Familiar Faces on Himitsu No Arashi-Chan

Mikitty, Tsubasa, Shigechan, Christina and Ai

Just watched another hilarious episode of Mannequin Five from the fine folks over at AnM Fansubs, and it was nice to see the return of two Morning Msume girls, Miki "Mikitty" Fujimoto and Sayumi "Shigechan" Michishige. Along with them came Masuwaka Tsubasa and Ai Haruna, as well as a pretty young girl I never saw before named simply "Christina", who reminded me just a bit of Namie Amuro back in her early days.


Thought it was cool to see the two mature girls Mikitty (who's turned into a fine lady) and Tusbasa kind of gavitating towards each other, clucking their tongues like den mothers while evaluating the bad clothing...

Tsubasa and Miki

 while the two young'uns Sayumin and Christina huddled  near each other, giggling together, while Ai Haruna acted as genki coach to the mob of gaggling girls.

Cuties: Sayumin and Christina

Was even MORE hilarious to see the outspoken Mikitty's sharp- barbed comments going off at some of the guys' wackier outfits.  Every summation brought forth gales of laughter from the other girls as well as the guys!

Quips from Mikitty

 When one guy shows up for a Blind Date in a BASKETBALL Uniform, Mikitty takes one look at the ensemble before snapping, "What's with HIM?!"Leave that Basketball at HOME!! To the roars of laughter from everyone else!

Miki gives scathing remarks to would-be goukon attendee

Himitsu No Arashichan is stil one of the frickin' MOST entertaining shows out there, and the Mannequin Five segment has GOT to be its crowning achievement, SOOOOO FUNNY!!!! Just take a look at the below screen cap, it's obvious how much FUN everyone is having on the show!

Tanoshii!

Was also pretty cool to be reminded of how much I love Sayumi- for a while there, she was my favorite MM member (after Aya Ishiguro and Ishikawa Rika had both departed for greener pastures) and she really had that "cute" thing DOWN! Still highly adorable!

That's my girl: Shigechan

Kitagawa Keiko : Hell Yeah!!

Tokyohive posted up a pretty KICK ASS photoshoot sweetie Kitagawa Keiko did for SMART Magazine, and I'm glad to announce that she's lookin' as sexy n sassy as ever, YUM YUM!

pics upped by CM on Tokyohive

Guilty~ Akuma to Keiyakushita Onna 終わり

Sad to say that the last episode of Tamaki Hiroshi/Kanno Miho crime drama "Guilty" left me mostly underwhelmed. And it started out so promising! The first four or five episodes just blew me away, but then it kind of seemed to lose steam at around episode 7 or 8 or so. And by the time episode 10 came around I was just winging it to see how it would end. Not that there was anything WRONG with it, it just ended up not grabbing me.

Ah well, it was worth it to see Miho Kanno in a dramatically different role, and special mention must be made of being able to see lovely Yokoyama Megumi again, a cutie whom we all loved back when she was the token girl in all those SMAP x SMAP episodes, especially her role of “Elevator Operator” girl! Still looking as beautiful as ever!

Oh, and of course, there was Michiko Kichise, who was as cool, sexy n sultry as ever!

Matsumoto Rio FTW

Just wrapped up the Moriyama Mirai comedy/drama MOTEKI, and it looks like in the final analysis, out of the four girls Yukiyo's been agonizing over, It's Rio Matsumoto who came in as my fave girl of the possible four: (besides Rio, there was Nonami Maho, Mitsushima Hikari and Kikuchi Rinko)


For awhile there it was looking like Maho Nonami as the sexy Aki Doi who was gonna end up as the main girl for me, but in a real "photo finish" end, the last episode featured  Rio's Natsuki Komiyama character, in this last episode Yukiyo realizes that Natsuki is a fragile, flighty (and extremely flaky) bird who will never be tied down to anyone, and he comes to appreciate the fact that he matters in her life. My heart just MELTED for her!

Ah, what a fine and FUN show this one was!

The Girl Who Leapt Thru Time to Have Cliched Romance

Just watched “The Girl Who Leapt Through Time” starring that Brother Beat Dude (who seems to be making a niche playing these kind of shleppy "regular guys") as well as the lovely Naka Riisa, who constantly reminded me alternately of Erika Toda and…Kazunari Ninomiya!!! Kazunari Nino? AHAHAHA, Well, truthfully, even SHE'S admitted that she looks similar to that talented Arashi Boy…

Anyway, I was expecting a cool Sci-Fi filled movie, instead got a star-crossed romance that had little to do with Time Travel.  I mean, if you were a young science fiction filmmaker in ‘74 and a girl appeared and said she'd TIME TRAVELLED from the FUTURE of 2010, you would think he had better things to do than the usual cliched "I love you but I don't love You" CRAP high school melodrama! Sooo disappointing.

Yeah, I know I’m clearly in the minority, as EVERYONE seems to love this movie to pieces. Meh.

Gorgeous Youn-a On Himitsu No Arashi

Youn-a

The fine folks over at AngelDevils Fansubs have released yet another marvelous episode of the incredibly entertaining show HIMITSU NO ARASHI-CHAN featuring those Johnny Jimusho wonderboys, and this time, the V.I.P. Guest was none other that the beautiful Youn-a, a frequest visitor to the Himitsu No Arashi show and unabashed fan of Ninomiya!


As you all know from my past posts, I think Youna is sexy as hell and I always love it when she 's on, and this appearance of hers was no different- wearing a slinky short SHORT dress and ULTRA high-heels to the stage, the famous model strutted her stuff and wowed everyone, including me, but even more noteworthy was how much FUN this episode was!

Here it is! Youna leads the way

When it was found out that there was a favorite eatery that Youna frequented just around the corner, they bundled up the entire Arashi gang and moseyed on down to the place, a specialty Yakiniki place that offered a variety of greens to wrap your meat in and eat "sanpa" style!

Sho tries to follow Youna's instructions, Matsujun Looks on.

So much fun, and you could tell she was really enjoying herself having a night out with the guys! She showed them all how to eat the yakiniku wrapped in veggies, and I love how it looks like only Sho was actually trying to follow her directions! Additionally, the look on Ohno's face was like, "You want me to eat the grilled beef wrapped in...this?" AHAHAHA!

Youna, Nino, Aiba and Ohno

Ah. a SUPERB expedition, and Matsujun even suggested they should have MORE episodes shot "on Location"! A fine idea they should carry out, and I for one will be tuning in!

Kanno Miho in "Guilty"

Started watching the mystery/crime drama GUILTY, and am just amazed by the CAST they got for this one...really an ALL-STAR selection! Featuring Tamaki Hiroshi as a scraggly detective, Karasawa Toshiaki as a dirty (figuratively AND literally)  journalist,  and Michiko Kichise (looking like a fine powdered confectionary as usual) as Tamaki's would-be partner, this is an awesome murder mystery a la TOBOUSHA or TRIANGLE and to give things even MORE of a twist, in a decidedly DIFFERENT turn as the cold, calculating VILLAINESS of the piece, they've cast KANNO MIHO!

Like Tobousha and Triangle before it, this is an extremely well-done drama with good direction and great pacing through its scenes. Following the trail of Kanno as a framed murderer who's out for revenge against those who accused her and destroyed her life, each episode  kept me on the edge of my seat, and each ENDING always had a shocker that guaranteed I'd be back for the next episode!

Such a TRIP to see Kanno Miho playing such a DARK character! I've loved Kanno Miho since her early days as a singing (if you could call it that, gomen ne Miho!) idol days with her HAPPY ICE CREAM album (what a title!) and loved seeing her appearances in shows like SMAP x SMAP, where she always exuded this aura of silliness and sunshine. 

I remember being thrilled to see her in IIHITO and SOMMOLIER and even MORE thrilled when she released THAT Photobook...you know the one. I remember when THAT news hit, me and my fellow Miho Kanno fans Just. Could. Not. Believe. It!

And I'll tell you another thing- I’ve always thought she was a real cutie back in the day, but somehow, it wasn't until she grew up into this LADY that I really started to think how BEAUTIFUL she was…I think the age she's at right now is just PERFECT for her, she looks fantastic!!

Loved her in Magerarenai Onna, Kiina, and Hataraki Man, and it was around this time that I noticed she actually reminded me a bit of Sandra Bullock for some reason... The same “golly-gee’ girl next door vibe mixed in with beauty and sassiness, and of course the same raven colored locks, I remember watching Hataraki Man and thinking, O My Gosh, Miho is CHANNELLING SANDRA BULLOCK HERE!!!

in HATARAKI MAN

Such a versatile actress that I can watch her in both Churasan AND Guilty and not have any problems believing the characters she's playing. And it’s even trickier when you consider that in Guilty, she’s got to play a ditsy air-headed pet groomer who secretly is a cold and calculating woman who blackmails victims to their own suicides! YIKES!!!!

edit: Just watched episode 5, and ONCE AGAIN the surprise ending blew me away...these guys really know how to make a cliffhanger!

Zettai Reido 終わり

Wake Up, Aya-chan, the show's over and it's time to go home!

Standing At The Edge Of The World

Crush Of The Day: Aoi Yu

The Beautiful, Beautiful Aoi Yu

Just finished watch 100 Million Yen Girl, and I have to really stand back and ask myself: Have I EVER seen ANYTHING I haven’t LOVED actress Aoi Yu in? Seems like whether it be movie, commercial or drama, even if the project itself is mediocre, Aoi Yu always blows me away and steals my heart! And when you consider how long and how much I've loved this girl, it's almost RIDICULOUS that I've never made a proper "Crush Of The Day" homage to her til now!

for SHISEIDO

There are some people who, when you see them in a movie or drama, it takes a while for you to see them as the character they’re playing rather than the actor him/herself, but I have to say, I’ve NEVER had this problem with Aoi Yu. It seems like the MINUTE she appears onscreen, she instantly makes me believe it’s a character I’m seeing!

in 1,000,000 Yen Girl

Furthermore, as soon as you see her character onscreen,  you’re IMMEDIATELY interested in who the person is and want to know more. Like, in 100 Million Girl, as soon as they showed this girl getting out of prison, and she walks out the gate and squints up to the sky, I thought to myself, OH MY GOSH! WHATS THIS GIRL’S STORY?!

as Hagu in HONEY and CLOVER

That’s the power of Aoi Yu. I’ve been captivated by her talents from the first time I laid eyes on her as Hagu in the 2006 Sakurai Sho movie HONEY AND CLOVER, and since then she’s always been an apple I’ve been keeping an eye on. In fact, if it wasn’t for the fact that she looked about 12 years old (she was actually 22), she woulda been my very first “Crush Of The Day” way back then, (if I’d been doing that thing at the time, anyway) she was THAT cute and captivating.

Hula Girl

From there of course came the mighty Hula Girl, and I have to admit, It was ALL OVER for me- I TOTALLY fell in love with her! Sooo frickin’ pretty, (and yet, quite plain and wholesome at the same time) and yet she seemd to exude this warm and compassionate vibe from her that made you feel at once like she'd understand and relate to you and you’d get along GREAT together…I think that’s called “Otaku’s Delusion” AHAHAHA! Anyway...

Hito No Sex O Warauna

By the time she appeared in the Nagasaku Hiromi movie Hito Na Sex O Warauna,  I was already prepared for the Aoi Yu love, and she didn’t disappoint! Brash and Sassy, she blundered her way through Matsuyama Keninchi’s obsession with older lady Hiromi Nagasaku, laying into him and knocking sense into his hard head! SHE TOTALLY STOLE THE SHOW!

"BAAAKKKKKAAAA!!!!!"

I’ll tell you one really awesome thing about her acting is that when her character gets wound up and lets loose, NO ONE can scream out a barrage of ferocious retaliation better than her! Something about the scratchy way her voice gets when she’s yelling at the top of her lungs (and she REALLY DOES scream at the TOP of her Lungs, FULLY cutting loose!) TOTALLY makes you feel the anger and resentment she’s feeling for her intended target!

in CAMOUFLAGE

She was FAST 0n her way to becoming one of my FAVORITE little actresses EVER with terrific movie after terrific movie, the only thing I was waiting for was to see her in a TV DRAMA worthy of her talents! But, ya know…for SOME REASON, she just hasn’t been in that many of ‘em!

in KOU KOU KYOUSHI

I think one of the first non-movie roles I ever saw her in was the uber-icky 2003 remake of Kou Kou Kyoushi where she played a tease-gets-her-come-uppance role, and I thought it was SUCH a mediocre role that wasted her talents. Fortunately, the next thing I saw her in was the terrific drama OSEN starring Aoi as the titular character (and a fine, fine job she did in THAT role!) 

as Osen

As the adorably eccentric proprietress of an old-school Japanese restaurant, she was everything that appealed to my senses: airheaded and absent-minded around the staff, and yet soft, feminine and refined as the head of the place. And ooooh, so kawaii!

after a night of too much sake in OSEN

This was, to me, the defining moment of my love for Aoi Yu, for I finally felt like she was “mine” as only diehard fans can feel when they know they’ve passed beyond what could be called a “casual” fan!  Additionally, it was in OSEN that I fell in love with how Aoi Yu looked draped in a Kimono, I tell You! She was soooo beautiful!

as Risa in TIGER and DRAGON

And  though it was more of a bit part, special mention must be made of how wonderful Aoi was as the character of Risa in TIGER and DRAGON. Remember that ferocious temper I was talking about earlier, well, you get to see her passionate fury unleashed once again! Seems Junichi Okada’s character has been calling her “Ugly Cow” for a while (she’s even taken count in her notebook!) , and one day she’s finally had enough, and TOTALLY GIVES IT TO HIM! Oh my GOSH did THIS scene KICK ASS!!!

Okada Junichi gets clobbered in TIGER and DRAGON

Next came her alluring role of savvy geisha Omoto in the Masaharu Fukuyama NHK Taiga Drama RYOMADEN,(where she showed she could REALLY ROCK the Edo period garb) as well as delightful comedic turn as Setsuko in UNUBORE DEKA, a “Black Widow" of sorts who seems to have the misfortune of  having all of her husbands suspiciously MURDERED once she's placed as beneficiary on their wills!

as Omoto in RYOMADEN

As Setsuko in UNUBORE DEKA

in WELCOME TO THE QUIET ROOM

in ALL ABOUT LILY CHOU CHOU

in TOKYO!

And from there came the artsy drama CAMOUFLAGE and back onto even MORE terrific movies: TOKYO, HANA AND ALICE, WELCOME TO THE QUIET ROOM, even her early debut as hauntingly tragic Shiori in ALL ABOUT LILY CHOU CHOU, if Aoi Yu was in it, I HAD to see it, and every single thing I’ve seen her in has just reaffirmed what I’ve believed since that very first time I saw her:

Aoi Yu is fricking amazing. She’s absolutely one of my favorite Japanese actresses OF ALL TIME!! 

in HANA and ALICE

*    *    *    *    *    *    *    *    *

PS: In an interesting twist of Fate, a scene in All About Lily Chou Chou features Yu as student prostitute who’s just stolen her customer’s wallet, and is enjoying the fruits of her labor at a nearby eatery. He finds her, however, and gruffly demands his wallet back, but not before she’s coyly told him to make sure and pick up the tab on his way out!

 Sugimoto Tetta and Aoi Yu, All About Lily Chouchou, 2001

The scene’s interesting to note because the client is none other than Tetta Sugimoto, and in  seven years time, he and Aoi would go on to star in OSEN as (respectively) the Restaurants’ Head Chef and Madame! 

Sugimoto Tettao and Aoi Yu, Osen, 2008

Like a Fine Wine, it seems Aoi Yu is only going to get even better with time!

My Utada Hikaru Singles Collection Vol. 2 comes in!

After a nailbiting two-week wait, my Utada Hikaru Limited Edition Singles Collection Vol.2 has arrived! Ahhh, I was hoping the thing would have come to coincide with her final concert, but twas not to be! Whatever the case, it arrived safely, and now I can rip this thing and add it to my night-cruising collection!


One of the CUTER gifts I've ever recieved in a limited edition package was this little good luck charm thing that came with the Utada CD. See that little envelope thing in the center of the above pic? With the tiny words "kuma power!" on the envelope, I held the packet up to the light and had to laugh with the image I saw:

HAHAHAHA, looks like Kuma Power will be giving me good luck for my upcoming days!