[Discussion] ATARU

ChootiB · Post by **ChootiB** » Apr 25th, '12, 14:39

Cast
Nakai Masahiro as Ataru / Chokozai
Kitamura Kazuki as Sawa Shunichi
Kuriyama Chiaki as Ebina Maiko

Synopsis
Ataru, who suffers from "savant syndrome," has the power to discover, observe, see through, and deduct microscopic evidence of unsolved cases. Why does he always go to the criminal sites? What explains his strange behavior? His sad past will be revealed as the story unfolds.

An explosion occurs at a chemical factory, leaving one person dead. The investigation team concludes that it is merely an accident, but Ebina Maiko has her doubts. When she goes to the site again, she finds a man who introduces himself as "Chokozai." After blurting out a series of words that Maiko cannot understand, he suddenly falls asleep. Maiko decides to look up the meaning of these words. She is taken aback when she discovers that when put together, these words provide the key to solving the case.

http://wiki.d-addicts.com/ATARU
http://www.tbs.co.jp/ATARU/

First episode was fantastic. It had a nice balance of comedy and mystery.

sunflower63 · Post by **sunflower63** » Apr 26th, '12, 06:20

Does anyone know if these episodes will be subbed in English soon? Thanks for your help.

chicemj · Post by **chicemj** » Apr 26th, '12, 06:27

ep.1 is already subbed~

jinzhi · Post by **jinzhi** » Apr 26th, '12, 06:46

yes, ep 1 u can get the softsub at d-addicts or watch ep 1 with sub at dramacrazy.net

u can also try to get the hardsub from smappiesubs

sunflower63 · Post by **sunflower63** » Apr 26th, '12, 13:09

Could someone kindly send me the link for the subs on d-addicts as I can't find them? Thanks so much

jinzhi · Post by **jinzhi** » Apr 26th, '12, 13:16

http://www.d-addicts.com/forum/viewtopic_109338.htm

sunflower63 · Post by **sunflower63** » Apr 26th, '12, 13:19

thanks so much Jinzhi, you're an angel and this is why I love this site so much!! Everyone is eager to help eachother. I am so happy that I can finally watch the first episode of this drama.

EriKira · Post by **EriKira** » Apr 26th, '12, 15:54

another mystery dorama
This season is full of mystery dorama and I love it !!

popoycanton · Post by **popoycanton** » Apr 29th, '12, 02:49

I'm loving this drama, balance of mystery and gags, love it.

Anyway, in ep2 there was a scene I didn't quite get.

yanie · Post by **yanie** » Apr 29th, '12, 14:27

I'm suppose to be tired of detective dramas, but only ATARU keeps me interested, I was thinking maybe because it brings out autism topic... but I felt it's not only that...

I just realized it now, besides the fact that Ebina Maiko reminds me alot of TRICK's Yamada Naoko, many of the directing style (esp. that involves sound effects) is very similar to TRICK. I checked, and yup! Kimura Hisashi, the chief director of this drama WAS one of TRICK's director back then, so I got my answer

That's it! I was a big fan of the TRICK series due to it's quirky characters, and now I'm really enjoying ATARU, because of the characters' quirky-ness too

Besides the autistic/savant Chokozai, Ebina Maiko with her obsession for Korokoro Croquette, the dandy detective who speaks in Osaka dialect, the forensic scientist with his awkward "...no ne..." speech, Ebina's avid fan rookie detective, the inquiry center guy who speaks so loud and always with a toothpick on his mouth, etc

Ebina's father is kinda quirky too. I guess only Ebina's brother, the boring normal one

I love the themesong by Shiina Ringo too!^o^

brokenparadise · Post by **brokenparadise** » May 2nd, '12, 00:29

I've just watched 1st episode of Ataru and find it ok. However I think the mystery falls flat. there's just too many holes and the writers use Chokozai to cover them up by "magically" gives clue out of no where. I know he's a very special savant but it annoys me that it would be so simplistic.

Chiaki and Kitamura are lovely! I love their characters. I'm a bit disturbed that Chiaki's character is showing attraction to Chokuzai when he...

... awkward to watch.

Maybe the main reason is, Nakai not doing it for me as Chokuzai

and I really want to fast forward his scenes to watch Chiaki and Kitamura. I love his curry soup vs curry udon scene though. The rest Chokuzai scenes was pretty blergh. Not really interested in his background but I can't wait to see them solving Maiko's mother

The 3rd episode ratings have fallen to 10.6%... how was the episode?

Peggy · Post by **Peggy** » May 2nd, '12, 01:18

I have to make a comment about Kitamura. He has always been a great favourite with me. I thought he had the most marvellous face which he could use as truly handsome or make himself a horror person in short order. However I have been looking for him lately and now here he is all fat and bloated. His face is gone. I am devastated. Is this just for this role or is he aging. that would indeed be a horror.

brokenparadise · Post by **brokenparadise** » May 2nd, '12, 19:23

^I don't think he looks bloated or fat at all.

Looking quite dashing still and just right for his age.

Peggy · Post by **Peggy** » May 4th, '12, 02:25

OK I guess bloated and fat seems a little extreme. However I have pictures of him from a few years ago and he was quite thin in the face which is what I was referring to. He is not fat as in body, but his face was always so lovely and very facile and I miss that side of his features.

GaussAlgorithmus · Post by **GaussAlgorithmus** » May 6th, '12, 02:04

brokenparadise wrote:Chiaki and Kitamura are lovely! I love their characters. I'm a bit disturbed that Chiaki's character is showing attraction to Chokuzai when he...
drops on top of her or on another scene, was not slapping Chokuzai hand fast enough when he groped her breast. Her laughing "yamete~" in that scene was really
... awkward to watch.

I don't think that it is attraction. In my opinion

btw.: I liked the firs episode and I'm really curious, how this dorama will develop.

brokenparadise · Post by **brokenparadise** » May 6th, '12, 07:44

GaussAlgorithmus wrote:
brokenparadise wrote:Chiaki and Kitamura are lovely! I love their characters. I'm a bit disturbed that Chiaki's character is showing attraction to Chokuzai when he...
drops on top of her or on another scene, was not slapping Chokuzai hand fast enough when he groped her breast. Her laughing "yamete~" in that scene was really
... awkward to watch.
I don't think that it is attraction. In my opinion
it's clearly visible to everyone, that he probably has some mental illness, though autism is no illness, but a disorder of neural development. Anyway, you can't simply tell, if someone has autism or is simply "mentally handicapped", but you can see that (I put it bluntly and don't intend to offend anyone with it) "there is something wrong with his head". I think she sees that too, and so he treats him like most people treat people with mental disabilities: a bit like a child. If a 4-year old child gropes a woman, they're usually not happy about it, but they react to it in a different way in contrast to like they would if a grown man were to grope them. I think this applies perfectly to her behaviour: The situation is awkward for her, but she doesn't get mad at him because she knows, that he is "handicapped" but is still totally befuddled about the situation.

btw.: I liked the firs episode and I'm really curious, how this dorama will develop.

I know that she realizes Chokuzai is mentally disabled and people will probably say he's as innocent as a child but...

She wasn't doing it fast enough maybe out of direction and comedy effect. It's not a matter of her getting mad at him or not. Regardless of his disability he looks like a grown man so a woman's natural instinct should've kicked in. It might not been attraction but the part when he was on top of her made me think she realized how beautiful long eyelashes he has.

GaussAlgorithmus · Post by **GaussAlgorithmus** » May 10th, '12, 07:59

Episode two was kind of a "mixed bag" to me.

And there is the problem with the series in my eyes

sunflower63 · Post by **sunflower63** » May 10th, '12, 12:21

I'm afraid I don't agree with the post above as I think that it is the character of Ataru that makes the whole drama so original. I think there have been plenty of dramas that dealt with chemistry between detectives, but it is the first time that such an unusual person is involved in the story. I agree with the observation that some of the plot doesn't quite makes sense but again I am enjoying it for this reason and I am sure we will be more and more surprised as the story unfolds. I would certainly not watch if Ataru wasn't there as the acting of the other characters seems very unnatural and forced to me. Of course this is my opinion and I respect everyone else's too. Happy watching!

GaussAlgorithmus · Post by **GaussAlgorithmus** » May 10th, '12, 21:27

Yes, it makes the drama original...but not in a good way imho. It feels to forced. Let's take a look "out of the box":

The US-TV Series "Monk" was great, and while the main character only had some sort of OCD and wasn't autistic, he still was different. The way they did it felt quite "natural" to me. In Ataru, it feels way too forced. And then there are the abilities:
In Episode 1 Monk would have noticed

That's what I mean with "too forced", "too unrealistic" and I simply don't buy it.

GaussAlgorithmus · Post by **GaussAlgorithmus** » May 19th, '12, 04:16

My quick thoughts after episode 3:

- Ataru still bugs me with his über-knowledge, but because the focus was less on him in this episode, it was ok for me.
- The humour in this dorama is great, so many funny scenes, small gags and tiny details.
- Sawa-Ebina pairing is awesome.
- Sawa is in my eyes one of the coolest and most enjoyable characters I've seen in a dorama. I simply like how he behaves, his gestures, body language and facial expression.
Does he have some sort of accent? He speeks in a different way compared to the others, or are my eyes deceiving me?
- The Americans

Over all I enjoyed the episode, though I have to admit, that I didn'T gave a rats behind about the case itself. ;)

noop · Post by **noop** » May 31st, '12, 06:36

I've seen caps of SPEC cameo in ATARU, anyone know what episode is it from?

doramaworld · Post by **doramaworld** » Jun 1st, '12, 15:08

Based on just watching one episode, I get the feeling that the case to be solved in each episode wouldn't be the highlight of the drama. Rather, the focus seems to be more on Ataru, Ebina and Sawa especially the things that we have yet to know about them. I could be wrong though because the later episodes might take a different direction. Nonethless, I still hope to see a bit more effort put into the cases because this is ultimately a detective drama after all. I must say, that first case was simply lacking in many ways.

More of how I feel about Ep 1 here:
http://doramaworld.blogspot.com/2012/06 ... -ep-1.html

Peggy · Post by **Peggy** » Jun 2nd, '12, 07:56

doramaworld,

I just spent some time enjoying your blog. I think it is charming and well laid out. the colours especially, are most pleasing to look at. I enjoyed your drama comments. I shall be visiting often.

doramaworld · Post by **doramaworld** » Jun 2nd, '12, 12:44

Thanks for your compliments, Peggy! Hope that you will continue to visit the blog in future!

wolforion20 · Post by **wolforion20** » Jun 10th, '12, 12:23

I love this drama!

I really feel that there is great chemistry between Sawa, Chokozai and Ebina. I really like to see how these characters start evolving each week because of their interactions with each other.

For the question about Sawa's accent, there was a scene in episode 7 where Nozaki broke out into Kansai dialect and Sawa's reply was in dialect as well and Nozaki called his "fake", so I'm guessing if Sawa has an accent its because he's using a Kansai-ish one.

As for Chokozai's abilities, I don't know how realistic they are. It would be problematic even with a photographic memory to be able to tell one screw is made in China and another in Taiwan...and the printing press...

But I still find the drama enjoyable. Especially as we see Chokozai changing in each episode (along with Sawa and Ebina). I wonder if the whole mystery will ever be revealed with Chokozai's past and Ebina's mother's death.

If you look at Sherlock Holmes, you may think that there is no way a man can know that much from a brief glance at anything, but Sir Arthur Conan Doyle put into writing what he practiced. From close observation, it's amazing how much you can pick up. Although, yes, Chokozai's is still probably not realistic.

I have recaps up for episodes 1-7 btw.
http://www.asianaddictsanonymous.com/tag/ataru/

Peggy · Post by **Peggy** » Jun 11th, '12, 08:47

Just started with this drama. Have to point out that Chokozai is not mentally ill. Also I don't think he can be classified as autistic. He is an 'idiot-savant' which is a class all to itself. People like him have a huge capability in one particular subject or talent. they are not at all availabel to normal everyday behaviour which makes life difficult for them without someone in charge. Sometimes they can play the piano or any instrument like a genius and they have never had lessons. It is something about the way their brain is formed and part of it is an exaggeration for one thing. I imagine his is the ability to see details and process them to an acceptable conclusion( for him). He will worry away at something just to satisfy his thoughts.
At the moment I think Nakai is being asked to overdo the signs just a tad too much, although that is how this person would really be. It is a very intense way to live I am sure.

joypilot07 · Post by **joypilot07** » Jun 15th, '12, 05:45

noop wrote:I've seen caps of SPEC cameo in ATARU, anyone know what episode is it from?

Episode 1
http://i.imgur.com/QbFFA.jpg

Episode 2
http://i.imgur.com/H6uiG.jpg

Episode 5
http://i.imgur.com/T25Zl.jpg

Episode 6
http://i.imgur.com/SljtT.jpg

Episode 7
http://i.imgur.com/H72sn.jpg

Episode 9
http://i.imgur.com/SmiGi.jpg

GaussAlgorithmus · Post by **GaussAlgorithmus** » Jun 26th, '12, 20:38

Episode 7 with english subtitles?

€: Ahh, k...

aiscess83 · Post by **aiscess83** » Oct 26th, '12, 13:15

‘ATARU’ to return with a special drama on New Year’s Day

On October 25th, it was announced that the TBS drama ‘ATARU‘, which aired in the spring will be returning with a special drama on New Year’s Day.

‘ATARU’ is starring SMAP’s Nakai Masahiro as the lovable ‘Chokozai’ aka ‘Ataru’ who is suffering from the savant syndrome. He commented, “I’m glad that I can act as Chokozai again, but this feeling of joy is also mixed with a certain anxiety. I hope we all will have a lot of fun at the set again.”

The drama tells the story of ‘Chokozai’, who helps two detectives – played by Kuriyama Chiaki and Kitamura Kazuki – solving with various difficult cases using his extraordinary memory and deductive skills. The drama was a big success with ratings as high as 21.7%.

In the special drama, the younger brother of Chokozai, ‘Tasuku’ becomes the prime suspect in a serial murder case that resemble the 1997 crucifix murders in America. Though Chokozai returned to America in the final episode of the drama, he will come back to Japan in order to help out his brother.

The producer of the drama explained that it was a miracle that he managed to get all of those busy actors together again for the special. He said, “It’s such an inexpressible feeling, I cannot describe it with words. I was moved to tears.” The drama’s main theme is the bonds between family and friends. He continued, “I hope we can send out a warm message and give all viewers a great amount of energy for their start into the new year.” --tokyohive

r1ck · Post by **r1ck** » Nov 28th, '12, 06:31

watashiwachiaki · Post by **watashiwachiaki** » Jun 21st, '13, 04:55

im watching part 2 of the special now.
yes there's spec cameo again

but im bothered, seems like I also saw hiratsuka (MONSTERS) cameo as well.

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[Discussion] ATARU

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