Favorite J-Pop Singles: Sohma Hiroko / Hoshi Ni Negai O

Now here’s an ususual one for me in regards to japanese dramas. You know how I always rave about certain dramas having killer songs that simply made the shows better? And how there were even dramas that I loved BECAUSE the theme song was so good?

Well here’s one for the books- there was a drama where I LOVED the ending song-but didn’t like the drama at all!! So I would tune in at the end of each episode to see the credits roll because it was so good, even though I’d given up on the show itself after around episode 4! Oh, I continued to watch it in that sort of “It’s-on-but-I’m-doing-other-things-at-the-same-time” kind of way, just in case it got better, but I’m sad to say that (for me, anyway,) it never did.

The show was a drama called Konna Watashi ni Dare ga Shita (Who Made Me This Way?) starring Shinji Takeda and Tsutsumi Michitaka as a struggling comedic duo who can’t seem to get any breaks. They frequent a Club that sports a giant framed bulletin board that’s covered with photots of all the great comedic stars that have “Made It” from the club. “Someday, We’ll have OUR photo in that case”, they firmly believe, if they can enlist the aid of the legendary manager who nurtured these great stars. Unfortunately for them, they find the talent agent (played by Esumi Makiko) has become bitter and jaded and refuses to help them. They have to prove to her that they can make it!

So that’s the general premise of the show, the trials and tribulations of the duo as they overcome obstacles within the business and within themselves to try and reach for the brass ring. Throw in Takako Matsu and Ryoko Hirosue and you had a pretty visual show, but really, nothing that could keep me entertained, that is, until the ENDING SONG STARTED.

The ending credits begin with the sound of a steel door slamming as the title of the Show: “Konna Watashi ni Dare ga Shita?” appears. Instantly, Hiroko Sohma’s voice begins singing its earnest song, then. as chimes break in with the drums, the (all-star) cast headshots flicker by: Shinji Takeda, Tsutsumi Michitakai, Hirosue Ryoko, Matsu Takako, etc, then as the credits starts scrolling up as they begin showing recaps of the episode…

Then, as Hiroko works her way to singing the chorus, in black and white, the scenes are intercut with this dreamy future of Shinji and Tsutsumi nervously climbing the stairs up to a stage. The symbolism isn’t lost on me, the climbing of the stairs is supposed to stand for their struggles, and as each clip goes back to them climbing, you really get the sense of them working their way to the top til they finally, they get to the stage, look at each other as if to acknowledge: “We’ve Made It!”…then as they walk out, the crowd erupts into applause!!!

Then as the song comes to an end, the shot of them turns into a photo and pulls back to show it’s hanging in the famed bulletin board in the Club! They’ve MADE IT! Kakkoi!

Like I said, after a few episodes, my interest in the drama itself waned, but I still tuned in just so I could watch that incredible ending. I ended up videotaping those credits, and watched it like it was the actual PV for the song! HAHAHA!

Check it out for yourself, and see how perfectly the visuals match the song as the uplifting choruses go alongside the duo's symbolic "rise" up the stairs towards success!

In an interesting side-line, years later I knew this guy who loved Takako Matsu and wanted to know if I taped Konna Watashi Dare Ga Shita. I told him I only taped the ending song. I showed it to him, and he excitedly said, Can you make me a copy of this?!  I said,"But it's only the ending credits", to which he replied, "Yeah, but Takako Matsu is in it for a few seconds!" WHOA! Now THAT'S dedication! And here I thought he wanted it for the song!

PS: Funny Thing about vocalist Hiroko Sohma… I’ve always suspected that Hiroko might actually be awesome singer/composer Kohmi Hirose, because the singing AND writing seem SO similar to her style! In fact, it almost looks like the name “Hiroko Soma” is an anagram for “Kohmi Hirose”, dessho? But of course, I may be reading JUST a bit into it!!! AHAHAHAA!

*Addendum: Hey, just found out through Kohmi's Wikipedia site that she DID in fact 
write Hoshi Ni Negai O!!! There just ain't no mistaking that style!!!

Who's That Girl? It's Karen Miyama!

A while back, (more precisely, February of 2008) ARASHI appeared on popular music show UTABAN to promote their latest single STEP AND GO, and while all of their appearances are always entertaining as heck, this one spot was particularly interesting because in the spirit of Valentine’s Day, they had invited a handful of child actresses to chat and quiz Arashi on various love-related themes!

There were six of these girls, with ages running from 6 to 11, and while I myself didn’t know any of them, Car had seen about half of them in shows like HOTMAN and the like. All of them were cute and precocious, asking Arashi questions like “How should I confess my love to someone I like” and such, but there was one girl that I thought seemed to stand out from the rest of them.

“Wow”, I told Car, “That girl’s gonna be a heartbreaker when she gets a little older!” And I probably wasn't the only one to think so- In fact, even Nakai and the guys in Arashi were commenting on how grown-up she’d become since they last saw her, so I suppose she was already on her way!

I don’t know what it really was about her that struck me, perhaps her demeanor and composed state (and the fact that her favorite member of Arashi was an unexpected AIBA-kun!), but I really thought this girl had it together!

The girls performed little skits with various members of Arashi, and even here (in a wacky scene with Jun as a mean boyfriend and Nakai as a rock!) she impressed me with her professional acting and sense of humor.

That episode ended with the girls giving chocolates to their favorite member of Arashi, and in a MOST unprecedented scene, EVERY member got chocolate EXCEPT Matsujun!!! Ohno got one. Aiba got one. Sho got one. Jun got none. And Nino got...TWO! AHAHAHAHAHA!!!

After that I told myself I'd look out for that girl, and when I began watching "Byakoyakou” a few months ago and saw young actress Mayuko Fukuda, I thought to myself, “HEY! There she is! It's that girl that was in UTABAN!” When I relayed this to Car, however, she said “Hmmm…I don’t think so. I think it was some other girl”, but she couldn’t be sure.

Then when I began watching ENKA NO JOOU and JOOU NO KYOUKUSHI and saw Mayuko AGAIN, I was convinced that she WAS the girl in the Valentine’s Day special, but when I mentioned it to Car, she said that she’d gone back and re-watched the UTABAN episode, and it was NOT Mayuko Fukuda, though they DID look quite similar. Oops. MAN, I thought it was the girl!

ANYWAY…

So just last week I began watching the highly regarded Kusanagi Tsuyoshi Drama BOKU TO KANOJYO TO KANOJYO NO IKIRU MICHI. The Dramawiki synopsis gave me the impression the show was going to be about a man and his mid-life crisis, focusing on married couples and their relationships with each other. And though there IS a little of that, the heart of the show is about a man suddenly separated from his wife, and in true “Kramer VS Kramer” style, ending up having to take care of their child alone.

I wouldn’t say that I’m a HUGE fan of children-based dramas, ESPECIALLY when they’re of the “bratty because misunderstood” variety which irritates me to no end, but this (thankfully) wasn't one of those, and the little girl they got to play Tsuyoshi’s six year old daughter Rin was so INSANELY adorable and loveable she just melted my heart and won me over and I knew instantly that this drama would become my top viewing priority!
Every scene this girl was in killed me, just watching this cute waifish little thing following grouchy old Tsuyoshi across town practically brought tears to my eyes! What really pierces me is how sweet and innocent she is amidst the wreckage of her parents’ marriage. Tsuyoshi is a businessman and doesn’t want her, so he goes to talk to his wife who, after arguing, says she doesn’t want the girl either. “I don’t love her,” she flatly states. Tsuyoshi goes home, and there’s this TOTALLY heartbreaking scene when he goes into Rin’s room, and silently watches her sleeping. Just seeing this tiny, fragile unloved child sleeping in the bed JUST KILLS ME. Fortunately, it is this revelation that motivates Tsuyoshi to try and make an effort to care for Rin.

So after watching about 5 episodes of the Boku to Kanojo to Kanojo no Ikiru Michi, I’m talking to Car, gushing about the show, and in particular, this adorable child actress that she just has to see. “This little girl they got, she plays Tsuyoshi’s kid, and-

“THAT”S HER!!!!” Car abruptly realized, completely startling me!

EH? That’s WHO?

“That little girl is the girl in UTABAN that you keep thinking is Mayuko Fukuda!!!!"

"Remember, in Utaban, Nakai mentioned that she played Tsuyoshi’s daughter in that show!”

WHAAAATTT! This LITTLE, LITTLE girl was that UTABAN girl?

“Remember, they all were surprised how much she’d grown since that drama?” Car added. “Nakai had said she’d grown into a young lady!”

HUH! Could It BE?? I had to make sure! So I dug out my own copy of that Utaban episode, and watching it, for a while, I still couldn’t believe this 11-year-old girl was that 6 year old in BOKU KANOJYO. She’d changed so much in those 4 or 5 years that just about the only thing that looked like the little girl was her smile! But it WAS her, after all! WOW! SO I FINALLY got to know who this girl was!

I found out her name was Karen Miyama, and going online to research more about her, I was surprised to find that she’d actually been making quite a bit of headway into the idol arena, with multiple photobooks and video DVDs already on the market! But it’s funny that it seems like she hasn’t done too many dramas lately aside from playing “younger versions” of the lead actresses in flashback scenes like Keiko Kitagawa’s character in MOP GIRL and Tanimura Mitsuki’s in CAT STREET.

Perhaps when she gets a little bit older she’ll make the transition to teen actress and start getting bigger roles…I for one will be waiting to see her…and Mayuko Fukuda, too, for that matter! Them's two talented young actresses, they are!

J-Drama Femme Fatale: Konishi Manami

Or: A New Fave: Ashita No Kita Yoshio Part III

I remember talking to my friend Car after watching Episode 8 of the Yuki Amami detective drama BOSS, about that night’s villain, a vengeful sharpshooter girl played by actress Konishi Manami. Car said she remembered that I liked Konishi in some earlier drama, but couldn’t remember which one it was...

Eh? As far as I knew, this BOSS episode was the first thing I’d seen this actress in. “Are you sure I said I liked her?” I asked, and Car replied, “Yeah, you said she was really pretty!” This totally threw me for a loop, because although she certainly was attractive, Manami Konishi reminded me more of one of those yellow marshmallow peeps bunnies, albeit an angry, murderous one!

Then Car remembered: “Ah, she was in Orange Days! Remember, she was Tsumabuki’s girlfriend or something?” Then it hit me, and I DID remember him totally shafting this pretty teacher-type girl to obsess over Shibasaki Kou. Though the face eluded me, I DID remember noting how beautiful she was. So this was this same girl? Hm, I didn’t seem to have that same reaction in her BOSS appearance!

Then I started watching the awesome Riko Narumi drama Ruri No Shima, and what do you know, here was Manami again, once again playing a bitchy teacher! Though I loved the show and ended up loving her character as well, I still didn’t feel that spark I supposedly had back watching Orange Days…was it a fluke?

Now we’re up to present day, and I’m watching the Kohinata Fumiyo drama Ashita No Kita Yoshio, and once again, here was Manami playing a cold, bitter woman, but this time, her character was supposed to be a beautiful, classy and pure woman, and in every scene she was shown in classy outfits, sleek cars and sparkling jewelry, and it was THIS character that FINALLY opened my eyes!

On the outside she was depicted as a cool, calculating career woman, strutting the halls in her long, high heels and delivering her dialog in hard cold monotone along with an icy glare, but in private (or with her psychiatrist) she broke down into this meek, innocent waif who’d been lonely all her life and manipulated by those she loved. In short, the most fully developed character I’d seen her in, and I simply loved her in it!

You want to see Manami playing a complex character? well, that's definitely what you got with Washizu Mizuho. Intrigue and mystery surrounds this girl: Why would this gorgeous girl marry a nobody like Yoshio? Why did she mysteriously disappear from his life 11 years ago? And why is she being investigated for the murder of her second husband? So much secrets can be hidden behind a pretty nurse's outfit and a sweet smile!

Little by little, the clues come creeping out of the woodwork, all leading up to an explosive final episode where all the lies and deceptions come to a head! WOW! What an actress! This was no lightweight girl here- this was someone who could really deliver!
Funny, when I went back to those old episodes of BOSS and Ruri No Shima to get those screencaps, Manami seemed SO pretty and charismatic now that I’ve re-discovered my love for her! It's hard to believe I forgot how much I liked her! AHAHAHA!

What I’m trying to get next for my Manami Konishi-watching pleasure is the cute comedy drama KIRAKIRA KENSHUI, where Manami plays a good-natured nurse who always seems to be getting in trouble because she is spending too much time helping people out! Looks to be a FUN show!

Ah Manami-chan, will you ever forgive me for forgetting you?

Crush Of The Day: Yoshitaka Yuriko

Or: A New Fave: Ashita No Kita Yoshio part II

A while ago my friend Car offhandedly mentioned to me that my current fave actress at the time, Ayase Haruka, had just been bumped out of the number one spot of beloved actresses in the popularity polls.

The “new Number One” as it were seemed to be a new actress I hadn’t heard of before. Her name was Yuriko Yoshitaka, and though she appeared in “Atsuhime” (a drama I’d watched and loved), It wasn’t until the drama “Love Shuffle” started that I really registered a face with the name!

Well…my first impressions of Yuriko at this point were OK at best. I mean, I liked her and she seemed pretty, but to be fair, the girl Yuriko was playing didn’t give her too much of an opportunity to shine, as her character Hayakawa was manic depressive and spent most of the show looking morose, being bored, and remaining utterly silent! 

But it wasn’t until I started watching Ashita No Kita Yoshio that I finally saw how dazzling she could be!

As Kita Yoshio makes his journey through his last days, he mentions that one of the things he wanted to do was see Yoimachi Shinobu, a j-pop idol/singer whom he’d met years ago and had been taken in by how sweet she was...

When he finally DOES meet up with her again, he is shocked by her change- she isn’t ANYTHING like the sweet innocent idol he’d met before, but rather, a high-maintenance, spoiled, and surly girl with a HUGE chip on her shoulder. It is only after she senses how good-natured and naïve he is that she opens up to him. And it is HERE that she fully lets loose on the CUTE-o-meter!

Ditsy and energetic, she proceeds to turn Yoshio’s life upside down by teasing him, lying to him, stealing his things, getting him into trouble, and then making it all better with a cuddle and a smile! She pretends to be in trouble to make him rush to her side, runs away from him if he even HINTS that she’s not important, and in one of the more exciting turns, calls up her manager and tells her she’s been KIDNAPPED when she’s on a trip with Yoshio! Then when Yoshio gets a call, before he can explain the situation, Shinobu steals the phone out of his hands, and with peals of giggles, runs away! This chick is just the sassiest and naughtiest troublemaker ever!

I’m watching all of this unfold, and I’m completely won over by Yoshitaka! It’s like, Oh My God, I get it, I get it, Oh My God, this girl is so damn frickin' adorable holy crap this girl is just oozing sexual energy, I get it now, holy CRAP! Etcetera, Etcetera…

Every night that Shinobu visits the befuddled Yoshio, she lets him give her a foot massage, coyly saying, “I’ll give you a treat, and let you do this for me”, in reality, though, It’s completely narcissistic. Deep inside, she is insecure and desperate to be loved, when she offers her feet for Yoshio to massage, on the surface she is doing him a favor, but during the massage, she constantly asks, “Are you happy that I let you do this?” showing how important it is for her to be appreciated by someone.

When she first proposes the foot massage, she sprawls out on the bed and brings out a tube of lipstick. She proceeds to draw lines across her calves- she tells him, “this is the line you can’t go above”, very saucy! Though he should be thrilled, he has other things on his mind, and doesn’t get into it. The massages become a ritual for them, however, and after a long, crazy trip together, she goes “all the way”, or at least metaphorically speaking, when she tells him he can mark the lines on her legs anywhere he wants, offering to mark it high, higher, highest…! DAMN!

Folks, I was completely unprepared for this onslaught of cute and sexy…Yuriko isn’t even pictured in the promotional pics for the show and I thought she’d be a minor character at best, little did I know she’d just about STEAL THE SHOW for me! Whenever she’s onscreen, she is so cute, I can barely stand it!

Up next for me on my Yuriko-watching schedule is the VERY interesting-looking Hiroshi Abe drama SHIROI HARU, and I can’t wait to see just what kind of character Yuriko comes up with next!

A New Fave: Ashita No Kita Yoshio

I consider most Japanese dramas to fit into one of two very generalized categories which I’ve dubbed Episodic and Linear. Episodic dramas are the ones like Shomuni, Kinpachi Sensei and all the detective dramas like Galileo and Investigator Mariko, where they feature a set cast and have them solve a different problem/case each week.

Linear storylines are the ones that are a single story told in 11 (or so) chapters, dramas like Aishiteiru To Ittekure, Ryusei No Kizuna, Kamisama Mou Sukoshi Dake and Sora Kara Furu Ichioku no Hoshi, all spent the entire drama telling one tale.

Now, even linear dramas tend to be episodic in nature, since a lot of time is spent on other storylines rather than the actual plot, but every once in a while, you’ll come across a drama that is so tight that it actually feels like a movie that has been divided up into 11 parts, and I’ve just finished watching a great one with the drama Ashita No Kita Yoshio!

Ashita No Kita Yoshio is an intriguing, emotional and heartwarming drama about an unlucky man who’s decided to kill himself after 11 days, and the roller-coaster ride life decides to take him on once he makes this choice! Starring Kohinata Fumiyo as title character Kita Yoshio, this was a drama just filled with great actors and great scenes!

Ashita was first suggested to me by Sadacori, because of our mutual admiration of Kohinata, but when I clicked on the Dramawiki site and saw the banner for it, my first thought was, “Huh! It looks like a detective show trying to copy BOSS”! But I couldn't have been more off, and once I read the synopsis that accompanied the banner, I was intrigued!

Kita-san has come up with a “bucket List” of sorts, that is, things he wants to do before He dies, and one involves coming to town to have some curry, (his very favorite dish!) but gets involved with a mob-like huckster named Heita, (played by Ryuhei Matsuda, a totally cool character) who, although first irritated with Yoshio, upon hearing his suicide proclamation, decides to take him under his wing and help him fulfill his last wishes.

Part of the reason Heita’s being nice to Kita-san is because his girlfriend Rika has incurred a huge debt, and they hope to take an insurance claim out on the soon-to-be-deceased Yoshio, but his goodness slowly but surely starts working on Heita, til he sees him as a true friend.

One of the things on Kita-san’s list is to meet up with his ex-wife Mizuho who left him 11 years ago under unusual circumstances, and when we meet up with her, she already is involved in another sinister situation, as her second husband has just been killed and they have yet to determine if his death was an accident or murder! The character of Washizu Mizuho was played by actress Konishi Manami, and I’ll speak more on her later.

Another wish on his list is to meet up with Yoimachi Shinobu, a pretty idol girl he’d briefly met once years ago, her friendly demeanor she showed him at that time has stuck with him, and through Heita’s underground connections, is able to make plans to have dinner with her...But Kita-san is is for a shock as the sweet young idol he adored so many years ago is far from the pure idol he remembered! But once again, Yoshio’s sincerity comes through, and Shinobu realizes she can be herself around him. Shinobu was played by actrerss Yuriko Yoshitaka, and I’ll speak more on HER later, too!

Yep, the show’s filled with interesting and compelling characters, and a kick ass stable of actors to portray them! Even the second tier characters are solid- Chiaki Kuriyama as Heita’s girlfriend Rika, Jun Kaname as Mizuho’s able assisitant, I even got to see an appearance of Muroi Shigeru, an actress I hadn’t seen since her awesome perf on Africa No Yoru!

And as far as kakkoi characters in this drama, (Ryuhei Matsuda notwithstanding) the one character that surprised me most was Katsuhisa Namase! As the clear-headed straight arrow Insurance Investigator Sugimoto, he played the one level headed person in the entire drama, using his moxie and intellect to wade through all the lies and deceptions to get to the true story! Absolutely the coolest character ever played by the guy me and Car dubbed “The Japanese Jeff Goldblum”! AHAHAHAHA!

Favorite J-Pop Singles: True Kiss Destination / Girls, Be Ambitious!

When a single is chosen to be the beginning or ending theme to a drama, movie or commercial, the tune is usually shortened in consideration of the timeframe (which usually consists of a couple of minutes) that it takes to “roll the credits” or hawk some new product.

There are a couple of ways they “fit” the song in- one is to simply play the single and just “fade it out” at the appropriate moment, but for me, the other, more pleasing option is to actually go in and edit the song down to a new, customized version that will fit in the allotted timeslot!

Since you are usually LEARNING the song from the drama, the shortened version is the one you grow to love, especially when they have added great visuals to go along with the tune you are listening to each week! This is all fine and dandy until you go out and actually try to buy the single- and find the “real” song (i.e.: un-edited version) is QUITE different from the one you’ve known! Such was the case with “Girls, Be Ambitious”, the groovin’ single from R&B j-pop outfit TRUE KISS DESTINATION that was the theme song for the drama “NAOMI~ Three Teachers and Students Less than Ordinary”.

The show was about super-teacher Norika Fujiwara as one of the three titular heroines as she dealt and solved the various student problems much like those Kinpachi Sensei dramas, only with a lot more sex appeal and sass! At the end of each happy resolution, the credits would kick in with a shot of Norika’s calm and collected face, and then this airy, beautiful voice began singing “Did you like the style like this?” as the song started and the camera slowly began pulling back, revealing more of Norika, then her whole body and the people next to her, then all the way out until the entire class was in the screen as the song ended. This was a haunting, thoughtful song that really seemed to end the show on a great note each week, and after a few episodes, I needed to have it!

When I picked it up and threw it into the CD player, part of me knew it was going to be longer than the version I learned from the TV, but I was still taken off guard when the song began not with vocalist Asami’s singing, but some obnoxious RAPPING that totally went against the “feel” of the song I felt during the show! WTF! Fortunately, once the song got “on track”, it turned into the song I knew and loved, but wasn’t there a version WITHOUT this opening?

I remember desperately heading to the J-pop boards, asking if ANYONE knew ANYTHING about a different (non-rap opening) version, perhaps a drama version from a soundtrack or OST? But I got no replies and eventually realized that no one either knew or cared about this TKD song OR my dilemma! AHAHAHAHAHA!

In time I got used to the song with the Rap opening and accepted that this was the only version of the song I was ever gonna hear, so imagine my surprise, when years later, I saw a live performance of True Kiss Destination doing Girls Be Ambitious… and it began like the NAOMI version!! D’oh!

Please Stand By

We interrupt our regularly scheduled blog posting to bring you this picture of Erika Toda eating an anpan.

We will resume regular blogging next week. We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused you.

Crush Of The Day: Toda Erika

I was talking with my friend Car about which drama it was where I saw pretty Erika Toda for the first time. Was it Nobuta wa Produce? Hana Yori Dango 2? Or was it during one of her many appearances on shows like Shin Domoto Kyodai or Arashi No Shukudaikun? Ah, well- in the end, I guess it doesn’t really matter. Suffice to say that Erika is another in a long line of “Actresses that I didn’t fall in love with until the third or fourth drama I’d seen them in"!

So, having seen her in a handful of indeterminable dramas or shows, she finally came to my attention (re: I remembered who she was) when I began watching the TBS drama Ryusei No Kizuna, that dark (and yet quirky) drama starring Erika along with Ninomiya Kazunari and Nishikido Ryo.

with Kazunari Nino and Nishikido Ryo in Ryusei No Kizuna

Undercover in Ryusei No Kizuna

One of the highlights of this drama was that Erika was constantly masquerading as one jet set socialite after another, and the perk of that was, of course, that I got to see her draped in the loveliest of clothes. Pretty outfits and glamorous gowns, each episode provided me with more and more evidence that what I was watching was a crush in the making!

in BOSS

It was during this time that FUJI TV Drama BOSS began airing, and though Erika’s role in this detective drama was that of a frumpy, introverted girl, somehow, the dowdy clothes, mussed-up hair and horn-rimmed glasses sliding down her nose made her look all the more attractive! Something about her being painted as a “real” girl made me appreciate her even sans the beautiful outfits and sparkling jewelry!

Plus, they had all the cast members of BOSS duked out in evening wear during the show’s opening credits (and also in promo pictures with a different set of outfits), and if you’ve seen it, you know what I mean, and if you haven’t, you must trust me when I say that Erika looked just fantastic….(is this a description I use in EVERY one of these posts?! Hai. Guilty.)

Gorgeous Erika in BOSS

While I was juggling both of these dramas filled with Erika Toda goodness, I also started watching an older drama, the 2007 TBS show Tsubasa no Oreta Tenshitachi (that mobile-phone based drama starring the cream of hot young actresses), and once again, Erika made a real impression with me. Though she was primarily “doing” sort of the same character from Ryusei No Kizuna, (that is, pretending to be a girl she isn’t to swindle unsuspecting guys out of their money) I had to sit back and say to myself, “I may be wrong, but I think this gal is becoming one of my favorite actresses!”

Liar Game

Though Erika Toda as yet hadn’t reached that “Crush” status that gets me all delirious (and compels me to pound out gushing drivel like this), I loved her enough that I was now consciously looking for dramas with her in it. Reading up on her Dramawiki stats, I was surprised to read that the “Liar Game” drama was her first (and, to date only) starring role in a drama. WOW! Now THIS sounded intriguing! I went out and grabbed the files as soon I could find them (amazing that a drama from 2007 still had faithful fans seeding it!) and immediately began watching in earnest!

Huh? Erika in LIAR GAME

At first reminding me of those SAW franchise movies (obviously because of the Liar Game leader’s porcelain mask) it quickly turned into a thing of its own, and I have to say, there really is a BIG difference watching an actress (or actor) in a leading role as opposed to being part of an ensemble cast, because Erika is REALLY riding on all cylinders here, and really makes the show her own! Oh sure, there’s Matsuda Shota in it as well (one of his coolest roles ever, BTW) and the supporting cast is great, too, but really, I never felt how much CHARISMA this chick had!!!

Thus it was that after only a few episodes in, I had to say, in a slightly altered Ellen DeGeneres way, “Yep, I’ve Got A Crush of Erika.” And as I’m currently immersed in BOSS, Ryusei No Kizuna AND Liar Game, I’m truly in Toda Erika heaven! IT is truly a great time to be an Erika fan- Heck, she even made an appearance on SMAP X SMAP, much to my delight, and BOY was she cute!

Funny thing about her, I’ve always referred to Erika Toda as “Bunny” because with her plump cheeks and toothy smile, she always reminded me of that shy little girl rabbit who grew up to become the Easter Bunny in the story The Country Bunny and the Little Gold Shoes! Ahahahaha!