13Sai No Hello Work Still Going!

  Happy to discover that the drama 13 Sai No Hello Work has been continued to be translated and subbed all this time… when I last watched an episode months and months ago, , it was at episode 3 (of 9) and I wasn’t sure if the rest were going to be subtitled...imagine my surprise when I saw that the subbing team (the interestingly named AndThenYouDie Fansubbers) had been doing it all along!

Kogure (Matsuoka) with his younger self (Tanaka Taketo)

 Starring Matsuoka Masahiro, Yokoyama Yuu and Uber-Cutie Kiritani Mirei, this drama’s story of a man who timeslips into the past to mentor his 13 year-old self (so he won’t grow up into the loser he is) is a crazy one to be sure, but it’s one I just love watching, and I think ultimately it comes down to how much fun actor Matsuoka has whenever he’s doing a wacky show like this one.

Kiritani Mirei as pretty teacher Mano Shoko

Yokoyama Yu and Matsuoka as Takano and Kogure

    I was cracking up in Episode 5 where Kogure (Matsuoka) and Takano (Yokoyama) have to take care of a rock group with a spoiled lead singer. Coming home, Takano tries to calm down an angry Kogure, when they slip in this little inside joke for us:

LOLOL! That shows you how silly and fun this show can be! Ah, once I realized episodes 4-7 had been subbed, I snatched them up and watched them ALL! Sigh, Now I’m back to playing the waiting game, just praying and hoping for episodes 8 and 9!!!
Posted by zdorama @ zdoramaagain.blogspot.com

Moritaka Chisato "The Singles"

 My Chisato Moritaka Box Set “The Singles” arrived today, and I am extremely pleased at how nice this package is- a beautiful 3-CD set befitting one of the greatest j-pop artists of the 90’s and of all time-or at least, in MY opinion!!! My initial fears that the release might be nothing more than a mundane, slapped together rehash were quickly put to rest as I unwrapped the set, opened up the gatefolds and took in the sweet packaging, the wonderful picture discs and glossy photobook- They really took time and care with this one, and unfolding this package made me as excited as I was when I first picked up “Do The Best” all those many many years ago! 

After taking in the sights for a bit, it was time to peruse the contents:

Disc One ( 1987-1991)

New Season

Overheat Night

Get Smile

The Miha

Alone

The Stress

Junanasai (17)

Daite

Michi

Seishun

Kusaimono ni wa Futaoshiro

Ame

Benkyo No Uta

Konomachi

Hachigatsu No Koi

Disc Two (1991-1995)

Fight!!

Concert No Yoru

Watashi Ga Obasan Ni Nattemo

Watarase Bashi

Writer Shibo

Watashi No Natsu

Hae Otoko

Memories

Kaze Ni Fukarete

Rockin’ Omelette

Kibunsokai

Natsu No Hi

Suteki na Tanjobi

Watashi No Daijina Hito

Futari Wa Koibito

Disc Three (1995-1999)

Yasumi No Gogo

Jin Jin Jingle Bell

So Blue

La La Sunshine

Gin Iro No Yume

Let’s Go!

Sweet Candy

Miracle Light

Snow Again

Denwa

Umi Made Gofun

Tsumetai Tsuki

Watashi no Youni 

Mahiru no Hoshi

Ichido Asobi ni Kite yo '99

Man, will you look at that body of work Chisato has, (heck, will you look at that body!) especially in Disc Two which features the years 1991-1995 which I consider not only the golden age of Chisato’s work, but of my entire J-pop experience! 

Ahhhh, just looking over the titles on this set has got me reveling in sweet memories! Haven’t got a chance to actually listen to the CDs yet (saving that for this weekend) but you can bet that when I do, it will be like the 90’s all over again!!!
Posted by zdorama @ zdoramaagain.blogspot.com

A Whimsical K-Pop Purchase

SNSD Vita500 Bottles wi Jessica and Yuri

 I've always had a great sentimental attachment to the things that first introduced me to new interests: the first Book I read, the first Comic I read, the first Beatles album I bought, etc, and so it made perfect sense to me when I saw that someone in Singapore was selling the old bottles of VITA500 with SNSD's Jessica on the label, I just HAD to have it!

  As you may recall, when I first heard Girls Generation it was only through their songs Genie and Mr. Taxi, and it wasn't until I saw their extremely cute commercials hawking health drink Vita 500 that I got to see just waht these girls looked like! It was done in an innovative way- there were 10 different commercials, one for each individual member of the group, and one featuring all 9 girls, and as you may recall, the one girl I immediately fell for was Jessica!

SInce then I've become a huge fan of the girls; SNSD is just about my favorite K-pop group out there (along with KARA) and to this day Jessica's still holding strongly as my favorite member. When I saw these bottles up for auction, I thought it was the PERFECT way to celebrate my love of the girls, and since I was in a big-spending kind of mood (har har), I decided to go ahead and purchase the bottle with my OTHER favorite member Yuri as well!!!

Posted by zdorama @ zdoramaagain.blogspot.com

Running Man Still Running...

  I know I’ve said this before (and repeated it here ad nauseum), but I just have to say it again: MAN, that awesome variety show Running Man just has to be the most exciting, imaginative and FUN show out there! Tuning in each week to the antics of Jaesuk, Sukjin, Jongkook, Jihyo, Gary, Kwangsoo and Haha always makes my day and continues to amaze and blow me away!!

When I first took the time to check out Running Man, it was only because SNSD was the guests and had no idea of its format, if it was a regular show, or simply just a two-part special, all I knew was that this was a show that fellow SONES all swore was a MUST SEE for any SNSD fan- and they were right, of course! It was such an entertaining show and I really got to know the girls in a new and fun light!

Later I was on a forum looking for Invincible Youth when I saw that they had the latest episode of Running Man up for grabs and that the guests were members of KARA. Checking out that episode(ep94), I was initially concerned that KARA didn’t appear til the end, but the show was SO DAMN ENTERTAINING that by the time the guests showed up, I’d fallen in love with the regular cast members and didn’t even CARE who the guests were! From then I became a fan of Running Man for life, and began to seek out not only the latest episodes but the earlier ones as well!

Thanks to the efforts of subbing teams iSUBS and KSHOWNOW, I had access to watch almost every one of its 100+ episodes, from its very FIRST episode down through to the latest 105th, and it has been a sheer and utter JOY to pick one to watch every day after work! Sadly, I’ve finally reached the point where I’ve watched all the past episodes and now have to go back to waiting patiently each week for the new episode to arrive and satiate my “fix”! 

Posted by zdorama @ zdoramaagain.blogspot.com

Orange Caramel Candies

  I love After School's Lizzy and I'm also a big fan of 70's J-pop group Candies and so when I heard that Lizzy's offshoot group Orange Caramel was going to cover the Candies' awesome "Yasashii Akuma (Sweet Devil)", I was all for it! Then thinking about it later, I have to wonder why they chose a classic J-POP song for their first foray into the Japan market...isn't this like having an Italian Restaurant come to Hawaii and then serving up LauLau and Poi dinners? 
    Oh wait, looking at the track listing, looks like the Candies song is going to be released along with a Japan version of Orange Caramel's popular "Magic Girl" song, so I suppose they're covering all bases as they ease into the J-pop scene, LOL. Til we can hear the song, here's the Candies doing their classic original...

Posted by zdorama @ zdoramaagain.blogspot.com

Majo Saiban Verdict: Meh.

Finally got around to finishing up the Toma Ikuta / Ishida Yuriko mystery / suspense drama MAJO SAIBAN, and I have to say that although the acting was pretty good and the direction kept me interested, the endless manipulation going back and forth of "She's a Witch-She's not a Witch" drove me crazy, and the drama's ultimately cliched ending made this drama such a disappointment!!!

In fact, the only thing that kept this show from being a complete waste of my time was Kutsuna Shiori who managed to be such a cutie despite playing the supremely emo-filled role of the Witch's troubled daughter Haruka..,Love this girl!
Posted by zdorama @ zdoramaagain.blogspot.com

Those Mysterious AFTER SCHOOL Girls

  Readers of this blog already know of my love for After School’s Lizzy through her cute appearances on “Running Man”, truth be told, several of the girls have been on the show in the past, and I liked them all enough that when I found out that After School was going to be on the latest episode of “Beatles Code”, I just HAD to check it out!
 Besides Lizzy, Runnign Man introduced me to Uee, and within that same episode, her fellow members Nana and Raina (who stopped by to help Uee with a mission), so there were already four reasons to watch that show, little did I know that through it, I would disover  that ALL of the members were pretty and lots of fun, and by the end of the episode, I was dying to know who the OTHER members were!

I tired to make out their names as the hosts introduced them, but not only were the names spoken too faast for me to catch, they didn’t even introduce all of them! In desperation, I emailed my friend who listened to After School to see if he had any information about the individual members because I was dying to learn more about them, in particular these three girls (see below pic), who were cute, giggly fun and TOTALLY my type, especially the first one who reminded me ever so slightly of Mao Inoue:

Sadly, he told me that he had only general interest in the group and didn’t know any of the members individually except Uee (and that was from her regular job hosting Inkigayo rather than any inside scoop on After School), so I was pretty much on my own…
  Then suddenly like a savior swooping doewn from the skies came the cool Idol Olympics specials, andwouldn’tcha know it? They solved my burning questions regarding those mysterious girls names in just the first 20 minutes! For among the girls Idol groups there like T-ara (in their pre-fiasco days), SISTAR, DalShabet f(x) and NineMuses, also came After School, and who should be participating in the very first game, but those exact three girls I had wondered about:

Jooyeon? Lee Young? Gaeun? Finally, I had NAMES to go with those pretty faces and adorable attitudes!!! Thanks ever so much to the fine folks at KSHOWNOW who subtitled the Idol olympics and made it possible for me to crack a mystery that had been haunting my K-pop fandom!!! 
Now, onto the internet to look for pinups of these lovely ladies...LOLOL

PS: Using the "process of elimination" technique, the only name left on the list of After School members is Jungah, so i'm assuming  that's the name of the slightly Seohyun-looking girl sitting next to Uee (above pic)...my gosh, does this mean I finally know ALL the members ??? Hallelujah!
Posted by zdorama @ zdoramaagain.blogspot.com

Re:T-ara

  *Sigh...*T-ARA has been going through an extremely hard time these past few days regarding Hwayoung's departure and CCM's Kwangsoo Kim's handling of it, as a huge fan of the girls it is really troubling reading all the things that have been coming up from all sides, but as a fan I can only hope they will weather the storm and come out intact on the other side.
     So sad, as just the other week, I'd been watching this really sweet video of the girls at the WildRoses event (making eye contact with the fancamera and making the cutest smiles and gestures), the girls were so warm and friendly you realized how much you loved them. 

Here's to Sweeter Days:

Posted by zdorama @ zdoramaagain.blogspot.com

The Legend Of Lizzy

   Regular visitors to this blog already know of my love for Jihyo, the "Ace" player in SBS's awesome show RUNNING MAN, but I’m finally getting around to the ealier episodes when After School's Lizzy was part of the cast. At first I didn’t know if I would like her since I only wanted Jihyo as the female Running Man, but she sure was a cutie, and soon enough, I was a huge fan of hers!

    Lizzy was only a member of the running Man team for a short time, but she made enough of an impact upon fans that they still muse online about her possible return to the show. Naysayers have stated that she wasn't a very strong player in the first place, and I'll admit that the first time I saw an episode of RM with her in it, she DID get caught very quickly and without much fuss or fight. But then Iwatched more shows with her and realized strength was never SUPPOSED to be her forte- no, the skill that Busan Girl Lizzy brought to the table was her amazing AEGYO!

    Really, watching her adorable smiles, gestures and quirks throughout the broadcasts makes me realize that she actually filled a character type that is absent in later shows where the only female Running Man was the beautiful but decidedly super-tuff Jihyo. As Joon-Ki (the only other member who later left the show)  filled the "Pretty Boy" image, so did Lizzy fill the "Cute Idol" role, and FILL IT SHE DID!
  With her eye-smile and chipmunk cheery cheeks, her every glance had me on high, and I just HAVE to add what an ABSOLUTELY ADORABLE giggle she has. I noticed it early on, but it really came out in this one cute scene where they're passing around a Joker card that no one wants to get stuck with. After unwittingly picking it from Jihyo, Lizzy coolly offers it to HaHa, her giggle clearly giving away the fact when she's successfully passed it onto him!

Sadly, once Lizzy departed to focus on her AFTER SCHOOL activities, she never looked back, and though JoongKi would occasionally make guest appearances every now and then, We've never seen the return of the original Running Man Vitamin Pill! too bad, it would be such a thrill to see her reconnecting with her RM roots!
PS: just to show that it ain't all just cutesy smiles and adorable gestures, i HAD to isolate this one stunning two second appearance of Lizzy's curvy backside- Though it happened in just a heartbeat, my mind just went WHOA!!! when I saw it...Who woulda thought  she'd come with such an impressive "backfield in motion"? LOL

*All subtitles done by the awesome ISUBS Team!
Posted by zdorama @ zdoramaagain.blogspot.com

SNSD's "Paparazzi" CD

SNSD "Paparazzi" Single wi Newspaper Booklets

Forgot to upload these pictures of my latest K-Pop acquisition, SNSD's latest Japanese offering "Paparazzi". Of the options I had, I chose the one with the bonus DVD disc featuring the MV and the Close Up Shot version. This edition also also said it was going to come with two "Newpaper Booklets". What the heck was THAT? The term "Newspaper" worried me as it reminded me of the Booklet that came in Arashi's Limited Edition album TIME, which was printed on actual newspaper type paper, easily one of the crappiest and most disappointing limited editions I've ever purchased! So yeah, I was concerned.

Paparazzi CD gatefold, Bonus Poster, Two Newspaper Booklets (unfolded)

Newspaper Booklet insert unfolded

 All that worrying was for nothing, however, for when the CD single came in (in a beautiful DVD sized digi-pack), those two booklets were as awesome as you could get! When they called them "Newspaper" booklets, these were actually slick glossy heavy grade paper books that unfolded as to resemble ACTUAL Newspapers, specifically a Hollywood Gossip Rag, as befitting the single's theme PAPARAZZI!

Back of both Newspaper Booklets (unfolded)

PS: The actual SONG "Paparazzi was kick-ass, and so was the PV! This was a total success!!!
Posted by zdorama @ zdoramaagain.blogspot.com

Who's That Girl: Gouriki Ayame

So who's this actress "Gouriki Ayame" that's been spicing up the scenes in W No Higeki, anyway? She's rockin' the most adorable pout! Yummy!

Posted by zdorama @ zdoramaagain.blogspot.com

Inquisitive Hyomin

When Gary got paired up with beauty Hyomin in the awesome "Charlie's Angels" episode of Running Man, he initially thought he was the luckiest guy in the race! As the pairing were announced, he stated "This Here is Paradise!" as an adorable Hyomin stood nearby nibbling on a bread snack. Little did he know that this would be a hilarious descent into Hell! LOL

 As they entered the ground floor of the recreational Spa to begin the Race, Hyomin wanted to know if she'd be allowed to talk if she got caught and thrown into jail, and began asking him prison details to an absent-minded Gary.

Atter getting pushed into the Pool (by a mischievous Jihyo) and realizing it was warm, he decided that the view from inside the pool was a perfect place to stakeout the joint. Unfortunately, Hyomin didn't take to the idea of jumping into the water, asking over and over about the water temperature!

 After finally pulling a reluctant Hyomin in with him, they began their stakeout, but her inquisitive nature soon took over and she started inundating Gary with questions, LOL

 WHining about how the water was getting colder, she began worrying that the water would "shrivel her up".  When asked what she should do if it happened, Gary's only retort was, "If You Shrivel, You Shrivel!", to a delighted Hyomin

 As they made their was further and further fromt he warm water source, Hyomin began fretting about  it getting cold, til Gary exloded with "Aigoo! Stop Whining!!!!" AHAHAHA

 They moved further down the pool, and Hyomin suddenly became curious about the fog rolling in. Soon her questions were all about the mysterious steam and its source, til finally Gary exploded with "I Beg You, Can't You STOP ASKING QUESTIONS?!" while Hyomin giggled, pleased with creating such an outburst! As they moseyed on down, Hyomin innocently said, "But I still have so many things I'm curious about!"

 In a while, the couple moved down to n enclosed room where Gary prepared to lie in wait for an ambush. But once again, Inquisitive Hyomin came out and she began peppering him with deatils about how to rip the nametags off the members.

Hyomin: "No one knows we're hiding, right?" Gary: "No one knows" 

Hyo: "How do you catch them?" Gary: "Just catch hold of them." 

Hyomin: "Then, who will do it?"  Gary; "I catch them, you tear it off"

Hyomin: "Oppa, then Whose will you tear off?"

Gary: "WHY ARE YOU CURIOUS ABOUT SO MANY THINGS?!!!

LOLOL
*Subs by the awesome ISUBS Squad!
Posted by zdorama @ zdoramaagain.blogspot.com

My K-Pop Collection 3 Months In

My Friend and I have been comparing our current K-Pop Collections, and after spending  too much time trying to describe which "version" of a certain release I have, i thought it was easier (and admittedly a lot more fun) to just paste up the covers of what I've accumulated in just three months of manic K-pop fever! Should also serve as a good reference to where I was at this time of my K-pop Life later on down the road!

MY K-POP COLLECTION

as of 07/2012

My KARA Collection

My SNSD Collection

My RAINBOW and T-ARA Collections

2NE1, Brown Eyed Girls and SECRET

Posted by zdorama @ zdoramaagain.blogspot.com