Crush Of The Day: Anne Watanabe

So my friend Car has been going off recently about how much she loves the new Kamenashi Kazuya Monster Drama Yokai Ningen Bem, saying how the show was so good and had so much heart that each episode would ineveitably reduce her to tears! She continued on about how kakkoi Kamenashi was, how adorable Fuku Suzuki was, and how pretty model/actress ANNE was!

Now, to me this drama looked like nothing more than a KAIBUTSU-KUN clone and had no plans to watch it, but after extensive urging on Car’s behalf as well as a curious desire to see just HOW pretty Anne was, I decided to check one episode out. Well, I ended up liking it enough to download the entire series, and while I don’t know how “kakkoi” Kamenashi is to me, I cannot deny that Anne is VERY pretty in this drama, VERY PRETTY indeed! In fact, much like how Haruka Kinami stole the show for me in Yuusha Yoshihiko”,  it’s Anne’s regal and stoic portrayal of gothic outcast BELA that’s got ME tuning into each episode, and I have to say, I think it’s LOVE!

Though gorgeous Actress/Model Anne has been around for a while now, it wasn’t until I saw the fun and wacky SAMURAI HIGH SCHOOL that I got to see her acting skills. Up until then I’d always mixed her up with actresses Misa Uehara and Noriko Iriyama (the three were practically interchangeable to my eyes) and it was only after that that I began to see her as an individual. 

Samurai High School

Karei Naru SPY

From then I saw her in the equally fun and wacky KAREI NARU SPY and then it was an impressive turn as the krazee Marika character in NAKA NAI KIMETA HI as well as that bit part in PROPOSE KYODAI, among others, all making me like her more and more!

Naka Nai Kimeta Hi 

A guest appearance in the once-grand Himitsu No Arashi corner VIP ROOM educated me on a few things like the fact that Anne was a huge Japanese History Buff, and secondly, that Anne was an incredibly beautiful lady!( The footage of her in her her HOT Modelling days was a head turner, for SURE!) 

All the ingredients were there for a full-blown crush, and the only thing that was missing was the perfect role…and it looks like BELA is IT!

The story of Yokai Ningen Bem is a simple one: Three Monsters roam the earth in search of the scientist they believe can grant them their wish of becoming human. In mortal disguises they live among regular people, and it’s through this interaction that they learn bit by bit what being a human is truly all about. 

Kamenashi Kazuya, Anne, Fuku Suzuki

The monsters have distinct personalities: Kamenashi plays the titular character BEM, the noble “leader” of the group who believes it is their duty to help those in need even at the risk of their own safety, BELO, the “kid” monster played with mischievous glee by kid actor Fuku Suzuki, and then you have BELA, the sultry motherly voice of reason, played with all the regal class, confidence and pompousness of a royal queen!

Man, now THIS is one cool character! Alternately stand-offish and passionate, Bela’s the first to question things with a bitter, cynical eye as well as the first one to strike out or rescue someone being accosted! I dunno, maybe it’s the elegant way she always carries herself, the beautiful velvet gowns she wears or even alla that black crap all around her eyes, but I am just enthralled with her in every scene she’s in! In fact, while watching her incredible feats in episode 3, the thought came to my mind that I would LOVE a BELA Action Figure…this is ONE character that deserves one! AHAHAHA

Anne eating Leafy Greens

Kaseifu No Mita

Nanako Matsushima as the titular Housekeeper Mita

When I first read the synopsis of the new drama Kaseifu No Mita, it was a story I thought I’d heard and seen many, many times before watching j-dramas over the years: Able Housekeeper gets hired by an unruly household of troublesome children but over time, wins them over and teaches them to love one another and be good people. MAN! How wrong could I be? Though the basic structure of this show might be somewhat like what I expected, after just a half hour, it veered off into unknown territory and became one of the most unusual dramas ever!

Like most people, the thing that interested me about the show was primarily pretty actress Nanako Matsushima’s long awaited return to Japanese dramas- it had been such a looooooong time since I’d seen her in anything (gads, the last thing I saw her in was her bit part in Hana Yori Dango in 2007!), but when I read the synopsis for Kaseifu and saw it was about a family, I shied away from it, because family means little kids, and as a rule, I try to stay away from dramas with those precocious gremlins!

 As the episodes progressed, however, my friend Car mentioned to me about this Nanako Matsushima drama that’s been getting all of these great ratings, and I said that while I’d seen the show up on the drama download sites, I had avoided it because of my aforementioned allergy to little children in Japanese shows, but then when DOCOMO came out with the poll of viewers’ most beloved dramas and Kaseifu no Mita was Number ONE, I thought to myself, my GOSH, am I doing myself a DISSERVICE by not checking this one out? A re-evaluation was in order!

I hurried back to that drama site and downloaded the first few episodes to “dip my toes in the water” as it were, but as I’ve already mentioned before, all it took was that first episode, and I immediately went back, downloaded the rest of them, and went right back into watching the show!

Such a dark, moody and troubling show, this drama was equal parts UTSUKUSHII RINJIN, BYAKOUYAKO and SHINZANMONO, except without the humor! The show benefits from an excellent cast, with Hasegawa Hiroki playing a suitably spineless and wishy washy father, Aibu Saki playing the loveable doofus Aunt Urara, and even Maho Nonami playing a sexy young thang Hiroki’s having an affair with…

Saki Aibu as Urara

And then of course, there’s Nanako Matsushima. As the chillingly cold housekeeper Mita who claims has “No Heart”, she is the driving force of this drama, and the curiousity of just WHAT her secret back-story could be had ME tuning in episode after episode!

Back in the day Matsushima was just about my favorite actress and here she proves to me once and for all that she’s the real thing-  what a wildly intense, piercingly cold femme fatale she is here!

Funny, out of all the new shows that have come out this past season I’ve downloaded and watched at least ONE episode of just about every new show, Nankyoku Tairiku, Watashi ga Renai Dekinai Riyuu, Nazotoki wa Dinner No Ato De, Boku Michi 99, Himitsu Chouhouin Erika, Sengyou Shufu Tantei Watashi wa Shadow, etc, but Kaseifu No Mita was the ONE drama I kept passing up! Thank God there’s still that thing called “Buzz”!

Oh, and I should add one more thing: Though this show is positively rife with little kids, the nature of the show kept them from getting too pouty and sassy and I found I was able to enjoy the show just fine! And special mention must be made of how good young actress Kutsuna Shiori was...

Kutsuna Shiori as Yui

as Amo Rin in Mei-chan No Shitsuji, 2009

 As oldest sibling Yui in the Asuda family, it was up to her to keep the family together when it seemd like it was tearing apart from all sides, and I think think she was quite captivating in every scene she was in! I’d first seen Kutsuna as psychic karma girl Amo Rin in Mei-Chan o Shitsuji, and it was thrilling to see what a pretty young lady she’s grown up into! I’m sure we’ll be seeing a LOT more of this girl in the future!

Princess Princess Back In Action!

Didn't quite believe it when Car told me she'd heard on the FCS news that one of my all-time favorite bands PRINCESS PRINCESS were set to reunite and tour, but it looks like (if confirmation via Tokyohive stands for anything, anyway) that what we'd only dreamed of is gonna happen- the gals are comin' back to rock out worlds ALL OVER AGAIN!


Plans are set to start in November...Oooh, Can't WAIT!

Waiting on Meisa For Valentine's Day

Meisa Kuroki "Unlocked" Version A

Ah, just put in my order for the new upcoming CD release from luscious model/singer/actress Meisa Kuroki entitled UNLOCKED...the limited Editions come with bonus DVDs, and though I have no IDEA what's on them, I figured I'd better grab 'em before they sell out!

Meisa Kuroki "Unlocked" Version B

The two limited editions and the regular releases feature different covers, and in the end, out of the two limited edition covers, I loved how Meisa looked on the cover of Version A more than Version B, and that's the one I'm expecting! Due for release on February 15th, this will be a late Valentines Gift to myself!

Meisa Kuroki "Unlocked" Regular Edition

Album Pics from Tokyohive

Matsushima Nanako eating a Monaka

Lookin’ For Memes in all the Wrong Places

So I’m waiting in the parking lot of Pearlridge the other day, and as I’m standing there talking to my friend Car on the phone, I glance over at a white compact car that hasn’t been washed since the rains, and looking at the door on the passenger side, I exclaim to Car, “Hey, somebody drew that internet meme Nyan-Cat on the side of this car!”

“Nyan Cat?” Car asked curiously.

“Yeah, you know, that flying Pop-Tart thing with the cat’s head and rainbows coming out of its butt. And HEY! They drew Pikachu, too! HAHAHA!” I laughed and said, “I have GOT to take a picture of this!” I put her on hold and took the anime scribbles of both passenger side doors before resuming my conversation, marvelling at the detail that went into it!

I waa discussing how I could text message her the pics when a thought occurred to me… “Hey, I wonder if they drew anything on the other side of the car…?AHAHAHA, they drew PEDO-BEAR! AHAHAHAHA! You have GOT to see this! It’s done so well!! TOO FUNNY!”

Well, in the end, I figured the fastest  way to show Car the pics was to simply post ‘em up here on my blog, and that way all of you out there could enjoy it too! See what can be accomplished when you have the determination (and too much time on your hands?)

Ahahaha, those doggone internet memes…not just for the web any more!

Notes On Kohaku Uta Gassen 2011

Kohaku Uta Gassen 2011: Inoue Mao and Arashi

This was the first time I was able to download the Kohaku right after it aired in Japan since entering the internet age…in the past years I’ve had to wait for the local station to air it or watch it streaming online, and you know what the quality is like that way! So this time it was an absolute treat to watch the program right away, and in brilliant, crisp ts. quality! (thanks to terahata via jpopsuki!)

Nana Mizuki

Just about everyone looked and sounded great here, and I was thrilled to see some of my favorite singles from the past year being performed here like “Flying GET” by AKB48, “Miageta Ryusei” by TOKIO, and the ultra peppy POP MASTER by genki Nana Mizuki (reminding me a bit of Hiroko Moriguchi here). Of course I was stoked to see AAA making their well-deserved second appearance, doing the thumpin’ song CALL (though I wished they coulda done flip side single “Lights” instead) and it make me smile to see how happy they were to be there!

AAA

Drooled over the sexy ‘n’ leggy performances of K-Pop sensations KARA strutting their stuff in their “2011 Medley” and Shojo Jidai doing “Genie”…

KARA

Shoujo Jidai

Got teary eyed over the wonderfully heartfelt performances of Arashi doing “Furusato (where the single thought going through my head was WHAT! Sho plays PIANO?) followed by the always somber Ayaka Hirahara. Was excited to see my old favorite Matsutoya Yumi (seeing her coming down the stairs during the opening ceremony made me giddy with anticipation!!) here performing  her classic “Haru Yo Koi” live...

Arashi "Furusato"

Yumi Matsutoya "Haru Yo, Koi"

 ...But for me the absolute highlight just HAD to be the double-pronged Natsu-Matsuri flavored celebration of song by Ayako Fuji and Hosokawa Takashi- 

Ayako Fuji

Takashi Hosokawa

WOW these two just came out FULL FORCE and showed everyone what the Year-End festival was all about, so bright, happy and FUN! And DAMN! Is Ayako Fuji getting just prettier and PRETTIER with age? She looked so DAMN FINE!

Like last time, they set up as hosts of the show ARASHI as the White Team captains, and this time for the Red Team leader, they got adorable and perky Mao Inoue to take the reins. So cute watching her naively working her way through the show, and her reaction to the contest results just brought tears to my eyes, she was SO emotional! And hella pretty, to boot!

Part Two: Those Hilarious Flubs!

When You're dealing with a tightly run LIVE telecast, things are BOUND to go awry, and what would the Kohaku be without those inevitable mis-steps and bloopers? Ya Gotta Laugh, and my two favorite flubs this year are:

1. The Stagehand in the background trying to take the table prop 

away during Natsuko Godai's performance

2. The Fathead walking in front of Mao Inoue while she

 delivers her eulogy about the Japan Disaster

Ahahah, too funny! Aw, whatever, it was a grand old show, and I can't wait to see what they accomplish next year!

PS: OK, one more thing...

My, Didn't Kyoka Suzuki look positively stunning, regal and refined that night? Whoa!