Five Star Tourist (2015)

Sometimes your fav drama gets heavy, sad and even tear jerking and you need a break. Five star tourist was a light hearted comedy that drove away my serious-drama blues and taught me some interesting things about Kyoto.

One of the best things about this drama was the inside look into Kyoto; however, I felt as if this drama was sponsored by a Kyoto tourism group. Mainly because in the beginning of the series the tour highlights were more prevalent than anything else. The cast was neatly put together and I think Watanabe did an awesome job. The characters each had an episode or two that showed their individual growth so kudos to the writers.

The worst thing about the drama is the pace. It took me forever to finish it because each episode had a 10-15 minute lull where I nearly fell asleep from boredom. The pace of the show is weird, although it is a comedy the progression of each episode is very slow. I don’t want to offend any Yamamoto fans out their but I felt his character was the exact same in this as in Ouran host club and Yamada-kun to 7 nin no majo.

I would barely recommend this drama. I don’t feel like it is a complete waste of time because I now understand a little more about Kyoto, and it was my first time seeing a bigger girl lead a j-drama. But this drama was the least on my list of things to watch and I did a lot of fast forwarding through episodes. If you plan to watch keep in mind that EVERY episode ends exactly the same as the last so aren’t any real twists or turns. Except the disappointing end that eludes to a movie; not sure yet if I want to try and see the movie.

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I loved this drama. First of all you should know that, even though it's centered on tourism and covers many sightseeing spots of Kyoto, while also offering really good information, it has something of a detective drama in it, which gives it an extra something to look forward to in each episode.

I'm gonna start by praising Naomi Watanabe and I may be biased because I admire her a lot, but she did an amazing job in this (even while wearing an obvious wig, which I suppose was for character reasons, since her fashionable hair right now wouldn't have worked for the character). I entered this drama expecting Naomi to be a strong lead and to provide a view of a plus size woman, because between her clothing brand and her work in La Farfa, she's becoming an international beacon of diversity in media. And even though there are fatphobic remarks throughout the series and she is upset about them, she still breaks stereotypes that dramas tend to put upon plus size female characters. Kyoka is a smart, determined and resourceful woman who is finding the passion for her job after having lost it for some time and who proves once and again that, no matter where she's working or how people view her, she's the best in what she does; not for wanting to be so, but because she respects her clients and wants to make people happy. You go, girl.

The drama focuses on tours, but the key to each episode is a puzzle, a mystery that has to do with the personal reasons a client has for taking the trip and how the guides can help them achieve those goals and find what they're looking for (while also changing their lives for the better, no pressure). Hence, some detective drama goodness ensues.

The rest of the cast is great as well, Yusuke Yamamoto never disappoints and you know he's gonna give a 100% performance every time. Sara Takatsuki was amazing as well and her character is really interesting and fun to watch.

All in all, this drama has a lot of the things I love: good plot, mysteries, funny scenes, good performances and well developed female characters with a great female lead. I highly recommend it if you're into those things and even more if you'd like to see some amazing shots of Kyoto.

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