Tag: japan

  • 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.

  • Japanese Idols and their Yearbook Looks

    Well, this is priceless.

    japan-idols-yearbook-photos

    From Top row, L:R.-

    (1) Kou Shibasaki, Megumi Yasu, Hikaru Utada, Manami Konishi, Yuka, Yu Kashi

    (2) Ai Kato, Aya Hirayama, Kyoko Hasegawa, Masami Nagasawa, Juri Ueno, Yu Aoi

    (3) Yu Yamada, Nana Eikura, Kaori Manabe, Aya Ueto, Eriko Sato, Satoshi Tsumabuki

    (4) Akiko Yada, Erika Toda, Mayuko Iwasa, Kyoko Fukada, Yukie Nakama, Yui Aragaki

    (5) Ryoko Hirosue, Saki Aibu, Ayumi Hamasaki, Misaki Ito, Misako Yasuda, Karina

    (6) Kie Kitano, Mimula, Mao Inoue, Mika Nakashima, Minako Nakano, Saeko

    (7) Rosa Kato, Koyuki, Becky, Yoshio Kojima, Aya Matsuura, Hiroshi Tamaki

    (8) Maki Horikita, Takako Matsu, Miwa Asao, Rena Tanaka, Haruka Ayase, Aoi Miyazaki

    (9) Chinatsu Wakatsuki, Yuri Ebihara, Mikako Tabe, Kaela Kimura, Akihiro Miwa, Suzanne

    (10) Shoko Nakagawa, Erika Sawajiri, Waka Inoue, Yuko Ogura, Miho Shiraishi, Eiko Koike

    (11) Akina Minami, Otoha, Aki Hoshino, Marie, Rie Tomosaka, Mari Sekine

    (12) Masaharu Fukuyama, Maya Kobayashi, Ryoko Shinohara, Taichi Kokubun, Shun Oguri, Kaori Mochida

    (13) Mokomichi Hayami, Yumi Yoshimura, YUI, Nanako Matsushima, Ai Ohtsuka, Aya Takashima.

    via 2ch.

  • Oh, God, Sri~ This is some kind of wrong~

    Sridevi’s lovely crowd-pleasing English Vinglish is going to Japan [Trailer, if you don’t believe me], and for a moment there I thought they might actually super-dub it [1] but no~ Japan is getting it subbed after 3 Idiots got a nod for Best Foreign Film in the last edition of the Japanese Academy Awards. For promotions of the film, they want to use this image of her 1993 film Roop Ki Rani Choron Ka Raja:

    sridevi-roop-ki-rani-choron-ka-raja-japanese

    OH~ GODDDDDDDD

    And it’s serious too- like, they totally mean to promote EV with Sridevi in yellow-face without a hint of irony. I wonder what Japanese people would think other than “oh, these silly foreigners,” I don’t know who the audience for the film is in Japan, somehow I don’t picture Japanese housewives going to watch a non-Japanese non-Hollywood (ft. Depp or DiCaprio or Pitt or Cruise) flick with subtitles, but maybe I’m underestimating them.

    For casual watchers of “this is Chinese/Japanese/Korean” arguments online or real life, Sridevi’s attire though wanting to be Japanese is obviously more Chinese-inspired, like Disney’s Mulan’s match-making attire wanting to be Chinese but obviously Japanese-inspired.

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  • Shiina Ringo’s NIPPON for NHK’s FIFA

    If FIFA’s World Cup is making me choose between Pitbull and Ricky Martin. Okay, I’ll take this~

    NHK got Shiina Ringo to make a song for their coverage of the event, and that’s all we need to know. I’m not sure what’s the coverage is gonna be like down here (cable or networks), but I’m sure we’re stuck with Pitbull.

    I just knew songs were gonna suck when they started announcing the social media contests to “create the song” for the World Cup. Cheap music will always be cheap.

  • All My Biases in One List Ranked

    amys-favorite-actresses

    Too much awesomeness into one.

    What made it to the list and where it placed? Some of my biggest biases placed lower than expected, and some that I don’t want to be my bias placed high on there~

    Head over there and do your thing~