Jmovie review: Tenshi no Koi / My Rainy Days

Three years ago, 32 year old history professor Ozawa Kouki was at a hospital about his brain tumour when he first passed by Ozawa Rio, a 14 year old girl. In the present, Fast forward to the present and we see that Rio is a very fashionable girl who supports her habits with enjo kousai/compensation dating. She has a very rich papa who lets her use this very big studio and a friend who extorts her clients for money.

OMFG, she rivals Nacchi with her kawaii angry pout.

She saved Tomoko from being bullied but it is all part of her plan to pull another member into her enjo kousai group. She uses the threat of friendship in order to get the innocent Tomoko to agree to sell herself. Unfortunately, we do not get to see much of the enjo kousai except for the rewards of them having lots of money. I say that it is unfortunately not only from a missed fanservice point of view but because it glosses over the negative impact of such a profession. Its almost as if its saying such things are such part and parcel of the life of Japanese high school girls that it is not even worth showing or mentioning. One could almost say it is close to glorifying it.

Tanihara Shousuke can't believe he's acting with someone half his age. Lucky bastard.


One day there is a mix up at the photoshop and Rio's photos were sent to Kouki's and vice versa. She seems to have a thing for him and arranges to meet him. It was raining on the day she she pulls the I don't have an umbrella, please walk me to the station stunt. (Note to self, add this to list of things to try when in Japan.) What follows is a series of whimsical, lyrical scenes of Rio basically stalking Kouki while he is trying to be indifferent. It is an attraction that doesn't make sense yet fun to watch.

 A lot can change in 3 years.

Sasaki Nozomi is the new Erika-sama. She just looks so fucking stunning in front of the camera that I cannot help but be mesmerised by her. The courtship stuff has a distinct Korean movie feel to it. Walking in the rain. Really good close up shots. Beautiful background shots. PV like and well framed. Then we get to the second half with Kouki keeping his illness a secret and Rio turning over a new leaf, blah blah blah.

Cut! You need to spin around faster!

We then have your typical kmovie twists and turns before finally getting the ending at the end of the 2nd hour. Yes, Tenshi no Koi is your typical fatal illness kmovie without the long lost sibling plot and with the usual jmovie high school girl side stories of enjo kousai, bullying, rape, yuri action and suicide. What else can one expect from a keitai shousetsu? 

Ramen and gyoza and smoking!!!!! I need to go back to Japan!!!

Ignoring the angelic beauty of Sasaki Nozomi, this is a pretty generic if well executed kmovie clone. In some ways I am surprised at how good it looks and the soundtrack is awesome but in the end it is a superficial movie aimed at teenage girls. It didn't dare to take a look at the evils of enjo kousai or even portray Rio as evil but that doesn't stop me from recommending this movie just for Sasaki Nozomi. I so fucking regret having seen this movie after my Japan trip and not getting her photobooks. I had too much fun taking screencaps from this movie.

4 pairs of legs and not one pantsu shot??!!

 Hot yuri action should be mandatory in all high school movies.

 Kawaii~~~~~~~

 There is a tenshi walking on this earth and she lives 10 hours away from me :(

 Awesome shot.

 Go Akiba dude! I need to find out to get access to enjo kousai services in Japan.

 Stupid towel getting in the way.

 Kukita sensai, I thought you drove on the other side of the road?

Back from Japan :(

 
Sigh. The past two weeks were like a dream. The only proof I have that I was in Japan are the posts on my blog and all the stuff and clothes strewn across my room. The trip just kinda felt surreal. Sunday afternoon I was at Maidreamin just outside Akiba station having lunch and the next day I was buying lunch from MyCube on Lygon Street.

 Walking to Akiba on Sunday, I passed by this maid cafe close to Yodobashi which had a pretty decent queue including a gaijin. Didn't notice the name but there was still a queue there on my way back so it seems to be a very popular maid cafe and I'll definitely check it out when next I go.

I'm assuming that's my name.


Went to the 2nd floor and was asked if I wanted the smoking or non smoking floor. The maid at reception was pretty cute but there weren't many people there so I elected to the smoking floor which turned out not to be such a good idea cause the maids weren't as cute there. I was planning to go for the ~4000 yen omrice but the quality of the maids made me a bit stingy and I went for the ~3000 yen pie set thingie which included the photo.

 What happens when I rank up?

Basically paying for the more expensive meals means that two maids will do the oishiikunaru chant on stage and get everyone to participate and then a group photo is taken. Besides that, there weren't that many people so it wasn't as interesting as my maid cafe experience the day before where there were people paying for champagne. The most memorable thing about that trip was this 40ish guy who came in with a girl cosplaying as Yui from K-on! Her cosplay was really, really good. I really wanted to take a picture of her. It made me wonder whether she was a girlfriend or whether there was a service to take a cosplay chick around for a day.

Bazaar at Asakusabashi. Despite being in Tokyo, the district really has a small town feel.

Big thank you to Inno, Sandy and especially bframe5 for showing us around. We wouldn't have dared to go to kyabakuras otherwise. Right now I'm listening to 'Tsubasa wo Hiroge' from the second Eva movie on loop and thinking of Akiba. Can't seem to find the Maidreamin song QSCS -すぃーとでいず except for this small clip on youtube. Should have bought the CD from the cafe. Will post more pictures when I get them from Hellcar and Rei, especially those from Harajuku. 

Random notes:
- I should have done the maid cafe thing earlier instead of waiting for Inno. I think its best to go cheap and scout various cafes and go for the big order when the maids are worth it. I wonder if there's an English site for maid cafe reviews in Akiba.
- Figures take up a lot of space but don't weigh much so you just need big bags. I put most of my photobooks into my carry on bag. Good thing they don't weigh carry on stuff cause I'm pretty sure it was very close to 10kgs.
- Nihonbashi, where Shinzanmono takes place is actually close to Asakusabashi where I stayed and Akibahara. Should have went for a walk there.
- The beef at Hungry Jacks is definitely better than in Australia but the burgers don't taste as good. The double whopper is a lot bigger though.
- If you're looking for a toilet, the best places to go would be arcades or multi level shops. They're usually located at the 2nd/3rd floors though. Just refer to the level directories.

Last post from Japan

Yes, that is me doing the nyan. You can stop laughing now.

Hellcar and I were at the counter of this figure store. Me with a Cammy and Chobits figure and him with two other figures whose names escape me. We had come to the shop in search of Gwendolyn from Odin Sphere but it was not to be found. Just as the clerk added the sums, I reached to my back pocket and discovered to my horror that my wallet was not to be found!

Really nice cosplay chick doing promotion in Akiba.

Earlier in the morning I was freaking sick. In fact I had been sick for the whole day. Stupid running nose means breathing through the mouth when sleeping equals very dry throat equals drinking lots of water to no avail and running to the toilet every half hour. Woke up around 8-ish, took one hayfever tablet and two panadols from Rei and went to back to sleep.

Happy Honey is just on the 6th floor.

Woke up 10ish feeling drugged up but at least my sinus was clear. Sat around for an hour wondering whether I should go Akiba now or rest up and meet up with Inno later. Finally decided that I can rest when I get back to Melb. Yesterday someone went to massage parlour and someone else to a nurse massage place in Shinjuku. The pressure was on. I decided that I would go to this maid relaxation place today called Happy Honey.

Happy Honey tissue info.

Was walking around Akiba trying to find the damn place when I decided to look for the tissue girls instead and let them direct me. Found two of them and they were short, very kawaii types. Definitely over 20 but they played the part well in directing me to Happy Honey. At the reception, the receptionist could tell I was not Japanese and said that only gaijin who can speak fluent Japanese were allowed. Managed to convince her my Japanese was good enough. She mentioned that they had someone who could speak English but she was busy. Told her was would ok. I did not travel long hours just to speak English with Japanese girls.

Back to first year of middle school for me!

Anyway, the system at Happy Honey is in 20 minute blocks. You can choose to go for head massage, body, hands feet and I can`t remember the other two. I paid for 40 minutes and decided to go for head and body. Oh yeah, they switch girls for every block as well. Happy Honey does not have a maid theme but a middle school theme. I even got to choose my class number when I registered. Basically you need to have pretty decent Japanese to visit this type of place because you basically have to be able to hold a conversation for at least 20 minutes and I had practice in Osaka.

Very important for protecting your wrists.

 I was randomly wandering around shops when I got a call from Hellcar to meet up. I spotted two decently prized oppai mousepads and quickly grabbed them before running to meet Hellcar. We proceeded to the figure store where I realised my wallet was gone. My first thoughts were I must have been picpocketed since the crowds in Akiba on Saturday were crazy. I was thinking about what I needed to do, call the bank to cancel my cards and make a police report. First is retrace steps to previous shops.

Sex shop in Akiba. All the shops have a floor for each big JAV producer and the amount and variety and titles they have is staggering. Wish they had real life girls dakimakura or pillow covers though.

  

Thanks the Otaking that I had stupidly left my wallet at the shop or had dropped it at the counter. Couldn`t make up what he was saying as I was thanking him over and over. Ran back to the shop to get my Cammy and Chobits figures and lo and behold, Hellcar found his over 200,00 yen Gwendolyn! It was as if the powers that be arranged the lost wallet so he could find Gwendolyn. Ran to meet Inno and Rei and it was off to our first maid cafe! The maid cafe had a counter which was split in the middle for the maids to walk through from the kitchen.

Rei and Inno and some kawa. (chicken skin)

Hourly charge was 500 yen pp. The maid taking our order was pushing me to take the deluxe package for around 4500 yen which including her making a drawing with tomato sauce on the omrice, her singing a song, taking a group photo with all the maids and other stuff. After the pushy kyabakura in Osaka I held firm and settled on sausages, a beer and a photo together. She almost had me and in hindsight I should have ordered it.

That is chicken ass on a stick. Yum.

If you`ve seen videos of maid cafes, when they bring you your food and drinks, you need to do some moe hand signals and say something like `oishikunaru, kyun kyun, dakyun!`. Unfortunately, Rei had the wtf is this crap look on his face, Hellcar had the I only want to see you do it look and Inno just sat bemused. In hindsight  I should have told them what to expect but it was interesting watching the maids open champagne bottles, play games etc.

Haruhi ferrari in Akiba.

If I`m not feeling too sick tomorrow I`m going to a maid cafe and ordering the main course this time before going back downunder. Hellcar says he`ll come along but I think he just wants to laugh at me doing all the moe stuff.

 All you need is niku! 

 Makes me want to buy the Saber Lily figure but I really don`t have any room left. 

 Very sexy cammy figure.

  

  There is actually a magazine called U-17.

  

Back cover of said magazine which I will definitely peruse when I get back.

Loot from Japan.... so far

This has buy me now written all over it.

After all the kyabakuras, snakus, yakitoris and arcades, going to Japan is all about loot. Sure you can get a lot of stuff of ebay but there`s nothing like the happiness when you find something awesome.

Shining Wind/Tears artbook. Hate the games and anime but love the figures.

Hatsune Miku! This is going to look so awesome in my room.

Happi coat.

Yui figure. Was tempted to get the good one with the guitar but I didn`t like the fact that she stood on one leg so it`ll fall down after a while.

Hellcar`s Nagato Yuki which changes colour according to temperature. We haven`t tested it out yet.

One happy man and his loot. I see a potential figure collecter here.

Sugaya Risako plus Mano Erina = must buy!

The cheapest shirt I`ve bought at 1000 yen. Most shirts were around 3000 yen.

GitS shirt. There was a tachikoma shirt but they were just too expensive. Kinda dissappointed that there weren`t any Street Fighter shirts.

Yui shirt. Rei bought a Mio shirt so we`re can hang out in Melbourne Chinatown with matching shirts.

K-on pillow cover cause I haven`t changed my pillow covers in years.

Other side of the cover.

Mano Erina poster which I got ...

.... from this manga.

Manaka shirt which I will wear for basketball and my defender will be too busy staring at the her.

Bought this in Fukuoka while waiting for the Shinkansen.

SSF4 technical guide book which I finally found at Shosen book tower Akiba after looking for it for two weeks all over.

PSP with Idolmaster and Project Idol.

RANDOM PICTURES

Crowd for show in front of AKB theater. I need to find out how to get me into one of their shows.

Price listing from Aroma Relaxation Centre in Akiba.

RANDOM NOTES

Did a test packing tonight. The heavy stuff is mostly the art/photobooks. No more space for figures. :( Might buy a few more photobooks tomorrow. Had to give up on the 220 00 yen Saber Lily and 300 00 Guts and Zodd figure. Been spending money like crazy this past few days. There`s just too much to buy in Akiba.

The second EVA movie came out 3 days ago and every freaking store in Akiba keeps playing the theme song over and over and over again. Will need to download when I get back so I can pretend I`m in Akiba.

In Tokyo, people stand on the left when going up escalators and the right is for people walking up. In Osaka its the reverse just to be different and its on the left in Fukuoka.