Sunday, February 26, 2006

Jyoou no Kyoushitsu ep 10


OMFG, what a fucking good episode. I love the way how Maya never admits that she's actually a 'good teacher'. Sorta like how 'good people' must never say they are good but rather show it through their actions. The moment someone proclaims him/herself to be 'holy' like those right wing Christians, the more they invite their actions to scrutiny and cease to be 'doing good for the sake of doing good'. To know the path, one must walk the path; not proclaim to ppl that they are doing it.

Oh no, Kazumi's mom doing the teehee. IMO, the teehee is as infectious as the Aiin~~. Japan should pass a law to outlaw women over 30 from doing the teehee.

And Kazumi hits us with a double dose of teehee......

Another highlight of the ep are some cute moments between Kazumi and Yusuke. Not to sure whether the extra meaning of Aloha though. One complaint though: not enough Hikaru! Pls give her something to do in the last ep!!!!!

If I were 13 years younger, I'd be very jealous of Yusuke.

The highlight is the students confronting Maya about her machiavellian style and she gives really good answers. Maya finally reveals the reason she was sent to the re-education centre. While the revelation is nothing earth shattering, its something I didn't think of and it really fits Maya's character. You can't blame her for doing what she did and you can't blame the education ministry for doing what they did.

The most exciting part is the preview of the last ep. OMFG, I want to watch it so bad. Everyone knows how its going to play out but it doesn't make it any less exciting. There was so much emotion in that 10 second preview! This dorama is about building up characters and taking them on a journey. Though the journey of Maya and her students is about to end, I'm so looking forward to it. Based of the preview of ep 11, there's no way they can fuck up this dorama, right?

Fingers crossed. The past year I've watched so many good doramas that are fucked up because of crappy last eps. Sigh.

The class deciding resistance is futile against the Queen.

Wednesday, February 22, 2006

2nd House Ep 6

Hello nurse!

Misawa finally gets the chance to score with Aki and what does the fella do? Blurt out that he's married. WTF?! He's got all the time in the world to confess to her during bedroom exercise. Love comes after sex, not before. To be honest, I never realised that Aki didn't know, lol.

Last two eps were a bit bleh, but ep 6 finally picks up. I'm finding the daydreaming sequences to be absolutely annoying and am finding myself just forwarding to all the Isoyama Sayaka stuff.

The 2nd best thing about this ep is Misawa finally sitting down with the hentai couple who live next to Aki. There can be no logical explanation for their wackiness.

She may be a bit airport but goddamn is she kawaii. I wonder what role she'll play for the rest of the series?

The best thing about this ep is the Isoyama Sayaka posing in front of mirror sequence. This 30 second sequence is worth downloading the whole ep for as you can see below. Behold the goddes that is Isoyama Sayaka!





Screw the comedy and supporting characters. We need more Isoyama Sayaka and the three nurses. Oh yeah, and more of the hentai couple. Isoyama Sayaka is such a joy to watch onscreen. Damn, I need more of her gravures!!

Saturday, February 18, 2006

Ogura Yuko - Yuko Ring 2005

OMFG, I am going to die of kawaiiness............

Yuko Ring is a Mini Concert that Ogura Yuko held in January 2005. I'm guessing the name of the concert is a play off her nickname Yukorin. So let's have a look at this 30 minute show.

Song #1 - Daijoubu....

Yukorin looks nervous here, not as bad as her tv appearances though. Plus the fact that she is miming miming means she doesn't have to worry about her singing. Not my favourite song, a bit catchy but forgetable.

Song #2 - Mune no Ringtone

Two backup dancers appear and Yukorin seems more relaxed now. Otherwise a Zzzzzzzzz song. Maybe she should do a cover of Mini Moni's telephone ring song. Maybe not.

Song #3 - Koi No Juman Papapipupa

I like this song. It really suits her childish voice. Maybe I just like Ogura going papapipupepopepo over and again again.

Song #4 - Omoide no Yukimi da Ifuku

The less said, the better.

Song #5 - Koi No Shoobydooba

Yuko's jumping around in a flimsy dress and the stupid camera stays above waist level. Gggggrrr. One of her better songs, just for the chorus. Yukorin throws some rubber balls at the audience during the song.

Of note, is the part in the end of the song where the music stops and Yuko reminds everyone why she was miming all the while. Still props for her for daring to sing without music.

Song #6 - Futari

kawaii~~~~~~~~~

I'd love to hear Yukorin sing this one without miming just for the heck of it. Decent but forgetable slow song. Yukorin should stick to faster paced songs that don't require much singing ability.

Song #7 - Yume ga Kanau You ni ~Mi Rapo Makikireeche~

She looks a but like Nono in this pic. Maybe its just the hair.

I'm shocked that I've never given this song any notice before. I don't think this song was even a b-side. (I could be wrong) This is the perfect Yuko song; fast paced so she just needs to jump around and relatively easy to sing but and a catchy chorus.

Ok, maybe it has something to do with the kawaii neko ears she is wearing or maybe those short pink hotpants. Maybe it was because she somehow seemed so relaxed singing this song and waving and jumping around. Maybe its cause I was waving around in unison in front my pc.

There's a certain energy in this performance that was missing from the others. Maybe Yukorin's just happy to get away from the otaku crowd drooling at her every move. Whatever the reason I fucking love this performance.

They should really make a PV for this song. If Kylie can regain her fame with her golden hotpants in 'Spinning around', Yukorin can reach superstardom with her pink hotpants and neko ears.

I have to say, Yukorin is much more comfortable singing on a small stage than singing on tv. And I think the presence of the backup dancers helped her a lot. Kinda reminds me of Goto Maki's first solo performance on tv. Although she had been in Momusu for some time, she was visibly nervous. Maybe Yukorin intentionally plays up her nervousness on tv? Nah......

Overall Yuko Ring is only for Yuko fans and I thought 'Yume ga Kanau yo Ni' kinda saved it. Its a shame that she doesn't sing 'Vitamin Love' and 'Onna no ko Otoko no ko'. I thought those two songs were out by late 2004.

Notice the dude waving the Ogura Yuko doll wearing a costume from Koi no shibudooba?



I'm just posting this cap from Koi no Shibudooba for the hell of it.

Wednesday, February 15, 2006

Joou no kyoushitsu Special is coming!


According to Japan Zone, there's going to be a special in March about how Maya became the Queen that she is. I can't wait for eps 10 + 11 hardsubbed to be released. Looks like they won't reveal too much about Maya's past in the ending.It'll be interesting to see how Maya was before she went to the 're-education centre'. Gambatte Kryptolus!

Monday, February 13, 2006

Mokuyoubi ep 3

I just love this little exchange: what's the best way for a dude to get out when he is caught in the middle of an argument between two women?

Dochi no mikata yo?

Dochi no mikata te? Ore no seigi no mikata!

Whoever thought lines from Sentai shows would be useful, lol. Gotta remember this line in case I ever get caught between Nacchi and Ayaya and punctuate it with the Kamen Rider pose! :)

Mokuyoubi is a fun dorama to watch. Its nothing special but there's always something different with dorama oldies. There's sort of a more 'innocent' feel though some of them like Koukou Kyoushi aren't so innocent storyline wise. Another drawback (if you can call it that) is that the idea of beauty in the 80s/90s is very different from now.

Still they don't make family doramas like they used to and the last great one was Oyaji. Special props to Phoenix for sharing this show.

Sunday, February 12, 2006

Kuitan eps 1-3

Warning: Do not watch this dorama without food in front of you!

Kuitan is a a detective who loves food. Basically almost every moment you see him on screen, he is eating. The moment he finishes his meal, he's on the lookout for his next. And the best part is, he solves cases by eating. The problem with the endless eating is that I always end up feeling very hungry watching this dorama and whatever I'm eating never tastes as good as what the food looks like in the show.

Yes, Kuitan eat u must! I'd never thought I'd see a dorama where the hero has to eat to save a girl. :)

Not as bad as Shota no Sushi though. I remember my stomach growling like mad even though I was pretty full and had a bucket of KFC in front of me. I don't why why but sushi is so delicious to look at.

Another interesting thing to note is the way Kuitan wields his chopsticks like a sword, complete with his own chopstick 'scabbard'.

Beware Kuitan's chopsticks of doom!

Its not really must watch dorama. Its not as funny. But Kuitan is cool and the food is mouth watering. So far the cases have been good and I would rate the dorama as very watchable. Just don't watch this with Lunch Queen and Oishii Kankei in the same sitting. (On a side note, whatever happened to Oishii Kankei anyway?)

The Densha Henshin Tigers dude seems to be everywhere lately. Too bad the girl is only in ep 3. :(

Thursday, February 09, 2006

Kago caught smoking!


According to Mainichi Daily News, Friday has once again 'caught' another member of HP. This time Kago was photographed smoking in a restaurant. The first thing that hit me was that they allow smoking in restaurants in Japan?! Sounds like my kind of country.

So will Kago be forced to quit W? Will Tsuji in a show of solidarity smoke during a press conference with Kago? I'm more interested in how many ciggies she smokes a day and what brand. :) (Definitely lights) Can't wait for the pictures to hit the net.

On a related note, Kago just turned 18 like 2 days ago. Maybe it was a celebratory thing; Kago going on a drinking and smoking binge. Can't believe Kago has been in the industry for 6 years now and she's still as funny and kawaii as ever. Before Kago I never thought people as kawaii and funny as anime characters could actually exist. I mean watching Kago is like overdosing on kawaii.

Sunday, February 05, 2006

Jyoou no Kyoshitsu ep 9


Queen Maya unleashes the parents on the kids and they get desperate. The parents come to discuss their futures with the Queen and she holds them ransom with information about their secrets.

They idiotic kids think that if they erase the data from the Queen's notebook, everything will be all right. Obviously they've never heard of diskettes, cds, dvds, flash disks, megaupload etc. They break into school and access her notebook but off course Maya has an extra copy. Seriously, either Japanese kids are not technology savvy or the writer is just lazy.

I love the way the colours become dull when Maya appears.

With their back against the wall, the kids have only one recourse; confront their parents with the truth. And we have a nice scene where the kids pour the souls out their parents. However as, Yusuke ojisan, I mean obasan said, that seems to have been part of the Queen's plan.

Perhaps the Queen is not as evil as the kids think. She kinda reminds me of the oni-coach from Attck No.1. In order to build the foundation of a good team, he had to be a demon to ensure that the people who became the foundation were strong enough. What does not kill you only makes you stronger. What nearly kill you makes you even stronger. (sounds like Super Saiyans in Dragonball Z)

The Queen played the demon so that the students would emerge stronger and be able to take responsibility for themselves. The question then is, how can she be so sure that she would succeed? After all, the kids could have easily turned against each other and destroyed the class. They would have become distrusting and vengeful if not for Kanda, Yusuke and Shindo.

After seeing Fukuda Mayuko in Byaku Yakou, she needs more scenes in Jyoou. Her acting in that show was just superb.

The one problem with turning Maya face (hero) is that a hero is only as good as the villian. The show was great because Maya was a bloody brilliant heel (villian). Now she's the a face, who's going to be the main heel to make the remaining two episodes exciting? The Tokyo Education board?

Their just doing their job investigating a complaint. Certainly not the students. I suspect the villian will have something to do with Maya's past, which Shiori sensei's father knows about. There's not much time to build up something for Maya to fight against.

I love Shindo's look of contempt here. gwahahahaha. Yes, I love misery.

I kinda liked how Maya left them with no choice but to confront their parents. On the other hand I found the ending of ep 9 to be too 'happy'. The fun thing about the show was seeing the misery of the characters. The kids struggling against their parents and the Queen. The tone of this show is misery, goddammit. Even the music screams this is a show about misery, manipulation and frailty of humans. On a side note, I fucking love the soundtrack. Whoever wrote the music deserves a big raise.

Oh well, fingers crossed that ep 10 will introduce some huge and compelling problem.

Preview of ep 10. So it looks like Shindo will be fighting for Maya.........

Friday, February 03, 2006

Ogura Yuko as Sakura


Found this short clip of Ogura Yuko cosplaying as Sakura. Somehow her kawaiiness just doesn't seem to fit Sakura's character. IMO, she would make a very good Athena though. Hhmm, I wonder if Sora Aoi ever cosplayed as Shermie.......

Eto, I don't think that's Sakura pose. The girl on the right I think is cosplaying a girl from Biohazard/Resident Evil 3.


Almost looks like Ogura Yuko's doing the Sakura dancing winning pose. Now that would have been cool.

Oh yeah, get the clip here: http://rapidshare.de/files/12440983/0203yuuko.mpg.html