Awesome "Stars Of K-Pop" Book

 Visiting the local Barnes and Nobles the other day, and came across a K-pop related book called “Stars Of K-Pop”, one version featuring guys (showing Gangnam Style sensation PSY on the cover) and another with the Girls (with, naturally, 4Minute’s HyunA on that cover). I immediately grabbed it up and WOW, was it just FILLED with gorgeous photos and information, and all in English, to boot! Flipping through its pages and seeing all the beautiful photos inside, it occurred to me that though I had folders full of pictures of my favorite idols on my computer desktop, I actually didn’t have much when it came to physical books to hold!

Girls Generation

 The book (well, the Girls’ Version, anyway, I’m sorry to say I didn’t even bother to pick up the guy version) focused on what are generally regarded as the top K-pop acts, and I was happy to note that for the most part, every single one of my favorite K-artists were listed there! From Girls Generation to 2NE1 all the way down through to Crayon Pop, it showed colorful pictures accompanied by information regarding group stats and album releases:

...as well as individual member bios-

 WOW! This was JUST what an English speaking K-pop Fan NEEDS!

My first thought was how amazing it was that a domestic publisher in Hawaii got everything so right, but looking at the credits on the inside, I think this might have originally been a Korean Released book that got translated into English, or complied from Korean sources. In fact, they credit Kpop Stars News, but I'm really not sure. Whoever it is. they sure researched their subjects well! Look at all of these awesome groups this book covered- and what incredible pics, too!

2NE1

4Minute

Kara

f(x)

f(x) 2

Secret

Sistar

Afterschool

Afterschool2

Apink

Apink2

Brown Eyed Girls

Girl's Day

T-ara

MissA

Rainbow

Crayon Pop

  Just about the only K-pop Group I love that DIDN’T get covered in this fine, fine book is Dal Shabet, happily, that is the ONE group that I actually DO have physical photo books from (the incredible “For Darling” picture book that came with the Have, Don’t Have album) so at least I won’t be lacking for pics in THAT department!
Posted by zdorama @ zdoramaagain.blogspot.com

Some Lustin' For Luvian

 Posted by zdorama @ zdoramaagain.blogspot.com

My world of Asian gravure has been shaken to the core with The Chive (of all places) introducing me to the wonders of luscious Chinese Model Luvian Ben Neng (also known as Li Kai Shi 李凯诗) which all started when they uploaded THIS salaciously sexy photo:

 "HOLY CRAP, this girl is just DEVASTATINGLY pretty!" was my initial response, and after quickly perusing the other sexy samples the Chive uploaded, (and being stunned by them all!) I knew I had to see MORE! 

  Going Online, I was to soon discover that Luvian was already getting popular in gravure circles, and I was THRILLED to find that there were many, MANY photo sets to enjoy!  MAN, just going through the pics from a single set and you can see why she’s been getting quite a name for herself! 

 What IS it about this girl that’s so MYSTIFYING to me? Is it her eyes? Is it her slightly Eurasian looks, those lush (admittedly false) eyelashes, or is it that alluring beauty spot just about her Lips? Dunno, but boy, SOMETHING about her just set her apart from all the other models that have been coming out in the forums lately into a vibrant new package!

    Luvian’s photo shoots run from sexy Bikini Sets to Blisteringly HOT Lingerie Shoots, but she can also stun dressed simply in Fashionable Ensembles shopping around town! From Sweet to Sexy, CLassy to Coy, whenever I open a new photo set from her, I'm always surprised at what she's chosen to "dress up" in this time!

 Oh Yeah, I am DEFINITELY going to be keeping an EYE on THIS girl!!!

Posted by zdorama @ zdoramaagain.blogspot.com

Catching Up With Shakalabbits

New Shakalabbits Anthologies with Video Collections

  This past weekend my friend and I were cruising at a local department store when the Wonders' snazzy song "That Thing You Do" from the Tom Hanks movie of the same name came on, and as we stood there groovin' to it, I was immedaitely reminded on how freakin' great the J-Pop ska group Shakalabbits' thrashing cover of it was! I asked him if I ever shared that video with him, and when he said he hadn't, I made sure that when we got back to my house that he got to see it!

 Needless to say, he loved it (even demanding I make a copy of the song for him!) and this got me to wondering just WHAT Shakalabbits were up to! Jumping onto the trusty CD Japan site, I was to find that they'd JUST simultaneously released two CD/DVD Greatest Hits with all their hit singles (as well as favorites chosen by the band) and all their super COOL videos! This was particularly a thrill for me, since, even though I'd bought one of their DVD Video collections before (the awesome Video Music Awards greatest Hits Vol.1):

...it didn't include a lot of their later songs, especially songs "Dazzling Soup" and Monologue" which were the first songs I loved from them- or their really early stuff like "Even If I'm Alone" and "80", happily,  they ALL were on this new package! WHOA!
 I immediately ordered the two CDs (well, added it to my existing T-ARA order, which was set to ship out in only another week) and jsut today they came in! So stoked, for while there, SHAKALABBITS was just about my favorite group, and these videos have always been a BIG part of what I loved about them-for the FIRST TIME, I'm seeing these PVs nice and crystal clear!!!
Posted by zdorama @ zdoramaagain.blogspot.com

T-ara's "Gossip Girls" Comes In!

T-ara's new Japan Album "Gossip Girls"

  I'm not quite sure what K-pop's adoration for the phrase "Gossip Girl" is, but  after both Rainbow AND Girls Generation had albums with that title, I knew something was up, and now we have T-ara's latest Japanese album with the title of the same name! This is their first full album since Treasure Box, and fortunately, this one has a lot more original songs than the two previous ones (which were mostly Japan versions of their Korean songs) including the latest single which I talked about here, La'boon/Lead the Way.
 As usual, the Japan releases are a bit more toned down and regular in size compared to the ultra-extravagent Korean albums, but still very, very nice, and i have to say that Gossip Girls is actually wuite beautifully packaged- with a hard clear plastic slipcase, photobooklet and hardcover CD digipak as well as a bonus photo (of which it was Jiyeon) and a trading card (of my bias Hyomin!!!), this was a full order!

 Additionally, I ordered the DIAMOND EDITION, or, rather, "Version B", this one came with a bonus DVD which included an hour-long Special featuring T-ara playing games at Tokyo Fantasyland to ultimately win a trip to Hawaii! Second Place is to a Japan Onsen which is still pretty good, but the losing team does a punishment!

Teams were broken up into pairs: Soyeon and Boram VS Eunjung and Jiyeon VS Hyomin and Qri, 
Basically they played amusement room games: Air Hockey, Basketball Toss, Pop-Gun Shooting Gallery, Bowling, etc. Super cute reactions from the girls when they win and also when they lose, probably the most hilarious is when they play Ping Pong and Soyeon has never played it before so keeps making mistakes, LOL!
OK, off to take this album out for a spin!
Posted by zdorama @ zdoramaagain.blogspot.com

Secret's Hyosung as Adorable Ghost in "Cheo Yong"

Hyosung in Cheo Yong: Ghost-Seeing Detective

 As my bias in the cheerfully cute group SECRET, it piqued my interest when I first heard pretty Jeon Hyosung was going to be in a drama, (and as a ghost helping a detective, no less!) But as the months went by, I only heard about it in a roundabaout way, and it wasn’t until just this past week that I finally decided I’d better hunt the drama down and see if I could get it!

The Ghost and I: Hyosung meets Oh Ji Ho

 Well, the drama “Cheo Yong: Ghost Seeing Detective” wasn’t hard to find, and I found that in the time since I’d first heard about it, it had aired and actually finished! Usually these K-dramas run for 22 episodes or so, this one only ran 10. I downloaded all of the episodes and found a subbing team that translated it (albeit a very englisshy translation, oi!) and have JUST finished watching the first episode!
   First off, I have to say that Yoon Cheo Yong (as played by cool Oh Ji Ho, the actor I always thought looked like a Korean Hiroshi Abe) is an intriguing character from the onset- He’s been born with the ability to see spirits, and his mysterious battles with the undead start off the show with a bang, but it’s when he transfers back to the main  Police station that things get good- 
   Seems Hyosung’s an adorable ghost named Han Na Young who spends her days with the people at work in the station, skipping back and forth between rooms, cheerfully talking with them and advising them, never minding the fact that no one can see or hear her! 

So cute watching her having one-sided conversations with the workers, her chipper and spritely persona just making me smile!

But when Cheo Yong arrives, she is stunned to find that this gentleman can see AND hear her, a fact that thrills her to no end! As a ghost bound to the building of the station and with no one to actually interact with, she makes it her mission to follow Cheo Yong all over the place, chatting excitedly about every thing that comes to mind!

"You can see me, right, mister?"

"I won't let you pass until you acknowledge me!"

DAEBAK!!!

Man, Hyosung is REALLY stealing the show for me, she is SO doggone innocent and CUTE! Really, by the end of the episode, I had a hard time believing that that busty, sultry femme fatale leading SECRET was this same girl playing sweetie NaYoung! But when she smiles that huge toothy smile, I’m all like, “Ah yes, that’s my girl!”

   PS: In a timely coincidence, right as I began watching the show, it was announced that Hyosung was going to be releasing her very first SOLO album outside of Secret! Since I was high on Hyosung love, I immediately put in MY order (which tempted me with it’s free poster and DVD!) so it looks like there’s gonna be a WHOLE LOT of Hyosung love here in the coming weeks!!!

Hyosung's first Solo Album "Top Secret"

Posted by zdorama @ zdoramaagain.blogspot.com

My Favorite SNSD Songs, Updated!

To mark a solid two years of Girls Generation being my number one favorite K-Pop girl group, I've  gone back and updated my old Top80 favorites list from last year, reconfigured to include all their latest releases including their recent Japan CDs and this past month's "Mr, Mr" Mini-album, too!

Z's GIRLS' GENERATION TOP90 SONG RANKING!

How Great Is Your Love
Stay Girls
Goodbye, Hello
Lingua Franca
La La La
Sweet Talking Baby
Hoot
Echo
Everyday Love
Library

Top Secret
Lazy Girl
My Oh My
Time Machine 
Chocolate Love 
Be Happy
Boys & Girls 
I’m In Love With The HERO
All My Love Is For You 
Sunflower

Ha Ha Ha
I Got A Boy
Telepathy 
Ooh La-La!
Show! Show! Show! 
Trick
Tinkerbell
Oscar
You-aholic
Beautiful Stranger

Mr. Taxi
Love and Girls 
Reflection
Paparazzi
Day by Day
Tell Me Your Wish (Genie)
OMG (Oh My God)
The Boys
Do The Catwalk
Express 999

Complete 
Gee
Kissing You
Girls Generation
Animal
I'm a Diamond
Galaxy Supernova
Baby Maybe
Flower Power
Vitamin

XYZ
Karma Butterfly
Romantic St.
Backhug 
Europa
Way To Go!
Beep Beep
Oh!
Child
Gossip Girls

T.O.P.
LIPS
Soul
Mr. Mr.
Say Yes
The Great Escape
Bad Girl
Born To Be A Lady
Mabinogi (It’s Fantastic!)
Beginning

Diamond
My Friend Haechi
Perfect for You (Honey)
My Best Friend
Love Melody
Visual Dreams
Motorcycle
Talk Talk (Boomerang)
Dancing Queen
Girlfriend

Not Alone
My J
Let’s Talk About Love
Etude
Checkmate 
Mistake
Run Devil Run
Merry Go Round
Baby Baby
Into The New World

And as I always say, this is purely for fun, an interesting way to remember “where I was” at this stage of SNSD 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 #33 or so.
Posted by zdorama @ zdoramaagain.blogspot.com

The End of An Era

Michishige Sayumi

 With the recent announcement that Michishige Sayumi was graduating from Morning Musume, I feel like the book has finally closed on one of my more favorite J-pop artists. Shigechan was the last member still in the group that I knew of, once she's gone, the group will be completely made up of members I don't know and they will be 100% a "new" group to me...
   I got into Morning Musume roughly by the time the "Generation 2" was in full swing (about 1999) and though the members would routinely graduate and get replaced, there were always members I knew and liked no matter which incarnation was current, but I have to say that after Kusumi Koharu joined, I really didn't pay that much attention to the various new members joining. I still liked their songs and would occasionally download a few of them, but the days of me maniacally watching all of their shows and learning all the members and their personalities were long gone.
 There was a time there when Shigechan was my favorite member of Morning Musume, taking the place of Ishikawa Rika when she graduated, who took the place of Goto Maki when she graduated, who took the place of Ishiguro Aya when she left, LOL. Her cute and adorable antics  simply killed me, (especially in the Hello Project News Segments) and in fact, until very recently Sayumin's recorded voice soundbites were still the sounds for all my computer alarms! Sweet Shigechan, she'll be missed!
Posted by zdorama @ zdoramaagain.blogspot.com

Autographed 4Minute!!

 My Autographed 4Minute World Special Edition CD arrived from Yesasia today- (Yes, I know I swore off these guys, but with specials like this, how can I resist!) and it looks cool, though I have to admit, the signatures are so scribbly, I can't tell who is who! And I thought Rainbow had illegible handwriting, LOL
   Hmm, I'm guessing the signature in the upper left hand corner is Gayoon since I can kind of make out a G and a Y, but for the rest, your guess is as good as mine...That’s the thing when signatures are so stylized, they very rarely look like actual letters!
   Sigh, Looks like the only way I’ll be able to crack this is I'll probably have to match the sigs up with pictures of other 4Minute autographed memorabilia online.
 Edit: OK, going online, I was lucky enough to find a picture of a trading card signed by all 5 members with their signatures signed right under their respective images, giving me an easy “cheat sheet” to determine who was who…

 ...now all I now had to do was match up the signatures!

 Hahaha, well, looking at the card, it seems my initial guess of the lefthand signature being Gayoon’s was wrong- that signature belongs to Jiyoon! Gayoon actually had a lot more swirly and elaborate sig (the center one)… Nice to finally know who’s behind the signatures now, I especially like Jihyun’s, a feminine autograph from such a beautiful lady!
Posted by zdorama @ zdoramaagain.blogspot.com

Don't Fear The Reaper: The Gentle Side of Death with "Shinigami-Kun"

Ohno Satoshi as Grim Reaper #413 in "Shinigami-Kun"

 Just started watching the new drama “Shinigami-Kun” (Angel Of Death) starring Arashi’s Satoshi Ohno as a novice grim reaper of sorts who appears before those chosen to die clad all in black with the message that they should get their affairs in order before they are taken. Being new on the job, however, he hasn’t quite gotten the hang of things, and finds himself compelled to counseling and even helping the “clients” so they can make the final journey in peace. In fact, for those with troubled lives, these actions can even give the person a positive end to an otherwise conflicted life.

The Reaper comes for Fukuko

Ohno and Ohara Sakurako

 So far, seems like a thoughtful show and as always Ohno plays these kinds of roles well-Shinigami-kun is a LOT like his other newbie demon-kid Kaibutsu-kun in that regard, an otherworldly person interacting with humans who teach him things about life while he’s here on earth.

with Kiritani Mirei

Plus, we’ve got Kiritani Mirei as Ohno’s infuriated surveillant- seems he’s always questioning things and ignoring protocol regarding the care of his clients, furthermore, Ohno (or, more officially, Grim Reaper #413) is clumsy and spacey about things, making  her job a lot harder than it should be! Haha, should be a fun ride!
Posted by zdorama @ zdoramaagain.blogspot.com

SNSD on Waratte Iitomo

Funny, even though it was through their J-pop songs that I first heard of Girls Generation, it still amazes me when I see the girls appear on Japanese Programs that I know and love so well- Waratte Iitomo HAS to be one of the first Japanese shows I ever saw when I first got NGN back in '96 and seeing Yoona and the gals chatting with Tamori (from this episode when they visited him last autumn) is like two different worlds converging...
 Was pretty nostalgic seeing Tamori and the old stage, especially since the show only recently wrapped up its epic 30+ year run this past March!
Posted by zdorama @ zdoramaagain.blogspot.com