One Year in the K-Pop Fandom with KARA!!

The Girls that started it all for me: KARA!

It was exactly one year ago this week that my love of the K-pop genre went from a passing interest (where I primarily liked the Japanese versions of songs released) into a full blown mania, and, looking back,  I can trace it all back to the power and all around awesomeness of DSP Media Girl Group KARA! 

As I’ve recounted many times before, I’d already heard and liked the Japanese versions of songs from KARA like Jumping, (as well as Mr. Taxi and Genie from SNSD) since I was primarily into J-Pop, but it was my first glimpse of their stunning MV for “Mister” that captivated my attention and piqued my interest into examining things further- The song was catchy, the girls were insanely pretty, and the dance moves were simply hypnotic!!!

That Mesmerizing PV for MISTER

Wanting to explore things further, I managed to acquire their first Japanese album GIRL’S TALK (through a K-pop and J-pop forum) and my world was completely rocked! Listening to this album, I was SO blown away by the happy, catchy pop-perfect tunes that I remember walking around listening to the album over and over again! I went back to the forum and began grabbing everything I could find of their and began locating all the live performances and videos featuring the girls in a frenzy! Over the weekend, I immersed myself in their goodness, just being impressed and blown away by every aspect of their output- from the catchy songs, witty variety show banter, and beautiful, beautiful looks, by the time the weekend was over, I knew I had turned a K-pop corner forever when I realized KARA had become my favorite group!!!

My Very First K-Pop Purchases! Girls Talk was on its way...

Making my first K-pop purchase was intimidating and I knew once I made it there was no going back- but MAN, I just HAD to have these KARA albums! Girls Talk, Super Girl, STEP, Pretty Girl, Honey, First Blooming, Revolution, they were too GOOD and I just had to have them ALL! And MAN, I remember when those babies came in, running my hands lovingly over the beautiful, unusual, oversized packaging, flipping through the glossy photo booklets and blasting out the CDs over my stereo, realizing I had officially become a K-POP FAN!

KARA on Star Golden Bell

And it didn’t stop there- through my love of KARA, I was to slowly get into every other aspect of the Korean  Entertainment scene- It was because of KARA’s appearances on Star Golden Bell and Come To Play that I fell in love with the SNSD girls, additionally, it was through a KARA forum that I saw my first SNSD video “Echo”, and though it was sort of low-budget vid, that song and video to this day is a HUGE sentimental favorite!
  It was because I saw KARA as the guests that I downloaded my very first RUNNING MAN show, and as you all know well, that show has gone on to become the guiding light of my Korean Entertainment weekly fix, introducing me to UNCOUNTABLE other Korean celebs and artists! It was because of KARA that I began watching INVINCIBLE YOUTH2, where I would get introduced to members of Rainbow, FX, and SISTAR…When you combine that show with Running Man, you can see why I was so instantly overwhelmed with PASSION for this whole new K-pop world!

SeungYeon and an exhausted Jaesuk on Running Man

Gyuri and  Lee KwangSoo

Seeing my interest exploding, my K-pop friends began introducing me to all the other treasures out there- T-ara, Rainbow, Brown Eyed Girls, Afterschool, etc, and to this day my interest is still expanding out further! 2NE1, Secret, 4Minute, SISTAR, FX, I would find more and MORE K-pop groups to love and obsess over!  And though Girls Generation would eventually go on to become my all-time favorite K-Pop artists, KARA is still up there in my Top Five faves, and whenever I get out the Girls Talk album, the strains of it’s pop perfect tunes just takes me back, and I’m immediately inundated with the feeling of wonderment I had when K-pop was this new and exciting thing!

"It's All Too Much!" Laughing SeungYeon

PS: Funny thing about the KARA Girl’s Talk album is that though it technically could be considered a J-POP album since it’s all their songs sung in Japanese, I like to think of it as a mix of J-pop and K-pop that was (and is) just PERFECT for easing a J-pop fan into the new world of K-pop. It’s still my most beloved KARA album to this day! The whisper that started a BANG! More on Girls Talk and KARA Below!

Posted by zdorama @ zdoramaagain.blogspot.com

FWIW: My KARA Top 40 Song Ranking!

In celebration of my One-Year anniversary of first falling in love with KARA (and K-pop in general), I’ve worked up my very first KARA Top 40 Favorite Songs list! Though I’ve done these lists for other groups and artists before, I’ve never made one for the K-pop group that started it all, and realized after one year that it was time!!!!

Z's KARA TOP 40 SONG RANKING!

1. SOS   (Girls Talk)

2. Tasty Love  (Lupin)

3. Binks  (Girls Talk, Jumping)

4. Same Heart -Ddokateun Mam   (Revolution)

5. Burn   (Girls Talk)

6. Lupin   (Lupin)

7. Wanna   (Revolution)

8. Good Day   (Rock U)

9. Step  (Step)

10. Pretty Girl   (Pretty Girl)  

11. Broken Promise   (The First Blooming)

12. Jumping  (Jumping)

13. Baby I Need You  (Girls Talk)

14. The Two of Us  (The First Blooming)

15. Sweet Days/With  (Girls Talk)

16. With My Heart~Dear Kamilia    (Step)

17. Mister  (Girls Talk, Lupin)

18. Jet Coaster Love  (Super Girl)

19. Umbrella   (Girls Talk)

20. Love Is   (Girls Talk)

21. Lonely   (Lupin)

22. If U Wanna   (The First Blooming)

23. Go Go Summer   (Super Girl)

24. Rider  (Step)

25. Don't Be Shy  (The First Blooming)

26. Girls Power   (Girls Forever)

27. Follow Me-Ddarawa   (Step)

28. Girls Be Ambitious  (Super Girl)

29. Miss U  (Pandora)

30. Aha   (Revolution)

31. Let It Go (Revolution)

32. I’m…Ing    (Pretty Girl)

33. Dreaming Girl  (Super Girl)

34. Do It Do It   (Super Girl)

35. Strawberry   (Step)

36. Take A Bow  (Revolution)

37. Idiot   (Pandora)

38. We’re With You  (Digital Single)

39. Secret World  (The First Blooming)

40. Break It   (The First Blooming)

Notes:
Like the SNSD list before it, it's clear that the more FUN and POPPY songs are the ones I love most, and like the other lists before, this is purely for fun, an interesting way to remember “where I was” at this stage of KARA fandom. And as usual, though it is a list of ranking, in the end, the best I can do is give a sort of "general" placement of the songs in the list. By that I mean that a song ranked at, say, #11 isn't necessarily more loved than a song at #13, but probably more beloved than a song at #18 or so.
Posted by zdorama @ zdoramaagain.blogspot.com

TTS: Goodbye, Hello

Posted by zdorama @ zdoramaagain.blogspot.com
If you recall from my past SNSD song ranking,  I love, love, love the Girls Generation~TTS song "Goodbye Hello", and was always bummed out that even though you could find clips of them doing the other non-single tracks like "Library" and "Baby Steps", I never saw anything of them doing that song live, even going through the fancams and fan-shot clips on youtube, etc, so you can guess how STOKED I was when I saw this clip uploaded!

As you probably know, Tiffany, Seohyun and Taeyeon are leaving Music Core, I guess this is their last appearance? I'm just guessing because of the theme of the song and the fact that they look so thoughtful and melancholy. A Sweet performance!

Edit: Okay, I've seen the complete Episode, it is indeed TTS' Last MC Show. Sob, Sob!

Da Heck Did I Just Watch?! Truly Bizarre Cinema in “Funky Forest”

Aoi Miura meets the Fuzz in "Funky Forest~ The First Contact"

So the other day over lunch, my friend was telling me about these weird clips that him and his friends watch on youtube at work from this Japanese Movie called FUNKY FOREST. He tried to describe the show to me, stories of deformed humans with weird powers, etc, which sounds positively cartoony to me. I ask, “Is it Animated?” He says no. “Is it like a Super-Hero type?” He says, “Dude, I just gotta send you the clip. It’s too weird to explain.”

Funky Forest: "Too Weird To Explain"

The Funky Forest "Volume" Goddesses

That evening he sends me a clip and it’s of an old guy with extended boobs shooting milk at a girl trying to hit it with a tennis racket, then he starts pulling these alien pod things out of his shorts and begins throwing them at her which stick to her like leeches which are revealed to have humanoid features under their hide…. My mouth DROPPED open in a kind of a "WHAAAAAA!???"  as I rubbed my eyes in disbelief at what I’d just seen! What da HELL was I WATCHING??? My friend said that it would be weird. WEIRD!? This is the most BIZARRE freakin’ thing I’ve ever seen in my life!  Eccentric Individuals, Electronics with Orifices, Placated Fetal Creatures, Slimy Living Instruments, Secret Space Agents AND First Contact with an Alien Race, this was Japan's Cinematic ZENITH of Nuttiness!!!

How To Remove an Alien Leech 101

And MAN, If I thought I couldn’t be more surprised by the movie’s absolute KRAZEENESS, I was even MORE surprised when I began scrolling through some of the other clips and saw actors I RECOGNIZED in it! And these weren’t unknown b-list actors either- these were some of best-known actors out there, like Rinko Kikuchi, Kaho, Fukushii Kazue, Kase Ryo and adorable Crush-Of-the–Day CHIZURU IKEWAKI! What in the HECK were they doing here? Gads, that meant I HAD TO ACTUALLY SIT DOWN AND WATCH THE WHOLE MOVIE, if only to see what exactly the HELL they were DOING here! 

Erika Nishikado and Ryo Kase

Kazue Fukiishi, Chizuru Ikewaki and Ono Machiko

Nana Shimoda and Masanobu Asano

Well, in the end, I’m STILL not sure if I ever figured out what was going on, but WOW, WHAT A FLICK!! Not only Did I get to see these actors in the wackiest situations ever, this movie actually introduced me to a bunch of new BABES to lust after, among them beauties like Ono Machiko (whom I’d actually just seen in JOKER Yuzurenai Sasokan), Takahashi Mariko (as a breathy sultry class student named Yoshiko), the adorable Nana Shimoda and Aoi Miura as hapless victims, and ESPECIALLY stunningly gorgeous Erika Nishikado as Notti, the dreamy, nature-lovin’ muse of Ryo Kase’s Extra-Terrestrial obsessed Takafumi!

Pretty Erika Nishikado dreamin' some EPIC dreams....

Mariko Takahashi addresses the Class

Girls like this (and the aforementioned Ikewaki et al) were the primary force that made me stick around watching the movie even as the situations got stranger and STRANGER!! Though in any other movie that got THIS wacky I would have bailed, I just HAD to stick around for these girls...And stick around I did- and I GOTTA SAY, in the end, it was a good thing because Funky Forest turned out to be one of the most FREAKIN' FUNNIEST, INNOVATIVE, IMAGINATIVE, and CRACKY MOVIES OUT THERE!!!

Aoi Miura asked to plug the TV into her Bellybutton!

Kaho as Volume Goddess Omoro

Anri Ban as Volume Goddess Fusuke

Shihori Kanjiya as Volume Goddess Ngava

I’m not even kidding- though some parts of the movie veered off into long, spacey drawn out intermissions (some musical and some literal, yes, LITERAL intermissions), some of the stories were downright HILARIOUS, especially faves like the “Babbling Hot-Springs Vixens” stories with Chizuru Ikewaki, Kazue Fukiishi and Machiko Ono as non-stop chattering salesladies taking a break at an onsen, where a good story is the goal and a tale with no point gets you a beatin’…

The "Babbling Hot-Springs Vixens":

Kazue Fukiishi as Niiko

Machiko Ono as Miiko and Chizuru Ikewaki as Ichiko

…and the OTHER arc I just DUG was the super FUN “Home Room!!!!!!!” stories where the students are charismatic, energetic and outspoken, and their teacher (played by Terajima Susumu in what may be the only non-Yakuza role I’ve ever seen him in) is the coolest instructor any Hall of Education ever had! Every day a student is invited to tell his or her tale in front of the class and the room reaction is never anything short of explosive!

Susumu Terajima as Katsuichi Sensei

Rinko Kikuchi as Student "Kikuchi"

FUNKY FOREST~THE FIRST CONTACT, or, rather, it’s original Japanese Title Naisu No Mori is an abstract Alien + UFO Speculation Movie of sorts, and that’s about as coherent a synopsis as you’re likely to get- for whatever the bigger story here, it’s for SURE that the ride of GETTING THERE is far more integral to THIS ship than any silly thing like a COHERENT PLOT!!  A fun, FUN Movie!!!

Posted by zdorama @ zdoramaagain.blogspot.com

T-ARA-N4 is Coming...

I'm of the mind that Core Contents Media Producer Kim KwangSoo should stop messing around with T-ara and let the girls do their thing, so when they announced that there was going to be a sub-unit coming out , my initial reaction was a groan of dissatisfaction. "Why are they always effing around with them!!!" was my first thought. 
Then when it was announced that this sub-unit would consist of my three favorite members, Hyomin, Jiyeon, Eunjung and cute new member Areum, I was like, "Hmmm, Okay, maybe this project DOES have promise! I'll have to look into this!"
Then it was announced that the new sub-unit's concept would be of a urban Hip-Hop style, and that the release would be called "Countryside Dream", I was back to "Oh, my Gawd, WHAA!!!" 'cause if there's one thing T-ara AIN'T is Hip-Hop, and I sure didn't want to experience the Ishikawa Rika/Yoshizawa Hitomi "Hangry and Angry" project all over again! When they released the first teaser images from the group of a very costume-y Jiyeon dressed in her Hip Hop Styled dukes, I was all like, "Meh."

  But THEN, today, they released the teaser image for my bias Hyomin, and I took ONE LOOK at that pic and did a complete double take! I was all like "WHOA! Check out THIS!!! DAMN!"

Now affiixed with the Sub-Unit's official name of "T-ara N4", we had this sultry picture of a WET Hyomin in a silky pink BUSTIER, and I'm gonna say right now that I now OFFICIALLY DON"T CARE HOW CRAZY this subproject gets, I'M IN IT FOR THE LONG HAUL! Image/concepts like this are what I'm talkin' about! Can You Say AW YEAH!!!! 
Now to wait for Eunjung and Areum's pics....
Posted by zdorama @ zdoramaagain.blogspot.com

Miki Honoka Brings Back The Cute!

 Though I don't think anyone can replace the sweetness of Aiko Sato in the original drama, I HAD to tune into the newest adaptation of Tada Kaoru's infamous Manga ITAZURA NA KISS when I found out the lead girl playing Aihara Kotoko was none other than uber adorable Miki Honoka, last seen (by me, at least) as the meddling little sister in  CLONE BABY!

Just got through watching the first episode, and though it's naturally QUITE different from the Aiko Sato Drama I watched all those years ago, I'm really getting into it, the reason of course being that the show's just FILLED with Miki's spastic cuteness, her nervous tics, stunned reactions and sputtering dialog making for the MOST delightful of dramas! Really, just about every scene has at least ONE zany situation for Miki to show off her comedic talents!

And ANOTHER BIG added bonus for this show is the fact that Kotoko always seems to be EATING in every scene (and quite messily, truth be told), making for some awesome screen shots for my huge album of "Cute Girls In Japanese Dramas Eating"collection, LOLOL

Now, I'm NOT a big fan of these "High School" dramas, and I am SOLELY watching this show for Miki and her adorable reactions, so we'll see how long I'll stick around for this one. So far, though, it seems SO GOOD and I'm looking forward to the next episode!

Posted by zdorama @ zdoramaagain.blogspot.com

Fukuyama Masaharu Teams Up with Hara of KARA!!!

Wow, this is totally a meeting of two worlds for me as news has just been released that Fukuyama Masaharu will be producing a Korean version of the new Galileo theme song LOVE SPELL with Hara of KARA!!! Not sure how Shibasaki Kou's gonna feel about THAT one, since he's even calling the project HARA+, much like he called Shibasaki Kou's project KOH+...EDIT: Okay, just found out Shibasaki Kou's going to still be singing the original Japanese Version,though Yoshitaka Yuriko's gonna be Fukuyama's new partner for this one. Can You Say AWWW YEAHHH! Wonder who the guest-celebrity villain's gonna be for THIS one!!!
Posted by zdorama @ zdoramaagain.blogspot.com

Favorite J-Pop Songs: Senou Azusa / Kimi To Aruiteku

When My friend Dano introduced me to the music of J-pop idols CoCo waaaaay back in the day,  the group he introduced me to was a four-piece unit. He had Two Laserdisc Concerts with the four girls, but of the two CDs he owned of them, one was their latest album featuring four members called "Sweet and Bitter, but the OTHER CD was an older Greatest Hits package that featured not four but FIVE girls. When I inquired about the extra member, Dano flatly stated,“That extra girl left to try a solo career, but didn’t do too well”, and that was where the mysterious “Azusa Senou” stood for me.

As we got more and more into the group however, I became more and more curious about CoCo's earlier work, and I was ready to explore the releases with Azusa in the group. I even mused how funny it would be, if after we’d gotten a chance to hear the earlier stuff with her, we ended up really liking her! And when I finally DID get around to seeing the Five-Member Coco in action (during their classic Budokan Concert, no less), that’s EXACTLY what happened! I was so blown away by Azusa’s awesome singing ability and pretty looks, that soon enough I was trying to get all of her CDs, Singles and Concert Laserdiscs!

Though I’ve already blogged about some of my favorite singles from Azusa, one of my very, very VERY favorite tunes from her wasn’t a single at all, rather a track off of her (very good) album CRYSTAL EYES, a J-pop-perfect crafted masterpiece called Kimi to Aruiteku. This was one helluva catchy song, and you could tell by watching her sing the song in concert that this was a tune very dear to her. By the time I saw her singing the song on her last Concert disc, her heart swelling with emotion as tears trickled down her face, I knew that this was quite possibly my favorite song of all time from her!

  For years I’ve resisted posting about this song because it was never a “Single” proper and there are so many other singles I still have to talk about, but just the other night I had busted out Crystal Eyes and was blown away ALL OVER again of how goddamn good this song is, and just HAVE to share!

Though her “After I Miss You” Concert Performance is probably the more emotional one, I’ve decided to share the performance from her First Concert tour, where Azusa had just started her solo career and was really in her “prime"! The Live Band is groovin' and Azusa is just rockin' along! Check It Out!
Posted by zdorama @ zdoramaagain.blogspot.com

A Visit With Ishihara Satomi

Well, just finished watching the "Rich Man, Poor Woman" Sequel Special...Meh, can't say that it brought anything more to the conclusion of the original series, but at least it gave me another opportunity to watch insanely adorable Satomi Ishihara work her magic as the wide-eyed, innocent and eternally optomistic "Poor Woman" Makoto Natsui. 

 So Cuddly Cute, I could watch her no matter how boring the show, and that's a good thing since there could quite possibly be another movie attached to this series, LOL!

Posted by zdorama @ zdoramaagain.blogspot.com