From the Tennis Court To Outer Space

When I started watching Saitoh Takumi in the Prince of Tennis musicals, there were a couple of other actors that caught my attention for one reason or another. I noticed immediately that Kazuki Kato (Hyotei's Atobe) had a clear—and good—singing voice, which is probably why he was given one of the two roles with the most solo lines. At any rate, I decided to see what other projects he's been involved in, and was surprised at the wide variety in his career. Let's jump right in:

Shigoku Shoujo—Ichimoku Ren

Literally translated, it means “Hell Girl”. A live-action drama based on the supernatural horror anime, it focuses on a young girl who lives in a world of eternal sunset. Named Enma Ai, she exacted vengeance on her village 400 years ago and now serves her punishment by fulfilling the vengeance of others and escorting people to Hell. When humans require her services, she offers them a contract and a warning: “When one is cursed, two graves are dug.” Three companions aid her in her work, carrying out her contracts. Kazuki plays one of Enma Ai's companions, Ichimoku Ren—the spirit of a katana who takes the form of a young man.

Ichimoku has a larger role in the anime, but Kazuki did get some pretty good scenes. For some reason, my absolute favorite scene came about halfway in episode 10; I loved the almost frightening smile on his face when he said “Ja, iko ka?” (“Well, shall we go?”) right before dragging the Victim of the Day out into oncoming traffic. It just seemed so very different from the other roles I've seen him in, which is always a treat from an acting perspective.

Hotaru no Hikari—Teshima Makoto

This show gives a good idea of the Japanese viewpoint regarding single women approaching their 30s, which makes me suspect that the typical Japanese citizen would probably consider me very strange since I'm not much for the dating scene myself. Hotaru works at a famous interior design company, but once at home she lounges about in jerseys with a cat, a can of beer, and a decided lack of interest in men. Her landlord's son, recently separated from his wife, decides to live on his father's property for a while—not realizing Hotaru also lives there. Even worse, it turns out the man is Hotaru's own boss. Kazuki adds fuel to the fire as the young designer Teshima, who's smitten with an increasingly confused Hotaru.

The best way I can describe this series is “a light but screwy comedy, with surprisingly deep moments”. I didn't actually finish the series—not because it was bad, but at times the love triangle plot was almost painful to watch (which may have more to do with my own emotional hangups rather than anything in the actual show.) It's the usual comedy/angst series, although well worth watching if you're interested in Kazuki given the amount of air time he has. You can see the series on Crunchyroll.com; just follow this link.

Kamen Rider Kabuto—Daisuke Kazama/Kamen Rider Drake

The latest Kamen Rider series in a list of many, Kabuto celebrates the franchise's 35^th anniversary. It focuses on a high-minded man named Tendou Souji, who's trained for seven years to use the Rider belt. He makes many enemies in the process, his ego and aloof personality isolating him from everyone but his sister Juka. He meets other Riders, each with vastly different personalities from his own, and often teams up with ZECT member Kagami Arata to fight the growing threat of Worm invaders.

Kazuki enters this series as a famous metrosexual makeup artist who will go out of his way to help any woman in trouble. He travels with a little girl named Gon, who often finishes his sentences when he can't think of the right word. He also happens to possess a Rider belt, allowing him to transform (“Henshin!”) into Kamen Rider Drake.

Um...yeah. Let's just say this series gave me bad flashbacks of the endless fight sequences in Sailor Moon. I'll say upfront I'm not a big fan of the superhero-type shows, where “Henshin!” is a phrase you're guaranteed to hear at least once per episode (although, to be fair, I was warned that the Kamen Rider series is most known for it). That being said, I have to admit the NON-“henshin” portions of the series were very impressive. I was most struck by the rocky friendship between Tendou and Kagami; the producers didn't take the cheap way out by throwing them together and having them become best friends within the first three episodes like too many shows have done. Instead, difficulties of every variety confront them constantly, keeping a barrier of tension between them until the very end. I also enjoyed the sibling-like relationship between Daisuke (Kazuki) and Gon; we don't see much of either of them after episode 28, but the dynamics of their relationship were able to add a refreshing spice to the mix.

A side note: Kazuki also shows up in two Kamen Rider movies. One is a retelling of the series Kamen Rider Kabuto in an alternate universe, taking place in outer space. (Yes, you read that right. No, I don't know what they were thinking either.) I haven't actually seen it yet, but if I can find it online I'll post my opinion. The other movie, Kamen Rider the Next, is a sequel to Kamen Rider the First—and makes about as much sense. Kazuki plays an entirely different character from the Kabuto series, and frankly, not even his acting skills could have saved that flick. It's on YouTube with English subs if, for some unknown reason, you're struck by the impulse to see something that makes stabbing your eyes out with an ice pick sound like more fun.

As it turns out, Kazuki is just as involved in the music world as he is in acting. Along with being featured on disc 002 of the Tenimyu Best Actor's CD series (under his character's name, Atobe Keigo), he's released a number of singles and full CD sets. My favorite songs happen to be “Faith”, “Yume Hikoki” and “Warning”, but he has quite an assortment of songs out—including the strange but catchy “Vampire”. He has music videos for nearly every song, and you can look them up on YouTube.

Next time: Shirota Yu and a show that everyone should see at least once in their lives.