@saldiven
yeah, I watched it last week and I saved it on my computer .wow.

I started watching Orange Days again last night. It's such a good series. IMO, it's far better than the super popular Hana Kimi or Hana Yori Dango because it's quite realistic without the manga-esque elements. It's a story that could translate, with just a few culturally relevant modifications, to just about any North American or European audience. It also has one of the absolute best endings of any TV series I've ever seen.

Haven't updated this in a while.  Recently, I was re-watching several dramas that I watched last year and really enjoyed. I re-watched Orange Days, Good Luck!, Gokusen I and II, and Kasuka na Kanajo. I'm considering re-watching Attention Please!, Stand Up, and maybe a few others.


This week, I started watching a drama called Last Christmas(2004). The theme song is "Last Christmas" by WHAM!, which really is an amazing song. It's crazy to think that song is 30 years old now. Anyway, the premise seems ok so far. The male lead and female lead work in the same company that makes winter sports gear (skis, snowboards, etc.). The male lead (Kenji) is an earnest, serious minded guy who recently had his fiancée break up with him; his mother believes it's because the girl couldn't handle the mom's poor health. The female lead Yuki) is a girl who uses her feminine whiles to get what she wants from men she leads around by the nose. Kenji takes an almost immediate dislike to Yuki because she is playing around with Kenji's best friend, and Kenji doesn't want his friend to get hurt. At the end of the first episode, Kenji discovers that Yuki had actually once been a juvenile delinquent in a girl biker gang, but had gotten married young, at around 17 years old. Unfortunately, Yukie was diagnosed with a disease that might prove terminal without a dangerous operation, and her husband couldn't handle that stress, and divorced her. He realizes that this event is what has led to Yuki's attitude of "look out for number 1" and her tendency to use men to get what she wants/needs.


Though I'm only through the first two episodes, it's easy to see that Kenji and Yuki will end up in love with each other, though both of them are involved with other people by that point in the series. I was careful to research that Yuki doesn't die at the end of the series, 'cuz if she did, I would totally be uninterested in watching anymore (haha). It seems to be shaping up into a fairly decent romantic comedy. The two leads are actors that I haven't seen in anything else before, but one of the supporting actors is Tamaki Hiroshi, who went on to star as the leading man in Nodame Cantabile.


I'll post again when I finish the series over the weekend, most likely.

Edit:  I finished watching the series over the weekend and I was not disappointed. It had a nice ending. I can recommend this one to anybody who likes this genre.

I've recently gotten into a Kimura Takuya kick.

I've liked his work ever since I saw the series Good Luck. I thought he was great as the leading man in that drama. Recently, I watched Ando Lloyd, Beautiful Life, and Engine. All of them were really good, and I got a better idea of the acting range that Kimura has. I did a bit of research about him to discover he's kind of the most popular actor in Japan, or close to it. The four highest rated dramas in Japanese non-national TV history are ones that he starred in (there's apparently only one national television station). It's funny how influential he's been on pop culture. In 1993, he played a character who wore really ugly black plastic glasses, and that series and his character were so popular that those ugly glasses became a fashion trend. In 1997, he played a character who used a butterfly knife; later that year, there were a few violent crimes using such knives, and one criminal specifically stated he was inspired to using the knife by Kimura's character. He played a pianist in another series in 1997, leading to an explosion of adult men starting to take piano lessons. He was so popular that a women's makeup company hired him to be a spokes model.

In any case, I'm planning on watching as much of his stuff as I can track down, at least until my current obsession fades. I'm watching one of his earlier parts from 1993 right now called Asunaro Hakusho (it's the one with the ugly glasses). Kind of a typical love-triangle story with a few little twists. I'm only halfway through, and I already understand why reviews stated that Kimura's supporting role was far more engaging and sympathetic than the leading male character. (Though, the leading man is Tsutsui Michitaka who has a huge list of roles he's played to his own name.)

saldiven wrote:I did a bit of research about him to discover he's kind of the most popular actor in Japan, or close to it.

I'm surprised you've not heard of him

Anyway, in Japan, he's not well known just because of his acting but also as a member of SMAP - a boy band that's pretty big over there. Well, I think we should re-phrase this to 'man'-band as they are all no longer boys. Hahaha.

___________________________

Film updates

Went to Tokyo recently, and caught these films on the plane (the only place to see recently released films with subs!).

LUPIN III



I have to admit I haven't watch any of the anime (including Miyazaki's Castle Cagliostro), but whoever it was in casting got the character's spot on - and I am well surprised with Shun Oguri! Kuroki Meisa was a tad too sultry in appearance as compared to her anime counterpart but that aside she played Fujiko-chan very well. As for the storyline, I was a little bit disappointed - prolly because the story's mainly set abroad (Singapore, Thailand and a bit in Japan). That aside, it's a fun film which is pretty good.

KISEIJUU



Otherwise known as Parasyte, this premiered at the recent Tokyo Film Festival in Roppongi Hills last October. Based on a manga (there's also an anime), I think this was one bad ass film. There is gore but implied mostly (yeah, there's a bit of an arm or a headless torso in bits) - and I am no fan of horror/sci-fi, but I loved it. I didn't think they'd do this in one film, and it was pretty obvious a sequel is in the works (out in April 2015). This one has the likes of Shota Sometani and Ai Hashimoto (I have the Confessions bluray but still haven't watched it!)

maharizm wrote:

saldiven wrote:I did a bit of research about him to discover he's kind of the most popular actor in Japan, or close to it.

I'm surprised you've not heard of him

Anyway, in Japan, he's not well known just because of his acting but also as a member of SMAP - a boy band that's pretty big over there. Well, I think we should re-phrase this to 'man'-band as they are all no longer boys. Hahaha.

I'd heard of him, but had no idea how huge he was. I first saw him in Good Luck! at least a year ago. It might have been at the end of 2013...can't remember when I first started watching Japanese Dramas. The first one I watched was Q10 because Maeda Atsuko was in it. Honestly didn't really like that one all that much. I poked around a couple of others before watching Attention Please, which I really liked. Good Luck was another airline based drama similar to Attention Please, so I watched that one. Honestly, while Kimura's acting was really good in that one, my favorite was Shibasaki Kou. I watched several things with her in it after that (Orange Days is my absolute favorite drama, even after all the ones I've watched in the last year or so). I decided to look more into Kimura's acting after having watched Beautiful Life, Ando Lloyd and Engine all in the last two weeks or so. Considering his acting chops, I'm surprised that nobody has tried to put him in any US movie releases; I think Kimura is at least as talented as Ken Watanabe who has received an Academy Award nomination in the past.


Edit: Oh, and it's interesting what you said about "man-band." I've always found it odd that female idols/idol groups are all very sensitive to age. It's incredibly rare for a female idol to make it meaningfully past 25 years of age. But then, groups like SMAP and Exile have guys in them well into their 30's.

SMAP's more my vintage - 40's lol.

You have to watch HERO then, if you are on a roll watching his stuff. It gets a bit same-ish after a while (he plays an unorthodox public prosecutor) but it's worth watching. They even did a 2nd season like last year (I think season one was like 10 yrs ago or something!)

Hero is definitely on the list I've scouted out. Once I'm finished with Asunaro Hakusho, I think I want something a little lighter, so I was thinking about Pride as the next one to watch; it's a sports movie, so I don't expect it to be as heavy to watch as Asunaro. (In case you haven't seen Asunaro, it's pretty good, but the best acting job by far was done by Kimura in the supporting role. For me, by the end of the movie, his is the only male role for which I feel any sympathy. The main male character was, to me, totally unsympathetic. I didn't really care what happened to him at all, other than as an extension of what happened to the female lead, who I did like.)


After that, I want to watch (in no particular order) Hero, Mr. Brain, Long Vacation, Kyosokyoku, Boku ga Boku de Aru Tame ni (one of Hirosue Ryoko's early roles when she was 17), Love Generation, Konya wa Eigyouchu, Sora Kara, and Tsuki no Koibito.

Edit: I have started watching Pride. I'm five episodes in so far, and it's good. I can understand how this series made hockey much more popular in Japan after the series aired. Kimura is again playing the more-complex-than-he-appears-on-the-surface type guy; I think that's something he does very well. So far, it's one that I would recommend.

I watched 2 Jdramas : Oshin and 1 litre no Namida  long long time ago, because Japanese dramas is not popular in my country.

Update: I finished watching Pride, and it was as good as billed. Takuya is as good an actor as he always is. The ending was a bit predictable, but not in a terrible way. It had a happy ending, which I always enjoy. It was also interesting how they dovetailed the NHL into the series, too.

I also just finished Kaeru no Oujo-sama. I have to admit that I had considered watching this series on many occasions, but always decided against it because of the subject matter. It's about a failed Broadway aspiring-star returning to her small home town in Japan to help coach a failing local chorus group. I really should have watched it sooner; the cast is really strong, and they did a good job. The lead is Amami Yuki, who was the diobolical teacher in "The Queen's Classroom." There's also Ishida Yuriko (Pride, and other dramas), Chiba Yudai (Summer Nude, Ouran High School Host Club, etc.), and Oshima Yuku (recently graduated from AKB48), as well as several other good performers. It was well acted, and they all did a very creditable job as singers. I had known that Amami Yuki had a background in stage acting and musicals, but I had no idea how strong a stage singer she is. It's a shame she recently had a heart attack (mild, she's ok) and has stepped back from acting very much. In any case, it's a pretty good series, and it is one I can definitely recommend. Even if the premise doesn't interest you (as it didn't original interest me), the acting and singing should be strong enough to hold your interest.

It's interesting how many dramas I've watched since I last posted. I watched Himitsu no Hanazono a few weeks ago. I was initially drawn to it because the lead is Shaku Yumiko, who played a really good supporting character in Stand Up!, which is one of my favorite dramas. This is also one that I can strongly recommend. The premise is about four men who have a female nom de plume for a shoujo manga they write. The four are brothers who have very different personalities, and Shaku's character gets transferred to be their editor unexpectedly when there's a shake-up at her employer. Much drama ensues, though it is mostly light hearted and funny. Maya Miki plays an important supporting role, and she's always amazing in every part she has (Attention Please, Kasuka na Kanajo, Buzzer Beat, Ohitorisama, Boku dake no Madonna, etc.).

I have started watching Ando Natsu. It's ok. It's very, very light. Not that it's super funny, but what little "drama" happens is not very deep. It's easy to watch, and the main character is somewhat sympathetic, but so far through almost the entire series, none of the events are super compelling. It's worth a watch if you have nothing better to do, but it would be way down on my list of recommendations.

I'm almost through with the second season of Itazura na Kiss: Love in Tokyo. Pretty darn good, both season. Definitely worth a watch. It's a new series with some younger actors playing the leads, but I have a feeling both the male and female leads will be getting a lot of parts in the coming years. Miki Honoka could maybe be a new Inoue Mao or Horikita Maki, and Furukawa Yuki didn't start acting until he was around 23, but he has the looks and acting ability to land a lot of roles in the future (he's had parts in 6 different dramas in the last two years).

I'm sure there have been others that I have watched or started watching, but those are the ones that stick out in my mind. Based on how good Kaeru no Oujo-sama was, I think I might get around to finishing Around 40, because Amami Yuki is the lead in that one.

finished Ouroboros, definitely one of my favorites, first time ever watching a dark themed Jdorama and the casting and acting is superb. I definitely recommend it.

currently watching Nobunaga Concerto

I've been watching some Kitagawa Keiko dramas recently.

I watched Mop Girl last week, and it was pretty good. She played a kind of ditzy girl who worked at a kind of funeral home. When she touched the belongings of certain deceased people (who shouldn't have died), she would be taken back in time a day or so and be given a chance to change the circumstances that led to that person's death. It was mostly comedic with serious overtones, and was worth the watching.

Since I enjoyed her in that semi-supernatural series, I decided to watch Akumu-chan. In this, Kitagawa is a teacher at an elementary school, but she really doesn't like being a teacher. A new student shows up who has prophetic dreams, and the little girl (and her grandfather) believe that Kitagawa's character can help the girl figure out her dreams and save the people the dreams indicate will be hurt. This drama was from just 2012, and Kitagawa's acting skills are much better than from her early stuff like Mop Girl and Buzzer Beat (which I watched last year and enjoyed). After only three episodes, I can see more character development than in her earlier stuff.

I've become a bit of a fan of Kitagawa's. She's pretty funny when she goes for humor, but can pull of a more serious kind of acting, too. I enjoyed her in the romantic comedy (movie) Paradise Kiss, and discovered that she had a bit part in Fast and the Furious 3: Tokyo Drift which I watched a few years ago.

saldiven wrote:I've become a bit of a fan of Kitagawa's. She's pretty funny when she goes for humor, but can pull of a more serious kind of acting, too. I enjoyed her in the romantic comedy (movie) Paradise Kiss, and discovered that she had a bit part in Fast and the Furious 3: Tokyo Drift which I watched a few years ago.

She was quite good in Judge!, an OTT comedy I saw on the plane to Tokyo last year.



http://asianwiki.com/Judge!_-_Japanese_Movie

And although in a supporting role, do watch the 2014 season of HERO where she plays Kimura Takuya's assistant.

http://wiki.d-addicts.com/Hero#Season_2

And there's a second HERO film too!



http://www.hero-movie.com/

The second season of HERO is definitely on the list, but I really want to watch the first season before I watch the second. I haven't found a site with the first season with English subtitles yet.

saldiven wrote:The second season of HERO is definitely on the list, but I really want to watch the first season before I watch the second. I haven't found a site with the first season with English subtitles yet.

When I watched the 2001 season, it wasn't on an online drama site. *koff* ^^ Soft subs are available for downloads.

You can watch the 2014 as a standalone season as anything regard the story and its characters are repeated but with a few minor changes, unless you're the completist sort and HAVE to had watched the first season. Kitagawa wasn't in the 2001 episodes anyway.

Yeah, I've done some background investigation about the series. One of the reasons I'd like to watch the 2001 series is because Matsu Takako plays the female lead, and I liked Kumura and Matsu's chemistry together in the 1997 drama, Love Generation, and was a supporting role in 1996 Long Vacation.. (Love Generation wasn't really as good as Long Vacation, but was a decent enough drama where I liked the characters.)

Finished Kasuka no Kanjou, among the student - teacher drama that I have seen (Gokusen, GTO 1998 and 2012) for me it is the best simply because it is not over the top in portraying the teachers, here the teachers are like any other rational person that prioritize personal security and convenience at times but do step up (sometimes reluctantly) when the need arises. 

Also I do like Atsuko Maeda and Anne Watanabe's performance in their respective roles.

I'm glad you liked it, Alrick.

I'd have felt bad if you watched it and didn't enjoy it after I had said that I thought it was a good series. I agree that the teachers, for the most part, behaved rather realistically. They were less caricatures of teachers compared to what you see in a lot of school based dramas.

Finished Bitter Blood, there's a certain swag about Takeru Sato, it goes to show that some can be bad ass without having the physical attributes of an action star. I really enjoyed the series overall it's just that like most Jdorama there is always the "possible but not definite romance" after the final episode there is always a craving for more.

I haven't seen that one.

I'm actually watching Amachan right now. It was one I've been interested in watching since I read about the format. It was on nightly, Mon-Fri at 8:00, and each episode is only 15 minutes long. There's like 150+ total episodes, but they're super short. It's very cute so far. It's about a high school girl from Tokyo who's mother takes her back to a very small town to live because of dissatisfaction with the mother's husband. The young girl has always been quiet and kind of boring, but really begins to blossom out in the countryside. The girls grandmother is an Ama, or female diver who collects shellfish (they focus on sea urchin in the show). The young girl, Aki, becomes fascinated with this practice, and decides she wants to be one, too.

Not sure why this one caught my interest, but the actress playing Aki is very engaging and sympathetic. So far, I like it; I'm 29 episodes in.

finished episode 1 to 3 of Amachan, First time seeing a countryside family oriented Jdorama, it is really interesting.

Question, who are the people that is shown every end of an episode? are they the townspeople or fans?

You know, I really have no idea who they are. I've wondered, myself. I haven't seen anything in any research I've done on the series that indicate who they might be. I've been operating under the assumption that they are people that live and work in that part of Iwate prefecture. There was another movie based on something similar (rural part of Japan trying to increase tourism revenue) that was based on a true story, and at the end of the movie, they showed a photograph of the actual people upon whom the story was based.

Interestingly enough, watching Amachan got me to try Hard Nut. The crime/comedy drama, Hard Nut, had been on my radar for a little while, but I hadn't pulled the trigger on watching it.

When I started watching Amachan, I got to like the character Adachi Yui, Aki's close friend. It turns out that the actress playing Adachi, Hashimoto Ai, also plays the female lead in Hard Nut. So, this past weekend, I watched the whole series (it's only 8 episodes of 45 minutes each).

The series is about a mathematical genius (Nanba Kurumi) in college who by chance meets a young police detective (Tomoda Tatsuhiko) during the course of an investigation. Her incredibly powerful techniques of mathematical analysis leads to the eventual solution to that investigation. The detective eventually comes to rely a bit upon the girl's analytical skills, and he keeps returning to her for help throughout the series. Nanba's character is very socially awkward, incredibly smart, and seemingly quite innocent on the surface. Tomoda's character is a little aloof, but also hard working, dedicated, and highly ethical; he can sometimes be completely out of his depth when Nanba starts talking about advanced mathematical concepts, though. Somewhat predictably, Nanba falls for Tomoda and starts plotting ways to win his interest, but she's totally inept where romance is concerned, allowing for some funny scenes.

Now, the best part of the series, to me, is the fact that both Nanba and Tomoda have hidden back stories that become revealed as the plot progresses. They both have a bit of a dark secret in their lives, and neither is quite what they seem to be. The ending, for me, was excellent. The conclusion of the series just aches for a second season, or maybe a longer special episode at some point. While the ending is satisfactory enough as it stands, there is so much potential for a continuation of the story that I really hope there will be some sort of follow up. That's all I'm going to say so that there aren't any spoilers :D

I'm now at episode 65 of Amachan, the characters are all lovable especially Ai Hashimoto (Yui Adachi) really love her acting when she is pissed and raising her voice

Oh, by the way, I got a bit of a clue about who the people at the end of the Amachan episodes might be. Apparently, the Amachan series is kind of done in homage to the 2011 tsunami that hit that region of Japan. In the later parts of the series, the tsunami occurs, and the series talks about the people in the area overcoming the tragedy. Apparently, the people shown in the photographs are people from the region, though I don't know if they're memorial pics of people who were lost in the tsunami, or celebrations of people who survived.