Write it as a dream, read it as a goal

This spring is going to be an Attractive Men Festival.

Kizoku Tantei

Trailer
Date: From 9.00 p.m., Mondays, 17 April 2017
Station: Fuji TV
Scriptwriter: Kuroiwa Tsutomu (Boku no Yabai Tsuma, Samurai Sensei, Yokoso Wagaya e)
Cast: Aiba Masaki, Takei Emi, Namase Katsuhisa, Igawa Haruka, Takito Kenichi, Kinami Haruka, Nakayama Miho, Nakama Yukie, Matsushige Yutaka
Synopsis: A young man (Aiba Masaki) whose age, family, education, place of residence and even real name are unknown, calls himself an “aristocrat”. He does not appear to work. He is always stylish in appearance, gentlemanly in demeanour and attends to “ladies first”. Although sleuthing is his interest, he dismisses it as a chore that should be left to his servants and delights in chatting with the women involved in cases at the crime scenes, which earns him stunned, contemptuous looks from the people around him. And so it is his loyal butler Yamamoto (Matsushige Yutaka), maid Tanaka (Nakayama Miho) and chauffeur Sato (Takito Kenichi) who carry out the investigations. Rookie investigator Kotoku Aika (Takei Emi) frequently happens to be on the same cases as the aristocratic detective. She looks up to female sleuth Kitami Kiriko (Igawa Haruka) as the mentor who inspired her to become an investigator. Although Aika is starting out in this profession, she has more pride and conviction in it than anyone else. This is why she is repulsed by the aristocratic detective’s way of doing things and keeps scrambling to crimes scenes in an attempt to solve the cases before him.

Aiba Masaki My Lord and Saviour.
If you follow me on Tumblr (or you just know me a little), you know I've been losing my mind because of this drama since the first blurry picture came out. And all the Aiba photoshoots. I honestly hope the drama will be nice and well written (but I have a good feeling, the scriptwriter wrote very nice things in the past) but let's be right, I'll be drooling and crying and screaming most of the time.

Reverse

Trailer
Date: From 10.00 p.m., Fridays, 14 April 2017
Station: TBS
Scriptwriters: Okudera Satoko (N no Tame ni, Yakou Kanransha), Shimizu Yukako (Fukigenna Kajitsu (2016), Onna wa Sore o Yurusanai, Konya wa Komodo dake Daite)
Cast: Fujiwara Tatsuya, Toda Erika, Tamamori Yuta, Koike Teppei, Miura Takahiro, Kadowaki Mugi, Ichihara Hayato, YOU, Shiga Kotaro, Katahira Nagisa, Takeda Tetsuya
Synopsis: Salaryman Fukase Kazuhisa (Fujiwara Tatsuya) graduated from a famous university but his life is very ordinary and unremarkable. His only hobby – if it can be called that – is drinking coffee. Coffee, in fact, leads him to Mihoko Ochi, who becomes his girlfriend. Then one day, Mihoko receives a mysterious letter which consists of a single line, “Kazuhisa Fukase is a murderer.” Fukase’s instinct tells him that the time has finally come to face “that incident” 10 years ago. One winter 10 years ago, his good friend Hirosawa Yuki (Koike Teppei) died in an unfortunate accident during a snowboarding trip with his university classmates Tanihara Yasuo (Ichihara Hayato), Asami Kosuke (Tamamori Yuta), Murai Takaaki (Miura Takahiro) and Murai’s younger sister Asuka (Kadowaki Mugi). However, there is a big secret hidden in that accident. Letters are also sent to Tanihara, Tanihara and Murai who also share in this secret, and even they are hit by a series of incidents. Fukase decides to confront the truth of the past in order to protect the people dear to him.

I'm excited!
Okudera Satoko wrote two of my favourite dramas, and I really hope Reverse will be up to them. The genre seems the same, there's some kind of mystery related to the past. Crossed fingers!

Boku, Unmei no Hito Desu

Trailer
Date: From 10.00 p.m., Saturdays, 15 April 2017
Station: NTV
Scriptwriter: Kaneko Shigeki (Sekai Ichi Muzukashii Koi, Kyou wa Kaisha Yasumimasu, Summer Nude)
Cast: Kamenashi Kazuya, Kimura Fumino, Yamashita Tomohisa, Nanao, Sawabe Yu, Watanabe Eriko, Sugimoto Tetta, Okura Koji, Ishino Mako, Tanabe Seiichi
Synopsis: 29-year-old Makoto (Kamenashi Kazuya) is an office employee who believes in fate. He and Haruko (Kimura Fumino) have miraculously passed each other time and time again since they were children – at the beach during their childhood, at the venue for their university entrance exam and at their first visit to a shrine in the New Year this year. However, the two of them have not matched a name to each other’s faces. At this moment, a mysterious guy (Yamashita Tomohisa) who proclaims himself “god”, suddenly appears in front of Makoto. He says Makoto and Haruko are destined to be a couple. With this encouragement, Makoto calls out to Haruko, who works next to his office, in what is almost their first meeting, “Good morning! I’m the man of your destiny.” That is how things begin from this disastrous encounter. Haruko obstinately rejects him, but he continues his attack in the belief that she is his soulmate.

I fond both Kame and Yamapi awkward, at acting, but in two different ways. Meaning that I on't think Kame is bad, while Yamapi... maybe not bad? But I don't get his popularity. ANYWAY. I'm curious, of course. Even though there is so much hype about this drama and these two acting together again, that I'm worried it won't be that good.
But Kaneko Shigeki usually writes dramas that I find quite nice, but that never blows me away (I think Summer Nude was my favourite of his works. Ah, he also wrote Saigo no Yakusoku with Arashi ;) ), so I think it will be ok.

Frankenstein no Koi

Trailer
Date: From 10.30 p.m., Sundays, 23 April 2017
Station: NTV
Scriptwriter: Omori Sumio (Seirei no Moribito Series, 64, Akumu-chan Series)
Cast: Ayano Go, Nikaido Fumi, Yagira Yuya, Kawaei Rina, Arai Hirofumi, Mitsuishi Ken, Emoto Akira
Synopsis: An incident 100 years ago led to a professor’s creation of a monster (Ayano Go) with a human-like form but definitely not a human-like appearance. And yet, this immortal monster has more compassion than humans. He quietly hides deep in the forest and dreams of the day he can live as a human being even though he knows this is impossible. Then something results in his encounter with a young woman Tsugaru Tsugumi (Nikaido Fumi) who does not realise his true nature, and they fall in love with each other. He starts to learn about love, friendship and the world. However, there is a secret. A monster cannot come into contact with a human being...

Ayano Go only picks two kinds of dramas: really good or really weird.
That's why I never know what to expect, from his works. This one could be good and touching, or could be awfully boring, or terribly weird.
Who knows?? The only certain thing is that I still like his face. A lot.

Hito wa Mita Me ga 100%

Trailer
Date: From 10.00 p.m., Thursdays, 13 April 2017
Station: Fuji TV
Scriptwriter: Aizawa Tomoko (Onna to Otoko no Nettai, Biblia Koshodo no Jiken Techou, Kagi no Kakatta Heya Series)
Cast: Kiritani Mirei, Mizukawa Asami, Buruzon Chiemi, Narita Ryo, Machida Keita, Nakao Masaki, Adachi Rika, Okazaki Sae, Suzuki Kosuke, Muroi Shigeru
Synopsis: Jounouchi Jun (Kiritani Mirei) is a researcher who works at a paper manufacturer. She has been so immersed in research that she is at the bottom rung of stylishness. She lacks self-confidence, is unpopular with men and also poor at girls talk. Seeking to free herself from her current situation, Jun starts to research trendy makeup, fashion and beauty with her two colleagues Maeda Mitsuko (Mizukawa Asami) and Sato Seira (Buruzon Chiemi).

I don't think I like the premises of this drama, but Kiritani Mirei is my princess and I'm a mere subject who will follow her anywhere. Or at least I will try to do so. But maybe it's going to be amazingly good, who knows, who knows.
(Ikko's voice in the trailer makes me die, I can't XD)

Anata no Koto wa Sore Hodo

Trailer
Date: From 10.00 p.m., Tuesdays, 18 April 2017
Station: TBS
Scriptwriter: Yoshida Tomoko (Damena Watashi ni Koi Shite Kudasai, Dr DMAT, Kuro no Onna Kyoushi)
Cast: Haru, Higashide Masahiro, Naka Riisa, Suzuki Nobuyuki, Omasa Aya, Nakagawa Shoko, Kurokawa Tomoka, Narita Ishin, Yamazaki Ikusaburo, Hashimoto Jun, Aso Yumi
Synopsis: Watanabe Mitsu (Haru) is happily married to her second love, Ryota (Higashide Masahiro) who was a patient at the eye clinic where she works. He is a nice man who puts her first and even cares about her mother even though he is completely different from the popular guys she had dated in the past. He is a good catch as a husband and she could not have asked for anything more. But her first love is Arishima Koki (Suzuki Nobuyuki) from junior high school days. The one who moved out one day without telling her. After that, Mitsu had dated men who look like Arishima and even now, her eyes still follow men who resemble him. Then one day on the way back from a drinking session, Mitsu happens to meet Arishima, whom she believes to be the man of her destiny, again and they begin an affair.

I just hope it won't be a heavy thing about cheating.
So far I've never liked Haru, but this role seems different from the previous ones I've seen, so maybe I'll discovered she's actually able to express some feelings.

Crisis Kouan Kidou Sousatai Tokusou-han

Trailer
Date: From 9.00 p.m., Tuesdays, 11 April 2017
Station: Fuji TV
Scriptwriter: Kaneshiro Kazuki (Border, SP Series)
Cast: Oguri Shun, Nishijima Hidetoshi, Tanaka Tetsushi, Nomaguchi Toru, Araki Yuko, Ishida Yuriko, Iida Kisuke, Mashima Hidekazu, Nagatsuka Kyozo
Synopsis: The Special Investigation Unit is a secret force of specialists in various fields. The unit is under the direct control of the head of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department’s Security Bureau. Its members include investigator Inami Akira (Oguri Shun) who sustained serious trauma in a special mission during the time he was in the Self-Defence Forces; and Tamaru Saburo (Nishijima Hidetoshi) who was ordered to transfer from the Public Security Department’s Foreign Affairs Division in the wake of some incident and was later picked out by the Special Investigation Unit. These men will find themselves confronting irregular cases that will shake up the country.

From the trailer, it seems sooooo extra XD
Watching it for the eye-candy, I won't lie.

Haha ni Naru

Trailer
Date: From 10.00 p.m., Wednesdays, 12 April 2017
Station: NTV
Scriptwriter: Mizuhashi Fumie (Hayako-sensei Kekkon Surutte Hontou desu ka, Sharehouse no Koibito, Tsurukame Josanin)
Cast: Sawajiri Erika, Fujiki Naohito, Nakajima Yuto, Michieda Shunsuke, Takahashi Maryjun, Fujisawa Haruka, Mochizuki Ayumu, Asano Kazuyuki, Fubuki Jun, Itaya Yuka, Koike Eiko
Synopsis: Kashiwazaki Yui (Sawajiri Erika) had her 3-year-old son kidnapped from her on a usual day home from kindergarten. Her husband Yoichi (Fujiki Naohito), a university associate professor researching artificial intelligence, ended up withdrawing from the world after the incident. Nine years later, their son shows up and Yui tries to bury the void of the past nine years and be a mother to this 13-year old. Can a family that broke down once become whole again?

I wasn't going to put this in the list, but then I watched the trailer and it could be good.

THERE IS A LOT OF STUFF.
I don't think I'll be actually able to watch every single one of these, anyway. I just care about Kizoku Tantei, this time.

Soon I will write something about this spring's dramas (half of those I watched disappointed me :<) but I'm already late for this one, so!! There's nothing I'm really excited about I'm just hoping this season will be better than the past one t b h.

Uchi no Otto wa Shigoto ga Dekinai

Date: From 10.00 p.m., Saturdays, 8 July 2017
Station: NTV
Scriptwriter: Watanabe Chiho (Beppin-san, Go-nin no Junko, Tatakau! Shoten Girl)
Cast: Nishikido Ryo, Matsuoka Mayu, Sato Ryuta, Dan Mitsu, Yabu Kota, Imoto Ayako, Eguchi Noriko, Yoshimoto Miyu, Yagyu Miyu, Yashiki Hiroko, Abe Shohei, Kasamatsu Sho
Synopsis: Good looking Kobayashi Tsukasa (Nishikido Ryo) has a good academic background and income. He is supposed to be the “ideal husband”. But one day, his wife Sayaka (Matsuoka Mayu) learns his secret. In fact, Tsukasa is a burden who continuously gets in the way at his workplace. Meanwhile, Tsukasa does not want Sayaka, who believes that he is a capable husband, to know that he is quite the opposite. But repeated mistakes, humiliation and the contemptuous looks directed at him by his subordinates push him to his limit. Just as Tsukasa is about to quit, he finds out that Sayaka is pregnant. Since he cannot make her feel anxious, he decides that he has to become capable in his work. And so, the husband and wife tag-team begin their fight for survival.

A drama about a good looking man being useless at life. Seems like the authors/whoever casted Nishiki have been going around the internet and read fandom jokes about him. Or they just... saw him. Here, a gif of Ryo hitting the mike with his head after a performance.
This drama is the only one I'm actually anticipating, I hope it's good!

Gomen, Aishiteru

Trailer
Date: From 9.00 p.m., Sundays, 9 July 2017
Station: TBS
Scriptwriter: Asano Taeko (Dakara Kouya, Utsukushiki Wana, Ten no Hakobune)
Cast: Nagase Tomoya, Yoshioka Riho, Sakaguchi Kentaro, Onishi Ayaka, Daichi, Yamaji Kazuhiro, Kusamura Reiko, Rokkaku Seiji, Ikewaki Chizuru, Nakamura Baijaku, Otake Shinobu, Lee Soo-hyuk
Synopsis: Okazaki Ritsu (Nagase Tomoya) was abandoned by his mother when he was a child and lived on the margins of society. The underworld was the only place for him. One day, in a strange turn of events, Ritsu saves Mita Rinka (Yoshioka Riho). This is an encounter that will change both their destinies. Then, Ritsu gets involved in an accident and sustains a grave head injury. No one knows if he will be able to survive. Wanting to be filial to his mother in his last moments, Ritsu starts searching for her. He finds Hyuga Reiko (Otake Shinobu) with the information he has obtained. However, he sees the mother whom he believed had given him up because of poverty, shower tremendous love on her son Satoru (Sakaguchi Kentaro). He is taken aback by their wealth and happy expressions, and struggles with conflicting feelings of yearning and loathing. Then he meets Rinka again. Rinka has had feelings for her childhood friend Satoru but it is not reciprocated while Ritsu seeks love because he has never been loved by anyone before. Rinka is gradually drawn to him as his loneliness and warmth touch her. Satoru has received all his mother’s love and lives without a care, not knowing Ritsu’s anguish. And Reiko dotes on Satoru without realising that her son is by her side. Now their lives intersect.

Oh, Nagase *heart eyes*
The Korean version was reaaaaally popular in South Korea, back then (I think it's 10 years old or something), but I've never watched it so I don't know what to expect. Other than a melodrama, I mean. I hope it won't be too angst. And that it'll be good. I want to see Nagase for 10 episodes, okay??

Plage ~ Wakeari Bakari no Sharehouse

Date: From 10.00 p.m., Saturdays, 12 August 2017
Station: WOWOW
Scriptwriters: Oura Kota (Heat, Shomuni (2013)), Yoshida Yasuhiro (Cold Case)
Cast: Hoshino Gen, Naka Riisa, Mashima Hidekazu, Nakamura Yuri, Shibukawa Kiyohiko, Suga Shikao, Ishida Yuriko
Synopsis: 32-year-old salesman Yoshimura Takao (Hoshino Gen) has had a string of failures in his work at a travel agency and to make things worse, he is snubbed by the woman he likes. Then he is arrested for using stimulants which he did not really know he was taking to forget his troubles and given a suspended sentence. Takao is naturally dismissed by his company. On top of all that, the apartment he is living in goes up in flames … … Takao is taken to a shared house which has a cafe called ‘Plage’ on the first floor. The basic rent is 50,000 yen, a rotating schedule for cleaning, only a curtain as partition for individual rooms but comes with delicious food. Takao begins to live with a light heart until his next job is decided. But he gets involved in all sorts of commotion caused by the flawed residents (Naka Riisa, Mashima Hidekazu, Nakamura Yuri, Shibukawa Kiyohiko).

Sounds like a Sharehouse no Koibito 2.0, which was a useless drama, I hope it's better. These things with n people living in the same place can be very good or, like the above mentioned drama, very bad. Uhm. Also, Hoshino Gen is a carebear.

Kahogo no Kahoko

Date: From 10.00 p.m., Wednesdays, 12 July 2017
Station: NTV
Scriptwriter: Yukawa Kazuhiko (Gisou no Fuufu, Marumaru Tsuma, Kaseifu no Mita)
Cast: Takahata Mitsuki, Takeuchi Ryoma, Kubota Sayu, Kuroki Hitomi, Hamada Mari, Nakajima Hiroko, Umezawa Masayo, Tokito Saburo, Sato Jiro, Nishio Mari, Shukugawa Atom, Mita Yoshiko, Nishioka Tokuma, Hiraizumi Sei
Synopsis: Nemoto Kahoko (Takahata Mitsuki), a 21-year-old university student, has been raised in an overly protective environment by her mother Izumi (Kuroki Hitomi) and father Masataka (Tokito Saburo). She has never worked part-time, chosen clothes on her own or walked to the train station because she gets picked up and dropped off. Even at university, she gets the people around her to become her slaves and do all sorts of things for her with her angelic smile. Then one day, Kahoko meets Mugino Hajime (Takeuchi Ryoma) who grew up in an environment completely different from hers. He was abandoned by his parents, grew up in an orphanage and holds more than two part-time jobs to put himself through university. Kahoko is told that this kind overprotectiveness will be the end of Japan. She begins a journey of self-discovery. Through the many “firsts” that she experiences, she starts to solve a series of family problems with the true “ability” which had been lying dormant within her.

With these premises, I would have preferred it to be just a love comedy between the spoiled girl who can't live in the real world and the poor guy who had a hard life and cannot believe she's for real. This thing about solving family problems with some kind of ability may get boring.

Miyazawa Kenji no Shokutaku

Trailer (somehow)
Date: From 10.00 p.m., Saturdays, 17 June 2017
Station: WOWOW
Scriptwriter: Ikeda Natsuko (Suna no Tou, Algernon ni Hanabata o (2015), Alice no Toge)
Cast: Suzuki Ryohei, Ishibashi Anna, Yamazaki Ikusaburo, Ichikawa Mikako, Yanagisawa Shingo, Okayama Hajime, Takezai Terunosuke, Inowaki Kai, Inukai Naoki, Kanno Misuzu, Hirata Mitsuru
Synopsis: In 1921, a young Miyazawa Kenji (Suzuki Ryohei) stormed out of his wealthy family and ran away to Tokyo. In the eight months that he lived in Tokyo as he made a living for himself, his mind never left his beloved younger sister Toshi (Ishibashi Anna). One day at the end of summer, he gets an unexpected telegram, “Toshi is sick. Come back immediately.” Kenji returns home in great haste to find a seemingly healthy Toshi waiting for him. He had been thoroughly deceived by this scheme of his father Masajiro (Hirata Mitsuru) who was worried about him. Kenji has not been able to find something to be passionate about. But he begins to realise that his own ideal is to share happiness after he makes the croquette that he had tasted in Tokyo by hand and shares it with his family. This is communicated through his representative work. And in accordance to Toshi’s wish, he makes the decision to take a position as a teacher at the Hienu (now known as Hanamaki) Agricultural School which has just been established.

I was quite unsure about this, but seeing the trailer, I don't know, it seems so pure XD It there will be subs I'm going to try it.

Aishitetatte, Himitsu wa Aru

Date: From 10.30 p.m., Sundays, 16 July 2017
Station: NTV
Scriptwriter: Kuwamura Sayaka (Sukina Hito ga Iru Koto, Koinaka)
Cast: Fukushi Sota, Kawaguchi Haruna, Kaku Kento, Suzuki Kosuke, Shirasu Jin, Yashiba Toshihiro, Saeki Daichi, Emoto Tokio, Yamamoto Mirai, Horibe Keisuke, Endo Kenichi, Okae Kumiko, Suzuki Honami
Synopsis: Legal apprentice Okumori Rei (Fukushi Sota) is on the verge of getting married when he is cornered by someone due to a past secret. Eight years ago, during the summer when Rei was a third-year junior high school student, he killed his father Kosuke (Horibe Keisuke) and made it look like he went missing in order to protect his mother Akiko (Suzuki Honami) from domestic violence. This became the secret between him and his mother. Rei aspired to be a lawyer and lived without getting deeply involved with anyone. That was until he met Tachibana Saya (Kawaguchi Haruna) at law school. She is like a sudden light that illuminates his dark life and the two of them soon fell in love. However, right after Rei’s marriage to Saya is decided, he starts receiving ominous messages from someone who knows his secret...

I still don't trust Fukushi Sota, but maybe with a mystery drama he'll be better? Or maybe he will be bad but hopefully the rest of the drama will be nice? Who knows.

Akira to Akira

Trailer
Date: From 10.00 p.m., Sundays, 9 July 2017
Station: WOWOW
Scriptwriter: Maekawa Yoichi (Shizumanu Taiyo, Shitamachi Rocket (WOWOW))
Cast: Mukai Osamu, Saito Takumi, Koizumi Kotaro, Tanaka Rena, Kaku Kento, Kinoshita Houka, Horibe Keisuke, Matsushige Yutaka, Takimoto Miori, Nagashima Toshiyuki, Kamikawa Takaya (guest star), Omi Toshinori, Ishimaru Kanji
Synopsis: In April 1986, an orientation is being conducted for Sangyo Chuo Bank’s new employees. The last course is practical training on financial strategy for the two outstanding teams. The leaders for the respective teams are Kaido Akira (Mukai Osamu) and Yamazaki Akira (Saito Takumi) who are both graduates of Tokyo University. As the son of the owner (Ishimaru Kanji) of one of Japan’s leading companies, Kaido was born with an easy life and is promised a future as the next company president. On the other hand, the genius Yamazaki suffered hardships after his father’s (Matsushige Yutaka) company went bankrupt and their family had to run away at night. The two of them have built lives for themselves and joined the same bank. In fact, their lives had even crossed paths before this. But they have yet to realise this fact. Kaido and Yamazaki challenge each other as good friends and rivals as they overcome difficulties. And then, in what can only be described as “destiny”, a punishing ordeal drops on them...

Putting this here because I miss Mukai Osamu's face.
This could be an Hanzawa Naoki or the most boring thing in the world. In both case, even with subs I will have a hard time understanding what they're talking about!

source: jdramaswordpress

I would like to watch Gintama too, with Oguri Shun, but the movie comes before the drama,
so I will have to wait.

Later than usual, but I like to procrastinate. Also, I watched two dramas after they aired, so I needed more time.
The dramas I watched on air - Kizoku Tantei, Reverse and Boku Unmei no Hito Desu - were quite a disappointment, with the only exception of Kizoku Tantei, which I liked a lot.
This current season seems pretty dull too, but we're only at the beginning so it's too soon to talk.

BOKU, UNMEI NO HITO DESU
I can't even say it was a bad bad drama, and I can see how so many people liked it. But for me it was too. damn. boring. I didn't care about the plot, I didn't care about the main couple, I didn't care about anyone of the characters. The bits in his office were especially unsufferable.
The main couple did not have any chemistry, I still don't get how and when he fell in love with her. Was it just because Yamapi kept telling him they were destined to be together? Is this fact enough to start liking a person? Or did he just... finally know she was the right one and started liking her before actually liking her? Am I making any sense? Anyway, I didn't care about them.
Also, Yamapi can't fucking act. No, wait. Maybe he can act, but he always has the same face??? His voice too is kinda monotonous??? And he's like that in real life too (well, on tv at least), so he isn't doing that purposely for the character. In this specific case, the fact that he keeps the same expression all the time is actually good, since his character says a lot of stupid stuff, and it's kinda funny if he says them with a straight face. But other than that...
Anyway, no good. I fastfowarded the last episodes because I really didn't care.

REVERSE
Not bad, but not what I expected from the person who wrote N no tame ni and Yakou Kanransha.
The mystery just wasn't there. When we discovered how the guy died, there is no surprise. At the end of ep 9 (maybe?) I thought they were giving us, finally, a good plot-twist, but no, it wasn't like that. They tried to shock us with the girl, but she was suspicious since minute 1, so, again, not a surprise.
But, you know, I could go pass that if at least we had nice characters. But no. Everyone was unsufferable??? Maybe the teacher was the only one who wasn't that bad, but the others were bad people or just tedious ones. The main guy? A besotted idiot. His girlfriend or whatever? Burn her with fire. The other friends? They were scum when younger and the death of a friend didn't make them change for a bit (well, the poor souls stopped drinking, but if a friend of yours dies bc he was driving drunk it's not that strange if you don't want to drink anymore?? Even if I think that we are humans and we can control ourselves, so you can just drink ONE GLASS AND NOT GET DRUNK BUT O K A Y).
And maybe it's bad, but I didn't like the guy who died either. He was the typical boy who tries to be liked by everybody, to not cause problems... either he's fake as hell, or he's just stupid.
And the ending was just stupid.

KIZOKU TANTEI
In this dark, cruel world, I can only trust my man Aiba. That's not completely true, because he did that bore of Bartender, but you got me.
After the 1st episode I was not sure about how I felt, because I was expecting something else. Not a silly thing with an Inspector maybe worse than Kazamatsuri from Nazodi, people dressed like idiots and the main character that appeared for maybe 15 minutes.
But with the second one I already changed my mind. It's not a serious drama AT ALL. It's full of stupid moments, that kind of silliness that I like because it's yes silly, but not idiotic. Hanagata was SO dumb it was beautiful, and the 3 servants were the most amazing thing ever. I love them all. The Female Detective grew on me throught the drama, at the start I couldn't stand her.
Kizoku sama was an attractive son of a bitch and I'd love to call him "master". Aiba was good. For the first 2-3 episodes he was a little awkward, but then he got better and became Kizoku. He's also the most beautiful person I've ever laid my eyes on.
The ending was a bit meh, because they made us think that things were in a certain way... but it was ok.
Overall I really liked it! It was a lot of fun.

CRISIS
A simple action drama with not too much plot, that focuses on the question "who are the real bad guys?", since most of the terrorists they have to stop fight against the unfairness of the government and stuff like that. It was quite extra, like I predicted from the trailer.
The thing that bugged me is that we don't really get to know much about the main characters, just snippets here and there.
I also think there's going to be a special or a movie in the future? Since the ending was reaaaaally open.
Oh, Oguri Shun has the face of a man ho drinks too much and sleeps too little, but he's still attractive.

HITO WA MITAME GA 100%
After the 1st episode, I was about to drop it. Because the premise of this drama piss me off.
To be a "real woman", to be considered by others, a woman NEEDS to be pretty. And there's only one way to be pretty! Only one way to be a Real Woman.
If you're not like that, not only you'll never find a man, but you're also going to be mistreated at work. It doesn't mean if you are a genius, if you excell at your job: if you don't "take care" of yourself (where by "take care" I mean "be pretty, put your makeup on, dress fashionably) you won't be liked by your colleagues and by your boss.
But there is also the opposite thing, because they make you think that girls that, on the contrary, use makeup, like fashion etc, only think about that! They can't talk about anything else! They only think about being cute! The main character couldn't make friends at school because she liked science, while all the other girls thought about boys and makeup. Like we're all monocellular beings that can't have more than one interest!
So, to be considered by others and eventually find a guy, the main character starts to try to understand and follow all the various trends. because THAT is how she's going to be a better person.
So, I wanted to drop it. But I didn't. Maybe because I like Mirei too much, maybe because I wanted to see where it was going this mess.
And... it wasn't bad? I mean, it's a drama that you have to binge-watch and even skip some parts, because there are bits about the beauty research" they do, when they reasearch trends, that are boring and useless. There isn't so much plot either. But I still watched in a few days, mostly because I was curious about the "love story", if we can call it that.
The good thing is that, even with those premises, they actually made fun of all the trends for the whole drama. And in the end the girl gets recognized on her workplace because she's good at her job, and finds a guy that likes for how she is. Meaning that you don't need to be "pretty" to live well. Then, the fact that the guy she finds is a total psycho-jerk is a mere DETAIL.
The drama went in a direction I did not expect, so I'm glad I didn't drop it. Still, slow plot and too many boring parts.

I also watched he first episode of "Frankenstein no Koi" but I immediatly dropped it because it was very disturbing. AYANO GO WHY DO YOU KEEP CHOOSING WEIRD DRAMAS.

It's that time of the year... no, it's actually a little late, most of dramas are about to start already! Time is flying and I can't believe we're already in the middle of october >.<
This time I'll divide the post in 'dramas I want to watch' and 'dramas I might try', because this season I'm interested in many things, but as always I don't have that much time to watch them.

Kounodori

Trailer
Date: From 10.00 p.m., Fridays, 16 October 2015
Station: TBS
Scriptwriter: Yamamoto Mutsumi (Yae no Sakura, Tsukahara Bokuden, Gegege no Nyoubou)
Original Work: Kounodori by Suzunoki Yu
Cast: Ayano Go, Matsuoka Mayu, Yoshida Yo, Sakaguchi Kentaro, Hirayama Yusuke, Seino Nana, Toyomoto Akinaga, Asano Kazuyuki, Ayado Chie, Eguchi Noriko, Yamaguchi Sayaka, Hoshino Gen, Omori Nao, Kaname Jun (guest star), Usuda Asami (guest star), Shimizu Fumika (guest star)
Synopsis: Kounotori Sakura’s (Ayano Go) mother died right after he was born, and he grew up in a home for infants and a childrens’ orphanage. He is a loving obstetrician who wants to congratulate all babies who are born. At the same time, going by the name of ‘Baby’, he is a gifted pianist of many mysteries who channels all his emotions to the piano and plays with passion.

I have no reasons other than

And look at that trailer!! Those pure eyes when he looks at the kids and that gentle smile aaaaaargggggghhhhhhhhh.
I'm going to be a mess.

Samurai Sensei

Trailer
Date: From 11.15 p.m., Fridays, 23 October 2015
Station: TV Asahi
Scriptwriter: Kuroiwa Tsutomu (Yokoso Wagaya e, Subete ga F ni Naru, Strawberry Night Series)
Original Work: Samurai Sensei by Kuroe Ssuke
Cast: Nishikido Ryo, Kamiki Ryunosuke, Higa Manami, Fujii Ryusei, Kuroshima Yuina, Ishida Nicole, Kajihara Zen, Morimoto Leo
Synopsis: Takechi Hanpeita (Nishikido Ryo), a samurai of Tosa domain who campaigned for the expulsion of foreigners, unwittingly travels 150 years in time from the last days of the Tokugawa shogunate to present day Japan. Becoming a teacher at a private school run by Saeki Makoto (Morimoto Leo) in a village in the remote countryside through an unexpected turn of events, he solves all kinds of problems with methods unique to a samurai. Hanpeita is reunited with his good friend Sakamoto Ryoma (Kamiki Ryunosuke), who quickly adjusted to modern times after travelling in time to the present slightly before him, and lives in Tokyo as a journalist called Narasaki.

I'm not that thrilled for this thing, but it will probably make me laugh, so it's ok.
Ryo is good, Kamiki is good, there's that Johnny's WEST guy that was in Yokoso (did the scriptwriter like him that much? Is there a clause in Ryo's contract that imposes him to bring a Johnny's WEST member with him every time he does a drama?).
A funny thing is that, after I told my sister "hey, Ryo is going to be in a drama called Samurai Sensei", she spent like a week convinced that the drama was "Omurice Sensei". So this is how I'm going to call this drama. It's beautiful.

Okitegami Kyoko no Biboroku

Trailer
Date: From 9.00 p.m., Saturdays, 10 October 2015
Station: NTV
Scriptwriter: Nogi Akiko (Soratobu Kouhoushitsu, Omo ni Naitemasu, Lucky Seven)
Original Work: Okitegami Kyoko no Biboroku by Nishio Ishin
Cast: Aragaki Yui, Okada Masaki, Oikawa Mitsuhiro, Arioka Daiki, Uchida Rio
Synopsis: Okitegami Kyoko (Aragaki Yui) is a beautiful investigator who has a great love for money. But she is also forgetful. She always writes the important things that she has to remember on her body with a magic pen. Because her memory will reset every day once she falls asleep, she has to solve any case within a day.

I have so many unresolved feelings about Aragaki Yui and Okada Masaki since the 2nd season of Legal High, I need to see them being weird and cute and fluffy together, and this drama seems... weird and cute. I have some expectation, also because Nogi Akiko wrote the drama of my heart.

Isan Sozoku

Trailer
Date: From 9.00 p.m., Thursdays, 22 October 2015
Station: TV Asahi
Scriptwriter: Inoue Yumiko (Hirugao, Kinkyuu Torishirabeshitsu Series, Pandora Series)
Cast: Mukai Osamu, Eikura Nana, Ito Shiro, Kishibe Ittoku, Muroi Shigeru, Suzuki Kosuke, Yo Kimiko, Itaya Yuka, Kishimoto Kayoko, Watanabe Ikkei, Horiuchi Keiko, Matobu Sei
Synopsis: Sato Ikuo (Mukai Osamu) is a houseman who works for the internal medicine department. Not wanting to burden his mother (Kishimoto Kayoko), who brought him up as a single mother, he obtained a scholarship from a nearby public university and enrolled in its medical faculty. After that, he met Kaede (Eikura Nana), the only daughter of Kawamura Kozo (Kishibe Ittoku), the president of Kawamura Memorial Hospital. They got married and he was adopted into the Kawamura family. He is completely indifferent to the many sarcastic and caustic remarks that are aimed at him by Kaede’s aunts and cousin, and lives detached from the ongoing inheritance battle. But that does not mean Ikuo is a timid man. He has no interest in the power struggle in the hospital, career progression and opening his own practice. His dream is to be involved in medical care in remote places overseas and he focuses on training as a houseman every day.

I'm quite interested in this too, mostly because usually we see the wife as the one who needs to be 'accepted' by her husband's family, while here it's the opposite. I'm curious.
I like Eikura Nana, I think she has grown a lot since the days of her first works. And Mukai Osamu... is not the best actor, but I mean look at his face.

And now some dramas that caught my attention and that I might try if I have time (maybe one of the four I mentioned above won't be subbed or I won't like it and drop it... even though I hope it won't happen!) or if I read that they're absolute masterpieces.

Kekkonshiki no Zenjitsu ni

Trailer
Date: From 10.00 p.m., Tuesdays, 13 October 2015
Station: TBS
Scriptwriters: Yamamuro Yukiko (Aru Hi, Ahiru Bus), Takahashi Maki (Alice no Toge, Ikemen desu ne, Fuyu no Sakura), Shimada Ureha (White Lab, Inpei Sousa)
Cast: Karina, Harada Mieko, Suzuki Ryohei, Yamamoto Yusuke, Mano Erina, Fujita Yumiko, Hotaru Yukijiro, Yashiba Toshihiro, Nakano Yuta, Inukai Atsuhiro, Ikeda Saemi, Miho Jun, Toda Naho, Enami Kyoko, Endo Kenichi
Synopsis: 31-year-old Serizawa Hitomi (Karina) was single-handedly raised by her father, Kensuke (Endo Kenichi), who runs a sushi shop at Tsukiji. She is a project leader at a big real estate company, and engaged to marry Sonoda Yuichi (Suzuki Ryohei), a physician. With 100 days to go before her wedding, she is diagnosed with a brain tumour and learns that it could put her life in danger. Then her mother, Kanako (Harada Mieko), who left home 28 years ago, suddenly shows up. A free-spirited and unconventional woman, she bolted out of the house, and then Japan to pursue her own dreams. But she has come back upon learning of her daughter’s marriage. Hitomi naturally cannot forgive her mother while Kanako will not let her daughter die and gets actively involved in her life. This equates the start of a 100-day battle between daughter and mother.

Honestly... it seems really good. But I always avoid to watch stuff about sick people, because I feel sad and I'm a little hypochondriac so... I avoid them. But it seems good.
And I LOVE Karina. She's not the best actress ever, but I find her so charming... I like to look at her XD And I'm curious to see her in this kind of role. Also whan am I reading? Yamamoto Yusuke in the cast?? I feel like it's been AGES since the last time I've seen him doing something! The last thing I watched with him was... Host Club? Oh God.

5-ji Kara 9-ji Made ~ Watashi ni Koi Shita Obousan

Trailer
Date: From 9.00 p.m., Mondays, 12 October 2015
Station: Fuji TV
Scriptwriter: Koyama Shota (Ishitachi no Renai Jijou, Subete ga F ni Naru, Bitter Blood)
Original Work: 5-ji Kara 9-ji Made by Aihara Miki
Cast: Ishihara Satomi, Yamashita Tomohisa, Tanaka Kei, Furukawa Yuki, Takanashi Rin, Saeko, Yoshimoto Miyu, Nagatsuma Reo, Tsunematsu Yuri, Hayami Mokomichi, Terada Kokoro, Nakamura Anne, Toda Keiko, Ueshima Ryuhei, Onodera Takehiko, Kaga Mariko
Synopsis: Sakuraba Junko (Ishihara Satomi), an English language school teacher, has had no boyfriend even before her 29th birthday and dreams of working in New York. But one day, she encounters a handsome monk in the worst moment when she attends a funeral service at a temple. Because of numbness in her legs, she grabs the altar and ends up emptying the ash from burning incense on him while he is chanting the sutra. Although a rueful Junko thinks they will probably not meet again, she is deceived by her family and made to go for a matchmaking session. The other party is none other than that monk, Hoshikawa Takane (Yamashita Tomohisa)...

It seems nice and funny, BUT I have a problem with both the leads. I've watched few things with Ishihara Satomi, and never liked her: not because she isn't good, but because she always plays characters I dislike. I feel like she's been typecasted a bit, so I'm afraid that here she'll be once again the pretty but shallow woman. And Yamapi... sorry, I don't like him. I even liked some of the dramas with him I watched (like Summer Nude), but not because of him or the character he played, just because the story and the rest of the cast were good.

What will you watch this fall? Does Ayano's smile make you cry too? Do you think "Omurice Sensei" is a way better title? How pretty is Mukai Osamu's face?

source: jdramas.wordpress

After a week from its release, my thoughts about the last Arashi album!
This release had me both scared and excited: excited because I really loved The Digitalian, scared... for the same reason. I feared this one wouldn't have been "good enough".

Kokoro no Sora: this song is rather confusing. It has parts I like and others that I honestly find unsufferable: all the "me wo tojite..." parts are hideous, I don't like them at all, while the instrumental bit, with the shamisens and the guitar, is beautiful (too bad they cut it on Music Station!). The bridge is okay, in some parts it kinda reminds me this Naruto ending. I'm not sure why. I thought the lyrics were lame, just because I heard random "We are samurai" or "Here is El Dorado", but they're okay.
While I don't particularly like the song, it represents well the general theme of the album, the way they wanted to portray Japan and also the way foreigners (maybe) see it? Samurai, Cherry blossoms, polite people etc. So, even if it's not my favourite song of the album, I get why it's the main one.
Oh, the PV is absolutely stunning. And I like the dance too (all those hands movements are *_*)

Kimi e no Omoi: it's pretty. The melody is sweet with some traditional sounds, the lyrics are nice and I like how they added the rap. I'm not the biggest fan of ballads, they have to give me 'something', and this song doesn't. But it's still quite pretty.

Don't You Love Me? (Jun solo): after last year, Jun is back into his confort zone of songs I don't like. It's such a pity because I like STAY GOLD quite a lot. This one is "typical Jun", with a lot of English too. It reminds me a lot of another one of his solos... maybe the one from LOVE? I don't remember.

miyabi-night: I admit that, reading the title, I linked it with Carnival Night and expected something similar, which this song isn't. It has a very "Japanese" feel the melody is really nice. At first I wasn't impressed, but it's a grower, now I appreciate it a lot more! How many of you have the "ta-li-la-li-la" bit stuck in your heads?

Mikazuki: I'm so mad. The melody is gorgeous, the theme of the song is very nice and, I'll repeat it, the melody is gorgeous. So. WHY. THE. AUTOTUNE. Who thought it was a good idea? Who?? It could have been EVERYTHING, it could have been SO beautiful! I'm so mad.

Bolero!: this! song! It has nothing to do with the album, even the title has nothing to do with the song itself, but I! don't! care! I LOVE IT. It makes me want to shake every inch of my body that can be shaken. I hope they'll dance it at the concerts! I cannot imagine a world where someone doesn't dance along with this song. J'adore.

Mr. FUNK (Aiba solo): there's going to be a movie trilogy about the epic battle between Disco Star sama and Mr. Funk.
The song is nice, so far I like it a bit more than Disco Star (maybe? I'm not that sure actually) BUT the great (best) thing abotu Disco Star was the performance, so WE'LL SE. Anyway, I love Aiba's voice in this.
Lastly, Aiba's rap had me like

I'm not worthy.

Akatsuki (Ohno solo): *cries* Such a gorgeous song! The poetic lyrics! The stunning melody! Ohno's angelic voice! This song is too beautiful for life, the first listening gave me goosebumps, really. I'm already imagining what the live performance will be like and God, I'm sure it's going to be gorgeous.
I'm particularly happy about this song because the last 3 (or 4) Ohno's solos were really bland songs which I somehow found acceptable only because there was his voice, but nothing more. Now, finally, a song which is gorgeous itself and, thanks to Ohno, becomes perfect.

Rolling Days (Sho solo): I'm in tears. Along with Akatsuki, this is one of my favourite tracks from the album. I LOVE Sho's voice. It isn't clear, perfect, angelic like Ohno's, but it's the one I like the most in Arashi. So I adore this song, it suits his voice so well! It's very intense, I'm so impressed, really. And the rap is magical. I love-love-love-love it.

In the Room: it has some sexy lyrics. Even so, I'm not really impressed, it reminds me of some other songs they've released in these years. The live could be interesting, tho <-- because of the sexy lyrics, of course.

Masquerade: so, the beginning is a Sailor Moon transformation song, this is an enough reason to like this song. Like Bolero!, it has nothing to do with tha album and I love it X'D What is this? A salsa? A tango? All these years of Dancing With the Stars and I still can't recognize this stuff, shame on me. Anyway I like it A LOT.

MUSIC (Nino solo): aka Neen keeps being cute. Not his best song, but quite different from his previous ones, I like how upbeat it is. Still, I'd like somethign more intense, next time.

Tsutaetai Koto: this song has a very 'old-school Arashi' feel, it's a mix between Wish and some Christmas song. I love it! I think it could have been a great last song of the album, when I listen to it, it seems like a song that they play at the end of a movie/drama, when you rethink of all the good moments you spent etc. It makes no sense, but I always have this feeling every time I listen to it!

Japonesque: while I'm writing this post I'm listening to the album once more time, and it's the first time I'm thinking that I actually like Japnesque! The previous times it just did nothing to me, I guess it's a grower. I still think Tsutaetai Koto would have been a better choice to close the album, but it's okay.

Bokura ga Tsunaide Iku: as I said before, when I like a slow song it's because it makes me feel something, and this one does. It's a very subjective thing, of course. It reminds me of other ballads they did, but I still find it really nice.

the Deep End: I like it! It has a strong feel and the "Hey Aoi somare" bit pumps me up so much! I tend to still forget how it sounds, but then every time I listen to it I'm like "Oh yeah I like this one".

Make a Wish: old-school Arashi here too. It reminds me of many things and makes me in a good mood, I like it a lot!

About the 'old' songs (Sakura, AoKimi and Furusato), I like them all. I wonder why they didn't include Ai wo Sakebe, it's a bit weird having an album with only 2 singles (better for us, more new songs) but maybe they counted Furusato too.
In conclusion, I'm happy because this album wasn't a disappointment, I like almost all the songs and some of them are truly beautiful! I don't want to make comparison with The Digitalian, only the time will tell me which one I like more, but so far I'm really satisfied.

A quick update about the dramas I'm watching this season. Some of them has just started, so these are -obviously- my impressions so far.
I still haven't started Kounodori since they've released only the first episode and seems that subs are going to be a bit slow: I'll probably catch up on it when more episodes will be out!

- The Village: Achiara's Secret (11/16): woah there. I don't even remember why I started it, maybe because at that time I had nothing new to watch and I'm always attracted to Kdramas that are not focused on a love story. It's such a good drama, catching, mysterious and unpredictable; the first episodes were even creepy. I have no idea how it will end, but if you like mystery dramas/thrillers, give it a shot!

- Okitegami Kyoko no Biboroku (4/??): ugh my heart. The drama is incredibly fun, cute and sad at the same time. I ship the main characters like crazy, I desperately want them to be together, and the fact that her memory resets every night DOES NOT HELP ME. This drama makes me laugh but it also makes me sad :( Shipping aside, the main characters are suuuuper cute together, the best combi ever. I like them so much. Sob.

- Samurai Sensei (3/??): it's a lot of fun, but it's never 'too much'. They could have exasperated some situations, with a samurai being thrown in the modern age, but the drama manages to make me smile and laugh without exagerations. And I noticed, late, that the girl who plays Toranosuke's (girl?)friend is the one who played Nakai san in Gomenne Seishun MY BABY GIRL.

- Reply 1988 (4/20): my poor heart. My emotions. A part of me was afraid to have another installment of the Reply series, because there's always the chace to ruin it, but it seems it's not happening this time too. They're still playing the 'who's the husband' game, and I'm a bit tired of it, but this series always manages to not focus only on the love stories, so it's always GOOD. This time it seems they'll focus more on the different families, on the parents/sons, wife/husband relationships, and each family is different and I love them all. I'm already a mess, haha (it's not funny).

What are you watching this fall?

I needed time, to understand this album, and even now I'm not entirely sure about some songs. Maybe I find them mildly catching now, but in few months I won't even remember them; there are some of them I don't remember even now, in this exact moment.
But I usally write what I think about the new albums after a week or so, so let's do this! I'll talk about the singles included too, since I've never spent a word about them (spoiler: because I honestly don't have much to say about 3/4 of them. It was a bad year, single-wise).

I dislike the covers. All three of them. They look cheap and messy and I don't get why in one of them they're dressed as astronauts. Thankfully the one I'll buy -the regular one- it's the simpler one (veeeeeery simple); I still don't like it, but it's less chaotic. But I know better than judge a book from its cover: ugly covers do not necessarily mean ugly albums.

And I have to make a premise: after the first listening, only 2 songs caught my attention. The others sounded all really bland and I was quite worried I wouldn't have liked this album at all O_O

High Spirits: the last time Kanjani opened an album with an instrumental track was for 8Uppers, wich actually needed one because of the movie. I like they used one once again and I like the one they used: it matches well with the rest of the album. I hope they'll use it to open the jam sessions during the tour and not just as an opening! Also, a lot of armonica.

Katte ni Shiagare: again, a lot of armonica. This album doesn't have many 'strong' songs, but the ones it has... ARE strong. Not strong in a somewhat aggressive way, like the ones from Jukebox, for example, but more... fun? Katte ni Shiagare is quite catchy and fun, the performances will hopefully be the same!

Gamushara Koshinkyoku: first single. I don't hate it, it has some nice parts, but I really don't like most of the chorus and when they sing the school bell melody, I JUST REALLY DON'T LIKE THAT PART. Nothing particulary good anyway, from that single I liked waaaaaaaay more Tsugi no Harudesu.

Infinity: mess. I'm listening to it again for writing this review and I just can't, it's SO loud. Subaru wrote the lyrics.

Barintan: music by Yasu and lyrics by Hina and I think this is the first time he contributed to an album? Like, the first time he wrote something. The melody is typically upbeat/cute Yasu, and while I don't have a full translation, from what I can guess with my (very) limited knowledge of Japanese, I'd say the meaning is pretty 'Japanese': let's work hard everyday, take a lot of crap, be sad and down, but then we all get together and get genki with our tamborines. And that's why, in the performance, they're dressed like Tyroleans and bang on the tamborines. I HATED the performance. While I agree with the fact that, even if they're all in their thirties, it doesn't mean they have to be all serious and 'grown up'... I don't want to see them jumping with tamborines dressed in short pants and high socks and weird hats. Still, I like the song, it's really catchy.

Tsuyoku Tsuyoku Tsuyoku: second single. This song goes straight in the bunch of 'ballads'/slower songs they're often doing in these years; a bunch where we can find songs like 365nichi Kazoku, Namida no Kotae, Omoidama etc. They're not bad but, uhm, they're doing a lot of them and they're whiny. This one has also a quite loud chorus. Meh.

Spare Key: this is one of the 2 songs that caught my attention at the first listening. It's really normal, but the first time I listened to it I almost got teary eyed. Unlike Tsuyokux3, it's one of those ballads not whiny, not loud, with no Subaru shrieking in the distance. I like it a lot.

CloveR: third single. I don't understand why they decided to put this song after Spare Key. I'm here wiping my eyes after Spare Key and then "C to R ga koi shitaraaaa". Like... why. I felt weird. I don't particularly like this one either. It's quite cute but they're always dressed in a weird way and the dance is weird too. I don't know, I don't see them doing this kind of songs.

Nai Nai I Love You: this time too, we have the 'vintage' song. It's a genre I like, and the 'nai nai nai' part has been stuck into my head for DAYS. It also reminds me of an Italian tv show set in the '60s, the sound is that one.

WASABI: the strongest song of the album, the more energetic one. Also one of my favorites, I love bathing in this typical Eito sound.Please tell me I'm not the only one who thinks it's incredibly similar to Bruleé.

Nantoka Naru sa: boring. I never remind how it sounds, and when I listen to it I can't get to the end of it because it's always the same.

Maemuki Scream!: fourth single. Jesus Christ, how much I hate this song. It's terribly loud. Burn it with fire.

Itta Janaika: fifth single. And the only one single I really liked this year. I LOVE this song. And not because of Gomenne Seishun (although it was perfect for it), but because it just sounds... right. It's perfect. And the lyrics, even if exaggerated in some points, are SO relatable: either because one of those lies had been said to you, either because you told them XP (I'm not ashamed to admit that, in my high school days, I've used the 'my parents are strict I have to be home at xxpm' excuse more than once). Song of my heart.

Furimuku Wake ni wa Ikanaize: love. The intro is lovable, the rest of the song is so damn catchy and the ending is amazing. I can't wait to see the performance.

Genki ga Deru SONG: first of all, even if the lyrics are full of hope and good feelings etc, this song doesn't make me feel 'genki' at all. It's like the second, cheaper part of All is Well. I get and appreciate the intention behind it, and it's not even a bad song, but they already did the 'love letter' to fans two years ago, it feels 'too much' writing another one so early. I don't know. Also because All is Well is so much better. Maybe they had no other ideas.

my store ~ Kanousei wo Himeta Otokotachi (Maru, Yasu, Ohkura): when I read the tracklist, I asked myself how they choose the units, and I'm glad to know they did it in a total random way this year too. Anyway, this is the second song I 'noticed' right after the first listening. It's really catchy and upbeat. I'd love if they performed it playing the instruments, but they'll probably do some stupid dance. Also, the composer was, incredibly, not Yasu, but Maru! There's only one thing I don't get, and it's the 'my store' part in the title. Why?

Banana Juice (Yoko, Ryo): *insert childish banana jokes here* The sad thing is that I don't know Japanese enough to know if this song is actually a giant banana pun. Please someone tell me if it is. Because there's a 'I just want you to peel me', so... Anyway, I don't know, I guess it's okay? A better version of Ice Cream. And all those ba-ba-bas just make me thing of the pa-pa-pappa with the po-po-po-po-po-po-pomodoro wich is a capo-po-po-po-polavoro. I'm sorry.

Kawaita Hana (Subaru, Hina): when I read the title I asked myself why they were releasing a song with the same title of another one. But no, they actually did a cover of the old Kawaita Hana. Now... why. Yes, Subaru's voice is nice, but I'd preferred a new song; and Hina... I'm sorry, I like him, he's a good man, but his choppy piano?? His voice?? Why????? I don't get why they've done this. I like Kawaita Hana a lot, I'm really mad at this.

LOVE & KING (Hina): if last year Hina's rap solo was funny, it doesn't mean we wanted another one. Moreover, this cheap version of Lady Gaga's Poker Face. I'm confused and embarrassed.

So. It's not bad, but it's not great either. It's... an excuse to release an album and do a tour? I feel like it's full of stuff we've already seen: the vintage song, Hina rap, the All is Well copy... it's not bad, but it has nothing unforgettable. In the next years I'll remind this album for... what? Maybe for the armoica. It has nothing particular, like they didn't have many ideas, this time. And if really is like that, I'd have liked more if they'd released the album after more time, next year, instead of recycling old things.

Hi there!
Here we are for a post about last year. I won't talk much about personal stuff, since not much have changed: I've finally visited London (AND I went to the Harry Potter studios which are just *_____*), but other than that I... studied. Quite a lot. I passed 3 big, important exams and now I'm left with only one (the biggest of them all, of course -.-") so, hopefully, in the end of the year post of 2016 I'll be here bitching about finding a decent job (of course the best thing would be actually having a job but... that's not going to happen, at least not this year).
But let's talk about the important things.

I would have liked to write a post like last year's one, but, honestly, my fandoms are almost the same, there are no new ones. I'm definitely back on board on the Arashi train, Kanjani haven't been releasing many nice songs this year but they still don't make me live, VIXX are still cute, I'm still in love with Aiba, Ohkura is still a bad person. I don't follow EXO as much as before ~~I just care about Kyungsoo~~ but I still like them, and I don't follow Winner because... they're not doing anything, so... Ah, B.A.P are finally back after the lawsuit, so I'm having once again potatoes feels.
Haikyuu!! (both the manga and the anime) keeps being one of the best things ever. It's perfect and I love it. The only thing I don't like is that I love all the characters so I DON'T WANT ANY TEAM TO LOOSE. That's a problem. Anyway, I said it last year and I'll repeat it: read this manga. Or watch the anime. Or, even better, DO BOTH.

Best dramas of 2015
Ouroboros: a brilliant cast, a good plot about revenge, angst everywhere. Also my tears. I think that every person who watches japanese dramas has already watched it or at least plans to. If you haven't put it on your watchlist yet, DO IT.
Yokoso, Wagaya e: and I'm not saying this because of Aiba. I mean he was a good (more than good...) reason to watch it, but this drama IS actually good. It's about a cute, silly family and its stalker, every single character is suspicious and you'll end up suspecting everybody. Even the cat.
Okitegami Kyoko no Biboroku: I still have to write a proper post for this winter's dramas so I won't say much now. Just that the main characters are super cute, the drama is adorable and funny and MY HEART IS BROKEN.
Samurai Sensei: another winter drama, I expected nothing from it and ended up loving it. It was just so much fun! One of those typical dramas that make you fall in love with Sakamoto Ryoma. If you've watched it, you know what I mean.
Angry Mom (K): it focuses on a school and its problems of bullism, criminal teachers, little hooligans who're actually poor abused children that needs to be protected (Go Bok Dong I'm talking about you). It's really good and also have a little twist near the end that will surprise you and make you sad.
I Remember You (K): it's not extraordinary and I didn't really like the ending, but I've enjoyed it a lot. I know I like a drama when, when an episode comes out, I watch it as soon as I can, and with this one was like that. I knew who the criminal was like... immediatly (and not just me, everybody except the characters knew) but I still enjoyed it. Seo In Guk and Park Bo Gum were NOT a reason. I swear.
Oh My Ghost (K): this was SO cute and fun, especially the first episodes! I really laughed a lot, I suggest you to watch it if you're in need of a nice love story (there's a ghost involved tho, you may feel sad at some point).
Reply 1988 (K): I'm putting this here even if it's not over yet, because I just LOVE the Reply series, and this one may be my favourite so far. WATCH IT.

Best songs of 2015
You know I mostly follow Japanese and Korean artists, so you won't find many other songs.

AAA - Lil' Infinity ♫
AOA - Heart Attack ♫
AOA - LUV ME ♫
Arashi - Akatsuki (Ohno solo)
Arashi - Aozora no Shita, Kimi no Tonari ♫
Arashi - Bolero!
Arashi - Onaji Sora no Shita de
Arashi - Rolling Days (Sho solo)
Arashi - Sakura ♫
B'z - Don't Wanna Lie ♫
Bangtan Boys - I Need U ♫
Big Bang - Bae Bae ♫
Big Bang - Sober ♫
Bravely Default OST - Overture to Hope ♫
BREAKERZ - Miss Mistery ♫
December - There's Nothing But Give All My Love to You ♫
Eir Aoi - Lapis Lazuli ♫
EXID - Ah Yeah ♫
EXO - Call Me Baby ♫
EXO - El Dorado ♫
EXO - Love Me Right ♫
GFriend - Me Gustas Tu ♫
Girl's Day - Ring My Bell ♫
Goose House - Hikaru Nara ♫
Infinite - Bad ♫
Kalafina - Gogatsu no Mahou ♫
Kalafina - One Light ♫
Kanjani8 - Can't U See?
Kanjani8 - Candy My Love ♫
Kanjani8 - Natsu no Koibito
Kanjani8 - Samurai Song ♫
Kanjani8 - Spare Key
Kanjani8 - WASABI
Lee Juck - Don't Worry, Dear ♫
Lee Seung Chul - Darling ♫
Nine Muses - Hurt Locker ♫
Oh My Girl - Closer ♫
Ono Masatoshi - departure! ♫
Red Velvet - Ice Cream Cake ♫
Shinhwa - Sniper ♫
SNSD - Lion Heart ♫
SPYAIR - I'm a Believer ♫
Stellar - Vibrato ♫
Tiziano Ferro - Incanto ♫
TWICE - OOH AHH ♫
Urban Strangers - Runaway ♫
VIXX - Chained Up ♫
VIXX - Memory ♫

Books I've read
Goodreads has this very nice thing where you can see your year in books, but I'm not sure if other people other than me can see it. Anyway, you can see a simple list of what I've read here.
At the beginning of the year I set the goal to read 12 books (one per month) but I was afraid I couldn't complete it since I had to study a lot... but, somehow, I read 16 books O_o Most of them were thrillers or not very 'heavy' stuff, but still.
For example, I read the whole Mortal Instruments saga, and while I'm not really a fan of the young adult genre, I wanted to read something 'easy' in english and this saga was quite famous, so I've tried it. It's not trash, but not my favourite genre, and I also think the author should have stopped after the 3rd book.
I've finally read 50 Shades of Grey, because I wanted to finally know what everybody was talking about and... it's complete trash. Not just the story itself, but the characters, the way it's written... trash.
What I've particularly liked are the Jeffrey Deaver books and Gone Girl. GONE GIRL WAS AMAZING.

Movies I've watched
I don't know you, but I never manage to watch many movies. Or I go to the cinema, or, at home, I find it really hard to watch them. Maybe because they're long? I have no idea. But I have this suuuuper long list of movies I want to watch, and each year it just gets longer T_T
This year, I've actually managed to watch more movies than usual (24 aren't much, I know, but not for me).

Jan--> Kanojo wa Uso wo Aishisugiru
Horrible Bosses 2
The Imitation Game
Feb--> L♥DK
Lupin III vs. Detective Conan: The Movie
Crows Explode
Mar--> Pikanchi Half - Life is Hard, Tabun Happy
Cinderella 2015
Lupin III Live Action
Apr--> Into the Woods
Captain America - The First Avenger
Captain America - The Winter Soldier
Guardians of the Galaxy
Gone Girl
Avengers - Age of Ultron
May--> The Age of Adaline
Jun--> We're the Millers
MIRACLE - Debikuro kun no Koi to Mahou
Ao Haru Ride
A Few Good Men
Aug--> Ant-Man
Sep--> Misono Universe
Inside Out
Dec--> Pan

I've liked most of them, luckily (not Pan. Pan was a pile of crap and a waste of money, don't watch it).
And I've watched a lot of Marvel movies, since I wanted to watch Age of Ultron and I needed some background story other than the 1st Avengers movie and Thor.

Aaaand I think I'm done?
I wish you all (and myself too) a good 2016 ♥

There's nothing better in the universe than Nino challenging his inner Jay.Z

#StopNinomi2k16

Spoiler: I've been cast baited for most of these.

Itsuka Kono Koi o Omoidashite Kitto Naiteshimau

Trailer
Date: From 9.00 p.m., Mondays, 18 January 2016
Station: Fuji TV
Scriptwriter: Sakamoto Yuji (Saikou no Rikon, Woman, Mother)
Cast: Kora Kengo, Arimura Kasumi, Takahata Mitsuki, Nishijima Takahiro, Morikawa Aoi, Sakaguchi Kentaro, Urai Kenji, Fukushi Seiji, Morioka Ryu, Nagano Mei, Sakurai Yuki, Ware Zendo, Hayashida Miyu, Yasuda Ken, Otani Naoko, Tanaka Min, Emoto Akira, Takahashi Issei, Matsuda Miyuki, Kohinata Fumiyo, Yachigusa Kaoru
Synopsis: After Sugihara Oto’s (Arimura Kasumi) mother passed away when she was young, she was raised by adoptive parents in the Hokkaido countryside. Although she gave up having dreams, she lives cheerfully and bravely. But she is troubled by her adoptive parents (Emoto Akira, Otani Naoko) attempts to force her into a marriage with a wealthy man 20 years her senior to save the family from poverty. Soda Ren (Kora Kengo) lost his parents early and was brought up in the great outdoors in Fukushima by his grandfather (Tanaka Min). However, his grandfather gets swindled and Ren leaves for Tokyo in order to earn money to recover the farmland. He dreams that he will be able to live with his grandfather some day, but reality is harsh. By coincidence, Oto heads to Tokyo too. This is the story of love and growth of six young people (Kora Kengo, Arimura Kasumi, Takahata Mitsuki, Nishijima Takahiro, Morikawa Aoi, Sakaguchi Kentaro) from the rural areas who gather in Tokyo.

I'm! so! excited!
I'm SO happy to see Nissy (Nishijima Takahiro) acting again because he's way too good. He's an amazingly talented guy, good at singing, dancing and acting and Japan doesn't do him (and his group, AAA) justice because he should be way more famous. I hope this drama will help him I ROOT FOR YOU NISSY.
Other than this, the rest of the cast is nice too and the story looks promising *.*

Kazoku no Katachi

Trailer
Date: From 9.00 p.m., Sundays, 17 January 2016
Station: TBS
Scriptwriter: Goto Noriko (Zeni no Sensou, Toshi Densetsu no Onna Series, Team Batista Series)
Cast: Katori Shingo, Ueno Juri, Mizuhara Kiko, Arakawa Yoshiyoshi, Chiba Yudai, Yanagihara Kanako, Nakamura Ann, Takada Hyouga, Okuda Tatsuhito, Nagao Mariya, Konishi Kiss, Irie Masato, Mizuki Arisa (guest star), Asaji Yoko, Mizuno Miki, Morimoto Leo, Nishida Toshiyuki, Fubuki Jun
Synopsis: 39-year-old Nagasato Daisuke (Katori Shingo) is a bachelor who works for a stationery manufacturer. Although he is attuned to trends and interacts with other people flawlessly, he hates being hurt by love. Daisuke is not disatissified with living alone. 32-year-old Kumagai Hanako (Ueno Juri) is a divorced office lady. She has the clear intention not to remarry and is already preparing for old age. For some reason, Daisuke and Hanako keep quarreling right from the time they meet. But the two of them actually have many similarities. One day, Daisuke’s father Yozo (Nishida Toshiyuki) suddenly visits him with his 13-year-old step-son Kota (Takada Hyouga), for the first time in five years. He had secretly remarried Nagasato Megumi (Mizuno Miki), a woman almost 30 years his junior, in this time. Meanwhile Hanako’s mother Ritsuko (Fubuki Jun) starts living separately from her husband and comes to live with her beloved daughter without consulting her. Daisuke and Hanako’s lives as swinging singles get disrupted because of parents who have no hesitation about enjoying their own lives.

I didn't even know about the existence of this drama until... 2 days ago, I think? Then I saw the promotional photo, got curious, read the synopsis, got more curious, watched the trailer, and I was sold.
This one and Itsuka Kono Koi (...) are the only two dramas of this season I'm actually waiting for.

Fragile

Trailer
Date: From 10.00 p.m., Wednesdays, 13 January 2016
Station: Fuji TV
Scriptwriter: Hashibe Atsuko (Ghost Writer, Boku no Ita Jikan, Osozaki no Himawari)
Cast: Nagase Tomoya, Takei Emi, Koyuki, Nomura Shuhei, Kitaoji Kinya, Kamishiraishi Moka (guest star), Tsuda Kanji
Synopsis: Kishi Keiichitaro (Nagase Tomoya) is a handsome but eccentric pathologist with a sharp tongue. He would clash with the other party no matter who he or she is, for the sake of medical justice and the lives of patients. Because he does not mince his words, he makes nothing but enemies.

Nagase looks so good.
Stop.
I won't get my hopes up, I just hope it's not boring, or it will end up like Kounodori: featuring the love of my life, but dropped after the 1st episode (no, but when I'll have more time I'll probably try to watch it all).

Sumika Sumire

Trailer
Date: From 11.15 p.m., Fridays, 5 February 2016
Station: TV Asahi
Scriptwriter: Furuya Kazunao (Ouroboros, S ~ Saigo no Keikan, Kasukana Kanojo)
Cast: Kiritani Mirei, Matsuzaka Keiko, Oikawa Mitsuhiro, Machida Keita, Mizusawa Erena, Takasugi Mahiro, Takahashi Hitomi, Kohinata Fumiyo
Synopsis: Kisaragi Sumi (Kiritani Mirei) is a 20-year-old university student. But do not be surprised that she is a 65-year-old inside. Under pressure to help out with the family business from a young age, she could not have a youth. Even afterwards, she devoted her entire life to taking care of first her grandmother and then her father and mother. Sumi finds herself turning 65 (Matsuzaka Keiko) without ever having had a boyfriend. She takes a little pride in having lived with integrity. But after her mother passes away, she has the sudden thought of regaining her youth once more and making a fresh start in life … … A miracle happens to her. One day when Sumi wakes up, she has the appearance of a 20-year-old! Despite being bewildered by this unbelievable reality, she introduces herself as Sumire and gets another try at youth.

PLEASE be good.
Basically just every man i the world falling in love with Mirei, as it should be, but I really hope it will be a nice drama, my Crows Queen deserves it.

Watashi o Hanasanaide

Trailer
Date: From 10.00 p.m., Fridays, 15 January 2016
Station: TBS
Scriptwriter: Morishita Yoshiko (Tenno no Ryoriban, Tonbi, Jin Series)
Cast: Ayase Haruka, Miura Haruma, Mizukawa Asami, Suzuki Rio, Nakagawa Tsubasa, Mizuki Sakura, Emma Burns, Hamada Kokone, Kobayashi Kika, Ishikawa Tatsuki, Yamano Umi, Ito Ayumi, Matobu Sei, Komoto Masahiro, Aso Yumi
Synopsis: Hoshina Kyoko (Ayase Haruka), Doi Tomohiko (Miura Haruma) and Sakai Miwa (Mizukawa Asami) have been leading ordinary lives working as adults. Raised at Yoko Gakuen which was isolated from the world, the three (Suzuki Rio, Nakagawa Tsubasa, Mizuki Sakura) of them enjoyed child-like lives and education and were supposed to be normal children. One day, they were taught by their principal Kamikawa Emiko (Aso Yumi) that they are special children who have been given a “mission” from birth and were informed of their “true destiny”.

100% cast baited, I'm no good with sci-fi.
We shall see.

Special mention to the drama with Muro Tsuyoshi as the main character: it will never be subbed, and even if it will, I won't watch it because I don't care, but go, little precious diamond, shine bright!

source: jdramaswordpress

It's that time of the year, again! As always, I'm interested in just few dramas, but they all seems nice (minus one, which could be boring, but I'll watch it anyway out of loyalty).

Sekai Ichi Muzukashii Koi

Trailer
Date: From 10.00 p.m., Wednesdays, 13 April 2016
Station: NTV
Scriptwriter: Kaneko Shigeki (Kyou wa Kaisha Yasumimasu, Summer Nude, Voice)
Cast: Ohno Satoshi, Haru, Koike Eiko, Kotaki Nozomu, Shimizu Fumika, Wakabayashi Makoto, Fudauchi Kota, Nishihori Ryo, Sugimoto Tetta, Maruyama Tomomi, Miyake Hiroki, Kitamura Kazuki
Synopsis: 34-year-old Samejima Reiji (Ohno Satoshi) is the successor of a traditional Japanese inn and a company president who has expanded the business into the hotel industry. Although he is wealthy and able to make guests satisfied, females who get close to him quickly leave once they know about his arrogant and childish character. Then one day, his first love (Haru) arrives. She is a mysterious female who cannot read situations and he does not know what she is thinking. Even so, Reiji wants to be loved by the person he likes and pursues her with romantic tactics which are too lowly. He used to think that he is always right. But now his sense of worth starts to get shaken.

From the plot to the trailers, this seems a lot of fun! It's also Ohno's first love comedy (first love-anything, actually), and I'm curious to see how it will go (I bet well). Samejima Reiji already seems the clumsiets, most adorable CEO ever. AND there's Capo Cammmmeriere too (from Bambino)! Beautiful man. I'm really excited about this!

99.9 ~ Keiji Senmon Bengoshi

Trailer
Date: From 9.00 p.m., Sundays, 17 April 2016
Station: TBS
Scriptwriter: Uda Manabu (Borderline, Tokyo Airport, Lucky Seven)
Cast: Matsumoto Jun, Kagawa Teruyuki, Eikura Nana, Aoki Munetaka, Katagiri Jin, Magy, Watanabe Makiko, Baba Toru, Emi Kurara, Ikeda Takafumi, Kishii Yukino, Fujimoto Takahiro, Okuda Eiji, Kishibe Ittoku
Synopsis: The conviction rate for criminal cases in Japan is 99.9%. However, this hides a big danger. Once indicted, there is a tendency to accept the prosecution’s story at face value. There are also extremely few lawyers that specialise in criminal cases. Therefore, a thorough verification is very difficult. Miyama Hiroto (Matsumoto Jun) is a young, unconventional lawyer who constantly accepts criminal cases which are not lucrative. He fixates on the remaining 0.1% and pursues the truth until he is satisfied. One day, Miyama is headhunted by Madarame Haruhiko (Kishibe Ittoku) who heads one of Japan’s four largest legal firms for his track record of pulling off exonerations many times over. He is transferred to the criminal cases team which has been set up in the name of corporate social responsibility, but the person who is supposed to be his buddy is Sada Atsuhiro (Kagawa Teruyuki), an ace in civil cases. Sada serves as legal counsel to a big company and makes big money for the law firm. However, he is tasked with leading the team and has to suffer the indignity of taking charge of unprofitable criminal cases.

Legal dramas, like medical ones and others like that, can be risky, because they can easily be boring or too episodical, without a main, solid plot. That's why I'm a bit wary, with this one, and I'm going to watch it just because of Jun (wich is an adorable marshmallow, with that hairstyle). It won't be serious at all, this much I can tell, but I hope it will be fun.

Yutori Desuga Nani ka

Trailer
Date: From 10.30 p.m., Sundays, 17 April 2016
Station: NTV
Scriptwriter: Kudo Kankuro (Gomenne Seishun!, Ama-chan, 11-nin mo Iru!)
Cast: Okada Masaki, Matsuzaka Tori, Yagira Yuya, Ando Sakura, Taiga, Shimazaki Haruka, Tezuka Toru, Yoshida Kotaro, Aoki Sayaka, Takahashi You, Nakada Yoshiko, Yamoto Yuma, Shoji Yusuke, Yoshioka Riho, Kato Ryo, Komatsu Kazushige, Kikuchi Misato
Synopsis: Three guys born in 1987 are identified as the “first relaxed generation” – unambitious, uncompetitive and uncooperative. They are the product of school reforms undertaken in 2002 that include shorter five-day weeks, relaxed grading and less emphasis on rote learning. Sakama Masakazu (Okada Masaki) is an ordinary salaryman who has worked for a food products manufacturer for seven years. This spring, he is seconded to an affiliated chain of pubs. Yamaji Kazutoyo (Matsuzaka Tori) is a teacher of fourth graders at an elementary school in Tokyo’s Suginami district. He finds himself caught between the demands of the school and the complaints of parents. Michigami Malibu (Yagira Yuya) was called a prodigy when he was a child and topped his junior high school class but failed to qualify for university. He has not held a fixed job since then and has been moving from one night entertainment district to another as a tout. He lives with his older wife and their newborn child in a small six-tatami space as he guns for his eleventh attempt at university. This is the story of their ambivalence and struggles with work, family, love and friendships.

As much as I adore Okada Masaki and I think the plot is nice, I must admit that I'm mostly intrigued because of Kudo Kankuro, who wrote Gommene Seishun, which I loved and it's one of the funniest drama ever; so I'm curious to see how this one will be, since the premises don't seem that funny. Also, Okada Masaki.

Watashi Kekkon Dekinai Janakute, Shinai desu

Trailer
Date: From 10.00 p.m., Fridays, 15 April 2016
Station: TBS
Scriptwriter: Kaneko Arisa (Zainin no Uso, Tightrope no Onna, Haken no Oscar)
Cast: Nakatani Miki, Fujiki Naohito, Hasegawa Kyoko, Seto Koji, Omasa Aya, Hiraiwa Kami, Chisun, Matsui Jurina, Kentaro, Hirata Kaoru, Midori Yurie, Morita Kanro, Matsui Airi, Azuma Rion, Ranju Tomu, Tokui Yoshimi, Natsuki Mari, Marcia
Synopsis: 39-year-old Tachibana Miyabi (Nakatani Miki) is a aesthetic dermatologist who dismissively declares, “I can get married anytime I want to”. She enjoys a fulfilling single life and has a condescending attitude. One day, she encounters the caustic owner Tokura Seiji (Fujiki Naohito) of a Japanese restaurant that she visits with her friends. He points out the reality that she is “romance-impaired (unpopular female)” with a triple handicap of beauty, career and age. At first, Tokura’s unexpected insolence enrages Miyabi and she leaves his restaurant. But when she faces up to reality, she has to confront being denigrated as “romance-impaired” in the romance and marriage market, and she is forced to listen carefully to the grudging advice of Tokura…

I have to confess that I'm quite a fan of this kind of love comedy, they always seems fun and light; this is the 3rd Japanese drama with the word 'kekkon' in the title that I watch, the 1st one was really nice, the 2nd was... I don't even remember it, actually O_O Anyway, I hope this will be good. And I love the title, the old good story of 'it's not like I can't get married, I just don't want to!'.

My post about this winter dramas will probably come out this week, meanwhile tell me, what are you going to watch this season?

It comes a little late, but I wanted to finish Descendants of the Sun too, which ended last Thursday.

Itsuka Kono Koi wo Omoidashite, Kitto naite Shimau
Damn long titles. Anyway, I was really excited for this drama, aaaand... it was rather underwhelming. Not disappointing, because it wasn't bad, but I was expecting something entirely different. Like... more eventful? With more 'action' if that makes sense.
The two main characters were really nice people, but I found them hard to emphatize with; also they were those kind of people that are way too nice, that don't speak out their true feelings because they don't want to be selfish and hurt anybody, so they prefer staying unhappy... but doind like that, obviously, they end up hurting others anyway.
About the other characters, Haruta was cute but pretty useless, Ibuki kun was nice for the first part, then less nice, then nice again (and sad), Konatsu was the only one I really didn't like, she was so annoying! She has one moment of glory when she spoke the Gospel at the dinner of episode 5, and maybe near the end. The only character I liked from the beginning to the end was Kihoko, and I loved her relationship with Oto.
But my favourite was the old lady XP
I don't know, it wasn't bad, I enjoyed it, but I expected something more.

Watashi wo Hanasanaide
I'm not sure about why this drama was qualified as 'sci-fi', but I now understand why some people told me to stay away from this. It's, pretty much, a tragedy. At least you understand that most of the characters, probably all of them, will die at the 2nd episode, so you're prepared. But still. The sadness.
The children at the beginning killed me (no pun intended), Miwa was a pain the ass for the whole drama but when her moment came, it killed me, Tomo killed me, Tama chan killed me, Manami killed me, the guy Kyoko was a carer for killed me. Everyone killed me.
But the saddest thing was Kyoko. Because she already was pitiful, for what she was and her whole situation, but, even among all those pitiful people, she was the most pitiful one because her best friend was terrible and the guy she loved was a bit of an idiot. And the end... poor Kyoko.

Kazoku no Katachi
Last but DEFINITELY NOT LEAST. I wasn't expecting so much, but this drama ended up being my favourite of the season. Sometimes touching, and overall incredibly funny. The two main characters were SO relatable, for me. I like to think I'm not as self-centered as Daisuke, and I don't say everything that crosses my mind like he does, but I really get his need of having a place only for himself, with all his things, the need of not having people touching his stuff (I really have a problem with this one...), the thing about having his own habits not disturbed by other people. But, unlike me, he eats reeeeally healthy and goes to the gym regularly, without missing any day. In that aspects I'm much more similar to Hanako, who likes to be alone as well, but is also a lazy ass.
I loved all the characters, they were like a one big family. The drama starts with two lonely people, who chosed to be alone, who like being alone, and in the end they're surrounded by others; they continue living in their own way, but, somehow, it's different.
It's a fun, heartwarming drama about bringing people together and building a big happy family, I really recommend you all to watch it!

Descendants of the Sun (K)
Ok. OK. Everybody is going crazy about this drama. Korea loves it, China has lost its mind. The question is: why?
After the 3rd episode I wanted to drop it because I didn't care about what was going on, the characters, their future. I kept watching it because, like I said, its popularity was insane. And I didn't care about anyone in this drama untile the last second of the last episode.
It could have been a good military drama, a good medical drama and/or a good romance drama. There were all the premises. And yet it was neither of those. Boring, cheesy, predictable. Stressing out the 'cheesy' part, because it was like watching those old telenovelas, really, with those awful lines. I cared a little about the secondary couple, but they dragged their shit out for too long, but all the others? Who cares. The main couple? Who cares. It's not like what happened with other dramas (*coff* The Heirs *coff*) where I truly hated the main characters, here... I just... didn't care.
Also, at the end they did such a stupid thing: the two main soldiers, Song Jong Ki and his friend (look, I don't even remember the characters' names), became war prisoners for a whole year, then come back and... no mental traumas, no sign of torture/physical abuse or, I don't know, a sign of them being food deprived or not completely healthy. It was so unrealistic. I don't know.
It was really nothing special, like most of Korean dramas. The reason why I'm so upset it's because the ratings were crazy, like 40% or something. That's insane. Was it because it was the first drama Song Jong Ki did after the army? Was it because of his face (which it beautiful, I love it). I have no idea.
I'm not saying it's bad bad, but 40% of rating? Like... no. It was promising, and I appreciate that they filmed it all before putting it on air (hopefully they'll start doing it for every drama like normal people??? Please?? It's ridiculous???), but it was very underwhelming, seriously.
The OST was amazing, though, I love almost all the songs (this and this are my favorites). I also love Jong Ki's face. He's so handsome, he's unreal.

I still have the final thesis to write, but meanwhile...

When I read that the DVD of the Genki ga Deru tour was recorded on the last day of the tour, alas the day Ohkura couldn't attend because, the night before, he was hospitalized for an intestinal obstruction, I thought "Ok, this won't end well".
Not just because Ohkura is my favourite fatass, but also because a concert without one of the members (any member of any group) is... weird. Wrong, almost.
So, yeah, I was suspicious.

And yes, it was weird, it was different, but also one of the (if not the) craziest and, at the same time, most touching concerts they've ever done.
The beginning had me already weeping a little, with the members going on stage for saying the audience that Ohkura couldn't be there and asking if they wanted them to perform anyway ;_;
From what I got, they've known that Ohkura couldn't perform the night before the concert, so they had like, less than a day, to organize everything, learn his lines etc. It must have been a lot of work. And it was amazing because most of the times you wouldn't know that a member was missing, if you didn't know it already. But then, some other times... XD
And it was both touching and hilarious how they sometimes went saying Ohkura's name instead of the lyrics, or how they kept pulling out his damn uchiwa and doing the most random things with it.

(c)

Or the spoken part in Itta Janaika, where they kept talking to Ohkura, or the Genki ga Deru SONG, that suddenly became hilarious and not touching at all because they were speaking to the uchiwa!

Genki ga Deru isn't one of my favourite Eito albums, there are few songs that really don't say anything to me, but still there were some performances I was expecting to see. Also because this year there were some B-sides that I absolutely loved: imagine my surprise when I saw that they were perforfim Natsu no Koibito, which I LOVE. Love love LOVE. And the performance was peeeerfect. Did Maru made the choreo? From the special contents it seemed like that. Anyway, I loved every bit of it ♥
I loved Samurai Song too, it's such a good song ;_;

The unit songs! I don't like at aaaaall the CD version of Kawaita Hana, because I love the original version and the combo of Subaru and Hina's voices really doesn't do the thing, for me. It's because of Hina, though, I'm sorry. But! The live version was nice ;_; Maybe not perfect, but I really liked it.
But let's talk about the two motherfuckers and their stupid Ba-bi-bube-bo-banana song. The song is nothing special, I've already said it when I reviewed the album, but. How dared them. How. Being all hot with their stupid glasses and their stupid trumpet and sax and their stupid FACES.
Who gave them the right.

I really wanted to see Maru-Yasu-Kura song with Ohkura too, because it seemed super cute (it's also my fave unit song of this album), but I'm thankful Subaru took his place, because, from that moment to the end of the 1st DVD, it was all beautiful. My favourite part of the concert, I've rewatched it few times already and I end up crying from too much laughing every single time. And I still don't find any gifts, it's terrible.
Anyway, it was obvious that Subaru didn't know shit about the song, it's like he was walking near there and put on stage randomly. He only learnt like, 2 words, his purpose was being there and making a MESS of everything. Even Maru didn't know what to do. It was so beautiful.
But the best part came when, after that, Hina's solo started. It was, once again, a rap song with, at some point, the members coming out to be his backdancers. But this time, Maru, Yasu and Subaru were on stage from the beginning, and it was like... you know when some nerd kids enter into a club and they're amazed and don't know what to do, but then start having fun. That. The best thing was Subaru going totally WILD, dancing like a madman and being a Drunk Meitantei Conan. I can't describe it well, you really, really, have to watch this part (or the whole concert. Go, go).
It was magical.
Thank you Subaru. For this too (he was high, but he's also a precious lil hobbit).

I'm really sad about ONE thing, in particular. I've been waiting to see a Candy My Love performance for the whole time, and I REALLY WANTED TO SEE OHKURA DOING IT. It's so unfair. It still was the worst nightmare ever. Subaru decided to wear a super short skirt, not thinking about the fact that THERE ARE CHILDREN IN THE AUDIENCE, they don't want/need/should see his jewels.

Another sad thing is that Ohkura looked like this, in that period. We could've had a whole concert of that. I cry.

So, I liked this concert way more than I thought. But still. Please. Never again without one member ;_;

Quite a few interesting things, this summer, and one I'm still unsure, but we'll see :D

Sukina Hito ga Iru Koto

Trailer
Date: From 9.00 p.m., Mondays, 11 July 2016
Station: Fuji TV
Scriptwriter: Kuwamura Sayaka (Koinaka, Keibuho Sugiyama Shintaro)
Cast: Kiritani Mirei, Yamazaki Kento, Miura Shohei, Nomura Shuhei, Nanao, Ohara Sakurako, Sano Hinako, Iitoyo Marie, Yoshida Kotaro, Hamano Kenta
Synopsis: Sakurai Misaki (Kiritani Mirei) is a patissier who dreams of having her own business in the future and has prioritised work to the extent that she has forgotten how to kiss. But one day, she is suddenly dismissed and has difficulty finding a new job. At that moment, Misaki meets Shibasaki Chiaki (Miura Shohei), her first love in high school. Learning about her situation, Chiaki invites her to live-in and work at the seaside restaurant that he runs in Shonan. Chiaki has two younger brothers. Second brother Kanata (Yamazaki Kento) is a talented chef while third brother Toma (Nomura Shuhei) is a waiter at the restaurant. Misaki ends up spending one summer with the three handsome siblings.

The last time I've had this kind of "vibe" about a romantic drama was for Itsuka Kono Koi (...), and that was a bit disappointing, so I really hope this one will be good. Please be good.
The cast is absolutely lovely, I can't wait.

HOPE ~ Kitai Zero no Shinnyuu Shain

Trailer
Date: From 9.00 p.m., Sundays, 17 July 2016
Station: Fuji TV
Scriptwriter: Tokunaga Yuichi (Specialist, Umi ni Furu, Tantei no Tantei)
Cast: Nakajima Yuto, Endo Kenichi, Seto Koji, Yamamoto Mizuki, Kiriyama Akito, Magy, Nakamura Yuri, Maruyama Tomomi, Matsuda Kenji, Matsuzawa Kazuyuki, Toyama Toshiya, Sakurada Dori, Yashiba Toshihiro, Kaji Masaki, Watanabe Kunito, Yamauchi Takaya, Asaka Mayumi, Kazama Morio
Synopsis: Ichinose Ayumu (Nakajima Yuto) dreamt of becoming a professional shogi player, but his father passed away when he was a high school student. After graduating from high school, he does not go on to university. He works part-time in order to support the household while pursuing his dream. However, he keeps failing the test to be a professional shogi player. Because under 23 is the age limit for the tests, this is the last chance for Ayumu who is now 22. But on the day before the test, his mother (Asaka Mayumi) collapses from overwork and is hospitalised. Ayumu fails the test again and spends all his time despondently on his part-time job. Worried about him, his mother asks an acquaintance to arrange for her son to take the last stage of an employment test at a general trading company. It is to work as an intern for one month. His performance will be taken into consideration to determine whether he will be employed. Appreciating his mother’s thoughts, Ayumu starts his internship even though he doubts that he will make the cut. But he has insufficient social exposure and academic qualifications and is quickly given negative labels by his boss and peers. Ayumu has no choice but to compete. If he runs away from this, he will truly become a person with nothing.

Hah!! This is the one I'm most excited about!
It's the remake of a really popular Korean drama, Misaeng, which I've haven't watched yet because is suuuuper long, but it's one of those kdramas that are... well done? Not the usual cliché galore. So I'm escited to watch this version, since it will be shorter :D

ON Ijou Hanzai Sousakan Todo Hinako

Date: From 10.00 p.m., Tuesdays, 12 July 2016
Station: Fuji TV
Scriptwriter: Furuya Kazunao (Sumika Sumire, Ouroboros, S ~ Saigo no Keikan)
Cast: Haru, Yokoyama Yu, Kaname Jun, Takahashi Tsutomu, Momose Saku, Saito Ryo, Ito Mamiko, Hayashi Kento, Okunuki Kaoru, Mitsuishi Ken, Harada Mieko, Watabe Atsuro
Synopsis: Todo Hinako (Haru) is a rookie detective who has been assigned to the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department’s First Investigative Division. She never forgets case information once she has illustrated it. One day, Hinako goes to the scene where the body of a man who died an unnatural, gruesome death has been found. He was a suspect in an unsolved murder case. It is presumed from the situation at the scene that the man committed suicide, but inconceivable that he did that to himself. Moreover, it is the same method used in the murder case that he was suspected of committing. Is it truly suicide or murder? With the support of individualistic members such as her competent senior, a geeky forensics officer and a female medical examiner called the god of death, Hinako investigates a series of baffling, bizarre murder cases. There is a darkness in her heart and she has an interest in the psychology of murderers. Her destiny is set in motion by her encounters with various criminals.

Yoko wearing suits for 10 episodes.
(Also, the scriptwriter wrote nice stuff, so this may actually be good).

Aogeba Toutoushi

Trailer
Date: From 9.00 p.m., Sundays, 17 July 2016
Station: TBS
Scriptwriter: Izumi Yoshihiro (Death Note, Gokuaku Ganbo, Kurokouchi)
Cast: Terao Akira, Tabe Mikako, Mackenyu, Murakami Nijiro, Kitamura Takumi, Taiga, Sano Gaku, Ishii Anna, Kentaro, Yamoto Yuma, Minakami Kyoka, Okazaki Sae, Takahata Yuta, Omi Toshinori, Masu Takeshi, Ishizaki Koji
Synopsis: Higuma Koichi (Terao Akira), a former saxophone player who has turned his back on music due to the aftereffects of an accident, becomes the advisor of a small brass band (Ishii Anna, Kentaro, Yamoto Yuma, Minakami Kyoka, Okazaki Sae) at a run-down high school. He has to deal wth problem students (Mackenyu, Murakami Nijiro) who have lost their dreams as well as the teachers’ opposition to a professional musician entering the classroom. The path is not easy for him. Even so, Higuma rediscovers his dream, confronts the students head-on and starts to coach the band. Despite their bewilderment, the students begin to reciprocate his passion for music.

It's been a very long time since I've watched a school drama ala GTO, so, if this gets subbed and I have time, I might watch it,

Seisei Suru Hodo, Ai Shiteru

Trailer
Date: From 10.00 p.m., Tuesdays, 12 July 2016
Station: TBS
Scriptwriters: Lee Jeong Mi, Watanabe Mako (Akutotachi wa Senri o Hashiru, Omotesando Koukou Gasshoubu!), Inoue Seiji
Cast: Takei Emi, Takizawa Hideaki, Nakamura Aoi, Mizusawa Erena, Triendl Reina, Nakamura Hayato, Yokosawa Natsuko, Wada Akari, Genking, Takigawa Eiji, Judai Satoshi, Hashimoto Manami, Takahashi Mitsuomi, Kanno Misuzu, Matsudaira Ken
Synopsis: Kurihara Mia (Takei Emi) works for the public relations department of a company. She falls in love with her company’s vice president Miyoshi Kairi (Takizawa Hideaki) after he helps her locate her missing engagement ring during a business trip. Mia does not realise who he is until he comes to the public relations department as part of training. She finds herself having to work with Miyoshi as his trainer. He is severe at times and yet gentle at others. Mia’s heart is captured by him little by little. But Miyoshi already has a wife...

Mmmh. I have weird feelings about Takky, and I don't remember when was the last time I liked something Takei Emi did. The "girl falls in love with her rich handsome boss" trope isn't really my favourite thing either. But still, if there's time I'll give it a try.

source: jdramaswordpress

GENERAL MASTERPOST

MOVIES
8 Uppers

Ao Haru Ride

Ao no Honoo - The Blue Light

As You Like It (stageplay)

Assassination Classroom

Assassination Classroom: Graduation

Attack on the Pinup Boys (K)

Bakuman

BECK

--> my review
Boku wa Imouto ni Koi wo Suru

Bokura ga Ita - Kouhen

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Boys Love

Crows Explode

Crows Zero

Crows Zero 2

Detective Conan1 - Sayonara Made no Prologue

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Eight Ranger

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GANTZ

GANTZ - PERFECT ANSWER

Haha to Kuraseba

Hanamizuki

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Helter Skelter

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I Have To Buy New Shoes

Ikari

Kanojo wa Uso wo Aishisugiru

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Kimi to Boku

Kiroi Namida

Koizora ~Sky of Love~

Koukou Debut

L♥DK

Lupin III

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MIRACLE - Debikuro kun no Koi to Mahou

Misono Universe

--> my review (ITALIAN)
Nana 1

Nana 2

Ogon o Daite Tobe

Ohoku

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Oppai Volleyball

Ore Monogatari!!

Ouran High School Host Club

Paradise Kiss

Pikanchi - Life is Hard, Dakedo Happy

Pikanchi Double - Life is Hard, Dakara Happy

Pikanchi Half - Life is Hard, Tabun Happy

--> my review
Pink and Grey

Platina Data

Raiou - The Lightning Tree

Rookies ~ Sotsugyou

Runway Beat

Rurouni Kenshin

Secretly, Greatly (K)

Shaken Baby

Shigatsu wa Kimi no Uso

ST MPD Scientific Investigation Squad

Strobe Edge

Sukitomo

Surely Someday

Takumi-kun 1 - Soshite Harukaze ni Sasayaite

Takumi-kun 2 - Niji Iro ni Garasu

The Seaside Motel

Tokyo Tower

Unforgettable (K)

Wild7

Yattaman

CONCERTS
(嵐) Suppin' Arashi First Concert 2000

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(嵐) ARASHI Around Asia + in Dome

(嵐) SUMMER TOUR 2007 FINALTIME -Kotoba No Chikara-

(嵐) ARASHI Around Asia 2008 in Tokyo

(嵐) ARASHI Anniversary Tour 5×10

(嵐) ARASHI 10-11 TOUR “Scene” ~Kimi to Boku no Miteiru Fukei~ 【stadium】

--> my review
(嵐) ARASHI 10-11TOUR ''Scene'' ~Kimi to Boku no Miteiru Fukei~ DOME+

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(嵐) ARASHI LIVE TOUR Beautiful World

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(嵐) ARAFES

(嵐) ARASHI LIVE TOUR Popcorn

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(嵐) ARAFES 2013

(嵐) LOVE

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(嵐) Japonism Live Tour

(嵐) ARASHI LIVE TOUR 2016-2017 Are You Happy?

(嵐) ARASHI "Japonism Show" in ARENA

(関ジャニ∞) Excite!!

(関ジャニ∞) Spirits!!

(関ジャニ∞) Heat Up!

(関ジャニ∞) 47

(関ジャニ∞) Kanjani∞ TOUR 2∞9 PUZZLE

(関ジャニ∞) COUNTDOWN LIVE 2009-2010 in Kyocera Dome Osaka

(関ジャニ∞) KANJANI8 LIVE TOUR 2010→2011 8UPPERS

--> my review
(関ジャニ∞) KANJANI∞ Godai Dome Tour EIGHT×EIGHTER Omonnakattara Dome Suimasen

(関ジャニ∞) 8Matsuri ~Bokura mo 8cchai, 8cchake Matsuri

(関ジャニ∞) KANJANI∞ LIVE TOUR!! 8EST - Minna no Omoi wa Dounandai? Bokura no Omoi wa Mugendai!! -

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(関ジャニ∞) Jyussai

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(関ジャニ∞) KANJANI8 Recital Omae no Heart wo Tsukandaru!!

(関ジャニ∞) Kanjani8 no Genki ga Deru LIVE!!

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(関ジャニ∞) KANJANI8 Recital Manatsu no Orera wa Tsumi na Yatsu

(関ジャニ∞) Kanjani's Eightertainment

(2PM) ARENA TOUR 2011 - REPUBLIC OF 2PM

(AAA) AAA 5th Anniversary LIVE 20100912 at Yokohama Arena

(AAA) AAA Buzz Comunication at SAITAMA SUPER ARENA

(AAA) AAA 6th Anniversary Tour 2011.09.28 at Zep Tokyo

(AAA) AAA TOUR 2012 - 777 - TRIPLE SEVEN

(AAA) AAA TOUR 2013 Eight Wonder

(AAA) ARENA TOUR 2014 - Golden Symphony

(AAA) AAA 10th Anniversary SPECIAL Yagai LIVE in Fuji-Q Highland

(AKB48) AKB48 Yoshaa Izuko! In Seibu Dome First Concert DVD

(AKB48) AKB48 Yoshaa Izuko! In Seibu Dome Second Concert DVD

(AKB48) AKB48 Request Hour Setlist BEST 100 2011

(Amuse) SUPER HANDSOME LIVE 2015

(An Cafe) LIVE CAFE・TOUR'08 NYAPPY GO AROUND THE WORLD

(An Cafe) Finale of Nyappy - Kawayusu Rock de Go Gogo!

(An Cafe) LIVECAFE2010 King of Harajuku Dance Rock ~Ikinari Nyappy Legend~

(B.A.P) 1st Tour B.A.P Live on Earth Pacific Tour

(B.A.P) Live on Earth 2014 in Paris

-->LIVE!!
(EXO) Debut Showcase

(EXO) Overdose Comeback Showcase 2014

(EXO) EXO Planet #2 The EXO'luXion in Seoul

(Girls' Generation) Japan First Tour Girls' Generation

(Hey! Say! JUMP) SUMMARY 2010

(Hey! Say! JUMP) SUMMARY 2011 in DOME

(Johnny's Jr.) Sugao 1 [1998

(Johnny's Jr.) Sugao 2 [1999

(KAT-TUN) KAT-TUN -NO MORE PAIИ- WORLD TOUR 2011

(Kis-My-Ft2) Kis-My-Ft2 Debut Tour 2011 Everybody Go

(Kis-My-Ft2) Kis-My-Mint

(NEWS) NEWS DOME PARTY 2010 LIVE! LIVE! LIVE! DVD

(Nine Muses) DRAMA Comeback Showcase

(Shibutani Subaru) UTA LIVE TOUR

(SMTown) Korean Music Wave in LA - SMTown Special 2012

(SMTown) MBC SMTown Live World Tour III in Seoul

(Super Junior) The 1st Asia Tour: Super Show

(Super Junior) The 2nd Asia Tour: Super Show2

(Super Junior) Super Show 3 in Japan

(Super Junior) The 3rd Asia Tour: Super Show3

(Super Junior) WORLD TOUR SUPER SHOW 4 LIVE IN JAPAN - Super Show 4 in Kyocera Dome Osaka

(Super Junior) Super Junior World Tour: Super Show 4

(TOKIO) TOKIO 10th anniversary LIVE 2004

(TOKIO) TOKIO Special GIGs 2006 ~Get Your Dream~

(VIXX) LIVE FANTASIA in Japan HEX SIGN

GENERAL MASTERPOST

TV SHOWS (JAPANESE & KOREAN)
All About DBSK Season 3 in Saipan

B.A.P Killing Camp

D no Arashi

EXO Showtime

Exploration of the Human Body

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G no Arashi

J3Kansai

Jonetsu Tairiku - Ikuta Toma

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Jonetsu Tairiku - Oguri Shun

One Fine Day - B.A.P

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Roommate Season 1

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TA-DAH It's B.A.P

The Romantic and Idol Season 1

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WIN - Who Is Next

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Ao Haru Ride

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Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki kun

Haikyuu!!

Haikyuu!! Nekoma OVA

Haikyuu!! Season 2

Haikyuu!! Season 3

Naruto

Noragami

Ore Monogatari

Sailor Moon

Sailor Moon Crystal

Sailor Moon Crystal III

Shigatsu wa Kimi no Uso

Yuri on Ice

Sukina Hito ga Iru Koto
It's nothing we haven't already seen, nothing original, but still, it was fun and terribly cute. It's a nice summer romance drama with a beautiful setting, food, and a very good looking cast. So yeah, it's not going to win the award for best drama of the year, but I've enjoyed it a lot.
I love Mirei and Yamazaki Kento together, I've already seen them in Heroine Shikakku and they have amazing chemisrty on and off camera, I love them (also, they're beautiful).
Everyone loved Chiaki (Miura Shohei), but I think it was because of his face, since I really didn't like him at all. He was so fake?? Trying to be the nice, wise older brother that doesn't want to make anyone suffer (but he does anyway); also
he was oblivious about Misaki's feelings for half the drama and suddenly starts caring about her when he discovers she likes Kanata and not him anymore >.>
The only times when I liked him were that one time he got mad with Kaede and in the last episode, in that scene where he's left at the restourant with Touma, because it was clear he wasn't trying to be good or something like that.
Anyway, it was cute!

HOPE - Kitai Zero no Shinnyu Shain

It was really good AND well acted. It's about work and the struggles it presents, not only for the main character (a high school graduated who got there because of connections and who obviously isn't as good as college graduates), but for anyone else, because they're either "too good", have a incompetent boss or, simply, they're women.
I loved the relationship between the 4 same-year colleagues (between the 4 older ones too!) and how each one of them managed to find his own place.
I find this kind of dramas always relatable, for one reason or another.

ON Ijou Hanzai Sousakan Todo Hinako

I watched this drama for one reason, and that was the reason that kept me going. Yoko wearing a suit for 9 episodes.
But I have to admit that the first 4 (or 5?) episodes got me quite interested, because there was a thread, the case they were investigating on, that was weird and absurd, but at least I was curious to saee the end of it. Too bad the case was solved after 4-5 episodes, and the other focused on the heroine's own drama, wich... I didn't care about. It was also stupid and I still don't get why

she was so sure she was going to kill someone, one day. It's so stupid.

So, after an okay start (I repeat, the first case was stupid too, but it was interesting), the second half was really underwhelming.
Still, I had way worse expectations, so I guess it's ok?
Also, Yoko.
Oh, I've confirmed my thoughts about Haru: I don't like her. I see no difference between her character in this drama, in Sekamuzu, and her public persona: she's always the same. Sure, there are a lot of bad actors/actresses around (Yoko, for example. Or Mirei, whom I love deeply, but she isn't the best actress out there, even if she's got better with time), the point is that Haru is one of the top-actress at the moment and I really don't get WHY.
You know who was good? Hayashi Kento. He's such a good actor, I don't get why he doesn't do more stuff.

Aogeba Toutoshi

I got what I was expecting, a typycal school drama with baby yankees full of "issues", that talk funny but care about their friends, and a passionate teacher who cares more about the students than his own health.
I haven't watched a drama like this in a while, so it was nice watching one again and seeing that yankees always have their own fashion and always look like they're out of a '90s dramas. But yeah, it was nothing special.
The main kid was awful in every single way.

Seisei Suruhodo, Aishiteru

Oh my God, it was awful.
The first 3-4 episodes were awkward in a good way, meaning that it was really bad but I had fun. Then the story got "serious" and it was simply unbearable. I've watched the last 3 episodes in fast-foward because I couldn't deal with how stupid it was.
Not only it was about a girl who falls in love with her rich, handsome boss, but there's also an affair, where all the blame is put on the woman :/ I didn't like any of the characters and didn't care about their problems.
Also I read that Takki was a good actor, but here he was terrible????

The only good thing was nakamura Aoi, bless him and his beautiful face.

Uncontrollably Fond

I honestly don't know why I didn't dropped it. The problem could have been solved in 5 episodes, and they took 20. TWENTY. Twenty episodes where nothing happened. The plot could have been interesting (not original, of course, but at least not boring), but with so many episodes it really seemed like nothing was happening.
I disliked every character, it aired in summer but they shoot it in the middle of the winter, so you watched people with heavy coats and scarves while your room was like an oven.
I mean, it was so bad that even Koreans disliked it.

W - Two Worlds

Finally a Korean drama with somehow an original plot. In the end there were the usual cliches (like the girl that at one point becomes totally useles because only the guy can be the hero), but the setting was honestly interesting and complex (so much that some times it was hard follow what was going on).
I think that it was too long, though, because the last episodes were quite anticlimatic, while the whole drama was full-paced. Still, it was good.

After a fairly good summer, this fall there are few things I'm interested in, but nothing I'm really expecting. Often, though, the dramas I'm expecting nothing from are the ones that surprise me the most, so I hope it will be the same this season!

Nigeru wa Haji da ga Yaku ni Tatsu

Trailer
Date: From 10.00 p.m., Tuesdays, 11 October 2016
Station: TBS
Scriptwriter: Nogi Akiko (Juhan Shuttai, Okitegami Kyoko no Bibouroku, Soratobu Kouhoushitsu)
Cast: Aragaki Yui, Hoshino Gen, Otani Ryohei, Fujii Takashi, Mano Erina, Narita Ryo, Yamaga Kotoko, Takahashi Yo, Hayama Shono, Furuhata Seika, Hosoda Yoshihiko, Takayama Yuko, Furutachi Kanji, Moro Morooka, Takahashi Hitomi, Ukaji Takashi, Tomita Yasuko, Furuta Arata, Ishida Yuriko
Synopsis: 25-year-old Moriyama Mikuri (Aragaki Yui) graduated but had no job offers. She became a temporary employee but was even laid off. So while she is taking a break right now, Mikuri feels unwanted and displaced. She starts work as a housekeeper for 35-year-old Tsuzaki Hiramasa (Hoshino Gen) by chance. Tsuzaki, who has never had a girlfriend and romance in his 35 years, is proud that he is a “professional bachelor”. But he determines the effectiveness of Mikuri’s sudden proposal to marry for work and they have a contract marriage. How will married life with Mikuri change Tsuzaki who usually hardly shows emotion and does not even realise that he is in love?

It could be fun, but I'm mostly interested because I always like Gakki's dramas and THE SCRIPTWRITER WROTE THE DRAMA OF MY HEART, and Okitegami too, which was adorable. And Juhan Shuttai, which I still have to watch but everybody say it's really good. I trust her.

Jimi ni Sugoi! Kouetsu Girl Kouno Etsuko

Trailer
Date: From 10.00 p.m., Wednesdays, 5 October 2016
Station: NTV
Scriptwriter: Nakatani Mayumi (Dear Sister, Sono Hi no Maeni, Last Cinderella)
Cast: Ishihara Satomi, Suda Masaki, Honda Tsubasa, Wada Masato, Eguchi Noriko, Taguchi Hiromasa, Adachi Rika, Ise Kayo, Soda Marie, Matsukawa Naruki, Sugino Yosuke, Mister Chin, Nagae Hidekazu, Aso Kaori, Takahashi Osamu, Kaga Takeshi (guest star), Yoshimoto Miyoko, Aoki Munetaka, Kishitani Goro
Synopsis: Kouno Etsuko (Ishihara Satomi) joins a publishing company with her sights set on becoming a fashion editor. But she is assigned to the very unglamorous proofreading department which examines and fixes errors in manuscripts. Dressed in flashy clothes, Etsuko goes beyond her proofreading work to see the writers in person and also get into actual locations to verify facts. She tries to do each job to perfection for a transfer to the fashion magazine editorial department. Despite her worries about the gap between her ideal job and reality, Etsuko dedicates herself to the work of proofreading in her own unique way and gradually starts to realise its allure.

At first I didn't want to watch it, but then... I don't know what happened. Maybe it was the trailer they played on Arashi ni Shiyagare that got me interested. I'm not the biggest fan of Ishihara Satomi, she's not bad but she always plays characters that I find annoying. We'll see.

Daishou

Trailer
Date: Fall 2016
Network: Hulu
Scriptwriters: Inagaki Kiyotoka, Moriguchi Yusuke(Keishichou Sousa Ikka-chou), Honda Ta (Keishichou Sousa Ikka-chou, Higanbana, Hondana Shokudo)
Cast: Oguri Shun, Takahashi Tsutomu, Takanashi Rin, Fuchikami Yasushi, Yanagi Erisa, Yanagi Shuntaro, Kataoka Reiko, Hirata Mitsuru, Ishibashi Ryo, Horibe Keisuke
Synopsis: Okuyama Keisuke (Oguri Shun) is a successful lawyer with a dark past. He suffers from severe obsessive-compulsive disorder as a result of abuse and betrayal when he was a young boy. One day, Keisuke is asked to defend his distant relative and psychopath “friend”, Ando Tatsuya (Takahashi Tsutomu), who is a suspect in a murder case. Tatsuya had robbed him of his own parents and happiness one after another. After that, he was repeatedly mistreated by Tatsuya’s family who adopted him. Keisuke takes a risky gamble to bury Tatsuya from society. His reunion with Tatsuya is the start of a battle with a new nightmare.

We don't even know when it starts, if it's a drama or a special, and I'm not sure if the raws will be avaliable. Anyway, it seems cool, I hope I'll be able to watch it.

Suna no Tou ~ Shirisugita Rinjin

Trailer
Date: From 10.00 p.m., Fridays, 14 October 2016
Station: TBS
Scriptwriter: Ikeda Natsuko (Algernon ni Hanataba o, Alice no Toge, Kuro no Onna Kyoushi)
Cast: Kanno Miho, Iwata Takanori, Yokoyama Megumi, Horiuchi Keiko, Horan Chiaki, Uesugi Shuhei, Otozuki Kei, Kimura Yuichi, Sano Hayato, Kawazu Asuka, Inagaki Kurumi, Mitsuishi Ken, Karasuma Setsuko, Tsuda Kanji, Tanaka Naoki, Matsushima Nanako
Synopsis: Takano Aki (Kanno Miho) is a happy, ordinary housewife whose family (Tanaka Naoki, Sano Hayato, Kawazu Asuka) has moved to their dream apartment. Just as they are starting their new life, they encounter an ominous, terrifying neighbour Sasaki Yumiko (Matsushima Nanako). This neighbour manipulates the dark emotions of pride, vanity and jealousy of the housewives living in the apartment building, drives Aki into isolation within the building with unexpected methods and eventually causes the break up of her family.

Lately there are a lot of these "creepy person destroys random familiy with the nice addition of bullies neighbors" kind of drama, and I've enjoyed the ones I've watched, so I'm going to try this one too. But the main thing is that I want to watch the other things the scriptwriter wrote, especially Alice no Toge.

Yuusha Yoshihiko to Michigakareshi 7-nin

Trailer
Date: From 12.12 a.m., Saturdays, 8 October 2016
Station: TV Tokyo
Scriptwriter: Fukuda Yuichi (Nietzsche-sensei,Aoi Honoo, Yuusha Yoshihiko Series)
Cast: Yamada Takayuki, Muro Tsuyoshi, Kinami Haruka, Takuma Shin, Sato Jiro
Synopsis: Several hundred years after Yoshihiko (Yamada Takayuki) defeated the dark spirit Deathtark in a fierce battle and saved the world, the world is once again plunged in darkness. Resurrected by the power of Buddha (Sato Jiro), Yoshihiko and his party (Muro Tsuyoshi, Kinami Haruka, Takuma Shin) set off on a journey around the world. Will they be able to save the world again?

Dear Lord. This series is the most stupid, low-budget, brilliant thing ever. It's so dumb it's genius, really. I still have to finishe the 2nd series, so I'll probably won't watch this one while it's airing, but I surely will in the future.

They're my usual 4-5 dramas, but I have to admit I'm not really excited about any of these. I hope to be surprised :D
What are you going to watch? Have you watched "Alice no Toge" and/or "Juhan Shuttai"? Are they worth it?

After "The Digitalian" and "Japonism", I had high expectations for this one, since I loved both those albums.
The theme itself, "happiness" it's nice and promising, but we all know, by now, that Arashi don't exactly follow a theme for the whole album, just for few songs (for example, in this one there are quite a few songs that are not happy at all). But! The covers are adorable, and that's important.
What about the music? The whole album is a grower, the sings that caught my attention at the 1st listening were just 3 or 4. For most of the others, I needed more time.
Overall, it's a very... relaxed (not relaxing, tho) album, and I like it.
I really enjoyed the fact that each of them "supervised" a song other than the solo, because you can clearly see a lot of that person in "his" song.

Drive: it's one of those songs of the album that, after the 1st listening, didn't tell me much and also kinda disappointed me, since, you know, the 1st song should be... I don't know, stonger? With more impact? It gives you the general feel of the album. The thing is that "Drive" does exactly this! It's a very chill song that perfectly represents the whole album. Not too flashy, not too fast. Now I like it a lot, especially the build up right before the refrain! Also, it reminds me a lot of "Fukkatsu LOVE".

Ups and Downs: this one reminds me a lot of the "early" Arashi, that kind of sound that, I admit, I don't particulary like. Still I love this song. I was tidying up my wardrobe for the winter while listening to the album, and I realized that I kept replaying this one, because I was surprised by how much I enjoyed. The best part is absolutely the refrain, The lyrics are really nice too!

Seishun Boogie: Aiba proves once again he is a gift. Because the song he "supervised" is one of my favourites of the album. I love it! It has that kind of "old school" feeling, it could totally be a song from older Johnny's like Shounentai or Macchy san. And I mean it in a good way, since it's a sound I really, really enjoy. I hope thay'll dance it at the concerts! I'm imagining something like last year's "Masquerade" (hopefully without the hideous hats!)

Sunshine (Sho solo): Sho keeps delivering! Lately he's being putting out of the hat a lot of lovely solos! This one is nice, upbeat, happy and with beautiful lyrics! The refrain is ♥♥

Amore (Aiba solo): message to Aiba:

Jesus Christ. Okay. When I listened to it for the first time, I immediately liked it, it's nice, upbeat, kinda a mix of a Higashiyama-like song and an anime opening. And Aiba kept saying "amore", so everything was good. Then I read the lyrics. Once again, I asked myself how is it possible that there are still people who thinks Aiba is just an innocent snowflake who only cares about baby animals and being silly, when, actually, he is Walking Sex. The God of Eros.
This song is SEXY. A lot. And listening yo Aiba singing it into your ears, with actually knowing what he's saying, is An Experience.
This year too, I'm not worthy.

Bad Boy (Ohno solo): ... ok, no. Aside from the fact that using so much autotune in an Ohno's solo is a crime and a waste because he has the voice of angel, but I really don't like the song ;_; I mean, it reminds me of Hina's solo from Genki ga Deru and THAT'S BAD.
At least he'll dance a lot and be hot and amazing at the lives?

WONDER-LOVE: weird. At first I didn't like it at all, but it's a total grower. In a few days I was singing the refrain in my head all day long. I still think it's a weird song, and not my favourite genre, but I like it. It's still bugs me that it pratically doesn't have any sort of climax, tho.

Mata Kyo to Onaji Hi ga Kuru (Nino solo): can he stop with these long-ass titles. Last year was so nice and easy, just "music". Anyway, SUPER WEIRD. Neen is into this kind of style, this year (he supervised Wonder-Love). Once again, it's not my favourite king od song, but I can't say that I don't like it. I enjoy it, but it's not that song that I look for. The lyrics are beautiful, this time too. Really curious about the lives!

Baby Blue (Jun solo): growing old, J is becoming SO soft, I love it. Baby blueberry. This solo is very un-like him, and I like that he's trying something different. Not my favourite song of the album, I find it kinda forgettable, but it's still a nice one. Soft, precious blueberry.

Miles away: what is happiness. I love this one. The song itself is nice, beautiful myrics, beautiful melody, but the amazing thing is how the lines were distributed and how they sang them! Ohno did an amazing job, he should produce way more of their songs. Really, I have no words, it's just... beautiful. Their voices are beautiful. Everything is beautiful.

To my homies: I expected something totally different. Instead I got some kind of love letter to fans and friends similar to "Genki ga Deru" by Kanjani8 (that I find way better). This one is no way bad, even though I find the refrain a tiny bit repetitive, but I've listened to better stuff and I expected more, honestly. Lyrics are beautiful tho, and I probably cry while watching the DVD.

Don't You Get It?: dancing-on-the-sofa-song. This one is a grower too, because at the beginning I didn't like it that much and found the refrain kinda noisy XD The MV and the lives helped a lot (love them, by the way. The dance is so stupid, I love them all).

Two to Tango: sexy sexy sexyyyyyyy. I expect a lot from the lives DON'T LET ME DOWN ARASHI. All that rap. Unf.
I admit I expected a liiiiiiitle more from this one too, but it's okay, I still like it.
Don't. Let. Me. Down.

In conclusion, it's a nice album. Sure, it's not a "Time" or a "Digitalian" (probably my favourites Arashi albums) but it's very enjoyable, especially after some time. Glad to see they're still trying something new, even while going back, from time to time, to older sounds. It's nice. And the whole "supervising" thing is definitely interesting, I'd like to see more of that in the future.

Drama season: spring 2017

Drama Season: summer 2017

Spring dramas - Alternative title: I can only trust Aiba

Drama season: fall 2015

[review] Arashi - Japonism

Fall dramas: so far so good

[review] Kanjani8 - Kanjani8 no Genki ga Deru CD!!

2015 Over Review aka we're talking about serious stuff here

Right now...

Drama season: winter 2016

Drama season: spring 2016

About this winter's dramas

So, I passed my last university exam

Genki ga Deru DVD aka the day Ohkura was hospitalized and the other members were on drugs

Drama season: summer 2016

Masterpost--> Watched--> Movies + Concerts

Masterpost--> Watched--> TV Shows + Anime

Few words about the dramas I've watched this summer

Drama season: fall 2016

[review] Arashi - Are You Happy? AKA Aiba is the God of Eros