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. :(

Kazoku: ~Tsuma no Fuzai, Oto no Sonzai~ ep 1-4

Not another family dorama. And I never thought Takenouchi Yutaka as a great actor. He's above average but his characters have never been compelling. Well its got Ishida Yuriko so I gave it a shot. And after 4 episodes, I must confess that I'm bloody enjoying this show.

Although I'm hating Ishida Yuriko's character(Satomi). Actually a woman who will not bleed her husband dry from spousal and child maintenance does not exist. Its kinda hard to symphatize with Satomi. She just comes off as too stubborn.

Portait of a happy kazoku, not.

To be fair to Satomi, this show is about Ryohei and Saeki's pseudo father son relationship so I guess you can't go showing everyone in a sensitive light. Kimura Tae plays the poorly written Shiori. She's Satomi confidant but somehow you get the feeling that she's a bit cold blooded and sometimes she's awkwardly sensitive. In order words, its hard to work out her agenda. One minute she's telling Satomi to bleed Ryohei dry and the next that Ryohei's not as bad as she sad. Or perhaps she's conflicted between acting as Satomi's friend and lawyer.

Yes, anyone would be so happy in the morning if they could bonk Ishida Yuriko every night.

The lack of time for Shiori is irritating, given that her story is interesting. The biggest mystery is why I enjoy this show. Its not different from other kazoku doramas yet I'm hooked. Maybe its the pacing. The show is about divorce and family life in general but so far every episode has tackled the issue from different angles.

Gotta get me one of those bengoshi pins........

The main problem is the ending. If this is one of those ones where in the end everyone says, 'I've gotten stronger, blah blah', and go their separate way aka the no-ending I'm going to feel so ripped off. And most likely that's the way its going to go with them not giving enough time to the kindergarden teacher, played by Eiji's kanojo from KDO.


I think ultimately the fun of the show is watching Ryohei cope with life. He is probably the most symphathetic father ever in jdoramas. Or maybe just the very low expectations I had with this show. But do give this a try. Sometimes, simple doramas are best.

Nodame Cantabile ep 3

Didn't really enjoy ep 2. That Masumi-chan is super irritating. Perhaps it has more to do with the shoujoness of the show. All the of characters are basically 2d shoujo stereotypes; the proud, ambitious driven hero, the klutzy heroine, etc. Not every jdorama can feature well fleshed out characters but as long as there's eye candy/enough jokes, then I'm happy.


Ep 3 is one such episode. with the story concentrating on Sakura-chan. She's just sooooo kawaii. And she plays your typical very poor (bimbo) girl struggling to make ends meet. I like that they did not milk her story but went straight for the jokes.


Stresemann is a hoot. Sukebe jijis are always fun to watch. I can't complain about the acting. What's missing is the element of story. Nodame just seems to be a side character and everything just revolves around Chiaki. However, it seems that ep 4 will go back to the main story instead of introducing characters. Maybe the story will start picking up speed then.


Hard to discribe how I feel about the show. Its well done, well acted, music's great and all but I'm just not excited. I enjoyed ep 3 but I just feel like something's missing. Maybe its just a shoujo dorama thing. But I still recommend ep 3, if only for Saeko. :)

Sailor Fuku to Kikanjuu ep 1

My most anticipated dorama this season. The title translates to Sailar Suit and Machine Gun. With a name like that, what's not to love? As I've said before girls + anything cool make good movies/dorama. Eg: girls + swords, girls + cars or girls + girls. Anyways, the lovely Nagasawa Masami plays the character of Hoshi Izumi, the last remaining heir of the Medaka yakuza clan.

Kicking arse and taking names...

I like how the show starts by showing the end, with Izumi and Sakuma, her no.2 kicking down a door and shooting people. Gives you the incentive to sit through all the character development stuff. The first episode basically introduces the characters and lays out the story for the series: Izumi's quest for revenge and the survival of the Medaka-gumi.

The lovely Koizumi Kyoko looking more her age. Hope her role is decent in this show.

There's subtle humour in this show and it doesn't take itself too seriously. High school girl whose the head of a yakuza clan isn't that realistic but I'm happy they didn't go totaly crazy like MBMH. Nagasawa Masami clearly shows that she deserves to be a leading actress. She's got screen presence. Taking screencaps, I kinda noticed that she doesn't look that hot yet watching the show, I couldn't take my eyes of her. Acting wise, she is brilliant and in some ways reminds me of Hirose Ryoko without the neko smile. I can't decide who is better, her or Ueno Juri.


Tsutsumi Shinichi plays Makoto Sakuma, the man who supposed to be head of Medaka. Like all characters named Makoto, he's your straight shooting, honest fella. I'm just glad he's in the show cause he's a damn good actor.


Still too early to judge the series. I had fun, didn't fast forward and am damn looking forward to watching ep 2.

verdict: Highly watchable.

Bengoshi no Kuzu ep 5

That looks like Wakui Emi!

Best ep so far in the series and the show gets the shot in the arm that it needed: Kuzu gets a daughter! Kuzu is a great character but he just doesn't play off well against Takeda san. Takeda's too naive and their good guy/bad guy act just gets old.

Race Queens galore!

The whole getting a daughter thing brings out Kuzu's softer side and allows him to do one thing: be more immoral. The writers can push the boundaries without making Kuzu look like a villian. And Mizuki-chan can be used as foil for the underlying flirting between Kuzu and Kato-san.


This ep reaffirms that this is Kuzu's show and everyone else is irrelavent. Hopefully they'll do an episode featuring Hoshin Aki's character but I doubt it. I'm looking forward to seeing Kuzu play the reluctant father for the rest of the series though I fear it'll be minor. My guess is Kuzu will use her and play up the single father role to score some chicks. :)

Jdorama ramblings 24/10/06

TATTA HITOTSU NO KOI


I don't care that it was written by Kitagawa Eriko. Orange Days was so pedestrian and Beautiful Life was like 6 years ago and had more to do with chemistry and acting. Well, I would say 50% of how good a show is depends on acting and chemistry. That Kame fella sucks. From Sapuri and this show, its bloody obvious that Nobuta was a decent show in spite of him. And that fella has crap screen presence.


The best thing about ep1? Seeing Ayase Haruka on her knees.... hhhhm I wonder if this position was in the script?

From the crappy CG to cheesy slow mo stuff, this show just screams boring. Its such a waste that Toda Erika is a supporting character in this show. Ayase Haruka needs to stop doing trendy doramas and do something completely different like Euto Aya's Shimokita Sundays. Please don't waste your bandwidth.

Verdict: I've lost 1 hour of my life I want back.

14 SAI NO HAHA


So far so good. Not as good as I thought it could be and not as bad as I feared. I have to say, I hate the kid who gets Shida Mirai pregnant. He's a fucking idiot for not appreciating free money. Hello? People have to actually work for a living and you put on a black face when you get free cash? WTF is wrong with you? Seriously, someone throw him out of his hourse and let him see how easy it is to make a living. Ppl who have no respect for money piss me off.


I don't really like how they implied they had sex just by them hugging. I mean ffs, there's a huge gap between hugging and actual intercourse. Still, I doubt they could get away with showing anything between minors on prime time tv. I have to say my biggest pet peeve is the casting of the dude. He has zero chemistry with Shida Mirai. Get the Yusuke from Jyou no Kyoushitsu.


Still, acting is great and I'm glad to see the guy who plays Shida Mirai's otousan in a serious supporting role. He's always playing comedy support so its great to see his acting chops. Still to early to judge this show but so far its been very watchable but nothing special. I need to see more misery!

Verdict: watchable

BOKU NO ARUKU MICHI



Wheeee, the return of disabled doramas. They're much better than fatal disease doramas. IMHO, there should be a limit of at most 2 fatal disease shows a year. Better yet, let the Koreans have a monopoly on it. FDD (fatal disease dramas) are just too boring. Once you've seen one, you've seen 99% of them.

This show feels a little bit disjointed. Some parts are really good and feel like one of those artistic/indy movie feel and some parts are so pedestrian jdorama. eg the work clothes for the zoo staff are too clean. Some of the cinematography is nice but sometimes it reverts back to typical camera work. Generally acting is strong, pace is ok and I'm looking forward to see how this story will go.

Verdict: watchable

Nodame Cantabile

Nodame Cantabile is one wacky, zany show music. You've got your two characters with very different personalities, played by the bad hair dude from Last Christmas and Ueno Juri. Ahh, Euno Juri stole the show in Swing Girls and in this show, she plays Nodame, the energizer bunny of the show as opposed to our 'cool' hero. Watching Swing Girls, you could tell she has the X factor and its pretty obvious in this show. She doesn't have the gravure looks or supermodel body but goddamn she can act.


I like how she gives Nodame her own unique mannerisms like her hunchback piano playing or her baka looking smile and child like innocence. While this is obviously based on a shoujo manga, I find that its very enjoyable and not too shoujo, unlike Hana Yori Dango. In fact, I would equate it with KareKano or Yawara, shoujo shows that are watchable by guys. Or maybe its because of the fast pacing of the show or the abundance of slapstick jokes.


Then there's the swing girl aspect of the show. A bunch of underdogs are going to get together to form a band. Its this part of the show that I'm more concerned about. Japanese shows are damn good at doing underdog stories but at the same time, it can bevery cliched and boring like My Boss My Hero ep 8.


But I'm pretty sure it gonna work cause there's a lot of characters and they'll be plenty of stories to tell. Speaking of characters, that Strazemann character is loud out funny, especially when he tries speaking Japanese like a gaijin and Nodame ends up speaking gaijin nihongo as well. Toyohara Kosuke and Nishimura Mashiko play two music teachers and hopefully both of them will get a lot of comedy stuff in this show.


If you're watching only one show this season, its gotta be Nodame or Sailor Fuku to Kikanjuu which I will talk about after the subs come out. Did I mention how happy I am to see Ueno Juri in a dorama?:)