Tag: japan

  • Hikari Mitsushima for NHK’s The Pioneers

    Oh, I guess I gotta watch NHK all day to get fed all their upcoming series — at least for January. We all knew that Kenichi Matsuyama would be doing this year’s Taiga (Time really does fly!), but who knew Hikari Mitsushima (Love Exposure [1], Sawako Decides, Villain) is ending up on NHK?

    The Pioneers, which is wayyyy easier to type than Kaitakushatachi (開拓者たち), showed a small clip while I was watching and seemed pretty good. According to Tokyograph:

    A special “documentary drama” mini-series to commemorate the launch of its BS Premium channel and the 40th anniversary of the restoration of diplomatic ties between Japan and China. […]

    The story is set in the region formerly known as Manchuria and is based on the groups trying to resettle there in the years after the Manchurian Incident. The central characters are a family of four siblings who live there, but who are forced to flee due to the Soviet invasion of the region and Japan’s defeat in World War II. As a result, they return to Japan and attempt to forge a new life on a farm in the Tochigi prefecture.

    The clip looked really good. We all know Hikari Mitsushima is a pretty good actress and this seems to be one of those projects. But as anything Japanese, no clips online to embed so I stole these:
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  • How can one hate on Ashida Mana-chan?

    She’s like… the cutest thing EVER. She was even cuter in this 30sec commercial when she was super tiny. OMG, I just wanna squish her little face on that hahahaha.

    And she’s SUCH a great actress. You just gotta watch her break YOU down on Mother. At a drop of a dime, she’ll break your heart and make you cry. She is, obviously, since then the biggest (child) actor/idol EVER. She’s done tons of commercials, sponsors, small roles on films, headed her own television dramas, guested on several talk shows, headed her own talk show or whatever…

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  • Meisa, what’s it gonna be?

    Ahh… Meisa Kuroki — you know I have a soft spot for you? Somewhere deep in my brain there’s my subconscious telling me that you have potential. Then, the snarky part of me bursts out laughing when I see you in you music videos (and avoid your live performances)… and I swear I don’t mean to laugh. It’s just something that sort of happens.

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  • December 2011 TomoTomo Hair

    I love Japan’s hair fashion. I have curly hair – and have no hair at the moment LOL — so I haven’t done anything with my hair like I used to.

    These are some of my favorite hair from the latest TomoTomo.

  • Rie Miyazawa for Men’s Club Magazine

    You gotta love Rie Miyazawa~

    and of course, these are my favorite shots of the shoot. I like the detail on the thumb and the watch, and the fact that she’s looking straight at the camera.

    BOY STYLE!

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  • Samurai Rock in Lima

    Unlike Bjork’s concert [1], which I couldn’t photograph… to even have a faint memory of it. I did get the chance to shoot Miyavi with my good gear, without having to sneak it in… which is good, because this new lens is super huge.

    Thanks to Noizu who let me in with it.

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  • WOWOW’s Shokuzai Stuff

    I got some Shokuzai pics used on the official WOWOW site.

    It seems like only the first episode is going to have Yu-chan in, or at least that’s what I got unless all this “First chapter” business on Yu’s photo means nothing.

  • Yu Aoi for Kiyoshi Kurosawa x Minato Kanae’s Shokuzai

    I hope everyone is as excited as I am.

    First… of course, I love Yu-chan. It seems like when my fandom is faltering, she throws a bone at me. LOL

    Then… it’s a Minato Kanae revenge story. Kokuhaku wasn’t mind-blowingly amazing but it was pretty good, so I can’t complain from a revenge story about a woman who’s lost her kid and tries to get her now-grown friends to remember and seek atonement.

    There’s also Kiyoshi Kurosawa, who directed Tokyo Sonata — which, you know… I wasn’t really as blown as everyone seemed to be with him. But it’s always exciting to see new people coming together to make projects. Especially since WOWOW is involved. I tend to like their off-beat dramas that get a lot of indie J-film flare.

    Kyoko Koizumi — who has actually worked with Yu-chan in the play Gakuya — stars as the mom, and the four friends of her dead child are Yu Aoi, Chizuru Ikewaki (Josee, the Tiger and the Fish), Eiko Koike (Paco and the Magical Picture Book, Wool 100%) and freaking Sakura Ando (Love Exposure, 1).

    The four women are being played by Aoi, Koike, Ando, and Ikewaki. 15 years earlier, when they were elementary school students, they had been playing with Emiri up until just before her death. They were the first to discover her body, and although they saw the culprit’s face, they were unable to remember it well enough to identify the person. As a result, Emiri’s mother (Koizumi) demanded that they find the killer, or else find a way to atone for themselves to her satisfaction. Now grown up, those women find her words coming back to haunt them as tragedy begins to befall them.

    via BionicBong.com

    Lasting only five episodes, the drama starts on January 8th, 2012.

    Hope a fansub group subs this as soon as possible.

  • Yu Aoi for Air frame5 CM

    Oh, my gosh. I love Weibo. Not only do I get to see post such as this [1, in case you can’t see it], I also get to find out stuff xD. Plus, dedicated streams to Yu-chan stuff.

    I get to semi-talk to other fans too.

    It seems Yu is also promoting J!NS’ Air Frame — which are apparently super duper light. In the previous CMs (which are plain Air Frame ones) with Joe Odagiri and Chiaki Kuriyama [1]. They claim they’re only 10gr. which I guess is pretty impressive considering they look pretty sturdy.

    My semi-rimless glasses seem pretty heavy in comparison.

    There’s an HD version available but it’s not an official upload so it might get deleted.

    *EDIT*

    Here’s some behind the scenes and a small Q&A via JIJIPress.

    Here’s a clip of the Making Of.

  • Traveling with Yu-chan and Calbee

    I refuse to believe there’s no script on this one [1]. I just refuse to believe Yu-chan is this cute in real life. And I have an urge to eat some chips, with the lack of Calbee Potato Chipusu around – I’m just gonna have to get any other chips.

    By the way, two funny CMs [KOIWEB] in like one week. Yu-chan, I know you do this on purpose.

    — EDIT —

    There’s also an Amusement Park version.