Archives For ryo kase

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.

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.

CinemaCafe has an interview [jp] with Yu Aoi about Otouto — recently released on DVD and Blu-Ray. If someone could give a proper translation of it, that would rock. In the meantime… some of what I think are interesting bits.

Title of the piece is Kotoba ni Dekinai “Kankaku” ga Kanojyo o Tsukiugokasu, which seems to be something like “It isn’t the words, it’s the emotions that motivates her”.

First sub-title, Ii Deai no Renki ni Megumaremashita, which is something like “Blessed with good encounters,” referring to the people she worked with in Otouto [Yoji Yamada, Sayuri Yoshinaga, Tsurube Shofukutei, Ryo Kase], plus I see mentions of Kyoko Koizumi [from Gakuya].

GAH! I really can’t translate more, but the following paragraphs seem interesting. Like the last one about balancing work and free time. My head hurts.

Here’s some more Yu photos =D Like the intro said something about her gentle smile.

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From WOWOW’s experimental 2008 drama, Camouflage.

Ryo Kase and Yu Aoi = LOVE.

I think this one was the BEST chapter of the series. [here for the recap]

have a good not-suffering end of the weekend, but an overall relaxing Sunday.
or you know, have a good new week if you’re on the other side of the world~~~

Excuse me as I’m totally biased.

Where’s Yu Aoi? xD

CNN Go [new brand?] has an article about 7 not-so-known Japanese actors outside of Japan. Obviously there’s the mention of everyone’s favorites like Ken Watanabe [who is like the go-to Japanese guy in Hollywood now], Rinko Kikuchi, Tadanobu Asano, Rie Miyazawa, and Koji Yakusho.

Of course, don’t forget Hiroyuki Sanada ;P

Some not so surprising choices, some… or I mean, I got surprised by one xD

The best choice? A mention for Ryo Kase…
and a cool mention of Sakura Ando. =D

Also… why 7? 7 is a weird number for a TopList. It’s like the writer couldn’t come up with 10 names, so he did 7. So… I wonder what 10 Japanese Actors not so known outside of Japan… or I mean, outside Asia would you choose?

I’ll comment on this later…

THR Reviews Otouto

February 27, 2010 — 2 Comments

It is a mixed review, but it has a nice comment on Yu and Ryo’s storyline.

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Otouto Takes a Darker Tone

February 16, 2010 — 2 Comments

I found a review of Yoji Yamada’s Otouto, which will be closing the Berlinale this 21st – hopefully Yoji Yamada and the cast can be there. The review has possible spoilers~~~

So you’ve been warned!

From the The Mainichi Daily News
by Tomomi Katsuta

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According to Asian Movie Pulse, Otouto — which opens in Japan this January 30th — will be the closing title of the Berlin International Film Festival on February 21st.

It will also be in competition against Zhang Yimou’s film San Qiang Pai An Jing Qi (A Simple Noodle Story), Martin Scorsese’s Shutter Island, and Roman Polanski’s The Ghost Writer.

Will Yu and Ryo attend the festival? xD

Two months worth of films to close the year,
let’s hope 2010 brings loads of good ones…

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This does not compute.
Yu Aoi as a bride? LOL

Actually, film looks interesting (even without subs), though… random question~

Is Ryo Kase Koharu’s (Yu Aoi) friend or husband-to-be? I couldn’t make it out on the scene. And I know Nippon Cinema says it’s her friend, but their scene seemed too close to be just friends. Over-reading! You can tell I’m starving for a new film.

[iframe width=”480″ height=”360″ src=”https://www.nipponcinema.com/v2/play.swf?config=https://www.nipponcinema.com/cfg/ototo-trailer]

Also, aoinohoho has a video of the Otouto press conference.