picture courtesy of Fuji TV

Warning, there might be some slight spoilers ahead.

So yesterday, my friend and I finally finished watching the drama, Zettai Kareshi. The live action version stars Hayami Mokomichi, Aibu Saki, and Mizushima Hiro.

A very brief summary of the drama: Izawa Riiko (Aibu Saki) works in the office of a famous pastry distributor, Asamoto. She has absolutely no luck with love or her job. She wishes to one day have a normal marriage and make her career dream come true: to become a famous pâtissier (pastry chef). One night at a bar, she is confronted by a strange man who has an interesting proposition for her. Thinking it’s nothing too serious she agrees to answer some questions about her ideal boyfriend back at his company and then goes home. Within a few days, a very big package is delivered to her house from that company and inside the package was a very tall naked man.

She obviously doesn’t know what’s going on at first, thinking that it could be a dead body, etc… but when she calms down, she realizes there are instruction manual with the body. She starts to put things together from the other night and realizes that it’s a robot and to activate it, she must kiss it on the lips. Hesitantly, she kisses the robot and he awakens in all his glory. When he awakens, he is ready to do whatever she may wish of him but of course, she’s very freaked out by all of this (Robot or not, a very tall, good looking naked man standing in the middle of her living room all of the sudden). Even though he is specifically set to be her ideal, she never thought any of this would actually happen and the idea of having a robot boyfriend (despite being perfect) is absurd. Since he is a robot, he doesn’t really have a name other than 001 (because he’s the prototype) so Riiko at least gives him a name, Night. Throughout the rest of the drama, Night continues to try to make Riiko happy, despite Riiko being mean to him while trying to figure out things in her own life.

But of course, it wouldn’t be a romantic drama if there wasn’t at least one rival. The rival in this drama would be Asamoto Soushi (Mizushima Hiro). The lazy son of the CEO of Asamoto, Soushi at first just seems like an irresponsible brat that’s just interested in messing around with the money and power he has because of his position in the company. As the series goes on, you realize there’s more to him than just that. He ends up being a great guy who helps Riiko out a lot and tries to help her fulfill her dreams and all he really wants is to revert the Asamoto Company back into what it was when his Grandfather ran the company before it became a big corporate company. Night may be the ideal boyfriend, but Soushi has a big advantage over Night: he’s a real person.

Towards the end of the series, Riiko has to choose: fulfill her dream and become a pâtissier and live a normal life with Soushi, or take a chance and spend her life with Night.

The original story was written by Watase Yu (who is also famous for her series, Fushigi Yuugi, Ayashi no Ceres, etc) and there are a total of six volumes of the manga. Watase Yu is rather known for her dramatic and a lot of the time, very sad stories… so I was bracing myself when I watched the drama. The majority of the drama is very, very funny and cute but there are some moments in the drama where my friend and I found ourselves crying. By the last episode, we were both bawling. Even with reading and watching other Watase Yu series such as Fushigi Yuugi, I felt myself letting my guard down because the series is so cute and funny. The last episode is slightly deceiving as well so by the end, it was game over for me. I don’t cry that often when watching dramas or movies… but this one did the job. I don’t want to spoil the ending, but I will just say this: I wished so much that he would have moved even a little bit. If you saw the drama, you know exactly what I’m talking about.

I don’t think they could have picked a better person to play Tenjou Night than Hayami Mokomichi. He pretty much stole the show. Mokomichi had the look and somehow brought the character to life. His smile, his awkward facial expressions, cute mannerisms, and overall his innocence had us cheering him on from the beginning. We wanted it to somehow work out with Riiko and Night, despite the fact that we could feel the same apprehensions as Riiko did because in the end, Night was a robot. However, Night’s rival, Asamoto Soushi also made things difficult… because he was also someone that we sort of wanted Riiko to end up with. Soushi is such an awesome guy that you can’t help but root for him too. Towards the end of the series, you’re as confused as Riiko is on who she should be with. I guess it would be a little easier if you knew that Night was only a robot and just that, but as the series goes on, you realize that he’s not only acting solely based on his program… but he seriously has feelings for Riiko and is able to feel loved and hurt.

Aibu Saki did a great job as Riiko. As a viewer, Riiko can be a very frustrating character at times. But of course, if she was nice and the perfect girl, there wouldn’t be much of a drama. Mizushima Hiro did a great job as Soushi as well… even though it was slightly creepy in some of the scenes where he was eating. It looked like he hadn’t eaten for years. The supporting cast includes big names such as Maya Miki, who plays the bar owner Fujiko who looks out for Riiko, as well as Sasaki Kuranosuke who plays Namikiri, 001/Night’s creator who ends up being somewhat of a parent to Night. At first, Namikiri only saw Night as another project, but when he realizes that Night not only is a success, but starts to feel actual emotions and is able to make memories for himself, Namikiri finds himself wanting Night to actually be able to find happiness for himself.

To add to both the cuteness and sadness of the drama, the ending theme Okaeri by Ayaka is perfect for this series. I think most of the times that I found myself crying, that song was playing in the background…

Mokomichi fans will have a ball with this drama considering for a lot of the drama, he’s at least shirtless. Plenty of fan service in this series, but I thought it was done tastefully. It was done for comedic effect. Seeing Mokomichi hit his head on the entrance of doors over and over because of his height was hilarious. Not to mention, Mizushima Hiro is eye candy himself. I know girls will enjoy this series but I’m not sure about guys… If you’re a guy that likes shojo manga storylines… you might like it.

I highly recommend this drama but with a warning: it is written by Watase Yu. The majority of the drama is super funny and cute… but the sad parts are insanely sad. If you are looking for a funny romantic drama with bits of serious dramatic scenes mixed in, this is a great series.

Hello, my name is Michelle, but when I first started posting on the J!-Ent Mailing List and the SMAP Mailing List over 10 years ago, I went by the pen name “Goromi” so I thought that would be a fitting name for this blog. ゴロミの部屋(Goromi no Heya) means Goromi’s Room… not the most creative so I apologize.

I’m an entertainment write and translator here at J!-Ent. I’ve known about J!-Ent for about 12 years now, ever since I started posting on the SMAP mailing list way back when. Outside of J!-Ent, I work as a barista and I am also a graduate of the University of Washingo with a Major in Interdisciplinary Arts & Sciences. I currently reside in the Seattle area where I have lived for the last 15 years or so.

My blog will consist mostly comments, partial reviews, and opinions of Johnnys Related shows, various Japanese Variety shows, Japanese dramas new and old, and random Japanese celebrity stuff. I watch quite a bit of Japanese TV, despite living in the US. There will also be some posts just about my personal life.

I have been a fan of Johnnys groups (SMAP and TOKIO for the longest period of time) and I keep up on most of the groups. Currently some of my favorite JE shows include SMAPxSMAP, Mentore G, Tetsuwan Dash, and Cartoon KAT-TUN. Other than that, a couple of my favorite variety shows include Tensai! Shimura Doubutsuen, Quiz Hexagon 2, Gyouretsu no Dekiru Houritsu Soudanjo, and more recently Oneemans. Other than JE kids, I’m currently very much interested in Kamiji Yusuke, Karina, Kinoshita Yukina, and Matsumoto Hiroya just to name a few. As for music… I listen to pretty much any genre in Japanese and American music. I will probably be posting alot of blogs about things I mentioned in this paragraph.

If you have any questions, comments, etc, feel free to post them here or email me at alyssadarkcloud@gmail.com.

Have a wonderful day~! o(〃＾▽＾〃)o

ARTIST: SMAP

Released on December 19, 2007

OFFICIAL WEBSITE

1. Dangan Fighter
2. Christmas Night
3. Dangan Fighter Back Track
4. Christmas Night Back Track

On December 19th, 2007, SMAP released their newest single, “Dangan Fighter” one year and two months since their last commercial single, “Arigatou”(VICL-36666, Rel. Oct. 11, 2006).

This catchy song has a very techno-pop feeling and features vocal highlights from each member and is very reminiscent of their hit single, “Dynamite”(VIDL-10851, Rel. Feb. 26, 1997) that was released 10 years ago. Despite the very simple beat and the engrishy chorus, “YOU gotta power”, the song is super catchy and definitely a pop hit.

The B side, “Christmas Night” is actually a very nice seasonal ballad, and like Dangan Fighter, features solos from each member. The song focuses on soft vocals accompanied by a lovely piano melody. A couple years ago, they released a different Christmas song as a B side on their “Tomodachi e ~Say What You Will~”(VICL-35787, Rel. Jan. 19, 2005) single, and I have to say I enjoy this one much more.

Tracks 3 and 4 are both instrumental versions of the first two tracks.

If anything, fans will be very excited about this single since it has been over a year since their last single, “Arigatou”, but at the same time I think they pulled off a solid single that fans and others will enjoy.

They seemed to have a non-commercial single earlier in 2007 around April called “Mermaid”, which was performed on numerous TV shows, but never actually released commercially on CD much to the fans’ disappointment.

The CD jacket is rather simple: it features a nice picture of the members sitting on two black couches, dressed in black suits and the jacket just folds out and has the lyrics inside.

I think that SMAP is the only Johnnys group that has not jumped on the “Let’s release multiple copies of one cd or dvd” bandwagon, as there is only one version of “Dangan Fighter” and even on their prior releases, if there were numerous versions, it was usually just one special and one normal versions or in the case of SMAP VEST (VICL-60726, Rel. Mar. 23, 2001) they originally released 12 different colors of the cover.

Overall, I think this single release was very well balanced: A poppy, dance number coupled with a nice, slow ballad.

I think that fans will definitely enjoy this single and I think others will find themselves humming or singing the catchy melody as well.

I’ve been a SMAP fan for years now and I will be the first to admit, they are not the strongest group of singers. However in “Christmas Night”, they show that over the years they have improved greatly as vocalists. Nakai has always openly joked about his lack of singing skills and Tsuyoshi at one point had a lot to work on vocally. After Mori left in 1996, the strongest vocalist left was Kimura, followed by Goro and Shingo. They still have their moments in live performances where one might mess up (so do many other artists), but overall I am glad to say they have grown greatly as a group of vocalists. In their past few releases, it seems that Tsuyoshi has definitely been practicing because his singing has greatly improved. Kimura is still the strongest vocalist, but the others are holding their own.

Because it had been so long since they had released a single, my own excitement had died down a bit until I coincidentally heard their song on SMAPxSMAP. As soon as I heard “Dangan Fighter”, I found myself bobbing my head to the beat and I instantly became a fan of the song. One of the things that surprised me was the fact that the song starts off with Nakai and Kimura singing. Not only does that combination not happen too often, but it’s rare that Nakai starts off a song. It seems that they change the pair singing every line of the song or so, which is also different from their other songs. I think the arrangement was a good choice. I just wish that SMAP would work on using more vocal harmonies in their songs.

I think fans will both appreciate and possibly be disappointed by the fact that there is only one version of this single and the single itself doesn’t come with any extras. The other Johnnys groups seem to release at least 2 versions of each CD and DVD release and will have tons of random extras (some really not needed) on each seperate version so fans might be tempted to buy each copy.

But in the end, what’s important is the music and this single delivers without having to spend a fortune.

The “Gegege no Kitaro” movie that aired last year starring WaT’s Wentz Eiji (22), will return this summer as a sequel. The movie created quite a buzz because it was an adaptation of the very popular youkai (demon) manga series of the same name.

The Kitaro Family, including Kitaro (Wentz), Nezumi Otoko (Ooizumi You), Neko Musume (Tanaka Rena), Konaki Jiji (Hazama Kanpei), and Sunakake Baba (Muroi Shigeru) will all be back for the star-studded sequel. The heroine of the last movie played by Inoue Mao (20) will not be back for the sequel, but there will be various new youkai appearing this time around.

Kitaro’s most notable enemy, Nurarihyon will be played by Ogata Ken (70). Other new additions include Nure Onna played by Terajima Shinobu (35), Jakotsu Baba played by Sano Shirou (52), and Ido Sennin played by Sasano Takashi (59). All of them are veteran actors that will transform into their youkai counterparts with the help of special makeup.

The story this time around focuses even more on the forbidden love between humans and youkai, and features a human (played by Hagiwara Masato (36)) who falls in love with Nure Onna. Director Motoki Katsuhide (44) takes the megaphone once again for this picture and it is set to air this summer.

Filming had started on the 11th of last month and the new cast members are enjoying their special makeup. “The staff members were scared,” Terajima said with a smile. Despite being a man, Sano will be playing a “baba” role (baba means old woman) and said, “Apparently they’re going to wrap a real snake around me so this is not going to be easy,” on the filming that would be coming up.

The author Mizuki Shigeru (85) commented, “I’m so happy on the persistence,” in regards to the sequel. Wentz also commented, “I want to make an entertaining picture that even adults will enjoy watching,” and is doing PR for the movie enthusiastically.

Youkai Profiles:
Nurarihyon: A powerful youkai often refered to as the youkai’s commander in chief.
Nure Onna: A female youkai who tries to pull humans under when they try to get across rivers.
Jakotsu Baba: An eldery female youkai that has a huge snake wrapped around her.
Ido Sennin: A Sennin (hermit) that lives by breathing the methane gas produced in wells.

For the original article and more pictures, click here.

For the official webpage of the original movie, go to http://www.gegege.jp/

It was announced on the 6th that Hamasaki Ayumi’s (The singer will be celebrating her 10 year anniversary since her debut this year) condition in her left ear has taken a turn for the worst and she cannot hear out of it at all anymore. Ayu (29) announced this herself on her webpage.

On her blog entry dated for the 4th, she stated, “I actually went to the doctor’s last year to get my ear checked and I was told that my left ear had completely stopped working and that there is no treatment for it.” However, she confirmed that she would continue her work as a singer and said, “I will continue singing as long as my right ear keeps working, until it reaches its limit. As a professional, I will keep delivering amazing songs to everyone. 10 year anniversary, here we go!”

Her record company, Avex states, “There was already an announcement to fans, and this comment was a declaration of her dedication to her 10 year anniversary.”

In 2000, Ayu had to postpone part of her tour because of the condition in her inner left ear. Since then, it was announced on various media including tv that as an after effect, her hearing would continue to deteriorate.

For the original article, go to: http://www.sanspo.com/geino/top/gt200801/gt2008010700.html

According to sponichi.co.jp, V6’s Inohara Yoshihiko(31) and actress Seto Asaka(30) announced at a press conference on the 28th at Tokyo Akasaka’s TBS that they would be getting married. The two already live together, and are to get their marriage license soon. They have not planned a date for their wedding ceremony just yet. Asaka is not pregnant. “I want to work on building a family with endless smiles,” said Inohara, and Asaka said with a smile, “We will do our best together”.

For the original article, go to: http://www.sponichi.co.jp/entertainment/special/2007jya/20070618top.html

The strong collaboration returns. It has been announced that TOKIO’s new song will be written and composed by singer/songwriter Nakajima Miyuki (55) and will be called “Honjitsu Mijukumono”(planned to be on sale 8/15)

This TOKIO x Nakajima Miyuki collaboration is the second one following last year’s hit single, “Sorafune”. This single will be an Enka inspired rock number and will be used for TOKIO member Yamaguchi Tatsuya’s upcoming NTV drama “Juken no Kamisama” (Starting 7/14 at 9pm),

“It’ll be great if the song and the drama both are a hit”, commented Yamaguchi. Once again, this single will feature Nagase Tomoya(28) as the only singer and he commented, “After listening to the song when we were done recording, I was amazed at how great this collaboration sounded” and he predicted a hit.

For the original article, go to: http://www.sanspo.com/geino/top/gt200706/gt2007062209.html

According to sanspo.com, it was announced on the 29th at Tokyo, Shinjuku Studio Alta that Fuji TV’s “Waratte Iitomo!” (which airs Monday-Friday) will gain two new regular members: actress Minamino Yoko (39) and talent Hoshino Aki (30).

Minamino will be on Tuesdays, and Hoshino on Mondays starting the beginning of April. This is the first time that Minamino will be a regular on any variety show and she commented, “I will turn 40 in June so I want to enjoy the games along with the women my age watching the show.”

On the other hand, continuing after the Kouhaku last year being a regular on various shows “for the people”, Hoshino commented, “I’m very excited and happy to be on a show that I’ve been watching since I was a child.”

For the original article, click here.

According to Sanspo.com, it was announced on the 29th of this month that TOKIO’s Yamaguchi Tatsuya (35) has been picked as the 15th CM character for the vitamin drink Ripovitan D (Taisho Drugs).

Yamaguchi states that it was his wish to one day be in the commercials ever since he saw them when they first came out and he shook hands with his partner for the commercial, Kane Kosugi (32). This year marks the 30th anniversary of the commercial’s catch phrase, “Fight~ Ippatsu!” and Yamaguchi commented, “I’m genuinely happy to be able to be in a commercial that has such a history,” and smiled. This is the first time that a Johnnys Jimusho talent is appearing in the commercial.

The commercials are famous for not using CG despite the various strenuous tasks and scenarios the characters are put in. The filming for this particular commercial was done earlier in March in Oahu and took 8 days. Yamaguchi had to do kiteboarding for the first time in his life for the commercial and said, “I rode waves 20-30 times and my arms still hurt. It was quite hard. In the scene where I’m supposed to fall off my bike, I fell quite hard and broke the lens of the camera.”

When asked who he’d like to be partnered up with in this commercial if it were another TOKIO member, Yamaguchi said, “Leader (Joushima Shigeru). He doesn’t have much energy (so he’d like him to drink the vitamin drink),” and sent him a possible costarring request. The commercial will start airing on April 1st.

For the original article, click here.

It was announced on the 20th that DREAMS COME TRUE’s hit songs “Mirai Yosouzu II” and “Mirai Yosouzu” will become a movie in the fall. Since the release of “Mirai Yosouzu II” in 1989 the song has been a hit at karaoke boxes everywhere even today and now the pure love story that is sung about in the songs will now be brought back to life with a movie starring Matsushita Nao.

“The third spring since we graduated…”

From women in their twenties to women in their forties, they have probably sung Dorikamu’s “Mirai Yosouzu II” at karaoke at least once. The song talks about a young couple who promise each other that they will keep living for the moment and their feelings will never change. Even 18 years after its release date, it is a very popular song that is sung at weddings.

Using that pure love story as a base, this fall the movie “Mirai Yosouzu” will be released in theaters. In the fall of 2004, one of Shochiku’s producers, Kobayashi heard the song on the radio and the idea of a movie dawned on him.

With that, they brought talks with DREAMS COME TRUE about the movie last January and in July the members Yoshida Miwa(41) and Nakamura Masato(48) gave the okay.

The lead actress would have to portray the main character at various times in her life: in her past (age 20), the present (age 25) and the future (age 30). Because of her maturity and her role as a 26 year old heroine in the Fuji TV drama, “Koi ni Ochitara” when she was only 18 in real life, Matsushita was picked.

The male role that would be her boyfriend has not been decided yet and auditions are still being held. The theme songs for the movie will be “Mirai Yosouzu II” and “Mirai Yosouzu”, and Dorikamu’s own Nakamura will be the music supervisor for the movie. “To see a Dorikamu song that I love so much become a movie and the fact that I will be starring in it is like a dream,” said Matsushita.

For the original article, click here.