[Drama] Jin

Fall 2009

Starring: Osawa Takao, Nakatani Miki, Ayase Haruka, Koide Keisuke, Takeda Tetsuya, Kohinata Fumiyo, Uchino Masaaki, Kiritani Kenta...

Minakata Jin, a doctor (neuro surgeon perhaps?) who has lost confidence in himself after he failed to safely remove a tumor from his fiancee's brain, found himself living in a state of despair since. His fiancee, Tomonaga Miki has been in a vegetative state since the surgery and Jin has avoided surgeries with the slightest bit of risk ever since.

One day, a patient who has been attacked on the face and is currently unrecognizable has been sent to the hospital. Jin performed a surgery on the man and removed what seemed like a fetus from the man's head.

When the mysterious man woke up, he attempted to escape (to an unknown place) with the fetus which was drenched in formalin, and some medical equipments. As the man attempted to jump from the building to return to a different world (his words, not mine) Jin, tried to stop the heavily injured man but fell from the stairs instead.

The next time Jin woke up, he found himself lying in a deserted forest with his medical equipments. Suddenly, a few men, clad in samurai outfit were fighting with their katanas. He thought it was a filming of some period drama until a man was cut in the head. The injured man is Tachibana Kyotaro.

It dawned on Jin that he traveled back in time to ancient Edo (modern day Tokyo). He eventually saved the life of Kyotaro and many others. While doing that, he was taken in by the Tachibana family, earned the trust of Kyotaro's mother Sakae and also the affection of Kyotaro's sister, Saki.

Jin then helped the country overcome the attack of the Cholera disease and was offered a teaching position at the Western Medicine Office. As Jin began to adapt to life in the Edo period, Sakamoto Ryoma, whom he got acquainted earlier on, brought him to Yoshiwara, which was THE red-light district to go to in Edo.

In Yoshiwara, Jin laid his eyes on Nokaze, a high ranking courtesan who looks like a carbon copy of Miki. Struggling with the doubts of the people of that period about his medical methods and his wish to return to modern day Tokyo, Jin attempts to make his way day by day... or something like that.

*****

I cannot stop watching this drama. It is present tense because I am still watching it. It is so good, I sat and watched 6 episodes of it without stopping except to pee and to drink. (I am on a diet... the thighs... the thighs are unsightly.) Anyway, this is the best I've seen in a while.

Firstly, I love period dramas. I love the costumes, I love how much green you get to see in them, I love the way they speak, I love everything about period dramas. Next, I love the cast. There's that annoying guy from "Sekai no Chushin, Ai wo Sakebu" movie! And coincidentally, Ayase Haruka was Aki from the drama version. And they're both in this! There's Takeda Tetsuya! He's that detective dude in "Byakuyakou". He also starred in that legendary drama "101st Marriage Proposal", not to forget, he's Kinpachi-sensei! There's Koide Keisuke! Nakatani Miki too... you get my drift...

I love movies, dramas centralized around the idea of time traveling. Love. This is because you will never know what happens until the end is revealed. This is because of the butterfly effect which was also mentioned in this drama. What happens now might cause repercussions in the future. You'll never know. Say, if I called the ambulance upon seeing a pregnant woman about to deliver, I might be saving... the ancestor of... uh... Darth Vader?

I love the idea that there's a possibility of traveling through time and be there to witness it when big things happened in the past. When Shih Huang Ti unified China, when Marie Antoinette was beheaded by the guillotine, when the Nanking massacre happened. Moments in history which, centuries later, will still be quoted as they are now. In this drama, it was the Bakumatsu. What Tokugawa Ieyasu started was put to an end. And Jin was there to see it. Cool eh?

Why the hell did they show the fetus during the 'opening' of each episode? Seriously, the fetus is scary. The freak factor in dramas and I have a love-hate relationship. Suspense and I, too, have a love-hate relationship. Mostly one-sided, but still...

I have to go finish it before I yakk. And Sakamoto Ryoma in this drama is total love. Hilarious, honorable, loyal. Makes me want to watch Ryomaden. But I really dislike Fukuyama Masaharu. It is something about the mouth. The character Ogata-sensei makes me T_______T. OMG so great and noble. I would have bawled in that scene where Jin was visiting him after finding out how much he did for him. I would have, had I not been thinking about how I have to work tomorrow. Sigh. OMG the end of Episode 07 was a tear jerking moment. OMG why?

It's a drama about humanity, love and sacrifice. You know, all that stuff you've heard before.

Now, there's that ending which I am so unhappy about...

I followed the drama for about 11 hours, take or give. I deserve a definite, clear ending, don't I? What is with that vague shit that they gave me? Seriously, what's with the trend nowadays? I want clear endings, who ends up with whom, who gets rich, how will they die, something definite. This ending is crap. What the fuck? And it isn't even good vague, it is bad vague. So the guy travels back to the future and there's Miki? What about Saki? Huh? I was rooting for her like crazy! Shit. I am unhappy. Screw this, was going to give it a 4.9. I'm giving it a big fat pile of shit now. Damn. Okay, I am cool, it is cool. Cool. Isn't it clear that there's a gap between the previous paragraph and this ending comment? I just finished watching and am so not pleased right now. So unfair, really. What about Saki? I tend to get too involved with dramas. You think? =D

So, like, what is up with the freaky fetus and the man who was injured? Like, seriously, a good drama will explain on those stuff. Or did I miss it? I tend to space off sometimes. So... no explanations? Sigh, the ending, the ending needs some editing. What a crappy ending for such a nice drama.

Reitings: 4.5/5 (Really crappy ending ruined it. No explanations on what seemed earlier on to be the key points to the drama. What will there be a second season? I hate second seasons.)

[TV] Arashi no Shukudai-kun

13 April 2009

Guest: Ayase Haruka

Firstly, I like Ayase Haruka. She is my favourite Japanese actress and this episode would have been a must-watch-more-than once for me even if it ain't that funny. And since she was there to promote a movie called "Oppai Volley" which loosely translates to "Boobs Volleyball", you know Arashi would go to great lengths to mention boobies as many times as they can.

Ayase Haruka has an awkwardness about her when she appears on shows, but we forgive that because she is Ayase Haruka. =D And let us just skip the eating part and then talk about the breast puddings that Aiba brought out. It was still okay when Sho, Nino and Ohno were sniffing on the pudding suspiciously, when Jun and Aiba each took a bite at the nipple part of the puddings, I suddenly remember what Arashi is all about. I have been neglecting this obsession of mine for a month or so now and it is refreshing to watch such an absurd but hilarious episode yet again.

Next was a short talk part where they confessed to Haruka in Hiroshima-dialect and Akita-dialect. It was tear-jerkingly-hilarious (if such an expression exists). When they were all lining up to confess to her repeatedly, I was gasping for air from all the laughing. I was practically howling like hyenas at one point. And Ogu-san joined in on the confession. LOL. That old man is running wild in recent episodes with pretty actresses as guests.

Then came Aibaland. The boys had to wear T-shirts that are stuffed with two balloons as their 'boobies' and then crush them without using their hands. Jun, Sho and Aiba were in team Aiba and then started off with a group hug in hopes of bursting the balloons but their plan failed. Aiba started to run into walls and Sho started to slam into bicycles while Jun started humping the floor. Aiba later joined Jun in the floor-humping. Was quite a sight.

Team Haruka was even more hilarious. Haruka got to burst the balloons with her hands cos lets face it, her boobs are large enough and you cannot expect her to stuff balloons into her shirt, really. Ohmiya started to approach Haruka at the blow of the whistle, presumably for a group hug. Haruka later punched the two on their boobs but failed to puncture them. Ohno later pulled Nino in for a hug but the balloons did not give in. The floor humping ensued. Nino couldn't get one of his boob to burst, Ohno started humping on Nino's chest. He humped and humped and had his ass in Nino's face. We doubt that is the first time. We bet there were precedents.

This is probably one of the best shukudai episode in a while. I am going off to my depressed world of studies assignments and presentations again. Just back here for this special episode. The AAA 2008 Kokuritsu DVD didn't manage to get me this excited. It might be the best concert of Arashi's that I've seen. Yes, I think it is. So... dramatic and uplifting and overall, just extremely entertaining. Minus MatsuJun's constant display of... I-don't-know-what. Does he think all that overacting is cool? I used to call it sluttiness, now he just looks like a nutcase trying to look sexy and failed miserably. He should tone it down, keep it down a notch. MatsuJun's overacting was the only thing I didn't like about the concert.

One more thing. Aiba. This episode. Hotness. Total hotness. Sho too. Nino looks same-old. Ohno, a bit sunburnt. Must have gone fishing a lot. Jun... not that hot. Maybe it is the hair. I guess it is for "Smile". I will watch it, just that, it seems so... boring. "The Quiz Show" on the other hand. Gawsh, like has anyone seen Yoko in there? So freaking sexy, I could just... xD Let us not go there. I like Sho's character's psychotic smile too.

[Movie] Boku no Kanojo wa Cyborg

2008

Starring: Ayase Haruka, Koide Keisuke...

Kitamura Jirou was a lonely young man who had always celebrated his birthday by himself. He bought a present for himself, all nicely wrapped up and he ate spaghetti by himself at the same restaurant every year. But it was different the year before the storyline began as a flashback told us that the year before, Jirou met a a sweet, active, smiley happy girl when he was buying an Ayanami Rei figurine for himself. The two had a large meal together and escaped without paying. (Well, the woman ate, mainly. Jirou had his spaghetti and that was probably it.)

After escaping the restaurant's maitre d' who chased after them when they left without paying, Jirou spent a few strange but joyful hours with the girl and then they never met again. That was until his birthday the following year. He had a hunch that he would meet her again and meet her, he did, at the same restaurant. But the girl seem different, more frigid and unfeeling. The smile she was carrying around with her the year before was gone.

When the two were eating at a restaurant, a gunman attacked the restaurant and with superhuman strength and speed, the mysterious girl managed to get rid of the gunman. After they reached Jirou's house, the girl, through hologram produced by her eyes, sent Jirou a message from an old man who turned out to be Jirou himself, 65 years later. According to the future him, Jirou was supposed to be heavily injured that night, by the gunman's bullets, but he build a cyborg in the shape and form of the mysterious girl the year before and sent her back to save her. The future Jirou encouraged Jirou to live his life without regret and also that he could make the cyborg more human-like as they interact more. He also learned that he will face another great disaster in the future and it was hoped that the cyborg will help him overcome that as well.

And so begins the story of Jirou and his cyborg girlfriend.

*****

I heart Ayase Haruka. I'd kill to look like her. Spoilers begin.

Koike Keisuke's character in this movie is very endearing. Koide Keisuke has never been memorable for me. I have seen him in three movies and four dramas and because he is not hot in a way that stops you in your steps if you see him pass by, I missed him in everyone of these works as he played the sidekick dude or some minor character in these works of his that I have watched. His character in Nodame Cantabile was~ uh, you won't know it was him unless you look it up. xD Anyways, it is not that he's a bad actor, but probably a bit understated.

That aside, this is a really nice movie. I haven't seen a nice movie in a while. A nice movie that stands by itself with no strings attached (no prequels, no drama version.) I truly enjoyed it. It is sweetly romantic and very heartwarming. Irrealistic but the human-side of it is very moving. You get attached to things, even if you know you shouldn't. I got attached to crap like my textbook from past semesters, so it is very reasonable that Jirou would be attached to a cyborg who helped made his life so convenient and looks like Ayase Haruka and does so much for him. Despite her being... not human. I'd understand his disappointment when she doesn't understand his feelings.

And Ayase Haruka's acting in here is not bad at all. It is not like the pretty girl, but the pretty, fake expression cyborg. Some of her body actions are verging on robotic, which is good, considering the fact that she is playing a cyborg. You can see how her character grows more humanlike throughout her stay with Jirou. I love this character so much. She was created to serve and save this man. And she did so without fail. Even if the man vented his frustration of not having his feelings reciprocated by her on her. It is not like she did not want to feel for him. She's a freakin' cyborg for goodness sake.

My favourite scene is the one where the Cyborg girlfriend brought him back through a timeslip, to his hometown before it was burnt to ashes. Jirou was just looking around, reminiscing old times, seeing old friends and family when the Cyborg girlfriend just stood by and watched with a look of satisfaction on her face. It is as if her joy is to watch Jirou be happy. It was a very touching scene.

The ending is a tear-jerker and halfway through, I was wondering, who was that girl in the flashback who appeared so much more human than the cyborg and the ending explained everything perfectly. I love these movies where when you start to wonder if some scenes are just not going to be explained and then in the end, you go "AH~~~".

I love, love, love this movie. I love these moving romance flicks. OH MY GOODNESS I LIKE CHICK FLICKS. I LIKE CHICK FLICKS. I always thought I didn't. I read crime, mysteries instead of romance. My copy of "Wuthering Heights" is gathering dust on my shelf. I watched "Pulp Fiction" repeatedly and not "Titanic". But... that means squat because I now realize that I love chick flicks. That is a freakin' revelation.

I bawled like a five-year-old spoiled brat whose daddy wouldn't buy her a Barbie doll. What a disgrace. T_T But then it is not like it is unprecedented.

Just one thing. The timeline thing is confusing me. It is because of the earthquake and gunman incident that Jirou sent the cyborg back to save himself. Had Jirou not been hurt because the cyborg saved him, Jirou would still recreate the cyborg because she was and is clearly, the love of his life. But had the girl from the future who looks like the cyborg came back after the earthquake to live with him, then Jirou would have no incentive to recreate the earthquake. Which means that the cyborg would not have been created and subsequently could not be sent back to the past (2008) to save Jirou which means that Jirou would have had to be shot by the gunman AND suffered a lot of injuries in the earthquake right? But then, if we look at it from another perspective, the cyborg already saved Jirou and thus the past is the past. But then~ like, okay, you know? I give up. I think a lot of these crap everytime I watch a movie that involves traveling through time. Mostly I just confuse myself even more.

Perhaps I just have to kick back and enjoy the movie, which I did, tremendously. I would categorize this among the must-watch. I haven't watched such a good movie in a long time. I thoroughly enjoyed it and would recommend it to people, that is, if they asked for recommendations.

Reitings: 4.5/5

P.S. I know I am supposed to go on a hiatus or something. But I had a really tiring day. So I slept through the evening. Now I am wide awake. So I watched a movie. And it turned out to be this movie which is too great to not blog about. xD

[Drama] Boku no Ikiru Michi

Winter 2003

Episodes: 11

Starring: Kusanagi Tsuyoshi, Yada Akiko, Tanihara Shosuke, Kohinata Fumiyo, Uchi Hiroki, Ayase Haruka...

A high school teacher by the name of Nakamura Hideo had led a normal life. He taught, and no one listened. He is timidly polite and never spoke his mind. Neither did he have any strong opinion about things and never took the initiative to take charge of the direction of his life. He harboured feelings for his colleague, Akimoto Midori, but was indirectly rejected before Hideo even confessed.

One day, Hideo was told by his doctor that he only had one year to live because of a disease. After a short period of despair and a suicide attempt, Hideo realized that he STILL has one year to live. Since then, his life changed, he became more opinionated at work. He became more daring and won the love of his life.

But can their love survive the knowledge of his foreboding fate? Can Midori support and fulfill the needs of a dying Hideo? (So totally added the questions at the end of the synopsis. Love em, questions.)

*****

This drama has a really, really famous theme song. It was the best selling single of the year and sold more than 2 million copies. A success SMAP hasn't had for a while back then. "Sekai ni Hitotsu Dake no Hana" is the title. The reason I suddenly decided to watch this is because I so totally sang this song yesterday, at a karaoke. Thank goodness I pulled it off well. xD It is a good song, written by the great Makihara Noriyuki. It has nice lyrics too. T_T

Why do they always die pretty? I mean, if I have a mild fever, I look like a hag. Seriously! xD Okay, nevermind that. Love the drama.

So touching. Sometimes, we need something significant to happen to us in order to drive us to buckle up and make a difference in our lives, change our lives, to take the initiative to make it better. Had this character, Nakamura went on to live without being diagnosed with the sickness, he would have had a pathetic life ahead of him. A long and pathetic one.

But its still sad nevertheless. T_T And a tough choice, really. A short and exciting life that is full of happiness. Or a long and lonely one, living without ambition or goals. Live fast and die young, or take things slow and die wrinkled.

Not sure there. People get disillusioned, by thinking there's always tomorrow, we'd procrastinate. That is a fact. No matter how many times I am inspired by stories such as this, I just... go on living my life like I have all the time in the world. Thoughts of death are not what I want frequenting my mind because they make me restless and frightened.

Kusanagi Tsuyoshi has a funny face. Its the jaw, I think its the jaw. Its oddly shaped. But he has this kind face that makes you think he wouldn't hurt an amoeba if he can help it. I find it odd how Midori still calls Hideo "Nakamura-sensei" after marriage. Its odd. Imagine your boyfriend (am so writing this under an assumption that a dude wouldn't visit a blog packed with talks about Johnny's boysies) calls you Miss [Insert your last name/family name/surname here]. I'd so dump him already.

And I really don't like to watch bawling men. I get it that this character is facing death and I would so bawl like a baby. But Kusanagi Tsuyoshi bawls too well and I am so convinced and I don't know. It makes me uncomfortable. Midori is a strong woman. And preparing for your husband's death, planning his death and the stuff you have to do upon his death with him is not easy. T_T I'd probably run without looking back if I were her.

For Hideo, this sickness that he had was probably the best thing that happened to him. I really think so. His life was much improved, and so did that of those around him. But death is never a good thing. Erm, contradictory. Nevermind. I find it especially touching how Yoshida, played by a pre-suspension Uchi Hiroki, who was Hideo's student went on to become what Hideo used to be, passing on advice that Hideo used to give.

Rating: 4/5