Coup D'Etat!

Rank	Arashi Ranking Favorite (Top) to Least Favorite (Bottom)

There's been an upset in the rankings!  Ninomiya's recent smarminess has landed him down with the likes of Sakurai Sho.  (Whom I really don't hate.  Sho is totally...Sho-tastic.)  ::sigh::  I had tried so hard not to become a Matsumoto Jun fangirl, but it looks like that just wasn't in the cards.  Even if he's a whore for attention and probably a kinesthetic learner, the man can stand like nobody's business.

Ah well, Fandom is a volatile nation; I'm sure a new order will crop up within a month or so.

Who's the Lead Actor, Again?

Uta no Onii-san could have been titled The New Ohno Satoshi Vehicle.  It's an adorable show (I watched all eight episodes in two days), but wow do they want you to know that Ohno Satoshi is the star.  If you think an episode goes by without a reference to Arashi or the name Ohno, then you weren't paying attention.

"Why do we have to smile all the time?  It's not like we're idols or anything?"
"Hey, you look a lot like that guy...Ohno-san?"
And Sakurai Sho even cameos to promote his Yatterman.  (Sho seems to be making a hobby of guest-starring in friends' dramas.  Luckily he's got his own coming up and won't stay "the guest-spot guy" forever.)

Aside from Uta making the same joke every episode, the show has a lot of high points.  There are fights in animal costumes, kids mauling Ohno, and a supercool female lead.  Ohno's pretty good at playing the mildly grumpy Kenta, and we get to see a lot of classic "Ohno faces." 

 There's also Ohno getting kicked off a slide by some precocious Kindergarteners...

Two spastic running montages...

...and this guy.

This is just the first episode, people.  It's definitely a fun watch.

The Newest Caper

I love you, Lupin.

Quiz Update: Urgent!

I've been having too much fun taking random Arashi quizzes online.  You must be intrigued, so here are the overall results:

I will marry...

• 4 quizzes say Sakurai Sho
• 1.5 quizzes say Aiba Masaki
• 1.5 quizzes say Ninomiya Kazunari
• 1 quiz says Matsumoto Jun 
• 1 quiz says Ohno (Oh, no!) Satoshi

I am most similar to...

• 1 quiz says Sakurai Sho
• 1 quiz says Aiba Masaki
• 1 quiz says Ohno (Oh, no!) Satoshi

For the last time, Sakurai Sho, I will not marry you.  I just can't spend the rest of my life with a man who doesn't know if his underwear is on backwards.  Also, I already have a lovely husband.

The End of Uselessness?

Who would believe that Maruo on Tokyo Dogs is actually ending his streak of uselessness?  Not that he was totally useless before, but he certainly didn't do a lot aside from hitting on ladies and believing in people.

Well, he's still up to his old tricks--but now he's also busting gambling rings all by himself, going undercover, and even saving Detective So.  Oh my God, how did that happen?  (Granted, Det. So only needed saving for like 30 seconds and could totally have gotten himself out of it...but he didn't!)

As if all that weren't enough, Maruo's adamant belief in other people proved to be more than just another stereotypical element of Japanese storytelling.  It actually 1. helped solve a blackmailing case and 2. infected Det. So to the point that he was unnecessarily nice to two whole people.  Holy crap.

PS:  Guess who wore a suit for a good three-quarters of an episode?  The tables have turned, my friends. 

"My Girl"--Japan's Turn

I'd been putting off watching Aiba Masaki's new drama My Girl, mostly because I'm dumb.  Honestly, it looked kind of sappy, and that's not what I usually go for in a show.  Once again, I'm dumb.

Turns out the show is really well done.  Yes, there's some sap and (if you couldn't tell from the picture) cuteness levels are off the charts.  But the writing is fantastic, so none of that gets in the way.

The show presents a contemplative view on what it's like to deal with grief, to want to say something and not say it, to be overwhelmed, to be a parent.  I probably shouldn't say this about a manga-turned-drama, but it reminds me of Chekhov.  The hesitancy characters have in their relationships with each other, the words left unspoken, the constant presence of grief--all Chekhov.

Also, there are symbols.  They're used well.  You don't get hit over the head with corny lines like "The taste of these cookies is the taste of love."  (Sorry Hana Yori Dango, but you are painful like that.)  Frankly, you don't get hit over the head with anything but "Isn't this little girl adorable?" and "Doesn't Aiba Masaki look good in purple?"  It's refreshing that the show actually trusts its viewers to notice things on their own and is more interested in nuance than in repeating the last plot point.

Ow...

If I can tell it's bad Japanese, it's bad Japanese.  And step off the Arashi songs, EastWest Boys.  It takes a special kind of bad singing and sparkle power to pull those off, and you don't have it. 

On the other hand, you are 90s-tastic.  Is anyone else having New Kids/Power Rangers flashbacks?

Anyway, good luck with your latest boyband, Japan.  Please don't let me see their singles on the Oricon charts.