Double Face 偽装警察編

Kagawa Teruyuki and Nishijima Hidetoshi in "Double Face"

Watching the Kagawa Teruyuki/Nishijima Hidetoshi TV Movie “Double Face~Giso Keisatsu Hen”, I was to realize two things, One: This movie was yet another remake of the highly successful 2002 Hong Kong Crime Movie “Infernal Affairs”, and Two: this was the movie that Aoi Yu cut her lovely long locks for!

  Getting past THAT trifle was a bit hard for me, but once I did, I was treated to a helluva movie! Awesome acting cast, with Kagawa, Nishijima, Aoi, Wakui Emi, Kohinata Fumiyo among others, and intense directing, several scenes had me on the edge of my seat!!! Everyone was great here, Kagawa in particular excelling as the weaselly, conflicted Takayama , the kind of character Kagawa is famous for playing!

Kagawa Teruyuki

Nishijima Hidetoshi

Kohinata Fumiyo

Wakui Emi

Aoi Yu

Posted by zdorama @ zdoramaagain.blogspot.com

Second Half Of My Afterschool Order Arrives!

Afterschool CDs

  After much waiting, the rest of the purchasesI  made during a week of unstoppable Afterschool mania came in, including the incredible 3rd Mini album BANG!, the Japanese releases for both Lady Luck/Dilly Dally and Diva, and a Taiwan release that compiled their first album New Schoolgirl and Because Of You. Was pretty stoked, though it must be said that I'm so spoiled by the Korean releases with those huge hardcover photobooks and glossy pamphlets chock full of glamour shots that the simple jewel cased Japan releases leaves me kind of underwhelmed; even though they both had cool bonus DVDs and random photocards, the basic CD insert with absolutely no pictures or additional material seems so lonesome! LOL
Time to rip these babies onto the ipod!!!!!
Posted by zdorama @ zdoramaagain.blogspot.com

"Akumu-Chan" Rocks!!!

Kitagawa Keiko as Mutoi Ayame in Akumu Chan

Holy Crap, just finished watching episode 4 of the Kitagawa Keiko drama AKUMU-CHAN, and I must say that at this stage, I am properly BLOWN AWAY!!! I thought  I was lovin' this show with episode THREE, and now four jsut takes it up another notch! I swear, each episode just keeps COMPOUNDING the levels of interest, and just when you think you know what's going on, they introduce new elements into the show, and I have to say right now, this show is firing on ALL CYLINDERS!

  With a fantastic storyline regarding the aspect of dreams and the wielding of Dream prophecy and interpretation, the sci-fi aspect of the show is one of the most innovative yet, and even when it comes down to the drama focusing on the children and their problems, I find that I'm now completely convinced...episode 4 just showed me that even as a straight forward School/Teacher drama, Akumu-Chan is as strong as any...and Keiko Kitagawa's no-nonsense Ayame Mutoi is the coolest fricking teacher since Eikichi Onizuka!

Onward with Akumu-Chan full speed ahead!!!!!
Posted by zdorama @ zdoramaagain.blogspot.com

An Adorable Scene in "Going My Home"

I've already talked about how wonderful the pacing and style of the Hiroshi Abe / Yamaguchi Tomoko drama Going My Home is, and Episode Two continues to please! The episode was filled with the same quirky sensibilities is the first one, but I just HAD to mention this one particular passage that had me laughing and rewinding the scene over and over...
 Tsuboi Ryota (Abe) and his daughter Moe (Aju Makita) have taken a trip to his father's hometown while he lies in the hospital. During the stay Moe makes plans with a boy named Daichi to go with his mother (Miyazaki Aoi) to hike into the forest and look for Kuna, magical forest little people. While Ryota doesn't believe they'll come across any elves,he IS concerned about the bugs, and is adamant about getting some insect  repellant to guard him from getting attacked.

 Ryota and Moe make a trip to the store to pick up a box of repellant while Diaichi dn his Mom wait outside. I'm watching thsi scene and am already tickled by the little nuances like Moe's absentminded examination of the box, and the cutaways to Aoi and Daichi examining something in the gutter grating  outside, LOL!

But then came the crown to this awesome scene, as the four begin their trek up to the hill, and Moe begins diligently pasting the insect repellant patches onto her father's jacket!!! Ahahaha, Oh my GOSH, this was so DARN adorable!!!! As I rewound and rewatched the scene over and over, I had to wonder just how many takes it took to get the thing done, as it was shot in one long take! Amazing!

Keep in mind that this wonderful scene was shot with no dialog at all, so the viewer was  able to simply enjoy the passage on its own merit! Such a sweet scene, such an incredible drama!

Posted by zdorama @ zdoramaagain.blogspot.com

Baby V.O.X. "Ya Ya Ya"

Baby V.O.X.

All Running Man fans certainly know of the "Love Connection" between Kim Jong Kook and actress Yoon Eun Hye, when they were both on X-MAN, a point that Jaesuk and the others constantly remind him about, and the teasing became so great that I really wanted to see that infamous clip so I looked it up on Youtube. Not only did I get to see the original episode of X-Man (which was hilarious), but I also found out that besides her acting career, Eun Hye got her start in the girl group Baby V.O.X.!

Yoon Eun Hye and Kim Jong Kook in X-Man

BabyV.O.X.

Wow! As one of the seminal K-pop acts along with S.E.S. and FINK.L, I was VERY interested in hearing Baby VOX’s music, and finding out that Eun Hye was in it, decided I'd better investigate immediately!  i then spent an evening watching their videos and variety show clips, and I liked all their songs right away (especially "Killer") but the one I loved most was this cute poppy song called "Ya Ya Ya".

 I find it hard to believe this was a group that came out in the 2000's (well, actually late 90's) because it sounds soooo 80's J-pop. I liked it so much that I put it on a mix even though the style contrast made everyone in the car say "What the HECK is this?" when I played it! LOL
    On Youtube, I found a very recent reunion Baby VOX did on a show called Chocolate, and they did both "Ya Ya Ya", and also "Killer "(!) So I was pretty stoked. The girls are all lovely ladies now. They still sound terrific!  Funny that Eun Hye who is by far the most successful of them as an actress is actually the maknae, and when they were being interviewed, she reverted back to that cute status with them. So much fun hearing stories of their baby VOX days!

Watching and re-watching their MVs, I’ve come to like quite a few of their songs and have tried to get some CDs from them, but they’re all for the most part out of print and they are like really hard to find on ebay, and when I do see some, they command collectible prices, like 85 dollars and such. So so far I've only got MP3s. Anyway, short story long, one night, I was looking for more BabyVOX stuff, and came across a performance of SECRET doing YaYaYa. I don't know what I was expecting, but they do it so well and sincerely, I have to tell you it brought tears to my eyes! It’s so goddamn sweet.

Posted by zdorama @ zdoramaagain.blogspot.com

A Love for 4Minute Renewed

4Minute Girls: Sohyn, Jiyoon, HyunA, Gayoon and Jihyun

 I have been REALLY getting into sultry Cube Entertainment group 4MINUTE recently. On one of the (mostly J-Pop) forums I follow, they posted up some 4Minute Albums, and after listening to them a few weeks, I think I am going to have to purchase some of these, especially "For Music" and "Hit Your Heart", they are soooo good. MAN, when I listened to "Hot Issue" for the first time, I. WAS. FRICKING. BLOWN. AWAY. That is such a KILLER song, and MAN, the BASS in that song is so dense, when I threw the song onto my ipod and blasted it in my car, the windows were shuddering like I was driving a Low Rider!!!

After that I began going online to look for more videos and live performances of 4Minute, and  boy, there was so much more to discover! Unbelievably, though 4minute was pretty much the first K-pop group I really liked, I have to say that in reality I didn’t know too much more about them beyond the songs I knew of theirs like "I My Me Mine" and "Volume Up"…I'd never even seen a live perf of "Huh" before! 

A Sexy Rendition of "Mirror Mirror"

 Diving into their back catalog was like discovering a whole new band and each video and live performance gave a new and exciting dimension to them- and GADS, the chicks are so WICKED in those clips! Watching the performances of "Hot Issue"....Holy Crap, Hyuna really showed me why she's so damn popular, I tell you. I didn't realize it was their first single, so it was really cute to see the original MV for the song and then contrast it with a smoldering recent performance. From cute and girly to sultry and SEXY!

Fun Beatles Code with Jihyun, HyunA, Jiyoon and Sohyun

And while we're on that subject of girly, when I first saw 4Minute, the girl I focused on most was Gayoon. Her looks were so exotic and striking to me (kind of Israeli-ish looking, if you know what I mean...come to think of it, I thought that the first time I saw Gyuri in the "Mister MV, too.) Later when I fell in love with Hyuna from Invincible Youth, I had to go back and re-watch I My Me Mine 'cause I didn't remember her at all.  But now that I've been watching a bunch of stuff from them, all their MVs, Live Performances, etc , I kind of know all of them, and I have to say for the record: HOW IN THE HELL DID I NEVER NOTICE JIHYUN BEFORE??? 

Nam Jihyun

Jihyun on Beatles Code

OH MY GOD, this girl is sooo DAMN pretty, such a feminine girly-girl! I just watched a recent Beatles Code, and every time Jihyun was onscreen, I couldn’t stand it!!! Such a CUTIE, I can't believe she is the oldest and the leader. Not only did I think Jihyun was the MAKNAE, I thought Gayoon was the leader! And she really seems like it when I watch her on Travel Maker. Very commanding and no-nonsense, such a cool chick.

Gayoon

In fact, after watching a few epsidoes of this Travel show, I really began loving ALL of the members, Gayoon, Hyuna, Jihyun, Jiyoon and the adorably picked-on maknae Sohyun…all of them together make the 4Minute experience such a joy to watch! And I find when I go back and watch the live performances and videos again, I have a new appreciation for it since I now KNOW them all! 

HyunA decides Sohyun should test the water...

Poor Sohyun! LOL

Travelmaker is such a fun show, unfortunately, there doesn't seem to be all that many episodes translated and subbed! So far all I've got is four episodes to watch (with the rest RAWs) so I've got to make the most of it!

Posted by zdorama @ zdoramaagain.blogspot.com

Going My Home

Abe Hiroshi and Yamaguchi Tomoko in Going My Home

When I first heard that Yamaguchi Tomoko was going to be starring in a new drama after all these years, I was sooo excited, and when I heard her co-star was going to be Abe Hiroshi, I knew it was gonna be a great one! Then I heard that it was going to be about their child who sees imaginary people and their Father who believes in Little Forest People. From there my interest waned a bit, I must say. And even when I got my hands on the first episode, it took a while to actually get around to watching it.
  I dunno, I thought it was going to be a wacky drama like Marumo No Okite, that drama with the talking dog (and since co-star Sadao Abe was in that one, too, it didn’t give me any reason to think otherwise!) But with the list of fine actors assembled for this one, I HAD to check it out, and what I saw when watching “Going My Home” was anything BUT wacky- if fact, it was one of the most thoughtful and slow-paced dramas I’ve seen in quite a while, and (so far at least) firmly placed in reality. 

Abe Hiroshi as Tsuboi Ryota

Yamaguchi Tomoko as Sae 

Aju Makita as Moe

  The Story of “Going My Home” concerns a TV Ad Exec named Ryota Tsuboi , his busy wife Sae (who works as one of those “Food Presenter” Photographers who make food look good) and their daughter Moe, who’s having a bit of a time in school because she claims she can see people who aren’t there. But the parents have no time to help as Ryota’s father collapses and the family must work around his state. 

Yoshiyuki Kazuko, Abe Hiroshi and YOU as the Family

Sibling Rivalry: YOU as sister Takiko arguing with Ryota (Abe)

  Visits to the Hospital become trickier because he must also get involved with his Mother, Sister and her Husband, and as Ryota sorts through his Father’s things, he finds that the man has many secrets including a mysterious woman  (played by the always affable Miyazaki Aoi) who may or may not have been his mistress, and a "Best Friend" (Nishida Toshiyuki) who tells Ryota His father believed in Imaginary Little People!! 

Miyazaki Aoi as Naho

Nishida Toshiyuki as Osamu Torii

   The Aspect of the Little People or “Kuna” as they’re called here, is here less as a CGI sprite spiraling in to save the day, but more like James Stewart’s situation in “Harvey”, where the imaginary creature exists more as a powerful idea that moves the characters  than any actual appearance (but hey, it’s only the first episode,  so who knows!)
   Rather than a Japanese drama, Going My Home reminds me of those old great Robert Altman movies where he’d take a few talented actors and actresses and put them into curious “vignettes” that seem almost like one-off shorts, but which together add up to a greater story. Watching stellar actors letting loose in these these wonderfully crafted and highly eccentric scenes is such a joy to watch; I find that even when the scene has little to do with anything, I find myself chuckling  and entertained! 

Bakarizumu and Hiroshi Abe

Yoshiyuki Kazuko as Mom Tsuboi at her Haiku Class....

   Scenes like the bus stop conversations between Ryota and his eternally depressed (think “Debbie Downer”) colleague, the cutaways to random Haiku Classes with Grandma Toshiko, and especially the fun verbal arguments Ryota has with both Wife Sae AND daughter Moe, these are brilliantly written scripts with such FUN dialog!!! 
  And GOD, I totally forgot how SEXY I think YOU is, but her role as Abe’s sly and bawdy younger sister instantly reminded me- she really stole the scenes for me- such a sarcastic, vibrant lady! The scenes with her and Mom Tsuboi giving it to Ryota are freakin hilarious!

Yoshiyuki Kazuko and YOU

  And while we’re on that subject, I have to say it’s awesome to see Yoshiyuki Kazuko still as commanding as ever! You know she’s the daughter of Agri Yoshiyuki, the War-time Hairdresser who was the inspiration for my favorite NHK Asadora of all time AGRI, right? Yep, I knew you knew, just checking! LOL!
 Okay, looks like Episode Two is finished downloading, so I'm gonna hve to go and check it out! Hope the next episode is as interesting and fun as the first one!

 PS: Okay, Who’s this sassy, sweet Young Thang playing the intensely spoiled and super-pouty Mano? Thought it’d be easy to identify her since she’s obviously a Gravure Model or Idol or something, but hours online have given me no clues! She sure looks familiar...looks a lot like Perfume's A-Chan, actually!

edit: LOL. It's just been pointed out to me that curvy Mano is played by none other than Ms. Aimi Satsukawa,  best known (by me) for her roles in Funuke Domo~Show Some Love, You Losers and GALCIR! So awesome to see her again!

More Afterschool Goodness

Afterschool Flashback Poster with Orange Caramel

 So remember that Afterschool Haul I received a few weeks back? Well,  their CD mini album for FLASHBACK was supposed to come with a 2'x3' poster, but as the poster comes unfolded, it shipped separately from the rest of the order in a sturdy tube. I've ordered from this one particular dealer Silver Cold Metal many times, and have always gotten the posters and CDs together, but this time when I went to the Post Office to pick up my package, it only had the CD package!
  No Biggie, I thought, the poster should be here any day now! But as the weeks went by, I was beginning to worry, so emailed the dealer to inquire how long it was supposed to take. When he related that the items were shipped together and should have arrived at the same time, I knew my poster had become one of those dreaded items called "Lost in the mail", NOOOOOOO!
  Instead of waiting to see if the package would ever show up, however, the dealer instead immediately sent me ANOTHER rolled up poster, all at his expense, and this time with registered tracking to make sure the item got to me! Not only did I receive it in a few days time, he had even added a poster of Orange Caramel's Lipstick album promotion for my troubles! How cool is that? You can BET he got some positive feedback from ME! 
Posted by zdorama @ zdoramaagain.blogspot.com