Maou's soundtrack to be released!

Maou's original soundtrack will be released on 10 September 2008 (Wednesday).

Produced by: Sawano Hiroyuki
Catalog number: NQCL-2013
Price: 2500 yen

Top 10 movies ranking (31 August 2008)

1) Hancock

2) 20 seiki Shounen

3) Kake no ue no Ponyo

4) Detroit Metal City

5) Hamunaputora 3

6) Sex and the City

7) Gekijouban Pocket Monster

8) Hana Yori Dango Final

9) Gekijouban Kamen Rider Kiba

10) The Dark Knight

Review of Kansahoujin 監査法人

Title: Kansahoujin 監査法人
Broadcast by: NHK
Theme song: Shinkaigyo 深海魚 by Yamazaki Masayoshi 山崎まさよし

Cast:
Wakasugi Kenji (Tsukamoto Takashi)
Yamanaka Akane (Matsushita Nao)
Onodera Naoto (Toyohara Kousuke)
Shinohara Yuzo (Hashizume Isamu)
Yoshino Yoshiharu (Katsumura Masanobu)
Master (Shimizu Shogo)
Inoue Ryo (Abe Sadao)

Episode Listing:

1) Are we destroying the company? (会社、つぶせますか)
Aired on 14 June 2008 - Ratings: 7.7%
2) The 80 billion underground books (８００億円の裏帳簿)
Aired on 21 June 2008 - Ratings: 8.6%
3) A series of window-dressings (粉飾の連鎖)
Aired on 28 June 2008 - Ratings: 8.4%
4) The overture to collapse (崩壊の序曲)
Aired on 5 July 2008 - Ratings: 8.5%
5) The price for dreams (夢の代償)
Aired on 12 July 2008 - Ratings: 6.3%
6) Can we save the company? (会社、救えますか)
Aired on 19 July 2008 - Ratings: 8.2%

This has got to be one of the best dramas from NHK which I've seen. Well, this excludes the Taiga dramas since they are so long that I can't sit through them. By making this statement, I'm just referring to their Saturday dramas. Being a national broadcaster, it seems like NHK is not so concerned about the bottomline (that's why they don't stick to romance or comedies to pull in ratings) when it comes to their Saturday dramas and is prepared to go a little further when handling controversial themes like this. Mind you, this topic can be considered as a taboo in Japanese society because of some points it raised in the story. I'm surprised that NHK can put this out in the open and get viewers to think which side of the argument is better.

To give you a rough idea of what this drama is all about, here's a summary of the story. Be warned about spoilers so you may wish to skip this post until you've watched the drama or are OK with knowing the plot.

Wakasugi Kenji and Yamanaka Akane are auditors at a major auditing firm, "Japan Auditors" where they come under the charge of a superior, Onodera Naoto who lives by the principle of strict auditing. However, the general business climate fosters the unspoken understanding that auditors should turn a blind eye to a certain degree of window-dressings in the accounts. This is to preserve the business relationship between the auditing firm and the company being audited (since the latter pays them auditing fees) and the auditing firm generally has no intention to destroy a company by being "overly-strict" on them.

Being under the influence of Onodera who also happens to be their mentor when they first joined the company, Wakasugi and Yamanaka try to stick to their principles but are faced with the dilemma of whether this is indeed the right way to go.

At the beginning of the story, we are presented with Onodera's decision to issue an adverse auditor opinion on a supermarket chain's financial reports. This leads to the company going bust in no time and the CEO to commit suicide. As a result, Wakasugi and Yamanaka start to doubt whether they were being too harsh.

They are then met with the next challenge of whether to issue an adverse opinion on a construction company which inflated their sales by counting apartments which have not been built or sold yet. (The common practice for such companies is to count sales only when the apartment is sold and ownership handed over to the buyer.) Although they would very much like to have things their way, their superior on the audit site, Tashiro wants to preserve the relationship with the client and decides to issue an unqualified opinion at the insistence of the audit firm's boss.

Towards the end of the first arc, you will see the fall of Japan Auditors which will be dragged down when the fact that they did not expose the window-dressings of some major corporations comes out into the open. This is supposedly to show what happens when prudent audit practices are not upheld.

However, in the second arc, you are presented with the pitfalls of what strict auditing practices can bring about. It is not such an ideal world after all even when Onodera & Co. have their way and establish Esperanza Auditors which has a tie-up with a foreign auditing firm. The new firm is still in the state of expansion but there is little manpower to handle the workload. Auditors are overworked. The boss i.e. Onodera gradually loses focus on his initial goal as he tries to grow the business. Wakasugi and Yamanaka will then make decisions on how to survive in this environment and find their ways out from the messy state of events.

This is the second economic-themed drama from NHK after Hagetaka (i've not been able to get this drama yet) and focuses on one of the top 3 most difficult qualifications to attain in Japan i.e. national recognized accountants. In case you are wondering, the other two are doctors and lawyers. People in these professions are always addressed as "sensei" out of respect. I'm not an expert in accounting but I read Japanese financial reports every day at work so the things they discuss are not exactly that foreign to me. It might be a challenge for those who don't know accounting at all or are turned off by serious themes.

I've always wondered why the conflict of interests exist between auditors and the companies being audited. To preserve a neutral stand, auditors should not get remuneration directly from the firm concerned, ideally. In real life, this is definitely not the case. Companies pay auditing firms to check their accounts so there is no way to ensure that the auditor's opinion is partial and not influenced by the remuneration it gets. That is why at the beginning of the story, Japan Auditors is prepared to let the window-dressing go instead of issuing an adverse opinion.

I think in the past, Japanese companies had this thinking that they should not make things difficult for one another for the sake of survival. That is why the audit firms were probably not that keen to cause the downfall of companies by issuing adverse opinions. However, due to a series of corporate scandals in America as a result of such lax auditing processes, the world started to promote the importance of strict auditing practices. As a result, in countries like Japan where corporate relationships were the essence of prosperity and survival, such changes were met with resistance as shown by Onodera being taken off from the audit sites by the boss as he continued to promote strict accounting. To the audit firm, preserving relationships with clients was more important.

Personally, I've not seen an adverse opinion so far in my work. There are four types of auditor opinions i.e. unqualified, unqualified with explanation, qualified and adverse. As such, if companies do get an adverse opinion (this is extremely serious), this could lead to them being taken off the stock exchange and the company going down in no time. That's why companies which did window-dressing were so afraid of being exposed by the auditors during the checks. I pity those auditors in a way too...they were being regarded as the plague when they were just paid to do their jobs.

This drama will set you thinking: is the ideal of strict accounting practices feasible in the real world? Are we prepared for the repercussions that will come by? Although some parts of the story may be a little exaggerated i.e. covering up for the window-dressing when it had snowballed to an enormous figure or when it was already easily seen by everyone, you can take a good look at how the industry works.

As for the casting, I think Tsukamoto Takashi isn't that suitable to play this role. Well, I think he's an OK actor but then, his image doesn't fit the character. And when it came to some of the more emotional scenes, there wasn't much variation in his expressions. Another thing is, his red lips really got on my nerves. Is he like this naturally or the makeup staff put too much lipstick on him?

The supporting cast were generally good and the most outstanding, in my opinion was Toyohara Kousuke who played Onodera. As the role was developed throughout the drama, Toyohara had the chance of showing the contrast between the idealistic and realistic Onodera. Hashizume Isamu was good too but in the second part of the story, he didn't appear much since his character was behind bars. Matsushita Nao was fine in this drama and has shown improvement ever since I saw her in her debut drama.

The theme song, Shinkaigyo is good mainly because of Yamazaki Masayoshi's soulful rendition. What a pity that there are no plans to release this on CD yet!

On the whole, I would recommend this drama to those who:
- like occupation-dramas
- prefer serious-themed stories (there's no romance and only a bit of family-stuff)
- are fans of the two leads

This is definitely not for people who are looking for light-hearted entertainment so don't say I didn't warn you if you felt bored or fell asleep while watching this.

Review of 33 pun Tantei Ep 2

This will be the last I'm seeing of this drama.

Like what I mentioned before, I will not continue to watch this drama if it proves to be what I deduced from the first episode i.e. deliberately lengthening the episode just to fit that 33-minute requirement. Well, this type of dramas can be a hit or miss so for me, it falls into the latter category. Some jokes were downright silly so I really couldn't bear the thought of sitting through another episode of this drama.

The most fascinating or should I say bewildering thing I couldn't understand was why Ootawara had to go to Rokuro time and again for help when he could have solved the case in just 5 minutes. It just seems like he's been taken for a ride and end up at the starting point. Doesn't he feel silly about this? It is unlike Kindaichi or even the gang from Tantei Gakuen Q who really do the case-solving and be of help to the police detectives. Anyway, I won't bother about trying to think through this point since I'm stopping at Episode 2.

Seems like there are many people who do like this drama based on the ratings. It's been doing relatively well for a late-night drama. Are they watching it for Tsuyoshi or the story?

Top 10 movies ranking (24 August 2008)

1) Kake no ue no Ponyo

2) Detroit Metal City

3) Sex and the City

4) Hamutora 3

5) Gekijouban Pocket Monster

6) Star Wars Clone Wars

7) Dark Knight

8) Hana Yori Dango Final

9) Gekijouban Kamen Rider Kiba

10) Kungfu Panda

If I'm not the one by Tanimura Nana 谷村奈南 (Theme song of Yottsu no Uso 四つの嘘)

Title: If I'm not the one
Artiste: Tanimura Nana
Lyrics: Watanabe Natsumi
Melody: Pete Gordeno / Howard New / Graham Kearns

ame agari niji no hikari
furi sosogu LOVE
sore wa marude kimi ga Hold me todoketa yuuki

tsubomi no mama eyes tozashiteta
All of my dreams mezameru no
soba ni ite

But if I'm not the one
meguri aeta no
futari to iu kiseki
Wanna be your shinning rose
ude no naka zutto saite iyou
If I'm not the one

mirai wa mada mienai
egaki aguneru Days
I'll be toki ni doushiyou mo naku
toge wo motsu My heart

hitori janai yo
donna hi mo kimi no me ga
kono namida tokashite

So if I'm not the one
shinjiteru no
musubi aeru omoi
we're ever shining rose
eien ni saki tsuzukeru hana
If I'm not the one

tsubomi no mama eyes tozashiteta
All of my dreams mezameru no
ima soba ni ite

But if I'm not the one
meguri aeta no
futari to iu kiseki
wanna be your shinning rose
ude no naka zutto saite iyou
Forever two if I'm not the one

truth by Arashi (Theme song of Maou魔王)

Title: truth
Artiste: Arashi
Lyrics and melody: HYDRANT

yurari yureru hikari hitotsu itami iyasu koto naku kieru
"I take your life forever you take my life forever"
hirari ochiru namida hitotsu omoi todoku koto naku kieru
"I take your life forever you take my life"

tomaranai toki ni hisomu
ai wa kitto furi sosogu ame no you ni
(kobore ochita namida no ato koe sou na namida no iro)
modorenai kioku meguru
subete ubawareta kono you no hate ni
(kobore ochita namida no ato koe sou na namida no iro)

kanashimi...
tatoe donna owari wo egaitemo
kokoro wa nazo meite
sore wa maru de yami no you ni
semaru shinjitsu
tatoe donna sekai wo egaitemo
ashita wa mienakute
sore wa marude yuri no you ni kegare wo shiranai
negai wa toumei na mama de

shiroku somaru hana ni hitori nami mo kawaru koto naku chikau
"I take your life forever you take my life"

todokanai koe ni nokoru
ai wa sotto fuki nukeru kaze no you ni
(kobore ochita namida no ato kakushi kirenu futatsu no kao)
owaranai yoru ni nemuru
yume no kizuato ni nokoshita itami
(kobore ochita namida no ato kakushi kirenu futatsu no kao)

kanashimi...
tatoe wazukana hikari umaretemo
nageki wa kuri kaesu
sore wa marude uso no you ni
kieru shinjitsu
tatoe saigo no hane wo hiraitemo
sadame wa kaerarezu
yuri no hana wa hakanage ni itami wa kienai
yume nara aishita mama de

kanashimi...
tatoe donna owari wo egaitemo
kokoro wa nazo meite
sore wa maru de yami no you ni
semaru shinjitsu
tatoe donna sekai wo egaitemo
ashita wa mienakute
sore wa marude yuri no you ni
kegare wo shiranai
negai wa toumei na mama de

Top 10 movies ranking (17 August 2008)

1) Kake no ue no Ponyo

2) Hamunaputra 3

3) Gekijouban Pocket Monster

4) What happens in Vegas

5) Dark Knight

6) Hana yori Dango Final

7) Kungfu Panda

8) Gekijouban Kamen Rider Kiba

9) Gekijouban NARUTO

10) Gegege no Kitaro

Hikari ひかり by Hoshimura Mai 星村麻衣 (Theme song of "Tomorrow")

Title: Hikari
Artiste: Hoshimura Mai
Lyrics and melody: Hoshimura Mai / Shiraishi Satori

nani wo motome koko ni iru no?
ushiro furi kaereba
kimi no egao batto saita yureru hana no kage de

hitomi tojita yami no naka ni
nani ga mieru no darou
tada soba de hohoemu sore dake nano ni ai wo kanjiteru

hikari no saki ni egao no saki ni
watashi wa ashita e no yume wo miru
hageshiku mune ni nokosu jijitsu ni
bokura wa ashita e no kibou wo shiru
chiisana shou no naka ni
umarete tabi tatta mono wa
musuu no dekigoto to
dare ka wo michibiku hikari
watashi wo michibiku hikari

sora wo ugoku shiroi kumo wo jitto mitsumete ita
toki wo koete hito wa ima mo negai inotte iru

nani ka ga kawatte kureru koto
tada matteitanda
kazashita te no oku ni
kawaru tsuyosa no
imi wo kanjiteiru

ashita hikari ga todonakutemo
mienai kabe ga takakutemo
senaka awaseru no hikari to kage wo
samayoi nagara aruite iku
tayori naku jibun wo semete
wake mo naku namida nagashita
mabushii yozashi no naka ni
dare ka wo aisuru hikari
watashi wo aisuru hikari

ashita ni nareba hi wa mata noboru
dare mo ga mirai e no yume wo miru
hatenaku tsuzuku muhen no sora ni
bokura wa ikiteiku imi wo shiru
subete wo tsumi komu ai ni hagukumare kizuita mono wa
kokoro no oku ni aru
yasashiku yori sou hikari watashi wo michibiku hikari

nani wo motome koko ni iru no? ushiro furi kaereba
kimi no egao batto saita yureru hana no kage de

Review of 33 pun Tantei Ep 1

Let me clarify that I am no fan of Doumoto Tsuyoshi thus my motive in watching this drama has nothing to do with his appearance. In fact, none of the cast members appeal to me in such a way that makes this drama a must-watch. It's just that the concept of this drama seemed rather appealing when I read about it in the entertainment news so I decided to give it a shot. To be frank, I just don't know how to describe my feelings about watching the first episode. To be precise, it's a mixture of disappointment and bewilderment.

To begin with, let me give a brief introduction to this drama. Kurama Rokurou (Doumoto) owns a detective agency and has an assistant Muto Rikako (Mizukawa Asami) whose presence is somewhat like one who brings the weirdo Rokurou back to earth when he imagines too much or does strange things. Add in the police detectives Ootawara and Mogi as well as the information source (Kojima Yoshio) and the forensic scientists and that rounds up the cast. From what I knew from the news, the main draw of this drama is to see how Rokurou solves the case in 33 minutes BUT in the first episode, that is clearly different.

I was given the idea that Rokurou was going to solve the case in 33 minutes but the first episode showed him going round in circles during the 33 minutes just to arrive at a conclusion which was apparent right from the start. This means that he could have wrapped up the case in 5 minutes but deliberately lengthened the solving process to 33 minutes. It just makes me wonder what's the purpose of doing that. As such, you will see Rokurou throwing up senseless conjectures and bringing out irrelevant details which are not that crucial to solving the case. True, it was a bit funny to see him fumbling throughout the way but it got stale as time went by. I just couldn't wait for it to end halfway into the drama.

Well, I'll give this drama another chance before writing it off completely. I'm quite disappointed with this drama because I expected more especially after seeing how its predecessors in the same timeslot had done relatively well in the quality department e.g. Liar Game, SP and LIFE. I hope it will get better instead of dragging it for 33 minutes for no reason.

Top 10 CM Airtime Exposure Ranking (First Half of 2008)

The following ranking lists the Top 10 artistes who have appeared most in TV CMs during the first 6 months of 2008:

1) Tamaki Hiroshi

2) Ueto Aya

3) Aoi Yu

4) Yonekura Ryoko

5) Nakama Yukie

6) Kusanagi Tsuyoshi

7) Tsuchii Takeo

8) Toyohara Kousuke

9) Ota Maki

10) Kimura Takuya

Top 10 movies ranking (17 August 2008)

1) Kake no ue no Ponyo

2) The Dark Knight

3) Gekijouban Pocket Monster Diamond & Pearl

4) Gekijouban Kamen Rider Kiba

5) Hana Yori Dango Final

6) Kungfu Panda

7) Gekijouban NARUTO

8) Happening

9) Sky Crawlers

10) Indiana Jones The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

33 pun Tantei 33分探偵 (The 33-minute detective)

Title: 33 pun Tantei (The 33-minute detective)
Showing on: FujiTV
Timeslot: 11.10pm Saturdays
Theme song: Secret Code by KinKi Kids



Cast:

Kurama Rokurou (Doumoto Tsuyoshi)
Muto Rikako (Mizukawa Asami)
Ootawara (Takahashi Katsumi)
Mogi (Totsugu Shigeyuki)
Ai (Nonami Maho)
Information source (Kojima Yoshio)
Forensic scientist (Satou Jirou)

Pandora パンドラ

Title: Pandora
Number of episodes: 8
Shown on: WOWOW
Genre: Medical suspense
Scriptwriter: Inoue Yumiko (Shiroi Kyoto, 14-sai no Haha, Good Luck!, Machiben etc)
Official website: here


Cast:

Suzuki Hideki (Mikami Hiroshi)
Matoba Shinichi (Yanagiba Toshiro)
Iida Sayoko (Konishi Manami)
Otagawa Haruo (Yamamoto Koji)
Mizuno Emi (Tanimura Mizuki)
Tomoda Shogo (Hirata Mitsuru)
Otaguro Shigeyuki (Kunimura Hayato)
Kadowaki Chika (Uehara Misa)
Fukami Kanichiro (Ono Takehiko)
Numabe Yoshihiro (Aijima Kazuyuki)

Code Blue コードブルー - Summer 2008 Drama Preview

Title: Code Blue
Broadcast by: FujiTV
Timeslot: Thursdays, 10pm
Theme song: HANABI by Mr.Children


Cast:

Aizawa Kousaku (Yamashita Tomohisa)
Shiraishi Megumi (Aragaki Yui)
Hiyama Mihoko (Toda Erika)
Fujikawa Kazuo (Asatoshi Yosuke)
Saejima Haruka (Higa Aimi)
Tadakoro Yoshiaki (Kodama Kiyoshi)
Morimoto Tadashi (Katsumura Masanobu)
Kaji Hisashi (Terajima Susumu)
Saijou Akira (Sugimoto Tetsuta)
Mitsui Kanna (Ryou)
Kuroda Yuji (Yanagiba Toshiro)

Top 10 movies ranking (3 Aug 2008)

1) Kake no ue no Ponyo

2) Gekijouban Pocket Monster

3) Gekijouban Naruto

4) Kungfu Panda

5) Hana Yori Dango Final

6) Happening

7) The Sky Crawlers

8) Indiana Jones - The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

9) Dragon Kingdom

10) Gegege no Kitaro

Kansahoujin 監査法人 (Auditors)

Title: Kansahoujin 監査法人
Broadcast by: NHK
Number of episodes: 6
Broadcast period: 14 June 2008 to 19 July 2008 (Saturdays, 9pm)
Theme song: Shinkaigyo 深海魚 by Yamazaki Masayoshi 山崎まさよし

Cast:
Wakasugi Kenji (Tsukamoto Takashi)
Yamanaka Akane (Matsushita Nao)
Onodera Naoto (Toyohara Kosuke)
Shinohara Yuzo (Hashizume Isamu)
Master Kuwahara (Shimizu Shogo)
Inoue Ryo (Abe Sadao)
Yoshino (Katsumura Masanobu)

Official website: here

Most Anticipated Young Actors 2008

As selected by Oricon style users:

1) Yamamoto Yusuke

2) Okada Masaki

3) Miura Haruma

4) Sato Takeru

5) Mizushima Hiro

6) Kamiji Yusuke

7) Mukai Osamu

8) Mizobata Junpei

9) Shirota Yu

10) Tanaka Kei

Most Anticipated Young Actresses 2008

The following is a selection of Top 10 most anticipated young actresses as selected by Oricon style users:

1) Kitagawa Keiko

2) Kitano Kii

3) Minami

4) Kaho

5) Eikura Nana

6) Minami Akina

7) Oogo Suzuka

8) Tanaka Miho

9) Suzuki Emi

10) Tabe Mikako

Top 10 movies ranking (27 July 2008)

1) Kake no ue no Ponyo

2) Gekijouban Pocket Monster Diamond & Pearl Giratina to Sora no Hanabata Sheimi

3) Happening

4) Hana Yori Dango Final

5) Kungfu Panda

6) Dragon Kingdom

7) Indiana Jones - Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

8) Gegege no Kitaro

9) Climber's High

10) The Magic Hour

Summer 2008 Drama Expectation Ranking (before OA)

The following is the summer 2008 drama expectation ranking from Oricon before the start of the season where respondents choose the drama which they are most looking forward to:

1) Code Blue ~ Doctor Heli Kinkyuu Kyumei (FujiTV)

2) Maou (TBS)

3) 33-pun Tantei (FujiTV)

4) Monster Parent (FujiTV)

5) Taiyo to Umi no Kyoshitsu (FujiTV)

6) Shibatora (FujiTV)

7) Tomorrow (TBS)

8) Yasuko to Kenji (NTV)

9) Lotto 6 de 3-oku 2-sen manen ateta otoko (TV Asahi)

10) Seigi no Mikata (NTV)

Information about Maou's Korean version

The following are some information regarding the original Korean version of Maou:

Title: 마왕 / Mawang
English title: The Devil
Episodes: 20
Broadcast network: KBS2
Official website: here
Broadcast period: 21 March 2007 - 24 May 2007
Timeslot: Wednesdays and Thursdays 9.55pm

When Homicide Detective Kang Oh Soo hit a dead end in his investigation of two seemly unrelated murders, except for the Tarot cards left behind at both crime scenes, he sought help from Seo Hae In, a woman with psychometry ability. She revealed that the killers were different in each murder, but the victims were chosen for their connection to a death of a high school boy. Later, the cases proved to have one more thing in common: the suspects have the same defense attorney, Oh Seung Ha.

Seung Ha's defense for his clients severely shaken Oh Soo’s conviction to catch the Tarot Card mastermind. Oh Soo was reminded that years ago he had killed a high school classmate in a fight. He was acquitted of all charges and began his life anew. Now, someone has came back to revenge the boy’s wrongful death by killing those who got him off.

The above information is from DramaWiki.

Cast:
Joo Ji Hoon as Oh Seung Ha / Jung Tae Seung
Shin Min Ah as Seo Hae In
Uhm Tae Woong as Kang Oh Soo

The Japanese-release DVD set comes in two parts and can be found here.

Maou's novelised version

The novel version of Maou translated from its Korean original is released now! Includes an explanation of key Tarot cards and Faust (the theatrical play) featured in the story.





Title: Maou (Part 1 and 2)
Author: Kim Ji-u
Price: 648 yen each
Release date: 17 July 2008
Released by: Futaba Publishing

Part 1
ISBN: 457551215X
Pages: 348

Part 2
ISBN: 4575512168
Pages: 348

Zutto Issho sa - Yamashita Tatsuro (Theme song of Bara no nai Hanaya)

Title: Zutto issho sa
Artist: Yamashita Tatsuro
Lyrics and Melody: Yamashita Tatsuro

dakishimete
shijima no naka de
anata no koe wo kikasete

kobiri tsuku
namida wo tokashite
fuyu wa mou sugu owaru yo

ikutsu mono kanashimi wo
kuguri nuketa sono ato de
tsunaida te no atatakasa ga
subete wo shiteiru

anata to futari de
ikite ikitai
sore dake de nani mo iranai
hiru mo yoru mo yume no naka made
zutto zutto issho sa

kizutsuita
kokoro no kakera wo
hitotsu nokorazu hirotte

ai to iu
fushigi na jigusou
tsunagu piisu wo sagasu yo

hontou no tsuyosa wa
hitori janai tte ieru koto

kaze no naka de yori sou
hana no you ni
hime yaka ni

anata to futari de
ikite iketara
nando demo umare kawareru
tadori tsuita bokura no bassho de
zutto zutto issho sa

anata to futari de
ikite ikitai
sore dake de nani mo iranai
toki no umi ni mirai wo ukabe
zutto zutto
zutto issho sa
zutto zutto issho sa
zutto issho sa...

Top 10 movies ranking (20 July 2008)

1) Kake no ue no Ponyo

2) Gekijouban Pocket Monster Diamond & Pearl Giradina to Sora no Hanabata Sheimi

3) Hana Yori Dango Finale

4) Indiana Jones

5) Gegege no Kitaro

6) Climber's high

7) The Magic Hour

8) Sore Ike! Anpanman Yosei Rinrin no Himitsu

9) Speed Racer

10) Hyakuen to Nigamushionna

Prisoner of Love - Utada Hikaru (Theme song of Last Friends)

Title: Prisoner of Love
Artist: Utada Hikaru
Lyrics and Melody: Utada Hikaru

heiki na kao de uso wo tsuite
waratte iyage ga sashite
raku bakari shiyou to shite ita

nai mono nedari buruusu
minna yasuragi wo motometeiru
michi tariteru no ni ubai au
ai no kage wo otteiru

taikutsu na mainichi ga kyuu ni kagayaki dashita
anata ga arawareta ano hi kara
kodoku demo tsuraku demo heiki dato omoeta
I'm just a prisoner of love
Just a prisoner of love

iyameru toki mo odayaka naru toki mo
arashi no hi mo hare no hi mo tomo ni ayumou

I'm gonna tell you the truth
hito shirezu tsurai michi wo erabu
watashi wo ouen shite kureru
anata dake wo tomo to yobu

tsuyogari ga yokubari ga muimi ni narimashita
anata ni aisareta ano hi kara
jiyuu demo yoyuu demo hitori ja munashii wa
I'm just a prisoner of love
Just a prisoner of love

Oh mou sukoshi da yo
Don't you give up
Oh misutenai zettai ni

zankoku na genjitsu ga futari ga hiki sakeba
yori issou tsuyoku hikare au
ikura demo ikura demo ganbareru kigashita
I'm just a prisoner of love
Just a prisoner of love

arifureta nichijou ga kyuu ni kagayaki dashita
kokoro wo ubawareta ano hi kara
kodoku demo tsuraku demo heiki dato omoeta
I'm just a prisoner of love
Just a prisoner of love

Stay with me, stay with me
My baby say you love me
Stay with me, stay with me
hitori ni sasenai

Tomorrow - Summer 2008 Drama Preview

Title: Tomorrow
Broadcaster: TBS
Showing: Sundays, 9pm




Cast:
Moriyama Kouhei - Takenouchi Yutaka
Tanaka Aiko - Kanno Miho
Endo Saya - Ogawa Tamaki
Tanaka Nanami - Kurokawa Tomoka
Harada Kazuko - Edo Harumi
Hasumi Youji - Jinnai Takanori
Sendou Ikuo - Kishibe Kazutoku

Points of interest:

1)Takenouchi Yutaka and Kanno Miho
Both of them are my favourites and this combination is quite refreshing. Especially for Takenouchi who has not been in a full-length drama for some time, it is extremely exciting to see him back in action. Based on what I've seen from the first two episodes, their acting seems to have improved significantly and I look forward to more sparks between them as the story progresses.

2) The storyline
I like stories which reflect reality. Although there have been many medical-themed dramas, you can have various perspectives to the same topic. In this case, instead of seeing a heroic-type of doctor like what we've seen in Iryuu, this drama focuses on the harsh reality of maintaining the financial feasibility of the medical institution vs. the idealistic approach of providing medical care to all who need it. On one hand, we have Kanno's character, Aiko fighting to keep the bankrupt town hospital accessible to the locals but Endo (Ogawa Tamaki) wants to transform it into a celebrity hospital where medical care is only offered to those who can afford it. Takenouchi's character, Moriyama has a hidden past and is caught between his beliefs and what reality requires.

Maou 魔王 - Summer 2008 Drama Preview

I will be posting previews of new dramas only for those which I'm interested in so you won't be seeing introductions for all offerings within each season. To start off, here's a feature of Maou from TBS!




Title: Maou 魔王 (Demon King)
Broadcaster: TBS
Theme song: Truth by Arashi

Cast:
Naruse Ryo - Ohno Satoshi
Serizawa Naoto - Ikuta Toma
Sakita Shiori - Kobayashi Ryoko
Kasai Jun - Tanaka Kei
Souda Michiru - Oshinari Shugo
Ishimoto Yosuke - Waki Tomohiro　　
Takazuka Kaoru - Uehara Misa
Nishina Eri - Shinohara Mai
Yamano Keita - Shimizu Yu　
Serizawa Mari - Yoshize Michiko
Serizawa Noriyoshi - Gekidan Hitori
Nakanishi Hiromichi - Miyake Yuji
Serizawa Eisaku - Ishizaka Koji

Points of interest:

1) Ohno Satoshi's first leading role in a drama
All along, Ohno has been known as the underrated actor in Arashi who's been praised for his acting in stage plays. However, he has never acted in a drama before. This is the first time he's acting in a drama and to top it off, it's a leading role! His character, Naruse Ryo is an angel on the surface but a devil deep within. As such, this will be a test of his acting skills and may determine whether he can secure more drama appearances in future.

2) Ohno and Ikuta Toma acting together
In the drama, Ohno and Ikuta's roles are rivals while in real life, they are buddies who have known each other for years. It will be interesting to see how they face off through acting.

3) The suspense
I've always like suspense thrillers so this seems to be an enjoyable drama to sit through. Although we are presented with the reason why Ryo wants to take revenge against Naoto right in the first episode, the thrilling part is how Ryo manages to execute his plan without dirtying his hands and breaking the law. Thus, the issue here is not finding who's the culprit behind all these events but rather guessing what will happen next and how it will end.

Spring 2008 Drama Ratings Ranking

With the final broadcast of CHANGE last night, this concludes the spring 2008 season. As such, here's the ratings ranking of the season in terms of average rating throughout these 3 months:

*Note that Hachi-one Diver will be showing its last episode this Saturday thus was excluded in this ranking.

The number 1 spot belongs to Gokusen from NTV which has an average rating of 22.81%. Out of its 11 episodes, only the 9th and 10th episode went below the 20% mark thus propelling it to top spot ahead of CHANGE which scored 3.8% higher for its finale last night.

I had no interest in this drama at all thus didn't even watch a single episode. I guess the novelty of the series had already worn off by the time I finished the first series and that I'm rather sick of such nekketsu-kyoshi type of stories by now. Besides, the so-called ikemen in this latest instalment fail to interest me...maybe it's age which has changed my tastes. And I've never liked yanki-type of guys. ^__^

At No.2 is CHANGE which got an average of 22.08%. Well, it only lost to Gokusen by a mere 0.73% despite the fact that it had 4 out of 10 episodes going below 20%. The drama lost to Gokusen for its first O.A. but managed to deal a retalliating blow through the finale.

Well, this was one of the two dramas which I finished in full for this season. I'm neither a fan of Kimutaku nor very impressed with the story but the novelty of seeing how the political system works in Japan kept me staying on. The strong supporting cast made the drama more bearable than becoming a mere Kimutaku personal show. Niracchi saikou!

More on the drama when I watch the finale in full. I was watching the live broadcast last night but that extremely long solo speech by Kimutaku just made me switch off. I have no idea what exactly happened in the end so I will comment on the drama later.

No.3 belongs to Last Friends which did relatively well in terms of critical reviews and ratings. It scored an average rating of 17.73% which was more than 3% ahead of the No.4 drama. And this is one drama which I finished from beginning to the end.

Nagasawa Masami fails to impress me AGAIN while Ueno Juri and Nishikido Ryo were exceptionally outstanding in this drama. Regardless of whether you are a fan of the cast, the story itself is compelling enough to keep you glued to the screen. I think the ending could have been handled better but then, nothing is perfect so I can't ask for too much. These days, a lot of dramas have sloppy endings so I've grown used to it. Anyway, the special episode had too much flashbacks so I was quite irritated to be taken for a ride instead of seeing what happens after the last episode.

And here's the rest of the ranking:

4th: Around 40 (TBS) 14.72%
5th: ROOKIES (TBS) 14.31%
6th: Zettai Kareshi (FujiTV) 13.15%
7th: Shichinin no Onna Bengoshi (TV Asahi) 10.94%
8th: Puzzle (TV Asahi) 10.13%
9th: Osen (NTV) 9.15% ~ I finished the first episode but had no motivation to progress further. Uchi Hiroki's character is a terrible eyesore and Aoi Yu was disappointing.
10th: Kimi Hannin ja nai yo ne (TV Asahi) 8.87%
11th: Ryokiteki na Kanojo (TBS) 8.31% ~ Much as I like Kusanagi Tsuyoshi, the drama was boring. Gave up after 15 minutes.
12th: Hokaben (NTV) 8.21%
13th: Muri na Renai (FujiTV) 7.51%

Top 10 movies weekly ranking (13 July 08)

1) Hana Yori Dango Final

2) Indiana Jones

3) Gegege no Kitaro

4) Climber's High

5) The Magic Hour

6) Sore Ike! Anpanman Yosei Rinrin no Himitsu

7) Speed Racer

8) Kiseki no Symphony

9) The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian

10) Nishi no Majou ga Shinda

Hachimitsu to Clover's drama to be shown from Jan 08!

Narumi Riko (15) will star in the drama version of "Hachimitsu to Clover" which is to be shown via FujiTV from Jan 2008. The manga has accumulated sales of 8.13 million copies and depicts the lives of 5 art university students.

Narumi will play Hanamoto Hagumi, who's a freshman despite her being only a Year 3 junior high student in real life. As for the role of Takemoto Yuuta who is holding a torch for Hagumi, he will be played by Ikuta Toma (23).

"Hachimitsu to Clover" was serialised in the manga magazine, "Chorus" and its 10-volumes boast of a sales figure of 8.13 million copies. The manga was made into an anime and shown in the midnight slot during 2005 and 2006 while a movie starring Aoi Yu was made in July 06.

The manga's author, Umino Chika saw a poster of Narumi acting as a genius pianist in the movie, "Jindou", thus decided to get the latter to star in the drama version. Filming will begin at the end of this month.

As for the remaining three main roles i.e. Morita Shinobu, Yamada Ayumi and Mayama Takumi, FujiTV has mentioned that casting for these characters are still in progress.

After a long absence, I'm back with posting this piece of news about Hachikuro! This is only momentary because I'm very busy with work and studies so I can't post as frequently as I want.

Well, as a fan of the manga and anime, I have high hopes for the drama version. In addition, I like Narumi and Ikuta so I'm looking forward to see how they will perform. My only concern is that Narumi has always been cast in headstrong, stubborn and cool roles so how she shows Hagu's insecure, sensitive and pure character would be a big challenge to her acting skills. Likewise for Ikuta, he's been playing comical or happy-go-lucky roles most of the time so I wonder how he will pull off playing Takemoto.

However, my main concern is the casting for the rest of the roles especially Morita who's my No.1 favourite character. It's definitely not easy to play Morita who's hiding his true self under his eccentric and wild cover. Personally, I feel that Iseya Yuusuke wasn't that competent in showing the sentimental side of Morita although he had that artistic flair. Maybe it was his image in the movie which really got on my nerves. Likewise for Mayama and Yamada or even the important supporting characters like Hanamoto-sensei, Rika-san or even Miwako-san and Nomiya, I'm really worried about who they will choose. This could be crucial to the success of the series.

As for the scope of the drama, it is not mentioned in the article but I guess 11 episodes or so would not be sufficient to cover the 10 volumes. Maybe they will follow what Nodame Cantabile is doing i.e. follow-up with a drama SP at the end of the series? However, since Hachikuro is already done with its manga, they might just produce a full sequel unlike Nodame which is still in progress...

Top 10 movies weekly ranking (20 May 2007)

1) Superman 3

2) Gegege no Kitaro

3) Ore wa kimi to tame ni koso shini iku

4) Bizan

5) Meitantei Conan

6) Babel

7) Pacchigi! LOVE&PEACE

8) Crayon Shinchan Arashi wo Yobu Ketsu dake Bakudan!

9) Tokyo Tower Okan to Boku to Tokidoki Oton

10) Stranger than fiction

Top 10 movies weekly ranking (13 May 2007)

1) Spiderman 3

2) Gegege no Kitaro

3) Ore wa kimi no tame ni koso shini iku

4) Bizan

5) Meitantei Conan

6) Babel

7) Crayon Shinchan Arashi wo Yobu Utau Ketsu Dake Bakudan!

8) Tokyo Tower

9) Hatsuyuki Virgin Snow

10) Hannibal Rising

Top 10 movies weekly ranking (6 May 2007)

1) Spiderman 3

2) Gegege no Kitaro

3) Meitantei Conan

4) Crayon Shinchan Arashi wo Yobu Utau Ketsu dake Bakudan!

5) Babel

6) Tokyo Tower Okan to Boku to Tokidoki Oton

7) Rocky The Final

8) Hannibal Rising

9) Blood Diamond

10) Love Song ga Dekirumade

Top 10 movies weekly ranking (29 April 2007)

1) Meitantei Conan

2) Gegege no Kitaro

3) Babel

4) Crayon Shinchan Arashi wo Yobu Utau Ketsu Dake Bakudan!

5) Tokyo Tower Okan to Boku to tokidoki Oton

6) Hannibal Rising

7) Rocky The Final

8) Blood Diamond

9) Love Song ga dekiru made

10) Shin Kyuuseishu Densetsu Hokuto no Ken Raou Den Gekitou no Sho

Top 10 movies weekly ranking (22 April 2007)

1) Meitantei Conan

2) Crayon Shin-chan Arashi wo Yobu Utau Ketsu dake Bakudan!

3) Tokyo Tower Okan to Boku to Tokidoki Oton

4) Rocky the Finale

5) Hannibal Rising

6) Night Museum

7) Blood Diamond

8) Love Song ga Dekirumade

9) Unfair the movie

10) Holiday

Top 10 movies weekly ranking (15 April 2007)

1) Tokyo Tower Okan to Boku to Tokidoki Oton

2) Night Museum

3) Blood Diamond

4) Doraemon Nobita no Shinmakai Daibouken Shichinin no Mahoutsukai

5) Unfair the movie

6) Holiday

7) Sunshine 2057

8) Happy Feet

9) Battery

10) Taitei no Ken

Top 10 movies weekly ranking (8 April 2007)

1) Night Museum

2) Doraemon Nobita no Shinmakai Daibouken Shichinin no Mahoutsukai

3) Blood Diamond

4) Unfair the movie

5) Holiday

6) Happy Feet

7) Battery

8) Taitei no Ken

9) Mushi King Super Battle Movie

10) Mushishi

Joudan Ja Nai! (It's not a joke!) 冗談じゃない - Spring 2007 (Introduction)

Title: Joudan Ja Nai! 冗談じゃない!
TV Station: TBS
O.A. 15 April 2007, Sundays, 9pm

Cast:

Takamura Keita - Oda Yuji
Takamura Eren - Ueno Juri
Tomoda Satoshi - Tanaka Kei
Hirose Karen - Naka Saisa
Hirose Seren - Kanno Rio
Hirose Miren - Morisago Ai
Yamada Akira - Arai Kentarou
Onishi-san - Umezawa Masayo
Yamada Motoo - Taguchi Hiromasa
Sugita Shuuzou - Takada Junji
Sasaki - Kobayashi Susumu
Hirose Souhei - Kusamame Masao
Nonomura Saeko - Iijima Naoko
Hirose Rie - Ootake Shinobu

Story:

Takamura Keita and his girlfriend Eren are in a French resort located in Nice, enjoying a romantic holiday. Eren is a 20-year-old university student who's exactly half of Keita's age and was born in France. Their holiday to France also includes a visit to Eren's family who are still living there.

On the eve of his meeting with his prospective in-laws, Keita happens to meet his ex-girlfriend, Rie on the streets of Nice. They had broken up during their university days and had not seen each other since then.

The next day, Keita goes to the winery owned by Eren's parents and meets her father and 3 younger sisters. He gets the shock of his life when he realises that Rie is Eren's mother! However, he tries to reassure himself that everything will be fine since Rie is staying in France while he will be living with Eren in Japan after the wedding.

When Keita returns to Japan with Eren, a series of happenings cause him to be in a fix i.e. the reduction of staff in his department and being one of those on the tentative retrenchment list. Unknown to him, something worse is going to take place in his life...

Top 10 movies weekly ranking (1 April 2007)

1) Night Museum

2) Doraemon Nobita no Shinmakai Daibouken Shichinin no Mahou Tsukai

3) Unfair the movie

4) Happy Feet

5) Holiday

6) Battery

7) Deja Vu

8) One Piece Episode Of Arabasuta

9) Mushishi

10) Mush King Super Battle Movie

Watashi tachi no Kyoukasho (Our Textbook) - わたしたちの教科書 - Spring 2007 (Introduction)

Title: Watashi tachi no Kyoukasho (Our Textbook) - わたしたちの教科書
O.A. 12 April 2007, Thursdays, 10pm
TV Station: FujiTV

Cast:

Tsumiki Tamako (30) - Kanno Miho
Kaji Kohei (24) - Ito Atsushi
Oshiro Saki (27) - Maki Youko
Yoshikoshi Nozomi (25) - Sakai Wakana
Tosaka Atsuhiko (29) - Ookura Koji
Yahata Daisuke(25) - Mizushima Hiro
Kumazawa Shigeichi (45) - Sato Jiro
Amagi Otoya (20) - Igarashii Hayashi
Uda Masashi (30) - Maekawa Yasuyuki
Ookuwa Hisao (40) - Toda Masahiro
Hibino Keisuke - Koichi Mantarou
Seri Naoyuki (36) - Tanihara Shosuke
Aizawa Asuka (14) - Shida Mirai
Amagi Masumi (53) Fubuki Jun

Story:

In a junior high school classroom, an unexpected incident happens when a student falls off from a building. Shocked by the suddency of the matter, the teachers are in a frenzy, trying to establish the cause. To make things worse, the student belongs to a class which has a new temporary staff as their form teacher thus he is unaware of what he should do under such circumstanes. In the midst of the investigation, a female lawyer Tsumiki Tamako appears to challenge the school about this seemingly-simple accident...

Kaette kita Jikou Keisatsu 帰ってきた時効警察 - Spring 2007 (Introduction)

Title: Kaette kita Jikou Keisatsu 帰ってきた時効警察
O.A. 13 April 2007, Fridays, 11.15pm
Cast:
Odagiri Jo, Asou Kumiko, Toyohara Kosuke, Fuse Eri, Eguchi Noriko, Koide Saori, Iwamatsu Ryo

Episode 1: 嘘は真実を食べる怪物だと言っても過言ではないのだ！(It is not exaggerating to say that lies are monsters which eat up the truth!)

Mikatsuki and the rest at the Jikou Kanri department (Legal time limit department) feel that it was a pity that Kiriyama gave up investigating of those "expired" cases due to lack of funds since a year ago. One day, Kiriyama comes across a murder case of a member of parliament Fukuhara Kenichi which has since expired and feels a strong interest to find out more on this especially after he gets a tidy sum of money by chance to finance his investigation. He brings Mikatsuki along to meet a newscaster Enoda Misako who was the first one to reach the crime scene and had interviewed Fukuhara's secretary Kendo Kiyohiko at that time. Kendo was wrongly accused of being the murderer but his innocence was proven by Enoda later. Kiriyama starts to wonder what Enoda is hiding especially after speaking to her on this case...

Sexy Voice and Robo セクシーボイスアンドロボ - Spring 2007 (Introduction)

Title: Sexy Voice & Robo セクシーボイスアンドロボ
Date of O.A.: 10 April 2007, Tuesdays, 10pm
TV Station: NTV

Cast:

Sudou Iichiro (nickname: Robo) - Matsuyama Kenichi
Hayashi Niko (nickname: Niko) - Oogo Suzuka
Hayashi Kazumi - Murakawa Eri
Hayashi Takeo - Tsukamoto Shinya
Hayashi Yukie - Katagiri Hairi
Nanashi Hideyoshi - Okada Yoshihide
Makyouna Maki - Asaoka Ruriko
Episode 1 guest: Mikabouzu - Nakamura Shido

Episode 1 summary:

Niko is a junior high student who feels bored with her life and shuttles between school, home and the convenience store everyday. One day, she happens to witness a fighting incident between two men and gets so excited about it that she impersonates as an adult woman on the friendship hotline to get someone to revisit the crime scene with her.

Robo, an otaku who's very interested in women happens to be the guy who chatted with Niko through the friendship hotline and is shocked to see how young Niko is. Nevertheless, he accompanies her to the crime scene which has been cleaned up as if nothing has happened except for the overflowing rubbish bin. Niko wants to find out what is going on and lures Robo to help her by dangling a MAX Robot in exchange for his services.

During their investigation, the pair meet Mikabouzu who claims to have memories of what happened for the last 3 days only. They try to find out what is going wrong with him and are surprised to find out his real identity...

Reason for interest:

Matsuyama Kenichi. This being his first leading role in a drama, I feel the urge to support him. ^__^ However, given that the genre of this drama may not be appealing to the audience at large and that there aren't that many big names in the cast, I'm rather worried about the ratings. In addition, I have a tendency to feel bored with episodic stories so I'm not even sure whether I will continue with this drama till the end.

Romaji lyrics of "Flavor of Life" by Utada Hikaru

Title: Flavor of Life
Artiste: Utada Hikaru
Lyrics and melody by Utada Hikaru
Insert song of Hana Yori Dango 2 Returns

arigatou to kimi ni iwareru to
nandaka setsunai
sayounara no ato mo tokenu mahou
awaku horonigai
The flavour of life

tomodachi demo koibito demo nai chuukan chiten de
shuukaku no hi wo yumemiteru aoi furuutsu

ato ippo ga fumi dasenai sei de
jirettai no nannotte baby

arigatou to kimi ni iwareru to
nandaka setsunai
sayounara no ato mo tokenu mahou
awaku horonigai
The flavour of life

amai dake no sasoi mongu
ajikke no nai tooku
sonna mono ni kyoumi wo sosorarenai

omoi doori ni ikanai toki datte
jinsei suteta mon janaitte

doushita no? to kyuuni kikareru to
uun, nan demo nai
sayounara no ato ni kieru egao
watashi rashikunai

shinjitai to negaeba negau hodo
nandaka setsunai
aishiteru yo yori mo daisuki no hou ga
kimi rashiin janai?
The flavor of life

wasure kakete ita hito no kaori wo
totsuzen omoidasu koro
furitsumoru yuki no shirosa wo motto
sunao ni yorokobitai yo

daiyamondo yori mo yawarakakute
atatakana mirai te ni shitai yo
kagiri aru jikan wo kimi to sugoshitai

arigatou to kimi ni iwareru to
nandaka setsunai
sayounara no ato mo tokenu mahou
awaku horonigai
The flavour of life

Top 10 movies weekly ranking (25 March 2007)

1) Night Museum

2) Doraemon Nobita no Shinmaka Daibouken Shichinin no Mahou Tsukai

3) Unfair the movie

4) Holiday

5) Happy Feet

6) Battery

7) Deja Vu

8) Mushishi

9) Mushi King Super Battle Movie

10) One Piece Episode Of Arabasuta

Tsubasa no Oreta Tenshi Tachi 1 翼の折れた天使たち 1

Celeb (Ueto Aya)
Ratings: 14.9%
O.A. 27 Feb 06

The duration of these drama SPs are supposed to be relatively short as compared to the usual 2-hr SPs. In this case, the first instalment starring Ueto Aya lasts for around 37 minutes only.

Ueto plays Komine Nanako, an employee at a courier company who has no zest for life and work. However, she derives joy in shopping at a luxury boutique weekly so as to pretend that she's rich and buy these expensive clothing and accessories to justify the meaning of her existence. Based on her paltry pay, there is no way she can afford such a lifestyle. In actual fact, she sleeps with a number of men who give her money monthly which she uses to pay for her credit card bills. Despite the supposed satisfaction she should derive from the purchases, Nanako seems to be lost and doesn't quite understand why she is sleeping with those men for at times.

She meets a little girl by the name of Megumi who comes from a rich family and the latter laments that she's not happy. Nanako tells her off for being a spoilt brat and she should treasure her current circumstances since there are people who cannot afford good stuff just like herself since her family isn't well-off. Later, Nanako finds out that Megumi is not making a fuss over nothing because she preferred her past poor lifestyle over now because her mother had married a rich guy after Megumi's father passed away. Subsequently, Nanako realises that Megumi has been abused by her stepfather for constantly making him angry because of her pining for her late father and tries to help. However, she cannot do much and only starts to take a close look at herself when Megumi collapses from the injuries. As a result of knowing Megumi, Nanako starts to rethink her priorities and ditch her past lifestyle...

The final message for this SP reads as:

People tend to believe what they can see clearly but do not assess the value of such things...

The really important things are usually beside you and cannot be seen clearly just like air...

Well, first of all, the so-called bed scene wasn't that steamy as it was said to be. Maybe they still needed to preserve the cutey and innocent image of Ueto Aya so even the kissing was done by the guy and she was lying there without any reaction. So for those who are looking forward to some "adult" scenes, you will be disappointed.

However, seeing Ueto Aya change into various types of beautiful clothes is a feast for the eyes. Be it casual or the more expensive wear, she looks very good and I'm sure Ueto fans will be very satisfied with the numerous screenshots I've provided in the meantime. Check out the SP if you can.

As for the story, I thought that it was too short to have a proper structure and seemed rather clique when Nanako changed her mind so easily. Mind you, Nanako started to sleep with men for money since she was in senior high so the sudden change was a bit hard to accept. I would have thought that it is better to show more of her emotional struggle and display a gradual change but I guess the SP had too little time to go slow. That's a pity because Ueto could have shown more depth in her acting if given the chance to do so. It's high time she moved on from the cutey image since she's already 20 and should play more working adult roles in future. Let's hope that "Attention Please" will give her a chance to shine.

I wouldn't say that I'm very satisfied with the story though but for the visual effect i.e. Ueto Aya in many images as well as the song, RESISTANCE by Nakashima Mika which suits the mood of the SP, I'll give this a 6.5 out of 10.

Live Chat (Horikita Maki)
O.A. 28 Feb 06
Ratings: 11.9%

Apparently, on the night of the OA, there was a soccer match of the Japan team shown in the same timebelt which would have eroded part of the viewership base for this SP. As such, this should be a significant factor for the low ratings as compared to the first instalment.

The message of this SP is:

Humans have 2 faces. The ugly side of you is not everything.

The important thing is not to run away from this ugly side and face it head on.

Having the 2-sides to you is what makes you human.

Being able to face your flaws and mistakes is easier said than done most of the time. However, coming to terms is important because you can never move on if you get shackled by the past. Meaningful message but it's really tough to do that.

Personally, I like this instalment much better than the first. It's not really related to Horikita Maki because I view her and Ueto Aya rather neutrally and can't say that I like one of them better. I just find that the story is better structured, the developments flow smoothly and it seems more logical than the sudden twist in Celeb.

Horikita plays a 18-year-old girl by the name of Yuna who makes a living by appearing in an Internet chatroom where the customers get to see the girls through the webcam and engage in a live chat with them. However, being an introvert who coops herself indoors, her customers find her a bore most of the time and leave the chatroom quickly. As her income is determined by how long the customers stay in her chatroom, the boss tells Yuna to dress up and be more obliging when chatting so that she can make more money.

The only times when Yuna leaves her apartment is to buy food from the convenience store and meet her probation officer, Shinjou. Other than that, she is afraid to step out into the outside world and even covers herself from head to toe so that nobody can see her looks.

Yuna tries to take up her boss's suggestion but meets a pervert who tells her to strip and even hurls obscenities at her when she refuses to do so. As such, this scares Yuna and she feels like retracting back into her own world to seek comfort. Just at this time, she meets a guy named Taro who gradually becomes her soulmate and he encourages her to make changes to her routine so that she may return to the outside world one day. However, when Yuna meets an old acquaintance, she gets cold feet again despite making significant progress and seeks help from Taro again. Taro asks Yuna to relate what had happened in the past so that she will feel better.

2 years ago, Yuna was a normal senior high school girl who loved to have fun. She met an university student, Shingo at a CD shop and they started dating. At that time, Yuna thought that Shingo was the man of her life and believed that they would stay happy forever. However, she found out that he was cheating on her with her best friend and used a knife to stab him out of impulse.

As a result, Yuna was given a probationary sentence where her officer-in-charge was Shinjou. One day, Shinjou told Yuna that Shingo was so badly injured that he will have to use a wheelchair for the rest of his life. When Yuna rushed to Shingo's house to apologise, his mother refused to let her in and shut the gate in her face. Thus, this was when Yuna felt that she had been shut out from the world by others because of what she did.

After hearing the story, Taro encourages Yuna to get over this matter since it was in the past. Yuna is worried about Taro looking down on her and wants to seek assurance in meeting him personally but he doesn't want to do so and even stays away from the chat room.

This makes Yuna feel as if she's abandoned again but as she looks at the news article of the incident again, she realises that Taro is actually Shingo because Taro was able to say that Shingo was confined to the wheelchair despite Yuna never having said that. Yuna goes to Shingo's place when he confirms that he accidentally saw her picture on the website and started chatting with her. Although Shingo did hate Yuna at first for causing him to rely on the wheelchair, he found out through the chat sessions about Yuna's misery over the incident and tried to help her get over the pain.

After going through all these events, Yuna and Shingo reconcile and become lovers again which marks a fresh beginning for the both of them...

Frankly speaking, I think Horikita should do roles which are more lively. The setting for Yuna is kind of similar to Nobuko in "Nobuta wo Produce" where both of them keep to themselves because of a psychological trauma. In order to ditch this dark, moody and eccentric image, it's time for her to try more cheerful roles and remind people that she's just a happy 17-year-old. Nevertheless, I still think that she did reasonably well in this SP and Horikita's really one strong upcoming new actress to look out for in future.

My rating for this SP would be 8.5 out of 10. This is still an imperfect piece of work but I think within a short time frame, the structure of the story is still sturdy enough to show a smooth flow of events. Besides, the acting of Horikita is pretty good and it's worth checking out to see why she is being billed as one of the best young actresses these days.

Actress (Yamada Yu)
O.A. 1 March 06
Ratings: 12.7%

Story-wise, this wasn't very exciting but I liked the underlying theme:

There is no textbook in life.
When you have made your own decision, you would think that it is correct.
However. the most important thing is to know when to turn back and have the courage to do so.
That's because humans can turn back many times in their lifetime.

Yamada Yu plays Yoshii Nao, an aspiring actress who left home to come to Tokyo against the objection of her parents who wanted her to inherit the family's Japanese doll-making business. Her grandfather was the only one who encouraged her to pursue her dreams. However, Nao soon discovered that Tokyo is not a place she had thought it would be and got cheated of 500,000 by a fake agent who promised her the chance to stardom. As a result, Nao has to work at a nightclub to repay her debts. The time came when she could no longer repay the debts with her pay and she became an AV actress for once. Although that was easy money and could solve her money problems, it made Nao wonder why she came to Tokyo in the first place and she wanted to get rid of the unhappy experience by cutting her long hair. At the salon, she met Riku who advised her not to cut her hair since it was too beautiful and since then, they started dating. Nonetheless, Nao could never confess to Riku about her shady past and still works in the nightclub as a hostess.

One day, Nao's grandfather comes to Tokyo to look for her but it seems like he has gone senile and keeps calling her by her mother's name. Nevertheless, he also helps Nao a number of times unwittingly during his stay.

Disaster strikes when Riku finds out about Nao's stint as an AV actress and breaks up with her. This makes Nao very despondent but her grandfather cheets her up by making a doll with a straw basket which Nao has to put into the river so that her troubles would flow away.

Soon after that, Nao's grandfather passes away and she decides to try her luck again in Tokyo instead of running away from the problems. She also gains her parents' approval this time round and sets out on her journey for the second time.

The interaction between Nao and her grandfather was the heartwarming part of this SP while the relationship between her and Riku felt rather superficial. True, it's hard to accept your girlfriend being an AV actress but then he should at least hear what she has to say. Even if he dumps her after hearing her explanation, I'm sure Nao would have felt better than to be thrown out of his apartment just like that. It just seemed as if Riku refused to let any flaws appear in their relationship and wanted out the moment he felt cheated by Nao hiding the matter from him.

As for Yamada Yu's performance, she looks pretty good but due to the short timeframe and restrictions on her role, it seemed like it was hard for her to show her acting skills. However, I think that this is a big step to breaking out of the bimbo tag she's always been stuck with as most of her roles in dramas are almost of the same type. Hopefully, this will open up more opportunities for her in future.

On the whole, I would rate this 7 out of 10.

Slot (Ueno Juri)
Ratings: 12.4%

This is the last instalment of the series featuring Ueno Juri.

So far, I have the impression that Ueno plays roles who are quite strong-headed and a bit tomboy-ish but gentle on the inside. This role is similar in a sense because of the lack of the feminine trait on the exterior front but a kind heart within. As such, I feel that there isn't much deviation from her past roles and to be frank, you won't get to see her looking pretty here. Maybe it's time for her to try something different for a change.

As for the story, Ueno plays a girl Ryoko who makes a living by playing the jackpot machine. She has a live-in boyfriend Kenji who works as a host and constantly brings other women back to her place. No doubt she may be unhappy over this situation, she is unable to break up with him because she desires to be loved.

One day, Ryoko wakes up to find a little boy, Kenta in her apartment. Apparently, Kenji has dumped this boy to Ryoko for at least a week. Although Ryoko is initially resistant to the idea of taking care of Kenta, she is unable to abandon him since she has tasted the bitterness of being dumped by others including her own mother. Later, Ryoko finds out that Kenji is just taking her for a ride and decides to take care of Kenta herself. However, as Kenta is not related to her, he has to be sent to an orphanage. For the sake of meeting Kenta, Ryoko gets a proper job because this is one of the prerequisites for her to support Kenta one day if she wants to adopt him.

Frankly speaking, I think that this story is quite plain and coupled with the fact that the acting doesn't offer much surprises, I didn't really enjoy this very much. Out of a score of 10, I would give this 6 out of 10.

*The review for the second series starring Ishihara Satomi, Toda Erika, Kato Rosa and Karina will be posted soon.

Top 10 movies weekly ranking (18 March 2007)

1) Night Museum

2) Doraemon Nobita no Shinmakai Daibouken Shichinin no Mahou Tsukai

3) Unfair the movie

4) Happy Feet

5) Deja Vu

6) Battery

7) Chougekijouban Keroro Gunsou 2 Shinkai no Princess de Arimasu

8) Aoki Ookami

9) One Piece Episode of Arabasuta

10) Dreamgirls

硫黄島からの手紙 Letters from Iwo Jima

I had watched this more than a month ago and could only find time now to post the review. I was surfing the cinema's website for new Japanese films and happened to see that this was coming to town during Chinese New Year so I took the trouble to travel to the city in the middle of night just to catch its preview. The main reason for wanting to see this was to assess whether it was worth the accolades given by critics and had nothing to do with its Oscar nomination. In addition, I wanted to see if Ninomiya Kazunari was able to shed his boyish image for his role in this movie which is considerably an emotionally-heavy film.

As I have not seen the US version, "Flags of our Fathers", I am unable to make any comparisions between both films. It has been said that you will get the full picture of what went on during the Iwojima war on both the US and Japan side after watching both films but my interest level in watching the US version is rather low at this point.

Until I watched this movie, I had no idea about Iwojima's existence and its meaning to both US and Japan during WWII. According to the Wikipedia Japan entry on the Iwojima battle, you would be able to see the position of Iwojima which is between Saipan and Tokyo. At that time, the US military wanted to carry out air strikes on Tokyo but would have to bear with the considerable risk of being shot down by the Japanese troops from Iwojima. As such, seizing control of the island would mean that the US troops could have a central point to refuel before heading towards Tokyo and avoid the attacks from Japan. To the Japanese however, maintaining control of the island was important as the loss would mean a turning point in the war which Japan could see that it was losing soon. Iwojima was somewhat like a fortress to prevent the attacks on Tokyo. Psychologically, if they lost Iwojima, this would feel like a big setback since this would be the first piece of Japanese land lost to the enemy. As such, despite the fact that Iwojima was just a small volcanic island covered by sulphuric deposits causing the inability of crops to grow, it became a point of contention for both sides during the war.

Due to the launch of the movies, this has renewed interest in Iwojima but you will be disappointed if you wish to go there as a tourist. This is because the island is closed to the general public and is used as a training air base for the Self Defence Forces. As such, there are no native inhabitants on this island except for the military personnel.

With regards to the story, I find that the battle was quite long and it seemed never-ending. Well, that's to be expected since the battle was only expected to be over in 5 days but took 36 days in the end. I can't imagine what it felt like to be one of the soldiers there where they knew they were going to die but they didn't know when.

To be frank, I didn't really understand the thinking of sacrificing for the Emperor and country in this manner and it was particularly disturbing to see some of the soldiers using grenades on themselves so that they would not be caught by the US military. To me, if they had really wanted to be patriotic towards their country, dying while fighting would be more worthwhile rather than seeking death like a coward just because they knew they were losing. As such, when they kept using the phrase "okuni no tame" (for the sake of the country), it really got on my nerves because their actions suggested otherwise.

As for the cast, Ninomiya really shines as Saigo, the cynical ex-baker who lost everything due to the war and scorns at the thinking of sacrificing everything for the country. He left his pregnant wife at home to come to Iwojima and his only wish is to return safely to see his newborn daughter and wife. As such, it is very evident that Saigo tries to keep a low profile in the troops by pretending to be a lousy shooter (if he put in his best effort, things could have been different) and keeps complaining about the war. Although it might seem that Saigo is a coward in the eyes of the patriotic type in the troops, I see that he's a very focused man. He knows exactly what his aim is and to achieve that, he doesn't care what happens. If not for his desire to return home, I doubt he would have survived in the end. Although Ninomiya's childish looks makes it hard to believe that he's a married man in the movie, I must say that this is a vast improvement from his past works. In fact, he seemed more like the leading man as compared to Watanabe Ken.

Talking about Watanabe, he plays the charismatic commander of the troops, Kuribayashi who was trained in the US before coming to Iwojima. Having understood the US way of fighting a war, he was deemed to be the right man for the job. However, he was constantly struggling internally at the same time because he knew that there was no hope of winning the battle, he didn't want to fight his old friends from the US although he was duty-bound to do so, he also wanted to return home to his family. Watanabe was good in bringing out these emotions of Kuribayashi and struck a strong screen presence but compared to Ninomiya who was slightly more impressive, I would say that Watanabe had only maintained his usual high standard thus resulting in why Ninomiya was the one who got more praise for his performance.

Ihara Takeshi's role as Nishi was considerably outstanding along with Ninomiya and Watanabe but it was a pity that he had to die in this manner. As for Nakamura Shido, I don't really like his character Itou who felt more like comical relief to me in this serious film. Besides, the cowardly nature of his character just seemed to remind me of his real life where he has a string of scandals and an almost non-existent marriage to talk of. Thus, it's really hard for me to feel anything positive towards him through this film although much of it has to be attributed to the character itself. Kase Ryo's role Shimizu felt like a pitiful comparision to Saigo where the former is the personification of patrioism but ended up being the scapegoat for Saigo when he tried to defect to the US side.

Overall, this film was quite enjoyable and matched up to my expectations on the whole. However, if you are not prepared to spend slightly over 2 hours on a war film without much colour in the background (the setting is dark, murky, dusty most of the time) and has no interest to see how this never-ending battle was fought, you could do without watching this after all.

Top 10 movies weekly ranking (11 March 2007)

1) Doraemon Nobita no Shinmakai Daibouken Nananin no Mahou Tsukai

2) Battery

3) Aoki Ookami

4) One Piece Episode of Arabasuta

5) Dreamgirls

6) Ghost Rider

7) Perfume

8) Dororo

9) Sakuran

10) Shiawase no Chikara

Top 10 movies weekly ranking (4 March 2007)

1) Aoki Ookami

2) One Piece Episode of Arabasuta

3) Dreamgirls

4) Ghost Rider

5) Perfume

6) Dororo

7) Sakuran

8) Shiawase no Chikara

9) Bubble e GO!! Time Machine wa Doramu shiki

10) Ryu ga gotoku Gekijouban