Category: Japanese

  • Monday Blues, How About You!

    I finally get the LOEN 1theK thing re-brand. WON-DAH-K, Wonder K? Right? Too slow? Didn’t care much maybe? ANYWAY~

    SunnyHill released the first part of their Sunny Blues album (which is pretty good), and have just released one of them videos where they teach how to dance for Monday Blues, but they never seem to time that release to an ACTUAL Monday. But still~~~ SeungAh is being ridiculously over-the-top Aegyo cute. I can’t seem to resist it.

    How can this be dork, cute and sexy all at the same time?

  • The Late 2012-2013 Music Highlights

    amys-2012-2013-music-highlights-yammag

    I think I could work more on the 2013 list, but then it will be 2015! LOL I also hate that I don’t have my font pack at hand because this graphic is UHHHH-GLAY. My Frankenstein Computer is back! I’m so happy~

    Anyway, here are 30 album picks by all different artists that released (almost) full-length albums these last two years. And here are all their covers in gallery form, and here’s a Facebook Gallery, it contains some playlists and iTunes links. And here’s a Xiami playlist, where you can (almost) access all the albums. And a Weibo post in case you’re there.

    And here’s the YAM Magazine list that contains all my ramblings, with playlist/streaming and buy links.

  • Yu Aoi and her 15 Years in the Business

    There’s an interview with Yu Aoi on (I guess, Japanese?) Woman Mangazine, where she mentions that she’s celebrating 15 years of work… so here’s a snapshot from some issue of ku:nel Magazine of Yu Aoi just chilling eating plain yogurt.

    yu-aoi-kunel-magazine

    Random enough? LOL, in the interview she talks about what she’s learned from other more experienced actors, like they’re not people of expressions, but people of labor. Then later explains how that played into her “training camp” experience for the shooting of Haru wo Seotte, which was shot at over 2500m above sea level in the snowy mountains.

    You can read the whole interview here.

    In the meantime, lets take a look at some oldies of Yu’s career, because~~~ WHY NOT? Some good old fashioned All About Lily Chou Chou screencaps via buta-neko.net, and some rare Oha GARU screencap via this blog.

  • Rina Takeda Kicking Ass in the Morning, Taking Names in the Evening

    High-Kick Girl! was a really really poorly-edited movie with a very weak script, but Rina Takeda makes a lasting impression because, well… in their words: “No wires. No stuntmen. Literally really kicking. Seriously… I get kicked.” is their selling point.

    If Scarlet Johansson gets to be an action star. Why shouldn’t Rina Takeda get to do it? Please, Luc Besson and Donnie Yen and Jackie Chan. Take notice!

    SO.MUCH.POTENTIAL.RIGHT.THERE.

    Karate Girl was already an improvement. Imagine the possibilities with a strong director, first class action choreography and a proper project surrounding the girl.

  • Hyde vs. Beto Cuevas vs. Sanam – FIGHT!

    We got a triple FIGHT!

    It was the second half of 2003 when I was listening to La Ley quite non-stop, since it was only one of the handful CDs that I had taken to Canada, when my friend grabbed my headphones and told me, “Do you know l’Arc en Ciel? It sounds exactly like him, but in not-Japanese.” I’d always kept that at the back of my mind until today when I found this new Indian band called Sanam, and had a similar thought.

    Of course, l’Arc en Ciel has over twenty years of history already, so it’s an obvious imbalanced fight. Though I do kinda chuckle whenever people refer to lead vocalist Hyde as a “chibi” person, as well as measuring other people as “one hyde and one inch tall” LOL

    Note: Also love how the fans sing as a prelude.

    Of course, if La Ley hadn’t decided to split mid-noughties, they’d have a couple of years into l’Arc en Ciel, and the image that I have of Beto Cuevas wouldn’t be so quite embarrassing.
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  • Why Can’t We Have More of This: Yu Aoi + Kim Soo Hyun

    I didn’t realize this was THIS old, but why isn’t anything else happening with this much perfection together? Seriously. Nearly three years after the launch of Madfory magazine in October 2011. Three freaking years!

    madfory-oct11-yu-aoi-kim-soo-hyun

    You know you want it- another quirky romantic dramedy by Park Chan-wook starring these two.

  • These Are My Movie Dads of 2013

    … or maybe I’m just projecting too much, but I thought 2013 had a lot of Father/Son-Daughter relationship movies. Even when it wasn’t literally a blood-relation, like in the more clear case between Idris Elba and Rinko Kikuchi (et Ashida Mana) in Pacific Rim, or the more blurred relationship between Jiao Xu with Mr. Go in Mr. Go.

    movies-dads-of-2013

    I cried in a couple of these ones, but I won’t tell you which. LOL

    From left to right, top to bottom: Koreeda’s Like Father, Like Son; Miracle in Cell No. 7; Metro Manila; Pacific Rim; Saving Mr. Banks; Silent Witness; About Time; Police Story 2013; Instructions Not Included; and Mr. Go.

  • It’s an Oh Yeah vs. FIGHT!

    It feels like ages ago, but about five years ago Crowd Lu geek his way into my music heart [1], and I’ve loved him ever since. No questions about it. It isn’t the case so much with Kreva, whom I’ve only just met but haven’t properly been introduced because- DUH! Japan is always a bitch about distribution. It’s gotten better with YouTube, but Kreva’s iTunes page is bare except for his collaboration with Miyavi.

    And I’m too lazy to do ‘other things’ anyway~

    So while YouTubing, I ran into this:

    Oh Yeah~

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  • More Yu Aoi Short Takes in the Mountain on Fire!

    Super messy Yu Aoi post ahead~

    With the release of Haru wo Seotte [trailer] this Saturday, the release of Mozu Season 2 next, followed by Wakamono-tachi and Rurouni Kenshin Kyoto Inferno, all promotions are meshing with one another.

    First, Kenichi Matsuyama and Yu together in this CinemaCafe interview.

    haru-wo-seotte-kenichi-matsuyama-yu-aoi-001

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  • Hilarious Machiko Ono’s NG Swimming Take

    I almost prefer that rough and tumbling Machiko Ono over the one elegantly sitting in the show. LOL Having said that, the water must be freezing, and having to swim in it must have been torture.

    Who am I kidding? The NG take is hilarious.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u5i2qv-hgnQ

    Since I’m totally elated that Gokuaku Ganbo is legally streaming online, my review of it is already out in both English and Spanish [1][2]. If you love Machiko Ono (and maybe a bit of Odagiri Joe) don’t doubt in checking it out.