Haven Of Chords

London Dreams [Hindi]

2009-12-19T04:19:00.000-08:00

So the movie tells about two childhood friends, one of whom has a father who wouldn't allow him to learn music while the other would chase his son with musical instruments. Two very contradicting lives but music connects them. After Arjun's father passed away, he followed his uncle to London and escaped his grasp at the airport. *his uncle won't allow him to be involved in music too*

After doing street performances and gathered enough money, he enrolled himself to a music academy. Finally, he found himself a band and auditioned. Succeeded in the audition, they began their journey and dreams.

Below: Ajay Devgan as Arjun

Initially, Arjun finds himself drawn towards Priya (played by Asin), but having too many hardships in order to get to where he is now, he decided to not let his feelings weaken him until he really achieved his childhood dream, that is to perform at Wembely Stadium in front of thousands of fans.
Asin would have been attracted to him too, if only Arjun let her. But after Arjun invited his pal from Punjab over to London to join his band, the playboy Mannu began to make his move towards Priya. Mannu is a gifted man in music although he treat it as a joke and fools around. Arjun started to feel insecure watching him getting all the attention in concerts and also Priya's.

Mannu is just an innocent guy who thinks of nothing for his future but goes with the flow. His best pal, Arjun is the complete opposite to his carefree character.

The second half of the movie shows us how Arjun began his evil plan against Mannu. we see him struggle to find the right answer between his dreams and his friend. Jealousy may have taken over him, sadly. This movie shows us just exactly what jealousy might make a decent human being do in order to ahieve his goals in life.

Do I agree with Arjun here? I don't mind his jealousy towards Mannu, really. I mean, he brought Mannu from the streets of Punjab where his life would have just been the way it was but Arjun gave him hope to be something bigger.

And he goes in his own happy-go-lucky way of somewhat *ruining Arjun's reputation* as the leader of the band. Instead of Arjun getting more respect, he gets all the press's attention in his own ways. Of course, Mannu didn't do all that purposely, it's just his nature. But his oblivion towards Arjun's feelings are definitely not acceptable.
At least, that's how Arjun sees it as he begins to put his evil plan into action. Mannu was coaxed into taking up drugs until their concerts were disrupted and the press has all kinds of stories to make up of it. They nearly lost their chance to perform in Wembley but Arjun managed to beg his way into it.
Wembley sure looks awesome. And I'm glad they really make full use of the venue. I wonder how did they get so many damn people in order to pack the whole stadium...xD I bet they're fans from UK lolz...

Overall, it's a good movie. I learnt that friendship can be stronger than greed >.< Depends on how we let it be.

Remarks on acting:

I think this is the first time I see Ajay playing an evil dude lolz...I know he had bad characters in onther movies before (frankly, I never actually thought he was good looking before, but now...especially in this movie, he looks totally hot, bad boy image really suits him a lot, and I like how his hair is swept up like that) ^_^ I should be talking bout his acting lol but I just couldn't ignore his looks hehe xDD He's good. I'm DL a comedy he's starring in now, I hope he can do justice there too.

Salman Khan...let's see, the last time I watched his movie was that Kuch Kuch Hota Hai lol..yes, that was 10 years ago. And I'm ashamed to say this, but that's the only one I've seen him in. He has definitely changed since then, he's a total hunk now, built his body and looking good.

The others are okay, Asin's job isn't that hard anyway. She's just there as a dancer and Mannu's romance partner. The ending wasn't clear as to who ended up with her but I think she didn't end up with anyone in the end. Which is fine by me. Equal is good.

the songs are not bad either, I'm moved by the ending track. I'm gonna find it hehe xD

Labor Pains [2009]

2009-11-03T02:29:00.004-08:00

Lindsay Lohan in Labor Pains. Perhaps a more mature role rather than a typical high school kid with lots of drama. The first half of the story wasn't that exciting as she faces headaches and other errands (which are not under a secretary's scope of work) on an everyday basis from her boss. When the company decided to cut costs and workers, she is No.1 on the list. A colleague then proposes a way for her to get off the hook. *by being pregnant* she gets all the benefits as people start looking at her in a more sympathetic manner.

Thus, her plot works for months...and she herself began to actually really think she's pregnant for real. I won't go far now but as the story goes, it gets really funny and engaging as we see how she tricks people and trying to get her little *honest* sister to not blow the whole thing up.

Rating: 3.5/5

It's definitely a feel-good show where you can sit with your family and watch and laugh at all the funny scenes. The other characters are surprisingly doing very well too. The only thing is there is no obvious climax and things seem to die down easily, too easily actually. Or too fast that it didn't leave much impact on us viewers. Nevertheless, it's good to fill up your boring weekends.

Fanaa

2009-09-29T04:17:00.000-07:00

Fanaa basically means " being destroyed in love" or so was explained. From the title alone, we can expect something tragic and dramatic...though i never really expected it especially from the first half of the movie, where things were really sweet and chirpy...till...

Now, the summary goes like this. Zooni (A Kashmiri blind girl) sets on her first journey outside her safe zone ( her parents) and went to New Delhi to perform with a bunch of friends for the Independence Day. Her parents especially her father was sceptical and worried but after being rationalized by the mother, he let her go.

In Delhi, she met this flirtatious shall I say...handsome lad with too sweet of a mouth and somehow manages to woo Zooni with his charming attitude and lots and lots of poems. Yes, in this movie, you should appreciate the use of romantic poems because that was one of the features that I find rather interesting. I am amazed actually by how the poems could describe their feelings precisely.

It didn't take long for Rehan (the tour guide) to tingle Zooni's heart and capture it. By the moment he wanted to let it go (as he has a dark secret which was later revealed), Zooni was too much in love with him.

Well, it might be far- fetched how two strangers can just get hitched so damn fast, but come to think of it, it's not that hard to understand. Zooni was a blind girl who has spent most of her life being up in the mountains, not getting much experience outside her comfort zone and being over-protected by her parents. And being a rather naive girl, it's not hard at all for her to be attracted almost immediately by this man who is pretty experienced with girls.

So, I won't spend too much time trying to spoil the story but what I can say is that the first half of the story is almost completely different than the second half, something you won't really expect as it takes a U-turn. Instead I shall write about how much I loved both Aamir Khan and Kajol's performance in this movie.

This is the first time both of them worked together as an on-screen couple. I'm not too sure about Aamir, I haven't really seen much of his movies but he's up there you know...alongside the likes of ShahRukh Khan, Salman Khan and etc...meaning, he does have his own reputation. I'm more familiar with Kajol as I've watched several of her other movies like Kuch Kuch Hota Hai (my top fav) and Kabhi Kushi Kabhi Gham. Both of these were acted alongside SRK and also directed by young director Karan Johar. The 3Ks have never disappointed me and I'm always anticipating their projects. Well, enough of that really, this is about Fanaa right.

So back to their performance, I was mesmerized. Yes, I don't know the perfect word to describe it but I just loved their chemistry, their facial expressions, body language and even without the scripts, I think it's enough seeing their actions. A bit exagerrating you might say, but this is exactly what I felt when watching this.

You can see a lot of different emotions all packed in this one movie. The best part is the fact that they executed their actings without much flaws. Also, come to think of it, this is Kajol's first comeback movie after 5 years of disappearance from the industry, as she chose to spend more time with her daughter. In a way, I was doubtful that it might be awkward again for her to be on-screen and also working with a different partner this time. But I was dead wrong. It seems like she's never left at all. She's so comfortable in the character given to her. And seeing her acting blind (the first) and being so naive during the first half of the movie were definitely refreshing. The most important fact is that she's so natural in it.

Some of my fav moments of the movie:
(there might be spoilers at this point but ah...i just have to list them down! They're not in order though)

1. Zooni's first appearance when her mother directed her to the right direction as they salute their national flag---> and the oh so innocent smile she flashes when she realized it

2. the 1st time both Zooni and Rehan met

3. when Rehan brought Zooni to the temple, despite his claim of not believing in God. Then, he asked her to close her eyes, and touched the petals with the blessed water gently on her eyes (I don't know but this particular scene was like so so so so damn sweet and romantic!) I liked Rehan so much at this moment.

4. The raining and singing scene outside Rehan's house. Seriously, I didn't know people can look so damn good being wet and having raindrops fall on their faces and all...and the way Rehan looks at her like *damn!* lol...and this is where I start getting goosebumps!!!~

5. the train scene where Zooni leaves for home reluctantly and wishing Rehan would stop her but didn't. The shot where the camera follows her walking forward after Rehan didn't say anything was so sad. Great crying scene.

6. but nothing beats the BEST crying scene at the hospital when Zooni was asked to identify Rehan's belongings as he was assumed dead during a bomb blast. The scene was exceptionally wonderful as we see how Zooni reflected on Rehan's words and how she just broke down beautifully of coz, i mean, there is art in crying scenes (most crying scenes are always BLAH...you know and fake-ish but this is one of the best I've seen ---> except for KKHH though haha)

7. Rehan asking Zooni how his voice was like, his smell and then slowly led her hands on his face (yes, when it comes to having blind girl, this is how you interact lol but ah...i love this scene)

8. the second time Rehan and Zooni met after 7 years. Splendid performance by Aamir (I really have to salute him for that * stunned and shocked face he had with all the blood on his face and snowstorm around him* Brilliant!!! ) And haha...Kajol looked one of her best in this scene too...so different from her innocent young girl image in the first half.

9. any moments they had with Junior Rehan. The singing in the snow. ^^ what? that kid was really cute!

10.The scene where Rehan and Zooni danced quietly in the kitchen...

Okay, i think that's more than enough spoilers xDD

Now, as for the ending, some people might not have liked it too much, I'm kinda 50-50 over it though. definitely not one the best ending you can have in a Bollywood movie but given the circumstances, this is how it ends I guess. So I don't have problem with it. I don't wanna over-analyze the whole scenario really, sometimes you won't be able to enjoy the beauty of the movie if you do that. xD

In conclusion, director Kunal Kohli did a great job in capturing some of Aamir and Kajol's best moments in the films. Besides that, he really uses their talents almost to the fullest which is of course good. And it is no wonder Kajol won Best Actress in year 2006 for this movie. She deserved it imo, after 7 years of hiatus, and then doing wonderfully in this. And she did look one of her best also in this movie.

I like the overall package, the soundtrack, the sceneries of India, the ruins and monuments during their sight-seeing. The supporting casts were really entertaining as well.

My rating:

4.5 out of 5

I can watch this over and over again...lol and still get goosebumps.

Buzzer Beat [Ep 1]

2009-07-23T19:14:00.000-07:00

Now, Buzzer Beat, a new drama starring Yamapi (Yamashita Tomohisa), Keiko Kitagawa and Aibu Saki.

The beginning immediately went to showcase this Championship and how they managed to win the first playoff. (whatever that is, I'm not familiar in basketball). So anyways, to make it short, I am pretty satisfied with how they coreographed the moves, tactics, passings among the players, but of course, One Tree Hill still offers the best visual for me. Nonetheless, for an Asian production, i guess this will do.

And the characters are one by one introduced, no rushing here, just slowly we are brought into their troubles and slowly we are revealed to their true selves. It's only the first episode though but i think we're slowly getting where this is heading.

For ONCE, I am fine with Yamapi's character this time. Oh Thank God, he plays a non-cool character here. After the Kurosagi and then Code Blue, he gves me this vibe that makes me wanna strangle him every single time I see him frown. But not here though.

Why? Because his character is different. He's much cheerful here, smiles a hundred times MORE than he did in the ENTIRE Code Blue drama in ONE episode. What else? And oh...finally he has a girlfriend in the beginning of the show, even PROPOSING and COOKS GREAT TOASTS for his family, plays decent basketball and the list goes on.

He's entirely different, which brings fresh air for us all, viewers. I don't know how his fans would react but this is looking good for me. He is actually WORRIED SICK of his future, his SALARIES, and for ONCE, he is not this some EGOISTIC character. So good for him! It's always good to change characters. Shows how versatile one is.

Don't know about this one though. No doubt Aibu Saki has evolved from an innocent character to a more ' not-so-innocent' girl in one episode, I wonder how this change will evoke the viewers out there who already have been 'annoyed' by her before. And yeah, the other guy lol...when i first saw him appear, i was like what the hell...coz he looks like some walk-in drug-addict. SERIOUSLY.

Of course, with a basketball or any sports show, we are always given the chance to sneak into their locker rooms or baths wahahahaha....and yeah, body show offs!

Funny stuffs...

Now, to this actress who I've not seen before in dramas, basically coz she's not much in dramas, even if she was in, they're the ones that I didn't watch. Ok anyway, for a first time viewer, I am fine with her i guess. She's decent. And I do like her better than Aibu Saki, at least. And she reminds me of my cousin. No, seriously, they look alike! And when I first saw her in this drama, I was like...where have I seen her before? She looks damn familiar! And then it hit me that one of my cousins looks like her. @_#

Well at least she does well so far in the humor department. Together with this actress from Love Shuffle, it is win.

One to One match. No need to know how loses and wins here. Look at him Frown.

SMILES BACK!!!

Good episode. I am watching this till the end. ^^

Shinjuku Incident

2009-07-10T05:11:00.000-07:00

Shinjuku Incident, one of the only movies that portray Jackie Chan as an illegal immigrant, searching for his girlfriend in 1920s Japan.

As stated above, Jackie has always been playing goody goody characters either as a cop or some kungfu master in his previous works. So it's maybe refreshing to see him as a totally diff person on this movie.

Daniel Wu also sways from his previous acts, playing a more down to earth dude, innocent-like man who definitely will gain sympathy from viewers.

And throughout the show, I see familiar faces of Japanese actors.

Remember Nodame Cantabile? Yes, apparently i got the shock of my life to see the German composer (forgot his name) as a cop here. And i'd totally give him thumb ups for speaking rather fluent Chinese (Mandarin) in here as well. I mean, even without subs, you'd get what he's trying to say, and to me, as I've seen quite a lot of failed attempts especially from Japanese actors/actresses to speak foreign languages, he's considered good.

And well, since it's Jackie's film let's revert back to him and the movie. LEt's just say that viewers will get a chance to see another side of him, the badass side. (not entirely evil, but yeah). And the movie also depicts the Japanese mobsters and gang fights and etc...(it's just like a Japanese version of Hong Kong gangster movie, you see).

One thing I learned from this?

We should all believe in karma.

Mr.Brain ep 5/6 [Nakama Yukie]

2009-07-08T02:35:00.001-07:00

In ep 6, we have Nakama Yukie (the gangster teacher in Gokusen) as a guest star for 2 episodes. Among the rest of the episodes, I think hers will be the most interesting and challenging, even Koyuki/ Gackt's team up weren't as solid as hers here.

Playing a person with multiple personality disorder, who was kidnapped as a child and then kept in a dirty inhuman basement for 15 years. Revenge will be the theme of the story, really.

The moment they brought you back to the basement she was kept prisoner in, you'd immediately feel the sudden sorrow for her, you'd empathize her situation and understand how her pain would accumulate day by day living in the darkness for 15 yrs and finally was liberated.

Multiple personality disorder is not something new in tv shows. I'm sure you'd have seen them in various movies and dramas even. It depends on how perfect the actor/actress in executing their characters. The ability to shift from one character to another in seconds, those are the things that make them interesting.

As for the ending of the story, I'll keep my mouth shut. But I'd give Nakama huge thumb ups for giving a wonderful performance. What's more, she has the rare chance of 'beating' and 'kicking' the old time actor Takuya Kimura in the guts ^^

Don't miss this!

Night At The Museum 2

2009-06-28T06:06:00.000-07:00

I didn't watch the first one. storyline's not attractive enough i guess. So I went on and watch the 2nd installment, without knowing what to expect but it's easy to get it anyway.

So basically, 2 years have passed and Larry Daly has now quit as the museum guard, started his own business, and yet still finds himself being connected to the creatures that come alive at night. When the museum is being cleaned up, with all his 'friends' getting stored in the archives forever, he came to their rescue especially when they were being threatened by this pharaoh.

And he met a famous icon, Amelia Earheart, the first ever female pilot to take on solo trip around the world. (go read up on her history if you want).

And together they tried to fight against the Pharaoh who managed to get Napoleon Bonapart, Al Capone and another guy I didn't know, nvm him.

This is a movie that you go in and look at it as a joke. It's downright nonsense that makes you feel like a fool. I understand the storyline but Jumanji was a much better watch than this. When things come to life from the past, you'd at least make them more smart and intelligent. But I guess with Ben Stiller, you can't be too serious.

I mean, what's with this gigantic octopus?!

and the little angels that sing hip hop and Titanic's My Heart Will Go On?!

Overall:
Like I said, this movie is a joke. Not to be taken serious and actually, no matter how they tried hard to make it serious, it'll never work. So...it's not a waste if you've never watched any of it. I guess I was just too bored and DL it. Doesn't really matter if I did watch it or not. I wonder if anyone actually goes into the cinema and thought for a second to just walk off. @_@

If Only [2004]

2009-05-08T23:24:00.000-07:00

It's a rather 'old' movie, but nevertheless, pretty good. I've not seen any other Jennifer Love Hewitt's movie ever since I Know What You Did Last Summer.

Samantha (Jennifer) is a violin student currently studying in London and met Ian, a local British. They live together in his apartment and one day, they had a fight, and ended up with Samantha in a fatal accident.

Leaving Ian heartbroken BUT the next morning, he woke up to find the same day happening again! And he begins to freak out, but tried to mend things with Sam while it lasts. The scenery at the countryside was breathtaking and it kinda reminds me of P.S I Love You.

Well, I like this particular background music and I'm gonna look for it, when I have time. Jennifer sang two songs in this movie, both of which are fine. But I do like one of them called Love You Show You Everything.

I think the actor who plays Ian (Paul Nicholls) is great, I mean, the crying scenes, he pulled them off so well.

Bride Wars

2009-05-06T19:44:00.001-07:00

The dream of most gurllzz....is to get married. And this movie is all about just that. Marriage/Wedding. Two best friends who were desperate to have a dream June wedding at the Plaza. One has been saving for it since 16, the other led a much better life as a lawyer but still yearned very much for THE DAY to come.

Oh just look at those two trying to grab that bouquet of flower >.< And when their respective boyfriends proposed, they went crazy!!!

One had her ring put in some fortune cookies (surprise element, I suppose but I wonder if I really wanted mine in some cookie, though)

The other is desperate enough to rush/jog all the way to his office and actually popped the question before he did! LOL...

and so they went to Sinclair, the famous wedding planner in Manhattan and hoped for a date in June at The Plaza. Things were fine when they each got their dates, until the secretary made a mistake and gave one of their dates to another desperate to-be bride. and so they were left with one date, one venue and TWO BRIDES>

And they were waiting for "the other one" to pop the ultimate statement to change their venue/date. And for the first time in 20 years, they didn't talk to each other for a week.

See, weddings can join people, and also break people apart. #_#

and so the competition begins!!! and we see how they tried to crash each other's wedding, trying to lure one to have an eating binge so she can't fit into her Vera Wang dress, another tried to spread rumors that the other one is pregnant, thus, desperate for the wedding. ^^

Memorable quotes:

' You don't alter Vera Wang to fit you, you alter yourself to fit Vera. What do boys learn in school?'- Liv

'The final week of the wedding to do or die. I expect my brides to be flawless, perfect hair, skin, everything.' - Marianne Sinclair

And accidents can happen, or not...

Weddings...@_@

Departures [J-movie]

2009-05-06T18:54:00.000-07:00

Departures is unique movie, at least to me. So, there's this guy, Daigo who lost his job as a cello player when his orchestra team disbanded. And he was left with a huge debt for buying the cello. In order to lose the debt, he had to give up the cello and move back to his village hometown together with his wife, Mika.

Back in the small village, he accidently landed on a peculiar job as someone who helped to cleanse and organize funerals. This scene down here, like...OMG so damn funny!!! I really banged on the table when I saw this scene. Totally unexpected and out of nowhere he came out wearing that adult diaper!!!

But oh he has a nice body build xD

And this old guy here is the one who owned that company. The job pays well though, and since he couldn't find other jobs, he stayed with it, without telling his wife. Until she found the tape recording where the demonstration was done, his cover was blown.

Mika was upset, having found out that her husband, once a cello player had to resort to a job like this. Handling dead people. It was too much for her to bear and when Daigo refused to give up the job, she left the village.

As usual, I won't reveal the ending. But oh this movie's really really interesting, especially when they showed you the techniques on how to handle the dead, how to cleanse them, and like dressing them up, facial make up and all, I'm impressed by their skills when they dress them up. Turning their bodies around, without even revealing anything.

It's pretty lengthy but worth watching. And funny as hell too, so don't miss this one out if you have a chance!

Reservation Road

2009-05-06T18:21:00.000-07:00

Reservation Road stars:
Joaquin Pheonix
Mark Ruffalo
Jennifer Connelly

Ethan and Grace (Joaquin and Jennifer) are a happy couple with two children, a boy and a girl. Living in a small town, their lives are pretty normal, until their young son was killed in a hit and run accident. The driver is Dwight (Mark) who was driving his son back to his ex-wife after running late from a baseball game. And his impatient ex-wife wasn't really helping much in the case either.

I think the most depressing scene from this movie was when they were dealing with the death. It's really sad to think that someone close to you was smiling happily for a second, then the next minute, they can just be gone like a snap.

Joaquin, as a Dad is the first I've seen him acting as. Well, then again, I dont follow his movies much. But i think he pulled this character of really well and convincing as a loving dad and husband, trying to keep the family from breaking apart, protective, caring, and at some point felt the need to defend for his innocent son's sudden death by some irresponsible reckless driver.

The point where he snapped and pulled a gun to threaten Dwight was like..."wow". Imagine going to a lawyer who tried to act all innocent, pulling two faced character on you, and then he turned out to be the one who took your beloved away.

But it's not all just about the family's grief, we were also shown how Dwight tried to deal with the case, feeling guilty yet couldn't find the right courage to give himself to the police.

Great acting from both Joaquin and Jennifer, Mark following behind. It's good. I shall keep the ending to myself. ^^

YUI- I'll Be [PV]

2009-05-06T17:32:00.000-07:00

This came out a while ago, but since I was busy, I only had the chance to catch this now. Umm, I'll Be, like so many of other YUI's songs are mainly aimed to encourage people during their down times.

The song is the usual basic pop/rock style, nothing really special. she actually performed the live orchestral version in some school hall last time, and I liked that version more than this studio one. I think the orchestra put more depth and just sounds better.

Since it's about troubled people, the video focuses on students/ althelets/working adults feeling down.

Then after each of them listens to the song, they became "genki". Umm...whoever said it's gonna be a complicated video anyway?

But i liked the glass floor they used as the stage. The mirror reflections does look kinda cool.

But overall, it's a mediocre video. It did match its purpose though, even without the lyrics, I think people can make out the idea of the song.

She has a new single atm called Again but I haven't seen the video yet. Floating somewhere in Youtube, I just don't watch much YT nowadays, so...^^

Live In Japan II (Do As Infinity) Part 2

2009-05-06T06:42:00.000-07:00

Now, before reading further, you may read Part 1 first.

So let's continue where we stopped. Next up, we have Na no Hana Batake. A slow ballad. Soothing in a way coz they just have Ban chan accompanied by the piano here...and again, the backgrounds.

Really nice choice.

For this live, I guess they decided to make good use of the slides and screens for backdrop.After that, we have the rest of the band appearing, Ryo gave a little speech.

Well, from my totally lousy Japanese, I think what he was trying to say is how their music contains certain important messages, maybe like peace, love, freedom...etc...
Then, Ban chan continues and all i can make out is that they're just doing their best (maybe in delivering those messages).

Then Ryo, as always the Joker, he began to ask the crowd to follow his words. And the words are like funny stuffs...and totally random.Oh the next one is GOOD. I love this track. One or Eight.

They always, without fail, have the utmost ENERGY to play this song live. And getting the crowd to join in the fun.
Lol...they like to do random stuffs/stunts during the song.

but seriously, nothing BEATS THIS ONE.
#_#
#_#
#_#

Ryo came out with the WIG, during the encore session, together with another two members wearing wigs too. O.M.G. I laughed so loud when i saw this. Didn't see this coming.

They performed Highway Star (by Deep Purple). It's a funny performance really, overall. I'd give Ryo thumbs up for his guitar solo and total sense of humor, not so much for his vocals though.

Still, I am really really AMUSED by their long hair!!!~~ Where's the FACE???

After they finished, Ryo kept on saying stuffs like " Tokyo! God Bless YOU!!!~~~" LOL!!!!!!~~~
I mean, that's hilarious. you can tell that he's really HIGH during that moment. haha...must be the extensions!

Of course, Ban chan then appears from the side. Keeping the crowd high.

And she went straight to Ryo and playfully got rid of his uh...hair.

So friggin funny~
Oh the next song, also one of my favs! It's nice & easy. Great track!
Then comes the part where they introduced their new single for the first time, including performing it LIVE for the first time. (well, back in 2005 though, apparently that song was TAO, their last singl before their break up later on) I wonder if by then, they'd actually thought of the disbandment ...ummh....anyways, the crowd was excited to hear a new single though.

Who isnt? As a fan, I would be if I were among the crowd there that night. But nobody could foresee that this single would be their last one. (before their hiatus for 3 years, then the comeback in 2009)Although i did notice how Ban chan looked kinda sad when performing this, then again, she can be emotional for certain songs. ^^

For a first live of the song though, it's great. No flaw. So good job.

SWEET MOMENTS PICCIES!!!~~~look below~

Ban chan asking Ryo to follow her to the rear side...

and so they went....

Everything went smoothly until...Ban chan made a mistake in the lyrics (I think)...and somehow embarassed...

clung to Ryo...so funny and sweet at the same time.

and then the SUPER HUGGGGG!!!!~~~~
awww~~~~~~~~~~~
i like to see them interact with other, shows how much they've been through together (as a band i mean) ^^

Then...the band thank you....

and more hugs....

As usual, both Ryo and Ban chan stayed behind after the rest of the members went off.

I gotta say, this one here, below...

This is one of my FAV!!! ~~ I don't know, they looked...nice together, with their you know...waves lol...

final goodbye!
and lastly, a view of the entire Budoukan hall.

(finally, i finished this ahhh~~~) I'm satisfied, definitely coz there were just certain things in there that they did differently like the wig thingy and other random stuffs. I'm glad I bought the DVD xDDD

Live In Japan II (Do As Infinity)

2009-05-06T00:47:00.000-07:00

Live in Japan II (2005) just before they broke up. This is one of the only lives (DVD) that I didn't have the chance to watch so far. Also, the fact that it features most songs from their album Need Your Love, I'm excited to hear their live versions from that album.

It was held in Budoukan Hall and so, familiar settings, except the stage is different from the Final Live , basically coz the Final had to be designed in order to put in as much people as possible.

They begin the live with For The Future, a prominent track and also single from NYL album, pretty suitable to move the crowds.

Yes, as always, I love watching Ryo playing his guitar. He's cool. lol...

And this album also features a lot of great solo guitar sounds. So, it's nice to see him showcasing his skillz, with what he's good at.

Tomiko is great too, her vocals. Other than the occasional hard to avoid high high pitch vocals, she's doing fine there.

and i kinda like it when thy decided to hold an acoustic set in the live, sitting/settling down a bit and also interacting more with the crowd. It feels like old times. This also gives them a chance to introduce the band members known as the Great Tour Band *then*, with the old members. Year 2009 with their comeback Revival Live, they have a new band.

I'm so happy they did an acoustic version of Week!. I mean, it sounds so much nicer in acoutics rather than the usual pop/rock version. and the funny part is that they decided to put in little bit of humor and surprise when they suddenly stopped in the middle of the song after the first chorus. Like, they just literally stopped everything. They even possed like a dummy, all rigid. Except for Tomiko of coz, she has to keep interacting with the crowd lol...

And being a naughty girl, she went to give them a tickle. LOL...

Ryo trying to act totally calm but...

No way you can stand a tickle from Ban chan ^^

And then I saw the keyboardist's pose. Like what the heck?! T_T

The cheery mood then turned to solemn, with the next track, Yotaka no Yume. It's basically a song that touches on war and how the night hawk loses its way (it's like a metaphor for war planes i guess). But i LOVE this song.

And this performance? Filled with power and strong emotions emitting right from the start till the end.

Head banging, hair covering face...

guitar jamming....(again, great solo tune from Ryo)

I especially liked her long sorta scream towards the end (well, it's not a scream really, but the way she held that last pitch long enough was amazing). Overall, if there is one song that is energy draining, both to the vocals and hands (guitars/drums), this is definitely one of the tops for them. Well, next to Kyuusou Ryodan, i gotta salute the drummer for the continous intense drumming (now that is what I'd say exhausting T_T) but it is amazing how he pulled it off *live*.

The next track is Need Your Love, the title track for the album.

Great choice of backgrounds.

I think the backgrounds of sceneries, seasons, vast expanses of the earth and skies kinda makes the song more meaningful in a way.

And i like how they speed up the slides of the sky here. Good stuffs.

nice...and this is just halfway through the show.

I'll continue the other half later tonight, I'm still watching an blogging bout it as I go.

Atashinchi no Danshi Ep1 [J-drama]

2009-05-05T03:02:00.001-07:00

Ok, it's been ages since my last post. Well, let's just say that I have time to watch stuffs but not enough to blog about them ^^ considering how busy I was with uh...reports and etc.

Now, the new drama season started like 2-3 weeks ago. A new bunch of fresh series are currently showing everyday. This is *obviously* one of those that I decided to follow. Just for the sake of having a really cute youngster in there, and also a handsome guy. ^^

Story is about Chisako, a girl whose father has a debt of 1 million yen, and hence, she has no home, always on the run, and wearing wigs while outside, just to avoid the yakuzas (Japanese form of gangsters). One day though, while being chased by them, she met a guy who is willing to pay off the debt, but with a condition. (You don't get nothing for free in this world, people).

Apparently she was tricked into marrying him and has to fulfill several other rules regarding his family if she didn't want to pay the $$ back. And he has only 1 month to live, as foretold by a machine he invented. (he's some president of toy-producing company).

After that 1 month, she was sent to a house, which looked more like a castle than a normal house, where she has to serve as a *mother* to 6 of his adopted children. Now these *children* of his is not blood-related and has their own problems and such.

Seeriously, this kid here....this KID here. He's cute. He IS. C.U.T.E.

That's all I can say about him. go figure lol...

oh this scene where they had a basketball competition was funny as hell when that mysterious maid of their just jumped up and scored big time.

Just one of the tricks they played on her in the castle to get rid of her.

I'm up to ep 2 only atm, gonna watch ep3 tonight. ^^
So far, it's fine. It's not exactly fab or very interesting/exciting but good enough to keep me watching. I think I'm just follow like 2-3 dramas this season, sadly though as compared to 4 last season. These 2-3 dramas are:

Atashinchi no Danshi
Konkatsu
BOSS
maybe Majo Saiban (if i have the time)

Naoko [movie]

2009-03-28T22:14:00.000-07:00

Credits to Haruma livejournal club for the subbed version.

Starring:
Ueno Juri
Miura Haruma

Story begins with young Naoko (Ueno Juri) and her parents moving to a fishing village from the city mainly because of her health (she has asthma) so maybe living in the countryside might have cleaner air? Anyways, during the journey to the island in a rented village boat, she slipped into the sea but was saved by the owner of the boat, who happened to be Yusuke (Miura)'s father. His father however didn't make it out alive.

Years passed by after the unfortunate incident and both of them have grown. Naoko met Yusuke again in the athletic events, (i'm thinking they are in different schools, coz if not, why is it that Yusuke never met her before) Naoko told him how she was saved by his father and Yusuke, coldly replied how he had forgotten about that matter. When in fact, he had never forgotten and still blamed Naoko for the loss of his father.

Naoko has a strangely strong affection towards Yusuke. Maybe because in some ways, she felt connected towards him. the feeling of guilt for causing his father's death and also the urge to seek his forgive.

Through the coach's letter to ask for Naoko's help in the summer training for the upcoming national marathon relay, Naoko decided to join the team as the manager (assistant to the coach). And then, the awkward journey began for both Naoko and Yusuke.
There isn't much conversation between them both, actually...but their body languages and facial expressions are enough to convey their feelings.

The movie is focused on the training sessions, relationships between the boys and of course, their doubts and spirits to win were shown rather clearly. Their relationship with the coach is well portrayed too.

And of course, the ending is...(^^)

It is not shown clearly whether anything might bloom from both Yusuke and Naoko in the end, but we can see how their characters began to accept each other for who they are. As the coach said in the movie, time had stopped for both of them ever since the accident, but they were walking in the same path. In some ways or another they are similar.

I like the pace of the movie, it's not too draggy and even with 2 hours, it didn't felt long. And they portray the sports really well too.

P.S
It's nice to see both running Juri and Miura in this movie LOL...

Mei-Chan Shitsuji [caps] Ep7

2009-03-28T06:46:00.000-07:00

This is my fav part in the the whole episode- funny stuffs...

You know what....this guy, he looks a bit like my direct junior...(random thoughts^^)

dummy...

the extent they go to just to make Mei smile...(more like making her having 'cold sweat'...though)

Kiina [ J-Drama]

2009-01-29T00:10:00.000-08:00

oh i never actually expected this drama to be good, you know. I mean, it's not even one of those highly anticipated drama or heavily promoted like say..VOICE, Mei-Chan's Butler and Triangle etc...BUT

BUT it got itself one of the highest viewers' ratings for the first episode~ 16.1% !!!!!

So yeah, i wasted no time and got it once it's available. Another reason i wanted to catch this is becoz of Kanno Miho. I first watched her in this series called...(Love, Love, Love) something along that line and she was eccentric. She's fit and really suitable playing a freaky character i tell you. And in Tomorrow, with none other than Yutaka Takenouchi (another one of my fav actors) ^^ Although i survived through Tomorrow despite it's pretty plain storyline, i think it's pretty enjoyable to see both of their interactions in there. Ill write up a review soon.

So Kiina is basically about this woman, who fails miserably in her love life, seldom sleeps but goes on an eating binge everytime she was heartbroken. Yet, she's practically a genius. Although being an eccentric, weird and acting awkwardly, her character's so loveable. Being a detective, working in her own department dealing with supernatural cases (but mind you, the story's based on true facts over the years with scientific proves) so i really like the plot a lot. Then, there's this newcomer who studied abroad and came home to join forces, hoping to get into the elite forces, yet he was thrown into Haruse Kiina's wagon as her assistant. Despite his initial annoyance and reluctance towards Kiina, he slowly grows to undertsand her way of working.
Of course, there are humorous scenes and subtle moments. but yeah, i like this drama and i really HATE to say this, but i prefer this over VOICE now. The first episode alone OWNED the other two episodes of VOICE like...without any effort. Basically becoz this drama is a detective story and it's based entirely on factual histories and so, it's just more believable than VOICE, which without much evidence the characters come up with solutions. Which to me, is kinda...OFF.

So Kiina rulez over VOICE atm. And i hope it'll continue to catch people's attention, well...judging from its ratings, it is anyway...xDDD

VOICE~ 2nd episode

2009-01-25T07:30:00.000-08:00

First episode was fine, 2nd episode was mediocre. Well...the characters...i don't know, i just don't seem to have much affection towards them. Like...there's always something about a character or the way the actors/actresses act that make you really like them and will watch the show like countless times even after you've seen the ending.

However, in this show which i have anticipated since last year seemed to be disappointing.

I like Eita. I like Toma. And Satomi's fine. And even though i like them, the plot of the show isn't helping much. Seemed recycled and nothing much insteresting. And the worst of all is that it doesn't even touch much in Medical!!! I mean, they're Forensic students, mind you...and you'd have expected them to maybe cut the bodies up and examine them, run tests and etc...

But all you get is a glimpse of the dead body lying on the gurney and THAT'S IT. Literally. So why must they even make it a Forensic centered show with Forensic students when they practically did nothing in the Medical department to solve the cases. They're more like Detectives! They should've just made it a Detective/Mystery show. I mean, Galileo is better in this case becoz at least, the bizarre cases still lingered around Physics and Science, although i never could understand how the Prof can solve the cases just by writing some equations. I think the only thing that's keeping me watching this show is the fact that it has Eita and Toma in there. If it's not for these two actors, i don't think i'd waste my time watching it.

The third episode though seems to be more personal as it touches on Satomi's mother's death 15 years ago, the one thing that had bothered her and prompted her to get into Forensic Department.

The humor side of this show is pleasant to watch though. Seeing how Eita and the guys ganging up to tease Satomi, the only girl in the group is nice to see. I just hope it gets better and maybe involve some serious cases of deaths like murder.

Arifureta Kiseki [J-Drama]

2009-01-17T17:11:00.000-08:00

Arifureta Kiseki also means Ordinary Miracle. Basically a woman, played by the Gokusen gangster teacher, Nakama Yukie and a man, (Kase Ryo) met by chance or fate, depending on how you'd interprete it, while trying to save a man from killing himself in front of a train. After that they exchanged mails and that was where they started their journey.

The first episode didn't offer much yet. The problem with it is the SLOW PACED setting that i can't help but really wanted to hit the fast forward button Which i admitted in doing maybe 2-3 times...it helps to get the pace going anyway.

Seeing Nakama Yukie in a more passive manner for her character this time is refreshing yet it seemed bit awkward. and Ryo Kase looked like he's lost in translation. (maybe it's the character) but still...the both of them somehow don't look like their minds or spirits are in the story. They felt distant. Nothing much interesting at all in the first episode. (i wonder if i should continue watching).

(i just wanted to give it a try out of curiosity)

When a Dog Loves a Cat [HK drama]

2008-12-25T03:42:00.000-08:00

This is a family comedy mix romance drama starring veteran actors like Gallen Lo, actress like Myolie Wu and etc...

The drama revolves around two people with completely opposite characteristics. Miu Chun aka. MC (Gallen Lo) is a smart and hardworking Media director (i think) in a Advertisement Company, Raptor Advertising Company but he is also famous for his cold affection towards people. Later on, we find out that he had a trauma past where his ex-girlfriend died in an accident after trying to chase down a dog. That is why he had a deep hatred towards wild dogs. But he has a cat, named Can Can which he adores very much as it was given by the ex.

And then he met a newcomer in the company, working under him named Chow Chow whose boyfriend is also working in the same company. Chow Chow loves animals very much and basically her personality differs from MC. Cheerful, a bit on the naive side and very friendly. Her boyfriend, Carson on the other hand is a playboy (which is the reason they broke up later on).

We then meet the boss's daughter, Kit who is a playful girl, (well, she's a spoilt rich girl basically) and has like lots of ex-boyfriends before this but she hates third party becoz that was the reason her parents separated. Soon after towards the end, we find out she actually has been loving a person for a long time, and that was MC, becoz he was like her savior. He has helped her a lot when she was still young. But of coz MC thought it was ridiculous...(the relationship obviously didn't happen but they remain good friends).

Now, the other two stars of the show. Siu Ba, a wild dog that was found by Chow Chow and later on, he was used for adverts in their company. MC soon overcame his trauma of hatred towards dogs and accepted Siu Ba as a pet at home. Upon meeting Chow Chow, he became more friendly loving towards animals.

Can Can, MC's cat. adorable...

MC soon found out that his cancer revived again and this time it's incurable so he began to avoid Chow Chow despite his feelings for her. Chow Chow tried desperately to find out what's wrong but to no avail when MC became more and more cold towards her.

But let's fast forward-----> she discovered his cancer and coaxed him to spend his remaining time with the people he loved.

Well, basically that was like already the last episode. yeah...

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!!!~~~ who says dogs and cats can't live together?

OVERALL:
If you're looking for an easy going drama just to spend time, this could be just right for you. And it also helps if you don't mind watching cats and dogs talking to each other, this requires imagination. There isn't much conflict going on here, maybe just a couple of bickering here and there. Nothing too serious. But i kinda enjoyed it overall. Gallen, as always delivered great job in any kind of characters given to him. I like him and his comeback to TVB means a lot. Myolie Wu, despite the major age difference, she manages to make it less awkward being paired up with a veteran actor. The rest of the cast is okay. I don't have much to complain really becoz i don't expect much from a family drama like this, and plus, it's a laid back comedy. So as long as it serves that purpose, i'm fine with it.

8/10

Tokyo Daikushu [J-movie] 2nd Part

2008-11-28T02:13:00.000-08:00

Similarly, MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD ...

Basically it continues where it ended in the first part. So, most of the survivors went to the National school for cover, but the Americans planned well. They knew the survivors were trapped in the area and so started a second attack. And we learnt that amongst the victims were Kazue. She was separated from JunJin in the first part.

The only thing that caught me by surprise was the fact that this doctor survived the fire!!! I mean, he was totally trapped in the building and everyone watched how the building collapsed! So how he got out with just a broken arm is totally out of my mind. *but i'm glad he made it*

Then, we moved to Haruko and JunJin, somehow they met and Haruko has been taking care of JunJin. Bringing food to him and treating his wound. *seriously, i was like " oh my god! he's alive! and he finally shared scenes with Haruko!" Just the thought of them together in a scene made me happy. Haruko knew he is a Korean, but she didn't know that he was a spy to help get the Koreans out of Japan.

Casualties from war alone aren't the only reason many people died. *as a student of Microbiology, i've been exposed to possibilities of fatal wound infections and such that caused lots more casualties after the initial war*

And people start to die from tetanus and gangrene. Haruko defended the little girl, Tomoko whom she met halfway to the school and ever since then, lived together with her, along with the baby, Takeshi.

Meanwhile, we learnt that Hiroto survived the hellish night as well. He was saved by the Mizukashi family, his father's side and the step mother asked him to continue serving the country and also to be the heir of Mizukashi.

Hiroto asked his father's assistant to search for Haruko. We then see how JunJin left and followed his Korean mates. Haruko warned him that if he ever goes out there, he'd never make it back. But JunJin has nothing left except to work for his country. Being hated by the Japanese, he'd rather be a dummy for the Americans, even though he knew that he could lose his life anytime.

The assistant finally found Haruko and mentioned that Hiroto will marry someone else and carry on the Mizukashi line. saying this, it was obvious to Haruko that Hiroto will never ever come back to her again, so she passed a message to him through the assistant. She wanted him to tell Hiroto that Haruko died on that night of the attack, thus making him to stop looking for her.

However, Hiroto finally found where she was living and the reunion. Sadly, Haruko told him to forget about them as they were both *dead* that very night. They are now living a new life. seeing how stubborn Haruko was, Hiroto gave up and left.

JunJin did make it out alive from the Japanese, although he was beaten pretty badly.

Oh and i love this scene! He decided to leave Tokyo and just out of a sudden, he asked Haruko to go with him. *it's not out of affection or anything but i guess, it's like a hope that they cling on to live on and carry a new life* Haruko was definitely taken aback but she didn't give a clear answer. (you know what, i actually had a fresh hope that this pair might just make it after this scene and i really wanted them to leave together)

But in a way, i'm glad she didn't follow him...but ah...this scene is really sad. I didn't see this coming. I thought he'd just leave and be leading a new life. I like how they inserted a short scene where he talked about his own family back in Korea, how the Japanese came and took their land away, took his family away etc...So, we can't really blame him for working for the Americans, in a way.

Oh...this is sad. He was shot dead by a fighter plane. *sigh...*

rest in peace, JunJin...at least now you can be with Kazue. And did you notice how his eyes are filled with bloody tears....people who didn't know this is a war movie would've thought this is some kind of horrow movie lol...

But it's just tragic the way he had to die...like this.

Of course, we are left with the last standing couple in this Special. Hiroto is preparing to go to war, when he had a surprise visit by someone he yearns so much.

Haruko finally went to see him. She asked him not to go.

Alas, we get to see a couple who were stubborn in the beginning and made up in the finals hours of hell. Just when they finally realized that they belong to each other, the air raid began again.

But as we all know, even from the beginning, Hiroto was the one who survived the war. Haruko, she died the same way as JunJin. Shot down by a fighter plane.

Well, the END. *like the first part, i cried too in this second episode. But i think the first part is more interesting. There are more likeable characters and we get to see the development, until the major air raid happened and they were killed one by one. That was really really depressing to see them die. Sad, man...i think i'm gonna be in a depressed mode for a while.

Tokyo Daikushu [J-movie]

2008-11-27T05:42:00.001-08:00

Warning: MAJOR SPOILERS ahead...so if you don't wanna know, this is not for you. But this movie is definitely worth the watch.

First Part

Starring:
Horikita Maki
Fujiwara Tatsuya
Eita
Shibamoto Yuki

Haruko lost her father to an air raid back in 1943, i think, two years before the huge air raid that killed lots later. And Hiroto held her back from saving her father. Since then, she hated him and called him 'murderer' for preventing her from saving her father and also not trying to save him. And fyi, her father opened a glass shop. So basically, she knows how to make glasses, but still not as good.

In the beginning of the movie, we were shown an old man holding up a piece of glass with the dates carved beneath it and he died soon after.

Two years later, Haruko volunteered at a hospital and we get to see the first appearance of JunJin (Eita ^^) who is a Korean and a painter. Later on also we find out that he has a relationship with a Japanese nurse in the same hospital Haruto worked in.

Oh this guy...i remember him from Papa to musume no nanonakan with Aragaki Yui. He was funny there, so it is refreshing to see him acting all serious and apparently he is Hiroto's father but remarried someone else. He is also some kind of officer in Tokyo and has been trying to convince the General that Tokyo is not safe and wanted the people to evacuate, however his efforts were to no avail.

Then, we have a visit by an American soldier who was injured and despite the other patients' disgreement to treat him, the doctor went on to save him. (i like the doctor, he looks good even with his messy hair lol)

The soldier later thanked them for saving his life and warned about the huge air raid that was about to turn Tokyo into ' a sea of flames' as quoted. Since JunJin is the only one who understands English, he was asked to translate. However, being a Korean and holding a grudge against Japan, he omitted the part about the attack. Evil he is, JunJin...but i guess, being a different nationality and his hatred towards Japan, he has his own reasons. (oh...Eita...he was really bad here in this scene for that, but this is the first time i hear him speak English!!! and he's pretty good! ^^)

Somehow, the soldier made good friends with them...

taking their pictures with his camera and such...Oh, i forgot to mention that Hiroto had a heart attack and was sent to the hospital and he met Haruko again. Two years later. Despite Haruko's hatred towards him, after learning about his own history of losing his own mother in the war, she became friendlier to him.

Next, we have this pair, Kazue wanted to marry JunJin but her father refused to have a Korean to be his son-in -law...

JunJin finally told Kazue about the air raid and asked her to leave Tokyo with him. However, Kazue didn't want to leave her father alone. Thus, JunJin told Kazue that he'll be waiting for her on that very night before the air raid at Kototoi Bridge.

The Head Nurse, she has acted in Attention Please and Zettai Kareshi. I'm happy to see familiar faces in movies...i like it when i recognize them from different movies and dramas. xD

The doctor, he has been transfusing his own blood for his patients, since they're short of supplies. Such a nice doctor. And after hearing the news of the Head Nurse's husband who was killed in the battle somewhere else...

They're good together...but too bad...*they didn't last long*

I guess by now, Hiroto does feel some affection towards Haruto. And oh, look below. BEAUTIFUL isn't it??? I was like 'wow' when i see her pulling the glass to form the head. *although i'm pretty sure it was done by someone professional, but who knows?*

It's pretty!I know by now we know who lived and who didn't during this war.

And the doctor, he finally asked the head nurse out! haha...he's shy.

But peaceful moments don't last long during the war, come March 9th 1945...the biggest air raid fell upon Tokyo and it wasn't long before the whole city was engulfed in fierce flames.

And this was the POINT where i was already on the verge of tearing up *after watching so many other characters dying one by one...* this is the POINT/SCENE where i totally lost it. I really cried hard here, the part when Hiroto's father decided to commit suicide as he wasn't able to convince the General about this attack. *i guess being a too faithful officer, this is the way to die in honor...* oh well...but really he was so friggin fabulous when he shouted for Hiroto to live on.
*sobs*

I also liked this scene very much, like Haruko holding Hiroto's hand tightly and said that they have to live on. Somehow it's touching! I seldom feel much for uh...love relationships in movies and dramas, but in situations like these, it's touching.

Here, we have the other pair. See...i told you, JunJin's not all bad. He came back for Kazue. Although it was love that drives him back, still he didn't go away, despite the fact that Kazue didn't appear that night on the bridge.

Kazue's father died in the fire. so i guess, there's nothing to hold against them anymore. They made their run towards Kototoi Bridge and thought that if they managed to pass it, they'd be save. So does everyone. and it resulted with the bridge being drowned by human, coming from both directions, pushing each other...and they soon lost each other in the crowd.

The only way out is to jump into the river. So wasting no time, both Haruko and Hiroto jumped down hand in hand. However, with so many people jumping at the same time, and Hiroto just had a heart surgery the night before, so he wasn't in a good state to swim on his own. so...they got separated in the water.

Haruko obviously survived the dive and couldn't find him anywhere. but she stumbled upon a pregnant woman who had to give birth right there and then. despite lack of experience in this situation, she did her best to find clothes from dead people around and soon, the baby was born but the mother passed away. sad...really.

Well, this is the end of Part 1. stay tune for Part Two!

Speech of Silence [HK drama]

2008-09-21T07:31:00.000-07:00

To tell the truth, i was pretty curious about this drama since its story relates about a girl with hearing problems and seriously, i was hopeful that it will be some kind of mellow and dramatic kind of story. And you see, the actress who played the main character was the girl who acted as this tomboyish character back in The Academy, and her hair was trimmed really short. But here, she has a long long hair and she just looked really different. And another thing is the guy. Yes, he is also one of the reasons i decided to watch this series. So you can figure out how much i anticipated this...

The first few episodes were actually pretty well written and done as it develops, giving us more info of the background, some history. BUT after that, things got a bit boring, things still happen but the thing is, everything seemed to be easily predicted. Like, you can just foresee everything, you can tell what's gonna happen next even long before they showed us on screen. There are no surprises and not much suspense, just typical stuffs trying to make up for the badly written script.

And to make things worse, i actually couldn't wait any longer watching everything that i fast forwarded most of the episodes, and the truth is, i don't think i missed much anyway by doing so. I fast forwarded so much that i literally finished the last five episodes in an hour. YES, i was THAT IMPATIENT. And not becoz i was really engrossed with it, it's just that i wanted to get it over with you know. Oh well...i think there's only one scene where i was touched, at least a bit.

And that scene reminded me of some japanese dramas which are kinda similar where they have the lead characters, narrating to the viewers about their inner feelings...as we see them facing their problems, well...in this case, she's deaf and she was walking through this tunnel at night, alone...as she watched someone playing saxophone, but all she could hear was silence. I don't know but that was like the only scene which i think the writers did well, trying to convey to us, just how is the a deaf person's life.

But the rest are...you know...predictable.

Score: 5/10

I was disappointed.

Last Friends (news)

2008-07-25T07:25:00.000-07:00

good news for DV guy and GID girl (or should i say 'doubtful') bad news for SOFT guy.

i'm talking bout recent ratings for performances or rather....POPULARITY ...for LF casts, where in one poll, it seems like Ryo Nishikida bagged himself Best Supporting Actor, while Juri got herself the very much deserved Best Supporting Actress. I just felt kinda sorry for Eita for not getting anything. But this is based solely on popularity among fans. so it's no wonder how the end results turned like this.

But anyway, apparently this leads to more confirmations on the REAL ANNUAL TV AWARDS coming soon, i think* And well i hope Juri won that award. As for Ryo, i don't really care whether he gets it or not, but one thing for sure, Eita sure isn't getting enough attention just coz he's not a born JE boy. too bad for him.

pics credit to d-addicts forum:

does anyone thinks the hair looks like Yamapi's in Code Blue?

^^

But personally, i think she looks great as her hair grows. I suppose it's time anyway, she can't stay with short hair forever. I can't wait for her new projects ( movies, dramas...etc)

Forensic Heroes II [HK drama]

2008-07-03T03:48:00.000-07:00

So since Forensic Heroes (the first season) had pretty good ratings, they decided to continue with FH II. They retain some original casts like Bobby Au Yeung, Frankie Lam, Yoyo Mung and also Linda Chung.

However, they also added new casts: Kevin Cheng and Charmaine Sheh. Now this is because Linda Chung had other projects in hand, therefore she can't continue the series, thus leading to the killing of her character, who was supposedly Frankie's girlfriend. She died somewhere around episode 6-7 (not sure) I can't remember.

Now the MAJOR DIFFERENCE in FH II is the addition of two new lead roles, namely Kevin Chen who plays Ivan, a bomb disposal expert from England, but later on joined Bobby's forensic team. The second is Charmaine who took on the role of Bell, a Senior Inspector like Yoyo Mung's character.

The two new leads had somehow taken over the screentime. The story this time focussed more on Bell and Ivan's chemistry, and occasionally Bobby and Yoyo as well as Frankie were put in. Also another thing to notice here is the fact that they let Yoyo Mung's character decrease the screentime by making her character, Siu Yau sustaining a nerve injury on her hand, therefore she can't work as a SIP, thus this is where Bell comes in to take over. *i don't know the whole reason behind this plan but maybe they just wanna make way for Charmaine*

The thing is, i'm not sure why they can't just leave the original casts do the job rather than adding new casts and chucking the old ones away. I can understand Linda's case since she had other projects at the same time so it's only sensible to make her character die, i suppose her contract with FH is over then and if there is FH 3 she won't ever appear anymore. It's funny how they always HAVE to make certain characters DEAD just so they won't appear in the series anymore. *this is obviously TVB's style*

What i don't get is Yoyo's character being minimized so much. Maybe she had other projects too but still, i actually prefer her more than Bell (Charmaine Sheh). I don't know why but i just can't really see Charmaine playing a cop. I've seen her play one similar role in Angels of Mission but an Inspector is just not really her type. The same goes with Kevin Cheng as some smart ass scientist. It just doesn't work with the image you know.

Maybe because i was too accustomed with the original casts that i can't seem to accept new things. I guess by now, you'd have known i actually prefer FH 1 more than this second season.

Nevertheless, Charmaine's skills are worth praising, there are some pretty memorable scenes that she pulled off well. But that's just what we can expect from her anyway. I don't really have much to complain about her. *just the COP image of hers doesn't really convince me, i actually liked Yoyo as the cop more*

Kevin, all i know of him was from the Seventh Day and romantic dramas like Under the Canopy of Love. Maybe becoz of that, i'm not used to seeing him playing a scientist. And seeing him wear the lab coat...kinda turns everything off. And the fact that they make his character so damn PERFECT is just not realistic. sorry guys, i just can't buy this one.

Well, talking about PERFECTION, let's review the cases...I know the fact that all of them are written beforehand and having clues here and there to lead to the solution. And in 30 episodes, there are so many cases, actually TOO MANY and they managed to solve everything *too fast*.I find everything's in a rush. This is supposed to be like this i know, still can't they make things more realistic and have some unsolved ones? *i guess that won't ever happen since it's supposed to show the casts' great abilities in forensic science. In real life, we know there are tonnes of cases unsolved each day and year. You don't just HAPPEN to stumble upon SO MUCH evidence and clues. *i find some of the cases are kinda too predictable and not that interesting too* Well, nothing beats CSI of course, but i have to say TVB's take on the world of forensic science is risky, yet worth it.

Of course, Bobby's the genius here. He is the one to always SPOT the pivotal evidences. Again, i'm not buying this one that much. It's just too easy you know. Things aren't that easy in real life.Still, I love Bobby in these kinds of roles. He's the perfect guy for these stuffs. Actually, to me Bobby is one of the BEST HK actors out there. Despite his *balding head* xD he's got charisma.

Let's go straight to the last case, since i'm actually watching it right now xD *is it just a coincidence that the last case involves a BOMB that requires Ivan's profession?* I don't think so.
Although i find the culprit behind this case is a really BAD actress, i still find this scene pretty intense. Becoz it's a time bomb, that is.

Why does the last episode always have to involve one of the main cast again? *this is so so...repetitive!!* To tell the truth, i don't want to see Kevin Cheng and Charmaine again in FH 3, if there is one. I want the original casts!!! I'm fine with just Bobby, Yoyo and Frankie!!!

I'm so happy that they have Yoyo in the last episode and helping in the case too. She fits the Inspector role more than Charmaine imo.

Wah....Frankie jadi hero...

And HOW and WHY is Bell PREGNANT?!!! Seriously, i've watched recent HK dramas and all i know is that the lead female is always PREGNANT in the last episode!!!~~~ TVB writers....are you guys out of ideas?! I don't know but this is not so educational after all. I mean, pregnant before marriage. Is this what they're trying to teach us? *i know they made it this way just to make us viewers have more sympathy towards them. Again, i find this part a bit BS. It just doesn't work. Sorry, i'm not feeling anything from this. *I just wanna clear this off, i'm not against the whole getting pregnant before marriage and all, i just find this too predictable and BS formula being recycled again and again*

Finally, Bobby and Yoyo's characters are married. They've come a long way and i felt so happy for them. I love these two in FH. They're the CORE of FH.

Ugh....the ending is well, happy? I have a strong feeling there's gonna be FH 3 now. *and i know that charmaine and kevin are going to be around too*

I hope the original three casts are still the main in FH though in the future. That said, i still very much prefer FH the first one. The last case in the first season is also my all-time favorite. And the actress who played the villain in the last season was more convincing and so much better than this one. Also the fact that it wasn't that predictable till the almost the end. But i can't help but seeing the similarities between those two. Both villains DIED from falling from high buildings. *why?* ask the writers. I really think they need some fresh ideas. If this goes on with FH 3, i'm not sure i'm gonna follow it anymore. Unless of course, they still have my three fav casts around and not bringing new people for no good reason.

Anger on the set of Last Friends?

2008-07-02T05:32:00.000-07:00

Source

Translations

As to whether this piece of news is true or not...i'm not sure since i'm not one of the staffs right? But if it is, i won't be THAT surprised becoz if i were *her* i would be kinda pissed too.But haha...i'm trying to imagine a mad Ueno Juri yelling the director and ignoring Ryo Nishikido in the process...

My view?

As a fan of LF (from episode 1) I have to admit that the whole DV story was getting pretty boring even in the first few episodes itself. * i know that's exactly what the whole show's about anyway, but do they have to resort to such shameful act just to keep the ratings this high?* Now that i think of it, i think the ratings somehow does not really show the quality of the show anymore if this is the case.

I don't blame Juri and Ryo in this case. For Juri, i understand her feelings *provided if this news is true though* I mean, who wouldn't be when her role's storyline was neglected just to make way for a JE boy, just coz he's more popular and all right? In my honest opinion, she has every right to be mad at the director or whoever is was that decided to go with Ryo's popularity to boost the ratings and left out the main storyline between Ruka and Michiru. But i do think that being mad at Ryo for that is a bit off, though.

For Ryo, i do feel sorry for him being caught up in the middle of this. I suppose he can't help it if he's a JE boy and being screamed at by his fellow hopeless gangirls...just look at Warratte Iitomo, during the introduction, he was the clearly the MAIN ATTRACTION.

The person to blame here is the stupid director who used Ryo's popularity for the show's ratings. Honestly, that is very LOW and DISGRACEFUL especially towards the other actors/actresses like Juri, Eita and even Eri. They barely touched on Eita and Eri's plot!!! To tell you the truth, the storyline gets weaker by the episode when they focus more and more on Sousuke's story and neglecting the others.

The only reason i continued watching this show till the end was because of Ruka and Takeru. I didn't really care much for Sousuke and Michiru. And i can bet that a lot of people are the same with me. Right now though, i'm just wondering what was the initial PLAN apart from making Sousuke dead around the middle of the show, i'm wondering what they have in mind for Ruka, Michiru, Takeru and the rest actually. I'm not the only one who really wanted to see more progress in Ruka and Michiru's relationship *ok, it's not that i want them to end up together but even in the last episode, they didn't get the chance to have a talk face to face, like you know, only the TWO of them, having Takeru with them had somehow interrupted the whole thing* It'd be really nice if they can just show a brief talk between Ruka and Michiru *i mean, surely Michiru would've some stuffs to tell Ruka, about her feelings and all right?*

Ah well, the show's over. And at least, everyone seemed happy during the wrap-up. And they even have Utada Hikaru in the after party, doing a duet with Juri (on piano). Do we get some Nodame here? *no news on Ryo though, pity him haha*

Part of Me [ASIA TOUR- Ayumi Hamasaki]

2008-07-01T08:25:00.000-07:00

I managed to get this live. Anyway, as always Ayu's concert had been rather grand and well-planned. And having extravagant props at the background shows how much of a renowned artist she is. *it's not a surprise when she was one of the top tax payer in Japan some time ago*

Umm...i had always been fascinated by her dancers/her band (i have to say her band is good, especially that guitarist of hers) and of course, the stage presence is really captivating.

However, i don't know why but her lives nowadays somehow doesn't really attract me much anymore. Maybe i've been too familiar with her whole *idol image* and *almost similar backdrops* that her *creativity* in presenting her songs live had started to bore me. A little at least, i still enjoy her lives, just it doesn't make me go WOW anymore this time. Maybe this ASIA TOUR just isn't her BEST. *i still love her My STORY live 2005, that was really good*

Ok, back to the topic...i have strayed haha...she started this track differently from the studio record. Begins with instrumentals and slowly picking up, mainly band performance and some before hand acting on-screen. The male lead is one of her dancers.

Wearinf kimono, with BLONDE HAIR, just like the one in her PV for this track. But i have to say, she looks less frightening here than in her PV.

Somehow, the costumes the he wore in here (below) reminds me of our very own Sarawakian ethnic groups....xD

And there she is....standing right in the middle of the stage.

She freaks me out when i first saw her appear. It's her blonde hair. I have to admit, she doesn't look good with it. She should dye her hair back to normal Asian color...or at least...brunette or sth more natural.

And i think age is keeping up with her, now that she's turning 30 this year. It shows very evidently actually. I mean, just compare her in this live and the *then 2005 live*

And using the FEATHER FANS somehow had been a bit boring coz she used these more than once in her lives. Somehow, everything here is a bit too predictable...maybe that was why i didn't enjoy this live very much.

I felt like i was watching some repeated lives, rather than a fresh performance.

Oh well...*some day though, if i have the chance i'd really want to go to one of her concert for like ONCE* that is, provided she's still in the business...what's with her left ear gone deaf and all...although she seemed confident enough to continue whatever she was doing, i am sure it would affect her singing one way or another. * btw...am i the only one who thinks her live singing has somehow deteriorate too...*

Last Friends Special [Review]

2008-06-27T00:32:00.000-07:00

Finally, i watched it. Well, let's just say that i am very very disappointed with the Special episode itself because it's like 85% Sousuke's DV crap and recaps of him beating the hell out of girlz/ guys whatever, i don't even really care much about him anymore ever since his lame death in episode 10. And just as i thought they're not gonna show him anymore in the Special, they shove him back at us viewers. *don't even get me started*

anyway, so someone kind in d-addicts decided to EDIT the Special episode and cut out all of Sousuke's parts and gave us the new scenes. So here they are.

We see the five friends taking a group picture outside their proud white sharehouse, together with newborn Rumi.

And Ogurin decided to act funny...

As Eri his wife, scolded him.

Btw, this is the picture we saw in the last episode, right at the end.

Fast forward a year, we see Eri coming back, maybe from her honeymoon with Ogurin.

Takeru, still the same....greeted them.

And we get to see toys scattered all over...

Ogurin bought a dress for Rumi

According to Takeru, Michiru and Rumi went to visit Sousuke's grave. It's the anniversary.

You know, this scene somehow kinda creeps me out. I know the kid looks sweet and all but jeez...he mingled with Sousuke before. And Sousuke was all bubbly until a screw in his head gone loose and started being a psycho freak.

I won't be surprised if this kid grows up to be a reincarnation of Sousuke and haunts them back...
well, that's one story for the producers/writers to wonder about for the movie right....*just kidding*

But seriously, it's amazing how this kid doesn't even know what Sousuke did. To him, Sousuke was like an angel.Somehow, that sounds creepy.

Back home, Michiru and Rumi met Eri....yeah yeah....reunion. Oh, Ogurin went to Michiru's old salon to get a haircut.And if anyone's wondering where Ruka had disappeared to, she was training, according to Takeru that is. That's why she wasn't around.

Remember Michiru's ex co-worker....yeah, she was abused by his boyfriend too. Serves her right since she always bullied Michiru. We should all believe in karma. Yes, never underestimate karma, people...

Back home, Takeru received a phone call from his sister.I'm happy they included this little conversation coz in the last episode, Takeru didn't seem to be able to resolve his issue completely. So here, he explained to the sister that he is now living well with a new family, friends...and he's happy. *i'm not good in japanese but from the look of it, i think that's what he's saying, well...whatever, i wasn't paying much attention anyway*

That's the sister....they changed her hairstyle a bit...just to show the time lapse.

I suppose by now, she'd stop haunting Takeru.

Again, dinner in sharehouse has always been grand.

And the last minute only we get to see Ruka coming home from training.

Seriously....what's wrong with Ogurin's hair man?! it's curly!!! Omg....

Look at the picture carefully....NOTICE ANYTHING NEW????

Yesss......Rumi's new red cup. that's so cute...somehow.

And what's with Ruka wearing a scout's uniform?! I know my dad's gonna be interested though...*coz he's a Scout himself and i know if he sees this, he'd go beaming*

Yeah....that's the END.

My comments: Now this might be more of a rant than a proper comment. Like i said, i'm very annoyed by the fact that they didn't offer much in the Special episode at all. Why call it SPECIAL when there's nothing special about it? Jesus....are they kidding us? We're not a bunch of fools who want to watch recaps of previous episodes. we're not one year old kiddies. We're not Sousuke's fans...*maybe some of them out there are*

Well, the Special was like an hour and a half long. YES> 1 1/2 hrs long. Filled with bunch of crap. And only 9 MINUTES of new stuffs i capped above. NINE MINUTES is NOTHING. Actually, in a way, this Special isn't worth watching at all. They could've just added these in the last episode itself and skip the Special episode and move on with Yamapi's new medical drama, Code Blue. *i'd rather watch that than this* This is wasting time. But oh i'm glad they edited the special episode at the forum and feed us only these.

Now, on to my rantings....Ruka doesn't get much screentime at all. Somehow not seeing her around sharehouse for like the whole show doesn't feel right you know. Coz she's the second lead so she should have more screentime than anyone else, other than crybaby Michiru. And Ogurin had more screentime than her even! What the fuck is wrong with the producers and writers, i feel like giving them a slap on the faces. Ruka only showed up like...a MINUTE. *i'm not the only one pissed off, the whole forum is*

Oh but well...Takeru's around so...T.T

Now the MOVIE: Let's say maybe they're using the same casts, then they might be saving the new scenes for the movie instead. But i don't know what kind of storyline can they feed us again other than them taking care of Rumi in sharehouse and raising her up. Everyone's troubles are pretty much resolved. and if they use the same formula again, i'd be bored. Coz like i mentioned before, the whole DV issue isn't that interesting to begin with. It's just going to be a real FLOP and SUCK if they recycle the issues. Unless....maybe they make their relationships progress further other than just being friends. *now that'd be interesting*

But if the use a different cast, and made a whole new storyline, but having the same issues is kinda boring too. We've seen enough of abuses and bullying and DV...so why must they make a movie out of the same story throughout? it's stupid to begin with. and with different casts, it'll never be the same anymore. ugh...all i can hope for now is that the Movie will be far better than the Special.

*i'm off to storing Nodame Cantabile manga now*

Eita and Juri piccies ^^

2008-06-26T01:39:00.000-07:00

LF portraits

2008-06-25T03:37:00.000-07:00

YAY....GROUP PHOTOS!!!

yes yes...hug GIRLZ!!!

haha...the Senpai...it's weird to see him wearing glass and so...innocent looking like that, shaking hands with Juri.

what's with the Scout's Uniform?!

Eita taking picture of Juri as she tried ringing the church bells lol...

and of course, our proud young newly weds...

happy happy....CHAMPAGNE!!!

oooooooh....Eita......so cool.....

Iryu Team Medical Dragon

2008-06-25T01:19:00.000-07:00

Since i'm a sucker for medical dramas, i tried this out. This will be my first Japanese medical series, since the only ones i've watched are like ER (my first ever English medical drama which to me is still the BEST) and Grey's Anatomy (which i didn't really like much maybe becoz of all the romance and it's just not as exciting or nerve-wrecking like ER). I prefer ER coz it's mostly emergency situations and we get to see gory blood spurting everywhere. xDDD

Although Iryu isn't anything like ER and it's mostly on cardiac/heart operations, i still want to try this out. And so far, i'm not disappointed as it is pretty interesting. It's about this genius heart surgeon, Asada Ryutaro who spent his life in the countryside after being betrayed by his colleague that was jealous of his skills. Miki, a good operation nurse followed Asada to the war zones to serve as volunteers after Asada was sacked for several years.

Kato Akira, is another associate professor who wished to one day be a Professor and she went for Asada's help to complete her thesis on Batista. In the first episode, we see Asada being reluctant to join Kato. but after being persuaded by Miki and tempted by the Batista thesis, he followed Kato to her University Hospital and began his life as a recognized doctor again.

From the beginning, we were revealed that Miki has a heart problem.

Asada in the University Hospital, dealing with a whole different law and meeting useless/hopeless doctors and medical staffs.

Kato is seen here mingling with the doctor who put the blame on Asada back in North University Hospital, where Asada worked before.Apparently, Kato and Kirima Gunji (above) are actually couples, despite the fact that they seem to compete with each other in the medical field.

Kato being impressed by Asada's performance and crude methods to save patients in difficult and often impossible situations.

And in the first episode, the one part that got me impressed was this scene where Miki suddenly collapsed as a result of having pressure in her lungs, preventing them to return to its normal states.

With not much time to ask for emergency help....

Asada decided to use a ballpoint pen, broken into half with holes on both ends and stuck them into her thorax.

Seriously, i cam feel the pain haha...

I don't know whether this can really work in real life situations or not, well...most probably not but since this is drama, anything is possible right? But it seemed pretty real to me, so it's ok.

And the other thing that enhance the whole mood and atmosphere is the theme song that is always played after they succeed in saving patients' lives. I love the theme song, it's really good and it fits the drama. *i'm only till episode 6 so far so well...this is not bad*

Realize

2008-06-22T22:32:00.000-07:00

ah well...i was listening to Realize by Colbie Caillat and it suddenly strikes me that it sounds so much like Takeru's point of view towards Ruka. ^^Yes, i'm a hopeless fan of both Takeru and Ruka...so sue me. xD

Take time to realize,
That your warmth is. Crashing down on in.
Take time to realize,
That I am on your side
Didn't I, Didn't I tell you.

But I can't spell it out for you,
No it's never gonna be that simple
No I cant spell it out for you

If you just realize what I just realized,
Then we'd be perfect for each other
And we'll never find another

Just realized what I just realized
We'd never have to wonder if
We missed out on each other now.

Take time to realize
Oh-oh I'm on your side
Didn't I, didn't I tell you.
Take time to realize
This all can pass you by.. Didn't I tell you

It's not always the same
No it's never the same
If you don't feel it too.
If you meet me half way
If you would meet me half way.
It could be the same for you.

If you just realized what I just realized
Then we'd be perfect for each other
And we'll never find another
Just realized what I just realized
We'd never have to wonder
Just realized what I just realized

Missed out on each other now
Missed out on each other now

Realize
Realize
Realize

the kind of ending i had wished for but ah...T.T

Last Friends (caps) ep11 [Review] FINALE

2008-06-21T22:53:00.000-07:00

Took off where it ended in episode 10. Now this post is gonna be SUPERBLY LENGTHY, as expected partly becoz the finale itself is almost an hour long rather (than the routine 46 mins) And also becoz i have so many things to comment. So...here we go.

Sousuke, dead on the couch, took his own life, discovered by Michiru (on the day when Ruka had her All Japan Championship). Sousuke wrote a final letter to Michiru. And although i thought that the death scene was LAME (what's with the Cherry-soda-like soaked all over the gown, it doesn't look realistic and i wish whoever prepared this scene will improve in whatever future projects) Anyway, his contents are rather sad though i have to admit. I do feel sorry for him as he narrates to Michiru. I shall spend some time to write out the contents (since this is the finale, i don't mind doing this coz i won't have anything much to write about anymore, except for the Special next week)

Dear Michiru: Goodbye, Michiru. I will set you free. As long as i live, I will only keep confining you.That's why the only way to set you free, is to make this heart stop. I wanted to become your everything.I wanted to become the whole world that you saw, all the light that shone upon you and all the happiness you felt.No matter where we were, i wanted to be one with you forever. But you in a world i didn't exist, found happiness, didn't you? That's why i'm going to die. At least, while i'm still able to feel your warmth on these hands...while this body still remembers being one with you. I'm sorry...Even though i loved the smile on your face very much, i wasn't able to make you smile. I'm sorry...for not knowing how to love. I'm sorry...that i couldn't make you happy. Farewell, Michiru.

the letter was well-written though and it's a good final letter to say farewell to Michiru. Man...after all he had done, i can't believe i actually felt kinda sorry for him. *it's the writers' FAULT!*

Anyway, let's move on to Ruka's championship. She won. We all know she's gonna win this. ^^ However, at the press conference, the reporters were asking for her comment on the recent rumors about her Gender Identity Disorder.

After looking at her supportive family and friends, she gathered the courage to answer. Here's what she said:

As long as you have the ability for motocross even if you're a woman, you can stand in the field as a man and compete. It's one of the sports where you can. I participated this race as a racer, and i'm proud to have won. From the shadows, people can say anything about me or pry into my life but i will stand firm in what i believe in. Up till today, i'm supported by my family and by my friends.Neither as a female or a male, but as a single human being, they gave me love and support. With that...today, i couldn't be any happier or more proud.

To be able to pour that out in front of cameras and people from the press, that really need some courage.

And here we have Eri, her housemate who never noticed her GID issue, took this chance to talk face to face with her. Well, basically she's saying how Ruka should' ve told her earlier about it. She wouldn't be scared or surprised or startled either. Because to her, Ruka is Ruka. She said sorry for being insensitive and didn't notice. She said, she must have made Ruka somehow uncomfortable and painful up till now.

My comments: I like this scene. It's a good short scene to show how these two accept each other as friends, no matter what kind of position they are in. Such great friendship!

And i like how Eri comforted Ruka, with Takeru looking behind...(poor him, still having that famously bandaged arm)

Later on, we see Ruka and Takeru having a quiet talk on the porch. (it seemed to me that THAT PARTICULAR SPOT has been their favorite spot since episode 2)

Takeru wondered how is Michiru and where she is...and asked Ruka whether they should conatct her(becoz she didn't appear at Ruka's competition) But we see a reluctant Ruka told him that there's no need to and explained how Michiru couldn't accept her (remember in ep 10 Michiru overheard about Ruka's true feelings for her and ran off? yeah...)

Ruka: Michiru couldn't accept me. That's why she didn't come to the race.Even if i can't see her again, one way or another, it can't be helped. (They didn't know about the suicide yet)

Only after receiving a call from Michiru's mother asking them where is Michiru...they found out about Sousuke's sudden death.

And yeah...worried faces...wondering where Michiru has gone to...and trying to accept the sudden fact that Sousuke is dead, somehow and like gone forever.

Eri wondered if all the bad things she had said to Sousuke before this had prompted him to commit suicide...but Ogurin immediately argued that it wasn't her fault and that he must have felt guilty.

The next day, we see Eri coming home to find Ogurin packing. Ogurin apparently had been transferred to Milan and bringing his wife together. And of course it was like a SMACK to Eri's face to hear the shocking news.

And when Ogurin said sorry to her, she defended herself by saying that to say sorry to her is as if being disrecpectful. ( becoz Ogurin was a being a spineless little WIMP and going back and forth from his wife and to Eri all this while, and Eri somehow felt attracted to him no matter how lousy he was, however Eri somehow knew that he would one day leave anyway and even though on the outside, she looked as if she doesn't really care if he is to leave her, deep inside, she really took this relationship very seriously)

so she felt really sad when Ogurin said sorry to her. She asked him to instead say * thank you * to her. And yeah, the handshake. It's as if all this while, their relationship was sorta like a business...*sad*
dinner time, Eri told Ruka and Takeru about Ogurin's departure. Ruka started saying bad things about Ogurin but Eri defended him. she said that he is a fine guy, in her eyes.

Meanwhile, we move to Michiru. Apparently she's in Choushi where she had lived before after high school before she moved back to Tokyo. And a friend of her mother's invited her to work in an inn. She gave her a place to stay too.

And the first signs of her pregnancy...

Visiting the doctor, she found out she had been pregnant for five weeks.

And holding the photograph of her first child...However, the doctor pointed out that her blood pressure is abnormally high and she may be at risk during giving birth as well as the baby.

As she walked back, she began to think back to how she first met Sousuke.

The happy moments they had back then. I find it's pretty nice to insert these memories in the final episode for Sousuke. somehow, it's nice that they didn't exclude him altogether you know...and we get to see how his past had influenced his behaviour. Michiru thought back when he told her his mother was gentle and nice until she left with another man and left him alone. *the kid from the previous episodes is somewhat similar to his life, that's why maybe by going through harsh life, he somehow felt VULNERABLE and wanted to CONTROL Michiru and not letting her disappear from his sight* It's becoz he was afraid of being alone again. By putting this little scene, they managed to explain Sousuke's problem.

Next Michiru's mother received a call from her friend and came to visit her. She told her to abort the child, explaining that it will be hard to raise a child by her own.

To which Michiru argued that she will keep this child and raise it on her own. She won't be like her mother. After some arguments, her mother finally gave in seeing how determined she is. Because her mother remembered that she was just like Michiru before too, being alone and raising her.

We then see the scenes we saw from episode 1. Where Michiru narrates.

and to the BIGGEST SHOCK in the finale...

We see Ogurin suddenly appearing out of nowhere at the airport and holding a bunch of red roses...declaring his LOVE to Eri. *he didn't go to Milan afterall*

Ah...happy face, ERI!!!

and the next thing i know...bells are ringing...!!! *seriously i don't see this coming at all*

beautiful churchAnd the infamous picture we saw earlier in the trailer where people were speculating about MichiRuka pairing....appprently turned out to be Eri and Ogurin!!!~~~

Takeru and Ruka in suits LOL....

i felt funny seeing them like that....it's just funny!~

Here later on in the park, Ruka mentioned how now that Eri and Ogurin are married, there'll be only the two of them left in the sharehouse and it's kinda lonely.

And then, she mentioned how in this park she found Michiru, all drenched wet that night...(Takeru noticed that Ruka missed Michiru, despite the fact that Ruka said it's okay for Michiru to go)
Back in sharehouse, this scene is short but enough to show how lonely they are.

And i find it sweet how both of them are like staring at each other...drinking coffee (most probably, Takeru is like the coffee master, it's always COFFEE !!! God...i won't survive in the sharehouse if i was a member, i hate coffee) T.T

Again, Takeru noticed Ruka's sad face...( notice the difference? Ruka's hairstylist apparently decided to change her hairstyle for the finale, that's such a GOOD MOVE coz she look so much cooler and somehow YOUNGER with this hairstyle.) Not only that, Takeru's hair has changed too!!! the blonde streak is gone and his hair is like swiped up...* it makes him look more mature somehow*

Takeru surprised Ruka the next morning by riding a bike (the harley-davidson kind) which he claimed to have borrowed from Ruka's senpai.

He explained how it's really hard to live in the sharehouse and seeing Ruka's lonely and sad face all the time. So he asked her to go search for Michiru and filled up the hole in her heart.

Takeru, as always such a sweetie!!!

So they went to Michiru's house first only to find out nobody's living there anymore. Whereas her mother had gone back to her own hometown. But no news of Michiru's whereabouts.

* again, i'd like to point out Ruka's hair here. It's so freaking nice and cool!!!~* If only they had used this style throughout the show...would've rocked...somehow. xDDD must have used lots of wax there lol...

she looked so young! she looked like a kid...seriously! Not that it's a bad thing, since she's only 22 in actual life.
I can't say the same with Takeru's hair in this particular scene though...it looked a bit too messy and unkempt LOL...xD Still i love him...he's a nice guy. Ruka mentioned how Michiru once told her about Choushi, the place she had lived before. So they head to Choushi and began searching, asking people around town.

Dead end...though. No news of Michiru.

spending the night at the seaside ( what other place is more romantic than the seaside, seriously) ^^ *i wanna thank the writers for giving these scenes for TakeRuka) wahahaha....xDDD

Anyway, this scene is necessary not only to fulfill fans of TakeRuka's desires but it's for the storyline too. Because in this particular scene, both of them shared a great bond.

Ruka: This kind of thing is unexpectedly pleasant. The both of us going on a trip together, eating delicious food, and spending the night together. Perhaps married couple do this kind of things too. After being husband and wife for a long time, they don't remain as man and woman, but it's said that they eventually become friends. So close that they can open up their hearts to one another.

After hearing that, Takeru finally decided to tell Ruka what had been haunting him all this while. About his continuous trauma and fear towards his sister. He mentioned how his older sister is not blood-related, different parents. His father is bad-tempered, while the mother (the sister's real mother) is quiet and always listen to the father. Being pressured by the father, his older sister wanted to have someone by her side (basically for support i think) and Takeru was about to mention something...but Ruka told him it's okay if he didn't want to talk about it.

(Now, Takeru's revelations are kinda vague in a way that he didn't CLEARLY mention what his elder sister did to him, but i think it's obvious that his sister had somehow controlled him and made him do things he didn't want to...including (intimacy???) Although it's subtle, seeing how Takeru tearing up is kinda heart-wrenching.

Then Takeru said how becoz of his past, he had somehow developed fear of intimacy with women, and how he would never be able to make a girl happy.

To which, Ruka replied, gently, that he can do that. she said that he can make girls happy and that she herself knows that the best.

After that, we see Ruka sitting closer to him and placed her arm around him to comfort him. (remember in episode 4 where Takeru did the same thing to her?) YES, it's nice to see Ruka returning the favor. see? this scene is really nice.

And yeah...my fav scene...ah so so so so SWEEEEEETTTT~~~~~

Takeru looked like a little child...

Finally they met a guy who knew Michiru's workplace so they rushed to the inn.

and in between shots, we see Michiru doing her job in the kitchen...washing dishes...

*from the trailer before i though it's Ruka giving Michiru a ride haha...* But Takeru riding with her is really good too, for me. Since i'm all for supporting the TakeRuka pair.

And they decide to put in this cheap suspense...But i have to admit, i actually nearly screamed when i saw this.

And seeing Ruka lying unconsciously like that....made me fear...another death???

And they have to make this * dish dropping and breaking* scene...LOL...

Well...somehow this if funny. You know how Takeru was really nervous and his frantic face shows how scared he was for Ruka, and then to see Ruka walking out, with a tiny bandage on her forehead...and how she just brushes it off ( saying it's a tiny scratch) LOL...I mean, that is just soooo Ruka. That's how she is. She's practically the kind to be carefree about these things...*if you know what i mean* And she said how Takeru is being too worried. haha...

Apparently the bike won't start so they checked it out.

And there Michiru is...

Takeru saw her...as expected.

And Ruka called out to her.

at Michiru's new home, she explained how she got here and found a job through an acquaintance.

Ruka then asked to come back to Tokyo and live together again.

But Michiru then explained how at first she wanted to go back to sharehouse to seek comfort after Sousuke's sudden suicide but then she didn't dare to. (i suppose she just felt guilty both for causing his death and also betraying Ruka)

And she went on saying how she felt very lonely at first until she first found out about the pregnancy and somehow, having the baby in her gave her courage to live on and raise the baby. she felt like despite how bad her relationship was with Sousuke, Sousuke had somehow forgiven her (like i said, she felt guilty over his death)

Then, i like it when Ruka took her hand and held it tightly...xD

And Ruka told her that she hated Sousuke for all the things he had done and she will never forgive him. But now with the baby, Michiru has her own decision on how to live her life from now on. However, she (Ruka) wanted to live together with her (supporting her) and although she can't be the father of this baby (remember Ruka has GID, so i suppose she sees herself as a guy) T.T But i love this quote from her though " although i can't be the father of this baby, as someone you can rely on, I want to be by your side. "

And then, Takeru mentioned that he will also support her. " two people are better than one, but three people are much better than two, right?"

-such great combination ^^

Then, Michiru had a contraction, so they rushed her to hospital.

And the waiting scene is somehow funny yet touching...i mean, look at Ruka.

Of course, Takeru is also anxious.

Notice how *worried* Ruka is? I don't know but having her so anxious like that somehow strikes me like a * daddy* waiting for his wife giving birth LOL...and seeing that kind of resemblance in her is you know...weird but sweet.

CONSTIPATION... MAJOR CONSTIPATION....* i'm sorry but i laughed when i saw her face like that*

After a while, finally they heard the baby's cry...and ah...happy happy...

I gotta give *thumbs up* to the crew for being able to hunt down such a LOVELY and CUTE BABY!!! ~~~ The fact that i'm not THAT fond of babies or kids, i have to admit, this baby is an exception.

Awwww.....~~~~~Michiru asked Ruka to hold her. Btw, it's a baby girl haha...And we get to see again, how *cute* Ruka is when she carefully held the baby up. You know...gently and slowly * yes, the baby is fragile*

*and she talks to the baby* ^^ (faints) haha....coz i don't know. All this time, Ruka is like this tough girl (plus her GID) and she doesn't show affection like in an obvious way to people you see. But watching her talking extremely softly and gently to the baby somehow makes me go awwwwww~~~ you know?

Takeru of course doesn't want to be left out haha....xDDD

Aww~~ look at them so happy~~~

And Takeru couldn't help but utter " papa desu yo~~" to the baby LOL....omg...that's so funny.

And all this while, Michiru watches them both and finally she understood the meaning of being loved. And having her best friends around, means so much for her. She thanked them here.

Next, the BEACH SCENE!!!

The baby's name isn't that hard to guess, really. Combine all three of their names together, you get her name.

RUMI ----> " ru " from both Takeru and Ruka + " mi " from Michiru

PERFECT~~

And again, this is so cute!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

haha...water fight----> stuffs that we can expect from both Takeru and Ruka.

Michiru narrates to Eri and Ogurin:

The four of us will once again live in the sharehouse. Family, friends, husband and wife, lovers...we seem to be one of those, yet actually we are none of those.We'll treasure this fragile happiness and go as far as we can and beyond. From now on and forever, let's stay friends.

If possible, without ever being apart. And also, if anything were to happen and we had to be apart, let us meet again someday, all with a face of laughter.

* notice how Ruka leans on Takeru* Well, let's face it, both of them will never be a couple ( although i'm all out for the TakeRuka pair you know but seeing how happy they already are the way they are now, i begin to think that sometimes...you don't need love, (as in the sexual relationship between couples) sometimes, this is good enough.

My dear friends...you are my last friends. - Michiru ( she said these final words in English, which i think is a very nice finishing touch)

Overall: I love the ending. I can't describe how much i adore every single scene of it. It's alsmot perfect for me. Although Sousuke had to die in this, but well...another life is born, right? And somehow the baby, Rumi seems to be the peacemaker in the end, mending all the bad things Souske had done in the past. Seriously, I think this baby is definitely gonna grow up to be such a wonderful kid. Living in such a lovely house, surrounded by lovely people. Of course, she might be confused with the family members, seeing how complex it is, having Ruka and Takeru as
Papa LOL...but you know, that's cool either way.

My god, this drama is soo good, despite some flaws here and there but it's definitely one of the best for this season. Besides, the ratings started at 13.9% (which is considered a good start) for first episode and it steadily increased and finally, it climbed all the way to 22.8% for the finale. That is AMAZING~~ just awesome. And they deserve it, with such a wonderfully crafted scenes especially the seaside ones. It's just so beautiful.

I know i've said this many times before but i'll still say it. this series deserves attention for the fact that it's one of the first time for a prime time drama (japanese) to touch on issues like these. It's just kinda rare so again, i salute the TV crews and casts for taking this risk and portray such a positive drama like this. It teaches a lot of things. I learnt that happiness can exist even in a
* complex* relationship they have here and it's proven in this drama. Now i understand why it's called Last Friends.

I'd recommend this to everyone to watch. It's filled with absolutely great young casts and i think they did a great job. Each and everyone. * maybe Masami Nagawasa still has room to improve though* But overall, i'm amazed. For such a long time, i havent been this intrigued and drawn to a Jdrama or any dramas this much. So this has got to be good haha xD

Lastly, i hope this drama will win something soon. Especially Ueno Juri and Eita. Both of which are stunning in here.xDDD

Next week, there will be a Special. According to news, it's said to show some unseen scenes and continuation of their life. * i want to see how they take care of Rumi!!!~~* I have my fingers crossed. haha...and apparently, becoz of the high ratings, they decided to make a movie out of this. It's not yet revealed whether they'll be using the same casts from this drama or a new batch. But seriously, i'd not be THAT interested if they use a totally new group of casts. Coz these five actors/actresses here are really good enough. I mean, no one can surpass Ueno Juri as Ruka. No one at all that i can think of. *either way, i'll be looking forward to it, and i'll compare*

Till then, i'm waiting for the Special now haha xD

Tribute to Takeru and Ruka

2008-06-19T18:03:00.000-07:00

Well, this pair is my favorite in Last Friends, which just ended last night and the Special is going to show next week. They're not only compatible or have GREAT CHEMISTRY in the drama together, but you can also find something in common in their names. * notice the ' ru ' in both names * I know the writers purposely created names to connect them together, there's also Michiru by the way. But i'm not gonna talk about her since she's one of my least fav character in there.

So this entire post is a tribute to them. But since i'm still DL episode 11, the finale which has shall i say, quite a lot of TakeRuka bonding, i shall post pics of them for that episode in the NEW post for FINALE...later...later after i watched it haha xD omg... can't wait!

Now...I've just never actually seen such a good pure chemistry written for anyone as FRIENDS in a japanese drama before. Okay, so maybe i'm biased, maybe there are tons out there which are great too but none of them had drawn me this much before, watching them both together having so many sweet moments together, YET they are just good friends. They're purely SOULMATES.
ALL the scenes they have together are just very well written. Not a flaw at all.

Of course, here is the bar scene i really liked and giving me such deep impression because i love how Takeru said he understands Ruka and he wanted to have a friend that respects and treats that person regardless of gender. You can see in his eyes he meant it.

And of course, they share a LOT of scenes where they just talk about anything, and we can see how comfortable both of them are together. Ruka, especially finds herself drawn closer to him and seeing him as somebody she can confide in, someone she can just be with in ease. In fact, despite her issue, she seems to share a lot of revelations with him. she enjoys his company. The same goes with Takeru.

I love all the park scenes they have together, just walking, pulling their bikes together * what a coincidence that they were again connected by bikes huh? *

And the cups, YES....we must NOT FORGET the cups that they used in there. such meaningful symbols!

Takeru is such a sweet guy in here. It makes me wonder if in real life, there's anyone like that. I mean, he's definitely one of a kind out there. RARE SPECIES haha...

Takeru is such an understanding guy, he sees right through Ruka almost immediately at any kind of situations, especially regarding her hard moments like this one down here. I love the way how he cautiously wrapped his arms around her, gently. That's such a great sign of respect as well as care for someone.

more moments...

And this is one of my favorite too.

this is amazing. Not only the characters themselves but i'd really like to give props to those two actor and actress for doing such great job here.
Talk about chemistry, these two reached top notch for me!!!

A REAL WARM HUG...finally!!!

Oh and let's not forget the scene where Ruka rushes home to see Takeru who was beaten up by evil Sousuke. When i saw Takeru lying like that...jeez...my heart went all out for him! Especially when he said " Okaeri" to Ruka.

I don't know why but...seeing Ruka tearing up like that for Takeru shows how much she cared for him. such a heartbreaker.
ah....the GRIP....so nice!!! sometimes....there's no need for words to express how you feel. It's ACTION. And for these two, they do communicate by actions. And that's enough really. More than enough to see how well they get along with other.

and how can anyone miss this scene!!! This is one of their short, but SWEETEST scene ever!

Look at that! Just LOOK AT THAT!!! whoever wrote this part...i salute him/her for this. Like i said, ACTION sometimes RULEZ over words. This scene alone explains a lot about them. How comfortable they are, without having to wonder or be suspicious of each other, just at ease.

Takeru...despite your hairstyle in here...you still win my heart for being one of the BEST SOULMATE EVER! or uh...BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR EVER....no scratch that

BEST ACTOR is more like it.

Well, that's all. will post more in the next post, totally dedicated for the FINALE. Which i think i'll be posting a lot, i know.

I really hope both of these two, Eita and Ueno Juri will be casted again in other dramas or movies together. I'd really love to see them as a couple, REAL COUPLE next really. but i kinda doubt that will happen so soon. They gotta let the last friends buzz die down before giving more of TakeRuka stuffs in a new drama. It'll be repetitive but still, amazing * couple* these two are. ^^

Their friendship here goes well BEYOND lovers, even. You know how in real life it's hard to have a man and a woman to just be really really GOOD FRIENDS, these two made it possible. Even though Ruka has GID issue and she doesn't see herself as a girl LOL...but still, i'm touched by their chemistry.

YAY for TakeRuka!!!

Hokaben ep2 [Aya Ueto]

2008-06-15T05:30:00.000-07:00

Episode 2 continues with Akari trying to tell the bastard husband's lawyer about his client's evil acts towards the daughter. But of course she was simply laughed off. Like he's gonna listen.

Meanwhile, Akari got a new case about some leaking in this woman's house.

And this is the climax...well at least for me. I was shocked by this scene really. Anyway, what you see here is Maki (the poor kid) putting Akari's hand between her legs. Apparently, before that Akari had a little argument with her mother downstairs and accidently broke few dishes. and when she came up, this happened. Maki is staying at the moment with Akari since both her parents aren't around.

The argument reminded Maki of the the arguments her parents had before and everytime that happens, the father would come into the room and sexually abused her. That was why she was like telling Akari " it's okay to touch." I was dumbfounded when she actually said that to her. and the kid is really calm. amazing...

akari of course was shocked to find out the truth and she asked her counsel's help. And the only answer he gave her was to use the weapon of law. God knows what that means, since i'm not a law student.
Oh...this caption is just here to show how COOL he looked with those pair of shades...hehe xD

Well, turns out the weapon is for her to step down from being the lawyer and instead become a witness. So she revealed the whole incident to the court.
And of course, this piece of news is enough to force the husband to sign the divorce papers and since he will be under suspicion of the sexual harassment, the mother and child finally were free.

Both of them changed their identity, got themselves new names. apparently there is a Law that can protect someone's identity in circumstances like these.
That was how her first case ended. she became a witness instead. Oh well, she'll have lots of chances to be a real lawyer soon.

my view: So far, this series does keep me going. It doesn't bore me at least. I don't know if that has to do with Aya Ueto being the lead or not, well, maybe a little, okay so maybe that's one of the ONLY reason why i watched this. But hey, at least it's not a bore. But somehow, the ratings seem to be on the low side so far. I don't know why, really. Before this, Attention Please was a success, maybe coz it's comedic and stuffs, then she was in Abarenbo Mama. However, i wasn't into that. It doesn't look interesting to me and the lead male character, shall i say, not very flattering. So, let's leave it to that.

I made my mind to continue watching this, so far CandyPop is subbing this. But i've only got myself till episode 2. I know i'll have to wait till december to finish this since i'm going off in like 3 weeks.

Code Blue [Yamapi,Toda Erika, Aragaki Yui]

2008-06-14T22:02:00.000-07:00

Upcoming Japanese drama starring Yamashita Tomohisa, Aragaki Yui and Toda Erika featuring them as medical service using helicopters to quickly reach those in need during emergency.Yamapi play a young doctor in training, under the guidance of an experienced doctor played by Toshira Yanagiba. This show will start airing on Thursday nights on Fuji TV right after Last Friends. (which should be beginning of July) because Last Friends SP will be on June 26th. Basically i might be able to catch the first episode of this series, just before i go back KL to study.

Now, i have a feeling that Fuji TV is aiming for young generation viewers particularly on Thursday nights. Looking at just how successful Last Friends is doing with the steady increase of ratings so far, i think this prompted them to show Code Blue after that. As we all know, Yamapi from JE is a major fangirl magnet. Whereas for Aragaki Yui and Toda Erika, they have their own fanbase as well. But i have to say that i'm not a fan of Toda Erika though. (i've only seen her in Tsubasa no Oreta Tenshitachi and Engine) Both of which is enough for me to crack my head as to WHY she has a lot of fan??? I can't seem to see what's so special about her that makes some people go gaga over her. I can understand about Yamapi though.
Well, he looks fine in those blue outfit. He definitely seemed more mature. At least MUCH MORE MATURE than this one from 1 Litre of Tears Special where Ryo Nishikido has become a doctor. Seriously, he looks like a KID dressed in an OVERSIZED white coat. HELLOOooo~ this is not a Happy Halloween~~ well okay i can't find a picture of him in that white coat.My sis apparently is borrowing my 1 litre of tears SP so i cant get the screencap. But anywho...here's one that can sorta make it easier to imagine the whole image. This is Koikei Teppei (WaT) who landed the same role as a doctor in Iryu 1 and 2. He looked like a kid to me.

And what's with the NERDY GLASSES...omg. Oh, i found a good picture. Tiing, sorry but can i borrow your snapshot for a bit??? hehexD credits to Bump on The Asphalt
for this. I'm just trying to show my point.

See...see....see....
Anyway, back to Code Blue----> Yamapi finally DID something to his hair, he had this SAME hairstyle back in Nobuta wo Produce and then in Kurosagi. Although it's not exactly a HUGE change, but still he made an effort. I wish Ryo learnt something from him. Ryo, do something about your hair!!! Seriously if ryo appears in yet another drama after Last Friends and his hair is still the SAME, i'm gonna be friggin ANNOYED>
Yamapi's new curly hairstyle reminds me of Kimutaku's hair in CHANGE. i wonder if he got some advice from his Senpai haha xD

YES, your eyes didn't play any tricks on you, NOR do you need to have them checked.

That is Takuya Kimura in his new role as a candidate for Prime Minister of Japan, it's all about politics.

and i have to say, he does look nerdy here.But i'm currently DL the first episode of CHANGE, i wonder if it's gonna impress me. Because the ratings for this show has been pretty high and achieved over 20% most of the time. And that is GOOD, you know. but i'm afraid i'm not into the whole POLITICAL DRAMA. Coz personally i hate politics. the word itself to me is a crime. it's pretty bullshit in my eyes.

Unfair captions ep5 [review]

2008-06-14T20:14:00.001-07:00

The Chief Editor is such a bastard. his look tells all. Anyway, yukihira's ex revealed to him that he cant go to work, basically coz he has to wait at home for the call from the kidnapper with the police. and he told him about his daughter. Being such an ass the Chief is, he told his worker to get the news printed out to the public.

meanwhile, Yukihira is being suspended for a week. They pushed the blame of the failed attempt to catch the murderer to her.
and this Doctor haha he's funny and weird. dressing up like a Chef to Yukihira's house to work on tracking the calls.
Ando on the other hand is searching for the previous criminals that Yukihira had caught. Anyone that might be planning a revenge on her.
yukihira's ex getting heated up after he found out what the Chief had done.

But then, suddenly the kidnapper told them to go public about it. And he/she demanded every citizen to donate 10 yen per person up to the amount of 12 billion yen to save Mio, the daughter.just showing the two victims. I have a hunch that the kidnapper is a female. From the physical appearance, even though he/she is wrapped in BLACK attire, he/she seemed to have a small body frame.I'll see if my guess is correct the next episode.

Unfair captions ep4 [review]

2008-06-14T07:04:00.000-07:00

episode four resumes after the little suspense in episode 3 where the police is rushing to every single rooftop there is to check. And we have these two here, enjoying the view. this is a tricky suspense for us viewers. They wanna make us think that these two are gonna be dead somehow. but the end result is always surprising.

The editor called Yukihira.

The Chief Police asking Yukihira not to act alone, coz he was afraid that the same case will happen again like 5 years ago where she shot down a 17 year old kid, on murder attempt.
creepy housekeeper.Next we see her giving Yukihira's ex a call saying they're okay and they're heading home. Later on, we find that they were indeed already being kidnapped.

and the WEAK PERSON turned out to be the initial suspect.

Yukihira meeting the editor on the rooftop. I have a feeling that he asked her to come because he wanted a way out of this life. He wanted to die. But maybe he wasn't strong enough to kill himself, so he asked Yukihira to come see him, so she would do the favor for him.
Apparently, he had raged his Chief Editor all these years i suppose because of his persistence pursue of marketing sales over humanity/ sth over that sense. Irony though, since he murdered LOTS before this.
of course, Yukihira pulled the trigger.The editor KNEW it would end this way. He KNEW she would kill him off. see, they were alike. so he understands her. The thing that got me interested is after the kill, Yukihira got a letter from him. He wrote is before hand. In the letter, he described how the police officer would kill a person she had loved once and after that going back to normal life like nothing happened. You know, sometimes i just love the minds of mentally ill serial killers. very intriguing.

But of course it doesn't end there.
The suspense keeps coming. At this point, it is pretty obvious that all these cases somehow are related to Yukihira. It's like there's someone out there that held a grudge over her for the case 5 years ago.

Unfair captions ep3 [review]

2008-06-14T06:42:00.000-07:00

Okay, so we have episode 3----> taking off from the latest murder in episode 2, where Rieko, Yukihira's school mate was murdered this time. she was the " loved one" mentioned in the latest installment of the novel.

As we would have expected, Yukihira just stared at the process of the autopsy while Ando, her assistant couldn't bear it haha xD
Later on, Ando was told by this guy, a police officer that has worked with Yukihira's late father, who was also a cop but was killed in an operation,that Yukihira, ever since the death of her father, she'd been strong willed to bring justice and would not tolerate any crime. Ando now understands the reason for her steel-like character.

Now, this reminds me of...you know the movie Angelina Jolie starred in, err...what was it called again? oh, Taking Lives. Yes, apparently in that movie she got cuddly with the murderer right? Well, is it that female cops always FALL for the ASSASSIN? Seriously...
Anyway, she suspected this editor right from the start but i guess she was intrigued by his calm composure and just heartless characteristic, i mean, he's so COLD and BLANK when he speaks. and the thing is, Yukihira is similar to him. So i suppose that's why she's attracted to him.

and so it's NO SURPRISE of what comes after that. she got drunk, well a bit i suppose but that's enough to cause someone's mind go loose at times. So yeah, they had a one night stand.
And few days after, we have Yukihara's ex-hubby calling her desperately claiming that their daughter is nowhere to be found. and the next victim as described in the novel was " a weak person". and kid fits just right to that description.
and we have this scene where their daughter was brought to a building's rooftop, facing Tokyo Tower.Now at this point, we're NOT ENTIRELY sure that the next victim is her or not because the murderer didn't mention WHO when he made a call to the police department, challenging them. He said that he shall commit the murder in a rooftop facing Tokyo Tower, at sunset.

Unfair captions ep2 [review]

2008-06-14T00:48:00.000-07:00

Continuation from episode 1, where three victims had already been killed. It all started with this murder novel being sent to the publishing companies describing the killing methods and victims. It somehow foretell the murders.

This guy, who is an editor just creeps me out becoz of his BLANK EXPRESSION. seriously, you'd have thought he was a walking zombie or sth.

A friend of Yukihira, who works under the editor above had a relationship with the suspect of the murders, he was an ex.
Yukihira's ex-husband makde appearances throughout the show.
Yukihira's daughter, who is now taken care by a newly hired housekeeper. But the housekeeper creeps me out too.
And oh this, is just some comic relief. This cabbage tower is specially made for Ando who like i said is a vegetarian. lol...

My comments:
Like i said before, it's a bit slow for me. The way they arranged the clues and hints and the actions taken. I felt like fast-forwarding actually. But i'll see what is offered next to make my final judgement of this series. The only reason why i watched this is for Eita. Yes, coz i want to see Eita in suits. Coz that's very rare you see. He's either a comical character in Nodame or a feminine guy in Last Friends. So, this is new for me. But i'm a bit disappointed that at this rate, his character isn't used to the fullest. Like, he's just there to add as a partner for Yukihira so she won't be so lonely. It's a pity actually. Since Eita is the second-billed character, you'd have thought that he'd do more than just standing around with a couple of lines.

Unfair captions ep1 [review]

2008-06-13T19:09:00.000-07:00

Yukihira Natsumi is a no-nonsense, intelligent, Tokyo homicide cop with a bad reputation for not working well with others and pushing the limits of the law. As she sees it, her only job is bringing in the bad guys and the results are all that counts. In so, 5 years ago she had to pull her weapon and kill a man, earning the ire and distrust of some of her coworkers and members of the community. To bring balance to her life, she must deal with work, a divorce, and caring of her young daughter.

A dark crime drama of a serial murderer who is serializing the murders in short stories.

quote from dramawiki^^

Starring Shinohara Ryoko and Eita.

we see the flashback to 5 years ago where she pulled the trigger to kill a man.

Is that Miura Haruma...oh, it's sad he had to die in here. T.T

Back to the present time, two murders were reported.

Eita...hahaxD

he played this rookie cop under Yukihira's guide. and he's a vegetarian here.

it's a bit slow paced for me. Maybe coz it's investigation so we have to wait for the little clues to show up and stuffs...but so far i find it bearable to watch.

Last Friends (caps) ep10 [Review]

2008-06-13T17:20:00.000-07:00

I have mixed feelings for this episode. It's a turbulence for me. I feel like the writers are giving me a ride on a rollercoaster. They're pushing my heart to the limit, seriously. Even if it's a free ride, i wanna whack the writers at some points for giving me such rough crash.

anyway, back to the episode, next week will be the last and we shall see whether these characters get to resolve all their problems or not.

The end of episode 9, we see Ruka being pinned down by Sousuke and he was attempting to rape her, but finally Ruka gained enough energy to hit him and get away. And we see her rushing to a store, got a new shirt and changed. * again, Juri's excellent in conveying the shaken emotions* BUT i have to POINT out the OBVIOUS BLOOPER in this scene. where was the slight cut she has on her face? WHERE? WHERE? it's nowhere to be found!!!!!!!! I mean, she might have wiped the blood off but then when she went back to the sharehouse, it was there again. i mean, please...people, director or the makeup artists, do your job BETTER NEXT TIME will you? ok...i was just disappointed with the lack of notice for these trivial things.

uh ok...then we see Eri finding out about the magazine where it talks about Ruka's gender identity disorder. Back home, she was talking to Takeru about it when Ruka came back and saw the magazine. she brushes it off saying it's all a lie. *back in her room we see her tearing the magazine to pieces, literally* i love that scene, i don't know why.

And then Takeru came to ask her about her true feelings towards Michiru, which later on, she confessed that her feelings for Michiru isn't just being friends. And she couldn't confront her about it since she knows Michiru treats her as just a friend. Michiru, on the other hand, was listening outside the room. yeah...talk about coincidence. well, i don't blame her for dashing out of sharehouse right away after hearing that. I mean, having a friend who's close to you to suddenly say that she's in love with you. That's like a whack on your head now, right? So i don't blame her at all for reacting that way, it's just natural. And we see her going to the park, and she started recalling all the significant moments where she could have realized Ruka's secret but was oblivious about it.

She then moved to her mother's house. Next we go to Ruka's confrontation with her father. Her father had seen the magazine and had a talk with her. It's such a heart-wrenching moment to see those two sitting there, knowing that it'll be hard on both of them. Ruka finally opened up her secret to her father, saying she won't be able to be an ideal daughter, not being able to marry a guy like a nomral girl would and will never have children. *seriously when i read the translations and watch that scene again, i felt so sorry for both of them* It's such a sad scene to watch. But it's amazing that her father maintained a calm composure in front of her and quietly accepted the fact. And saying he will support her no matter what. *talk about wonderful fathers* and is this just another coincidence coz this weekend is Father's Day, right?* ah...

Later on, Takeru saw her father sitting alone on the river bank and offered him a drink. Her father then described how Ruka was back in school, playing with the boys, wearing only pants and trousers, and catching cicadas? haha...and getting muddy all the time. It's a nice reflection. And then, he just broke down in front of Takeru, saying Ruka is a cute daughter. Sad...really.

Now to the last scene. We see Sousuke asking Michiru to take her belongings from his house and he intended to end their relationship. *liar* Anyway, so she went alone. Ah...are we seeing the exact same thing happening to her again like Ruka? Except this time, it's for real. Michiru found the charm she gave Ruka on the floor and asked Sousuke about it. i liked the script they gave him, though for this particular scene. Sousuke was like " she's just a woman, afterall...when i pinned her down" Michiru: what did you do to her? Sousuke: Nothing...just *and the flashback happened* i broke her pride" *nice one there*

And so yeah, Michiru gave him a slap. and then was just about to leave when Sousuke being such a kiasu guy he is pulled her back and well, raped her.
The next scene we see is michiru lying naked on the bed, but of course draped with bed sheet. and Sousuke sitting on the floor. I actually felt sorry for Michiru for like the FIRST TIME in this scene. * i think she's good in acting this scene out particularly* she was like telling Sousuke to not harm her friends, do not harm Ruka or Takeru, and like she'll stay with him here forever if he wanted to but leave them alone. And Sousuke sat beside her and wiped her tears away and like " why are you crying? Stop crying!" You can see that he's really depressed at this point.
And right after he was looking at the pictures they took at the sharehouse where they're all looking happy and Michiru being so happy with them. Something he couldn't seem to give Michiru. And he broke down and cried like a baby. *well, great act by Ryo*

And so yeah...then we see Ruka in the competition and she was like clutching the imaginary charm Michiru gave her and like " Michiru...let's go..."

this has got to be one of the lamest DEATH SCENE i've ever seen ...seriously. This is almost hilarious that i actually laughed during this scene. It's just so weird and funny at the same time you see.
so...all in all i don't know whether to cry or laugh at this point. like i said, this series make my emotions go up and down.
I think this is just an imaginary wedding scene of Sousuke and Michiru if Sousuke had not been some psycho freak.
Now, this one is sweet. I wonder who those two could be. I hope it's Ruka giving Michiru a ride.
in less than a week, we'll find out.