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Back to Kumamoto Part 1 : Suizenji Park
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Back to Kumamoto Part 2 : Return to Kumamoto-jo
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Nipponbashi Street Festa 2013 pictures Part 1
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Nipponbashi Street Festa 2013 pictures Part 2
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Nippponbashi Street Festa 2013 pictures : Part 3
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Nipponbashi Street Festa 2013 pictures Part 4
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Nipponbashi Street Festa 2013 Pictures Part 5
That's it for Nipponbashi cosplay pics. Japanese are always polite except when elbow fighting to take pictures of cute girls. Lol. It was very tiring fighting all the ojisans with their giant cameras and shouting onegaishimasu to get the girls to pose your way. The most pro cameraman move is to glide low to the front of the camera pack and take pictures from a low angle.
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Japan Days 31 - 33 : Osaka and Tokyo
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Japan Days 34-35 :Shinjuku Chuo Koen and Shinjuku Gyoen
Look at the price! I really got a deal in Kumamoto.
Kawa yakitori for 900 yen? Yes please!
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Japan Loot 2013
The first thing I got. Magrex 4000, a 8800mAh portable battery for 5000 yen. Saw this on amazon.jp but they only ship games and dvds overseas.
A lot of things I didn't buy cause I left most my shopping to the end. The one thing I kept pondering about was whether to get a 3DS LL but decided not to. Not wanting to carry too much due to all the travelling vs its not easy to find stuff even in Akiba.
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Made in Japan
I bloody miss Japan. So much fun, I didn't want to leave. One would think I would get bored after 4 trips but it just gets better and better every time. Got to get back to reality and the reality is that I've got so much to catch up on in terms of doramas and movies. Haven't even touched my games yet except for Project Diva F. Finished a few series and the first one I want to talk about is Made in Japan. Really didn't think this would get subbed and it was going to hard to watch raw but subie06 came to the rescue.
WHAT I LIKED
- Very revelant dorama about Japan's place in the manufacturing world. In the 80s, when something was made in Japan, that meant it was of high quality. People would scoff at products made in China. Nowadays, everything seems to be made in China and Korea.
- Very real in the sense of these companies and people hanging onto the past and not seeing the future. I like the exchange when Kakinuma questions the meaning of 'made in Japan' and Yanagi can't even give him a straight answer. Kakinuma should have attacked his stupid reply.
- The reveal at the end of the first episode was awesome.
- I like the jab at the Chinese company not being as concerned about defects but if Microsoft can get away with selling known defective consoles than so should they. Its all about percentage of defects against warranty/potential legal costs vs profits anyway.
- Great cast. NHK usually casts well.
- Ultimately it is a dorama about Japan.
WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE
- Lacking in detail and too much melodrama. Didn't mind the melodrama but with 3 episodes only, I wanted to see more nitty gritty stuff. There's this team of underdogs story but we don't really see how they go about their jobs/specialties except for when they report back to their boss, Yahagi. A few minutes of the guy in Europe trying to find a partner or the M&A lawyer going over some points of the proposal with Yahagi. The company lawyers briefing the team about the potential lawsuit.
For me business dramas are like criminal dramas. The fascination for me is about procedures. How people get things done. Every single step to solving a problem.
- Too much of a fairytale ending.
SUMMARY
Really wanted this to be a must watch. I would say with its short length and relevance to Japan today, its a can't miss. As a dorama, it falls short of Hagetaka but I do encourage everyone to check it out.
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Saikou no Rikon eps 5-11
Sakamoto Ryuji should be declared a national treasure of Japan. Remember when Renai Dekinai Riyuu declared that it was a true to life love story and turned out to be a boring 2D soap catering to the lowest common denominator? Remember how it spawned Kekkon Shinai? Thank the jdorama gods for putting Sakamoto Ryuji on this earth to give us real characters and sweet delicious dialogue.
WHAT I LIKED
- Hamasaki not changing throughout the series but still remaining an engaging character. A real difficult tightrope to walk and Eita and the Sakamoto's writing really pulled through. It would be easy to make Hamasaki change but I'm glad they took the difficult path.
- Ono Machiko's Yuka is the Matsu Takako of 2K10 jdorama era. Yuka is the most well developed nice girl main character in a romantic comedy I've seen outside of Hayasaka sensei from KDO. You just fall in love with her character not because she's nice but because of who she is.
- Sakamoto Ryuji has done it again. He is as good as Nojima Shinji in terms of rapid fire entertaining dialogue and he has the Ozaki Masaya ability to create dialogue where its more about the person speaking than the words being spoken. Lots of great moments jdorama moments especially in the last episode.
- Great quite moments as well where its just music and the facial expressions. To me this is the Love Generation of the 2K10 jdorama era.
- Maki Yoko finally showing us her moe face.
WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE
- The ratings. Average of 11.8 which is less than Kekkon Shinai!!??? WTF Japan!
- Sometimes the plot does get a bit soapie and it has pacing issues in the middle but Sakamoto always pulls it back with his great dialogue.
- I didn't really care about the Ryo and Akari storyline at the end but they're effectively the supporting characters.
SUMMARY
Must watch. Do not miss this. Sakamoto Ryuji is a jdorama god. Thank you Sakamoto sensei for Saikou no Rikon and Soredemo Ikite Yuku. I guess I am going to have to try Makete Katsu without any subs and Sayonara Bokutachi no Youchien despite the fact I don't want to see Ashida Mana's face. I just wish someone had retimed the Japanese subs cause retiming is a pain.
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Bravely Default Flying Fairy rant
Finally finished this goddamn game after 100 hours. Since I only know one person who's finished this game and he's in Japan, I need to rant.
WHAT I LIKED - Old school FF.
WHAT I DIDN"T LIKE - Stupid characters for sake of plot.
This is far worse than Prometheus. Everything was great until it became Steins Gate and I love Steins Gate. Relooping time to change an outcome is only fun when people try to do things different.
In Bravely Default our stupid heroes keep doing the same exact thing 4 or was it 5 times expecting a different result. That is the very definition of insanity.
No one really things deeply about why things are not working. Hints stare our heroes in the face but they choose to bury their head in the sand rather than accuse Airy of being a lying fairy. Even with Ringabel's suspicions and memory coming back, he goes along and pretends to be shocked at the end.
Sure, you can expose Airy earlier but its not the true ending. That Stein's Gate writer is just trying to be too smart that he makes the characters look idiotic. Still better than FFXIII-2 though.
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Tonbi eps 6-10
Around eps 3-5 my opinion of Tonbi changed from watchable to good. A lot of it has to do with the humour and Uchino Masaaki who just single handedly drags this show from being a run of the mill try to manufacture as many touching moments as possible dorama.
It got draggy for me from eps 6-8. I didn't really care about Kenshin's story and Yasuo's dad. I just got tired of too many touching moments. On a side note, the Kenshin actor really does Kenshin's 'oro' look quite a few times in this series which tells me that he was acting normally on Kenshin lol.
Liked ep 9 with the marriage bit and I just wanted ep 10 to end as fast as possible. I rate Tonbi higher than watchable due to Uchino Masaaki. His slapstick overacting is a hoot to watch but perhaps a more subdued Kita no Kuni Kara type feel could have worked better. I will definitely try out the NHK dorama special. Too bad there doesn't seem to be any Japanese subs for it. Tonbi is not bad, just depends on how much you enjoy your crying doramas.
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Shotenin Michiru no Mi no Uebanashi 6-10
Gah, so close to being a must watch show! I like dark shows when its about putting regular people with slight problems in unusual situations. I was watching this show expecting to see people go to extraordinary lengths for money. Its easy to be friendly until money is involved.
Unfortunately Kora Kengo had to kill everyone and had me wondering what Shotenin Michuru was about. This country girl, Michuru and her creepy childhood friend who just offs everyone who is a threat to her? The only available answer is a show about finding happiness, tying in with Michuru's mom at the church and they way she lives her life.
At the end of episode 9, we finally meet the narrator and this is where the show picks up. Is there going to be a showdown between Michuru and Kora Kengo? The answer is no cause we get this nice little twist about the narrator in the middle of episode 10 which should have been at the end of an episode and then a quick ending. Creepy Kora Kengo should have appeared earlier and they should have introduced the narrator in episode 9 and revealed the twist at the end of it.
Don't really get this show cause Michuru gives up the money at the end of it. Maybe I missed something in the dialogue? This dorama is not about the evil things that people do for money, its about this serial killer childhood friend. I wouldn't say the money is the main cause of Michuru's troubles. I just feel sad more than angry. So wanted this to be good.
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Sayonara Bokutachi no Youchien
Sayonara Bokutachi no Youchien is about 5 kindergarten kids who take on a long journey to visit their dying classmate in his hospital.
WHAT I LIKED
- Social commentary on Japanese attitudes to children. Monster parents. Over protectiveness. Teaching kids very ojisan or homeless person is a pervert/dangerous. Not telling kids the truth.
- I enjoyed the adventure that the kids went on because it was from a kid's perspective. I liked the whole working out which train to take and simple challenge like buying tickets because it fills me with nostalgia.
- Mitsushima Hikari as the kids' teacher.
WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE
- The ending with the graduation rehearsal song and dance routine to be is unintentionally hypocritical. It can't be helped since the song is the title of the dorama. I just think Japanese graduation ceremonies are a farce and the poor teachers have to sit through it with a pretend smile and nod along with the speeches.
To me, graduation ceremonies are about appeasing the parents and this goes against what I perceive to be the social commentary of parents being overzealous in regards to their children. Not telling the kids the truth and overprotectives are more about making it easier on the parents, not the children, same as the song and dance graduation ceremonies.
SUMMARY
- Watchable dorama for me. If you like cute kids singing and dancing, this dorama is for you.
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Hanazawa Kana Calender 2013.4~2014.3
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Hankyu Railways - A 15-Minute Miracle
Bframe recommended this movie to me. I am ashamed to say I did not know that a movie starring Nakatani Miki and Toda Erika existed so I quickly bumped it to the top of my movies to watch list. Its an ensemble movie about various people using the Hankyu railway and how they interact with each other and make a significant impact on each other's lives.
WHAT I LIKED
- Feel good movie with some comedic bits.
- Seeing which character will end up helping which character.
- Nakatani Miki and Toda Erika! What other reasons to do you need to watch it? How about Arimura Kasumi and Tanimura Mitsuki?
- Not a tear jerker.
WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE
- Its a feel good movie that plays it very safe and it tries to create a lot of touching moments and some feel too manufactured but Nakatani Miki's is the best.
SUMMARY
- Would have been a great movie if Koreeda had directed it. It would have felt more real than safe feel good. Enjoyable movie which does aspire to be more than what it is; a feel good drama for the masses.
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Jmovie review: A Hole in my Panty / Pantsu no Ana
IMO, you're better off watching Stand Up!! as Pantsu no Ana is not even half as entertaining.
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Mahoro Ekimae Bangaichi ep 1
As a wrestling fan, I adore this episode. Whoever wrote this story definitely knows his wrestling. The struggling indy wrestler Stun Gun Nishimura feels father time closing in and picks our two main characters to be opponents of his final match. Any wrestling fan knows if you want to do a final match, you do it against your best rival or you do it to put over the most promising young talent around you.
However, I wasn't thinking hard and would accept any premise as long as it led to something interesting. The episode had me when Nishimura started doing back bumps out of happiness. (the one where he falls on his back and spreads the impact by spreading his arms) Wrestling is theater. Though fans today are smart to what it is, they also appreciate the art that goes into it and are willing to buy into a match when it is good.
So Stun Gun Nishimura's got a supporting wife, cute daughter and ex-partner who terrorises Nishimura's wife and beats up one of our main characters in public. Before I had time think too much about how the writer was going to get the ex-partner into the story, we get to the match. I love the line Stun Gun gives our two main characters when they question why he doesn't get the win in his last match. "You don't understand anything about wrestling". Winning and losing doesn't matter. Its about popping the crowd.
After the match, the ex-partner comes up and challenges Nishimura and it becomes obvious that it was a worked-shoot. Work means fixed and shoot means real ie to shoot on someone during a match means to really beat on someone. A worked shoot is when the lines between what is real and what is fake are blurred. When real life issues are brought in and fans just go 'I can't believe he just said that!'.
The greatest worked shoot in recent memory which lead to two great matches. Too bad someone killed all the momentum. *cough* HHH *cough*
The plan was to take the fans, the wife, daughter and our two main characters on a ride to revive the company. To take real life issues and turn it into a match. I think the wife was more pissed off that the husband had taken her on a ride on a work shoot. And the mention of Kumamoto, oh how I would love to go back there.
From a wrestling angle perspective, the ex-partner should not have worn his wrestling gear. It made the work part too obvious. The ex-partner should have cut a 'you owe me lots of money you sob so I bought all your debts and I'm going to keep this group running so I can kick your ass every week until I get my money's worth' promo and then beat up the tired Stun Gun Nishimura down in street clothes, instantly turning Nishimura into a face (hero). It'll probably scare Nishimura's daughter for life but why let that get in the way of a good angle?
I love Nishimura's response of good or bad, this is what a pro-wrestler is. This episode is exactly about what pro-wrestling is. Working your fans and sometimes even your loved ones.
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