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My friends and I have been eagerly looking forward to the upcoming Cowboy Bebop movie. Not Knockin' on Heaven's Door--a real, live-action movie. This could have been just plain awesome, but the news that Keanu Reeves will star ensures it'll be awesomely horrible instead. Hilarity should ensue...
Cross your fingers, ladies and gents.
Skip Beat is a goofy, girly series--reminiscent of Sailor Moon for its cheesiness level. It's a long time between manga updates, so there's an element of nostalgia each time I read a new installment.
Can I just say...I missed Fuwa Sho. His over-the-top reactions and single-minded, childish behavior are absolutely hilarious. Sure, he's a jerk, but you always know there will be some love-triangle male-stand-off fun whenever he's around.
Also, our noble and handsome male lead Tsuruga-san has gotten...well, jealous and crappy. Where is your earlier vibrancy, Tsuruga-san? Right now, your manager Yashiro-san is totally out-charming you, which is a big problem.
Dear Skip Beat, you have (spolier link!) promised to be awesome in the next chapter. Please, please deliver.
Tokyo Dogs totally lived up to my expectations. I tend to zone out during action sequences, but these were funny/plotty enough that I could still pay attention. Things weren't hurt by a ridiculous shopping montage that actually did a nice job establishing character.
(Just a note: Moderate, but awesome, spoiler ahead.)
However, I can't help but wonder what the Japanese think our American police force is like. Oguri Shun shoots a guy in the knees! Through a door! Without provocation! Mizushima Hiro has this weird "what a typically American thing to do" response. Really? Is that what the world thinks we're like? Also, apparently no one here likes fish...
Knowing America's world reputation is not at its highest right now, I have a hard time just chalking this up to "Japan is crazy." Anyway, please enjoy the further adventures of a hobo, a banker, and their niece.
Read the synopsis for Stand Up!! and you probably won't think it has a chance of being legitimately good. As I was, you will be legitimately wrong.
The series deals with teenagers and their first experiences with sex and dating. Instead of whining and using overly-clever dialogue like in Dawson's Creek, these characters attack their problems with the zeal of a dog trying to get peanut butter out of a chew toy. Yes, the main character is obiligatorily shy and a little whiny, but also pretty adorable. He also decides to grow a pair around episode three, which makes the series much easier to watch from that point on.
The supporting cast is pretty fun, and at least semi-believably quirky. The teenage boys act vaguely like real teenage boys, instead of the typical "what teenage girls want teenage boys to act like." Narimiya Hiroki was the bright spot for me, though--forcing his friends to join his "Purity Club" when he can't get a date and then whole-heartedly declaring the club defunct whenever he can get one. Also, he falls off a stage.
Overall, it's a story about friendship, about understanding and putting up with each other's differences, and maintaining the "purity" in our relationships. Sooo worth a look.
Full House is a highly fun, highly popular Korean show. The characters are all super-cliched, but lovable in their own rights. There are even two Lenny and Squiggy-esque characters who manage to always show up at the exact wrong moment ...with hilarious results.
The series also features the widest array of "not quite shirts" I've ever seen: (The red one is my absolute favorite.)
There is also an amazing amount of shirts missing buttons, as evidenced in this video.Believe it or not, the end is actually semi-good, but the soundtrack is semi-better. I mean, awesome. Checks it out here, especially "I Think I Love You."
Okay. This is definitely the best video on YouTube ever. There's also a rather enjoyable LiveJournal post to go along with it.
And I mean the Dan Aykroyd/Tom Hanks Dragnet. Japan remembers, too. Tokyo Dogs is the super-promising j-drama reminiscent of that 1987 classic.
So far only part of the first episode is up online, but it already has me rolling off the couch laughing. There's a New York police shoot-out with real Engrish, the ins and outs of where not to buy a suit in Tokyo, and two of my favorite actors. Mizushima Hiro has a strong comedic side that's coming into play, and Oguri Shun actually cut his hair to play the mildly grumpy straight man. From what I've seen so far, this show should be some awesome "odd couple" fun.
PS: Mizushima Hiro's new hair is only marginally better than before--with some penciled-on facial hair added for good measure. Hair and make-up artists of Japan, can we please go back to the days of Zettai Kareshi?
Dear Sakurai Sho,
Do you know what a do-rag is for? Perhaps the Urban Dictionary can elucidate you: A do-rag is "material worn around the head...to ensure that braids last longer than five days" and "originally worn to protect a 'process' [permed or otherwise treated hair]."
Do you have braids?
Perhaps you have a perm?
Then you should probably not wear a do-rag. Even if you do at some time decide to try out one of the above-mentioned hairstyles, you will still look dumb if you wear a do-rag on stage.
Sincerely,
Useless Ivory
PS: Also, throwing faux gang signs may not be your best choice.
PPS: You'll want to watch the video in that last link at 2 minutes, 53 seconds.
Google "My Girl" and your top result won't be the 1991 coming-of-age movie, but the 2005 Korean drama. You can also find some fairly detailed information about the series on the Korea Tourism Organization's website.
I don't know if any TV show deserves recognition from the national government, but My Girl is still a pretty cool show. Sure, it hits almost every cliche in the drama repertoire, but the show is actually aware of that fact. There are several moments where characters imagine how things would fare if they were in a TV show. From imagined gangster shoot-outs to who would be a good candidate for amnesia, the show gets creative without being too corny.
What impressed me the most, however, was the show's ability to introduce, continue, and develop a theme. The writers' use of snow as a symbol (which in other shows usually carries a vaguely cathartic connotation at best) grows in importance throughout the series, actually developing along with the romantic leads' relationship. Not only that, the writers use lying as a motif. Typically, the lies characters tell only serve to heighten the drama or squeeze another couple episodes out of a newly complicated situation. In My Girl the characters actually examine ideas like what circumstances make dishonesty allowable, how do people change through having to keep up a charade, what things are impossible to be dishonest about, and what makes a lie convincing in the first place.
I'm not saying the show is Solzhenitsyn: There are a few ridiculous plot moments, but they're forgivable. The show is fun, thoughtful, quick-paced, and definitely worth a look.
Hana Kimi started off nicknamed as "The Other Greenwood" for its remarkable similarity to my long-time favorite Here Is Greenwood. The similarities are so numerous that it really deserves a whole other post, but I'll offer up this pictoral comparison as some quick evidence.
In any case as I watched the drama for HK, I couldn't help but notice some major character changes. Sano, the romantic lead, is manga's own Mr. Darcy: He's a little shy/anti-social, serious, elegant, and adorable when his feathers get ruffled. Manga Sano is pretty awesome. Drama Sano...not so much.
"Fake Sano" as I call him is grumpy to the point of jerkdom. Between the actor (Oguri Shun), director, and writer, Sano managed to lose a lot of what made him a sympathetic character. (Nothing against Oguri Shun; after all, he pulled off what would have been a spot-on Sano as Hanazawa Rui in Hana Yori Dango.) Not only that, the new charismatic Nakatsu is out to steal his wind.
Charismatic Nakatsu, hilariously played by Ikuta Toma, got a good two-thirds of what would typically be "romantic lead" scenes. Mizuki (the female lead) thinking of leaving for America? Charismatic Nakatsu is there to stop her five minutes before Fake Sano even thinks about it. Formal school dance? Charismatic Nakatsu is there to dress in a tux and dance with her. Not to mention the fact that he gets let in on Mizuki's big secret and manages to play part of the protective role that manga Nakatsu never even got close to.
Of course, Nakatsu isn't the romantic lead; Fake Sano ends up nabbing the girl. Here's the thing, though: I wished it was the other way around. Enough of Sano's likability got siphoned off into Charismatic Nakatsu that he ended up making a better leading man.
In the manga, Nakatsu was constantly interrupting moments between Sano and Mizuki; if he did something sweet, it was immediately countered with a goofy, off-putting stunt. As a reader, I was constantly wanting to shoo him out of any scene with romantic potential. But Charismatic Nakatsu is all awesome. My biggest "yell at the screen" moment for the drama was Fake Sano interrupting a "moment" between Mizuki and Charismatic Nakatsu.
Sigh...at least they kept the ridiculously ugly pants.
Quite possibly the awesomest video on Youtube.
Okay, this one's pretty good too...in a completely the opposite kind of way.
Take Care of the Young Lady, otherwise known as "the new butler show," has come to an end. I've heard various criticisms about the show getting weird toward the end, but I have to confess I thought the last episode was really cute.
Was the second-to-last episode agonizingly ridiculous at times? Yes. But the very last episode--pretty adorable. The scene at the airport even lent a cyclic (though cliched) element to the story, which I can always appreciate. Still, earlier episodes were more raucous and fun: Even my husband liked the "butler and lawyer versus real gangsters" fight and Butler Seo's Lionel Richie impersonation.
Let's not forget that Butler Seo was in jeans almost the whole last episode as well. That man can rock a pair of jeans. (See below for the best evidence Google Image Search has to offer.)
According to various fans and the illustrious Wikipedia, Hanazawa Rui of Hana Yori Dango fame has Aspergers. A few of my students are on this end of the autism spectrum, so I thought this was a really cool thing for mangaka Kamio Yoko to include in her story. A main character, a romantic lead (albeit on the losing end of the love triangle) with a classically anti-charismatic syndrome.
I thought of all the awkward middle school students who could see themselves reflected in Hanazawa Rui. I thought of spreading awareness about Aspergers to a wide-ranging, manga-reading audience. I thought about the levels of acceptance and understanding that this "fictional diagnosis" could foster.
And then I thought about Rui's seemingly psychic emotional intuition. (It's at this point that I'll confess I've only seen the drama; perhaps Rui isn't so psychic in the other HYD incarnations.)
Let's face it, no "white knight" character can get away with not being able to read the female lead's thoughts. How many times did the other members of F4 say, "I wonder what's up with Tsukushi's weird behavior?" only to have Rui fly out the door to her rescue minutes later? How many times did Rui understand what Tsukushi was thinking better than Domyoji did? How many times did he understand what Domyoji was thinking better than Domyoji did? (I know Tsukasa's no emotional genius, but you think he'd do better than a guy with a medically diagnosed issue reading emotions.) I'm just sayin'.
Weren't there times when Rui was almost emotionally manipulative? (Flirting with Tsukushi on the staircase, etc.) Not that people with Aspergers can't flirt, but he played that one pretty close to the line. You've got to be able to understand what the other person is thinking to get away with that.
It's nice that Hana Yori Dango is trying to be culturally relevant, but it's doing it in typical, lovably ridiculous HYD fashion. Maybe the manga and anime better reconcile Rui's behavior with his diagnosis. Maybe I'm overthinking it. Maybe there's a new kind of magic Aspergers out there...
I purposefully got smashed to watch the Hana Yori Dango movie. The series was fun, but also immensely painful; I figured the movie would prove the same (See: Domyoji's selective amnesia, Tsukushi breaking up with Domyoji every episode, and Ikuta Toma's supermodel-out-for-revenge guest spot). Honestly, Hanazawa Rui was the only thing getting me through the second half of that series. Finding out if he could finally nab Shizuka was my main motivation for braving the movie.
Let's just say that the alcohol only helped a little. The "Domyoji Crown Jewels" thing was goofy, but perfectly allowable for HYD. The Las Vegas scenes were even pretty cute, especially the classic Domyoji "I'm awesome; wait, no, I'm fucking things up" moment at the roulette table. There was even some semi-adult introspection about marriage. But...punching a bear on a deserted island? Really? 
Hanazawa Rui as a wedding officiate? I know that Japan and Western culture don't always mix, but I had assumed the idea of clerical robes being for clergy was obvious.
Don't get me wrong, HYD is its own brand of fun. It just takes patience sometimes...
My husband's been putting up with my ramblings about J-dramas and K-dramas for a while now. He gladly passes the baton to this blog, which is much stronger than he.
My friends and I have been eagerly looking forward to the upcoming Cowboy Bebop movie. Not Knockin' on Heaven's Door--a real, live-action movie. This could have been just plain awesome, but the news that Keanu Reeves will star ensures it'll be awesomely horrible instead. Hilarity should ensue...
Cross your fingers, ladies and gents.
Skip Beat is a goofy, girly series--reminiscent of Sailor Moon for its cheesiness level. It's a long time between manga updates, so there's an element of nostalgia each time I read a new installment.
Can I just say...I missed Fuwa Sho. His over-the-top reactions and single-minded, childish behavior are absolutely hilarious. Sure, he's a jerk, but you always know there will be some love-triangle male-stand-off fun whenever he's around.
Also, our noble and handsome male lead Tsuruga-san has gotten...well, jealous and crappy. Where is your earlier vibrancy, Tsuruga-san? Right now, your manager Yashiro-san is totally out-charming you, which is a big problem.
Tokyo Dogs totally lived up to my expectations. I tend to zone out during action sequences, but these were funny/plotty enough that I could still pay attention. Things weren't hurt by a ridiculous shopping montage that actually did a nice job establishing character.
Knowing America's world reputation is not at its highest right now, I have a hard time just chalking this up to "Japan is crazy." Anyway, please enjoy the further adventures of a hobo, a banker, and their niece.
Full House is a highly fun, highly popular Korean show. The characters are all super-cliched, but lovable in their own rights. There are even two Lenny and Squiggy-esque characters who manage to always show up at the exact wrong moment ...with hilarious results.
Okay. This is definitely the best video on YouTube ever. There's also a rather enjoyable LiveJournal post to go along with it.
Google "My Girl" and your top result won't be the 1991 coming-of-age movie, but the 2005 Korean drama. You can also find some fairly detailed information about the series on the Korea Tourism Organization's website.
What impressed me the most, however, was the show's ability to introduce, continue, and develop a theme. The writers' use of snow as a symbol (which in other shows usually carries a vaguely cathartic connotation at best) grows in importance throughout the series, actually developing along with the romantic leads' relationship. Not only that, the writers use lying as a motif. Typically, the lies characters tell only serve to heighten the drama or squeeze another couple episodes out of a newly complicated situation. In My Girl the characters actually examine ideas like what circumstances make dishonesty allowable, how do people change through having to keep up a charade, what things are impossible to be dishonest about, and what makes a lie convincing in the first place.
In any case as I watched the drama for HK, I couldn't help but notice some major character changes. Sano, the romantic lead, is manga's own Mr. Darcy: He's a little shy/anti-social, serious, elegant, and adorable when his feathers get ruffled. Manga Sano is pretty awesome. Drama Sano...not so much.
"Fake Sano" as I call him is grumpy to the point of jerkdom. Between the actor (Oguri Shun), director, and writer, Sano managed to lose a lot of what made him a sympathetic character. (Nothing against Oguri Shun; after all, he pulled off what would have been a spot-on Sano as Hanazawa Rui in Hana Yori Dango.) Not only that, the new charismatic Nakatsu is out to steal his wind.
Of course, Nakatsu isn't the romantic lead; Fake Sano ends up nabbing the girl. Here's the thing, though: I wished it was the other way around. Enough of Sano's likability got siphoned off into Charismatic Nakatsu that he ended up making a better leading man.
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