Fukada Kyoko NG stuffs

IT is said that it is in bad taste to "blow out" the flame on senko when you are giving your prayers, and should "shake" the flame out instead...But what if the fire' just won't go out?
We  bring you this hilarious clip of Fukada Kyoko

having an NG moment lighting incense in ONI NO SUMIKA.

Favorite J-Pop Singles: Eguchi Yosuke / Traveling Boy

I’ve always thought that the 1996 Eguchi Yosuke / Ishida Hikari drama Kekkon Shiyouyo had one of the very best opening credits EVER, few shows that I’d seen before or since have used the theme song and visuals and blended them so PERFECTLY together! I’d watch each episode and always MARVEL at how well the montage was done.

Kekkon Shiyouo is the tale of Eguchi as Tonoyama Keitaro, a single father who is in danger of losing his son to his ex-wife unless he can get married and prove to the courts that he can provide a stable environment for him. Ishida Hikari’s character Yuikawa Miwa is a young entrepreneur who needs a place to stay because her apartment has fallen into disrepair. Together they form an agreement that will benefit them both: Miwa will marry Keitaro in a sham marraige in exchange for lodging in his cozy condominium. Will their ruse work? Will everyone’s plans come to fruition? And most importantly, will the two realize they are made for each other and actually fall in love with each other?

These questions are at the heart of the drama, and nothing summed it up better than the awesome aforementioned opening sequence, which with so little, explained so much!

The credits start with the opening notes of Eguchi Yosuke’s TRAVELING BOY~Tokihanataretaya No Youni, a a wonderful song that starts with a simple beginning which, over the course of the opening sequence, builds into a full song, sort of reflecting the way Keitaro and Miwa's relationship develops- a small step towards a serious commitment.

As the show deals with family and home, they’ve chosen the perfect symbol- Keitero is dividing up a cheery breakfast pancake to eat, which he then shares with his son, Ren (Masuda Keita). Then it’s dinnertime, and joining them in this bonding food preparation is Keitaro’s father (Matsukata Hiroki). They’re happy with each other and have no need for anyone else…

Suddenly, on the far side of the couch, we see a new party has arrived! Why, It’s Miwa, and she’s busy reading the paper, at once a very prim and proper lady, and like the boys, very self-sufficient and needing no one else in her life…Moving on, it’s this way with mealtime, too, as we see the boys heartily enjoying a family stew while Miwa fine-dines on French cuisine. It’s clear that Keitaro and Miwa come from completely different backgrounds!

Then It’s socializing time, and finally the two lives intersect, with Keitaro, Ren , his father, ex-wife Nagisa (Aso Yumi) and subordinate Juyna (Kusanagi Tsuyoshi) joining Miwa and her spunky sister Kotori (played by Mabuchi Erika) as Keitaro alternately mingles between both parties andeveryone gets to know one another…

Then it’s toweling off and drying after a nice hot bath, and it is Ren who makes the great leap of commitment by taking that first step of showing you care, by bringing over the hair-dryer across the couch for Miwa to share! It’s symbolic because it is the love of Ren that first brings Keitaro and Miwa together and makes them feel OK to show their feelings.

When the song comes to the bridge and Yosuke sings the line, Sayonara Koibito…the song sounds so lonely and melancholy, then as the song returns to it’s happy, busy beat, the characters onscreen “revitalize” to begin peppy morning exercises as Hikari stays out of their way…

Then it comes to the heart of the show, as Keitaro and Miwa are inevitably alone together, and we see them moving closer...and closer....and closer to each other...and then, as if they've suddenly realized how close they've been getting, defensively move back to their respective sides of the couch!

The movement on the couch symbolizes their burgeoning relationship- first apart, then closer, then closer, then apprehensively retreating back to their protective shells, and I love how Hikari throws Yosuke a winsome head tilt to acknowledge their playful charade! s the keyboard/violins build up to its finish, the credits end with little Ryo sitting on the rooftop gazing through a pair of binoculars into the starry sky- I love the symbolism here, while the couple in the house argues and frets about every little thing, he is optimistically keeping out of it, because unlike the others below, he’ll keep looking positively ahead for his wish of happiness in his future, and the song comes beautifully to a close.

Such a perfect title sequence and such a pretty, winsome song! I loved everything about it, it was SO closely associated with the love I had for the show. Imagine my happiness when I finally got ahold of the single! I couldn’t wait to listen to it, and once I got the disc on, I closed my eyes and was swept back to my memories of the show…The peaceful, gentle opening chords, the slowly paced verses, that heartfelt bridge, and as I waited for the song to build up to its beautiful conclusion, I did a double take, as the song FADED OUT! EHHH??? What happened? Where was that perfect ending? I grabbed the single case and re-read the credits. Maybe there was another version? YES! But then I played it, and THIS was a ridiculous jungle remix! ARGH! What was up with this fade-out ending!!!

So. I had the song I loved, but it didn’t have the nice ending I wanted. In a way, this really made sense, for I had the SAME, EXACT PROBLEM with the SHOW, too!!!

AHAHAHAHAHA!!!

Let's take a look at that beginning song, which started with Miwa and Keitaro's very first brush with each other...

New AAA Release "Heartful" arrives!

Ahhh, my new AAA (Triple A) CD HEARTFUL came in yesterday, and as fate would have it, I was making a LOOOOONNNGGG trek down to the other side of the island, and took that opportunity get to know this fantastic new release in depth!!!


As always, the AAA albums are filled with those loud 'n' crashing dance tracks (as expected of an AVEX label group), but it was the lighter, perhaps more celebratory sounding songs I gravitated towards, tracks like Field and probably my very favorite track off the album (man, I musta listened to this one track at least four times last night!), the happy  RISING SUN, a dancey track that invokes  less "Music!!", than Aladdin's "Hiwa Mata Noboru" , at least in Nippon Pride!!!

  Several extras came along with this CD (and you shoulda seen me unwrapping the parcel in my car, unpacking the goodies and squinting my eyes trying to read the CD booklet in the dark!) including, just like last time, a very nice promotional poster as well as a trading card which CD Japan told me would feature a random member. I don't know if they made a card for every single member or just the main singers, but though I was happy to get Misako Uno as my card, I secretly was hoping for Chiaki Ito! AHAHAHAHAHA!      
     

The Sexy As Hell Ishikawa Rika

Just received the new Ishikawa Rika Book TWENTY-FOUR in the mail today, and upon perusing it thoroughly for the first time, I have to state just for the record that it is very, very, very, very, very, VERY, VERY, GOOD!
Just how good is it? Man, this book instantly ranks high among the sexiest shashinshuus I own, and that’s including my Anzai Hiroko and Fujisaki Nanako books, the Lina one AND the Nagasaku Hiromi UK ASAGAN book! Heck, It even goes up against my Harumi Inoue photobook FOXY(and THAT was the very FIRST sexy shashinshuu I EVER bought!)
Rika looks great on just about every picture in this book, but MAN, the shots of her draped in that uber-sexy nightie (some of which I’ve uploaded here) in the premeire suite are just hands down absolutely ASTONISHINGLY GORGEOUS!!!! Every page I turned just FLOORED ME, Rika looks so DAMN GOOD!!!!!

You know, it’s kind of funny, because when Gen4 was first introduced on ASAYAN, I didn’t think too much of Rika, in fact, I didn’t think she was attractive AT ALL! “Why are they letting that dour faced girl join the ranks of MM!” is what I said at the time! Just to show how much I SUCK as a judge of character, besides my bad Rika prediction, I even pegged Yossie as a Shy INTROVERTED teacher-type!!! WTF!!!! Geez, at least I liked Nono!

After the release of Happy Summer Wedding, I kind of drifted away from the goings-on with Morning Musume, as my initial interest in the group stemmed from my love of Ayappe Ishiguro, and once SHE was gone, my interest slowly dwindled, though I DID love the Maki Goto reboot and THAT made me stick around a bit longer…
So imagine my surprise when a few months later, I’m talking to my friend Gergchan about how sexy Maki Goto was, and he said “Ehh, She’s alright, but MAN, I like Ishikawa Rika!” WHAA!! Was my thought. Since when was that dour-faced girl considered a hot item? Gerg wasn’t really into j-pop per se, just a casual fan who listened to whatever his friend Miles turned him onto, so I thought, “Maybe Gerg is confused!”
It wasn’t until the end of that year when Morning Musume made their annual appearance on the Kohaku, and when they came out to perform two kick-ass renditions of Mr. Moonlight and The Peace, I was FORCED TO EAT MY OWN WORDS as I witnessed two things: One, Hitomi Yoshizawa had turned into the most FLAMBOYANT, OUTRAGEOUS Momusu Member I’d ever seen, and Two: HOLY CRAP, Rika had turned into the prettiest, most ADORABLE princess up there!!! I remember just being taken aback, she was SO endearing and she just kind of sparkled!!! O yeah, Gerg was right!!

From then I jumped back into the Morning Musume fray for a bit, if only to wallow in the goodness that is the majesty of Rika and the rest of Generation 4 (plus Gottschan) who became my favorite members, and THIS TIME, my interest lasted till about Irropoi Jirettai, when Rika herself departed the group... As you can see, I’m not one to stick around, though I did stay long enough to get to know and love Gen 5 & 6 (especially Shige-chan, but that’s a WHOLE NOTHER story)…
Now, I’ve only ever bought TWO Morning Musume Shashinshuus ever, and that would be the first two books they released. I didn’t feel like getting any of the ones that followed until Chain! Chain! Chain! (because of its prolific coverage of the Gen 4+ Goto girls), but when a friend gave me a digital copy of the book, I ended up not buying it...

You would have thought I’d have been buying all of Rika’s books since she first started releasing them, but for some reason, I’d always been content to just have the online scans of ‘em. Oh Sure, there’ve been some terrific Rika Ishikawa books that have come out since (is she the only MM member who releases a new shashinshuu like clockwork?) but it wasn’t until I saw the shots of this new book that I just KNEW I HAD to have it!

My first thought was “DAMN!” …And then, “Holy CRAPOLA, how in the WORLD did that dour little mopey girl who auditioned for Gen 4 turn into this totally HOT, SULTRY, SMOKING WOMAN!?!?!? I HUMBLY ask Penance!!!

While TWENTY-FOUR may never attain the status of my number one all-time favorite sexy shashinshuu ATASHI by the lovely Miura Rieko, it is CERTAINLY in the ballpark, and has raised a very, very, very high bar for future Japanese photobooks to aspire to!

One Chisato Concert To Rule Them All!

Moritaka Chisato Live Rock Alive!

Moritaka Chisato had a career spanning from 1987 until about 1998 when she left to get married and raise her children, but while she was active, she had one of the most impressive  portfolios of music out there! From her start as the “Pocari Sweat” girl to tokusatsu-ish looking super-heroine to bonafide rock ‘n’ roll queen to sophisticated adult contemporary artist, and my favorite of all these phases was that perfect middle where she was JUST starting to move away from Anime-Costume superhero to Rock and Roll Musician, which was about 1991-1993, where we saw the release of awesome albums KOKON TOZAI, ROCK ALIVE, PEPPERLAND and LUCKY SEVEN.

It was in this time that I feel Chisato bloomed from a simple idol into a full-fledged j-pop superstar, and besides the diversity we were hearing with each new release, we were also lucky enough to see this artistic growth captured live on stage in concert releases that were released like clockwork with each new tour!

And out of all of Chisato’s Live Concerts, the one that stands out for ME is the 1992 LIVE ROCK ALIVE concert, the laserdisc that for ME is the one that ALL OTHER Chisato concerts must be judged!

The greatness that we’d seen in her Hijitsuyokuha Sengen Concert performances of songs like “Funky Monkey Baby” and “Yoru No Entotsu” had been fleshed out into an all-out rock n roll show, and the Live Rock Alive experience had special emphasis on the ROCK aspect, with a kick-ass band, solid rocking songs and stellar singing (as well as frenetic dance moves), this was a FAR CRY from the shy girl who first performed on GET SMILE years ago!

Some Fave Performances:

"Fight"

When I was first getting totally into Chisato-mania, I made an effort to track down any live performances I could get my hands on, and one of the very first things I got was a cool live performance of Fight on an old SOUND ARENA video, so I’ve always had a soft spot for this song. Little did I know I would find an even BETTER version with this concert! Terrific, genki performance, and I love that middle when she gets the audience to cheer on- “Everyone on the Left…FIGHT!!! Everyone on the Right…FIGHT! Everyone in the Middle…FIGHT!! Now everybody ALL TOGETHER-FIGHTO!!!
"Watashi Ga Obasan Ni Nattemo"

As far as I'm Concerned, this is THE definitive performance of one of my very favorite Moritaka Chisato songs! I remember making a cassette transfer so I could listen to the Live Rock Alive concert on my Walkman, memorizing every little detail and flourish she put into each song. Subsequently, most of the Rock Alive songs performed here (as well as some older songs like "Get Smile" and "Junanasai") seem more like the "real" versions than their album counterparts, and to this day, whenever I hear the bridge where she sings the line “You won’t be so cool anymore…and you’ll have a pot-belly!”, I’m always waiting for the drum snap that Yoshihara lays down live!

Some really groovy dance moves with this one, you can’t help but “see” them in your mind whenever you hear the song! After each verse, Chisato’d turn and sassily parade across the stage, and I think it’s funny how even that simple act seemed like “dance moves” in the song!

After an interesting “Quick Change” interlude where Chisato’s staff worked furiously under strobe-light to change her outfit into a traditional kimono and hairstyle, the band kicks into “Yowaseteyo Konya-Dake, a performance that harkens back to those 1970’s Japanese music shows you’d see on KIKU (where I sometimes saw Finger 5!), the band’s rendition here is SIGNIFICANTLY different from the studio version. Where the CD track sounded programmed and plodding, this live perf lives and breathes, the percussion and bass just turning it into this dreamy, romantic tune...

"Yowasetteyo Konya Dake"

"Wakarimashita"

Chisato really lets her hair down for this one, both figuratively AND literally. Though she’s had it down since the opening song, it seemed to be hair-sprayed into behaving, but somehow putting it up in a ribbon for Yowasetteyo and then taking it down again has weakened the hairspray’s hold, giving her locks a chance to flow freely, and IT IS IMPRESSIVE!!

It’s worth noting that this was the longest and most buoyant Chisato’s hair ever got; by the time 1993’s Lucky Seven tour came around she’d sheared off most of it and had begun wearing it at a more controllable length (and cut it even further and shorter as each album progressed!)

Watching the Rock Alive Concert you can see why she eventually did away with it because during the entire show it’s constantly in her face and she its continually brushing it back and sweeping it aside…but MY GOD, does she look just BEAUTIFUL here… Doing her little Kung-Fu moves with that long luscious hair just cascading all around her features, I personally think she was just about the prettiest and most striking j-pop performer of ALL TIME!!!!

Another song along the lines of Yowasetteyo Konya Dake, Mitsuketa Saifu (A Purse We Found) on CD sounds like a programmed rock number with beats and effects, but performed live, it just goes to another level completely! Coming in right after Wakarimashita, this number just ROCKS, the Drums pound HARD and the bass just saturates the place, loudly droning and creating a huge, powerhouse of sound, and CHISATO….MAN!
"Mitsuketa Saifu"

She’s totally letting loose by this point, that gorgeous hair of hers is just billowing around her face, and as she dances and sings, she’s swinging those locks about like a lioness on the prowl and SHE IS TOTALLY GETTING INTO IT! During the first bridge she’s doing this dance move that reminds me of a frenetic Chinese Lion Dance, and when the second break comes in, she ups it by adding this furious attack to it making it totally look like she’s cleaving her way through a crowd on a hot dance floor! And yes, when the song is nearing its conclusion and she turns to walk up the stairs, I must chauvinistically add that that ass is to DIE FOR!

Yacchimaina

That song signaled the end of the first half of the concert, and Chisato would retreat to the back for a well-deserved break and her second Costume change. She would open the second half with the titular song ROCK ALIVE, where Chisato wows the audience with he guitar playing abilities before launching into her popular hits “Ame” and “Junanasai” and finally arriving at one of the concert’s most blistering hot songs YACCHIMAINA!

Now, this is a good time to mention just how fricking awesome Chisato’s Live band THE LONDON was. This group consisted of:

Guitar: Hiroyoshi Matsuo

Bass: Masafumi Yokoyama

Drums: Makoto Yoshihara

Keyboards/Guitar: Shin Kohno

Keyboards: Yasuaki Maejima

These five (sometimes six) musicians played on all of Chisato’s concerts since at LEAST the HIJITSUYOKUHA SENGEN Tour, the ROCK ALIVE and LUCKY SEVEN tours down to the DO THE BEST tour, and It showed- Playing live as well as laying down track on her studio albums, these guys knew all of Chisato’s songs backwards and forwards and played with the tightness that can only come from a long working association! Heck, they accompanied Chisato on her Promotional Videos, so closely connected they were to her!

And though they fantastically performed on each and every one of the ROCK ALIVE songs here, it’s YACCHIMAINA that I think really showcases how tight these guys were as a unit…and MAN does that guitar wail!!!

From there she would bring out songs GUITAR and Chisato concert classic GET SMILE, perfectly closing the ROCK ALIVE concert with the awesome SEISHUN and making it live up to its ROCKING namesake!!!

Though she would continue to polish her performing and songwriting skills, and hit even bigger highs with the mighty LUCKY SEVEN, TAIYO and DO THE BEST albums and concerts, for me, the crowning jewel of my Chisato Collection will always be the ROCK ALIVE concert. Stellar songs, great backing band, and In My Humble Opinion, Chisato is as close to Girlish Perfection as you can get here...THIS ONE ROCKS THE HOUSE!!!

Comments From the original post:

Yametekudasai wrote: Jul 31, 2007

Props to "Wakarimashita"! I used to have this performance on one of my minidisc (!) mixes and I regard it as the "real" version over the ROCK ALIVE album.

I should rip some mp3s for my iPod...

zinkognito wrote: Jul 31, 2007

Considering how great these performances are, it's a shame they never released an accompanying CD for each Laserdisc Concert, like Nishida Hikaru did!

Morningberryz wrote: Jul 31, 2007

I'm happy that "Lucky Seven Live" gets mentioned too! "Live Rock Alive" is recorded soo well and it really can shake the walls and what puzzles me is that "Lucky Seven Live" isn't recorded anywhere near as well even though it was released afterwards. "Fight!!", "Wakarimashita", and "Watashiga obasan ni natte mo" are favorites of mine too as I have them in my top 10. The performances in "Live Rock Alive" are in a way her peak performances. And having a live band really adds something to her concerts too. I'm glad that these were released on DVD! Now how about some CoCo and Ribbon DVDs...Pony Canyon.

zinkognito wrote: Aug 1, 2007

I guess I'm sentimentally attached to LIVE ROCK ALIVE (being as it was the first laserdisc I bought of hers), especially with my materialistic obsession with Chisato's gorgeous hair in this one, but I agree that both LIVE ROCK ALIVE and LUCKY SEVEN LIVE are equally good concerts. I'd love to see you break down a review of the Lucky Seven DVD some time.

KOKON TOZAI ONIGA DERUKA JAGA DERUKA (that performance of Yoru No Entotsu just goes through the roof!), LIVE ROCK ALIVE, LUCKY 7 LIVE and the KIBUNSOUKAI VIDEO CLIPS COLLECTION are absolute must haves on DVD, and I'm SO glad that Sony Music/Zetima blessed us with a re-release so we could purchase them, and in nice collectible slip covers, too!

And it's funny. While I was watching my DVD of Live Rock Alive last night, I DID think to myself, "MAN, when are Pony Canyon gonna release alla those CoCo and Ribbon concerts on DVD?!"

Morningberryz wrote: Aug 1, 2007

Heheh come on Pony Canyon!! Help us fans out! Yes the Moritaka Chisato DVD releases were a really nice surprise and treat. "Lucky Seven Live." It would be a great idea to post about this incredible concert. There's so much stuff to watch and not enough hours in a day!

Revisiting Ai No Senshi: Rainbow-Man

Was talking to Car the other day, and her excited anticipation of this week’s broadcast of ULTRAMAN TIGA (solely because of V6’s Hiroshi Nagano’s lead role in the show) led us to talking about those tokusatsu shows we grew up with as kids here in Hawaii. She related how, though the status quo seemed to love Kikaida and Kamen Rider V3, the show SHE liked as a kid was the Toho Superhero show RAINBOW MAN, though she admittedly could remember absolutely nothing about it as a grown up!


We went online to see if we could find video clips of the show that might jog her memory. Though we found several uploads which features the beginning and ending songs with slideshow-type videos, there didn’t seem to be anyone that had uploaded the actual opening and closing credits (or at least, none that have survived the dreaded REMOVED BY TERMS OF COPYRIGHT VIOLATION removal requests!


I thought I’d go ahead and rip my laserdisc opening and closing credits for her to see (as well as Takeshi henshining into Rainbow Man, which she also had forgotten), and then it crossed my mind that there might be some of you out there that wouldn’t mind checking these out either, so I went ahead and upped them for you to check out and reminisce as well!

Digging out that old Rainbow Man DVD Box Set brought back memories of not only the episodes of the show itself, but the drama of actually acquiring the set! Back in the mid-nineties era of the LASERDISC, Toho Productions released the first season of AI NO SENSHI RAINBOW MAN in a beautiful LD Box Set, a set that I tried in VAIN to get, but, (naturally) by the time I was aware of the Box set’s existence, it was (drumroll) OUT OF PRINT. SHIMATTA!

I was, however, informed that I could make a pre-order for the upcoming Season TWO Box Set, an offer I TOTALLY took up, and in the long run I have to say it satisfied me pretty well, for I was to discover that Season Two’s episodes were the ones that I actually remembered as a kid! This was when Rainbowman was shifting away from Yakuza and mobsters and moving more into the supernatural/science fiction phase of its run, and with witches, demons and skeletons filling the screen every week, it sure kept THIS kid creeped out!

Though I didn’t catch on at the time, re-watching the second season now, I am amazed at how “cool” the show was, with its’ James Bond style espionage baddies and that oh-so-mod outfits and music! And while we’re on the subject of Mod, NOTHING in Season Two embodied that swingin’ time more than Mister K’s four leading ladies DIANA, OLGA, KATHY and LOLITA. These chicks were the fiercest kick-ass evil agents ever, and in true “Faster Pussycat Kill Kill” fashion, spent their entire time making poor old Rainbow Man’s life a living hell!

With the implementation of new DAC Terrorist Attacks from Mister K and his minions as well as diversions from the dark side with God Iguana and her spooky spirit ghoulies, you would have thought the novelty of those agent girls had run its course and they could offer no more… but Evil Scientist named Dr. Borg came on the scene and bumped up the girls a notch by changing all of them (sans Olga, who developed a nasty turn with the procedure) into CYBORGS a la THE SIX MILLION DOLLAR MAN!

We’re talking rocket boots, laser-beam eyes, bulletproof bodies and superhuman strength here, guys! Why, they even gave the girl all new futuristic silver space-age costumes to better complement their newfound powers!

And you wonder why Rainbow Man spent so much of the series groaning in pain!

Comments From the Original Post:

• Yametekudasai wrote:
  Kudos on another fantastic appreciation of our not-so-recent past. I distinctly remember the family pains that Yamato had with his single mother and disabled sister (which of course would be highlighted if we had access to closing credits with "Yamato Takeshi no Uta").
  How about those opening titles?!! Got me all geared up to watch!
  Watari Goro wrote:
  Natsukashii, na! Awesome entry! Thanks for bringing back the memories!
  zdorama replied to Yametekudasai’s comment:
  Ahhhh~ I would have LOVED to rip the Yamato Takeshi "I piggyback my sister" song, but alas, it was the ending song from season ONE, the Box Set I wasn't able to get!
  Yametekudasai wrote:
  I remembered the applause but NOT the piggyback ride. Dang...
  zdorama replied to Watari Goro’s comment:
  Thanks for coming along on this trip down memory lane! Always fun to reminisce and share memories with others who were there at the time!
  zdorama replied to Yametekudasai’s comment:
  Hahahaha, OK, got the Season One ending file you sent- THANKS! I'll have to get this one up! Hmmmm...didn't remember it starting in the middle of the next weeks episode teaser. Love how that punch that yakuza guy threw missed by a mile!!!! AHAHAHHA!!
  Yametekudasai wrote:
  Hope the evil corporate dogsniffers leave this ALONE!
  Yametekudasai wrote:
  p.p.s. Just came across some ANIME on YouTube titled "Rainbow Man" with the same opening theme (remade) but with robotic-looking "Dashes" that resemble Kikaida 01, culminating with the image of a giant robot, ala Raideen or something. Wiieeerrrd!
  zdorama replied to Yametekudasai’s comment:
  Ah yeah, I remember coming across those years ago when I was looking for clips of the TV series!
  These songs were so darn great, and I especially loved the "Aitsu No Namae wa Rainbow Man" song, the lyrics are so SHOKKA-ishly evil!!!
  Yametekudasai replied
  I also noticed that the preview had only images of Yamato Takeshi and some thugs. No Dashes, no monsters, no Mister K -- just the masked wrestling villain. Huh?!! No wonder KIKAIDA zoomed to the top.
  tsuyoboogie wrote:
  Aawwww...that was so wonderful. And Yamato Takeshi was seriously CUTE! Although I vaguely remembered that I thought he was handsome, I really couldn't remember what he looked like. Also, I'm thinking that more than me being "contrary" from an early age, favoring this show might be an example of my seemingly innate affinity with "rainbow" men. (smiles) Anyway, thanks for all your time & effort! Gonna go enjoy the opening yet again!
  zdorama replied to tsuyoboogie’s comment:
  Ah Yes, what you wouldn't give to see David Hyde Pierce Playing Rainbow Man!
• 
  

Crush Of The Day: Sato Eriko

Just got through watching the incredible j-movie Funuke Domo, Kanashiki No Ai wo Misero, i.e. “SHOW SOME LOVE, YOU LOSERS!” for the second, third, and now FOURTH time, and I just HAVE to say how much I just love, love , LOVE IT!! This movie is an EFFIN' MASTERPIECE!
I’d been interested in seeing this movie ever since fave reviewer Mark Schilling mentioned it in his write-up for 2007 film HITONO SEX WO WARAUNA. I’ve been a huge fan of Nagasaku Hiromi ever since her RIBBON days, and while praising her work in HITONO SEX, Schilling mentioned how she stole the show in her previous role in Funuke Domo. What WAS this movie? I had to see it!

Now, regular readers know of my infinite love of actress Eriko Sato whom I’ve loved ever since her mouth-watering portrayal of Go Nagai’s salacious super-heroine CUTIE HONEY, and since then, (as you all may have noticed) I’ve found myself relating her cherubic apple-cheeked features to various personalities, whether they be singers like Nana Tanimura or announcers like Yoshie Takeuchi!
After Cutie Honey I didn’t see a whole lot of her besides a great appearance in the Matsuoka Masahiro drama YASUKO TO KENJI (where she played the Martha-Stewart-ish perfect girlfriend Ai against the harried Ryoko Hirosue in a battle to win Kenji’s heart) but thanks to the internet, was able to occupy myself with the multitude of gorgeous shashinshuu and sexy gravure DVDS that were floating all around online in the meantime…
When I was finally able to acquire a copy of Funuke Domo, Kanashiki ai wo Misero I was PLEASANTLY surprised to not only see Hiromi Nagasaku in it- but ERIKO SATO as the HEADLINING actress as well!!!! Rounded out by actors Masatoshi Nagase and Aimi Satsukawa in an eclectic ensemble cast, I KNEW I was in for a GREAT SHOW!
A story concerning the death of an elderly couple which forces their bickering children back to living under the same roof again after years apart. The tale begins at the family wake, where the couple’s two daughters, Sumika and Kiyomi, and their eldest son Shinji and his wife Machiko (the Nagasaku role, and YES, brilliantly played!!!), have all reunited after being apart for four years. The only problem is that rather than a heartfelt family reunion, THIS family is dysfunctional as HELL and almost at once are at each other’s throats!
Eriko plays Sumika, a struggling actress who has only incidentally shown up at the parents’ funeral to show her respect, and has in fact come home mostly to ask for money! As the spoiled, mean-spirited and slightly clueless bombshell, she is LOUD, PUSHY and entirely CALCULATING, and I have to say, Eriko gives it her all here, making the Sumika character both loathsome and sympathetic at the same time! (Not to mention sexy to boot!)

When Sumika arrives, she comes with her baggage in tow, and I mean that literally AND figuratively, as she’s brought her mounting money problems and Yakuza-type debt collectors trailing along after her, causing great stress for all involved.
Because of the recent passing of their parents, Shinji informs Sumika that he can’t support her any more and until he can come up with a way to send her a regular stipend, suggests she stay with them at the house for the time being.

Well, Sumika isn’t happy at ALL with this news, and this pressure combined with her struggling acting career is driving her mad. She wants to lash out, and Kiyomi is immediately the designated target for her wrath- indeed, from the moment the two have reunited it is obvious that there is something already going on between the two sisters: it is clear that the two have been enemies for quite some time now!
What is the cause of this sibling rivalry? Well, we find the answers soon enough in a series of staged flashbacks…
Sumika’s lifelong dream has always been to become an actress at all costs, whether it be by double-talking trickery, promiscuous deeds, or even bloody violence against her family, and by pouting, screaming and threatening her way through her adolescent life has slowly but surely managed rise out of their small hick town and into the Big City. But stardom isn’t as easy as she’d like, and between small roles and failed auditions, is getting deeper and deeper into debt.
Kiyomi on the other hand has no such ambitions. In an almost exact polar opposite of big sister Sumika, Kiyomi is introverted, shy, bookish and responsible. She is happy to go to school and get a respectable job in their town as well as help on the farm, but her one fault is that whenever she is confronted with something horrific in her life, she just HAS to get it down on paper, feverishly scribbling her problems into manga style drawings, and her number one obsession is none other than documenting the sordid details of her dominating big sister’s life!
One Day, Kiyomi sees that the Horror Manga she reads is running a contest for new talent, and in a moment of inspiration, digs up the masterpiece she’s written about Sumika’s evil tactics proclaiming, “I Will Do Whatever it Takes to Become an Actress!!” and sends it off for consideration! Unfortunately for all concerned, Kiyomi WINS the Best Newcomer Award, and suddenly her entire family is in shame as Sumika’s true sadistic nature is revealed!
Though Kiyomi has since regretted it and has repeatedly begged for forgiveness, Sumika is NOT one to let bygones be bygones, and makes every effort to demonize her little sister, whom she blames for every bad thing that’s happened to her in the 4 years she’s been struggling in Tokyo! But little sister Kiyomi has grown up, too, and soon the movie takes a turn for the AWESOME as the house turns into an epic mental battleground between the sisters!!!

Think SEIGI NO MIKATA with a decidedly violent and sadistic slant with more sexual innuendoes and you’ve got FUNUKU DOMO- Along with Aimi Satsukawa, Eriko gives one of the most electrifying performances of her career, and by the film’s end I was just WALLOWING in satisfaction-This ROCKING movie is DARK, DARK comedy at its absolute crackling BEST!

Favorite J-Pop Singles: Nakajima Michiyo / Hatsukoi Dori

Michiyo Nakajima [中嶋美智代] was one of the handful of Pony Canyon artists that appeared in the OTOMEJUKU MATSURI Concert Festival that I’d bought solely for CoCo’s appearance, but like ribbon and Qlair, it was this exposure that opened my eyes to how great some of CoCo’s sister acts really were!

I’ve spoken a bit already about how this Matsuri concert made me a diehard and lifelong fan of power-trio RIBBON, but watching the whole concert was such a gas that I eventually started liking all the other groups on the disc as well, among them a shy and petite sweet little thing all duked out in a VERY Rieko Miura-ish party dress coming out to sing her new song, a blueprint j-pop laden song called “Hatsukoi Dori”

The girl was Michiyo Nakajima and she had the honor of being the first artist onto the stage (after the big opening production, of course), and it is SO CUTE to see how shy and unsure of herself she seems at this stage in her career. Hatsukoi Dori was her third single proper, but you wouldn’t think so by how subdued she is on stage, seeming more like a kid reciting a Christmas poem than a full-fledged Paradise Gogo Idol!

But she seems to REALLY appreciate the attention, and the applause gives her the power to give her all- Sure, maybe she’s a bit shaky at times, but she gives SUCH a SINCERE performance!!! With catchy dance moves during the choruses and a happy smile throughout, it’s this kind of sweet-and-slightly-off-kilter anime sounding voice sung with real determination that made me just fall in love with the song (The same could probably be said about why I love Ishikawa Rika’s Onnanoko Rikaishite so much as well!) and made me want to know more about the singer as well!

So one day I’m walking through the Shirokiya BOOK OFF section, and what do you know- they had a first pressing Michiyo Nakajima CD there! Gee, I wonder what the chances are that it would have that song on it? Entitled simply “Nakajima”, I went ahead and just purchased the CD blind, not knowing, but hoping it would have that song on it. I suppose it really woulda helped to know the song title beforehand, because sad to say, in the end, the song just wasn’t on it.

That following weekend I related my failed gamble to a friend about my attempt to secure that enchanting opening tune. “Yeah, I was hoping it would have that cute song she did at the Otomejuku Matsuri concert” I explained. He nodded and, in a hilarious sing-song voice, sang, “hatsukoi do-o-ri?” to which we both fell on the ground laughing! You just can’t hear that line in your head without picturing her adorable performance, really!

You know, one really, really great thing about those Pony Canyon concerts is that (for the most part) they always employed a live band to accompany the girls onstage and so what you got to hear were fresh, vibrant and rocking performances of your favorite songs, songs that you’d learned and loved from the albums were bumped up a notch and given a little extra zing!

That’s one thing that was REALLY evident the first time I got a chance to listen to the CD single’s studio version of Hatsukoi Doori, because the FIRST thing I thought upon hearing the track is, “HEY! This sounds really…PRODUCED! The guitars very exact, the drums as sure as a click track, all backing up some very polished singing from Michiyo –Chan… I never realized how “organic” the Otomejuku Concert version was! All along I’d just assumed that the studio version would sound just like it!

There are, of course, reasons to love the studio version, not least of which is the great George Harrison twinged guitars and the lush dreamy keyboards, and though it’s a pop perfect tune, somehow the ending refrain when the guitar kicks back in to deliver us to the end is REALLY missing something without Michiyo’s grateful and heartfelt “Doomo Arigatoo!” to wrap the song up all sweet and nice.

For me, the Live Version is the one I fell in love with and the one that really will remain the “true” version. This is one performance that will definitely put a smile on your face!