Difference between revisions of "Koi ga Shitai x3"

Koi ga Shitai x3 ("Where is Love?" or "I Want to be in Love") is a character driven story that examines the relationships and bonds that six random people thrown together at one moment share with one another, and how that bond develops over the course of the series.

The seven main characters are named after the colors of the rainbow to correspond with the theme song, "Rainbow Connection" by the Carpenters. First, there is Akai Ryosuke (Red, Watabe Atsuro), a high school teacher that is having relationship problems with his fiancee a few days before the wedding; Second, there is Hada Ai (Indigo, Mizuno Miki), a woman who feels like she's drifting aimlessly through the world, latching on to different men so she feels less lonely; Third, there is Nagashima Mikan (Orange, Kanno Miho), a socially awkward hotel worker searching for love; Fourth, there is Shimura Ichiro (Purple, Oikawa Mitsuhiro), an author playboy that holds a secret that prevents him from getting close to others; Fifth, there is Midorikawa Bunpei (Green, Tokoro George), a down-on-his-luck gyuudon (beef-bowl) restaurant manager; Sixth, there is Aoshima Wataru (Blue, Yamada Takayuki), a busy high school student searching for a partner; and lastly, there is Kouda Orie (Yellow, Okae Kumiko), a housewife that is in a loveless marriage.

One fateful day, they all meet at Bunpei's gyuudon-ya and the bonds of fate begin to tighten, as we soon discover all of the characters are related in one way or another. As in the title, each of these characters are searching for love, but will they find it in the end?

Synopsis 2

Ryosuke's bride-to-be ran out on him one week before the wedding. Ai is self-centered and never knows what she wants. Shy and introverted, Mikan longs to find her true love. All three meet late at night in a diner and are never the same again. Having been given the wedding gift for Ryosuke's former bride-to-be and finding that it contained shoes she was wishing for, Mikan figures fate is trying to tell her something. But Ryosuke seems vexed by Ai's mysterious beauty, and Mikan must convince him of their fate together before Ai's charm carries him away.

Reviews

by thetenken

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Koi ga Shitai x3

thetenken says: See it.

Featuring a strong cast, there is Atsuro from "Beautiful Life" and "Koibumi" along with frequent collaborator Miki, also from the same two series. They have wonderful chemistry together, with Miki showing off her very tender, lonely side as opposed to her stronger side in Koibumi. Joining these two is Kanno Miho, who has since worked with Atsuro on "Koufuku no Ouji", delivers a very sweet and cute performance as Mikan-chan. The three character's relationship is the crux of this drama, with Mitsuhiro and Bunpei's characters thrown in the chaos for more effect. Finally, a wonderfully understated performance by Takayuki, more along the lines of "Sekai no chuushin de, ai wo sakebu" than "Waterboys" helps paint the idea of loneliness in huge Tokyo even better than most dramas.

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Press Conference

The voice-overs used in various parts of the series helps convey the emotions and thoughts of the characters, more in the larger "why are we here?" sense than is common in dramas. Most dramas focus on just the love relationship between the main characters, while this drama extrapolates the trials and tribulations to a larger sense of belonging and purpose in this world.

Ultimately, this isn't a typical love drama, but uses the rather universal theme of love-seeking to get at the emotions of attachment, lonliness, and belonging in terms of all relationships. This isn't a series about only romantic love, but love in a more general sense.

Theme Songs: Opening: Rainbow Connection - The Carpenters Secondary: Leave Yesterday Behind - The Carpenters

Music BGM: The background music for the show was pretty good, the themes of "Rainbow Connection" and "Leave Yesterday Behind" went together well with the story. The director obviously had these songs in mind when creating the series. The variations on the themes, using piano and harmonica, are very good.

Cinematography/direction: The cinematography and the scenes are very good. Although nothing avant garde, the scenes are well thought out and the angles, too. Flashbacks are neatly composited and work well with the voice-overs. The opening shot right before the titles are displayed show a Kanno Miho waiting at a pedestrian crossing, and pans wide out to show how one of the main characters is lost in a sea of people, so large that you can't tell who she is anymore. This shot meshes well with the theme of loneliness and lack of connection, even amidst a huge population.

discussion in forum

by J!Dorama Database

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Koi ga Shitai x3

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Koi ga Shitai x3

"I actually bypassed this drama when it was on television but gave it a chance, wanting to give a romantic drama a chance. "Koi ga Shitai x3" is a fun drama because it focuses on a group of people all search for love. Wanting to be love. And somehow each are directly or indirectly have some type of relationship, may it be through the restaurant where they eat and other ways. Everyone is quite interesting to watch. It's a very "genki" romance drama that is not boring and the characters, although most are not super popular, you will enjoy their performances. I enjoyed seeing Mizuno Miki (Odoru Daisousassen) in a role as a former girlfriend of a tv star and how she ends up getting together with the other characters in the drama. Pretty interesting! Also, interesting to see Tokoro Joji as the restaurant employee who takes a fancy towards Kanno Mino's character. So, want to watch an enjoyable drama? Check this one out. Again, it may not have the superstars but still interesting to watch."

From KNDY: This drama is more or less about several different people who are in search of love. Instead of a drama that focuses on one person, this drama focuses on several people, each who somewhat have a direct/indirect relation to each other. Kanno Miho does have a main character role of a person who is looking for love and thinks she has found him after a guy gives her a pair of shoes (that she's always wanted), which was originally intended for his fiance. The other character played by Watabe is the teacher who was jilted by his fiance, trying to understand why his fiance doesn't love him. An overall fun drama to watch. Definitely a sleeper hit and it was very interesting to see Watabe Atsuro play a lead. I really enjoyed this drama immensely. Although not meant to be taken seriously, I liked how these strangers want to be loved and give it back and to see how the strangers become friends is great!

Source: J!Dorama Database

Related News

Miho Kanno has the main role in this one. She works in the housekeeping department of a city hotel and spends most of her time plunging her arm down toilet bowls to recover carelessly discarded wedding bands and generally cleaning up the mess left behind by trysting lovers. Shy and lacking confidence, she doesn't experience love herself until she runs into a high school teacher whose fiancee walked out on him a week before the wedding. Kanno pursues him with a stalker's persistence oblivious to the gyudon cook (Tokoro), who would gladly devote himself to her, and signals his interest by providing free stomach medicine with every meal. (Wm. Penn, Daily Yomiuri, July 4, 2001).

Other Resources

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 ==Other Resources==
+*[http://www.d-addicts.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=9445 Discussion @ D-Addicts.com]
 *[http://www.kannomiho.f4w.net/file-drama/drama-koi.htm Fan Site]
 *[http://www.tbs.co.jp/koikoikoi/ TBS Official Site]