An incredibly appealing, broad comedy "Brother Beat" is a Jdrama that follows the romantic and familial trials of 3 brothers (Tatsuya, Riku, Junpei) and their widowed mother (Haru). After the death of their father, the 3 brothers grow up to be very disparate but nevertheless incredibly close people.
The oldest brother, Tetsuya, is very hardworking and responsible. He tries hard to be the man of the house and take of his family, though most of the time he just comes off as bossy. Although handsome he's inept with women and is still in love with his ex-girlfriend, even though they broke up 2 years ago. One day while hurrying to work he bumps into Chisato (played by the adorable Ryoko Kuninaka). She falls instantly in love with her though he's still hung up on his ex. Chisato is coincidentally, the new manager at the market where his mother, Haru, works. When Haru discovers Chisato's feelings toward Tetsuya, she conspires to get them together, though Tetsuya's ex and Chisato's strict father stands in the way. This was my favorite storyline, Tamayama Tetsuji is the best actor out of all the brothers. Equally adept at both the comedic and dramatic moments, he made Tetsuya my favorite character, second to Chisato, who's patient and cute temperament is irresistible. Their sweet and tenuous relationship was a tearjerker.
The second brother, Riku, is the opposite of Tetsuya. A ladykiller he seems to be content with working part-time jobs for the rest of his life. He and Tetsuya are always fighting but you know they are just trying to look out for each other. He drifts aimlessly until he loses his job. Realizing that he has to start gaining focus, he takes over the defunct laundromat, that their father used to own. Hayami Mokomichi has good screen presence as Riku. Although I think he's not the best crier, he has charisma.
Third brother, Junpei, is naive and caring. He does most of the housework and is always trying to take care of others. Because of his kind nature, girls use him. But he remains good-natured throughout and eventually he falls in love with his classmate. Complications arise from the fact that she is pregnant with another guy's baby, but Junpei, kind as he is decides to take care of the baby as his own.
Their mother, Haru. isn't the typical mom. She lets her kids call her by her first name, she doesn't do any of the housework (Junpei does that), she's argumentative, and she often acts like a kid. Nevertheless she's fiercely protective of her sons and is willing to do nearly anything to make them happy. This character annoyed me half the time, but she was the catalyst for much of the plot, pushing her sons to do what was best for them when they were at a lost.
Although a comedy, I didn't really find "Brother Beat" funny, the humor being too broad for my taste. But others may like it and it is very appealing, I smiled a lot watching it. The dramatic moments worked the best for me, especially the ones bet. Tetsuya and chisato. "Brother Beat" is ably acted all around. I didn't really feel there was much of a brotherly connection among the actors but the brothers' individual story lines were entertaining enough to distract me from that. There were far too many 'family spats' that were unfunny, though towards the end of the series these got better as the writers were able to add some pathos to them. Overall, "Brother Beat" isn't one of the best, but if you have some free time it's worth seeing.
The oldest brother, Tetsuya, is very hardworking and responsible. He tries hard to be the man of the house and take of his family, though most of the time he just comes off as bossy. Although handsome he's inept with women and is still in love with his ex-girlfriend, even though they broke up 2 years ago. One day while hurrying to work he bumps into Chisato (played by the adorable Ryoko Kuninaka). She falls instantly in love with her though he's still hung up on his ex. Chisato is coincidentally, the new manager at the market where his mother, Haru, works. When Haru discovers Chisato's feelings toward Tetsuya, she conspires to get them together, though Tetsuya's ex and Chisato's strict father stands in the way. This was my favorite storyline, Tamayama Tetsuji is the best actor out of all the brothers. Equally adept at both the comedic and dramatic moments, he made Tetsuya my favorite character, second to Chisato, who's patient and cute temperament is irresistible. Their sweet and tenuous relationship was a tearjerker.
The second brother, Riku, is the opposite of Tetsuya. A ladykiller he seems to be content with working part-time jobs for the rest of his life. He and Tetsuya are always fighting but you know they are just trying to look out for each other. He drifts aimlessly until he loses his job. Realizing that he has to start gaining focus, he takes over the defunct laundromat, that their father used to own. Hayami Mokomichi has good screen presence as Riku. Although I think he's not the best crier, he has charisma.
Third brother, Junpei, is naive and caring. He does most of the housework and is always trying to take care of others. Because of his kind nature, girls use him. But he remains good-natured throughout and eventually he falls in love with his classmate. Complications arise from the fact that she is pregnant with another guy's baby, but Junpei, kind as he is decides to take care of the baby as his own.
Their mother, Haru. isn't the typical mom. She lets her kids call her by her first name, she doesn't do any of the housework (Junpei does that), she's argumentative, and she often acts like a kid. Nevertheless she's fiercely protective of her sons and is willing to do nearly anything to make them happy. This character annoyed me half the time, but she was the catalyst for much of the plot, pushing her sons to do what was best for them when they were at a lost.
Although a comedy, I didn't really find "Brother Beat" funny, the humor being too broad for my taste. But others may like it and it is very appealing, I smiled a lot watching it. The dramatic moments worked the best for me, especially the ones bet. Tetsuya and chisato. "Brother Beat" is ably acted all around. I didn't really feel there was much of a brotherly connection among the actors but the brothers' individual story lines were entertaining enough to distract me from that. There were far too many 'family spats' that were unfunny, though towards the end of the series these got better as the writers were able to add some pathos to them. Overall, "Brother Beat" isn't one of the best, but if you have some free time it's worth seeing.
