half of the jokes from Kisarazu for this reason but then, I was already laughing my ass off even without them. Second, he doesn’t do fairy tale romance. But if you’re looking for a break with said sappy romance, then this is the next best alternative! Third, there’s lots of violence in his dramas, especially in IWGP. They don’t show the actual act of torture so to fill up the viewers’ imagination, they add in gallons of blood. (Fourth) The sexual undertones aren’t so bad because they cut the scene just before it gets rated R. Again, the last two points are at their extreme in IWGP.

[Characters]

Kankuro generally likes to work with a huge cast and with particular actors such as Tomoya Nagase, Okada Junichi, Tsumabuki Satoshi, Kubozuka Yosuke and Sato Ryuta (the blondie). In IWGP, Takashi (Kubozuka Yosuke) had undoubtedly stole the drama from Nagase. Anyone who watches this show will remember his performance as the “King” of IWGP. He speaks funny which is Kubozuka’s overall style based on his other works: SOS, Ping Pong. He walks like a person on drugs but no, he’s not high…as a matter of fact, he forbids the G-boys to be involved with drugs. What makes him scary is his flair for torture. On the other hand, our main character, Makoto, started off weak and a tad dry. The delinquents in IWGP, including the King, regard him very highly. Takashi even called him the toughest guy in IWGP. But for the life of me, I couldn’t see it. If only he injected some Tora and Makio into his role, he would have been more memorable. Despite this, I must say that he improved towards the end of the drama. He successfully reclaimed the light from Yosuke during the climatic scene.

Another notable actor is Ken Watanabe who plays a cop and Makoto’s helper with the cases. Watanabe is internationally known for his roles in The Last Samurai and Memoirs of a Geisha – both movies I haven’t seen. Now I know why he looked familiar! I saw him presenting an award from the last Oscars. Well, with this drama alone, I could tell that he is a veteran actor. There are also several appearances from today’s idols like YamaP as a talented artist, Tsumabuki Satoshi as a Yakuza, and the beautiful Koyuki as a yakuza mistress who falls for our Makoto.
If there’s one actor that made the IWGP viewing slightly annoying, it is Kato Ai. I would gladly exchanged her with Ito Misaki anytime of the day. Kato also stars in this Winter’s drama, Haken no Hinkaku. After seven years and 12 inches more hair, she is still as annoying as ever, if not worse.

[Final Thoughts]

I’ve read too many mystery novels and films that the twist in the ending didn’t really come out as a surprise. The first half of the drama are episodic where Makoto consistently beat the cops into solving cases. He became well-known in the area that he started to attract different sorts of people to ask for his help. The episodic attributes of the drama(as it was partly based on a manga) were minimized by tying in scenarios from the previous episodes into the current one. This is where Kankuro’s talent comes in. He never throws in something or someone without a certain purpose. He’s the kind of man who probably knows how he will end the story before he even writes it.

The cinematography and soundtrack blend perfectly with the Gang life and activities. It doesn’t try to be beautiful; heck, Makoto’s skin problem says it all.

It’s messy, flamboyant, and dark. A graffiti on a wall.

This may not be my favorite of Kankuro’s works, nonetheless, I still liked it. I don’t love it. I looove T&G and Kisarazu Cat’s Eye.

Related Post: IWGP – Special 

Links:

Download English Hardsubbed by SARS-Fansubs @ d-addicts.com