Jessica Out of Girls' Generation?!

  WHAT THE HECK IS GOING ON!!! Just began sorting through the news forums blaring the latest news that my beloved Jessica has been forced out of Girls Generation due to clashes with SNSD activities and her own personal life, re: Design School and Marriage.
Man, I don't know WHAT the heck is going on, but if this is true, this is TRULY a turning of a page for me and K-pop music. I handled the leaving of Jiyoung and Nicole from KARA and Sulli leaving f(x), but THIS is of a different magnitude- Jessica is probably THE centerpiece of my whole K-pop fandom and I just can't imagine it without her...
 I'll be monitoring the upcoming statements with a watchful eye.
EDIT: Well, Looks like it's official. Sigh. Damn.
Posted by zdorama @ zdoramaagain.blogspot.com

T-ara's New Album "And & End": I Wasted A Good Worry

My T-ara "And & End" Album and Poster arrives!!!

 Though it may not look like it with all the new releases I’ve been getting I’ve actually been trying to cut back on my K-pop purchases ever since that Hyosung fiasco with KpopMart. I had such a headache with it that I vowed that unless I really wanted it, I was going to hold off buying any more K-pop stuff “just because”. So when the new T-ara album was announced, I initially decided to wait for awhile…that is, until I HEARD the song! The girls new single “Sugar-Free” was such a Club-Thumping burner, I HAD to have it, and not only ordered the album “And & End”, but the bonus poster besides!
  After I made my purchase order, two days later, forums began uploading images of what appeared to be the cover of the album, and I was taken back because what I saw had to be the most boring freaking K-pop Album Cover of ALL TIME:

  I was to later learn that it was paying homage (or outright ripping-off, depending on whose blog you read) of some Electronic Dance Music artist,(and perhaps in THAT category the minimalistic cover fits), but SERIOUSLY? 6 beautiful girls in T-ara and THIS was the cover? And GADS, I’d even ordered a POSTER of this? I prayed, “PLEASE don’t let THIS be the COVER!”
  My only glimmer of hope was the fact that some forums referred to the cover as the “Dance Edit” single, and in fact, it even said EDM on the cover. Not only that, the album title “And & End” was nowhere to be found on the cover. I know that the cover SAID "Dance Version", but K-pop covers regularly use nonsensical english "catch phrases"to jazz up the design, so it was of little reassurance. I could only cross my fingers and wait.
   Well, today my package FINALLY came in, and as you can see by the top picture, both the album AND the poster were as beautiful as befitting a T-ARA release! 

T-ara "And & End" Front Cover

T-ara "And & End" Back Cover

Jumping Jesus HALLELUJAH, was I RELIEVED! I Guess that original cover WAS an EDM version only, because THIS beautiful cover features those pretty T-ara girls in all their Gorgeous Glory! WHEW!

Posted by zdorama @ zdoramaagain.blogspot.com

Yamaguchi Momoe Photobook "Momoe" Reminds Me: Shinoyama Kishin Is My Hero!

Smouldering Momoe bu Kishin Shinoyama

As a huge fan of Momoe Yamaguchi, I’m always on the lookout for nice pics of her, and in this regard, the internet has been a real godsend- soooo many pretty pics of the eternal idol herself and in such high quality, too! Through my collecting, besides the usual bright idol stuff, occasionally I’d come across pics of Momoe showing a decidedly more risqué tone- shots of her in very sexy and sultry poses (and in equally provocative outfits), far removed from the freshly scrubbed innocent face of her early “schoolgirl” years.

    As I collected more and more of these interesting pictures, I noticed that among these tantalizing shots were off-shots of what I identified as past Momoe Album covers, and it was here, checking the album credentials, that I discovered that the photographer who’d taken all of these sexy Momoe pics was none other than Legendary Photographer extraordinaire Kishin Shinoyama. KISHIN SHINOYAMA!

   Like most people out there, I first heard the name of Kishin Shinoyama as the photographer for that classic and highly controversial Celebrity Photobook “Santa Fe”, Miyazawa Rie’s infamous nude “Shashinshuu”, but I really began loving his work when when I began getting into Japanese dramas: Shinoyama shot the photobooks of two pretty actresses I loved, Riona Hazuki and Saki Takaoka, and I mean to tell you, those bawdy photobooks blew me AWAY! This guy is a MASTER of the sexy and seductive stuff, I tell you! Eventually getting ALL THREE books, I would look at them impressively and tell my friends “Kishin Shinoyama is my HEROOOOOO!”

My Other Shinoyama Books: Miyazawa Rie, Hazuki Riona & Takaoka Saki

 So yeah, it was pretty cool to realize that this gentleman, who had shot three of my favorite Photobooks was ALSO the guy who shot all of Momoe Yamaguchi’s iconic covers- as well as those sexy photos I’d found online…but where did these pics COME FROM?    
  Come to find out that these awesome pics came from a limited Momoe Yamaguchi Photobook Kishin Shinoyama shot called MOMOE:

 WHAT! A Momoe Photobok shot by Kishin Shinoyama!? When I found out THAT, I REALLY wanted to get my hands on it, but the funny thing about collectibles- it's their scarcity that MAKES them collectible, so I didn't get much chance to buy one. But only a month ago I'm browsing around online and...JACKPOT! Now, through the magic of that wonder called Ebay, after all these YEARS of desire, I can happily say that I'VE FINALLY GOT A COPY!!

Damn, this Photobook is SOO damn beautiful, roughly the same dimensions as a regular 12” Album with the thickness of about an inch, this glossy hardcover book is like a collectible COFFEE TABLE BOOK, such high quality glossy paper pages and BOY is it heavy! Such awesome details to quality, no wonder the Japanese love their collectible goods, this book is really a beauty!

And the PHOTOGRAPHS inside, Oh My GOSH, these were as SEXY as ANY that I’d seen before, turning the pages, I was constantly BLOWN AWAY by how RISQUE is was- Momoe is shot in the most seductive of poses in bikinis, lacy gowns, and even (clutches heart) see-through blouses, sooo smoky and sultry, this is Momoe at her most entrancing, the moment when idol becomes GODDESS, and we have it all on print!

Gazing longingly at these shots, I once again loudly proclaimed, O YEAH, after all these years, KISHIN SHINOYAMA is STILL my HEROOO!” Man, one cannot ignore the awesome strides he made during the “golden” age of J-actresses and Idols!! My Hat’s off to this guy.
Posted by zdorama @ zdoramaagain.blogspot.com

PS: Shinoyama is married to Saori “Seventeen” Minami? RESPECT!

PPS: Kishin Shinoyama shot the cover to John Lennon’s Double Fantasy Album? Holy Crap! Respect keeps going up and UP!!!

Zero No Shinjitsu 終わり

  Well, it was a long. slow road, but I finally managed to finish up Emi Takei's medical Drama "Zero No Shinjitsu" last night, and WOW! was it great! Because Emi's character of Mao Matsumoto seemed so much like her character on Otenki Oneesan, I was expecting a fun, comedic romp, however Zero no Shinjitsu surprised me by being very serious and insightful, and it seemed to get darker and darker as the episodes went on.

   You know how these crime dramas with the detectives/doctors/etc as the eccentric geniuses who solves the crime cases always have a backstory that gets told little by little, til the end where that becomes the main story? Zero No Shinjitsu was no different, but somehow, the backstory of Matsumoto Mao (Takei), a genius forensics medical examiner who is single-mindedly focused on her job because of her mother 's unresolved death really grabbed me.

  The tale gets revealed to the viewer little by little (as all backstories do, I know) and with each new tidbit about the backstory, more depth was revealed about the current cast members. By the time the last episode came around, it seemed like every character on the show had some connection to the death of Mao Matsumoto's mother, and as the story unfurled, we see how each person is woven into the fabric of Mao's mother's destiny.

Though Zero No Shinjitsu didn't conclude with a big BANG or any shocking twists, it left me with a very satisfied feeling that the story had reached the conclusion it was meant to. It even leaves a door open for future chapters of Matsumoto Mao's Forensic Crime dramas, though with her backstory resolved would it even matter? Everything that needed to be told was shared here.
In any case, it looks like yet another Emi Takei drama has entered the long list of dramas that I love from her!  Can't wait to see what she's coming up with NEXT, track records have shown that no matter WHAT she does, I'm almost SURE to like it!!
Posted by zdorama @ zdoramaagain.blogspot.com

Days Of Future Passed with Kuroki Meisa in "Time Spiral"

  Started watching the new show Time Spiral starring the ultra-luscious Meisa Kuroki in the lead role of Aizawa Natsuki, a teaching assistant who has begun to experience unsettling slippage of time: from times where she finds herself experiencing situations TWICE, to situations that seems to have not happened at ALL, what she perceives as her "reality" seems to be twisting around her!

Kuroki Meisa as Aizawa Natsuki

Gackt as Tatsumi Shuya

 In the center of all of this is a mysterious new teacher named Tatsumi Shuya (played by Gackt) who not only is aware of what is happening to Natsuki, but may be the cause of it, as well! Add to this the fact that this newcomer is using the time distortions she's experiencing to bend her affections away from her childhood friend Kentaro (played by Yuta Hiraoka) and onto him, for whatever sinister plan he has in store!

Childhood Friends: Kentaro and Natsuki

Hiroaki Yuta as Kentaro and Kuroki Meisa as Natsuki

  I checked this drama out purely for the sweet Meisa Kuroki goodness, but right away it reminded me of the Kitagawa Keiko drama from last year "Akumu-Chan" with its similar feel for the uncanny as well as its direction and flavor. And with Gackt once again playing the same kind of uber-creepy dude he played in Akumu-Chan, we may be in for the same kind of ride! Only time will tell...

Posted by zdorama @ zdoramaagain.blogspot.com

Secret Shipment

  Usually Autographed CD offers come from rookie artists who are using the promotion to try and get their name out, so I was thrilled to see TS Entertainment's biggest girl group SECRET doing a signed CD push in not one but two different vendors! Well I wasted no time getting on THAT special, and just this week, my order came in! The CD box is very nice already, and when you open up the package, there on the inner cover were the four signatures, and in true celebrity fashion, all of them COMPLETELY illegible, rushed scribbling that would give any doctor a run for their money, LOL!

Just like the RAINBOW and 4MINUTE autographed CD's I'd gotten before, it was almost impossible to make out who ANY of the signers were, I'll just have to take their word for it these autographs spell out "Jiyeon", "Hyosung", "Hana" and Sunhwa", AHAHAHA!

Besides the cool autographs, the CD came with a set of beautiful postcards (and a stand you can display them in) along with a trading card and photo. I've already listened to the album online and like it a lot, especially the lead song "I'm In Love", with the girls going back to their FIERCE roots- for awhile now the girls have been pursuing a more "cutesy" concept, THIS promo reminds me of their kick-butt glory days of "Madonna"and "Magic" , sexy songs with sheer ATTITUDE! The Girls and Back!!

Posted by zdorama @ zdoramaagain.blogspot.com

A Dose of Girl's Day

My Latest Girl's Day Shipment!

As you all know, the first two GIRL’S DAY purchases I bought were the girls’ latest album GIRL’S DAY EVERYDAY4 ‘Summer Party” and their first full-album EXPECTATION. Well, my love for Sojin, Yura, Minah and Hyeri has come to the point where I knew I had to get all the rest of their catalog, at least the releases that were still available! Going onto ebay, I managed to get my hands on FOUR of their back albums, GIRL’S DAY EVERYDAY, GIRL’S DAY EVERYDAY II, GIRL’S DAY EVERYDAY3 “Something” and the EXPECTATION repackage album FEMALE PRESIDENT!
   I’ve been spending the past half hour poring through the booklets for each of the releases, and it’s like having 4 photo books! The girls look so good in the shots, Female President in particular, the girls look sooooo damn FINE, especially YURA for some reason!

Above and Below: The Lovely Yura

Another great bonus for me was that when I purchased Female President,  I didn’t realize the release came with a huge POSTER!!!!  Funny that originally, I didn't care too much for the picture, now that I've got a huge pinup of it., it' looks great, LOL!

Ah, with Yura on We Got Married right now, I’m really getting a good daily dose of Girl’s Day, each day I’m loving ‘em more and more!
Posted by zdorama @ zdoramaagain.blogspot.com

Ladies Code RiSe Passes Away

 I just now learned the heartbreaking news that Ladies Code Kwon Risae "RiSe" finally succumbed to  injuries she sustained during the fatal crash that claimed fellow member EunB's life just a few days ago. There were problems during her surgery where her blood pressure fell so low they had to stop procedures. They eventually finished it up, bus she never regained consciousness. My relief when I'd heard she was out of surgery was cut by the news that her survival was still in doubt, today she finally let go. Ladies Code management Polaris Entertainment:
At the time of the accident on the 3rd, RiSe obtained a big injury to her head and was moved to the hospital. She was operated on as much as possible for a long time, but she has ultimately passed away. Her parents, who came from Japan, and the label employees stayed with her at the end. We are sorry to give another sad news since the late EunB and we cannot hide our sorrow."

I was just watching all my Ladies Code music show performances last night, tyring to get used to the fact that EunB is no longer with us, so sad to realize RiSe is gone, too. Here's the girls' very last, happy Television performance, just a few days ago.

Posted by zdorama @ zdoramaagain.blogspot.com

Projects of Hello Past

Coconuts Musume

  I was sorting through  some of my old J-pop promotional Posters from back in the day, and came across a group that I hadn't thought of in YEARS- Back in the early days of Morning Musume, Tsunku’s fellow SharanQ’er Makoto tried his hand at creating a group, and decided on a Hawaii based group called COCONUTS MUSUME. Though Coconuts Musume never quite made it, several of the members continued on in Hello Project with revamped Coconuts Musume releases as well as HP sub-unit “Shuffle” groups  and became quite well-known in their own right, Ayaka, for example was a joy to watch on Hello Mornings with her “English Lessons” upon the poor Momusu girls, and demure member Mika became the most prolific of all the Coconuts Musume girls when she became a member of the zany HP Sub-unit MINIMONI!
  It was in fact Mika Todd that figures into the story I’m about to tell … Way back when I was still working at Tower Records and J-pop was all the rage, they’d created a three-rack section solely for the Japan releases and above it, board frames for two promotion posters. Those posters rotated every few months, and if someone was lucky, they were able to take them home after promotions ended if the J-pop buyer gave his blessing. 
   So anyway, back in the summer of 1999, the aforementioned Coconuts Musume “Dance and Chance” poster had been posted up, and sometime during the week, who should stroll in to Tower Records but Miss Mika Todd herself! The J-pop buyer saw her and said to me, “Hey! Let’s take down the poster and let Mika autograph it for the store!!” I thought it was a GREAT idea and ran to get a ladder and brought the mounted poster down. With the poster under arms, we caught up to Mika and asked her if she’d mind signing the Coconuts Musume poster for us, and to our delight, she smiled and said “Oh…Okay?” She seemed genuinely surprised someone recognized her, and as we handed her a permanent marker, she paused uncertainly at the poster, unsure of where to start, before laughing and saying “Well, I guess I’ll have to get used to doing this, right?” “Right!” we laughed back! 

Mika's autograph!

 We thanked her and put the poster back up into the section, until the time came for a new poster to go up, and was I surprised when the J-pop buyer came to my room and asked me if I wanted the autographed poster since I liked Hello Project stuff so much! I took it happily, and I have to say that for awhile there, with the advent of Minimoni and all, it was quite cool that I had a poster she signed for us in person! Ah, but members and groups move on and on, and over time the poster got buried under a whole slew of newer promotional items, what a surprise to uncover this gem after all these years!
Posted by zdorama @ zdoramaagain.blogspot.com

Ladies Code Tragedy

Ladies Code Go Eunbi "EunB"

Very saddened to hear the terrible news of the car accident involving K-pop group Ladies' Code which fatally took member EunB's life this past day. As of now, other members Rise and Sojung are still hospitalized, Rise in very serious critical condition with head trauma.
 So sad, though I haven't talked much about them here, I did like them and their music quite a bit- I had purchased their past album "Pretty Pretty" last year, and was really enjoying their latest comeback song "Kiss Kiss", sadly, It was during the promotions for this song that they got into the tragic accident, reportedly due to slippery rain conditions.
 My heart goes out to the members and all their friends and family, right now I'm praying for a safe recovery for the remaining members.
Posted by zdorama @ zdoramaagain.blogspot.com