Happy Halloween from Kasumi Arimura and the Gang

As it's STILL the closest we'll get to any actual Halloween representation via j-dramas, I'm once again posting my favorite Halloween scenes from the Kasumi Arimura drama "Nee-chan No Koibito"!

Gotta say, these caps DO put me right into an autumn vibe with all its oranges and yellows!

They really captured the rustic "feel" of it right!

In my initial posting of this, I mused that reposting this entry might even become a October tradition  at the zdorama blogsite, and at three years in, it looks like it's official!

Happy Halloween!!!

PS: Since this initial post, Kasumi Arimura has become one of my BIG favorite actresses, her latest "Ishiko to Haneo"  one of the best of the season, and one of her personal best roles!

Such a huge fan, and it seems I'm not alone in my assessment of the lovely Ms. Arimura as she topped the polls of fave actresses recently, and not by a small margin, either!! You go, Kasumi!

Posted by zdorama @ zdoramaagain.blogspot.com

My Sister, My Sister

Maika Yamamoto and Miori Takimoto in "Sister"

 Nagisa Miyoshi (Maika Yamamoto) is a sweet and naive girl whose life revolves around her adoration of her kind and caring older sister Saho (Miori Takimoto) as she tries to make it in the big city.

Saho is an art director for a fashion magazine and has managed to get Nagisa a job at a successful advertising firm, and job which she is dedicated to and wants to make something of herself with.

But a fly appears in the ointment when the section supervisor (who had been away on business when Nagisa was hired) returns, and Nagisa finds it to be a man named Yosuke Asakura (Junpei Mizobata),someone who was her high school crush years ago! 

They has a short friendship back then which ended abruptly, leaving her with unrequited feelings still unresolved. Her heart pounds for this unexpected reunion, but her spirit sinks when he is reintroduced to her by co-worker Hase (Taiki Sato) ...and Asakura pretend to not even KNOW her!

Nagisa is crushed by the turn of events, but big sis Saho consoles her that evening by telling her she’ll help her dress up and look more outstanding so she can make a PROPER impression on the guy. Nagisa's spirits are lifted by her thoughtful Sis! 

And after the coaching and encouragement by her Sis, Nagisa DOES manage to get Yosuke to not only talk to her the next day, but acknowledge their past! Finally they can talk about their brief school encounter, and she even feels like there might be something to be rekindled here!!

That evening she tells the good news to her sister, how she reconnected with her friend and how there might even be a chance of a new relationship!  Saho is happy for her and then tells Nagisa that she has some good news of her OWN-that she is engaged to be MARRIED, and wants Nagisa to meet her fiance that night for dinner!

Nagisa is beside herself with happiness for her older sister and can’t wait to meet the gentleman who will be marrying Saho…and so it is a complete SHOCK...

…when Saho’s fiance turns out to be none other than Yosuke himself!

Nagisa is stunned beyond words but puts on a brave face for the sake of her sister, pretending  to only know of Yosuke in passing at work, even as her feelings are crushed.

She wants to do what’s best for Saho…but as we will soon learn, there is a dark streak of nastiness within the heart of Nagisa’s older sister that is waiting to come out, cold feelings that threaten to destroy any happiness Nagisa hopes to have!

WELL…I’ve been reading some of the reactions for the first episode of Sister on twitter, and I’m pretty amazed how many people were surprised by the twist at the end. For me, Saho turning out to be secretly mean and manipulative had to be one of the most predictable reveals for the show, what with Miori’s character being so overly saccharine and sweet and Maika so wide eyed and naive…You KNEW it was too good to be true! 

Wonder if this show will have any developments that will actually compel me to tune into this one for the long haul!I really love both Maika Yamamoto AND Miori Takimoto, (by the way, both of them look just utterly BEAUTIFUL here!)  but is this gonna be another one of those persecution dramas???? Please, No…

I mean, I just got through the Hirona Yamazaki/Kie Kitano dramedy “Nanji No Na” and though I ended up rather digging it, I really don’t want to sit through more!