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Jotei [女帝]



Drama Details
Title:Jotei
女帝
Empress
Telecast:2007-07-13 to 2007-09-14
Season:Summer 2007



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TV Station:TV Asahi
Duration:10 Episodes



Synopsis
Kato Rosa stars as Ayaka Tachibana, a young woman whose life has been ruined after she lost her boyfriend and then her mother becoming gravely ill. Looking for revenge, she starts out as a hostess with the goal of rising to become the "empress" of the Osaka nightlife scene. Matsuda Shota plays a member of the underworld who becomes Ayaka's ally.
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Actor/Actress Cast (14)
Kato Rosa
加藤ローサ
Tachibana Ayaka
Matsuda Shota
松田翔太
Date Naoto
Sakai Ayana
酒井彩名
Hojou Rina
Maeda Ai
前田愛
Miki
Saito Shota
斉藤祥太
Sugino Kenichi
Ihara Tsuyoshi
伊原剛志
Onoe Yuichiro
Katase Rino
かたせ梨乃
Fujimura Sawa
Nakajima Tomoko
中嶋朋子
Fujimoto Mina
Toyohara Kosuke
豊原功補
Osawa Kengo
Fukikoshi Mitsuru
吹越満
Koda
Ozawa Maju
小沢真珠
Reiko
Kato Kazuko
かとうかずこ
Tachibana Mariko
Izumiya Shigeru
泉谷しげる
Minomura Tatsukichi
Morimoto Leo
森本レオ
Hojou Terumori
 

Related Links (1)
1. Official Site

Drama Reviews (7)
!!WARNING!!
The review section may contain spoilers! Please understand
that you may find out about this drama's endings and plots!


1. Jotei is an adult drama [Rating: 10/10]
Jotei is an adult drama. It has themes of sex, prostitution, yakuza and political corruption. For the non-Japanese viewer it's especially interesting as it gives us a glimpse of the Japanese way of thinking about sex and virginity. In a way it's a modern geisha story and sometimes made me think of the geisha books I've read. It's a story that can be most understood and appreciated by women.


The main reason why I recommend it most for women is because the story is told as narrated by the main protagonist, a woman named Tachibana Ayaka. It is through her eyes that we see the problems she faces on her road to becoming a "Jotei"; an empress. A Jotei is a woman who is very important in the nightlife of Ginza, the main entertainment district of Tokyo. She starts out as a regular girl who looses her mother at 18 and is left alone. She then learns that her father is still alive and left them to become a powerful person. She decides to become powerful herself and have the men who had stood above her bow down to her. She is willing to do anything in order to reach her goal. Upon reading this we might think that she is not a likeable person, but still, her heart is good and we find ourselves cheering her on towards her goal.

Kato Rosa plays Ayaka and she is a very good choice for the role. She is a pretty woman, but not too beautiful. This makes her more real and likeable for women as regular women can also identify with her. Through her we can also see that inner beauty can enhance your outer beauty.

There are many other characters beside hers that are important, mainly because the story encompasses many years. However, I must make a note of Date Naoto. He is the first man who helps Ayaka on her journey and becomes a very important person in her life. He is the kind of a man who makes us and Ayaka consider just giving up on her goal and settling down in a house to have 2.3 kids with. This ambivalent feeling gives and extra tension to the story. Even more so as he's played brilliantly by Matsuda Shota. He is the kind of actor you just want to see in more dramas as his performances always have a sort of unique elegance. Just what we can expect from someone whose whole family is made up by actors and actresses.

This drama is truly wonderful. The story is very complex and like a book it makes you want to just go to the next chapter. Therefore, I recommend watching it over the weekend as once you start, Ayaka's story just sweeps you up and doesn't let you go until the end.

For more reviews go to: isabelle-reviews.blogspot.com
Reviewed by Isabelle on 14 August 2012
2. Girl Power [Rating: 10/10]
A story about a girl wanting to rise from the bottom to the top. Her motive for doing so started with revenge but in the end changed as her views were altered by the events that happened in her life. She had to undergo lots of hardships and fight her way to the top. She had to sacrifice on a lot of things in order to achieve her dream of becoming an empress. There are a lot of lessons learned here like the real meaning of power, respect, womanhood and so on.

The ending is a bit sad and quite disappointing if you are the sentimental and romantic type who like mushy love scenes. But you can see how strong Ayaka is in the end because of what she had to endure for love. This drama is really full of girl power. The strong characters can be seen in the women's roles as they fight in men's world.

I really love this drama. It's really cool, no, more than cool, superb!
Reviewed by eunique06 on 8 May 2008
3. I've only watched the first episode but..... [Rating: 7/10]
I can see where it's going the story isn't too deep and there's not much room for character growth so there probably won't be much however it gets points for portraying women in an industry that doesn't get much respect with dignity if not complete respect also Rosa's portrayal of a strong girl determined to make it gets some points as well her face at the end of episode one is simply perfect, however in an industry based on beauty well she's just pretty Saki Aibu, Reina Asami or Mayuko Iwasa would have been better choices for pure beauty and Anne Suzuki if they just wanted a talented actress, still she doeas a passable job most of the time with occasional flashes of brilliance.
Reviewed by Sajen16 on 28 June 2010
4. Great watch, but.... [Rating: 9/10]
It's a great watch if you're interested in a lot of cat fights and drama, but if you'e a Scooby Doo detective, you'll get tired of it. ;)

I mean, I personally found it VERY interesting, that some people go through the lengths they go through. But other than that, it's a drama I find that doesn't close ends properly (just one too many loose ends). If you watchd and want to know why I think like that, I don't mind discussing. :)
Reviewed by ayumihamasakisan on 9 January 2008
5. An OK dorama [Rating: 6/10]
Not a bad dorama as far as recent doramas go. Kato Rosa's character was not played convincingly enough IMO, with her rise being attributed more to chance than ability. Shota's character was also a disappointment, being relegated to a minor role as the series develops. The premise of the dorama isn't bad but the good and bad characters are just too one-sided to seem realistic.
Reviewed by Shindou on 19 September 2007
6. soapie [Rating: 6/10]
reminds me of soap opera somehow.. a bit over dramatic in every part
but i do love soap opera.. no logic needed to watch
so jotei was.. okay, i guess
Reviewed by dokodemodoa on 13 October 2007
7. Fun all the way through [Rating: 8/10]
Very catchy. Blasted through it in three nights.
If at times it is a bit contrived it does not fail to please.
Full points to a strong cast!
Reviewed by Eve on 12 March 2008

Comments From Users (48)
!!WARNING!!
This section may contain spoilers! Do not proceed if you
do not want to read about this drama's endings and plots!


1. Comments by occultangle [Rating: 8/10]
I was really excited about watching a drama about hostesses. It is of course very sensationalistic as one should probably expect from the subject matter, it's the type of thing that often bothers me in other dramas but works very well here. I do have one problem, and sadly it's the worst problem to have, that is that the lead actress is totally wrong for the part. Just looking at her face, it's hard to imagine her even being a hostess, let alone a hostess out for revenge, or an "Empress". It's obvious that they wanted her to have a heart, and she does well at that, but they really needed someone with a different style to pull off the roles complexity. It's doubly sad because all of the rest of the cast was quite exceptional, especially the male actors. Otherwise, I found the story rather interesting in spite of, what I felt to be, rather weak motivation for the characters behavior. I especially liked how they had her changing cities and clubs frequently, as it kept it from growing stale. It had a major flaw for me, but I stayed intrigued, mostly because of the subject matter.
2. Comments by Inujun [Rating: 7/10]
This is the female version of YAOH, in which the main story focuses among night club hostesses instead. Compared to YAOH though, this one has more indicated adult content although not explicitly shown. Story is overall pretty okay but sometimes you get the feeling that they keep repeating the same formula just changing the antagonist. It does suffer a bit from bad and 'wooden' acting but since the scenes are played pretty fast, it doesn't affect it too much. Overall an okay watch but with a somehow too 'cliche' ending
3. Comments by joychin [Rating: 7/10]
This drama is ok but i realised one thing,there were SOO many face slappings O_O. LOL. In this drama,two of my FAVOURITE actors were acting in it......matsuda shota and mokomichi hayami and it definately made the drama more interesting XD. Oh well,it's not just because of that. The story line is ok i guess. Another thing i really like about this drama is the dresses the girls wore. They're SO pretty! XD. Sad ending though
4. Comments by Shindou [Rating: 6/10]
Some decent acting by Kato and Shota. Overall, the dorama was a bit too unrealistic, with the characters being overly simplistic and one-dimensional. The sets were well designed but a rather simplistic plot and weak characters made this dorama less compelling than it could have been.
5. Comments by akitsu [Rating: 6/10]
The first half of the series was pretty good. Though the characters of the "bad guys" like Rina, Kaoru or Reiko were way too exaggerated. I really liked the series but I just can't uderstand why would anyone put miss Kano into such a role. I didn't suit her, it just wasn't believable.
6. Comments by kireiyuhi [Rating: 9/10]
I loved this drama so much that I watched it in one sitting. People may not like it because it's different than most japanese dramas but I think it was simply amazing. I would have loved to see a little more development in certain areas but I think the cast was very well picked.
7. Comments by aoi_dolphine [Rating: 8/10]
I didn't expect this drama to be this good. My image of Rosa is she can act in the girl-next-door. Or an OL with romance in the office kind of role. However, she proved me wrong in this role as the hostess. Her strength with meekness personality pulls off well in this drama.
8. Comments by Lady Zhuge [Rating: 6/10]
Reflecting back on this series, it's a total waste of time. Most of the characters were unbelievably one-dimensional. The lead actress (Kato Rosa) was weak and the main character pretty much just lucked out for the most part.
9. Comments by SayaOtonashi [Rating: ?/10]
Yesterday I watched ep.1 and I don't really liked it. I felt somewhat strange and uneasy... Maybe is that I only need funny and simple doramas. I think I'll pass now and maybe in time I'll try again...
10. Comments by elfgeek [Rating: 10/10]
Interesting series into the world of cabaret clubs. Didn't know competition was 'fierce' and respect can be commanded for those who shine. Awesome stuff from Kato Rosa!
11. Comments by chibichan [Rating: 6/10]
just so-so, the storyline not quite interesting, eventough i finished watching the whole series. It just one kind of dorama that leave nothing after you watched it
12. Comments by cutina124 [Rating: 9/10]
Amazing but I like others hate the ending. I wish that write would come back for her I don't like Naoto with her he's not as good as the writer was too her.
13. Comments by compaqmac321 [Rating: 8/10]
definitely different from what i had initially expected, which is good, its more interesting when i have a connection with the characters...
14. Comments by gaijinmark [Rating: 8/10]
Pretty good. My biggest complaint was Ayaka's enemies were all so over-the-top-one-dimensional. Loved watching Leo Morimoto as a bad guy!!
15. Comments by Patazilla [Rating: 8/10]
Even though this drama is not similiar to Yaoh! at all, it is comparably good. In comparison it has a deeper touch and is more dramatic.
16. Comments by Amano_Tsukiko [Rating: 6/10]
Far less captivating and intense than Stranger in the Mirror (Sidney Sheldon). I guess my expectation was too high.
17. Comments by Kugashira [Rating: 7/10]
Enjoyable in a strange way. Really outrageous and non-realistic plot. Ayana Sakai looked really good.
18. Comments by izu [Rating: 10/10]
I love the chemistry between Kato Rosa and Matsuda Shota <3333 story is so good. highly recommended :D
19. Comments by Eve [Rating: 8/10]
We rocketed through it! A total page turner, plot driven, and if it is a bit contrived that was OK.
20. Comments by loveaomori [Rating: 8/10]
Very entertaining dorama. Matsuda Shota's acting save the actors whole performance.
21. Comments by Jhvx [Rating: 9/10]
Quite good, very interesting plot, it's a very dramatic dorama with a sad ending
22. Comments by v1olet [Rating: 8/10]
A female version of Yaoh. Not as good as I expected but that's the hostess life.
23. Comments by Sun_Shang_Xiang [Rating: 7/10]
I liked this , it started off really well but loss some pace in the last episode
24. Comments by ct_subang [Rating: 7/10]
hostess club drama...full of revenge,hatred & power...Naoya...kakkoi!!
25. Comments by shinjitsu [Rating: 7/10]
Something was off ... just really couldn't get into this one!?!?!
26. Comments by jdfan [Rating: 6/10]
Uncommon and uninteresting subject for a drama. So so at the end!
27. Comments by Loria [Rating: 10/10]
Simply amazing. Watched it in one day.
A must see in my opinion
28. Comments by Andro [Rating: 10/10]
A great dorama about love, courage, hope and ambition.
29. Comments by miriya52 [Rating: 8/10]
Quite entertaining. Has some powerful messages.
30. Comments by irwinner [Rating: 8/10]
Eye candy show with not too bad of a story.

Read all 48 comments from users


Users who voted for this drama (2)
1. munzir00
This drama is very good.
2. sylvanesti