I just finished the final week. It ended exactly like how I imagined it would. Akane, was the one who dumped Daigo (since we all know, the Daigo in the drama wouldn't have the guts to do so -_-") saying "Hey, I can walk now---so there's no need to feel sorry for me!" I still don't understand why they decided to create a new character. Sure, I can understand that it's something new to draw in those viewers who've already read the manga version of Sunadokei, but if they're going to do a half-assed job about it, they might as well stick to the original. I don't know about anyone else, but for me personally, I'd rather see a faithful adaptation of the manga that does it justice rather than one where so many of the scenes are changed and new characters/personalities added that it loses the feel of the original.

And what is WITH Daigo? In the manga, he was still a bit on the air-headed side, but he more than made up for that with heart. There was still a realness about him. He had flaws (and noticeable ones at that!) and he was distinctly human (as in, you're probably capable of finding a guy like him if you looked hard enough [though you wouldn't find him where I live XD So stay off Western Canada for your search!]). In the drama though, he's....just stupid. What the hell was with his "get on his knees and grovel" reaction in the scene where Sakura-san's mother was belittling Ann? We GET it. Daigo cares for Ann. But REALLY. Who would get down on their knees and beg the mother of the fiancee that is going to marry the woman he loves to treat her nicely?!

And Fuji-kun! He's become your typical paper-cutter nice guy who never gets the girl but never gives up on his love for her either. I was complaining abit when I read the manga and saw how he ended up marrying his cousin, but when I look at the OTHER end of the spectrum...how it COULD have ended had he NOT totally given up on Ann....I'm SORRY! I'll never complain again >_< In the drama, even though Ann made it clear to Fuji she didn't and will never harbor any love towards him other than that of a good friend, Fuji still loved her. Enough to "watch over her". But once all that mess with Daigo and Akane started rolling in, Fuji's suddenly had a change of heart and now he'll "no longer hold back"?! What the hell? There's something seriously wrong with Ann too.

I remember earlier in the drama (and in the manga too, though that's irrelevant to mention now), one of Ann's friends in Tokyo told her that love is a boat, and if you try to carry too much unnecessary baggage onto it (aka FUJI-KUN) it'll sink. Obviously, Ann didn't take her advice. Because even after she broke up with Fuji, she continued seeing him. And it's not the "once every couple of months" type of seeing, it's friggin' EVERYDAY. I mean, WHEN are they not having dinner together!? They seem to frequent the very same bar/restaurant (which, I shall say now, would seriously be in the red had this been in real life. There's hardly any customers except for them!) and he even goes over to her apartment on occasion. It makes SENSE why Fuji-kun hasn't given up on his petty dog-love for her-----because she's not even giving him a chance to!

I'm a bit disappointed they didn't decide to cover Volume 10 in the drama (which is basically a bunch of one-shots involving Ann's mother, Sakura-san, etc. Basically the look at the past/future after the end of Sunadokei). Oh well, at least now, this'll free up around 3 hours of my week. The DVD-BOX Set of this series is going on sale soon (I think Box Set 1's due out this month, if not already released). Who would spend ~$400 for this series though? I liked it, but it has no replay value whatsoever (unless you're in it solely to see Daigo's teenage-era. Then I could understand). At least I'll have Hanakimi (the Japanese drama adaptation of the hit manga series. It's going to star Horikita Maki and Oguri Shun) as my fluffy-drama-watch to tide me over until the next Ai no Gekijou begins.

I've finally reached the second to last week of Sunadokei (ep 50-55). And all I have to say is...at this point and time right now, the drama series is diverging in a MAJOR way from the manga. They've completely changed Sakura-san's character (the guy who Ann was going to marry). In the manga he was this cold character who remained cold until the very end. He didn't seem that affectionate towards Ann, and it looked to me like their marriage was one of convenience rather than because they were IN love with each other. For Sakura-san, he was looking for someone who'd take care of his meals, etc. etc. basically as a live-in caretaker, for the lack of a better word. For Ann, Sakura-san meant a place to run away to, so that she could push back her feelings for Daigo.

But in the drama...he's actually, a really really nice guy. Sure, his words can be a bit biting sometimes (for example, when he says that you should cut links with "weak people" because there's no use tiring yourself out trying to support them) he did seem to care for Ann. So much so that he comforted her afterwards after a mini-fight with his mother, who was less than pleased with the marriage plans. And he even became jealous when he figured out there was something between Daigo and Ann. I mean, come on, this is Sakura-san! He's supposed to hate needy people. And he's the type to just completely break up with a person right away if he finds out she's in love with someone else. But here he becomes angry and passionate and it's just...o_O;; In the manga, I knew that things wouldn't work out between him and Ann from the very start because of his character (and not just because there would've been no point in the manga if Ann and Daigo didn't end up together in the very end). With him...being such a NICE guy in the drama though, it becomes a "why the hell did you (Ann) screw up things between you and him?!" kind of situation.

And also, I hate how in the drama, all the blame is placed on everyone other than Ann and Daigo. Everything that happens makes it seem like it's everyone else's fault but theirs that they aren't together. From Akane's "convenient accident" on the very day Daigo was supposed to meet with Ann and patch things up between them, to Shiika's plans to try to break them apart. In the manga, they broke up because of themselves. They weren't strong enough to support each other back then. It was no one's fault but theirs. And after they broke up, they individually tried to live separate lives and tried to grow up and mature on their own. They didn't continually drag up feelings for the other like in the drama. Sure they thought about each other sometimes, but it wasn't the constant, "everyday I look at my sunadokei thinking of Daigo".

Plus...why the hell is Fuji still dragging his feelings for Ann in the drama?! I mean, sure I was complaining a bit after reading the manga when I saw how he married his cousin and all, but when I think about the ALTERNATIVE ending (Fuji harboring feelings for Ann until the day he dies) it's alot less...annoying. He's not the type to keep dragging on with feelings when he knows it'll never be realized. And the Fuji-kun in the drama has WAY too much time on his hands. I thought he was supposed to be an elite businessman who's going to take over running his family's business?! For someone with THAT much responsibility on his hands, he sure does have the time to suddenly meet with friends at 2pm in the afternoon on a weekday, and go out to dinner at night with Ann.

Akane, although I like the actress who plays her, is an unnecessary character. Really. The story is already WAYY too complex that bringing in a major character like this just turns it in to a mess, which is what the drama is and is becoming. And it's pretty easy to guess how things are going to end between Daigo and her. Even though she's jealous and going a bit crazy right now, in the end she'll probably be all "If you're only with me because you feel sorry for me, then let's end this. I can walk now so you don't have to worry about me anymore."

It'll be pretty interesting though to see how they'll wrap up all the mess they've unravelled in the last five episodes. One thing's for sure though----Daigo and Ann WILL end up together.

I said this before when I first stepped into Book Off while I was in Japan back in 2004, but I have to say it again...Book Off is amazing. I could literally spend all day there and STILL not have been able to go through everything they have to offer. Since I don't live in Japan, I can't go to the Book Offs there, but the next best alternative? Book Off -Vancouver-. Their prices are a bit cranked up compared to their Japanese counterparts, but even the most expensive are half what it would cost to buy it new at any other Japanese bookstore (and anyway, the Book Off definition of "used" is practically next to new) in Canada.

I went there last week and I came back with Swing Girls (love the movie. Ueno Juri does a fantastic job in this), a bucket load of CDs, and an equally impressive mountain of books (mostly manga, since I was too exhausted to go through the aisles and aisles of novels X_X). They're really good with stocking CD singles of recent songs. I managed to find practically all the songs I was looking for that was released in the past two years ("To U" by Bank Band, "Invitation" by Shibasaki Kou, "Supernova/Karma" by Bump of Chicken...etc. etc.) as long as it was a decent hit in Japan. And they were oh-so-cheap at $2 CDN each. I've always been too cheap to fork over $10 for a CD single containing one song and a karaoke version of that same song, so being able to buy it for a portion of the original is great (I'm a poor college student, I need all the savings I can get ^^).

Before I went to Book Off, I made a list of all the books I've been reading, and the volumes I need to buy for each to complete the series, but being the idiot that I am, I managed to completely forget to bring the list. And I didn't even realize it until I was in the aisle of the store looking. Last time I came, I forgot to bring the list that time too, so I accidentally purchased volumes I already had, so now I have two copies of about 3-4 volumes on my shelf...-_-" SO since I was going to focus on creating an Ikuemi Ryou + Tsumugi Taku collection on my bookshelf, I decided to just buy books by them (since I only have a few volumes of each author, I knew what I did and didn't have).

I first found out about Ikuemi Ryou when I found her series "Honey Bunny!" in the clearance section of my Japanese bookstore (I told you I'm cheap XD). That series didn't do much for me, it was pretty much your average shoujo series. Typical plot twists, typical characters, and all-round plain series. But then I started reading her older works, like "I LOVE HER" (the capitals are on purpose ^^), and the countless one-shots she's written, and I started to realize her for the gem she was and still is. Most of the characters she incorporates into her stories are your everyday people. They're the types who would could be found at any school. But she manages to turn those plain individuals into something special. And I like how she's not afraid to have a long-running series end with the main female character NOT getting together with the main male character, or anyone at all for that matter. And even those where they do end up getting together, the ending's ambiguous enough that it's only HINTED.

The latest work of hers I've been rereading? Kiyoku Yawaku. It consists of one-shots that have linkage to each other whether it be a minor character in one story becoming the main in the other, or the flashbacks of the past. ACT 2 really surprised me in that, one of the main male leads actually...died. Usually when any car accident is involved with the main male lead, he'd usually go through the typical "coma" followed by the amnesia where he can remember everything and everyone BUT the female lead...and so on and so on. But this time, Ikuemi Ryou just slices any hope of him being alive into pieces. And no, I don't think this is going to go ala Winter Sonata style (where the guy gets into a car accident, everyone thinks he died, but actually he's alive but with amnesia which his parents took advantage of to take him out of the country so he could start fresh with a new name and a new life...)

I'll write down here my thoughts as I read more of this series (since I'm only at volume 1, and they've released up to volume 4, with 5 scheduled to come out in the next few months).

While I'm waiting for Volume 8 of Hatsu Kare by Tomori Miyoshi to finish downloading (which, by the way, was adopted into a live-action drama in 2006 starring the girl who was in the 7th season of 3-Nen B-Gumi Kinpachi Sensei), this is a quick write up of my thoughts on the latest episodes of Sunadokei.

First: one thing I've noticed lately (well, that's a lie. I started noticing this in the second week) is....there's wayyy too many flashbacks. It makes sense to have flashbacks when the episodes are aired weekly, but when it's DAILY like Sunadokei it becomes irritating. They're wasting 4-5 minutes of a 25 minute episode on flashbacks. Or maybe that's their goal? Since it is a morning drama, maybe they don't have the budget to have 25 FULL minutes of extra material? Well if that was going to be the case I wish they'd just stick in five extra minutes of commercials---at least then it won't be so annoying when I watch it on DVD. It becomes glaringly obvious in this weeks' episodes with the *drum roll* Fuji and Ann's kiss. Okay, okay I got it. They kissed. Now stop showing so many flashbacks of that one scene.

With each passing episode, I'm wishing more and more for Fuji-kun to just...die. Or at least disappear from the drama. Which is weird because I actually liked Fuji in the manga (even more than Daigo). The actor isn't convincing me at all with his portrayal of the character. And is it just me or does he seem to have a lot of scenes where he's yelling (with that nasal/girly voice he gets whenever he raises his voice above a whisper), or where he's running (with that flapping hands side to side, unnatural jog/walk he does)?

I have an uncontrollable urge to start humming Domo Arigatou Mr. Roboto whenever the cameras give a close up of Fuji walking (like for example, in the scene where Fuji walks away from Ann after spending the day with her at the amusement park). He's obviously very conscious of his walk, because he's very...stiff in his arm/leg movements ^^

These episodes are leading up to the breakup. So basically it focuses on the tension between Daigo and Ann (mostly due to Ann. She lies to Daigo about everything basically. She's one of those types who are easily misunderstood). She tells little white lies because she thinks she's keeping Daigo from unnecessary worrying, but instead that just comes back to haunt her later on. Like with the whole "Go back to Tokyo to find Fuji" deal. She found him way before she let Daigo know she found Fuji. But Daigo caught on pretty early, because the letter Ann forced Fuji to write to Shiika used the same stationary paper she wrote a note to Daigo with when she was rushing back to Tokyo because one of her friends had spotted Fuji.

They are seriously downplaying Shiika's role in the drama. They essentially cut out all the little scenes in between that made her fall in love with Daigo. So whereas in the manga, I could understand why she fell for Daigo, in the drama she's made to come off as this bitch who's trying to steal her friend's boyfriend.

To be honest I was hoping Shiika and Fuji would end up together, since although they grew up as a family, they're not really related. And I think personality-wise, they're perfect for each other. But, since the mangaka focuses on reality rather than fantasy, it makes sense that the story wouldn't be wrapped up so easily.

Recently, I found this amazing forum that offers raw scans of complete shoujo series, so I've just been downloading by the bucketload, and this is one of the series I stumbled upon. I'd actually heard about Kirai way before I downloaded it. There was a review I read on it years ago on some English manga site. The artwork reminded me a bit of Okazaki Kyoko (some people might know her, her River's Edge was scanlated a year or two ago). I have a weak spot for series that have similar looking artwork to series by mangakas who I love, so it wouldn't be a stretch to say I wanted to read this series because of the art resemblance.

This is basically your typical girl-hates-guy-because-he-always-acts-like-a-jerk-but-she-eventually-falls-for-him. There's even the "main girl character's mom decides to remarry, and the man she's remarrying just happens to be the father of the main guy character" (ala Marmalade Boy, Akuma de Sourou....etc.etc.). What did vary from the norm was the fact that Sakura, the lead heroine, wasn't your just "average girl with no talent at anything". She's pretty popular among the boys, and she's getting pretty decent grades (well there goes the "I'm going to fail the final exam! Please help me!" storyline).

This series is definitely targetted more towards females in their 20's (from the amount of nudity, and the casualness with which sex is portrayed in it). And the relationship between Sakura and Shin (the main guy) is a bit more complicated than what you might think at first glance. But compared to all those series running in Sho-comi (My innocent eyes are no longer so after reading Haou Airen, H3 School...and all those other series running in Sho-Comi. I can't believe middle schoolers/high schoolers read this...this hentai!) the graphicness is pretty toned down. Although the mangaka does seem to be a bit more free with nudity scenes later on in the series, earlier on there's lots of "strategically placed arms draped across certain areas" for cover up.

Kirai revolves around Shin, the best looking guy in the school who's wanted by every girl and envied by every guy, and his (eventual) relationship with Sakura, a girl who can at times be hot-headed, but who has no problems standing up for herself. What I found so weird about this series was....I have no idea why Sakura fell for him. At all. One day she absolutely hated him, and the next she's blushing at every little compliment Shin throws her way (despite her knowing his character, and how compliments mean very little coming from him).

What's even more of a mystery to me, is how Shin, after falling for Sakura (and I have no idea why he fell for her either. For supposedly hating calculating females, I'm surprised he fell in love with her when she went out of her way to get a guy friend to "pretend" to be her boyfriend to make Shin jealous. And when he found out about the lie, he wasn't angry---instead he was ecstatic that she WASN'T dating anyone. Is this a normal reaction? Considering his character I would have figured he'd now consider her to be just as same as all the other girls in his eyes. But no, instead it made him fall in love with her even more? I guess she was the mother figure he never had but wished he had?) basically went from being the "cool, I-can-get-any-girl-I-want" playboy into Sakura's whipping dog. He trailed after her everywhere, proclaiming his love for her in front of their classmates, acting lovey-dovey during breaks....I mean come on.

Sakura begins to start feeling smothered by his affections (and his show of affections is extreme. No matter how much you like a person, you have to draw a line somewhere!), and decides to study abroad (surprise, surprise, it's America!). Shin feels betrayed because she kept the information about studying abroad until the day before she was supposed to leave for America. She told him that she couldn't stand how he had no trust in her (he was extremely jealous if she even TALKED to a guy). She saw this as a chance for both of them to spend some time alone. Shin tried to convince her to stay, but she left after asking him if he'd wait for her.

And the real cincher is, for volume 8 and 9, Sakura doesn't make an appearance. At all. Sure, there's the occasional e-mail (which Shin deletes without reading), and the occasional postcard (which he again, destroys), but otherwise, nada. Shin goes back to his womanizing ways, and tries to forget Sakura ever existed. Apparently, her not telling him about the studying abroad thing combined with he fact she thought they should have some "alone time" = break up.

But then things start to heat up in volume 10 when she comes back to Japan. Sakura knew they had ended things on a bad note before she left Japan, but she honestly believed once she apologized they could go back to the way things were. Surprise, surprise though when she finds out he'd reverted back to his old self, as cold as ever. And it seems she wasn't exactly faithful to him either in America (Hugh, the gaijin, even comes all the way to Japan to try to convince her to go back to America with him).

I did like the direction that the beginning of volume 10 was going in so I was really disappointed in the rushed ending with Shin and Sakura getting back together. Over half of the last volume was spent ignoring Sakura and suddenly he changes his mind? It was just a bit all too convenient. The mangaka even had the "wedding ceremony" tacked onto the end.

I honestly did like the first 5-6 volumes so I just wish the mangaka had just stayed true to the characters instead of changing Shin into someone's whipping boy, and that whole storyline with the "studying abroad" deal. The "studying abroad" wasn't a terrible idea all together. But I just think that two WHOLE volumes WITHOUT the main heroine is a bit pointless. It could have easily been condensed into one chapter and had that "one year later" sign, because in those two volumes useless characters were introduced that carried no significance in the last volume. In a short series like this, there's no need to create characters who contribute nothing to the main storyline.

Since I found the kanji version of Hito Koi Meguri, the latest single by Shibasaki Kou which just happens to be the theme song for Sunadokei, I thought I'd write the roomaji and translations. Consider it only the rough translation though, since my Japanese is no where near perfect :)

NOTE: Please, PLEASE DO NOT post this on any other site without my permission. This happened with the Remioromen song translation I did a few months---but just taking the roomaji/translations even if you DO give me credit is not acceptable. I want to see the site for myself before I let anyone put ANYTHING of mine on ANY site. Thanks!

柴咲コウ　「ひと恋めぐり」
Shibasaki Kou "Hito Koi Meguri"

覚えてますか?
oboete masuka?
Do you remember?

海岸沿いで ずっと隣にいてくれると
kaigan zoi de zutto tonari ni itekureru to
While we were at the beach, you told me as you embraced me

幸せにする、大丈夫だよと
shiawase ni suru, daijoubu dayo to
that you'd always be by my side, that you would make me happy,

抱き寄せながら言った
daki yose nagara itta
and that everything would be all right.

(This is most likely referring to the beach Ann first came with her mother to [with the sand that makes "crying" noises]. Daigo and her went there after stopping by the Sand Museum])

泣きたくてこらえ 人影に隠れすすり泣いた
nakitakute korae hito kage ni kakure susuri naita
I tried to fight my urge to cry, but I hid behind a shadow of a person and cried

ホームの隅…
hoomu no sumi...
standing on the corner of the platform...

(The first verse was from Ann's point of view, so perhaps this one is from Daigo's? I think this was referring to the episode where Ann decided to go to Tokyo to live with her father, and she and Daigo parted ways on the train platform.)

広い肩にもたれて
hiroi kata ni motarete
When I lean my head on your wide shoulder

2つの大きな手で温められると
futatsu no ooki na te de atatamerareru to
and I'm warmed by your two large hands,

なぜか子供の様に素直に甘えられた
naze ka kodomo no you ni sunao ni amaerareta
I don't know why, but I was able to be myself and depend on you almost as a child would.

今も思い出す 砂を蹴る2人の靴
ima mo omoidasu suna wo keru futari no kutsu
Even now, I remember our shoes as we kicked the sand

(Back to Ann's POV from Verse 1)

慣れ親しんだ
nare shitashinda
We became closer to each other.

九月(ながつき)の風 月光のもと 前を見据え
nagatsuki no kaze gekkou no moto mae wo misue
The wind of September, the origin of the moonlight, I gazed ahead.

私の方からその手離した
watashi no hou kara sono te wo tebanashita
I was the one who let you go.

平気だとうそをついて…
heiki dato uso wo tsuite...
I lied to myself, saying that I would be fine.

どんなに苦しく想うなら
donna ni kurushiku omou nara
If these painful feelings are going to stay with me

丸ごと消え去ってしまえばいい…
maru goto kie satte shimaeba ii
I wish it would all just disappear.

(Not quite sure what they mean in this. Maybe she means that if she'll never be able to get over the pain of letting him go, she wishes all her memories of him---the good and the bad, would disappear?)

1人 泣いてることに気付いて欲しくて
hitori naiteru koto ni kuzuite hoshiku te
I wanted you to realize how I was crying alone

つい 喉をつまらせた
tsui nodo wo tsumaraseta
that my throat caught.

私の中で少し美しく描かれた
watashi no nakad de sukoshi utsukushiku egakareta
The kind smile beautifully engraved in me

優しい微笑み 余計 涙が溢れた
yasashii hohoemi yokei namidaga afureta
made me cry even more.

あなたの香りを抱き
anata no kaori wo daki
Holding onto your scent,

慈しみ愛された八月(はづき)の迷い夜
itsukushimi aisareta hazuki no mayoi no yoru
The indecisive August night when you loved me.

二筋道の手前
futasujimichi no temae
Standing in front of a crossroad,

私は生きる意味をひたすら探した
watashi wa ikiru imi wo hitasura sagashita
I tried to find my meaning for life

遠くにあなたが見えた
tooku ni anata ga mieta
From far away, I saw you.

(Although I haven't read all the manga, from what I do know so far, Ann'll end up with Daigo in the end. If they don't end up together, then there would have been no point really, in anything that happened in the first five volumes. ^^)

I have to admit, until I saw this movie, although I'd heard of this series before, I never actually knew what it was about. Sure, I've heard some people raving about it, and the manga bestsellers list I check each month did have a few volumes of Love Com, but judging from the art it looked like your typical shoujo manga to me, so I never had the urge to look it up. I'm not sure how accurate the movie is to the manga series (I'm guessing...not very, since the manga series is 10+ volumes whereas the movie is less than 2 hours), but for what it is, it was a pretty entertaining watch.

I've never been a huge fan of Teppei (well, to put it bluntly, I never even liked him). This movie didn't make me stand up in awe and just start gushing about what a great actor he is----because let's face it, the movie itself wasn't gush-worthy, and his acting didn't gain it extra points. What I do commend him for, is his effort to speak in the Kansai-dialect. After watching the movie, I looked up this series, and apparently, it's very popular for its use of the distinct Kansai-dialect (if you know the comedian Sanma, he speaks the same dialect with its "honmaya" and "nen"s). He was a natural. The other aspects of his acting though, left a lot to be desired. Especially the scene where Risa is in the chemistry room crying her heart out and Ootani comes to ask her what's wrong. His character, being so dense as he is, should have been pretty shocked by what she said, but Teppei's face was neutral for the most part. (Oh, and a funny non-related tidbit: Teppei apparently won this bishounen (pretty boy) contest a few years back. In another show I'm watching, Ainori a guy who was the runner up for that very same contest in the very same year that Teppei won the prize just joined.)

The main storyline goes like this: Risa harbors a height complex because the boy she liked (the ever jerk-playing Oshinari Shugo [the guy who starred in Battle Royale 2 and All About Lily Chou-Chou]) rejected her flat out when she confessed her love for him because she's taller than him. Otani (played by Teppei) has a bit of a height complex too, because surprise surprise, on the very same night Risa confessed her love to her senpai (upperclassman) he was rejected by a girl he liked because he was shorter than her. I don't know if it's just me, but Fujisawa Ema (the actress for Risa) doesn't seem that tall. It's like they lifted her hair up into a bun to make her seem 10+ cm taller than she actually is.

I was surprised (in a good sort of way) to see a special appearance by Nankai Candies member Shizu-chan. Her partner from Nankai Candies does make a brief, brief appearance in the form of a....huge poster hanging in the background of a television show Risa's watching one evening. Shizu-chan's been showing up in a lot of tv shows lately (I've seen her make guest appearances in Attention Please, and Waraeru Koi wa Shitakunai). Maybe she's trying to make her break into the acting industry?

Talking about guest appearances-----I'm pretty sure it was Terajima Susumu who was the gangsta rapper Umibozu who Risa and Otani loved so much. He was hilarious in Himitsu no Hanazono, and he was equally so in Lovely Complex. The music video with the horrible raps, and the scantily clad girls gyrating against him ala western rap videos was classic.

This movie had a lot in common with another movie I saw recently titled Kamikaze Girls starring Fukada Kyoko (who starred most recently in Watashi no Atama no Naka no Keshigomu. She wasn't terrible in Kamikaze Girls, so I thought her acting had improved a bit since her Kamisama Mou Sukoshi Dake days but that Watashi no Atama...SP drama was just a mess. What surprised me most about that drama was how terrible her acting was. Well, it's not like it's anything new, but I'm surprised she hasn't improved her acting skills at all in all these years). Kamikaze Girls was over-the-top with lots of CG effects. Same goes for Love Complex. The color palette is vibrant and bold (the producers/directors/etc. must have loved pink) and there's lots of CG stars in use. Although I don't like the unnecessary use of CG effects, I think that considering the storyline itself is over-the-top, it makes sense for the eyecandy to be fitting of that story.

All in all, I'm not sure I'd like to watch this a second time (it was amusing the first time around, but has no replay value....at least, for me). It was good for what it is---a fluffy romantic comedy. And so, in that aspect, it's succeeded.

Over the weekend I got a chance to watch week 2 (5 episodes) worth of Sunadokei, so I thought I'd blog about what I thought about it. Week 2 mostly focused on Ann and the gang's middle school years. It had the cliff-scene which I was really looking forward to, but they ended up changing alot of the details.

#1: all the blood? Gone. We're made to believe that a person can slip, fall, and roll down a 5+ meter cliff without suffering from nothing other than a sprained knee and a scratch on the cheek. And I guess the producers thought the menstruation detail would be a little too much for the audience, because they completely cut that scene out (other than a brief mention early on with Ann talking to Shiika about how her period stopped ever since her mother died).

This is only vaguely related to my previous paragraph, but from watching other dramas, I've always wondered exactly WHY they have fight scenes with characters played by idols (

Gokusen 2

comes to mind) when they're not going to fight realistically (half-hearted punches that are OBVIOUSLY not landing where they're supposed to). And even after the so-called "fight", they only come out of it with bruises/bandages that are on the cheek or some redness around the mouth that don't take away from their looks. I mean, come on. The "goodlooking" guys never get the black eye or the swollen cheek, it's always the side characters who provide comic relief that get those more realistic injuries.

That being said, the middle school years are more interesting than the elementary school years in the drama (in the manga, I liked the younger years more. It got way too dramatic/complex later on). The actor who plays Daigo couldn't have been better chosen. He's exactly how I pictured Daigo to be in my mind. Fuji, though, is another story all together. This was the only picture I could find for the actor who plays Fuji-kun. He does look pretty young in this photo, so I have no idea how they made him look so...old. In the drama, he has slightly longer hair, and it covers most of his face. And he wears glasses. He does not look like a middle schooler. Even him being a college student would have been pushing it.

The actor who plays him is trying too hard. He's somehow destroyed all the complexity/underlayer of the character and just made Fuji off to be the stereotypical "cool and silent" type. Except even that stereotype was destroyed when he acted (very poorly might I add) in the scene where everyone's gathered together after discovering Ann had disappeared. You can really tell he has no idea how to act out this character, because in this scene, when he was yelling he sounded....nasal. And girly. And his eyes, even hidden behind the glasses looked dead (they kind of reminded me of Yamashita Tomohisa's eyes: dead fish eyes).

On a brighter note, they did an amazing job choosing the actress for Shiika's role. She's a little taller than her character in the manga (since during the middle school years, she's still shorter than Ann) but that can be overlooked---her acting more than makes up for it. She really is the highlight of this series, so I'm a bit disappointed how she hasn't received much on-air time at all. In the manga, although the focus is definitely on Ann and Daigo's relationship, Fuji and Shiika did have considerable chunks that fully fleshed out their character. But in this drama, she mostly appears either with Ann or Daigo and there's not really that much meaning to her presence storyline wise.

I've been very VERY excited ever since the drama-adaptation of

Sunadokei

was announced a few months back. I was even more excited when it was announced there was going to be a mind-boggling SIXTY episodes, 5 airing per week for twelve weeks. I've been a big fan of Ashihara Hirako (芦原 妃名子) ever since I stumbled across this series (Even though Sunadokei is pretty popular in Japan, not too many people here are talking about it here, most likely because it hasn't been licensed yet.)

Now that I've gotten the chance to watch the first week's worth of episodes (5 episodes)...hmm...it was...different. Since it's sixty episodes, I'm sure they'll flesh out the characters as the drama progresses, but so far...well, they've changed a lot of the scenes, as well as added in new characters/changed the personality of the existing characters. For example, Daigo's mother. In the manga, she was a kind, gentle friend of An's mother who made An feel at home when everyone else in the small town was talking behind her back (or at times, to her face) about her mother's divorce and the reasons for their return. But in the J-dorama, she's portrayed as a loud character who's well...annoying, to say the least. I really liked Daigo's mother in the original version so I was really disappointed (and puzzled) by the change.

Another gripe I have about the characters is, the young Fuji (or should I say,

Harry Potter

?) Is it just me or is he the spitting image of the main character in the book by J.K. Rowling? He has the very same colored scarf, similar glasses, and the very same hairstyle. I mean, come on. Sure, Fuji-kun's supposed to look "mature" for his age---but this looks like some bad version of a Harry Potter cosplay. When I first saw the picture lineup for those actresses/actors chosen for Sunadokei, I thought this child actor looked the most like the character he was portraying. But I guess the makeup artist/clothes coordinator went overboard.

And I don't mean for this to be offensive, but this kid's not Daigo. And him being overweight is only part of the problem. He can't act. Plain and simple. When he's trying to reassure An everything's going to be okay, he had no expression on his face. He was articulating every word like someone was holding up the script for him and he was just reading off of it. And there's just no chemistry between him and the other lead. I don't expect love chemistry, but at least some kind of friendship chemistry (is there such a term? ^^) Because the way things are now, I can't see how these two could have become as close as they are (in the drama).

If I had control over the casting (which I don't, but let's just pretend XD) I would have chosen Matsukawa Naruki. He was amazing in

Joou no Kyoushitsu (The Queen's Classroom)

and since he does look much younger than his age (he's 16) I could see how he could look 12/13 with the right clothes and hairstyle. Not to mention, he already has experience playing country-born(田舎で育った) characters. I recently watched a special two-hour drama that he starred in titled Sumire no Hana Saku Koro and in that drama he was a kid living in a small town out in the middle of no where. He was convincing as that character, and it proved he could learn a unique dialect (in Sunadokei, since they're in Shimane, there's a separate dialect for that area). And heck, if Shida Mirai could have taken over as An, even better.

All I have to say is....KITAAAAAA----!!!! What's KITAAA--- you say?! Iwase Keigo's newest album!! It's been three years (or four?) years in the making. I'd almost given up on expecting any ACTUAL cd releases (since from website, it was obvious he was still actively touring and doing lives). According to towerrecords.co.jp, he whittled down eighty songs he wrote in the past few years down to the 12 that ended up making the cut for his third full-length (solo) album: Bright Day.

I'm a bit confused by that statement though, because...if he had that many songs to choose from...why did he release a 4-song maxi-single in November, only to end up taking three of the songs from that album (Noise to Tameiki) and pasting it into Bright Day? The only two reasons I could come up with...were, either Tower Records was lying (which wouldn't be too extreme of an assumption to make. They write short summaries for practically all the newly releasing CDs...and those number in the thousands, so I wouldn't be surprised if they screwed things up), or that he was tight on budget. I guess it could work out either way.

For his first and second album, because he had been a part of the duo 19, which in its 3 year run, managed to sell a good 1 million+ cds, he managed to grab up a major record deal (as did the other member of 19. The other member's become fairly popular lately with his punk/pop band 3BLab). But...don't get me wrong, I love his music...it just doesn't have mass appeal. He's mostly the type to have a small group of dedicated (or obsessed, depending on the way you look at it) fans rather than a bunch of semi-fans who'll throw him away once the next big-act is thrown into the lime-light. You have to be a bit obsessed to join a fan club that costs $50 a year in membership costs even when the artist hasn't even released an album in 3+ years and the only thing you really get from the $50 is the chance to buy tickets to his live concerts ahead of time [only useful if you live nearby] and the bi-yearly newspaper on the latest Iwase Keigo news [which you could get in more or less detailed form on his official website] annndd access to the "special" section of his website that has exclusive pics, notes, etc.

That being said, I loved NewSPEAKERS (Yes, the capitals are there on purpose), his 2nd full length album, so I was really looking forward to Bright Day. His first album, although still special in its own way, was really an unfocused mess. I couldn't figure out WHAT the theme of the album was (heck, I couldn't even figure out what he was trying to get through to his audience in the lyrics to each of his songs! "kurikaesu wa...kuchiguse to zaiakukan..."?!). With his second album, it was obviously an experimental album, and he tried out different styles from the European-influenced rock in "Rock 'N' Roll Blossom" to the pop "Radio Stereo". It truly showed his growth as a solo musician in the brief one year span in between the release of his second album and his first.

I haven't had the chance to actually listen to the album the whole way through and let it sink in (because I know with NewSPEAKERS it was one of those albums you had to listen to a couple of times before you realized it for its true worth) so I can't etch my words into stone yet. I'll keep you posted!

ALOT has happened since my last entry (which was six months ago. Hard to believe time can pass by so quickly!). For one thing, Aeronauts (one of my favorite Japanese rock bands) are releasing a new album on September the 6th! It's weird how I came across the news though because I always visit their website every other day (since they're still pretty much an independent band, they run their website so I trust the news there than any other place) but they didn't mention anything about the release at all. Well, they did mention they finished recording...LAST MONTH, but they never actually confirmed the release date. I thought it took at least 2-3 months to polish the actual recordings. I guess they wanted to "keep it real"? (Either that, or they didn't have enough money to go through the whole process ^^) and that's why they can release it so early?

Anyhow, I just happened to be browsing on amazon.co.jp (there's no end to my addiction to compulsive buying ^^) when I decided to type in "aeronauts" to see if anyone had posted new reviews about their old albums when I came across a future release. And what do you know..."Ride", their second album with the cover and all right at the top of the search page! It's been two years since they last released anything (and that last release was a maxi-single!). Personally, I thought they would either break up or keep on doing concerts without releasing CDs *cough* Iwase Keigo *cough*.

Hopefully the other fans who've gotten to know Aeronauts haven't given up on them. When I latch onto a band (I think "latch" is a fitting word ^^) I buy every album/single/CDs in general unless they release 3 albums that I absolutely can not stand. When that happens, it's time to move on, but that rarely every happens. That's why I'm buying albums even when some bands take YEARS to release a new album. Years might not seem like such a long time if you think how some bands here (Canada/America) have roughly a 2-4 year break between each album, but for Japanese bands, the standards are completely different. If your band is even semi-popular, if you wait four years to release another album, you might as well be starting all over again because most would have forgotten you by then. It's a "strike while the iron is hot" kind of music business there. Bands can become popular very quickly, but if they don't keep releasing hit songs, they'll just as quickly fade away. That's why some artists like Hamasaki Ayumu, at the peak of her popularity, was releasing a new single practically every month!

I can't wait to buy their new album so much, I've already preordered their CD so it can be shipped right on the date of release. Strangely though, alot of the CDs I've been wanting to get are being released on the same date--September the 6th. Coincidence? Maybe.

As for Ainori...when I first began watching it it was an interesting show with NORMAL people falling in love. Now..you've got people like Tagami-kun who's doing some serious two-timing by juggling a girlfriend back home in Japan and trying to get every girl who joins Ainori to fall in love with him. He would be a really good Host. His "act" is pretty much flawless (except that Ainori films everything and they have endless footage to go back to and study to dig for dirt later on). If he kept that "I haven't dated a girl since middle school" act, I could see him making some serious money fooling rich girls.

Hisayon, even though she was pretty scary with the whole "I want to kill Tagami" attitude, has courage that not alot of people have. I think the Ainori staff probably convinced her into confronting Tagami-kun, but I really admired her for not just shrinking away and withdrawing into herself after she found out the truth about Tagami-kun. From the clips of next week's episode it seems Chaki, the new girl member (a karaoke-loving burikko) has started showing a grudge towards Hisayon because she's the reason why Tagami-kun had to leave. I don't see why she should be angry with Hisayon. Usually, if you found out the person you were starting to like was already dating someone and hadn't told you that he was dating someone else...wouldn't your first reaction be anger towards the GUY and not the person who uncovered the info? Chaki must have liked Tagami-kun enough to not care he was dating someone else..I guess?

I think Ainori's going to start going downhill until Souri and the other two new guys (whose names I have no interest at all in remembering) confess their love and leave because combined they are a waste of thirty minutes. Since they're older than the recent Ainori bunch (>25) they're a little bit more..settled down, I guess that's the term? They're more likely to be in check with their feelings and more critical of their actions. Chaki, Hisayon, and Yankumi could probably keep the drama running high until those guys can make their due exit.

Youtube.com is amazing. A friend recently sent me the link to the site so I could see a hilarious W-inds parody video (cleverly named "W-ounds" ^^). When I searched through the rest of the site though, I discovered they had whole episodes for many series! (Though disappointingly, no Japanese drama.) I usually refrained from downloading anime because the files are huge and with the meager download/upload limit set by my internet provider per month, I can't go around downloading anything I like. But youtube.com lets me watch the videos without downloading (well, I'm sure there's a little bit of downloading since everything I see on the internet are downloaded pages). And the loading times are pretty quick! I just need to leave my computer on for about ten minutes and the episode's finished loading.

Paradise Kiss..what can I say about the anime? Lovely art. But then again, it's Yazawa Ai. I was a bit thrown back by the plot when I first started watching this series because I'm more used to her "more-real-than-real-life" mangas like Nana and Tenshi Nanka Ja Nai (I'm not an Angel). So when I first read the summary about a high-school girl who becomes a model for a brand made by fashion students at an art school...it seemed very...fluffy. What I love about Yazawa Ai's writing is her realism, and how she keeps true to human nature. Relationships don't last for forever, and her characters don't necessarily stay with those who they begin dating. But Parakiss didn't seem to have that depth to it--at first.

Before I say anything more about the plot itself, let me just say the opening and ending themes are the most catchiest and craziest that I've seen in a long time. "Lonely in Gorgeous" by Tommyfebruary6 fits like a glove to a hand with the opening animation sequence. It's slick, addictive, and mesmerizing. When I watch a series lasting longer than 6 episodes, I usually end up skipping the opening sequence since it becomes repetitive but wow...if all anime were like this I don't see why it isn't so famous in Japan! And Franz Ferdinand--I can understand now why they're so popular. "Do you want to?" is one of those songs you can't help but hum to ^^

That said, the characters in Parakiss---as are most Yazawai Ai characters---are a bunch of oddballs thrown together. Miwako and Arashi are such an unlikely couple---the loli-goth high-pitched PINK HAIRED girl, with a punkish, pierced & tatooed all over guitarist. A character I despised all throughout the series though, was George. Even though some who read the Parakiss manga try to protect him by saying he's a "misunderstood, lonely" character, none of that comes across in the anime. Personally, I saw his actions as selfish. His over self-confidence didn't make him cool and sophisticated, it made him come across as stuck up and cold. And although Yukari and him are supposedly "in love", his reactions to situations reflect none of this so-called "affections". When a friend he knew from school visits his house after flying from Paris where she was studying, he is quick to brush off Yukari suggesting she head home even though they made plans for that evening.

George is more fit with Isabella (too bad he's male). George treats Yukari like a pretty doll that he plays around with. Perhaps this is why I didn't mind the series ending the way it did---with Yukari and George parting ways and Yukari marrying someone else ten years later. Even if George did stay in Japan, I don't see how their relationship could have worked out. It seems the manga ends with Yukari marrying Hiroyuki. Now that makes more sense to me. During George & Yukari's short relationship, she met with Hiroyuki. He understands Yukari and to top it off, he holds feelings towards her. Admittedly, he is the "safe" guy, a reliable person but not anyone exciting to be with, but it's better for her to end up with him than to stay with George, because their relationship is like a rollercoaster that is often on a downward slide.

I'll buy the DVDs when I have the money though--even with George being grating as he is, this is one of the better anime I've seen :)

Wow, it's hard to believe it's been almost two months since my last journal entry. The Ainori episode I was talking about was #294----it's already up to 300 already and that's with a two week break!! A LOT has happened since then. Hide & Arashi both confessed their love to Aya (Hide confessed after he found out Arashi did because he was sure that she would say "yes" and go back with him to Japan before Hide had the chance to say anything.). Aya, as predicted by Hide, chose Arashi over him. It was painful having to watch Hide watch Arashi & Aya kiss in front of his eyes. That's just plain cruel! But from the latest update on what Hide's up to, perhaps it WAS good to get some salt rubbed into the open sore, because it motivated him to make even more of an effort to find his own path in life.

Because three members are gone, three new members showed. One's a 20-year old soccer player, another a 30 year old dentist/host (weird combination, I know. But apparently in the town that he lives in, if you pay a certain amount of money you can set up a dentist's office.) and a Mahjan pro. Alex, the Italian/Japanese has completely fallen head over heels for the Mahjan pro (most likely because he played against her in this internet-video game ^^) I didn't think he would be as interesting as he turned out to be when he first joined Ainori, but his personality is 180 from his looks that it produces some very hilarious events ^^ If he didn't speak and you judged just from his face alone, he looks more of the "cool, good-looking" type but when he opens his mouth---wow, he's a total nerd :D

And in the past three days I finished all (yes, all) 52 episodes of Full Moon wo Sagashite (Finding the Full Moon). I watched a few episodes in the past but I dismissed it as a fluffy girl-transformation series but when I recently ran across a thread on a message board discussing what happened in the anime, I knew I had to watch it. (****spoilers*****: "Eichi-kun", the boy she had been searching for throughout the entire series is dead. He died in a car accident shortly after he moved to America.) Not to mention, I always love a good love triangle (but only if there's one person who's suffering because of unrequited feelings ^^).

What griped me about the series though (other than the fact that 50% of the episodes are filler episodes that could have easily been condensed into one episode) is the ending. All that happened in her last year, like her becoming "Full Moon" and debuting as a singer-idol, was all supposed to lead up to her soul being retrieved by the Gods of Death---Takuto and Meroko. So when the Shinigamis stopped the others from retrieving her soul and made it so her fate was changed---I felt a little cheated. And what's with Takuto becoming a human again? The ending felt a bit too convenient. Mitsuki lost Eichi-kun, so now, Takuto's going to be his replacement? Does life work out that easily? (Well, anime isn't supposed to reflect life, but hear me out ^^)

And if you think about it logically, Eichi-kun was probably a loli-con pervert. What 16-year olds in their right minds falls in love with a ten year old? Granted their relationship was more "brother-sister"-like and if he hadn't confessed his love for her before he left there wouldn't have been anything separating them from being true siblings, but there's something very..strange about it. Why did the mangaka make him 6 years older than her? Is there some significance in the number 6? Couldn't he have been 2-3 years older and make it a little more believable?

I actually liked the Takuto/Mitsuki scenes (especially episode 50 where SHE kissed him o_O) but the scenes would have been a lot more effective had there not been as many filler episodes. Episodes 20-40 could have been cut without affecting the series. Having to watch all those filler episodes made me bored and even though I enjoyed the better parts of the series, it's "too little, too rarely". The series could have explored the Takuto/Mitsuki/Meroko triangle thoroughly and made the ending have that much more of a punch to it.

And there was absolutely no build-up to finding out Takuto was the lead singer of Route L (a band that Mitsuki's father and Wakaouji was in). What he said about feeling amazed when he first heard Mitsuki sing (a Route L song) made sense, but wouldn't he have recognized "Eternal Snow"? Wouldn't he have recognized the melody of the music box? I'm all for storylines where we find out something MAJOR mid-way through the series but there has to be some kind of foreshadowing, some events that lead up to it all. For example, with Fruits Basket. The mangaka decided Akito would be a female from the time she started the series. That's why when the other characters in the series were talking about Akito, they never referred to her as "she" but always as "that person" or "that child". You can't just throw in something major like this and hope that it fits with what's happened so far.

I think alot of the problems of "Full Moon wo Sagashite" was due to the anime-adaptation being licensed too early into the manga series. The mangaka only wrote a few chapters before she was approached to make an anime. It makes sense to fill the gap with filler episodes until she has actual material to write about. And it has to be slightly different from the manga because then, why would anyone read/watch both? That's why I'm against manga being adapted into an anime unless the manga has already wrapped up. But licensing something like that would be risky because the peak of a series' popularity is when they're still publishing new chapters. Once a series is over, there's very little hype to it and less chance for them to make money out of it (which is all what it leads up to anyway).

Haa~ I guess I'll read the manga and see if they offer a more satisfying angle.

This is the first time I've watched someone confess their love on Ainori---and it ends up like this?! MIE!

TK's on some cool-high because lately he's been amazing. He's spurting love lines every girl wishes a guy would tell her. Especially listening to his mini-speech before MIE gave him her answer, it made me wonder where the old un-cool, loser TK went. Even the hosts were surprised at this sudden turn in his behavior. The woman host mentioned how if she closed her eyes she could imagine it was Kimura Takuya saying TK's lines! (I don't think even Kimura Takuya would be able to come up with lines as smooth as his!)

In this episode, TK's at the height of his self-confidence (as usual). When MIE starts crying and stumbling through some nonsense about how she thought alot about what her decision was going to be, he suddenly cut her off and started singing "Lifetime Respect"! Wow, that just kind of broke the mood. But she was still crying as she apologized to TK saying....she couldn't go back to Japan with him.

Considering how much he (seemed to) like MIE, it's admirable how he took it into stride, and even managed to joke with her afterwards.

The Ainori bus arrives in Romania! They had to walk across the border, and when they arrived on the other side, an updated version of the "love wagon" awaited them. It was a huge improvement from the older bus. Now, they can actually stand without bumping into the top of the roof.

Since TK's gone now (*tear*) a new member's joined. And this time...it's a foreigner?! Well--actually, he's half. His father's Italian, and his mother's Japanese. But he's not really a "foreigner". Only in terms of his blood lines, because he grew up in Japan. He doesn't even speak Italian. (That makes sense. When I first listened to him speak, I was amazed at how well he spoke Japanese---until I realized he grew up in Japan, in which case, it's not really impressive at all ^^)

Alec (the new member) definitely has the looks, but his conversations are a bit weird? When the members bombarded him with questions on the Love Wagon, he managed to squeeze in there a conversation about "Super Mario". Yes, the video game. He bragged about how he can clear the levels the fastest out of anyone he knows. Err...okay...as if that was an feat worth bragging about.

I think this guy might be THE one for Ume-chan though. She's pretty much played a non-existent part in Ainori for the 7-8 episodes I've watched so far. And in this episode alone, she's spoken more than in those 7-8 episodes combined. She asked questions, made comments (about how kakkoii~ Alec is ^^) I'm rooting for her. She deserves to find love (especially after that flower wreath by the river incident!)

Hide seems to have powered-up after reading all this journals he's written since joining Ainori. He's actually beaten the record for the number of countries a member travelled (which is, pretty embarrassing when you take into the fact he's been on Ainori for a year and a half without finding anyone.) Now though, with his refreshed attitude he's going to zoom in on Aya. He even made up an unusual nickname for himself ("The Broken Hotel") so he better be serious this time!

But from the short clip of the sneak peek for next week, it seems Aya and Arashi are on speaking terms again---what does that mean for Hide?

TK come back! You were/are so much better than this Super Mario loving freak they replaced you with (Alec)!

From what I've read of her on the internet, I thought her music would be more heavy rock. But when I finally listened to a song of hers, I realized---I've already heard this song three years ago! It was a huge hit in 2001. The background music's catchy, but the centerpiece is definitely the lyrics.

Here are several snippets of the lyrics (I wrote rough translations for them ^^):

あなたはすぐに写真を撮りたがる
あたしは何時も其れを厭がるの
だって写真になっちゃえば
あたしが古くなるじゃない

You always want to take pictures.
I always don't want you to.
Because, if the picture's taken,
then it would be like I'm getting older.

あなたはすくに絶対などと云う
あたしは何時も其れを厭がるの
だって冷めてしまっちゃえば
其れすら嘘になるじゃない

You always say "always".
I always don't like you to.
Because, if things cool down between us
then all those words would become lies.

また四月が　来たよ　
同じ日のことを思い出して

April's come again.
Please, remember back to the same day.

Wow! This week's episode of Ainori (for a summary of what this Japanese reality show is about, scroll down a few entries to read my first blog entry on Ainori :)) proves with hardwork and determination---you CAN get the girl.

TK, this scrawny "yankee-flavor" (as the hosts dubbed him ^^) guy who had been thinking Mie was in love with him for the last couple of weeks finally realized she was in love with Suuzan. This shot him down from his high horse for a few hours (during his speechless state, the other members convinced him to let them braid his hair into two braids. Adorable!), but later that night, when they went to a happening adult Ukraine club, he went back to his usual self. His random use of badly pronounced English is hilarious! He got right up on stage and waved his hands around madly yelling out "From Japan~!"

But this revelation obviously made an impact on him because while the group was at the club, he found Mie, and grabbed her arm, leading her to a place where they could be alone. Then he went off rambling about how in the past he went out with a lot of girls, and to be truthful, he had dated some girls only to sleep with them (at this point the hosts cut in saying he was TOO honest XD Never tell a girl you're wanting to date stuff like this!).

Mie's not your typical "stereotypical" Japanese girl. Just from visiting some message boards talking about Japanese people, alot of people seem to have this preconception that ALL Japanese girls are: cute, short, quiet, and polite, and shy. Mie fits none of these qualities. She's loud, out-spoken, tall (in comparison to the other girls on Ainori) and looks more her age than the other girls. Maybe that's why she wrote in her diary later that night that TK speaking honestly about his past made her heart skip a beat.

And...just, wow. I thought Arashi and Aya had it made. They would fall deeper in love, confess their love to each other, and head back to Japan hand in hand. But from the recent turn of events, that possibility seems less and less likely. Arashi's drunken confession of love didn't impress Aya at all, and when he said he didn't remember the events of the previous night the next day, she got pissed off more than anything. Aya though, being the introverted person she is, didn't show that anger in her facial expressions nor her words. She just basically stopped talking and this uncomfortable air developed around them.

This is the perfect opportunity for Hide (who is in love with Aya for some unknown reason ^^ Love works in mysterious ways.) to cut in and make her fall for him. He's taking it slowly (too slowly though. If Arashi cleans up his act and apologizes to Aya, they might go back to the way they were BEFORE his confession.). Hide & Aya have more of a "friend vibe" to them though. When they're together they laugh a lot but there isn't really any romantic air around them.

And poor Ume-chan! (Again.) No guy's even looked at her since she's joined. In this episode, they went to this "love festival" where the females made this flower ring to release it down this stream. While the girls are making this flower ring, the guys can watch so they know which one to keep a look out for. The belief is, that if the guy waiting at the end of the stream picks up this flower ring, the love between the guy and the girl who made the ring will be cemented. The only condition is, the girls can't see who picks up the one they made.

The girls of Ainori made their own and released it down the river. Aya's was picked up (rather enthusiastically. Hide actually made a dash towards the middle of the river when he spotted Aya's flower ring ^^ Arashi just stood there.), and Mie's was picked up by TK (obviously. Her flower ring actually sank into the water so he spent 30 minutes looking for it.)

But the funny thing is----none of the guys spotted Ume-chan's flower ring! It went right past Arashi and Suuzan. I feel so sorry for her. She's such a nice girl---Suuzan, what are you doing?! You're the only free guy, make a move on her XD The fact that she's never had a boyfriend (she's 21) might have scared off the guys though. Even though Japan seems like a very "conservative" society, it's not that rare for middle-school girls to have dated 5+ guys by the time they hit high school. So for Ume-chan, who's 21 to have never had a boyfriend...it makes me wonder WHY. She's cute, and is always thinking of others (remember the episode where she convinced the guys to run up this structure so Hide could have some time alone with Aya?). The only reason I can come up with is, since she IS that caring, the guys see her more as a "friend" than a "girlfriend".

It makes me sad when I think how TK will be gone soon. In this episode, he asked Vitanny (the driver who takes them around Ukraine) for the tickets back to Japan, and he confessed his love to Mie. I always considered him this dorky, self-conceited guy who always tries to make himself look good, but....wow. The words he used to express his love for her was better than any love confession I've seen in romance dramas. This is probably the only time he was as cool as he thought he was!! Mie was crying afterwards---and with good reason! I never knew he had that kind of sensitive side to him. I'd mostly grown immune to his comments after that "I want to be able to let my kid ride in a better baby stroller than the other kids" comment, but he was awesome *thumbs up*

I'm sad to see him go, but at the same time, Ainori's LOONGG overdue for a new member. Perhaps a possible love interest for Ume-chan?

I love this song. It's one of the insert songs to the drama I posted a blog entry on a few days ago: "1 Litre no Namida". Just because I love this song so much, I made the roomaji of this song so for any of those who can't read Japanese can still sing along ^^

粉雪舞う季節は　いつもすれ違い
Konayuki mau kisetsu wa itsumo surechigai

人ごみに紛れても　同じ空見てるのに
Hitogomi ni magiretemo onaji sora miteru noni

風に吹かれて　似た様に凍えるのに
kazeni fukarete nita youni kogoeru noni

僕は君の全てなど　知ってはいないだろう
boku ha kimi no subete nado shitte wa naidarou

それでも一億人から　君を見つけたよ
soredemo ichiokunin kara kimi wo mitsuketa yo

根拠はないけど　本気で思ってるんだ
konkyo ha naikedo honki de omotterunda

些細な言い合いも無くて　ララライ　ララライ
sasai na iiaimo nakute rararai rararai

同じ時間を　生きてなどいけない
onaji jikan wo ikitenado ikenai

素直になれないなら　
sunao ni narenainara

喜びも悲しみも　虚しいだけ
yorokobi mo kanashimi mo munashii dake

粉雪　ねえ　
konayuki nee

心まで白く　染められたなら
kokoro made shiroku somerareta nara

二人の孤独を分け合う事が出来たのかい
futari no kodoku wo wakeau koto ga dekitanokai?

僕は君の心に　耳を押し当てて
boku ha kimi no kokoro ni mimi wo oshi atete

その声のする方へ　すうっと深くまで
sono koe no suru hou e suutto fukaku made

降りてゆきたい　そこでもう一度会おう
oriteyukitai sokode mou ichido aou

分かり合いたいなんてもう　ララライ　ララライ　ララライ
wakari aitai nante mou rararai rararai rararai

上辺を撫でていたのは僕の方
uwabe wo nadedeita no ha boku no hou

君のかじかんだ手を　
kimi no kajikanda te wo

握り締めることだけで　繋がってたのに
nigiri shimeru koto dake de tsunagattetano ni

粉雪　ねえ
konayuki nee

永遠を前に　あまりに脆く
eien wo mae ni amari ni moroku

ざらつくアスファルトの上　しみになってゆくよ
zaratsuku asufaruto no ue shimini natte yuku yo

粉雪　ねえ
konayuki nee

時に頼りなく　心は揺れる
toki ni tayorinaku kokoro ha yureru

それでも僕は君の事　守り続けたい
soredemo boku ha kimi no koto mamori tsuzuketai

粉雪　ねえ
konayuki nee

心まで白く　染められたなら
kokoro made shiroku somerareta nara

二人の孤独を包んで　空に返すから
futari no kodoku wo tsutsunde sora ni kaesu kara

I love the lyrics to this song! "Powdered snow, if you could even stain hearts white, would it have been possible for us to split our loneliness in half?" "I probably don't know everything about you, but from a hundred million people, I found you."

And for those of you who want more info on this single, here it is :)

Source: Cdjapan.co.jp

It has three songs: 1. Konayuki 2. No Border 3. 3/9 Quartet

There's a limited edition version as well as a normal edition. As far as I can tell, there isn't much different in terms of content (both have 3 songs), it's just the cover is different. The limited edition has a creamy-white cover whereas with the normal edition it has a more light-light blue color. (the picture shown is of the limited edition)

It was released on Nov. 16, 2005, and if you buy it, don't spend more than $13 because in Japan, it's 1200 Yen (which is around $11US).

Ainori

Source: blog.st-on.ne.jp

What is it? An extremely popular Japanese "reality" show (I say this in a loose sense since it's nothing like Survivor) that has seven young adults travelling around the world in a pink wagon (appropriately dubbed the "Love Wagon" ^^) in search of love. Once a person falls in love, he/she confesses her feelings by handing a plane ticket back to Japan to the other person. If the other person likes him/her as well, then they kiss and head back to Japan together. If that's not the case though, the confessee apologizes and heads back into the bus while the person who confessed has to go back to Japan by him/herself.

I'm hooked. I never knew a reality show could be so addicting. Sure, I watched the first season of Survivor like most people, but there were some episodes that put me to sleep because nothing happened. But Ainori is addicting in every sense of the word. They really know how to keep people interested. They cut the less interesting parts and save it for the ending credits where they show brief segments of what wasn't used.

Tk, Tk..what can I say about him? For the past few weeks he's been thinking Mie's in love with him, but the truth is, she's in love with Suuzan. He's one of those overly optomistic people who refuse to see the pessimistic possibilities. Last episode, Mie told him she liked someone else, but he took it in a completely different way. He thought Mie meant that she liked HIM! All those on Ainori have to write daily "journals", and whenever they write something interesting, those parts of the diary are used in the show. In Tk's journal that night, he wrote: "I finally understood Mie's feelings. I've never felt so happy." WHAT?! She didn't even say it confusingly.

And I'm surprised he would even think she likes him. When the group stops at destinations, they often split into partners, and whenever Mie could, she would ask Suuzan to come with her. Tk and Mie were only together when Tk invited her. Even if Suuzan weren't on the show, she wouldn't have fallen in love with him. Because whenever they DO talk, Tk's always talking about himself.

The love triangle between Aya (that name again! XD), Arashi, and Hide is heating up! I wasn't watching the show when Aya joined Ainori, but from what I've read of the past episodes (on the official site: Ainori Official Website, they have recaps of ALL 292 episodes!) I don't see how Hide came to be attracted to Aya. They only talked a few times around the beginning when Aya just joined. They shared some common interests (she knew Hide's favorite CD), but that's about it. It's weird to see Hide being the "odd one out" this time around, because up until Aya, there were love triangles involving him and two girls (well, not really a love triangle since the two girls were the ones that liked him, he didn't feel much about either of them.) He was really popular, and now...it's like, where did that popularity disappear to?!

Aya joined the show in the hopes of being able to learn to talk more easily to others. She's one of those "doesn't talk unless talken to" types, so it made sense that she started to like Arashi, because he has this out-going and carefree nature about him. Hide's trying his best, giving her advice on how to act more at ease, etc, but whenever they talk there's this dark aura around them. It's depressing! And even worse, Hide keeps on saying the same things, just with different wording. He probably means well but he comes across as more of an over-helpful teacher than a possible love-interest. I don't know if there's an English translation for this word but in Japanese what he's doing is "Arigatameiwaku". You know he means well, be he's being a bother.

And amidst all this chaos is Ume-chan! Apparently she hasn't had a boyfriend in all of the 21 years she's been on this earth. And so far, it looks like she'll have to wait even longer to get a boyfriend because there are NO sparks flying between her and any of the guys in Ainori. Arashi and Hide have their sights set on Aya, and Tk has his on Mie, while Suuzan, he's kind of off in the background somewhere. Suuzan COULD be a possibility, but as long as Mie has her eyes on him, Ume-chan most likely won't try anything since it's obvious to everyone except Tk and Suuzan himself of Mie's feelings.

Ume-chan's the most deserving to find love out of Ainori. Even though no one likes her romantically, she keeps her spirits up and tries to help the others to try to get them together. A few weeks back, she ended up being partnered with Hide, and she could tell he was down because it was bothering him thinking about what Arashi and Aya might be doing. So when the group gathered back together, she said to Suuzan and Arashi (Tk and Mie were still off somewhere) that they should race up this step structure about 20 metres away. She did it so Hide would have time alone with Aya. Now that's what a great friend is like!