Yasuko to Kenji ( ヤスコとケンジ -2008)

Starring:
Matsuoka Masahiro as Oki Kenji
Hirosue Ryoko as Tsubaki Erika
Tabe Mikako as Oki Yasuko
Yagi Yuki as young Yasuko
Okura Tadayoshi as Tsubaki Jun
Yamaguchi Sayaka as Miyazono Kaori
Uchiyama Shinji as Mosu
Watabe Gota as Ajidasu
Higashi Ayu (東亜優) as Aki
Egashira Yui (江頭由衣) as Chisato
Kojima Haruna as Shingyoji Hiyoko
Nishida Natsumi (西田奈津美) as Rumi
Matsumoto Kana as Ayame
RIKIYA as Aota
HIRO as Akagawa
Shima Daisuke as Shibuya Masaru
Sakurai Atsuko as Hoshikawa Yukiko
Guests:
Sumita Takashi (住田隆) as Yasuko's class adviser (ep1-4)
Mochida Masayo (持田雅代) (ep1-5)
Fuse Hiroshi (ep1-7)
Yoza Eriku (与座重理久) (ep1)
Imamura Hirotsugu (今村浩継) (ep1)
Hiranuma Naruki (平沼成基) (ep1)
Tonaka Yuzo (渡仲裕蔵) (ep1)
Minai Satoshi (薬袋智史) (ep1)
Akashi Teppei (明石鉄平) (ep1)
Imakuni Masahiko (今國雅彦) (ep1)
Tanimoto Toru (谷本徹) (ep1)
Kataoka Tomie (片岡富江) (ep1)
Sato Yuji (佐藤佑四) (ep1)
Okubo Kazuma (大久保一麻 ) (ep1)
Inoue Chika (井上知香) (ep1)
Asada Yoriko (浅田よりこ) (ep1,3-4)
Ito Seika (伊藤聖夏) (ep1,3-4)
Okazaki Asako (岡崎亜紗子) (ep1,3-4)
Sasaoka Akari (笹丘明里) as Mizuki (ep1,3-4)
Kurihara Yurika (栗原夕梨花) (ep1,3-4)
Tokuta Kimika (徳田公華) (ep1,3-4)
Haruki Hiromi (春季ひろみ) (ep1,3-4)
Henmi Rena (辺見玲菜) (ep1,3-4)
Honma Risa (本間理紗) as Mao (ep1,3-4)
Mika (美華) (ep1,3-4)
Mukaino Mio (向野澪) (ep1,3-4)
Yamauchi Emiri (山内映美莉) as Yuriko (ep1,3-4)
Fujisaki Ran (藤咲らん) (ep1,3-4)
Yamazaki Nonoka (山崎野々華) (ep1,3-4)
Hirakawa Kentaro (平川健太郎) (ep1)
Kobayashi Kinako (ep2-3)
Tsuji Tatsuya (辻龍也) (ep2)
Ijima Hirokazu (飯島浩和) (ep2)
Yamaguchi Miki (山口幹) (ep2)
Serizawa Shigeo (芹澤新元祐) (ep2)
Takahashi Tomoya (高橋友也) (ep2)
Tamori Tatsumi (田盛辰実) (ep2)
Nagata Toshiki (永田俊樹) (ep2)
Watanabe Kankuro (渡邊寛久郎) (ep2)
Kubo Masatoshi (窪正寿) (ep2)
Akio (晃生) (ep2)
Tsunoda Akihiko (角田昭彦) (ep2)
Shimamura Shoji (嶋村昇次) (ep2)
Koyama Hironori (小山紘徳) (ep2)
Shindo Hiroshi (進藤浩志) (ep2)
Yamamura Hidekatsu (山村秀勝) (ep2,6)
Sato Eriko as Ai (ep3)
Oura Ryuichi (ep3)
Takahashi Keiko as Moriguchi Fumie (ep3)
Tani Ryuji (谷隆次) (ep3)
Naito Koji (内藤浩次) (ep3)
Nakazono Mitsuhiro (中薗光博) (ep3)
Kato Masaki (加藤マサキ) (ep3)
Tsumura Masayuki (津村雅之) (ep3)
Oka Kenji (岡憲治) (ep3)
Fukuda Takeshi (福田武史) (ep3)
Kato Teruo (加藤照男) (ep3)
Nihei Koichi (二瓶鮫一) (ep4)
Kataoka Tomie (片岡富枝) (ep4)
Watanabe Michiko (渡辺道子) (ep4)
Yasuda Shota as Yamada Mikio (ep5)
Anan Kenji as the doctor (ep5)
Endo Kaname (遠藤要) as Mikio's friend (ep5)
Minami Shuhei (南周平) (ep5)
Sato Yutaka (佐藤裕) (ep5)
Tamura Saburo (田村三郎) (ep5)
Tamura Shunsuke (田村駿介) (ep5)
Kameda Keita (亀田啓太) (ep5)
Kikuchi Takashi (菊池隆) (ep5)
Morita Ryu (森田龍) (ep5)
Nakamura Yuuichi (中村裕一) (ep5)
The Touch (ザ・たっち) (ep6-7)
Takuma Takayuki (ep6)
Ito Koji (偉藤厚次) (ep6)
Asami Kazutoshi (浅見和俊) (ep6)
Okura Hiroya (大倉弘也) (ep6)
Katou Hiroaki (加藤宏章) (ep6)
Kono Fumio (河野文雄) (ep6)
Hoshina Koji (保科光志) (ep6)
Sato Hiroaki (佐藤博秋) (ep6)
Hongo Ryo (北郷良) (ep6)
Yamada Kenichi (山田顕一) (ep6)
Kaji Takeshi (梶武志) (ep6)
Ogi Shigemitsu (ep7)

TOKIO's Masahiro Matsuoka will star in a new NTV drama series called "Yasuko to Kenji." It is based on a comical manga by artist Aruko that was serialized in Bessatsu Margaret between April 2005 and November 2006.
The show focuses on a man named Kenji and his younger sister Yasuko, whose parents died in an accident 10 years earlier. Kenji was once the leader of a gang, but in order to support him and his sister, he began making a living as a shojo mangaka. His character normally wears glasses and appears to be a gentle guy, but he throws off his glasses and reverts to his violent side whenever he tries to protect Yasuko from danger. Part of the story follows Yasuko's romance with an intelligent and good-looking man named Jun Tsubaki. Jun's older sister Erika now runs a flower shop, but Erika was once a leader of a female gang, and she used to be in love with Kenji during those days. --Tokyograph

This was a delightful...I mean it seriously...DELIGHTFUL drama! This had all the perfect elements to make this a hit. I seriously fell in love with this the first second I tuned in. Drama, comedy, romance, fighting, and serious manga-esque visualizations.

Tabe Mikako was brilliantly cast as the young sister, Yasuko. Okay, I wasn't overly sure of the character of Kenji but eventually understood why he was cast. He had me laughing so hard. Those facial expressions were a freakin' riot.

Having seen Hirosue Ryoko before, I knew she would be wonderful. I've liked her in many a drama. She was too cute as the wannabe girlfriend of Kenji. Gosh! I can't really say enough about this brilliant comedy. I was seriously in tears the last episode. I wasn't expecting the letter that Yasuko read about her brother. Geez, I was seriously all teary eyed. I didn't want this drama to end because it was just too good.

Damn! All my favorite dramas are coming to an end. What am I going to do this Fall season? Shoot me in the head because I'm beginning to get bored from nothing to watch now. Come on new season.....start me up!!

And for all you Kanjani8 fans....look below.............

Okura Tadayoshi

Ummm.......WHOA!!!

Summer Snow (2000)

Starring:
Domoto Tsuyoshi as Shinoda Natsuo
Hirosue Ryoko as Katase Yuki
Imai Tsubasa as Suetsugu Hiroto
Ikewaki Chizuru as Shinoda Chika
Oguri Shun as Shinoda Jun
Nakamura Shunsuke as Tachibana Seiji
Kuninaka Ryoko as Suzuki Misa
Kadono Takuzo as Katase Shogo
Hara Hideko as Sakurai Miyako
Fukuda Mayuko as Chiro-chan
Tamayama Tetsuji as Gang leader (ep6-7)
Tsukamoto Takashi as Gang member (ep2-3,6-7)
Abe Sadao as Chiron-chan's father (ep6)
Ito Takashi

A love story between a young man who has been forced to grow up too quickly, and a young woman with an ailment that has placed restrictions on her life. Natsuo has been looking after his younger brother and sister since the death of their parents. He has also been running the family bicycle shop. Yuki becomes the only person in the world in whom he can confide. For Yuki, Natsuo becomes the catalyst that has her trying to break out of her cocoon. -- KIKU-TV

Okay, I'm going to type this up before adding the cast, synopsis, and pics.

This drama was so wonderful! But......I will never watch this again. I will be crying the rest of the day and all eternity. I had no idea this would turn out just like Heaven's Tree. I had a feeling something was up when they kept hinting about watching out for cars and organ donors. If you don't know what I'm talking about by now.....you must be brain dead. Yeah, I just spoiled the ending. But don't let that bother you because this drama had so many popular faces in it. I was so excited that my toes curled and my blood boiled.

This drama touched on important scenarios in our everyday lives....especially organ donation and teen pregnancy.

The important factoid that was stressed entirely in this drama was to be TRUE TO YOURSELF.

Now I'm a little beefed because this was a Japanese drama and it ended like a Korean one. I was not happy at all but then I was too busy shedding enough tears that I became a human Niagara Falls. Yeah, it was that good of an ending!!!

A definite tear-jerker if your willing to spare the water weight from your body. It'll take days to get over this one. How will I sleep tonight?

Now I shall post pics of guys I haven't posted of before...........shall I?

Imai Tsubasa

Domoto Tsuyoshi

Renai Shashin: Mo Hitotsu no Monogatari (2003)

AKA: Collage of our Lives

Starring:
Ryoko Hirosue ... Satonaka
Ryuhei Matsuda ... Makato Segawa
Eiko Koike ... Aya
Robert Baldwin
Kan Eto
Atsushi Harada
Dominic Marcus ... Cassius (as Maakusu Dominiku)
Mayuko Nishiyama
Rei Okamoto
Ren Osugi ... Director
Gregory Pekar ... James Bond
Jiro Sato
Issei Takahashi
Stephanie Wang ... Convoy
Laura Windrath ... Girl in NY church
Cary Woodworth
Shigenori Yamazaki


TOKYO
Makoto Segawa is a pretty hopeless commercial photographer. Hating to compromise his artistry, his work is often rejected by the trite concerns of his commerce. One day he gets into a fight with an ad. exec. throws caution to the wind and decks the client with a punch.

Out of work, his world is thrown into complete turmoil by the arrival of a letter from his ex-girlfriend, Shizuru, his first love from his student days...

Back then, Shizuru was "the" girl on campus. She seemed to know everyone, flirted with many and was chased by most. Then there were the rumours about her affair with her professor. Makoto, on the other hand, was a poor nobody harbouring dreams of becoming a professional photographer.

After a chance meeting, Shizuru asks Makoto to take a picture of her. They grow close, and eventually become lovers. A small rainbow at a water fountain, soap bubbles in a laundromat, a blinking traffic signal, a bright balloon caught on a wire... Makoto's mundane world becomes filled with small wonders. Regaining his passion to capture every moment of life, he launches himself back into photography.

Shizuru's mother passes away. It turns out she is the illegitimate child of the professor who she is rumoured to be sleeping with. It's a revenge ploy on her part. She confesses everything to Makoto and he glimpses beyond the strong front she has maintained to protect her mother. Shizuru's strength of will, refusal to pity herself and thirst for revenge against the professor's dishonesty, inspire him. For the first time in her life she allows someone near. They grow closer than ever and she moves in with him.

Graduation looms to interrupt their student idyll. Shizuru, having taken up photography to share something with the reticent Makoto, receives recognition in a photo competition. Makoto is bewildered by Shizuru's achievement. Unable to face up to his own shortcomings, he picks a fight. They end up separating with Shizuru extracting a promise from the sulky Makoto that he will come for her when he has fulfilled his dream of becoming a professional photographer.

That was all three years ago. The promise still not fulfilled, Makoto has been scraping together a living but every day has been a compromise of his vision.

Then comes the fight with his client. He breaks his camera, fractures bones in his hand and is on the verge of turning his back on everything.

At this point he learns that Shizuru was killed in New York, a year before. It makes no sense. According to the letter, things were fine. Not only was she taking loads of pictures, she also invited Makoto to a private exhibition at an exclusive gallery. The postmark is only a week old.

Makoto leaves for New York to find out what the hell is going on. With Shizuru apparently on her way to success and Makoto at rock-bottom, theirs is sure to be a fateful encounter. It's time to deal with unfinished business.



NEW YORK
He begins his search. After being mugged he is taken in by a benevolent drug-dealer. With this guy's help he finds Shizuru's apartment and learns from a Japanese friend of hers that she has apparently left for a photo tour of Mexico. Her room is full of fabulous pictures of the people of New York and life on its bustling streets.

However there are contradictions that he can't figure out. It seems that Shizuru's claim to be holding a private exhibition might be a fiction concocted to scam money from unsuspecting benefactors...himself included.

He decides to puts his faith in her and continues to help putting on the exhibition in her absence. Almost without thinking, he resumes taking photographs. Inspired by her example, his feel for the small wonders of life is resurrected and through this process he aches for Shizuru's presence in his life once more.

He continues to pursue the mystery of Shizuru's whereabouts. Vital clues on an old roll of undeveloped film lead him and his drug dealer buddy to a place where the murder of an unknown Japanese girl is rumoured to have taken place some months before. No sooner do they begin their investigation when shots ring out!

When the smoke clears, Makoto will have all the pieces of the puzzle in his grasp and a knowledge of Shizuru's fate. She is indeed dead but he couldn't have imagined the culprit in his wildest dreams.

With Shizuru gone, he resolves to leave New York. Taking a last look over her apartment, he is dumbstruck to see Shizuru standing before him. "You've finally kept our promise. I waited a long time... You said you'd come for me when you made it as a professional photographer." She smiles. "Thank you... Makoto." And with these words, she is gone.

As Makoto heads through the airport to catch his plane for Japan, a stranger stops him. It seems that the exhibition went ahead without him thinking any further of it. In a fated case of mistaken identity, it seems he is credited with taking Shizuru's photographs.

Stalled for a moment, he is faced with the decision to right the misconception or pick up her life where it left off. In a testament to their love, he makes the most natural choice and binds their identities together forever. Shizuru and Makoto become one, at last.~asianmediawiki



Okey dokey! I love Matsuda Ryuhei! I thought he did a wonderful job...EXCEPT...his English, while understandable was not spoken the way it should have. Emphasis was placed on the wrong words. The English was 70% of this movie as he narrated it in ENGLISH. LOL! But the acting was superb!

Other than the spoken English, I had another problem with this movie. Why is it that the Japanese producers hire "F" rated American actors for their movies when English speaking people are needed. I cringed everytime they acted...or what they called acting. I guess the Japanese people while watching this movie will not see or understand the overacting, crappy skill that is placed on the screen. And I guess it could be said vice versa for an English speaking person watching a Japanese film and not notice the same thing. I guess?

The girl who played Aya...sucked! To the extreme. Now that was some overacting when she went loony on Makato. That took away from the serious and sad part of the ending.

I have to say the sister movie, Heavenly Forest aka Tada, Kimi wo Aishiteru, was far better in the romantic, tragic romance. I cried for hours after that movie and fell madly in love, even more so, with Tamaki Hiroshi!!

This movie while acted enormously well, and yes Ryu-kun sort of smiled in parts, was not able to grip the viewer at the heart-wrenching climax as Heavenly Forest did. I will say I did cry at the end but it was because Ryu-kun's expression of love was the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen!!