ifeeltherush09

Having seen the original Korean one a looooooooooong long time ago, I only remember the basic synopsis of it so I can't really compare it with this Japanese adaptation.

Spoiler!

Cameos by: Katori Shingo, Kitayama Hiromitsu, and freaking Jang Geun Suk himself! I screamed when he appeared lol Also, the actor who played the talent agency's president, I think, was a nod to Johnny Kitagawa because he kept saying "You" lol

The main reason I saw it only now is because back in 2011, Yaotome was the only cast member I knew. I didn't know who the other cast members were. But now that I do, and since the other one is Fujigaya, I decided to go see it lol

The entire thing is okay, really. It's more Tamamori Yuta-focused since he's the leading man so he gets all the attention. AND BTW HIS HAIRSTYLE WAS THE HAIRSTYLE I LOVE THE MOST AMONG JPOP CELEBS, IT'S THE ONE MATSUJUN USED THE MOST IN HIS TWENTIES HUHU

Since this is leaning more towards shoujo, there's a love triangle (or square? actually) It's okay, it's your typical shoujo story with bits of fanservice. Girl pretends to be a boy to save her brother's idol career, ends up falling in love with her band members. Yes, very shoujo.

Starring: Tamamori Yuta, Takimoto Miori, Fujigaya Taisuke, Yaotome Hikaru

First off, it starts with a 10+-episode drama, then a movie prequel, then a movie. I HAVEN'T SEEN THE 2ND MOVIE! PLEASE IF ANYONE KNOWS WHERE I CAN FIND AN ENG SUB PLEASE LET ME KNOW, I'M DYING OF DESPERATION LOL

I only saw this because of Fujigaya because the second half of my 2022 is my Fujigaya phase lol

Btw, this is the only "Kamen" film I've ever seen. I haven't seen any Kamen Rider films my whole life so I don't really know if I can compare this with Kamen Rider.

It's actually more like Gokusen. Kamen teacher disciplines rowdy students through violence to keep the school at peace from delinquents. Fujigaya's Kamen teacher however, is one who doesn't use violence. He believes more in trust rather than fist. He's a Kamen Rider who doesn't punch. Rather, he dodges punches aimed at him to show students he won't hurt them.

It stars Johnny's Jrs from back in the day, who have now debuted, Kishi Yuta, Jesse, Kyomoto Taiga, Kikuchi Fuma, Matsumura Hokuto (1st movie), Tanaka Juri (1st movie) and others I don't remember lol. It's basically a training drama for Johnny's Jr talents! lol SixTones was complete except for Kochi and Morimoto. Zannen desu ne.

Lastly, the movie stars Masataka Kubota who is the "main not-so-bad student" in the 1st movie. When I saw him together with Gaya, it reminded me of MARS. Funny they have so much chemistry together. I think they should do more projects.

Tons of spoilers. I thought I need to tell the entire story because it's not exactly something that most people have seen given it's just a mini drama.

The premise was amazing by the way, set not far off in the future (the year was 2026? I think? Not sure) where artificial intelligence pairs you up with a potential romantic marriage partner as part of Japan's initiative to boost birth rates. AI gets its data from your public records and pairs you up with people whom you have similar skills, tastes, hobbies, etc with. The pairs are scheduled on regular dates where they get to know each other. If things don't work out, the AI sets you up on another date with another person. This app, led by the government, was called Conexion.

The story focuses on Yokoo's and Fuigaya's characters, struggling to move on from their past struggles that keep them from moving forward with their lives. I feel so bummed that Senga's character didn't have much exposure! I wish he had more screen time.

In the beginning, the story centers around Yokoo's character, the shy, timid, unconfident and hesitant person finding himself happy only when he talks about bikes, soooo he gets paired up with someone who likes bikes. His struggles were about feeling rejected (which explains why he was so shy) and having low self-esteem. He overcame this thru Fujigaya's character's help (I mean, coming from a ladiesman character lol)

Fujigaya's character's issue however, is more about feeling ashamed that he didn't do his best in the past which impacted a family's (his crush's family lol) livelihood in a really bad way. He struggled to move on from this by not feeling enough as a person. He felt undeserving of their love. Yokoo's character, having gained confidence earlier in the story, now pushed Fujigaya's character to be more upfront with himself and not take all the blame. His "victims" have forgiven him anyway so it's time that he forgives himself and give the relationship with his crush another chance.

Senga's character? oh boy. He was the hacker of the AI marriage program who booked his friends' dates! He reunited Fujigaya's character with his old crush and he booked Yokoo's character with his favorite biker Youtuber. At first, he gets in legal trouble for it but in the end, he magically didn't require jailtime for hacking a government app lol

It's a great story about friendship — that you support each other no matter what (and no matter how long you haven't seen each other lol). Also, about moving on from your past, Rather than pulling you down, should push you forward.

Fujigaya has always been in the spotlight for dramas, movies and stageplays so this is actually the first time I'm seeing Yokoo and Senga act for real. No kidding, they're good actors!

Recently, Senga got his first lead acting gig! I think it's called Fuufu Enman Recipe? It's such a great thing to hear about people who are not in the spotlight often, get offered leading man roles. Dude, the synopsis of this drama is no joke. Slice of life. I feel so happy for him with this amazing opportunity!

Oh and Yokoo!! My impression of him is this dependable guy who always knows what to do, the husband-type actually — reliable, secure, dependable, trustworthy. Btw, that's just based on his acts from Kisumai Busaiku lol. But in this mini drama, he acts all shy like he doesn't know what to do on dates and how to even be around people. What a contrast. I hope he gets more acting gigs.

Lastly, did you notice the Busaiku Easter egg? Lol

Starring: Yokoo Wataru, Senga Kento, Fujigaya Taisuke

If you're looking for tons of Fujigaya hotness overload, then this is the drama for you. It's the right mix of shoujo, dark-ish, romance and eye candy you're looking for. If you're a fan of Gaya, go see this! Definitely worth your time.

What I love about this is the big twist. I've never read the manga so I'm not familiar with the premise. This is the first time I've ever seen this so everything is new to me.

THAT BIG TWIST is what really made it. Kudos to Kubota Masataka too for being such a great actor. He deserves all the awards!

Also, I never thought Gaya was such a good actor too. Glad he's not just a pretty face. Although if you're looking for a pretty face, then this is definitely your drama.

All the Fujigaya goodness and the shoujo beauty in one drama. Go see it!

The only thing I'm mad about is the movie's credits. They really had to put Marie's name after Kubota and Fujigaya? Not WITH them? Come on! She's part of the main cast as much as Kubota and Fujigaya were!! I really don't understand why they had to separate her name from the two. Perhaps, this is the patriarchy at work.

Just to make things clear, I am still actively fangirling in the J&A fandom. I just haven't been focusing much on watching Jdramas in the past 2 years.

In fact, I've become more active since the pandemic has caused so much global distress that I turn to J&A music (particularly Arashi's) to stay sane. I just didn't have much time to focus on Jdramas since I have a life of my own and you know, watching Jdramas take up a lot of *unproductive* time especially if you don't earn from it.

Additionally, I've found my new favorite. Since Arashi went on hiatus, I've been distracted by Kis-my-ft2 lately so the contents of this page might divert to them eventually. Doesn't mean I don't love Arashi anymore. It's just that Fujigaya has been so tempting.

Ijou desu. Have a nice day!

One of the things why I like Black Pean so much is how it teaches you that things are negotiable. According to the drama (we have to consider that this is fictional, Japanese medical community and does not apply to every culture), aside from getting licenses and degrees as a heart surgeon, the way to progress your career is through earning a position in the medical association and you do that by becoming a sponsor of research papers. But before you get there, you have to establish your own credibility first by writing them yourself, publishing findings and sharing them to the medical community. Write enough research papers until you become a sponsor. So to simplify, 1) write A LOT of research papers, and by the time you get older and credible enough, 2) you become a sponsor of research papers. And that sponsorship gives you the "impact factor" (it's like points, basically, to measure your progress) you need to 3) qualify for a position in the medical association. So aside from being a practicing surgeon, you earn a position in the association to be considered "ultra successful".

And here's why Tokai stands out. He thinks this system is bullshit. But how does he establish his credibility to say so if he doesn't write or sponsor papers? His ultimate ammo is a BAU (business as usual work) that only he can do - 100% surgery survival rate. No patient has died in his hands. Here's where it gets better - when surgeons run out of ways to save a patient during the operation (meaning, the patient is about to die due to blood loss and they can't find the hole to suture or something like that) Tokai's trusty nurse calls Tokai for help. Tokai comes in the room (during the operation) all dressed up in surgery clothes and coerces the assigned surgeon to pay him a million Yen to solve the problem and prevent the patient from dying. That's how much confidence he has. Of course, if you're the surgeon, you'll give in instead of letting the patient die, even if that meant living in debt. In short, Tokai saves the day, especially in that critical moment.

Bottomline, know your worth. You don't have to follow the status quo if you know you have a unique value-adding gift that only you can do. There's value in BAU.

If you’re after kyun kyuns and eye candy, this one is for you. As the ad promotes, it’s full of attractive men and kabedons in a high school setting. It fulfills your ultimate shoujo fantasy of getting chased by handsome Japanese men, if you’re into that. Men cast members are from LDH. You have Nobuyuki Suzuki (who, to me, is probably the most attractive out of everyone), Katayose Ryota (he looks to me like an LDH version of Tegoshi Yuya), Kawamura Kazuma and other LDH talents I have never heard of. (I’ve never known them because I mostly focus on J&A, that’s why). The whole series is basically an introduction of the movie released this March 2019. (Wow, it took more than 5 episodes to introduce a movie and keep everyone hooked) All these good-looking men are after one girl, Naruse Kanon and the series goes through how they get attracted to her and eventually decide to compete against each other to win her (and thereby win the Prince of Legend title which now looks like a secondary story when it should be the main one since it’s the title of the series).

What’s ironic is Naruse Kanon. When you have a shoujo material, the girl usually acts all cutesy and fragile. However, this one isn’t fragile at all. She’s cute but she’s nothing like a typical kawaii Japanese girl who’d go kyun kyun every time a guy gets close to her. In fact, she doesn’t really care at all. Her cutesy side only appears in these men’s fantasies, especially Suzuki’s. Other than that, she exerts no effort at all in attracting these men.

Most of the guy’s reasons for liking her are quite unrealistic and shallow. Take Suzuki for example. He mistook her for being a brave woman protecting another person and fighting up against bullies when in fact that was just an acting project. When he knew the truth, he got disappointed and still fell in love with her. Now, I don’t understand why. Perhaps he’s attracted to the fact that she keeps resisting his feelings for her? Or the whole chasing process got him to like her since he’s competing with Ryota too. Another shallow motive is Ayanokouji’s. This guy always had a problem remembering people’s names (like literally, he doesn’t remember any name even of people he’s always with) that when he magically remembered Naruse’s name, he suddenly fell in love with her. Really? Sure, it was a miracle that he even remembered any name but maybe he was too filled with emotions in realizing that he successfully remembered a name that he ended up falling in love with her. He wasn’t even interested in her to begin with. He just feels that he loves her when that name-remembering moment came to him.

Another guy with a shallow reason is Hokuto. She just saw her crumpling a piece of paper and throwing it in the trash bin while crying one day and he fell in love instantly, thinking he needs to protect her at all costs. Because she cried, it made her “fragile”, thereby, needing his protection. This not a very common reason to fall in love in an instant. Since that moment, he’s been watching her from a distance. Kazuma and Ryota were the only guys with reasonable motives for liking her due to constant encounter with her despite being unpleasant. A love-hate relationship can go places.

Ryota had too much airtime just by the way. Maybe he has a bigger role in the movie. By the way, the way he expresses his anger and frustration is very unmanly and cartoonish. He just closes his fists and moans in anger. Krrr~ This childish character doesn’t do much justice to Ryota in a shoujo setting. Given that this is shoujo, I expected a manly character in him since he’s the main character.

The rest of the men have less airtime compared to the guys I’ve previously mentioned. They didn’t contribute much to the flow and direction of the story (except for Akihisa who’s gay for Ryota which is really amusing).

Ryo Kato’s and Kohta Yamato’s character (Kohta looks hot btw) are “collecting” and spying on these attractive men chasing after Naruse and just decided they’d be contenders for the Prince of Legend title without getting the guys’ consent. Weird. These men aren’t even aware they’re contenders for the title. All they know is they want Naruse.

The music was probably the best one for me. They revived old American (?) songs and sang it in their own version. Kazuma, Hokuto and Ryota sang some of the songs and they’re so good I even added them in my playlist.

Perhaps we’ll get some clarity in the movie. I don’t want to completely judge this without seeing the movie so I’m hoping it’ll be a good one. This series is actually very confusingly amusing. It’s weird in so many ways but I enjoyed watching it. There was always something to look forward to in the next episode so I hope the movie won’t disappoint.

The movie that got me thirsty. Warning: there’s a lot of shirtless Mackenyu scenes so prepare yourselves.

It was great! I was just hoping that there’s even a tiny bit of romance involved but nah, don’t expect a kabedon or any romantic scene. Just probably this one time when he got drunk and he mistook a girl for somebody else and pulled her close to him but that’s all you have.

It’s more of a chase-your-dream plot, a past tragedy and dealing with family conflict. For those who lose hope in life, this might be a movie you want to watch. It’s full of hope despite almost impossible challenges. Miracles happen.

If you past helps you move forward and chase your dreams, then go for it. That’s what Mackenyu taught me here. As for his brother, he thought that Mackenyu using his past to motivate him was off because it changed him and doesn’t do him any favors despite having the drive. Big bro thinks Mackenyu should move on. But what’s great here is how Mackenyu had a choice – to get motivated by his past, sustain that drive and work on his personality better thru other means (via appreciation of the mechanic team and his brother).

What I love about the brothers is how they move forward with life, despite differences and unfinished internal conflicts. Life is just shitty and you just gotta move on and deal with what’s important at the moment.

Starring: Arata Mackenyu, Higashide Masahiro, Kitamura Takumi

KYOU KARA ORE WA IS THE WAY TO START THE YEAR RIGHT.

Kyou kara Ore Wa is about two ordinary students who vowed to be delinquents and the rest of the episodes tell their tales of beating up other schools who abuse their “authority” as delinquents.

What’s interesting here is how vast and differentiated each character personalities are while staying fun and enjoyable to watch. Mitsuhashi is the funny guy in this. Looking at Kaku Kento, he looks ordinary. Mitsuhashi is not the big-guy type people would get scared of but he eventually worked his way up the delinquent ranks for Chiba high schools to respect him. He even had a fight with an abusive Yakuza (guess who played the Yakuza?). For a new delinquent like Mitsuhashi, he did very well for the whole town to respect him.

What’s also impressive about Mitsuhashi is how he uses strategies and tactics to defeat his opponents like fooling Akehisa with catsup on his face, using fireworks in a harmless way and pretending to be afraid by “turning” to a diligent student for some time while getting his revenge plan in place. Mitsuhashi is strategic and smart, which lets him get ahead of other delinquents. When he says “It doesn’t matter how you do it, as long as you win” (this line was also said by Satoshi and Sagara - we’ll get to that later) there’s a lot of truth in it when you look at society, as long as you don’t cross the line (meaning, seriously harming others). At least Mitsuhashi set the limit (remember when he threw the knife and almost hit someone?) Because morals aren’t rewarded, people resort to other tactics to get ahead in life. It’s all about strategy and not being fair anymore without, of course, harming others.

This makes more sense when you look at Ito. Ito doesn’t resort to witty tactics like Mitsuhashi. He fights head on, fair and square. Perfect example was when he had his one-on-one with Satoshi and he kept his eyes closed the entire time. Because he has morals and he strives to be good and fair despite the unfair setup. This is what makes him strong. He has the will to protect others without sacrificing his morals. You can see the difference here between Ito and Mitsuhashi which makes them the perfect pair.

To further support Mitsuhashi’s uniqueness, you can see how common other delinquents in Chiba are. Students who fight head on and who use common strategies like a metal bar, knife, plank of wood, among other common items. Take Sagara for example. (Sagara is just more aggressive and borderline no morals at all but other than that, he’s like the rest) Reason why Mitsuhashi stands out from the rest is because he’s the only witty one (plus insanely strong actually). He wins thru smart tactics without severely harming others and he doesn’t utilize commonly used strategies. Plus, he puts so much fun and personality to the fight. He is unique and doesn’t live in status quo which allowed him to get ahead compared to other delinquents in Chiba.

Satoshi is a very interesting character. He’s Ito who just woke up to reality. He wanted Ito to learn that life is unfair but Ito remained faithful to his morals and kept his eyes closed. Satoshi learned that situations are unfair which is why most people stray from the moral route to take advantage of things that will let them get ahead. But he knows very well that while life is unfair, it doesn’t mean you have to be. I hope Ito’s and Satoshi’s friendship gets explored. Or who knows, Satoshi might even start being friends with Ito and Mitsuhashi.

Kaku Kento was such a great actor. He looks like an average guy but he nailed the performance. He was so much fun to watch and he portrayed the character well. If you visit his Instagram page, you can see he looks like a fun person to be with, very much like Mitsuhashi. He embodies Mitsuhashi’s humor really well which is what makes him perfect for the role. By the way he’s 29! 29 year olds don’t usually act as students anymore. Well, not Kento. He doesn’t age.

Ito Kentarou was so cute and his monolids are adorable! His acting was great though I think Mitsuhashi stands out more because of his colorful personality. Ito was pretty normal but still really cute especially when he’s with Kyoko. He suddenly switches to adorable mode. Haha.

And what’s with Imai’s and Satoshi’s chest pads? Hahaha.

Suzuki Nobuyuki will always be an attractive one. The chest pads just ruined it! I honestly think he can portray a strong, authoritative boss. It’s all in the acting. I don’t think there’s a need for the pads. Unless Satoshi’s anime counterpart is a really muscular person?

Taiga was so adorable here. Imai was innocently stupid! Can’t find the guts to despise his severe stupidity! Haha. He is innocently nice which is evident in his friendships with Mitsuhashi and Ito despite their teasing differences and when he forgave Akemi without thinking twice for cheating on her. This guy is just pure. Well done, Taiga.

On the other hand, Sagara was insanely intense. He never had a heart for being kind and would hurt, cheat, lie and betray his best friend just to get what he wants. So much pride and love for power. He was such an antagonist the entire time but I found myself suddenly attracted to him in the last episode! Suddenly, he was hot and attractive, I don’t know why. Maybe that’s just how girls get attracted to bad boys or something. Anyway, I look forward to seeing more of Hayato’s dramas! Hope he still acts as a bad boy! Haha.

Riko and Mitsuhashi’s subtle romance was very impressive. I love how Riko is more aggressive than Mitsuhashi by nicknaming him San-chan and she never hesitates to approach them to hang out rather than waiting for the guy to move. Mitsuhashi, on the other hand, never really showed any signs to her (only “hate” feelings behind her back) until that one episode with the helmet guy. Suddenly saying “my woman” was definitely a plus. Later, we learn he asked Sagawa to guard Riko in case anyone attacks her and when Kyoko gets kidnapped Mitsuhashi goes straight to Sagawa to ask about Riko. He loves her in his own little way. These were probably the only romantic scenes between the two but these had so much impact in strengthening their bond. Hope to see more of these!

AND OMG TALK ABOUT THE OPENING SONG. It was so catchy it was just so appropriate for the series. It’s actually an old song called Otoko no Kunshou. You can search for the original MV on Youtube. What’s funny is that the man who plays Riko’s dad in the drama is actually in the original MV! It was just so appropriate for the drama - loud, fun, upbeat and catchy. Hope they release a full song.

I would definitely recommend Kyou Kara Ore Wa to anyone. The only things that people might not like about this is blood and violence but other than that, it’s a fun-filled, comedic Jdrama worth watching. What a way to start the year. Thanks Kyou Kara Ore Wa! Hope production considers filming part 2.

This is how amazing the drama is!

Starring: Kaku Kento, Itou Kentaro

IT WAS AMAZING. DEFINITELY BETTER THAN FMA LOL

Unlike FMA, Bleach was friendly to non-anime, non-manga fans like me. It was well put out, easily understandable and they used an arc that really introduced the whole Bleach world. FMA looked like a whole mess of scenes from various story arcs that don't line up together to fit a movie. Every jargon was explained well, every place was discussed, I think it's a great 1st movie. Hope there's more. Bleach was smooth and I'm glad I watched this!

SUGISAKI HANA DAYUM. This girl can play any role! The cutesy innocent little girl, the strong willed Edogawa Oto or the badass Rukia! There wasn't any slight awkwardness or cutesy feel in her acting here which is good. She doesn't even need to look the part, to look like Rukia when she can definitely portray the role. That's one sign she is a great actor. (I'm really glad she was cast for Hana Nochi Hare instead of Hirose Suzu, I mean Suzu is great but I'm glad I got to know Hana.)

Ichigo Kurosaki. Because Hana was cast as Rukia I can't help but think Nakagawa Taishi can also play Ichigo. I guess I can't set them apart lol. Fukushi Sota was great though! I don't have any negative take on his portrayal.

Love the music too! I'm so glad they still opted for the rock music it suits the movie really well and portrays how badass every single character was even Yoshizawa Ryo! I am just so glad they didn't go through the traditional cultural Japanese route as far as the soundtrack is concerned. It set the film's tone really well and was faithful to the general music direction of the anime.

Also, why does Yoshizawa Ryo's roles always gravitate towards the silent guy with glasses in the corner of the classroom. Hope he gets lead roles someday. He is one talented actor!

Starring: Fukushi Sota, Sugisaki Hana, Yoshizawa Ryo, Miyavi