[Drama] Kisarazu Cat's Eye

ada2002

Episodes: 9

Starring: Okada Junichi, Sakurai Sho, Sato Ryuta, Tsukamoto Takashi, Okada Yoshinori, Sakai Wakana, Kohinata Fumiyo, Yakushimaru Hiroko, Furuta Arata, Narimiya Hiroki...



This drama follows the story of Bussan (real name Tabuchi Kouhei) who was diagnosed with cancer when he was 21 years of age. It was then that he decided that he was going to do some serious shit, since he had only 6 months to live, he might as well just go around and do all sorts of shit along with 4 of his pals, Bambi, Master, Ani and Ucchie. Set in a town called Kisarazu, hence the title and the name of the group, the story is laced with eccentricity and um... wackiness.



Actually, the idea sprouted when Bambi asked Bussan if he has anything that he wants to do before the half a year passes by, besides what he had been doing up till that point in time - which is drinking and baseball and that is about all. After considering the alternatives at hand... such as finding a girlfriend, debut in a band and being a pornstar, Bussan settled on the idea of doing suspenseful crap.



Bambi is a university student, Master is a father, Ani is the loser elder brother of a future baseball star, Ucchie... he is an enigma. And Bussan is a dying man. This is the story of how friends support each other through doing meaningless stuff when one of them is dying. ^^


*****

Frankly, I have no effin' idea what the story was actually conveying or where the story was heading. Its a weird one, sort of like young people doing meaningless crazy shit kinda story. The money they got from their adventures are never used for themselves.

You know... weird stuff.

Young Sho. xD Back when he wasn't that stupid. Young Okada, before he becomes the hotshot that he is today. Tsukamoto Takashi, whom to this day, isn't really as big as he should be.

I like the cast, I like the concept of young people doing crazy shit. I like how Bussan decided that he should do something different before his death. I like the weirdness of the drama. But above all, I like the idea of friends sticking together through thick and thin. You don't get that in real life. NO YOU DON'T. Plus there is a hint of humanity in the drama. Just a hint. Amongst all the crazy stuff.

Yeah, and when did Okada become the sex-oozing mancandy that he is today? I would say around the time he starred in Tiger and Dragon eh? He should always have black hair, with black hair, he has that refined... perfect look. I said it before and I will say it over and over again. I think Okada is the hottest man that has debuted under Johnny's Jimusho and is still in the industry. Because the early old farts, I am unsure of how they look with proper grooming, I will begin only with SMAP. KimuTaku's looks eroded through time and him, at his peak, to me, is still not as hot as Okada. Period.

I look at Okada and the image of a boy born with a silver spoon stuffed up his ass came to me. He lost almost all of his Kansai accent hasn't he? Wonder why. T_T Back then, he was totally stupid. As was Morita and Miyake. Watching V6's early shows is extremely entertaining.

Sakurai Sho... what can I say about the man?

Rating: 3.5/5 - Solely because of the hotties. I don't get the first few episodes. The eccentricity threw me off. But, the cameos are great. Aikawa Sho, Kishidan. xD And the name dropping. From The Blue Hearts to Yoshiki of X Japan to Komuro Tetsuya. xD Luv it. References to pop culture of Japan... though a wee bit outdated... but yeah. Tsumabuki Satoshi!!! xD

[Movie] NANA II

[Moved from my old blog.]

The second movie picks up where the first one stopped.

Frankly, the second movie sucks. Not only does it suck when it is compared to the first movie. It sucks as a movie, period.

The casting acts as a repellent to fans of the first movie. The first movie was well received by the fans of the manga/anime. I remember the joy of watching the first movie and then go "Oh! Ren!"

NEVER, never change the cast of a well-received movie for a sequel. Even if it is a contract matter or whatever. Offer then more money, adjust the filming schedule, do whatever it takes to get them back!

T_T

I think this is not the first time I dedicate a whole update to complaining about the second NANA movie. I remember vaguely about posting a picture of Nobuo Kyou on one occasion and tainted the face of my blog.

But I am going to do it again. Complaining. I can't help it, watching it fired up my disappointment.

Banyak Spoilers. And I mean Banyak. Hell, I might even type out the ending with their lines, word by word if I fancy doing so.

First problem: One of the title character is changed. They took away kawaii Aoi and replaced her with... some fluffy... person who can't really act.

Then, they took away Shin's relationship with Reira. The whole thing! Reira's actress, Yuna Ito, I can see even in the first 2 short scenes in which she had no lines in, that she couldn't act if her life depends on it. But it would be fun to watch... since Shin is such a pretty boy and Reira is so mature looking. xD I have this mental image of that scene in the manga where Reira was in the bathtub with Shin. I mentally cut Yuna's face and Hongo Kanata's face and plastered them on. It is soooooo amusing, that scene!

There is a third scene where Reira teases Takumi about some Stella girl. She spoke in English. So did Naoki! Naoki is Love, Nobu! I lurve Nobu! In the movie, the manga, the anime, whatever. Nobu is the best!


Takumi is... well, I have always thought that if I had to choose to throw someone out of the storyline, besides all those minor characters, it would be Takumi. But he never left a good impression, until there was "Takumi's story" in volume 18. But still, I prefer others like Nobu, Yasu, Shin, Ren, even Naoki. (manga, manga, not movie, in the movie I would gladly sweep Ren into the longkang and have him washed away into Nile.)

Yasu is <3, I didn't like Yasu in the first movie because he is so old! And Yasu in the manga is more... Yasu-ish. xD I saved the 'best' for the last.

Ren. T_T Nobuo Kyo, the actor for Ren, has really ugly, big nipples. Two patches of deformed nipples stuck to his chest. His... body shape is kinda weird, his abs is full of flabby fat. Ah come to think of it, who am I to complain eh? xD I am kinda flabby too.

Oh well. Eee... I complained less than I thought I would, probably because it is such an old movie. I am deprived of Ryuhei Matsuda goodness, so I have decided that I would watch a movie called" 4.6 Billion Years of Love". Starring... none other than Ryuhei Matsuda, whom I just discovered the other day, is the brother of Shota Matsuda, the guy who played Nishikado in "Hana Yori Dango" series, he is also in "Liar Game". But after about 10 minutes of "Liar Game", I just... couldn't watch it anymore. It must be that it is not my flavour.

Oh well. They added some scenes, omitted some scenes to make the movie end in a 'right' way that is different from the manga's, because... obviously the manga hasn't ended yet. In short, it is a movie that is unworthy of your time, unworthy of your money (if you are planning to buy the DVD), unworthy of attention altogether.

END. *****

[Drama] Gokusens

[Moved from my old blog.]

They are old, but I haven't watched either of them until the day before yesterday. I would make screencaps, but I am too lazy.

You see, I watch it on Windows Media Classic (my fave player, ever) but I cant make screencaps on it. I can only make it on VLC player. Which sucks by the way. The only reason I kept it is because of the screencaps function.

I stole the screencaps from here, cos a review without piccies is just boring. Not that any of my reviews are not boring. But in the future, when i read it again, I want pictures to stimulate the memories...

Gokusen:

Starring: Nakama Yukie, MatsuJun, Narimiya Hiroki, Oguri Shun, Ito Misaki.

2002

Nakama Yukie plays a character called Yamaguchi Kumiko, the heir to a yakuza family business. But her lifelong dream is to be a teacher. Her grandfather allows her to pursue her dream. She was made the homeroom teacher of 3D, the worse, most violent class in the school (Forgot the name of the school, I think its Shirokin.)

Ah, like every fictional work with the teacher as the main character, you would know that the teacher would capture the hearts of the students in the end.

MatsuJun is really hot. How come I never noticed that? He reminds me of Bugs Bunny for some reason. Narimiya Hiroki who played Nobu in the "NANA" movies was in here, and Oguri Shun who can be seen playing Sano in "HanaKimi" too.

Ya, and if you noticed, MatsuJun was Tsukasa and Oguri Shun is Rui in "Hana Yori Dango".

The theme song is "Feel Your Breeze" by V6. I was addicted to the song a loooooong time ago, not knowing that it is the theme for the drama. It is a good song.

The storyline is predictable and very, very cliched. But, I came to enjoy it because MatsuJun was really, really and I mean REALLY cool in here. But cool is not the word for it...

Oh it guest stars Wentz Eiji. Also, Ichikawa Yui made an appearance. I still don't like Yui. I tried... like in "Kurosagi". I thought she was okay at first... and then she got annoying again. Tsukamoto Takashi from "Taiyou no Uta" appeared in one episode as well!

To make it even MORE star studded, Matsuyama Ken'ichi of the Death Note fame is also in here. Playing a small part as one of the students in the class. This was 2002, they were all just staring out, I guess.

Gokusen 2:

2005

Starring: Nakama Yukie, Akanishi Jin, Kamenashi Kazuya, Koike Teppei...

Same teacher, different school, different bunch of kids. Same plot. Same predictable ending. YET completely enjoyable.

Akanishi Jin is adorable. I remember hating Kamenashi for no reason back then. I didn't like him even after I watched Nobuta wo Produce. BUT BUT BUT his character here is so...

Koike Teppei is his usual kawaii self.

There isn't really any difference in the storyline, making this season more boring than the previous one, cos you have seen it all before. Yet... the Akame+Teppei-ness of the drama is just entertaining.

I prefer Akanishi to Kamenashi.

That is because, to quote the Heyx3 host "His name is a combo of an animal and a fruit" Kamenashi. I think the kanji for Kame means a tortoise and Nashi means pear. xD The host, Matsumoto mentioned it 3 times that I have seen, in three different episodes.

He said it the first time when Shuji and Akira went on it, and then when KAT-TUN went on, he just had to bring it up again. And then when Yama~P revealed that him and Kame were rivals, Matsumoto was like "Ah that's because his name is a combo of animals and fruits right?"

Also, the actor for NANA's Naoki plays a small, practically mute role in here too. Well, not exactly mute, but he might as well have been. Wouldn't make a difference. xD

The theme song for Gokusen 2 is "No More Cry" and the insert song is soooo good.

It is "Kizuna" by Kamenashi himself. It is good. xD xD

Oh rating time:
Gokusen: 3.5/5
Gokusen 2: 3/5