Just finished watching the series, and I guess I know why it’s recommended!

But I was soooo shocked by the ending! *mourns for Natsuo* I thought it was going to be the typical happily-ever-after kinda ending, much like how Hiroto turned over a new leaf and worked hard at Shinoda Cycle. But poor Natsuo *cries*

And yes from Ep 5 onwards Hiroto is so much more likeable! I love how Tsu looks in the mechanic’s uniform ♥

But otherwise, I was super amused with Hiroto! The poor fella is always either being scolded,

being beaten up,

or both XD

Other than that, I kept squealing at how cute Tsuyo was! And he was really yasashii (kind) ne, the way Natsuo treats Yuki… but the ending was really really shocking. I didn’t expect Natsuo to be the one who donated the heart! I mean, he kept appearing after the operation, it didn’t seem that he had already died during the motorcycle accident… I was too shocked to cry over the plot, but my chest felt really tight. Like, when you hear news that you can’t take, there’s this pressure on your chest that makes you feel suffocated as you try to breathe and realise that it’s all real. That was what I felt when Chika told Yuki (and me) that Natsuo had actually passed away. Before Chika said anything I knew something happened to Natsuo, but I thought at most he had hurt his spine so badly he couldn’t dive anymore (The motorcycle accident scene showed Tsuyo with his back to the bike as it hit him). I’m still trying to recover from my shock even now… Woah.

Ok, apart from the ending, the drama was a really touching one. We see how Yuki fights to be with Natsuo, how Hiroto braved through and grew more mature, how Jun overcame his lack of confidence due to his disability (and how it became an advantage instead when Hiroto and Chika have their hourly arguements XD), how Chika mustered her courage and gave birth to her baby, and how Natsuo had to look after all these people when so many things happened to him.

Oh and the leader of the gangsters looked like Wu Chun (Fahrenheit) when he had long hair during Tokyo Juliet!

And well… I wouldn’t say Tsubasa was cute in this drama, but it was certainly amusing to see him being henpecked

and fulfilling all the requirements of being a ‘chao ahbeng’ XD

‘Chao Ahbeng’ checklist:

• Brown, messy hair with fringe that covers the eyes √ Check!

• Bright coloured oversized shirts √ Check!

• Why-should-I-care attitude written all over the face √ Check!

• Skin-and-bones body √ Check!

OMG did I just succeed in showing all the wrong sides of him?
*pats Tsubasa* It’s okay, Ganbatta ne! Otsukaresama! ♥

Was recommended by at least two people to watch it, so I finally got started on it today!

FINALLY. At the end of the 4th episode, I FINALLY found something to like about Hiroto (Tsubasa’s character). Throughout the entire time I really really wanted to beat him up (and thanks to Natsuo for doing that in Ep 3)! Seriously, if Hiroto is not Tsubasa, I’d have smashed my macbook’s screen already.

But Tsuyo was so cute! He’s that extra outgoing Kansai-jin personality again, nagging about being careful about kuruma (cars) every morning as his younger brother (Oguri Shun) and sister goes to school. And it’s funny how much taller Oguri Shun is than Tsuyoshi! XD

Hirosue Ryoko is one of my favourite Japanese actresses, and I was also looking forward to seeing her in a drama when I started watching this. I remember watching her in another drama where she played a woman who got pregnant before marriage. *checks DramaWiki* Yes the drama is called Shotgun Marriage (Dekichatta Kekkon) I thought Shotgun was older! Looks like I’m mistaken, Summer Snow is pre-Shotgun =O

Anyway, I didn’t plan to blog about Summer Snow until I finish the drama tomorrow, but because I was waiting and waiting for Hiroto to show me why I should like him, and my wish was finally fulfilled, that I had to post an entry about how I really wanted to slap him the entire time. Haha! And he has to wear all those oversized brightly coloured polo t-shirts which makes him look all the more too skinny, especially when standing next to the then-well-built Tsuyo-chan! XD

This drama came out back in 2003 and features Domoto Tsuyoshi and the lovely Hirosue Ryoko as the main characters. It’s mainly a love triangle story and not as good as Summer Snow but I think it’s still worth watching. For the full synopsis check out:

http://wiki.d-addicts.com/Moto_Kare

To download visit the Disclaimer page and click on the Downloads section!

This film won an Oscar for Best Foreign Film before, in an upset against ‘Waltz With Bashir’, so I decided to watch it.

Okuribito, otherwise known as Departures, is a story about an unemployed celloist named Daigo who hesitantly takes a job as an encoffineer.

I didn’t have any expectations about this movie really; I just decided to watch it and then wait to see how it goes. (Although, I did cheer for it during the Oscars lol.)

This movie is really entertaining. I couldn’t keep my eyes off it. Even though the theme is a bit morbid, the touches of black comedy here and there make you forget about it.

Masahiro Motoki played his character Kobayashi Daigo well, as a guy who had never seen a dead body in his life, and then all of a sudden he’s thrown into this situation where he has to see them daily. Hirosue Ryoko plays his wife Mika, who is usually supportive, but once she finds out that her husband is a encoffineer, she becomes against it.

There are a lot of scenes to laugh at. For example, Daigo’s boss calls him in to model for a video about how to cleanse the dead body. He then attempts to shave Daigo’s face, which he ends up cutting. Daigo’s expression was hilarious.

Also, the scenes where they eat food made me laugh for some reason, for they super amplified the sound, and so it sounds morbid in a way, hearing them eat fish and friend chicken.

Lastly, this movie also did make me cry, especially the last part. I’d recommend it to you. I mean, if it WON an Oscar.

Pros:

- Highly entertaining, with moments to make you laugh and cry.

- Makes being an encoffineer interesting.

Cons:

- But, like, not interesting enough for me to be one, lol.

- Although it’s been highly regarded as a brilliant movie, I can compare it to some other entertaining Japanese movies that didn’t win anything either. It’s very cliche/predictible. I knew what was coming next, almost every time. But I like the predictible, lol.

Grade: B+

This drama came out waaaaay back in 1996 and is one of the oldest dramas that I have ever seen. Like all dramas of a different era, it’s interesting to see the changes Jdrama has been through over the years.

Kimura Takuya plays a lead role in this drama and back then he was still in his mid 20s. Like in Hero, Fujima Takako also plays one of the main female characters in this drama along with Yamaguchi Tomoko. A young teenage Hirosue Ryoko also makes an appearance in some of the episodes!

For the full synopsis check out http://wiki.d-addicts.com/Long_Vacation.

To download visit the Disclaimer page and click on the Downloads section!

This drama came out back in July of 2000. Almost 9 years ago! Even so, it’s definitely a drama worth watching. It’s interesting to see how dramas have changed over the years.

This drama features the lovely Hirosue Ryoko as Yuki Katase and Domoto Tsuyoshi from KinKi Kids as Natsuo Shinoda. Any Ryoko fan definitely heard of this drama and already knows what this is about. For those who haven’t check out http://wiki.d-addicts.com/Summer_Snow.

To download visit the Disclaimers page and click on the Downloads section!

I’ve been putting off watching this drama for a long time because I was too caught up in Kiina and Mei-chan no Shitsuji and all the other wonderful wonderful dramas that Japanese television provides. But the time has come for me to review Yasuko to Kenji, one of the most interesting dramas I’ve seen recently. (Also, please excuse me for the crappy screenies. I watch dramas by streaming on mysoju and that quality isn’t so great. These screencaps are far from pristine quality, but they’re not horrible either).

Yasuko is played by Tabe Mikako, one of my favorite idols, also known as the “tama no koshi” girl of Yamada Taro Monogatari. She’s a great actress, not to mention she’s so pretty! She almost reminds me of Aibu Saki with that hair.

Tabe Mikako, with the pigtails and fantasies complete with gira-gira sound effects, is the perfect cutesy girl to play this part.

See what I mean?

Another prime example right there.

Kenji, Yasuko’s brother, is played by the drummer for TOKIO, Matsuoka Masahiro.

Although it was obvious his expressions were pulled straight out of My Boss My Hero and although Nagase Tomoya did a heck of a better job with the facial expressions, Kenji’s share of yakuza faces were still hilarious to watch.

Actually, in this one, he just looks dopey. But they get better, I promise!

Hirosue Ryoko takes on the part of Erika, the “kuso ama”, Kenji’s opposite (They have a not-so-mysterious past as bike gang leaders – surprise surprise. To top it off, she’s in love with him. More surprise).

She’s fairly okay looking, but I could see her smile poking through when she was supposed to be doing those scary faces.

In addition to the scary faces, there are still pretty faces for all you eyecandy-loving fangirls (Why hello there!) – Ohkura Tadayoshi, the drummer from Kanjani8 is featured in this series. From my point of view (that is, all you K8 fans are a bunch of nutters!), he’s looking pretty good considering I’ve never even glanced at him before. The only person in K8 that I look at is Ryo. And that person from Uta no Onii-san, but that was only looking. I am getting way too off track. Back to Yasuko to Kenji.

I wonder if Ohkura Tadayoshi speaking Engrish for a little stint in episode9 was actually him or edited/dubbed/messed with. Anyways, it was loads better than Jin’s, which isn’t saying a lot.

While Yasuko and Erika were helping each other practice confessing to their loved ones, Yasuko dressed up as Kenji and Erika “dressed up” as Jun.
 
This was definitely the best part of the whole drama. Tabe Mikako is just too amazing. And that Ohkura Tadayoshi uchiwa.. just too too clever.

But we must never forget the sidekicks. For Kenji, there’s these two ever-faithful, er, guys.

Recognize the crossdresser? He played one of Yankumi’s sidekicks in Gokusen, the tako guy, aka Uchiyama Shinji. Here’s a normal picture of him.
 

For Erika’s sidekick, there’s Yamaguchi Sayaka, usually quite gorgeous looking, but the makeup for this role is a little strange – it makes her look older. However, she’s got quite an ordinary part that isn’t really an essential part of the plot.

But Yasuko’s moment’s with her brother are surprisingly touching, the flashbacks throughout made my eyes a little moist. Same with those scenes at the end of episode8. Watch it and you’ll know what I mean. 
The little girl who plays the young Yasuko is just soo cute!
 
She’s Yagi Yuki from Bara no nai Hanaya.

Spoiler – (highlight to read) THE worst proposal ever: “We both need to fine-tune our lives. Being with you makes my life’s engine stall.” No kidding, that’s what Kenji said to Erika. (highlight to read)

Call me shallow and whatnot, watching Yasuko to Kenji was the most fun I’d had in a long time. Maybe my life’s too dull. Maybe having vacation for a week is actually boring for me. However, whatever the reason may be, I enjoyed this drama a lot.
There weren’t any long, drawn out parts of the plot – everything moves at a perfect pace. The anime-style tidbits were very entertaining as well. I think I’ll actually read the manga now. I hope the art style is good, because the last time I picked up a manga because I liked the drama was Hana Yori Dango – and the art style sucks.
All in all, I highly recommend Yasuko to Kenji. It’s a nice break from the semi-depressing to downright depressing romances that I had been drowning in lately. Maybe it’s because I like Tabe Mikako so much that Yasuko to Kenji was so great for me, but overall, it’s light, fun, and an interesting watch.

image | info
Alternative Title: Collage of our Life, Love Photograph, Picture of Love
Country: Japan, 2003
Director:Yukihiko Tsutsumi
Cast: Hirosue Ryoko, Ryuhei Matsuda, Eiko Koike
Type: Melodrama, Romance
Rating: 4.5/5

Summary: Satonaka Shizuru (Hirosue Ryoko) is an impulsive and energetic girl who lives her life to the fullest. Makoto Segawa (Ryuhei Matsuda) is a serious photographer. He first meets Shizuru when she asks him to take a photo of her punching a guy (?!). They start hanging out a lot and she eventually lives with him. At first, Segawa finds her idiocyncracies strange, but he gradually warms up to her and learns to relax. Shizuru takes up photography (becuase she wants to be a part of Segawa’s world). She turns out to be a better photographer than Segawa, so he makes her leave. She goes to the States to become a photographer and Segawa says that he’ll go and find her once he becomes a professional photographer. A few years pass and he receives an invitation from her saying that she’s going to have a photo exhibition and that he should go to American to attend. Once he goes there, Shizuru is nowhere to be found. Things just keep getting stranger and stranger until Segawa finds out the tragic truth (dun dun dunnn!). I can’t give it away, but you can probably figure it out if you’ve watched Tada Kimi.

Impression: This is an awesome movie that taught me a bit about the spirit of photography. It’s related to Tada Kimi wo Aishiteru. I think Tada Kimi is based on this story (the link to crunchyroll above explains the connections well). In comparing Tada Kimi and Renai Shashin, the cinematography of Tada Kimi is better, but I liked the plot fo Renai Shashin better. In both, the photography was outstanding. I found that in Tada Kimi, the photography was more naturey and serene, while in Renai Shashin, the photography was more vivid and urban. Both female roles were quirky, but I found in Tada Kimi, she was more introverted.

Ah, this drama is a BREATH of FRESH AIR.  I can just inhale….exhale…. and not see a single male born later than 1980 parading on my screen.  I’ll say “johnny boy” but Inagaki Goro of SMAP is a Johnny, after all.  And this is excluding the children in the flashbacks.

There are moments when I reach my boiling point of all the kiddie dramas, albeit packed with eyecandies.  Okay, who am I kidding with?  We all like our eyecandies.  If they have Ito Atsushi here instead of Eguchi Yosuke, I won’t be gushing as much.   On the contrary, Mizushima Hiro might not be enough to sit through the entire episode of Mei-chan no Shitsuji. I might come back and finish the 1st episode to see if  I can squeeze something intelligible out of it, but that is wishful thinking.

Now, Triangle, on a first episode-basis is awesome beyond words.  Episode 2 may not have brought the same impact as the debut episode, but let’s pretend I haven’t seen episode 2 yet.  The soundtrack and direction style of this drama made me realize how most kdramas pale in comparison with jdramas (based on such criteria).  I mean, no matter how enjoyable and grand (props-wise) BOF is, you just have to admit, Hana Yori Dango is superior in terms of camera work and music direction.  Oopps, I’m getting sidetracked again.

Triangle is another drama based on a novel.  Another novel about a past murder that came back to hunt the present.  As a matter of fact, we just saw one from the previous season – Ryuusei no Kizuna.  But this one is not as clear cut as all the others.  Eguchi Yosuke plays the boy, in the flashback, who killed the 10 year old, Katsuragi Sachie.  That is what the flashbacks are telling us, but on the back of our minds, we have questions.  Every single action of Goda Ryoji points to him being the suspect, but why is he acting so nonchalantly?  The questions do not stop here.  You will have one every time a minute passes by.

And every five minutes, you’ll also see a familiar face.  This show is brimming with very popular “supporting” actors.

Although, there is one tiny glitch between casting and screenplay and that is Hirosue Ryoko and her birthdate.  It’s not a big deal, but it’s been gnawing my brain everytime I watch a scene between Eguchi and Hirosue.  On another note, mannn, I can’t believe this is the same Eguchi in Lunch Queen!  The way he carries himself in here reminds me of Lee Byung Hun!!!    Inagaki Goro, is more like a side-kick in this show.  How could a SMAP member be in a supporting role huh?  Haha, well too bad…I think this is perfect role assignments for the both of them.  There are a few disappointments this season, but if you want to start the winter season with a “bang”, go for Triangle.

So last Saturday I finally got around to watching this awesome Japanese movie called バブルへGO!! Here’s the wikipedia site with associated spoilers and whatnot so be careful:)

The movie is about this girl who ends up going back in time in a washing machine to the early 90’s to try and save her mother, who originally went back in time to try and save Japan from going into the depression (i.e. when the bubble burst). Ridiculousness aside, it’s a pretty entertaining movie, and makes some interesting comparisons with early 90’s Japan and the Japan of today. A lot of stuff has changed in the last 20-ish years. Check it out if you get a chance, and also, there’s no reason not to watch a Hirosue Ryoko movie!

This is me recollecting my jumbled thoughts almost a week after watching the episode and trying to organize them in a coherent manner.

There is no glorification of the new Kansai 50th Anniversary drama packed with wondrous actors and gripping suspense, but there is quite a handful of spoilers since most of which constitute my impression arise from specific points in the episode. So halt here if you haven’t seen it and plan to. Because I do think it’s enjoyable and don’t want to spoil it for you.

I think no one will object when I say the most salient element of the drama is its music. In fact, that’s what drew me in at minute one. The music’s haunting effect paired with the golden sunset, the red backpack, red coat, and the blood create a grotesque kind of beauty — but the music doesn’t stop there. It takes a turn and continues down a different path, a different mood, all the while in sync with the plot and contributing to the fluidity of the story telling.

The second feature that I find endearing is its approach at travelogue, which doesn’t seem pushed or overdone. It’s necessary as far as the story is concerned and future events setting in Shanghai is laid out in the later portion of the episode, making it a very clear cut presentation. (It’s also great to hear proper French, especially with Hirosue Ryoko as Sachi even though she has been speaking mainly Japanese. Her appearance in the context of traveling in France reminds me of the 2001 movie Wasabi, which was fun to watch.)

The scene between Sachi and Ryoji (Eguchi Yosuke) at Montmartre before parting brings Amélie to mind (another 2001 French movie). It’s significance is certainly self-evident. (I think the main reason I like it has to do with my feelings for the French language.)

Montmartre

Of course, as much as I am enamored with the above mentioned aspects of the drama, there are challenges I have yet to reconcile. (Which is why you don’t see me jumping into recapping the first episode.) My biggest problem is, ironically, the mystery. Hah.

The French has a saying: ne pas savoir si c’est du lard ou du cochon (not knowing what to think) – and that is preciously how I feel about this drama. Of course it’s too early in the game to determine, but I don’t really know what to make of it. I don’t mean that it’s confusing; rather, it’s trying so hard to impress the viewers by providing a twist in the end, I fear that the efforts might backfire a little.

Let me explain myself. I have said a little earlier that the story telling is done fluidly, but it is by no means exciting or engaging. A tour in an arbitrary bookstore will demonstrate how popular the mystery genre is nowadays. We as readers/viewers have been exposed to so much of its kind that we become sophisticated enough to be hard to impress. A good mystery creates suspense by diverging on possibilities to keep us guessing and second guessing. A bland mystery has one theory and creates a turn of events only at the last moment — and that is exactly how this episode is like. Kimoto Machiko’s attack, the script being stolen, Ryoji’s repeated inquiry on whether or not anyone has seen the attacker all point to the direction that Ryoji has done the deed in attempt to bury the case even after its passing the statute of limitation. But it is too simple. So we expect a twist. And when the twist finally comes, it ends up confirming our suspicion more than piquing our interest.

With the revelation of Sashi’s miraculous survival after what was commonly acknowledged as murder, the episode ends. It ends without providing any incentive for the viewers to find out WHY a perceived murder of then an elementary girl 25 years ago would be worth watching and exploring (other than having nothing better to watch, like it is in my case). This episode is most disappointing in that respect.

The one thing I don’t understand is Sashi’s reaction after being recognized by Ryoji. Her mortification and hatred seem strange. Sure, she’s not expecting to be recognized, after feigning her death 25 years ago. Least by him. Sure, she’s unpleasantly surprised to find out that the stranger whom she spent her vacation in Paris with is the boy who tried to kill her 25 years ago. (If Ryoji wasn’t just a poor escape goat for a bigger secret.) Sure, she may feel exploited to realize he had orchestrated their rendezvous in France. But if she planned to attend this reunion after convincing everyone that she had been dead for decades, she couldn’t have expected to enter and leave unannounced. Someone is bound to walk up to her and politely, if not bluntly, ask her to remind them of who she is.

Well, the upcoming Tuesday’s episode will pick up from there. Hopefully it will shed some light and change my perception of the drama.

Similar to Seigi no Mikata, Yasuko to Kenji is another drama that is based on a manga about a story of two siblings who love each other dearly. Deep down, they really do, alright? 10 years ago, little Yasuko (played by Bara no nai Hanaya’s Shizuku – Yagi Yuki) and biker gang boss Kenji (TOKIO’s Matsuoka Masahiro) lost their parents in an accident. To support his sister, Kenji quit his gang and began writing shoujo manga under the pen name, Reiko-sama. The sweet kid who idolizes her tall onii-chan, with the big hands and the big feet, grew up into the tama-no-koshi-gal of Yamada Taro Monogatari, Tabe Mikako. Be prepare to get another version of the silly chick who daydreams about boys and nothing else. The pigtails..the twinkling stars…the bone-eyed stare…yup, we’re in for another ride of this girl’s antiques. One thing I’m definitely not looking forward to.

But who cares about this couple when we have Shida Mirai and Hongo Kanata of Seigi no Mikata to root for?

To be fair, Yasuko’s moments with her brother are very touching. In fact, the flashbacks along with the ostentatious rescue at the end of episode one made my eyes quite moist. The manga attributes of the drama are heavily highlighted through the corny expressions executed mainly by our two main characters: Hirosue Ryoko and Matsuoka Masahiro.

Sometimes they’re funny…but most of the time, they bring down the enjoyment value. Too much isn’t always good, don’t they know that?

I haven’t seen a lot of Hirosue Ryoko since her cameo in Galileo. This is out of topic, but check out her features and I’m not sure if it’s one of the Final Fantasy games or the Final Fantasy Advent Children movie, but it’s been rumored that one of the characters has been drawn based on her features. Look at her, she’s like straight out from an anime eh? Who could have thought that the kid from Long Vacation would grow up into such a beauty? However, I was never a big fan of her acting. Like Kenji, her character in this drama mildly features a double persona. Supa Kawaii and vulnerable flower lady turns to a lady boss at night to save her brother. But Ryoko, dear, the hoop earrings, a dab of blush, and a couple of sneering (gosh, if you could call it that), do not make you into a lady boss. Some actresses are born to do the girl-next-door type of characters, and Ryoko is one of those people.

But since this drama is not running for an Academy Award, then we shouldn’t be too picky. It’s kinda cute to watch her snarl inches before Matsuoka – it’s like a Bengal Tiger battling with a house kitty. Now, as for Matsuoka, this TOKIO member is born to do Yakuza roles. Did he get lessons from Tomoya Nagase or what? I mean, heck, look at that snarl, it’s straight out from a manga scene.

Matsuoka can be really funny if he tones it down a bit. Tomoya Nagase went all out in My Boss, My Hero, but he was still damn funny. In this drama though, Nagase’s technique doesn’t seem to work for Matsuoka.

In terms of goofball comedies this season, I would say, Seigi no Mikata and Gakko ja Oshierarenai get a higher rank in terms of writing style and content. Speaking of the latter, I meant to write an entry on that, but I was pumped up with Yasuko to Kenji’s first episode that I decided to write it first. If you could forgive the silly expressions, this drama will give you a few laughs and perhaps a couple of moist eyes.

Other posts on Jdramas Summer 2008

• It’s the season for Chibi couples!
• Definitely not a slow season for drama addicts

Davvero molto interessanti gli spunti di Elvezio Sciallis, critico attento e acuto, nella sua recensione ad ALIA Sol Levante.

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Vi e` poi, allargando il campo, un ulteriore protagonista, anzi un metaprotagonista in tutte o quasi tutte queste storie.
L’economia. Il lavoro. I soldi e i debiti e cosa si fa per accumularli o estinguerli.
E` presenza palpabilissima in molte delle quasi 200 pagine del volume.
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Indubbiamente la letteratura giapponese e’ sempre stata molto attenta a quegli elementi che intervengono nella vita quotidiana dell’uomo (lo ritroviamo gia’ in opere antiche come il Taketori monogatari ed il Genji monogatari dove forte e’ il peso che il sociale e gli eventi contingenti hanno sui vari personaggi), inevitabile quindi che molti degli autori contemporanei (soprattutto tra i quaranta ed i cinquant’anni) abbiamo catalizzato nei loro romanzi e racconti quel profondo trauma causato dallo scoppio della bolla economica agli inizi degli anni novanta e che ancora perseguita numerosi giapponesi nonostante per le generazioni piu’ giovani nate successivamente le follie di quel periodo tra la meta’ degli anni ottanta ed i primi anni novanta non siano altro che il ricordo di una perduta eta’ dell’oro di cui solo hanno sentito raccontare dai loro genitori. L’economia giapponese era gonfiata e, di conseguenza, il costo della vita altissimo. Si spendevano cifre incredibili. Era l’era delle bodikon (abbreviazione del termine inglese body conscious) con i loro abiti attillati e Tokyo la notte era la citta’ del divertimento assoluto dell’Asia. La discoteca Juliana’s Tokyo (seppure aperta negli anni 1991-1994 quindi quando la bolla era gia’ scoppiata) con i suoi 1200 metri quadrati e una capienza massima di 2000 persone e’ divenuta l’icona del periodo. Qui 1, 2, 3 alcuni filmati dell’epoca. Per farsene un’ulteriore idea visiva puo’ essere interessante guardare la pellicola Bubble Fiction: Boom or Bust (2007) con Abe Hiroshi e Hirosue Ryoko (tra l’altro un divertente film di fantascienza con una lavatrice trasformata in macchina del tempo!) dove quegli anni sono stati ricostruiti molto bene.
Il passaggio quindi ad una visione quasi incosciente convinta che il benessere sarebbe perdurato per sempre ed il brusco risveglio alla realta’ e’ stato devastante per molti individui i quali, letteralmente da un giorno all’altro, si sono trovati sul lastrico o con debiti inestinguibili, con il pensiero fisso concentrato su come riuscire a tirare avanti. Consideriamo come, ad esempio, l’immagine ancora assai persistente in Italia del Giappone come di un paese estremamente costoso si lega proprio all’immagine del Sol Levante di quel periodo. E’ quindi naturale che gli effetti psicologici e pratici lasciati nella mente degli abitanti dell’arcipelago riemergano con incisivita’ nelle opere degli scrittori contemporanei.

1. The new iGoogle has a sleeker layout and the theme finally covers the whole page! Love iGoogle, mine is a little plain but the plug-ins are just the essentials.
2. Addicted to Lifehacker, think it’s better than Gizmodo. Love the maintenance tools article, CCleaner is awesome! The program helped to clear 500MB worth of junk, I’ve no idea where they were lurking…
3. Ooo, Yasuko to Kenji seems interesting! Hirosue Ryoko! The last time I saw her was in Galileo, where she had a minor guest appearance.

Di Miura Shion e Makime Manabu ho parlato su questo blog qualche tempo fa, ed eccoli entrambi gia’ divenire un fenomeno multimediatico.
Dal romanzo Kaze ga tsuyoku fuite iru di Miura tradotto in coreano e taiwanese nel 2007 e 2008 la compagnia Atelier Duncan sta producendo lo spettacolo teatrale omonimo che andra’ in scena nel gennaio 2009. Inoltre, sempre nel 2009, uscira’ anche un film.
Kaze ga tsuyoku fuite iru e’ la storia di un gruppo di studenti con la passione per la corsa lunga che vivono in uno sgangherato dormitorio.
Da Kamogawa Horumo, divertentissimo ed originale romanzo fantasy (ma non nel senso che molti intendono qui in Italia), di Makime, la compagnia Atelier Duncan sta realizzando uno spettacolo che sara’ in scena a maggio del prossimo anno. Pure da Kamogawa Horumo sara’ tratto un film in uscita per la primavera 2009 con Kuriyama Chiaki. Se riuscira’ ad essere attinente al libro, sara’ davvero molto divertente da vedere.

Il prossimo anno usciranno poi Goemon, storia pop-esagerata, di Ishikawa Goemon (si’, proprio l’antenato di quello di Lupin III!), secondo film del regista di Casshern Kazuaki Kiriya con un cast che comprende Hirosue Ryoko e Toda Eriko ed il lungometraggio animato di Guin Saga tratto dal ciclo di romanzi di Kurimoto Kaoru la cui produzione, da quanto e’ possibile osservare sul sito ufficiale (in giapponese, inglese e francese; fatto che conferma l’intenzione di una distribuzione estera), sta procedendo e dovrebbe essere pronto per il 2009, data del trentennale della serie.

Il 20 dicembre di quest’anno, invece, uscira’ K-20 Nijumenso-den realizzato dallo stesso staff dell’apprezzato Always Sanchome no yuhi basato sul romanzo Kanzenban Kaijin Nijumenso-den dello scrittore Kitamura So il quale, a sua volta, riprende un personaggio di un’opera di Edogawa Ranpo (cio’ spiega la presenza del detective Akechi Kogoro). Recentemente e’ stata trasmessa pure una serie animata dal titolo Nijumenso no musume con protagonista la figlia del misterioso criminale. Nella pellicola, molto pubblicizzata in Giappone, recitano Kaneshiro Takeshi e Matsu Takako.

Immagine: copertina del romanzo Kaze ga tsuyoku fuite iru di Miura Shion edito da Shinchosha.