Category: Japanese

  • Interesting Fave Album Find!

    Amy seems to be quite the TuneSocial application user on Facebook… if you’ve no idea what is this, it’s an application that sort of works as a ‘virtual’ CD shelf… you can add the albums you own, or the one’s you’ve heard, etc…

    I was browsing through ‘my collection’ and noticed that I’ve never given a 5/5 score to any of the albums on my collection, HA! Talk about picky, eh? I also noticed a few glitches, but won’t report because in order to do so, I’ve got to open an account with THEM. DUMB! The main glitch is that when I wanted to find out which CDs had the best rating, and wanted to organize the albums by rating, some of the albums didn’t show up… so in order to verify my list, I had to go through the +600 albums on my list. SUCKY!

    Anyway, over the +600 albums… only 30 reach the 4.5 mark. ONLY 30!! Over +200 reach the 4/5 – so AM pretty confident about my choices of stars per albums and artists…

    So here it is! Amy’s Top Rated TuneSocial Albums! (more…)

  • Ten Steps…

    The upload of the day! xD Marit sure does know how to tease listeners…

    Just listened to it a minute ago… a bit later than I intended (it showed already 200 plays), but I was listening to the soundtrack of Kiraware Matsuko no Issho (Memories of Matsuko) – Man, that film gets me each time in the final “Okaeri”. Even the OST makes me mush inside…

    Anyway, back on Ten Steps… of the 4 tracks released already, this is by far the more country-ish that I’ve listened I think. At first, I thought I was hearing a Dixie Chicks intro xD – But Marit’s got a talent for sounding sweet about not so sweet things… ha! “I’m about to break your heart,” she says… but she’s so chirpy! It’s scary x’D

  • Yu Aoi Film Discussion – RIRI SHUSHU no Subete – All About Lily Chou Chou

    This is the first film I saw with Yu Aoi, without knowing who Yu Aoi was~~ I didn’t even know who Shunji Iwai was. I only decided to watch this because I liked the poster. Yes, I can be shallow like that because I didn’t even bother to read the synopsis… which I have found to be, most of the times, better than knowing what the film is about.

    Here’s a bit about the film:
    (from Wikipedia)
    This 2001 film directed and written by Shunji Iwai, stars Hayato Ichihara (Yuichi) and Shugo Oshinari (Hoshino), as two childhood friends that go through changes between their time in Junior High, and High School.

    Genre: Drama (Some disturbing situations involving young people.)
    Starring: Hayato Ichihara, Shugo Oshinari, Ayumi Ito, Yu Aoi
    Written and directed by: Shunji Iwai
    Duration: +2hr

    You can watch the film in 17 parts on YouTube.

    Spoilers ahead~ You’ve been warned~

    (more…)

  • Can’t believe it’s October Already!

    Amy post! I’m currently typing while listening to Salyu’s debut… ‘landmark’ – I’ve been listening to it for the past two days, repeating out loud what I could make out from just listening. Ha! Listening and pronunciation practice xD

    Coding… coding either bores me, or gives me headache. I don’t know which one I prefer. T_T – But I make do.

    ANYWAY – (more…)

  • 2008 Films Seen This Past Month

    Once again… imcomplete internet data makes me keep track of films in here~ xD Sept. 4 –

    WOW, it’s the end of the month O_o, geez Time flies by~~~ The following were on my list of latest buys of Region 3 from Hong Kong:

    • Kiraware Matsuko no Issho
    • Love Letter
    • Hoshi ni Natta Shounen
    • Swing Girls
    • Niji no Megami
    • RIRI SHUSHU (Lily Chou Chou) no Subete

    (more…)

  • Yu Aoi Film Discussion – Hana to ARISU – Hana & Alice

    First a little about the film:
    (from Wikipedia)
    Shot in 2004, by Shunji Iwai about two girls [Hana (Suzuki) and Alice (Aoi)], and the stress placed on their friendship as they move into high school.

    Genre: Dramedy (Drama/Comedy) [**NOTE: It’s a Drama with Comedy, so don’t expect huge laughs]
    Starring: Yu Aoi, Anne Suzuki
    Written and Directed by: Shunji Iwai
    Duration: +2hrs

    In case you’re interested, I invite you to catch the film at CrunchyRoll – because this post might contain spoilers xD, unless you want to be spoiled.

    (more…)

  • Kyoto (The Old Capital) by Yasunari Kawabata

    Actually name of the book in Spanish is “Kioto,” but I can never get used to writing Kyoto with an “i” –  I don’t think I can write “Tokio” either, there’s just something odd for me…

    Anyway, I bought this book on Monday… short one, “The Old Capital,” it’s called in English, from the original Japanese title “Koto,” referring to Kyoto which was Japan’s capital back in the day~ xD – I bought this book because I’m superficial and buy books by their covers. LOL’ ~ I had seen a bunch of books in the store, and read a bunch of synopsis, but eventually returned them to the rack… but not this one, because I liked the cover. xD

    Written by writer from Osaka, Yasunari Kawabata, who won a Nobel Prize for Literature in 1968 (First Japanese, and only?). In fact, this was one of the books mentioned (but I didn’t know this) … sadly, he killed himself 4 years later.

    Kyoto (sorry, can’t type it with an “i”) is a book about nothing. There’s no BOOM by the end of the story, but yet it is a surprisingly good read. You know? Like one of those films that is about a little about everything, but nothing at all? Just like that. But just so you know exactly… the back of the book says it’s about a 20-year-old girl named Chieko in Post-War Kyoto, daughter of a Kimono maker, who discovers she was an abandoned child, despite her ‘parents’ story. Then one day, she discovers something while attending one of the many festivities in the city.

    When I first began reading, I had a picture in my mind of how Chieko looked like (you may have an idea of who)~~ But then, I decided to look it up online, and found out that there was a made-for-tv-movie done for this, and OH SADNESS! I was kinda disappointed with the choice of Chieko~ T_T

    Though the Spanish translation seems good enough, it does lose some UMPH… and it makes me wonder how it would look with the use of Japanese Honorifics. I mean, they already used words such as geisha, and maiko… so why not keep the honorifics too? I think it would’ve been a better read…

    The book gets very nostalgic at points, there’s also some funny moments here and there, and there are parts that I don’t think I really got… which requires me to read it again. xD All in all, this book is a keeper~ and I want to check out other books by Kawabata.

  • Time to Discuss!

    I am currently watching and reviewing the DVD for Yu Aoi’s Tekkonkinkreet (which you can still catch on Cinemax Latin America on the 30th), and it got me thinking… I am er… fairly bored with Yu Aoi’s fandom discussion. I have found little to no people to discuss Yu Aoi Films (and other projects) with, which certainly makes me sad~~ I KNOW, photos are nice… magazine scans are too, but I need a little “meat” – after all, I was sort of a ‘film school’ student, so I need to discuss projects. I don’t need the latest movie news reporting about films, but it would be nice to discuss other films… you know ‘be active’ – case and point, I heard Natalie Portman has a fairly active fandom… I’m a lurker, and I enjoy reading.

    Anyway, I was thinking… I think I’m going to be ‘reviewing’ her films… at least the ones I’ve seen, maybe that will get me to watch some of the others I haven’t. I was thinking I should review those films based from the following criteria:

    • Overall Film
    • Yu Aoi Participation
    • Yu Aoi Performance
    • and maybe… Yu Aoi fave scene or sequence?

    Thoughts on that in the comments, and I’m off coz I remember I’ve got something to do HAHAHA – and I’ll be watching my er…  5th round of Hana and Alice on Saturday. I’m getting everyone to watch it…. hahaha, Shunji Iwai + Yu Aoi = pretty genius, non?

  • Osen OST Spotting?

    Last night I was surfing channels, and as I normally do when there’s nothing to watch on TV, I ended up on NHK. “Begin Japanology” was on (never seen it before), and they were showing how to make Dashi with some really thick seaweed, and with shavings of dried Bonito… which reminded me of Osen-san and the episode of the Katsuobushi. I will always laugh when remembering Osen-san physically assaulting the owner of the shop with the hard block of Katsuobushi… I’m telling you, priceless!

    Anyway, as the show went on, they showed the people that worked in the top kitchens in Kyoto, is in this sequence when a light tune begins playing. “I KNOW that TUNE!” I say~~ And I am 99% sure it was a track from the Osen OST because it’s one of my favorite pieces on the album…

    本物を見る目 (Honmono wo Mirume)
    Discerning Eye for the Genuine <- this is Amy’s translation
    and I don’t know if it’s correct, HA! But it will do~

    It’s track13 of 22, by Yugo Kanno.

    Does anybody know if it’s the track?

  • TOKYO! in Hawaii~~

    TOKYO! the 3-part-collaborative film by Joon-ho Bong, Leos Carax and Michel Gondry, has been (or will be) making rounds in theaters in Japan – I think. – And I won’t be able to watch this in a long~~~ LONG time, I’m pretty sure… but Hawaiian residents will be able to watch it at the Hawaii International Film Festival. [WTF? Louis Vuitton??] xD

    TOKYO! will be showing on:
    Saturday, Oct. 18th 2008 (obviously!) at 8 p.m. at Regal Dole Cannery.
    Sunday, Oct. 19th 2008 at 4.30 p.m. at Regal Dole Cannery.

    Get tickets, and check! Coz schedules could’ve changed during the time of this post and the day of showing~~

    If you are a Yu Aoi fan, and live in Hawaii… or don’t mind spending the airfare to Hawaii, LOL – Go for it! Yu Aoi is featured in the Joon-ho Bong (The Host) directed/written segment title Shaking Tokyo, about a man who stays in his apartment very much like a hermit, trying to isolate himself from society, until he meets a pizza delivery girl (Yu) and there’s an earthquake… apparently.

    TOKYO! - Shaking Tokyo - Yu Aoi
    Yu Aoi faints on Shaking Tokyo, part of TOKYO!

    Also making the rounds at the festival will be Kung Fu Kun (aka, Kung Fu Kid), which in itself isn’t much of a film I would watch… it is kinda funny at the beginning. However, it’s worth noting that there’s a small cameo with Juri Ueno! [click for some funny screencaps] ~ so if you’re a fan of Juri Ueno, you can get tickets for it for the festival!