Shizanmono

I was about to start on Ghostwriter, but skipped it as this dorama caught my eye. Shinzanmono is the name meaning "new comer". I think this is the best dorama that i have seen this year ( not seen moon lovers nor team batista 2 yet ) but i find this dorama intriguing. The japanese are the best writers for crime and medical dramas, beating the hong kong tvb dramas ( which can be pretty lame in this 2 genre ) And Shinzanmono comes from a comic adapter to a TV Drama. Checking the blogs around, apparently this show is a top dorama for this year.

Shinzanmono features one of my favorite actors, Hiroshi Abe. An extremely tall and rather witty actor, despite looking a bit gangly at times. Over the years of watching him, he has grown to be an actor you like because he really can play a role well. From a teacher who suffers from a stutter, to an annoying Media wizard for a future Japanese premier, Abe can carry a role well. And he plays the part of a quiet, observant and clever detective impeccably in this show.  Shinzanmono is a story about a new detective in Nihonbashi's small area called Ningyo-cho - or Doll Town.  A lady dies in her apartment, strangled to death but who is the killer in this small and quaint little town.  ( I miss japan terribly, while watching this dorama especially the walks along quaint places like this )

Hiroshi Abe plays Kaga Kyochiro an investigator on his first day in Nihonbashi's district police station investigating the death of Mitsui Mineko. She was estranged from her son and divorced her husband quickly and seems to have moved to Ningyo Cho to start a new life. The story focuses on the people who have met or come across Mitsui Mineko before her untimely death on April 13th.

Mitsui Mineko- The victim

I thought Mineko looks like an older version of Charmaine Sheh! We get to see her views and her life before her untimely death and her character will remind a lot of people of decisions they make but later regret and find it hard to turn back.

The story takes the view of Kaga investigating all the suspects in the show and there are many suspects!  At least 20 of them!

The suspects.

In fact some rather prominent and popular stars make their appearances through out this 10 episode show. Each episode , there will be a suspect, from the son, to the baker to even the accountant, each suspect is cleared till the last episode.

I think this show will keep you riveted. I especially like the Ma-kitty episode where the story line is based on a shop owner's wife who is hooked on Hello Kitty.  I like the fact Ma-kitty ( which is the name of the character ) who seemed shallow at first, is apparently not and was much more than what is made up to be her outward appearance.

Detective Kaga is added through his investigation by a young detective Matsumiya Juhei and a rather bumbling head of Metro police Kojima Kazumichi, who turned out to be not so bumbling in the end.

Queuing to buy Taiyaki

There are also funny bits in the show like the running joke of Kaga-san being never able to buy Ningyo-cho's famous Taiyaki dessert even though he queued for 50 times since his first day at work.  In fact this shop is super well known to have long queues in Ningyo-cho even before the movie itself. I have eaten Taiyaki in Tokyo during my first trip there and actually it is quite a nice thing to munch on during a cold day in Tokyo. However, didn't need to suffer the queue above as  I got mine in Asakura. Oh, also a note, Ningyo-cho is famous for it's senbei or rice crackers :)

And Kaga's take in elaborating his explanation can be quite physical. Like his explanation of how he found the name card of a suspect in the victim's apartment.

Crime Scene Demonstration!

What i like about this dorama:
-  Keeps you guessing who the criminal, i swayed from the son, to the husband to everyone even at the last episode! Superb acting from all the stars make the show interesting.
- You get a minor tour of Nihonbashi without having to go to japan.
- And you feel you know the people of Ningyo-Cho, how close knit these people are within the city of Tokyo

What i don't like about this dorama: 
- nothing really, it is quite good on it's own. I hope it gets this year's top dorama award! However, i can't really tell if this is the end as there seems to be a history of Kaga-San that seems hidden. Oh well, we will see.

My cutest suspect ever! Hope to get an Akita next time. Probably needs his own aircon room.

Cute Suspects Everywhere -I think i need to make a trip back to Tokyo soon and visit Ningyo-Cho

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Edward Elric-Oh Chibi Chan!!

I think after Kyo Sohma (kyon-kyon), Edward Elric is one of my most favorite Anime characters. Before i start the review of FMA:Brotherhood, it's nice to write about one of the key main characters of the show. That's my Square Enix figurine by the way...

If you don't already know, FMA is one of the best anime series around and is 2009's most anticipated anime. After a 5 year stop, we get to watch the continuation of FMA. While i won't delve too much on the storyline yet, i want to touch more on the character Edward. With his younger brother Alphonse, both these 2 youngsters are the country's youngest alchemist practitioners, set in a 1940s background ( it looks a bit like Germany )

 

Ah... ignore the karaoke subtitles lah....

Edward is undeniably short for a 12 year old when he first joined the state alchemist ( and even as the series progress at the age of 17)  and is often mistaken for being the younger brother of the pair compared to a towering metallic Al. However, the 12 year old packs a punch not only in terms of his martial arts skill but his ability to think fast on his feet, making him a formidable enemy to anyone. The pair's journey in the whole story is to look for the Philosopher's Stone and Edward's one true goal is to restore Alphonse ( his metallic younger brother )'s body to his natural body. Edward's greatest regret is the pain and harm caused to his younger brother and will do whatever he can to protect his younger ( and most self -reliant younger brother that is ) from harm - sometimes to the point where he is pretty much blinded by this.  And you will see his determination to beat his disability when he fits himself with Automail ( kinda like prosthetics ) and how he bore the pain through the process, for a 12 year old, it's far more mature than his age. I also suspect Ed has fallen in love with Winry but is too proud to admit it. My take is Ed does not want Winry to be involved in their issues simply because he does not want her hurt in the process, hence does not tells her a lot of things and that annoys her till no bounds.

Actually, i never knew this i always thought Ed being short and Alphonse being one hulk of a metal was just purely coincidence but in FMA:Brotherhood, there was an explanation of why these are 2 like this. Though Winry will tend to disagree that it's the lack of milk ( which Ed hates ) that causes the lack of growth.

It's all not punctuated with doom and gloom, one thing FMA excels is the hilarious funny moments that fills the show and also Edward and Alphonses( at time - see the header ) funny faces! It's a riot at times.

I think Ed kicked-ass his Dad

When i first watched Full Metal Alchemist ( Season 1 ), Edward was the ultimate character for me. Strong, resilient and family comes first attitude is something that attracted my attention and a lot of viewers attention. Good acting from the seiyuu ( Romi Park ) also gives Edward a lot of depth. I cried tonnes/buckets when his mother died and Ed bore the responsibility of looking after his younger brother with a practically non existent father nowhere to be found. I think he found he almost had a father figure in Maes Hughes, one of the army people he meets along the way, and whom in turn takes care of the Elric brothers like sons. Be prepared for some heart wrenching moments here as the story develops. Edward wins a lot of people over in this show.

I hope you are tempted enough to start picking up FMA if you have not. Will be doing some reviews on Al next.

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What neko was / is watching

Plenty actually and lazy to do screen shots, am watching the following now:

Finished watching this last week but lazy to post:

Both are good, prefer Love Shuffle more... More updates this weekend. Need to catch with some -- sleep.

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Natsume No YuujinCho

I love this 13 part ( Season 1) anime. Natsume no Yuujincho means Natsume's book of friends. And it is no ordinary book of friends, in fact it is a ghostly kind of friends.Yup, it's yurei, youkai and obake a lot. Now, every one knows that Japan has ghosts ( of the long hair kind which is a bad characterizations ) but besides the usual floor crawling kind, their culture is rich which stories of monsters, fearful ghosts as well as fairies.

Natsume is a young boy who has inherited the gift of the 3rd eye. The ability to see residents of the "netherworld" and to him that is gift he rather not have. His ability has left him being shuffled among relatives ( parents died young ) as no one would want a young child who kept insisting there is something in the room when there was nothing there. Till he was accepted by a childless couple in the small outskirts in Japan. However, his spirit visions don't stop and continue to chase him. Worse off, every yurei he meets, keeps telling him he looks like someone they seem to know.

One day, while running away from one yurei, he accidentaly breaks the seal that houses a large youkai known as Madara. ( voiced by Hatake Kakashi's seiyu ) and this youkai tells him that he looks like Reiko. Natsume's late grandmother. Who had also the power to see ghosts as well as "seal" ( by taking their name ) them in what she calls her book of friends. She later uses it to summon the ghosts for her own bidding. Reiko seems like a powerful person, who can beat the crap out of humans and ghosts a like and ended making some powerful enemies when she took their name.

Natsume strikes a deal with Madara ( who turns into a cat called Nyanko sensei ) that while he works to return the names of the ghosts stuck by the deal, any remainder will be given to Madara, who will also eat Natsume at the end of the deal.
Each episode, you will get to see the different yurei, obake, small gods that make up Japanese legends. Now how many are really from Japanese legends i am not sure but some are down right creepy - like those with 1 eye or those that crawl on the floor. Some are downright cute and sweet. I have to say there were some episodes that were so sad, really, you need tissues. There are really no frightening ones ( like in juon ) but it gives you a good inside of how deep japanese cultures are. My favorite story is of the one where the yurei is peeping behind the man's shoulder.
Natsume, is not alone in his quest and in his journeys, he meet people past and present that are "special" like him. When i say past, he gets to know about his late grandmother a little bit more through the ghosts that he meets in his quest to return their names. At the same time, meet other humans who can see ghosts like him.

What i like about this show:
* The ethereal feel about the show, it looks so... soft... and feathery
* The story line of course.
* Natsume's trusting nature of human and otherwise and the friendships he builds with people around him.
* The music, the intro and ending song was pretty good in my books. Especially the last song. Can't find it anywhere but it is a pretty awesome song.

I found that his grandmother was one scary lady to begin with. Takes some guts to bop ghosties on the head with little thought and beat the crap out of them and he seeks to distinguish himself away from her.

I only wished they could extend the story line a bit more. For me 13 episodes was short. After the first season, they introduced Zoku Natsume no Yujin Cho as a continuation but the series still feels that it has more to tell. For those looking for horror yet not to be scared witless, then try Natsume Yujin Cho for starters.

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Cat Shit One!

Ok, not the real cat shit but bro introduced this to me over the weekend and i am sort hooked on gun totting rabbits man. Watership down gone bad! It's based on the manga Apocalypse Meow but based in Iraq. If you wonder how they get rabbits for americans and different races representing different animals- check this out on wiki. Hehehe. This is due out in 2010 as a anime series about 12 episodes i think. Who thought that bunnies were soft - think again.

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Bakumatsu Kikansetsu Irohanihoheto

Such hypnotizing eyes....

Occasionally, there are some titles that are a mouthful - like the above. Bakumatsu Kikansetsu Irohanihoheto. Wah lau. But this happens to be one of the good Animes i have seen recently - however it is not new though. Released in 2006 and ended in 2007 i am not sure why it took so long to reach our shores.

The story is set at the end of the Edo period where the Tokugawas are slowly losing control of what they had. Japan is going through a period of unrest and foreign interest in entering the country. Now, to enjoy this anime, you need to know a bit of japanese history otherwise you might end up being a bit confused and find the story dull.

Akizuki Yojiro is a stranger to the town of Yokohama wandering around looking for the Hasha no Kubi - a legendary harbringer of unrest and evil. This hasha no kubi exists when their is great turmoil and possess people to do evil deeds and change the course of history. In the course of looking for this "head" Akizuki meets up a kabuki troupe that is more than just kabuki troupe. Each one with a reason why they are together now.

Despite being a loner ( after all he is the eternal assassin ) he finds himself drawn back to the troupe. The story goes round to tell of how the troupe's ulterior motives are shown by way of their script writer Ibaragi Sosetsu. Turns out he is no ordinary writer this one. He is after all in pursuit of the same item Akizuki wants to destroy. Also, you will see his character being related to some of the people in the kabuki troupe. Akizuki is somewhat drawn to the troupe leader kakunajou and in the later parts of the story, she follows him on his quest for the Hasha no Kubi.

The story will weave through critical periods of the Edo history - though some i am not sure if the timing was right. I always thought Okita Soji died before Kondo Isami did- however this was slightly reversed - could be me who got the story a bit off :P

What's good about this show:
*Well- the lead character of course - never seen someone so.. erm hypnotic and good looking - ah!! fangirl! But the fact he is loner and never wanting to reach out to others and being extremely good with a sword was one of the reasons why i was pretty hooked to this anime.
* The kind of story i like - Samurai stories and i love anything in old fashioned japanese history. Realistic or otherwise.
* A romantic story line that is subtle yet nice .... :)
* Cool historical characters - be it said i am a big fan of the Shinsengumi - and i was pretty much thrilled they are in the story line.
* Some of my favorite seiyu is in this one - though he is the baddie here, the voice of Kakashi is playing Ibaragi Sosetsu.

What's not good about:
* You need to be pretty good in your historical understanding of Japan to enjoy this.
* Ok - the copy i have - subtitle sucks - why are all the japanese name in chinese *curse*

I still have not finished watching this yet - but do give it a try - i love this anime - i hope it doesnt end depressing.

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10 promises made to my dog - preview

Folks, this should be a good movie to catch - it's going to be shown in KL starting October 16th as part of GSC International screens. Tissue required. I am a sucker for dog faces like these. 

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Sweet Rain ( Shinigami no seido ) Accuracy of Death

Sounds like a completely scary title all in one. However it is not a scary movie though. This is a japanese movie that recently hit town, amidst their usual horror movies and love stories, this one represents one that is not part of the norm.

This movie also hails the return of Takeshi Kaneshiro to the japanese silver screen after 6 years of working overseas in foreign production. I am ecstatic though, for many reasons and quite obvious reasons - lol.

Title of the movie, in japanese translates to Shinigami no seido and it is adapted from a novel by Kotaro Isaka. Kaneshiro plays a shinigami or the grim reaper named Chiba. When i first heard that, my first thought was .. ah.. Meet Joe Black! I was a bit put off by that thought. However, this version is a complete and different view point of death and life.


Chiba, normally appears 7 days before a person is to die and he observes the person's activities, interacts with them ( this is the creepy bit for me ) and decides if the person is to die ( proceed ) or can continue to live ( suspend ) . He is followed in his adventures by a dark black golden retriever who acts as Chiba's guide and rational mind. Chiba, is child like in some instances taking a keen interest in things we take for granted, like music. At the same time he is a complete dufus in human interactions. Take one example when Kazue Fujiki thinks she is being "picked" up by him. His reaction is immensely funny.

He meets 3 different characters in the space of the movie, a lonely and unwanted Office Lady, and has been gangster who is no more in favor with his bosses and and old lady of 70 who is a hair dresser.


The Office lady is played by Manami Konishi. For those who watched japanese doramas, she is already a well known name in that area. Her dreary job includes answering the help line for a electronics company and her life is mundane and dull. To make it worse, she is harassed by a stalker who calls her daily just to hear her voice when one day, she meets Chiba. He rescues her... sort of... well, he was the one that sapped the life out of her for a minute ( note. shinigami's cannot touch people with their bare hands will turn them gray, so notice the people with white gloves ) and he sort of changes her life and a her view of life. It's funny though, he asks her what is her thoughts on death but eventually ends up changing her life giving her a whole new perspective of what to life for.

For one, Sweet Rain, is a show you must pay attention to what people say and read in between the lines. ..... this is a broad hint here. :) Oh, btw, the show is covered with rain, it rains practically every scene.

Takeshi shines in this show. Rightly so as he uses more of his expression to convey the child like Chiba. And thought the title sounds heavy, this is a show that is funny as well. Trust the japanese humor, it is simple yet all due to timing.

I must say that black dog is somewhat of a character as well. He could stand in the rain dripping wet given my dog, he would have run for cover. The dog does not however say anything in the show, but all his thoughts are conveyed to Chiba via telepathy. You get to read the "thoughts" on screen and some are pretty hilarious. Like the one Chiba asks how people are chosen to die, the dog answers "you draw lots"... and waits... but Chiba was a bit shocked to reply. Dog adds on.. you are suppose to laugh here. That bit had everyone in the cinema roaring with laughter.

I truly like this show. This show is not like the normal shows you see out there. it is thought provoking as well gives you a viewpoint of if you have to change your life, you are also part of the change process. Also, you get some quick history of japanese cultures and beliefs. Ever wondered why crows are not welcomed in japanese house holds? they are the harbinger of death .

I highly recommend this movie. Watch it if not to just drool at Takeshi but get your thoughts thinking on this one.

Credits of pics go to mtime.com. I took most of the picts there. Thanks a lot.

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Sky of Love -Koi Zora

Ok, i didn't expect to watch such a tear jerker drama. Frankly, teen romance shows do not end up high on my to watch list. Possibily because i am way pass that stage or too jaded to think such things ever happen. However, KoiZora, was one i picked because 1) alot of people ( like 11 million said it was good ) and 2) was bored couldn't not sleep so why not watch the movie to get some zzzz... How wrong i was . i think my pillow was completely soaked and tissue paper ran out because of this show. *blows nose loudly*


This show as you all may know is based on a cell phone novel in Japan. I am just wondering how it could be immensely popular and how we can tap such a base in Malaysia. Mental note to self that drama minggu ini may not work so well over here - LOL. The novelist also supposedly based this on her real life experience. If this is the case, it is terribly, terribly sad and depressing. As much as one loves to have a someone to love but the experience that mika goes through makes me thing she is quite strong to go through such life upheaving experiences and still have the courage to smile.

The story starts off with Mika bumping into Hiroki in school one day and he is instantly infatuated with her. She, however is clueless that he is interested in her. One day, she looses her phone, and is picked up by Hiroki, who calls her daily without giving out information who he is. I mean, would you date an asian guy with that blond a hair? First thing i thought - wah ... ini gangster surely.

Yeah, we serioused up when meeting the to-be-in-laws

Little by little, Mika is intrigued by the daily phone calls and starts to open up to Hiroki, till he organizes to meet her one day. Needless to say, she had the same impression as me. Runs away with trepidation. However, he does not give up and wins her over with his gentleness. It's funny though, as rough and tough as he may be, Mika senses a gentleness (yashiku) in him that is far mature for for 16 year old teenager.


Their love starts to grow until when Hiroki's ex decides that she does not take kindly to Mika being in the picture. Watch how hiroki takes to defending his current love. Any lady who loves being saved by someone, this would impress you all. There may be some scenes here that will get you thinking that japanese teenagers will resort to such violence when they are not happy with something. Makes our malaysian kids sound very tame.
Things start to go down hill after this when Hiroki leaves Mika suddenly with no explanation. With no closure for her, she spends her time wondering why and how until one day, she gets a chance to know why. I can't say so much without giving the ending away. Ok cue tears here. Lots and Lots of it.

The lead characters are actually pretty excellent in this show. Mika is gentle yet without being wimpy. She pretty much has a good head on top of her shoulder here. Be amazed that teenagers can have such a good wisdom here.

Hiroki. You are the man. :) I like how it was described that he will watch over Mika all the time. When there is sun, Hiroki is happy, when it rains, Hiroki is sad.. Sigh.. Go watch it. Bring lots of tissue.

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