Shoutarou was an idiot.

Only an idiot would be hiding behind a bush at two in the morning.

Only an idiot would have canceled a date with the scandalously beautiful Emilie of France at the last minute.

Only an idiot would think his assistant more important than his job despite the number of times she had almost gotten him killed.

And only an idiot would be staring at said assistant as she dozed on his shoulder thinking she actually appeared kissable.

Apparently Shoutarou was sleep deprived as well.

He stifled a groan, forcing his eyes away from Momoko. He couldn’t be thinking of her that way. It was wrong. Momoko was… well, Momoko was Momoko. She could honestly be her own definition in a naming dictionary.

A soft snort made Shoutarou glance back down at the brown head dozing on his shoulder. Was that drool he spied coming out of the corner of her mouth? Shoutarou leaned closer and decided that it was. He made a face at the discovery. She was going to ruin his sweater, the sweater he had chosen specifically for his now-cancelled date tonight.

Shoutarou really was an idiot.

He had been planning this date for weeks. He had come across Emilie in a café, had engaged her in conversation, and after a heavy duty charm offensive, had finally gotten her to agree to have dinner with him tonight. Shoutarou had it all planned, too. Dinner with music at an upscale restaurant – it would have been perfect. Emilie would have been awed, and Shoutarou would have another pretty face to parade around on his arm for all of Japan to see.

But that dream had been cruelly dashed earlier in the day by a single phone call. It had been Momoko. She had nearly taken his eardrum out when she had started speaking, her words tripping over each other in her hurry to tell him what was going on. Shoutarou had pieced together the situation as best he could, though most of what he could recall had to do with the words “emergency” and someone named “Ken”.

Normally Shoutarou would have told her he didn’t understand a word she was saying, hiss into the phone like it was breaking up, and hang up on Momoko. But he hadn’t done that today, and for that he was an idiot.

Only an idiot would have told her to calm down and stay where she was so he could go get her.

Only an idiot would have dialed his date as he was running across the city, cancelling his date because something important had come up.

And only an idiot would be allowing his eyes to keep falling down to the slumbering figure of the one woman he didn’t understand as though he was entranced with her.

That was a bad sign.

Shoutarou tried to shift his weight, but considering he was already in an uncomfortable squatting position, and given that Momoko was asleep on his shoulder, her entire body leaning into his side now, it was probably understandable that he ended up cursing at himself and falling over.

That woke Momoko up. She blinked herself awake, and managed to avoid falling with Shoutarou. Muttering under his breath, Shoutarou glanced up as she glanced down. “You knocked me over,” he said.

“Huh? Did I fall asleep?” Momoko appeared panicked, her eyes widening as she glanced around. “Oh no! What if I missed it? I have to save Ken!”

Shoutarou grumbled, a bit put out that Momoko wasn’t concerned over his well being. He shot her a dark look, deciding that the kissable stage had been a passing one, and that it had been the result of sleep deprivation. She certainly didn’t seem very kissable now; she was actually back to her usual self – annoying. Pushing himself back up, Shoutarou patted his leg to try and wake it up. It had fallen asleep, and the tingling sensation was getting to him. He was about to complain when Momoko brought a hand down on his, stopping him mid-smack. Glancing up he saw her giving him a shake of her head. Then she removed her hand and went back to peering through the bush they were hidden behind.

He would be an idiot if he let her tell him what to do like that, but Shoutarou couldn’t seem to get his hands to function again. Instead he silently stretched out his leg, barely avoiding it kicking Momoko, and waited for something to do. He wasn’t entirely sure what his part in this particular mission was going to be. Momoko hadn’t really explained anything other than saying they had to rescue this Ken fellow before tragedy struck.

Minutes passed, but it seemed more like hours. Shoutarou could feel himself beginning to doze again. He probably would have fallen asleep if Momoko hadn’t shot back her hand to hit him, knocking him flat on his butt. He opened his mouth to say something, but Momoko wasn’t even looking at him. Instead, she was using her hand to motion for him to come by her side. Shoutarou shut his mouth and forced himself onto his knees, crawling over to where Momoko was. He suspected that she had seen Ken, and sure enough, when he peered through the bushes, he spotted a pudgy looking man with a bundle of towels in his arm standing in front of the building they were staked in front of.

Shoutarou frowned. He didn’t see any signs of danger looming around, but then again, Momoko was usually able to show up at a scene before anything actually happened. Given the late hour, or early if one really wanted to be picky about it, Shoutarou could only imagine the possible dangers awaiting this Ken fellow. As Shoutarou studied Ken, he began to suspect that maybe whatever trouble he was in, was of his own doing. Ken certainly seemed to be glancing around furtively, like he was waiting for someone to meet him.

Instinctively, Shoutarou tapped Momoko on the shoulder, waiting for her to actually look up at him so he could speak. When she did, he asked, “Shouldn’t we call the cops this time?”

“Don’t be silly,” replied Momoko, her attention returning back to Ken. “We just have to save Ken.”

“Oh.” Shoutarou was at a loss as to what to really say to that. This whole situation was starting to make him uneasy. He waited another moment, and then tapped her on the shoulder again. As soon as she looked at him, he asked another question. “What are we saving him from?”

Momoko seemed to blink in surprise at the question. Shoutarou grew more concerned. Something was wrong here, but he simply couldn’t put his finger on it. He could only think just how much of an idiot he truly was for not having gotten more details out of Momoko before cancelling his date for the evening. If her version of saving someone was merely stalking them, Shoutarou was going to strangle her.

After several more minutes passed, Momoko finally said, “Death.”

Shoutarou felt his eyes bulge at her response. He was now feeling like an idiot for not having called the cops himself. What did Momoko think he was? A superhero? He couldn’t just swoop in and save someone from dying? He had no powers – he couldn’t even wield a gun! What was he supposed to do to save Ken? He was going to point this out, and maybe ask Momoko if she had hit her head and was this why she wasn’t thinking things through clearly, but her attention had reverted back to Ken again. Shoutarou made a face. He simply hated being ignored.

He didn’t know what else to do, or say, so he lapsed into silence. In his mind he was trying to come up with a reason why he should leave, but for some reason he simply couldn’t come up with anything. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that his eyes were staring at the back of Momoko, taking in the slender build she possessed. When she was quiet, and not making all those goofy, airhead faces she made, she was actually quite attractive.

Shoutarou blinked when he realized what he had just thought. He groaned inwardly, only making the slightest of sounds. It didn’t matter. Momoko didn’t seem to pay him any attention. That was probably a good thing. Shoutarou wasn’t sure he could explain what was wrong with him if she asked. But in a small way, it bothered him that she wasn’t paying him any attention. Was this Ken fellow really that important?

Almost instantly Shoutarou forgot what he had been groaning about and peered through the bushes. Ken wasn’t a very attractive man. He was pudgy, his hair was messy, and his clothing was wrinkled. And he was old.

Yes, he was definitely old. Shoutarou nodded to himself, as though this confirmation settled everything. Momoko simply could not be attracted to Ken. He wasn’t sure why this made him feel better, and he decided he would rather not dwell on it. Sleep deprivation was cruel enough without adding hallucinations.

A car pulled up in front of the building, obscuring the view of Ken from the bushes. Shoutarou was about to ask if this was significant when Momoko hopped to her feet and let out what might have been a battle cry had this been an actual battle. Shoutarou was so startled he fell backward for the third time that night. He didn’t dwell on this for long, though. Within seconds he was scrambling onto his feet and going after Momoko.

He couldn’t really explain why he did that. It was simply a tightening in his chest that made him act. It was like it was squeezing all the air out of his lungs, along with a rushing in his ears. He heard nothing else but Momoko’s battle cry; his eyes didn’t see anything but her – it was a focus so great, that his mind didn’t fully take in what was happening.

He didn’t notice the surprised expressions on Ken’s face, and that of another man dressed in a white overcoat as they stopped mid-conversation to stare at Momoko. Shoutarou didn’t even see the bumper sticker on the back window of the car as he passed by it. And he definitely didn’t notice the moving bundle in Ken’s arms until Momoko was practically on top of the man, grabbing the bundle out of his arms.

“You can’t have him!” she exclaimed, pressing the bundle of towels to her chest.

Shoutarou stopped short. He glanced between the two men, finally noticing their bewildered expressions, and then back to Momoko, slightly awed by the fierce look in her eyes. He honestly had no idea what was going on.

Ken spoke first. “Come again?”

“You can’t have Ken,” stated Momoko, her voice more firm than ever.

Shoutarou glanced at Momoko sharply. “Ken? I thought this guy was Ken.”

The man whom Shoutarou had assumed was Ken blinked. “Ken?” he repeated. “No, no, I am Fujii Mamoru. I am not Ken.”

Shoutarou then glanced at the other man. He too shook his head, saying as he did so, “Umino Shinji. I am a veterinarian at this clinic.”

It began to make sense after that. Shoutarou felt his mouth fall open slightly in surprise, his eyes going up to read the lettering on the sign on the door. A veterinary clinic. His eyes then moved back to Momoko, still clutching the bundle of towels to her chest. All too easily, he was now piecing everything together.

Gently, Shoutarou reached out a hand toward the towels, removing part of the top one to see what exactly Momko held. His eyes met two green ones, staring back at him balefully.

“A cat. Ken is a cat.” Shoutarou took this in as he replaced the towel atop the cat’s head, his eyes going down to Momoko. She was clearly avoiding his gaze now. “You called me to help you rescue a cat?” he asked reproachfully. He had cancelled his date for a cat. Of all the stupid, idiotic things to do!

Momoko, for her part, was silent a moment longer. Then she sniffed. Shoutarou’s eyes widened. She wasn’t really going to cry right now, was she? He glanced wildly at Dr. Umino and Fujii-san, but both men seemed to feel just as out of place as Shoutarou did. They each took a step back, leaving Shoutarou the closest one to Momoko.

Shoutarou reached toward Momoko awkwardly before finally patting her atop the head. “There, there… you don’t have to cry,” he said after a moment, his words sounding rather strained.

“I’m so sorry!” wailed Momoko, flinging herself into his arms. Shoutarou could feel his eyes widening even more, his arms frozen awkwardly at his side in the air. He hadn’t expected this, and judging by the expressions on the other two men’s faces, neither had they. Shoutarou could feel a new feeling welling up inside him, and this was one he recognized: panic.

Momoko continued. “I’ve been feeding Ken at my apartment for a few weeks. I knew I shouldn’t, because I’m not allowed to have a cat there, but he was so skinny, and he was crying! I gave him milk and tuna, and he came back every day, so I gave him more. I thought he could just stay outside and I could feed him there. But then last week he stopped coming, and I got worried. So I started looking for him, and I started looking at ads in the paper, and I finally found someone that put an ad saying a cat matching Ken’s description had been found, and I called, but the women said her husband was taking it to the animal shelter, so I called them, but they said they were sending it to the veterinary clinic, and I knew this was my last chance to save him before someone else took him from me! I’m sorry!” The last part came out as a cross between a wail and a sob.

Already, Shoutarou could feel her tears dampening his shirt. He closed his eyes, suppressing another moan. This couldn’t possibly be happening to him. Now he looked like some sort of bad guy. He had already seen the looks in the eyes of the other two men. Just from hearing Momoko talk, he could only surmise what they were thinking. Obviously they felt that Shoutarou and Momoko were some sort of item, and that he was the bad guy not letting her have a cat. Great. Not only had his date been ruined, but now it seemed his reputation was going to be ruined as well.

He decided to try and rectify the situation a little. His reputation, after all, was quite dear to him. Shoutarou placed a hand on Momoko’s back, patting it softly, and then turning the pat into a soft rub. He could do this. He could pretend that he was a good, caring boyfriend, just to chase away the expressions on the men’s faces.

But what else did a good, caring boyfriend do? It had been a long time since Shoutarou had actually acted like one, that he almost couldn’t remember. Dating around was not the same as being in a steady relationship.

He decided to wrap his other arm around Momoko’s body, letting it hang loosely around her waist as he pulled her closer into his embrace. Moving his head closer to Momoko’s, he leaned his cheek against the top of her head. “It’s okay,” he said. “I’m not mad, I promise.”

“You’re not?” Momoko’s words were slightly muffled between the sniffs and the fact that her face was hidden in his chest.

“No. It’s alright. You wanted to save Ken, and you did, didn’t you?”

Momoko was silent for a minute, and Shoutarou smiled. He knew her well enough to know that she was busy thinking over his words. After a moment she said, “Yes. Yes I did. But I can’t keep him…” And these words only set her off into another torrent of tears.

Shoutarou’s eyes flashed open. Out of the corner of his eye he could see the two men shaking their heads, their words inaudible by the fact that they were standing a little ways away. They could only be thinking of how cruel Shoutarou was to not let his girlfriend have a cat. He couldn’t allow this.

Very gently, Shoutarou peeled himself away from Momoko, placing both of his hands on her arms and bending down to look her in the eyes. He was a bit startled by what he saw. With tears in them, her eyes had an almost luminescent appearance to them. Her lips were wet, and Shoutarou found his gaze dropping to them without much trouble. He had to struggle to keep them focused on Momoko’s eyes, but the back of his mind the word kissable was returning.

He cleared his throat. “You can keep him,” he said. “We’ll take him home, we’ll make him comfortable, and we’ll make him part of the family.”

“Really?” Momoko’s eyes brightened, making her even prettier than before. Shoutarou felt his throat closing up on him.

“Yes, really,” he managed to croak out.

“Oh, thank-you, Otomo-san!” This time Shoutarou was prepared for Momoko flinging herself in his arms. He managed to not look as awkward as he wrapped his arms around her, making it seem like he was actually hugging her. Out of the corner of his eyes Shoutarou could see the two men nodding in approval. Thank-god. That meant his reputation wasn’t going to be blown to bits.

Mamoru stepped forward, and gave an awkward little bow. “Well, now that this is all settled, I do believe I can go home. My wife will be glad to know we found… er, Ken’s owners.”

Dr. Umino nodded as well. “I’m glad as well. I think Ken will be in good hands. Feel free to stop by in another month for the checkup. I’ll want to see how the family is doing.”

Shoutarou nodded. “We can do that,” he babbled. “Me, Momoko, Ken. One big, happy family.”

“Yes, and the kittens, too,” added Dr. Umino.

“Of course,” agreed Shotarou. “The kittens too.” He continued to nod in agreement, and then paused. Had the man just said what he thought he had said? “What kittens?”

“The ones Ken should be giving birth too in another day or so,” replied Dr. Umino matter-of-factly. “That’s why she was being brought here. Ken is a female cat.”

Momoko poked her head out from Shoutarou’s chest, just as Shoutarou’s hold on her began to grow slack. Her face was shining with pride. “Kittens? Really? I’ve always wanted kittens!”

Shoutarou barely heard what else was said. He felt Momoko break free of his hold, and talk to Dr. Umino. It seemed the vet was giving her detailed instructions on what to do the next couple of days. Shoutarou, however, was too busy trying to let everything sink in. He had saved a cat. He had just made two men think he and Momoko were an item so he wouldn’t look like some sort of bastard. And now the cat in question was a female cat preparing to have kittens.

It was all so ludicrous that it almost wasn’t real.

He wasn’t sure how much time passed, but before long he felt Momoko tugging at his arm to lead him away. He let her, still in a bit of shock at the night’s events. When he finally felt that he was in a good frame of mind, he glanced down at Momoko. She was cooing softly to the cat in her arms. Almost instantly he felt any anger he had been developing toward her, wash away.

“Alright,” he said with an exaggerated sigh. “Let’s get you and… Ken home.”

Momoko glanced up at him quizzically. “I can’t keep him,” she said.

“Huh? But you just cried about wanting him!” protested Shoutarou.

“I know. But I can’t keep him at my apartment. My father won’t let me have any pets there. He pays for it, remember?”

“Then what are you going to do with Ken?”

“You said you were going to take her.”

Shoutarou paused. “When?”

“Back there, a the vet clinic,” replied Momoko. She gave him an odd look before turning her attention back to Ken.

“But… but…” Shoutarou floundered. He knew he had agreed to keep the cat, but that had been when he had been pretending he was a good, caring boyfriend. He had figured that if Momoko really wanted the cat, she could have it. He had never once considered that the reason she couldn’t keep him was because of her father’s rules at her apartment. He had been too busy keeping his reputation as a good guy intact.

“Don’t worry, Otomo-san. I’ll be over every day to help. I really want to see the kittens when they’re born.”

Shoutarou glanced down at Momoko again, his resolve slipping. He wanted to tell her no. He didn’t really like cats, and having one would mean needing to feed it on a regular basis, and cleaning up after it – and kittens would mean more than one. But the way in which she was looking up at him so earnestly… Shoutarou simply couldn’t help it. It really must be the sleep deprivation doing all the thinking, for his eyes fell back down to Momoko’s lips, and he found himself nodding. “Okay,” he said, “I’ll take Ken.”

Momoko squealed in delight, and before Shoutarou could register what was happening, she stood up on her tip-toes and planted a kiss on his lower cheek. It was so close to his lips that at first he thought it was an actual kiss, but she was all too quickly pulling away, and turning back around to continue walking. As she moved down the sidewalk, Shoutarou could hear her talking to Ken about his new home, and how she was going to decorate it for him.

But as Shoutarou began to trail along behind Momoko, a hand on his cheek where Momoko had planted her kiss, he could only grin like a complete idiot.

Shoutarou was not a happy man.

He glanced at his watch, his mouth twitching between a frown and a scowl as he noted the time. He could feel the eyes of his coworkers on him. It wasn’t hard to feel the stares, the unasked questions hanging in the air. If one of them dared ask him why he was looking the way he did he swore he’d hit them over the head too. It was no secret that Shoutarou was generally in a bad mood when a certain other was late for work.

It was a daily occurrence now. Since her arrival at Little Angels Shoutarou hadn’t known a peaceful moment in his life. Since her arrival he had taken to actually learning how to care for others. He worried, he fretted, and he did things so out of the ordinary that he often had to pinch himself before he went to bed to be sure it all wasn’t some elaborate dream his mind was making up for him.

The pinch hurt every time, which meant it was no dream.

He didn’t really understand it. His life had always centered on foreign women and wooing them for days at a time. Shoutarou had never once said the words “I love you” and meant them. They generally came out after knowing someone for four seconds, awed by her exotic beauty and language. Some might say that Shoutarou was a womanizer, and for the most part that would be true … except that his record on that point was nearing nothing these days. He hadn’t been out on a decent date in weeks.

And it was all her fault.

Momoko Hasegawa.

The name made Shoutarou twitch as he glanced down at his watch again, his face settling into a frown, his eyebrows knitting together with what might be considered worry. She was late, far later than she had ever been before.

Shoutarou couldn’t really say what it was about her that bothered him the most: her naivety on the world around her; the fact that she was a little slow on the uptake; or the notion that she could save people’s lives on her own. Perhaps it was the last one that bothered Shoutarou so much. Whenever she got it into her head that some funky dream was telling her to save a person’s life Shoutarou almost always ended up involved. Oh, he could pretend he was helping her because of a promise to introduce him to a new foreign woman, or out of fear that she would tell Miki about his withholding receipts because he had a hobby of collecting them, but those wouldn’t be the correct answers. It had started out that way, but as the weeks had gone on Shoutarou had begun to notice a bit of a routine forming. Momoko would run off with only the merest of words to another member of Little Angels about needing to be somewhere, which was generally code for her being up to the usual heroics she couldn’t really perform on her own, and after about ten minutes of learning this Shoutarou would take leave, using a flimsy excuse or two before running out in search of Momoko.

Why did he do this?

Because Shoutarou worried about her. Momoko wasn’t necessarily the brightest tool in the shed. She did things on a whim, usually jumping the gun and getting herself into even more danger. Shoutarou often told her that she’d be dead without him, which could be seen as more or less true. However, it wasn’t just her health and being that Shoutarou worried about; he actually worried more about her mind.

Shoutarou didn’t necessarily understand how she came to know about these events before they happened; he didn’t honestly believe that business about her grandmother coming to her in a dream, but however she came by the information she almost always seemed to be telling the truth. Premonitions? Shoutarou didn’t believe in that sort of thing, he was merely finding it harder and harder to say no to Momoko when she asked for help.

And he was finding it even harder to not wonder where she was when she wasn’t at work. Shoutarou didn’t like to see her cry – not after that event that Shoutarou liked to call the “stalker incident”. He had seen how much it had affected Momoko to not be able to save one man’s life; he knew it had torn her apart to know that the life she had saved seemed to be for nothing as the girl claimed to have never met the deceased before the series of events leading up to his death, and her own vow to keep contact with his killer, supporting him even after his terrible deeds.

The aftermath had affected Momoko to the point of being quiet for a few days. Shoutarou knew this because he had watched her. He didn’t necessarily like to see her down; it made him feel like an ass whenever he called her out for not doing her job properly, which she generally didn’t do.

He still didn’t see why they kept her on at the agency. She was… Shoutarou paused for a moment, his eyes gazing into nothing as he tried to come up with the right words to describe Momoko in his head.

Exasperating.

That’s what she was. When she didn’t annoy him to death she was worrying him to death. Neither was a good emotion for Shoutarou. The man generally liked to be void of any emotion but love and flirtatious, though he supposed even those were fairly bad given that he wasn’t good at either. He was good at being charming and that was about it. Oh, and giving orders. Yelling seemed to soothe his nerves. Speaking of which …

“Akira!” barked Shoutarou loudly, breaking the silence of the room like a hammer. “Stop gawking and get to work! Don’t you have papers to be filing?”

The man in question appeared to be frozen for half a minute before he nodded, muttering his apologies as he grabbed a pile of papers off of Miki’s desk. Shoutarou pressed his lips together grimly, nodding in satisfaction as the entire room seemed to return to their work with a hurried manner. That would keep them from staring at him. It had been getting rather annoying to feel their eyes on him. The gods only knew what they had been thinking, for it was likely a common fact that he was waiting for Momoko to arrive.

Damn that girl, she was going to be the death of him and his reputation before long. Shoutarou turned his frown into a scowl as he glanced at his watch once again. Four hours late. Where was that girl?

Running a hand through his hair, Shoutarou picked up a paper on his desk and tried to concentrate on it, but two minutes later it was down and his watch was back before his eyes. This was getting ridiculous. Someone ought to tell Momoko what the standard was for being on time to work. She couldn’t keep doing this or else she’d lose her job… not that Mr. Higashi would ever fire her. The man had too big a heart to do that.

So why wasn’t the boss worried about Momoko’s absence?

Shoutarou glanced over in the direction of the company president, who himself seemed to be gazing off into space, though his expression was a bit vacant. Great, the man was daydreaming. Was no one else troubled by the fact that Momoko was not at work today? Weren’t they wondering what was keeping that girl from messing up their jobs and making a general mess of the place?

Another minute passed. That was it. Shoutarou refused to sit and pretend to work any longer. He needed to get out… and while he was at it he would swing by Momoko’s place and see if she was even breathing.

Standing abruptly, Shoutarou ignored the looks sent his way as he began pulling his jacket on. “I’m going out for a bite to eat,” he announced to no one in particular. They could think what they wanted. Shoutarou was above the opinions of his coworkers … so long as they never mentioned it to his face or in front of Momoko. He didn’t need her to think he cared about her or anything.

Shoutarou ignored the looks sent his way as he opened the office door and closed it shut behind him. Straightening his jacket he made his way down the steps, his mind going over the directions that would lead him to Momoko’s residence. It was a bit embarrassing that he even knew the directions to her place, and should anyone find out about it and ask why he did he would simply state that he needed to know where all his coworkers lived … though he’d be in trouble if they asked for an address to someone else’s house.

The walk didn’t take very long, or if it did Shoutarou didn’t notice. Nothing really crossed his mind as he made his way to Momoko’s place. He tried half a dozen excuses as to why he was in the vicinity, finally scratching them all for his usual persona with her: he’d tell her there was no excuse for being late to work and leave it at that. Yes, that was how he’d do it. There was no need to change himself around for Momoko. Confusing her wouldn’t do any good, though there wasn’t really anything to confuse her about …

He pushed that thought outside his mind as he rounded the side of the building that Momoko called her home, coming to a dead halt as he came across Momoko sitting on the bottom steps, her eyes with a vacant expression as she stared straight ahead of her, her face clearly troubled by something.

Shoutarou hesitated. He hadn’t really expected to come across her looking like this, though he didn’t really know what to make of it. He did a run through in his mind of the last set of events he could recall with her. Nothing out of the ordinary popped to mind. Everything seemed to be the same old per usual – ah, perhaps that was it. Momoko had been through quite a bit, and the gods only knew how she was handling it all. Judging by the expression on her face Shoutarou didn’t think she was doing as well as she claimed.

His anger melted, though he hadn’t been all that angry to begin with. He moved to go back the way he had come and leave Momoko in peace, but his feet wouldn’t budge in that direction. Instead they brought him forward until he was obstructing Momoko’s eyesight. It took her a few moments to realize he was there, her eyes widening in surprise as she glanced upward at him.

She stood up quickly, her hands moving together in a nervous manner. “Otomo-san –”

“You didn’t come to work today,” he stated gruffly, his eyes moving to glance above her head rather than in her own eyes. He didn’t like what he saw in them – pain and sadness. It wasn’t the usual look she had. It wasn’t her.

“I… I tried.” Momoko fell silent, her words seeming to fail her. Shoutarou glanced down at her again to see that she was staring at her feet, her hands still wrung together. The hardness of his face normally reserved for her evaporated. He wasn’t sure what came over him, or why he acted as he did, but before he could really think about it Shoutarou was reaching towards Momoko, pulling her into his arms. She tensed for a moment, but then she relaxed, her arms going around his waist, clutching at his jacket. A moment passed and then Momoko began to shake as she began to cry into his chest.

Shoutarou said nothing. He merely tightened his grip around the girl and allowed her to cry. Somehow he knew she needed this, and somewhere in his soul he was glad he had chosen to come looking for her to share in this odd little moment that would seem like a simple act of kindness on his part. But Shoutarou knew the truth. There was nothing simple about this.

And oddly enough, he was glad.

He was glad Momoko Hasegawa had come to work with him all those weeks ago. He was glad she had roped him into her little world of saving lives and other worldly premonitions. And most of all, he was glad she was in his life.

One day he’d look back on it all and say that it was in that one simple moment that he knew he loved her. But one day was far off from today.

Today was simply just another day.

Not that I don’t really like this series, I think I could have picked a better one. Sure I really liked Keiko’s performance as Riko in Buzzer Beat, but as Momoko- what the?!

Mop girl was actually ok; just not very intriguing as a series. Sure she could go back in time to help dead people not die. But relationally there was just no spark! Can’t I have a decent love story when I really need one?

With all the going back to the past, I’m still confused if Otomo-san actually found out that it was his girlfriend that saved Momoko. Honestly, the one episode that I really connected with is the last one. I actually thought he died… but no!

Boring…

I would like love to actually watch more japanese dramas but i barely have enough time to watch all the japanes etlak/variety shows that i want to watch/check out all the korean/japnaese music, watch my american dramas, read the books i want to read  that are in japanese/english and other stuff.
I don’t know when i’ll watch them but eventually right? so b.c. of that i’m just going to post this and the list of dramas i’m looking forward to watch. feel free to leave comennts like don’t watch that drama it’s super boring etc. lol. just no goddamnned spoilers.

oh wait i forgot to mention anime… it’s at the bottom of my priority, oh whatevs. well when i get through everything else. for the past 3 years or whateer it’s been pure shit getting released since they’re in an anime buble so once it pops i hope i’ll have time… you know good timing.

AND if this makes any difference… I watched all these dramas with either japanese subs, raw, or with korean subs translated to japanese via google translae. in other words I did not watch any of them with english subtitles.

REALLY GOOD

JIN – I’ve always thought i would never watch jidaigeki and i thought i would drop this drama after 1 ep of “trying” but i got sucked in! sorta like JIN did into ~. But anyways the first half of the first ep is sorta boring and the later part of the ep with kichi is sorta annoying (he keeps saying ~~~) but I was still sucked in from the overall  feel of the ep + my anticipation of what is to come. I say give this drama at least like 3 eps and if you still don’t like it then there’s something wrong with you! but seroiusly i don’t know how you don’t get sucked into it by then. it is jidaigeki but it is pretty damn edgy sometimes. Sorta like how mad men is really edgy even though it’s in the 50s.. especially in comparison to gossip girl trying really damn hard to be edgy in 2011 (but still this show is sorta fun to watch.. with the fast-forwarding of the annoying conversations they also have to do after the after-math lol). BACK TO JIN: I love the the song/BGM. You know a show is VERY GOOD when it has everything going on for it. the costumes/background music/casting/acting/camera work/etc.

I love the sadness/poignancy that comes from this show. very well done.I didn’t realize the actor  who plays saki’s brother is also masumi(?) in nodame cantabile till after I finished watching this show + looked up the actor lol. I

JIN II - LINK TO OFFICIAL SITE (You can read the interviews from the cast members)

Let’s just say lots more stuff happens.. JIn goes to new places, meets new people, a bunch of years pass so there’s some changes etc. So anyways it IS interesting. It’s just the first episode was WEAK since it was the dragged out premiere episode as any drama does lol. You can read about it in my previous entry. also the first ep was re-hashy of season 1 or at least it felt like it.

They do give an ending so there IS A POINT TO WATCHING THIS! I heard it’s different from the manga beause of whatever changes they made. I heard the manga’s even better!! I think for the most part people don’t mind the ending. I thought it was well-executed nd I don’t wnat to think about it and see if there’s plot-holes or something. I don’t want to think about that cause it’s just confusing  &&  it requries thinking. but from my impression it’s fine. I have no issues with it. But then somebody on ch-review was like I loved it till the ending… that killed it for me blahblah. they also said it’s too dark and it’s harder to enjoy with the whole family and i agree with that… I don’t like watching that kind of stuff either but yeah it’s there in this sesaon. other harsh criticizers were saying oh jin keeps going on side quests/episodic plots but I thought they were well-done (you know how the aVERAGE dramas hvae the annoying episodic plots that are predictable or just plain cheeesy) like I learned about edo jidai more though i was irritated with one of them.

Like the first season, good poignant sadness NOT typical/forced/embarrassing as hell 1 liter of namida. On the official site which I have to start reading soon to get any other info like new intereviews etc… they have this flash thing and it says FUTATABI KANDOU  which  menas you’ll be moved again. and that is TRUE. But they did have melodama issues sometimes which I mentioned in that other pohst about JIN but even with that it’s still so good. Like if it was out of 10 it would be like 9.5 or something even considering the bit of melodrama at times. The scenes with the historical people are just AMAZING and I watched each of them at least like 5 times.. one cause it’s hard to follow that dialogue and two because it’s SO WELL DONE. I feel like it probably has a lot of re-watch value just from those SCENES which are amazing. It does have the typical j-drama thing going on too whenEVER saki talks to JIN… there’s too much pausing or long pauses but that’s like how all j-dramas are pretty much so… and i’m sure the pauses aren’t as long and frequent in JIN as compared to like hana yori dango… right? probably. But like seriously the pausing makes it harder to follow the conversation.. it really does. I have to make conscious effort to remember what they’re atlking about otherwise i can’t follow their conversation and then i hvae to rewatch that convo. because they pause i end up rewinding to remind myself what they’re talking about in the first place lo. it defeats the purpose of pausing and talking slow…. cause it’s too slow and pause-y i can’t follow what they’re saying lol. i even have the japanese sus on.

after watching it i asearched for clips on youtube of the cast promoting the show one I came across was them talking about the show and uchino-san (sakamoto ryouma) is talking and he IS SO DIFFERENT. he’s not talking like ryouma at all with the tosa-ben etc.. his facial expression is completely different.. I’m like this is so different, it feels so unnatural. It comes to show what an amazing actor he is! I feel sad that his private life is going bad with the divorce but you know i can’t deny his acting skills! It’s NOT JUST him. LikE I said before JIN meets a lot of new people right. but all the actors they casted were all so amazing and memorable. also for the casting they had to cast people who had to speak differnt dialects like I loved it when saigou/saigo spoke because rhytm or whatver you call it … is very RELAXINg lol (I wonder if it’s also like that for poeple who don’t understand japanese… if  so what i’m sayin’ is completely valid lol). So I loved that aspect. From my ears that have listened to a lot of japanese it sounds goood… the dialect he spoke. I’m not sure if the actor actually speaks that dialect or if he just practiced a lot like uchino-san or if that dialect even exists today (it probablydoes right.) but it sounds goood… I don’t hear that annoying accent thing like when hyoujungo/tokyo people try to say naniyanen (kansai-ben phrase). It just sounds annoying and bad wrong. ALSO I really liked the actor for higashi (though i predicted his background or whatever) because he’s good looking lol. But his acing skills are good too.  I’ve seen that actor before only on variety/talk shows only a couple times randomly and i just assumed he’s not good at acting (I know it’s not fair to say that) like didn’t he play some nekketsu (hot blooded) teacher or he would seem like he would which would involve annoying melodramatic chesssy scenes/lines.  I really enjoyed all the new people. I wasn’t sure if kurogawa (is that her name?)… she came on in ep 2 .. if her acting was goood… like did they really talk like that. she was so cut=e so whatevs  (´ε｀ )(´ε｀ )

I don’t know which sesaon is better but I loved both. they’re different. I was first apprehensive  because people were like OMG I loved season 1 and season 2 isdisappointing blahblah. I just think they’re so different so I don’t really feel like comparing personally.

ABOUT THE LAST SCENE OF THE LAST EPISODE

so on this talk show the cast was tehre and I forgot who said what but basicaly oosawa-san’s script was  blank for the last scene .　so that was his first time reading it and he’s honest to god reaction (while he’s in character as minagata). One take

this is  alittle boy not  a little girl. it just so looks cute from the back like a dress or something soo…

this is cg? real? well it looks pretty. There’s lots of pretty scenery scenes to be seen in JIN. YAY I just used that writing technique where you use the same sound over and over… if only jin was sin. what the hell was that crap called? alliteration? why yes it is and it’s the first syllable so it worked!

I think JIN is the BEST J-drama I’ve seen so far (I’m so glad I learned japanese and started watching j-drama otherwise I would have NEVER WATCHED IT or if I did hear about it I would’ve not eve ntried)… to the point of i feel like i have to move hanazkari kimi/watsahitachikyoukasho to gOOD but i really like them too and i get different type of  enjoyment out of both of them. I think I would have to say #1 for me at lesat. It’s just they put so much effort into making it like they said they traveled all over japan to film even just one scene and the acting is amazing. It feels like it’s so meant to be that this drama is amazing as it is like the actress who [plays nokaze lived in france for i  don’t know how long (i forgot). I love how she plays nokaze with the way she talks and everything… I can’t imagine anyone else playing her role. I just enjoyed watching it so much!

AND THE SONG this time is by none other than hiari ken.  love that man and I hope to GOD he is NOT gay it might ruin his songs for me? So anyawys I love it and I heard it a bunch of times after i finished watching it because I MISS THE SHOW and I like the song except for that one part  where it sounds like he didn’t reach the note or something or it’s strained? it’s jus tlike i don’t know why they released it like tha. But anyways the lyrics MATCH UP quite well let’s just say… is that a spoiler? but yeah it reminded me of jin a lot as it should and it’s  a good choice of song again.

I thought the end of episode 4 or 5 or aorund there was just classic. maybe that’s going too far to say. the scene with ryouma saying oman to that jorou (prostitute in edo jidai) and i just thought it wasn’t CHEAP at all. it keeps that sex appeal factor without the cheapness… It’s realistic and makes the scene more memorable and it actually does a purpose other than just sex apppppeal or whateve ryou call that. It was a just great way to show us the urgency and the seriousness of that situation and how close it was etc etc. So I thought it was SOSO SO brilliant and at that moment I was like OMG Jin reached a level that I never thought J-drama could ever reach  ( since i watched lots of american dramas and american dramas have lots of sex in it lol) from the time I watched my first j-drama which was bloody monday (orz OTL) which I found to be average lol. and you know fan-service in anime is SO SO LAME and SOSO UNREALISTIC AND SOSO UNNATARUAL and pathetic. I HATE OTAKU PANDERING! but i can’t be helped since they’re in horrible horrible financial economical conditions. So i feel bad for them and i hope they don’t actually like making shtty otaku pandering anime but they have to … to survive.

Caps from last ep

GOOD

GONZO - I still didn’t finish watching it. fail. lol. hopefully sooooooon. It’s good it’s just i don’t have time

ABOVE AVERAGE

can’t decide… it’s b.t. good/average level

Mop Girl - It was so much fun. A pleasure to watch. It has its problems and good parts. It could be more deep and whatnot. It’s actually funny. the team work/chemistry between kitakwa keiko and tanihara shousuke is good. I love tanimura shosuke

I really like how they casted kitakawa keiko and really utilized her cuteness like that episode with hakurankyou or something or the other times when they make her dress up in cute disguises/costumes. If it was ayase haruka i don’ tknow… i don’t like her!! as of now (2011) kitakwa keiko’s sorta fading… with like ishara satomi/kuriyama chiaki rising. Like she wasn’t even mentioned in the london heart’s episode when they choose the number one girl… Like no one chose her… unless one person did?? doubt it.

one thing that i didn’t like that stood out was the the guest actors’ acting ability was LOW which is really bad since the situations those guest actors’ characters are placed are in are sorta hard to act out.. it requires acting skills… so we get some weird overreacting/hyperness BUT at least the main people can act. Kitakwa keiko is fine, eikura nana is NOT.

also some of the episodic plots are weak but i love some of the ways they dress up for the occasion each episode. if you just watch it for fun like you’re supposed to then mmaybe you can overlook some of the weak points like me.

SOME LINKS to transcripts i found online just in case.. this + korean subs->japanese hopefully covers any hard to catch lines.

http://ameblo.jp/cm215408081/entry-10060049050.html
http://ameblo.jp/hagumi/theme-10005670038.html

But seriously… sometimes I follow it fine and then there’s scenes where i cannot catch ANYTHING they say… it’s either i don’t know what the words or it’s how they say it… I would listen to a billion times over and i still have no idea what the faq is being said/talked about and then i find the transcript like the ameblog up there… (japanese people who can catch that stuff since they only speak japanese and understand japanese unless they’re billingual) and the ni go oh.. then i do the soramimi -effect thing and go yeah it does sound like that BUT without it i would still be like wtf they saying. It’s usually i know what they’re saying… I just can’t catch it.

Gyne ギネ 産婦人科の女たち - This was one took me by surprise. It’s one of those dramas i never would’ve watched because it came out fall of 09 when tokyo dogs, liar game, fumo chitai, samurai high school, jin also came out so  i heard NOTHING abt it. But luckily because somebody left the commercial on the avi for some other drama… which led me to watch a commercial for this show (ep 5 or 6 or something). From watching that I was like OMG even if this drama is crappy I have to at least watch that scene or episode. It’s the court room scene of course. but I thought just as drama it was really entertaining especially because I was watching monster and mother at the same time… unlike  those two the camera work and lighting and other fundamental stuff was done well (there are j-dramas that can’t even get these fundamentals right) &&&  It just didn’t have the usual/cliche/crappy j-drama feel or that feel was kept to a minimum. I just felt like the episodic plots/overarching plots weren’t the usual tired, typical plots (ie. samurai high school). It just kept me interested with the plot/arcs…. they were interesting and seemed thought-out and well done, One could argue that this show is more like sanpujinka no bakatachi but I just really liked as  drama entertainment. It made me want to watch the next episode, etc (which is you know logical… that’s why you watch the drama because you like it NOT because a bunch of losers praise it somewhere on the internet). Of course it can be better and the way it ended was like… not really an ending. but seriously WHY DID THEY SAy　神ドラマ to MOTHER…. no it’s not mother it’s MAZAA lol. ugh so silly.

AVERAGE

Liar Game II -It’s not as good sesaon 1 because 1. it is 45 minutes? instead of 35 minutes (sesaon 1) Yes it is dragged out. They play the song (I love the song tho ) every episode and they stretch the reactions whenever something shocking happens which happens many times every episode because it is liar game. but the thing is… it’s just not that shocking or interesting. There were a couple tricks that i thought was interesting like the round with the cards and…. probably something else. Like last season  they don’t develop the side characters that much at all or the main characters that much it’s just like… i’m sick of it.  what’s the point? i feel bad for the actors… they have nothing to accomplish at work. If you watch season 2, you can pretty much be really disappointed in the movie. the movie is by the company (not part of the original manga so i guess i should go read the manga) and so the story is not that good. it’s like a mesh of sesaon 1 tricks and season 2 tricks so it’s like i’ve seen that. They even have an X… which was an awesome arc from season 1. I guess watch if you’re a fan just don’t forget to fast-forward?

Oh and poeple on 2ch think that part of the reason of the downfall of liar game was toda erika… and how she is no longerg pure and innocent anymore. lol. something about she went out with v6 member or someone and how her hair is brown… and well obviously people change and grow up and all that so… we can’t make her confine herself to whatever for our crazy fan mentality but…. I agree with them that… she is just different. If her character NAO changed maybe it owuldn’t have been such a big deal. but seriously it’s ust so UNREALISTIC how her chaacter doesn’t change at lalllllll. not even at the end of the movie???? I really wish they did stuff with akiyama and nao.. .then the movie might been actually good…. they sorta did stuff but not really so in the end they didn’t do anything as far as that realm is concerned.

BAD======

Samurai High School

I wish they chose another actor for the “friend role”. i don’t want to insult his acting skills or whatever, but i just feel like it’s too much of a stretch. the way he talks is like…. pissing me off. He won’t open his mouth that wide or something and that voice that’s supposed to be all meek or whatever… I don’t know. It just pisses me off. I wish they made that character more believable somehow. he’s a big ass white guy for gawds sakes.

It’s fun for a few eps… It’s like a silly/dumb/fun. THEN It gets boring and really just ordinary (the storylines are so ordinary and pointless-seeming). I don’t like the miura actor and i guess he was okay in this drama but i tihnk overdid it a little but who knows how a _ from _ would act in a _ so maybe it is on the ball? but the fact is the ending is shit and so…. NOOOOOOOOOOOO. By the way i got bored by this by ep 3 or 4…  episodic storylines were very weak. so i fastforwarded 5 and 6 like crazy then just skipped to 9 because it became a chore to watch. Then I fast-forwarded episode 9 like even more crazy and then i was like such a shit ending. can’t even make a disucssion out of that ending except it sucks balls. but still at the same time i don’t care about it…

AND this screenshot is NOT spoilery if you know what scene this is from then you know it’s not. it’s just so dumb ugh.

PAPA TO MUSUME NO Nanokakan – It was fun/ny and cute/seemed good at first but after a few eps it gets old. In fact, it gets dumb. In fact the last episode was unbearable and a lot of fast-forwarding was done to finish watching it. It is an interesting premise it’s just it can’t even last (by “last” I mean be intersting) 7 eps.

j-subs here

Saito-san

The third lady (u know what i mean if you watched probably)’s acting was bad. it was like for reals? the director allowed this? It’s mostly the way she said her lines as opposed to the actual lines. The way she said it was so strange…. just not very sincere-sounding.

It’s like you don’t have to watch it. It’s not that good or that… anything. It has cute kids and well sometimes it’s done well but sometimes not…  j-subs to all the eps here

MOTHER – This and kaibutsu-kun drive me insane because they both are BAD dramas in my eyes yet people were praising them like crazy especially mother. they wrote like kami dorama  (kami= god) and i’m like no… It’s extremely slow, boring, melodramatic. I hate hate hate the main actress. I don’t think i’ll be able to watch any other drama with her in it because the way she talks is irritating. she whispers everything and it’s like… whispering does not equal good acting. as much as the guy from densha otoko was annoying, he was fine in watashitachi no kyoukasho but i don’t know about her if she’s going to do this acting forever!

And the little girl in the show is getting all famous and getting on this tv shows… not that i really care. she’s okay.

p.s. I wonder if there was some sorta significance with this scene (the screenshot that i took) with those things  she reached for… i wouldn’t know lol.

I was actually excited to watch this show becaue they kept talking about this show on various japanese info shows and the praise on the online boards and whatnot. they’re like oh they take such a serious theme and blahblahblah but it’s just not well-done so no.

there’s like no japanese to learn from it either. like there’s barely any talking.

Oh and here’s a thing from 2-ch matome that I really really really AGREE WITh.

マザーは、後世に語り継がれる程の糞ドラマ
もはや放送事故レベル
マザーってギャグドラマだろｗｗ
一分に一回突っ込み所のあるドラマなんて初めて見たｗ
役者も大根ばっかりｗｗｗｗｗｗｗｗ
よくあんなに下手くそな役者ばかり集められたなｗｗｗｗ
子役なんて見てて痛々しかった
顔もブッサイクだしｗ
松雪も糞ウザかった
何が｢つﾞくﾞみﾞーーー｣だよ
お前の声は人を不快にさせるんだからテレビに出てくんなよ
死ね

マザーは昔の家なき子みたいなもん
10年たったら誰も見むきもしない
かといって今高視聴率な訳でもない
早い話屑ｗ
展開が非常に都合よすぎる
リアリティありそうに見えてまったくリアリティがない。

It’s from ichiban TSUMARANAI dorama thread. sometimes that thread is more helpful than ichiban omoshiroi dorama.

it’s not as 涙頂戴 as 1 litter of teals. but . you know

Kaibutsu-kun – It’s for kids. There’s melodramatic scenes… which always follows oono. i don’t know why. It just gets lame and more and more boring and ugh…  I know everyone is really tryiing hard to make this show and everything with the special make up and wahatnot (like alll the promotoin on the TV) but the script is just… maybe it’s good enough for kids but not for me. actually the dramas that get promoted like crazy with actors coming out on the talk/variety/news shows usually suck the most… i’ve noticed.

I can’t believe the 3 d movie is coming out…

STAND UP! I tried to stick with this drama for too long (so boring and slow). should’ve given up or skipped/fast-forwarded earlier. it’s just ugly… people’s hairstyles/clothes etc lol. but i heard that DAIGO’s acting in the LADY hanzai profiler was really good that he was better than kitakawa keiko and the other main cast lol.

MAGERARENAI ONNA

I saw episode 1, parts of ep 2, and a few minutes of the last episode. Um this drama is crappy. It’s very boring, nagasaku (the actress who played the friend? or pseudofriend?) is really really annoying. Her acting is just nothing special just exactly what I expect which makes it so boring. Episode 2 was really boring and i knew what parts they were going to make dramatic or shocking or whatever at those set scenes but like it’s just not and i predicted it while i was wtaching ( it’s not that hard)>. ALSO I watched the preview 3rd episode and I was like wow that 3rd episode is going to be torture to watch b.c. it’s not going to be sad or anyhting… it’s just what it is.

I knew nothing was going to happen till the last episode so I just watched the last episode after fast=-forwading through the second episode. though i must admit even out of that i watched the last 5 minutes or something. I was just like this is lame… absolutely nothing has happened – this show is just depressing. I got sick of this show after the first episode and then the second just confirmed that this show has nothing much to offer. I love tanihara shousuke-san but he seems to be in bad dramas a lot lol j/k. who knows. DO NOT FORCE YOURSELF TO WATCH THIS DRAMA TO LEARN JAPANESE JUST BECAUSE IT HAS THE JAPANESE SUBS UP ON D-ADDICTS, same for KAIBUTSU MOTHER ETC unless you ACTUALLY enjoy watching those dramas. They really are just sucky. you’re better off watching a drama you actually like/enjoy with korean subs that are translated to japanese subs which I discussed in a previous post.

stuff I watched real quick cause I fast-fowarded/only watched parts of last&first ep and it most likely belongs in the BAD.BELOW AVERAGE/average section if i did watch more of it to decide… but it’s not worth my time.

mioka - lol it makes 1 liter of namida look good. BUT it was fun watching the actress on shabekuri 007.

shoukojo seira - boring boring boring.

Anna-san no Omame- at first i was like interesting. then i realized it’s just really annoying. I liked that one joke with the mannueqin… that was really unexpected and I thought it was funny. but everything else is just so annnnnnoying and never ending and never changing. I think  Isaw ep 1 and then 2-4 was painful to watch and tthen i fastforwarded watched the last ep ….

UNFAIR -I stopped at ep 7 or 5 or something. It’s just boring and i know there are plots I just don’t feel like thinking about this show. I suggest watching BONES. It always comes down to Is it as good as Bones? is it even close? is it half as interesting? for these kind of shows… and usually the answer is NO so NO.

RIKON BENGOSHI – amami yuuki　THING. it’s just not good enough. some over-expression like building shaking etc which could be seen as bad or good.  it’s just not enough to warrant me to finish watching this… something is missing. it’s not enough/ good enough etc. they try to make it interesting with the acting and dialogue/scenes but it’s feels like they’re just trying too hard. I mean i guess i could see why some people enjoy this b.c. they like what i just mentioned BUT i’m not one of them.

BOSS - amami what’s her face always plays the same character over and over. I can see that the writer’s are trying to make it interesting with all these engaging conversations b.t. amano and whoever ex. the episoe with shida mirai… it’s as if the show is pretending to be better than it actually is which is not that good…. BUT it’s just not enough. it’s just not… especially if I start comparing it to BONES. I love kenkobayashi-san on like talk shows and i’m not going to criticize his acting in this drama but like there really is nothing special going on with the cast/characters really either. his acting was fine, i have no complaints…

Dragon Zakura - It’s really really dry/boring. I don’t think it’s that interesting. I ‘m not that obsessed with abe hiroshi. I was like if it is the usual slow/boring/dry drama then at least i’ll watch for whatever tips for learning but even with that mentality i stopped watching afte rep 2 or something. I am not obsessed with YAMAPI but I did enjoy his acting and everything in NOBUTA PRODUCE.

GTO – I couldn’t watch episode 1. sorry i can’t take this old 90s vibe by that I mean slow paced boring etc. the anime is slow-paced boring too BTW -for the anime there are some good eps and funny parts but just too slow sometimes. people go crazy over this one but i won’t lol.

HOTARU NO HIKARI - so this is why i do not like ayase haruka. she is NOT cute. if you want cute go watch MOP GIRL. I feel like FUJI-something nao-something is always in crappy dramas. this show is not funny, boring, slow. not much going on with the story. I think I watched till ep 3 but i just hate ayase haruka in those drama. it’s just really uninteresting.

MR. BRAIN - I saw the ep with nakama yukie cause i read somewhere about her acting. um it’s just this show is not good enough. it comes down to is it as smart as bones and the answer is NOOOO

No pictures added for these because it takes time and work to do that. and more importantly, none of these dramas are THAT visually appealing (how shallow) anyway…

&&& randomly my anime reviews on Elfen Lied
Honey and Clover, Azumanga Daioh, Fruits Basket
Full Metal Panic & Kare Kano

DRAMAS I WANT TO WATCH SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOON… to watch list.

IF you want to suggest some to me go ahead though i don’t know when i’ll get around to watching it

Shibatora

Majo Saiban

tiger dragon
RINJOU

quiz show season 1. season 2= NEVER

the japanese subs!

白夜行

tetsu no hone.

nihonjin no shiranai nihongo- i heard it was crappy tho so maybe i ‘ll watch a little to see.. do like the actress

tobo bengoshi

Love Shuffle – J- subs!!!

http://jpsubbers.positivehosting.com/Japanese-Subtitles/@Reairs/LoveShuffle/

nouryouku with tanimura shosuke & ishihara satomi

CHASE – on ep 1。 lOVE THE song. 退行　菊地成孔 It used to be up on youtube.I love the song so much i ripped from the video file so i could listen to it. jazz at its best to say the least yo.

GONZO – didn’t finish

atami no sousakan- jsubs relesaed.
suzuki sensei jsubs relesaed.

carnation – love the shiina ringo single and the other 2 songs on the single.

soredemo ikiteyuku

shinya shokudou2.…do ihave towatch the prequel plus itlooks reallly boring…so ill try 1ep?

youkai nignen bemu =is this another kaibutsu-kun? surprisd that kamenashi isn’t dragging the ratings down lol

kaseifu n omita - it has mad high ratings. it even beat jin 2′s finale ratings by like a lot?….kaseifu got 31.5%  at one moment during the airing of episode 8 . but the average is 29.6% and 29.0% in kantou and kansei, respectively.

jin 26.1%  but the most views at any second was 31.7% so it did beat kaseifu in that aspect but not the overall aspect. this 31.7% was like the part when we get to that new phase in the last episode if you remembers.

erika = that kuriyama chiaki drma? lol not sure. but i love the single.. .both songs!

joou no kyoushitsu SP – did not know they existed lol.

I FEEL LIKE this list was longer? it’s probably somewhere on this computer.

ACtually it is a lot loonger. I started using evernote instead of notepad. I don’t have to worry about losing stuff and it’s a good way to organizae plus I can access it anywhere. I can also search multiple “notepad” files . the only downside is it’s not as simple as notepad so let’s say I was scrolling the secret garden script while re-watching ep for certain scenes that dre wme on.. it goes crazy and moves it all the way up and then i have to rescroll down… which is a bitch and unnecessary. so in this aspect, notepad kicks evernote’s ass…. if it had one.

1. Destination Nowhere
2. ESCAPE

Destination Nowhere
vocals: ERIKA
lyrics: ERIKA / LOVE
music: COZZi

oto mo nai sabaku no umi hoshi darake no sora
hitori miageteiru
dokomade tsudzuiteiru no
watashi wa doko made aruite yukeru no darou

kogoesou na te wo nobaseba todoku hikari
hakanai ano hoshi ga kieru mae ni

Take off to the sky, wind is crying
mesaki no koto ni mayou na
motto mukou Hear the calling
kikoenai koe sae kikou Together

yoru no uchi ni tsumotteta yuki wo fumu you ni
shizuka ni aruiteiru
furikaereba soko ni aru tashika na ashiato
ashita no asa ni wa mou

mada mita koto no nai jibun ni ai ni
soko ni ita kage wa mou inai yo

Take off to the sky, wind is crying
watashi wa watashi ni naru
kaze no naka Hear the future
kikoenai koe sae kikou Together

Destination Nowhere
mokuteki chi nanka itsumo tsuukaten
katachi wo kaeru suna no you

Take off to the sky, wind is crying
mesaki no koto ni mayou na
motto mukou Hear the calling
ima wo kanjite

kimi ni ai ni yuku yo
kokoro wo toki hanatte
kaze no naka hear the future
kikoenai koe sae kikou together

~∞~∞~∞~

ESCAPE

ima koushite koushite hibi wareta kagami ni
nee sotto sotto tsumasaki wo orosu yo

mayoi konda mori no mannaka de kimore hi wa hikari to kage no Phase
sou ne shoujo wa itsuka mukiau no YAKEDOshi sou na mune no oku to

souzou doori no kuusou asobi yume de kimi to KISU shita
saa ima sugu ni hashiranakya oikakeru shiro USAGI

te wo nobashite nozoite mite
Escape from the world Escape from the wall
kidzusuketa no? naiteita no?
Escape from the wind Escape from the rain yeah

ame no yanda sora ni niji kakaru itazura mitai ni mune sawagasu
hora ne junshin na omoi komi dake ja wari kirenai kokoro ga sakebu yo

joukyouteki ni shoudouteki ni fui ni te wo tsunaida
Ah kiesou ni waratteru
Black cat Black cat, black, black, black, black

kowakunai yo itaku nai yo
Escape from the world Escape from the wall
suki datta no? kakushiteta no?
Escape from the wind Escape from the rain yeah

kyou ga sou datte kidzuitan da
mou ikanakya ikenai tte
me wo tojite sagashite mite hora soba ni iru kara

te wo nobashite nozoite mite
Escape from the world Escape from the wall
kidzusuketa no? naiteita no?
Escape from the wind Escape from the rain yeah

Escape from the room Escape from the rules
Escape from the fate Escape from the safe
Escape from the world Escape from the wall
Escape from the wind Escape from the rain yeah

Technically this wasn’t a must-win game but if we would’ve lost tonight, massive alarm bells would’ve gone off, after all you can’t allow the Pacers to snap their five game losing streak on your home floor. So the Raps dug deep, did enough good things on the floor to ensure that they won a game that they’re supposed to win. There’s no reason to celebrate too much after a win against a team you’re expected to beat but there were some encouraging signs that might make all Raptors fans feel a little better about the next few games. For a change, Chris Bosh stayed aggressive for all four quarters and anytime he attempted a shot outside of 15 feet he missed so bad (thank God) that he resorted right back to driving to the rim. With Bosh supplying the inside presence needed on both ends, the game opened up for the snipers and Calderon, Kapono, Delfino and Parker nailed enough jumpers to take away a deserved win. Our PGs made good decisions and when given space, nailed the shots the defense conceded. 30 points and 17 assists for Forderon and we’re 5-0 when we score a 100 points which means if our offense isn’t stuck in a rut we have a good chance of winning.

Jorge Garbajosa unexpectedly came out of the doghouse to play 24 minutes and had a couple threes along with six rebounds. It’s good to see Garbo play well the same day Dave Feschuk (who’s actually readable this year) suggested that the Garbo situation couldn’t possibly end happily here in Toronto. What’s inexplicable is figuring out what the difference between today’s game and the Jazz game was that Garbo deserved time today but not on Wednesday. Ideas? I sure have none. Despite starting off the third quarter hitting everything and racking up assists, Sam took out TJ Ford and put in Jose Calderon until the end. I’ll commend Sam for actually sticking with Calderon the entire fourth quarter and not screwing this up by putting back an ice-cold TJ Ford like the Magic game. But if I’m TJ Ford, I’m really confused on why I didn’t play a single meaningful minute after the third quarter. But he’s a team player and he’s saying all the right things in the post-game interview. However, the beauty of winning is that nobody remembers these minor details. These minor details are even easier to forget when the bench has 48 points and the team has 26 assists on 38 made shots, a sure sign of a clicking offense where possessions are being converted in stride.

Raps again had early woes mostly thanks to some insane Indiana offensive rebounding, Jermaine O’Neal playing like an All-Star and some great shooting by Troy Murphy and Travis Diener (diminutive white man who can’t help but remind you of Luke Ridnour). The Raps did enough doubling in the second to make things uncomfortable for O’Neal and make sure that he doesn’t beat them. O’Neal is extremely though in one-on-one situations and there was enough help for Bosh that enabled him to not get in foul trouble and actually play good defense on O’Neal. Despite Bosh’s offensive struggles of late, he has been phenomenal on defense. The defense on Murphy was tightened enough so he had to work harder for his shots and this put the burden on Jamaal Tinsley who did everything he could humanly do to keep Indiana in the game but in the end when the Raps start hitting their jumpers, they’re very hard to beat. Even Jim O’Brien in the post-game tipped his hat to our shooters:

“They made some unbelievable shots…They’re very difficult to guard”

But there is one pretty dark stat on the scoreboard, it’s Andrea Bargnani. He is not a stiff and will end up being a pretty good player but right now he sure looks like a stiff. Less than five minutes played, no rebounds and three fouls. Not a very flattering line for Bargnani who was taken out in the first quarter and never saw the light of day again. So much for Chuck Swirsky predicting he would have a big game tonight. Hopefully getting his only shot embarrassingly blocked and picking up incredibly silly fouls doesn’t turns this two-game slump into a mental thing that might take weeks to cure. I don’t know how but somehow he’s got to get his confidence back to the level of where he can take a confident jumper and even if it doesn’t go in, he’ll continue working hard on the other end.

Excellent point guard play, strong inside presence courtesy of Bosh, very good spacing and good outside shooting pull the Raps through. Bosh isn’t close to being his best offensively but he’s on the right path. He’s shooting 93% from the FT line and that’ll keep him motivated to attack the rim, the jump shot will come sooner or later. Maceo Baston and Jamario Moon had nice enough games where neither was spectacular but did enough little things on the defensive end to help out on a night where their offense was definitely not needed. Anthony Parker’s 3rd quarter 3/4 court buzzer beater reminded me of…………………..yup, Mo Pete. Even though he’s not on this team and we’re probably better off for it, I still miss him. Something about him had Toronto Raptors written all over him and it’ll always be that way.

Some one-liners from the game:

• Kris Humphries does not give up on any possession, the contract has breathed new life into him.
• Jamario Moon has recoverability in his defense.
• Maceo Baston looks like he can’t bend his knees without them making a cracking sound.
• Jorge Garbajosa has extreme confidence in his 3pt shooting ability.
• When Carlos Delfino starts nailing threes, the chances of us winning go up by 250%
• Jose Calderon really doesn’t care who starts.
• If it’s OK to for Jose and TJ to play at the same time in late game situations like tonight, how come it wasn’t against the Jazz, Magic and Celtics?
• There’s a newer Mop Girl out there who might be hotter than the older one.
• Jack Armstrong and Minerva from the Raptors Dance Pak are an item
• Juan Dixon didn’t play for two games in a row now. If he just shows himself on the bench more Sam will remember him and put him in the game.

We’re 1-1 on this home-stand and got Golden State coming here on Sunday, that’s another game we should win. Thanks for reading, grab the feed.

Cleveland never looked to exploit their inside advantage and settled far too easily for Larry Hughes and Lebron taking 19 footers (NBA finals anyone?). In response, the Raps grabbed the boards and let TJ/Jose find the people that needed to be found, on this night Kapono and Delfino, the latter slashing like a pro and looking very dangerous. Anthony Parker had a five minute spell where he had a three point play and two threes which made me feel a lot better about the entire preseason. He’s been bent out of shape of late and he appeared to get off the mark in the second half. There’s no doubt that when he curls around Nesterovic/Bosh screens and catches the ball at the top of the key, he opens up many options.

Let’s keep this short and mention Andrea Bargnani and his love affair with the outside jumper. I know when they start going in it’s easy to look past all the wrong things about a 7-footer shooting 19 footers but when they don’t, you realize what a waste of talent he might be. I haven’t seen any real improvement in the preseason from him in terms of post presence or meaningful rebounds. Man of The Match goes to Darrick Martin for nailing a three pointer. I’d say it’s 50-50 between Luke Jackson and Juan Dixon at this point, Dixon might have a hair’s breadth edge in that battle only because he’s a veteran.

ACC crowed in my section (102) seemed pretty lame, only me and one other guy even knew who Baston and Moon were. There were these two young kids who kept yelling “You suck Marshall!” which I didn’t quite understand because Donnie M never seemed like that bad of a guy so I asked them. Turns out he’d snubbed them in a shopping mall a few years ago. There’s a way to make a life long enemy. Let’s get to the juicy part of this post which really means waving about a picture of Mop Girl, aka Jade Wilmott, yes I know it’s sad but it’s also an addiction:

If you liked that pic you’re likely to like this one too. Check out all the pics here, need to get a new camera soon. I’m thinking an SLR.

You ever notice how desperate people are to get their hands on a free T-Shirt? It’s like water being handed out in the middle of a desert. Plus, they got to stop calling the T-Shirt giveaway “60 Seconds of Madness” because it’s more like 20 seconds and there’s hardly 10 shirts. I’m not one to talk, I filled out a credit card application just to get my hands on one. Truly pathetic. Finally, have your heard of the 4 Corners? They’re the supposedly hip DJs at the ACC who are hired to keep those of us with the attention span of a fly in check during halftime. Both their music and act is pretty brutal, what also doesn’t make sense is the scratching they do doesn’t seem to affect the record that’s being played. Weird.

Took this video too where Darrick Martin simply can’t resist launching a three with time running out. It’s in his bloody nature.

In short, Raps looked good but Cleveland was awful. Thanks for the hit. Grab the feed.

Cast
Kitagawa Keiko as Hasegawa Momoko
Tanihara Shosuke as Ohtomo Shotaro
Asami Reina as Ookouchi Hina
Takaoka Sousuke as Wakayama Akira
Sato Jiro as Higashi Shigeo
Magii as Yokouchi Atsushi
Watanabe Natsuna as Nakamura Tamaki
Ikezu Shoko as Kataoka Miki
Hori Mayumi
Honda Hirotaro as Hasegawa Ryuji

-Source: Drama Wiki