So, I need to apologize to KNDY and whoever else actually read my blog. September was a very busy month for me it seems. I started a second job at the Sanrio Store, which took up a lot of my time and then I’ve spent the last week sick. It appears I might finally be recovering from that -_-;. I apologize for any inconvenience.

Last week when I went to rent DVDs at the Japanese video rental, I was shocked to see that the latest Mentore G DVD said “終” on it. That character means “end”. I know I had been a little bit out of the loop with keeping up with my JE Blogs and News sites but I had no idea it was going to end! I just watched the last episode yesterday, and I must say it was a very non climactic ending. Eight years or so years on the air, and not even a 2 hour special, just a 1 hour episode with Kokubun’s top 20 picks out of Mentore restaurant and the wrap up of their Global project, that they just started airing. I think that was one of the biggest reasons I was surprised that it was ending. They just started the Mentore G Global Project thingie and it already ended…

Sadly after doing a little more research, it seems the show finally ended because of the drop in ratings since 2008. Last year, Mentore G went from being a late night 30 minute program to a full hour program during “Golden Time” (pretty much primetime). At first, the full hour show was doing great in my opinion… but then the “Yonjatta” segment they started doing was a real hit and miss with me. I really missed the “Gakuya Houmon” segment where they would show the guest’s belongings. Then they started the “Tokio Garage” segment recently and that was tons of fun but once again, short lived since the show ended. It seems that giving Mentore G a Golden Time timeslot, it pretty much ended up killing the show.

They still had a lot of great guests and their guest talks were still a lot of fun and of course, Mentore Restaurant was still fun as ever… but apparently it wasn’t enough to keep the show alive. I had been regularly watching that show religiously for the past 2+ years so it’s really sad for me. TOKIO is super fun when they’re all together doing a show. I read a rumor that there will be a new show starting instead so I’m hoping that’s true.

Thankfully, SMAPXSMAP and Tetsuwan DASH! Are both running strong even after over 12 years of being on the air. Two of my regular shows are still going strong ^_^

haha I look like an idiot in this picture XD ah well

So it’s been a little while since I last posted but I had a busy couple of weeks :/ Last weekend, I was at a Backstreet Boys concert. This either makes complete sense to some people (people who know me), and confuses alot of others (once again…people who know me).

I am a person who listens to tons of different genres of music. Prominently, I seem to listen to a lot of Pop and… Metal. This confuses alot of people, but for people who know me… it makes sense (sort of). I am a huge Johnnys fan (as I’ve mentioned before) and there is one boyband in the US that I am also a huge fan of… the Backstreet Boys.

I’m not a typical fangirl though… I have never freaked out seeing them in person. I have never started shaking, screaming, or crying just because they are in front of me. Of course, I will get excited to see them live, but never to the point that I lose all composure. Actually, when little girls scream behind me “OMGNICKILOVEYOUMARRYMEASLDFKJQOIJALS!!!!!!” it scares the crap out of me. There was one time at an *NSync show(hey guess what, I like them too) a little girl (when I say “little”, I mean she was tiny. She was probably 16ish) screamed so loud and in such a high, ear piercing tone, I literally jumped because I thought someone was getting killed behind me. To make things even better, the only reason she screamed was… the lights went off.

Yes, they have cheesy music but I think they have decent music too. Of course some of their lyrics are laughable, but it doesn’t mean it’s not enjoyable. It’s pop music, don’t take it so seriously people. Everytime I see them live, I am reminded why I like them so much. They put on such energetic and fun shows… and the most recent one I went to was the end of tour show so we got tons of extra bits (pranks galore) that made it even better. They still know how to put on a show and I had tons of fun. One of the interesting things for me… was the fact that there were so many young fans there. The first time I saw them was 10 years ago… and even now, there are girls in their teens that enjoy their music. That only surprised me because their mainstream popularity has died down obviously in the past few years.

I think another reason I’m still a fan after all these years is because I’ve actually had the oppurtunity to meet them more than once (Nick Carter the most). They are absolutely sweet to their fans in every encounter I’ve had with them. I’m thankful that they are people who understand that they are nothing without their fans. I’m also thankful that in the US, it’s alot easier to meet celebrities. In Japan, meeting any Johnnys kids would be rather hard and the way they handle fan encounters is a lot different in the US.

In the US, celebrities are obviously put on another level, but it’s not uncommon to hear that people have met them or have taken pictures with them. In Japan, especially with idols, I think they are put on an even higher level. Idols in Japan are expected (mostly by their management) to uphold a certain image, and if something like a scandal was to tarnish that image (you mean they aren’t perfect?) that could seriously be the end of their career. In the US, it seems that publicity is publicity.

In the end, I will always get a lot of crap for liking them and personally, I don’t care. I’m comfortable with liking them and they’ve given me plenty of reasons to like them and their music. I don’t judge people because of the music they listen to. Right now, the most played bands on my iPod’s top 10 include: BSB, GLAY, KAT-TUN, In Flames, Rammstein, TOKIO, Kanjani 8, Kamelot and Journey (yeah, I know… wtf?)

Anyways, this entry was a rather random entry and my next entry will get back on track. I hope everyone had a nice weekend!

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

The following photo of m.o.v.e was taken at Sakura Con in 2007.