SPYxFAMILY and The Weather News Girls

Ever since the anime series SPY x FAMILY began airing, fans have been commenting to Weather New Channel's Newscaster Saya Hiyama (she of the Early Earthquake Warning video) how much she looked like the character of Yor Forger, the svelte assassin by night and doting Mommy by day!

Even fellow newscaster Rinon Ohshima pointed it out to an obviously flattered Saya, noting how much Saya's hairstyle and Yor Forger's matched!! 

WELL, after MUCH begging and prodding from everyone, Saya finally promised to do a cosplay as Yor Forger one day and upload it to her twitter, and when she really DID, ALL the fans were abuzz!  WOWWWW, she really NAILED IT!!!!

Been really loving the Yor Forger character (and even have a figure on pre-order which I’m hoping comes soon) and it was a real THRILL to see Saya's adorable take on her!

PS: SPY x FAMILY has just wrapped it’s First Cour of 12 Episodes and will be making its return in late October…can we wait that long???

Motokare no Yuigonjou おわり

It all seemed like it rushed by so quickly, but this week the fine Ayase Haruka/Oizumi Yo mystery drama "Motokare no Yuigonjou" wrapped and I tell ya, I haven't had so much fun watching a partnership like Reiko Kenmichi (Ayase) and Shinoda (Oizumi) in years!!

The tales of an intrepid lawyer who inherits a shabby old lawyer agency and a trustworthy sidekick promised lots of fun cases, and I loved watching them doing the legwork for each mystery, with Kenmochi's eagle eye to details and concise interviewing accompanied by Shinoda's affable attitude and good nature...

By the time of the last mystery, the true meaning of the "ex-Boyfriend's Will" is revealed as Ayase tackles what may be one of the most important cases for her: proving the innocence of her partner Shinoda! Which of course she tackles head-on and leaves no stone unturned!

Another thing I really loved about this show was the core team, consisting of Kenmochi and Shinoda as well as the meddling Tsutsui (Reiko's nosy former boss who always seems to invite himself to the investigations) and Sae Morikawa, a young rich girl with too much time on her hands and a great desire to be acknowledged by as an important member of the agency!

Kazuyuki Asano is great as the crotchety Tsutsui who provides a nice oldschool contrast to Reiko's out0-of-the-box and in-your-face style of lawyering!

As well, I really loved Nagisa Sekimizu as the novice sleuth Sae, and even she was woefully underused, I really loved her character and think this was a great role for her! So cute as she works sincerely to be accepted into the team.

And the humor! Besides the interesting cases, each episode was full of mirth, usually with the dialog between Kenmochi and her overworked assistant Shinoda! But he gets his jabs in where he can, like this scene where she asks if he knows what makes a good lawyer:

LOLOL! I tell ya, this team was such a joy to turn in to each week, and it's a show that will be sorely missed! PS: The answer to Reiko's question, "What makes a good lawyer" is her uncanny ability to always tell when someone is lying to her. A fine talent indeed, and one that certainly comes in handy when dealing with the problems she gets into!!

Score another EXCELLENT drama for Ayase Haruka!!

PS: There's this weird trend lately where the second-to-last episode of a drama will be the real final episode and then the last episode will be a kind of "Special" that feels somehow different from the rest of the show- they did this with the Masaki Suda drama "Mystery to Iu Nakare", and they did it with the last episode of Motokare no Yuingonjou. It was very clear that the last episode was episode 10, but there was an additional 11th episode that followed which felt so odd, with Ayase Haruka barely in it... wonder what's up with this?????

Haha, Hey, I Know Who They're Talking About!

 Sakura Oba (Minami Tanaka) convincing Mai (Meru Tashima) that she has the potential of a particular “idol-turned-actress”in the latest episode of “Kichijoji Losers”…

As soon as I heard that, I was like, “Hey, I know who they’re talking about!” LOL!

(PS: Of course, there's the added joke that HKT48's Meru Tashima is herself an idol turned actress!)

Deadly Friend: Kyouso No Musume

HOLY TOLEDO, Kyouso No Musume is one of the most GRIPPING psychological dramas I’ve seen in YEARS!!! The story of a high school whose foundation gets shaken when a mysterious transfer student arrives and begins doling out her own brand of psychotic justice upon those she deems corrupt had me on the EDGE of my SEAT from its first MINUTES and never let go!!!

As the show begins, we see a young girl named Ichika (Hana Toyoshima) being brutally bullied  by a girl named Miyu (Yui Oguri), wringing a rag full of dirty water onto her and slicing off her hair as she demands money from her.

Her weak willed brother Kazuma (Taiyu Fujiwara) is even witnessing the bullying, but is too much of a coward to do anything about it.

As he’s about to flee from his shame of inadequacy to protect his sister, he bumps into a haunting girl who has been watching it all.  He doesn’t know it yet, but she will soon be completely involved in the life of him and his family’s matters!

Heading to class, he is shocked to find the girl is his newest classmate! Her name is Sara Kiritani (Mizuki Kayashima), a new transfer student, and, choosing a seat next to Kazuma, gives him a knowing smile as if to acknowledge the secret they have between them.

In the meantime, the bullying of Ichika has continued and increased. And with no one to turn to, she is contemplating suicide. But just as she’s about to take the leap off the roof of the school building, she is stopped by the sombre Sara, who manages to talk her down, telling her not to worry and that she will stop the bullying.

Confronting the bully, Sara at first offers to trade places with Ichika, and bully Miyu has no problem shifting the torment to her. But this is all part of Sara's plan, and soon Miyu finds out just how crafty and tricky Sara can be!

By recording all the bullying, Sara has begun blackmailing Miyu's family  with the videos and in the end, Miyu and her family have no choice but to move away in disgrace! Thus Sara has solved the problem, and Ichika (and Kazuma) are both grateful...

But there is something very sinister about Sara's methods, and as she begins ingratiating herself into their lives, they find that there is something diabolical lying beneath that good samaritan outlook of hers!

When a suspicious student named Aki (Riko) pries into Sara's past, we see just how truly cold-hearted she can be when faced with adversaries of any kind.

Ichika and Kazuma must choose between believing in this girl who has single-handedly saved them from despair...or accepting the blackness that is suddenly engulfing the school and all those connected to it! And all the while Sara is getting closer to their family, for secret reasons of her own...

MAN, Mizuki Kayashima is absolutely MESMERIZING as the dark and brooding Sara Kiritani, and I cannot help but CHEER her on, even as her "good deeds" get blacker and blacker. Yes, this drama is painting Sara in a negative light as she extracts revenge on the baddies, but in this day and age, to see someone ready to DO something about the problems while others merely look on or pretend to not see, is something to applaud!!

GOTTA see MORE of this one!!!!