finished Why don't you Play in Hell, I really like it, it does have the Pulp Ficton vibe not your typical J-movie

current movie list

LD-K
Say I Love You
A Short Distance Relationship

I've seen all three of those movies, actually.

Say I Love You was ok. The "big heartbreak" the main character had suffered as a child that causes her relationship problems as a teen seems kind of silly once you hear about it, though. Haruna Kawaguchi is good in this part though, and I think she's just going to keep getting better as she grows up. I first discovered her in the 2012 remake of Great Teacher Onizuka where she did a good job, too.

L-DK was decent, too. The main male character, though, I kept wanting to kick in the nuts for most of the movie. He's kind of a jerk. I think Ayame Gouriki did a good job as the female lead, though. She was a much more sympathetic character, and very humorous when called for.

A Short Distance Relationship was probably my least favorite (I think you can also find it under the name Short Range Love). If I remember correctly, it had to do with a teacher-student romantic relationship. It is a lighter movie than some of those that touch on this subject, but still kind of cringe-worthy for me. Twenty-something teachers should have enough self control to not be macking on teenage students.

saldiven wrote:L-DK was decent, too. The main male character, though, I kept wanting to kick in the nuts for most of the movie. He's kind of a jerk.

LOL'ng XD;; But that movie actually made Yamazaki Kento the "Kabedon Prince". During his guest appearance in Shabekuri 007, he said that all the actors that auditioned for that part are being checked if they are good in Kabedon XD;; At least he did a good job of acting a character that is jerk to make you feel that annoyed to the character.

Trying to translate Corpse Party... or rather, have to pretime it first. Hopefully be done before Assassination Classroom 1 raws are out, as that is my top priority (and I want Assassination Classroom 1 done ASAP because there's also AnoHana JDrama special).

I finally got around to starting "Rich Man, Poor Woman." I've kind of been avoiding it because I've never been a huge fan of Oguri Shun. I know he's considered very popular, but his acting has never really hooked me like some other actors have (like Kimura Takuya and Matsumoto Jun and a few others). Then, I found out it was the same actress that was in Shitsuren Chocolatier and Dear Sister, Ishihara Satomi. I actually like her acting, so decided to go ahead and give it a try.

Through two episodes, the plot is fairly formulaic of its type. My only complaint so far is that I wish Ishihara's character were a bit more spunky (sort of like Inoue's character in Hana Yori Dango) 'cuz Oguri's character is another one that really needs a kick in the nuts.

I stopped watching Amachan a month ago at the beginning of the Tokyo arc, but now after watching it again ang learning the story behind "Shiosai no Memory" song plus the appearance of Kasumi Airimura as the young Haruko, now I can't stop watching. Never thought that this Jdorama will have this conspiracy angle to it

I need to get back into Amachan. I stopped watching somewhere around episode 50-60 or something. It was just so freaking long. Even with just 15 minute episodes, the total time is waaaaay longer than a typical Japanese drama. It's about the equivalent of 40 normal drama episodes in total time, give or take a bit.

I watched an interesting medical drama last week. It's called Cleopatra na Onnatachi. It's about a male plastic surgeon who goes from working at a major hospital to working at a boutique clinic. At the hospital, he worked on kids with birth defects or people who had been in accidents to repair their appearance. The clinic his a high-end, high cost facility that specializes in elective plastic surgery like nose jobs, face lifts, and breast augmentation. At first, the male doctor, Kishi Minetaro, looks down on what the clinic does. Unfortunately, he's kind of stuck there because of a massive debt he co-signed for his father, and he needs the higher pay that the clinic offers.

It's a mostly light drama, but it touches on some really interesting issues, such as a person's self image and self worth. One of the most touching parts of the drama is the ending credits. During the credits, the show a series of interview excerpts from average people on the street. They ask them questions like, "What is your best feature," "When are you most happy," and "When do you show your true self." It was interesting to see some candid expressions from average people that touched on the themes that the whole drama examines. By the end, I had to accept that the drama was far better than I expected, and really did a good job of addressing people's typical assumptions about people who get plastic surgery.

BTW, I finished "Rich man, poor woman," and it was pretty good. The entire series was fairly formulaic, but I don't really have a problem with that if the dialogue and acting are good. In this case, the actors did a creditable job all the way around. By the end of the series, even Oguri's character had become more sympathetic as his experiences with Ishihara's character really led him to grow. I can actually recommend this one to anyone who has an interest in the class dichotomy, Pygmalion style romances.

Re: Amachan - it's an NHK asadora. It is "normal" to be long. Heck, it's a good thing it's only 2 seasons now. Oshin, an 80s asadora, spanned to a whole year. NHK Taiga dramas tend to also be like that.

Re: Rich Man, Poor Woman - it was supposed to reflect The Social Network movie in a Japanese setting, as far as I remember.

Stopped watching all the current series I'm watching. Tsk. Busy life is busy. Only "watched" Assassination Classroom last weekend because it was my top priority to translate. But can't help that I'm watching AnoHana JDrama SP now haha Have to get back to finishing the NHK asadora, Mare. As I mentioned before, will most likely skip the next asadora because it's a period setting again. Will probably get back to Death Note JDrama during Christmas break, even though I stopped at episode 2. Got really turned off how they handled things. But it had the 2nd highest ratings this past season and it got praises regarding Light's development.

I actually haven't watched Death Note at all. While it might be good, it's not really the kind of drama I normally watch.

I started watching a movie yesterday who's name escapes me. It's about a girl in a high school drama club and a new teacher who helps her make the club as good as it can be. It's a simple plot line, but the acting has been surprisingly good so far. I'll post the name of it when I get home tonight.

saldiven wrote:I started watching a movie yesterday who's name escapes me. It's about a girl in a high school drama club and a new teacher who helps her make the club as good as it can be. It's a simple plot line, but the acting has been surprisingly good so far. I'll post the name of it when I get home tonight.

Sounds like Momoiro Clover Z's Maku ga Akaru (The Curtain Rises). I'm actually surprised with the acting of that idol group & was expecting a "normal" acting of idols. Momota especially showed great acting in the film.

Ais wrote:

saldiven wrote:I started watching a movie yesterday who's name escapes me. It's about a girl in a high school drama club and a new teacher who helps her make the club as good as it can be. It's a simple plot line, but the acting has been surprisingly good so far. I'll post the name of it when I get home tonight.

Sounds like Momoiro Clover Z's Maku ga Akaru (The Curtain Rises). I'm actually surprised with the acting of that idol group & was expecting a "normal" acting of idols. Momota especially showed great acting in the film.

Yup. Saw that on the plane two months ago. I enjoyed it too, much to my surprise. The teacher (played by Kuroki Haru) was in Legal High S2, she played Jane Honda (don't ask).

Ais wrote:

saldiven wrote:I started watching a movie yesterday who's name escapes me. It's about a girl in a high school drama club and a new teacher who helps her make the club as good as it can be. It's a simple plot line, but the acting has been surprisingly good so far. I'll post the name of it when I get home tonight.

Sounds like Momoiro Clover Z's Maku ga Akaru (The Curtain Rises). I'm actually surprised with the acting of that idol group & was expecting a "normal" acting of idols. Momota especially showed great acting in the film.

That's exactly it. You have a good head for this stuff, haha.

I left home for work this morning with still about 40 minutes left in the movie. I'm looking forward to the rest of it.

It's interesting how you can find some real gems for acting and other things out of various idol groups, though I figure some of the members are hoping to use the idol group as a springboard to their real entertainment industry goal, whether it be solo singing, acting, or whatever. I mean, Oshima Yuko (formerly of AKB48) is a great little actress. I've seen several things she's been in, and she's always good to watch. Matsui Rena was better than I expected in the movie, "Gift." I hope she gets more parts in the future.

saldiven wrote:It's interesting how you can find some real gems for acting and other things out of various idol groups, though I figure some of the members are hoping to use the idol group as a springboard to their real entertainment industry goal, whether it be solo singing, acting, or whatever. I mean, Oshima Yuko (formerly of AKB48) is a great little actress. I've seen several things she's been in, and she's always good to watch. Matsui Rena was better than I expected in the movie, "Gift." I hope she gets more parts in the future.

If you really want great acting of idols, you should check out stageplays more. Of course, seeing that they are stageplays / musicals, they are only one cut, so they CAN'T make mistakes. I'm biased because I'm a HaroPro wota, but Engeki Joshibu titles are superb with quality of the plays, much compared to the stage plays during HaroPro's Golden Era a decade ago. Engeki Joshibu wanted to make something similar to the long running Takarazuka, but instead played by HaroPro idols. The quality of the plays are really high, especially titles done by Suemitsu (screenwriter / director).

If you have an open mind regarding these stage plays, I would highly highly recommend watching LILIUM which got praises even to non-fans of Hello!Project. I'm hyped with the next instalments of the TRUMP saga, even though they won't be starred by HaroPro idols. Hoping that "Snow, Moon and Flowers" will be played by HaroPro idols, which I plan to watch it in theatres in Japan that's why I've already started saving up.

Ugh. All this talk about stageplays of Engeki Joshibu, I have to start finishing Week End Survivor because we're doing TRIANGLE next. orz


And ah, heard LDH artists (mostly from EXILE + E-girls) will start their biggest most ambitious project, HiGH&LOW: The Story of S.W.O.R.D. which would consist of JDrama series, manga, movie, soundtrack, and stageplay. I might want to attend one of the stageplays.

Watching Zenkai Girl with Aragaki Yui and Nishikido Ryo, after leaving it a year following the first episode.



It's kinda all right, and am glad I've only got two episodes left to watch.

---

And I'd like to add - I've seen your subs for Ansatsu Kyōshitsu, Ais - nice job!

I liked Zenkai Girl all right. It's not on the level of something like Long Vacation, but it's pretty good.

I just finished watching Tumbling, which is a high school sports drama. I think the funniest part, to me, is that the lead is a supporting actor in the 2012 GTO remake, and one of the supporting actors is the lead in GTO 2012. Akira's character in Tumbling is so much different than Onizuka in GTO, it's just funny to watch.

Being a big fan of Hojo Tsukasa-sensei, trying to weekly watch the JDrama that I've been most anticipating this season - Angel Heart. When news came out that the JDrama is on, I'm like - YES! FINALLY! A "City Hunter" JDrama! Finally! XD;; Only a KDrama version & a (loosely) Jackie Chan movie was only made so far LOL

After watching ep1, loving the adaptation so far <3 Nice to see Ryo still is the pervert ossan. Aibu Saki as Kaori is just so spot on, I'm like - whoa!

And heh - cool that Shan'in still speaks in different languages just like in the manga <3

Spoiler:

Yeah, since I was too excited, didn't wait for the Crunchyroll version & watched it 日本語-subbed XD;;

it would be nice if they will also have the City Hunter with the same cast as prequel for next season

alrick13 wrote:it would be nice if they will also have the City Hunter with the same cast as prequel for next season

For me at least, I like the "sequel" / "alternate universe" Angel Heart better than City Hunter. Angel Heart is more "human" in a sense and I can relate more to the title.

*crosses fingers for a Family Compo JDrama*

I finally found a site that has the first season of Hero with English Subtitles. A really good drama. It's interesting; I think this was the third drama where Kimura Takuya starred with Matsu Takako (she was a supporting actress in Long Vacation and the leading lady in Love Generation). I'm almost finished with the series, and I understand now why fans were upset that Matsu Takako's character wasn't brought back for the second season of Hero in 2014. They do have good chemistry together.

Already watched Anohana live action for movies and currently watching J-Drama Itazura na kiss (2nd season)  .smile.

Just started watching "Kazoku Game" with Sakurai Sho. Already saw 5 eps.... The drama is a little strange, and the character Sho plays is really weird.....

ariksyahbana wrote:Already watched Anohana live action for movies and currently watching J-Drama Itazura na kiss (2nd season)  .smile.

You'll like that one. I think it's a bit better than the first season; the leading man's character develops a bit more fully.

The ending is really sweet, too.

Just saw all episodes from "Kazoku Game". What can i say... after i saw the last 3 ep my mind changed. This is a drama worth watching.

Another drama i saw was "Mousou Kanojo". A really beautiful drama, a little too short.

Also i saw a jmovie from 1996, with Namie Amuro ,"That's Cunning! Shijo Saidai no Sakusen" . Really good movie to learn different methods to cheat here is a little from the movie

Another great jmovie i saw was "Mou Yuukai Nante Shinai" with Satoshi Ohno and Aragaki Yui. One day the daughter of a yakuza boss (Aragaki Yui) asks  Shotaro (Satoshi Ohno) to plan a make-believe kidnapping, so she can pay her sister`s hospital fees.

Finished Library Wars 2013, I haven't watch the anime version, I really enjoyed the movie especially the fight scenes and how they made such an out of this world premise to something serious, I think the soundtrack really set the tone on this one. This is my first time watching Junichi Oda, he's action moves are really great, his judo style really suits his physique. I will try to watch his earlier dramas. It would be nice if there would be more Japanese action movies with gun fights and their traditional martial arts.

Well, I've always been a sucker for Japanese films. In fact, Ikiru is my favourite film of all time.

This is a list with what i saw recently:
Jmovies:
*One Million Yen and the Nigamushi Woman
*Monsterz
A man possesses a special ability to manipulate others with just his eyes. Because of this special ability, he killed his abusive father and was abandoned by his mother. Meanwhile, Shuichi Tanaka doesn't have a family and lives with his friends. Even though he is poor, he has a bright outlook on life. One day, these two men meet. The man becomes confused, because he can't manipulate Shuichi with his eyes.
*Joker Game
A movie about Jiro Kato a secret spy from Japan in the priod of the second World War.
*Kamisama no Berebou
This movie is about Osamu Tezuka a japanese manga artist.Known as the creator of the comics series Astro Boys and Black Jack. His prolific output, pioneering techniques, and innovative redefinitions of genres earned him such titles as "the father of manga", "the godfather of manga" and "the god of manga". Additionally, he is often considered the Japanese equivalent to Walt Disney, who served as a major inspiration during Tezuka's formative years

Jdramas:

*Kurosagi (The Black Swindler) with Tomohisa Yamashita (as Kurosaki)
Kurosaki is a young man whose family was destroyed by swindlers. Despite that, Kurosaki grows up to become a con artist known as Kurosagi. As Kurosagi, he swindles other con artists and returns the money to the original victim.
*Papadol! (My Daddy is an Idol!) a romantic comedy with Ryo Nishikido. Nishikido Ryo acts as a popular idol and member of Kanjani8 (or as himself) who secretly marries a woman with three children.
*Saba Doru with Mayu Wtanabe. The story revolves around the 38-year-old Usa Shijimi (Watanabe), who is a high school classical literature teacher. Her students are mean to her, but they don't realize that she has another identity. Outside school, she lies about her age to be active as the super popular 17-year-old idol Watanabe Mayu, whom the students adore
*Yowakutemo Katemasu  with Kazunari Ninoyama (as Tamo Aoshi). Aoshi is a substitute teacher at a prestigious private high school which admits 200 students to Tokyo University every year. He becomes the coach of the weak baseball club which has only five members and has never won a game since it was established.
*Mikeneko Holmes no Suiri a mystery comedy with Masaki Aiba (as Katayama Yoshitaro). Yoshitaro is a police detective who  can never step into murder scenes because he faints whenever he sees blood. One day, Yoshitaro finds a calico cat that somehow understands what people say and sometimes shows great reasoning power. With the help of strange hints given by this cat, Yoshitaro luckily succeeds in solving the cases.
*Jiu: Keishichou Tokushuhan Sousakei a Mystery, suspense drama with Meisa Kuroki (as Isaki Motoko) and Mikako Tabe (as Kadokura Misaki). The show is based on the “Jiu” suspense novel series by Honda Tetsuya. Isaki & Kadokura are both working to track down Jiu, the ringleader responsible for a series of brutal crimes.
*Watashi ga Renai Dekinai Riyuu ("The reason I can't find my love") a life-sized unconventional love story with Karina (as Fuji Emi), Yuriko Yoshitaka (Ogura Saki) & Yuko Oshima (Hanzawa Mako). The three women end up living under the same roof by coincidence, and it is there that they share each other's experiences, bitter or sweet, desperately struggling with their love life.  The them song of the drama is “Love Story ” by Namie Amuro. You can also see a bit of Namie Amuro concert in the drama 
*Buzzer Beat a romantic drama with Tomohisa Yamashita (as Naoki Kamiya) and Keiko Kitagawa (as Riko Shirakawa). Naoki is a young player from a professional basketball team. Meanwhile, Shirakawa Riko is a cheerful, strong-spirited music college graduate aiming to become a professional violinist. This is one of the best love story i ever saw.