All Esper Dayo! 
Japanese Title: みんな！ エスパーだよ！
Romaji: Minna! Esupa-Dayo!
Release Date: April 12th, 2013 (TV Tokyo Japan)
Running Time: N/A
Director: Sion Sono
Writer: Kiminori Wakasugi (Screenplay),
Starring: Shota Sometani, Kaho, Erina Mano, Ken Yasuda, Megumi Kagurazaka, Motoki Fukami, Mariko Tsutsui, Yoshiki Saito, Ayaka Morita, Mikita Sports
This is the year of the dorama for this blog considering the amount I am committing myself to watching. Here’s another one that caught my eye! All Esper Dayo! is based on a manga created by Kiminori Wakasugi who is becoming one of those creators who has all of his works adapted into films and anime. His manga Detroit Metal City was turned into an anime and live-action film starring mega-star Kenichi Matsuyama and now All Esper Dayo! has gotten a live-action TV comedy adaptation courtesy of TV Tokyo.
Yoshirō “Yocchan” Kamogawa (Sometani) is an ordinary (virgin) high school boy who finds his life literally changes overnight when he wakes up with the ability to read other people’s minds. Sounds awesome! But he uses it for trivial things. He’s not alone in gaining powers as a café worker named Teru-oichan (Sports) gains telekinetic powers. Sounds really awesome! But he uses for sex toys. Yōsuke Enomoto (Fukami), a fellow school-pupil of Kamogawa and a basketball player, also gains a power, the ability to teleport. Sounds super-awesome! But it only works while he is naked. Get ready to see how they use their powers!
The synopsis, when reduced, is a story about a bunch of psychics who use their powers for trivial matters but there are three reasons to love this comedy before we have even seen it:
It’s directed by Sion Sono (Suicide Circle, Strange Circus, Noriko’s Dinner Table) one of the world’s great contemporary directors,
It is written by Kiminori Wakasugi, creator of the hilarious Detroit Metal City,
It stars Shota Sometani, one of Japan’s great new talents as demonstrated by an award-winning performance in Himizu, and a noticeable performance amongst many great ones in Isn’t Anyone Alive? He is also in the TV dorama XXXHOLiC, an adaptation of a manga.
Sometani is joined by two new young actresses.
Kaho who plays Miyuki Hirano, a yankee girl who has a habit of kicking Kamogawa’s character around and looking good.
Kaho has appeared in Funky Forest: The first Contact and last year’s Ninkyo Helper movie.
Erino Mano who plays Sae Asami, Kamogawa’s dream girl and the subject of this clip…
Erina Mano is a member of Hello! Project and her biggest title to date has been Chronicle of My Mother where she co-starred with Koji Yakusho and Kiki Kirin.
Thanks to Tired Paul we spotted another interesting actor. Between the two of us we managed to find Adam Torel, founder of Third Window Films, in the dorama in a clip. Watch this video.
The video is all about pantsu but look to the left… at a suspiciously foreign looking student… A little bit of a rummage on the TV Tokyo website reveals his name is Sergei and he has a speaking role – with great Japanese – and he roughs up Shota Sometani – what an honour – which explains how he managed to get on TV Tokyo’s cast page!
The clips assure me that the TV comedy is funny in a low-brow way and seeing Sometani get physically beaten by a girl is kind of amusing but the focus on sex may make me get tired of it very quickly.
Anime News Network reported this 12-minute behind-the-scenes TV special which contains clips of the manga, the filming process, interviews with Shota Sometani, Kaho and Erina Mano who talk about working with Sion Sono and filming.
Here’s another clip where we see the dorama being filmed!
Genkinahito 
Ah cool clips! The last one is very interesting. Yep, Adam Torel is in the episode and will be in the next and the next. He gave the news via his Facebook page, and some links to videos as well.
The sex part is really cool – very well done and in good taste, the kind of quality work you can expect from Sion Sono. As I noted in my review, the first episode is completely hilarious! Really looking forward to more! Shota even said the TV series is the complete opposite of Himizu. 🙂
Ah great to see you!
I was discussing it with Tired Paul in the Mushishi review and we found Adam. It was a pretty fun hunt. Since I’m not a Facebook user I miss out on this stuff.
I’lI probably do a first impression post as well – after I finish my Japanese essay which is due in next week (eek). I’ll take a look at your review once I’ve seen it.
I really enjoyed the comments on the Bug Master post! I just didn’t find the movie that good. But I would probably give it another view. The scenery was awesome as you noted. I need a second look! 🙂
I never had the same experience with Shota Sometani – he is such a consistent actor. His collaboration with Sono is really amazing. This TV drama is one to watch, it certainly is!
I like Mushishi a lot but I can see that it might not appeal to everybody. I really love Cold Fish but other people who I know who have watched it didn’t like it as much as I did (shocking, really).
I don’t think anyone can deny that Shota Sometani is one of the most exciting prospects in Japanese film. He has been one of the highlights in every title I have seen him in. He picks so many interesting film as well… There are so many more to discover.
All Esper Dayo! is a strange beast (I watched the first episode unsubbed, maybe that didn’t help?), but hey, it’s got Sometani Shota in it and that’s all I need.
And I don’t mean that in a shallow way (truthfully). I think he’s the best actor of his generation – and not only his generation probably. There are other actors from his generation that I enjoy watching, that have potential or are even very good, but none quite reaches him.
I think there are quite a few interesting J-doramas airing at the moment, well, some are only starting and we’ll have to see how they progress, but I was totally hooked by Soratobu Kouhoushu yesterday, which has the most boring title in the world (Public Affairs Office in the Sky?!?!?!?!), but packed a whole lot of emotional punch – oh was Ayano Gou pained! – into the opening episode. (Don’t think that would be your kind of dorama though.)
Correction: Soratobu Kouhoushitsu … haven’t got the names of new dramas down yet.
From what I watched (also unsubbed) it seemed funny but I need time to absorb it the same way I did with XXXHOLiC and I won’t have time until my Japanese essay is complete… 0_o Only a week left!
Looks very cool. Do you think it will be available with subs?
Hey Bonjour. So far no sign of a subbed version yet so give it some time. I’m trying to cover a lot more dorama and anime this year instead of just doing previews and I see Miike’s latest film is at Cannes. First, I need to get finish my Japanese work 🙂
I just got goosebumps from the Why Don’t You Play in Hell trailer……..it’s everything I could possibly want from a Sion Sono movie, hopefully I’ll get to see it on the big screen!
OH GOD THAT WAS EPIC IN THE TRUEST SENSE OF THE WORD. That trailer has made my day! So much chaos and so many great actors! Sono’s back to making messy masterpieces! Thanks for the heads-up! 🙂
No problem, I can’t wait for it 🙂
it’s released in September? If I go to Japan for my birthday I can catch this in cinemas! I can’t wait either!
Not to get any hopes up but there is potential for this to be at a certain festival in June……….my hopes are already there for that……..I imagine that the film is / will be ready for presentation at Cannes at the end of May so it’s HUGELY possible.
Now for Doctor Who.
If it appears at ‘a certain festival in June’ I will be sooo happy. Now for Doctor Who!