Top 10 bestselling DVDs in the first half of 2009 (Oricon)

1) ARASHI AROUND ASIA 2008 in TOKYO - Arashi (355,253)

2) Hana Yori Dango Final (346,721)

3) EXILE LIVE TOUR "EXILE PERFECT LIVE 2008" - EXILE (313,504)

4) SMAP 2008 super.modern.artistic.performance tour - SMAP (269,021)

5) Okuribito (217,461)

6) KAT-TUN LIVE TOUR 2008 QUEEN OF PIRATES - KAT-TUN (209,604)

7) Red Cliff Part I (192,242)

8) B'z LIVE - GYM Pleasure 2008 GLORY DAYS - B'z (181,584)

9) B'z LIVE - GYM Hidden Pleasure ~ Typhoon No.20~ - B'z (179,020)

10) Dark Knight SP Edition - (152,853)

Romaji lyrics of "One Love" by Arashi

Title: One Love
Artiste: Arashi
Lyrics: youth case
Melody: Kato Yuusuke

tsutae takute tsutawara nakute
toki ni wa sunao ni narezu ni
naita kisetsu wo koeta bokura wa
ima totemo kagayaiteru yo


sorezore egaku shiawase no katachi wa kasanari
ima ookina ai ni naru
zutto futari de ikite yukou

hyakunen saki mo ai wo chikau yo
kimi wa boku no subete sa
shinjiteiru tada shinjiteru
onaji toki wo kizamu hito e
donna kimi mo donna boku de mo
hitotsu hitotsu ga itoshii
kimi ga ireba nani mo iranai
kitto shiawase ni suru kara

ame no naka de kimi wo matteta
yasashisa no imi sae shirazu
sure chigai ni kizutsuita yoru
sore demo koko made kitanda

kakegae no nai deai wa kiseki wo tsunaideku
omoide kasanari au
hajimari no uta nari hibite

donna toki mo sasaete kureta
warai naita nakama e
kokoro komete tada hitotsu dake
okuru kotoba wa arigatou

hyakunen saki mo ai wo chikau yo
kimi wa boku no subete sa
aishiteiru tada aishiteru
onaji asu yakusoku shiyou
sekaijuu ni tada hitori dake
boku wa kimi wo eranda
kimi to ireba donna mirai mo
zutto kagayaite iru kara

La la la ....

Review of Hana Yori Dango Final

Actually, even if you had not watched the previous 2 installments of Hana Yori Dango, I think that there won't be any problems if you decide to get started with this movie first. Basically, we all know that Doumyouji and Tsukushi got engaged at the end of the 2nd drama so this is sort-of an obstacle course before their wedding. Maybe this is to reinforce the message that true love never runs smooth? The thing is, the whole chase for the tiara really felt boring to me. It was only when the story got to the wedding that I finally woke up from my "slumber". ^___^

To cut the story short, the bulk of the story was about the chase for the tiara which Doumyouji's mother, Kaede gave to Tsukushi as a family heirloom for the daughter-in-laws. And because this priceless tiara was stolen, the couple had to go around the globe for it and they were forced to reconsider whether it was OK for them to get married after all. Well, the only one who was still unsure would be Tsukushi because Doumyouji had never doubted that she is the only woman for him. As all love stories go (well, most if not all), everything goes well at the end. Watch out for the wedding...it's so saccharine-sweet! Well, I'm not one who loves such "sweet" things but this wedding scene was done pretty well. And that final scene which I'm not sure whether it appears in the manga, served as the icing on the cake.

On the whole, I would say that I had no interest in what happened to that tiara. That's because there is no way that the couple cannot get married just because of that thing. As such, I was pretty bored with the developments but I must say that the setting and on-location shoots were great. That hotel suite in Hong Kong which faces the harbour as well as the fountain display in Las Vegas were nice to look at.

Matsumoto Jun is indeed suitable to play Doumyouji, simply because he can handle such flashy roles with ease. At least, you don't get disgusted at his acting since he doesn't have to try too hard to show the traits of Doumyouji. And I mean this in a good way because not everyone can do it. On the other hand, this also means that his image gets in the way when he wants to switch to roles like that in Bambino. As for Inoue Mao, I'm quite tired of her playing the strong and tomboyish role all this while so I think it is high time she does an image change. Oguri Shun doesn't appear much in the movie. It was a pity that he did not appear together with Fujiki Naohito who was the previous Hanazawa Rui. It would have been nice to see the 2 generations of Rui at the same time.

As for the theme songs, I prefer the song by Arashi which is somewhat representative of Doumyouji's feelings for Tsukushi. A very warm and easy-to-remember number. With regards to the song by aiko, the lyrics are good but I don't really like the melody.

And my ratings for this drama...
Story: 6 out of 10 (The tiara part was boring but the wedding and final scene helped to salvage the movie.)
Acting: 6 out of 10 (Nothing particularly outstanding)
Theme song: 8.5 out of 10 (This is for One Love)
Visual effects / Scenery: 7.5 out of 10 (I was simply amazed at how much money they spent or rather wasted just to bring the whole of the wealthy to the screen)
Teamwork / Chemistry: 6 out of 10 (Again, nothing too impressive. Matsujun seemed more engrossed in his role as compared to Mao.)

Total: 34 out of 50

Hana Yori Dango Final - Introduction

Title: Hana Yori Dango Final
Official website: here
Original manga by: Kamio Yoko
Scriptwriter: Satake Mikio
Music: Yamashita Kousuke
Director: Ishii Yasuharu
Theme song: One Love by ARASHI
Insert song: Kiss Hug by aiko


Cast:
Makino Tsukushi - Inoue Mao
Doumyouji Tsukasa - Matsumoto Jun
Hanazawa Rui - Oguri Shun
Nishikado Soujirou - Matsuda Shota
Mimasaka Akira - Abe Tsuyoshi
Doumyouji Kaede - Kaga Mariko
Matsuoka Yuki - Nishihara Aki
Toudou Shizuka - Sada Mayumi
Ookawahara Shigeru - Kato Natsuki
Sengoku Sachiyo - Kato Takako
Kaburagi Kazu - Fujiki Naohito
Sunny - AKIRA (EXILE)
Makino Haruo - Kobayashi Susumu
Makino Chieko - Ishino Mako
Makino Susumu - Tomiura Tomotsugu
Nishida - David Ito
Tama - Sasaki Sumie
Sanjou Sakurako - Sato Megumi
Uchida Ken - Tsurumi Shingo