Nee-chan No Koibito 終わり

 I suppose this should come as no surprise given my recent post gushing about the wonders of Kasumi Arimura the other week, but I will state for the record that I absolutely loved Nee-chan No Koibito! The story of the outspoken and charismatic Momoko (Kasumi Arimura), a young woman taking care of her three younger brothers, who meets and subsequently falls in love with an introverted young man named Manato (Kento Hayashi) was one that kept me on my toes following the ups and downs of their courtship, but there was more!

We also had the story of her curious co-workers, her supervisor Hinako's (Eiko Koike) budding romance with Store Delivery Man Takada (Naohito Fujiki), and even Emi Wakui as Manato's gentle and caring mother! Really, just a wonderful cast!

We also had a REAL fun side story with Momoko's best friend Miyuki (Nao) being wooed by her brother  Kazuki (Kaito Takahashi)!  I was SO worried that Nao was going to be regaled to generic best friend character, was relieved to find they really made use of her skills as a quirky and eccentric actress- Nao's story was a nice addition to the drama!

And once again, I cannot stress enough how doggone ADORABLE Kasumi Arimura was in this drama...this HAS to be her BEST role yet!  Okay, maybe only in MY opinion, but BOY...she was just pure perfection here!!!!

 I waited til the entire series of Nee-chan no Koibito was subtitled before watching it, and BOY I was glad I did...would have been terrible having to wait between episodes to see what would happen next!!! As it is, I simply FLEW through this drama!!!

Say, this drama was written by Yoshikazu Okada, the same author who wrote Kasumi's earlier dramas "Soshite Ikiru" and "Hiyokko", as well as the highly successful "Churasan" series... He really seems to have a talent for capturing the slice of life style of storytelling, the kind where you are immersed in these characters' lives and never want to leave!

Posted by zdorama @ zdoramaagain.blogspot.com

Favorite J-Pop Singles: Satoko Ishimine: Kaze Wo Kanjitai

 Sometimes a song from the past will pull so hard on the heartstrings that you just lose it completely, and that’s exactly what happened to me this past weekend while listening to an old mix of mine and it concluded with the beautiful, beautiful Satoko Ishimine song “Kaze Wo Kanjitai”.
I’ve been digging out my old mix tapes from my early days of J-pop lately, and the one I was listening to was from era 1999 or so, with songs from the (then) current shows like WITH LOVE and OVER TIME, the latter featuring the terrific “There Will be Love There” by the Brilliant Green.
As the mix wound down, I was wondering which song I had chosen to be its closer, and when the peppy Qlair song “Summer Lover” came on, I figured I had decided to end the mix on a high, happy note!
But when the track ended, there was one more song to be played,and as SOON as the opening notes of Kaze Wo Kanjitai came on, I INSTANTLY broke out in goosebumps! “Holy CRAP…I had forgotten about this song!” was my initial thought, but as the song played and Satoko’s mesmerizing, soothing voice rang out, it ALL came back to me, and MAN, when she went into the sweeping chorus, I just lost it! Yep, there I was, sitting in my car, in the middle of traffic, with tears trickling down my face, and me not giving one single darn!!

I’m telling you, this has to be one of the gentlest, moving songs ever. Sounding a bit like ASKA of Chage and Aska fame’s style of writing, it hits you in the SOUL and makes your heart ache with loneliness and wanting… Simply PERFECTION. 

 PS: As some of you may know, my initial spark that interested me in J-pop was the idol group CoCo. At the time, my friend Dan-o who introduced me to CoCo also turned me on to other pop acts like Wink, Judy and Mary, and Lindberg. He also tried to introduce me to what looked like a mature adult contemporary singer, saying, “You should get this album, this lady is reallllly good.” At the time, I told him I was trying to concentrate on getting J-pop and wasn’t interested in branching off into “regular” vocal songs. 

Fast forward a year later, and after seeing a stunning performance of Satoko singing the Hibara Misora song “Hana”, decided to pick up her album INNOCENT...

As I went to pay for it, I told Dan, “Brah, this lady sings so good, she does this version of Hana that will blow you away.” Dan-o looks incredulously at me and says, “DUDE, that’s the lady I tried to get you to listen to MONTHS ago and you said “Not interested!” 

WELL! I had my foot in my mouth THEN!!! I apologized and told him he was absolutely right and I SHOULDA listened to him back then! And I meant every word- Because not only was Satoko’s version of “Hana” great, the entire ALBUM was incredible as well, and out of all of them was what came to be my favorite song from her, Kaze wo Kanjitai!!

 

Heartbeats

Just watched the Thai film “Heartbeats” from 2019, about a sombre man named Chai (Theeradej Wanpuapan) who arrives at a  guesthouse in Chiang Mai. He comes across Wan (Chanchalerm Mansaporn), the daughter of the owner, who immediately falls for him. While showing him around, the two get close, but there is a deeper connection between them that they do not yet realize…

A straightforward but entirely charming movie, buoyed by the delightfully charismatic performance by actress Chanchalerm Mansaporn whose kinetic energy is on 100 percent as she throttles through the film!

Nodof had recommended the movie to me, promising Chachalerm “Proy” Mansaporn would steal my heart…and she did, at that! 

Posted by zdoramaagain.blogspot.com

A Hikaru Nishida Score!

 Just got a MAJOR cornerstone in my humble Hikaru Nishida collection- an official Autographed Shikishi by Miss 19 Dreams herself!!!
Whenever you saw footage of the working idol during tours and shows, you would inevitably see them frenetically signing piles of these "sign boards" for giveaways and promotions, and OH! How I'd always wanted to get my hands on one of them!

Never thought I'd actually GET one, but lo and behold, luck stepped in and I FINALLY found someone selling an autographed Hikaru Nishida board! Wasted no time taking them up on their offer,a nd for a modest price, was finally able to obtain a "must have" item!!!

Don't have a "Hikaru Nishida" shrine set up at my house, but if I ever DO, you can bet that this autographed piece of memorabilia will be right in the CENTER!

Shizuka Kudoh Laserdisc Collection!!!

 As documented here, though I’ve always liked Shizuka Kudoh’s music, including some big faves like Kuchibiru Kara Biyaku and Doukoku, it wasn’t until fairly recently that I became a huge super-fan of hers, needing to get all her CDs and singles, rarities and B-sides! 
I also wanted to get ahold of Shizuka’s many Concert performances and was grateful to get digital rips of them through a J-pop forum. Through the years I’ve watched and re-watched them all, but there was always a place in my heart that still wanted to get copies of the orginal concerts, and, if possible, in their original Laserdisc release formats!
Why Laserdiscs?  As a fan of 90’s Pony Canyon Idol acts like Coco, Ribbon and Nishida Hikaru, I came to associate its Laserdisc packaging, striking artwork and bonus posters and inserts with my ‘golden age” of J-pop discovery, and, as a Pony Canyon artist herself, really wanted to get those to complete my collection!
Though I’d see a concert video of hers from time to time on ebay (mostly in the form of VHS tapes), it wasn’t until just this past month taht I hit the MOTHERLODE: ALL 8 of Shizuka’s laserdisc releases for one VERY modest price!! Holy Toledo, I wasted NO TIME SMASHING that “Buy it Now” Button, and in JUST a few weeks, got my package in the mail!
WOWOIWOW, Will You LOOK at that!!! So damn BEAUTIFUL, and, as with ALL Pony Canyon releases, placed with bonus items like inserts and postcards! Must have spent a good hour just poring lovingly over the discs…so beautiful!

Now, if you will excuse me, I have a HUGE rehauling to do with my J-pop Laserdisc shelves!!!

Those Adorable Seigi No Se Openings

 One of the many charms of the great Yuriko Yoshitaka legal drama is the cute Opening Credits where they have Yuriko interacting with a huge kanji of the word “se”!

Didn’t even immediately realize each episode was different til chapter three where she adorably crawled thru the center of the kanji. “Hey, are all of these openings unique?” I wondered. And soon it became a fun thing to wait for each episode!

After finishing the series, I thought it would be fun to splice together the opening crawls from each of the show's 10 episodes, and here is the efforts of my madness!

Gotta say, watching the compilation, you can REALLY see the sweetness Yuriko Yoshitaka brought to this show- she was simply charming as the super-genki prosecutor Ririko Takemura!

Heaven and Hell: The Tale Of Two Psychopaths

 Just watched the first episode of the Ayase Haruka/Takahashi Issei crime drama “Tengoku to Jigoku: Psychona Futari “ and so far it has been a HOOT! Haruka plays a detective named Ayako Mochizuki who is on the trail of a serial killer who marks his victims with an ominous marking on the palm of their hands.

She is a dedicated detective who uses her keen sense of smell to locate clues most others would pass up, but due to an error arresting a past suspect, Ayako has been demoted and is shunned by most of the force. The only one she has on her side is her assistant Yamaki (Junpei Mizubata) but even HE has reservations about his superior’s questionable actions….

In particular she clashes with headstrong Mitsuo Kawahara (Kitamura Kazuki), a brash and condescending detective who is always there to belittle Ayako’s efforts and usurp and advancements she discovers in the investigation…

Despite all of this, she manages to find clue no one else has- the use of a distinct solvent used at the murder site. Tracking down the chemical, she finds it is a trial version not used commercially. This brings her to the president of the solvent’s company, Haruto Hidaka (Issei Takahashi). 

At once Ayako’s instincts tell her this man has something wrong about him, and when he inadvertently lets facts about the case slip that only the murderer would know, she begins to investigate him in earnest.

But with protocols being what they are, Ayako is pushed aside in the case and is reduced to investigating on her own, without the department’s permission.

Once she has collected enough evidence to bring the man in, she goes to confront Hidaka. Though at first denying the charges, he becomes belligerent when Mochizuki attempts to handcuff him, struggling against her until they BOTH tumble down a flight of stairs, hitting their heads and losing consciousness…

When she comes to, Mochizuki is shocked to her a strange voice coming out of her throat when she speaks.  Grasping her throat, she feels a distinct Adam’s apple there… fearing the worst, she goes to a mirror…and discovers she has SWITCHED BODIES with Hidaka!!!

Hoe can this be? what will she do? But she had no time to dawdle, because in the very next room, the evil Hidaka has discovered he has jumped into HER body…and intends to use it for his OWN sinister plans!!!

Oh MAN, what a cliffhanger!!! Tengoku to Jigoku: Psychona Futari reminds me a lot of the recent Vince Vaughn/Kathryn Newton movie “Freaky” where a peppy High School girl named Millie switches bodies with a serial killer named the Blissfield Butcher-
Hopefully this drama can deliver the same thrills and chills as the movie, and I’ll be waiting for each episode with bated breath!!