Favorite J-Pop Singles: Moritaka Chisato / Ame

The first Moritaka Chisato Album that I purchased at the beginning of what would become a lifelong love of all things j-pop was Chisato’s awesome 1996 greatest hits package called, plainly enough, DO THE BEST. The album, which I had bought chiefly for her latest (at the time) single, FUTARI WA KOIBITO, was the gateway that would introduce me to all the other great songs that Chisato had, and with songs like Watashi No Natsu, Watarase Bashi, Natsu No Hi, and Watashi Ga Obasan Ni Nattemo, I eventually liked her enough to venture into getting all of her albums as well, and Moritaka-san soon became one of my favorite j-pop acts of all time!

Amidst the rock and roll tunes and zany novelty songs on DO THE BEST came quite a few of Chisato’s very best ballads, including the aforementioned Watarase Bashi, the incredibly melancholy Kyo Kara, and a sweet little keyboard driven tune called Ame.

Though a pretty song in its own right, It wasn’t until I saw Chisato performing it on the almighty LIVE ROCK ALIVE Concert that I really began to like it, and it wasn’t until a chance viewing on MUSIC FAIR that it became a song that I absolutely LOVED!

Viewers of MUSIC FAIR know how the format of the show goes: usually they’ll invite an older, seasoned artist and pair them up with a new and upcoming artist. They showcase the two artists performing together, then after a brief interview, the individual artists will sing their latest songs. At least, that’s the way it USED to be, I’m not sure what kind of procedure the show goes through nowadays…

Anyway, on this one occasion, they’d invited both Moritaka Chisato and the newly solo Okui Kaori (whose band Princess Princess had broken up a short time earlier)- Now, Moritaka Chisato and Princess Princess have always had a sort of close working relationship, (as witness the old clip of Puri Puri performing Chisato’s “Teriyaki Burger” with her), so you knew that you were in for something FUN and out of the ordinary!

Sure enough, that fateful Music Fair episode started off with a bang! The show opened on a somber setting with the two established artists sitting at back-to-back pianos, and after a quick opening of “Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head”, the song segued into the most UNIQUE performance of “Ame” ever heard, as the Chisato song got the full Okui Kaori treatment! Kaori’s arrangement skills have always been a HUGE part of Puri Puri’s sound, and she didn’t hold back here-with swirling piano melodies decorated around Chisato’s straight forward playing, the song became a lush, dreamy body of work, all building up to an incredible, RICH chorus as Kaori sang harmonies along with the usually-solo voiced Chisato. WOW!!!

That would have been fantastic enough, but after the interviews with both girls, it came to the part where the artists sing their latest singles. But in an interesting twist, CHISATO sang lead on Kaori’s new song “Happyman”, with Kaori’ band playing background, and Kaori and her band sang Chisato’s new single “La La Sunshine”, with a bonus: CHISATO WAS PLAYING DRUMS!!! YES!!!

Ah MAN, what an awesome show that was!!!!!

After that show, I immediately dug up my Do The Best CD and listened to Ame afresh, totally seeing it in a new light! And you know, there are actually three or so different versions of Ame available on Chisato’s albums, so there’s a version for everyone!

I lean towards the rock version from THE MORITAKA album, but truth be told, whenever I hear Ame, the version I REALLY want to hear is that magical Music Fair take of the song!

Crush Of The Day: Takeuchi Yuko

First a full disclosure that up until this past month, Takeuchi Yuko was one of those actresses that I’ve always kind of known about, but never really took notice of in any of the things I’d seen her in. Whenever anyone’d mention Yuko’s name, I kind of said like, “Hmmm, yeah….I think I remember that girl…”, with only the vaguest image of her face in my mind.

But recently, it started to seem (At least to me) that Yuko was starting to appear pretty regularly in a LOT of the new shows that were coming out, and when Car mentioned to me that even Kazunari Nino (of Arashi fame) particularly loved Yuko and her work, I thought that I had better start paying more attention to this girl!

So it was that when they began uploading episodes from the new Yuko Takeuchi Show NATSU NO KOI WA NIJI-IRO KAGAYAKU (co-staring Nino’s fellow Arashi-er Matsumoto Jun), I made a point to check it out and find out once and for all what all this hubbub was about this actress!

My initial impression of Yuko (as her character Kitamura Shiori) was nice but decidedly unspectacular- Yuko was very believable as country bumpkin Shiori and her carefree demeanor was intriguing (to say the least), but once she came into town and began working as a talent manager for Jun, It seemed like they kind of lost focus of the character and I have to say I kind of lost interest.

That could have ended there, but by chance I came upon a drama trading site who had uploaded Lunch No Joou, an Eguchi Yosuke drama I’d heard about before, and when I clicked on the links and found Yuko Takeuchi starring in the drama as the titular heroine, I though this was a sign that I’d better give Yuko another chance to win me over…and win me over she DID!

A story of a harried work girl who stumbles upon a small but established family-owned restaurant with food that instantly touches her heart the very first time she tastes it, the drama reminded me more than a little of Nakayama Miho and Karasawa Toshiaki’s OISHII KANKEI, which in MY book is ALREADY a good sign! Focusing on both the joy of fine cuisine as well as the relationships between the family and co-workers, this was a show that grabbed my attention from the very beginning, and I remember telling Car, “Hmm, I think Lunch No Joou might be the next BIG drama on my list!” And it the drama itself wasn’t gonna be on my list of greats, the lead actress sure was! WOW, for the first time, I finally “Got” Takeuchi Yuko!

I don’t know if it was the way she held herself as a pretty-but-tomboyish girl or the pretty outfits they dressed her up in or the story and acting in general, but BOY the role of confident and sassy Mugita Natsumi seems to have been TAILOR MADE for Yuko’s talents! Yuko manages to steal every scene she’s in, and that’s quite a feat to sustain throughout an entire drama, especially one that ALSO features Misaki Ito!

Watching her at first I though she seemed like a Masami Nagasawa, but by the end of that first episode, she’d fully won me over as a radiant and charismatic actress in her own right, and that night, I laughed to realize I couldn’t get her out of my mind!

While getting totally infatuated with Yuko while watching another episode, I remember actually trying to figure out just what it was that made her so darn attractive to me, and one very good reason is Yuko’s ACTING and Line-Delivery. Every line she utters is said in this coy and mischievous tone to it that just makes me smile and think what a cool person this would be to hang out with! When she’s in a zany situation, you have to laugh out loud, when she’s sad, you really feel her pain, and when she’s playful, she’s REALLY playful!

Point Two: Her Outfits. I’ve reiterated many, many times (is what I just said redundant?) I just LOVE a pretty girl in pretty clothes, and whoever decided on Mugita Natsumi’s personal fashion sense seems to have tapped into EXACTLY the kind of stuff I JUST LOVE! Flowery Blouses and jeans are Natsumi’s usual ensemble of choice though she does throw in a pretty cocktail dress or two, but what REALLY moves me from episode to episode is her WORK OUTFIT! With a white blouse matched with a modestly short black skirt, the thing that makes this combination TOTEMO SAIKO for me is that leather choker she’s wearing around her neck, GAHHHHHH…SEXY, SEXY, SEXYYYYY!

Above: Problem for Eguchi Yosuke, Not for Me!

And then of course, there’s Yuko’s terrific looks! As most of my friends will attest, I’m not a fan of short hair on a girl, but this stylish shag she’s sporting in Lunch No Joou looks frickin’ GREAT on her, the first haircut that I think really accents her features and seems to give her face a more rounded out appearance than the long straight hair she had in Natsu No Koi wa Nijiiro Kagayaku (as well as most of her recent dramas) And MAN does she have smile that could just melt your heart, all toothy and chipmunk-cheeked! AHAHAHAHA! And when she scrunches her nose up to fully complete the picture, I simply surrender!

Ironically enough, looking over her dramawiki credits, I was surprised to find that, far from being unfamiliar with her work, Yuko’s career was one that I seemed to have been following from almost the beginning! From shows like IIHITO (which was only Yuko’s second drama appearance!) to cute-but-dorky Yuri in NANISAMA and up to her first big lead role in the NHK Asadora ASUKA (Yes! Her Father is Hongo Takeshi!), I’d been watching her play these cool and quirky characters for YEARS without really taking notice of the actress herself!

above: In Iihito

Above: In Nanisama?

Now, I’m not sure if my obsession with Yuko in Lunch No Joou will translate to her other dramas (especially since Natsu No Koi didn’t really grab me), but I’m now more open to checking out more stuff from her, and regardless of what the future may hold, at this moment right now, I am TOTALLY in Takeuchi Rabu-Rabu Paradise!

Favorite J-Pop Singles: Miura Rieko / Arigato

While going through my VHS tapes looking for the Ota Hiromi Performance of "Momen No Handkerchief", I came across a whole treasure trove of other awesome videos that I'd completely forgotten I'd had, and I'll be trying to rip and upload some of them for you all to peruse!
At the top of the list was this very cool performance by Rieko Miura singing her latest single "Arigato" an incredibly catchy song that surely must be the best thing that came out of Rieko's brief union with Diamond "Tokyo Pop" Yukai who co- wrote the peppy tune! Arigato was just about the last "real" j-pop release from Rieko, and I have to say it's one of her best!

Reiko looks just fantastic here, and interestingly enough, during the short interview before she sang her song, Rieko mentioned that she was currently appearing as a beautician in the NHK Asadora AGRI! Why, that was right- she appeared as a would-be-thief turned apprentice in what would become my absolute favorite Japanese drama of all time! As you may have guessed, seeing as how Agri is in fact my banner picture! But I digress..

Favorite J-Pop Singles: Ota Hiromi / Momen No Handkerchief

Listening to Ayase Haruka's cover of "Momen No Handkerchief" made me want to listen to Ota Hiromi's original, and so I've been playing my 70's J-pop tunes in my car for the past few days. And as usual, listening to Hiromi sing Momen No Handkerchief (as well as her other hits like Akai High Heel) made me want to watch her performance on a 1970's J-pop Flashback Special I rented oh so many years ago.
In 1997 (or so), I was heavily immersed in my j-pop music with groups like CoCo, Ribbon. Moritaka Chisato and Princess Princess and Zard, not to mention the great artists at the time like Matsuda Seiko, Mr. Children, Dreams Come True and Amuro Namie, but it wasn't until I got this 70's Special that I finally got to see some of the more "classic" j-pop artists: Yamaguchi Momoe, Pink Lady, Candies, Teresa Teng and even Arai Yumi- WOW, this was really an eye-opener for someone fully into j-pop!!
Along on the show they'd invited a handful of 70's performers to appear, and so I got to see artists like Amachi Mari, Agnes Chan, and Iwasaki Hiromi sing their classic hits like "Hitori Janai No", "Hinageshi Na Hana" and "Romance"... All the songs were expertly performed with a live Big Band, and all of the ladies looked very pretty and refined (man, especially Iwasaki Hiromi...DAMN!) but out of them all, the one that REALLY blew me away was a sweet li'l tune by the name of "Momen No Handkerchief" sung by a pretty lady named Ota Hiromi! The song was 100% j-pop perfection with its violin intro and score with the bright guitar chiming throughout, but even more than that- something about the way Ota Hiromi gestured and sang- I was TOTALLY CAPTIVATED!

Needless to say, the very next day, I ran out and picked up her songs as well as a ton of other 1970's collections- From there my love of 70's j-pop only grew and I eventually expanded to collections from Pink Lady, Candies, Minami Saori and of course the mighty Momoe-san, but there will always be a special place in my heart for Ota Hiromi's MOMEN NO HANDKERCHIEF!!!

Satoko Misses the Bride's Bouquet

Ayase Haruka "Marguerite" is here!!!

Riding high on the wave of the current "Hotaru No Hikari" sequel, it was a PERFECT TIME for Ayase Haruka to get back to her part-time hobby of dabbling in the j-pop field, and so it was with great anxiousness I waited for her latest release MARGUERITE, and what a surprise it was!!!

One thing you can always say about Haruka-chan's singing career is that she's always had a really sweet and gentle voice whicg lends itself to pleasant low-key tunes, and this latest offering is no execption! With the pretty "Marguerite" title track, the CD single also boasts covers of two favorite classic j-pop songs with Haruka giving us her take on both Matsutoya Yumi's "Hello My Friend", AND Ota Hiromi's "Momen No Hankerchief" (the latter a BIG, BIG FAVE of mine from the 70's!) Sooooo COOL!!!!!

Besides these wonderful songs, the CD set comes with a bonus DVD featuring Ayase Haruka's PV for "Marguerite" as well as four cute "making of" clips. My package also came with this beautiful mylar folder sleeve, siutable for storing your various Haruka-chan magazine clippings (AHAHAHAHAHA!) but maybe that's just what I would do!

Crush Of The Day: Kurokawa Tomoka

I was first introduced to Tomoka Kurokawa in the Mitsuki Tanimura drama CAT STREET. With her cute portrayal of insecure gothic lolita Noda Momiji, I remember wishing the show had devoted more time to her than the main story, but when you’re watching an ensemble cast show with only 6 episodes, you take what you can get!

Watching Tomoka go through her scenes with her adorable face and totally “girly-girl” disposition, I couldn’t help but feel that I’d seen her in some other shows before becasue she had SUCH a "familiar" face.... (In fact, she reminded me a LOT of Maiko Kikuchi in the old asadora Futarikko) But going onto the mighty Dramawiki site, I was to see that though she’d appeared in a ton of dramas and I’d even heard of most of them, Cat Street was the only thing I’d seen her in!

While browsing around on one of the j-drqma sites I regularly visit, I downloaded a short TV Asahi Special that sounded interesting called KANOJO TO NO TADASHI ASOBIKATA. The story centers around a girl named Yuna and boy named Takeshi who have an interesting game going on between them, started when they were mere grade-schoolers: She pretends to be a princess, and he has to pretend to be her servant. During school time, they’ll behave like normal students, but once school is over, the game is in effect! This will go on until someone discovers what they’re up to, and as the two make their way towards graduation it becomes harder and harder to keep up the contest!

What a fun premise! I watched that show just as soon as I finished downloading it, and was PLEASANTLY SURPRISED to find that the actress who played the main girl Yuna was none other than the super-sweetie herself, Tomoka Kurokawa! Costarring Hiro Mizushima as the forever befuddled Takeshi, the show even made a cute nod to CAT STREET by having Mitsuki Tanimura in a small but revealing cameo!
This show (Drama? Special?) is the one that really did it for me and pushed Tomoka Kurokawa from a passing fancy to a true "Crush" as I can't get her out of my head! The character of Yuna in Kanojo to no Tadashi Asobikata is such a great one- at first seemingly perfect and conceited, little by little, as she and Takeshi go through the motions at school and outside, you see how awkward and insecure she is about herself- moreover, you see just how much she really loves this guy. MAN! Tomoka really SOLD ME!!!!

Aw, with all those Tomoka dramas out there, I’ve really gotta get around to ACQUIRING some of them! Hmmm, I see that she’s appeared in the Takenouchi Yutaka/Kanno Miho drama TOMORROW…that’s one I’ve been meaning to watch anyway so maybe it’s high time I checked that one out, ne? AHAHAHA…Time for more Tomoka-chan!

BTW: When my friends and I would draw comics and stories for our school fanzines and such, I would always draw my girls with very distinct features. Occasionally, we’d come across girls in real life with these features, and my friends would say, “Man, that girl looks like you drew her!” Well, Tomoka Kurokawa is in fact, another one of those girls that fits into that category!

EDIT: Well, looks like the next Tomoka Kurokawa drama I'll be watching is the highly wacky MENTANTEI CONAN specials which has the added bonus of featuring not only Tomoka but pretty Mayuko Iwasa as well! Yep, I'm enjoying this one!

Re: Tiger And Dragon

Just finished watching the Nagase Tomoya/Okada Junichi drama TIGER AND DRAGON...Holy CRAP was that a TERIFFIC one! Been a while since I was so THOROUGHLY satisfied with a show, especially in regards to how the last episode played out...!

After about episode 5 of the show, I wasn't sure if the drama was going to have any "linear" story to speak of (rather than simply using the formula of telling a rakugo story and re-creating it in the "real" world), and was pleasantly surprised to see that just about every plot-line and sub-plot got tied up quite well by the end. But more than that, the thing that I think really sold it for me was the fact that despite the focus on the conflicts between Ryuji and Tora, this drama knew that the heart of the show was about the relationship between Nishida Toshiyuki's Hayashiatei Donbei and Kotora, and summed it up so nicely!

Ah, that was totemo satisfying!

Seems like lately there've been a ton of dramas that I've been excited and jazzed about, only to have the series conclude with an unsatisfying ending in the last episode. Maybe I'm just one of those really "hard-to-satisfy" kind of viewers, (ok, ok, that's for sure) but it's REALLY REASSURING to know that there are still dramas out there that can deliver EXACTLY WHAT I WANT in a series!!!

Hotaru's Musubi Runs Away

Two Great Reasons to Watch "Mamiya Brothers"

One: Erika Sawajiri:

and Two: Keiko Kitagawa!

 I don't know who the blessed soul out there was who decided to cast both Kitagawa Keiko AND Sawajiri Erika, two of the most gorgeous (not to mention cherished "Crush Of The Day" alumni!) actresses ever, as sisters in the movie MAMIYA KYODAI, but he (or she) will have my eternal blessings forever! Waaou, that was like getting two mints in one!

Ah, these two work so great off of each other, with Sawajiri as the prim and proper Naomi and Kitagawa as the sexy and zany Yumi, they steal every scene they're in, ya just GOTTA love 'em! Mamiya Brothers? Heck, they coulda called this movie "Honma Sisters" for all the attention they were getting from ME!!

So Cute to watch the sisters going through their everyday lives, whether it be dropping in on supposed boyfriends' baseball games and catching the lucky ball...

 Mischievously talking on the phone and not only getting involved  but also self-inviting herself to her sister's dates...

 Or even the mundane everyday occurrences like exterminating pesky mosquitoes by drenching them in perfume, it's all in a day's work for these gals!

 

And if the sight of these two beauties aren't enough for you, there's always the delightful Takako Tokiwa to feast your eyes upon, here playing an interesting role as a mousey, shy, and ditzy teacher who teams up with Naomi on one of their joint dates with those lucky Mamiya Brothers...

Below: This is a wonderful screenshot of the entire Mamiya Brothers party, and you can clearly see the personalities of each person, ESPECIALLY the SUPER ADORABLE AND FUN Yumi, hamming it up for the camera, as could ONLY be played by Keiko Kitagawa!!!

Probably my favorite scene though has to be the one at the end where Yumi and Naomi are having a heart-to-heart about their problems and situations all the while playing up and down on a playground see-saw! You can feel the love these two sisters have for each other so much, it really makes the movie!!!

 

Kinda cool to note that Erika would go on the sing the TOTALLY AWESOME theme song DESTINATION NOWHERE for Keiko's equally awesome MOP GIRL just a year later!