Anne Gets Sultry in xxxHOLIC

Anne as Ichihara Yuko in xxxHOLIC

I’ve always been a big fan of pretty actress ANNE, and her latest horror drama xxxHOLIC is truly a BLESSING for the fanboy in me- Anne looks just FANTASTIC in this show! Her portrayal of the mysterious "dimensional witch" Ichihara Yuko is unlike any I’d ever seen her play before-so beautiful and sexy, kind of like her gothic look in Yoake Ningen Bem, but supercharged with this underlying hotness, a combination that could give Elvira a run for her money! 

The story of xxxHOLIC is the tale of a boy named Kimihiro (played by Shota Sometani) who can see spirits a la THE SIXTH SENSE, and one day as he meanders on home, he happens to take a step off the beaten path and somehow arrives at an old seemingly abandoned house, where he is confronted by two enthusiastic girls who takes him to meet their master, the svelte Anne herself, whom they say is a good witch of this world.

Mistress of her Domain: Anne as Ichihara Yuko

He soon finds that this curious house is in fact a store of sorts- various people in need find their way to the establishment where Yuko offers to give them whatever wish their heart desires…for an exacting price, some of which we find very heavy indeed! After seeing what she can do, Kimihiro decides to ask her to make his visions of dead people go away, and at that, Yuko invites him to come work for her until the value of his wish is attained!

Above and Below: Anne and Sometani Shota

From there, as you may have guessed, the show turns rather episodic, with each chapter featuring a new “client” with another strange spiritual malady, but make no mistake, the CLEAR star of the show is beautiful Anne, each scene showcasing her awesome looks and featuring her in the most fetching (and, truth be told, cleavage-revealing) outfits ever!

So far, it’s a fun, magical ride-Along with Anne and Sometani Shota, the regular cast is rounded out with Masahiro Higashide and adorable Karen Miyazaki as his two only school friends, Domeki and Himawari, who each have their own mysterious secrets to be brought forth in the course of time…and judging by the cast listing in dramawiki, there’ll be even MORE names added to the cast as the show goes on!

Sometani Shota, Karen Miyazaki and Masahiro Higashide

Karen Miyazaki, Sometani Shota

Posted by zdorama @ zdoramaagain.blogspot.com

Sexy Sawajiri Erika Seduces in "Helter Skelter"

Sawajiri Erika as Lilico in Helter Skelter

   I may be the most clueless moviegoer out there, but I swear that when I got the new Sawajiri Erika movie HELTER SKELTER, it was solely because I’d read that the movie starred her as a supermodel/actress/celebrity and figured I’d get to see Erika in some Pretty n Sexy outfits looking Hot as Hell…well, I got that, and MORE, as anyone who’s even briefly perused the reviews knows, never mind the pretty outfits-this is the movie where Erika went ALL OUT, burning a path of hotness that dubbed everything she’s done before as “tame’!

From the get go we see Erika duked out in the most salacious of outfits a la red garters and panties, and even as I was marveling at the sight, thinking she’d really upped the notch of sexiness, she was moving on to the next big “Heart Attack” moment for me, and the depravity didn’t stop there! By the time the movie had gone about halfway into the story, I has seen Erika in just about every imaginable sexy scenario, leaving me with an open mouth and glazed look on my face, thinking, “This girl sure knows how to generate a COMEBACK MOVIE!”

Like I said, I initially checked out this movie to see Erika as a model wearing model-type outfits, and I am happy to say that in that, they wildly succeded- every scene is chock full of Erika in tight flowery bikinis, lacy lingerie, svelte suits and sultry dresses. I was in screencapping heaven!

Sadly, as the movie’s story progressed, Helter Skelter began to be less a tale of the scary world of plastic surgery and more into a decidedly “sci-fi” genre flick (no “regular” plastic surgery here, there operations are executed with strange Orwellian methods with side effects that ring more Horror than Drama!) and by the time the backwards-walking midgets came out (for reals, yo.) I knew this movie had turned into a David Lynchian Psychedelic Trip and from there, my interest dwindled…

Too bad, the first half of the movie seemed to be grounded in a very realistic backdrop and I thought it was going to be  a human drama study about the pressures celebrities have and the lengths they go through to stay in the public eye (I guess that is the message, in a twisted way), having Helter Skelter turn into another arthouse-y project just left me disappointed, and Sexy Sawajiri Erika aside, can’t say this show has much more that I’d go back for. Though I WILL be back for said Sexy Sawajiri Erika, you can best bet THAT! 

Posted by zdorama @ zdoramaagain.blogspot.com

Back To Kawaii Kon 2013

It's Adventure Time at the 2013 Hawaii Kawaii-Kon!

Posted by zdorama @ zdoramaagain.blogspot.com
 It's that time of the Year again (Gads, has it already been that long...?) when the fanciful Anime Expo Kawaii Kon makes its appearance, and though I hadn't given it much thought  in the last few months, when my friends called me up to tell me we were gonna be spending our Saturday there, I was all in!

 We actually got there fairly late, by the time we found parking and made our way there, it was already past 1:00 in the afternoon, most of the Morning Crowd had gone, and it was still a bit too early for the nighttime costumers to show up, but all in all we still managed to see some fun and interesting sights!

 One thing that was a twist was that this time we actually had someone in our crowd who KNEW all of the anime shows and characters- whereas before we'd marvel at how well the costumes were made, but had no idea how close they'd gotten to the actual outfit, THIS time, she was running around pointing out all the various "celebrity" anime characters, yelling out "HEY, It's Flame Princess!!!!"and a BIG highlight was the cast of the zany ADVENTURE TIME anime show (pictured at the top of this post)!

Sadly, even with four (four, count them, FOUR!) cameras at our disposal going off non-stop (or so it seemed), only a small handful of all the pics we took actually came out, a problem that bugs me to no end...! So throughout the 200+ pictures we took, all I was able to put together was this meager sample of the fun that was going on that afternoon!

Ah well, there's always next year, and my friends have already stated that we are DEFINITELY going to be coming in the year 2014, as checking in on Kawaii Kon is our new "tradition", LOL!!!

The Dreaded Running Man Steal

  I’ve been a big fan of the SBS variety/reality show Running Man ever since first catching it almost a year ago, and have faithfully anticipated and cherished each and every episode since-but I have to tell you that there is this disturbing trend that has been appearing more and more regularly, and that’s the challenge where the team has to collect certain objects (where the team that acquires the most items wins). 

Now, I’m all fine with that, but the thing that grates me is that the PD has deemed it OK for the opposing team members to “steal” the objects from the collectors even as they’re carrying them to the winning table, and while it may make for “funny” television, having the members have to collect the items OVER and OVER again, only to have them get continually stolen is like trying to build a tower of blocks only to have a bully keep kicking it over!

Though they’ve occasionally used variations on this challenge in the past, the first time it really BUGGED me was during Episode #123’s “Kim Chee Run”, where everyone kept stealing each other’s toy cabbages: watching Kwangsoo and Sukjin walk up to Han Hyojoo and simply snatch the cabbages she’d worked so hard to collect out of her hands was PISSING ME OFF! 

Though that challenge irritated me, I felt that since it was only an isolated incident, I could look it over. Then when I was watching the “Spy VS Spy” Race in episode #132 (where the challenge was to accumulate a certain amount of steel briefcases), I found myself watching the SAME SCENARIO all over again as the teammates began stealing each others’ cases from their hidden storage places as well as right out of their hands, and I was like “OH GAWD, it’s the Stealing Strategy again!!!!” Luckily this episode had sort of a twist on it, (so I was entertained throughout the race), but STILL…!

I thought I’d seen the last of this “Stealing Thing”, and even overlooked the similarly aggravating “Executive Chair” episode in #128 (where there was the same stealing, but was a bit more controlled), but when I watched the latest episode with Jackie Chan where they had to collect animal costume head masks and they began stealing from each other in earnest, I KNEW it was here again; indeed, the players are so used to this stealing setup, that guest runner Choi Siwon doesn’t even bother looking for the Animal Heads and instead goes directly to the opponent’s table to steal the heads they’ve collected. And once again stealing and snatching scenarios ensue, to the delight(?) of all!

After seeing this stealing concept appearing AGAIN, I realized this is a concept that the writers of this show think is popular, funny, and intend to keep around for a WHILE! D’oh!
I dunno, I suppose if I were a more casual fan of the show, it might not MATTER who won or lost, as long as the contestants were zany and silly, but the best thing I've always loved about this show is how passionately the Runners run this race, so it’s maddening to have the final challenges boil down to this! As a loyal fan of the show, I BEG the PD’s and WRITERS: CUT OUT THE STEALING CONCEPT!!!!!

Posted by zdorama @ zdoramaagain.blogspot.com

Nishida Hikaru is Back!

Just been informed that one of my ALL-TIME Favorite J-Pop Artists, Ms. Hikaru Nishida is supposed to be coming out with a new CD Release as well as staging a Live Performance! Could this be REAL? Researching further, I was happy to hear straight from Hikaru's own voice that this is INDEED true!!!

The new CD is a Maxi Single titled "Just Lovin'", and seeing as how this is the first new project from Hikaru in over 11 years, I AM JUSY OVERJOYED!!! I've been enjoying the return of other fave acts from the 90's like Chisato Moritaka and Princess Princess, and with a brand new release from my beloved Hikaru coming out,  I'm on a nostalgic high!!!
Posted by zdorama @ zdoramaagain.blogspot.com

Toda Erika eating Kushiyaki

Posted by zdorama @ zdoramaagain.blogspot.com

Yamada Yu eating Konnyaku

Posted by zdorama @ zdoramaagain.blogspot.com

Fukada Kyoko eating a Chocolate Wafer Roll

Posted by zdorama @ zdoramaagain.blogspot.com

2NE1TV: Better Ring The Alarm!

Checking out the Cameras in their apartment for the 2NE1TV show

I’ve been going CRAZY over 2NE1 lately, I love, love love these girls SO freakin’ much, and though probably not worthy to call myself a true BLACKJACK yet, 2NE1TV has converted me to a 2NE1 fan for LIFE! After my friend Shanomac gave me copies of their third season, I’ve been watching episodes of the older shows on Youtube, and have just about finished Season One and am making my way through Season Two!  

  Man, this show is so awesome! Like most reality shows, having a camera following your idol around 24/7 tends to make you feel closer to them, and I have to say, with these gals, there’s always SOMETHING going on! 

Caring Leader CL

Flighty Main Vocalist Bom

Maknae Minzy

Kid at Heart Dara

CL’s tuff but loving leadership, Bom’s spacey and listless demeanor, Minzy’s cool yet wide-eyed approach to everything, and one thing that really comes across watching their evening lives is Dara’s sweetness, she is such a baby compared to the rest of them, (she was so lonely when they first moved in and missed her mother) but soon she loves sleeping the room with her 2NE1 sisters, and it melts my heart whenever she scampers up to bother CL every night!

Dara climbing up to bother Big Sister CL

So much fun stuff (and cool, eye opening behind-the-scenes clips of the "Business Side" of things), but the absolute HIGHIGHT of the series has to be the last few episodes of Season One where the girtls are awarded personal mini-vacations, and as the cameras follow each gitl to their destination, you feel like you’re experiencing the trip with them! 

Minzy shopping with Friends

Dara Jet-Skiing in the Philippines with Tahm Tahm

  Dara chose to visit her friends in the Philippines and Minzy flew back home to hang with friends and family, but I especially liked CL’s trip  to Japan (where she lived for most of her childhood) and Bom’s (America, where she went to school and her sister lives). Our dear Chaerin "CL" Lee is a LOT more playful than in Season Three, constantly talking to and mugging for the camera, and I have to laugh every time she enthusiastically says “Go-go-goooo!”  Hahaha, who would have thought such a stoic looking girl was so happy and fun!

A Satisfied CL finding out the 2NE1 CD is sold out

But when it comes to zany shenanigans, no one can touch 2NE1’s appointed Main Vocallist, and oh MAN, the clips of Bom in America are fricking GOLD, she’s so freaking cuddly and adorable, whether happily signing autographs, absentmindedly mumbling to the camera, simply spacing out slack-jawed, and of course eating, eating, and more EATING! I am SO entranced, luv her so much!  

Fave quotes: “Ooh, Caviar! I am eating caviar on a plane! Everyone, Hoo Hoo Hoo!” and upon reading that the episode with the highest ratings was Bom’s “Corn” incident (where she got busted by her trainer eating corn and was severely reprimanded): “Everyone, do you like watching me get told off and become embarrassed?” LOLOLOLOLOL Can't wait to get back to more of this show!

 I’ll tell you ONE thing, though-It’s TOTALLY a BUMMER to download all the 2NE1TV episodes in parts and then when I watch ‘em, they’re all “Big Bang TV” clips! For reals, like episode 5 was seriously like the entire episode! I’m like, “err….”  LOL!
Posted by zdorama @ zdoramaagain.blogspot.com