My Fangirling Outlet

Beautiful World Review

So this album was released... well technically it was only released on Wednesday (July 6, 2011) but somehow fangirls always manage to get the disk early (unless you happened to be a Canadian - stupid Canada post *shakes indignant fist*). Anyway. So. I didn't buy the album because my parents have some thing against ordering albums from halfway across the world but I downloaded it, been listening to it ... on repeat ... for about a week now (^^;;) and yeah. So here's my review.

First off - I barely listened to any radio rips (Negai, Morning light, a bit of Hung up on and Jyanakute... and I think that was it?) but I was looking forward to this album a lot. If you don't remember when 僕の見ている風景 came out my initial reaction was "did not like" and whaddayaknow - turned into my most favourite album of theirs to date. Beautiful World on the other hand I liked pretty much right of the bat - but first I'll do a song-by-song run down (excluding singles because.... well they were released already - and for another reason I'll talk about later).

1. Rock This: I had vaguely heard about this song and everyone said they loved it. When I heard the opening I did not understand how this song could be counted as "rock" at all and then the actual song started. It's okay. It reminds me of Cry For You from their TIME album. I like rock, admittingly it does sound kind of cool but I never like any boyband doing rock songs. I don't know why. Boybands and "rock" never really meshed well for me. As for performance? I imagien flames. Lots and lots of flames :) And I like fire.  So pretty much I don't "like" it but if I'm in the right mood I could find myself going out of my way to listen to this song.

2. まだ見ぬ世界へ: Oh. I forgot I already talked about this song when the PV came out. As I said, love the song - Sho's rap I've gotten used to but sometimes it still bugs me.

4. Always: I really like how they sing this song. As in - my reaction to this song is opposite to Rock you in where I liked the tune but didn't really like how they sang it. Here the tune is kind of... standard but I love how they sing the song. The chorus is also pretty catchy and cool, but my most favourite part is the opening of the song where they all have their solo lines. I imagine them singing one at a time, standing still and then when the chorus hits - *bam* they just start dancing (this is all on the moving stage). And then rinse and repeat as the song goes on. It wouldn't be a very dance heavy song but I can imagine a bit of dancing, especially during the slight interlude when it's just music and then maybe another blast as the chorus repeats one last time and they sing... (this seems to be coming more of a *imagine what the con perf will be like more than a review...)

5. Shake It (Jun's Solo): Take this however you will. The second I hear this song I start laughing. Hard. My next reaction is to just bop my head and kind of go crazy. xD I don't know why. This song just seems to make my brain and body go crazy. This might sound weird... (and maybe I'm biased?) but I feel like these types of songs (and Come Back to Me) really suit Jun. Be it singing and just... they allow him to get creative during concert performances and I am really waiting to see how Jun performes this during concert. I am really excited for this. Notice I'm not actually talking about the song? ^^;; Because to be honest - the logical part of my brain is like "ew you don't like this type of music" but the irrational part of my brain is like "OMFGILUVTHIS" (again - same thing with Come Back to Me). I don't really get why - this isn't bias because honestly, I don't like Yabaix3, Naked or any of Jun's solo that much but ... his last two solos have just... I dunno. There is something weird about them that makes me like them xD

⒍　虹のカケラ~No Rain, No Rainbow~: I will say this right away - the song I like the least in this whole album. It's boring. Boring, standard, does not stand out. That is not to say that I dislike this song. Again, I really like how this sing this song. As in, I really like their voices in this one. And Jun does a fricken falsetto and it's like bells to my ears. In fact their voices in this song just sound so nice. I really like hearing them go high (I don't know why - they're guys I should be expecting deep and manly... o_O) but I really like how their pitch is a lot higher in this song. It's nice. But yeah - other then that this song is pretty boring honestly. I guess it's a good calm down after Jun's solo

8. Hung Up On (Ohno Solo): I heard the 1min30sec preview of this song and became really excited. Not my most favourite solo of Ohno's and music wise not what I would listen to on a daily basis but just the idea that it could get Ohno dancing makes me so excited. The song itself... I like how there is a touch of Sho in there to make it sound deeper because I think without the Sho in the back the song would actually sound off. Ohno's soft is generally pretty soft and not really good at the "shouting" types of songs (which is also why it's not a favourite) but I think the added Sho gives it a good "manlier" touch if you will. Now - the reason I listen to this song on repeat? Because I can see Ohno dancing to this song when I listen to it. I can see it so clearly. I can see his face when he has to pull this long notes, and I can see him moving like he did in TOP SECRET with that sharpness and precision that is just amazing. I don't see hip rolls to be honest but I can see something very cool (I can't explain it) but I can see a perfect performance in my head and I love what I'm seeing in my head. (Final thought - cannot understand a word of Ohno's English though ^^;;)

9. Joy: This song is interesting because I realize that a lot of it is carried heavily by their voices. By that I mean the actual instrumental of the song.. is pretty repetitive. It's the same few chords repeated over and over (for the most part - except the chorus but even the chorus is kind of simple really) and what really brings this song the melody is their voices. Which I like. I heard it in the training camp video and I liked it. I like it now. It's cool to jam to and kind of bop your head to. ^^

10. どこにでもある唄 (Nino Solo): I think I will surprise a lot of people when I will say right away - this is my least favourite solo of the album. In fact I found myself skipping it a lot. A lot of people say they like it cause it's so 'sweet' and omg! Nino wrote and composed it himself! But forgetting about that... the song is just way to quiet and slow for my tastes. I know it's sweet, but this song puts me to sleep. It's just too soft. Not enough noise to keep my interested. I agree Nino's voice is amazing .... but yeah. Putting me to sleep. ^^;; I really have to be "in the mood" for this song. Although I am interested in how he will perform this. Will he play an instrument? Or will he just stand there and sing? Because this isn't a song that would match any sort of dancing or movement. Either way I can see myself enjoying this solo in a concert.

11. negai: and now we move from my least favourite solo to my most favourite song of this album. Negai. Ever since the radio rip of this song, it's been my favourite and even after hearing the whole album it is still my most favourite. I love this song. I love the tune, I love the lyrics, I love their voices. I love everything about this song. Ugh. I have no words to express just how awesome this song is for me. <3 Sounds so beautiful. And my most favourite part is actually not when they're singing (although the chorus is just so beautiful) but the part when it's just the violin (that is a violin right?) playing. Uggggh.. so beautiful. <3<3 Yeah, can you tell this is my most favourite song? I'm not being too obvious am I? =P

13.「じゃなくて」 (Aiba's Solo): I was surprised when I heard the radio rip of this song but somehow this song really suits Aiba. This kind of jazzy tune. I can imagine him doing what Jun did for Wish in the 5x10 concert. That kind of broadway style thing, except I picture Aiba wearing a top hat and less twirling and spinning and more standing in one place, jumping, hopping... Aiba motions. (I dunno how to explain...). The lyrics of this song are kind of cute and make me laugh in a way. It's sweet. Suits Aiba. ^^ (I don't really know what to say honestly... Aiba's solos are all cute to me but they never stand out too much and this one is no exception to be honest...)

14. Morning Light: Uh. Hello. 2nd favourite song for the album. Will not lie. When the radio rips of this song and negai came out all I did was listen to these two songs on repeat. AT FIRST - I wasn't impressed by this song but then I heard the chorus and I was pretty much hooked. I love the chorus for this song. It's so catchy. I don't flail about it as much as negai (because face it - negai is just an amazingly pretty song). But this song is awesome in it's own, really catchy way. It pretty much is my type of up-beat song. Fast, up-beat, catchy... I dunno - my ideal song to be honest. I could work out to this song.

15. このままもっと (Sho's Solo): And we've hit it. My most favourite solo of the album. This was actually a big surprise for me. Why? Because normally Sho's solos are my least favourite. I'm not to big of a fan of rap so it's no surprise for me but this song... is just.. omgosh. It's so cute and it makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside and it makes me smile and I kind of just wanna hug something and go "d'awwwww". it's so adorable. Ugh. I could quote so many lines of this song to express how adorable this song is. SO CUTTTEEE.  SHO!! I LOVE YOU. Ugh. This song is so adorbs. And he still manages to incorporate some rap into it and it actually sounds good. Actually when the song transitions into the rap it reminds me of another Arashi song but I can't think of what song. ANYWAY - I can imagine the performance of this song to be so cute. Ugh. SO CUTE. (how many times have I written that so far?). Again - because I"m not too big on Sho's solos his performances never really catch my notice either (although I really liked his Can't Let You Go performance in the Time con..) But.. omg. I can imagine the performance of this being so cute and adorable and ... *sigh dreamily*... this song is just too cute. Ugh. I've repeated it so many god damn times it's ridiculous. ^^;;

18.　遠くまで: Heard a bit of this song watching the JAL CM's. I like the chorus of this song. But like Niji no Kakera this song is... kind of. It's not boring but it's very generic. I mean it's the typical "up-beat" Arashi song you know? Nothing really stands out about it... actually I think this song might be my least most favourite song of the album. At least Niji no Kakera has their really pretty voices as a plus point but in this song it's just kind of.. generic up-beat, happy happy Arashi. And yeah I like up-beat "Happiness" or "Kitto Daijoubu" type of happy but... eeeh. You know what - this song is like Summer Splash. I'll think it's boring the entire year until I see them sing it in concert and then suddenly I'll grow to love this song. =P Yeah. I can see that happening. It'd be a great encore song.

Final Conclusion:

Okay. So. I'm going to do a bit of comparing with BNMF. With BNMF  my initial reaction was "ew no" and I grew to love it. with that album... I don't like each individual song as much as I love the album as a package. A whole. All the songs really seem to fit well together and slide into one another really well and that's why I like BNMF more than this album. With this album, Beautiful World - I LOVE all the songs individually. All of them. (was not the case - and still is not hte case with BNMF - lol). The problem? I hate the singles that are in this album. Hatenai Sora, Dear Snow, To Be Free... Lotus is okay. But yeah. These songs just interrupt the flow of the single for me. Like whenever it hits one of those songs I find it jarring. I actually experimented and took these songs out and the album flowed so much better for me without the stupid singles. They're just so out of place. Maybe it's cause the songs of this album are so high quality but the singles.. were... .... not high quality. So yeah. My main gripe with this album is actually the singles that were inserted into the album - take these out and this album is amazing and I LOVE it. ugh. So good. <3

LOOKING FORWARD TO HOW THEY WILL PERFORM (hopefully) ALL THESE SONGS IN THEIR UPCOMING CONCERTS =D=D=D

(and yeah this was long - sorry >.<)

まだ見ぬ世界へ PV

I pretty much hyperventilated within the first 30 seconds of the PV. I think that says enough about how much I just absolutely LOVE this PV. Oh. My. God.

I didn't really listen to the song when the radio rip came out so this is my first real chance at listening to the song. And for the most part, it sounds great. I love it, this new "style" their trying sounds pretty awesome - one thing I didn't like was the fact that they messed around with Sho's voice. I actually really don't like that. I've always liked Sho's rap (in the older songs like Kitto Daijoubu, etc) because his rap has always been very soft. Lately I haven't been a fan because - well just in general I'm not actually a very big fan of rapping. But It's okay. But.... then they started auto-tuning it (or whatever it's called, I don't want to get into technical arguments okay? *cough*ppl@arama*cough*) and ... well I'm not liking it. I sincerely hope for the rest of the album they leave Sho's rap untouched because I believe it sounds best like that.

But anyway - onto this AWESOME PV. For the past two years, even since Troublemaker all their PV's have been pretty lack-luster and the same. One borrowing off another. Monster was like Truth, Lotus was like Believe, don't get started on Dear Snow, Hatenai Sora, etc. etc. But this PV - oh man - this PV is like gold. It's just...

The beginning kind of gives me a headache at first but the moment *boom* You can see Arashi and the music totally starts up with all the lights it's just like "whoa". I had to lower my laptop brightness to the lowest because this PV is bright. Like seizure-inducing bright but I love it. I love the colours. And the members. It's like I got transported back to 1999-2000, A.Ra.Shi, Sunrise Nippon era. Aiba and Sho and Nino seemed to revert back to their chibi-selves. like seriously. I was like "what is going on here, is this the right time?" but then....

then the PV shifts to that white room and I felt like I got transported to a K-Pop PV. I know, I've mentioned I don't like K-Pop and I did have a severe WTF moment but it's Arashi, I'm biased and I was like "oh damn they look so HOT" but yeah, they looked really Korean in the black, and with Aiba and Sho's hair all flat and normal. Although - I have to say Aiba has looked gorgous this entire PV. Like just... UMPH. That guy. Especially in the cube-room he was just so sexy. Like oh my gosh. Actually all of them were pretty sexy in the white room with the black... whatevers. Maybe I can finally see the appeal of K-Pop if it's Arashi doing it. Hahaha.

The dance choreo to this PV is just uggh.. so good. Seriously, who's their new choreographer because they need to be given severe hugs. And I love the speed they move at during the line where it's like "Every day, every night, every ~", I know they're just taking steps back but it's just so fast and so on that I'm just like "wow", but I love the choreography so much.

The hair. Well Jun's hair, do I need to comment? His hair has been on permanent "awesome" mode ever since he cut it. I will never have anything bad to say about his hair until the day he decides to grow it out again (*KNOCK ON WOOD*). Nino's hair is the same. Nice, safe, good-looking, I don't understand how he can look so adorable and yet so hot. Aiba's hair in the beginning - like I said - he went back to Chibi and then turned insanely hot after they flattened it. Same with Sho except Sho's hair was so ugly in the beginning. Such an ugly hairstyle. I feel bad but honestly, I've never disliked Sho's hair before (he always generally keeps a safe style) but uggggh... his hair lately, and in this PV (which was shot BEFORE).. not to my taste :( But in the white room he turns hot again, so it's all good. Ohno's hair seemed to go all over the place. In some angles (especially in the close-ups) I was like "GET A COMB" but from far away it actually looked okay.

So yeah. This PV kind of seemed to have a really strong "Korean" vibe to it. In the beginning, and it was so strong in the white cube room. Like, what they were wearing, the way it was shot, their overall appearances, if you blurred their faces, inserted in a Korean song and told me it was a K-boyband I would've believed it in a heartbeat. I still do kind of laugh when they transition to the cube room but then Aiba comes out and I"m just drooling at his utter sexy. *fans self* Haha.

The effects, I like them, I like the vibrance and the colours. Although I can see why it would give people seizures - the best thing though? They don't look cheap. It looks legitly done, like they put money into it. So I'm satisfied. And for the most part I like the shift in the PV. This might just be me (I haven't listened to the song enough to catch the lyrics) but if I just look at the PV - this is just my taking - but it seems like they're trying to show "past Arashi" and the "present Arashi".

I mean think about it. In the beginning, all the colour, vibrance, with everyone looking like they went back to 1999 and then BAM they suddenly just turn into these sexy, sexy men in a white room. Basically I'm trying to say it's like they're trying to show some sort of "maturity" growth? I guess? Like from chaotic, vibrant, little kids to a more organized, classy group of really, really, really hot guys? Or is it just me?

Anyway, I just passed the 1000 word mark on this "review", "flail" whatever this is but if you can't tell how much I love this PV from reading this I think you need to re-learn English because HOLY SHIT THIS PV IS AWESOME *crying tears of joy* (and I've re-watched it like.. hundreds of times already and I still can't stop hyperventilating over the sheer awesomeness of this uggggh. *fans self*). ARASHI I LOVE YOU GUYS!

Lotus PV/Song Review

Edit - I also happened to translate the song here at my tumblr

here were my thoughts as I was watching which pretty much will sum up my review and then a short bit about what I actually think of the song (not the single - just the song).

- Set reminds me of Believe

- Dance is kind of weird... dunno what to think just yet.

- oooh, but white suits make them look hot. *drools*

- ooh, dance is looking slightly better. Especially at the "Glass no You ni" part

- WTF NINO OMG HIS VOIC, I thought it was a girl o_o daaaaammnn...

- ah... still reminds me of Believe. Did they just take the set of Believe and recycle it cause that's really what I feel...

- omg.. what is with this annoying video overlaying part? It's done so terribly wtf... can't watch. Would it could to add a bit of a "fade effect" rather than just choppy over-lay and then quick switches? >.< Looks so sloppy...

- again, they look so nice though (not in white suits, in their other costumes) - soooo nice...

- OHNO!OHNO!OHNO!OHNO!

-...okay all this flowers and standing inside a white room with faded colours and all this is now making me think of Ashita no Kioku...

- and back to Believe.... and then Ashita... and then Believe....

-okay, so is this PV just a mix of Believe and Ashita no Kioku then?

- Dance is looking weird again... >.<

- okay more switching of Ashita no Kioku and Believe parts... *cough*

- and of course, you can't forget the classic "stand and sing moments", they really followed the formula perfectly.

- and OMG OHNO!VOICE!OHNO!VOICE... I really want to hear him to that live with just as much emotion as he put into this PV >_>

- okay.. dance looks even more awkward now that they are showing full body.. orz

- .....and I think the part I like least is the ending cause that just... huh. no comment. crazy wrist moments, must admit.. but uh.. okay.

Okay so overall... not my most favourite PV ever. It's better than their Dear Snow, Love Rainbow, CGI'd non-moving PV's so I guess I'll be happy with it for now. ^^ You can interpret my thoughts anyway you want, good or bad *shrug*.

And as for the song...

...it's pretty much like the PV for me. It just feels like a mix of two different things. In this case it's not a mix of Believe and Ashita no Kioku, but it sounds like a mix between Truth and Monster and doesn't stand out very much. *shrug* To be fair I wasn't looking very forward to this single in the first place (i'm sorry for bringing the rain down in the midst of the sunshine/sparkles/hot-white-suits) BUT - I am very eager to see this being performed on Music Station next Friday. ^^

and the other songs I ... yeah. no comment.

 

Mother episode 1

See. I heard about Mother before, and it seemed like an interesting storyline, but I didn't really think about watching it until the girl appeared in Himitsu no Arashi-chan, VIP ROOM. And then I decided to watch it.

If I were to sum up episode 1 in one word... I think all I can think is I'm absolutely horrified.

But horrified is not the impression that the drama gives me. This is a legit, sad drama. And I'm not talking One Litre of Tears medical drama sad, I mean sad. It's just utterly sad. I was tearing up at the part where... (omgosh I still don't remember any of their names, I apologize!!!) the women was like "I'll be your mom". The acting, the music, just everything in this drama is just brilliant. My god.

Things I'd like to address. Would you like to know why horrified is the word I chose to sum up episode 1? Because of what Rena's mother does to Rena after she catches her boyfriend about to (probably) sexually abuse her. SHE BEATS HER. SHE BEATS HER OWN FRICKEN DAUGHTER WHO WAS ABOUT TO BE SEXUALLY ASSAULTED BY HER BOYFRIEND. WHAT THE @#$!. Honestly I am utterly sickened, and horrified and sickened and I felt so bad for the girl. That entire montage of him calling her, telling her to dress up, with flashes to the women flipping through her book of "things she likes" was just utterly... horrifying to me. Not in the scary movie sense but in a moral sense. I could feel my heart cracking, yet speeding up and I was honestly terrified because I knew something would happen to her. And something did. And I was utterly, utterly disgusted.

with that being said. The two leads. The girl and the women, so great. So fantastic. I will reccomend this drama and I won't because it's not your typical type of drama. I don't know if it gets lighter (somehow I doubt it) but just judging from episode 1, seems like a sob story. I'm personally not a fan of medical sob stories, but I think I will continue with this one because it seems brilliant.

果てない空 Review

THIS IS IT PEOPLE. THIS IS WHAT I HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR. OMG. O.M.G.

They did it. Quality. I love this single. I don't care what anyone says. I love this. Every. Single. Song. Absolute love. Maybe it's cause they actually have more than 2 songs. Maybe it's cause they have a making of. Maybe it's cause they have a fricken Christmas song. I DON'T KNOW BUT I LOVE THIS.

果てない空：
It's a theme song. I like it. It's not AWESOME but I like it. It's got more speed than Dear Snow so I don't find it boring and it's not too crazy like Troublemaker (which I sadly have a love-hate relationship with). I haven't seen the PV yet and I don't plan too because I don't want to ruin the image of this song in my mind. It's really calming and reminds of Freeter, which I love. <3

STORY:
Eeeks! I love this song. Hands down best song on the single. I wouldn't expect it from the title, but it is. It's so catchy and .. .I don't know, it reminds me of something but I can't remember what. But it's speedy, and smooth. Slick. I kind of want them to perform this because I can imagine the craziest dance being accompanied with this song. And I mean like... fast, hard, dancing. Like even crazier than Believe or Crazy Moon it would be the most awesome dance ever. Ah. This song. Absolute love. This totally beats out Hatenai Sora and the Christmas song. 

Maboroshi:
Ah. The ballad. It's alright. Not one of their best ballads. Although I like it better than Dear Snow, so I guess that says something right? (I'm sorry, I"m sorry but.. I just.. didn't get along with that single very well). It's sweet. It sounds sweet, the music in the background is really subtle but it sounds very nice. Again, like Hatenai Sora it's really calming. And kind of... heart-wrenching in a way for some reason. I'm not really listening to the lyrics so I don't know what they're actually singing about. ^^;;  Truthfully it's not a bad song, and far above "mediocre" but it's over-shadowed by three other GREAT songs that this one kind of looks bland, caught in the middle. But I am sure I will grow to love it as I listen to the single more. (and I'm currently repeating it now and falling more in love with it. LOL). 

あの日のメリークリスマス:
OMG A CHRISTMAS SONG KYAA~~~ I LOVE CHRISTMAS. And it sounds so fricken jazzy and it sounds like a fricken rip off from Wish which I don't know if I like or not. xD OMG. The chorus. Oh the chorus. <3 Is it bad that when I hear this song I imagine Arashi dressed up as elves prancing up and down and singing this in the snow with Christmas lights and gigantic presents in the snow. Um.. PV NOW PLEASE? CHRISTMAS. But I dunno, for some reason it's not as loud as I thought it would be, but it totally fits the Christmas mood. Oh my god. <3<3. Aggh.. I can tell this is another song I'm gonna have a love-hate relationship with. I mean honestly there are so many better x-mas songs but come on.... it's like full-blown Christmas, how can I not love it? 

Overall: (4/5)

It's a great single. I think overall, as an ENTIRE single (and not just the main song) this is the best single they've released all year. Sure, I liked Troublemaker, Monster, Love Rainbow - but that's it. I didn't like any other song in any of those singles, all I liked were the title tracks. (and don't even bring up Dear Snow - sorry). But this is the one single where I actually like ALL the songs on it. And I mean ALL the songs. Maboroshi is a bit iffy but it has two other songs, STORY and the Christmas song (too lazy to type the title ^^;;) that are just so GREAT that one "okay" song really doesn't matter. Yes Arashi. The end of the year, I knew you guys could do it, and you guys did. I am so happy right now *sobs*

It's not joke, I really did tear up when I heard STORY because it's been so long since I've heard such a great song from them in a single I just felt like I had to cry.. :( (god I'm such a sad fangirl -_-;;)

Closing note: ALL THE SONGS ON THIS SINGLE NEED A PV FOR ITSELF

Freeter~

So it's been a while (since my not-so-happy post) but now I'm back and this time with nothing (really) negative to say :P

 

So yeah, I watched the first episode of Freeter, Ie wo Kau and oh... I don't know how to say this. I love Nino and his acting. I think out of Arashi, and just as a Japanese actor, he is one of the best. It's NOT just because he went to Hollywood either. But when I talk about Nino's "great" acting, I mostly reference his dramas like Yasashii Jikan and Haikei, Chichiue-sama. And from what I've seen in the first episode, I think Freeter may fit into this category as well. It feels like it could but at the same time I do feel there are some elements missing. We'll see, I have high hopes for this drama. (and no, I am not Nino-biased... *cough*maybejustabit*cough*)

 

I'm not going to go into much detail but I really felt for Nino's character Seiji. He's a Freeter sure, but he's trying. And his dad really isn't much help, completely opposite from his mom. Honestly I felt pretty mad when Seiji (Nino) blew upo at his mom, I wanted to reach into my computer and slap him I was so angry. Although I knew why he was like that. And his dad, my god his dad. I can't say anything, I already have issues with my own dad, I don't want to see something like that. *grumbles*. Honestly, I really like Seiji... or is it just that I'm fangirling Nino? Cause the Conbini-scene and when he's video-gaming are so awesome. <3 But my heart broke when he was in the hospital and he realized that he (may) have been the reason for his moms break down... and when he was lying in the mud crying. (T.T) But, just a small comment, the scenes where his mom was going through her little "phases" or "depression", I found those really creepy. Actually, in general I find his mom kind of creepy sometimes. When she smiles and stuff, I don't know. It's not a minus-point for the actor, I just think, appearance wise she is creepy. ^^;;

 

Yeah, I'm not giving a real review on this drama but I may post my small little random thoughts each week, depends on how much I end up liking it. But as I said, I have high hopes for this drama, I really hope it does well. It's almost like a weird mix of both Yasahii Jikan and Haikei, Chichiue-sama. Can't wait for next week. ^^

Boku to Miteiru Fuukei - review

 my little album review. Taken from LJ and EDITED

[edited as of 2010/08/20]

..

1 - Moving On (3.5)
[I've grown to like it. I think as an opening song it's really good. The chorus, as I said is catchy as hell and that's what grips me to this song. I doesnt' make a spot on my playlist but when I listen to the album as a whole I always feel very energized and eager to hear this song again.]

2 - Muda Ue Wo (2)
[Eh.. my opinion hasn't changed. I don't like this song. That doesnt' mean I dislike it but.. it's just not my style. If I hear it I don't mind and i certainly never skip this song but it's not something I would listen to alone. I applaud them for trying something so dark though]

3 - refrain (3.8)
[I've grown to like this. I wont' give it the rave reviews everyone else seems to be giving this song but it's good. Surprisingly, it has managed to worm its way onto my playlist so congratz. I don't really care about lyrics - so skip that - but the melody, the tune, at first it seems boring but after listening to it over and over I find it is a very catchy song. It's not as fast as other songs I prefer but somehow it still pulls me along. Also I find the sound of the song very relaxing.. someone said it reminded her of rain. I agree, when I hear this song i think of a dark, rainy night and empty streets with a single street light shining.... I can imagine a PV for this song xD]

4 - Troublemaker (3.5) - IN THE ALBUM
[I have a love-hate relationship with Troublemaker... especially in this album. This song is catchy as hell but one-to-many listens and i get tired of it. In the album.. somehow it doesn't seem to fit to well either in my opinion. It's just a bit too upbeat sounding to match with songs like Refrain etc. etc. Nevertheless as a single it's a good song but not a preferred one. ^^;; Catchy as all  hell but like I said - one-to-many listens (and karaoke runs) makes me tired of hearing this]

T.A.B.O.O (4.5)
At first I thought this song was alright. Then I grew to like it and now I positively love this song. I think, after Yume de mo Ii Kara it's my most favourite Sho solo. It's hot, sexy, sizzling (the lyrics are just downright dirty)... and it's catchy as all hell. The chorus.. the lines, the way it's sung. Everything about it just makes me want to sing along with it. The rap is a bit lack-luster, sounds... very bland. ^^;; I like rap with a bit more of a tune, like in Kitto Daijoubu or Sakura Sake. But overall - hot and sexy and cannot wait for a con performance (in which I imagine a half-naked Sho looking like how he did in his CUT shoot from 2008)

6 - Circus (4.8)
[I said this was my most favourite song and then I heard Gift and for some reason this song was forgotten in my review. And then I heard it again. Gift might be my most favourite ballad but for up-beat - Circus is brilliant. My two most favourite songs tied back-to-back. It's dark, but not as dark as Mada Ue Wo and it's catchy and gives you this mysterious, magical feel. Like you're on a drug high going through some twisted, colourful, carnival-esque hallway, spinning around and.. being high xD. It's mysterious. I imagine darkness along with the colours.. like a sub-dued image. Damn, I'm going way out with the imagery, but this is a GREAT song. Catchy, mysterious, dark, just the right amount of everything to make a perfect song <3 ]

7 - Gift (5)
[My last review was a bit uncomprehensible due to the massive fangirl attack I had after hearing MatsuJun's voice singing the first time and sounding beautiful while doing it. A lot of people don't seem to like Gift or they just fly by it but THIS is my most favourite song of the single. It's beautiful. Not too slow to be boring and just... wonderful to listen to. It's calming, soothing. I picture them standing somewhere high (maybe in the sky?), singing their hearts out like how they sang 5x10, surrounded in whites and the faintest hint of soft blue... *sighs wistfully* - a beautiful song]

8 - Everything (4)
[I've always liked Everything and I think it actually suits the album well. Better than Troublemaker does - or maybe it's the placement that this song is in? Who knows, but even as a single I like this song. It's refreshing. The PV of this song is pretty much how I picture the song except.. maybe a bit more grass and meadows and sunshine. But it's a beautiful song, catchy, up-beating, up-lifting yet with a slight hint of maturity.. (ie - doesn't sound like Kitto Daijoubu crack xD), I want to say it's my most favourite single in this album but I feel like I'm betraying Monster]

Come back to me (4 - and you read that right)
Let me set this straight - synthesized songs? Not my style. Not my style at all. That's why I hate K-POP but.. FU#$ this song is so catchy, oh my god. From the minute you hear the beginning line "1, 2, 3 I will set you free" i'm completely hooked and I don't know why. I just can't help singing along and bobbing my head to it. The only thing that I don't like is the part when he does the "crowd-shout" thing and when he raps. ^^;; At first I would skip those parts, now I just kind of... tune out of them, sometimes I laugh. yeah - one thing.. this song makes me laugh, HARD. Sometimes I just burst out giggling when I sing along. But not my favourite solo - despite my rave reviews and the fact that I gave it 4/5 - the parts that I dislike are a really big negative in terms of "favourites". The 4 really doesnt' mean much because I have a bias for solo songs xD Especially for MatsuJun solo songs *cough* yeah - i have no ears - shoot me now. 

10 - My Girl (3)
[When i first heard the song in My Girl and saw the PV, I liked it. It was a sweet song, catchy enough and what not but aside from being a theme song it's pretty lack-luster. Generally I like theme songs so it's always no my playlist but I dont' really react when I hear it. It's just a song... I don't love it, I mean.. I like it... enough and I don't dislike it surely. I really don't have much to say.. ]

Magical Song (5)
So, as I said before, favourite solo. Which is ironic because I dont' listen to it half as much as I listen to Ohno's or Nino's solo. In fact I listen to this song the least. But when I hear it I love it and it will be my favourite. It's so different from Hello Goodbye or Friendship and yet it still sounds.. the same. It's up-beat, cute.. magical. Like honestly, i imagine disney when I heard this. Aiba singing in front of Disney castle with Mickey Mouse and Tinkerbell flying around him, I'm not joking. I just find this song adorable.. and I don't know. It captures me.. it's just so.. Aiba. <3

12 - Let Me Down
[uh... I don't.. really like the song. It's not memorable - cannot remember what it sounds like after listening to it, nothing stands out and I just don't like how it sounds. ]

13 - Monster (5)
[<3 <3 <3 - i dont' think any words are necessary]

14 - Don't Stop (0.5)
[Like Let Me Down yea.. not memorable, don't like it. But this one actually gets a score because it sounds marginably better. It's actually catchy when I hear it but one the next song comes along - completely forget about it. ]

Shizuka na Yoru Ni (4.5)
Yes - Ohno did not get a 5. You read that correctly. It's a beautiful song.. but.. it's one of those songs that are just a tad to slow. When I listen to it I love it and I often repeat it over and over but oddly I can't seem to give it a perfect score. Possibly because out of all of Ohno's solos.. I find Take me Faraway and TOP SECRET so much better. Shizuka na Yoru ni is undoubtedly a beautiful ballad and a wonderful display of Ohno's vocals, no doubt. As a song it's a 5 but as to how much I like it compared to his other solos.... now that's not a perfect score. It's not a bad song but like I said, a little too slow. It reminds me of rain as well.. but it's not as dark as refrain. Reminds me of soft, drizzly rain... i can imagine Ohno singing this on the street surrounded in light grayish hues, singing.... *another wistful sigh* 

16 - Mukae ni Iku yo (5)
[Just as in my last review, I loved this song and I still do. It's a awesome song. It's slow, yet fast and soothing but with just enough pep to it to be called POP and it's up-lifting but not like Happiness... this song is just so good. It's not as dark as circus either. it's just.. so.. mature sounding and calming. I don't imagine rain with this, but I imagine many dark-blue-ish hues in my mind. I just love the way they are singing. The constant, soft, ups and downs and when they go into that... what is it called... a falsetto? I don't know musical terms but when they all go and hit that high-note in the chorus.. *shivers*. Sounds so good... yeah, dark-blue-ish hues.. solemn setting.. walking into a starry sky with a sun beginning to rise... breathtaking. and the "ooh" part at the end........ *yet another sigh*]

1999*4##111 (5)
This.. song was a surprise. The sound I mean. When I first read the title I imagined something along the lines of Gimmick Game, but when I learned what the title meant I thought it would be a ballad. But no, I was surprised, this sounds glaringly close to Himitsu and I love it. I LOVE Nino's voice in this, how he goes up and down and hits those notes and sounds so good... and the lyrics are so cute. The chorus is catchy as all hell - i can imagine flaily Himitsu-ish Nino dancing happening here. It's such a cute song, cute and touching. And the fact that Nino wrote and produced this himself adds bonus points. Not as good as Niji and Konseki but those are slow songs, as a fast, more up-beat solo this is one of my favourites of Nino's.

18 - Sora Takaku (3)
[Now let me be honest. I liked Sora Takaku when I heard it at the end of Saigo no Yakusoku but eventually... yeah, the like faded. I never got the hype with this song. I mean it's a good song, definitely, but I don't follow a majority of othe fan's love for this song - it's not THAT good is it? But as to the actual song.. it's nice, it's like Mada Ue Wo. Except it's more my style - just sounds.. kind of... boring. ^^;; I dunno. I don't find the song nearly as catchy nor as memorable as their actual singles (although I'd rather this than To Be Free >.>). When you hear the lines after the chorus.. I always think disco's 70's music. It's not like I imagine NEWS Koi no ABO style but.. somehow I just think "DISCO". The rap is.. nice... i guess, I never actually make it that far into the song before I skip onto... ]

19 - Kagero (5)
[I know the majority of the songs on this album aren't SLOW but none of them are necessarily FAST songs either - except for Kagero which is my style of FAST and I LOVE THIS SONG. It doesn't beat ouf Gift and sits on the same pedastal as Carnival maybe a bit higher because like I said - my style of speed to a song. It's the right speed, memorable, the background tune is amazing. What can I say - it sounds like an anime theme song and I love anime theme songs. <3. This is what I would want as an anime theme song from Arashi. Fast, Action, Adventure, that's what the song sounds like. I can imagine barren sand dunes and the hint of Arashi travelling through their own anime adventure to find some all-powerful-armageddon saving stone.. *sigh* Now if only my wish for an Arashi-Anime would come true *laugh*]

20 - Summer Splash! (2)
[Uh... I don't know what to say. THIS song really reminds me of DISCO 70's when I hear the opening instrumental.. and then they start singing and that imagine is replaced by a pool and Arashi shirtless and I'm gone. xD It's true, this song is the stereotype of Arashi/Summer and it sounds nice but so generic and thus... not that memorable either. I mean, the chorus is catchy when I hear it but after ... I never really feel a need to listen to this song again? It's better than Let Me Down and Don't Stop but.. it's just... not that great? Lots of people seem to like it, I guess cause it's so generically Arashi but it's a subdued generic. If I want fast-pace summer I would go for something along with Happiness. ^^ Also the style they're singing really doesn't... yeah, I don't really like it that much in this song.]

so... the bottom line to sum this thing up?
....
I'm.... what can I say? At first I was kind of disappointed with this album. I mean, as you can see the scores for the songs aren't over the top and some of them did get depressingly low scores (below the 50% mark) but... after listening to it for so long I have to say that overall as an ALBUM I really enjoy it. Listening to it from beginning to end, all 20 songs, all together in one package, it's a great album. Not as good as TIME but.. it's getting there.

Honestly, this is probably my 2nd most favourite album.. although I liked ONE quite a bit as well. Maybe they're tied? I mean, it's true, the amount of songs I actually liked are.. quite few (and highlighted in pink minus singles - but you can tell which single I liked xD) but.. overall, like I said, the whole package? It's good. I love how they mixed up the solos as well, feels like a concert then. ^^ And I have to say, love all the solos, all of them 100% love them, there is no solo that I dislike and all of them made it at least in the top 3 of my solo list.

so as a whole packaged album - despite some of the songs getting terrible low scores - as a WHOLE PACKAGE.. I'd have to honestly say? 5/5. ^^ I like the single that much. The colour scheme as well, the blues and greens? Reminds me of the Vancouver Olympics and being a vancouverite I'm biased. Haha.

it's a good album, I would recommend this actually, to people. This album and TIME would be good albums to recommend to non-arashi fans. <3

Saigo + Vancouver

Drama was very LOL.

I think without Arashi it wouldnt' have been so enjoyable. ^^;;

kind of ridiculous storyline... and... just.. LOL

but Arashi was cute and I love them all <3 Jun and Kazu are so awesome xD And Fujiki.

and the amount of JunxMeisa WALL SLAMMING .. .my god xD So ridiculous.\

but away from that.

SHO IS GOING TO VANCOUVER
...
WHY AM I IN JAPAN??!!

WHY WHY WHY?!
T.T
I want to go home.. (by the way I live in Vancouver =D)

[Drama Review] The Quiz Show

Right, same thing with Smile, very casual review... not as much flail. Huh. Strange. o_o I honestly thought I would be DYING over The Quiz Show. DAMN IT MATSUJUN!!! >_<!!

Episode 1

Kamiyama is the host for a TV show called The Quiz Show and the first guest is a singer/musician called Andou Kosuke who killed his partner. The Quiz Show (in the drama) is structured in a way where the questions, as they get "harder" begin to reveal the "hidden" parts of the guest and by the end they have to confess whatever wrong they did or walk out. Kamiyama is actually a guy who suffers amnesia and Honma (the director) is somehow connected. What Kamiyama does remember is a girl who is drowning. The is unknown for now.
Not a bad start. It was pretty interesting but I can easily see how repetitive it can get. For now nothing.. really seems to be pulling me a long. I mean.. the "amnesia" thing doesn't really interest me much but we'll see.

Episode 2
The show starts off with yet another flashback. A bit more is revealed. The guest this time is a cell-phone novelist named Mika. The problem with her is that she did not actually write any of her stories and she is wracked with guilt and what not. Apparently Kamiyama met her as a kid when he was on a camping trip with some nameless girl. In fact it seems everyone who will be guesting was someone Kamiyama had met at some point.
It's getting there. The amnesia storyline still isn't pulling me along that well. Sho's acting is awesome though and I seriously love Kamiyama. He's such a jackass *laughs* I'm sort of wondering how many people Kamiyama actually met on his little trip and how Honma ties in (by the way, Yoko - Honma - so fricken hot). Little thing about the guest - ... she just pisses me off.

Episode 3
The guest this time is a "free school representitive" Miyamoto Keniji (played by Narimiya Hiroki!). Basically his character is a guy who helps run a free school that apparently lives on donations. Obviously the entire thing is a huge smuggling scam in reality and the guy is found out. The snippets of memory continue coming and the girl's name is Misaki. Don't know what happened but Honma knows Misaki. A love triangle? A sister? Who knows? It was raining. Ayaka's character saw Kamiyama (very lifelessly) being shoved into a car. She's obviously wondering what is going on. We also learn that apparently Honma is in the show thanks to Saejima. How exactly are those two linked? o_o. As well, an incident "2 years ago" was mentioned. What incident was that? Gah.. so many mysteries.
Alright. So. I think this drama is just getting better and better as the story continues. Also the director. Saejima, love her so much for some reason. Don't ask why, I just do. Also, I'm loving Ayaka right now for her Shukudai-guesting. Anyone else think that Saejima appearing with her kid might be significant to the story in the future?

Episode 4
Flashback in the beginning. Honma, Kamiyama and Misaki were classmates? Or schoolmates? The guest this time is a fortune-teller of some sorts named Yuutenji Nokko. She is a fake and apparently was a very nice lady until she realized her life sucked and she was too lonely. That was harsh wasn't it? I don't really care about the guest, what I'm more interested in is the whole HonmaxMixakixKamiyama thing going on. Did Kamiyama really kill the girl (as the end seems to show)? Also, Ayaka's character is started to become really suspicious and seems to start snooping around a bit. Wonder how that's going to turn out.
Alright, now the amnesia storyline is actually turning interesting. All these character ties and relationships that appear. Crazy plot twists. This is getting really interesting. Seriously. Loving this. KamiyamaxMisakixHonma - WHAT HAPPENED? So many speculations I could make up. How does Saejima pull into the mix. How is it that Kamiyama managed to meet every single one of the guests during his little camp trip? So many questions, not enough answers... can't wait for the next episodes!! Little thing about the guest - The "Jyunishi power" thing pissed me off to no end.

Episode 5
Flashback, apparently Kamiyama really did kill Miyaki (says Honma). Those two seemed to be going out. Onto the guest for today's episode is a "genius" surgeon "Godhand" Tomobe Koichiro. This guy left his professor to die. Anyways, aside from the guest so much unravels in only the first 9 minutes. Apparently nothing is known about Kamiyama but Honma was an AD for the old Quiz Show (season1) and somehow Saejima is linked to that too. Also there seems to be some relation between Saejima and the Galaxy TV president.Throughout the episode we learn that Kamiyama's first name is Satoru. Apparently Honma saw Kamiyama over Misaki's dead body. Saejima, Ayaka's character and Kamiyama are starting to find things out.
Oh god this is just getting better and better. So many twists and turns and I can't predict anything at all. One that bugs me is all the guests.. take so long moping and trying to defend themselves and it's sort of annoying. Little thing about the guest - He's got problems. Lots of problems. Guys like him should not be doctors. -_-''

Episode 6
The guest this time is a NEET who lives off his mom, Katsuragi Makoto who kidnaps Saejima's little girl Minori. The format for this episode was just a teensy bit different. Instead of just interrogating the guest it seemed in the beginning that the guest had dominance over the TV staff but than it changed in the end thanks to Kamiyama. Pretty interesting, the episode went by pretty fast. Again still wondering why all the guests were gathered in the same place as Misaki and Kamiyama. Another person seems to have appeared in the memories but they are still blurry. Also, Yamanobe has appeared in front of Homa o_O
This episode was pretty interesting due to the fact that it was just.. different from all the other episodes which made it more entertaining. Nothing much was revealed although Yamanobe from season 1 did appear. Little thing about the guest - He's retarded. I agree with Ayaka, can I punch him? Ungrateful !@#$ >_> Can't wait for episode 7 =D

Episode 7
The episode starts out with Honma telling Yamanobe that he won't screw up and with Kamiyama starting to become a bit rebellious. He's very close to regaining most of his memories. The guest this time is a pilot named Shibata Yuuki. We learn in this episode (after a majority of headaches that were honestly quite annoying) that Kamiyama, Honma and Mizuki were on a plane (with all the other guests of the Quiz Show) and the pilot of said plane is Shibata. Due to the epic FAIL of the plane company the aircraft crashes onto the lake where all of them are stranded. The guest this time honeslty didn't do anything wrong it was his shitty companies fault. Really, this episode just exists to quickly patch up all the places that need patching. We also learn in this episode that Saejima was there was well, she was a reporter at the time. It also seems that Honma is a lot more powerful in the TV station than he seems and Saejima is apparently the next guest =O
Oh.. things are just heating up. Honestly this episode was a bit hard to get through due to the constant headaches that were just pissing me off so much. A lot of things were cleared up though and I wonder what's going to happen to Saejima next episode. What dirty secret does she have to expose? o_o? EPISODE 8 NOW!!

Episode 8
Saejima is fired and she returns today as the next quiz for this episode of todays "The Quiz Show". In this episode we learn that Saejima is the wife of the "chief" and that she is not the actual mother of her daughter. Honma wanted to punish Saejima for using Misaki's death as a way of upping her fame. At the end when Saejima is forced to "reveal her secret" Kamiyama saves her and keeps her secret closed, pissing Honma off a huge amount. Kamiyama is started to get most of his memories back and he is starting to become rebellious.

OMG - ShoxYoko moment are like.. damn. But Kamiyama is becoming rebellious and I felt bad for Saejima. Next episode seems even better - the guest? Kamiyama =D Ah.. only two more episodes left until the shocking conclusion. Also, some hints of Ayaka's character (whom I still cannot for the life of me remember the name of) becoming director soon?

Episode 9
Takatsugi? Whatever, Aya's character is made director of the Quiz Show for this episode. Saejima comes back as producer and... Kamiyama is the guest! Seven questions that tell us so many answers... sort of. We learn so much more about the whole KamiyamaxHonmaxMisaki incident and at the end, we are left with: Kamiyama, Honma and Misaki go on a grad trip to Shinai lake. Kamiyama asks Misaki to be his GF but she says no (cause she likes Honma). Kamiyama says something that pisses Honma off and the next day (Misaki's b-day) the three were supposed to go on a plane trip but Honma (cause he's pissed) doesn't go. The resulting crash happens. Misaki becomes a vegetable and supposedly, Kamiyama is pissed at her so he takes of her oxygen mask and kills her and than tries to commit suicide by jumping off a building and fails. SUPPOSEDLY - but... does that really happen?
..Is it just me or do the episodes of the Quiz Show seem harder and harder to get through? I thought I liked the series but... I don't know. The episodes seem to crawl by so slowly now.. (-_-;;) The ending is just too predictable in my opinion.. I haven't even watched the first series but things like this can be predicted easy (for me at least). Bah, I'll still finish the last episode though ^^

[Drama Review] Smile

Because this drama is so awesome, I'm going to write actual reviews. Basically I'm just gonna have the episode summaries and than my small comment of the actual episode at the bottom in the large font. Seriously this drama is just too good to not write a review about it.

characters:
Matsumoto Jun : Hayakawa Vito (but I like Bito so I'm going to write Bito =D)
Aragaki Yui : Mishima Hana
Nakai Kiichi - Ito Kazuma
Oguri Shun : Hayashi Seiji

Episode 1

The beginning opens in 2015 with Bito being in jail for an unreason unknown. Then it goes back to 2009. Basically this first episode introduces the characters and of course, starts the storyline off. Hayakawa Bito a half filipino young man works at Machimura Foods with two of his friends, Bull and Kinta and the very warm and loving Machimura family. On part time he works at a bar. Bito meets Hana in a bookstore and than she follows him and applies for a job at Machimura foods, Hana cannot talk. The lawyer Kazuma is also introduced early in the story and is the boss to Shiori, daughter of the owner of Machimura foods. Things seem to be fine until Bito is accused of being a drug dealer of crystal meth. At the end there is a very touching (and a bit tedious...) scene where Bito is unjustly accused and captured to bring into court. You also learn in this episode that Bito used to be part of a gang and the leader was a guy named Hayashi Seiji (played by Oguri Shun) this is really important later it. ^^
A very good opening in my opinion. It introduces all the characters nicely and it's actually a lot more deep and touching. I thought this drama would be very cliche but from the first episode onwards I find I am loving this drama a lot.

Episode 2

What happens in episode 1 continues onto episode 2 where Bito is in court. Because Bito had such a bad name when he was younger (in his teens) police unjustly make up stories and try to frame him. Hana (Aragaki Yui) knowing that Bito is innocent follows the real drug dealer Kondo and hopes to dig out evidence. She manages to find evidence to prove that Kondo is guilty and that Bito is not. Kazuma then enters more into the story now. At the end a news report appears that a school has suffered a bad case of food poisoning. Hana and Bito's relationship started to develop a bit in this episode but than something happens at the end (always the end..) that makes Bito a bit hesitant and distance with Hana. >_<
The second part of this episode was so good. Hana was like a stalker but she's a brave stalker and I commend her for her awesomness. The HanaBito scenes are just so cute and I seriously love these scenes so much. Ah.. can't wait for episode 3.

Episode 3

In the beginning no one knows how the food poisoning happened and the beginning mostly details into a bit about Kazuma and Bito and sort of develops their relationship a bit more. There is more descrimination against Bito (that seriously make smy blood boil) and we get to see a hint of something that may have happened in Kazuma's past. He seems to have this complex about things being "pure Japanese". There is also some developement with Hana and Bito and Hana tries to win Bito's heart (and she does such a good job, I want to hug Hana so bad, she's so cute). Then near the end we realize that it's apparently Machimura foods that is the source of the food poisoning and this problem will continue onto the later episodes. Also in this episode we get to see a bit more of Hayashi Seiji and how much of a bad-ass he is. At the very end, Hana faints for some unknown reason, seemingly in pain. As well, in 2015 we get a small scene where Bito asks "Hana would've been much more happy if she hadn't met me" which makes me think something very bad happened to her. Did she die? o_o Did BITO kill her?
I'm loving this series more and more. The scenes between Hana and Bito are so much love and they're so cute together and than the more serious issues about Bito being a half filipino really makes me hurt inside for some reason. Also at the end when things start becoming serious, this drama is really like an emotional rollar coaster ride. It's a drama with such a misleading name "Smile" Hah. Underneath the "happy" is a very dark and depressing undertone.

Episode 4

Bito and Hana's relationship is a bit strained in the beginning due to that guy... who I forgot the name off. Hana's guy-friend and so Machimura mama+papa tell Hana to be more assertive. They also attempt to get the two together on a "shopping trip". Hana faints though when a bunch of reporters come swarming towards her and she is sent to the hospital. Hayashi Seiji (who was released from prison a earlier) spots Bito on TV and decides to give his little friend a surprise visit at the end of the episode. Meanwhile when Bito is at the hospital with Hana he reads a letter which Hana had previously given to him. We see some more hints of Kazuma's own personal problems and Machimura continues getting into more and more trouble. Also we learn about Hana's past and why she lost her voice in this episode. As much as I'd like to continue summarizing, all I can say is, we really hit some deep points in this episode about one of the many themes in this story.
Okay first of all. Shun is crazy hot *laughs* Hana and Bito continue to make me squeal and aww at their cuteness (okay, it's mostly just Hana but whatever) and when Bito was talking with Kazuma when they were drinking I could feel myself tearing because it was just so sad what happened to Hana. Next episode will again follow the trend of "happy and sad" but... I SHUN!! YAY!! ^^

Episode 5

Hayashi asks Bito to join him again to "kill Kai" and Kazuma tells Bito off from it (of course). Meanwhile the Machimura food problem keeps getting worse and it is revealed that it was something in the glutinous rice that caused the problem. Bito and gang try to prove that Teishoku food company is the cause of the problem. Suddenly things just keep getting worse. Minako-chan (girl that quite in episode 1) makes up a fake story (presumably because she was threatened by Hayashi) about how the owner of Machimura was terrible and she was absued and gradually all of Machimura's friends turn their heads away and no one helps them. The bank pulls away and forces the family to pay back their loans. Hayashi continues causing problems and the end is a shock when Machimura Father commits suicide. Oh. Bito's birthday was celebrated in this episode as well, that's where he got his cookbooks from jail.
Things just keep getting worse and worse don't they? Shun as always is just.. my god, I love Shun. He is just so bad-ass and the JunxShun moments are so much love. The ending was a shock and I teared up because .. oh god and reporters are total asses. And with that, episode 6 =D

Episode 6

The beginning opens with Father Machimuras funeral in which lots of yelling happens. The search for Machimura's innocence which leads to finding Minako, not before a heated showdown between Hayashi and Bito! We learnt hat Minako was scammed and thus needed money desperately. After a while, Minako and the boss of another food store confesses that 1. Machimura was a great guy and 2. Teishoku is the company that should be suspected. With these verbal confessions Machimura is proved innocent and the real culprit is apprehended, Hayashi is not happy. Even with all this happening, there is still room for some HanaxBito developement and some Future!Bito. For some reason Bito doesn't want to see Hana in the future.. but in the present Hana is so much love! She asks Bito to take her out on a date! Some cute scenes ensue and a date is made but..! Seiji is a creeper, stalks Hana and kidnaps her! And that is the end of episode 6. >_<
Okay first off. Jun, wet hair, HOT! Seiji is a creeper who stalks girls (o_o) but holy crap Shuni s a great actor. Jun... he cries a lot and... it's a bit of a turn off. I hate watching Jun cry because.. not that he's bad persay but he's not that great either. Lots of begging ensues in this episode as well. BitoxKintaxBull moments are HELLA cute, especially when Hana asks Bito out (YOU GO GIRL!!). Overall, not a bad episode, but it's obviously the beginning of a new and final arc of this drama. (by ze vay... WHAT DID BITO DO TO LAND IN JAIL AND NOT WANT TO SEE HANA?!)

[Anime Review] Tekkon Kinkreet

Ninomiya Kazunari as Kuro

Honestly, I would never have heard about this anime if it wasn't for Nino, who was a voice actor in it but I honestly love this movie a lot. At first, when I just started watching, I honestly thought I was on drugs. I've never seen an anime with this style of art (although my sister says it's become quite a popular style) and I love it. I really like the style, I thought it was so interesting and different. ^^

On to the actual story of the movie. It was good. The actual story is about two boys named Kuro and Shiro who try to protect their town (Treasure Town) from being changed into an Amusement Park by a bunch of Yakuza. It doesn't sound very interesting does it? But the actual anime itself has many themes to it and in my opinion it's quite a deep story that involves many things about life which I found intriguing. The characters themselves I also loved. Shiro more than Kuro actually.

Kuro and Shiro, like their names, are opposites. While Kuro is a violent, dark anti-hero, Shiro is a pure and innocent child. The story shows how these two, together are one complete pair. Effectively showing how everyone is a mix of good and bad, pure and tarnished. Their relationship in the anime is touching and I nearly cried when Shiro was stabbed and sent to the hospital.

The story also had many other themes such as how things change whether you want them to or not, and to a smaller level the importance of friendship, or having love and being loved by someone.

Towards the end, the last 15 minutes or so I was actually a bit terrified. The parts with "The Minotaur" which is basically Kuro's "dark side" the side without Shiro. The being that Kuro would become if he threw Shiro away for good and in all honestly, I nearly got a headache watching because it was so vivid.

The ending made me smile. To see Kuro smile so happily and just jump into the water. ^^ It made me happy.

I applaud Nino's voice acting, he did a wonderful job.

and finally. Final note. I really do love this anime movie, and not just because Nino was in it. (Look at my list of dramas, you'll realize if I don't like something, whether it has an Arashi member or not I will not finish it). It has many themes and they showed those themes in really interesting ways. Also some analogies they used in this anime were just.. they were interesting. I liked them. I found the entire movie intriguing. It seems like a very straight-forwardish drama but honestly it's a bit physchological in a way and I love things that have to do with your mind. Not a straight forward movie at all, in fact it's very abstract. Definitely a great watch in my opinion.

Ratings: 5/5

HanaKimi - Taiwan vs Japan

I just finished the Taiwanese one. My firefox crashed as I was re-writing this review. I'm going to try and make everything as short and sweet as possible cause I hate re-writing things. This review may be worse of better *shrugs*

Characters:
All the characters are basically the same, except Quan and Sano. They're not all that different either but I.. half the time I felt like smashing Sano's head into the wall. Why? I really don't like the silent characters who just wallow in their self-pity. People like Sano. I'll even mention Sawada Shin because, yes, I did hate his guts in Gokusen as well. Quan isn't like that, he was never like that honestly. I mean, Quan is a lot more outu-going, nicer, smily and fun and maybe Sano isn't like that in the manga but I don't care. The fact that Quan does not wallow in his own self-pity makes the entire drama so much more enjoyable for me.

Other characters I want to mention are all the side characters, the dorm heads, the photographer, in the Japanese one they appear like every episode and are almost like main characters except not whereas in the Taiwanese they come and go respectively. They appear for their little story and then never come again, which I like. I don't know why the Japanese focused so much on the side characters -_-''

Oh, the doctor. I sort of like the Taiwanese one more cause he's more sadistic, and he appears more.

Actors:
You think I'd like the Japanese actors more considering I've seen them more but.. appearently that is not the case.

I like Wu Chun a lot. I like Shun a lot. But... I like Wu Chun more. A bit odd, but I do. In this I will be superficial and say it's becuase Wu Chun looks hot xD But acting wise, both of them are very good and they acted very well. I really can't choose when it comes to acting and skill. And their behind-the-scenes personalities are also equally appealing. I mean Shun's really cute and funny and I find Wu Chun amusing cause he's always mentions eating and screws up on his Mandarin.

For Maki and Ella. I have to say Maki did her acting better than Ella, but Ella looked a lot more like a guy than Maki did. In my eyes anyways. Why? She totally reminds me of some guy in my grade. But yes, Maki's acting was better than Ella's so you'd think they'd be equal in my eyes. But they're not. I've seen Maki in HanaKimi and Kurosagi and although she is quite a good actor I've honestly never been interested in her at all. Ella though has really captured my interest. Maybe it's because she's so tomboy-ish and open and so I find her a lot more amusing and entertaining.

Jiro and Toma. Now choosing between these two guys is really hard. I really don't think I can honestly. I mean, both their portrayals of their characters were quite good but again, I have never really been interested in Toma. For both these guys I only like them in their respective roles but outside I don't pay much attention to them.

Wu Chun > Shun
Ella > Maki
Jiro = Toma

Story:
For the Japanese drama they focused more on side-stories in the beginning and then fell into the whole "high-jump" thing. Although I have to say, as much as I found the side-stories enjoyable they were also a bit tedious, there were so many characters (dorm heads, etc.) and they just kept re-appearing and it was a bit annoying. Although the story is not bad overall I don't really like the flow of it. I mean, I know at the end they were trying to show that because of the little trials, Sano changed and high jumped and blah, but... Sano was so emo for so long it was just sort of like "oh my god..." and although you sort of did see the relationship develop it wasn't as special as the Taiwanese relationship. 

For the Taiwanese drama they got the whole High Jump thing over with all nice and fast within the first 3-ish? episodes and then focused on the developing relationship as well as the side stories (in which the characters left and appeared respectively). I like that a lot more. Because focusing on the relationship was enjoyable, you really see Quan slowly fall more and more in love with Rui Xi and then the little stories pop up, coming and go, yet flowing very nicely all together. I was actually glad they didn't focus on High Jump so much -_-''

Ending:
I. Hate. Hate. Hate the ending of the Taiwanese one. I know, strong words. Although my hate and dislike seems to mostly stem from my intense Chunella fangirling but really, I don't like that ending. The entire last episode was just so "wtf" for me. I mean, I understood (somewhat) the closure between Xiu Yi and Rui Xi but then there was the whole "Quan I have to tell you something", "Okay I have to tell you something too Rui Xi" and then they get interrupted billions of times and then when they finally are about to spit out that "I'M A GIRL" and "I ALREADY KNEW YOU WERE A GIRL" it never happens! They never tell each other, even at the end. I mean, they could've kept the last scene of "I lied to them about your secret" but all I want in that ending WAS FOR THEM TO TELL EACH OTHER! I mean, Rui Xi doens't have to tell the entire school but at least she could've told Quan, or Quan could'v told her what he knew but NOooooo. The producers have to be dumbasses >_> That's what I was waiting for the entire fricken drama. -_-'' But Noo... they never do. They leave the ending so open for a sequel and then the producers/director people are like "Nope, no sequel cause we don't think it'll be possible" *sigh*
Yes, I'm really pissed off at the Taiwanese drama.

As for the Japanese ending. It was... alright. I mean, the only part I really remember is the really long "good-bye" thing (which I skipped actually) and then the really crappy kiss at the end BUT they KNOW. They find OUT, they get ficken TOGETHER there is CLOSURE. Something the Taiwanese one did not have >_> So although the Japanese ending was not the best ending in the world ever, in my opinion it beats the Taiwanese just for the single fact that, Mizuki tells her secret out. It is known. It's not enough for me that Quan knew from the first episode, I want Rui Xi to actually say something. The fact that Quan knows from episode 1 does nothing for me. It just serves to build up to the end when he is supposed to tell her but never does.

alright, I'm going to shut up about how disappointed I am at the ending now. Sorry ^^''

Overall Comments:
Alright, I remember posting on here somewhere about how I hated Taiwanese dramas more than Korean ones, but Hua Yang completely contradicts that. I love this drama so much and most of it boils down to the wonderful chemistry that Chunella have on (and even off) screen. It makes everything so much more enjoyable for me. Shun and Maki did not have much chemistry together, if at all.

I think Hua Yang is like my HanaDan, my complete and utter love. The only difference is that, whereas HanaDan had a sequel, Hua Yang did not and probably will not and that really pisses me off. (but I don't go on about that).

....

Overall - I like Hua Yang more than HanaKimi.

(if I say anymore I will just continue on and on about Chunella and the whole "no sequel" thing so bye bye, done my review ^^)

[Drama Review] Door to Door

Door to Door
Starring: Ninomiya Kazunari
2009 Drama SP

The third and apparently final installment of Nino playing people with illnesses. First was cancer, an deadly disease, next Autism a mental disease and now Cerebral Palsy (sp?) a physical disease. 5 minutes into the show I could feel tears spring to my eyes because Nino's acting was so good and my mind was going crazy and screaming "NINO! NINO WHY? NINO!".

Alright, to the actual story. Nino plays a 22-year-old with Cerebral Palsy, a disease in the brain that mostly affects someones body but also impairs Nino's character's speech. Nino's name in this drama is Hide. His goal in life is to become the top selling salesmen just like his dad, so he gets a job as a door to door salesmen even though he has a disability that effects his phyiscal appearance and his ability to speak. Whether he becomes succesful is up to you to find out. (although I'm probably going to spoil the ending later on anyways -_-'')

Again. Nino's acting? Marvelous, brilliant. So believable it's not even funny. I was so affected at seeing him act like he had a disease, I mean.. just watching him was undescribably disturbing. I mean, obviously I got used to it seeing as how I finished the drama but for the first 5 minutes I was just so.. freaked out. I mean, normally you know that an actor is acting but I don't know. I knew he was acting but at the same time, it was actually a physical problem which just made everything more see-able and thus I guess more believable for me?

I found it amusing that they needed subtitles whenever Nino spoke though. =P *giggles*

And Nino looks so good with the girl (whom I forgot the actor of) but seriously, Nino and her look so cute together. I seriously wish they got together in the end. I found the end kind of sad but I guess it was almost to be expected? I mean, it didn't come as a great shock and I didn't cry bucket-loads. This drama didn't really give off the "feel-good" feeling as Marathon but you know, I still enjoyed it a lot. Maybe not a favourite but it was definitely good and enjoyable.

Again, applaud Nino's brilliant acting skills and I hope he never has to do anymore disability dramas ever again. -_-''

Overal mark: 5/5

BoF - ending (random thoughts)

I didn't actually watch the drama, but I read summaries of each episode due to the wonderful people over at the HYD LJ community and I don't know, I mean.. obviously I didn't like it enough to actually watch but from the bits I read from the last episode I felt sort of.. uncomfortable.

well no. I have to admit the ending is pretty sweet.

but, there is one part I don't really like and that's how um.. Jun Pyo gains his memory back. JanDi like.. sort of tries to drown herself and I don't know, I think that's just sort of like.. no. I don't like it honestly ^^'' I mean, I'm not asking for the cabin scene but I don't know. I can't explain, there's something about Jun Pyo re-gaining his memories that way that makes me dislike it. Almost like something is missing.

I can't explain. To all those that enjoyed the drama. Well, good for you. I'm sorry I can't really share that joy with you. I might end up watching it if my mom buys the DVD's =P  (keywords is might)

aside from that, I just sort of skimmed through (the synopsis, not the actual episode) and DAMN Jun Pyo looks FRICKEN HOT 4 years later. xD (screencaps are always <3)

From far away, but up close his KimuTaku face sort of creeps me out so I get turned away again. ^^. Sort of sad that Woo Bin never got an actual storyline about anything... I mean, I really like Woo Bin (I mean I remember his name for god sakes o_O That's saying something).

well, that's all my random BoF thoughts. ^^

AAA2008 Review [part 1]

Okay, my review. It's probably going to be REALLY long. I'm not going to post a lot of screencaps cause I don't want to make this longer than it should be (especially with no LJ cuts) - I made notes while watching so be warned for all the fangirling - and I might missed stuff cause I was doing homework too xD

so without further ado - START

OVERTURE

Kokuritsu is seriously huge an the cheering is REALLY loud o_O Also. Water effects? Awesome much Xd

Love so sweet

The guys appear out on the circle in the yellow suits from the screencaps wearing really ugly yellow shoes =D Also, either I'm getting really used to MatsuJun's voice or maybe he really just did sing on tune, I'm not sure xD

Oh Yeah!
Arashi starts spreading out, Ohno is sounding so nice with his voice in this song xD See a bit of AibaxNino and OhnoxSho but they're really fast and it's just me being stupid and catching little things ^^''

Kitto Daijoubu

They have their little solo introductions at this point with Jun camera whoring, saying lots of stuff and I think at the end he goes "Jun da yo~!" in this really cute way xD Nino with his usual "IRRASHAIMASE!", Aiba with his usual, Oh-chan being cute and going "HIIII" like he normally does xD Sho as usual, points to the camera and hypes up the fans and telling them to go "ARASHI!" Also I love Sho's hair - anyways - NINO SANG HIS LINE PROPERLY!! *giggles*

La tormenta 2004

First of all, new costume (which I like ^^) Orange vest with camo pants and everyone - shoes - omg - WANT!. Order change, Jun, Nino, Aiba, Ohno, Sho. Jun camera whores as usual xD Nino and Aiba just sort of stand and wave and do peace signs. OMG OHNO! OHNO! You know what he does? He pretends he's fishing!! I love him *GLOMPS* And sho does this really stupid but funny pose and I sort of want to hug him after it xDxD

Happiness
Guys going onto the moving stages. Ohno and Sho, Jun, Nino and Aiba. Didn't make any comments ^^'' woops.

Hadashi no Mirai
As usual the mic stands come out, Sho I swear did some weird pose - I don't know if that's part of the choreo or not but it was real weird. Jun and Nino turned their mic towards the other direction from the other three and you know what? I'm still loving their outfits xD

Aozora Pedal
Pace of the songs are slowing down, but no matter, love this song. Sho sounds really nice when he sings this. In fact you know what? They all sound so nice when singing this song. Aiba disappeared =O I wonder why?! At the end, if you remember they have a small amount of choreo which I really like. ^^

Hello Goodbye

OMG AIB SO CUTE CAN I HUG YOU?! This isn't my most favourite song but OMG SUCH A CUTE SONG! And seeing Aiba do it live? *SQUEALS* He is just SO CUTE. and on the back of his jacket it says "hello goodbye" and oh my god, Harmonia? Hello? Aiba? Harmonia? *dies* Aiba is just so much fucking love like.. oh my god marry me much dude? And his shoes *giggles* (I'm so focused on shoes it's not even funny -_-'')

Subarashiki Sekai

So beautiful. So beautiful. They're wearing new costumes - really pretty suits xD (I think I'm getting to used to Johnny's fashion ^^''). Aiba's missing in the beginning but he reappears in the middle. Everyone sounds really good during their solos (yes, even Jun =D), MatsuJun's bracelet changed and Ohno got a bracelet on his wrist too O_o

Tomodoinagara
You know, I only like this song when they sing it during concerts. Like during Iza! Now and now, love this song during concerts. So good. The tempo is a bit faster I think? Can't remember. Everyone sounds really good and oh my god I'm just.. like.. love this song so much. *sighs*

Still...

Nino and Sho are talking in the background *snickers* - I love this song by the way (I just love the set list in general BTW xD). You got Sho rapping from a really high platform (it actually went REALLY high) and his voice didn't change at all. All other members were on the cranes like the one Ohno's in. ^^

Lucky Man

Jun rips his shirt open in the beginning and oh my god it's SO distracting xD They got some nice dancing in between and then, then you know what? SOLO DANCES! SOLO DANCES! Oh my god MatsuJun crazy dancing *HUGS* Sho's was eh... well, he tried =D And then Aiba - SO CUTE (aiba is just.. you know, the cutest thing to me) and then Nino doing his BACKFLIP (even MatsuJun congratulates Nino on his success xD) - but wait? Where is Ohno?... 

Take me faraway

OHNO IS A GOD! How the hell does he DANCE to this song? And you know what? He even walks down the stairs on BEAT. LIKE OMG WTF?! How does he do that? Like seriously. Dancing... so nice. *sighs* Ohno, why are you so awesome? like seriously. He also manages to hit all the notes, high low PERFECTLY. I swear, I like listening to the live better than the actual album version o_o

Niji

How did I manage to take 6 screencaps? ...hmm... Anyways, I love Niji so I love this solo even though it's exactly the same s the time con. Only difference? Nino isn't a waterfall (he's just dripping, not pouring). The crowd went "lalala" again except it was so much more powerful cause there was so much more people. xD Rainbow appeared on the screens and the words "arigatou" appeared. Madness ensued as Nino took of his glasses, I think you know the drill xD

Smile

Extra pic of MatsuJun to make up for Nino xD Surprised they sang Smile, I don't know why, really up-beat and happy. Costume change by the way. Again, love the shoes xD All black = really hot by the way.

WAVE

It's not as bad as the time con. I tend to skip this song during the Time con but this time it's not so bad. The crowd did the wave while they sang so it was all nice. So many people in this concert o_o and there is the missing picture of Nino xD

CARNIVAL NIGHT part 2

Sho made this really constipated face which I didn't manage to screencap =P Sho also did some really weird arm rotating which Nino ended up making fun off xD Also, look at the pretty confetti!! Jun's flashing peace signs everywhere and as usual with this song there is dancing. =D

MC
-Ohno was bullied for Maou
-Sho was bullied because he's Sho
-Jun started talking like a kid (SO CUTE)
-Had to wait for Jun to put his jacket on
-Sho was bullied into talking like a kid
-They apologize cause he sucked so much xD

Kaze no Mukou e
Aiba ended up raising the tension as usual. The performance was cute, last time I saw it on SCP I laughed cause it looked really gay and stuff but I guess it depends on what they're wearing and the atmosphere cause I seriously thought their performance here was like.. so awesome. They looked HOT. Also, there was a really small MatsuMiya moment =D

Alright.. this became long.
and I ended up taking way to many screencap -_-''
I hope part 2 will be shorter... ^^''

please wait for part 2 some other time. =D

 

[Drama Review] Uta no Onii-san

It's easier to update a drama review as episodes come out. I'm really liking Uta no Onii-san starring, Arashi's own Riida - Ohno Satoshi and some guy from Kanjani 8 who I constantly can't remember the name off.

Characters

Yano Kenta (Ohno Satoshi): He's so... Ohno. xD Anyways, I like this character. I feel bad for him, at the end of the ep. 1 when Kenta was sitting on the empty stage I felt myself tearing up. I mean. He's not really motivated but he's not afraid to stand up to people and speak his mind either. It's admirable... but really. From rockstar to... some idiot on a TV show? You know, I think towards episode 6, Kenta really grows up. Or, he matures.. well, at least he becomes more serious. He's such a sweet guy ^^ (I think I might be biased =P)

Director Manabe (Kimura Yoshino): I like her. She's funny, interesting, you know. I just like her and her personality the way she is portrayed as a character. How sadistic she is and how much she bullies Kenta. She's an admirable woman. Working hard and what-not and you can tell she really liked the show. She really helped Kenta along and then towards the end, Kenta helped pull her along. ^^

Ayane (???): In the beginning I liked Kenta's girlfriend, I really wanted them to be together. After a while, I hated her. She was annoying. At first it was because she dumped Ohno but then was like.. semi-stalking him and crying over him and then it was because she was "weak" if you will. As the episodes went by I wanted to tell her to "grow-up" be like Kenta and just face your problems. By the end, well.. yeah, my opinion of her turned into nothing. She was just another character.

Saito Mamoru (Maruyama Ryuhei): ...He's in Kanjani? ..uh.. Never noticed him. But I like him. He's sort of cute in the "I want to squish your cheeks" sort of way ^^ As a character, he's not bad. His acting wasn't all that bad, he sure did the whiny voice down to the tee. (I hope that's not his natural voice o_o) and his all smiles and whatever. You know, yeah, I like him.

Singing Sister (Katase Nana): I think I have a song of her's, from Hikaru no Go or something. I don't know. Interesting enough character. I sort of like her, I mean.. she exagerates a lot but not enough to piss me off. I actually like her. She's amusing. ^^ Like. She exaggerates, but, you know.. she's friendly and overall quite nice. =D

Prince guy (???): I swear I've seen this guy somewhere. Was he that guy in Hana Kimi? That "Oscar" dude? Cause he seems like it. You know at the beginnig when girls sqealed at him as he got out of the car.. are they blind? You have Ohno Satoshi standing right there and you go for the retard? Ohno looks sooo much better than him >_> Girls are squealing for the wrong man. His random occurances are sort of "eh" and I don't know. My opinion of him is sort of "whatever".

Anzai (???): The main antagonist to this simple drama. At first, I sort of liked him, but then eventually, as he falls into the role of main antagonist, I obviously ended up disliking him. Manipulative bastard he is >_> But towards the end it's like "blah" you know, whatever, you were a bastard during episode 7 and in episode 8 you are now, yet again, just another character.

MIchiru (???): At first I was wondering who she was, and then I thought she was a nice girl but in Episode 4 she pissed me off a hell lot. But she redeemed herself in the end ^^ Although. I wonder why does she wear so much Makeup ... like.. really. (-_-;;)

Plot/Story
things in brackets are not the title of the episode :)

Episode  1 (Kenta's Problem)
I laughed in this episode. The beginning was funny. "Yabai yo~! Yabai yo~!" Ohno is love. You see him looking totally awesome as a rocker and then the "EHHH?!". It was amusing., a good into to all the characters and it gives you the right amount of "something is going on" feeling to get you interesting and waiting for the next episode. I seriously think the exaggerated facial expressions are <3, and I want to see Ohno in a monkey suit again! He looked so HUGGABLE!! *Squee!!* But seriously, first episode was a good intro to the characters, to the story and... it makes you want to watch episode 2 just to find out who that weird little girl is, why Ohno was hired etc. etc. It's a good grabbing episode in my opinion (^_^)

Episode 2 (Kenta's Problem gets better)
Another good episode =D I like it just as much as the first and find myself praying it's going to be Friday so I can watch episode three. (^_^). Basically this episode is centered around "Uta no Onii-san" - Live Broadcast, and what happens leading up to it. Shows Kenta being a bit more obedient even if he doesn't agree with what he is doing and at the end Ohno gets to sing. Watching Ohno with kids makes me smile and go "aww...." it's so sweet. I really hope Kenta and Ayane get together in the end... and at the end when Ohno is singing... I think he's more suited to ballads than kids songs (^^;;)

Episode 3 (Kenta's Relationship Problem)
Prince Himuro gets kicked of the program, the princess takes over and Kenta is being mopey and just down-right depressing as always. He gets scolded. He sees "Giselle" and get's even more depressed. He thinks about quitting. He does. His girlfriend talks to him, breaks his heart even more and then Kenta returns to his job while his GF breaks down and cries. You can tell I'm sort of getting bored of this repetitivness. Sort of. The episode was interesting enough, but if this continues on for another episode.. um.. it's a bit stretching the faith of the watchers. The girlfriend, Ayane, is really starting to piss me off now. Like. She says Kenta doesn't have a dream and then is like "Thanks for making your dream mine" and I'm just like WTF! You keep saying Kenta doesn't have a dream and he DOES! It's EXACTLY THE SAME AS YOURS! (-_-;;) Maybe I'm not understanding something... *sigh*

Episode 4 (Michiru's Problem)
Valentine's Day episode! The little girl (Michiru) pissed me off a lot in this episode, I don't care if it was for the plot, she still pissed me off being all spoiled and blah. I guess, the entire episode has this "sweet" sort of feeling to it. I mean, it's about Valentine's day so what should I expect right? I totally died when I Kenta was with Michiru at Daigo's house cause Ohno looked like her dad and I was just like "OMG DADDY OHNO!" It was so awesome. Haha. Oh my god though, Manabe-san loves someone? If it's Kenta, I'll shoot myself (-_-'') I have to admit though, this episode was funny ^^

Episode 5 (Urara's Problem)
I liked this episode. A lot. At first I thought it would be annoying and just centered around "Urara" and her life-story and blah, but it wasn't. It actually turned out to be a pretty good episode. Starting out with Kenta's sister going to an Omiai(?) - arranged wedding and then a short tangent on people mistaking Kenta and Urara as a couple. Zoom forward to Kenta realizing his father is under debt....  I could feel the tears coming when Kenta and his dad were fighting, but ... the tension sort of died when his sister started crying. (-_-;;) Her crying was so fake and terrible that it just killed the tension of the scene. Anyways. Won't say how this episode ends, but I will say this, Ohno's singing was much better this episode as well. (^^) I liked it. It was sweet. And LOL at the questions being asked to them 'How many eyes does a storm have?" - ONE!  ONE! GO TO SCHOOL PEOPLE! Next episode looks pretty interesting. I'm still sort of lost at what's going to happen between KentaxAyane, but we'll just see how that turns out in the next three episodes ne? ^^

Episode 6 (Mamoru's Problems)
The episode in which Mamoru faces problems. He gets all depressed cause Kenta's so popular. Suck it up kid. Nah, it's not as bad as I thought it would be, I thought I would more pissed off at Mamoru but I wasn't. I guess I can sort of understand where he's coming from but his angst/depression whatever wasn't so.. exaggerated, strong. blah. You know. Get more insight in Giselle and whatever is going on with them (that i still don't get) and you finally hit an actual problem in the story. Guess what it is? Uta no Oniisan will stop airing in March =O *gasp* You get intro'd to this problem at the end though. Yes, that is basically the episode. Oh. I love it when Manabe-san keeps appearing and Kenta's like "WTF WHY ARE YOU HERE?" and she's all like "himitsu" and you know what? I love any scene with Manabe-san and Kenta. And omg, Kenta and Mamoru in teddy-bear suits at the end. OMG HUG HUG HUG! I totally just wanted to squish the both of them. and then Kenta comforts Mamoru and it's so cute. *squeals* Right-O can't wait for next episode with SAKURAI SHO

Episode 7 (The 'Big' Problem)
So, everyone in the staff realizes that Minna de Utao will be ending and Manabae goes through a lot of shit and everyone's feeling pissed cause you know they all love that show and don't want to part from it. Ayane goes missing cause she can't deal with Anzai (evil directors) manipulative-ness and the other two guys ask Kenta for help. Ending of the episode is a bit sad with all the dramatics and Manabe trying her best for the show's end and everyone being sad that the show is going to ened. Sho's appearance at the beginning = <3. I like the flow of this show and this episode in general. I mean, it started out happy but then ended up so.. sad but it didn't feel rush or anything. ^^ Next episode doesn't look too bad though...

Episode 8 (The Finale)
The beginning was sort of "eh.." in the sense that... even though the show was ending and indeed did end, it felt all very anti-climatic but towards the middle/half-way mark things picked up a bit, especially after Kenta dragged everyone back to the studio and asked for a concert. I thought it was great seeing how much he has changed as a person and when he rejected Ayane's offer of returning back to Giselle and what not, it really just sort of ... moves you? (not exactly but... you feel something). And then during the live, Kenta's speech was just, that was moving. I hope it's true as well, that the times will change as my generation grows older. ^^ Can I just say? Everytime KentaOhno cries I feel like Nino should be there to make him feel better xD The ending, when he sang Kumori Nochi Kaisei I wanted the actual choreography... but it didn't happen. And I couldn't stop laughing at the stupid pun when he dragged Michiru away from her filming xD

Music

Kumori nochi Kaisei - Yano Kenta/Ohno Satoshi: I have to admit when I first heard this song I didn't like it all that much. I didn't dislike it persay, but I needed to get used to it. I'm used to Ohno.. singing with a smooth, sort of melodic voice, like in Take me Faraway or Song for Me but in this song, his voice isn't as melodic and more up-beat and pop-ish. It's not a bad song, but.. I don't know. I guess I'm just not used to hearing Ohno sing in this sort of way. After hearing the PV I suddenly loved this song though. XD I don't really get it but yes, this song is love. *dies*

Overall Mark/Comments

I like this drama. It's simple, it seems pointless and childish and stupid in the beginning but I think overall it's very good. It was entertaining, amusing and sweet. Kenta is someone who I think people can identify with and can like and it's nice watching him slowly change over the span of the 8 episode show. At the ending I thought it was really moving seeing just how much Kenta did change and it was something that really made you feel good. The beginning and overall for about 6 or so episodes the series might seem a bit.. episodic but the ending, although barely intro'd during episode 7 and 8 wasn't too rushed and it was actually pretty good. I mean, it was predictable but good.

The drama basically focuses on never giving up, making excuses and growing up. Become more mature and face your problems, don't run away like Kenta did at the beginning and be half-assed about whatever you're doing. Stuff like that and it works. It addresses more modern changes, such as the financial crisis and what-not as Kenta always says "this generation" and it's something I like because it's true. Even if my generation was born into such a shitty time I don't want to grow up and watch everything crash and burn. In fact, I'm worried that's going to happen, we do have to grow up and.. you know. Grow up. Change.

It's a sweet, simple-ish drama that will make people smile (in my opinion). It might not fit every drama-watchers palet, especially those people that like "serious" dramas (I am not one of those people) but I think in the end, if you're looking for a brainless, simple just damn right happy drama watch this. Even the ending is very "aww..." and that is the main reason I liked it. It was simple, it wasn't too dramatic. It wasn't over-done, it just... was and I like dramas like that. It also didn't try too hard to be funny which was good. ^^

overall mark: 5/5 =D (yeah, I really liked Uta no Onii-san xD)

 

Believe/Kumori Nochi, Kaisei [Review]

Apparently people have gotten their singles like.. a week early (o_o) and have very kindly released them on the internet so I have heard the entire single and so now, I will write my review on this single ^^

 

Believe - I love this song so much. In my opinion, it's a very good song, it's up-beat and I don't realy know what the lyrics are or what the song means but it really raises up my energy and just wakes me up. If I had to use one word to describe this song it would be cool, take that word in whatever way you want. It really is a cool song, I mean the style is sort of... low yet fast and it's not really "happy" but it's not "depressing" either. I mean the song is called "Believe" so I can just guess it's about believing. I think it's a fitting song for a superhero - I can imagine it coming into play right when Sho starts kicking some bad-guy ass xD

Kumori Nochi, Kaisei - At first, I didn't like this song. I really didn't. I didn't like the style... and kill me if you want, but I didn't like how Ohno sounded. I thought the song was too up-beat for Ohno to be singing solo, but, after watching the PV I fell in love with this song. It brings a smile to my face, it's cute. It's up-beat in a ... mellow-ish sort of way as in, it's not out right happy crack like "Happiness" or like the 3rd song in the Truth single "Smile" but it's definitly a happy song. I think, in the end, it does suit Ohno, because he really is a mellow guy. Oh. but.. um.. I have to mention a few things about the lyrics. "Lan Lan Lang?" and "Ran Ran Rang" etc. etc... what language is this? English? Japanese? o_o

Tobira - Um.. I listened to this once. ^^'' It's a nice song, but I'm not really thinking of keeping it on my "Arashi playlist". I mean, if it appears you know, it sounds good but I don't think it's very memorable. Like. You know, it's a good closing to a good single but aside from that it's just... it's not memorable. *shrugs* Should I call it bland? I mean, it's the standard "Arashi" song... like, it sounds like Arashi, it is Arashi but it's nothing "special" is what I'm saying. Understand? No? Well.. too bad =D

Overall mark - 4/5

I like the songs a lot but not to an obsessive sort of point. It's good. "Believe" and "Kumori Nochi, Kaisei" are good songs and I think it's a great start to Arashi's year and they're really putting up a high bar for the next singles to come out but it's not yet beating Truth or even Beautiful Days (I like Beautiful days A LOT xD)

 

[Drama Review] Marathon

Marathon
Starring: Ninomiya Kazunari
2007 Drama SP

Another true story about a autistic young man who managed to run a full-marathon in 3 hours. It's actually based of a Korean person who is still alive and running. It's be adapted into a Japanese character and Nino plays the autistic young man by the name of Shotaro.

Let's get straight to the point shall I? I. Love. This. So. Much.

If you want some hard evidence that Nino is a brilliant actor please watch this because I was literally blown away at Nino's brilliant acting as an autistic person. I didn't even see him as Ninomiya Kazunari, idol, singer, actor, I saw him as Shotar the autistic boy who loves to run. Sometimes I seriously just wanted to hug Shotaro because he was so adorable.

It really is a touching story, I felt really moved at the end and I just felt so happy and content. If you're an emotional person (which I am not) you might cry just from the sheer happiness of it all. You watch as Shotaro runs, at first you think it's for his mother but then you realize that he really does love to run. Although Shotaro can't express his feelings through words, you realize that in the end he runs the marathon because he wants to. Because he enjoys it.

Relentlessly practicing.
Getting blisters on his feet.
Running until he cramps so bad he can't move.
and then going to the finish line.
2 hours 59 minutes 16 seconds.

I always read about how Nino's acting his better than Jun's and I never really knew what to think because I haven't watched many of Nino's dramas before, but after watching this? I am ready to completely agree. Nino is a brilliant actor. Now, I will go on a Nino-drama watching spree. (^^)

Rating - 5/5 (cause it was just that good in my opinion)

[Drama Review] Sukoshi wa Ongaeshi ga Dekitakana

Sukoshi wa Ongaeshi ga Dekitakan
starring: Ninomiya Kazunari
March 2006

It's a story about a 17 year old boy (at the beginning I believe) named Kitahara Kazunori and his battle with "Ewing's Sarcoma" a very rare-cancer occurring in the bone and flesh and spreads through the blood. He spent a year and a month battling this disease and while fighting he gained much support from his family and friends. During his battle he managed to get into the prestigous Tokyo University (Todai).

It's a true story.

I'm not very affected by things like these, people dying from diseases and what not. (Although the last two episodes of 1 litre of tears did make a waterfall run) but this wasn't so bad. I think that if I wasn't so attached to Nino/Arashi I wouldn't have been so affected at the end. Which makes me say, I didn't actually cry. Tears appeared, but only one or two came out of my eye. It was still a very touching episode though, I enjoyed it very much.

What really got to me was the boys name. Kazunori.... could you get any closer to Kazunari? Like really (-_-;;). And watching Nino slowly die for 6 minutes really killed. The entire time I thought I was going to start sobbing but I didn't miraculously. By the time the tears were threatening to fall, the elder brother killed the atmosphere. When the elder brother came home 1 month after Kazu died, and he started sobbing so dramatically, I was like "DAMN IT YOU KILLED THE MOOD!!!" because he did. His crying was just so dramatic and bad and.. ugh.

But I did nearly cry at the very end when the mother was taking grad pictures. I sat there, on my chair for like.. 5 minutes without moving after the SP ended cause... I just couldn't move. I was just speechless I guess.

To an actual review, it's very good. Nino's acting was very good. The character Kazu really moved me. He was fighting cancer but he got into University and even when he was going through all that pain. And at the end, I felt so sorry for him. He looked so.. pitiful lying on that bed, and I was so moved and all he did was think about his parents and his brother. It's a very touching story. I really think it's something all Arashi/Nino fans should watch if you haven't already, even if you aren't a fan, it's still a touching story to watch.

I'm not being biased here, I really think that even if I didn't like Nino I would still watch this because it was enjoyable. It wasn't slow and draggy, I was actually surprised when I realized I had already gone through 1 hour of it.

The slowest part was really, probably the 6 minutes in which Kazu was slowly, slowly dying. Such a long, painful 6 minutes. *sniffles*

Rating - 4/5

It didn't bring me to tears xD - Now, off to watch Marathon!

[Kinki Kids] - Yakusoku (約束)

Okay, technically this is a fangirling blog so I can fangirl about whoever I want. In this case, I would like to just let everyone know that even though Arashi is my #1 group, in terms of music...Kinki Kids are the winners. ^^ And with that, my crazy rant on how much I love, love love their new song "Yakusoku"

Yakusoku (約束)
What can I say? Ever since I heard this song in the Johnny's Countdown I've loved it. I downloaded the PV but I didn't really watch it. It's a bit plain, but this song. THIS song.. oh my god. It's so... much.. love. Like. I swear I'm not being biased. The melody is catchy and then their voices and their harmony and *rants on and on*... conclusion? This song is the best. I love this song.

Loving
It's alright. I like it, if I listen to it but it doesn't really stick in my mind. It's like a lot of Kinki Kids ballads - ie - they sort of make me sleepy xD It doesn't mean I don't like it but I'm not going to be listening to it on repeat. I think overall, it's the song I like the least.

Yume Hajime Hana　(夢始めの花）
It's faster paced than Loving so ... yeah. I generally like fast paced songs more ^^. I like the melody of the song, it's interesting. Possibly my second most favourite song in this single, but again, it doesn't stay in my mind so much. Although I enjoy listening to it. I like the chorus a lot. ^^ When the song starts to pick up... ah... so good.

Tabidachi no Hi　(旅立ちの日)
Ah. Even though this is a low ballad-sort of song, I like it a lot. It has a very calming effect on me. I'm not sure what, but it just gives me this sort of sweet feeling that i really like. The piano (pretty sure it's a piano) in the background in the beginning makes me smile. I always like piano's being played.

Overall
Overall - obviously - I love this single. xD Although I don't listen to all the songs (3/4) as an entire single it gives me this sort of... really mellow, calming sort of feeling. Kinki Kids music generally gives me that type of feeling and mixed in with their wonderful vocals it really just adds to the feel. This single, if you listen to all the songs together you really will get the best out of it. *sighs dreamily...* Seriously, if you're not a fan of Kinki kids - listen to Yakusoku and fall in love.