hi, pearleen blogging at 8.43am from my office while having tea and cheese flavoured rollercoasters desu. i arrived early in office today, at 8.20 desu.

friends, i need yor help. please view the following videos:

kuroki meisa



aragaki yui



i want to know, guys and girls, without any information whatsoever (except from previous entries in my blog lol), which one do you prefer? girls, would you go gay for kuroki meisa? guys, is aragaki yui more your type?



lurkers and blog stalkers who never comment better cast your poll!

i love the both of them to bits as you probably can tell from my previous posts (i have spammed this blog with equal amounts of each of them), and while i really adore gakky and would do the pocky dance with her and want to have a sleepover with her and have girly talk and go to karaoke with her, i'm totally gay for kuroki meisa, no doubt about that. i've got the hots for her; she's so incredibly gorgeous *__*. however, jireh'd rather have a cutesy girlfriend since he's so handsome already. so, i want to know if we are representative of our respective gender population. no cheating, if you've got balls you're obviously male and if you don't you're way cooler female. click away!

(obsessing over japanese pretty boys have obviously made me gay.)

speaking of japan, since nxy has commented in my previous entry that there were too much japanese in this blog, echoing the voices of many of my phantom readers ("eh why you blog in japanese ah i don't understand ley!" "YOU READ MY BLOG?!?!"), i have gotten ahead of myself (and my fail japanese skeelz) and... japanese blog gets! this would add to my long list of useless internet accounts that i possess, joining the ranks of my 2 photobucket accounts, 1 flickr account, 1 account at each of the email providers, and many other useless things i signed up for but forgot.

mostly created because i'm bored in office (though i can never add the japanese language bar here...), it's the perfect way to be narcissistic and blog like a japanese celebrity who would normally be categorized as an ahlian if they blogged in blogger! though my japanese skeelz are questionable, i think i'm skilled enough to be understood. after all, most japanese celebs are so coherent it's interesting. but then again, they blog from their phones so i guess that's a barrier to fluency.

and because i know plenty of you are nosy... HERE! it's not up yet except for the really kawaii blogskin (they have the best blogskins i took close to half an hour trying to choose one) but it should be up by tonight! so no more complaining about the japanese! should i include an english translation...?

Labels: asking for assistance from phantom readers, cooking spaghetti, CREAMY CREAMY CRIMINAL, hajimari hello goodbye, HIGH-YA, JAPAN, let's all learn (how to abuse) japanese, pimpin', who the hell cares

まだまだだ 俺が止まる所じゃないから
浅はかな 青い想いを抱いていたのか
あかさたな 習った頃から10年以上か…
若過ぎた 「このままずっと」なんて考え

one of those nights huh. i don't know what i'm thinking/supposed to be thinking anymore tbh. how do i. what do i. ugh, sucks to be here. i don't wanna know i don't wanna know i don't.

sometimes i wonder if i should make an effort to convince people who are entirely wrong in their concept of who i am/what i do/what i'm thinking but then usually i can't be bothered to correct them just for the sake of what they think of me.

what a pleasant surprise when i watch ikimonogakari live (on youtube) and instead of being in a sweet little outfit a la the brilliant green or e.l.t. (in my head) or those other bands with a female lead i have a girl in tshirt and jeans with a ...is that a wristband?... singing in her entirely sweet voice. at the risk of sounding stupid, rock on maaaaan.

can't believe i just spent about 10 minutes trying to convince kxy that arashi can sing live (even jun is gradually learning... after ten years). i don't know where she got the idea that arashi can't sing live. this is entirely live, trust me. i am the one who listened to arashi on repeat for weeks and can differentiate their various voices lolz. not to mention all this musician training. although to be honest, one love isn't the best example. truth is, because ohno has the most amazing voice. but it's hard to tell whether it's performed live because it's ohno, who is so good you can't tell the difference between live and studio until he adlibs with his high-pitched voice which never fails to amuses me lolz.

here, have jireh's favourite arashi member ohnoface the leader captain who is talented in terms of dancing, singing and has held his own art exhibition, who also acts as the cold-hearted two-faced villian known as the devil in maou.

Labels: how is this post about ohno suddenly, pimpin'

nobody sums up my life as well as matsujun.



today is full of lulz. but xiangwei's message takes the top prize. I'M AN INSPIRATION GAIZ.

時には泣いていいよ！ugh. how do i even. (also, why is there no は when you type in 'wa'?! must type in 'ha' one ley. noobz.)

BTW! MY HOPE FOR THE NEW YEAR IS FULFILLED FOR A GRAND PRICE OF $3! YAY!

next: more 'ganbare!' songs for arashi and less love songs please! it's not nice when cry for you sounds/looks so hardcore but is actually a sappy love song. in this aspect then NEWS pwns with ai no matador, because it is as hot as it sounds XD but then again i still can't take we can make it! seriously lol.

EDIT LULZ OMG WHAT IS THIS I CANT TAKE THIS SONG SERIOUSLY

classic jireh question:
jireh: btw xianyu i have a burning question
jireh: why are you NXY?
pearleen: ...........................................
pearleen: THAT IS XINYING LA YOU NOOB
xianyu:....
pearleen:....
pearleen: oh yah hor xianyu also KXY

午前九時町が。

i look really bad nowadays. seriously. prz can i have some tips to look better. without having to drink water, or sleep early, or to move more than just mere walking, or quit some of my guilty pleasures... ahem. WO QUIT LIAO HOR.

my new occupation is a ninja! (throws stars)

i wonder who reads these nonsense rofl. well except for nxy AND kxy who both have nothing to do and like to be hikikomoris with me. and they encourage me to be like that. WHAT FRIENDS. ♥ lol actually the question should be i wonder who understands these nonsense. i get embarrassed surprised by random people chatting about rubbish i write here lol. k bai

(exits like a true ninja)

Labels: pimpin', 長い夢の終わりのその向こうに

i've been on a jmovies kick nowadays, so why not? not as comprehensive as my jdramas post since i have a.d.d. and take 3 days to finish one single movie, but it's worth a read.

movies based on a tv series would be characterized under jdramas e.g. kisarazu cat's eye world series and hana yori dango final.

same disclaimers as in the jdramas post:
1) you can generally find these on streaming sites like http://www.mysoju.com (not that i recommend you to stream them ahem) or you can torrent/download (or GASP, actually buy them?) them from "legit" places depending on what are your sources.
2) i rate these dramas according to how much i actually enjoyed it/got out of it, so it might be different from how you might like the show. as i said, this are just MY recommendations. you should also know that i do not normally watch terminal illness dramas - or movies (i.e. i did not watch 1 litre of tears, or koizora and i'm not planning to).
3) i have discovered that some levels of entertainment that you might attain from a certain drama/movie vary according to how much you understand japanese and their culture. i came to this realisation when i rec-ed my sister osen, and found that she did not enjoy the parts that i laughed so hard at - because mainly they were jokes playing on the japanese language.

rating system:
☺ - it was a nightmare
☺ ☺ - i lived through it for some reason, but i will not watch it again
☺ ☺ ☺ - it was of acceptable standard, and if i were forced to watch it again, i wouldn't mind
☺ ☺ ☺ ☺ - i liked this, i would recommend it, though it might have been a miss somewhere
☺ ☺ ☺ ☺ ☺ - WARNING: high levels of obsession

♥ - generally average-looking actors
♥ ♥ - there was at least one or two pleasant-looking actors
♥ ♥ ♥ - the main characters were attractive
♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ - most of the cast was aesthetically pleasing
♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ - HEART ATTACK AHEAD

-

僕は妹に恋をする (boku wa imouto ni koi o suru - i'm in love with my sister)
starring: matsumoto jun, eikura nana, yuta hiraoka
genre: romance, school, INCEST
runtime: 122 minutes
eyecandy: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥
rated: ☺ ☺ ☺ ½
no, you didn't read it wrong, the title is: i am in love with my sister, or my sister, my love. twins iku and yori used to be very close as children, but recently, yori had been cold towards iku. iku is confused about his hostile behaviour, and is even more troubled when yori declares that he is going away to boarding school. however, the truth is, yori is in love with his twin sister. to quench his desire he attempts to sleep with iku's best friend, and watches as his own best friend dates iku. as melodramatic as the synopsis sound, the movie is actually executed nicely; i didn't feel as squeamish watching incest happen right in front of me as i thought i would. i enjoyed this movie, along with the attractive actors were the backdrop which was just gorgeous. expect lots of pretty angst as matsujun, nana and yuta hiraoka emotes.

ドールズ (dooruzu - dolls)
starring: kanno miho, nishijima hidetoshi, fukada kyoko
genre: romance, death, japanese culture
runtime: 114 minutes
eyecandy: ♥ ♥
rated: ☺ ½
as i type this i am still highly traumatised by this movie. if you're familiar with japanese cinema or the director kitano takeshi, you might know about this movie about neverending love... and i mean neverending. dolls contains 3 separate stories. the first and main story has its protagonist forced to abandon his fiance to marry his boss' daughter by his parents, only to run away from the wedding after discovering that his ex-fiance had been driven to suicide and had become insane. he takes her away from the hospital and wanders around with her on the streets. initially he had used a clothesline to stop her from wandering around on her own dangerously, however, as the movie continues the clothesline turns into a large red rope leashing the 2 of them together as they wonder around aimlessly, giving them the name 'the leashed beggars'. the second has a yakuza going back to the garden where he had met regularly in his youth with his girlfriend who he had abandoned after promising to return. he finds that she is still there, waiting for him on that very bench, bringing 2 bentos each week. the third story is about an idol who is disfigured after an accident. she agrees for the first time to meet with a fan, who is apparently blind. the highlight of this movie is the gorgeous backdrop, as well as yohji yamamoto's amazing costumes. i also do not deny that the actors carried this off pretty well, and i have to applaud kanno miho's performance. as much as all these are concerned, the movie is excellent, and you can find many of kitano takeshi's fans fawning over dolls. i, however, cannot get over my trauma; there are absolutely zero happy moments in this movie, and i can guarantee that at the end of the movie you'll leave feeling like you've just been punched in your guts. in short, if you couldn't finish watching bokuimo, do not even try this movie.

闘茶 (dou cha - tea fight)
starring: toda erika, vic zhou, kagawa teriyuki, eric tsang
genre: romance, family, japanese culture
runtime: 102 minutes
eyecandy: ♥ ♥ ♥
rated: ☺ ☺
i won't deny i watched this for vic zhou/toda erika. this movie opens with an animated story about the olden' days, when one tea tribe fought with another - the 'female' black tea versus the 'male' black tea. cut to the present, and toda is the descendant of the 'female' black tea, while vic zhou is the descendant for the 'male' black tea. for some reason there is some curse to tea-making which had previously caused the death of her mother, and to erase the curse toda must battle with the descendants of the 'male' black tea and triumph over them. sounds good? i thought so too, i loved watching the tea scenes. however, this movie turned out to be such a trainwreck it was hilarious. the discrepancies between the acting of the japanese actors and the horrible, horrible acting of the taiwanese actors especially vic zhou was so obvious it was a little painful. the execution of this movie was also pretty ridiculous, and towards the end you feel like you've just wasted 102 minutes of your life being entertained by toda's cute attempts at speaking chinese (which was really adorable, i'd have to admit that). vic zhou was quite hot, though? :|

陰日向に咲く (kagehinata ni saku - flowers in the shadow)
starring: okada junichi, aoi miyazaki, atsushi ito, tsukamoto takashi
genre: romance, family, japanese culture, life in general, novel
runtime: 129 minutes
eyecandy: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥
rated: ☺ ☺ ☺ ☺ ½
okada is a bus driver who is driven to desperation by his pachinko addiction. as a result of his debts he attempts to swindle people by way of calling through a payphone and saying "it's me". however, he gets connected with a lonely old lady who helps him to come to terms with his life. aoi is an OL (office lady) who is in search of her mother's first love. tsukamoto is a loyal fan to his minor idol and helps her to become famous. moses might be an inspiration for the group of homeless people, but he seems to have hidden something about his life. ugh, i didn't expect much from this movie but i thoroughly enjoyed this, most probably brought out by the brilliant cast. i won't spoil this for anyone, so please watch this, i promise you won't regret it.

ロッカーズ (rokkaazu - rockers)
starring: kisarazu reunion! - tsukamoto takashi, sato ryuta, okada yoshinori plus tamaki hiroshi, nakamura shunsuke, uehara misa
genre: friendship, music, based on true life story
runtime: 105 minutes
eyecandy: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥
rated: ☺ ☺ ☺ ☺
a tribute to the original band Th eRockers! jin has a band which consists of ko-chan, the sexually-repressed guitarist, momo-chan, loser in his romantic relationships, gaku-chan, who needs a bucket wherever and resembles the dragonball character too much. when his father burnt his guitar they decide to hold an audition for an additional member, and that's where tani comes in. he gets them gigs and helps them to rise in popularity. however, there's something he's not telling. although the entire movie was full of crack, the ending was completely unexpected. i loved all the bands featured, and the soundtrack remains one of my favourite - how's 'I JUST WANT TO DO YOU x2039483' sound for a lyric? or 'kabocha in english is pumpkin'? there were plenty real life bands featured too, and the music kicks ass.

last updated 03 june 09.

if there are any jmovies you think i should definitely watch, please rec them to me! terminal illness movies are definitely a no-no in my books (unless they're half as awesome as kisarazu cat's eye), and angst-driven movies... let's just say i'll watch it only if someone pimps it hard enough. whatever it is, i'm all up for additions to my never-ending list of movies to watch!

also, this entry is all up for flails XD.

Labels: jmovies, pimpin', recs

the only other question that i've been asked to death other than 'where are you? are you going to be late again?' is 'can plz rec me sum jdramas'. so there you have it, some of the many useless things i waste my time on. you can generally find these on streaming sites like http://www.mysoju.com (not that i recommend you to stream them ahem) or you can torrent/download (or GASP, actually buy them?) them from "legit" places depending on what are your sources.

i rate these dramas according to how much i actually enjoyed it/got out of it, so it might be different from how you might like the show. as i said, this are just MY recommendations. you should also know that i do not normally watch terminal illness dramas (i.e. i did not watch 1 litre of tears, or koizora and i'm not planning to).

also because i get really peeved when commoners rave too much about overrated dramas (i'm looking at you, gokusen 1, 2, 3 and the coming movie) and have no clue that far superior ones actually exist. yes, there are jdramas more brilliant than hana yori dango 1, 2 and the final movie combined. why, are you surprised? i am also pissed that only 1 out of 10 of mysoju's rec is japanese, and i strongly disagree with that uneducated opinion (not that it matters, but...).

i have discovered that some levels of entertainment that you might attain from a certain drama/movie vary according to how much you understand japanese and their culture. i came to this realisation when i rec-ed my sister osen, and found that she did not enjoy the parts that i laughed so hard at - because mainly they were jokes playing on the japanese language.

enough with the rambling, on with the recs! expect lots of lame, unfunny, useless and unhelpful comments.

rating system:
☺ - it was a nightmare
☺ ☺ - i lived through it for some reason, but i will not watch it again
☺ ☺ ☺ - it was of acceptable standard, and if i were forced to watch it again, i wouldn't mind
☺ ☺ ☺ ☺ - i liked this, i would recommend it, though it might have been a miss somewhere
☺ ☺ ☺ ☺ ☺ - WARNING: high levels of obsession

♥ - generally average-looking actors
♥ ♥ - there was at least one or two pleasant-looking actors
♥ ♥ ♥ - the main characters were attractive
♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ - most of the cast was aesthetically pleasing
♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ - HEART ATTACK AHEAD
-

アキハバラ＠DEEP (akihabara@deep)
starring: ikuta toma, kazama shunsuke, himura yuki (from banana man) and kazuki kitamura
genre: geek, friendship, rescue, comedy
episodes: 11
eyecandy: ♥ ♥ ♥ ½
rated: ☺ ☺ ☺ ½
it says a lot about the drama when your main villian is a lollipop-licking, cosplaying boss of a huge corporation who forces his subordinates to join him in the crazy. a drama about otakus (geeks crazy about things such as anime and cosplay) teaming up to save the rest of their species living in akihabara - the mecca of otakus. while it might seem like it's pure crack, there is bonding and friendship found when they're out 'troubleshooting' from minor problems like saving the maid cafe to major ones like cult suicide. people watching this for the eyecandy will not be disappointed, ikuta toma's box-kun is a women-fearing clean freak who has his gloves on all the time because he is ocd, how adorable is that?! not forgetting akira the sexy boxer ♥ moe~

アネゴ (anego)

starring: akanishi jin, shinohara ryoko, tomosaka rie
genre: career, romance, comedy
episodes: 10
eyecandy: ♥ ♥ ½
rated: ☺ ☺
naoko is an office lady who reflects the current trend of career women not being able to get married even when they're in their late 30's. and so they talk about the possibility of an affair with a handsome married and successful man (which is actually a self-fulfilling prophecy by the wife, don't even ask). if that fails, they can always lower their own status to marry their juniors! especially when they look extra hot in suits. i laughed so hard in this show - only because jin can't act for his life (and the plot is ridiculous... as in not ridiculous ridiculous, which i appreciate, but ridiculous because it fails D:), but he tries hard and looks good in that suit. which is why i finished this in the first place. don't watch this if you have no clue who akanishi jin is. however, if you have a thing for older women, i'd encourage you to.

アテンションプリーズ (attention please)

starring: ueto aya, nishikido ryo, maya miki, aibu saki, koizumi kotaro (aka ex-prime minister's son)
genre: we can make it!, careers, comedy
episodes: 11 + 2 SP
eyecandy: ♥ ♥ ♥ ½
rated: ☺ ☺ ☺ ½
story of how a wannabe rockstar tried to be a cabin attendant because the guy she likes said she would look good in the uniform... typical assholes. anyway she did fly to tokyo to receive training, where she is completely out of place in a center where everybody is eager to be a pleasant and gentle cabin attendant to serve people... typical storyline. she gets 2 friends who think she's da bomb and supports her no matter how much trouble she causes, she also has rivals who thinks she's just wasting her time. and then there's ryo's character who apparently becomes her good friend in the end and in the special, surprise surprise! she likes him. i'm halfway through this, but i'm not exactly hyped to finish it, despite ryo being in it. ueto aya is pretty, and so are the other trainees, but the plot is too typical to draw me in. i will definitely finish it in the end since i have to finish what i've started, but i will recommend you only watch this if you're out of things to watch.
edit halfway through the honolulu special now. it still pretty much follows the same formula every single episode but wow, girl power, i'm constantly sucked into it. and i'll have to admit the whole 'ganbare!' and 'let's do our best!' thing? i'm a sucker for it so i find myself tearing up watching the last few episodes. if you're looking for a jdrama with lots of goodlookin' girls, where else would you find it except in one that is about cabin attendants?!

バンビーノ! (bambino!)
starring: matsumoto jun, osamu mukai, kitamura kazuki, sato ryuta
genre: we can make it! (is literally the theme song), food, careers
episodes: 11
eyecandy: ♥ ♥ ♥ ½
rated: ☺ ☺ ☺ ☺
matsujun is the best cook in the countryside but when he goes to tokyo to further his skills he's forced to start from the bottom. bambino! they call him. he's made to swallow his doS pride and he gets beaten down so many times. of course true to his doS (or was it doM) nature (and typical drama plot) he does what he's supposed to do, from mere washing the dishes to being part of the waiter team (BEST PART OF THE DRAMA) where he is made to smile and serve from the bottom of his sincere heart. the waitress team is full of lulz with kitamura kazuki heading them, and without him this drama will fail to deliver. and then of course there is THE MAIN COURSE, the food porn. this drama will make you crave pasta so much it's crazy. osamu mukai is also hot as matsujun's bff here.

ビューティフルライフ (beautiful life)
starring: THE kimutaku. 'nuff said.
genre: romance, disease
episodes: 11
eyecandy: ♥ ♥ ♥ ½
rated: ☺ ☺ ½
kimura takuya plays a rising hairstylist who was supposed to take over his dad's hospital. tokiwa takako is a disabled girl on a wheelchair with a fatal disease. this show has the most unique storyline - they meet, fall in love, girl dies. i watched this at a tender age of 12 and was surprisingly a sucker for it. might have been the kimutaku charm factor in his comfort zone of a devoted unjudgemental 'cool' handsome boyfriend like every other drama that he was in. still i would recommend this if you're bored and would like to have a nice cry without sobbing your heart out as would... or supposed to happen when you're watching the modern one litre of tears or koizora, both of which i refuse to waste my time watching.

コード。ブルー (code blue)

starring: yamashita tomohisa, toda erika, aragaki yui, higa manami
genre: we can make it!, careers, rescue
episodes: 11 + 1 SP
eyecandy: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥
rated: ☺ ☺ ☺ ☺ ½
I LOVE THIS DRAMA SO MUCH. and it's not really because of yamapi. this is about 4 doctors who were veterans in their own hospitals before they got transferred to join the helicopter rescue team. the drama traces how each doctor succeeds or fails to get on the heli. i really like the entire package. there's just enough angst, just enough emo, just enough humour fitted in for each episode. the stories of each character is nicely played out, and it isn't choppy at all which i think is an amazing feat because there are just so many characters to develop on? the professionalism - it isn't all glamour; they are unapologetic about the gory scenes that really shouldn't be watched during dinner time. also the pretty, how do i forget the pretty in this show. subplots and main plots, all fitted together. i can't recommend this drama enough.

エンジン (engine)
starring: kimura takuya, koyuki, toda erika, chibi!nakajima yuto, ueno juri
genre: we can make it!, careers, family, romance
episodes: 11
eyecandy: ♥ ♥ ♥ ½
rated: ☺ ☺ ☺ ½
kimura takuya plays his usual role of being the kind-hearted childish rebel and he definitely scores it for me. does it say a lot if i finished this 11-parter within 3 days? (does it count even if it was during the days when my computer was off for repairs?) give me any drama kimutaku is in and i would watch it in a heartbeat, trufax. in this drama he is a racer who left his home when he was younger just so he could race in... some western country. however, as he became older he becomes unemployed like any other national athlete and he returns home to the father who almost disowned him. the catch? his father runs an orphanage, and so he can't live his peaceful life without his private space being intruded by incredibly adorable but also rebellious kids. the gorgeous koyuki plays the helper who predictably falls in love with kimutaku. all in all an extremely adorable drama.

ガリレオ (galileo)
starring: fukuyama masaharu, shibasaki kou, kitamura kazuki, maya miki
genre: detective work, comedy
episodes: 10 + 1 SP + 1 movie
eyecandy: ♥ ♥ ♥ ½
rated: ☺ ☺ ☺ ☺
this drama shall forever be known as 'the one with the best guest stars' - hirosue ryoko, katori shingo, fukada kyoko, horikita maki, shaku yumiko, etc. rookie detective utsumi seeks the help of genius physicist yukawa to solve murder cases which seems arienai or impossible to commit, at least by human hands, using scientific theories. expect lots of scenes of a handsome but anti-social scientist spouting mathematics and physics formulae to an incredulous utsumi. the interaction between utsumi and yukawa is ace: cue lots of arguments about rationality versus emotions, logic versus feelings. detective dramas are prone to fall into a formulaic routine after a while, which is why it is good that it is only 10 episodes long. watch your predictions get proven totally wrong, and explained precisely with demonstrations. this drama doesn't insult your intelligence, and is enjoyable at the same time.

ごくせん (gokusen)
starring: all ze cool kidz - matsumoto jun, oguri shun, narimiya hiroki, "kuma" tomohiro maki, matsuyama kenichi plays a minor role
genre: we can make it!, school, friends, comedy
episodes: 12 + 1 SP
eyecandy: ♥ ♥ ♥ ½
rated: ☺ ☺ ☺ ½
ahhhh gokusen, the money-churning star-building franchise. also known (to me) as "the drama in which matsjun was actually quite hot". they always say the first part of a sequel is the best... well this is the first one of THREE. i haven't watched the other two yet, but i heard they are pretty. quite literally, actually. this is a feel-good drama which i would recommend if you're stuck in a rut and need to move on. plus a yakuza in any drama is always funny. add rebellious gangsta wannabe students who are actually woobies and morally-suspicious principals into the mix and you get gokusen. hilarity - lame or otherwise - guaranteed. also be prepared to feel woobie at yankumi's speeches in every. single. episode. sadly (or fortunately), i have not watched gokusen 2 and 3.

グレート ティーチャー オニヅカ (great teacher onizuka)
starring: sorimachi takashi, matsushima nanako
genre: we can make it!, school, friends, comedy, romance
episodes: 12
eyecandy: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ½
rated: ☺ ☺ ☺ ½
i watched this when i was 12. that was 8 years ago. this is a classic that is a must-must-must-must-must-watch. "Sorimachi Takashi plays Onizuka Eikichi, a graduate of a third-rate University and the leader of a motorcycle gang, whose lifelong dream is to become a teacher." - ripped off mysoju. this is the mother of all incredibleteachers!dramas. always remember, if gokusen did it, g.t.o. did it FIRST. the only flaw in watching this is that it was produced in 1998, so well. HOWEVER, sorimachi takashi's hotness surpasses all time factor. there is also THE matsushima nanako, if you don't know her i don't know where you've been.

花ざかりの君たちへ (hanazakari no kimitachi e - hana kimi)

starring: horikita maki, ikuta toma, oguri shun, mizobata junpei, mizushima hiro, shirota yuu, yamamoto yuusuke
genre: school, friends, comedy, romance, shoujo manga
episodes: 12 + 1 SP
eyecandy: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥
rated: ☺ ☺ ☺ ☺
if there is only one japanese drama you can watch, watch this. IKEMEN PARADISE or HOTTIE PARADISE can't go very wrong. for the guys, there is the horikitty. for the girls, THERE ARE THREE DORMFULS WORTH OF GUYS TO CHOOSE FROM. this show is so ridiculous and yet so heartwarming at the same time. ashiya mizuki is a girl who enters herself into a guys' school by cross-dressing. the best part? IT IS A BOARDING SCHOOL. cue lots of shower jokes, body checks (checking for moobs in the guise of checking for abs), distasteful teaching of how to get other girls, even guy-to-guy action. this show is so much fun i wish it never ended. for the most part, toma holds your attention through his perfect protrayal of nakatsu shuiichi and his crazy antics. i have watched this more than 7 or 8 times without exaggerating and i think i can still watch it somemore without getting bored with it. please watch it. so many of my friends think it's ridiculous when they see it without watching it but when they actually do they get sucked into the crazyfest that is ikemen paradise. WATCH THIS.

花より男子 (hana yori dango)
starring: inoue mao, matsumoto jun, oguri shun, matsuda shota, abe tsuyoshi, kato natsuki (2nd season)
genre: school, friends, comedy, romance, good always triumphs over evil, rich vs poor, shoujo manga
episodes: 20 (2 seasons) + 1 movie
eyecandy: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥
rated: ☺ ☺ ☺ ☺
if you haven't heard of hana yori dango, or boys over flowers, or meteor garden, you must have been living under a rock. adapted from a japanese shoujo manga, it's a story of how makino, a poor student studying in prestigious prep school eitoku, meets f4, clashes with their highnesses, and eventualy falls in love with the one with the ridiculous perm. it is actually really popular in japan, spurning a 2nd season as well as a over-the-top box-office hit final movie. i haven't watched the korean boys over flowers, but i can safely say that the japanese version is my favourite. it is not as draggy as the taiwanese one, and because it is not true to the manga (which i guess most fans would have liked it to be) i was surprised here and there by the turn of events and the development of the plot i.e. i was really entertained. i can't say my reviews do this drama justice, so watch this, especially if you're the kind of girl who likes the do S arrogant types. i mean, there must be a reason for that kind of crazy success, right?

ハチミツとクローバー (hachimitsu to kuroba - honey and clover)
starring: ikuta toma, narumi riko, narimiya hiroki, harada natsuki, mukai osamu, kashiwabara takashi, seto asaka
genre: school, friends, romance, pondering about life in general, shoujo manga
episodes: 11
eyecandy: ♥ ♥ ♥ ½
rated: ☺ ☺ ☺ ½
this is one of the most gorgeous dramas i've watched, but also one of the more slow-moving ones. aside from the eye-candy, this drama is set in an art university; there are sakura blossoms, paintings and pottery, and some of that small town charm. the lives of 4 college students are changed forever when hagumi, a child art prodigy, enters the university. it is easy to get bored watching this from the beginning, but the plot does pick up at the end, and you watch as toma gets his heart broken (again!) and the extremely complicated love triangles interferes with their friendship. this drama is beautifully created, i really like the cause-and-effect chains whatsoever, but it does get a little draggy. oh well, there is some humour inserted, at least in the beginning? this drama also has one of the most gorgeous osts ever.

イタズラなKiss (itazura na kiss)
starring: kashiwabara takashi, sato aiko
genre: school, shoujo manga, comedy, romance or just mere fangirling
episodes: 9
eyecandy: ♥ ♥ ♥ ½
rated: ☺ ☺ ☺ ½
kxy would nod furiously in agreement. kotoko is an awkward girl in school who fails pretty hard at everything there is in life, but she possesses a cheerful outlook on life. one day she trips and bumps into naoki, the school hottie, and their lips meet. naoki is disgusted, but kotoko falls hard in love. when kotoko goes home, she finds herself homeless as a result of a fire. her father's friend machiko then invites the father and daughter to their house and to kotoko's surprise, machiko's elder son is none other than naoki himself! with machiko's support, kotoko goes all out to win naoki over. hilarity ensues. this is a pretty brainless drama, possibly because kotoko is rather unintelligent herself. however, along with her clumsiness and lack of wit comes sincerity which would warm your heart and make you think that the world is not so bad after all. or it might just make you laugh, intended or unintended. if all else fails, kashiwabara is one fine young man (in this show anyway), there's no denying.

きみはペット (kimi wa petto)

starring: matsumoto jun, koyuki, sato ryuta, ishihara satomi, eita, sakai wakana
genre: shoujo manga, comedy, romance, life in general, career, social issues?
episodes: 10
eyecandy: ♥ ♥ ♥ ½
rated: ☺ ☺ ☺ ½
in which domyouji is a dog. no, seriously. sumire is a highly successful career woman, which technically is a good thing, except that she was fired by her male superiors because of it. lonely and miserable, she goes back to her apartment and reminisces about her dog and best friend, momo, who accompanied her in her childhood days and died of old age. she stumbles upon a battered young man in the void deck of her apartment, and she brings him back and nurses him back to health. takeshi begs sumire to let him stay for some reason, and sumire agrees reluctantly only if he abides by one condition: that he would be her dog, momo. i can't make this up. before i watched this i thought the plot was ridiculous (still do), however, the drama makes it up by being heartwarming. the drama is actually pretty cute and light-hearted, with many 'd'awww' moments. crazy storyline, but carried out nicely. recommended for all matsujun fangirls (closet or not).

金田一少年の事件簿 (kindaichi shounen no jikenbo)
starring: domoto tsuyoshi, tomosaka rie (seasons 1 and 2)
genre: shoujo manga, comedy, school, detective work
episodes: 18 (2 seasons) + 1 SP
eyecandy: ♥ ♥ ♥
rated: ☺ ☺ ☺ ½
this was the start of my obsession. kindaichi is an ordinary student who never quite gets anything right. that is, until murder cases occurs. all of a sudden his brain fits the pieces together and he solves these cases and helps the police to nab the criminals vowing on the name and reputation of his grandfather, who was a famous detective (tagline alert!). and after all that, he turns back into the dork he is. miyuki is his best friend and is apparently in love with him, but he has no clue. as with all other things. it is this series that got me hooked on jdramas. it is suspenseful and gets your mind working, but at the same time the dorkery is so much fun; i still adore it. sometimes detective dramas or jdramas in general can get quite repetitive, but kindaichi gets you in because it's hilarious to watch a complete loser transform into a hero within an instance. if anyone manages to find this drama lying anywhere, please link me to it thanks!

木更津キャッツアイ (kisarazu cat's eye)

starring: sakurai sho, okada junichi, sato ryuta, tsukamoto takashi, sakai wakana, okada yoshinori
genre: comedy, life in general, friends, social issues?
episodes: 9 + 2 movies
eyecandy: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ½
rated: ☺ ☺ ☺ ☺ ☺
I DON'T KNOW WHY THIS SHOW IS RATED ONLY 2 STARS IN MYSOJU (and 4 stars for mei-chan? seriously?). PROBABLY BECAUSE THEY ARE BLIND. THIS IS THE DRAMA OF THE CENTURY; I CAN FLAIL ABOUT THIS FOREVER AND EVER AND EVER IT IS SO FRIKKEN AWESOME. THERE ARE NO WORDS TO DESCRIBE THE GENIUS THAT IS KCE. if you haven't heard of kudo kankuro, you'll know him now. screenwriter of this brilliant piece of work as well as many others, he also casts perfectly the characters. bussan is an unemployed former high school baseball player who finds out he had be diagnosed with cancer and is going to die... let's just say sometime soon. cue the most hilarious illness-revealing scene ever as he tells his group of idiot bffs consisting of: master - owner of a pub and married out of wedlock, ani (japanese for brother) - idiot brother of a genius and talented baseball player and nobody remembers his actual name, bambi - son of kimono store owners, mr. kisarazu, most educated person in the group who's currently attending university but can't for the life of him get the girl he has liked since elementary school (is a ahemloserahem), and ucchie - their senior but also the dumbest in the group, stammers a lot but always saves the day. to make bussan's last days more worthwhile, they decide to be stealth robbers of criminals. it is full of crack but at the same time it is meaningful and analyses the workings of life in general and the japanese social system. i can go on and on, but there is no end to the fab that is kce. i know of people who have watched this but did not appreciate it as much as i did (read: obsessive levels), but this drama definitely tops my list of all-time favourites.

クロサギ (kurosagi)
starring: yamapi, horikita maki, aikawa sho
genre: crime, action
episodes: 11 + 1 movie
eyecandy: ♥ ♥ ♥
rated: ☺ ☺ ☺
kurosaki's family was destroyed by swindlers. when he was younger, his father was cheated of all his possessions. devastated, his father decides to kill all of his family members and then commit suicide. kurosaki returns home to find himself the sole survivor of the family. from then onwards, he swore to be the swindler of swindlers, to outwit these liars and get back at them for their immoral ways - by giving them a taste of their own medicine. as such, he calls himself kuro (black) sagi (swindler). a nosy undergraduate moves next door and decides to make it her mission to change his mind about humanity. this drama is ace only because it is entertaining and amusing to watch yamapi appear in different get-ups in each episode to cheat the criminals. also, yamapi is pretty when he angst. aside from that, the plot is pretty repetitive although slightly engaging. there is also a lot of action involved, and it is actually quite entertaining.

ラスト・フレンズ (last friends)
starring: nishikido ryo, nagasawa masami, ueno juri, eita, mizukawa asami
genre: friends, romance, angst, social issues, gender issues, too many issues
episodes: 11 + 1 big waste of timeSP
eyecandy: ♥ ♥ ♥
rated: ☺ ☺ ☺
okay, let me deal with this objectively and calmly. this is the epitome of 'problem many many'. michiru is a hairdresser, who gets together with her boyfriend sousuke, and after a while, they decide to move in together. she bumps into her highschool best friend ruka, who possesses boyish charm and is a kickass motorcross racer, and the two of them hit it off together immediately. ruka is living with eri, an air stewardess who has commitment problems in her many relationships. eri meets takeru, a make-up artist and they become fast friends. soon, takeru moves in and we find out that he has a phobia of sex as a result of a childhood trauma. ruka is hiding something that would harm her social relationships (which is made obvious by her looking at michiru "LIKE A MAN" rofl okay sorry can't stop laughing now). michiru is bullied at her workplace (can you spell w-i-m-p?). the one that takes the cake is how sousuke is actually a douchebag and loves to hit michiru as a show of his affection and play mind games with her (aka "IF YOU CUT THE HAIR OF OTHER GUYS I'D CUT MY EARS FOR YOU, JUST WATCH" and brings the scissors to his ears. psychotic) . did i mention that he's a social worker? anyhow, this drama is pretty messed up. i'd be honest to say that it is not a bad drama, and if you like the angst-emo-life-sucks type (coughmasochistcough), then last friends is definitely for you. i just would like to do this to the drama, thank you very much.

last updated 15 may 09.

if there are any jdramas you think i should definitely watch, please rec them to me! terminal illness dramas are definitely a no-no in my books (unless they're half as awesome as kisarazu cat's eye), and angst-driven dramas... let's just say i'll watch it only if someone pimps it hard enough. whatever it is, i'm all up for additions to my never-ending list of dramas to watch!

also, this entry is all up for flails XD.

Labels: jdramas, pimpin', recs