Inane, silly, fun? Just think about all the goofy adjectives that comes to mind and it pretty much describes this drama. I would definitely classify this as an ‘easy watch’. No drama tropes, no love triangle, and truly a remake of one of my favorite shows from the distant past, Bewitched with the late Elizabeth Montgomery.
Stars
Harada Taizo as Matsui Joji
Yonekura Ryoko as Matsui Arisa
Takenaka Naoto as Suzuki Ichio
Yoshiyuki Kazuko as Matsui Sayo
Tsugawa Masahiko as Arisa’s father
Natsuki Mari as Daria
Shioya Shun as Kida Masaya
Fuji Manami as Sasaki Kurako
Asami Ishikawa as Nomo Shiori
Sayaka Aoki as Hasegawa Hiromi
Episodes: 11, 45 min.
Synopsis
The wife is a witch! But she likes humans and she loves her husband. Arisa is fascinated by humans. So much so that she leaves the magic world. But the broom she uses is faulty and she winds up in Japan. There she meets Joji Matsui who works at an advertising agency. Joji has been assigned by his boss Ichio Suzuki the difficult task of winning over Shiori Nomo who is in charge of corporate communications at a client’s company. However a little word from Arisa helps Joji win over Shiori and his agency gets the opportunity to pitch.
Arisa and Joji fall in love and marry. Arisa swears never to use magic again as she and Joji begin their strange witch/human married life. However, Arisa’s mother, Daria wants to take Arisa back to her world and uses magic to be a nuisance to the new couple. Arisa has to take care of Joji’s boss Suzuki who drops in all the time, the prying eyes of their neighbors and the interference of her witch mother.
My Thoughts
This drama was so much fun to watch! There was no need for serious scenes because we were already in fantasy land of witches. Yonekura Ryoko as Arisa was simply gorgeous! Who cares if her acting was just okay. It was the role as the young witch that made up for everything with me. I loved how a lot of the actions she tried to do without using her witchcraft were comical. Arisa was like a fish out of water in the world of humans. And it showed. Harada Taizo as Joji truly was the Japanese Darrin. He loved his wife, put up with his in laws, and worked with a rather incompetent, but friendly boss. It was even more apparent in this adaptation but you had to love his character because of his faithful and earnest love for Arisa.
Fuji Manami as the neighbor Sasaki Kurako was great! Her Japanese rendition of Alice Krabitz was on point and her interactions with her husband who just thought his wife was crazy was well done. Kishida Kyoko as Arisa’s aunt was just as clumsy and inept as a witch; well written character she was. Just as lovable as the original. But the prize characterization goes to Natsuki Mari as Daria, Arisa’s mother. If you thought Agnes Moorehead as Endora in the U.S version was cruel, she had nothing on Daria in this one! The things she did to poor, unsuspecting Joji made you laugh and feel sorry for him at the same time.
Overall, I enjoyed this drama! I started Friday night and was done the next evening. It truly was a fun and relaxing watch to sprinkle in between the usual makjang and melodramatic dramas that we usually get. It is a great reprieve and I’m sure you will enjoy it. Especially if you were a fan of the original 60s show, Bewitched! Enjoy! I recommend it. It’s mindless fun!
MDL Rating: 8/10
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