Top 10 movies weekly ranking (22 Oct 2006)

1) Nada Sousou

2) World Trade Centre

3) Metro ni Notte

4) Black Dahlia

5) Eien no Hou

6) Hula Girl

7) 16 Block

8) Tenshi no Tamago

9) Snake Flight

10) Il Mare

Yo ni mo Kimyou na Monogatari Autumn 2006 SP

Here's a review of the recent Yo ni mo Kimyou na Monogatari Autumn 2006 SP. Over the years, this has been one of the most long-running dramas I've been watching but sometimes, I don't have access to the shows so there are some seasons which I may have missed. For this season, there aren't that many big names except for Domoto Koichi who's trying his hand at this hit series for the first time if I'm not wrong. As for Uchiyama Rina and Hirosue Ryoko, they have made appearances in this series before but I'm not sure about Shaku Yumiko and Tanaka Misako. A significant difference in this SP is the introduction of short stories which are less than a minute long in between the 5 main parts. My favourite is the clip on the guy trying to bend the spoon with his supernatural powers and ended up bending Tokyo Tower instead! ^__^

First up is Kyoko-san starring Hirosue Ryoko. The name Kyoko is written as "kagami-ko" in kanji which literally means someone in the mirror. Hirosue's role, Morisawa Izumi is an intern at the Arisu Hospital where there was someone who died under weird circumstances just the previous night before she was due to report to work. Morisawa hears from her young patient about a chant which goes like this, "Kyoko-san, Kyoko-san, watashi wo kirei ni shite kudasai na" (Kyoko-san, Kyoko-san, please make me beautiful) and tries it out for fun at night in the toilet. However, this causes a woman in white to appear and slash Morisawa's arm in the end. Nobody believes that such a woman exists but Morisawa gets suspicious upon hearing some rumours about the hospital being a jinxed place and people dying suddenly without apparent reasons. She does some snooping around and finds out the unexpected truth through the woman in the mirror. This story is rather creepy and will no doubt leave you with goosebumps at the end.

Next is Shaku Yumiko and Ibu Masato in "Bucchou OL" who switch bodies due to lightning striking them. This begins a series of hillarious experiences for both who try to grapple with the differences in lifestyles especially at work due to their new identities. Previously, both of them were at loggerheads because of their inability to identify with each other's problems but through the short experience, they forge an unlikely friendship and eagerly look forward to the day when they can go back to normal. However, an unexpected happening occurs which creates more chaos instead of undoing the situation. After watching a scary story, this helps to relive some tension especially when funny situations are aplenty.

This has got to be my No.1 for this season's SP. Next up is Domoto Koichi in "Kinou Kouen" (Yesterday Park) where he starts off as a young guy, Yosuke playing baseball with his longtime friend Takao in the park. However, he is aghast to hear about Takao's death that evening after they parted ways. The next day, he goes back to the park and realises that after picking up a baseball which appears from nowhere, he is transported back to the previous day. Having the benefit of hindsight, Yosuke tries to prevent Takao's death but with each intervention, he ends up causing more dire consequences. In the end, Yosuke starts to question himself as to whether he should continue trying to prevent Takao's death and decides against it in the end. This results in everything going back as to normal and the cause of death reverting to that of the first occurence. However, years later, Yosuke gets a sense of deja vu when his wife Noriko asks him the same questions as what he asked Takao when he was trying to decide whether to save Takao...Frankly speaking, this story falls into the category of creepy and ironic at the same time. The ending brings Yosuke back to square one in a sense and makes him go through what his friend experienced. As for the ironic aspect, the more Yosuke tried to save Takao, the more problems he caused. Is this trying to say that we should not go against the will of heaven and let things take their natural course?

The fourth story is "Neko ga Ongaeshi" (The Cat Returns its favour) starring Uchiyama Rina. Well, I think this is the most boring story in the SP. It's rather predictable and doesn't seem that original after all. I remember seeing something rather similar in the past but I just can't recollect the details. Anyway, Uchiyama plays Emi who has just lost her grandmother and can't help but lament to her cat, Kuro that she wishes that it will turn into a human to stay with her. Surprisingly, a man appears before her and shows signs that he's Kuro which makes Emi very happy. Unknown to her, the man has a hidden agenda and isn't what he claims to be...

Last but not least, we have Tanaka Misako in "Kazoku Kaigi" (Family meeting). A family of three meet with a serious traffic accident which leaves them with life-threatening injuries. They find themselves back at home safe and sound as if nothing had happened. It turns out that they have been told to kill one of their family members within 3 days so as to keep the other two alive. However, this is a tough choice to make as the deadline draws near and rifts start appearing among them...

Nihon Chinbotsu Review

I finally got the chance to catch this movie so quickly in Singapore despite it being shown in Japan just this summer. As the official screening will only be next Thursday i.e. 26 Oct, the sneak previews are held this weekend thus explaining why I got to watch this today. Due to the fact that Kusanagi Tsuyoshi's face is not shown on the chirashi uploaded online (i.e. the Johnny's Jimusho ruling that their artistes' faces cannot be used on websites), I took a picture of the poster at the cinema. As the place was rather dim, the lights happened to be near the poster and I used a camera phone, that explains why the resolution is not that satisfactory. There were 3 other versions of the posters pasted on the same pillar but those did not have pictures of the cast so I decided against shooting them. Be warned that there will be plenty of spoilers in the following content so do not proceed if you want everything to be kept in suspense until you watch the movie.

From the way I see it, Kusanagi being featured against a blue blackground while Shibasaki Kou shown in front a fiery red blackground has a lot to do with their occupations. Kusanagi's role Onodera Toshio is a submarine pilot which means that he works in the sea while Shibasaki works as a resuce team member constantly faced with disasters or fires so that explains the contrast.

One thing I'm not too pleased about is the direct translation of the movie title which sounds really crude in a sense. I'm just being picky here...

As compared to what I observed today versus Death Note which I watched last Saturday, there were some significant differences. First of all, although it was rather late at night, there were many youngsters watching Death Note while for Nihon Chinbotsu which was an afternoon session, there were many families consisting of the elderly and the children. It seems to suggest that the composition of viewers both movies attract don't really overlap. I noticed that promotional efforts for Nihon Chinbotsu weren't as intensive as Death Note which could also explain why the first 4 rows of the cinema were empty as compared to a full house for Death Note.

Coming to my views of the movie, I must say that I enjoyed this to a certain extent but I do have some grouses about some aspects.

With regards to the CG disaster scenes, the impact was strong and very impressive. It will no doubt leave a deep impression on you. However, the story leaves much to be desired because it seems to have paid too much attention to catch the viewer's attention with the visuals. Here are the points which I don't feel too good about:

-The relationship between Onodera Toshio (Kusanagi) and Abe Reiko (Shibasaki Kou)
There should have been more screentime allocated to them. I just don't comprehend how they developed such a strong relationship when the movie only showed them meeting for the first time as Reiko saved Onodera during an explosion after an earthquake. The next time we see them together, Reiko mends Onodera's jacket and goes to his workplace specially to return it to him. And then, we see Onodera going to Reiko's place to visit Misaki (Fukada Mayuko) whom Reiko also saved at the same time. Nothing really points to the fact that they started dating and yet we suddenly see Onodera asking Reiko to go with him to England when everyone is evacuating overseas?! Especially when you see how they parted ways when Onodera had to go on a mission of no-return, it suggests that they have very deep feelings for each other. I really would have wanted to see some happy scenes for Onodera and Reiko rather than them being subjected to the pain of parting just when they finally reveal to each other how they really feel. I think this was also one of the grouses from Japanese viewers who wanted to see more romance in the movie.

- The hurried pace of the story
Frankly speaking, the movie seemed to be rushing from the start. In less than 20 minutes, so many earthquakes and explosions had taken place that I was looking at my watch and wondering what content would be left for the movie to explore if they showed the CG scenes at one shot at the beginning. And true to what I expected, the ending was extremely unsatisfactory, at least to me. If Tadokoro (Toyokawa Etsushi) had thought of a way to solve the problem long ago, I don't see why the story had to drag it till the very end before he provided his suggestion to Takamori (Oji Mao). And it felt as if a simple solution was all it needed to resolve the tough situation. So why did all these people die if rectifications could be done much earlier? And it seems like the movie was more interested in dishing out visual shock to the viewers in terms of the CG disaster scenes rather than focus more on human relationships in the face of danger or spend more time to explore how they solved the problem.

- The unsatisfactory ending
I don't understand why the hero of such stories have to die ALWAYS at the end. It's almost an unwritten rule that unless you die, you can't be considered as the hero in this type of movies. And surely you don't need me to say who died so I'll leave it for you to find out how he died.

With regards to the cast, here are my comments about some of them:

- Kusanagi Tsuyoshi as Onodera Toshio
Well, he's one of the main reasons why I wanted to watch this. ^__^ Kakkoii! However, his screentime is terribly limited where the disaster scenes appear more than the cast does. Nevertheless, he sure showed his acting skills despite the limitations since Onodera doesn't show too much of his emotions except when he had a showdown with Reiko and wanted to know her feelings for him just before he left for his mission. Too bad there weren't many romance scenes for the leads. Come to think of it, Kusanagi doesn't have that much kissing or intimate scenes even for his dramas...

- Shibasaki Kou as Abe Reiko
This is where you see her with long hair before she snipped it off to a short bob. Her role is a gutsy lass who's not afraid of danger but scared of loving someone and losing him in the process. Like I said, if there were more emotional scenes, it would have probably given her the chance to show her depth as an actress.

- Toyokawa Etsushi as Tadokoro Yuusuke
That hairstyle sure reminds me of Kuzu in "Bengoshi no Kuzu" although the movie was shot much earlier than the drama. And the blend of some frivolous with the seriousness makes the resemblance more striking. He's a charismatic actor but his role seems kind of helpless at times instead of looking the part of a leader in the operations to stop the disaster.

- Fukuda Mayuko as Kuraki Misaki
Being dubbed as one of the tensai koyaku (genius child actors) these days, Fukuda does make her presence felt on screen as a cute girl who looks her age. Some of her past roles usually make her seem like a girl who's much mature than her actual age so it's nice to see the smile on her face. However, there's not much room for her to show her stuff in this movie which is really a pity.

- Oji Mao as Takamori Saori
This tough lady is simply gorgeous for her age. If not the fact that she is the ex-wife of Matsudaira Ken, I would never have paid notice to her name prior to this movie. If I'm not wrong, she's also in her 40s or nearing 50 just like Kuroki Hitomi and she looks almost as good as Kuroki. Maybe it's because she doesn't appear as much on TV like Kuroki so not many people know her. Anyway, I think she has one of the meatier roles in the movie where she appeared more times than the leads did but of course, comparatively, the leads had more screentime despite the limited appearances. Too bad there wasn't any focus on her relationship with Tadokoro after the teaser about them being an item in the past appeared in the movie.

- Oikawa Mitsuhiro as Yuuki Tatsuya
This guy also has limited screentime but he does leave an impression on me. Frankly speaking, I think Micchi is very charming on screen as compared to off-screen where he tends to be a bit too gentle or feminine for my liking. I admit that I'm quite attracted to him or rather his role in this movie. ^__^

- Ishizaka Koji as Yamamoto Naoyuki
Haha, this guy proved to be a surprise for me. I was wondering why he is labeled as a special guest in the cast and after watching the movie, you will understand the rationale. He appears in a rather important role BUT he will fade out in a grand fashion. That's why they got a pretty well-known actor to take up this seemingly insignificant but still important role.

On the whole, I must say that I do feel disappointed with the movie especially with regards to the feeble storyline. However, it's still worth watching it if you fall into the categories:

1) You like the cast members
2) You like disaster films
3) You are prepared to forgive the not-so-impressive storyline for the sake of the "powerful" CG scenes dished out

Last but not least, I have posted the covers of the DVDs to be released on 19 Jan next year. The limited edition (catalog number: GNBD-7381, price 7140 yen) consists of 3 discs, dual-track explanations, making-of footage, replica of the director's script, image boards and illustration cards. There will also be comparison images with the 1973 original movie with this remake in one of the discs. As for the normal press (catalog number: GNBD-7389, price 3990 yen), it features the leads on the cover and consists of the movie only. The special in this edition would be an interchangeable 3D DVD casing jacket.

Top 10 movies weekly ranking (15 Oct 2006)

1) World Trade Centre

2) Nada Sousou

3) Black Dahlia

4) Hula Girl

5) 16 Block

6) Eien no Hou

7) Il Mare

8) World Speed x 3 TOKYO DRIFT

9) Gedo Senki

10) The Centennial

Death Note Real Life Movie Part 1 Review

After months of waiting, I finally got the opportunity to watch Death Note in our local cinema! Well, the movie was only supposed to be screened from 19 Oct but there are sneak previews this weekend thus I jumped at the chance to catch this last night. As compared to the situation for Umizaru which was shown about 2 months ago at three locations, Death Note is screened at GV cineplexes which are located strategically in the city area and heartlands so I think this will be a big boost to its takings. Besides, Death Note enjoys a very strong following among local manga fans. I noticed that there were many groups of guys coming to watch the movie together and girlfriends accompanying boyfriends who are manga fans (the guys sitting around me seemed to be occupied with explaining the story to their girlfriends ^__^ )so I assume the strong turnout is largely due to the popularity and fame of the manga itself. Last but not least, the advertisement billboards started appearing in places like MRT stations since last month so the publicity has helped to generate hype over the movie's release significantly.

Another piece of good news is that the local cinemas will be showing the second instalment i.e. "Death Note - the Last Name - " next month which I suppose should be in conjunction with its release in Japan, Taiwan and Hong Kong! This means that the local distributor must have deliberately delayed the release of Part 1 to Oct instead of going along with Hong Kong and Taiwan which screened the movie in about 1 month after the Japan screening in June, so as to keep the story fresh in viewers' minds and ensure that they will continue to watch the sequel. Watching Part 1 on its own only lays the foundation and background of the story and it ends with a cliffhanger. The real action i.e. the battle between Light and L will be the essence of Part 2 and I can't wait to find out if the ending will be different from the manga.

Coming to my views of the movie, I won't go into too much details of how the story progresses but do be warned that there would be plenty of spoilers in the following content as I express my thoughts about the movie especially when it comes to the comparison between the manga and movie.

First of all, the setting of the movie is significantly different from the manga especially when it comes to interpersonal relationships and backgrounds.

For example, Light was a 17-year-old senior high student in the manga but he becomes an university student reading law in the movie. I guess that's partly due to the fact that Fujiwara Tatsuya doesn't look like a senior high student now so instead of sticking blindly to the original setting and being slammed for not looking his part, it was a smart move to adjust Light's background to suit Fujiwara's physical attributes and image.

Names of characters were changed like Raye Penber became Raye Iwamatsu (I didn't see the rationale to do this though since Raye was an American after all in the manga) and some characters whom were supposed to be here ended up at another point in the story. For example, the guy named Shibuimaru Takuo was the one who got knocked down by a truck after he was chasing after a woman to harrass her but he took on the form of a child murderer in the movie and Light deliberately stood before the guy to write his name on the Death Note. Well, Light was furious about the fact that this guy was unrepentant about his misdeeds and that's why he had the strong urge to kill Shibuimaru as soon as he found out that the Death Note really had the power it claimed to have.

And the so-called key person in this movie i.e. the newly created character Akino Shiori didn't seem that important if you consider the limited airtime she gets. However, her presence is somewhat like a litmus test which gives you an idea of how Light views the people around him and how his character and morals had changed from his initial motto of changing the world for the better. It's obvious that Light doesn't love her at all which is why he could sacrifice her easily. He didn't seem that affected by her demise. To me, Light didn't have the intention of killing Shiori until the presence of Misora Naomi became a serious threat to exposing his identity. As such, he probably saw Shiori as someone whom he could use as a pawn anytime. Besides, as seen from his dialogue with Ryuk who asked what Light would do if Shiori found out that he is Kira, Light simply shrugged nonchalantly and said that Shiori will understand his intentions one day. If Shiori had meant something to him, I guess he would have given some thought about her feelings rather than expect that she accepts his new identity as a dictator of death without any reservations. As such, Shiori's importance in the story is subjective, depending on how you see it.

Something which bothers me was the fact that they used a middle-aged man to play the fake L on TV when the manga obviously used a much younger man. Again, I don't see the reason for the change but anyway, it doesn't affect the story at all. It just irks me to see changes which are not necessary.

Another thing was the inclusion of a female detective in Yagami's team. The self-introductions by them to L were conducted quickly but I remember clearly that the lady's surname was something I didn't see in the manga. Another newly created character, I guess.

Amane Misa was not as ditzy as what she is in the manga. I guess Toda Erika doesn't have much time to show off the characteristics of Misa yet so we should be seeing if she can match up to the irritating traits of the manga Misa.

Before I rave about the good points of this movie, let me point out one major disappointment and grouse I have. It's with regards to Misora Naomi. As you may have known, she is the fiancee of Raye and a former FBI inspector. In the manga, her interaction with Light was a very exciting part of the story where Light showed how clever he could get and Misora had protected herself right to the end until she revealed her name to Light as she let down her guard. Even though Misora did disappear or should I say die because of Light's manipulations, it was done in a very classy manner, absolutely no gore and leaving much to imagination. However, the movie oversimplified Misora and made her seem like a rash woman who exposed her background to Light too easily. As we find out later, Misora giving away a major piece of information about her identity proved to what killed her in the end. It was a waste to see her die in that fashion which was contrary to what she should have been. Too bad for Seto Asaka too...she could have done much better if the movie didn't design Misora to be such a brainless and reckless woman.

On the whole, I think that the story was handled pretty well especially for the following parts:

- The finale where L ate consome potato chips in front of Light at the arts museum. It was an obvious taunt at Light by L that the latter had seen through the mobile TV trick.

- Raye being ordered by Light to write down names of the FBI detectives on the Death Note. No doubt it was a little shortened, it was still exciting to watch.

- The moment L started appearing and his fervent eating of sweet stuff. That part where he stringed doughnuts, cakes and various snacks on a barbecue skewer and offered it to Yagami Soichiro was simply hillarious! L really provided lots of comical relief in the movie. Another favourite part was L saying that he and Light had something in common: both of them are childish and hate to lose. This has got to be one of the most classical lines in the story spoken by L. ^__^

- The bus-jacking incident, especially when Ryuk scared the wits out of that criminal

As for the characters/cast, my no.1 favourite would be L played by Matsuyama Kenichi. He's really a dead ringer for L in the manga especially his mannerisms and how he devours the sweets and snacks. Using a lollypop as the stirrer for his tea was really true to the "spirit" of L who has an unusually sweet tooth. Although I cringed at how he was eating (the thought of eating so much sweet food gives me the creeps), I wasn't put off by his performance and liked his potrayal of L very much. He's the most outstanding actor in the cast although I would have preferred to see more of him.

Second would be Nakamura Shido who plays Ryuk. Well, we don't get to see his face at all but his voice is really close to the image I have of Ryuk while reading the manga. And it is difficult to convey the emotions of the character just by using his voice so I'm very impressed by his performance (not by his private life scandals though!).

Fujiwara Tatsuya comes third for me. He does have the feel of Light to a certain extent but I think he is somewhat stuck in the middle at times. Right from the beginning, Light is supposed to have a tinge of innocence and childishness when he hasn't changed completely to a devil. In this regard, Fujiwara doesn't seem that "pure" after all. On the other hand, at this stage of the story, Light has not yet evolved into the epitome of complete evil so Fujiwara doesn't have the chance to show off his "evilness" as yet. I've seen the trailer for Part 2 and that's where I think Fujiwara will perform much better since the gap between Light's evilness and kindness will be very wide and this will be a big test of his acting skills. It will be interesting to see whether he or Matsuyama Kenichi will turn out to be the better actor at the end of the series. Nonetheless, I still think he did a pretty decent job although he was limited by some parts of the story at this point in time.

By the way, for those who are expecting to see something at the end of the movie, there's only the credits. I stayed till the end and was expecting to see some behind-the-scenes footage but was disappointed. Maybe there will be some for Part 2?!

On the whole, I'll rate this movie 9 out of 10. Except for some minor disappointments and some changes made to the setting which seemed redundant, this performed above my expectations.

Seems like there is a rush of Japanese movies to be screened this year. Nihon Chinbotsu comes on next from 26 Oct and I'll probably go for the sneak preview. There's also the Japanese Film Festival starting this month which has pretty recent films like Kamome Shokudou and Hakasei no Aishita Suishiki. And I am keeping my eyes wide opened for the exact screening date of Part 2 for Death Note...

Top 10 movies weekly ranking (8 Oct 2006)

1) World Trade Centre

2) Nada Sousou

3) Hula Girl

4) Il Mare

5) Eien no Hou

6) The Centenial

7) World Speed x3 TOKYO DRIFT

8) X-MEN: Final Decision

9) Lady in Prada

10) Ultraman Mavis & Ultra Kyoudai

PV of "Sorafune" by TOKIO

Here are some screenshots of the PV for "Sorafune" by TOKIO which is the theme song of My Boss My Hero:



















Something worth mentioning is that Matsuoka Masahiro is the director of this PV. It is not the first time that Mabo has done directing for TOKIO's PVs and I must say that most of them, if not all, turn out to be very good. Besides, I guess as a member of the band, it's easy for him to try things which the other members will be willing to attempt or accommodate ideas from others more readily as compared to getting a director who doesn't know them well. That's why the result is usually satisfactory or even exceeds expectations.

Nagase Tomoya hogs all the attention (again!! ^__^) but he's also not spared from being drenched from the rain for most of the PV. Given his "sacrifice", he gets to put on a kakkoii look in the centre of the room while singing with his members surrounding him. I think it's worth it after all.

Romaji lyrics of "Sorafune" by TOKIO

Title: Sorafune
Artiste: TOKIO
Theme song of: My Boss My Hero

sono fune wo koide yuke
omae no te de koide yuke
omae ga kiete yorokobu mono ni
omae no ooru wo makaseru na

sono fune wa ima doko ni
fura fura to ukande iru no ka
sono fune wa ima doko de
boro boro de susunde iru no ka
nagasare maito sakarai nagara
fune wa idomi fune wa itami
subete no suifuu ga osore wo nashite nigesatte mo

sono fune wo koide yuke
omae no te de koide yuke
omae ga kiete yorokobu mono ni
omae no ooru wo makaseru na

sono fune wa mizukara wo sorafune to wasurete iruno ka
sono fune wa maiagaru sono toki wo wasureteiru no ka
chihei no hate suihei no hate
soko ga fune no rikuchiten
subete no minato ga akari wo keshi damari kon demo

sono fune wo koide yuke
omae no te de koide yuke
omae ga kiete yorokobu mono ni
omae no ooru wo makaseru na

nan no shiken no jikan nanda
nani wo sabaku hakari nanda
nan wo neratte tsukiaun da
nani ga fune wo ugokasunda
nan no shiken no jikan nanda
nani wo sabaku hakari nanda
nan wo neratte tsukiaun da
nani ga fune wo ugokasunda

sono fune wo koide yuke
omae no te de koide yuke
omae ga kiete yorokobu mono ni
omae no ooru wo makaseru na
sono fune wo koide yuke
omae no te de koide yuke
omae ga kiete yorokobu mono ni
omae no ooru wo makaseru na

Recap of the Summer 2006 season

The summer 2006 season is finally over and here's a recap of some highlights in this season where 5 dramas went below the 10% mark and 2 of them had to be shortened due to their lacklustre results:

Ranking in terms of average ratings

1) My Boss My Hero 18.91% - Generally good but I felt that the ending was too long-winded at certain points.

2) Kekkon Dekinai Otoko 16.93% - Quality of the episodes wasn't too consistent and developments were slow at times. However, it was still entertaining and good acting from Abe Hiroshi, Natsukawa Yui and Takashima Reiko. That anti-climax ending really got me so exasperated though. ^__^

3) Sapuri 14.24% - Biggest problem lies with the uninspiring acting of the leads. Next comes the script. Clearly the biggest flop this season despite the ratings which I think should have gone lower. It certainly doesn't deserve a No.3 placing.

4) Fushin no Toki 12.91% - I think the scriptwriter doesn't know whether to make this a messy affair about straying spouses or a funny story about how these people go around in circles for no purpose. This is how I feel as of finishing Ep 5 so far...Maybe I'll feel differently when I finish this.

5) Hanayome wa Yakudoshi 12.03% - Kind of boring. Shinohara Ryoko is trying hard to keep this afloat but then the story is quite dry. Doesn't bring out the best in her. I might just drop this halfway...

6) Kuroi Taiyou 11.15% - Didn't watch this but heard that this is quite good. Then again, I'm sick of stories about hosts or hostesses especially after dramas like Kurokawa no Tecchou and Yaou.

7) Dare yori mo Mama wo Itosu 10.40% - Rather boring but I find Uchida Yuki and Kobayashi Satomi quite appealing. Too bad, that is not enough to sustain my interest so I dropped this befoe the halfway mark.

8) Taiyou no Uta 10.28% - The first episode is enough to make me puke, literally. For heaven's sake, can Yamada Takayuki do something else for a change? I fail to fathom why Sawajiri Erika's single got Oricon No.1 when her vocals aren't exactly impressive?

9) CA to Oyobi 9.51% - I wasted my time on the first episode and that's it. Mizuki Arisa is just not my cup of tea.

10) Dandori ~ Dance Drill ~ 8.95% - Still watching but I simply can't stand Eikura Nana's performance. Kato Rosa, Morita Ayaka, Kokubun Taichi and Kanno Miho plus the promised finale cheerleading scene are the only reasons keeping me from throwing this into the recycle bin.

11) PS Rashoumon 8.85% - Still watching. Judgement to be passed later.

12) Shimokita Sundays 7.30% - Same as above

13) Regatta 5.47% - Terrible. Hayami Mokomichi went overboard on the angst of his character and the story felt so excruciatingly painful instead of spreading a positive image for summer. Definitely not suited for the warm weather.

*Those in green - above 15%, in red - below 10%. Comments in purple.

My Boss My Hero and Kekkon Dekinai Otoko were the clear winners, be it in terms of ratings or critical reviews and it was a two-legged race right to the end. However, for the rest, it was more like a race to see who could go lower in terms of ratings. Given the fact that 5 out of 13 went below the passing mark, it gives an idea of the quality of dramas we had in this season which failed to pull in the viewers.

Traditionally, summer dramas tend to do not as well as other seasons' offerings due to the summer vacation where most of the students are not at home. Due to the severity of the problem, many magazines had features or post-mortems to see where the issue is.

Frankly speaking, I don't think it's a problem with adaptations since there are many good stories around in the form of novels, manga, anime or even foreign movies. Just look at what My Boss My Hero managed to achieve. Adaptations can work both ways. It has a sound structure to attract a core fanbase but if you spoil the feel of the original, brickbats are to be expected. As such, given the current trend, we will definitely see more adaptations coming our way.

Original scripts are now a minority especially if you consider that only 4 out of 13 are fresh stories. And the results aren't exactly encouraging since Kekkon Dekinai Otoko is the sole survivor to go beyond 15%. Which just serves to tell the TV stations that they should not bear the risks of dishing out more original scripts?!

I'm rather disappointed with what I've seen this season except for the Top 2 so I think the autumn season which promises much more should be a reversal of fortunes for J-dramas.

Trivia...

Highest rated debut episode: Kekkon Dekinai Otoko (20.2%)
Lowest rated debut episode: Regatta (9.5%)

Highest rated single episode: My Boss My Hero Ep 10 (final) - 23.3%
Lowest rated single episode: Regatta Ep 5 & 7 - 4.3%

Greatest rise in ratings: 6% for My Boss My Hero Ep 6 (from 14.6% to 20.6%)
Greatest fall in ratings: 6.9% for Taiyou no Uta Ep 2 (from 13.8% to 6.9%)

Top 10 movies weekly ranking (1 Oct 2006)

1) Nada Sousou

2) Il Mare

3) Hula Girl

4) Lady In Prada

5) X-MEN: Final Decision

6) Eien no Hou

7) World Speed x 3 TOKYO DRIFT

8) Ultraman Mavis & Ultra Kyoudai

9) Sugar & Spice Fuumi Zeka

10) Gedo Senki

Kekkon Dekinai Otoko Ep 4

Looking at how Kuwano lays out his work-related items on a table before packing them into his bag, I really think it's a waste of time to do this. However, seeing how serious Kuwano goes about doing this, it makes me laugh at the great lengths he would go to because of his perfectionist trait.

This inability to speak his mind can also be seen in his daily dealings with others. For example, when Eiji was troubled over whether he should cancel his date to come back to work for the weekend, Kuwano was trying to be considerate by telling Eiji that he's not needed and he could go for his date. However, the manner he said this just makes people unable to comprehend his true intentions and ends up offending others to a certain extent. If not for Sawazaki explaining the hidden meaning behind Kuwano's words, Eiji would not have understood what Kuwano was trying to get at.

On the other hand, Kuwano also needs some education in how to speak his mind without embarrassing people or hurting their feelings. During the day-trip on a bus, Kuwano kept correcting the tour guide's explanation and butted in with his comments which not only embarrassed the tour guide and made the latter lose confidence in herself. Although he did not mean anything bad, I think there is a suitable time and place to say certain things instead of being too frank. The thing is Kuwano doesn't seem to think that he is in the wrong and ends up making Hayasaka mad at the same time.

With regards to spending off-days alone, I don't really think that this is a bad idea since there are times when it's hard to find people to go out with you at the last minute. In addition, there are some activities which I feel that it would be better to be done alone e.g. watching movies which your friends may not be interested. It's better to enjoy yourself rather than dragging uninterested people along for the sake of having some company. However, the drama points out correctly that there is this thinking that people who spend their off-days alone are pitiful or lonely. It really depends on personal viewpoints and the situation so I don't think a sweeping statement applies in this case.

The later part of this drama reveals that Kuwano wants to enjoy watching the fireworks alone but ends up having to share his private spot with Hayasaka, Mitsuru and Co. Well, he did try to ask Hayasaka to join him indirectly at the rooftop of his office building where the fireworks can be seen clearly but ends up offending her again. As seen from this, it's evident that Kuwano cares about how Hayasaka feels to a certain extent or else he would never have bothered apologising.

Dandori ~ Dance Drill ~ Ep 1

Before watching this drama, I had my reservations about this due to two main factors. First of all, this seems so much like a gender-reversed version of Waterboys no doubt it features another little-known sport in Japan. Secondly, the cast doesn't look that appealing after all and I wasn't sure whether Eikura Nana could pull her weight as the female lead. However, I felt that this deserved a little chance since the cast had promising young actresses like Kato Rosa and Morita Ayaka as well as Kokubun Taichi who's making his return to a drama after a pretty long absence and Kanno Miho who appears as a special guest.

Frankly speaking, I do not feel that Eikura Nana has what it takes to be a female lead yet. Her expressions seem rather unnatural especially when she tries to flash her megawatt smile. Seeing it in photoshoots may be OK but to see that in moving motion doesn't feel that good. Besides, given her height which makes her tower over her co-cast, it just seems really awkward for her to act as this chirpy young thing Aikawa Kaname. As such, I couldn't help but cringe whenever she tries to show off her cuteness because it sends shivers down my spine literally.

However, Kato Rosa and Morita Ayaka seems quite promising. Compared to Eikura's role, Kato's role as Futaba is more appealing to me because she seems very down-to-earth and sure of what she's going to do. I like people who have a clear idea of what they are doing. On the other hand, Morita didn't really impress me with her past roles because it gave the idea that she was like an accessory to Ueto Aya most of the time i.e. Ace wo Nerae and Attack No.1. Nevertheless, Morita showed that she can do more than that so I'm looking forward to seeing more development in her role.

With regards to the storyline itself, I do not have that much confidence in it being able to hold my interest right till the end though. I just hope that my dislike for some aspects of this drama will not prove strong enough to make me give up before seeing the climax cheerleading scene in the final episode.

Top 10 female celebrities with the best complexion

Results from Oricon Monitor Research:

1) Koyuki

2) Ito Misaki

3) Kuroki Hitomi

4) Momoi Kaori

5) Matsushima Nanako

6) Nakama Yukie

7) Shinohara Ryoko

8) Ueto Aya

9) Hamasaki Ayumi

10) Kato Ai

Top 10 movies weekly ranking (24 Sep 2006)

1) Il Mare

2) X-MEN: Final Decision

3) Wild Speed x3 TOKYO DRIFT

4) Hula Girl

5) Ultraman Mavis & Ultra Kyoudai

6) Deguchi no nai Umi

7) Sugar & Spice

8) Gedo Senki

9) Pirates of the Carribean - Dead Man's Chest

10) UDON

The Top 10 Kakkoii Husbands

The following is a list of Top 10 kakkoii husbands selected by respondents in an Oricon Monitor Research survey:

1) Kimura Takuya

2) Eguchi Yosuke

3) Nakamura Tooru

4) Karasawa Toshiaki / Sorimachi Takashi

6) Tadokoro George

7) Nakamura Masatoshi

8) Iwashiro Koichi

9) Kinashi Takenori

10) Yanagiba Toshiro

The unchanging Top 10 beauties

The following is a list from Oricon Monitor Research of Top 10 female celebrities who are deemed to remain beautiful despite their ages:

1) Kuroki Hitomi

2) Yoshinaga Sayuri

3) Mori Mitsuko

4) Momoi Kaori

5) Yachigusa Kaoru / Natsuki Mari

8) Iwashita Shima

9) Nogiwa Yoko

10) Yumi Kaoru

The Top 10 Admired Cinderellas

The following is from Oricon Monitor Research where female celebrities are chosen for being "Cinderellas" in reality as a result of their marriages to high-profile rich men:

1) Yamaguchi Moe

2) Kudo Shizuka

3) Dewi Sukarno

4) Sugita Kaoru (already divorced from her husband but selected because she was once married to a rich businessman)

5) Okina Megumi (selected for the same reason as above)

6) Kimijima Towako

7) Gotou Kumiko

8) Mizuno Maki / Suzuki Hiroko

10) Chino Shima

"Juuyonsai no Haha" promotional trailer

There's a promotional trailer of "Juuyonsai no Haha" starring Shida Mirai which lasts for about 15 secs. In the clip, Shida is lying on a bed in this black-and-white setting and the posture seems to be in reference to that of a baby residing in his/her mother's womb. Since the drama is about teen pregnancy, this could be why Shida was arranged to appear in such a manner for the CM.

Nodame Cantabile-related clips

Here are some links to clips on YouTube where you may find out more information on the upcoming Nodame Cantabile drama and anime which are showing in Oct 06 and Jan 07 respectively. Apparently, the anime is supposed to continue from where the drama ends so I believe it is a strategy by FujiTV to ensure that viewers tune in to both adaptations.

The first clip has a brief introduction on the storyline, the two leads i.e. Ueno Juri and Tamaki Hiroshi as well as a short interview with Ueno.

Next up is a news clip of the Nodame Cantabile ending theme recording session which Ueno and Tamaki appeared at. I had posted the news article of this earlier so you may refer to my earlier post for more details.

Last but not least, here's a 30-sec trailer of the drama. Basically, what transpired between Nodame (Ueno) and Chiaki (Tamaki) was that she tried to confess her love to him and he told her to stay away because she didn't have a shower for days. In the manga, Nodame has a habit of bathing only once a day and washing her hair every 3 days so Chiaki had to be the shampoo guy for a number of times as he couldn't stand the stench from Nodame.

Nodame Cantabile drama's ending theme

Ueno Juri and Tamaki Hiroshi appeared on 19 Sep at the live recording of the ending theme, "Rhapsody in Blue" for the drama version of "Nodame Cantabile" which will be showing via FujiTV from 16 Oct. The piece was performed by a 130-strong orchestra formed specially for the filming of this drama and there are plans for the orchestra to release its album. Ueno plays Noda Megumi while Tamaki plays Chiaki Shinichi. As part of the preparation for her role as a student majoring in piano, Ueno bought an electronic keyboard to practise at home.

For those who are interested in watching the news clip of this event shown via Mezamashi Terebi on 20 Sep, please access it below:

Top 10 movies weekly ranking (17 Sep 2006)

1) X-MEN: Final Edition

2) World Speed x 3 TOKYO DRIFT

3) Ultraman Mavis & Ultra Kyoudai

4) Deguchi no nai Umi

5) Gedo Senki

6) Sugar & Spice

7) Pirates of The Carribean - Dead Man's Chest

8) UDON

9) Miami Vice

10) Superman Returns

Top 10 Female Celebrities With The Most Beautiful Legs

Results from Oricon Monitor Research:

1) Ito Misaki

2) Kanda Uno

3) Mizuki Arisa

4) Yonekura Ryoko

5) Oshikiri Moe

6) Ebihara Yuri

7) Yamada Yu

8) Rika

9) Fujiwara Norika

10) Sakashita Chiriko

Nihon Chinbotsu Promotional Clips

Here are some clips from YouTube containing footage of Nihon Chinbotsu which is said to be this summer's blockbuster disaster film. However, it doesn't seem to be creating a storm on the box office charts despite high expectations, considering the budget and stellar lineup. Seems like the main issue about this remake were people who found it not as good as the previous movie made in the 70s especially with regards to the relationship between the lead characters played by Kusanagi Tsuyoshi and Shibasaki Kou. Too little romance? Other than that, the CG disaster scenes received a lot of praise though.



The above clip lasts for more than 6 minutes. What distinguishes this from those available for viewing via the official website is the inclusion of Kusanagi Tsuyoshi. As many of you would have been aware, images of Johnny's artistes are not allowed on the web so for movie or drama trailers, they would usually be edited to omit the JE guys. For those who are fans of Kusanagi, you've got to watch this clip and see how Kusanagi performs as a submarine pilot. Another thing to look out for is Shibasaki Kou with her hair going beyond her waist which is something you won't see in the near future since she has snipped her trademark locks to a short bob since spring this year.



The above is the PV of the theme song, "Keep Holding U" sung by Korean newcomer SunMin and Kubota Toshinobu. The first time when I heard the song, I didn't really have a deep impression of it but once you hear it while watching the footage of the movie, it blends in pretty well with the plot.







Last but not least, the three clips above are from Shin Doumoto Kyoudai on 9 July where SunMin and Kubota made appearances and sang the theme song live in the final segment.

Autumn 2006 Drama Selection

With the summer season coming to an end soon, it's time to decide which autumn dramas I'm going to watch. Frankly speaking, there are some which gets me very hyped up while there are others which do not interest me at all. Here's a list of those which I'm going to watch and those which I'll shun.

*Note that those with titles in blue are what I would watch and those in red are those which I do not have any interest to cover at all. Those in green are under KIV status which means that it's likely that they may be dropped before the season ends. Not in order of preference:

1) Kazoku ~ Tsuma no Fuzai Oto no Sonzai (Family ~ The Absence of the Wife, The Presence of the Husband)
TV Asahi, starting on 20 Oct 2006, Fridays 9pm
Cast: Takenouchi Yutaka, Ishida Yuriko, Kimura Tae, Sakura and Watari Tetsuya
The combination of Takenouchi Yutaka and Watari Tetsuya looks very appealing. There are rumours that Kimura Takuya and Watari were scheduled to act in a TBS drama next season but the plan went nowhere since Kimura has promotions for his movie at the end of the year. However, I'm glad to see Takenouchi and Watari together with a pretty strong co-cast consisting of Ishida Yuriko, Kimura Tae and Gekidan Hitori which suggests that good acting can be expected. In addition, seeing Takenouchi in his first role as a husband whose wife walks out on him and dumps their son on him to take care of is a refreshing change from his usual roles.

2) Juuyonsai no Haha (A 14-year-old mother)
NTV, starting on 11 Oct 2006, Wednesdays 10pm
Cast: Shida Mirai, Tanaka Misako, Namase Katsuhisa, Yamaguchi Sayaka, Miura Kazuma, Tanimura Mizuki, Kaitou Ken, Kaneko Sayaka, Kitamura Kazuki and Muroi Shigeru
Stories about unwed mothers are plenty but what makes this drama so special is the fact that we are talking about a 14-year-old girl played by talented child actor Shida Mirai who is left to fend for herself and her unborn child when her boyfriend shirks his responsibility. This drama looks set to repeat the wave of controversy associated with Joou no Kyoushitsu which did very well in terms of critical reviews and ratings because the ending of whether the girl gives birth to her baby will definitely attract brickbats from either camp of viewers who oppose the outcome. I doubt there will be an ambiguous ending though but it will be very interesting to see how the story is crafted and how Shida scales new heights in her career. Other than Fukuda Mayuko, she's another upcoming star to look out for. Tanaka Misako is back again in a drama and I do hope she will do better here than in Brother Beat which restricted her performance to a large extent.

3) Nodame Cantabile
FujiTV, starting on 16 Oct 2006, Mondays 9pm
Cast: Ueno Juri, Tamaki Hiroshi, Eita, Koide Keisuke, Mizukawa Asami, Uehara Misa, Iwasa Mayuko, Saeko, Hatano Hiroko, NAOTO, Ibu Masato, Toyohara Kosuke, Nishimura Masahiko, Takenaka Naoto
Being a fan of the manga, this is the main reason why I'm going to watch this despite my complaints about the leads. I can anticipate myself criticising and grumbling about Ueno and Tamaki spoiling my image of Nodame and Chiaki-sama but I'm willing to stay till the end if the drama adheres closely to the original. What baffles me is the fact that the strong supporting cast are very similar to the original characters in terms of image or appearance but the leads are not...

4) Yakushadamashi (Actor's Soul)
FujiTV, starting on 17 Oct 2006, Tuesdays 9pm
Cast: Matsu Takako, Moriyama Mirai, Kato Rosa, Kagawa Teruyuki, Hamada Mari, Maekawa Yasuyuki, Fujita Makoto
Matsu Takako's return to TV ever since "Itsumo, Futari de" plus some of my favourite names Moriyama Mirai, Kato Rosa, Kagawa Teruyuki and Hamada Mari makes this something worth checking out. The only issue I have is with the male lead Fujita Makoto who is acting in a regular season for the first time although he is a veteran in period dramas. Not many people know who Fujita is so I wonder if this will somehow affect the ratings.

5) Kiraware Matsuko no Issho (The Life of Disliked Matsuko)
TBS, starting on 12 Oct 2006, Thursdays 10pm
Cast: Uchiyama Rina, Kaname Jun, Koike Eiko, Suzuki Emi, Yazawa Shin, Hongo Kanata, Hagiwara Masato, Tanihara Shosuke, Suzuki Ranran, Seto Saki, Fukikoshi Mitsuru and Kitamura Kazuki
The movie version starring Nakatani Miki seems very interesting so I have a certain level of expectation for this drama. My only worry is whether Uchiyama can ditch her goody-two-shoes image completely to cope with the turbulent life of Matsuko depicted in the story. A half-baked effort would certainly ruin her chances of climbing into the A-list actresses rank.

6) Walkers
NHK, starting on 11 Nov 2006, Saturdays 9pm
Cast: Eguchi Yosuke, Toda Naho, Becky, Segawa Ryo, Morimoto Leo, Miura Tomokazu, Fubuki Jun, Washio Machiko, Kato Noriko, Harada Yoshio
The thing about NHK Saturday dramas is that they are not widely publicised and yet they turn out to be the hidden gems which are not discovered. Anyway, the cast looks very appealing and the story seems good so I'll be tuning in if I manage to find it online.

7) Boku no Aruku Michi (The Way I Walk)
FujiTV, starting on 10 Oct, Tuesdays 10pm
Cast: Kusanagi Tsuyoshi, Karina, Sasaki Kuranosuke, Motokariya Yuka, Kato Koji, MEGUMI, Suga Kenta, Asano Kazuyuki, Katsurayama Shingo, Moriguchi Yoko, Kohinata Fumio, Oosugi Ren and Nagayama Aiko
This is the concluding instalment for the "Boku" series which consisted of "Boku no Ikiru Michi", "Boku to Kanojou to Kanojou no Ikiru Michi". Frankly speaking, if not for Kusanagi, I don't really care for this drama. The female lead lineup gets weaker with each instalment from Yada Akiko to Koyuki and now Karina. This feels like a one-man show of Kusanagi. And the fact that there are familiar faces in the same series may turn out to be good or bad for the ratings...

In KIV status:

1) Sailorfuku to Kikanjuu (Sailor Uniform and Machine Gun)
Cast: Nagasawa Masami, Koizumi Kyoko, Nakao Akiyoshi, Taguchi Hiromasa, Ogata Ken, Tsutsumi Shinichi
This feels kind of silly to me but I'll watch the first episode just for the sake of Tsutsumi and Koizumi.

2) Teppan Shoujou Akane!! (The Teppan Girl Akane)
Cast: Horikita Maki, Tsukamoto Takashi, Katase Nana, Ootomo Minami, Jinnai Takanori
Same as the above but I'll see how silly this can get. No particular member in the cast attracts me to a large extent.

And these are those which I won't watch:

1) Damenzu Walker
Cast: Fujiwara Norika, Yamada Yu, Miyasago Hiroyuki, Miura Rieko, Shimatani Hitomi, Aoki Sayaka, Tanabe Seiichi
Other than Yamada, Miyasago and Aoki, the rest doesn't interest me. The story isn't that appealing either.

2) Dr. Kotou Shinryojou 2006
Cast: Yoshioka Hidetaka, Shibasaki Kou, Tokito Saburo, Ootsuka Nene, Aoi Yu, Izumiya Shigeru, Sakai Masato, Kakei Toshio, Kobayashi Kaoru
Do you think I'll watch the sequel when I've not even watched the original? Although I'm quite interested to see Shibasaki, Tokito, Ootsuka and Aoi...I don't think I'll watch this after all.

3) Tatta Hitotsu no Koi (The Only Love)
Cast: Kamenashi Kazuya, Ayase Haruka, Hiraoka Yuta, Tanaka Koki, Toda Erika, Kaname Jun, Tanaka Yoshiko, Zaitsu Kazuo, Yo Kimiko
Tatta hitotsu kirai no wa kore shika nai. (This is the only one which I dislike.) And yes, I totally detest Mr KK and the fact that the story is so boring i.e. a poor guy and a rich girl falls in love increases the amount of dislike for this story. You can be sure that I won't touch this at all.

Top 10 Beautiful Mums Ranking

Here are the top 10 beautiful celebrity mums as featured on Oricon:

1) Matsushima Nanako

2) Kuroki Hitomi

3) Hirosue Ryoko

4) Amuro Namie

5) Takeuchi Yuko

6) Kudo Shizuka

7) Matsuda Seiko

8) Mifune Mika

9) Tsuchiya Anna

10) Hori Chiemi

Top 10 movies weekly ranking (10 Sep 2006)

1) X-MEN: Final Decision

2) Gedo Senki

3) Pirates Of The Carribean - Dead Man's Chest

4) UDON

5) Miami Vice

6) Nihon Chinbotsu

7) Superman Returns

8) Back Dancers!

9) ROUGH

10) Guemuru Hangan no Kaibutsu

Taiyou no Uta Ep 1

Right from the start, I did not have high expectations of this drama. Here are the reasons why I had reservations about this:

- Based on the tag that this is the finale in the "jun-ai" series, the selection of the leads who can hardly match the theme due to their badly-hurt reputations of having private lives far from their screen persona is simply hard to ignore. No doubt they are relatively promising actors, this is something which will bother the viewers no matter how well they will perform. This affects how convincing they can make their characters appear to be and should never be brushed aside easily.

It really baffles me as to why TBS would want to invite trouble by getting the two to appear together at such a sensitive timing.

- Talking about timing, another thing which disturbs me is to see the drama so soon after the movie's screening. Considering the fact that the film starring Tsukamoto Takashi and YUI was only shown in June, the drama's OA in July comes across as a bad move to me. Of course, comparisons are inevitable because they are essentially based on the same story but the timing is too close for comfort. Just when people have yet to forget the movie's presentation, they will be tempted to compare it to the drama which would have stretched the 2-hour story beyond 10 episodes.

After more than 45 minutes of sitting through the first episode, I must say that it's quite a waste of time so I won't continue to watch this.

I've not watched the movie so I can't do any comparisons so my boredom has nothing to do with the film. The main issue I have here is the pace which gets so slow and everything flows along like plain water without any particular development which would entice me to continue watching. Everything is so jumbled up that I don't see any sense of direction in the plot.

Although Sawajiri Erika had mentioned that she was very confident about her singing, I don't feel that strongly for it though. I think it's partly due to the fact that the story is still in its early stage and the song doesn't really relate to the plot as at this point in time. On the other hand, her vocals are just OK in my opinion. As such, I really cannot comprehend why her single CD has created so much hype that it's storming up the Oricon charts. Anyway, I won't stay around to find out the reason too. ^__^

The brightest spot in this drama was hearing Shibasaki Kou's new song, "invitation" which is quite suitable as a summer song and a refreshing change from her usual heart-wrenching renditions of sentimental numbers. The opening credits show Sawajiri Erika out in the sunlight which is a contrast from the circumstances of her character in the drama. Frankly speaking, I think Sawajiri looks quite pretty in this drama but as the drama progresses, it's likely that she will start to look pale and haggard just like Aya in "Ichi Litre No Namida". On the other hand, Yamada Takayuki looks so similar in his recent dramas that there's no distinguishing trait to differentiate between his roles. And that sideburn, hairy legs and armpits do get on my nerves!

Although I don't really have a good impression of the drama, I'm looking forward to watching the movie instead. YUI may not be an accomplished actress but her youthful appearance, strong vocals and refreshing look on screen catch my eye. And I definitely like Tsukamoto Takashi more than Yamada especially after what the latter's bombshell earlier this year.

Top 10 movies weekly ranking (3 Sep 2006)

1) Gedo Senki

2) Miami Vice

3) Pirates of The Carribean Dead Man's Chest

4) UDON

5) Superman Returns

6) Nihon Chinbotsu

7) Guemuru Hangan no Kaibutsu

8) ROUGH

9) Hanada Shonenshi Yuurei to Himitsu no Tunnel

10) Gekijouban Pocket Monster Advance Generation

Top 10 movies weekly ranking (27 Aug 2006)

1) Gedo Senki

2) Pirates of the Carribean - Dead Man's Chest

3) UDON

4) Superman Returns

5) Nihon Chinbotsu

6) Rough

7) Hanada Shonenshi Yuurei to Himitsu no Channel

8) Gekijouban Pocket Monster Advance Generation

9) Gekijouban Rider Kabuto GOD SPEED LOVE

10) United 93

The 49th Dorama Academy Award Results (Spring 06)

Here are the results of the 49th Dorama Academy Award for the spring 06 season as decided by readers of the magazine, "The Television", judges and drama reporters:

Best Drama: Iryuu - Team Medical Dragon
It's a clear choice for me in this category because there aren't any dramas which impressed me as much as Iryuu. Bengoshi no Kuzu comes as a distant second for me in terms of overall quality.

Best Leading Actor: Toyokawa Etsushi (Bengoshi no Kuzu)
He deserves this award because of his willingness to ditch his past image and ability to look convincing as a lecherous and frivolous lawyer. Sakaguchi Kenji has also performed relatively well in this season but compared to the radical change of Toyokawa, I guess that's where he lost out. Anyway, the leading actors weren't too impressive on the whole so I can only think of Toyokawa and Sakaguchi as deserving candidates to fight in this category.

Best Leading Actress: Amami Yuki (Top Caster)
I'm at a loss for words. I think Amami Yuki is a good actress but surely Top Caster didn't bring out the best in her? I would have thought that Murakami Tomoko's performance in Busu no Hitomi ni Koishiteru was much better. Another name worth mentioning would be Esumi Makiko in Machiben.

Best Supporting Actor: Ito Hideaki (Bengoshi no Kuzu)
I can think of at least three other names who deserves this award i.e. Koike Teppei, Kitamura Kazuki and Abe Sadao in Iryuu. That's not to say that Ito Hideaki doesn't deserve the award. It's just that the depth in his acting doesn't show unless he's with Toyokawa but there was some significant improvement in their chemistry as the drama progressed. On the other hand, the Iryuu trio I named above were very eye-catching from the beginning to the end especially Koike who convinced me that he has the potential to act well.

Best Supporting Actress: Horikita Maki (Kurosagi)
This is kind of ridiculous. Horikita's performance as Tsurara was plain especially if you have seen her better works like ALWAYS - Sanchome no Yuhi and Nobuta wo Produce. I would have thought that Takashima Reiko in Bengoshi no Kuzu, Inamori Izumi and Mizukawa Asami in Iryuu should have gotten this.

Best Newcomer: Murakami Tomoko (Busu no Hitomi Koishiteru)

Best BGM: Iryuu

Best Director: Iryuu

Best Script: Machiben

Best Titleback: Attention Please

Did anyone notice the absence of a best theme song award for this season? ^__^

Nodame Cantabile drama adaptation in autumn '06

Although I'm a fan of Nodame Cantabile, I wasn't particularly thrilled to hear news about the drama adaptation. The most worrying thing is the selection of Tamaki Hiroshi to play Chiaki Shinichi which I object to vehemently. Of course, my views mean nothing and the decision has been made. I have never been convinced that Tamaki can act well as he usually plays roles which seem so silly and never fail to make an impression on me. I am not confident of him playing Chiaki-sama at all.

On the other hand, we have Ueno Juri playing Nodame. Well, Ueno has been billed as one of the uprising young actresses these days but I've never really felt that she acts very well. As compared to Tamaki, I have slightly more faith in her that she can make Nodame a success but it's easy to go overboard and make a nuisance of herself.

If the rumours are true, Okada Junichi was the initial choice to play Chiaki-sama and the drama was supposed to be produced by TBS. However, due to some problems between Okada's agency i.e. Johnny's Jimusho and TBS, the plans were shelved and Hana Yori Dango was made at the last minute during autumn 2005.

Personally, I feel that Okada would fit Chiaki-sama's image closer in terms of his brooding looks and his strong acting skills. Coupled with the fact that Okada has some music background and knows how to play the piano (his mother is a piano teacher), I think he is more suitable to play Chiaki-sama. The only thing which he differs from Chiaki-sama would probably be his height. Okada is not short though but he has never been thought of as someone who's tall. And Ueno Juri looks quite tall on screen so I think by placing them together, it doesn't fit the impression we get from the manga since Chiaki-sama is 181cm tall while Nodame's height is 162cm.

Contrary to the lack of confidence in the leads, I think the selection of the supporting cast gives the impression that more thought has been put into this aspect. Takenaka Naoto is a good choice to play Stresseman a.k.a. Milch and I'm sure he would be a joy to watch.

Eita, Mizukawa Asami and Uehara Misa bear striking resemblances to their respective characters i.e. Mine, Kiyora and Saiko. However, Koike Keisuke to play Masumi was a surprise to me. It will be hard to imagine him with an afro and having the hots for Chiaki-sama but this could be a chance for Koike to seek a breakthrough in his career. Another issue which bugs me would be the change of setting for Kiyora who is one of the founders for Rising*Star Orchestra and wasn't in Momogaoka Music University nor the S-orchestra in the first place. I don't see the rationale for doing that but I guess they had to include her relationship with Mine so there was no way to delay her appearance if Rising*Star wasn't going to be mentioned in the drama.

FujiTV is putting a lot of effort in this production and even had an audition to find members to be part of the S-orchestra. That means the drama will probably cover up to the S-orchestra section although I was looking forward more to seeing Rising*Star Orchestra.

I will be watching this drama but I have a hunch that I might drop this well before the end of the season if the perfomances of the leads irk me to a major extent. Of course, I hope that there won't be any amendments to the storyline too. It's best to take the conservative approach of sticking to the manga instead of trying anything funny to incur the wrath of the manga lovers.

I'm more interested in the anime adaptation which will be shown in the Noitamina slot on FujiTV from January 2007. The issue of concern is whether the anime will carry on from where the drama ends or start from the scratch. I would prefer the latter though.

Sapuri Ep 1

I had finished watching this first episode last week but didn't have any motivation to post a review. In fact, I'm dropping this immediately because I find this a waste of time. The pull factors are too weak to sustain my interest as there is an overwhelming number of push factors which are putting me off.

As many of you would have known, I wasn't very keen about the choice of the leads i.e. Ito Misaki and Kamenashi Kazuya. Both of them aren't exactly known for their acting skills and to do a story which has been rehashed in many formats over the years i.e. the older woman-younger man premise is tantamount to suicide. At least a more refreshing genre would have helped to take the attention from their lacklustre performances. Doing an old-fashioned story is not the worst thing which can happen to actors, the issue is how to make things appear interesting despite the age-old setting. And I do feel that these two can't make it. Sorry to fans of Ito and Kamenashi, I really don't think they are cut-out to be leading actor-actress material yet.

Just look at dramas like Anego. Nothing particularly new...a woman in her 30s, single and facing the ticking of her biological clock, meets a younger man but the chemistry between Shinohara Ryoko and Akanishi Jin is still something I remember fondly.

Let me talk more about the story first before going into details on what I found lacking in the leads' performances.

Originally, I was under the impression that the heroine in this drama, Fujii Minami is someone who really does enjoy work and regards love as something which spices up her life at times. However, the drama shows Fujii as someone who seems so overworked, tired and stressed where I don't really see much of her passion for work. For someone who is supposed to love work as much as her life, Fujii appears so haggard and exhausted instead of showing that shine and glow of people doing things which they enjoy.

After a lengthy first episode, I am still lost as to where the story seems to be heading. Are the scriptwriters going to focus more on Fujii's work life or the development of her relationship with Ishida Yuuya? If the storyline from the manga is to be strictly followed, the relationship should take a backseat. However, the impression I get from the promotional efforts and this episode would be that the relationship is placed at top priority. If the story is good, this would have covered the flaws of the cast but too bad, I didn't see any possibility of this materialising.

Ito Misaki's potrayal of Fujii is so one-dimensional. I can only see her looking tired out from work. Where is her drive and passion for a job which she loves to the extent of standing up her boyfriend many times? And spare me from her monologues which sound like she's reciting from a textbook. No tinge of emotion and involvement which gives the idea that Ito's just reading something from the script instead of speaking about her role's inner thoughts.

As for Kamenashi, one of the biggest issues I have would be the setting of his role. Ishida is such a irresponsible and immature brat who needs someone to teach him how society works instead of expecting others to treat him nicely and give him the freedom to do anything he likes. It is indeed amazing to imagine someone like Fujii liking him. And for heaven's sake, I feel like I'm seeing Shuuji from Nobuta wo Produce, fast-forward to a few years later. His mannerisms remain largely unchanged from the last drama I saw him in, which doesn't look good if he wants to develop as an actor in future. Of course, if Kamenashi had a stronger partner to guide him along instead of the equally bad Ito, he might have sizzled in this role. The reverse holds true too in my opinion so I view it as a case of the blind leading the blind. I think FujiTV is extremely daring to put them in charge of a gekku drama and shudder to think of what would happen to Nodame Cantabile next season since their leads aren't actually known to be good actors too, just like Ito and Kamenashi.

With regards to the supporting cast, Sato Koichi and Shiraishi Miho's combination seems quite interesting. That enjoy oyaji trait in Sato's role gets on my nerves too. Shida Mirai is in it too as Sato's daughter. Eita and Ryo may have something going on as the drama progresses. Although I'm interested in the supporting cast, this will not be a strong reason to keep me tuning in to the drama after all.

Top 10 movies weekly ranking (20 Aug 2006)

1) Superman Returns

2) Gedo Senki

3) Pirates of the Carribean Dead Man's Chest

4) Nihon Chinbotsu

5) Hanada Shonenshi Yuurei to Himitsu no Tunnel

6) Pocket Monster Advance Generation

7) Gekijouban Kamen Rider Kabuto GOD SPEED LOVE

8) Mori no Little Gang

9) United 93

10) M:i:III

Top 10 movies weekly ranking (13 Aug 2006)

1) Gedo Senki

2) Pirates of the Carribean

3) Nihon Chinbotsu

4) Pocket Monster Advance Generation Pokemon Ranger to Umi no Ouji Manafi

5) Gekijouban Kamen Rider Kabuto GOD SPEED LOVE

6) M:i:III

7) United 93

8) Mori no Little Gang

9) Gekijouban NARUTO Daikouhun! Mikazukijima no Animal Panic Dattebayo

10) Tokyo Friends The Movie

My Boss My Hero Ep 4

The focus of this episode is on Makio's first love experience as he slowly discovers his feelings for Hikari. Before this is discussed in detail, Makio has to face up to another trial as his younger brother Mikio is back for the summer holiday before entering university to study economics. Compared to him, Makio is having problems with his studies and boasts of a "colourful" results slip as what his father says. Given the gap in their academic abilities, this is causing a lot of uneasiness for Makio who really doubts that he can be the successor even if he does graduate from high school. Even though his father has confirmed his stand of sticking by his promise, the problem is that he still has to deal with discontent from others in the gang about choosing Makio over Mikio who has expressed nil interest in being the chief.

Things are also changing between Makio and Minami as a result of their one-on-one tuition week during the summer vacation. Makio still thinks of Minami as a deka-men (big-faced woman) who's out to make his life difficult by making him study but he starts to enjoy learning although he's not fully conscious of it yet. The funny thing is to see Minami misintepreting Makio's expression of fury as interest and starting to feel nervous in his presence. I just don't see how this expression can make anyone feel any tinge of romance. Anyway, it doesn't appear that things will work out well between them since Makio is interested in Hikari instead.

Makio likens his feelings to someone throwing hammers at his heart and it is manifested in the form as shown in the picture on the left. Somehow, this brings back memories of Super Mario Brothers whenever the visual is flashed on the screen. It was hillarious to see Makio clutching his chest as if he was in pain whenever he was with Hikari but he is unable to convey how he feels to others since he doesn't even know what is happening to himself. This just goes to show that he has never fallen for anyone before although he may be popular with women because of his status as a leading figure in the gang.

On the other hand, the story suggests that things between Sakurakoji and Hikari are not that simple as it seems. As we know it from the last episode, the two of them are childhood friends but Sakurakoji has been blowing hot and cold to Hikari which is making her bewildered. If Hikari doesn't like Sakurakoji, I doubt she would be that bothered by his attitude. At the same time, Sakurakoji senses that Makio feels something for Hikari and is also disturbed by this issue although he tries to hide it. Therefore, it should be a case of a love triangle between the trio. Unless Hikari has a change of heart, it looks like Makio will taste the feeling of falling out of love for the first time in his life.

During the test-of-guts game, Makio finally realises his feelings for Hikari but this is at the expense of leaving her behind at a dark shrine as he tries to release his pent-up emotions when he discovers the truth. As such, in the next episode's trailer, Hikari seems to be giving Makio the cold shoulder while he tries to gain her forgiveness. Another unexpected development looks set to take place as Kazuya wants to join Makio at school which could mean more laughter as they try to hide their identites. As to why Kazuya wants to go to St. Agnes, I guess it's partly due to the fact that he feels uneasy about Makio's changes and the other probably having something to do with his intention to protect Makio at school.

The theme song, Sorafune by TOKIO is also getting better the more I listen to it. This is the very first time where Nagase sings the entire song on his own without the other members chipping in for some parts. It just makes me feel rejuvenated with each listening and I can't wait for the single to be released.