Who's That Girl: It's Chisa!

Chisa as Akane in Uta No Oniisan

So I’m watching the first episode of the Ohno Satoshi drama Uta No Oniisan, and I find myself just drooling over the pretty young thang that’s playing Ohno’s girlfriend Akane. This in itself is notable in that the drama is positively filled with pretty young thangs, but anyway…throughout the show I kept reminding myself to go check on just WHO this actress was, but wouldn’t ya know it, by the time I finished watching the drama, I had other things to do and it totally slipped my mind! 

Later that night, and I’m telling Car about Uta No Oniisan and the pretty actress that I still didn’t know the identity of. Trying to describe the gal to her, I said that the girl looked “kind of like Chisa from Girl Next Door.” As you all may remember from my FNS Kayousai post the other year, I was quite taken with Chisa's performance and gorgeous looks, so WHOEVER this actress was, she already had a thumbs up from me!

Lovely Chisa  at the 2010 FNS Kayousai

While we talked on the phone, Car had logged onto the computer and was perusing the dramawiki stats, and then said to me, “Hey wait, did you say Chisa?” There’s a girl named Chisa listed here as the girl named…Akane?” I laughed out loud- this couldn’t have been just a coincidence, could it? “That’s GOTTA be the same chick, right?” “I dunno, I never saw that drama The Girl Next Door,” said Car. “No, the musical GROUP Girl Next Door!” “Ohhh!”

And getting onto the AsianMediaWiki site, I was indeed presented with the stats: 

Chisa: Lead Vocalist for the group Girl Next Door, 

and in a lone, sole acting venture, listed:

Filmography: Uta No Oniisan /Akane 

LOL! So it WAS the lovely Chisa after all! 

Chisa as Akane in Uta No Oniisan

Well, I hve to admit that by the end of that first episode, I wasn’t exactly captivated by the show’s haphazard directing and cliché ridden plot devices, but with pretty girls like Chisa featured in the supporting cast, that may just be what it needs to keep ME coming back for more!

FNS Kayousai 2010

The annual FNS Kayousai was a blast as expected, and as usual, most of the program was centered around teaming up different acts with each other for special one-time matchups, and though all of them were great in their own way, there were a few of them that really stuck out for me and really made me feel the special vibe that only the FNS show has:


Go Hiromi and AKB48

Looking like a befuddled English teacher leading his class on a field trip, Go Hiromi blazed through a medly of his super-catchy hits all accompanied by those extremely cute and genki Akihabara Girls!  They really gave Go Hiromi an added peppiness to his routine, and I even have to say that their voices strangely fit his style of songs pretty well!

Heck, they even made that “Goldfinger” song catchy!

This is the first time I’ve seen Atsuko Maeda since seeing her as Q10, and she’s quite  a looker onstage, which is something that surprised me as she has such a shy demeanor in that Takeru Sato drama!

Noriyuki Makihara and a Cast of Thousands

Makihara Noriyuki, Chemistry, and a beaming Chisa

Everybody’s favorite drunk uncle is back this time with great singing from Chemistry and others but what I found TOTALLY AWESOME was the very different ways the four pretty girls  onstage  were dressed-

Ito Yuna looks like she’s come from a Fancy Ballroom,

Chisa (soooo cute n sexy here) looks like she’s on her way to go clubbing at some high end Tokyo nightspot…

Chisa

 Kizuki Minami looks serenely like she’s come from attending her debut fine art-show,

Kizuki Minami

and  Singer Miwa (whom I’m  finally seeing perform for the first time) looks like she’s on her way to build a snowman outside after the performance! AHAHAHA

Miwa, Chisa in background

This was a great little medley of hits, and everyone sounded fantastic, but I have to say that Chisa was the one who really stole the show for me, SO cheerfully happy even in the backgrounds, she looks like she’s at the best party of her life! Hmm, maybe she was!

Chisa having time of her life

Funny,when my friend Car first saw GIRL NEXT DOOR years ago, she told me that I would like the lead singer because she was "my type" and that she was "So Pretty". When I finally saw them (on, I think, that year's Kohaku), I thought she was attractive, but that was about it.
I dunno why, maybe it's this new hairstyle, but NOW,  I think Chisa looks ABSOLUTELY STUNNING!


Ah, once AGAIN, Noriyuki Makihara's segment was the most FUNNEST part of the Kayousai!

Arashi and Matsushita Nao

Arashi and Matsushita Nao

And then of course we have one of two songs from Johnny’s wonderboys ARASHI. As Car pointed out, they had both a fun song to sing (Love Rainbow) as well as a “SMAP” styled ballad in "Hatenai Sora". Terrific and passionate singing from the boys accompanied by their soon-to-be KOHAKU cohost Matsushita Nao on Piano …such a beautiful, stripped down performance of this song!

Of course, this was all in the first act, and there was more, much more to come after! But it was these three performances that really moved me and even when the entire show was over, I had to go back and watch these segments over again!

Kohaku Uta Gassen 2009

This year’s Kohaku Uta Gassen was filled with sights and wonders to behold, featuring artists both old and new, and I thought I’d take the time to jot down some of the acts that really made the program for me!

Nana Mizuki

Among the many guests debuting this evening were the old-skool-jpop sounding tunes of Nana Mizuki and the first appearance of Johnny’s group NYC, whom most people saw and said “Who the heck ARE these guys?” With all the great Johnny’s groups still to appear on the Red and White, it’s odd that they chose this NEW act to come on!

NYC

Although I’d seen enka queen Fuyumi Sakamoto in “regular” clothes before (in Music Station clips featuring old group HIS, for example), this was the first time she’d come onto the Kohaku singing her songs without her traditional kimono and hairdo. She was lookin’ FINE!

Sakamoto Fuyumi

Backed up with Fuyumi was the ever stoic Takashi Hosokawa, this time belting out his awesome classic “Bokyo Jonkara”, the song I once dubbed “That song with the Fifty million Shamisens”, LOL. Truly EPIC to watch!

Hosokawa Takashi

Techno band Girl Next Door debuted last year, but this was the first time I noticed how fricking sexy and CUTE lead singer Chisa was! I thought it was great to see her looking so girlishly bouncy and giddy, doing moves with her fellow dancers like gals in a pep rally! Contrarily, my friend Car expressed disappointment that the cool rocker from last year had turned into this “idol”.LOL

Chisa, Girl Next Door

AKB48 had been slowly gaining a foothold into the “big-ass-girl-group” j-pop demographic for some time now, and it was with their kick ass song RIVER that I think they finally made it! After this year, they’d not only take over the “giant girl group” spot Morning Musume once held, but make fun and varied appearance throughout the entire show!

AKB48

One group appearing this year for the first time that I kind of liked was the very Def Tech sounding “Funky Monkey Babys” and their uplifting song “Hero”, such a great tune, I HAD to go look for it after the show!

Funky Monkey Babys

Next Yusuke came out, doing a catchy little tune called “Himawari” while looking like  Fun Boy Three’s illegitimate Japanese Brother. Really a great song, but sure a stretch from his SHUCHISHIN days!

Yusuke

Arguably the most anticipated act this year (it sure was at OUR household!), was the debut appearance of immensely popular Johnny’s group ARASHI. This has been a long time in coming, and they set it up real nice, with a cool little introduction clip before the boys came out to perform their first medley for the Red and White, performing their first single A-RA-SHI, Love So Sweet, Happiness, and Believe!

Arashi

…And then God came down and proclaimed Arashi as the new overexposed act of the new year…LOL

Besides loving Koda Kumi performing her rockin’ new single “Lick Me”, it got even BETTER when her little sister MISONO came out to duet with Kumi on their song “It’s All Love”! Loved watching the two try to out-sass each other!

Misono x Koda Kumi

 Arashi was trucked out to hold cards with the letters T-O-K-I-O spelled on them and reciting what the letters might stand for, a feat that was recycled from an older Kohaku, though THAT time it was SMAP themselves holding the cards. Nakai looks happy to be on the other end of the microphone for a change. Then TOKIO came out and rocked a bit, doing their song “Taiyo To Sabaku no Bara”.

TOKIO

Ayaka came out to do a touching performance of “Minna Sora No Shita” which brought not a few eyes to tears! Funny how much she looks like an older Nattchi Abe to me.

Ayaka

The closing acts of the night fell to veteran “Chairman Of The Board”  Saburo Kitajima for the White Team doing ‘Matsuri” and the impeccable DREAMS COME TRUE belting out an awesome “Sono Saki E”! Miwa looked great and Masato was beaming as usual, looking like the happiest bass player in the world…

Dreams Come True

Notes on Kohaku Uta Gassen 2008

Yukie Nakama and Masahiro Nakai tackle the reins for 2008's Year End Kohaku Uta Gassen!

There were many fine, fine acts this year last night to see and hear, including the debut of American Enka sensation JERO…

…A sweet and poignant rendition of the Aibu Saki/Mokomichi Hayami drama Zettai Kareshi theme song “Okaeri” by pretty singer AYAKA…

And a rousing, crowd pleasing performance of the singalong friendly enka rocker “Shimauta” by The Boom…

The thrilling debuts of girl-led power pop acts Ikimonogakari and Girl Next Door dazzles! Looking forward to seeing more from both of them!

 

K-pop Act Tohoshinki makes its Kohaku debut…

 

…as does electronic trio Perfume:

Mitsuko Nakamura brings the “Matsuri” Festival to the stage once again...I might add that Mitsuko was one of the very first enka singers I really dug with her fun and catchy songs!

Beautiful Ayako Fujii does a smoky, sultry performance of “Akai Ito”

 

Two "gutsy" performance by Fuyumi Sakamoto...

...and Yoshimi Tendo!

Sachiko Kobayashi looks like she’s channeling Inazuman enemy Quintuple Bambara….

Once unstoppable SPEED make a rare appearance to the show...

and TOKIO perform “Amagasa” looking like they just stepped out of the NEWSIES set…

(seriously, da heck....?)

Koda Kumi doing her Namie Amuro- flavored “Taboo”...Oooh, love this song!

All the acts this year had something to give, but for me, there was ever only one and ONLY one reason to be tuning in to THIS year’s telecast, and as regular readers of this blog ALREADY KNOW, it was about the appearance of Hexagon super-unit ALADDIN, comprised of the fun ‘n’ goofy trios SHUCHISHIN and PABO!

The entire night was centered around sightings of those three adorable and oh-so-spacey cuties that comprise Pabo, the outspoken Yukina:

The sensible and straightheaded Mai Satoda:

And my drool-inducing favorite, the curvy sugar coated gravure idol Suzanne!

I just wrapped myself in every appearance they made in this broadcast, and they were many! From cruising backstage, grinding on eggrolls or giggling together in the sidelines, they really made my night!

As you all may recall, I was really hoping they’d choose Aladdin’s song “Hiwa Mata Noboru” as the Kohaku opening song, though they didn’t, it was still nice to see it used as sort of a silly “Half-Time” show. And while it’s true that the actual performance (which started with Shuchishin singing their highly Shonentai-ish epynomous anthem before segueing into the actual song) which started off bright and fun ended up degenerating into a zany, jaw-dropping, insanity filled HEXAGON ALL STARS Spectacle, you just couldn’t deny the FUN they were having and exuding!

From there we got to see, Saburo Kitajima getting seasick riding the S.S. Smappie…

"Okay, you can stop rocking the boat...I need to get off." 

And you know it’s getting towards the end when Sayuri Ishikawa dusts off her classic Amagi-Goe with her "steely gaze off into the distance"....

SMAP came on with Kono Toki, Kitto yume Jyanai” and though they closed last year’s show…

…this year it was Akiko Wada belting it out for the Red Team...(By the way, look at how freakin’ sexy Sayuri Ishikawa looks in “regular” clothes…DAMN)

and the show’s finale was Kiyoshi Hikawa with his crowd-pleasing theme song “Kiyoshi no Zundoko Bushi”!! KI-YO-SHI!!

...And a Splendid Time was Had by All....