[Drama] Lunch no Joou

Summer 2002

Episodes: 12

Starring: Takeuchi Yuko, Eguchi Yosuke, Tsumabuki Satoshi, Ito Misaki, Yamashita Tomohisa, Yamada Takayuki, Eita, Morita Go, Tsutsumi Shinichi...

Mugita Natsumi is a pretty young waitress who loves lunch time and the Omurice at a restaurant named Kitchen Macaroni. To her, lunch is like hope for the working class. (a bit of an exaggeration but her words, not mine.) She came to work at Kitchen Macaroni after a strange series involving the eldest son of the owner of the restaurant who tricks Natsumi into tricking his family with him. Posing as the fiancee of Kenichiro, Natsumi meets his family but was left behind when Kenichiro escaped with the family's hard-earned money.

Natsumi later convinced the stern second son of the family and head chef of the restaurant Yujiro to let her stay and work with them while waiting for the return of Kenichiro. She did so with the help of Junzaburo, the third son.

During her stint there, she achieved rapport with the family who takes to her very soon. The three brothers Yujiro, Junzaburo and Koshiro also developed a strange fixation on Natsumi but refrained from taking actions as they thought she was actually the fiancee of their eldest brother.

Well, actually, some of them did try to get it on, namely Koshiro, the playboy, flirty, straightforward youngest son who is still a highschool student. Junzaburo on the other hand was shy but probably was the most attached to Natsumi and he helped her throughout the way. Junzaburo is also the most passionate about his job as a chef. Yujiro took to her the slowest, his hard outlook was probably used to intimidate but actually he is a real softy inside. Well... or something like that.

Oh yeah, Junzaburo, really cute.

*****

I heart Tsumabuki Satoshi in this. Heart heart heart. What? Bite me for fangirling. Geez. He is seriously adorable in this. So young and... adorable. I first watched this when I was in my Pi-phase. Yes, I had a Pi phase, it happened a long list of phases ago, but hey, I remember that it was there. I probably have another entry for this drama stashed somewhere in this blog or another blog or somewhere else. But it was a long time ago. So I thought I'd do this again just for the heck of it.

It is a fun family drama. Sorta like a gyaku-harem. We love gyaku-harem. Love, love, love. Not to mention the brothers (minus the eldest, I couldn't stand the eldest) are all so... diverse and have their own strengths. xD Underneath all the snippets of humour, there's a heartfelt bond within the family (minus the eldest, again) and their passion for their restaurant is admirable. And for them to take Natsumi into the family just like that. xD Well, it is a drama. Without Natsumi, there wouldn't be a drama to start with.

When the patriarchal figure, their dad, passed on after playing catchball with Koshiro for the first ime. And it was Koshiro who walked away from the game to go on a date, it kinda hit me a bit. The next time you meet with anyone might be the last time and that we shouldn't take anything for granted. But that is really difficult because there are too many things, too many people to spend time with. But it was so sudden and sad. T_T

How could Natsumi be so oblivious about the brothers' feelings, that, I don't get. She's one of those girls that seduce men in a not-so-obvious way and then act innocent when the men are hurt because of her refusal. xD But I heart Takeuchi Yuko + Tsumabuki Satoshi althought Tsumabuki is actually with Shibasaki Kou in real life. Takeuchi looks adorable in here too. xD So does Pi. They all look so young and... young. Well, Yamada Takayuki needed a haircut badly though.

I found it HILARIOUS when Koshiro used the line made famous by KimuTaku's Osamu in "Asunaro Hakusho". Koshiro went "Ore jya dame na no?" on Natsumi. I LOLLED. I am not sure if it was meant to remind viewers of "Asunaro Hakusho" but it sure did remind me of it. And the fact that Pi's like a skeletal figure here~ xD and that blonde hair. Ah~ the days when I liked Pi~ What nostalgia~

xD And it just occured to me that Yamada, Pi and Tsumabuki all appeared in "Long Love Letter" as well eh? xD

One more thing. Morita Go's appearance in this drama as a badass. I have never seen a role more suitable for him than this. Really. I had a thing for Morita Go too. xD

Reitings: 4/5

[Movie] Haru no Yuki

2005

Starring: Takeuchi Yuko, Tsumabuki Satoshi, Takaoka Sousuke...

Set in the 1910s, this movie tells a story of (cliched, I know) forbidden love. Ayakura Satoko and Matsugae Kiyoaki were childhood friends. When they grew into young adulthood, Satoko harboured feelings for Kiyoaki whose friend Honda has the hots for Satoko. Love at first sight, baby. xD

Anyways, in order to rid Satoko of the feelings she has for himself, Kiyoaki wrote a letter about his late night rendezvous with hookers and geishas. At a party, Kiyoaki was made to entertain princes from Thailand. And my that accent and that fluency. xD Tsumabuki Satoshi, you got it boy! xD Sorry. Am I supposed to describe the story again? Screw this. (FYI, he pronounced Satoko as Satoukou. xDDD I almost died lol-ing)

Somewhere along the line, Kiyoaki decided that he wants a girlfriend, so... yeah, that mind-changing bastard. And so they fell in love and shit happens. Something about the chick's betrothal to some bigwig royal dude. Then shit happens again, like premarital sex and stuff. (Which is basically what A LOT of Japanese movies are about.)

*****

T_T

Okay, firstly, Kiyoaki was being stubborn and such a love tragedy will NOT happen in the first place had Kiyoaki not been the spoiled, proud little brat that he is. Satoko knew what she wanted since forever, and at least she had been honest about her feelings.

So I blame it on the man. Its always the man. Even though in this case, Kiyoaki was still a kid when shit started to happen. Tsumabuki Satoshi... did he really do the English-speaking lines by himself? How long did he study to get that accent thingie going on? xD

Takeuchi Yuko is pretty and sweet-looking as usual. One question... who the hell is that hot dude playing Honda? xD He's way hot and way taller than Tsumabuki. Nevermind. xD I thought I have seen him somewhere. Lemme check. Oh Yukio from Aoi Haru and Sugimura from Battle Royale! xD

Two sad romance-centred movies in less than 24 hours.

Well, I have to admit that I didn't have a lot of patience in watching movies centralized on love and nothing else. Movies that planned its plot around love are just.. kinda boring, really.

They fall in love. Shit happens. Ending. It seems that Asians like sad endings to their movies eh.

Oh well, I guess they feel good in knowing that people with love can still have a sucky life. So its good that they don't have it. xD Or something.

I make no sense, nevermind.

I think the movie left out something important that the novel included. Yeah... something yaoi.

I need to watch more Tsumabuki Satoshi. xD Not that I am not watching enough of him. He has this charm... I can't describe. Lets not...

Ratings:
3.5/5

I knew what was going to happen.

Yeah, I read spoilers.

So it wasn't as good.

My fault, not the movie's.

[Movie] Joze to Tora to Sakana Tachi

2003

Starring: Tsumabuki Satoshi, Ikewaki Chizuru, Ueno Juri...

Final year university student, Tsuneo works part time at a Mahjongg parlor. One night, his clients were chatting casually about an old woman who pushes around an old baby cart at odd hours off the day. The clients started to make wild guesses at what could in inside the cart, like perhaps drugs or money.

When Tsuneo went off to walk his boss's dog, he saw a baby cart moving downhill by itself and an old woman hurried behind, asking him to check if 'Kumiko' is okay. Tsuneo flipped open a piece of cloth to reveal a young girl. The old woman who was Kumiko's grandmother invited Tsuneo back to their home for a meal. Kumiko is legs are... disabled, thus making her unable to walk. Her grandmother kept her a secret from their neighbors all these years and forbade her to go out when others are outside.

Not long after, Tsuneo found himself returning for another meal, bringing veggie over and bringing Joze (The name Kumiko adopted for herself based on a book that she loves.) books and pushing her around town in the cart. Though Joze never went to school, she is knowledgeable and interesting, Tsuneo soon fell for her.

What ensues is a triangle love story between Joze, Tsuneo and a gorgeous girl named Kanae whom Tsuneo knew from university.

*****

Why the hell has this movie been collecting dust on the shelf?

Its so good. There is no fairytale ending to this story, but at least its a realistic one. I don't like the ending, and it came so unexpectedly. But its okay. I like this movie.

The story revolves around the progress of their romance, but I don't find it boring at all. But halfway, you wonder if Tsuneo's feelings for Joze was love or sympathy. But then that cleared up after a while.

The movie started with Tsuneo's narration, speaking of Joze as if it was something that happened a while ago. Basically, this story is a flashback.

Ikewaki Chizuru from "Summer Snow" played Joze and Ueno Juri played Kanae. What the hell is wrong with Ueno's eyebrows... Joze is a likable character. Because though she isn't perfect like how people usually like their heroines, she is so... interesting. She doesn't whine about her condition, she accepts it and seeks to improve herself through reading books that are thrown out by her neighbours.

Yes, this is not your Korean-drama-romance where the girls are perfect and the men are princely. Tsuneo's horny and loves big boobs, like every other male species who is straight. The characters are perfectly realistic and they do things that we can relate to.

Ratings:
4.5/5

[Movie] Nada Sou Sou

[Moved from my old blog.]


This will be the longest, spoiler-filled review you would ever read, I suggest you just skip this crap. I just want to review it... but if it is not read, it would be the best.

I thought since I typed out something that long, if I don't post it up here, it would be just a waste.

Starring: Satoshi Tsumabuki, Masami Nagasawa, Takashi Tsukamoto…

Movie

The story is kinda set in Okinawa. The subs were horrible, so I kinda had to not rely on the subs…

The movie commenced showing a diligent, optimistic young man named Yotarou working happily as a veggie deliverer. He sends veggie to shops on a bicycle everyday, although he is very, very poor, his home is this wooden shack with a leak, he lives on with no complaints.

One fine day, as usual he was delivering veggies to old women, he happily announced that his sister is arriving from the countryside to go to high school and live with him. Here, the scene flashes back to a young Yotarou being introduced to his sister. His mother was marrying her father. Her father left not long after, and his mother died. They were both raised by his grandmother until Yotarou decided to venture out of the countryside to work.

Scene comes back to the present. Yotarou nervously introduced his sister, Kaoru to his girlfriend, Keiko, a medical student at the Ryukyu University. Kaoru was visibly disappointed but hid it well from Yotarou.

Yotarou’s dream has always been to own a restaurant, thus he worked hard and at first he received help from a swindler who cheated him off all his money. Things went downhill after this. He decided breakup with Keiko as he soon found out that he and Keiko are of different… caste, so to speak. Keiko’s father owns a hospital and she was on her way to become a big-time doctor while Yota was a poor, penniless laborer.

Kaoru, his only family has decided to live separately with him after she realized that it was impossible to control her feelings for her ‘Nii-nii’. She also thought that she was a burden for him, who was always working so hard to support Kaoru. Although they were not blood related, Yota has taken good care of her, raised her into adulthood.

Yota reluctantly agreed after discovering that it was Kaoru’s father that advised her to do so. Yes, that good-for-nothing father who abandoned them. Right before Kaoru left, she sorta confessed her feelings for Yota… who kinda… pretended to not understand. A tearful goodbye ensues.

Yota continues to work excessively for… some reason. One day, news reported that a typhoon would hit… Okinawa (?) [Remember, I was watching without subs…] and Yota was in a fever that day but still went under the rain to make sure that Kaoru was fine. He was admitted to the hospital not long after due to high fever. The doctor explained something about the flu virus spreading to the heart, and his immune system was also failing prior to the flu. Thus his heart was kinda… slowing down.

Then he died. Then you heart Kaoru’s annoying ‘Nii-nii’ screaming, which divert the sadness you were feeling away. You were really touched by all Yota did for Kaoru, then the NII-NII just ate your sadness away and replaced them with annoyance.

His funeral was held back at the countryside. After some crying on Kaoru’s part, a postman delivered a package for Kaoru. Inside, was a kimono and a letter from Yota. Yota explained that he was going to attend Kaoru’s coming of age ceremony and bought a beautiful kimono for her to wear on that day.

I shall assume that Yota was working hard to buy that kimono for Kaoru. Cos I heard that kimonos cost a bomb. T_T It was really kinda sad. But the subbing killed the atmosphere for me. Get some nicely subbed version and it is definitely a movie to enjoy.

The ending theme was “Nada Sou Sou” by Rimi Natsukawa. The whole thing had an Okinawan feel to it, the actors spoke funny, which I should assume is the Okinawan accent.

Note: Nagasawa won a WORST actress award for this movie. You can’t blame her though, it was her first movie. I recently saw Tsumabuki in “Lunch no Joou”. He was most certainly better looking back then. Tsukamoto was casted as the protagonist’s best friend, his screen time was way too little.

[Drama] Lunch no Joou

[Moved from my old blog.]

This drama dates back to about 2002/2003. It stars some familiar looking chick, a tall big guy, Yamada Takayuki, Yamashita Tomohisa, Tsumabuki Satoshi, Ito Misaki and others.

12 episodes.

My rating: 2/5

Frankly, I hate this drama. It is so ridiculous. How can all four brothers (including Yama~P) and Morita Go all fall for that girl?! Even Morita Go who appeared as her ex who was wanted by the police. I hate to say it, but Morita Go sure does look like a criminal, drug dealer... sorta person.

But I like Yama~P's character a lot.

I have nothing to say about it, just that Yama~P is really freaking skinny to the bone in here. Dark and skinny. So skinny when pushed, you fear that he would fall over. His cheeks were hollow and sunken.

Yah, I removed this drama from my drive, so I guess... that's all. No screencaps.