Notes on KEIZOKU: SPEC- SHO

Okay, I JUST finished watching the KEIZOKU SPEC~SHO special, and I have to say that I’m just as confused as I was before! SO many people dying and UN-dying, pretending to be dead and really being dead, Gads, why can’t they just give me a thriller WITHOUT so much M. Night Shyamalan TWISTS?!

 In better news, the SPEC special does work as a self-compartmentalized story (if you remove the X-Files “who’s-really-the-bad-guys” clichés) of a SPEC who wants to eliminate other SPEC holders for power-control, and even BETTER is the return of Keizoku Spec’s two cuter cameos actresses,  Erina Mano as the Mind-Reading Satori:

...and the underused but INSANELY adorable Arimura Kasumi as cute-as-bunnies Masaki Miyabi (or rather, “Miyabi-chan", as a smitten Ryu Raita calls her):

In a drama where Toda Erika is off looking  as dour and disheveled as possible, it’s really refreshing to see SOME girls bringing the feminine ways I love so much! Though truth be told, even the unwashed Erika Toda does something for me, such is the power of her charms! LOL! OK, now, onto SPEC TEN...

Posted by zdorama @ zdoramaagain.blogspot.com

Mop Girl Rides Again! (Well, Sort Of...)

Kitagawa Keiko in the new supernatural thriller Akuma-Chan

 Just finished watching the first episode of the supernaturally wacky AKUMU-CHAN, and for those of you out there who (like me) have yearned for the day when Kitagawa Keiko returns to her MOP GIRL roots, this drama will surely be the tonic! 

Kitagawa Keiko meets Kimura Manatsu

The story of a young girl with clairvoyant powers to see the future who teams up with an older sensei to help her prevent the calamities from happening is pure Momoko Hasegawa, only this time, Keiko's the senior and actress Kimura Manatsu is the child with "the gift"!

Yuiko Imploring Mutoi's help

"Now What Have I gotten Myself Into?!"

 Keiko plays Mutoi Ayami, a teacher with a seemingly wonderfully bright and perky personality that disguises her actual cold-hearted nature underneath. One day a new transfer student named Yuiko arrives and tells her that she is the only one who can save an old woman from dying. An unbelieving Mutoi refuses to act, and only after the horrific accident happens does she believe the child when she says  she can dream the future. Together with the girl and her eccentric scientist Grandfather (played by the equally eccentric Fumiyo Kohinata), they team up to stop future catastrophes from happening!

Kohinata Fumiyo, Kimura Manatsu and Kitagawa Keiko

"Your Dreams are getting me in Trouble!"

While the show leans more towards a realistic slant (the fantasy elements are kept in dreams and are meant to be "symbolic" of the events happening in the "Real World"), there's still enough mind-boggling surprises to keep Keiko Kitagawa constantly giving that wonderful open-mouthed stunned face of puzzlement, the interaction between her and the young Manatsu are charming, and throwing in cute YUKA as a rival schoolteacher (well, Health Aide) who is constantly at odds with her, this is a treat for older and newer Keiko fans alike!

Yuka trades barbs with Keiko

Posted by zdorama @ zdoramaagain.blogspot.com

"We Got Married" So Awesome!!!

The "We Got Married" Cast of Season4

I mentioned in an earlier post about how much I was enjoying the latest season of  "We Got Married", and I have to say that 8 epiosdes in, there seems to be no signs of slowing down! The couples are so interesting and the situations so much fun, each week feels like taking a trip to the mountains to stay at a rental cabin with friends!!!

WGM Gals: SeAh, Sunhwa, and YeonSeo

WGM Guys: LeeJoon, Julien and KwangHee

Now, each couple is good in their own way, but I think it's clear to anyone watching that by far the most entertaining couple is the pairing of Sunhwa and KwangHee- their childish and engaging antics really make up the "heart" of the show, and whenever they're onscreen, you KNOW something fun and ZANY is going to happen!!!

SunHwa and KwangHee: Zaniness Ensues!!!

Just finished watching their latest segment and an smiling from ear to ear! So much FUN! OK, onto the NEXT couple!
Posted by zdorama @ zdoramaagain.blogspot.com

SPEC10 Viewing Pre-Empted!!!

  As you all may recall , back when it originally aired, I was quite a fan of the Erika Toda/Ryo Kase Supernatural thriller SPEC, the high-charged sequel to the cool Nakatani Miki / Atsuro Watabe drama KEIZOKU, so when I came upon the new movie sequel SPEC10, I downloaded it with anticipation and planned my evening around watching it!!
  Well, not even one minute into the movie (as the show recapped what had gone on before), and I was already like, "Whoa, I don't remember THAT! Whoa! I don't remember THAT either!"  At first it crossed my mind that maybe these "flashbacks" were actually new scenes to set-up the movie storyline, but after watching 15 minutes of the movie, it was clear that I was missing something. 

  A thought occurred to me: could there have been ANOTHER movie that had come out BEFORE SPEC10? I didn't see any listed on Erika Toda's wiki file, but typing in Keizoku SPEC SP, and sure enough, what came up was a special called "Keizoku SPEC~SHOU". There was a whole 'nother SPEC show I had to get BEFORE I could continue watching SPEC10!

   So sadly, my night was spend NOT watching the new movie, but instead trying to locate that first Special! I'm currently in the process of acquiring it, so once that happens, it will be a KEIZOKU SPEC Film festival at my house!!!

Posted by zdorama @ zdoramaagain.blogspot.com

Afterschool Enters My List of K-Pop Faves!

 Seems like I'm discovering a new favorite K-pop group about every month, and this month is no exception as Pledis Entertainment group AFTERSCHOOL makes the leap to the upper echelon of my K-pop Obsession!
  Oh sure, I've liked them lots before (as witnessed by my earlier posts about them here and there) but for the most part, they were a band that (though I loved their singles like Ah!, Rip Off and Flashback), it was far more about my infinite love of Lizzy (via Running Man) than about the group as a whole.

  Somehow, the catalyst that sparked this newfound love was when I was trying to find a nice live version of their (awesome) song BANG! to show my friend Car, as I thought it one of their most visually stimulating songs (still do, in fact)... Well, I DID find some live performances, but more importantly, during that quest, I came upon a whole plethora of Afterschool goodness- super cool Music Videos,  Sexy Live Performances, and best of all, a whole bunch of Variety Shows and Specials with ENGLISH SUBTITLES!!! YES!!! I found myself watching everything hour after hour, and it was this (in particular the wonderful MBC show PLAYGIRLZ SCHOOL) that made me learn to really LOVE Afterschool and pushed them over into my Top Ten of K-pop Favorites!

Getting To Know the Girls: Raina, Lizzy, Kahi, Uee...

...and JungA, Bekah, Nana and Jooyeon

  After a time of learning the members both old and new (and being thrilled to find original member Bekah came from my humble state of Hawaii, no less!!!) and falling in love with their entire catalog of songs, I KNEW it was time to go out and GRAB some of their CDs!!! I wasted no time going online and putting together an order of some of their albums, and what you see below is the first of more to come (at least, if my WALLET can sustain it!!! LOL)

My Latest K-Pop Haul, Afterschool style!

Posted by zdorama @ zdoramaagain.blogspot.com

That Was Yoon Se Ah

Yoon Se Ah with Julien Kang on We Got Married

Only just realized last night that the pretty "Yoon Se Ah" that I’ve been watching on current episodes of “We Got Married” is the same Yoon Se Ah I’d thought was sooo cute months ago in an older episode of  “Running Man”!

Yoon Se Ah on Running Man

  Funny, it was only after watching no less than 6 episodes of WGM that I began to wonder why she looked so darn familiar. Typing her name into the Google Search engine, I was surprised to see Running Man come up, then when I saw which episode it was, it just blew my mind! HOLY CRAP! Yoon Se Ah was THAT adorable lady? Well, Well!!! This  is really a terrific couple, and the culture clashes they have keep their segments entertaining as heck!

Shopping in We Got Married

Posted by zdorama @ zdoramaagain.blogspot.com

It's All About Kim Ji Won

Kim Ji Won as Seol Han-Na in To The Beautiful You

  I only began watching the Korean version of Hanazakari Kimitachi E AKA “To The Beautiful You’ when I found out f(x)’s resident supercutie Sulli was playing the part of the lead “ Horiikita Maki” guy/girl part, but I have to say, as I finish watching episode 10, that my hands down favorite actress in this production just HAS to be Kim Jiwon, playing the part of the evil girlfriend protagonist Seol Han-Na.

Above and Below: Flawlessly playing the part of the "Bitchy Girlfriend"

 A stock charater like the “demanding, selfish girlfriend of the Hero” is made to be a one dimensional throwaway character, but something about Kim Ji Won’s portrayal of Han-na makes her totally sympathetic in my eyes, and at times I hate knowing that her destiny is to be cast aside to make way for the big “happy ending” of Minho’s TaeJoon and Sulli’s Jaehee finally getting together!

  I don’t know if the directors/screenwriters fo the show accidentally made her too likeable or if Jiwon herself is turning Seol Han-Na into a strong character by her terrific acting, but I think her scenes are the ones that are totally moving the story for me, in the latest episode, she was just breaking my heart!! Such an awesome lil actress- Can’t wait to see what happens next!

Posted by zdorama @ zdoramaagain.blogspot.com

Eye-Ai Changes Tactics, Gets Me To Buy New Issue

October Issue of Eye-Ai with Orange Caramel

  About a couple of years ago it seems like local Japan Entertainment magazine Eye-Ai figured out that the best way to sell lots of their issues was to simply feature a Johnny’s Entertainment Boys Group, because it became a regular thing to see them on the covers, month after month!
  Kinki Kids, Kat-tun, Arashi, even solo acts like Domoto Koichi and Takizawa Hideaki, it became a fun routine to visit Shirokiya each month to see which Johnny’s artist “made the cut”, so imagine my surprise when the new issue came out and featured on the cover was none other than K-pop Group AFTERSCHOOL’s cute sub-unit Orange Caramel!!!
  I couldn’t remember the last time a Korean artist was on the cover of the magazine, but this was certainly the first time since I became a fan of K-pop, and a group I adored, to boot! I HAD to pick this one up!!! Perusing the article, the interview was  pretty simple and basic, (the girls were promoting their cover of the Candies song "Sweet Devil" which I talked about here) but never mind, this was the first magazine in any fashion I’d bought with a K-pop act on the cover! Mmm, who’s next…Girls Generation? *Crosses Fingers*
Posted by zdorama @ zdoramaagain.blogspot.com

T-ara's Star Life Theater

 I finally got around to watching T-ara’s five-part special "Star Life Theater". I began downloading it awhile ago, but then that whole terrible fracas blew up and I just didn’t have the heart to venture there for awhile. But now that some time has passed and everyone seems to be O.K., I thought it was time I check it out, and BOY am I glad I DID- This was really QUITE and interesting and insightful show! 

T-ara’s Star Life Theater focused on the girls work on their single and music videos for their song “Day By Day” as well as the preparations for their subsequent Japan Tour.
They show the girls practicing in the studios, in the dance rehearsal rooms and even their daily activity and days off. They even take the time to visit some girls in their homes and interview their parents and friends, so you really learn a LOT about what goes on “behind the scenes” with the group. You get to see the girls hanging out backstage with their peers like Girls' Generation's Tiffany, Taeyeon and Seohyun (there for their TTS promos), as well as Sulli, Victoria and Amber from uber cool dance group f(x)!

Tiffany gives her eye-smile of encouragement to the girls!

And Sulli, Victoria and Amber of f(x) are there as well!

But even more that this is the insight to the personalities and dynamics of the group. Hwayoung has stated before that she’s always felt like she never connected with the other girls, and here you DO see a bit of what she’s talking about, but watching further, it seems that actually even Qri, Boram and Soyeon are outside of the “core” trio of Hyomin, Eunjung and Jiyeon. Those three have a very close bond between them, so at times it does seem pretty "clique-ish", but what are you gonna do, they were part of the original 5-ara, and have spent the most time together, so of course they would be closest. There's a segment where the camera n crew goes to Hyomin's apartment and she invites Eunjung and Jiyeon for dinner where they talk story, Very fun and interesting, but feels kind of weird because it makes them seem so distant from the other girls.

Other episodes find the crew following the individual girls on their days off- Hwayoung spends hers with her twin sister Hyoyoung (of Co-Ed School and 5Dolls fame) where she gets emotional talking about the bond they share with each other, and in other clips we get to meet Boram's family as well as Eunjung and Jiyeon's mother when they go to each embers' respective houses. In fact, the only one who didn't seem to have any special segment was Qri! There was a really cute segment where Jiyeon and Hyomin were playfully shooting a CM wherre big sister Eunjung  came and watched them with a smile!

Hwayoung and twin sister Hyoyoung

Boram at home with the family

Jiyeon and Hyomin shooting a CM

Soyoen's one was also kind of bittersweet, she says she's always wanted to be a singer (in the vein of Whitney Houston) but singing in an idol group doesn't give her much chance to show her vocal skills. So she really likes songs like "Cry Cry". And it was really sad, during practice (gads, the girls practice for like 10 hours straight, frick) , the girls are rewarded with a late-night meal of pork wraps to eat and re-nourish themselves for the rest of the session, but Soyeon can't because the comeback is coming soon and she has the kind of body metabolism where she constantly has to work to keep the weight off. So sad, she almost looked in tears. And when the interviewer asked who in T-ara can eat and not gain weight, she gestured towards Hyomin, happily stuffing her face. I had to smile, sweet oblivious Hyomin!

I know that T-ara have "rotating leadership", but one thing that struck me watching this is how much Eunjung is really like a REAL leader of sorts. Just listening to her talk about the group’s past and future and you really get a sense of authority in her voice. In fact, she reveals that back in the early days, she actually WAS co-leader of the group! I have to say  I really liked the parts with her. Eunjung's really becoming a favorite member of mine, right there alongside Hyomin!

Remembering Bo Peep Bo Peep: Eunjung

Speaking of Hyomin, besides the dinner she threw at her apartment, there was also this really nice segment where she had a "solo" day and went up to film a new episode of Invincible Youth Season 2, where she got giggly reuniting with her friend Sunhwa (of Secret) who was also there to visit, so much fun watching the two reminisce of their days shooting Season 1!

Hyomin and Sunhwa

The most interesting segments were the parts with Jiyeon. She’s quite candid about her past trials and tribulations and future concerns, and I kept forgetting she's the maknae of T-ara, she seems REALLY mature. In one episode, she took the crew to her apartment, where she said she was going to cook dinner for a "friend", the doorbell rang, and it was IU! So much fun, they kept making fun of each other, accusing the other of being the worse cook, LOL! They met through variety shows and have been very close friends sinc,e and it really shows!

Jiyeon and IU

Later the interviewer was talking to Jiyeon who said that because she was shuffled around so much growing up that she never really had friends. She said that in her life, she only has TWO real friends, IU and Luna.

I was like "Huh? LUNA Luna? Like f(x) Luna?" I typed in "Jiyeon and Luna" into the google search engine, and was happy to discover that it was TRUE!!! So many fan-shot videos of Luna and Jiyeon huddled together like this one at the Idol Olympics, soooo heartwarming:

Then there is this episode of "Come To Play" where the three friends came on and talked about stuff, where we learned that Luna and Jiyeon have been friends since school.

There's this one interesting part where IU is talking about auditioning for some singing contest, and she didn't win, but she said she understood why the girl that DID win won, years later when KARA debuted, she saw Hara, and said, HEY! it's that girl that won the contest! So Funny!   At the end, there is the part where the girls say their thanks to each other, Jiyeon got all emotional thanking Luna, and Luna explained that they're always there for each other. Then Jaesuk wrapped the show up, and I thought, hey, they didn't let Luna give her thanks! D'oh! Anyway, after watching these Star Life Theater episodes, I have to say once again, what a cryin' pityin' shame that all that nastiness had to go down. I really wish things could have worked out, I feel horrible about Hwayoung’s departure. At least, to date, T-ara has gotten back on track, hopefully we'll see Hwayoung in some capacity in the future. All ex-T-ara members come back, right? LOL! Queens Fighting!!

To Infinity and Beyond!
Posted by zdorama @ zdoramaagain.blogspot.com

The Miho Nakayama Collection Series is Complete!

 

I’ve always been sort of a passive/aggresive fan of seminal j-pop idol Nakayama Miho’s work; though I’ve never really explored her album releases, I love her singles very, very much. That’s why even though I have several singles, VHS and Laserdisc concerts and four Greatest Hits packages of hers, my total Miho Nakayama collection consists of only ONE album! (Pure White, which contained the non-single song “Title” which I learned from that first j-pop mix a friend made for me)

    Anyway, So though I’ve never had much album content from her, LOVED those four Single Compilations: Miho Nakayama Collections I, II and III as well as the later anthology “Treasury” (which features Miho in the ugliest permed hairdo of all time on the cover), and have always wondered if they were going to release a collection for her later singles.

    Well, it’s been years and years since I’d thought about checking up on our dear Miho, imagine my surprise when I happened to browse through her Generasia info page and found that in 2006, they’d actually released Collection IV!!!! MY GOSH, I had to have it, and the timing was right, as I’ve been in full nostalgia mode since the Chisato Moritaka Singles Collection set came out!

Since I already had an open order on CD Japan, I quickly added it to the picklist, and in a few weeks, it arrived! First off, I have to say what a BEAUTIFUL cover (and back cover) this collection is! Truthfully, I didn’t like the covers of Collections I and II much, this pretty face shot of Miho for Vol. IV is fantastic…and it’s a good thing, too, when you consider there ain’t a single other picture in the booklet!

But no biggie, the thing that matters most is the MUSIC, right? And this is the greatest hits I was truly waiting for, as it covered that period of time where I REALLY loved her, from singles “Hurt To Heart” through to the elegant “Mirai E No Present”, the latter the Okamoto Mayo song that may well be my all-time favorite single of Miho’s! Ooh, can’t wait to dive into this collection!!!

Nakayama Miho Collection IV Track Listing:

Cheers For You

Hurt To Heart

Thinking About You

True Romance

Mirai E No Present

Machikara

Love Clover

A Place In The Sun

Adore

EDIT: It really must be Miho Nakayama Time; CD Japan has just semt me an email informing me that Miho’s going to be on the cover of this month’s Sunday Mainichi! Mmmm, she’s still lookin’ as fine and purty as ever!!!

10.2012 Sunday Mainichi

Posted by zdorama @ zdoramaagain.blogspot.com