Hiro Mizushima quits

Yesterday my Japanese friend told me he heard on the news about Hiro Mizushima leaving his agency and quitting the acting world; I was in shock.

Hiro is one of my favorite actors, not to mention his looks! it was his own decision, or that's what's been said in the press. Apparently he wishes to become an writer and wants to focus on his novel. That's stupid! Why can't he keep his career going and write at the same time? It sounds like a white lie. Mostly now, when he is so popular!

Another reason could be the fact that he married last year Ayaka, the singer, without informing the agency; but this doesn't mean that his popularity went down! I always saw comments on youtube on his videos or Ayaka's from fans who were rooting for their marriage.

His homepage was also closed yesterday, September 21st. Is it just me, or this is strange? Too many secrets and unexplained decisions in this world of Japanese artists.

I hope he will find another agency. It would be a pity not to see him anymore. He can become a writer when he's old an ugly, not now. Come on, Hiro, I will miss you! Come back!

I was waiting so much for his most recent work, live-action movie BECK (starring also Mukai Osamu and Sato Takeru). I had no idea this would be his last movie ever. Hiro, you're making me so sad..

BECK trailer:

Kou Kou Kyoushi 2003

Since Hotaru no Hikari, I kinda fell for Fujiki Naohito; in fact, I had already seen him before, but only in minor roles, in Hana Yori Dango Final - he was the guy from the casino, Kaburagi (I remember saying: 'hey, this guy is handsome) and in Proposal Daisakusen, which I never finished.

I was searching for him on youtube and found some episodes of a thing called 'Kou Kou Kyoushi'; I just clicked and watched for a few minutes and then I looked up for the drama on dramawiki and discovered that the plot was, among other things, about the love beetween a teacher and his student.

I've always had a thing for this kind of stuff, especially since last year I was sooo in love with a professor from my university (of course, he never knew), so I said 'yay! I wanna watch this.' And that's what I eventually did.

The twist in episode two was ruined for me, because that was the exact part I had watched on youtube, but nevertheless, it didn't make the drama less interesting. It's my first 'serious' drama ever, 'cause I usually search for comedies to watch, I hate sad movies.

It's also the first one starring Aya Ueto - I saw that she's really popular, she played in a lot of dramas, but I had never heard of her before.

Mostly every character is a bit or more crazy;

the most annoying for me was Fujimura-sensei, the English teacher (I heard that he was also in the 1993 Kou Kou Kyoushi - which I don't intend to watch); I thought he was creepy from the first episode, and it turned out I had a good intuition. Also, this female teacher who's in love with Fujimura annoyed me like hell, with no particular reason tho.



Yuji, the crazy host, played by Nariymia-kun - I think he was kind of exaggerated, but I liked that they portrayed the world of hosts closer to reality, showing the bad sides of it, similar to what I recently saw in a documentary about male host clubs in Japan.

Beniko, Hina's best friend, played by Sonim...I wanted to slap her all the time because, come on, how can a girl be so stupid and trust a guy that much??
The doctor - not that she was terribly ugly (or so she seems to me), but she was also crazy and no morals at all! how could she defend Koga's lie and not tell the truth to Hina?? she was a doctor, for god's sake!
Later edit: I take back my words, just saw that she was born in 1957! so she is just old, not ugly.
The crazy schoolgirl involved in nasty business, who I was afraid would rape Koga before the end
Hina, played by Aya Ueto - I liked her and thought that she delivered a good performance as the innocent high-school girl who falls in love for the first time. But why did she have to wear that yellow scarf throughout the whole movie??
And Koga-sensei, played by Nao was, of course, my favourite character. I never thought a math teacher could be so sexy! there was absolutely nothing disturbing about his relationship with Hina, because they looked so good together and had great chemistry.

I suggest you watch it, but not if you're into fast-paced movies. I think Kou Kou Kyoushi is mostly psychological; I like this genre, but for some people it might seem boring.
Also, I cried in the last episodes, especially in episode 9 I think? yeah, I think 9 it was - they're 11 in total; oh, I wish there was a special - on dramawiki the special is listed, but I couldn't find it anywhere - personally I think It doesn't exist. Too bad...I wanted to know what actually happened in the end. But I'm not gonna spoil the ending here.


Here's the plot:

Hina, a high-school student meets a man named Koga Ikumi in a game arcade. He lies to him that she is 20 and aneds up spending the night at his house. The next day, he turns up as the new math teacher at her school. He doesn't seem to recognize Hina at first but the wheels of fate are slowly moving to reunite them in what is a passionate story of forbidden love.

One of the main underlying themes of this drama is death (Koga is dying because of a brain tumor). Another important theme is the struggle the main characters have in trying to realize the difference between love and dependence.

• Fujiki Naohito as Koga Ikumi
• Ueto Aya as Machida Hina
• Sonim as Kudo Beniko
• Kyomoto Masaki as Fujimura Tomoki
• Narimiya Hiroki as Kamiya Yuji
• Manabe Kaori as Tejima Emi
• Aoi Yu as Ezawa Mami
• Ohkura Koji as Muramotsu Tamotsu
• Mano Azusa as Tachibana Yuriko
• Saito Shota as Koga Shota
  

currently watching Hotaru no Hikari 2

The best part of Hotaru no Hikari is the fact that they have a season two, Hotaru no Hikari 2, which I am currently watching, and it also has Mukai Osamu (another love of mine) in the main cast.
<- Mukai Osamu

I'm on episode 10 now, but can't find anywhere the english subtitles and the only hardsubbs online now are on viikiii or veoh...sadly, none of those work for me.
I guess I'll have to wait :(

Hotaru no Hikari

Ok, so I'm so excited with this new drama I'm watching these days that I can't even study properly for my exams because of it. I also have other dramas which I completed seeing, but I didn't have time for writing reviews. I think I watched by now almost every drama on the first two pages of 'most popular Japanese dramas' on mysoju.com and I have been avoiding this one for a long time, because I didn't know anyone in the cast, which is, by the way, a-do-ra-ble!


Ayase Haruka does a great job and succeeds so naturally to be truly kawaii, while Fujiki Naohito gives the vibe of mature attractiveness and succeeds to portray what I want my husband to be like, lol :) Some of you might like the other love-interest, which is played by Kato Kazuki, but I was rooting for the manager from the very beginning. Actually I remember that I had started watching the series before, watched almost five minutes from the first episode and gave up...stupid me, I had no idea this would become one of favorite J-dramas ever!

Here' the plot, from dramawiki:

Hotaru works for a famous interior design company. It's a glamorous job but Hotaru's private life is totally the opposite of glamorous. She lives alone, and when she isn't working she's mostly lazing about her rented house in training wear. She's not interested in men. In fact, she isn't interested in anything. "I'd rather lay around than fool around," is her motto.

Her landlord is a bar owner, and one day his son, who has just separated from his wife, comes to inspect the rental property, not knowing that someone is living there. He is shocked at the mess, but not as shocked as Hotaru. He turns out to be her boss, Takano.

Please watch it, if you like comedies! This drama slightly reminds me of the The Diary of Bridget Jones, only better and with more chemistry between the lead actors!
I going for the next episode now :)

I'm leaving you with this cute cute fanmade vid, which I hope will make you give Hotaru no Hikari a try!

Sorry VAMPS

Just a quick correction: I was wrong. HYDE with VAMPS is not boring at all, actually he's crazier and funnier than ever!

VAMPS in rollercoaster

Here is a vid of VAMPS fishing (cute Hyde, he doesn't seem to enjoy it much)

Hyde making an adorable chipmunk-style voice

VAMPS in Hawaii

Plus, the new video is awesome!! I used to love Johnny Depp in Pirates of the Caribbean, but man, HYDE is the sexiest pirate ever. Hyde trying to walk and act like Jack Sparrow is so CUTEEE! It's unbelieveble how he manages to look like a sexy pirate and like a cute and beautiful blonde girl at the same time. This is a really feminine video of him... but we love him even more, don't we? God, how can such a man exist? How can somebody be so more than perfect? I thought that now he looks older and not so handsome anymore, but this is from 2010 and he looks hotter than ever! I wonder how will he look like when he's 100. This man never ages! No, he ages, but the more he does, the better his looks are.



Just a personal guess... It kinda looks to me like K.A.Z is in love with HYDE. I'm not saying that he's gay or something, but he always smiles and laughs at whatever Hyde does, he's looks so proud to be with him in all of their videos, he always does the dirty or hard stuff for Hyde, dunno, he acts like a...hmm...sorry KAZ...like a faithful dog. But I don't blame you. HYDE is so adorable that everybody unconsciously treats him differently. It's normal to be so happy just for the fact that you have the chance to be around him.

Hot Japanese Guys (1) HYDE

I would totally marry this man, if he weren't already married to Megumi Oishi (Megumi, you lucky bitch!!) and he didn't have a child with her. Haha, I'd like to see them side by side, considering she's so much taller than him :) ohh, but since I'm about the same height with her, then I wouldn't match with him either! :((( But enough with the crazy fan talk!

Wait, I'm not finished yet! I still haven't said how much I'd like to huuuug him and touch his hair and then hug him again and then kiss him and then push him down and then RAPE HIM! Oooops, I've said too much. Yup.

Oh well, for those who don't know, Hyde is best known as the vocalist of L'Arc en Ciel. He also has some very good albums solo, such as Roentgen or Faith. Oh, and he's also the vocalist of VAMPS, which I cannot stand even though I like Hyde so much, because of that ugly and annoying K.A.Z who's playing the guitar;btw,has anybody noticed how Hyde's hair is always fluffier when he's with VAMPS?

I think Hyde is at his best with L'Arc, because there you can truly feel the atmosphere of friendship between them; I love how they like to joke around and they're all funny in their own way. Actually, Hyde is the least funny of them. Now imagine that in VAMPS Hyde is the 'entertainer' when on interviews or making ofs, while KAZ is just sitting there like a zombie, and you'll understand why I find VAMPS boring. I must admit tho that some songs are really good and the live performances are really energetic (HYDE screams a lot and I sometimes thinks he sounds a lot like a Japanese Kurt Cobain).

This man is really attractive to both women and men! For example, Yasu of Janne Da Arc admitted to like him (well, maybe not in THAT way, but he says that he can recognize and admire something beautiful - referring to Hyde). Gackt also 'felt the urge' to kiss Hyde, seeing him asleep on the sets of Moonchild (a movie in which they starred together) and this is what GACKT wrote in his autobiography:

<<Right now, I don't have anyone I can call a "girlfriend." Of course, there are people that I love. I often think "I really like this person" or "I love this person." However, these feelings are spur of the moment. It doesn't matter whether the person is a man or a woman. Take Hyde, for example. When I'm with him, I always think "Wow, this guy is so amazing." That's also love, or feelings very close to love. That smile is a sin. Since I first met him, I have thought that it would be great if Hyde was a girl. But dammit, he's a man! If he was a girl, I would probably fall for him. I really go for types like him. No matter what they say, I'll listen. If he or she said "Come here now," I'd leave work and go. The type of girl that I look for is gentle type like Hyde. If there was a girl like him, I think I would fall for her.>>

Uhh, right now I'm imagining how it would be to see Hyde asleep! *blush* Yup, I think I understand how Gackt felt :D

Here are some pics of HYDE:






















...and the best thing is the fact that his singing voice is even greater than his looks!










HONEY man :)) I soooo wanna touch his back!!!



L'Arc en Ciel official website
HYDE website (hydeist)
VAMPS myspace

Check out this video of HYDE
Season's Call (this was one of the openings for Blood +)

Nodame Cantabile - the live drama

I've just finished the last episode, so the impression is fresh. The characters, the musical pieces, the romance, the comedy are truly enjoyable, not only for classical music lovers, but for anyone who wants to see a cute and funny story of love, friendship and self-development.

I might have enjoyed it even more because I'm a student of a Music Conservatory myself, just like the main characters, so I kinda know how it is from the inside.

The actress portraying Nodame is doing a great job and I admit that the guy playing Chiaki is hot, though not really my type.

And of course, I shouldn't forget the old man playing Franz Strezemann, he was my favourite. I loved his weird 'foreign' accent, especially when he said 'Ganbatte kudasai', stressing the first syllable of 'kudasai' in a really funny way. Also, the swarthy face and the silver curls made such a funny contrast, that they turned him into the most ugly thing I have ever seen, lol, but funny at the same time. Also, loved how poor Chiaki was chased by gay guys infatuated with him :))
I I watched some episodes from the anime series too, but dropped it at the fourth or fifth. They were good, but I believe the live action is better.

Here is a summary of the PLOT, according to dramawiki:

Based on the hit comic book by Tomoko Ninomiya, this is a fun-filled quirky romantic story of two very opposite people.

Megumi Noda, or "Nodame" is a piano student at Momogaoka College of Music. An extremely talented pianist who wants to be a kindergarten teacher, she prefers playing by ear rather than reading the music score. She is messy and disorganized, takes baths several days apart and loves to eat, sometimes stealing her friend’s lunchbox when it is filled with delicacies.
Shinichi Chiaki, is Momogaoka’s top student. Born into a musical family, he is talented in piano and violin and has secret ambitions to become a conductor. An arrogant multi-lingual perfectionist who once lived abroad in the music capitals of the world as a young boy, he feels mired in Japan because of a childhood phobia.
They meet by accident. Nodame quickly falls in love, but it takes much longer for Chiaki to even begin to appreciate Nodame’s unusual qualities. Their relationship causes them both to develop and grow. Because of Nodame, Chiaki got the opportunity to lead a student orchestra and begins to have a broader appreciation of people's musical abilities. Because of Chiaki, Nodame faces her fears and enters a piano competition. Opportunities open up as both begin taking risks, stretching themselves far more than they ever thought possible.
The main CAST

• Ueno Juri as Noda Megumi aka Nodame (Piano)
• Tamaki Hiroshi as Chiaki Shinichi (Piano/Violin/Conducting)
• Eita as Mine Ryutaro (Violin)
• Koide Keisuke as Okuyama Masumi (Timpani)
• Mizukawa Asami as Miki Kiyora (Violin)
• Uehara Misa as Tagaya Saiko (Vocal)
• aaaaand Takenaka Naoto as Franz Strezemann :))
  

This is one of the most anime-ish drama I've watched until now. It was funny how Nodame was constantly hit in such an anime-like manner, or how Stresemann 'jumped off the plane'. Moreover, it can be also educative. The music pieces are very well chosen and there were some of them which I had never listened to before. Definitely worth watching!



I'll leave you with this original rendition of Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue (the S-Oke was a cool and unusual orchestra!) and later I'm gonna watch the two special episodes.