Crush Of The Day: Anzu Sayuri

Anzu Sayuri as Anna in ANNA SAN NO OMAME

So I first started watching the BECKY comedy drama “Anna San No Omame” primarily because I thought zany Becky was such a hoot on shows like VS Arashi and Domoto Tsuyoshi No Shokjiki Shindoi, but her tensions went even higher than I could take! Amazingly, she was SOOOOOOO OVER-THE-TOP SPASTIC in this show that I almost couldn’t STAND it!

ANNA SAN NO OMAME is the story of a demure and respectable girl named Anna who’s best friends with an outrageous (and deludedly conceited) girl named Riri. Because of her over-conceitedness, she's forever thinking that the guys who like Anna are falling in love with HER, and this poses a problem when she meets Anna's new boyfriend! I thought this was a fun premise and a great set up for some fun misunderstandings, little did I know Becky (as Riri) would be screeching, pouting and whining throught the entire episode! Ehhh! (OK, most of it was pretty funny, but there's only so much you can take!)

Becky as Riri with Sayuri Anzu behind

"Are You alright, Riri?" Considerate Roommate Anna.

When I start watching a show, I usually try to make it through to the end, but there wasn’t much story-wise that interested me with this show. In fact, the only reason I stuck around in those first few episodes was because Saori Takizawa (who MUST be the QUEEN of Support Characters, more on her next time) was playing this sexy dominatrix-type lady who bosses around her four male subordinates! But I digress...

 Anyways, So I stuck around, and at some point I began realizing, “You know, even though she’s this uptight and low-key character, that actress playing Anna is actually really cute! And as each episode went by, I said, “Yeaah…that’s a really pretty girl! I’d better look her up and see who she IS when I have time!”

At the time I half expected to find that I had seen this actress in something, because she looked familiar, kind of a bit like Nana Tanimura or Manami Higa…But when I went onto the Dramawiki site, I was to find that it was an actress I’d never heard of before: a petite girl named Anzu Sayuri. 

Looking over her credits, I found that she’d only appeared in a small handful of dramas, none of which I’d seen (besides Anna San No Omame, of course)..had she done anything else?

After another episode of Anna San No Omame, I was clearly showing signs of another Crush in the making towards this “Sayuri Anzu”, she was soooo pretty and feminine, and decided it was time to go online and see if I could find out anything more about her. Browsing along on the Google sights I came up wi-

WTF!!!!! HOLY CRAP SHES A FRICKING GRAVURE IDOL HOLY FRICKING CRAP LOOK AT ALLA THOSE SEXY AND SLUTTY PICTURES HOLY CRAPPPPPPPPPPPPPPP

*Ahem* Let me regain composure, here…

So, yeah, I was to find out that Anzu Sayuri was in fact already a VERY well-known celebritiy online in the MODELLING world, and delving deeper into the vast catalog of her grav-

HOLY CRAP I DON’T CARE WHAT ANYONE SAYS THESE PICS ARE GOING TO GET UPLOADED ONTO MY BLOG EVERYONE MUST SEE THEESE THEY ARE FREAKIN’ AWESOMEEEEEEE

*Restrains self* Sorry, Where was I?

O yes, I was talking about how BLOWN AWAY I was by the discovery that the demure and soft spoken girl playing Anna was this FIERY GODDESS that MUST be WORSHIPPED! 

Man, whodathunkit! She seemed like such a sweet little thing!  Thinking about it, the fact that I knew her as demure Anna and THEN saw her as this SEXY gravure idol is probably what makes the discovery so AWESOME! Wonder how it would have been if I’d known of her as a gravure idol first. Maybe I wouldn’t have believed she was this sweet young lady. Who Knows!

While working on this post, I wondered if I should file this under a “Crush Of The Day” or a “Sexy As Hell” header, but in the end optd for the former, because, after all, it was the Anna-San character I fell in love with, and it’s safe to say that she was indeed a “crush” before she turned into an “object of lust” LOL

PS: Sorry, Car, looks this is going to be another “Bikini-Filled” Blog Entry. Feel Free to Skip over!

What A Difference Five Years Makes!

One thing cool about watching older concerts of artists I love is that you get to see how much they’ve changed over the years, and no performance is a better example of this than Idol group CoCo covering this nifty little pop tune called  “Koisuru Niwatori”.

The first clip is CoCo performing the song at their very first concert ever in 1989, and the second performance is of their final, farewell concert in 1994, so FIVE YEARS have gone by in the time between and you can clearly see in the songs how much they’ve GROWN as singers and performers!

In the first clip, the girls are shy, nervous and though they’re undeniably happy, they seem to give off a vibe more like an elementary school production than a live concert…The SECOND clip is of CoCo as the seasoned, BELOVED professionals who are confindently and playfully singing  happily to an ADORING crowd!

Koisuru Niwatori was part of one of my favorite sets (weren’t they ALL?) in the Forever ’94 Concert which included Hanbun Fushigi, Tenshi No Chime, Haru Milkyway and Otome No Rehearsal, and was one of two songs in the set that were never officially recorded by CoCo: Koisuru Niwatori and the equally adorable Shippo No Kimochi! In fact, since I'd already ripped the laserdisc for the Koisuru song, I decided to upload the WHOLE SET, which you can enjoy in the next post, if you so desire...

PS: YES, I'm well aware what a childishly SILLY song Koisuru Niwatori is. Just go with it.

Great Concert Sets: CoCo

Here it is, one of the greatest sets that CoCo ever did, from their Final Concert in 1994. This was actually the very first concert that introduced me to the girls, and from here I fell in love with them and never looked back!

Let's take a visit down to the Tokyo Bay NK Hall on that fateful day..

.

The Girls open with "Hanbun Fushigi", the group's second single which MUST be sung at all their concerts, and in fact, along with "Equal Romance", must be considered a signature song of sorts! Always a crowd-pleaser to hear those first opening chimes!

They carry on next with the airy and light "Tenshi No Chime", a song from their first concert that they've dug up for this one, again showing how much they've grown as an act, so genki!

Love the satisfied looks on their faces as they emulate angel wings on their backs and the audience goes nuts...!

Awww, one of my FAVE performances by the girls is this peppy, wonderfully happy and bright "Otome No Rehearsal" which is all about smiling, friendship and beaming happiness!! This is a "Young Girls' Rehearsal", all right!!!

Up next the girls take on a Tetsuya Komuro tune with "Haru Milkyway" a song featuring swinging arm dance moves that you'll find YOURSELF doing if you watch it too much, as Dan (and his roommates) have come to find out! Catch To The Stars!

After the string of pop-perfect tunes in this set, the girls decide to close with two light-hearted tunes on the cutesy side, and first up is SHIPPO NO KIMOCHI, the Taniyama Hiroko ode to Kitty-Cats love for their tails! 

Haha, I love how at the end of the song, Erika is a bit off from the rest of the girls, and does a little hop to "connect" with Makibo's hand LOL

Continuing on with another Taniyama Hiroko tune is, "Koisuru Niwatori", the cute "Chicken Love"song that brought this terrific CoCo concert up in the first place and was the closing song for this awesome set. Note the Rooster crowing at the very end, AHAHAHAHA!

I cannot stress enough how much this Concert set means to me, I was SO blown away by it (and the super medley that followed) at the time, that I JUST HAD to know more about them! This in turn introduced me to the entire CoCo discography/videography which made me not only a fan of CoCo but of J-Pop Music as a WHOLE!

 It ALL began with this concert, and in fact, me and my friends use the term BC in regards to Japanese music whether it was BEFORE of AFTER we were introduced to those wonderful Pony Canyon girls! LOL

Fukuda Saki eating Jam

A Happy Momoe Day!

First, a story: I once knew a classmate who was teaching his dog to “stay”. He would put the dog in a sitting position and command “STAY!”, and test it's resolve by placing a potato chip a few feet off to it’s right. Though the dog understood the meaning of the phrase “Stay”, and would actually sit still for a while,  he just couldn’t ignore that mouth-watering potato chip in corner of his eye, and, with a downcast face, would s-l-o-w-l-y start leaning towards the snack before giving up and gobbling up the chip. My classmate would start cracking up and try again, but it always ended up with the same result…

Which brings us to a similar situation I had recently…

As I mentioned a few weeks back, I’d recently plunked down almost half a grand in J-pop DVDs and BluRay Discs, so I knew I would have to tighten my belt and refrain from any new purchases for awhile. In the post about my MOMOE in YORU NO HIT STUDIO DVDs, I lamented that there was another Momoe DVD set I wanted, which was a show called MOMOE on THE BEST TEN, but as that one cost almost $300, it would be a WHILE til I could get it!

Then a few days after I blogged about it, my friend dropped me a line to let me know that Amazon.com Japan was selling it for an incredible $185.00! CRAP, that was almost HALF OFF! Still, I knew my bankbook couldn’t afford such a purchase, and said that even at half price, it would have to wait.

Then I began to behave like my classmate’s dog. It’s one thing to be patiently trying to be frugal, but it’s another thing ENTIRELY when the DVD is up for grabs before your eyes at such a price! I found myself nervously checking the link every night to see if it was still available, and in the end, I finally surrendered, got out my trusty CREDIT CARD and BOUGHT THAT DVD! Hey, Credit Cards were MADE for emergencies, y’know?

Unbelievably, only a few days LATER, my Momoe DVD Box Set arrived on my doorstep! Amidst the thunder and rain, this morning was interrupted by a DHL Delivery Man with my J-pop Purchase!!!! YATTA! It was MOMOE time!

Momoe THE BEST TEN DVD Box Set

As expected, the MOMOE YAMAGUCHI BEST TEN DVD Box Set is beautifully made: a velvety covered slipcase housing a book holding  five DVD s and a detailed 56 page booklet featuring thumbnails, lyrics and pictures of Momoe’s appearances. So Nice! Now, onto the CONTENTS...

Since Momoe was invited to perform every time one of her singles appeared in the Top Ten chart, she appeared quite frequently and subsequently there are LOT of different performances of her singles! Seems a bit monotonous, but watching to see which beautiful new outfit she’ll come out in next is such a thrill, and they have a care to make an interesting backdrop for each song…and then of course, the awesome LIVE band backing her makes for an exciting, original performance each time!

Along with these stellar clips are of course the interviews and sit-downs Momoe had with the hosts of the show during her appearances, as well as commentary from some of the folks who were there at the time, making for a wonderful MOMOE experience! One only wishes that this show had been around longer so we could have had some of her earlier singles covered as well!

With this DVD Box Set as well as the YORU NO HIT STUDIO set, one wonders if these kind of Collections are a continuing thing of the future. If it’s the sign of things to come, I for one am all for it- I mean, who wouldn’t want a DVD Box Set of, say, all Princess Princess’ performances on MUSIC STATION?

Shades Of Seigi No Mikata

Found it quite interesting that they used the cute instrumental song Seigi no Mikata no Kyujitsu from Seigi No Mikata in the latest VIP Limo scene where Ayase Haruka and Matsumoto Jun are playacting as a married couple!

If you recall, they would usually play this song whenever Yamada Yu was being her usual naughty conniving self or when Shida Mirai was doing her adorably kiddy things. Love the way they work in a playful “Pop Goes the Weasel” riff into the song!

“Seigi No Mikata” was one of those shows that had this just terrific soundtrack, with as many as five different fun and quirky instrumental pieces playing throughout the show at key moments, including Makiko No Theme, Emono O Nerau, Fusoku No Dekigoto, and the kick-butt opening track Yoko No Twist!

Crush Of The Day: Itaya Yuka

Above and Below: Yuka Itaya in Hotaru No Hikari

 I’ve always quite liked pretty actress Yuka Itaya since seeing her for the first time in Hotaru No Hikari. As Sachiko Yamada, the senior businesswoman at the Interior Design company, she played big sister to the girls working under her, and they affectionately referred to her throughout the show as “Yamada-Neesan”. 

Big Sis Yamada-Neesan in Hotaru No Hikari

Consoling Kuninaka Ryoko

with Fujiki Naohito

Perhaps it was because of this character, but I’ve always felt that Itaya Yuka exuded a really friendly vibe from her, and when she appeared as Lady-In-Waiting Hirokawa in the NHK Taiga Drama ATSUHIME a few months later, I felt like I was watching a friend of mine onscreen!

Promotional pic for A STRANGER OF MINE

Funny that  despite her extremely gorgeous looks, it took watching the crazy-good movie A STRANGER OF MINE (Unmei Janai Hito) to realize what a SEXY VIXEN she was and made me all gushy over her! As Femme Fatale Ayumi  Kurata, she was this sultry mankiller who played guys for their money and now finds herself on the lam with the ultimate payoff- the entire contents of her current lover’s safe. Only problem is, her lover is a big Yakuza Boss who surely won’t let her get away with  her actions! Using her seductive powers (and a sexy, flowery short dress) to entice her former lover's best friend (and detective) Kanda to help her escape with the goods!

Above and Below: Yuka in A STRANGER OF MINE

Oh Man, I've never seen her so sassy and sure of herself! After seeing her in the dreadfully morose TOKYO SORA movie (where she played equally morose would-be-author Yoko), this character of Ayumi was a breath of fresh air! OK, Tokyo Sora DID feature Yuka working in a Lingerie Bar, so I suppose that counts for something.... But even THAT wasn't as sexy as her latter role!

Hahaha, As usual, going onto the Dramawiki Stats page, I was once again surrised to find that my current crush had appeared in many dramas I'd seen much earlier than her turn as Yamada in Hotaru No Hikari...Come to find out she's appeared  as far back as 1999 in the Fukuyama Masaharu /Kimura Yoshino drama Perfect Love!!!! It's like I always say: "Everyone comes from somewhere!"

Yuka in Perfect Love (1999)

Yuka in Haken No Hinkaku (2007)

Yuka in Nagareboshi (2010)

Of recent times, I've been seeing her in the Takenouchi Yutaka/ Ueto Aya drama Nagareboshi and as soon as I saw her as the fiance of Yutaka Takenouchi, I just knew she was going to be nothing more than the party who gets dumped in favor of the lead actress, a formula we've all seen in many, many dramas! Too Bad, I would love to see her in a lead role of her own, and I've seen that she's got the FIRE to do it!!

Yoru No HIT STUDIO Sightings!

Besides the beautiful and sultry stylings of lovely Momoe Yamaguchi, some of the other sights one can see while watching the amazing 70’s music show YORU NO HIT STUDIO are such things as:

A Stoic, Legendary Singer back when she was Cute and Adorable…

An Effin CRIP Enka Crooner…

The Chairman Of The Board in his prime….

Kikaida 0-1 in his Human Form…

…And my vote for the most GORGEOUS and PERFECT Japanese woman of all time!

Yep, Yoru No Hit Studio was really the Cat's Meow of its Day!

A Little Inside Joke Humor on "Churasan"

With Eri's first birth coming up, her parents Katsuko and Keibun have arrived in Tokyo to be with her, little knowing that she'd already flown back to Okinawa to be with THEM! Having a good laugh over the misunderstanding, the ladies of Ippukan get together to have some fun, and when they get on the subject of singing, an inevitable "inside joke" pops up!

LOL