Ryoko Yonekura plays bounty hunter in new drama
Entertainment ( 39 )
TOKYO —
Ryoko Yonekura will be playing an ex-flight attendant who becomes a bounty hunter in her upcoming drama on Fuji TV. In “HUNTER ~Sono Onnatachi, Shokin Kasegi~,” Yonekura, 36, stars as Rei Asaka—one of a group of women working as bounty hunters. They focus on tracking down criminals whom the police have been unable to find.
Yonekura’s character is nicknamed “Panda Woman.” She is fired from her airline job and is left with a mountain of debt after her younger sister runs away. She also has to care for her sister’s 10-year-old daughter.
Yonekura said the drama shows that sometimes ordinary people have access to information about criminals that police do not have. She added that she she hopes the drama will encourage viewers to realize that they can make a difference and be confident in what they can do.
The drama will air on Tuesdays from 10 p.m.
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39 Comments
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2
Darrin Flores
Ex-flight attendant turned bounty hunter?... haha.... Yeah sure.... the truth is..a bunch of sexy women with guns!
-1
HonestDictator
Wow, no matter where you go, its hard to find decent writers for TV programs. Interesting premise though, but it would make some sense if she had at least some kind of police or military training... an flight attendant is hardly what I could imagine wanting to start chasing down most wanted criminals or felons.
-1
some14some
Heroine of the century (Japan) will appreciate any role she plays !!!
1
Serrano
I like the poster. Why is she nicknamed Panda Woman?
0
shirokuma2011
Well at least she didn't add that "she hopes the drama will encourage viewers to go after dangerous criminals on their own." And if anyone can pull off a role with the nickname of "Panda Woman", it'll be Yonekura!!
0
ExportExpert
Come n Hunt me down baby, I've been a bad boy !
-2
The Munya Times
Beautiful photo. As she is aging she is getting better. Probably because of the lots of Photoshop work that her face requires. I think even retouching faces should have some limit. That's a bit too much.
0
ihavegreatlegs
Wow, look at the picture enlarged. Her left arm looks really bumpy and her left hand is very distorted. Funny picture.
-2
oginome
Is she half?
-1
paulinusa
And what are the chains symbolic of? Pulling criminals to justice?
-3
tokyokawasaki
Oginome: What is "a half"... Whatever, it sounds insulting to me.
-5
oginome
OMG, ok, is she bi-racial?
0
smithinjapan
'Panda Woman'? Don't pandas sleep most of the time, and aren't they on the verge of extinction?
Anyway, another ridiculous drama for Japanese TV. And an ex-flight attendant turned bounty hunter? Where on earth did they dream that up? Make her at least an ex-police trainee or something; someone who flunked out of the academy because she couldn't take the silly rules and orders from crotchety old men in power -- now she just catches them! Now doesn't that sound better? It sets up some semblance of motivation, as well as her being a kind of 'rebel' character -- both good for bounty hunting.
But no... instead she's probably an ex-JAL flight attendant who got canned because she turned 30.
0
electric2004
I guess Panda is referring to getting a black eye when the hounted hits back.
-1
soldave
smithinjapan - Spot on. And for exactly those reasons that it's a ridiculous drama, it will be successful in Japan.
0
skroknog
Don't judge before you actually see it. People here love to bash J dramas...like there are no ridiculous US dramas. Yeah, right. Within the tiny market that J TV shows have, it does produce some remarkably good shows. But you can't compare to the US or the UK, which is able to export their English language shows all over the world and have big budgets.
1
oberst
She is fired from her airline job and is left with a mountain of debt ........................
she didn't work for cathy pacific, did she ?
1
Badge213
Ex flight attendant now working as a bounty hunter! What will they come up with next!?! Can't be any worse then Korean dramas where everyone has cancer.
0
smithinjapan
skroknog: "Don't judge before you actually see it. People here love to bash J dramas"
People here bash Jdramas because there are hardly, if ever, any good ones. So when they see one about a flight attendant who suddenly becomes a bounty hunter they quickly, and usually 100% of the time are correct in similar situations, surmise it's going to be crap.
"Within the tiny market that J TV shows have, it does produce some remarkably good shows."
Like what? Japan has some decent variety shows at times, and some interesting 'talk shows' or comedy programs, but they're dramas are pretty much the worst of any nation I've ever seen, and made all the more worse for the recycling of the same actors. Kimtaku plays airline pilot; Kimtaku plays hockey star; Kimtaku plays Samurai... all the while he's in a band that cannot sing, on a TV show that stinks, and on countless variety shows, commercials, and posters advertising anything from canned coffee to cars. How on earth could you possibly believe any of his characters? And that's just one example.
" But you can't compare to the US or the UK, which is able to export their English language shows all over the world and have big budgets."
You can, actually. They are able to export them because they are HUGELY successful and gripping. They also export them to non-English speaking countries, in case you haven't checked your local Tsutaya of late. They likewise have huge budgets because the stories are amazing, which is also why more and more big name Hollywood actors are heading back from the silver screen to the TV screen, which was never before the case. Japanese TV programs, with a few exceptions, suck... so of COURSE they never get exported, and not getting exported they don't get the budgets. But budgets are just an excuse... quality should come before money.
Badge213: "Can't be any worse then Korean dramas where everyone has cancer."
I don't watch Korean dramas regularly, but have to put up with the better half watching them once in a while, and I can tell you the stories are FAR better and more practical than you get with most Japanese dramas, if not all. If you want to talk movies SKorea knocks Japan out of the park by FAR. But that's another topic.
0
smithinjapan
oberst: "she didn't work for cathy pacific, did she ?"
Definitely JAL. Cathay is one of the few airlines still making a profit and operating normally... JAL is cutting it's staff in favor of profits. Plus, if it were a foreign airline that fired the Japanese actor's character it might be cause for embarrassment.
2
TokyoGas
Panda Woman - After some women cry, they have dark bags under their eyes... Hence Panda Woman!
-1
Novenachama
The stunningly beautiful and talented former model Yonekura Ryoko studied classical ballet for 15 years and has proved that she is more than just a pretty face with convincing roles in Musashi, Gun Crazy and "Seikei Bijin".
1
NeoJamal
So this is like CITY HUNTER without Ryo Saeba nor the funky musical feats of TM Network?
-1
patty cake champion
So if the Koreans made City Hunt..I mean an urban bounty hunter drama series, some supporting character will have cancer? Despite their frequent use of cliched forced drama, I got to agree, their stuff are way better than what our networks and the NHK produce.
GET CHEMO AND LUCK! darn it, I miss Komuro
0
Pukey2
I agree. The ironic thing is that Korean dramas are so predictable and boring.
Moderator
Back on topic please.
-1
Pukey2
Yonekura in the picture above reminds me of Ikko.
2
DentShop
Joke went completely over your head.
0
Psyops
"Yonekura said the drama shows that sometimes ordinary people have access to information about criminals that police do not have."
I love this line, those ordinary people that have access to information we call witnesses, hahaha
1
oberst
oberst: "she didn't work for cathy pacific, did she ?"
Definitely JAL. Cathay is one of the few airlines still making a profit and operating normally... JAL is cutting it's staff in favor of profits. Plus, if it were a foreign airline that fired the Japanese actor's character it might be cause for embarrassment ............................
@ Smith......................dude, I hate to explain a joke. LOL
By the way, the picture looks like she is the one being hunted and captured !! What happens next could be " intertesting ".
0
smithinjapan
DentShop/oberst: Sorry guys, I don't get it. I must have missed something. :)
Agree with you that it looks like SHE's the one being hunted. That will probably play into it somewhere... maybe a police officer stealing her underpants or something.
-3
skroknog
Exactly. You said it - with a few exceptions. Outside the huge US series exporting machine and the BBC what other non English speaking country has put out a TV show worthy of export? The only one I've seen is an excellent series from Germany. Most countries are in the same boat as Japan - low budgets, mostly poor products. And they will never get the big budgets because they will never have the power to export the way English speaking countries can. Why? Because the English language market wants to hear English, not see subtitles or listen to overdubs. Within severe budget contraints Japan at least manages to produce a few good shows now and again. And that is certainly better than where I come from (NZ and Australia) and it's better than than the rest of Asia. Chinese or Korean drama anyone?
1
Jared Norman
she should be like an ex-preschool teacher instead
1
smithinjapan
skroknog: "Outside the huge US series exporting machine and the BBC what other non English speaking country has put out a TV show worthy of export?"
South Korea, for starters. If you don't think so, check your local Tsutaya or better yet, turn on your TV set. The US does of course take the cake, but Britain has exported plenty of shows besides BBC shows as well. France exports some mystery series' to other nations, though not Japan that I've seen, etc. Your generalizations show your bias.
"Chinese or Korean drama anyone?"
Once again, the latter at least beat the hell out of Japanese shows, and are being rented FAR MORE than Japanese dramas from rental shops (there was an article on it a week or so ago, in fact).
0
Serrano
If my sister ran away leaving a mountain of debt, I sure wouldn't take responsibility for it.
0
oginome
I hate Korean dramas, people cry way too much.
-2
TokyoHipHop
Don't know what type jdramas you been watching get off that mainstream train, i've seen plentiful good ones compared to sappy crap kdrama repetitive romance, only time this year kdrama had good action was athena and city hunter and now killer k girl which is sadly only a mini 3 episode.
0
smithinjapan
TokyoHipHop: "Don't know what type jdramas you been watching get off that mainstream train, i've seen plentiful good ones compared to sappy crap kdrama repetitive romance, only time this year kdrama had good action was athena and city hunter and now killer k girl which is sadly only a mini 3 episode."
There ARE some good J-dramas, it's just that they are outnumbered BY FAR by the bad ones. If you want to talk cartoons or horror Japan dominates the world market, in my opinion, and once in a while they come out with a movie that's worth watching (ex. Okuribito). Regardless, the Korean dramas now available for rent are still beating out their Japanese AND Western counter parts. I for one don't watch them, aside from a few action shows, perhaps (which again are also quite amazing compared to Japanese action shows).
Anyway, back to the flight-attendant-gone-BH, I still think it's a stupid premise, and I predict the show will be lousy.
0
borscht
I don't think it is just the budget that makes for bad quality TV drama in Japan. First, they need a good script but that script can be changed by anyone involved in the production plus their dog. And if the script is good but they want to use (current Jpop star), they might end up with a crappy drama because of the bad (nonexistent) acting. Plus, I've read that a lot of scripts are based on an idea some producer/agent had as a star vehicle for their (current Jpop star) or a manga they think will sell in Japan.
If a producer made a drama with an eye on exporting it to another country, I imagine it would be quite a mangle of what the producer thinks the foreign country wants to see - geisha, samurai, exotic Asians - and what he wants to show the world - brave, hardworking salarimen with sex lives.
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