I finally found big scans of that So-En photoshoot Yu did for this month’s issue.
Did Yu really cut her hair? Because her hair is really tucked away otherwise~~~ I love Yu wearing glasses, and I love Yu with that hat. Love her hair on the cover, and that puffy hair is hilarious. xD
I had to make a wallpaper of that photo with the hat. xD
In case you haven’t gotten the hi-res,
check it out over at Yurikofans.cn from Hudie.com
Now, if only there were non-watermarked scans…
This is the Spanish edition of Haruki Murakami’s book also titled with the same name. It tells a bizarre real-time (think of Fox’s 24) story surrounding a 19-year-old named Mari who sits at a random Denny’s restaurant in the middle of the night, when a dude comes by telling her they’ve met once before, he’s a friend of Mari’s older sister, Eri. At the same time, Eri is seen in a neverending sleep, as if she never wanted to wake up again.
To be honest, I didn’t really get the chapters that described Eri’s bizarre sleeping sequences. At first, it was kind of scary, but it just didn’t do much for me in the end. I did really enjoy Mari, though. I wanted to know more about her… perhaps because I can relate effing around at a Denny’s in the middle of the night. Sometimes I would go there — maybe call a friend, or stop by a friend who lived around it — get something to eat or drink and waste time. I would also go on the longest walks around town with a friend at 2am, taking photographs or ending up at the local playground sitting on the swings. I still miss those.
Anyway, I digress. What I wanna say is that I could see a bit of me in Mari, so I wanted to read more about her. I thought all the stuff related (people, not incidents) to the Love Hotel was very interesting… Kaoru, Korogi and Komugi. And Takahashi made me laugh.
I gotta admit that this would play out nicely on a movie, though. While reading it, I was imagining Yu Aoi as Mari — I know she’s way too old for the role, but she can pull it off LOL — there was also Eita as Takahashi (tall, skinny and a feeling like you can tell him stuff), Shizuyo Yamasaki as Kaoru, Mikako Ichikawa as Korogi… and I had a dilemma whether to choose Asami Mizukawa or Kou Shibasaki as Eri. The good thing is that in the book everyone says Mari and Eri are very different. Mari is never considered gorgeous like her model sister Eri, so I could get away with any of the two. You could sense that Mari is pretty, but not in the “omg-she’s-so-hot” kind of way. I feel like Shibasaki would fit better as an older sister to Aoi’s Mari, however, Mizukawa is 2 years older than Aoi (same age difference with the characters) and I think fits better the whole “hot” factor. Plus, both Shibasaki and Mizukawa have shared the screen with Eita already. xD
As for the Chinese character, I dunno. Maybe Sandrine Pinna? I know it’s a pretty small role, but she’s sorta the same age as Aoi. I think it’s a tough role though, but it’d be interesting to see what the on-screen chemistry is on that particular scene at the Love Hotel. As for the other Chinese dude, I was thinking Chen Chang~~~ as for the office worker guy, I know he’s supposed to be in his 30s, but would I be pushing it if I’d say Abe Hiroshi feels like a good choice?
I want this movie made. Ha! With this cast! Make it happen Murakami-san!
Otherwise known in English as “South of the Border, West of the Sun,” it tells the story of Hajime who meets with a childhood friend he hasn’t met in the last 25 years. Her name is Shimamoto, and Hajime is contemplating leaving his wife and daughters to be with her.
To be really honest, when I was reading 20-year-old-Hajime, I felt I was reading myself. Except I’m not a dude. But I did feel that way. Actually, I could also relate with the fact that he was an only child. The way his head worked, his personality… it reminded me of me.
However, unlike Hajime… I think ahead. LOL — I really didn’t know whether to shout at him, or roll my eyes when he began cheating on Izumi. But I’m also forced to admit that I was actually hoping he would get together with Shimamoto, and I actually had to stop reading the two last chapters because I was feeling his desperation. She is never coming back, and she’s trying to erase everything that will remind you of her.
I wanted to know what was up with Shimamoto, I was expecting a big revelation, instead I got a bucket of cold water.
Other than that reading experience? My moral compass (do I really have one? After all, people have already called me a Fascist) tells me that Shimamoto was wrong, but as she explains… she couldn’t help herself. She had to see him, and she had to talk to him. I wonder if the book would be as “popular” if it were written in the perspective of a woman going about her teens cheating on her boyfriend with his cousin, and then cheating on her husband with her childhood crush.
I love to hate or hate to love that last chapter on the emptiness. 4/5
We are also closing in the #1 spot of our 10 choices for Actors we should be checking out until they’re 30~~~ But first, on the #2 spot is Japanese actor Kenichi Matsuyama.
For those not familiar with Japanese films, Matsuyama is an unknown face that you should be knowing. He’s only 24, and has over two dozen films on his filmography, among them? Worst by Chance (with fellows The 20 to Watch actors Hayato Ichihara and Yu Aoi), The Taste of Tea, Linda Linda Linda, Nana (with fellow The 20 to Watch Aoi Miyazaki), Yamato, Don’t Laugh at my Romance (with fellow Yu Aoi again). He also has the Death Note manga franchise, so he’s got a franchise under his belt ;P
He plays quiet, he plays weird, he plays heartthrob, he does drama, he does comedy. He does it all.
Next up for him, he’ll be on Haruki Murakami’s Norwegian Wood adaptation alongside Academy Award nominee Rinko Kikuchi. With such variety, we can’t just stop watching~~~
I just made a gallery at Flickr on gender-bending photos~
can only add 18 pics though =(
some celebrity photos! LOL – check it out!
This is, obviously, a request post… as well as a filler post. xD
Basically, I’m kind of tired… and lazy to “try” to translate, what I don’t get.
So I’m asking anyone who has an understanding of Japanese, and has a small interest in Yu Aoi work to help us poor non-Japanese speakers with translations. There are all these bunch of scans out there, but none of them are translated or even commented on, so it’d be great to at least know what they talk about, right?
Then there’s the video interviews… and then there’s some of those projects that never see the light of fansub day. LOL – So I want fans to gather here, all translation credit would go to the people translating.
So just putting this out there…
Leave a message, I’ll get in touch with the email you leave on the form.
A regular person would have 8 or 9 films, on this video you’ll get to see clips for 27 films (though a few of those are just blink and miss them, or just a still). I’ve seen most but 6 films, I think. I’m still looking for 1980, and JUKAI.
Plus, this is the best way to choose what Yu film you wanna watch~ xD
[iframe src=”https://www.tudou.com/v/ozVm6oSk6p8/v.swf” width=”480″ height=”400″]
check post tags for movie info. some missing because they’re not on this blog.
by the way, Ikechan looks sooooo weird. I wonder if the movie is any good.
As always, I think I’m a little off with the guys. O.o
I feel the list is a bit uninspiring, LOL
check it out yourself~~~
So this month I bought a whole (and I mean like half a dozen) books because I felt like I had been spending all my money on music and movies, and had stopped reading. To be honest, I was beginning to feel like I was being a little ignorant on everything that had to do with books xD
So I grabbed everything Asian I could find on the shelf, including this Alfaguara Spanish translation of Crying Out Love, In the Center of the World (aka Socrates in Love, aka SEKACHU in short Katakana xD) by Kyoichi Katayama. The book sprang a manga series, as well as a film (starring Masami Nagasawa, Mirai Moriyama and Kou Shibasaki), and a TV drama… as well as other Asian remakes, namely Korean. xD
The book is about the tragic young love of Sakutaro and Aki, and it was apparently very well-received by the public in Japan because of its theme. The Spanish translation is a bit idiotic, some of the words used are very Mexican in use, so I didn’t really know what it meant. The story is super short, but it expands a long period of time so the story feels rushed and characters are barely examined.
For example, I’m not really sure why should I care much for Aki, other than Sakutaro having a crush (or being in love with her), I am led to believe she is good nature, a good student, shy, and a regular kawaii girl, but I’ve no idea what makes her tick, what are her passions. I don’t relate to her… or him. I know he cares for her, I also know he contemplated getting under her panties or wanted to touch her. I know they are supposed to have developed a deep friendship, but it’s not on the book. I know people begin to see them as one, and I’m a sucker for this type of relationships, but it’s not on the book.
If I want to see sweet tragic love, I’ll get Sweet November (though, I haven’t read the book), but the movie starring Charlize Theron and Keanu Reeves (though badly received by critics) made me so sad.
2/5