Demon City movie review

In the world of Japanese action splatter B-movies, 3 movies come to mind: Kitamura Ryuhei's Versus, Machine Girl and Miike Takashi's Ichi the Killer. I have hardly seen any Japanese movies in this genre recently so I am happy that Netflix has financed Demon City.

Ikuta Toma is the super hitman Sakata who does one last job killing lots of people before leaving his life of crime to enjoy it with his family. Of course, Sakata's family home is invaded by a bunch of scary people in masks talking about a demon of Shinjo city and Sakata's wife and daughter are killed before his eyes before Sakata is shot.

Remarkably, Sakata survives as a vegetable for 12 years before he wakes up and goes and goes on a bloody revenge spree.

WHAT I LIKED

+ Good amount of splashing blood

+ Love the scary masks of the bad guys.

+ Love the world building of Shinjo city being controlled by this cabal of people in masks.

+ Sakata's trademark machete with rope is cool

+ There is a one shot stairs fight sequence that is very good

+ Surprised to see Takashima Masanobu in an action movie!

WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE

- Stupid fake CG blood. I would rather have no blood than fake CG blood.

- Not any memorable action scenes besides the one shot stairs sequence. 

- I liked Higashide Masahiro as the creepy bad guy but the fight was meh. The thing is, most of the guys in the masks turned up to be not so scary at all.

SUMMARY

I really want to like this movie but there is nothing that sticks in my memory. The building blocks are there but the action scenes are mostly meh. They are trying hard but something is missing. Meh.

Caster Episodes 1~3

Finally restarted my Netflix account. First show I tried watching was Caster just because it was an Abe Hiroshi show. The problem is I completely ignored the fact that it was a TBS show. Ok, Vivant did not suck which was a freaking miracle, Trillion Game was surprisingly fun and I really liked Warau Matroyshka. (Sidenote, why isn't Warau Matroyshka on Netflix?) 

Fact is, after years and years of watching jdoramas. There are certain qualities to TBS shows. 

1. They are really lit super with the power of a hundred suns so the actresses can show how smooth their faces are and sell whatever products they are promoting.

2. There will always be a scene in episode 1 where there is a huge venue and TBS likes to show off how they can get 100 extras to the venue.

3. The stories will start to stretch the limits of probability the longer you watch it. TBS shows will never be accused of being realistic. There is always a certain unrealism to them.

4. The story is written by committee for the lowest common denominator and tries way too freaking hard to be touching.

So did Caster get everything in the TBS Bingo card?

Caster is basically about news anchor Abe Hiroshi who is trying to figure out the truth behind certain events. Nagano Mei is the inexperience staff from variety who has been tasked with keeping Abe Hiroshi in check but Nagano Mei discovers that the first rule of journalism is to assume that everyone is lying.

The first episode about a big shot politician going to hospital was ok. The second episode was when alarm bells really started ringing for me. The story was about this betting site that had a 80% accurate prediction of the Japan men's volleyball team.

The first two episodes has Abe Hiroshi telling Nagano Mei to always get supporting evidence (uradori) and next thing you know, he has Nagono Mei randomly questioning a volleyball player about this random betting site. If a random betting site got 80% correct for dog racing over a few months, you going to accuse random dog for colluding? Get your supporting evidence first FFS!

Episode 3 was about the fakest lab growing some sort of revolutionary cell. The story was about data falsifying and for some reason the story came down to a random post it note which could have been forged anyway instead of experts looking through the records and checking the laboratory that looked more like a school science lab.

The ending of episode 3 was like some stupid kid's fairy tale trying to be touching but I just kept thinking how dumbed down they made this discovery that could change everything forever and they turned it into a footenote.

Caster is full of the bad things that TBS does and for some reason Abe Hiroshi keeps doing doramas with them and they are all shit, except for Dragon Zakura. The writing feels bad and there are way, too many leaps in logic. I have too many things to watch and do to waste my time on this and I suggest you do the same. Do not watch.

On an unrelated note, it is funny how Abe Hiroshi has a movie Showtime 7 which came out earlier this year with him playing another news anchor. That one is bomb threat terror show and hopefully it is better than Caster.

Louder!: Can't Hear What You're Singin', Wimp! jmovie review

 

Louder!: Can't Hear What You're Singin', Wimp! is a movie by Miki Satoshi. He is a so-so famous writer/director and the first thing of his I watched was Adrift in Tokyo which I don't remember anything about. 

My favourite Miki Satoshi work is Atami no Sousakan which was weird and interesting. I think his most famous work might be Ore Ore with Kame which I can never mustered enough motivation to watch. His latest movie is Convenience Story and I could not even get to the middle of the movie before quitting. I decided to give Louder!: Can't Hear What You're Singin', Wimp! a go because it has Abe Sadawo and Yoshioka Riho. Surely their combined acting prowess will make this a watchable movie right?

Abe Sadawo is metal singer called Sin who supposedly has this amazing voice because he doped his vocal cords but this is causing damage and he damages his vocal cords during a performance and spurts out enough blood to fill up a hospital blood bank. He runs into Fuka played by Yoshioka Riho, a timid singer who sings in a soft voice. Louder is a comedy about a singer past his prime meeting another singer who he helps realise her potential. Sounds great in concept but I don't get Miki Satoshi's execution.

It feels like Miki Satoshi is doing a poor version Love Exposure, two damaged people who need each other. Watching Louder!, I kept thinking this guy is doing Miike Takashi at his worst. Kind of like Mole Song or Yakuza Apocalypse. Random things just happening, whatever the director finds funny while I am looking at the screen bored out of my brains.

The housing area where Yoshioka Riho lives reminds me of Kisetsu no Nai Machi, super duper colourful and everyone a weirdo. The movie really lost me when it moved to South Korea and I did not give a crap about any of the characters.

Miki Satoshi is a director who just does weird stuff and actors seem to like appearing in his movies but nothing in this movie makes me think this director is great in framing this sequence or creating something funny. I am not watching any more Miki Satoshi movies anymore. Do not watch.

Lost Man Found / Hirowareta Otoko Eps 1~8

 

Lost Man Found is another Disney+ jdorama starring Nakano Taiga. This time he has former smap member Kusagangi Tsuyoshi and Higa Yui supporting him.

Lost Man Found is a story about supporting actor Matsuda Satoru. If you don't know who that is, he was the J-league fan in Densha Otoko. I would not say he was one of the most memorable supporting characters in Densha but I love stories about supporting actors like Tasogare Yusaku, Actor Kameoka Takuji, Samurai Time Slipper and of course Uzumasa Limelight though the last two are more about stuntmen but its the same thing.

Lost Man Found is the story about how a struggling actor got picked up by various people and slowly worked his way up the supporting actor food chain.

WHAT I LIKED

+ Arimura Kasumi cameo as herself. That got my undivided attention.

+ Igawa Haruka as herself. Matsuda Satoru was actually her driver and I love how the whole country pigeonholes her as this woman who heals Japan that she is not allowed to act any other way. I wished I was watching an Igawa Haruka dorama and loved everytime she was on the screen.

+ This is a show about someone who works hard instead of those shows where things just fall down from the sky and they succeed without sweating.

+ What sort of jdorama has Suzuki Anne, Kaho, Kita Kana and Kaname Jun in minor supporting roles?

+ I live all the characters who work in Tsutaya while trying to chase their dreams. 

WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE

- I don't like Kusanagi Tsuyoshi acting as the nonchalant brother.

-  I really dislike all the scenes set in the USA. It feels like the opposite when Western production tries to portray Japan and they end up with a Western idea of how Japanese should act ala Man in High Castle. Lost Man Found is how Japanese imagine Americans to act. Not that I know better but I just find the American scenes and dialogue cringy.

SUMMARY

I love the first half. I love everything set in Japan and wanted more. Then it gave me lots of things set in USA that I didn't want and I could not be bothered finishing. Ah, the first half is so good and the second half lost me. Meh.

Kisetsu no nai Machi / Town without Seasons episodes 1+2

Kisetsu no nai Machi is Kudokan dorama about a small town of survivors after a major incident. The government put everyone in temporary houses and while people have left, many have remained. Our main character is given money to live among the survivors and record everything that goes on in the town to his mysterious emploter. 

It is a colourful town, not too realistic and I would say a bit whimsical but Kisetsu no nai Machi is a story about the characters who live there. The first episode is about a guy who thinks he is a train driver and runs all over town. His mother plays along with his fancy and the townspeople ignore him. I did not not care about the characters but this is Kudokan so let's go to the next episode.

The second episode is about a younger brother whose money was stolen by his older brother and the mother who would forgive the brother for anything. The second the story became clear alarm bells were ringing for me because I knew the sad ending that Kudokan was going for. 

The thing that doesn't work for me is the younger brother is a freaking idiot and no amount of self pity will make me care about the character. Unfortunately, nothing in Kisetsu no nai Machi appeals to me. Not the colourful, not so realistic town and weird characters. 

I like human stories like Shinya Shokudo but Kisetsu no nai Machi is just bland for me. I needed something to ground the stories for me but could not find any reason to go past episode 2. Glad Disney gave Kudokan some money to do a jdorama but meh from me.

Sumo Do, Sumo Don't / Shiko Funjatta jdorama review

 

I saw this this on Disney+ and thought isn't this the name of a famous movie that I never got around to watching? I enjoyed Netflix's sumo jdorama Sanctuary although it had a stupid ending and ended up watching a bit of sumo related videos including a livestream where everyone in the chat knew the wrestlers and a news report about this Japanese girl trying to survive doing sumo for the love of the sport.

Sumo Do, Sumo Don't is about such a girl, Oba Honoka who is the lone member of the sumo club of her university. She is from Aomori, very straightforward and is not good with people. Ryota has just been dumped by his best friend because he never puts full effort into anything finds out that he is in danger of not graduating which will prevent him from working.

Ryota's teacher gives him a chance and tells him she will pass him if he joins the sumo club and participates in one match.

WHAT I LIKED

+ Classic underdog sports story where a team of losers work hard together and fail and fail before getting better.

+ Movie about people finding their place in the world and how giving one's energy to a goal is a rewarding experience.

+ Payoff is great and you will be cheering our lovable team of wrestlers on at the end. 

+ It has got the feel good Swing Girls/Ganbatte Ikkimashoi vibe.

+ I liked that it talks about how Sumo is a man's sport and women are not given much chance to participate.

WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE

- Pacing is extremely, extremely slow. Not for binging. I really considered stopping around episode 4 because of how slow and laid back it is. I feel they could have chopped it into 7 episodes instead of 10.

- Not as funny as it should be, especially with the pacing.

- Main character Ryota is too skinny. He is clearly the least athletic of the guys but storyline wise, they put him last in the team. He has no muscles in his legs and no power. I know they are suppose to be C level ie bottom of the amatuer wrestlers but it would be better if he looked a bit athletic. That said, acting-wise he was cast perfectly.

SUMMARY

I both dislike and like Sumo Do, Sumo Don't. The pacing nearly kills the show for me. It does everything else well but I have no desire to rewatch it because it is too slow. However it still delivered on the feel good moments. Overall, I would rather rewatch Sanctuary. I can't really recommend it for the pacing but if you don't mind super slow jdoramas this could be up your alley. Maybe it is time for me to watch the movie.

The downside of watching jdoramas with Japanese subs

 

We are living in the golden age of jdoramas. If I wanted to watch something with Japanese subs, I would have to download the subs from jpsubbers and then retime them which was a pain because the timing would go off everytime there was a commercial break.

Everytime there was a CM break, I would have to figure out how many more seconds to adjust it again until the next break. It was annoying but Japanese subs help me understand what was going on a lot easier and I uploaded a few retimed Jp subs to d-addicts.

Later I got too lazy to pause and retime and started using the VLC player shift subtitles shortcuts to change the timings on the fly. Soon all the magicstar uploads came with Japanese subs and it was glorious! Japanese subs make it so much easier to understand.

However, I have noticed something recently, especially when I was watching the latest Shiroi Kyoto remake: my eyes were darting straight to the subs instead of listening to what was being said. I was reading first and not really listening. I think the listening was helping me to read.

Shiroi Kyoto was full of medical and legal jargon and Japanese subs while it helped me understand what was being said, it did not help me improve my listening. Another time Japanese subs really help is when there is an old man mumbling away. Maybe I should learn to listen instead of using Jp subs as a crutch? I feel like it an reading subs instead of watching a jdorama. It is actually 'cheating' because I am not really reading the sentence out loud in my brain; I am just picking up with kanji or words to understand what it is about and filing out the rest with my listening.

It is the same when I watch Japanese news. It is so easy to understand because there are words everywhere. I glance at the screen and there are plenty of words to tell me what is going on. When I am listening to a new podcast (shout out to Round up World Now!) I need to really concentrate or I get lost.

What I am saying is that Japanese subs are crutch don't doesn't help me improve my listening and I think I am going to watch most of my Jdoramas without Jp subs now. Jidaigeki's would be the exception and really fast talking shows like Saigo Kara Nibanmei no Koi.

I have been slowly redownloading my jdoramas so that the ones I want to rewatch are at least 720p and I don't want English hardsubs anymore in my collection. Why are there only a 480p version of Yami no Bansosha. I want to watch both series in 1080p.

I am rewatching Keiji to Kenji, Tokidoki Hanji without subs and am enjoying it more after watching the first season. Meguro speaking English all the time is not annoying anymore after watching his story with Imada Mio in S1. Not as funny as S1 but still fun to watch.

Keiji to Kenji: Shokatsu to Chiken no 24ji jdorama review

Last year I watched the sequel of Keiji to Kenji called Keiji to Kenji, Tokidoki Hanji and it was suprisingly fun and watchable. It was light and funny and Kitamura Yukiya was good as the lead. The concept first season is still the same, Kiritani Kenta and Higa Minami play siblings, one is a cop and is assistant to a prosecutor.

The key to Keiji to Kenji that makes the humour work is that the prosecutor that Higa Minami works for played by Higashide Masahiro (Akutou) is in love with her, is antagonistic to the brother and is sort of childish and is always wanting to take on more serious cases. From the beginning I thought these 3 work very well together.

Imada Mio is also in the show as the only female detective of the team. She features a lot more prominently later in the series and my jdorama senses tell me she might have been shooting another jdorama.

I also enjoyed Muroi Shinji as the head prosecutor who has a penchant for sweet things. He is one of those actors I refer to his most famous role which is Muroi Shinji in Odoru Daisousasen. I wonder how I would like it if I rewatch this super famous series which I never found that good but has spawned so many sequels including a Muroi Shinji movie that came out last year.

Like the second season, Keiji to Kenji is about the tension between police who want a warrant for every suspicious person and prosecutors who want physical evidence before issuing anything. 

The only character I don't buy is Okunuki Kaoru as a former judge who running her own restaurant. I get that being a former judge means she can join in discussions and give insights but no one would give up the guaranteed job security and money of a judge!

I have to mention that this series has the funniest and most believable reason for a hikikomori to get out of his room. You know how hikikomori is always a plot device in jdoramas and hikikomori is 'cured' after one episode when it is a complicated problem. Just want to say that the ending of episode 2 had me laughing a lot.

I will say that I can't remember a police/crime show that made me laugh this much.

Now I am very tempted to go back and rewatch season 2.  Too bad they could not afford Imada Mio.

Keiji to Kenji does not finish as strong as it started but it is a cut above the usual jdorama police shows. Very watchable.

Gannibal season 2 Episodes 3~8

 

The last episode of Gannibal was released today. Had to extend my Disney+ sub for another month just to support this show which sucks cause there is nothing else for me to watch on it. 

The final action scenes were lackluster of all the great tension filled action throughout the series. I can't believe they introduced this new Goto family member only for him to be done by a poisoned knife. I kept waiting for him to pop up as a zombie in the hospital.

I was expecting a great big fight in the end with Ano Hito / That person but Daigo ending beating up a few underlings and Keisuke did not even put up a fight which was disappointing because he never did anything and was indecisive. The real final boss fight turned out to be boring.

However, thinking about the ending, this show is about the new generation not carrying the evil practices and hatred of the old generation. That is what Keisuke was trying to do and while I wanted to see a Daigo and Keisuke kill everyone final battle, I understand the ending that we got.

I can't give this a must watch like for season 1 but I still had fun. I am so happy that Disney made a mature and violent jdorama. This is something that is missing from jdorama-land. Disney, you have my money as long as you make mature Japanese shows. Very watchable series and well done.

Zoku Zoku Saigo Kara Niban me no Koi Episode 1

 

The second sequel to Saigo Kara Nibanme no Koi is here. I don't remember much about the first sequel. I remember the characters and Kamakura setting and that's it. I was surprised to see Nakai Kiichi and Kyon Kyon are still not together after 2 seasons. I guess if they do then it is the end of the series?

The one reason I am excited about the sequel I don't think anyone asked for is that Sakaguchi Kenji is back. He has not been acting for a very long time time because of health problems but him being back is a good thing. I remember seeing him once since he left the industry in a wrestling wrestling youtube video or something because his dad and brother are wrestlers.

Anyway, Kyon Kyon is one year away from retirement contemplating what to do with her second life.

Nakai Kiichi retired but went back to work to deal with tourists in Kamakura. Who are these crazy people who have more than enough money to retire and would still rather work?

We have a scene at the very famous Slam Dunk spot in Kamakura with Mandarin speaking tourists getting in the way of the locals.

I love the scene where Kyon Kyon who works tv producer asks why doesn't Netflix invite her to make a show for them? I can imagine every writer and producer in jdoramaland wanting that Netflix money and freedom. Hmm, looks like Okada Yoshikazu has written 2 Netflix shows so far. I will need to start up my Netflix soon but I am putting if off because there will be way too many Japanese shows to watch.

The highlight of the episode is the dinner scene between Nakai Kiichi and Kyon Kyon. Coincidentally, they were both going back home from attending funerals, Nakai's was a colleague who joined the same year and Kyon Kyon's was her boss. Their dialogue was funny and sad and Okada Yoshikazu's script writing abilities were in full force. These two have perfect chemistry and I can watch them talk about anything.

Looks like Ishida Hikari is going to be Nakai Kiichi's new colleague and love interest and Yamaguchi Momoe's husband is going to be Kyon Kyon's new doctor and love interest.

I am keeping my expectations very low for this. According to my reviews, season 2 was basically a retread of season 1. Let's see what Okada Yoshikazu has up his sleeve. Watchable first episode. I need to get back to Kamakura one day.

SandLand anime review

When I first saw the visuals for Toriyama Akira's SandLand, I just thought it was Go! Go! Ackman set in the desert which Sandland is. I had no interest in watching SandLand, even with the Toriyama name. Reason being that I did not like where Dragonball became, Goku getting even more hair colours, all sort of fushion characters and Vegeta getting screwed all the time. I have a friend who is big into the current Dragonball stuff but it feels like a series that should have ended long ago and I thought Toriyama's best days were behind him.

Since I have Disney+ for Gannibal, I decided to give SandLand a go and I was hooked from the beginning. SandLand is set in a country where water is scarce and humans think demons are all not good and responsible for all the bad things in the country. The demons all look like they belong as monsters in DragonQuest. The main character Beelzebub, the prince demon is another Go!Go! Ackman. His funny trait being he think he is a bad demon when he isn't and he is another Goku.

What makes SandLand work is the Rao. He enlists Beelzebub's help and has the best backstory in anime. From the first episode, SandLand had me hooked when I realised the show was about racism, corruption and not getting tricked by government propaganda. This why I feel in love with anime in the first place. Shows for kids that deal with mature issues in a way that is entertaining and not preachy.

I love the tank battles. I never knew tank battles could be so exciting and I wanted more. Should I start watching Girls Und Panzer? I wanted more single episode stories of our group of adventurers and their tank. 

Watching SandLand, I am reminded of Toriyama who started Dragonball as an adventure story with a young Goku, Buruma and Oolong. This feeling of fun and sense of adventure.The only negative is that Belz is kinda of overpowered when he did not need to be. Toriyama does power him down in the second half though.

I want more adventures in Sandland, especially with the tank. That is the heart of the show. The 3 characters going around in the tank. I will definitely buy the game when it goes on sale unless the game is that bad. Very watchable anime.

Watashi no Takaramono Eps 1+2

Watashi no Takaramono starts with wife played by Matsumoto Wakana busy preparing the apartment for husband played by Tanaka Kei to host his colleagues. She gets the name of one of his colleagues wrong and he takes it out on her afterwards. 

Basically the beginning of the episode is Tanaka Kei being this grumpy husband who treats Matsumoto Wakana very badly while she keeps smiling at him. She talks about making babies after 5 years of marriage and Tanaka Kei brushes her off and says let it happen naturally. What sort of man would refuse to make babies with Matsumoto Wakana? The writing of this story is defying belief and he just continues to abuse her.

At this point I am thinking what is the point of watching all this abuse? Why would the audience want to watch this many scenes about a guy being a dick to his wife. Is this dorama about how they got to this point, maybe Matsumoto Wakana did something wrong in the past?

We get more about Matsumoto Wakana's past, especially this childhood friend who was two years her junior and they often met in the library and because this is jdoramaland, they reunite again at same library. At this point, I am thinking this is married woman has affair story, the staple of jdoramas. Matsumoto Wakana has a shitty husband so audience is rooting for affair but I am still not seeing the hook of the story.

What happens next is that Tanaka Kei forces himself on Matsumoto Wakana. Then she goes off, runs into old friend at the library again and has sex. Friend goes off to Africa to save the kids and gets blown up in a terrorist explosion explosion.

The thing is, Matsumoto Wakana is got pregnant and she gets a DNA test which confirms Tanaka Kei is not the dad. Seeing as real dad is dead we finally get the hook of this jdorama. Wife who gets pregnant by lover plans to swindle rich husband of all his money by claiming that child is his. Tanaka Kei should have realised the first red flag when Matsumoto Wakana says to him that it is his child. I mean what other person's child could it possibly be???

It finally makes sense. All that abuse is to justify the crime of paternity fraud in the eyes of the viewer. In episode 2, we get to see the story from Tanaka Kei's perspective. Basically his workplace is bad and he is taking it out on his wife. I like Kitamura Kazuki as his coffee shop owner/confidante for Tanaka Kei but sad to see him playing supporting roles when he should be headlining jdoramas.

I could not get into Watashi no Takaramono at all as much as I like Matsumoto Wakana. This melodramatic paternity fraud jdorama is too much for me. Definitely not the type of jdorama for me. Meh.