Manic Pixie Girl Sakurako

Oshiri Maeda and Sakurako Konishi in "Neko"

 
The drama trope of the "Manic Pixie Dream Girl" is an oft used chestnut depicting a shleppy guy with no direction in life who comes across a spritely, energetic girl who shows him how to life, til it is revealed she has been living life to her fullest because she is dying of a disease...So overused is this trope that CollegeHumor nailed it perfectly in their hilarious short "Manic Pixie Prostitute"!
When Hamanosilence mentioned the drama "Neko" to me and mentioned the set-up as exactly the Manic Pixie Dream Girl scenario, I voiced my reservations, but after falling in love with cute actress Sakurako Konishi from her eccentric stint in "Furo Girl"(below), I decided to give it a try!

Well, so far it's hitting all the cliches we've come to expect, complete with the guy immediately turning the story into the godawful "He loves her but can't tell her" trope which I HATE (looking at you, Girl who Leapt through time!), but you know what, Sakurako Konishi is indeed as cute as advertised, and the show charms on her merit alone!

Guy (Oshiro Maeda) Meets Girl when he believes she has found a cat that has been reported missing...

They soon find out it isn't the cat that was missing after all, but agree to have drinks at a nearby cafe...

The two are getting along great, til the girl reveals she is dying of a brain tumor...

Guy confesses he wanted the reward money  for the cat 'cause he needs a place to stay, to which she offers to let him stay at her place...

While there, he has only three rules:

One: He must walk her to the bus stop each day.

Two: he must greet her and the Bus stop when she comes home.

And three, and most soberly, he must call her relatives on that fateful day when she passes away.

And the, of course, Guy promptly falls in love with said girl! And so on and so on...

So far everything moving along as expected, but still, a rather enjoyable romp!

Will watch this one through!

Posted by zdorama @ zdoramaagain,blogspot.com

Erika Toda Gets Hitched

 Hey! Looks like Erika toda got married today, and to none other than Tori Matsuzaka!

From the Straits Times:

SINGAPORE - Popular Japanese actress Erika Toda and actor Tori Matsuzaka said on Thursday (Dec 10) that they have tied the knot.

The news came as a surprise to the Japanese entertainment industry as the newlyweds, both 32, had never been linked in dating rumours previously, but they had worked together on the comedy suspense film April Fools (2015), as two people whose lives become entangled after they have a one-night stand.
Both stars made the announcement through their agencies and a note on their respective Twitter accounts. 

Toda, known for playing as Misa Amane in the Death Note film series (2006 to 2016), as well as her roles in the Code Blue television series (2008 to 2017) and Hana Yori Dango (Boys Over Flowers) Returns (2007), made clear that she has no plans to retire from acting after marriage.
She wrote in her note: "I'll continue to carry the gratitude I feel for everyone and hopefully become a better actress from this point forwards. Please watch over me warmly."

Matsuzaka was named Best Leading Actor this year at the prestigious Japan Academy Awards for his role in political drama The Journalist (2019).
He wrote in his note: "This may be a sudden announcement but I, Tori Matsuzaka, have married Erika Toda."
He adds: "As the circumstances of my lifestyle change, I will be more responsible and conscious than ever and face everything with sincerity."

Huh, looks like yet another Power Couple in the Biz! Congrats to the newlyweds!

Crush of The Day: Mayu Hotta

Satsui no Michinori continues to be one of the best dramas on right now, and a HUGE part of that is due to the wonderful charisma of actress Mayu Hotta! 

This past week’s show is the best one yet, continuing on with the story of two cousins (the wonderfully mundane team of Bakarhythm and Arata Iura) who are planning an elaborate murder/revenge on a corporate bigwig. Episode 3 featured the return of Konoha, the pretty cabaclub hostess with the sensible attitude towards all things to do with true crime and MURDER!

MAN, Mayu Hotta is absolutely PRECIOUS as Konoha, and if I thought she stole the show in episode 1, it may well be that Mayu ends up running away with the WHOLE DRAMA, she is SO doggone CHARISMATIC here!!!!!

So spunky, sassy and so PRETTY that I was beside myself watching her in action as she simultaneously entertains the guys in her capacity as the cabaclub hostess (prepping drinks,etc) as well as advising the hopeless Kazuma over his choices of murder implementation!

When Kazuma mentions strangling as a possible choice of murder, Konoha sagely tells him that it takes a lot of resolve to strangle someone as you're staring them right in the eyes.

"Hmmmm, here, try strangling me," she suggests, and Kazuma's heart can't help but flutter as his hands touch her neck  and she commands him to stare into her eyes as he does it.

"See? Hard to choke someone when you're looking right at them, right?" If only she knew! So mesmerizing and captivating is Konoha that Kazuma cannot help but fall under her spell, and we are falling in love right there next to him!!!

There is a brief kerfuffle when he hears Mitsuru tell the other hostess Yuzuki (Yui Sakuma) the murder plans, but in the end they decide to trust her since she’s a friend of Konoha... indeed, she is completely sympathetic to their ordeal, and in  the end,  the four end up going to sing Karaoke! 

Next comes one of the FUNNIEST scenes where Konoha is advising Kazuma about HER personal choice of which route they should go murdering Murooka, while at the same time Yuzuki is belting out the Gen Hoshino theme song “Koi” from the Yui Aragaki drama “Nigeru wa Haji da ga Yaku ni Tatsu” , OMFG I was laughing so HARD!

Cannot believe how fast I’ve been falling for Mayu Hotta- seems it was just a few weeks ago that I had seen her for the first time in Kiken Na Venus, which, though she was elegant and attractive, didn’t hint at how awesome she could be!

Mayu in Kiken na Venus with Satoshi Tsumabuki

At this point, it looks like I’ll HAVE to watch Itoshi no Nina and am downloading it even as we speak, but I wonder if her character of Nina can even halfway compare to the awesomeness of her role of Konoha- this is THE role of hers!!!

Mayu as the titular Nina in "Itoshi No Nina"

As always in my “Crush of The Day” posts, I like to look over past stats and see what else I might have seen the girl in before, and looking at Mayu’s Asianwiki credits, seems I’ve seen her in a handful of shows, none of which I really remember her in, though she looked as lovely as ever~

Looks like one of her earliest roles was a guest appearance in Keiko Kitagawa’s "Ie Uru Onna"...

Another Patient role in "Hakui No Senshi"

Then a flashback scene in "Cold Case":

I only saw one episode of Cheer Dan, but re-watching it, there she was!

Part of the Nurse staff in Koi wa Tsuzuku yo Dokomade mo:

A cute cameo in Shinitai Yoru ni Kagitte:

as well as an appearance in the movie "Korosanai ~He Won’t Kill She Won't Die”, as yet ANOTHER adorably precocious girl….

Yep, Mayu is really making her mark and it looks like we’ll be seeing much more of this FINE filly in the months to come!

Hahaha, hey, she’s even in the new NHK asadora “Yell”, LOL!

Posted by zdorama @ zdoramaagain.blogspot.com

Ano Ko No Yume wo Mitan Desu~"It's Full Of Stars!"

 There was this wonderful drama years back called Onnatachi wa Nido Asobu (which I talked about here), about an author with writer’s block who becomes inspired to write stories about the various women he sees in the restaurant he’s at each day...

Drama Ano Ko No Yume wo Mitan Desu does a similar take on this premise, with a bespectacled lad named Ryota Yamasato (Taiga Nakano) who makes up stories about various actresses whenever he needs to relieve stress!

Like Onnatachi Nido Asobu before it, the cast features a BEVY of beautiful actresses in the leads of the short stories, this time a whole bunch of young stars, and almost ALL of them are BIG new faves of mine which I’ve gushed about here!!

So far we've seen:

Ayami Nakajo as a popular girl who hires someone to reject her so she can learn the meaning of heartbreak...

Kyoko Yoshine as a girl in a fantasy story who finds herself as the savior of Japan...

Marie Iitoyo as a girl who gets the gift of a button that can reset the day...

Nana Mori as a girl who wants to be a tragic heroine in her own story...

Sakurako Ohara, a spritely bubble-gum chewing fairy who comes to Ryota  whenever he cannot speak his mind...

Karen Otomo as a girl who befriends the outcasts of her class...

 and most recently, Sei Shiraishi as a career woman who wants to learn the zen of jealousy...

Out of all of them though, it’s the one featuring Maika Yamamoto that’s my fave, in a cute story about a girl who agrees to go out with Ryota if he can snatch the red ribbon out of her hair. Seems simple enough…but she turns out to be a black-belt karate expert!!!

Oh my Gosh, I REALLY loved this one!

At this point we're up tp the 8th episode mark and we've still got Riho Sayashi, Ai Hashimoto and Elaiza Ikeda to come! Such a fine little show!!!