GiraGira ( ギラギラ -2008)

Starring:
Sasaki Kuranosuke as Nanase Kohei
Maya Miki as Sonobe Yuki
Hara Sachie as Nanase Momoko
Miura Shohei as Shoji
Sato Tomohito as Ichikawa Kenta/Hideyoshi
Abe Tsuyoshi as Eiji
Ashina Sei as Yuuna
Tanaka Yoji as Fukami
Kotegawa Yuko as Jinguji Rena
Ishibashi Ryo as Katsuragi Taisei
Yamazaki Hajime as Tahira Hiroshi
Yuki Jutta as Toma
Sakimoto Hiromi as Yuki
Sakuragi Ryosuke (桜木涼介) as Akira
Nishiyama Sosuke as Rikuto
Yuji as Ken
Matsumoto Hiroya as Ren
Nagamachi Taro as Ryo
Matsushita Kouji as Leo
CHIKARA as Sakuya
Suzuki Mie (鈴木美恵)
Fujisawa Karin
Shikanai Daishi as Haruki
Guests
Igarashi Shunji as Eagle (ep1-2)
Hara Mikie (原幹恵) as Sayo (ep1-2)
Toda Keiko as Asaoka Misa (ep1)
Mitsuya Yoko as Kyoka (ep3)
Kobayashi Emi (小林恵美) as Saki (ep3)
Nonami Maho as Kazuki Sarina (ep4)
Kikawada Masaya as Sachiel (ep6)
Nishihara Aki as Hime/Oohara Maiko (ep6)
Wada Masato as Kazuma (ep7-8)

Based on a hit manga, this adaptation depicts the life of a married man Nanase Kohei after he returned to his former job as a male host. He woos the clients with his gentle and caring nature, and soon retrieves his former credit as the ace of the club. However, the transition back for this middle-aged man is not without its challenges. Afraid that his wife will find out about this job, Nanase is also garnering jealousy and displeasure from the younger hosts. Throughout the course of his employment, he demonstrates to others that hosting should not be the vulgar occupation it has become where the entire goal is to make the women frivolously spend money, rather, it is about a human connection that is so often overlooked.

This was a pretty good show. Not the overly best. It started out really interesting but got sorta of boring near the middle. It was the same old, same old where Kohei had to save the day and the woman. I wanted to see more character development with Shoji and the other hosts at the club. More so of Shoji since he was the closest to Kohei.

The ending was sort of abrupt and ended differently to that I thought it would. It was a happy ending but sort of lame. This show was a great boredom buster if and when I ran out of my other dramas to watch. I will say there was plenty of eye candy galore and was pleasantly surprised to see Wada Masato (Shigeshoshi) in the last two episodes. I am so looking forward to his dramas. He is a great actor and hidden talent in the Japanese TV world. If I were to see him on the Tokyo streets one day, I'd be all over him like "a fly on poo."

Another talent, that is starting to show up more often than not is Igarahi Shunji. Cute, not handsome, but something about him draws your attention to him. And he, too, costarred with Wada Masato in Shigeshoshi.

Miura Shohei


Wada Masato

Byakkotai (白虎隊-2007)

幾人の　涙は石にそそぐとも　その名は世々に　朽じとぞ思う

Ikutari no namida wa ishi ni sosogu tomo sono na wa yoyo ni kuji to zo omou

"No matter how many people wash the stones with their tears, these names will never vanish from the world."

Byakkotai Samurai
Yamashita Tomohisa as Sakai Mineji and Sakai Shintaro
Tanaka Koki as Shinoda Gisaburo and Shinoda Yusuke
Fujigaya Taisuke as Itou Matahachi
Saito Shota as Tsuda Sutezou
Tomita Sho as Nishikawa Katsutaro
Sakimoto Hiromi as Iinuma Sadakichi
Tsujimoto Yuki (辻本祐樹) as Nagase Yuji
Hashidume Ryo as Ishida Wasuke
Tochihara Rakuto
Kujirai Kousuke (鯨井康介) as Adachi Tozaburo
Kotani Yukihiro (小谷幸弘)
Tagana Masaya (多賀名将也) as Ibuka Motaro
Hanaya Mitsunori (花谷充規)
Kouno Hiroki (河野弘樹)
Kato Takashi (加藤崇)
Otani Sho (大谷翔)
Gonda Yuichiro (権田裕一郎)
Fukuda Yusuke (福田雄介)
Ueyama Manabu (植山学)
Aoyama Masafumi (青山雅史)
Tomihira Kazuma (富平和馬)
Ezaki Oe (江嵜大兄)
Yoshitake Shuhei (吉武周平)
Ishiguro Hideo
Yamada Akira (山田晃)
Saito Rikimaru (齋藤力丸)
Kawanishi Hiroshi (川西裕士)

Other Characters
Yakushimaru Hiroko as Sakai Shige (Mineji's mother)
Nogiwa Yoko as Sakai Mon (Mineji's grandmother)
Takashima Masanobu as Sakai Yasuemon (Mineji's father)
Ito Shiro as Sakai Mineo (Shintaro's grandfather)
Kuroki Meisa as Asai Sayoko
Ito Kazue as Asai Sumie (Sayoko's mother)
Matsushige Yutaka as Yamamoto Kakuma
Masu Takeshi as Sugiyama Eitaro
Kikawada Masaya as Sakai Takie (Mineji's brother)
Matsuo Toshinobu as Yamakawa Hiroshi
Tsutsui Mariko as Tsuda Suguko (Tsuda Sutezo's mother)
Ida Kisuke (飯田基祐)
Yamada Meikyo (山田明郷)
Takuma Takayuki
Hirooka Yuriko
Nishihara Aki
Kanno Rio
Hitomi Sanae (人見早苗)
Kobayashi Ken
Matoba Koji
Nakagoshi Noriko as Yamamoto Yaeko
Sugata Shun (菅田俊)
Ida Kunihiko
Namiki Shiro
Sonoi Koji (園井光司)
Okayama Hajime
Watari Hiroshi (渡洋史)
Sakaki Hideo (榊英雄)
Sakai Toshiya
Enjouji Aya
Ishimaru Kenjiro
Ishikura Saburo
Bengal
Kinoshita Hoka
Musaka Naomasa
Watanabe Ikkei
Kataoka Tsurutaro
Wakamura Mayumi as Shinoda Shinko (Gisaburo's mother)
Wakui Emi
Asano Yuko
Kobayashi Nenji as Saigou Tanomo
Higashiyama Noriyuki as Matsudaira Katamori

The "Byakkotai" were a group of 19 samurai youths ( all aged 16-17 ) who committed "harakiri" or ritual suicide as they looked down at their castle from the top of Iimoriyama Hill. On seeing smoke rising from the castle they presumed it was on fire and all was lost. (In fact, the castle itself was not on fire). This Memorial Hall is dedicated to their tragic story and also has details about the last Aizu clan leader.



OMG! This story was BEAUTIFUL! A MUST SEE! The best drama ever for Yamashita Tomohisa. I've a new found respect for his acting skills. Hell, even for Tanaka Koki. I really saw these guys as just teen idols until I saw the most amazing acting skills that came out of this show. The story was so terribly sad. And yeah, I cried through most of it. I knew something horrible was coming...and then BAM! I'm still sniffling........

As an American this reminded me of our own young during the Civil War. The time period is the same. The young men who went out to war for their "side" and for their families welfare. I think now of the new found respect our soldiers go through for our countries.

If you are wanting to learn more about the history of Japan....this drama is great one to start. God, I really loved this!!

I'm not adding any hottie pics only because I think that would take away respect for this show and for those boys who really died for their cause. Most of the characters were real. I can't do it.