Boku no Aruku Michi ep 11

Without a doubt the best show of the season. Slow at times, but everything builds to nice little moments. I wasn't crazy bout the show but I had a lack of interest in other doramas while waiting for the subs for the final episodes. (the lack of quality shows this season may have something to do with that as well) And this show proves that the Japanese should stay far away from fatal disease shows and sticl to shows about disabled ppl.


I love that Teruaki's brother is given more attention for the last episode. For me, his point of view is the most interesting of all the family members and I just wished they could have done one episode from his eyes. Its sucks that his wife suddenly became the model housewife though. A leopard does not change its spots.


Basically, I wished they could do more with all the other characters. The strength of this show is that the characters gain depth through their interactions with Teruaki and to me its more about the journeys that they go through rather than Teruaki's. And Teruaki's sis needs more screentime dammit.


Miyako-chan is hot. I blame my parents for my lack of a bijin osamanajimi. I just find her subdued acting somehow works very well with the tone of the show. There's a lot of repitition and routines but when things change a little, it speaks volumes. I'd love to see how she acts in other shows.

And the ending is excellent. Its got the KDO just another beginning feel but the conversation between Miyako and Megumi sorta gives a prediction of the future. Its a damn shame that not many people are watching this compared to crap like Tatta Hitotsu no Koi so if you're onlly watching one show this season make it Boku no Auruku Michi.

Bengoshi no Kuzu 9-12

Episode 9

Best one of the last 4 eps. Stories about human stubborness are fun because its a quirk something that everyone has. Mizuki trying to set up Kuzu with Tetsuko sensei is just what this show needs. They need to leave in the possibility that she's doing it to get Takeda to act. Sadly, the writers quickly killed it. :(

If this is prison life then I've got lotsa crimes to commit!

Episode 10

The self defence bit was interesting but the legal stuff is confusing. Don't they fucking have hearsay in Japanese courts.?!

Strategically placed cleavage. Guess what's Kuzu doing?

Episode 11

Another show about human stubborness and it just feels like a retread. The episode is saved by Sugimoto Aya's ample assets. Fellow sukebes will remember her as Enoki Tsuyako from Shimokita Glory Days. Kuzu lecturing in the end sucks. He's become like the Kinpachi sensei of bengoshis. However, the tease at the end about what the last episode could be left me excited.

Episode 12

Meh. The series goes out with a whimper.

There are only 2 reasons Hoshino Aki is on the show. Can you guess what they are?

Summary

The good: Kuzu is an interesting character as long as he isn't potrayed as a straight out good guy. He needs to be the shades of grey character. Lots of bijin guest stars.

The bad: No long running plot threads int the background. Poorly written legal 'conundrums'.

The ugly: The fat hostess is not funny. Inconsistent and pedestrian writing. Someone needs to watch American legal shows.

Kuzu: Sigh, despite the good acting by me, this show lacks good writers. We need to fire all the writers for season 2 and get Akiramike to write it.

Mitsuya Yoko - Siesta

Haven't downloaded gravures in ages but couldn't stop myself when I saw Mitsuya Yoko. Yes, the girl from ep 9 of KDO and ep 2 of Bengoshi no Kuzu. Maybe I'm just suffering from KDO withdrawal and am just jumping at anything that has any connection with the series. This is no different from the thousands of gravure vids out there. Plenty of standing around, crappy music and cleavage shots,


She just doesn't have the screen presence that Isoyama Sayaka has. Come to think of it, maybe she's such a memorable character in KDO cause I was rooting for Kuwano to root her. Her half closed eyes look in KDO is not very prevalent here and she does a bit of the Nacci faraway look and tilt the head a bit thingie.


So what have I learnt from this gravure vid? She's much hotter in doramas than in gravures. She's not slender enough and her oppais are not huge enough to compensate. Hope she continues to get supporting roles as she's still better than half of the supporting actresses out there. Anyone think Kuwano would have a chance if only he'd call back earlier?

Sailor Fuku to Kikanju ep 2

This was my most anticipated series of the season for the following reasons:

1. Cute actress who can act - Nagsawa Masami

2. Good actor who can carry a show - Tsusumi Shinichi

3. Crazy concept that only the Japanese can pull off - high school girl becomes yakuza boss

Yes, I know what your thinking. Why didn't I go to high school in Japan?

Ep 1 was all right. Ep has me feeling very pessemistic about this show. Main problem is how they handled the main concept. Its a far fetched and fanciful idea. There's no logic to it. So there are only two ways to handle it. One is to make it a comedy. Think Mukodono/My Boss My Hero. Make the henchmen dumber and make Hoshi Izumi become the brains of Medaka gumi and slowly she reliases that she has the talent for yazuka work.


The problem with the show now its that there's barely any humour and they're trying to play it straight. Because of the tone of the show, introducing a joshi kosei as your kumicho looks damn fucking stupid. Instead of making me laugh, some scenes just make me cringe.

The other way to do the show would be to make it very dark and gritty. Make Hoshi Izumi hell bent on getting revenge for her father and every episode she does things even her father would never approve of. Think a better version of Byaku Yakou. And as the show progresses, she'll have to ask herself; is all this worth the revenge?

And I got so excited for nothing........

Right now, the show is not working. Hoshi Izumi is boring and useless. And ffs, they should have made her at least strip to her bra. What's with all that teasing? The non-strip is the ultimate letdown. I don't care that we had 1 second female nudity. We want Nagasawa Masami not some unknown jav actresses.

And the whole father-heroin thing is stupid. Did Sakuma mean her father was smuggling heroin? Producing? 3rd party distributor? Quality tester? Makes the packaging? Or just plain junkie?

40 years old and still hot. I like her potrayal the mysterious Mayumi in the show.

Actually watched ep 2 raw last week and the subs hardly improved the show. The only intruiging thing is Koizumi Kyoko who claims to have been her father's lover. Still, I'll probably watch it to the end just to see Hoshi Izumi go off and finally kill people.

Bengoshi no Kuzu ep 8

Kuzu trying to flash poor Mizuki, lol.

The only reason that I'm not really crazy over this show is that the legal storylines are weak. Its more a show about solving real life issues than legal problems. Nevertheless, I had fun watching ep 8. I like the fact that Mizuki-chan has a story parallel to Kuzu case. She makes a much better sidekick than the incredibly boring Takeda san.

Unfortunately Hoshino Aki doesn't shoow off her cleavage this ep :(

Its just fun watching Kuzu encouraging Mizuki to cheat on tests and how he awkwardly tries to play father. Like tha part where he's shouting into Mrs Nezu's intercom. What he's telling Mrs Nezu is exactly what he wants to tell Mizuki but can't. Plus we get Kato sensei is starting to play mom to Kuzu's dad. Too bad they've seem to drop the whole Takeda-Kato storyline. Some triangle jealousy will make Takeda much more interesting.

Kuzu: coolest dad in the world.

Maybe have Kuzu be nonchalant about it and Mizuki trying to pull Kato sensei to Kuzu's side and Takeda having to resort to evil tactics. This show needs 1 or 2 background subplots cause right now the episodes are kinda hit and miss and having some continuing story makes it more worthwhile to watch.

Someone should get the Ishida sisters on the same dorama.

2nd best thing about this ep is Ishida Hikari and OMFG, she hasn't aged much since I last saw her in Asunaro Hakusho (1993) Its been 13 years and she still looks the same. The Ishida sisters must have a fountain of youth at home or something. In Asunaro, she's the girl next door and now she's the bjin hitozuma next door. :)

Boku no Aruku Michi ep 7

Fucking beautiful episode. This show is really growing on me. I'm enjoying its simplicity more and more and how small things like Teruaki deviating from his bicycle route can be be such a powerful moment. I wasn't so crazy about the show in the beginning because it was more about Teruaki and his autism. He's without personality and there's not much empathy. But now its more about the people around him, and in this episode, its Kotaro's mom.

If all Japanese moms are milfs, how does that explain 40 year old men obsessing over joushi-kouseis?

Kotaro's mom is a milf but she's the bitch of the show and I'm glad that they've soften up her character a bit and we finally get a glimpse Kotaro's dad. There's not much story to be done around his mom and the father is an interesting character. He's not an asshole to Teruaki and yet there's this detachment from everything. I'll to see some story about his past; coming to terms with Teruaki, his father and taking care of the family.

Karina is hot hot hot. I feel so tempted to get CA to Oyobi just for her......

This show has freaking babe factor. The only downside is that they don't get much screen time. Miyako-chan is the type of women men dream about but never meet and its kinda sad that she's taken a back seat storyline wise after marriage. They've gone with the compulsory new husband is not all that he's cracked up to be bit. No idea where its going to go but it impossible her future's with Teruaki.

Rina + Megumi = hawtness. Wish this scene would stretch for at least 5 mins.

And Teruaki's sis, Rina is getting hotter by the episode. They should have an episode dedicated to Megumi. So much babe factor, so little screen time. :( And I'm enjoying Teruaki's older brother type relationship with Kenta. The only people who Teruaki had an attachment to are his mom and Miyako and its nice to see him connect with Kenta.


I have to say that this is now my pick for best dorama this season. The only show I haven't really watched is Sailor Fuku. I'm tempted to watch it raw though. If you haven't seen this show, give it a try, its slow, methodical but its consistent and there's a lot of really nice moments. And lets not forget the babe factor. :)

419dunbesospiteful.blogspot.com

Just want to pimp my friends' blog about our Starcraft battles. Yes, we're still playing the best RTS ever created after so many years. Gameplay-wise, SC is the most perfect RTS ever and there's no point making SC2 cause there's nothing they add to make it better. I pity the fool who thinks the greatest thing about RTS is DOTA. Imagine if Capcom actually spent 2 years balancing and updating Third Strike or SNK did the same for KOF98.

The highlight of my uni days was spending countless hours playing SC, Counterstrike and KOF. I'm just glad that there's some of us who don't let real life get in the way waging intergalactic battles. After all, what are friends for?

Kazoku ep 6

Another reason I'm sorta enjoying this series is cause I work in family law and its interesting to see how it works in different countries. I'm pretty sure what they show in doramas is not a true representation of what actually happens just like how murder trials are never as exciting as the movies. Sigh, if only Rikon Bengoshi were subbed.


From my understanding, to divorce in Japan, it needs to have the consent of both parties and from the show it seems that children and financial matters need to be settled before it can happen. I'm not going to bore you with why I think fault based divorce is stupid but Japan needs to get on with the times.

Hoshino Mari looking absolutely vampish.

My favourite part of ep 6 has to be Hoshino Mari. She injected much needed humour and babe factor into the show and I'm pissed off that it seems she won't be back. Sigh, from playing the main actress in Hoshi no Kinka 3 to playing a small role to Otsuka Ai to a 3 minute appearance. Kinda reminds me of Tanaka Rena's all too brief role in Overtime. (which was the only good thing about that overrated show)

More Hoshino Mari!!!!!!!!

We've got something going on between Ryohei and Shiori but:

1) Its just a freaking tease
2) She's not been developed enough to make it interesting.

Shiori is basically living the life that Satomi could have had. Wouldn't it be interesting if she were willing to abandon it for Satomi's old life while Satomi wants to discard hers? Instead we get the whole going to foreign country for a few years thingie.


This show hinges on Ryohei and the have not built up Miho sensei or Shiori to make it interesting. They're showing Satomi as an ungrateful bitch and the whole Ryohei and Shin-chan father/son thing is getting boring. This show really needs Hoshino Mari goddammit.

STRESSEMAN'S WORDS OF WISDOM

Oh yeah, forgot to add my favourite piece of dialogue from Nodame 5:

Sake to ka, tabako to ka, onna to ka, tekitonishete nagaikishite kudasai......

Sake to, tabako to, onna nakureba....

Watashi shinimasu.

Nodame Cantabile 4 + 5

4 and 5 are an improvement over 2 and 3. Ep 4 is about S'Oke's first performance and there's no way to mess up a story about underdogs getting together. And it made me want to get a kotatsu for winter, not that I need it since I don't watch tv. Ep is more of a backstory of Stresemann and sets up the 2nd half of the show.

Ueno Juri's performance as Nodame is for naught if she continues to get treated like a supporting character. FFS, this show is called Nodame, not Chiaki!

I've got to say, after watching Teppan Shoujo Akane, I've come to appreciate just how good the acting in this show is. I just love watching Stresemann and his horrible Japanese. Its a damn shame that he'll be out of the story. (hopefully not to long) To me, he is the glue that held the show together because all the physical violence/bondage and Masumi-chan stuff is not funny at all. In short, he's the best supporting character and getting rid of him is stupid. Masumi and Mine are just hopeless as supporting characters.

Stresemann with the MILF richijou...

Its a damn shame that they featured Sakura in ep 3 and now she only gets a line or two here and there. Yes storyline wise, she no longer has a purpose but at least she has a funny backstory.

I just find the Stresemann/Nodame stuff funny. Erojijii + innocent/naive girl = comedy gold

As I've said before, this show is technically pretty good. But something is missing. Chemistry? Better jokes? I'm still planning to continue with the show though. The forst 5 eps have been a slow build up for Nodame. Now it seems the show will get into the meat of the Nodame/Chiaki story. I'm not confident they can make it compelling though.

Hhhmm, nothing turns me on like girls who know how to blow......

My finale big complaint is the show not using the good actors in the show. They got Sakurai from densha and Nishimura Masahiko. You've got two veteran actors who can do comedy well and they're relegated to playing teachers who say like 2 lines an episode??? And seriously, how can Iwasa Mayuko be relegated to background character? Is there no justice in the world?


She had such a small part in Gal Circle and now she's just another KLFA. :(

Uni Days (sung to the tune of Yesterday by the Beatles)

Uni days,
Working life just seemed so far away
Now it seems I've to suffer everyday
Oh I believe in uni days

Suddenly, no more free time like it used to be,
Waking at 7 everyday is not easy
Oh uni days, left suddenly

Why does working life suck
I dun know why weekdays so slow
I said where my weekend go
Now i long for uni days

Uni days, life was cs and sc everyday
Now its so hard to find time to play
Oh I believe in uni days

Why does working life suck
I dun know why weekdays so slow
I said where my weekend go
Now i long for uni days

Uni days, watch dorama and anime everyday
Now I don't even have time to get laid
Oh I believe in uni days

Mm-mm-mm-mm-mm-mm-mm.

Satorare

Telepathy is the ability to read others' thoughts, an ability that anyone would want. A satorare is the direct opposite of a telepath in that anyone within close proximity can hear a satorare's thoughts. Satorares are rare and the only benefit of their (dis)ability is their genius which gives the government incentive to protect them.


I watched this show 2 years ago so my enthusiasm for this show has died down a bit. The most important thing when watching this show is to ignore all the plotholes and gaps in logic. The show has a most unusual concept and the fun is in exploring the storyline possibilities. One inherent flaw/characteristic of Japanese shows is the lack of time spent on exposition/ explanation. I personally don't mind as long as it means the time is spent on telling stories.


And I'm glad that the show takes a light hearted approach to its tone. Main reason I watched the show without subs is Tsurata Mayu. WTF is she not in more jdoramas? She is fucking hot for a woman in her 30s. The only other actress who could have pulled off Hayasaka in KDO would be her. Maybe they should do KDO 2007 with Tsuruta Mayu. Hhhmm.


While taking screencaps I noticed something else; she pouts a lot which doubles the kawaii factor. Someone please put her on prime time jdoramas. I can definitely see her taking Ishida Yuriko's role in Kazoku. And if someone has Good News, pls upload it to d-addicts. I only managed to get 2 eps off streamload years ago.


Long story short, Satorare is guaranteed to give you hours of fun provided you don't overanalyse things. I'm having fun watching it again, wishing I had more Tsuruta Mayu doramas. :(