Archives For Manga

Yu Aoi for Rurouni Kenshin Live-Action

August 30, 2011 — 7 Comments

Is any of you Yu-chan fans a fan of Rurouni Kenshin?

I gotta admit that I’ve never read the manga — but I hardly read any manga or comic, so… — and I seldom watched the anime series they just to show regularly on Cartoon Network. But I did watch (and own) that OVA movie… Samuari X: Truth and Betrayal. I kinda loved it.

But I don’t know much about the Rurouni Kenshin universe, so I can’t tell you much.

Yu Aoi has been confirmed as Takani Megumi, which according to Wikipedia:

Megumi is the youngest daughter of Takani Ryūsei, a well-known doctor in Aizu which was an important province supporting the Tokugawa Shogunate. During the Boshin Wars, Megumi’s father died and the rest of her family went missing, leaving her as the sole survivor.

[…]

Watsuki’s describes his standalone Megumi as bearing a “lighter quality” as she had a small role in that story. In the final series Watsuki decided to give her an “earthy quality” so she could make an impression on the reader.

The description on Wikipedia makes it sound like an interesting role involving Megumi knowing Western and Eastern medicine… and the tragic disappearance of her family, as well as an opium storyline. But alas, I doubt they will deal with that in the film, considering she’s not a main character xD

Yu-chan is joined by Munetaka Aoki, who was on Nihonjin Shiranai no Nihongo and also shared credits with Yu-chan on NHK’s Taiga drama last year. Both actors will be back together with their Ryomaden director, Keishi Otomo.

In Celebrity, English, Films, Japanese, Manga, Sharing ,
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Kou Shibasaki is a Rocking Lady Shogun

April 29, 2011 — 3 Comments

Thoughts on Ooku?

You know I really really love Kou Shibasaki’s acting (not so much her music), and she was easily the best part in that movie. And it’s not even that scene in which the chambers opened to a sight of pretty men bowing to her, and she tells them they’re a bunch of useless and pretty men. LOL

Is not even that scene.

Continue Reading…

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Hello, Goodbye YAM012~

October 15, 2010 — Leave a comment

Hello to YAM012.

Goodbye (sorta) to YAM PDF.

Hello to yam-mag.com~

Head over, for the last time, to my portfolio to download the latest and last issue.

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This just Freshly Pressed.

So what type of geek are you?

I guess I’m a Music and Film Geek. I actually don’t know how to arrange my albums because Asian albums are not necessarily jewelcase, so now the collection is all wonk. And so many discs in the movie collection, too lazy to arrange. xD

Been buying books, but not on a specific subject. Got a bit of novels, a bit graphic design, photography… just one manga collection, and one comic book collection (3 out of 5 volumes).

Posted on September 23, 2010 In Books, Comics, DVD/BR, English, Manga, Music, Sharing ,
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Ohoku – Ooku Trailer

Based on the manga by Fumi Yoshinaga, Ooku — refering to the quarters of the Shogun’s female companions — tells the story of a fictional Edo era in Japan where women have become the dominant members of society, and males are sought after to reproduce.

Actress Kou Shibasaki will be playing the female shogun.

[iframe width=”560″ height=”349″ src=”https://www.youtube.com/embed/Kdujx_5jPQw?rel=0″]

This made me think of the comic Y: The Last Man, which was the first ever comic I got into due to my roommate wanting me to read it. If you haven’t read it, do give it a look. You can be blown away.

As for the movie, the trailer kinda game me chills. Kou Shibasaki as the Shogun, such a marvelous idea. What’s Kazunari Ninomiya to do? xD

Posted on July 30, 2010 In Celebrity, Comics, English, Films, Japanese, Manga, Sharing, Trailers
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Yu Aoi for Anan

June 4, 2010 — 1 Comment

Trivia bit?

This issue came out on March 2010. Yu also appears on the Anan covers for March 2009 and March 2008. And she’s got at least 5 Anan covers in total, though I dunno their dates.

How I noticed? I name my photoshoot files with name of magazine and date of publication, and if possible… photographer, though that usually happens with publications in English.

Continue Reading…

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Korea Loves Them Gays on Prime Time

May 3, 2010 — 8 Comments

Well, the Korea Herald article is specifically talking about Korean prime time television, but we all know Asia is big on the gay… being with Fan Service on promos, or by actually putting these pretty people on screen.

Min’s own film, which featured a gay pastry chef, serves as a case in point. According to Min, “Antique” drew an audience that ended up being around 86 percent female.

This might explain why the vast majority of homosexual or potentially gay characters are played by attractive actors like Zo In-sung (who starred in “A Frozen Flower”) or “Coffee Prince” heartthrob Kim Jae-wook (who starred in “Antique”).

Oh, and this topic is so totally Julz, who’s disappeared. I know she’s got a lot to comment about this topic. As for me, well… if everyone [at least in America or the UK] seem to exploit girl-on-girl — the last one to do so was Christina Aguilera on her NSFW video Not Myself Tonight, courtesy of Tudou because no one else would let me stream officially… SO SUCK IT, Aguilera’s record label — I’m all for boy-on-boy. I say it, if you’re going to be exploitative, then be exploitative with all.

And that thing about it being a trend? Well, Yaoi and Yuri have been around for what feels like forever. It doesn’t matter if it’s a trend or not, as long as it’s finally normalized.

Funny thing, I don’t know if it is because most my friends follow male groups, but I’ve never seen girl-on-girl kissing in Asia… seen a lot of boy-on-boy from everywhere there though. Having that, it was so weird to have Adam Lambert dude being criticized so badly on this side of the world.

I’ve seen a lot of girl-on-girl romantic tales of friendship that never went there… maybe because that’s what girls dream about a lot. Wonder why girls read so much Yuri and Yaoi xD

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I don’t like the 13th, and it’s not the 15th…

April 14, 2010 — 2 Comments

but it sure is time for YAM009 =D

is the cover kowaii??? [scary??] I would love to hear your opinion on fansubbing, as well as distribution, which are two topics I always bring up one way or the other.

You are also welcomed to comment on reviews and give suggestions.

With no further ado, go over here for download.

In Chinese, DVD/BR, English, Films, Japanese, Korean, Manga, Music, Reviews, Sharing, Spanish, Television, Torrents & Digital Streams , , , , , , , ,
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NHK ni Youkoso!

April 6, 2010 — 2 Comments

Based from the novel, and the manga series by the same same, Welcome to the NHK [which stands for most part of the series for Nihon Hikikomori Kyoukai or The Japanese Hikikomori Association] tells the story of a Hikikomori himself called Satou Tatsuhiro, a 20-something-year-old University drop-out who’s been living like a Hikikomori for almost 4 years of his life until an 18-year-old (?) girl named Misaki decides to take him on as a project and make Satou better of his social condition… as well as helping herself.

During the 24 episodes lasting 20 minutes [without opening and closing credits], we deal with a lot of what we’ve come to known as inherently Japanese odd behavior[though it’s really a global issue], including what we’ve learned to call the Japanese sub-culture of Otakus… Lolicon, video game culture, etc etc. However, we also deal with serious issues such as isolation, suicide and abuse – the last two often being such taboo topics in Asia or Latin America.

This animated series is what makes Japanese animation so avant-garde, in my opinion. Televised animation has hardly anything in its favor. They can’t ever boast on how great their graphics are, because they need to restrict their resources so they fit the budget… ultimately, animation as a medium is seen by many in America and, to a lesser extent, in Europe as a kiddies hobby. If the people often putting animated films and series down just because of  being animated could give Welcome to the NHK a chance, they’ll understand it better.

Continue Reading…

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Fandom Crossover: Nodame Cantabile + Yu Aoi

March 18, 2010 — 7 Comments

I haven’t read the Nodame manga series, but I sure am waiting for the last two movies, because I loved the live action adaptation. Also, Juri Ueno is the perfect Nodame!

Anyway, I’ll let Kawaii Joyuu do the explaining~

Actress Aoi Yu (24) or at least her voice is going to appear in the second “Nodame Cantabile” movie that is opening soon. They announced today that she is going to dub the young Hungarian woman Jadwi. Jadwi’s actual name is Jadwiga, meaning “mysterious sleeping beauty” and is a popular character in the original manga. She becomes a close friend of Nodame (Ueno Juri) and therefore one of the key characters in the second movie. Both of them meet at the music school they attend in Paris. Jadwi can play the theremin, the first ever electronic music instrument in the world. Her unique character and unique instrument eventually helps Nodame enjoying music again, after she got separated from her beloved piano.

Jadwi has a very fluffy personality. Aoi actually would be the perfect actress for the role, even Ueno already noticed that. “She has a fairy-like, very mysterious aura surrounding her, almost like Aoi Yuu,” she said. There were plans to transform Aoi into a foreign girl with the help of make-up, but who knows how that would look like in the end. Now they have a French actress playing that role and Aoi dubbing her in Japanese. “There would be no better person for this,” Ueno commented after hearing that Aoi got confirmed for the voice cast.

I have often talked about Yu’s voice acting, and her different voices. She’s got her regular voice lower and sort of as-a-matter-of-fact, and then there’s also her sponsoring voice which is high and chirpy. But she’s also done a lot of cute voice, and you also know I prefer Yu when she’s not cute… even though I can’t deny that she’s cute, and that makes you smile nonetheless. This is why Juri’s remarks on Yu’s fairy-like qualities is fascinating.

Anyway, for those Yu Aoi fans that have not seen Nodame Cantabile – it’s just a blast. I mean, the first couple of episodes are something to get used to for the wacky and over-the-top qualities [mind you, I had just gotten into J-entertainment back then], but once you get into it, it’s so SO funny. Part of the funny behind the casting of Yu as the dubbing for a Hungarian character is hilariously and bluntly pointed out on the first Nodame Europe Special.

Now there’s more reason to watch Nodame Cantabile Movie 2! xD

In Celebrity, Films, Japanese, Manga, Sharing , , ,
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