2023 Kohaku Uta Gassen: The 74th Red & White Songfest "Borderless"

The 74th Red and White Song Festival promises a lot of things, but I have a feeling it will ultimately go down as "the year without any Johnny's acts", a detail that can't be missed when you consider how much they've come to be almost synonymous with the show (especially ARASHI and its members)...

This year's host duties are set by Hiroiki Ariyoshi, Kanna Hashimoto, Minami Hamabe, and Kozo Takase, and promises  a "New Year's Eve That Transcends and Connects"!!  WELL...I don't know about THAT, but let's check it out!

This year's Players and participants:

Ceremony Opening Acts:

Atarashii Gakko!  “Otona Blue”

I was introduced to Atarashii Gakko! from the strangest of places- Captain Disillusion's Youtube Channel where the videos effects tech made a few PVs for the energetic girls! Who knew they'd be opening the show this year!

JO1 “Newsmile”

Suzuki Masayuki   “Megumi no Hito”

Perfume “Fake it”

Stray Kids “Case 143”

Tendo Yoshimi  “Dotonbori Ninjo”

Strawberry Prince “Sukisuki Seijin”

Ryokuoushoku Shakai  “Character"

Kitani Tatsuya   “Where Our Blue Is”

Sakurazaka46 “Start Over!”

Jyunretsu  “Datte Meguri Aetanda”

Ano “Chu Tayosei”

Be:First  “Boom Boom Back”

Juju  “Toki no Nagare ni Mi o Makase”

NiziU “Make You Happy”

Le Sserafim  “Unforgiven”

These sexy gals make me wonder, when are they EVER going to get BLACKPINK to appear here????

Yamauchi Keisuke “Koisuru Machikado”

Nogizaka46 “Ohitorisama Tengoku”

Go Hiromi "2 Oku 4 Sen Man no Hitomi" 

Hey guys...remember when breaking was a fad? LOL

Milet / Man With A Mission   “Koi Kogare”

Mizumori Kaori “Hyuga Misaki”

Seventeen  “Fallin’ Flower”

Mrs. Green Apple "Dancehall"

A new group that I really dug!!!

Sakamoto Fuyumi "Yozakura Oshichi"

Fuyumi doing THE Kohaku song of hers.

Oizumi Yo  “Ano Sora ni Tatsu Tō no Yō ni"

I was surprised TWICE didn't make it to this year's show, then found out that a new subunit  comprised on TWICE's Japanese members Mina, Sana and Momo called MiSaMo was gonna represent!

Full disclosure Sana and Momo BOTH my TWICE double biases!!!

NewJeans  "OMG", "ETA", and "Ditto" medley

When they first announced the guests for this year, I was excited to see NewJeans on the preliminary list- then they disappeared from lsitings for awhile...good to see they still made it!

DISNEY SPECIAL MEDLEY

The halftime show centered around Disney celebrating 100 years, but all I could think was, "That Steamboat Willie Mickey Mouse goes into Public Domain tomorrow!"

Then, on to part TWO....

Offiial Hige Dandism “Chessboard”

Sheena Ringo “Marunoichu Sadistic”

Yuzu  “Beautiful”

QUEEN with Adam Lambert , obviously NOT appearing on-site.

Miyama Hiroshi “Donka Zaka”

Superfly “Tamashii Revolition”

Gen Hoshino “Life”

Ito Ran “Candies 50th Anniversary medley”

Was looking forward to this one! Ran singing classic CANDIES hits against the backdrop of vintage Candies footage!

Must say Ms. Ito looking FINE as heck!

Yoshiki “Endless Rain”, “Rusty Nail”

Yoshiki back with another "All-Star" rock band, doing the classic X tunes....

A real soft spot for "Rusty Nail" !

Pocket Biscuits/Black Biscuits  “Yellow Yellow Happy”, “”Timing”

If I may say, this is the performance I was MOST interested in seeing, mostly because I was dying to see what Vivian Hsu was up to! Always LOVED "Timing" and was the highlight of the show for me!

Yakushimaru Hiroko “Sailor Fuku to Kikanju”

Terao Akira  “Ruby no Yubiwa”

Ado “Show”

Aimyon “Ai No Hana”

Elephant Kashimashi  “Oretachi no Ashita”

Sada Masashi “Cosmos”

Ishikawa Sayuri  “Tsugaru Kaikyo Fuyugeshiki”

Fujii Fumiya “True Love”, “Shiroi Kumo no yo ni”

YOASOBI “Idol”

Gotta say, this performance coulda been the show's closer, VERY festive touch!!!

Fukuyama Masaharu “Hello~Sobo” Kohaku Special Medley

Though "HELLO" was the very first song I ever knew from Masaharu Fukuyama, this is the first time I'm realizing it's sort of a signature song of his?? Cool!

Misia Kohaku Special 2023

And once again we have MISIA closing the activities. 

With the new format of the Kohku, somehow I was half expecting them to do away with the "Girls VS Boys" aspect of the show, yet they still had the polling and the eventual "victor" of the festivities...

I love how tiny Minami is, she looks photoshopped into most scenes, LOL

And that wraps 2023!!! 

See U all on the Flipside!

J-Dramas Recently Wrapped Up!

The Fall Season is over, and this was a season of strong contenders, with a whole ton of them becoming faves! These are the ones I've completed, ranked in order of how much I liked them, as well as a brief summation of my thoughts! 

Yamikin Saihara-San

10/10

Though technically from last year, Yamikin Saihara-San somehow ended up being my top fave drama of the season! Though I had no knowledge of the original movies and dramas about the “Ushijima the Loan Shark” series, when I learned that a new series was being spun off featuring actress Maryjun Takahashi in the lead role, I knew I just HAD to check it out!

As you know, I love Maryjun, ESPECIALLY in her roles playing badass female characters like in “The Sniffer”, “Avalanche” and the recent “Black Postman” drama. and as SOON as I saw the promotional pics for “Yamikin Saihara-San” with Maryjun center as the titular kick-butt Loan Shark enforcer Akane Saihara, I was ALL IN for it!

Toki wo Kakeruna, Koibitotachi

9/10

 Starring Eita and the adorable Riho Yoshioka as two time-crossed lovers from different eras who, as time police themselves, stop and counsel other time jumpers with care and passion.

 Fun and fast-paced, you really felt like you were on the time scotter with them, zipping along the timelines! I do wish they could have taken a bit more care with the way they wrapped things up, however, as the last episode felt so rushed to me, tying up all the loose ends in a panic as it neared the end, like George Lucas at the end of Revenge Of The Sith! 

Still an overall warm and fuzzy time, and this one really reignited my luv thang for Riho Yoshioka!!!

Nami yo Kiite Kure

9/10

Another one from a few seasons back, Nami yo kiite Kuru was always on my back burner and has finally wrapped up, to glorious appeal! Gotta say, for a show that started out nutty (and, admittedly, irritating) as hell, I have to say how much this drama grew on me until the point where I just LOVE it to death! Funny how a show can hit one way and then end up being one of your favorite shows of the season. Fuka Koshiba excels as radio personality Minare but I think it's the development of her friendship/partnership with the AD Mizuho (played by Hara Nonoka) that really sold me on the show- such a joy watching them interact each episode, you can tell they really adore each other and it always puts a smile on my face!

Kotatsu ga Nai Ie 

9/10

I'm not a fan of "persecution" set-ups, and if all this drama was was a selfish family piling up on top of breadwinner and general authoritative family figure Mom/Wife/Daughter Marie Fukabori (Eiko Koike), I would have bailed early on. The script, however, is VERY zanily written and the outrageous situations and quick and snappy dialog kept me glued (and frequently in stitches) throughout the show!  Kotatsu reminds me not a little of shows like Kakenai!? or Ore no Hanashi wa Nagai (which also starred Koike), both shows I LOVED, and Kotatsu is yet another drama in same vein! 

Kono Subarashiki Sekai

8/10

Whimsical tale of Mayumi Wakamura as an average housewife named Taeko Hamaoka who doubles for a glamourous actress named Wakana Kinuyo when she escapes out of the city amid a scandal. In her brief stint as Wakana, Taeko 's pure heart touches, inspires and heals those around her. A fine show, though it did get a bit maudlin at the end there. Also, this was another one of those dramas where the last episode was a SP that the network didn't pick up.

Watched it RAW and I guess it was a mostly superfluous affair, but still....

One Day

7/10

I predicted from the first episode that this was going to be yet another one of those suspect-of-the-week red herring wild goose chase set-ups,  with continually flip-flopping friends/enemies and the inevitable reveal of corrupt cops/politicians at the top, and that's exactly what I got. OI VEY!

Thankfully, ONE DAY surrounded itself with interesting and likeable characters which elevated it above the other bait-and-switch crime dramas like "Shinhannin Flag" and the like. You really enjoyed being with these folks (especially Riko Fukumoto, surely this show's next big star) , and wanted good things for them. Too bad it all built up to and ended with the most mundane of conclusions.

My Home Hero

7/10

Black Comedy of a meek and mild-mannered man (Sasaki Kuranosuke) who gets pushed to the brink when he finds his beloved daughter (Saito Asuka) is being abused and life threatened by her yakuza boyfriend. When he kills the boy in a rage, it will take all his wits and the support of his dedicated wife (Kimura Tae) to stay ahead of both the authorities...and the yakuza family whose heir they've murdered! 

As someone who has frequently lamented how cliched and predictable dramas have gotten lately, this one came completely out of left field and took me for a real loop!! Now THIS was something really DIFFERENT!!

Gekokujo Kyuji 

6/10

The Ryohei Suzuki/ Haru Kuroki led drama of the former Star Athlete who, due to certain circumstances, has renounced his star status and is eking out life as a humble Teacher, until he is railroaded by the faculty into taking on the school team with a go-getter female teacher as his partner. Seen this in shows like Mirai E No 10 Count and the like, only this time, instead of boxing (or some other sport), it's baseball. This drama played out pretty much as you'd expect...basic storylines like this are the bedrock of j-dramas, I guess!

My Second Aoharu

6/10

I sort of knew what I was getting into with this drama from the get-go, but hung in for the long haul because of my love for Alice Hirose. And BOY, was this one of the most by-the-numbers cliched teenager romcoms ever! Frankly astounded that someone of Alice's calibre still doing roles in one dimensional plots like this. All the classic tropes, the last-minute declarations at the airport, the mistaken hugs from behind, and the good old "Because I love You, I'm going to dump you" scenarios not once, but TWICE!

Alice, please choose better vehicles!!!

Black Postman

6/10

The story of a hailed vigilante named the Devil Of Neverland who, by way of letters passed through an abandoned mailbox in town, rescues children in abusive situations by eliminating the source of their pain, Started out with a bang, following postman (Kei Tanaka) who may or may not be the Devil himself, but inevitably devolved into the same old "Corrupt politicians are behind everything" trope that are SO prevalent in jdrama mysteries. Why can't serial killers just be killers anymore.

Kaette Kitara Ippai Shite

6/10

The very shoujo manga-ey set up of a young mangaka who is inexperienced in love and sex and thus hires a flashy young guy to be her model. Naturally, while documenting this fake love for her stories, real love is sure to blossom! Yeah, very predictable, very cliched, but wacky and fun, and Nana Asakawa charms throughout~!!

Mei no Mei

6/10

Story of a guy who is tasked with taking care of his niece after her parents both pass away.  Follows the same beats of other dramas of its kind with the city guy dealing with living in the country with a young girl in tow, however, this time the backdrop is the town of Fukushima, still dealing with the stigma from 3.11. A quick watch at 6 episodes!

That's about it from this season!