As you all know, I was thrilled when I first heard about the Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon Reunion (on Keiko Kitagawa's own facebook, no less!) and was crossing fingers I'd be able to see it in any way possible!
Sure, I knew there was little hope of anyone translating it and SUBBING it, but I knew I just HAD to see it anyway, and just this morning I happily found a KIND soul who had uploaded the whole half-hour special up for grabs, which I wasted NO TIME snatching up!
First things first, we have to say: the girls look TERRIFIC! Honestly, it doesn’t seem all that long ago that we first saw Miyu Sawai (Sailor Moon), Keiko Kitagawa (Sailor Mars), Mew Azama (Sailor Jupiter), Rika Izumi (nee Chisaki Hama, Sailor Mercury) and Ayaka Komatsu (Sailor Venus) as the Sailor Senshi....
The girls in 2003:
Miyu Sawai (Sailor Moon),
Rika Izumi (nee Chisaki Hama, Sailor Mercury)
Mew Azama (Sailor Jupiter),
Keiko Kitagawa (Sailor Mars),
and Ayaka Komatsu (Sailor Venus)
But here we are TWENTY years later, and those bright eyed youngsters have transformed before our eyes grown into a group of FINE young ladies!
Miyu Sawaii
Mew Azama
Keiko Kitagawa
Rika Izumi
Ayaka Komatsu
VERY cute to see them perusing the wall displaying photos and collectibles of their PGSM heritage, pointing and giggling at it all!
Speaking of giggles, LAUGHTER was surely the main thing about this special as they kept each other in stitches reminiscing about their Pretty Guardian past!
Sadly, it was over ALL TOO FAST, and we had to say goodbye to them once more!
I know we'll still be seeing a lot of both Rika and Keiko, and I know these 5 gals still have mini-reunions on their own (which I think is the sweetest thing ever), but it was really nice seeing them together, showcased like this. Thanks for the memories, is what they seem to be saying!
There are about six or seven different storylines going on at any given time in each episode of the wonderful Eiko Koike-led drama “Kotatsu ga Nai Ie”, including Marie and her work, her husband lazy ways, her father’s housing problems and her co-workers romance troubles, but the one which I find I enjoy the most is also the one that’s probably the most insignificant to the overall story, and that’s whenever they cut to Marie’s son Junki (Ryuto Sakuma) and his interaction with his cute and bubbly classmate Reira (Kokoro Hirasawa) in school!
These scenes are always so sweet and charming. They remind me of the cutaways in OTOMEN whenever they'd cut to the school dorks (Emi Takei and Kazuma Sano) watching and commenting off to the sidelines about the school's goings on. In the same way, these scenes in Kotatsu lets you stop and take a breath!
Reira is naturally quirky and playful, a nice tonic to Junki's stand-offish and brusque personality. Although initially seeming like she's really bugging him, you can see him slowly soften up around her...and who wouldn't with such a dose of sunshine each day?
Their scenes are mostly buffers between other more important arcs, though there is a ongoing story of both of them having unrequited love for each other- both think the other hasn’t any interest in them and merely continue the relationship as friends, even while their attraction is deepening underneath!
Reira is an aspiring manga creator, and there’s a brief arc where she uses this excuse to visit Junki at home to meet his father Yusaku, a famous mangaka. She hopes to get his appraisal of her work and perhaps a recommendation, though these points go nowhere.
But it does make her closer to Junki and it’s sweet to see how she unfailingly sticks up for him at school as a soundboard for him whenever he’s working out a problem at school, life or family.
And though you only get a snippet at a time each episode, it's nice to see the two develop a real bond with each other over time!
Just another great reason this drama is so satisfying!
Speaking of cute, there is this actress playing a character named Rinna who works at Marie’s office, Her name is Moka Ishikawa, and whenever they'd show the gang at work, I’d always think, WOW, that girl there reminds me of a young Majyu Ozawa, and if you know me, that is HIGH praise indeed!
Generally a secondary character, she was mostly just there as filler while the main conversation revolved around Marie and Shiori (Chiaki Horan)...
But as time went on, she featured more prominently in the scenes, and I really loved the pretty outfits they'd have her in- very frilly and girly!
Got to the point where I was waiting to see more of her, and the show did not disappoint!
Going online, I didn’t have to search far to find out that she was among the mighty Bikini brigade and found cheese-cakey goodness aplenty! WELL WELL, looks like ANOTHER girl I’ll have to look out for!
Yep, there's LOTS to love here, and it that weren’t all, Kotatsu ga nai Ie features one of, if not my FAVE theme song of the season, the sassy“Dame Otoko Kazoe Uta” by legendary Sayuri Ishikawa!
Was really hoping that the Red & White veteran would be singing this song at the Kohaku Uta Gassen this year, but looking over the published set-list,it looks like it's gonna be "Tsugaru Kaikyo Fuyugeshiki" as usual….I'm sure it will be as majestic as ever, but wouldn't she want a change from those same two songs she always does? LOL!
