Top 10 male artistes who look best in swimwear (Oricon)

1) Hayami Mokomichi

2) Sakaguchi Kenji

3) Kojima Yoshio

4) Ichihara Hayato

5) Mizushima Hiro

6) Kimura Takuya

7) Koike Teppei

8) Tamaki Hiroshi

9) Narimiya Hiroki

10) Yamashita Tomohisa

Top 10 summer love songs (Oricon)

1) Hanabi - aiko

2) Natsu Matsuri - Whiteberry

3) TSUNAMI - Southern All Stars

4) Manatsu no Kajitsu - Southern All Stars

5) CHE.R.RY - YUI

6) Music Hour - Porno Graffitti

7) Natsukoi - Shido

8) Natsuiro - Yuzu

9) Planetarium - Ootsuka Ai

10) SUMMER SONG - YUI

TBS Autumn 2009 drama, "JIN"

Oosawa Takao and Nakatani Miki will make their long-awaited return to the TV scene with their new drama "JIN" which begins in October via TBS. This is the first drama for Oosawa in 8 years and the first for Nakatani in 7 years. In addition, this is the first science-fiction drama shown in the timeslot of 9pm, Sundays since it began in Dec 1956.

The story is adapted from a manga titled "JIN" by Murakami Motoka which is currently being serialized in "Super Jump" where the main character played by Oosawa i.e. Minakata Jin is a neuro-surgeon in the current era. He accidentally goes back into the Bakumatsu era (1853 to 1869) and has to save people without adequate medical equipment and medicine. Jin will also meet historical characters like Sakamoto Ryoma (Uchino Masaaki), Katsu Kaishuu (Kohinata Fumio) and Ogata Kouan (Takeda Tetsuya).

Meanwhile, Nakatani plays Jin's girlfriend in the current era, Tomonaga Mirai as well as the top courtesan in Yoshihara, Nokaze. Ayase Haruka will play Tachibana Saki, a girl in Edo who becomes Jin's assistant. There will be a love triangle between the three of them. Other cast members include Koide Keisuke, Kiriya Kenta, Taguchi Hiromasa, Toda Naho, Sato Jirou and Asou Yumi.

Official website: here

Top 10 female artistes who look best in yukata (Oricon)

1) Aragaki Yui

2) Miyazaki Aoi

3) Horikita Maki

4) Ueto Aya

5) Nakama Yukie

6) Matsushima Nanako

7) Nagasawa Masami

8) Aoi Yu

9) Kinoshita Yukina

10) Toda Erika

Top 10 male artistes who look best in yukata (Oricon)

1) Tamaki Hiroshi

2) Fukuyama Masaharu

3) Mizushima Hiro

4) Eita

5) Sakurai Sho

6) Tsumabuki Satoshi

7) Doumoto Tsuyoshi

8) Sato Takeru

9) Mizobata Junpei

10) Okada Junichi

Top 20 under-30 male CM artistes (Nikkei Entertainment)

* This ranking reflects the number of CM deals which under-30 male artistes are holding onto now and was published in the June 09 issue of Nikkei Entertainment. Numbers in brackets refer to the number of deals each person holds.

1) Tamaki Hiroshi (7)

2) Oguri Shun / Sato Ryuuta / Yamashita Tomohisa (6)

5) Wentz Eiji / Okada Junichi / Sakurai Sho / Matsuyama Kenichi (5)

9) Koike Teppei / Nishikido Ryo / Hayami Mokomichi / Mizushima Hiro (4)

13) Eita / Kaname Jun / Ninomiya Kazunari / Matsuda Shota / Matsumoto Jun / Miura Haruma(3)

19) Ichihara Hayato / Hiraoka Yuuta (2)

Top 10 most sought-after CM male artistes among sponsors

* This ranking was published in the June 09 issue of Nikkei Entertainment and reflects the most sought-after male artistes by sponsors now.

1) Fukuyama Masaharu

2) Ichiro

3) Sato Koichi / Tsumabuki Satoshi

5) Kimura Takuya

6) Ishikawa Ryo / Oguri Shun

8) Miura Haruma

9) Eita

10) Yamaguchi Tomomitsu

Top 10 most popular female CM artistes whom sponsors want to hire

* This ranking was published in Nikkei Entertainment's June 09 issue as part of the 17th CM Grand Prix survey and reflects the most sought-after female CM artistes by sponsors now.

1) Miyazaki Aoi

2) Ueto Aya

3) Yoshinaga Sayuri / Aibu Saki

5) Aoi Yu

6) Becky

7) Shinohara Ryoko

8) Aragaki Yui / Ueno Juri / Kitagawa Keiko / Nagasawa Masami

Top 10 movies ranking (12 July 2009)

1) Gokusen THE MOVIE

2) Evangelion Shin Gekijouban: Ha

3) Knowing

4) ROOKIES Sotsugyou

5) Transformers: Revenge

6) Tsurugidake Ten no Ki

7) Monsters vs. Aliens

8) Terminator

9) MW

10) Sore Ike! Anpanman Dadandan to Futago no Hoshi

Theme song of "Kyuumei Byoutou 24 Ji Part 4" to be sung by Dreams Come True

Dreams Come True will be singing the theme song, "Sono Saki e" for the summer drama "Kyuumei Byoutou 24 Ji" which begins its run from 11 August. This is the 4th theme song which the duo are singing for the drama series. In addition, this will be the first time which Dreams Come True will be working with a trio band named "Fuzzy Control". The single will be released on 9 September 09 and priced at 999 yen for the first press special edition as a form of appreciation to their fans. The normal press version is priced at 1260 yen. As for the coupling track, this will be a special medley of the live performance during Dreams Come True's 20th anniversary concert tour.

Top CM artistes with the most endorsement deals (Oricon)

(Numbers in brackets indicate the number of CM deals held)

Top male CM artistes

1) Kimura Takuya (11)

2) Ishikawa Ryo (9)

3) Katori Shingo / Ichiro (8)

5) Tamaki Hiroshi / Matsuoka Shuuzo / Kusanagi Tsuyoshi (7)

8) Sato Ryuuta / Nagase Tomoya / Abe Hiroshi / Tsuruno Takeshi / Tokui Yoshimi (6)

Top female CM artistes

1) Ueto Aya (11)

2) Nakama Yukie / Miyazaki Aoi / Aibu Saki (10)

5) Becky / Kanno Miho (9)

7) Horikita Maki / Amami Yuki / Ebihara Yuri / Fujiwara Norika / Shinohara Ryoko (7)

Review of 20 Seiki Shounen Part 2 二十世紀少年 第二章: Saigo no Kibou 最後の希望

Before you continue reading this review, here are the disclaimers once again:

If you have not watched this movie, do not read this unless you are OK with the spoilers which I'm going to mention. I do not take responsibility for spoilling the fun before you get the chance to see this for yourself.

The story continues 15 years after the Bloody New Year's Eve in 2000 and Japan is now under the control of Tomodachi who twisted the facts and made Kenji and Co. appear as the terrorists who tried to wipe out mankind. By projecting himself as the saviour of the world, Tomodachi has gained a strong following and earned "admiration" from people worldwide.

At the same time, Kanna has already grown up to be a senior high student while the gang of 7 who worked together to fight the Tomodachi at that time have either passed on, disappeared or lying low. Kenji's whereabouts are still unknown while Occho is behind bars. Even though the gang have been made to bear the blame for what happened 15 years ago, Kanna knows the truth and is still hoping to meet Kenji again. She also feels deep hatred for Tomodachi who is responsible for the current state of things.

Kanna starts to get closer to the identity of Tomodachi as childhood friends of Tomodachi like Sadakiyo and Yamane start popping up, claiming that Tomodachi misled them and betrayed their trust. She also gets picked to take part in a brainwash programme held at Tomodachi Land as she always behaves violently in school when people badmouth Kenji. However, the biggest revelation she discovers is the fact that she may be Tomodachi's daughter but none of her elders seem to be willing to talk about this.

A new book, "The new book of prophecies" (Shin Yogen no Sho) surfaces and Kanna & Co. realize that this is written by Tomodachi as a continuation from what Kenji & Co. had written when they were kids. At the beginning of this book, it is mentioned that a righteous saviour will be killed in a Shinjuku church. While Kanna & Co. try to decipher what this means, they fail to realize that this is part of a ploy for Tomodachi to grab full control of the situation and gain influence...

As this is the 2nd installment of the 3-part series, it would be best to manage your expectations. You wouldn't see any ending or major revelation here. This is just a connection point to the finale. As such, we are still none the wiser as to the identity of Tomodachi. Apparently, Kenji and Occho have the answer but I believe the production crew will save the big revelation till the very end. I was not too pleased with the first part of this movie. They had some developments which did not really fit into the story at first but they made sense at the end. It took a fair bit of time to get back into the pace of things. Thus, it takes a bit of patience to ease into the story and get used to the momentum of the developments. Things start to get more interesting after Kanna gets into Tomodachi Land. However, the lack of closure leaves me quite dissatisfied. On its own, this movie probably wouldn't do too well on my scoreboard because the beginning is abrupt and the ending leaves too many questions unanswered. Given the fact that this is a connecting installment, I'm prepared to look at this movie in a different manner.

Frankly speaking, I had an answer as to Tomodachi's identity at the end of Part 1. I was pretty sure that he would be the one. However, judging from Sadakiyo and Yamane's words, the revelation that Yoshitsune was actually wearing a similar mask which Sadakiyo wore when they were kids as well as the fact that Tomodachi was exchanging identities with Sadakiyo at one time, it has thrown my guesses off course. If Fukube is really Tomodachi, why did Yoshitsune wear the mask at that time? One clue given was that Tomodachi didn't get to go to the Osaka Expo at that time and exchanged identities with Sadakiyo so that nobody knew about this. As such, besides Kenji who went to Chiba for a holiday, Tomodachi must be the only one in the gang not to go to the Osaka Expo at that time. Another suspcious thing was that Yoshitsune disappeared halfway on the way to the church when he spotted No.13 on the rooftop of a building. Where did he go and what was he up to? As such, I'm now guessing between Yoshitsune and Fukube. Since Part 3 has an entirely different ending from the manga, the final identity of Tomodachi may not be Fukube after all. Yoshitsune seems more suspicious now as compared to the rest, at the least for the time being.

Although Karasawa Toshiaki is the lead, he only appears in one miserable scene (not counting those flashbacks when Kanna & Co were thinking of him) at the end where he's singing while riding a motorbike. As such, for fans of Karasawa, you will be sorely disappointed because you will not see much of him. You have to be patient and wait for Part 3 where Kenji gets back into the action. In exchange for Kenji's absence, Occho takes on a bigger role this time although he was behind bars for most of the beginning. Once he got out of prison, that's when the action begins. Although the character setting for these main cast members should be in their 50s, Toyokawa Etsushi certainly doesn't look like one. That long hair and well-built body just makes Occho very appealing! ^__^ On the other hand, Tokiwa Takako pales in comparison this time because her role was mainly projected as a guardian of Kanna. On the surface, she seems to have mellowed down and tried to stop Kanna from getting too involved with Tomodachi but I believe given her character, she's not the type to lie low without making any effort on her own to solve the problem. Hopefully, she will get more screen time in the final installment.

With regards to Taira Airi's performance as Kanna, I am judging her purely based on this movie since I've not seen her past performances. If you are talking about Kanna's headstrong side, Taira looks the part but somehow, her voice decreases the credibility of her role when she gets agitated. Her voice becomes too sharp and screechy when Kanna gets angry or frustrated so it was a bit unbearable for me. However, when she's supposed to show the softer and more mature side of Kanna, I think she did pretty well. As Kanna is a senior high school student in this installment, I am guessing that Taira's performance will improve in the final installment when Kanna becomes an adult. I think she looks better in casual clothes than in school uniform so that outfit does bring out the tomboyish and yet delicate character of Kanna in a better way.

As per the first installment, there is a galore of famous supporting cast members but the most eyecatching out of them would be Yusuke Santa Maria and Koike Eiko. Wow, Sadakiyo looks really horrifying, judging from Kanna and Koizumi's reaction when they saw his face in the brain wash simulator. He certainly doesn't look like he's the same age with Kenji & Co. Yusuke Santa Maria really went all out to potray Sadakiyo. His appearance time may be little but he left a strong impression on me. By the way, for those who know Urasawa Naoki's other famous work, "Monster", don't you feel that Sadakiyo's manga image looks very close to Lunge? Likewise, Koike Eiko's potrayal of Takasu was very eye-catching. Well, I felt like laughing whenever she appeared because her actions were so exaggerated and funny. Seems like she's going to continue the reprisal of her role in Part 3 as well. Oh, there's also a surprise addition from Taiwan i.e. Chen Zhaorong who played the Chinese mafia chief. Those who have seen those long Taiwanese soap dramas would know him very well. To think one of the top guys in Taiwan would come to Japan to play a small role. Nonetheless, he still did OK. At least it was quite memorable. He still had a name and some lines so this is better than playing a mere stranger on the road.

On the other hand, you have people like Fujiki Naohito appearing for so long and yet his character doesn't impress me that much. Chouno was rather irritating in my opinion. That wishy-washy behaviour and too trusting attitude put me off. Nonetheless, since he's the grandson of the police detective who detected that Tomodachi is up to no good, he would appear again in Part 3, most likely as a source of help for Kenji & Co since Tomodachi's subordinates have already infiltrated the government and police force.

At the end of the movie, do not be in a hurry to leave the cinema. I guess the producers realized that some people leave without seeing the trailer for the next part so they actually put a countdown timer at the end. When I was there, most of the people stayed. Be warned, the credits roll is more than 4 minutes long. And that is where you see the finale's trailer. And one final thing, do not be fooled by the roadshow date flashed on the screen. 29 Aug is the screening date for Part 3 in Japan, not in Singapore. So don't assume Part 3 is coming to our shores soon. Given the fact that it took almost a year for Part 2 to come here, I am expecting that the finale can only be seen next year. What a long wait! It had better turn out to be a worthwhile wait, hopefully.

And my ratings for this movie...
Story: 7 out of 10 (Before the point when Kanna and Koizumi went to Tomodachi Land, I was quite bored with the story. The action in the 2nd part compensated for the lacking beginning.)
Acting: 7 out of 10 (Due to the huge number of characters, there is little room for development for most of the characters. Taira Airi is doing OK and Toyokawa Etsushi is doing great to fill the void left by Karasawa.)
Theme song: 7 out of 10 (Same groovy theme song as before)
Visual effects / Scenery: 7 out of 10 (The robots and weirdo machines are toned down this time. In fact, nothing fanciful this time. It's the scale of some of the events which are seeking to impress e.g. that street parade, the funeral service of Tomodachi. Boy, they really know how to spend all that money!)
Teamwork / Chemistry: 6 out of 10 (Compared to the first part, there isn't much of teamwork to speak of. When everyone gets together in the finale, that will probably be something to talk about.)

Total: 34 out of 50

Sato Ryuuta gets married and will be a father in autumn

Sato Ryuuta announced his marriage and impending arrival of his first child during the marriage announcement press conference on 14 April. His wife-to-be is 6 years younger than him i.e. 23 years old and their baby will be due in autumn. According to Sato, he started dating her at the end of 2005 and he had planned to propose to her on 30 May which was when the movie, "ROOKIES - Sotsugyou" would be screened in cinemas. However, before he could do that, his girlfriend told him in early spring that she is pregnant so he proposed to her immediately on that day. They will decide on when to register their marriage and the wedding will have to wait until the baby is born.

Top 10 most anticipated Summer 2009 dramas (Ori*Star)

1) Kyuumei Byoutou 24 Ji Part 4

2) Kochira Katsushika-ku Kameari Kouen mae Hashutsujo

3) Buzzer Beat ~ Kakebbuchi no Hero

4) Otomen

5) Karei naru Spy

6) Akahana no Sensei

7) Orthros no Inu

8) Ninkyou Helper

9) Saru Lock

10) Kanryoutachi no Natsu

MR. BRAIN gets same rating for its final episode as BOSS

The final episode of MR.BRAIN shown on 11 July registered 20.7% which is exactly the same figure achieved by BOSS in its finale broadcast. As MR.BRAIN has 3 out of 8 episodes over 20%, its average rating of 20.1% makes it the No.1 drama in the spring season compared to second-placed BOSS at 17.1%.

Top 10 most competent comedian-actors (Tsutaya)

1) Miyasago Hiroyuki

2) Miyakawa Daisuke

3) Shitara Osamu

4) Gekidan Hitori

5) Tsukaji Muga

6) Harada Taizou

7) Tokui Yoshimi

8) Chihara Junior

9) Wakabayashi Masayasu

10) Horiuchi Ken

Esumi Makiko pregnant with her 2nd child

Esumi Makiko announced her 2nd pregnancy through her official website on 12 July 09. She is currently 5 months' pregnant and due to give birth in early December. Esumi commented that her pregnancy has been smooth-sailing so far just like when she was pregnant with her eldest daughter in 2005. She will be going for maternity leave from October this year and will wait till things are more settled down at home before returning to work.

BOSS Clear File

Title: BOSS Clear File
Price: 315 yen (inclusive of tax)
Dimension: A4-size
Product code: 122610
JAN Code: 4580179757364

BOSS necklace worn by Osawa Eriko (Crossfor New York)

Title: BOSS Necklace worn by Osawa Eriko
Made by: Crossfor New York
Price: 52,500 yen (inclusive of tax)
Availability from: Late July 09
Length of the chain: 40cm with a 5cm adjuster
Pendant sizes:: 2.5mm / 3mm / 4mm / 5mm

Ninkyou Helper's first episode rating

The first episode of "Ninkyou Helper" shown on 9 July achieved a rating of 17.5% in the Kantou region. This is the first drama which Kusanagi Tsuyoshi appears in after his one-month suspension from work. Co-stars include Kuroki Meisa, Matsudaira Ken and Natsukawa Yui.

Top 10 popular Japanese movies for the first half of 2009 (Nikkansports)

1) Yatterman (933)

2) ROOKIES - Sotsugyou - (338)

3) Crows ZERO 2 (311)

4) K-20 Kaijin Nijuumensou.Den (252)

5) Yomei Ikkagetsu no Hanayome (163)

6) Heaven's Door (162)

7) General Rouge no Kaisen (143)

8) Oppai Volleyball (90)

9) Juuryoku Piero (77)

10) Drop (70)

Preview of "Kanryoutachi no Natsu" (The Bureaucrats' Summer) - Summer 2009

Title: Kanryoutachi no Natsu
Broadcast by: TBS
Official website: here
O.A. Start Date: 5 July 2009
Timeslot: Sundays, 9pm
Theme song: STAY by Kobukuro
Cast: Sato Koichi, Sakai Masato, Takahashi Katsumi, Sano Shiro, Nishimura Masahiko, Sugimoto Tetta, Fukuiishi Kazue, Tanaka Kei, Tokoshima Yoshiko, Murakawa Eri, Takahashi Katsunori, Funakoshi Eiichiro, Kitaooji Kinya

Preview of Orthros no Inu オルトロスの犬 (The Dog of Orthros) - Summer 2009

Title: Orthros no Inu
Official website: here
O.A. Start Date: 24 July 2009
Timeslot: Fridays, 10pm
Broadcast by: TBS
Cast: Takizawa Hideaki, Nishikido Ryo, Mizukawa Asami, Yaotome Hikaru, Yamamoto Ryuji, Harada Natsuki, Oshinari Shugo, Rokkaku Seiji, Shiba Toshio, Sasaki Kuranosuke, Takahata Atsuko

Nodame Cantabile movies' filming underway in Europe

"Nodame Cantabile", the hit manga which has released 21 volumes to date and boasts of a high sales figure of 29 million copies so far, will be made into a 2-part movie to be shown at the end of this year and next year. The author, Ninomiya Tomoko released her comments after the production press conference in Vienna, Austria on 27th and 28th June. She reminded the cast and staff to take good care of their health and wished them luck during the filming.

Ninomiya was on maternity leave for a while when she gave birth to her son. Shortly after she resumed the serialization of Nodame's manga, she was struck with acute appendicitis in June and had to be hospitalized. This led to a delay in the publication of Lesson 132 of the manga. As a result of her experience, she was very concerned that the tight schedule may take a toll on the production crew. She also expressed anticipation and excitement about seeing the classical concert scenes being brought to life in Europe's big and famous concert halls.

The movie, "Nodame Cantabile Saishu Gakusho Part 1" and "Part 2" are scheduled to be screened in cinemas from 19 Dec and next year's spring respectively. Currently, filming is going on in France, Czech Republic, Slovakia and Austria.

Eita caught dating actress Yamasaki Mami

In the latest issue of "Jousei Jishin" published on 7 July, Eita (26) was caught holding hands with actress Yamasaki Mami who is 3 years younger than him. They were seen on a date at a yakiniku restaurant near Eita's apartment early this month. After dinner, the two of them were photographed holding hands while walking back to Eita's apartment. Yamasaki won the 2004 Miss Magazine's readers special award and was popular as an idol. She switched to being an actress recently and has been seen mainly in movies. Both artistes' agencies claimed that they were just friends and Yamasaki did not spend the night at Eita's place. However, Eita himself did not comment on this issue directly and merely said that he was sorry for the fuss caused by this matter.

Preview of Kyuumei Byoutou 24 Ji Part 4 救命病棟２４時 - Summer 2009

Title: Kyuumei Byoutou 24 Ji 4
Official website: here
O.A. Date: To be decided (likely to be in early August)
Timeslot: Tuesdays, 9pm
Cast: Eguchi Yosuke, Matsushima Nanako, Kimura Tae, Kitano Kii, Yuusuke Santa Maria (more cast members to be announced at a later date)

Top 10 movies ranking (5 July 09)

1) Evangelion Shin Gekijouban: Ha

2) ROOKIES Sotsugyou

3) Transformers: Revenge

4) Tsurugidake Ten no Ki

5) Terminator

6) MW

7) Sore Ike! Anpanman Dadandan to Futago no Hoshi

8) The Reader

9) Angels & Demons

10) Dear Doctor

Kyuumei Byoutou 24 Ji Part 4 to start from 11 Aug

The O.A. date for "Kyuumei Byoutou 24 Ji Part 4" has been set on 11 August, which is one month later than the original date of 7 July. In the meantime for the four weeks of timeslot from 14 July to 4 August, there will be a series of 4 SPs titled "Kinkyuu SP Kyuumei Byoutou 24 Ji ~ Kyuumei I Kojima Kaede" (Emergency SP Emergency Room 24 Hours ER doctor Kojima Kaede) which features Matsushima Nanako's character, Kojima Kaede and 4 guests who appeared in previous installments of the drama. The first part will feature her fellow intern played by Yajima Tomohito in part 1 followed by Sudo Risa who played a nurse in Part 1 and 2, Miyasago Hiroyuki from Part 2 who played a plastic surgeon and Inoue Mao who appeared in Part 3 as a girl who attempted suicide. The story will focus on what happens to these characters after their involvement in the drama ended and feature the relationships between them and Kaede in the past and present. Meanwhile, Eguchi Yosuke is scheduled to resume filming in the middle of this month.

Preview of Ninkyou Helper 任侠ヘルパー - Summer 2009

Title: Ninkyou Helper (Chivalrous Helper)
Broadcast via: FujiTV
O.A. Start Date: 9 July 09
Timeslot: Wednesdays 10pm
Official website: here
Theme song: Sotto Gyutto by SMAP
Cast: Kusanagi Tsuyoshi, Kuroki Meisa, Yamamoto Yuusuke, Yabu Kouta, Naka Riisa, Yasuda Misako, Tachibana Yukiko, Yamada Shintarou, Mukai Osamu, Matsudaira Ken, Ukaji Takashi, Oosugi Ren and Natsukawa Yui

Romaji lyrics of "Aishiteru" by Monkey Majik (Theme song for Aishiteru ~ Kaiyou ~)

Title: Aishiteru
Artiste: Monkey Majik
Lyrics: Maynard / Blaise / tax
Melody: Maynard / Blaise
Theme song for: Aishiteru ~Kaiyou~
Total running time: 4 minutes 31 seconds

doushite? itsukara?
nagai yume demo miteiru you na
owari no hajimari nano?
kurakute fukakute
kanashimi ni michita sekai no
hateni mai konda no
shiawase sugita no
anata nokoshita kioku subete ga
watashi kore kara
hotsureta kokoro
ai de tsumuide

itsu made mo

[aishiteru] no
kotoba no imi wo oshiete kureta
anata sono mama
hitomi no oku ni
egao nokoshite
towa ni shizuka ni

naze nano? ano toki?
honno wazuka na sure chigai
ano hi ni modorenai no?
tsurakute kurushikute
todoku koto no nai kanashimi
konna ni setsunai no?

[aishiteru] no
kotoba no imi wo oshiete kureta
anata sono mama
hitomi no oku ni
egao nokoshite
towa ni yasashiku

'Cause I don't have clue what to say.
Thinking about the world and how I changed

mukai au koto de
marude toke au you ni
All alone, who am I?
Hit a wall, won't stop me!
yagate hitotsu ni naru no dakara zutto

wasurenai yo shinjita hibi wo
donna ni toki ga meguri megutte mo
yagate itsuka nagai yume kara...

[aishiteru]

Oh! wish that I was strong

Yeah I wish that I was strong
You got it! You got it! Don't lose it!
The walls are caving in.
I'll try to keep you strong.
Cause the world is moving on...

Top 10 fresh stars for the first half of 2009 (Oricon)

Top 10 male fresh stars

1) Mizushima Hiro

2) Oodorii (comedian duo)

3) Sato Takeru

4) Hanya (comedian duo)

5) Ichihara Hayato

6) Yuusuke / Mukai Osamu / Eita

9) Sakamoto Hiroto

10) Ishikawa Ryou (golfer)

Top 10 female fresh stars

1) Yoshitaka Yuriko

2) Ayase Haruka

3) Eikura Nana

4) Toda Erika

5) JUJU

6) Aragaki Yui

7) Horikita Maki

8) Miyazaki Aoi

9) Ueto Aya / misono / ayaka

Review of "Aishiteru ~ Kaiyou ~" - Spring 2009

Title: Aishiteru ~ Kaiyou ~
Produced by: NTV
O.A. Start Date: 15 April 09
O.A. End Date: 17 June 09
Original manga by: Ito Minoru
Theme song: Aishiteru by Monkey Majik
Insert song: Utsushie by Aragaki Yui
Average rating: 14.82%
Cast: Inamori Izumi, Itaya Yuka, Yamamoto Tarou, Kawashima Umika, Kakazu Issei, Satou Shion, Tabata Tomoko, Sano Shiro and Tanaka Misako

Review:

Be warned, this is an emotionally heavy drama. As the theme deals with a seemingly unthinkable case of a kid murdering another kid, the atmosphere throughout the whole drama deviates towards the sadness spectre most of the time. It is only until the very end where you see glimmers of hope here and there. Otherwise, be prepared to feel sad and sympathetic towards the characters who have to go through such a gruelling experience. As usual, beware of spoilers from this point onwards.

In summary, we have two ordinary families who can be said to be mirror images of each other. On one end, we have the Noguchi family where the father Kazuhiko is a workaholic and passes on his parenting duties of his only son, Tomoya to his homemaker wife, Satsuki. On the other end, we have the Ozawa family where the father Hideaki and mother Seiko dote on their youngest and only son, Kiyotaka thus leading their eldest daughter Mihoko to feel neglected. However, their lives are overturned when Tomoya is arrested for the murder of Kiyotaka. The case becomes the talk of town as it is revealed that Tomoya is only 10 while Kiyotaka is only 7. As both families try to grapple with the reality of this sudden incident, they have to contend with feelings of guilt, anger, sadness and regret. The central theme is forgiving out of love but you will see different degrees of how this is being adapted.

Satsuki seeks Tomoya's forgiveness for not extending a helping hand when he needed it most. Conversely, Tomoya seeks Satsuki's forgiveness for breaking her heart and going back on his promise. Kazuhiko also feels sorry for putting Tomoya second to his work. Hideaki and Seiko are apologetic towards hurting Mihoko's feelings unwittingly while the latter is sorry towards her brother as she wished that he should disappear from the family so that her life can improve. Seiko wishes that she had been home earlier or else Kiyotaka would not have met Tomoya. Of course, the Noguchi family seeks the Ozawas' forgiveness but this is not something which will come readily. As you can see, everyone in the cast has to forgive and be forgiven in one way or another. This makes everyone equal in the sense that nobody is without fault.

The story's pace is rather slow so as to allow the development of emotions for the characters. A murder case does not end when the investigation or trial is concluded. This drama shows what happens after that. The murderer's family has to live with the stigma of the crime for a very long time and be pricked by their consciences. The victim's family has to cope with the loss of a loved one and come to terms with reality. As such, this is a long process which could take ages. As such, whether this drama is your cup of tea depends very much on your ability to stomach the "slowness". I watched this drama at one go (well, over 3 days as a matter of fact) but if I had to watch this on a weekly basis, I may not stand the slow developments. Even so, there were times where I had the urge to fast-forward the drama. Pacing is a subjective area in this sense.

With regards to the acting, this is one of the few dramas where the lead is outshone by the supporting cast. I'm not saying Inamori Izumi did not do well. She surprised me in the sense that as a single woman, she did show the motherly feelings of Satsuki pretty well. However, there were times when I felt that she went a bit over the edge. All that crying and that haggard face were too much at times. True, I understand that Satsuki is supposed to be very upset and remorseful about what has happened. However, it doesn't always have to be an outpour of emotions. If you look at Itaya Yuka's potrayal of Seiko, I think she managed to balance the emotions of a mother whose son was murdered. At the beginning, Seiko was hysterical because she blamed herself for going out to lunch and not being home for Kiyotaka. However, as emotions gradually simmered down, she didn't cry in an exaggerated manner. Tears rolling down her cheeks without any sound made is even more powerful than sobbing loudly. Seiko is sad but she tries to keep it lowkey so as to be strong for her husband and daughter. That strength exhibited in Itaya's acting impressed me very much. Maybe it has to do with her being a mother in real life. That is probably why she finds it easier to imagine the feelings of Seiko and potray how someone in her shoes is likely to behave. Although Itaya had relatively lesser airtime as compared to Inamori, the former left a much stronger impression on me.

The child actors are also worth mentioning. Kakazu Issei who plays Tomoya is quite good at displaying the conflict of emotions with this character. Shaking when he's terrified, releasing his anger by throwing tantrums as well as feeling sorry for what he has done to his parents and Kiyotaka. He's only 10 and should have a long way to go if he gets more beefy roles in future. Somehow, he reminds me a lot of Kamiki Ryuunosuke when he was a child.

There's also Kawashima Umika who plays Mihoko. She did pretty well in this drama and I think she has a slight edge over competitors in the same age group. Although she can look tough on the surface, she is able to show the insecurity and softer side in her role. I have this feeling that Kawashima is quite similar to Narumi Riko in the past but the latter appears too strong and mature at times. As such, Kawashima feels like a softer version of Narumi, at least for the time being. However, I do not wish to see Kawashima become a shadow of Narumi. She should try to carve a niche for herself if she wants to go further in showbiz.

The theme song by Monkey Majik fitted the theme of the drama very closely so I'm guessing that they tailormade it for this drama. On the other hand, Aragaki Yui's song always comes in at a weird point in the drama and it is barely audible because of the lack of richness and depth in her voice. The sound director must have thought that we all have great hearing to pick out what she's singing but they should have made an effort to turn up the volume. As such, I'm not very impressed with the use of this song in the drama.

And my ratings for this drama...
Story: 7 out of 10 (Description of the emotions and story development was good but the pacing is a problem area which could kill interest)
Acting: 8.5 out of 10 (Especially for Itaya Yuka and Inamori Izumi's efforts. Kudos to the young actors too.)
Theme song: 7 out of 10 (For the sake of Monkey Majik's song. If the insert song had been handled in a better way, the score would have gone higher.)
Visual effects / Scenery: 5 out of 10 (Nothing particularly impressive or worth picking on)
Teamwork / Chemistry: 5.5 out of 10 (The funny thing is that Seiko and Satsuki met only once throughout the whole drama so there isn't chemistry to speak of. However, that scene was very intense. As for teamwork, it's largely isolated within each family. On the whole, I think the Ozawa family showed a more close-knitted bond among themselves.)

Total: 33 out of 50

Top 10 movies ranking (28 June 09)

1) Evangelion Shin Gekijouban: Ha

2) ROOKIES Sotsugyou

3) Transformers: Revenge

4) Tsurugidake Ten no Ki

5) Terminator 4

6) The Reader

7) Angels & Demons

8) Yomei Ikkagetsu no Hanayome

9) Manatsu no Orion

10) Hagetaka

The Quiz Show DVD Box

Title: The Quiz Show DVD Box
Price: 18,060 yen (inclusive of tax)
Date of release: 21 August 2009
Number of discs: 7
Produced by: VAP
Total running time: 480 minutes
Special footage: Making-of, cast interviews, PR compilation, press conference, CM compilation, Spin-off video "Ichimon Ittou" (One Question One Answer)
Freebies: Specially-made plastic poker cards (1st press only), Replica of the invitation card

Press conference of "Kanryoutachi no Natsu" - Summer 2009

The press conference for TBS summer drama, "Kanryoutachi no Natsu" (The Bureaucrats' Summer) was held on 29 June 09. Cast members including Sato Koichi, Sakai Masato, Kitaooji Kinya, Funakoshi Eiichiro, Takahashi Katsunori, Takahashi Katsumi, Murakawa Eri, Nishimura Masahiko, Sano Shiro, Sugimoto Tetta, Fukuishi Kazue and Tanaka Kei made appearances. The drama is due to be shown from 5 July 2009 at 9pm on Sundays. The story is based on a novel by Jouyama Saburo which depicts the work of bureaucrats working in the Ministry of International Trade and Industry during the Showa 30 era.

Tamaki Hiroshi admits to his relationship with Yoshitaka Yuriko

Tamaki Hiroshi has admitted that he is currently dating Yoshitaka Yuriko as reported earlier by Jousei Seven. He is currently away in Europe for the filming of "Nodame Cantabile" movies and was interviewed over the phone on 29 June. He revealed that they had become close through the filming of "Love Shuffle" in winter this year and they have been in contact all this while. Although he did not confirm specifically whether she is his girlfriend, he was smiling when the question was posed. As Tamaki is unable to return to Japan due to the hectic filming schedule, he will be absent from the first-day screening of his new movie, "MW".

Press conference of Ninkyou Helper - Summer 2009

The production press conference of "Ninkyou Helper" (Chivalrous Helper) was held on 29 June 09 at a studio in Tokyo which was attended by cast members including SMAP's Kusanagi Tsuyoshi and Kuroki Meisa. He plays a ruthless gangster who is ordered by his boss to be a helper at an old folks' home. The theme song of the drama, "Sotto Gyutto" will be sung by SMAP and is due for release on 26 August.

As Kusanagi has to play Tsubasa Genichi, a group leader in the yakuza organization Hayato-kai, he has to go through 5 hours of preparation every time just to get the tattoo of a sakura shower on his back all the way to his arm. In addition, he has to wear a thick gold necklace whenever he appears in the drama.

Filming started on 12 June. Although Kusanagi's punishment for being caught by the police in April due to indecent exposure wasn't decided at that time, the production crew of this drama decided to wait for him and did not look for another actor to replace him.

The Quiz Show OST

Title: The Quiz Show OST
Price: 2500 yen
Date of release: 27 May 2009
Produced by: VAP
Total running time: 72 minutes
Number of discs: 1

Track List:
1. ザ・クイズショウのテーマ
2. イニシアチブ、俺
3. ルール説明
4. ニュー案内人
5. ラブ・ホライズン
6. バリ島へ…
7. 理想郷
8. FEAR OF GOD
9. 土着
10. 邪鬼
11. パニ!パニ!
12. DREAM CHANCE
13. PRESSURE
14. 来賓
15. 忍者
16. TO BE CONTINUED...
17. さよなら ATG
18. END (ピアノ バージョン)
19. シグナル
20. BEAUTIFUL SNOW
21. END
22. ひまわり畑
23. イニシアチブ、俺

Review of "The Quiz Show 2" - Spring 2009

Title: The Quiz Show 2
Shown via: NTV
Official website: here
Average rating: 12.08%
Theme song: Ashita no Kioku by Arashi
Regular Cast Members: Sakurai Sho, Yokoyama Yu, Matsuura Aya, Sasai Eisuke, Tanaka Tetsuji, Wada Masato, Moriwaki Eriko, Imai Takafumi, Shiraishi Miki, Oohashi Nozomi, Mizusawa Elena, Totsugi Shigeyuki, Izumiya Shigeru, Enoki Takaaki & Maya Miki
Guest stars for each episode: Aikawa Sho, Minami, Narimiya Hiroki, Asano Yuuko, Ishiguro Ken, Horiuchi Ken (Neptune), Sugimoto Tetta, Maya Miki, Sakurai Sho & Yokoyama Yu

Review:

Technically speaking, this is a sequel to the first season of "The Quiz Show". Prior to this, I had absolutely no idea that there was a part 1 to this drama. Apparently, Part 1 was made last year and shown during the summer season. I was either clueless about this offering from NTV or they did not put a lot of attention in the promotion of Part 1. For Part 2 however, the difference in treatment is quite obvious. I guess the fact that having two Johnny's Jimusho artistes who are more well-known than the leads in Part 1 (Totsugi Shigeyuki and Katagiri Jin) warrants the need to spend more time and effort on the sequel. And the fact that Part 1 was shown in a midnight slot compared to Saturday primetime for Part 2 made the first season relatively unknown.
Although it is said that this is a sequel, the story is not linked entirely to its predecessor. Nonetheless, I was still confused at times when they kept referring to the first season of "The Quiz Show" from time to time because I had no idea what happened at that time. From now on, there will be some spoilers thus if you do not wish to know the story or ending, please stop reading this post.

I have to be frank about this. My sole intention of watching this drama was for Sakurai Sho. I wasn't that impressed with some of his past roles so I had my reservations on how he can handle this difficult role. I thought this would be an interesting role because he gets to switch between a flashy and sarcastic variety show host to a lost guy who knows nuts about his past. It would be great to see how he manages the gap between both facades of Kamiyama Satoru. Indeed, he was good at playing MC Kamiyama and felt very much at ease with himself, or so it seems. I guess all that practice in hosting or assuming a lead host role in Arashi's variety shows does help. It is especially evident in VS Arashi where he seems to be the presenter even though the whole of Arashi is supposed to be assuming the hosting role. Although MC Kamiyama can be a bit too flashy and flamboyant at times, it is not overdone because the nature of the show requires him to do that. When he switched to Kamiyama Satoru, I found it a bit painful to watch him. He tried too hard to show the anguish of Satoru at the beginning which made me cringe but as the drama progressed, he found a better way of expressing himself and toned down on the overacting. Finally, I can say that he can act well, provided his role suits him in the first place. He's not yet in the league of being able to handle any role but he is improving. Hopefully, with the gaining of experience in various areas e.g. singing, acting, hosting and being a newcaster, he will become a more well-rounded actor in future.

On the other hand, his co-star Yokoyama Yu also had a bit of teething problems in the beginning. His role, Honma really got on my nerves at first. It's not because of the way he treated Kamiyama but rather he tries to act cool, high and almighty especially when he talks to Takasugi (Matsuura Aya) at the end of the show. True, he may be looking like a maniac when he confronts and pushes Kamiyama to remember the past but seeing him act cool was a bigger turnoff. That was simply too fake. However, as he settled into the role (although a bit too late) in the last few episodes of the show, he managed to show the pain and tragic past Honma had to shoulder. That final climax scene with Kamiyama was good and very intense but I think they should save on that mucus and saliva thing. It does get a bit gross when I see people crying to that extent. Tears alone will do the trick for me.

With regards to the other main cast members, Matsuura Aya was OK. At least she didn't irritate me that much this time. However, it will take a lot for me to like her high-pitched voice and a bit childish mannerisms. Maya Miki was horrific this time. Usually she exudes so much charm and charisma but the problem this time was her role, Saejima being more like a frantic woman running around and screaming as if this will get things done. When it's time to put her foot down, she's not assertive enough and lets Honma lord it over her. That's when it gets really irritating. She should have been given a role which allows her to behave more like a mature woman.

As for the story itself, I've never been a fan of episodic dramas. The lack of continuity and development of the main characters have always been an issue for me. In this drama, that is not a problem. As the drama progresses, we see more information about the past and how the truth is really like. There were a lot of clues here and there but the problem is they are just decoys. The truth is far from what I expected in the beginning. Nonetheless, I guessed what was going on by the 9th episode. Although the format of the quiz show itself is very repetitive and kinda boring, I'm prepared to overlook that. To be honest, it doesn't take a genius to clear all those questions. It's more to do with being honest and daring enough to reveal the skeletons in the closet. Some of the guest stars are quite interesting and I like the 2nd episode's guest Minami a lot. The majority of the guests didn't end up too well after the truth was revealed but in the 2nd episode, Minami's character faced up to the music and ended up making things better for her in a way. As such, the positive feeling about that episode made it stand out from the rest.

And my ratings for this drama...
Story: 7.5 out of 10 (The simplicity of the quiz show itself made me deduct some marks)
Acting: 7 out of 10 (Luckily the leads managed to turn the tables in the end or the score would have been lower)
Theme song: 7 out of 10 (The mood of the song suited the atmosphere but the song could have come in at more appropriate times in some instances. It doesn't have to be at the ending all the time.)
Visual effects / Scenery: 5 out of 10 (Most of the scenes were in the studio itself so scenery of the made-up place, Shinai Lake was the only outdoor location I could remember)
Teamwork / Chemistry: 6 out of 10 (The final showdown got some points back for the drama.)

Total: 32.5 out of 50

Review of "Voice" - Winter 2009

Title: Voice~Inochi Naki Mono no Koe
O.A. Start: 12 Jan 09
O.A. End: 23 Mar 09
Number of episodes: 11
Broadcast by: FujiTV
Theme song: Setsuna by GReeeeN
Average rating: 14.56%
Cast: Eita, Ikuta Toma, Ishihara Satomi, Endo Yuuya, Sato Tomohito, Hamada Mari, Yamazaki Shigenori, Nadaka Tatsuo, Izumiya Shigeru, Yada Akiko and Tokito Saburo

Review:

Before this drama started its run, I expected it to be a refreshing look at pathology. I do not remember seeing many dramas on this genre except for "Kira Kira Hikaru" in 1998 (2 more SPs in 1999 and 2000) which starred Fukatsu Eri, Matsuyuki Yasuko, Yanagiba Toshiro, Shinohara Ryoko, Kobayashi Satomi and Suzuki Kyoka. That drama featured lady pathologists at work and also focused on the conversations among the 4 female leads i.e. Fukatsu, Matsuyuki, Kobayashi and Suzuki about their work and private lives. That drama left a very deep impression on me so I was hoping that this drama will match up to "Kira Kira Hikaru".

However, I was very disappointed with this drama and here are the reasons (by the way, if you really like this drama, maybe you would like to give the following a miss because you are not going to like what I pointed out):

1) I do not remember which character said this (could be Yada Akiko's Natsuikawa or somebody else) but there was this line which mentioned that as pathology students, their responsibility is not to find out the truth but rather extract facts or observations from the victim which helps the police do their investigation. That is why I got really annoyed at these 5 youngsters who take it upon themselves to investigate the truth. What they should be doing is to use the facts they derive and deduce why this happened. Like what Natsuikawa says, they should be spending time on analyzing the data and forming observations. They do not have to do the footwork which police detectives are supposed to be doing. Why are they running around all the time instead of spending more time on scientific research? I really wanted to tell them to mind their own business at certain points in the drama.

2) A lot of these so-called deductions are based on circumstantial evidence. Sometimes, I'm not too convinced with the explanations and find them really far-fetched. There is too much guesswork. I don't know how others feel about this but since this is a drama on the scientific theme of pathology, they should make it more credible and easier for people to believe. I feel as if these facts are being shoved down my throat and they are difficult to swallow.

3) The story is very predictable. Barring the so-called scientific deductions, the flow of the story is simply too easy to guess. Most of the cases presented have nothing to do with murder so there is no need to guess the identity of the "murderer". Frankly speaking, this decreases the intensity index of this drama. Everything just falls into place nicely without a glitch. And that is boring. Maybe it would have been better for the pathologists to work together with a central police character and solve the cases hand-in-hand rather than letting these students run amok with their rash enthusiasm.

4) Much as I admire Eita and Ikuta Toma's acting in some of their past works, I think the performance of the cast on the whole is quite disappointing. Every character doesn't get much room for development so the cast cannot fledge their acting muscles at all. Especially for Ikuta, I felt that his character Ryousuke should be beefed up and his interaction with Eita's character Daiki can be extended beyond the daily bickering. It does get stale after a few attempts. Other than Endo Yuuya and Sato Tomohito's combination which is refreshing and relates the feeling that their characters are seemingly close, the rest of them seem detached from one another.

I was disappointed time after time but I continued watching this in the hope that things will change for the better. However, this was not meant to be. As such, for people who want to watch this drama, please do not set your expectations too high. If Kira Kira Hikaru is a professional piece of work featuring the pros at work, Voice is simply an amateur project which tries to emulate the success of past works. If the producers had the intention of making these students grow up and learn over the course of the drama, they should have focused more on the scientific aspect rather than letting them play detective. That was a big mistake from the start.

And my ratings for this drama...
Story: 2 out of 10 (All the problems stated above)
Acting: 4 out of 10 (Bland and not appealing at all. I can't even name a favourite character)
Theme song: 5 out of 10 (At first listening, the song was catchy but somehow it didn't grow on me after that)
Visual effects / Scenery: 4 out of 10 (Most of the scenes were in the university so there were limited outdoor shots when the 5 students went out to investigate)
Teamwork / Chemistry: 3 out of 10 (Like what I said, the characters felt too detached from one another. Interaction was superficial. I simply don't buy the story of the 5 of them being buddies. They never gave me that feeling.)

Total: 18 out of 50

Top 10 Spring 09 dramas which viewers are most satisfied with (Yahoo! Japan)

1) BOSS (7820 votes)

2) Shiroi Haru (5772)

3) Aishiteru ~ Kaiyou (4133)

4) MR.BRAIN (1621)

5) Smile (1589)

6) THE QUIZ SHOW (1581)

7) Rinjou (1425)

8) Yukemuri Sniper (1409)

9) Atashinchi no Danshi (1211)

10) Yakou no Kaidan (813)

BOSS ends with a high rating of 20.7%

The last episode of "BOSS" shown on 25 June 09 ended with a high rating of 20.7%. The finale featured Amami Yuki's character Oosawa Eriko leading her team to fight against the terrorist played by Sorimachi Takashi. The drama has been leading the ratings race for the season and finally crossed the 20% barrier in its final episode. Excluding Mr.Brain which was shown late into the spring season, BOSS is now placed No.1 in terms of the average ratings ranking.

Top 10 male artistes with the best complexion as chosen by men (Oricon)

1) Koike Teppei

2) Fukuyama Masaharu

3) GACKT

4) Kimura Takuya

5) Mizushima Hiro

6) Wentz Eishi

7) Miura Haruma

8) Tamaki Hiroshi

9) Yamashita Tomohisa

10) Takizawa Hideaki

Top 10 dramas which viewers want to watch again (Tsutaya)

1) Hana Yori Dango (Inoue Mao & Matsumoto Jun)

2) Maou (Ohno Satoshi & Ikuta Toma)

3) Long Vacation (Kimura Takuya & Yamaguchi Tomoko)

4) Kisarazu Cat's Eye (Okada Junichi & Sakurai Sho)

5) Ryuusei no Kizuna (Ninomiya Kazunari & Nishikido Ryo)

6) Orange Days (Tsumabuki Satoshi & Shibasaki Kou)

7) anego (Shinohara Ryoko & Akanishi Jin)

8) Ichi Littoru no Namida (Sawajiri Erika & Yakushimaru Hiroko)

9) Tokyo Love Story (Suzuki Honami & Oda Yuji)

10) Code Blue (Yamashita Tomohisa & Aragaki Yui)

Top 10 movies ranking (21 June 09)

1) ROOKIES Sotsugyou

2) Transformers: Revenge

3) Terminator 4

4) Tsurugidake Ten no Ki

5) The Reader

6) Angels and Demons

7) Manatsu no Orion

8) Yomei Ikka getsu no Hanayome

9) Hagetaka

10) 60-sai no Love Letter

Kyuumei Byoutou 24 Ji 4 to start on 4 August 09?

Due to the injuries sustained by Eguchi Yosuke during the motorcycle accident, the O.A. date for Kyuumei Byouto 24 Ji 4 has been hanging in the balance as FujiTV struggles to make alternative arrangements. According to Nikkan Gendai, they have found out that the O.A. date is set to be postponed to 4 August and the number of episodes have been slashed from 12 to 8. In the meantime, the 4 weeks' worth of timeslots from 7 July will be filled up with a comedy SP and an edited best-scenes SP of the Kyuumei Byoutou series in the past. At the moment, Eguchi has been transferred to a private hospital for his treatment and is scheduled to return to filming from 13 July.

This is the first time in history that the leading actor in a drama got into an accident before the O.A. and caused the delay of the O.A. and the reduction of the number of episodes. To Eguchi, he must be feeling sorry about the inconveniences caused especially since his co-stars like Matsushima Nanako and Yusuke Santa Maria have to adjust their schedules again. For FujiTV, they can finally breathe a sigh of relief since they are assured of the continuity of this popular series which has garnered high ratings of 20.0%, 20.2% and 19.1% for the three installments respectively.

Review of 252 Seizonsha Ari 252 生存者あり+ Episode Zero

Title: 252 Seizonsha Ari (252 There are survivors) Episode Zero
O.A. Date: 5 December 2008
Timeslot: Friday, 9pm
Shown via: NTV
Cast: Ichihara Hayato, Uehara Takako (SPEED), Abe Tsuyoshi, Ihara Tsuyoshi, Konno Mahiru, Itou Hideaki, Kashii Yui, Yamamoto Tarou, Nukumizu Yoichi, Hakamada Yoshihiko and Uchino Masaaki



Title: 252 Seizonsha Ari
Roadshow date: 6 December 2008
Cast: Itou Hideaki, Uchino Masaaki, Yamada Takayuki, Kimura Yuichi, Kashii Yui, MINJI, Yamamoto Tarou, Sakurai Sachiko, Oomori Ayane, Matsuda Satoshi and Sugimoto Tetta

Review:

As this drama SP was made in conjunction with the release of the movie and shown on the eve of the movie's roadshow, I will be putting the reviews of both the drama SP and the movie together.

The drama SP's setting is 2 years before the movie and has little relation to the plot of the movie. As such, whether you watch the SP before the movie does not make much of a difference. The main cast members are not the same and the focus of the SP is different from the movie. The link between the two would be Itou Hideaki and Uchino Masaaki's roles who happen to be seniors and instructors to the newbies in the SP.

Basically, the SP goes through the training of the hyper rescue team members and the struggles they encounter during the process. Frankly speaking, this reminds me so much of Umizaru. Although the hyper rescue team members' work is not restricted to a certain area unlike Umizaru's focus on sea missions, the nature of the training seems quite similar. In one word, tough. To spice things up, they have a female i.e. Uehara Takako's role aiming to be the 1st female hyper rescue team member and survivors of other disasters coming together to overcome their trauma and fears i.e. Ichihara Hayato and Abe Tsuyoshi. However, I really think that the story is not interesting at all. Maybe it's because of the Umizaru series which have taken away all the novelty in such themes. Maybe it's because of the handling of the story. I just do not like having rash enthusiasm shoved in my face. Ichihara's character was a big eyesore. All that ranting and impetous ways of doing things just puts me off. In addition, I have no idea why they have to wear such tight T-shirts to show off their "well-developed" chest muscles. I am not keen on beefy guys so when I saw how Ichihara was getting agitated and his chest was making its presence felt, literally, it really was repulsive. No offence to him but it's just that this over-acting really gets on my nerves. I was worried that he might get a stroke or something due to this way of acting.

Due to the use of the old formula of youthful rashness causing hiccups and yet everything goes well in the end, the story is simply predictable. Sure, they have a minor earthquake causing some havoc but everything is set to end well. Nobody should die at this juncture as yet or so I assumed right from the start. If someone in the team died, the fellow members might not be able to continue with their work in future. I'm sure that wasn't the purpose the drama SP was supposed to serve, Rather, it was made to be an introductory piece to the foundation of the movie but I really find it hard to see the link.

Of late, there have been lots of movies having prequels or so-called episode zero before the launch of the movie. If the drama SP is going to be a last-minute slipshod piece of work, they might as well not produce it anyway. It's a waste of time and money. It will also backfire by creating negative publicity since people may not see the point of watching the movie if the drama SP turns out to be unsatisfactory.

And my ratings for this drama SP...
Story: 3 out of 10 (Boring, draggy and predictable)
Acting: 4 out of 10 (Bland and overdoing it most of the time)
Theme song: 4 out of 10 (Only the chorus made a small impression but it wasn't impactful at all)
Visual effects / Scenery: 4 out of 10 (Most of the scenes were in training camp and the disaster featured here is small-scale, compared to the movie)
Teamwork / Chemistry: 4 out of 10 (Not much to speak of. Everyone was probably doing their own thing)

Total: 19 out of 50

One little unknown fact is that the script of the movie was actually written by Komori Youichi, a manga artist who created Umizaru. Now you see why I said that these two films are so similar? Even before watching the movie, I was apprehensive about this being a rip-off from Umizaru. Sad to say, this feels like a poorer cousin of Umizaru. True, the scale of the disaster may be larger since it is nature wreaking havoc this time (in Umizaru, most if not all of the incidents were caused by man, rather than nature). However, even if the difficulties presented are seemingly tougher, the handling of the story cannot match Umizaru. And NTV taking this chance to flood FujiTV's HQ in Odaiba in the film just reeks of petty rivalry especially when this film is from NTV and Umizaru is from FujiTV. I was amused at first but after watching the movie, I felt that NTV should have spent more time on refining this film rather than poke fun at their rival with such a gesture.

Itou Hideaki's character quit from the rescue team due to his decision to save his brother first instead of his buddy thus resulting in the latter's death. And he gets caught up in the typhoon-cum-tsunami disaster and has to save the others with his past experience. Unlike Umizaru which focuses a lot on teamwork, this movie feels like a solo hero flick featuring Itou. I was shaking my head when I saw the final scenes. The hero is unscathed despite going through so much?! Somehow, it is not so believable. The supporting characters especially those who were underground with him, felt like passer-bys. They seemed too detached from the story. This whole story was all about Itou Hideaki. Even Uchino Masaaki didn't get a chance to show off his acting skills.

Yamada Takayuki gets on my nerves especially for looking so disinterested in the movie. I do not know why but ever since that scandal, he does not seem to have recovered from that blow to his career. That unkept image and lack of interest in his roles cannot be ignored. Mind you, this movie was made last year and in May this year, he was still sporting that same look in BOSS. Is he going to look like that for the rest of his life? If he doesn't buck up and so something about it, nobody would want to use him in their shows anymore. I certainly do not want to see an actor who is in a daze during a promotion video for his movie and doesn't seem enthusiastic about his work. The more I see him, the angrier I get. It only adds on to the dissatisfaction I feel about this film.

And my ratings for this movie...
Story: 4 out of 10 (Feels like a ripoff of Umizaru)
Acting: 4 out of 10 (While the SP suffers from over-acting, this movie suffers from under-acting i.e. the characters lacked flesh and the acting was superficial)
Theme song: 4 out of 10 (Only the chorus made a small impression but it wasn't impactful at all)
Visual effects / Scenery: 5 out of 10 (On a greater scale as compared to the SP but I've seen better ones)
Teamwork / Chemistry: 4 out of 10 (Not much to speak of. Everyone was probably doing their own thing. Same problem with the SP.)

Total: 21 out of 50

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)

Nagai Masaru confesses his love for Hirosue Ryoko openly

Nagai Masaru attended the press conference for a new wrestling game and declared his love for Hirosue Ryoko openly. He revealed that although they have been rumoured to be dating, they are not an item yet.

In a recent issue of "FRIDAY", Nagai was caught spending his birthday at Hirosue's apartment. When asked about this, Nagai revealed that he wanted to spend his birthday with Hirosue. At first, she didn't seem too keen on it and even rejected his suggestion but they had a party for him at her place with 4 friends in the end.

Nagai and Hirosue had worked together in the 2007 drama "Long Wedding Road" and was said to be dating since Feb this year when pictures of them having meals together were published. Nagai kept repeating that Hirosue is a very nice lady and he is all prepared to confess his feelings for her. In addition, he revealed that Hirosue's 5-year-old son calls him "brother" and he will definitely tell the child if he really dates Hirosue.

On the other hand, Hirosue's agency commented that Hirosue and Nagai are merely good friends at the moment. Likewise, insiders around her also said that it was still early to say if anything will develop between them because Hirosue had just got divorced 1 year and 3 months ago. There is also the issue of Hirosue's son to consider before she enters into a new relationship so it looks like Nagai will have a difficult path ahead.

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

1) SUPERMARKET FANTASY - Mr.Children (1,226,157)

2) EXILE BALLAD BEST - EXILE (807,684)

3) DO YOU DREAMS COME TRUE? - DREAMS COME TRUE (632,203)

4) Remio Best - Remioromen (421,797)

5) My song Your song - Ikimonogakari (404,614)

6) TRICK - Kouda Kumi (385,677)

7) NEXT LEVEL - Hamasaki Ayumi (264,514)

8) Aruto Colony no Teiri - RADWIMPS (314,215)

9) Shamble - Unicorn (250,771)

10) The Secret Code - Tohoshinki (248,208)