Category: DVD/BR

  • Yu Aoi Film Discussion – Guuzen nimo Saiaku na Shounen – Worst by Chance

    Decided to do this one already! Just to get going… this goes all the way back to… Before Hana & Alice? 2003! A lot of faces on this one… you might recognize many~

    About the film:
    A 2003 film directed by Su-yeon Gu about a high school student named Hidenori Kaneshiro (Hayato Ichihara) who lives in Tokyo as a Korean-Japanese, who gets bullied for being half-Korean despite being raised Japanese. Because of this, he’s developed a reckless answer to life’s problems by not caring about anything in the real world… except maybe his sister.

    Genre: Drama, Comedy
    Starring: Hayato Ichihara, Mika Nakashima, Shin Yazawa, Hiroyuki Ikeuchi
    Special appearances by: Akira Emoto, Rie Tomosaka, Yu Aoi, Kimiko Yo, Yoshinori Okada
    Duration: +1:50hr

    Below, the spoilers~

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  • GuGu the Cat!

    It arrived yesterday ^o^  !!!

    I actually celebrated my b-day last night with a proper meal, and apparently my last YesAsia order. Belated Happy Bday to me!!! And happy 5 year blogging~~~ xD

    My first EVER Japanese DVD – all because it listed ‘English subtitles’. I just couldn’t help myself.

    Gu~ Gu~ Datte Neko de Aru, which was translated to GuGu the Cat, was not the movie I was expecting – in a good way. I think I had only seen a short clip of the film, perhaps the 30 second tv spot, where they open the box, GuGu shows up and they all go “kawaiiiiiiiiiiii”. So I thought the film was a comedy, but just like some other WOWOW projects I’ve seen, they border on the dramedy field (like Camouflage, 1 Million Yen Girl, and Don’t Laugh at my Romance).

    – See, WOWOW people~~~ if you’d release those mentioned above with subs, I’d probably buy them. –

    In GuGu, Asako Kojima (Kyoko Koizumi) is a manga artist who hasn’t had much time for life, other than taking care of her pet cat Ça Va and seldomly writing and drawing for her manga series alongside her team of assistants, including Naomi (Juri Ueno), a fervent fan since her teen years.

    There’s a lot of fun moments… sometimes dealing with romantic relationships, and overall human relations… as well as some cat relationships xD – so if you like cats, you can probably enjoy this one.

    GuGu the Cat

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  • Gosh, February Already!

    Short days away from turning 23… O.o

    Gosh~~~

    *sighs* After that? At least on this blog… Grammy Awards, BAFTAs, Independent Spirits and Oscar! This is the first year I will be watching Independent Spirit Awards on television~~~ thanks to i-SAT who is now part of my cable provider! This is also the first year I get to vote for Indie Spirits~~~ I feel somewhat special… xD just for that.

    Also, Coraline opens this week in the US, and next week here in Peru (even though it’s dubbed) – AND +++++ This month brings a new issue (2nd issue, in fact~) of YAM – if you haven’t read our first issue, do so here – this same week (same day as the Coraline opening day, in fact) Guu-Guu Datte Neko de Aru is out on DVD R2 wiht English subs~ My first Juri, first Japanese DVD ever. *excited*

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  • Yu Aoi Film Discussion – Hoshi ni Natta Shounen – Shining Boy & Little Randy

    *hoot hoot* sorry for the little delay~~~ But here we go!

    As always, a little about the film:
    This 2005 film stars Yuya Yagira (Tetsumu), of Dare mo Shiranai (Nobody Knows) fame – a role that earned him the Best Actor award at the Cannes Film Festival – as a young man who wants to become the first Japanese elephant trainer.

    Genre: Drama
    Starring: Yuya Yagira, Takako Tokiwa, Yu Aoi
    Based on the novel by: Sayuri Sakamoto
    Duration: +1:30hr

    Spoilers ahead, and I mean it this time.

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  • Would You…?

    Chuck out +$150 for a PB? LOL

    I just got some PB news, which I will talk in a minute. That made me wonder if Aoi Miyazaki had any PBs, so I went to YesAsia to look it up. Amazon.co.jp has it also listed, and at +$115 … will Shipping get u from behind though?

    Anyway, just read the Juri Ueno, who is planning to release a trip/photobook-y DVD called AO AKUA (YesAsia – Amazon.co.jp) this coming January, will also be releasing a companion PB with the same name. PB will include photos, illustrations and messages written by Juri, who apparently also worked a bit with the designers and had her say in layout, typesetting, and a lot of work. Makes me giddy that Juri did it. LOL

    Also… I found this. LOL

  • November Month of Films, and Some December?

    Hmm… I feel I have been kinda crappy at watching movies like last time. But not AS bad as last time.

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  • Yu Aoi Film Discussion – HURA GARU – Hula Girls

    This film discussion doesn’t come until after the Honey & Clover live action movie, but I thought it will be good to post this now since Cinemax Latin America is showing the film this December and January (and perhaps scattered February, check times here).

    This was probably the third film I saw of Yu, I was most impressed with the fact that Asians could move their booties like that… call it my Latin American gene that told me that the Asian gene makes you unfit to dancing. xD

    Here’s the 12-part video on YouTube. Or just wait for it on cable…

    A little about the film:
    (from Wikipedia)
    It’s a 2006 Japanese-award-winning film based on true events of a small coal mining town facing the shut down of the mine, and looking at the loss of +2000 jobs. While all the grownups seemed to be fuzzing about the future of their coal-legacy, a young group of girls see a gleam of hope in the opening of The Hawaiian Center, and hula dancing.

    Genre: Drama, Comedy and dancing!
    Starring: Yasuko Matsuyuki, Etsushi Toyokawa, Yu Aoi, Eri Tokunaga, Shoko Ikezu & Shizuyo Yamazaki
    Duration: 2hrs

    Spoilers ahead, you’ve been warned.

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  • Camouflage – Aoi Yu x Yottsu no Uso – Chapter 1

    Jinseitte Uso Mitai, or Life is like a Lie, is the first 3-episode-chapter of the Yu Aoi WOWOW drama Camouflage (previously known as Aoi Yu x 4 Lies) which aired at the beginning of the year, and it’s already on DVD. Finally saw! WEEEE – I waited… what, 6 months??? And still haven’t finished ‘coz no one is translating, and my translator bailed on me… dunno where he is.

    So I re-watched the three episodes last night, though the 3rd episode only had subs in the story and not on the introductions (in which the director and writer explain a bit), and the ending (where the photographer shows and explains the photos taken), so kinda missed some of the episode.

    Anyway…

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  • Takes so Long!

    So I lose my interest… what am I talking about? Movies…

    For example, Mon Meilleur Ami – came out on 2006, and it’s actually playing on Cinemax Latin America, but it opened in theaters in Lima this month (Nov. 6 2008) – why bring it if it’s already on cable~~
    *rolls eyes*

    Next up, The Other Boleyn Girl which just opened this week, and if I’m not mistaken it’s already on DVD. There is also Juno (which I already OWN on DVD) – which is coming out next week (nov. 27).  And so on~

    I haven’t been to the movies since Batman came out… There hasn’t been a ‘world premiere’ since Batman came out… unless you count the new James Bond movie, which came out just a few days later, but still… LATER is the keyword. How about all those films that have already come out months ago~~~ Like Tropic Thunder, Forgetting Sarah Marshall… which I never intended to watch, but still had to wait two or three or even half a year to hear about them here. When they finally get here, I have already lost interest or have seen it online somewhere else~ or I have it already on DVD.

    When DVD players are already region-free, why make people wait longer than it takes to put the DVD on the market.

  • One Million Yen Girl Trailer~

    Crap! YouTube sucks… still can’t fin the video so this will have to do for ‘multiple post day’ –

    This film made its round in theaters this year (2008), just right before TOKYO! – and it’s coming out on DVD soon… if I recall correctly, this coming January 2009 (you can preorder on Amazon.co.jp, and YesAsia), though I doubt it will be subtitled. xx But here’s to hope!

    In the meantime, enjoy the trailer.

    [iframe width=”480″ height=”390″ src=”https://www.youtube.com/embed/SrfmL36G84k”]