Hikki som er kallenavnet for Utada Hikaru mest kjent som rnb artist i Japan og Asia.

Prisoner of love er sluttsangen for tv-serien “Last Friends” som takler problemer som hjemsøker den nåværende generasjonen.

Flavor of life er insert sangen i “Boys over flower” som handler om et kjærlighets par med sosiale forskjeller.

Yes, I’m flunking my HSC. But hey, might as well enjoy it. Again, a break from what I planned to blog about.

So today, I watched Last Friends, a J-drama that came out in 2008.

I wasn’t going to watch the whole thing, so I decided to start midway (because the fist eps weren’t up where I watch) and stop. But.. dang, it grabbed me.

Don’t Wikipedia it! The DramaWiki should do. But I don’t think it really sums it up.

I kind of regret watching it out of order.. but hey, I’ll watch it properly after exams. Basically… it’s about.. hmmm…. Well, a lot. Mainly friendships/relationships.. and domestic violence. There’s more, but I don’t want to ruin it.

The theme song is Utada’s ‘Prisoner of Love’, which pretty much sums it up. I quite liked the opening – all the shattering objects seemed to fit.

I don’t know how accurate its portrayal of DV (as they call it) is – maybe cliché, but I think it worked. I was honestly scared of Sousuke – even when he wasn’t in the scene. The clip below is the only one I could find without major spoilers – the first 50 seconds or so is him ‘teaching Michiru a lesson’ after his freaking out because Michiru was cutting guys’ hair at her hairdresser place and talking to her friends etc. Everything after 0:50 shows snippets of how crazy he gets in just the early eps, without spoiling the drama.

I guess the drama really worked for me because the characters aren’t 2D. Sousuke (Nishikido Ryo) was easily my favourite. Wait, that’s not quite right. Most interesting character, more like it – he freaked me out. I’m not good with breaking cutlery, let along actual violence -_-’

I think the creepiest bit was how everything went between ‘fine’ and creepy. And how Michiru walked back in the next morning and the lamp was all fixed again. The symbolism in the drama rocked.

Psychotic, violent, creepy… but somehow, I couldn’t hate Sousuke at the end. Even when he asked why Michiru was crying (well no sh*t, why wouldn’t she be?)… it was still hard to hate him. He’s described in the opening as ‘contradictory’, and that pretty much sums him up. Watch up to 1:30 (or start at 0:41 if you’re lazy). The whole video doesn’t have any major spoilers, really – pretty good at showing how impossible it is to categorise the characters.

It honestly seems like he loves her the whole time, and it’s impossible to just write him off as the evil son of a b*tch that he is. It’s tempting to just let him be a character ‘with a problem’ or ‘multiple personalities’ or someone who ‘loves someone too much’ (Othello, much?). And I did find myself hoping that he’d somehow change.

But if you really loved someone, you wouldn’t hit them. I guess the drama shows how difficult it is to actually live by that. It’s too easy to see why Michiru believes that ‘it hurts him too’. Gargh.

I’d highly recommend watching it. It’s also pretty awesome to watch Nishikido Ryo in a role that’s completely different to his loveable-angsty-awesome-Asou Haruto; I think the casting was perfect. Definitely deserved his ‘best supporting actor’. Ueno Juri’s acting was also pretty good. Probably better than Ryo’s, but hey, I’m a fangirl. And I loved Takeru (Eita). Someone get me a Takeru <3 Hey, a make-up artist sounds perfect, seeing that formal is coming up. I still haven't worked out how girls learn to put on their own makeup – I can only make myself look like an emo because I fail so badly with eyeliner.

The ending was pretty good. I think Sousuke was a chicken, but hated/loved him in the end anyway. And it kept all the shippers happy – well, if not happy, at least not disappointed.

I think the worst part of the drama is the way it messes with your head. I expected that I'd be thinking 'what the heck. Just leave him already and get an AVO' when Michiru calls him again/goes over/defends him. But I admit that I sat there and thought, 'yeah, I'd definitely go back to him'. Yeah. I think I proved that I'm pretty weak this year. I'd easily be the person who rationalises and justifies it all out.

This probably sounds like a very superficial post. Sorry. It was just a great series. Maybe it felt like there was too much packed in sometimes, but I think it pulled it off. I like dramas that mess with my mind.

Watch the first episode, if you have nothing to do in your post-HSC time. It's subbed up at Veoh, but you'll need to get their player thingy. The first 20mins or so is just introducing each character, but it gets quite creepy towards the end *shudder*

On a related note, White Ribbon Day is coming up – 25th November. Anyone up for volunteering?

EDIT: Wait, this might be the right link for just selling ribbons.

Seen only 6 ep ,I couldn’t finishi it because is tooo boring !!

Nagasawa Masami’s acting was very poor.

Ueno Juri: She can act but for some reasons she was very annoying here.

Eita: I was expecting a lot from him.A good performance but at the same time dissapointing.

Nishikido Ryou: This guy surprised me.

Such a great cast went to waste here.Minimal character development.This could have been great, but it failed miserably.

By the way avery good opening theme !

Details

Genre: Friendship, human drama, gay/lesbian
Episodes: 11
Broadcast network: Fuji TV
Broadcast period: 2008-Apr-10 to 2008-Jun-19
Theme song: Prisoner Of Love by Utada Hikaru

Synopsis:

Last Friends tackles issues that afflict the current generation. Michiru’s mother has brought a man back to their home and she is bullied at her workplace where she works as a beauty parlour assistant. She starts cohabiting with her boyfriend, a good young man who works at the Child Welfare Division and the only person who can give her emotional support, but ends up the victim of domestic violence and becomes fearful of love. The boyishly charming Ruka was a classmate of Michiru’s in junior high school. She has performed brilliantly as a motocross racer and aims to win the national championship, but as the story progresses, a deep worry that she can neither confide in her parents or close friends grows evident. Takeru is a hair and makeup artist acquainted with Ruka. He is a good confidant to females due to his kindness and perceptiveness, and finds himself attracted to Ruka but has a phobia of sex as a result of a past trauma. The three of them become house mates and through their associations with others, gain the capacity to be positive about life.

Main Cast:

Nagasawa Masami as Aida Michiru
Ueno Juri as Kishimoto Ruka
Eita as Mizushima Takeru
Nishikido Ryo as Oikawa Sosuke
Mizukawa Asami as Takigawa Eri

Mv:

Credit: heinzvn1 @ youtube

Untuk lebih memudahkan teman-teman semuanya, saya bikin review list dan diberi rating skala 1-10 pada tiap drama yang udah saya tonton. Tapi nggak semua pendapat saya sama dengan kalian, karena itu, akan lebih baik kalau temen-temen juga nyari referensi lain. Sekali lagi, ini pendapat pribadi loch ya… jangan ada yang tersinggung. Hehehe.

Judul	Review	Rating (1-10)
14 Sai no Haha	I don’t think Shida Mirai & Miura Haruma make a good pairing in here, tapi cerita yang disediakan bener-bener worth it utk ditonton. Cerita tentang perempuan umur 14 tahun yang harus menjadi ‘mama’ akibat hamil di luar pernikahan.	8.5
33pun Tantei	Kocak abis! Detektif ngaco yang memanjangkan suatu kasus mudah agar ngepas waktunya 33 menit *waktu airing drama tsb* Karena fansubber nge-drop drama ini, terpaksa berhenti nontonnya.	–
A Million Stars Falling from the Sky	Kimutaku bermain sbg cowok playboy yang sering mendapat keuntungan dengan cara memacari para cewek. Ending yang mungkin agak ketebak (mungkin jg nggak) sebenernya agak mengecewakan. Agak draggy dan lambat banget. Not one of my faves of kimutaku.	4
Abarenbo Mama	Aya Ueto jadi mama dadakan karena anak suaminya tiba-tiba muncul. Cukup menghibur cuma nggak nonton sampai selesai karena fansubber nge-drop project ini..	–
Akai Ito	Definitely worth to watch! Perpaduan alur drama yang smooth, suasana sekolah yang hangat, konflik remaja yang khas, dan masalah-masalah yang sering dihadapi remaja bikin drama ini jadi highly recommended. Nggak cheesy sama sekali, (semua dalam batas wajar, nggak lebay). Dan banyak banget pesan moral yang diambil dari sini.	9
Akihabara@Deep	Kalau yang nggak terlalu suka sama dunia otaku (geeky yang terlalu nge-fans sama sesuatu. Biasanya diindikasikan sebagai orang aneh yang agak freak), mendingan jangan ditonton. Tapi sumpah ini drama kocak abis! Cerita tentang 5 (ato 6?? Lupa. Hehe) orang yang terbuang dari masyarakat, ditemukan oleh suatu situs. Akhirnya mereka membentuk grup Akihabara@Deep karena banyak kejadian aneh menimpa Akihabara. Tugas mereka untuk melindungi Akihabara dari orang jahat. Kasusnya menarik, dan yang paling penting kocak banget.	7.5
At Home Dad	Belum selesai nonton, tapi episode pertama cukup menarik. Cerita tentang Kepala Keluarga (Ayah) yang harus tinggal di rumah, sedangkan Ibu bekerja di luar rumah. Satu lagi dari Hirose Abe&Shinohara Ryoko yang kayaknya rekomen untuk ditonton	–
Atashinci no Danshi	Agak cheesy, untuk ukuran drama jepang. Akting Horikita cukup meningkat, tapi yang cukup mengganggu a/ akting Mukai Osamu. Entah ada yang kurang. Cukup kocak, tapi entah kenapa kurang puas, dan segalanya kurang maksimal. IMO sih, tapi banyak yang suka sama drama ini, jadi ya… boleh dicoba. Siapa tau berbeda pendapatnya. J	6
Attention Please!	Dramanya agak episodik, tapi cukup menarik untuk ditonton, mengisahkan kehidupan pramugari. Aya berperan sebagai wanita yang memutuskan jadi pramugari hanya karena orang yang disukainya bilang bahwa ia suka wanita yang pakai seragam pramugari. Walaupun seorang yang tomboy dan vokalis band rock, Aya mencoba untuk mendaftar di perusahaan penerbangan dan tidak disangka diterima! Kehidupan yang sulit pun dimulai…	7.5
Bambino	Cukup menarik, matsujun sebagai seorang koki dari kota kecil di Jepang, dan mengadu peruntungan di Tokyo. Tapi agak klise dan ngebosenin.	5.5
Bloody Monday	Outstanding! Bagi yang suka drama action, polisi, juga hacker, patut dicoba. Alurnya bikin darah mendidih dan cukup addict untuk terus nonton episode selanjutnya. Definitely worth to watch!	9
BOSS	Satu-satunya drama yang menarik perhatian di tahun 2009 ini. Alur, cast, cerita, akting, semuanya nearly perfect! Suka sama joke-joke komedi di sela-sela penyelidikan. Bercerita tentang Boss di kepolisian divisi tindak-balasan yang baru pulang training dr Amerika. Dijanjikan anak buah yang oke dan elit, tapi yang ada malah yang agak aneh dan low-level. Menarik melihat boss yang perfeksionis + anak buah biasa aja bekerja sama. Drama action yang rekomen banget!	10
Celeb to Binbo Taro	Bisa dibilang ini drama paling stereotip tahun ini. Semuanya bisa ditebak, alur cerita yang banyak ditemuin di drama lain, ending yang agak mustahil, Adegan kocak yang dipaksain, dan akting Ueto Aya yang nggak maksimal, bikin drama ini jadi nomor kesekian untuk diselesain. Yang spesial cuma setting dan kostum Aya yang lucu-lucu.	4
Change	Kimutaku jadi presiden! Bagi yang suka politik, patut dan (sangat) disarankan untuk nonton dorama ini! Dan malah sangat disarankan buat politikus yang tukang korup dan kerja setengah-setengah.	8.5
Cat Street	Tanimura kurang pas jadi Aoyama Keito, aktris cilik super cantik&berbakat yang menghilang dari peredaran dan menjadi shut-in person selama 7 tahun karena dikhianati teman baiknya. Cuma cukup worth it buat ditonton.	6
Code Blue	My fave of Yamapi! Setting, cast, alur, soundtrack semuanya hampir sempurna, kecuali Aragaki Yui yang terlihat terlalu muda untuk ukuran dokter umur 26 tahun (not to mention her flawful acting). Agak mirip Grey Anatomy, tapi gw suka cara Jepang mengemas drama kedokteran ini. Cukup memacu semangat untuk nonton. Walau episodik, tiap kasus pasien cukup asik buat ditonton	9
Dance Drill	Oh no! Semuanya salah, kecuali dance yang cukup keren. Amat ngebosenin, karena klimaks dance keren itu ada di episode terakhir, sedangkan konflik yang ada di drama ini nggak terlalu worth it untuk ditonton. But give a big hand for its soundtrack! Uverworld really made a great job.	3
Densha Otoko	Gua cinta dorama ini!! Haha…. Keren banget-nget!! Buat yang suka komedi romantis, rekomen banget nih buat ditonton. Komedinya nggak setengah-setengah. 4 thumbs up!	9.5
Detektif Conan Live Action	Selain cast-nya yang agak-agak ngaco, semuanya cukup asik buat ditonton. Kasusnya juga nggak ada di komik, dan yang penting Shinichinya ganteng dahsyat. Ehehe…..	6
Dragon Zakura	Hiroshi Abe lagi-lagi menggebrak. Banyak cara-cara unik yang diterapkan agar murid didiknya (dari sekolah yang terkenal bego) bisa lulus ujian masuk Todai (Universitas Tokyo). Rekomen nih buat yang mau Snmptn. Hehe….	7.5
Engine	Aneh banget ngeliat Koyuki & Kimutaku ada di satu screen. Cerita tentang si bengal Kimutaku yang sama sekali nggak suka anak kecil. Sejak ia pulang dari Spanyol (ceritanya dia racer), dia agak kaget karena rumahnya tiba-tiba dijadikan panti asuhan oleh Ayahnya (dia nggak suka anak kecil). Tiap episode menarik, selalu nggak sabar ngeliat kelanjutannya, dan akting Kimutaku keren!	8
Galileo Episode Zero	Cerita tentang pertama kalinya Yukawa-sensei bertemu dengan teman lamanya. Kasusnya keren banget. Buat yang suka fisika nggak rugi nih nonton. Tapi yang nggak suka juga cukup enak ditonton, karena penjelasannya jelas banget, nggak kayak guru di sekolah. Hehe…	10
Galileo	Penggemar fisika siap-siap nih! Setiap kasus pembunuhan yang terjadi bisa dijelaskan dengan ilmu fisika dengan ciamiknya oleh Yukawa-sensei. Penjelasannya sangat jelas karena ada percobaannya. Semua kasus menarik karena aneh dan kejahatan tingkat tinggi.	10
GodHand Teru	Tangan tuhan yang nggak pernah gagal dalam satu operasi pun. Sebenernya biasa aja sih untuk ukuran drama kedokteran.	5
Gokusen 1	Ini pengalaman pertama nonton Gokusen. Hahaa…. Berkesan sekali, walau cukup monoton karena tipikal drama yang ‘teratur’. Konflik memuncak, lalu reda di ending setiap episodenya.Yang belum  nonton gokusen, mending nonton yang pertama aja, karena keren dan lebih menyentuh dari yang gokusen 2&3.	7.5
Gokusen 2	Bahkan gw males nyelesainnya.	1.5
Gokusen 3	Masih dengan cerita dan alur yang hampir sama dengan yang 1 & 2. Gw takjub kenapa dorama ini dapet rating tinggi lagi di Jepang. Cukup menarik tapi, karena ada Haruma. Hehe. I’m biassed.	6
Good Luck	Suka sekali sama drama inii! Kimutaku masih fresh dan Shibasaki Kou cantik sekali *walaupun jutek*. Dan yang lebih menarik lagi, bisa tau tentang dunia perpilotan.	8
GTO	Bagi gw ini rajanya dorama sekolah. Haha…. Mungkin tingkat interest-nya sama kayak nonton Jyoou no Kyoushitsu, tapi GTO ini beda aja. Bikin ketagihan dan sekali nonton nggak bisa berhenti. Buat yang belum nonton, cepet nonton karena dijamin nggak bakal nyesel.	10
Hana Kimi Ikemen Paradise	Hiyaaaa…. Ini drama bocor abis! Keren! Semua joke-nya gw suka!! Belum lagi banyak orang ganteng di sini.. Dijamin puas nontonnyaaa! Emang pas adegan yang ada Sano-nya agak lambat, Cuma ketutup lah sama komedinya. Super highly recommended.	9
Hana Yori Dango 1&2	Salah satu drama yang agak overrated. Terlalu melodrama dan klise. Tipikal drama yang terlalu memberi impian pada penonton, Cuma lumayan bagus lah. Dari segi cerita, cast, dan karakter, gw lebih refer nonton ini ketimbang Meteor Garden dan Boys Before Flower *no offense*. Aura jahat ibunya kerasa dan karakternya melekat banget di setiap castnya. Japanese is the best of Hana Yori Dango amongst three versions.	7
Hotaru no Hikari	Aaaaaa! Drama ini bener-bener menarik perhatian sekali! Perpaduan Hotaru yang agak-agak bego dalam urusan cinta dan buchou (manajer) yang super ganteng dan serius-tapi-bisa-juga-bercanda sangat-sangat-sangat sayang dilewatkan. Banyak yang menyayangkan sedikitnya adegan romantis, tapi gestur tubuh dan gerak-gerik mereka berdua cukup untuk menggambarkan chemistry di antara mereka berdua.	10
Hanayome to Papa	Nggak bisa mungkir kalau Satomi Ishihara emang jago akting. Jadi anak umur 20 tahun yang masih digelayuti Bapaknya kemana-mana emang susah, ya. Apalagi Satomi udah kerja! Nah lho!	7
Innocent Love	Cinta antara Kanon dan Junya bener-bener innocent. Akting Horikita agak maksa di sini, apalagi Junya. Cuma ceritanya bagus dan mengharukan, cukup catch your interest, walau cenderung agak lambat. Eternally-nya Utada Hikaru pas banget jadi theme song drama ini.	6.5
Iryu (Team Medical Dragon)	Drama kedokteran yang paling keren yang pernah ada! Bagi yang kuliah di jurusan kedokteran sangat disarankan nonton ini. Semuanya, nearly flawless.	9
Jikou Keisatsu	Belum selesai nontonnya… Ugh agak ngebosenin but still fighting on it.	–
Kanojo to no Tadashi Asobikata	Pantes banget memenangkan kontes menulis skenario, karena alurnya rapi dan cerita yang ditampilkan pun unik. Chemistry Hiro dan — pas banget dan sukaaa banget hiro memperlakukan Hime dengan respect dan manis. <3	10
Kiina	Kanno Miho ciamik banget berperan sebagai detektif wanita yang penampilan luarnya sama sekali nggak keliatan kalo dia detektif. Kiina cenderung ‘selenge’an’, tapi penyelesaiannya semua jitu. Kasus yang terjadi berdasarkan kejanggalan2 yang terjadi di seluruh dunia.	9
Kindaichi Shonen no Jikenbo	Semua Kindaichi Shonen no Jikenbo kereeen! Dari season 1, 2, 3, sampe semua SP-nya. Biar udah ganti pemeran sampe 3 kali, kasusnya tetep outstanding bagi gw.	9.5
Koshonin	Di kepolisian Jepang ada divisi khusus untuk bernegosiasi dengan penjahat. Biasa ditujukan untuk penjahat yang memegang sandera atau penjahat yang membahayakan orang lain. Divisi ini disebut Koshonin. Walau awal episode alurnya agak lambat, tapi selanjutnya memicu adrenalin dengan kasus-kasus keren, dan endingnya apalagi. Mantab!	9
Kurosagi	Banyak yang suka drama ini, tapi entah kenapa gw nggak terlalu suka. Kurosagi ini adalah penipu ulung yang biasa menipu untuk mengambil kembali uang yang dicurangi oleh koruptor (koruptor dalam arti luas lho, nggak Cuma politikus aja. Orang yang makan uang kotor lah).Cuma nggak ada yang spesial somehow. Pairing Yamaki kayaknya terlalu overrated menurut gw. Kalau berharap drama yang lebih seru dan menantang, lebih baik jangan nonton yang ini karena agak ngebosenin dan episodik. Again, this is my personal opinion, you might like it.	5
Last Friend	Waaa! Bikin emosi! Itu kesan gw waktu nonton ini. Maksudnya akting pemain dan jalan cerita bener-bener mencampuradukkan emosi gw. Michiru yang polos-polos annoying, Ruka yang selallu menyimpan masalah sendiri, Eri yang ceria, Takeru yg baik hati, Ogurin si pembangkit suasana, dan Sosuke yang selalu minta ditabok membuat drama ini jadi penuh konflik dan warna. Ending bukan ending unpredictable yang biasa diharapkan oleh banyak penonton, tapi cukup memuaskan. Bener-bener nggak nyesel nonton drama ini.	8
Liar Game	Aargh, nggak ada yang lebih irritating daripada ngeliat orang yang gampang ketipu walau udah berkali-kali ditipu. Heroine-nya agak bodoh di sini, tapi ketolong sama pemeran utama cowoknya yang pinter nipu juga dan aktingnya keren. Selepas dari itu, alur drama ini cukup cepet dan bikin emosi, karena banyak karakter yang ngeselin. Tapi highly recommended kok, karena idenya yang unik.	8
Life	Baru kali ini gw tahan sama drama bullying. Biasanya drama berbau gini bener-bener gw hindari, tapi pendapat gw berubah ngeliat LIFE. Life bener-bener mengocok emosi, karena melihat penindasan yang terjadi di sekolah tapi semua orang dan guru pun seolah tutup mata melihat ini semua. Alurnya juga cepet nggak bertele-tele, jadi membuat kita terus ‘siaga’ ngeliat adegan bully apa selanjutnya. Nice closing though. Sangat direkomendasikan.	9.5
Love Shuffle	Cerita tentang orang yang bosen sama pasangannya dan mencetuskan ide gila untuk bertukar pasangan seminggu sekali. Cukup menarik, dan nggak bisa ditebak.	9q
Majo saiban	Awalnya menurut gw agak aneh dan maksa, tapi lama-lama cukup enjoy. Belum selesai jadi belum bisa ngasih rating	–
Maou	Terlalu dramatis. Haha. Tapi gw suka alurnya. Aktingnya biasa aja, nggak ada yang spesial. Oh, tapi gw lbh suka sama akting Toma-kun daripada Ohno-kun. Entah kenapa. I’m biassed, perhaps. Hehe.	7
Mei-chan no Shitsuji	Ada yang bilang bagus, ada yang bilang jelek. Menurut gw cukup menghibur. Mizushima Hiro ganteng dahhhsyaaat di sini. Akting nggak usah ditanya. Bisa dibilang Hiro cukup berbakat. Tapi what annoys me most was Eikura Nana. Oh, she should do something abour her acting skills. Aktingnya kebanting sama Hiro. Yah… ni drama average lah., karena adegan lucunya boleh juga. J	7.5
Mr Brain	Aaaah, kereeen! Kimutaku is really something! Tiap ada dia artis pendukungnya nggak tanggung-tanggung!! Ada Gackt, Sato Takeru, Nakama Yukie, dll. Selain itu dorama ini membahas banyak tentang otak, dan sudah pasti menarik banget. A must watching list!	10
My Boss My Hero	Ketawa terus ngeliat dorama ini. Nagase Tomoya udah nggak diraguin lagi kalau masalah akting.	8.5
Nodame Cantabile	Chiaki Senpaaaaai!!! Ganteng dahsyat! Komedi yang rada slapstick, tapi gw betah dan suka banget ngeliat joke-joke ala animenya. Bagi beberapa orang mungkin ngeliat drama ini aneh, tapi nggak ada salahnya dicoba, karena drama ini lucu banget!	9.5
Nobuta wo Produce	Selain alurnya yang bikin ngantuk, gw suka ngeliat persahabatan tak-terlihatnya Shuji, Akira, dan Nobuta. Walau banyak yang bilang drama ini the best of yamapi, gw malah jadi ilfil ngeliat dia di sini. Tapi drama yang menyabet 7 penghargaan ini boleh juga dimasukin waiting list.	7
Orange Day	Keren! Kehidupan sehari-hari banget dan banyak nilai moral yang diambil. Suka ngeliat komunikasi Sae dan Kai dengan bahasa isyarat….	9
Oh My Girl	Drama keluarga yang sarat akan pesan moral. Akting si Ann, aktris ciliknya bagus. Cuma mungkin kalau ditonton sekaligus agak bosen.	5.5
Papa to Musume no Nanokakan	Gimana rasanya kalau tukeran tubuh sama papa? Koume dan Papanya nggak begitu akrab, karena itu mereka kelabakan pas tau tubuh mereka ketuker. Papanya, walau agak lebay tapi aktingnya oke jadi cewek remaja. Dan Aragaki Yui… hmmm no comment lah. Entah kenapa gw selalu kecewa sama performa dia.	6.5
Proposal Daisakusen	This is my favorite! Walau gw bukan penggemar Yamapi, tapi boleh dibilang this is the best of him. Aktingnya cukup bagus dibanding drama lainnya. Dan yang paling penting ceritanya yang menyentuh hati dan ending yang bikin penasaran. Jgn lupa nonton Spesialnya untuk tau ending dari kisah Kenzo dan Rei.	8.8
Q.E.D	Mengecewakan : alur lambat, cast kana nggak pas. Lumayan : untung gw penggemar manganya, jadi selamet ditonton sampe akhir dan kasusnya lumayan bagus.	4.5
The Quiz Show	Karena gw belum nonton yang pertama, menurut gw yang ini boleh juga ditonton. Sinopsis bisa dilihat di sini. Sho did a great job!	7
Ryokiteki na Kanojo	Suatu kesalahan My sassy girl diadaptasi jadi drama. Pemeran pendukungnya nggak banget! Dan si Sassy Girl-nya sendiri juga kurang jutek. Agak maksa. Nggak rekomen deh.	3
Rookies	Keren! Keren! Semuanya keren! Cerita tentang sekelompok murid yang merasa terbuang karena mereka nggak bisa main baseball lagi karena suatu kasus. Pihak sekolah pun nggak bersusah payah untuk memperjuangkan hak klub baseball, karena itu mereka jadi anak yang bengal dan kasar. Sampai seorang guru datang….	8
Ryusei no Kizuna	Bilangnya suspense dan action drama, dan gw nunggu sampai episode kesekian dan nggak lebih dari drama keluarga biasa. Dari awal gw mengharap adegan action yang bikin semangat dan deg-degan, tapi nggak gw temuin sampe akhir episode. Karena ekspektasi gw nggak terpenuhi, jadinya gw menganggap drama ini mengecewakan. Tapi, kalau boleh ditilik ulang, dari segi penulisan skenario dan alur, serta akting para pemain, drama ini nggak jelek, bahkan berhasil menerima beberapa penghargaan. Kalau dilihat lagi, memang drama ini bagus dan cukup komedi, tapi gw kecewa karena suspense dan action nggak dibuktikan di situ. Oh… tapi endingnya nggak ketebak. J	5 (based on personal opinion)
Sailor Fuku to Kikanju	Gw suka! Full of violence, karena ini bercerita tentang dunia Yakuza. Yakuza yang disini ini Yakuza yang baik, tapi dalam dunia ini pasti juga ada yang jahat. Ikatan yang terbentuk antara Boss yakuza baru yang masih SMA (diperankan oleh masami nagasawa) dan para yakuza-cukup-baik-hati bener-bener bikin terharu! Gw nangis nonton ini. Hehe…	8
Sappuri	Belum selesai ,,, nggak bisa ngasih komen.	–
Scandal	Seperti yang udah gw ulas, ceritanya bikin ketagihan, dan nggak ketebak! Ending yang bagus, selain itu bikin kita penasaran sama episode selanjutnya. Persahabatan para ibu muda ini benar-benar bikin terharu!	8
Scrap Teacher	Cheesy sekaliii! Kalau Gokusen : Guru yang menyadarkan murid, Scrap teacher : murid yang menyadarkan guru yang nggak kompeten. Terlalu episodik dan bikin bosen.	3
Security Police	Drama polisi yang bikin deg-degan! Hehe! Keren sekali! Pokoknya rekomen banget deh! Oh iya, biar udah tua, Tsutsumi Shinichi ganteng juga ya. Hehe. Not to mention si Inoue Kaoru… hehe	8.5
Seigi no Mikata	Di tengah episode gw sempet mikir, ini goalnya apa? Kenapa si Makiko masih aja wicked dan licik kayak gini? Tapi setelah gw nonton episode terakhir gw jadi ngerti. And I couldn’t help but laughed. Kocak! Sangat kocak! Adek yang nggak bisa nolak permintaan kakaknya dan menderita banget, dan kakak yang nggak sekalipun mau ngalah, perpaduan yang kocak abis! A total hilarious..! Yamada Yuu knows how to look wicked without make herself detestable.	8.5
Shibatora	A Chibi Police. Koike Teppei adalah detektif muda yang ukuran badannya kecil. Cukup menarik, tapi setiap karakter kurang mengeksplore kemampuan akting setiap pemainnya, karena nggak ada karakter yang benar-benar menantang. Untuk kasus, cukup menarik untuk disimak, karena Jepang selalu punya seambrek kasus detektif yang sayang untuk dilewatin.	7.5
Taiyou no Umi no Kyoshitsu	Dorama sekolah yang menarik. Banyak membahas masalah-masalah remaja yang sering sekali muncul di benak kita.	7.9
Tantei Gakuen Q	Lagi-lagi masalah cast. Nggak ada masalah dengan kasusnya. Yang suka baca detektif Q nggak ada salahnya nonton.. J	6
Teppan Shoujo Akane	Nggak tahan nonton saking bosennnya dan berhenti di episode 3. Di sini gw kasih rating untuk memberi gambaran betapa gw kecewanya dengan acara ini.	2
Triangle	Suspense yang cukup menarik. Nggak terlalu banyak adegan action, tapi endingnya diluar dugaan sekali! Salah satu kendala Cuma alurnya yang agak lambat. Boleh juga dimasukin ke watching list.	6.5
Unfair	Mulai nge-fans sama Shinohara Ryoko karena nonton Unfair. Hehe….kereen! Suka sama semuanya. Walau jalan cerita agak mbelibet, nggak mengurangi kekerenannya.	8.5
Voice	Penggemar CSI boleh juga nonton ini. Cerita tentang mahasiswa dari fakultas kedokteran jurusan forensik cukup menarik untuk disimak. Jadi tahu bagaimana cara mereka mengotopsi. Kasus kematian bukan sama sekali kasus pembunuhan, Cuma kasus kematian aneh yang menimbulkan banyak pertanyaan di benak setiap orang. Kaji Daiki, salah satu mahasiswa mampu mengungkap rahasia dibalik kematian individu bahkan jauh lebih dalam dari yang seharusnya ia ungkap. Mengharukan…! T-T	9
Watashitachi no Kyokaso	Dorama yang membahas penindasan (bullying) di Jepang. Setelah nonton ini, gw jadi tertarik untuk mencari info tentang ijime (bahasa jepangnya bullying), apakah separah yang seperti di dorama ini atau nggak. Ternyata memang kasus seperti ini banyak sekali terjadi di Jepang. Terlepas dari itu semua, ternyata maksud yang ingin disampaikan penulis lebih dari ekspektasi gw, dan drama ini jadi turn out really really really good! Nice ending, and I was tearjerker while watching this dorama. T-T Warning : Alur agak lambat. Hehe. Tapi worth it untuk ditonton	8.5
Yamada Taro Monogatari	Nggak terlalu lucu, nggak seperti di manganya. Tapi cukup menghibur. Dari drama ini gw jadi salah satu fan-nya sho sakurai. Huhuhu…. Agak-agak lebay adegannya, tapi gw cukup seneng sih ngeliat drama ini.	6
Yasuko to Kenji	Jenis komedinya hampir sama kayak Yamada Taro, lebay, Cuma gw seneng ngeliatnya… haha…. Cerita tentang adik yang risih karena diawasin terus sama kakaknya, karena mereka tinggal berdua aja. Saat sang adik jatuh cinta, kakaknya malah semakin ngebayang-bayangin sang adik. Cukup menghibur	6.5
Yukan Club	Gw mencoba bertahan nonton drama ini, tapi ini the worst drama I’ve ever seen! Cuma bertahan sampe episode 2, dan nggak berniat ngelanjutin lagi.	1
Zettai Kareshi	Sedikit cheesy dan agak jayuz. Nggak sesuai ekspektasi.	4
Zeni Geba	Nonton ini jadi agak frustasi. Ken’chi proved his brilliance in this drama, karena dia bisa memerankan orang yang begitu setengah matinya mencari uang dan bertekad untuk tidak dikalahkan dengan uang. Di sisi lain dia menderita karena jahat, namun ada sisi angel dalam dirinya yang membuat dia kadang nggak tega untuk berbuat jahat. Miris banget ngeliat endingnya…. Agak ironis. Reccomended!	8

Today I finally found the first episode of Nishikido Ryo’s new drama, “Orthros no Inu” on YouTube. I was so disappointed that MySoju.com didn’t have it uploaded yet, so it just goes show that YouTube, in a manner, is a much more reliable source on quick drama updates rather than asian drama-based websites, except that YouTube officials remove them or the production companies claim them all in the duration of at least a month, so we all have to scram to watch all the videos and we won’t be surprised when they aren’t available the next time around. That’s when we turn to MySoju.com.

What Gloria Thinks…

I’ve been on a Nishikido Ryo deficit ever since NewS’s “Koi no ABO” has become “just another single” from the band. So a few weeks ago, I decided to check up on Ryo and see if he was doing any new dramas. And to my surprise, he was doing TWO new dramas. “Orthos no Inu” and “Niini no Koto wo Wasurenaide”. Since I’m a Japanese illiterate who relies on English subtitles, my first thoughts of the title “Orthos no Inu” came the plural noun orthodontists. Gladly this drama has nothing to do with teeth, doctors, and metal.

The way this first episode was formatted was very different than the usual asian dramas and it was very clever at the same time. It reminded me a lot of the format used for Sandra Bullock’s movie flick, “Premonition”. We, as the viewer, have to watch the whole episode to understand what’s happening because the drama is moving in a backwords motion. So at the beginning, we were actually watching the end of everything we were going to see in the next hour.

WGT Synopsis of Orthros no Inu Episode 1:

Instead of writing out a full script about the whole, through, synopsis of the first episode (which I can definitely do), I’m just going to chop down to the basic facts to save you time.

Ryuzaki Shinji (Takizawa Hideaki) who possesses a “God Hand”, the power to heal wounds and illnesses just by touching the patient, is in fact a dark introvert who does not reveal his true self to others. Aoi Ryosuke (Nishikido Ryo) who possesses the “Demon’s Hand”, the power to kill a person just by touching him, is as kind and pure as an angel. When the demon meets the God, a fatal battle begins…

(Above synopsis credits to wiki drama)

The drama starts as we see a soaked Ryuzaki standing on a tower. The scenes proceed to Aoi as he turns himself in at the Japanese police department. In the next few minutes we learn that Aoi had “accidently” murdered a college drug dealer in defense of Detective Hasebe Nagisa, who was about to be shot. Aoi’s way of killing the boy was just by touch, and with that touch, he killed him. Then the drama moves back to the present. Aoi is interogated by Nagisa and her boss. Nagisa knows that Aoi killed the boy with “divine retribution”, although she’s skeptical, as she should be. Aoi confirms to the two that he killed the boy with “his Devil hands”. The police don’t believe him and they lock him up anyways.

The next day Nagisa finds out that there is a man, Ryuzaki Shinji, who killed three people 10 years ago with also the “Devil’s hands”. She believes that these two are the same so she goes to find him. But to her surprise she discovers that Ryuzaki has the power to heal. Unfortunately, he will only show her his powers unless she brings him Aoi.

Nagisa brings Aoi to Ryuzaki, and the two talk. Since Ryuzaki is on death row and is going to be in a cage for the rest of his life, he persuades Aoi to kill his director so that he can escape and “heal” people with his powers, a thing he couldn’t do since he has been locked up for so many years. At first, Aoi is reluctant, since he has the heart of an angel, but Ryuzaki assures him that after Aoi kills the director, he can revive him. Aoi gives in and he kills the director with just he touch of his hands. However, after Ryuzaki is out of his cage, we learn that he has tricked Aoi into releasing him and he isn’t going to heal the director. After that, police are alerted and they are all looking for Ryuzaki. Nagisa tries to stop his escape with the point of her gun, but he overtakes her and is, at that point, a real danger to that world. The episode ends as a drenched Ryuzaki is seen standing on top of the tower.

(Above synopsis credit to What Gloria Thinks)

————————

First off, I would just like to say, I’ll bet. I’ll bet that right before the credits roll on the last episode of this drama, Obama will pop out of no where and warn the viewer with his catch phrase, “Hopefully this will be a teachablelesson” (from the Henry Gates mishap). As in, whoever was assigning powers to Nishikido and Takizawa when they were new born babies on whatever-the-date-was, that this person learns the teachable lesson of not mixing up supernatural superpowers to two very polar opposite babies, who will later spell out distruction to the country named Japan. So for this, may Stephen Colbert give you “the wag of the finger”.

This drama turns out to be another drama for Nishikido where he is the confused bad guy again. First we had, Last Friends, the confused, over-obsessed boyfriend, and now we have him in Orthos no Inu, where he is the confused “Devil” who is an angel at heart that is afraid to use his power ”to kill”. I understand his intentions to become a more established actor by taking different roles, but can we please have just one nice, romantic dramatic drama to re-establish that you are still a “nice guy”, because clearly, I’m beginning to fear you.  (Hopefully Niini no Koto wo Wasurenaide will be one of those dramas)

Orthos no Inu also presented a major drama debut for one of the members of Hey! Say! Jump, Yaotome Hikaru. In this drama, he is one of the evil drug dealers (who I unfortunately cut out of my already long synopsis above). Somehow now I can totally see my favorite funny guy of HSJ being this evil, misunderstood drug dealer. He can pull it off. Hopefully he still has more scenes in this drama because I am not ready to see him go yet, he has more butt kicking to do!

My thoughts on Takizawa Hideaki. As an actor he pulled off his character very well. As a character, I show dislike. How dare he hurt my Ryo? How dare he trick my Ryo into doing something so indescribably bad and then not keeping your end of the bargain? Poor Ryo, he doesn’t deserve this evil power. (We should all blame Nagisa.) But if Takizawa pulled off this stunt of making me dislike Ryuzaki this much then he did a splendid job.

These types of dramas are the ones that I like, even though I wish Nishikido wasn’t the bad guy in it. I have this feeling that Nishikido will become even more confused and will open his cage of hatred and rage, that Takizawa wanted him to. So I’m predicting that Nishikido will become evil (throwing his angel persona away) and he will start murdering people. While on the other hand, I suppose Takizawa will learn to become good through his few reluctant incidents where he “has to” revive someone. Then at the climax, we truely see “Good” and “Evil” befitted with the right personalities and powers. They will clash and who knows who will win. Warning: This is only my prediction. I will definitely be looking forward to the next few episodes.

Love, liberation, agony, solitude, and contradiction. Mmm, the opening is drenched in emotion, it really is. Not to mention, it’s accompanied by the elegant voice of Utada Hikaru.

The Official Summary:
Michiru Aida is a beauty parlour assistant who returns to Tokyo after four years of absence. She moves in with her boyfriend, Sousuke Oikawa, who works in the Child Welfare Division. She quickly becomes the victim of [domestic violence] and is bullied at her workplace. Ruka Kishimoto is Michiru’s best friend that works part time at a mechanic shop and is a brilliant motorcross racer. She has a problem which she cannot confide to anyone and her worry becomes evident throughout the series. Takeru Mizhushima is a professional hair makeup artist by day and a bartender by night who suffers from a traumatic past. The three meet by chance and a journey of friendship begins.
- Wikipedia, (for more, click here)

Gonna share my opinion on some J-dramas to get recommendations, get stuff off my chest, etc. Sorry about my poor writing skills but well i don’t like to read books so I can’t help it ?

there are NO spoilers or PLOT summaries etc (unless you highlight) because I personally believe in going in as blind as possible so that I’m not bored/have some sort of preconception… plus there’s no NEED. I hate people who paste long summaries in their reviews. It’s like I came to read a review not the summary + review.

1. I hate korean drama. The main girl actress (in the 20s or whatever) always pisses me off. Her bitchy whining and complaining always does. It’s just boring to me. Plus they drag like no tomorrow. And I’m Korean so

Nobuta wo produce – It’s not melodramatic

Hana Yori Dango – Overrated. The melodrama sorta killed it for me. Also it was way too manga at times. There were parts that juts made me want to not watch the next episode. Like the end of episode 2 with

seigi no mikata = too average. BGM drove me nuts after a couple eps

yume to ame no ato ni- watching now. really bad BGM. It reminds me of the 90s or something lol.

Gonna share my opinion on some Japanese dramas to get recommendations, get stuff off my chest, etc.Sorry about my poor writing skills but well i don’t like to read books so I can’t help it ? Another blog with jdrama reviews

First I’ll share my pet-peeves as far as dramas go.

1. I hate korean drama. The main girl actress (in the 20s or whatever) always pisses me off. Her bitchy whining and complaining always does. The ajumma bitching is bad too. Not sure which is worse(probably ajumma cause they have more years on them so more experience in bitching). It’s just boring to me. Plus they drag like no tomorrow. There’s like way more reasons than this but I’ll leave it there. And I’m Korean so

2. I don’t like melodrama. By all means this does not mean any scene where someone cries but for some reason for k/j-dramas, especially k-dramas most of the crying scenes are just melodramatic. Especially korean dramas with making the male character cry… It’s not even crying, it’s like bawling and they like zoom in and they just show that scene for like what seems like 15 minutes. PLUS the music makes it a whole lot worse, the melodramatic BGM. Well I can’t watch it, it’s too pathetic. And it’s not sad.

LIKE in koreanversion of HYD (which I didn’t watch) gawd I hate JANDI, I don’t know if I hate her name more. so ridiculous!! lol.

Domyouji is crying WTF. And I heard Hanazawa Rui cries too. LOL Hanazawa Rui crying… No not the hanazawwa rui part, the guy who plays hanazawa rui in the korean V. He can’t act at all so that scene musta been hella funny.

Actually I don’t remember if Domyouji cries in HYD or II but I think he probably didn’t and if he did it probably not as melo as this? Well HYD is pretty melo in its own respects like that rain scene in II.

3. Draggy, slow etc is just UGH. I don’t like the draggy/slowness of j/k-dramas. There’s a ton more but I’ll just get into as I review the dramas that commit that “cliche” or whatever. Basically I hate TYPICAL K-J-drama.

I wrote about it in my lang-8 blog~HERE and HERE. But there’s still more than bother me.

If you want to know my anime peeves HERE. there’s a lot of spoiler lol cause they don’t allow spoiler tags nemore but anyways all the hater ones are hilarious for the most part.

Drama reviews: Sorry if some of the pictures are really random but I wanted interesting/pretty screenshots.

REALLY GOOD – As in it definitely made me want to watch the next episode. Also the pace is good. None of them are draggy or slow. They all have good BGM and theme song, etc.

Nobuta wo produce (2005) - It’s not melodramatic There were parts where the quality was just high like episode 4 (That scene was awesome and I couldn’t predict it). It won all those awards and it was my first high school J-drama (good choice ) I loved Akira’s “lingo”, it was cute. It was like okay and then I kept watching and the next thing I knew I was on ep 10 and well that’s the last ep.

Hanazakari no Kimitachi (2007) - I thought this show was gonna be s***from the ikemen paradise/picture but I was mistaken. It was really nice to see a huge cast be utilized. I loved the comedy, but some of the “fan-service” bothered me. The background music is to die for. I was so amazed that a J-drama could have such good BGM that I didn’t get sick of by ep 5 if I’m lucky. Episode 1 was all right and then it just got better and better and so I got into it. It’s like a good teen movie for me and it’s not vulgar/crude like some american teen/parody movies because… it’s japanese. Usually cruder the worse the movie?

watashitachi no kyoukasho (2007)-

I was recommended this drama by someone and it just has a really good story. I was just dying to find out more. Acting is really good… I don’t think it’s melodramatic. The only problem is that it’s sorta slow at times. It won best scriptwriter and as expected there are twists and all that. I love the ending song and I pretty much hate all of BONNIE PINK’s songs… So it’s the exception. I actually feel something from this song… Also Susumu from HYD is in this & his hairstyle is good so I was really pleasantly surprised. I love his voice. lol.

nodame cantabile (2006) - I already saw the anime so it made it less fun to watch but still very enjoyable. I would say drama v over anime v because as an anime it’s too “ordinary” while as a drama it’s MAD weird. Weird = intersting. Another thing is that it uses a lot of more classical music in the BGM compared to the anime. I think the anime just had it’s “stand BGM” and it just used them over and over cause it’s an anime. I loved all the people they casted especially Chiaki. The characters are just more memorable like Stressman (I think drama V over V because it’s so funny). Like when I watched the Paris chapter at first I was like is Rui (who is not kiyora) Kiyora? from S1 and I just dont’ remember. The animation style is just too… not anime enough.

GOOD

My Boss My Hero (2006)- Good comedy and the kat-tun guy is good casting. I didn’t know he acted but you know I always thought he seemed too hard or whatever-looking for a boy band. So glad the theme song wasn’t from kat-tun. In a way it’s alot better than I thought and in some ways it’s sorta like the way I thought it would be. Like at first I was disappointed at the teacher and hoshino with who they casted but then they won me over and it just made sense after a while. I would just say it’s well-done, well-thought-out, etc. MY only beef is with the the sweet school memories with classmates…. I just don’t think it was that strong/nostalgic. There were some good things said that part but then half the people had nothing to say so the huge amount of “thank-you”s was a little annoying.

Liar game (2007) - So I thought the ratings for this show was low with like the numbers around 11 or someting. But then I read somewhere it isn’t because it’s saturday night at 11 or 10. But anyways, it’s almost addictive. In fact, it’s shorter than most dramas it being 35 minutes so it makes that much more watchable in a way. You could say the first 2 eps are predictable. … but from ep 3 on is well… I’m not smart enough to predict what’ll happen next. It gets mad fun to watch. I’m also a fan of the actors so all the better. I really like fukunaga’s actor lol. And matsuda shouta’s hairstyle is good lols. Like in HYD, his hair bothered me. Can’t wait for S2 and movie. I liked all the weirdos in show. Weirdos > ikemen…

LIFE (2007)- The pace for this show is mad good. It’s fast and I just wanted to find out what happens next/how itends. I guess there’s some problems with the story…I didn’t like the part with illegal crap but… But it was just mad fun to watch, you can watch this whole show in like 2 days. Plus the acting, directing, camera stuff was done right.

I noticed that Hirose/Hoshii Nanase was in mei-chan no shitsuji from the credits but then I didn’t realize it all while I watched mei-chan noshitsuji. The reason was… she was ugly in mei-chan no shitsuji plus she’s not a main character. They gave her some weird hairstyle/outfit.

2007 was the year for drama for me………?

ABOVE AVERAGE

Gonzo - Seen 1 ep at this point & it seems like a solid show. The action scene was really good. I don’t know about you but from what I’ve seen like 90% of action scenes in J-dramas are SOOOOOO FAKE or at least in the popular ones that most of the time I think they should just cut out that scene out and go to the aftermath like they did in mei-chan no shitsuji (jk? that aftermath fight thing didn’t help mei because the plot was so lame). I love the song it fits in well when they play it at the end of episode.

Last Friends (2008) - I think we all know there’s problems with the show like more development for Takeru or Sousuke, story, etc. In fact you can even come to the conclusion that the portrayal of the struggles or characters was too shallow that it seems like they were only doing this show to get big ratings. Like what really annoyed me was they did have the time to make it more developed but they didn’t even try like the last episode with that DAMN TRUCK. But it was still exhilarating to watch and I was excited to watch the next episode though I think it was slow in the beginning or something. They used the song by Utada Hikaru way too much but I love that song but come on (really bad telltale sign for me as for as j-drama cliche goes!!). some people say it kills itself in the last 2 eps. I don’t like masami…

joou no kyoushitsu - I loved some of the stuff akutsu-sensei said. There’s pure brilliant scenes like when she “analyzed” yuusuke. There’s interesting dialogues/discussions/lines (what should I call it). The situation and everything is interesting especially considering the setting with the elementary school students . I really appreciated they didn’t… what would you say “dumb it down” or underestimate/assume crap with theelementary school students. but my problem is that the pace is sorta slow as in boring. Something about it feels dry and I just wished they made it more fast-paced-type-of-feel. I also loved the parts when yuusuke did the impressions of the teacher. I loved the ENDING SONG/THEME SONG because it’s so different from the atmosphere of the show. hmm come to think of it I think for me seigi no mikata was more watchable to me than joou no kyoushitsu (In some ways seigi nomikata> joou no kyoushitsu for me but for the sake of more being objective I feel like I have to categorize like this). I just really have to emphasize the slow/dryness of the show despite some of the really well-done dialogue and scenes that are in there.

haken no hinkaku - sorta slow at times. I loved the comedy with haruko vs. shouji~, basicallly Haruko-chan. I just loved any scene with Haruko pretty much. I love her catchphrase (not official?) and her behavior was very interesting to observe. The “formula” bothers me sorta. That’s like the only thing that’s holding me back from putting this in GOOD. I feel like it could’ve been really good but they just didn’t like if they did more character development with the other characters or something. The BGM is good and it helped me not get sick of the formula. It also taught me about Japanese society.

Hana Yori Dango(2005) - Overrated. The melodrama sorta killed it for me. Also it was way too SHOUJO manga at times. I mean I do know they changed stuff but i was like change it more whenever those “shoujo-intese” scenes came on. There were parts that juts made me want to not watch the next episode so I waited a week or two to watch the next. Like the end of episode 2 with

***the kiss. It’s so dumb and manga. I couldn’t stand it.*** And then thesakurako in ep 5? ***CHEESY* There were parts that made me cringe, embarrassed to be watching it. I liked the comedy.. AND this had the EMBARRASSMENT factor as in I’m embarrassed to be watching this moments. Like, if Iwas guy I would die from embarrassment… The whited out parts are a couple of those.

Hana Yori Dango II (2007) - More melodramatic than part 1. I frikin’ hate how the j-dramas have to try to be all dramatic, which equals unnatural. You know how it is. They make someone go after someone. But then instead of running all the way to the person, they stop like 10 feet away. It’s like either walk all way to the person or just don’t walk towards ‘em. Then they start talking with so many frikin’ pauses, like ridiculously slow. It’s so unnatural. It kills it. I don’t know too much circling. The 2 hour ep 1 is over-kill. Let’s be honest here….

Despite all the SHIT I said and could say about HYD for some reason I felt like re-watching it after watching (minus the scenes I hate I guess). It has some kind of charm.

yume to ame no ato ni- There’s this one BGM song that is Horrific/bad/Besides that, the BGM is quite allright. The show reminds me of the 90s or something lol. It started off okay, you know sorta slow and all that but it really grew on me somewhere before the halfway point. You find out more stuff so it gets more interesting. I suppose I felt like it was worth watching it after I watched the last episode but then there is like Japanese drama cliche/typicalness in the drama in the drama parts so that’s a little… I mean I tried my best to “ignore/accept” those so…

It’s just while I was watching I saw this episode arashi no shukudai where the guy who plays tomoharu talks about how he’s so ero lol. Like the turning point of that was 2002-ish (gokusen with matsu jun) so… that sorta affected me watching this show. But really, the acting is good so it’s all good.

AVERAGE -

Some of the ones below are REALLY J-drama cliche/typicalness GALORE so I can’t really take it, it’s just embarrassing. I always to try to be sympathetic with that kind of crap but you know there’s a limit to that.

zettai kareshi - At first I watched i t for fun cause well it’s interesting. I loved the first ep when he said “_ shiyou” to Riiko. But then after a while it gets repetitive like just certain things/places that always happen/go to in each ep. It got less interesting as it went on… I wish there was more plots or something. I don’t like Riiko or quite possibly the girl who plays her role. I think the show would’ve been better if they got someone else but well in the end it’s the script. But I think the actor who played knight/naito was really good.

Propose Daisakusen – Well it deteriorated and I’m not that big of fan of yamashita. I think it’s bad when I care more about tsuru x eri than rei x ken. It wasn’t necessarily because I thought tsuru x eri was interesting but rather in comparison to the frustration that was generated from reiXken’s, I just felt like it was worth cheering for them… too much drama cliche.. Examples: ken running every episode for what seemed like 10 minutes of the episode, using the theme song during the ep as well as at the end of the ep. SHITLOAD flashbacks (as in showing that same one(s) over and over)…. The ending was terrible, it was like slap in the face/ giving the audience the finger, etc. And the BGM wasn’t that great for me .. from the start nor the characters. I hoped some big event would happen, etc which would lead to better BGM or character development but nilch… Best drama award? MY butt. Besides my dislike for __ Nana I don’t get the popularity surrounding __ masami.

honestly, it won best drama of the season or whatever that’s on dramawiki so I thought oh there must be a big twist or something so I just kept watching but honestly there’s like NONE. If anything, unfinished. I mean some people might consider the thing that happened in ep 10 (was it?) a twist but I think it’s just a way to make it one ep longer for no reason.

Bloody Monday - melodramatic [crying], boring at times. I don’t like the haruma-actor at all. They always make him cry, why? He always plays characters I hate? It all started with 14 sai. There’s good twists and cliff-hangers every ep but it’s like boring half the time. In a way you could criticize some of the twists and cliff-hangers. And you could also criticize it for treating the preciousness of life lightly.

1 litre of tears - Mad overrated. Just because it makes you cry doesn’t make it the best drama ever…. Too much drama cliche. Let’s see the rain. Yes, how many times did they make it rain hard for dramatic effect. It was so convenient. There were way too many cliche “lines”. I think these are lines that any drama/anime fan would understand and can respond to [in Japanese]. Some of the conflicts was just too trite ie. her brother/soccer thing. That was painful too watch because it’s pure MELO. Those kind of plots are like cheap and I just don’t like it. I wish they would’ve made it more deep/complex/real than just these done-to-death family theme crap (the cliche lines, melodramatic crying). Speaking of fake, Sawajiri erika had way too much make-up on. Granted, the first time she cried and you could see the thick layer of make-up they put on her face I could forgive it. But then later on like if you’re that sick I don’t think you’d use your “limited” time putting on make-up… melodramatic. Just the artificialness of it is so… I did find it interesting a limited extent and of course I wanted to know how it ended but I totally see where the haters are coming from. I heard the book is better~ Like it was really moving, etc. and FYI the haruto character was added from the request of aya’s actual mother to represent helplessness… But his character is mad unnatural as far as his stalking? and super-hearing-powers! 地獄耳だっつの lol that’s the only logical explanation for all the so-called “accidental meetings “There’s way too much someoneoverhearing someone talking shit and then pretend they didn’t hear.

seigi no mikata = Became a fan of yamada yuu and shida mirai. It does do its as job as a comedy. It is funny and so I enjoyed that aspect but overall something about it feels average in the end. Also, I found makiko an interesting character. Some people might hate her but.. マキコのおかげですっきりした場面がいろいろあって良かった。BGM drove me nuts after a couple eps 　The show got into a slump somewhere along the way. I do not like the anorexic actor or his plot. yo, he needs to eat. Some people were bothered by it’s “messed up of morals” or whatever but I say it’s better than the shit “gokusen” keeps preaching over and over…

Maou – melodramatic, boring, like typical? It was really interesting to see Oono to play a character that’s really different from his personality but well that’s acting so that’s not really a valid point. I said melodramatic either because the acting was a little too unnatural/j-dramatized… or the script/plots just wasn’t good enough etc to put in that crying scene, etc. I would say for this one it would be both. The show was just lacking like boring. I was just waiting for the ep to end for like every ep. I didn’t ikita toma/nakatsu’s character because it’s too over-acting/typical. I don’t know if it’s his fault or the director’s fault but just no…There was this one scene that was like really good IMO it was the scene with oono, sister, cd, nakatsu (I don’t remember Ikita toma’s character’s name, lols). I wouldn’t mind re-watching that scene but everything else is like yo add some dialogue. You know the red-film-developing room took up way too much time. Eventually everything just seemed pointless to me be cause even if you try to care about whoever they just die anyway…. so the ending was just uh… who cares? type of feeling. Well the last ep definitely melo. Crying doesn’t solve anything.

14 sai no haha - too melodramatic, childish, typical. My favorite character was kiritani-mom~ lol. I would’ve dropped it if it wasn’t for that Mr. children’s song~ I pretty much don’t like Mr. Children cause well his voice is iffy with me but I totally love this one. Plus the pace is slow… I feel like it could’ve been mad good but they took the low-way out Lots of like typical lines and the typical delivery that one would do for a typical J-drama that Shida Mirai’s character said. They always make Shida Mirai say that kinda crap I didn’t like how they just left it open with you know the guy from the newspaper or whatever…. it’s like say it straight-forward.

tantei gakuen Q – Starts off okay, then it deteriorates/ not as good as I hoped/thought it would be. I don’t like the awkward j-drama cliche where like megu+ kyuu says words of _ while the other two just stand there & stare. It gets worse when they pause while they speak. It’s just awakard. The BGM is good and in a way it’s watchable with the pace but then it has some big problems too. Something about it is childish and it’s like even if you wanted to not make it childish the characters are mostly children so… you can’t? I don’t know how many of the cases you could find holes in the crime and the explanation but for example in the last one if the glass did break someone would hear it? Yamada’s hair was to die for as in i wanted to chop it off…

kekkon dekinai otoko = Good points are little quirky stuff that’s 100% slice of life & I suppose it’s less drama cliche/typical than the others probably. But it’s SO boring.. I don’t know why ppl love this, sorta like azumanga daioh… no wait that one has awesome negative/bash reviews but for kekkon i didn’t find any or just a few so watching it was inevitable for me. I hate michiru or maybe it’s the actress. It just seems too over-acting like the way she moves her head excessively when she emphasizes something while she talks. No… it’s more like whining and bitching and complaining when it’s all her fault in the first place. it’s just not that funny. liar game is funnier than this… Of course main character’s actor’s mad good but the show’s still boring… If I want to watch someone conduct I’ll watch nodame cantabile, thank you very much… random fact: I didn’t like any of the classical music in the show really. Another thing, I don’t like Eiji or his girl or Natsumi… I don’t know if it’s the actors themselvse or the characters. I think it’s the actors because michiru’s actress is making hotaru no hikari worse.. I don’t just don’t like her face or her voice or the way she talks. I don’t like hirose either… I never did. On like talk shows or whatever she’s fine but in a drama she pisses me off for some reason. She’s just not likable. speaking of which the guy in sekai no chuushin de blahblah is way too old and way too ugly. I dropped it after like the total running time of 1 ep. Like I started fast-forwarding ep 1 and then skim through ep 2. Then I super-skimmed ep 3 & 4 and she STILL didn’t go to the hospital. But then I heard it goes down the drain mad fast at the point but then like nothing’s happening so atep 3/4 etc… Then I read the reviews on accesup.org and then I read in the reviews that the book itself is shit so I’m like no wonder it’s so boring. They were all criticizing the plot and how nonsensical/brainless the main character is and how it’s not pure love and how australia is NOT the center of the world. How presumptuous. lol.

ANYWAYS, despite all that I like Hiroshi Abe to the point of fan. But then I feel like he’ll only be in dramas I’ll find boring just from this drama… but well he’s pretty old tehre must’ve been some drama he was in that isn’t boring.

Out of the AVERAGE the one I like the most is seigi no mikata I guess….

kekkon is boring, tantei gkauen q is just eh/really bad at times, 14 sai is mad embarrassing, maou is sorta embarrasing too and mad boring, 1 liter is embarrassing and way too fake, bloody monday has the melo crying/boring half the time despite all the twists, propsoe is just flat, zettai just goes downhill to boring after a while. I have problems with Seigi no Mikata as far as the typical/average/boring/ parts but…. yeah.

Another thing that sets it apart from all the average shows is the writing (by all means this reason is just not shallow). if you’re learning Japanese there’s some VALUE HERE! pretty interesting Japanese to learn from this one whether you’re beiginner or intermediate. you know how some dramas or aniimes seem so damn piss-poorly written with lines you heard a billion times from all the other crappy animes/dramas etc and every time you hear it the more and more meaningless it is. plus they pause way too much when we alrdy know what thye gonna say next so it makes it even worse. know what i’m sayin.

Bad

By all means i’m sure there’s worse out there like kami no shizuku or regatta or koizora that are more boring and all that but as far what I’ve seen.

densha otoko – boring… dry… slow… sorta cliche like the scenes where yamada ***gets into trouble incessently*** as if they’re using that to fill up the time. Those scenes are not funny so.. well more like frustrating & ANNOYING AS HELL. I don’t get the popularity with the show when it’s this boring. 捻りがまったくない！The otaku thing? The rabid anime fans? Ugh isn’t this like Love Hina then? You know otaku gets hot girl shit. That anime is SHIT FYI. I really liked the acting of akane’s (she was shii-chan in LIFE) husband (he played one of the otaku’s). Ermes was so plain. she was just so frikin’ fake. If she was real then it could’ve been a good drama. No seriously, Japanese aren’t “really” this polite. In the end me as the viewer had no idea why anyone liked anyone but yamada did say oh we talked about when we started liking each other. And well that was it. Lazy much? Plus the crying scenes were too long, in other words, melo, in other words ugh. A good GONZO anime is Welcome to the NHK!. I should’ve re-watched that instead of wasting a second watching ddensha. No picture because this show doesn’t look pretty lol. It really doesn’t, not saying the actors are ugly I mean the cinematography and all that.

mei-chan no shitsuji - why did it win best drama. WAS THERE NO GOOD DRAMA that season? I’m a fan of mizushima hiro after I saw ikepara but damn this show’s bad. I wish I never watched it. Yamada Yuu is good and so is mizushima h (sometimes it’s a little too much but I guess it can’t be helped because he’s saying so much embarrassing crap). but the __ nana (mei) is just eh. I never really liked her. Her acting always felt like passable but not good or anything special. It seems like everything she’s in is bad but maybe one day she’ll prove me wrong. But anyways the problem is the script.. it’s just too childish and like vague like the romance, characters, anything important. Such a waste. They even had a bunch of people from ikepara which made me compare it to ikepara more and more and as a result dislike this show more andmore because I can’t help but notice the emptiness.

IF you want the lines/dialogue from the show

http://lovedoramalove.seesaa.net/category/6192377-3.html

http://mirumo.serika.ciao.jp/?cid=38833&page=1

All the other shows are upon dramanote minus gokusen, tantei gakuen.

There’s full script/subtitles for nobuta/hYD/denshaotoko ona link here

gokusen 1 / II – - Every episode’s plot felt like a mediocre shonen school anime’s filler ep plot. I especially hated the one with the child cause I hate it when they pull the child-sympathy crap. Gets mad boring/repetitive. I hated the fight scenes because they’re so fake and if you really were beat up that badly you should get hospitalized. Basically every episode has to have a FIGHT SCENE and some SPEECH by Yankumi & so it feels really forced sometimes. I wish they skipped the fight scene and skip to the aftermath or just not have one…. it’s really unnecessary most of the time. I like some of the comedy parts but they composed like 5% of a given episode at BEST. I don’t why people go OMG S2 is so much worse than S1. Is it because they finally realized it’s the same shit over and over? Personally for me S2 is better than S1. It was less cliched/ordinary/boring than S1 as cliched and ordinary as it was. S1 was mad flat and S2 was a little less flat. For example the episode about chasing some girl is WAY better in S2… It had that funny scene where he plans it all out. But still it wasn’t enough to finish season 2, I’m going to make a guess and say it’s gonna end the same way as season 1 over the same recycled plot. Probably? I absolutely hated the song that Kamenashi sang. His voice was like bleh, and the lyrics is the usual boring j-pop crap. The ippo zutsu part killed me… BUT FOR SOME REASON I don’t hate Gokusen. I just don’t… and I SO didn’t realize the guy from mop girl/watashitachi no kyoukasho was in gokusen II till I took this screencap… I guess I just assume typical/flat/average with Gokusen so I didn’t even reognize him. alhhh almots makes me want to continue watching s2 or re-watch his parts lol. not really.

=====

SO in a way here are my recommendations/be aware/ stay the hell way recommendations.

Please recommend me some good drama that isn’t melodramatic and isn’t sluggish/draggy/slow. 　宜しく！I recommend the ones that I put in GOOD/REALLY GOOD/ABOVE AVERAGE.

And don’t write/paste the plot summary. I like going in blind because knowing what happens makes it boring to watch..

Oh and I can’t wait till Mad Men starts in AUGUST~~

Looking back to my e-mails from 5th grade, I realized that we do a lot of things that we don’t want to. I lost a friend because of jump-rope.

Yeah.

Jump-rope.

I also realized that…people in my grade think they’re in love. And it hurts to see them say that because I know they don’t mean it. I asked one of my friends yesterday, “What would you do if she (meaning the person he liked) disappeared one day.”

“I’d move on.”

I was shocked…kind of. I get that someone would move on, but…just like that? I told him, “I thought you loved her.”

“Yeah. But love doesn’t last for a lifetime.”

I almost cried hearing this. Isn’t that what love is about? Finding someone that you’ll protect, cherish, treasure? I know I’m very idealistic….but at least people could care more about the word “love.”

“I love you.” It isn’t a phrase to be tossed to the wind to carry around. It has a meaning that I guess…some people will never get.

I dunno…it’s just to me, I guess love is something unexplainable. No matter how much pain, happiness, hardships, blissful times, and obstacles…it should somehow be alright. Somehow.

I know that love can’t solve every single problem in the world….but I just wish people could take love more seriously than they do.

OR IS JUST TEENAGE ANGST GETTING TO ME?! *promptly freaks out* Or maybe it’s “Last Friends” just manipulating my mind. *shivers* Oooooh….I really hate Sousuke.

Family, friends, husband and wife, lovers. We seem to be one of those, yet actually we are none of those. We’ll treasure this fragile happiness, and go as far as we can, and beyond. From now on and forever, let’s stay friends. If possible, without ever being apart. And also, if anything were to happen and we had to be apart, let us meet again someday, all with a face of laughter. – Last Friends (Japanese drama)

I need to rewatch this series. I don’t enjoy Japanese dramas as many people do, but I love this series (and a few others) to death because of the subtle message I get from it. I’m always all about subtle messages.

Without trying to spoil anything, I’d briefly describe it. The series involves characters with various relationship issues (including those regarding sexual orientation, domestic violence, and problems with abuse in the past), but they end up living together and become somewhat of a family. The message I get is that love, in its general sense, is between individuals; titles and social roles are meaningless. What’s a family? What’s a lover? What’s a husband or a wife? The only term I can fully accept is friend because none of the rest signify a meaningful relationship if there is no friendship.

And finally, there is the message about finding something good in life that allows you to forgive the weight of your past.

Gosh, I have so much writing to do. I always get random ideas for my nonexistent book or essay.

I was forgiven by forgiving many things
Including my childhood so long ago
I was healed, though I intended to heal
I’ve just noticed, in the way
That I was saved by love
Though I tried to keep love away

- Rainbow by Ayumi Hamasaki

Last Friends se ocupa de temas como la violencia doméstica,  parejas asexuadas, y otros problemas que la gente sufre hoy en día. Todos los jóvenes de este drama sufren de diferentes cuestiones… Van a vivir juntos en una casa compartida. La asistente de peluquería Michiru Aida se encuentra con Ruka Kishimoto, su mejor amiga en la secundaria. Ruka está viviendo en una casa compartida con su amiga Eri y quiere convertirse en una corredora de circuito motocross. Ruka invita a Michiru a vivir con ella en la casa compartida, pero Michiru rechaza la oferta porque ya tiene planes de comenzar a vivir con su novio Sosuke Oikawa, quién trabaja en la Oficina de Protección al Menor.

El mismo día en la misma tienda, el estilista Takeru Mizushima se tropieza con Ruka y recoge una taza que ella olvidó. Takeru la sigue para devolverle la taza, pero ella cree erroneamente que él está intentando retarla. Ruka le grita a Takeru y se aleja.

Pronto después de esto, Michiru se muda a la casa de Sosuke. Ella no puede con tanta felicidad cuando Sosuke le promete que él nunca la abandonará, no importa lo que pase. Pero una mañana, Michiru despierta y descubre a Sosuke revisando su teléfono, leyendo sus mensajes de texto…

Nombre: Last Friends
Cadena: Fuji TV
Episodios: 11
Fecha: April 10, 2008
Duración: 45 min.
País: Japan

Reparto

1. Juri Ueno – Ruka Kishimoto
2. Eita – Takeru Mizushima
3. Ryo Nishikido – Sosuke Oikawa
4. Asami Mizukawa- Eri Takigawa
5. Masami Nagasawa – Michiru Aida
6. Aki Nishihara – Reina Hiratsuka
7. Tetsushi Tanaka – Kazumi Hayashida
8. Shigenori Yamazaki – Tomohiko Ogura
9. Mitsuko Baisho – Chinatsu Aida
10. Mitsuki Nagashima – Shogo Kishimoto
11. Takeru Shibuya – Higuchi Naoya
12. Toshiyuki Kitami – Kenichiro Endo
13. Yuko Ito – Yuko Shirahata
14. Mayumi Asaka – Yoko Kishimoto
15. Mitsuru Hirata – Shuji Kishimoto

UGH.

No more. I’ve had enough of this dorama. No way am I going to stick around to watch Michiru get beat up evey single episode by her creepy-ass boyfriend who works for the Child Welfare Division (WTF? Yeah, I know it’s supposed to be *cleverly* ironic but, rather, it’s so blatantly ironic that I can’t help rolling my eyes.)

But I think there’s enough WTFs directed towards Sosuke, so let’s talk about Michiru. Why the hell is she so fucking weak? And to think I initially felt sorry for her. I think the problem lies mainly with the writer. Michiru could be a sympathetic character if we could tell what she was thinking. In episode 3 when she protects Sosuke (though its not really protection because the boy need serious help) by telling Ruka that they were just “playing around” and he totally wasn’t beating her up, I could’ve understood her actions if the writer had attempted to explain them. I realize I cannot empathize with victims of domestic violence or understand the pain Michiru had to go through during her childhood, but when I don’t have any idea what the character’s thinking or the motivations behind her actions it’s impossible to see her as a real person. I refuse to feel sorry for characters who have been fabricated to make me feel sorry for them. I don’t know if that makes any sense to you, but it made perfect sense to me…

Also, Nagasawa Masami’s acting is not helping at all. Her facial expressions are starting to grate on my nerves. My face hurts whenever she smiles. It is so disgustingly unnatural. She’s part of the reason I hate Michiru.

Ueno Juri is LOVE and I was just starting to adore her in this role, but even she’s not enough to allow me to watch this show without feeling nauseous.

Oh, and the suspense devices in the form of voice-overs? IT’S GETTING OLD. I used to want to know what happened to Takeru that tramautized him for life and whose death Michiru was talking about at the very beginning of the first episode, but if the drama-makers are so desperate to retain our interest and keep us on the edge of our seats then I don’t feel like giving them the satisfaction. Aside from the horrible character that is Michiru, the thing about this dorama that makes me gag is the fact that everything is so freaking OBVIOUS. I don’t like being forced to feel a certain emotion and I hate being told “Look how intriguing I am! Just keep watching and you’ll be so astonished by the plot twists.”

Funny how Last Friends unleashes the profanity which I rarely use. I think this may be a sign that I need to stay far, far away from this show.

Yosh! Finished watching “Last Friends” Starring:

Nagasawa Masami as Aida Michiru
Ueno Juri as Kishimoto Ruka
Eita as Mizushima Takeru
Nishikido Ryo as Oikawa Sosuke
Mizukawa Asami as Takigawa Eri
Yamazaki Shigenori as Ogura Tomohiko

it was a really good drama, inspiring and touching. XD Though at first, you’ll kinda be shocked when you read the plot at dramawiki. The drama isn’t good for the kids, what I mean is, it has some violence, gay/lesbian thing. But it is not too much. Well, how can I say this, The drama tackles issues that afflict the current generation. Which means, it is US… [of course including me..XD] It tackles about “violation”, “separation/divore”, “3rd sex”, “friends”, “family” and “relationship with the opposite sex”. When I said, it doesn’t suit for kids, 14 years old below, its just my opinion. The drama isn’t the typical love-friendship story. It tackles more issues, more conflict that we are facing right now, individually. Its an issue that not only you are involved but also the government. An issue that the government must take an action. Especially on “VIOLENCE” that I know, we are aware for it~ and MUST be AWARE OF IT. If you will watch the drama you would know. But don’t worry, its not that matured and the violence is not that much. Try watching it to understand more. I’ve learned alot from this drama. About life, having relationships, being true to yourself, facing your problems and more…

I was shocked at Ryo Nishikido’s role here in this drama. Very different from the one in 1 Litres of Tears. Although I haven’t watched that jdo yet. He’s violent here, scary, he’s kinda insane, or should I say, has Multi-Personality Disorder, he’s kind yet very scary. Very jealous, and because of that jealousy, he became violent. He became uncontrollable. But then, he acted very well, it worth it winning the best actor award! His acting career is good. Though, he’s scary in this drama, I still like that way he acts. Nah, I realize, Love and Jealousy is a two-different thing. How?? Well~ I can’t say it in words, but deep inside my heart, I know why~~

And it is also worth it that this drama won as “THE BEST  YOUTH DRAMA” in Tokyo Drama Awards… It is really designed for the youth like me! I am also glad that this drama won too many awards and gain praises. Not only this drama but also the actors and actresses. Too bad, Eita haven’t won any. But I still like his acting talent. I really thought he’d be playing a “gay role” in this drama. Thank God, it was not it..~ Uhm,, but I do like gays, but the formal one, and not the one who dresses and acts like a girl. Being a gay is too much, you also need to have a limit to it! :0 Nah, thats just my opinion! XD

Ueno Juri, is also a good actress, another role, which is so, different from her role in Nodame Cantabile… Portraying a lesbian role is kinda hard.. XD but I’m glad she manage too! And darn it! She looks like one. Actually, I like gays more than lesbians, I dunno why, but I feel much better hanging around with gays that lesbi. Though, I am not agaisnt to it! But just know your limitations and we’ll be a good friends. XD I can accept the real you, if you know how to respect yourself and your true to yourself. Lying is what I really hate. Of course, I do lie, it can’t be helped, its okay to lie once in awhile, but of course, it has a limit… Well~ everything has a limit, right??

Oh~ I’ve said too many.. XD Gomen ne!

I’ll hang up already,, its getting late.. But all I can say is that, THIS DRAMA IS VERY GOOD!! WATCH IT AND LEARN FROM IT!! I’m glad that every drama I’ve watched has a lesson, I’ve learned from it,,, so, watching it for how many hours/days is worht it~ coz’ you know in the end, you’ll learn from it. You’ll be inspired to live more and strive more.. Though its kinda fiction, still it has a lesson for each viewers.. You’ll understand me, if you try watching the dramas I’ve recommended you! Trust me!!!

ja! until here… have a good night sleep everyone… [its midnight here in the Philippines]

oh~ Prisoner of Love by Utada Hikaru is my favorite song, I still got LSS for it, since the time I’ve heard of it.. It was like one year ago, when I first heard it, but until now, whenever I heard it, I still feel the goosebumps and have LSS on it!! dunno why…

Oyasumi minna!

_korhz

LOL… Yes, today was just like yesterday, the only difference is that, it is a sunny day today, yesterday was a gloomy day…XD which is quite okay’ but kinda hot… So I woke up around 9 in the morning. Then the first thing I did was washed my rubber shoes coz’ its effin’ dirty already. Then ate breakfast, [bread and drank chocolate]. Then, ofcourse the usual routine when I am at home, sweep the floor, then turn on the computer. Check mails, and other accounts, while waiting for the video to load. [I was watching Last Friends now]. Unfortunately, the Kami No Shizuku’s last episode doesn’t have any subtitles yet. XD So, I need to wait for it to have a subs… So, I decided that while waiting, I’ll just watch another jdo, and while randomly browsing, I came across in the jdo, Last Friends, starring, Eita, and others I dunno their real names, but the one was from Prodai with Yamapi, the other one was in Nodame Cantabile with Eita… More details?? I’ll just post another review after I’ve done watching it.. Oh~ I wanna share with you this picture I saw in google while I randomly lurk in google.. Its Kai of Gazette.. Kinda creepy… Bloody Kai with the girl unknown.. Lucky girl, having Kai with her in the picture though her face was not seen, but still.. XD And  eventhough this picture of Kai is so morbid and creepy, he’s still awesome… ROCK ON KAI!

Bloody Kai….

Kai, the normal one.. LOL

I’m still starting to like Visual Kei/J-Rock Music… It all started because of Reila, real name: Jenica Mariz Mendoza..She is really a fan of Jrock, and she influenced me into it. The very first Jrock Artist I liekd was Kai of Gazette, but I haven’t been updated to him and to the band. After awhile, I’ve known MYV, from a fansite in friendster and started to like him, unlike for Kai, I was addicted to MYV, [if addicted is the right word to be used.. lmao]. I started to be update to him until now. But of course, I still don’t know much about him. I just started to be a fan, October 2008, I think, so there were lots of news and updates about him that I need to catch up. But good thing, he has Myspace and he keep on posting blogs and pictures of him and updates on whatever he does.  But now, I decided to lurk around and update  Kai’s profile while waiting for the videos to load. XD Its time to know him  better not just by his name and the name “gazette”…. Hopefully this would be successful.. LOL…

ja! I’ll still gonna lurk around and read updates about Kai and Gazette..

_korhz

I gave Story of a Man two episodes, then decided I wasn’t going to watch it anymore. Yes, the music was great. Yes, the acting is solid. Even the execution of the plot is probably better than most revenge dramas. Why was I not impressed? I take it that most people who are raving about the show are 1) enjoying its dark atmosphere and 2) fangirling over Kim Kang Woo. I personally would like it better if it were darker. Something like The Devil, perhaps? I also felt like some of the stuff has been done before – I actually needed to FF through the second half of Ep 2 because I was so bored. Most importantly, though, I was so disappointed with Kim Kang Woo’s character. Is that supposed to be sexy? I cringed during the few seconds he appeared in Ep 1. It seemed like he was trying wayyy too hard to be intimidating. My heart softened a little for him in the next episode, but he is not worth my fangirling energy.

Honestly, I was kind of hoping I wouldn’t like this so I could clear some stuff off my current drama plate. If I were to continue, it would be for Park Ki Woong (who was ADORABLE) and Han Yeo Woon, who seems to be consistent in playing really lovable characters. None of the other characters interest me so I think I’ll pass.

Last Friends is nothing ground-breaking, but interesting enough.

What I liked:

1. Ruka’s love for Michiru. I find most homoerotic relationships in Asian dramas to be fascinating.
2. Ruka’s friendship with her dad. Rare to see nice father-daughter bonding moments in dramas. Then again, Ruka’s not really a daughter.
3. Ueno Juri acting like a normal human being. She really has a chance to show her acting skills in this drama, as opposed to in Nodame Cantabile.
4. Nagasawa Masami’s acting. Sometimes I can really tell what she’s feeling through her expressions, other times she contorts her face into a forced smile or grimace, causing me to cringe. But she’s doing a better job than I thought she would of making her character sympathetic.
5. Eita. He’s just so cute!

What I didn’t like:

1. Sousuke scares the FREAKING HELL out of me. He’s also played by Nishikido Ryo who seems to have only two facial expressions, which makes Sousuke even scarier because you can never tell what he’s thinking. So far, we don’t know anything about him so am I supposed to assume his character is very complex or are they going to explain soon?
2. Michiru’s mother. Another case of bad parenting that makes me really mad. Also, these types of characters mean nothing to the story and only exist to make the main character seem even more pitiful. Ugh.
3. The show strives to be a one-of-a-kind human drama or whatever, but it doesn’t feel too different from a typical show that just so happens to give each character their own story. It sounds really good on paper, but the execution is quite mediocre. With such an intriguing premise and gorgeous OP, I expected something brilliant. Last Friends is not brilliant.

Verdict: I’m not yet sure if I like it or not, but I want to continue so I can witness Ruka struggle with her feelings and also find out what the fuck Sousuke’s problem is.

last friends was good because ueno juri’s so handsome and ryo’s violence was so angst-y.
somehow i wish i could escape from all my troubles and go to somewhere with friends like the ones in the sharehouse.

i’m having a hard time here and i don’t know who to talk to.
i wish my mom would just give me a break, quit treating me like a servant and venting her frustrations on me.
all i need is some peace and i cant even get it in my own damn home.

our differences are too many i guess i shouldn’t be selfish and end this because i have no intention to your intentions.
all i need is a little more courage to let go.

i got a job and would be working at taka alone.
its good in a sense i don’t need to try to act friendly, i hope.
and would probably continue at mango if still applicable.
till school starts, work shall keep my depressed mind occupied.

Last Friends
 

This Japanese drama puts focus on human issues that are rarely addressed or kept secret most of the time. Issues such as domesic violence, gender identity confusion, adultery, and sexual child abuse are tackled in this drama. These issues  make this 11-episode show unique and really enjoyable to watch, especially when it weaves in a unique storyline that makes your emotions go haywire.
 

Summary: Michiru has been leading a pretty hard life which she thought would end when her boyfriend, Sousuke, invites her to live with him in his apartment. At the same time, Michiru and her junior high school best friend, Ruka, have reunited with her after four years of separation. These occurences have made her extremely happy, however, what she thought would be a happy life turned out to be something dreadful. Unable to cope with her problems, she runs into Ruka and from there, her life interweaves with Ruka and her housemates: Takeru, Ogura, and Eri.
 

Characters:

Aida Michiru  acted by Nagasawa Masami. Even though she’s pretty and well-dressed, I’m not really her fan since she’s very annoying in this drama. Michiru is a very (extremely) sweet and weak person, sort of a damsel in distress character. Coming from a broken family and a father who beats her, she seeks love in the wrong places. She’s the character who we can relate to our friends who won’t even take our advice and go on their pathetic stupid lives led blindly with love. Bleh. Her character put color in this drama, though.

Kishimoto Ruka acted by Ueno Juri. I’ve liked her since Nodame Cantabile and she’s even better here. Ruka is a lesbian who had hidden feelings for Michiru for a long time. In this series, Ruka is a motocross rider wanting to go professional, so she’s striving hard to win competitions. She seeks respect from certain individuals – not respect that is given to a woman, but to an individual. As Michiru drowns in her problems, Ruka always comes to her rescue and constantly tries to protect her.

Mizushima Takeru acted by Eita. I love this character since it’s so different from his acting in Nodame Cantabile. In this series, he’s a professional hair and make-up stylist and a part-time bartender who is being mistaken as homosexual most of the time by his colleagues. This is because he frequently avoids contact with women and fears to be involved in a relationship with them. He has a troubled past which has affected his view on women and relationship in general.

Oikawa Sousuke acted by Nishikido Ryo. Probably the scariest character I’ve seen on Japanese dramas, despite his good looks and resemblance to Victor Basa. Sousuke is Michiru’s boyfriend who works as a social worker. As Michiru starts to live with Sousuke, he becomes possessive of her, going into obsessive acts such as watching her while at work, controlling her life, and when disobeyed, he beats Michiru to a pulp. Brrrr, scary. 

Takigawa Eri acted by Mizukawa Asami. She is Ruka’s housemate who had issues with relationships for as long as she can remember. She works as a, stewardess, where she met a married man who she becomes involved with. Her character is very hyper and friendly and funny most of the time. 

I think that this series, compared to other light j-dramas, has a slightly mature theme. Domestic violence in itself is scary enough and seeing it on action is even scarier. This drama shows how Sousuke beats Michiru, why he beats her, and what he does when he becomes suspicious of her. Sousuke is really, really scary. What makes it more annoying is that Michiru lets him does this because she knows there’s a reason. Despite this reasoning being so stupid, I think that this is reality for most women who can’t fight back to their partners for committing domestic violence. 

Aside from domestic violence, the drama also gives light on real friendship. When  Sousuke goes mad, Ruka and her friends are ready to protect Michiru from him.

In terms of storyline, I just realized that each episode seem to become repetitive. It deserves to be called j-drama, with all the dramatic speeches and each of the characters’ issues that has no end. I didn’t think that Japan is pretty closed minded with lesbians, too. Ruka had a hard time revealing her true gender identity, which shocked the shell out of most characters. It’s really weird.

Despite the criticisms, this drama is a good watch. We’ve watched this in just one weekend since with the cliffhangers and preview of the next episode, we can’t just stop watching. So, go watch now!

Episode list:

1: The troubles we keep to ourselves: DV, pregnancy, and forbidden love

2: A life-and-death secret

3: A love that eats away life

4: A bond torn apart

5: A night of shock

6: A desperate getaway

7: A harsh reality

8: Last Letter

9: Your life

10: Love and death

11: To the future

Last year’s jdorama Last Friends has been raved about everywhere and won a bunch of awards at the Television Drama Academy Awards (whatever that is) including Best Drama, Best Script, and Best Theme Song (“Prisoner of Love”). I think I know what I’ll be watching after Kekkon Dekinai Otoko.

Last Friends tackles issues that afflict the current generation. Michiru’s mother has brought a man back to their home and she is bullied at her workplace where she works as a beauty parlour assistant. She starts cohabiting with her boyfriend, a good young man who works at the Child Welfare Division and the only person who can give her emotional support, but ends up the victim of domestic violence and becomes fearful of love. The boyishly charming Ruka was a classmate of Michiru’s in junior high school. She has performed brilliantly as a motocross racer and aims to win the national championship, but as the story progresses, a deep worry that she can neither confide in her parents or close friends grows evident. Takeru is a hair and makeup artist acquainted with Ruka. He is a good confidant to females due to his kindness and perceptiveness, and finds himself attracted to Ruka but has a phobia of sex as a result of a past trauma. The three of them become house mates and through their associations with others, gain the capacity to be positive about life. ~jade_frost

Reading the synopsis and knowing that it stars Nodame Cantabile favorites Ueno Juri, Eita, and Mizukawa Asami were enough to get me intrigued – and then I watched the opening:

I love every single thing about the video. Utada Hikaru’s voice is incredible and somehow perfect for TV theme songs. When I listened to the song by itself it gave me an entirely different feeling, and then when I went back to watch the opening again I loved it even more. This drama looks dark, and maybe even a little disturbing (I’ve read that some of the DV scenes are painful to watch). Ueno Juri playing a character completely opposite of Nodame will probably take some time getting used to, but I’m so ready. This looks fantastic.

From Now on and Forever,

Let’s stay Friends.

If Possible, without ever being apart.

And also,

If anything were to happen and we had to be apart,

Let us meet again someday, all with a face of laughter.

My dear Friends…

You are my Last Friends…

From Now till Forever… Friends…

Without separating… if possible

And… even if something does happen… and we do separate…

One day… we’ll be together again… and laugh…

Forever… My Dear Friends…

You… are… My… Last Friends…

….Por fin lo acabe… un 4 en mi escala de dramas.. buena pero no lo suficiente para verla de nuevo…