we are only made of air and dust

Meisa Kuroki & Tabe Mikako to star in a suspense series

The only way this would have been more awesome was if it was Maki in the 'white' role, but that would have been too obvious. As it is, Tabe is fantastic, and I suspect she'll do a lot of the heavy lifting, emotion-wise. I have written before about how I don't like procedurals regardless of what language they're in - but this, with two of my favorite actresses? Japan, are you making up for the Hana Kimi reboot fuckery and Ouran DNW drama adaptation? And continued getsu fail?

AND SHIROTA IS IN THIS TOO. WOOO!

Who wants to bet he turns out evil?

I'll be watching this and Arakawa under the bridge (I'll start watching the anime soon).



(ps the JYJ concert was amaaaaaaaazing and there was screaming and dancing and singing along - my friend T could outscream a plethora of fangirls, which is quite impressive)

Meisa meets Angelina Jolie at the Salt premiere.

I wouldn't be surprised if Meisa ended up doing the Japanese voice over for when Salt releases a dubbed version in Japan. She did the voice over for Kim Tae Hee's character in IRIS, and Yu Shirota voiced over for the second guy (!!!!).

Just showing up in a picture with A. Jolie has boosted Meisa's name and image in western portals a ridiculous amount. Tread carefully - we don't want another Tokyo Drift on our hands here. Or another remake of an Asian horror film.

Oh you know I will be watching this. YOU KNOW.

Yusuke Yamamoto stars in rhythmic gymnastics drama
from Tokyograph
This spring, TBS will explore the world of men's rhythmic gymnastics with a new drama series titled "Tumbling." The show will feature a cast of popular young actors, led by Yusuke Yamamoto (22) in his first lead role in a series.

Yamamoto plays a high school delinquent who has a weakness for women. When an attractive transfer student (Azusa Okamoto) joins the women's rhythmic gymnastics team, he responds by joining the men's team and soon discovers a passion for the sport. Since last fall, Yamamoto has been undergoing special gymnastics training for the role.

Although men's rhythmic gymnastics originated in Japan, the sport is still dominated by women. It is estimated that there are only about a thousand men involved in the sport competitively.

The supporting cast of "Tumbling" includes Koji Seto, Shohei Miura, Shunsuke Daito, Takahiro Nishijima, Satoshi Tomiura, Tomo Yanagishita, Kento Kaku, Soran Tamoto, Rei Okamoto, Jiro Sato, Ryoko Kuninaka, and Nene Otsuka.

TBS plans to broadcast the series on Sunday nights at 7:56pm, starting in April.


MINI ATADANHANAKIMI reunion with D-boys, that darling attention whore from AAA & Love Exposure (the best 4 hour Japanese movie you've never seen) and cute Rei Okamoto (Akai Ito).

Way to step up the game, TBS. Clearly you're not going to let Fuji get away with it.

crossposted to teamsweetpower, my pet project that I'm still not done with, but the skeleton's assembled

With a roadshow release date of April 29, 2010

recap from Tokyograph:

The film will cover the group's fictional history up until their CD debut last year.

The parody group consists of the Yajima family, which is a 37-year-old mother named Margaret (played by Tunnels' Noritake Kinashi), plus her 12-year-old daughter Strawberry (played by Tunnels' Takaaki Ishibashi) and 18-year-old daughter Naomi (played by DJ OZMA). So far, the only known detail of the group's history is that they came from Nevada to search for Margaret's missing Japanese husband. The movie, titled "Yajima Biyoshitsu THE MOVIE ~Yume wo Tsukama Nevada~," will flesh out their story.

Meisa is playing a character called Raspberry. Yusuke Yamamoto (yay!), Seiko Matsuda, Dante Carver also star in the film.

Official website: Yazima Beauty Salon




Related links:

Facebook fan group for Yazima Beauty Salon
Official Avex site for Yazima Beauty Salon

( Also, just in case you wanted to see Yazima in action )

from Tokyograph

Yajima Biyoshitsu, a three-member unit created by DJ OZMA and comedy duo Tunnels, has a movie coming out in spring 2010. The film will cover the group's fictional history up until their CD debut last year.

The parody group consists of the Yajima family, which is a 37-year-old mother named Margaret (played by Tunnels' Noritake Kinashi), plus her 12-year-old daughter Strawberry (played by Tunnels' Takaaki Ishibashi) and 18-year-old daughter Naomi (played by DJ OZMA). So far, the only known detail of the group's history is that they came from Nevada to search for Margaret's missing Japanese husband. The movie, titled "Yajima Biyoshitsu THE MOVIE ~Yume wo Tsukama Nevada~," will flesh out their story.

Meisa Kuroki (21) will reportedly play Strawberry's rival. Child actress Ayaka Wilson (12) has also been cast. Filming is already in progress, and distributor Shochiku is aiming for a Golden Week release.

DJ OZMA and Tunnels formed Yajima Biyoshitsu last summer. They made their CD debut in October 2008 with the single "Nihon no Mikata - Nevada Kara Kimashita," which charted at #3 in its opening week. They released two more singles this year, reaching #5 and #9 on the sales charts.

Meisa's staff blog updated with confirmation of the news, Meisa is playing an 11 year old girl called Raspberry. Cue lolcats. If you youtube Yajima (or is Yoshima?) Beauty Salon, you'll see them in action.  I'm imagining Meisa with a fro or a beehive right now.

( Yajima Beauty Salon - move over, Beyonce?!? )

put this in my knee-jerk, irrationally critical, dismissive box of scorn pile - Fuji TV is allegedly attempting to remake Coffee Prince? With Tamaki Hiroshi and Nana Eikura?

oh HELLS NO.

And this is coming from a person who only *liked* Coffee Prince. I didn't fall for it like an anvil, my heart at the time was preoccupied with the summer deliciousness of Hanazakari no Kimitachi e, but part of the charm of Coffee Prince was how it was so anti k-drama tropes.

I know that jdrama has been in a rut and can't count on a superstar manga adaptation all the time to get in new viewers, so they juggle genres like fashion juggles the debate: 80's fashion - horrifically ugly or just ahead of its time? - so we get seasons where it's mystery heavy or stupid medical dramas heavy (oh by the way, Japan, thanks. Because we really needed Code Blue 2), or the new flavor of cop drama heavy, and sometimes you get gems out of the old workhorses (Bara no nai Hanaya, Jin (so I hear - I haven't watched it yet)) - but there just seems to be a lot of filler in jdramas lately, and I don't want to break up with you, jdrama! I don't! Kdrama was my first boyfriend and we all know how well that relationship ended up - with tears and accidental gouging and someone may have had mercury poisoning and then I found out I was my own cousin! Or something!

And twdrama is the dirty first date that always ends up with hostile accusations over, "no, your MOM," and now I'm not invited to the family bbq anymore.

so jdrama. How do we solve a problem like you? And don't say well why don't you watch English language tv. Because I'm about 10 seasons behind everything now and all my favorite shows are cancelled, and I'm pretty sure Glee and I are the equivalent of speed dating - it seemed like a good idea at the time, but now I'm wondering why I don't like this bucket of shallow anymore.

Getting back to the point, I see more bad than good associated with an alleged (see my crazy? this is only ALLEGED. There hasn't even been a whisper of an announcement.) remake of Coffee Prince. I just want (and this is always the case - for everything - more attempts to watch original scripts, not adapted from a manga or mystery novel) and more grown ups, or idols convincingly acting as grown ups, and the second guy to get a fair chance, and okay FUJI DON'T REMAKE COFFEE PRINCE.

Koishite Akuma episode 7: It'd be adorable if it wasn't SO CREEPY.

Neither Rosa Kato or Yuma Nakayama are good enough actors for me to shake off "this is disturbing" and go directly into.."yet oddly compelling and delicious." Instead I keep on thinking Makoto-sensei needs to get a grip AND STOP MEETING HER STUDENT FOR SECRET DATES, Ruka needs a baby-sitter and some Vampire Prozac, and no one is appreciating Oscar-san, eh, Fuji-san's innate fabulousness.

( look upon this face and despair )

( spoiler for guest star in episode 8 )

The less said about my life currently the better, but at least fandom remembers to keep me happy (and this is the fandom lj, after all.)




Why I'm still PISSED at the producers and screenwriter of Kurosagi: The Movie (WASTE OF TIME), because they totally squandered THIS, THIS COMPLETE ADORABLENESS for the sake of putting Yamapi in a few hundred terrible wigs 'disguises'. YOU TOTALLY FAILED THAT TIME, JAPAN. (Don't think I haven't FORGOTTEN.)

and also:



NEW FACE OF ROMANCE.

My standards? They have completely gone on holiday - because when I actively look forward to how awful Koishite Akuma is going to be, and yet, I rub my hands in glee in anticipation? You know I have no standards left.

There might be fic, guys. I KNOW I AM TOTALLY HORRIFIED.

take two!

or, JAPAN DOES TWILIGHT. I'm just going to run out and get some popsicles, and then I'll be back to liveblog. AND DONE.



Look! Who says I can't use what I learned from korean dramas in real time?

oh, and I almost forgot. I'm going to be in NY July 30-August 5 (flying in on the 29th) to see my BFF and other friends I've known since HS, and I know cynicalism and I are going to attempt a second meetup (seeing how she's going to be on MY side of the country a few days before). I haven't been back to NY since I was an adult (with the exception of the 2007 Eurofiesta), so if anything's cool or changed since then - that I should go see, please let me know?

I'm planning on stopping by Muji. ^__^

( he's unresponsive, sighs dismissively, and doesn't play well with others -- and he's a teenage boy )

Okay, one of the unfortunate souvenirs I received while celebrating INDEPENDENCE!AMERICA! was a rather nasty sunburn. I'm recuperating now, and it doesn't hurt so much as it is very sore and tender and kind of itchy. I've been anointing myself with tons of aloe vera and cetaphil moisturizer, so the damage could be far worse than it actually is.

Anyway, helping me get over the loss of Atadan Tuesdays (ILULITTLESTHOBO) is a show that I think may dislodge Koizora (film AND drama) from my list of So Terrible it's Kind of AMAZING entertainment, not to be confused with the So Terrible it should be banned from all right thinking people's eyeballs and minds FOREVER list or So Terrible But Mostly Meh and finally the So Terrible it's Awful and I blame you [insert scapegoat name here] lists.

Koishite Akuma, aka, JAPAN DOES TWILIGHT...ONLY CRAZIER.

Twilight by the way is on the second list, if you were interested.

My knowledge of Twilight is admittedly based on the wikipedia entries, the movie, the fandom, and finally, about 200 pages of the first book. Or was it the second book? I forget, there was some speed reading and pointing in horror involved.

Now some of you may scoff (and rightfully so): how can Japan outcrazy Twilight? After all, is Twilight not the incredibly true story of a stupid girl and the vampire stalker she's in love with, and all of their unresolved sexual tension set to purple prose and disturbing codependent themes?

Well, Koishite Akuma features a teenage vampire boy who hates all humans (Hates!) who is forced to go to a high school full of PEOPLE with BLOOD in their VEINS and falls fangs over heart for his homeroom teacher, who is played by the baby-faced Rosa Kato. I don't care what all you haters say, his hoodie seemes to imply - this is twu wuv and I have zippers up the back of my bondage pants to prove that I am DARK and INTERESTING and CONFLICTED.

And also my eyes change color! DO I NOT DAZZLE YOU, BRIEF MORTALS?

The boy vamp is played by one of the interchangeable JE!fetuses, though one of my friends strenously denies this, and also features Oscar!from Hana Kimi, Nanami Sakuraba (Akai Ito, Futatsu Spica), Rei Okamoto (Akai Ito) and seriously, do you really care who's in it?

IT'S FORBIDDEN LOVE between a tween vampire and his homeroom teacher! If this was America, it'd be a Jonas Brother and what's her name from Gossip Girls!


ZOOMED up my must watch list, I tell you. ZOOMED. Because I have a very healthy WTF meter and threshold for utterly AWFUL(DELICIOUS) isanity(inanity), when it's delivered like this.

I'll be liveblogging the first episode and once a better quality torrent shows up, screencapping, because...remember HOODIES NEED LOVE TOO.