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Ryu ga Gotoku 5 review

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Finally, after 130+ hours I finally finished Ryu ga Gotoku 5, the 7th game to feature main character Kazuma Kiryu and Haruka counting 2 spin offs. There's also the two Kurohyou games which I have not gotten around to but I've seen the first season of the dorama.

This video just sums up the awesomeness of Ryu ga Gotoku 5! Just watch it. Best video ever. Trust me.

This is the first Ryu go Gotoku which I've tried to read most of it. I remember playing 5 and Of the End and thinking how can I read and listen at the same time? Now my reading has slightly improved from watching doramas and listening to to help me look up words on my kanji dictionary.

There's apparently a chain in Japan called Izakaya Hanako where the girls dress like this. :)

The game is not without flaws but man did Sega go all out on this game. First single player game I can remember spending over 100 hours and a month on just to finish. 5 characters and 5 cities 4 of which I've been to though I don't remember much about Sakae. Need to do back there and see if its the same as the game. After being though so many games with these characters, the ending was satisfying. I thought the Haruka becoming an idoru story would be tacky but it ended up being very fun and interesting with all the entertainment industry stories.

The memorable little match girl sub story.

Badass yakuza who just escaped from prison helping little girl to threaten sell 100 yen match boxes...

so she can buy hand cream for her mum. Awwwwww. Some stories you can get away with in games.

Is she a manipulative cute little thing or what? Was looking for a way to give her all my money from hunting deer and fighting bears with my fist. Yes, there is hunting in this game along with drift racing, street dance battles, baseball etc.

I don't feel like beating people up now...

Random thoughts on the game I posted on gamefaqs:

- I shed a tear when Haruka said 'I am Kiryuu Kazuma's family'. Can't believe its been 7 games with those two. Nagoshi can do whatever convoluted conspiracy story but as long as those two are in it, I'll keep buying.

- The ending song Diamond Dust is awesome.

- Didn't really care about the last boss but the fight was still epic.

- Why isn't Akiyama's bakamitai song about Hana-chan? I love him becoming this new legend of Kamarucho.

- I just didn't really care about Shinada. I really got lazy reading during his chapter. The Shinada - Baba fight is just zzzzz.

- When are we going to be able to play as Majima? Of the end doesn't count.

- At least Majima didn't 'lose' again this time.

- Don't like some heat/red heat moves overlap. Holding L2 prevents both.

- Game 6 needs to be more 'intimate' about the fallout of Haruka's announcement. The core of the story is Kiryuu, Haruka and Akiyama. Saejima's just another Kiryuu. 5 characters is too many to weave a plot around.

- Best sub stories are the match girl and Haruka's stalkers.

- Akiyama should be able to do his red heat move against enemies that he can't knock down. I find him the hardest to use against many enemies. His moves that too long to start up and I always have to back of first.

- I was expecting the four guys cheering Haruka at the final concert like in the OST.

- How stupid is it that when Haruka goes karaoke she only cheers Kiryuu but not the other way? No cheering karaoke is boring. You have to switch to Kiryuu to have him cheer Haruka.

- What happened to the give letter to Majima story? I really wanted to see Haruka giving him the letter. This is like another side of Majima we've never seen before. Shouldn't he be one of the five characters? They could have made him the first character and gotten rid of Shinada.

Someone else can go save Japan...

Heat actions/move I hate:

- Akiyama's press Triangle when enemy near wall. You want to juggle someone and oops, here's a long cinematic.

- Any climax heat that involves R1 and Triangle. Always comes out accidentally.

- Shinada's when enemy getting up heat action. Use to be a cool button pressing finishing move for Kiryuu and now its just a way too long cinematic. I try to go punch a downed opponent and they start getting up and Shinada raises his hands and I go get a smoke.

- Trying to do Saejima's bounce into leg swing when surrounded by multiple enemies. Always ends up grabbing the person next to me.

- Bicycle tyre special move. I've got to whack people with the bicycle until the tyre is left and by that time they're all down? There's a beer case special move? I'm pretty sure there's plenty of them around...

Now to resume playing Bravely Default which I was at 50 hours and probably only 50% complete.

Saikou no Rikon eps 1+2

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Saikou no Rikon is one scary dorama. Scary because its so far met my expectations and gotten my hopes so high that I'm scared it will go the way of Saigo Kara Nibanme no Koi where it just drags in the middle. It definitely looks like Sakamoto Yuji may have done it again. This dude writes dialogue as good as Nojima Shinji as is versatile enough to write great doramas of various genres.


Eita is Hamasaki, whiny, animal loving husband to Yuka (Ono Machiko). They seemed trapped in a loveless marriage and their characteristics are incompatible. Hamasaki one day runs into his old flame Uehara Akari (Maki Yoko) who is now married to Uehara Ryo (Ayano Go) and Hamasaki suspects Ryo of cheating on Akari.



First of all, this is a very funny and witty dorama. The character writing is just brilliant. I like how flawed and petty the characters can be, especially Hamasaki. The producers of Renai Dekinai should watch this and see how real characters with depth are suppose to be written.


Eita is impressive. His acting in Soredemo Ikite Yuku was good but he is doing an excellent job carrying the load in this. Almost Abe Hiroshi like level of being able to portray this flawed, self-centered person and yet able to make him entertaining and multi-dimensional. My favourite part so far is in episode 2 where Hamasaki is so absorbed in his speech and there's this rousing track playing the background but you know that he is so deluded and then Maki Yoko snaps him out of it and the music stops.


This is certainly the type of dorama where you don't really care what happens because the characters are engaging enough. Episode 2 is about the Uehara's situation which is interesting to say the least. Ayano Go's character hasn't got his POV scenes yet but I can't wait to see what Sakamoto Yuji has in store.


I don't like the raw that has Chinese subs as well as Japanese because the Chinese can be distracting and is a lot bigger than the Japanese but beggers can't be choosers. If anyone knows where to find clean raws, please let me know. Absolute must watch and hopefully it will help me find an answer to Ono Machiko or Maki Yoko.

Dinner eps 1+2

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Dinner is GTO in an Italian restaurant. Famous Italian Chef Tatsumi goes into a coma and his restaurant is in trouble. The restaurant keeps losing customers and the daughter/manager Saori (Kurashina Kana) seeks out Esaki (Eguchi Yusuke) to be the new head chef. Of course Esaki turns out to be a maverick and is hated by everyone.


WHAT I LIKED

- In the beginning you see the kitchen in action and the head chef doesn't even cook, just stands around and gives directions which makes me think why should it matter that the chef is in a coma. I like that they got the conductor character to explain that it is similar to the conductor's role.


Though everyone is a pro and they can follow the music sheet/recipe you still need an overseer of the music/food will seem hollow. Great writing there. Sell the audience the premise. Doesn't have to be convincing but it makes it easier to buy into it.


- Kurashina Kana's smile. :)


- A lot of actors I like including Kodoku Gurume and Santamaria Yusuke although his role seems redundant. I guess the high number of recognisable faces just means the GTO formula of solving one staff member's problem per episode and leaving our GTO, Esaki's secret for last.


- I love the directing and choreography of the cooking 'action' scenes. There's only so much you can do with spectators commentating on someone is so skilled at peeling apples. Showing is always better than telling even when the showing is just to look cool.

- Italian is easier for Japanese to speak. I don't know Italian but it doesn't sound like the cast were struggling with pronunciation.


- Kurashina Kana in a decent dorama for once.


WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE

- Too many whinging staff even after the sudden down in customers and the new chef proving that he knows what he is talking about. Yes, it is a necessary evil of the GTO formula but having ALL of them protest makes them look like idiots. If everyone on a team is an idiot, then they are going to be hard to root for.


- Do they really need that many staff? I've never been to expensive Italian restaurants but they've got as many staff as customers. My problem is not really the number of staff but the number of characters with major supporting roles that feel redundant. 


SUMMARY

- Dinner is a very familiar dorama with a fresh and dazzling new coat of paint. Whether it can reach the heights of Oishii Kankei or Lunch no Joou remains to be seen but its a possibility. Its pretty much going to depend on the one supporting character's secret is revealed per episode formula. Let's see how the next few episodes go before proclaiming this a must watch. Very watchable first two episodes.

Makete, Katsu

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Subbing of Makete, Katsu was announced in October but sadly no news plus the fact that there are no Japanese subs. Went to local Asian DVD shop and their copy didn't say that it had subs. I had to try to watch it anyway and its pretty hard trying to understand the political stuff. The good news is there's plenty of English in this one so I always sort of knew what what was going.


Makete, Katsu is about Yoshida Shigeru, Japan's PM after WW2 and Douglas MacArthur the guy in charge of Japan. I really enjoyed the history lesson. Japan being an occupied country after the surrender. Issues in regards to the Emperor and his status. Threats to divide the country. Drafting of the constitution and adisarmement. MacArthur's reforms. The threat of communism. Fun and riveting stuff.


The English for once in a jdorama, is pretty good. Watanabe Ken needed English subtitles in Inception but he does a much better job here. Some conversations he just goes a tad too fast but overall no what the hell did he just say moments. Even Tanihara Sosuke does pretty well with his English lines.Whoever the English consultant has in this did a great job. The English speaking actors are not as amateurish this time around. It helps that they got David Morse to play MacArthur.


I like my history doramas as long as the characters aren't presented like they're out of a fairytale. Wish there were more MacArthur but I can't complain. Can't really label it a must watch cause quite a chunk of the dialogue was lost on me. Generally I knew what was going on but I couldn't enjoy the details. Hopefully some kind soul will pick this one for subbing or the Japanese subs will surface.Even if you know no Japanese, you can skip to the English parts anyway and a lot of the important scenes are in English.

Osozaki no Himawari eps 1-6

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Osozaki no Himawari is Ushi ni Negai without cows dealing with early life crisis problems of 30 year olds with love triangles that overlap and two affairs.Its got your Japanese rural problems that we're all familiar with and 30 year olds trying to find their place in life.


Its got lots of issues to cover, a decent ensemble cast and I will never tire of Maki Yoko's tsundere act. The producers have really put a lot of effort into this and the countryside just looks absolute breathtaking. The ey candy is pretty good though and I would certainly move out there for those ladies.


However, this feels like a ticking the box dorama. The feeling of I've seen all this before and the characters have all sorts of backstories to be revealed but I don't feel the urge to know. I feel indifferent to the characters. I like Ikuta Toma's triangle with the yandere Maki Yoko and Kuudere Kashii Yuu though and its produced a lot of fun stuff in between lots of boring bits.

 
There's just something missing for me, like the character never become more than their problems. I think the youthful trendy dorama with 7 characters with problems meets country issues is too much to pack into this show that non of the stories get the attention they deserve and often feel derivative.


Its not a bad dorama and I even gave it 6 episodes waiting for it to turn the corner but I'm just so indifferent about it. There are a lot better doramas to spend your time on.

Tonbi eps 1+2

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Tonbi is a much better version of the try too hard Beautiful Rain. Its got half the number of tears and since half of it is by Uchino Masaaki so it never feels too cheesy. Not that Tonbi is not a cheesy feel good dorama but it works because the main story is set in the 70s. It has this more innocent age impression so its easier to buy into all the super nice people.


What I also like is that there is a hook to the dorama with Kenshin playing Uchino Masaaki's son in the present being in a similar situation to his dad, or is it? Something to keep me watching. I think its watchable but don't think it will be must watch for me because its still crying porn.


However, if you want to make a watchable crying porn, you put Uchino Masaaki in it. His portrayal of the simple minded Yasuo just carries this movie and makes the crying tolerable. He is just a hoot to watch. Watchable.

Koi Suru Hae no Onna

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I'm still catching up on last year's doramas that I want to watch. After the overly soap opera-ish 37-sai Doctor dorama, I want to watch Mimura in something good. Koi Suru Hae no Onna also has Kakei Toshio as the lead so I also wanted to see what someone who is a perennial supporting actor can do.


Mimura  plays Komori, a meek primary school teacher who's fiancee just broke up their engagement. She loves going on message boards to vent and getting encouragement but there is someone who keeps calling her mosca which is Portugese for fly/hae. This someone, Yaeyaegashigashi starts stalking her, calling her and turning her life around.


The slapstick comedy of this normal girl learning to stand up for herself is pretty hit or miss. Sometimes its funny like when stalker tells Komori a stupid irrelevant story that becomes relevant and sometimes it just drags. I really enjoyed the telephone conversations where Komori and stalker are in their sets which are right next to each other and it was theater-like, perhaps a nod to the story's roots.


Koi Suru Hae no Onna is a comedy that's not very funny and the romantic part at the end just feels tacked on because of the tone of the dorama. A disappointing meh from me.

Kurohryou 2: Ryu ga Gotoku Ashura Hen

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I really liked the first series. Nearly must watch for me until the stupid ending that tried to be too complicated. Nevertheless, if you want an action dorama to watch, I recommend the first season. Its been two years since I saw the first season and I still haven't gotten around to playing the first game yet so no idea how faithful the story is to the game. I had a look around and what do you know, someone ripped the subs from the HK DVD and retimed it! Unfortunately that the Japanese subs were not retimed and I can't be stuffed doing it.


The bad news is Kurohryou 2 makes the first season look like a classic. The basic story is interesting, just that the execution is way too heavy handed and cheesy, similar to the ending of the first series. You've got this blind guy who can magically appear before our main characters in Tokyo and Osaka on the same day. The main character finds out  his good friend is being attacked because the irritating kid who sounds like a girl just happens to know for no reason. Simple gaps in logic that can be easily fixed.


The fighting is just not as fun. For someone who's supposed to be a pro-boxer, Ukyo Tatsuya throws a lot of wild punches. Tatsuya's fight with the fourth heavenly king is just stupid in that he gets beat up a lot and doesn't even make a proper comeback but all of a sudden his opponent is equally damaged. They've got this muscle dude supporting character who can't act at all and looks so awkward in the fight scenes. Avoid this and just watch the first season.


Kurohyou 2 has also got one of the most stupid action cliches of all time; the someone is about the get stabbed and this idiot jumps into the path of the knife instead of attacking the person with the knife. I have no idea why jdoramas continue to use this. If they want to make a main character get stabbed protecting another, it doesn't have to be in the same action. It can be something as simple as grabbing the person with the knife's arms, they struggle and that character gets stabbed. It just pisses me off how Shiroi Haru was nearly perfect except for how the knife thing was choreographed and now I see the exact problem again in this dorama.


The subbing of the first season was not completed but Blue Disk Subs has the auto subs that should work on the d-addicts raws. I just hope the story for the second game is a lot better than the dorama. Avoid unless you are a fan of the series and/or an Okamoto Rei fan. I have to say if you take this as a comedy, there is an element of its so bad its watchable.



Dinner ep 3, the GTO formula and the sin of incompetency.

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Going to go on a long rambling here and hopefully it makes some sense. This post has been cooking in my head all day and I hope its cooked well enough for your consumption. I was watching episode 3 of Dinner when it made me realise something about the GTO formula. All the colleagues of the GTO/maverick character represent some sort of sin, be it sloth, envy, lust or a combination. The bottom line is that they are redeemable characters.


I remember watching Nakayama Miho's Home & Away years ago and the story was about some fruit farmer or something that and his great dedication to his produce. I could be wrong since it was such a long time ago but it was the first time I can remember being struck by this Japanese concept of taking huge pride in one's work and going the extra mile even if it seems insignificant. Be it Salaryman Kintaro's pencil sharpening skill or Jiro Ono watching his customers and preparing the sushi according to how they are eating.


There's this cheesy cool factor to this dedication to one's profession thing. Let's ignore the complete disregard for work-life balance in doramas like Hatarakiman because that is a topic for another day. So what does the GTO formula have to do with the Jdorama cliche of taking pride in doing even the smallest things in one's job?


By episode 3, Dinner has established that Esaki (Eguchi Yosuke) is a very capable chef. No reason to doubt his skills. Esaki is stricter on his subordinates compared to the previous chef but not in any way that is overbearing, rude or abusive. Yet most of the staff just whinge and complain openly. The sin of being perpetual complainers for no reason.


Then we have this pivotal scene of the glasses pasta dude being told that his time of boiling pasta for 5 seconds is too fast and Esaki even gives him a great explanation of why Pasta Dude should listen to him. Yet Pasta Dude just gripes about how Esaki is so particular details. Think about this, this Pasta Dude telling his knowledgeable chef that he does not want to listen because it is not fun.


Think back to the 'bad' teachers in GTO. They resented Onizuka because he did things different but they would finally admit their mistakes when proven wrong. And they would certainly not disregard an order by a superior. When Onizuka or another teacher disobeys an order, it is because the order is wrong or there is a better answer, not because it is more fun.


The GTO formula dictates that the colleagues will be redeemed by the the end. The colleagues represent sins or exaggerated negative traits that everyone. I'm arguing that Pasta Dude in Dinner is irredeemable because he does not even have the basic Japanese traits of an employee.

1. Inability to follow simple orders.

2. Inability to recognise that leader gave good reasoning to change.

3. Inability to see self as part of team.

Pasta Dude is irredeemable because there is no sin of incompetency.


Pasta Dude is worse than that Todai teacher who tried to rape Fuyutsuki sensei in GTO because he cannot even carry out his basic responsibilities without turning into serial grumbler. Not suggesting attempted rape is less an offence but rather the sin of lust is more forgivable than incompetence which is a trait. There is dedication to the simplest things in a job and there is inability to even do the simplest things in a  job.


Pasta dude's defiance is not entertaining and pointless and exists just to provide some sort of challenge for our 'maverick' character who is more like a pretty good boss. I've already written two posts about pointless, incompetent and abusive workplace characters in jdoramas here and here. In summary I have no reason to want to see or to accept Pasta Dude's redemption because incompetency is not a redeemable sin.

Karamazov no Kyoudai eps 1-4

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Based on the novel by Fyoder Dostoyevsky, is a story about a rich, abusive dad who is found dead (played by scenery chewing Kotaro Yoshida at the beginning of the series and his three sons. The three sons are interrogated at the police stations and eps 2-4 deal with each of their back stories. Its an aristocratic style murder mystery with family secrets as little bits and pieces are fed to the audience through flashback.


There is a hightened sense of unreality in this which is made worse or enhanced depending on your tastes by a lot of overacting, especially from Ichihara Hayato. It sort of works that Hayato's character, the second brother is very wound up but his acting is so artificial. Its like he is posing for the camera and is always grimacing so unnaturally like a Rob Liefield character. It seems like he can only act one way and the only thing that it is suited for is slapstick comedy. He just doesn't have the eyes to convey the mixed emotions that his character goes through.


The other two brothers are all right. I'm going to keep watching cause this is a slow burn mystery and the story should be good. Shame about the overacting. Sort of watchable/tolerable based on potential. If this were not based on a famous book, I would have dropped it.

Shotenin Michuru no Mi no Ue Banashi eps 3-5

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Ladies and gentlemen, we have our second must watch of this season! Its so good it makes me regret saying that Karamazov no Kyoudai is tolerable. The acting and directing in Shotenin Michuru is so good I feel like I was wasting my time trying to find something good about Karamazov no Kyoudai. I know they are both different genres but they are similar in that they are both about the slow burn of delving into the psyche and relationships of flawed characters.


The 5 episode build up in Shotenin Michuru is awesome. The characters are always interesting and it takes its time building up the relationships and developing the characters. I usually dislike stories about a small lie that escalates because they usually feel like a Disney moral lesson story. In Shotenin Michuru, it feels more like regular people who are neither good nor bad put in an unusual situation and seeing how they respond to it.

My, what huge eyes you have...

I sort of had an idea how the story would go with the 200 million yen but episode 5 brought something I didn't expect. I won't spoil it but Kora Kengo was cast in this dorama for a reason. :) I want episode 6 so bad. The story can still go south but the first half is great.


The director Gozu Naoe is doing a splendid job. Movie like quality and a lot of scenes are just letting the acting speak for itself. I just love the playful mood of the series. Its as if its taunting the audience, "Do you actually think you know what's going to happen?".


Saikou no Rikon eps 3+4

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2013 is really off to a great start with Saikou no Rikon and Shotenin Michiru. Just give me two good doramas every season and I'm a happy d-addict.


WHAT I LIKED


- The Eita and Ono Machiko facebook off. Hilariously petty.


- Maki Yoko's story about why she left Eita. The look of absolute shock, horror and bewilderment on Eita's face. (I know its not a good screencap but I'm too lazy) Its a very emotionally raw scene that doesn't try to play cute like a lot of comedies.


- Ayano Gou's speech about tetris. Lucky bastard still wants to bitch about his life. Still like the analogy though.


- Machiko Ono's portrayal of Yuka. She's got this Matsu Takako ability to play this average girl while keeping her character interesting, fun and real. Her playfulness when she discovers Eita's bald spot.



WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE


- Eita not having the common sense to put the paper in one of his many pockets. The writer wanted to create some way to get the paper to Maki Yoko but instead of being humourous, it ended up being stupid. Kind of put me off episode 4 but I can't wait to see what happens next.


- What sort of dental work is Eita having that requires him to go at least once per episode? I guess this is what happens when main characters don't have a best friend who's life revolves around the main character to verbalise their thoughts. Not a complaint but more of an observation of the best friend role in storytelling.

On a happy note, Fansubs by Us have started work on Furuhata Ninzaburo season 2!

Rewatching Tsumi to Batsu: A Falsified Romance eps 1-4

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I really loved Tsumi to Batsu. Vulcan300 did an unreleased sub for ep 1 and it blew me away.  Watched the rest of it and did not like the second half as much. However, there were no Japanese subs being a WOWOW dorama and I couldn't get to enjoy the meat of a lot of the conversations. Unsolved Cases has subbed the series up to episode 4 and I figured I should give it another go.


I didn't write about the later episode because I felt I couldn't criticise a series I half understood and the second half was a lot of talking while the first half was more murder thriller. Rewatching Tsumi to Batsu with English subs made me realise that I missed out on enjoying the themes in this story. Even when I understood most of the dialogue, concentrating on listening just takes so much attention I couldn't see the forest for the trees. I really enjoyed Ibu Masato's prosecutor character trying to appeal to Miroku's pride and Miroku's self righteousness making him talk even though he knew that's what the prosecutor wanted.


There's lots of interesting ideas in this story. The idea of freedom versus finding happiness living in servitude to others. The idea that perhaps servitude is mere fear of loneliness. Miroku's idea that love is violence. That he feels entrapped by his sister's love. That Ameya was killed by Echika's self sacrificing 'love'. Miroku's idea that killing can be great if it is backed by principles.


I'm seeing Tsumi to Batsu as more than just a great suspense dorama. We watch doramas to be entertained, to perv but its the exploration of ideas that makes doramas worth thinking about. After all, its a famous novel by Dosteyevsky and a literary classic. Speaking of which, I think I'm not going to continue watching Karamazov Kyoudai. I'm probably better off reading the book to find out the story. Too many doramas to watch now, and there are a few doramas from last season that I want to at least try. Time is a precious commodity and I should not put up with bad acting.


I'm eagerly anticipating the subs for the final two episodes. I didn't get Miroku and Echika's relationship besides Echika being a representative of his sister and I still don't see why Miroku even sees them as the same but let's hope the subs will make things clearer. The first four episodes are still a must watch for me.

Tonbi eps 3-5

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Tonbi is really growing on me. My initial impressions were of a watchable crying porn dorama and it had a lot of crying in the first two episodes. The crying became less and it became more about the characters and more showa type slapstick humour for lack of a better term. Its a father son dorama set in the past and present about how this emotional block-headed father managed to raise his son to be so well mannered everyone thinks he is gay.


I really liked episode 4. Its my favourite form of Japanese sentimentality, where people are trying to say something without saying it and drying damn hard to be stoic. Contrast that with the always gushing Beautiful Rain.


Episode 5 sees Kenshin in high school and his acting is pretty decent. The whole looking into Kenshin's past and its relevance to his current situation with the hot MILF has really kept Tonbi from becoming a moral lesson of the week series. My opinion on Tonbi has changed from watchable to good. If the quality holds up, it might go to must watch.


I'm looking forward to finishing this series so I can watch the NHK's Tonbi special. Can't wait to see Tsutsumi Shinichi's Yasuo who will no doubt be less slapstick. My guess is its going to be like the movie Densha Otoko vs the dorama series.

Going to Japan!!!

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The time for the 4th annual 'Empty my Savings in Japan' trip has come. This is going to be the granddaddy of all my trips so far. I'm just glad its here cause I'm so tired of all the planning, booking and rebookings, research and agonising on how to fill out my itinerary. I'm less excited and more relieved that I can stop thinking about it and actually do it.

The previous trips just feel like a blur to me, as if it were a dream. Pretty sure it'll come back to me once I arrive at Tokyo Station. Join me as I spend all my retirement money on Japanese entertainment and food.

Day 1 - Back in Tokyo

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- Why hasn't anyone created a service where you get knocked out before a long trip and wake up at your destination?

- Having to fly to crazy hot Cairns and a 2 hour wait for the connecting flight and then another hour for Narita Express to Tokyo.



- It really feels like I never left. No omfg I'm in another country feeling. Then again I spend all my non working hours watching Japanese stuff and playing Japanese games.

- Very lovely 2 degrees at night, especially coming from crazy week of constant 33 degree days in Melbourne. If only I can spend all my Australian summers in Japan or vise versa.

- Saw some guy playing the 3DS XL on the train. Very tempted.

Day 2 Tokyo and Berserk The Golden Age movie 3!

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Tonkotsu ramen ogi/とんこつラーメン荻

For some reason I wrote the name as hagi last year.

Photokano kiss coming to Vita.

Interesting that they sell download only games with box.

I'm definitely getting this.

Ryu ga gotoku 5 special PS3.

No idea who she is but definitely my type.

 Tomodachi ga sukunai exhibition at Gamers Akiba. Do not watch the anime it is so boringly generic.



Kenshin on cover of magazine at smoking room in Akiba.

 Police line at Shinjuku station.

Definitely not suicide, no place to jump to death from? Stabbing?

You cant go Shinjuku without visiting here. It actually felt too safe at 6pm. Result of Ishihara `cleaning up the streets`? I only realise the correlation of that and Kurohyou 2 after watching it.

Gave Musashiya ramen another go. Very generic.

Got a couple hundred points in my quest for A rank. There was a Fei Long grandmaster called A and I made sure to sit on the same row. Then he moved across and stole my points with his B Cammy. Ggrrr.

 Outside Shinjuku station. Very good band.

 Berserk goods at Waldo 9 in Shinjuku, the only cinema in Kanto showing the 18+ version.


 Very good movie. The first was cut and paste scenes from the series. The second was better but the 3rd, they really know what they are doing now. I like that there are a lot of new perspectives and it doesn`t strictly adhere to the manga in terms of camera/viewpoints. To me, the more different the better as long as they keep the iconic images. Like the Guts fight up the stairs after getting Griffith was claustrauphobic and conveyed Gut`s fury very well.

The Eclipse scene is godlike. Very, very operatic. Its sort of the Ned Stark moment of series and to me, they made the psychology stuff more obvious ie did Griffith throw himself on Casca as a calculated move to keep her from leaving and not just wanting to bone her? Some of the animation looks a bit rough but the 3D is much improved. If only they had the budget of a Ghibli film. Great job after stumbling out of the block. I really hope they get to do a 4th movie and release it in Winter so I can come watch.

Finally, surprisingly lots of women watching. Maybe only 10 percent but not a few. Women going by themselves as well as in pairs. I`ve only met one other Berserk fan in Melbourne in so many years and here I was in a cinema full of Berserk fans. You know how they are all fans? The credit starts and NO ONE LEAVES. I go watch a Marvel movie on the first day in Melbourne and most people leave. Everyone sits down for the after credit scene. I fucking love Japan!!!!

Hentai Kamen movie is coming!!!!

Japan Day 3 - Mano Erina ~Otome Legend~ For the Best Friends

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Hana no zubora meshi.

Look who's 3 year old picture is hanging around at the hostel entrance.

Pepper Lunch for lunch. Not that overly expensive, crappy store we have in Melbourne pretending to be some gourmet food.

Nakano Sun Plaza.

Getting in line for goods at 12.30 for the 3.30 show.

Stupid Mano Erina t-shirts always look crap. Why cant they design better looking shirts.

Staff member taking videos to be used at the end of the show.

Unfortunately, my seat was on the last row. Not as bad as Scandal in Budokan but not as good as being 8 seats away from Erina two years ago. Should have had the foresight to bring binoculars like the dude next to me.

Set list wise, this is the perfect Mano Erina show. All the crappy songs were relegated to the medley section. I bloody lost my voice cause every song was chantable. So happy she did the full Sekai wa Summer Party.

I hated Banzai when it came out cause it sounded like it was trying to hard to be a sing along but man, is it fun to do so. Only in Japan can you get away with a chorus that goes Banzai, Banzai, Lucky, Lucky!

OMFG. Why are the Jpop gods this cruel???!! Fujimoto Miki concert on the same day as the Nipponbashi Street Festival???!!! I've always wondered how it would be like to hear Mikitty sing Romantic Ukare Mode live and chant along and this is my chance. I could just go to the ticket reseller in Harajuku today.


Seriously, it would be very fun. On the other hand, she's only got an album with like 5 good songs. I`m betting shes going to sing it twice. Plus I`ve got a few more concerts to go and Nipponbashi SF would be something different and something I`ve always wanted to do as well. The best alternative to Comicket. Counter argument is that I can always go Nipponbashi Street Festa another year. What are the chances of me singing along with Mikitty, `Miki-sama, Miki-sama, oshioki kibonnu` which means Miki-sama please punish me? Decisions, decision....


I really love the part in Next Myself when the audience sings the Next Myself part Mano-chan sings the next line. She brought up that the staff members wanted the whole Datenshi Eri skit but in that time they could have done 3 songs. I whole heartedly agree. More songs please which is why I just adore the set list.

Plenty of fuck ups in this concert which I love. Mano-chan misplayed a key during the first song though hardly noticeable. She stuffed up the start of the second song which was LaLaLaSoSoSo and made fun of herself. Live and stuff ups is great. I don`t want bloody perfect pre-recorded performance. There were some problems with the sound where the speakers lost connection three times during the concert.

Erina really spiced up the songs by changing keys and variations to them which I really like instead of trying to sound like the record. I want to hear her play her piano without a background track though.

She started crying a bit during the Arigatou song which I don`t like. Just find it a bit boring for the second last song.


Last song was of course, her best song, My Days for you.

Can`t wait to watch the concert on my PC.

My ticket. Thanks as always to bframe for acquiring it for me!

Roast katsu plus cheese. Should have went for regular katsu instead. Instantly fell asleep when I got back. I must have been way more tired than I realised. Lesson for the day, spending more money on seats is worth it. Got a whole day of Street Fighter today while I ponder Mikitty vs Nipponbashi Street Festa.




My favourite Mano Erina song.

Addenum

Lot more female fans compared to two yeats ago. Probably cause only two shows for whole country. There was a cute female fan holding a sign asking for tickets and she was still there when I got out.

Erina said that she got cast as a regular in a Fuji TV esper dorama as a regular.

I'm guessing graduation means more tv related work.

Tsunku, Berryz, Smileage and C-ute appeared via prerecorded video. I was expecting Tsunku to show up for the 2nd show.

If I find out that Matsuura Aya showed up at the 2nd show, I'm going to jump off Tokyo Tower.

What are the chances Ayaya shows up at Mikitty's concert?



Japan days 4 & 5

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Looks like I won't have to jump off the Tokyo Sky Tree since Matsuura Aya didn't show up but Yajima Maimi and that Nyan girl did. Should have paid the ectra $100 for second show for the real waterworks but at least I'll ne able to watch on my PC.











Saint Seiya!


OMFG Gaban!!!! I used to be crazy about this show when I was a kid, along with Kamen Rider.


Roy Focker?




Actually saw someone win at a UFO game. On my way out of the game centre actually saw 2 more people getting their prizes. Was it just random, games getting easier or Japanese really getting good at this?

Urinal pissing game at Club Sega Akihabara. Read about it long time ago but forgot about it and was pleasantly surprised to find it.

Basically it measures your piss.

I wanted to go there after having a couple of beers but I`ve got an early bus tomorrow.

Finally got my Abel to A rank. Now I won`t get points from no card people. A lot of game centres are now doing two credits for 100 yen with best of 5 rounds.

Went to Gyukaku and there was a photo of Tsunku. I remember trying to go here twice before and it was always booked out. Might have taken this picture before on my first trip.

I guess third time`s the charm.

Effing love the karubi. Really melts in you mouth.

Nothing like eating yakiniku with rice, egg and green stuff.

DAY 5

This trip I came to Japan with a long list of places to eat. First was to Shin Koiwa for supposedly the best ramen in Japan according to someone I know. It didn`t seem open and it was past 11am, asked the old lady and she said they were closed. WTF. Went back to Asakusabashi for Tonkotsu Ogi.

Next place on my list of Tonta in Shinjuku which my friend claims is the best Tonkatsu in Japan. Guess what. Closed on Monday as well. WTF. Lesson of the day, best eating places in Japan close on Monday. At least I know exactly where to go eat when I come back to Tokyo.

What to do? Go back to usual Pepper Lunch? Or Tokyo Chikara Meshi which seems to have expanded like mad since last year. Decided to look up Tabelog and go to the highest rated ramen place in Shinjuku and it led me to Fuunji.

Sign of good eating place, line of customers standing behind everyone eating.

Hello ramen awards.

Ordered the tsukemen. It was pretty good but didn`t blow me away. I think my favourite is always Tonkotsu. Still has the usual tsukemen problem of the soup getting cold half way which is why its better for summer.

Trying to ninja shot this girl with Konishi Manami type very dark eyes. Couldn`t think of a way to raise my phone higher without risking her shouting that this hentai ojisan is taking her picture. I need a phone that has a moving camera.

Japan day 6 : Nagoya

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Waiting to board Willer Bus in Shinjuku.

 Statue of naked dude outside Willet Express.

 Watching horrible Hollywood movies with Japanese dubbing does makes it interesting cause it seems like the dubbing is cast with what they think the characters shpuld sound like instead of sounding similar to the actual actor.
 First time for me travelling long distance bus in Japan and it was pretty comfortable.

 Making two stops along the way really helped.

 Mount Fuji in the distance.

 Travelling by bus is a good idea to save on getting a JR pass.

 My room in Nagoya.

 Walkway to room.


 Nagoya Station.

 Animate nearby.

 I'll never get tired of Coco Ichiban.


 Next on my list is Ebi Katsu. (^_^)



 You got the powahhh!!!!

 Reason 999 why Japan is better than Australia.

 Some anime about a kid who hasn't even hit puberty racing in a rally.

 Lol Kinpachi sensei spoof from season 2 of Yuusha Yoshihiko is actually a tv character.


Japanese tv is all about showing sob stories and the celebrities' reactions.



 Guess who's on tv?

The show had a graduatiom song theme obviously to promote AKB48 and they mimed, I mean performed on the show. The treat was watching Kinpachi sensei flashbacks to times when Okuru Kotoba was used and then we had Kinpachi sensei himself singing the song.
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