Gakko Ja Oshierarenai (学校じゃ教えられない！-2008)

Starring:
Fukada Kyoko as Aida Mai
Tanihara Shosuke as Himuro Kensaku
Ito Ran as Kageyama Meiko
Naka Riisa as Yokoyama Eri
Nakamura Aoi as Mizuki Kazuki
Maeda Goki as Narita Shizuya
Asakura Aki as Kenjo Hitomi
Kato Mizuki as Suzumura Rei
Norizuki Kohei (法月康平) as Inai Shintaro
Natsume Suzu (夏目鈴) as Kameda Maho
Yanagisawa Daisuke (柳沢太介) as Nagasaki Kiyoshi
Morisaki Win (森崎ウィン) as Nishikawa Tomu
Yagyu Miyu (柳生みゆ) as Yoshizawa Kana
Miura Aoi (三浦葵) as Shingyoji Natsume
Matsumoto Hiroya (松本寛也) as Ma-kun (ep2&6)
Natsumi Elena as Meiko's daughter (ep8-10)

Fukada plays Mai Aida, a woman in her third year as an english teacher at a private all-girls high school. Due to declining enrollment, the school decides to admit its first male students. Those five freshmen initially feel they're in paradise, but the concerned Mai tries to help them adjust by creating a social dance club and inviting five girls. Those ten students become the focus of the drama, which is described as a story of love and adolescence.

I really liked this drama. I little off the beaten wagon but generally fell along the same guidelines about being an individual and trusting yourself and your friends.

I was a little disappointed in the end. I don't know why. I guess I was hoping for a more general climax to the story but it didn't accomplish that goal. Maybe I was hoping that Kazuki would end up "confessing" his love for Hitomi, who obviously loves him. Well, atleast a little something that I had been waiting for happened at the very end. *smiles*

I really loved Tanihara Shosuke's character. I new it would be good from the time his first scene aired. He was a sweet, eccentrically loveable character. His usual norm for being studious but yet his OCD was what made him so loveable at the same time.

Since this show was about young love, it wasn't surprising that most of the pairs became girlfriend/boyfriend. The backdrop of the story being that of a social dance club. This was definitely a show for young adults and pre-teens. A sweet show but yet I felt it could have been a little more in depth in character. Since it was only a 10-episode series, I feel they left too much character definition behind.

Sleepless Town (Fuyago-1998)

Starring:
Takeshi Kaneshiro
Mirai Yamamoto
San Boon Mei Loi
Eric Tsang Chi-Wai
Sihung Lung
Kathy Chow Hoi-Mei

Kenichi (Kaneshiro) is a half-Japanese, half-Chinese man of the underworld. You can sell him anything except children's organs. His domain is in Kabukicho, a gangland controlled by various Shanghainese gangs intent on taking overall control. Things are calm, however, his former partner-in-crime, Fu-Chun, is rumoured to have returned to Kabukicho, having fled years earlier after killing the number two to gangland boss, Yuan (Tsang). Yuan wants to get even and attempts to do so by using Kenichi. Meanwhile, Fu-chun's girlfriend, Natsumi Sato (Yamamoto) turns up to sell something to Kenichi.

Sleepless Town was a pleasant surprise for me, a well-written and well-executed film, with a gangster storyline containing enough twists to win a dance contest.

I'm a totall Kaneshiro fan. Another actor whose movies have never failed me in their aptitude, drama and action.

The fast paced setting actually started me out quite confused. Mainly, I couldn't read the subs fast enough to save my life. I'll admit I ended up having to pause many times to read what they were saying. So fast the pace....the subs couldn't keep up...so neither could I. But that actually had nothing to do with the movie in itself.....just the viewer who had to read at a 100mph. LOL!

The beginning mainly began with a lot of talking (hence my dilemma). Eventually, once I caught on, the story unfolded so fast but there were sooooo many twist and turns that once you thought you had the movie figured out...*poof*...something else would happen leaving you to scratch your head.

The best part of the movie was the end. OMG! It was a beautiful ending. I sat there gasping. I wouldn't really call this movie a romance but the ending was so moving that it had me wondering all along. I didn't cry but oddly sat there in awe...............

Yama Onna Kabe Onna ( 山おんな壁おんな -2007)

Starring:
Ito Misaki as Aoyagi Megumi
Fukada Kyoko as Mariya Marie
Oikawa Mitsuhiro as Okuzono Masayuki
Koike Eiko as Oyama Haruka
Tanihara Shosuke as Tamura Takehiko
Nishijima Hidetoshi as Iguchi Shohei
Kawata Hiroki as Matsubara Tetsuhito
Miura Rieko as Koroita Rika
Uehara Misa as Yoshino Kanako
Yazawa Shin as Toyokawa Misato
Nukumizu Youichi as Kazunuma Tadashi
Wakabayashi Go as Okuzono Goemon
Komoto Maki as Nagashima Masumi
Yonehara Kosuke (米原幸佑) as Morita Goro
Tokui Yuu as Harada Kenji
Suzuki Sawa as Harada Yuko
Matsuoka Kanon (松岡佳音) as Kuwata Ryoko

Guests
Washio Machiko (ep1)
Masako (雅子) as Jinguji Sayoko (ep2)
Ogura Hisahiro as Tominaga Shigeo (ep2)
Iwahashi Michiko (岩橋道子) as Tamura Miyuki (ep2,5)
Sasano Takashi as Aoyagi's father (ep2-5,7&8)
Yamanaka So (山中聡) as Uenohara (ep2,3)
Yoshimura Tamao (吉村玉緒) as Swimsuit saleswoman (ep3)
Kasahara Orito as Mariya's younger brother (ep3-5)
Hasegawa Jun as Herself (ep3)
Maro Akaji as Ijuin (ep4)
Matsumoto Jun as The pickle merchant (ep4)
Muramatsu Toshifumi as Sasaki workshop manager (ep4)
Enjoji Aya as Nankota (ep5)
Oka Mayumi as Mariya's mother (ep5)
Hida Keiko (樋田慶子) as Mariya's grandmother (ep5)
Minami Miho (南美穂) as Nana (ep5)
Megu-chan (メグちゃん) as Marie (ep5)
Suzuki Kosuke as Komiyama (ep5)
Taguchi Kazumasa (田口主将) as The custodian (ep5)
Kinoshita Hoka as Midorikawa (ep6)
Takemoto Satoko (竹本聡子) as Takoko (ep6)
Seki Keisuke as The doctor (ep6)
Suzuki Shohei (鈴木昌平) as Sleepy man on bus (ep7)
Akaza Miyoko as Aoyagi's mother (ep7)
Sato Jiro as Kazuo, Aoyagi's cousin (ep7&8)
Yatsu Isao as Doctor Oyabu (ep7)
Oshima Yoko as The angry customer (ep7)
Takasugi Ko as Kokubo (ep7)
Yamaguchi Makiya as Sawada (ep7)
Ono Haruko (小野晴子) as Makihara Masato (ep9)
Sato Kazuya as Kuzunuma Daisuke (ep9)

Megumi is a top sales person at the handbag section of a department store. Many people admire, and sometimes even envy, Megumi for her beauty and outstanding skills to sell products to customers. However, Megumi secretly suffers from a complex: she is flat-chested and was once nicknamed "kabe onna" (wall woman) by her former classmate. One day, a new sales person named Marie joins Megumi's department. Unlike Megumi, Marie is extremely busty as if she's carrying mounds (yama) on her chest. On top of her great bosoms, Marie also has her own special way of effortlessly selling the products to the customers. Though feeling a little threatened by Marie at first, Megumi soon realizes that they have more things in common than anybody else: they both take pride in their career and dedicate themselves to helping their customers. Through numerous obstacles, Megumi and Marie foster special friendships with each other. --groink

Okay, I was prepared to say this was one of the funniest, light-hearted, romantic shows on. Then I got to the last episode. That got so F'd up that I wanted to throw the computer through the window. This is a Japanese drama..it's not supposed to end up like a freakin' Korean drama....damn it to hell!

Okay, she chose the guy I hoped she would at the end but then.......well, she ended up with him but yet...didn't.

Okay, okay, okay....it was hilariously funny with the "boob" jokes. Then you had the idiot puns and physical comedy included. I won't lie that it wasn't funny because it was damn funny.

I wonder what Tanihara Shosuke looks like in everyday clothes. He's always in a business suit and dressed up to the "nines". I'd like to see him in some old, faded jeans and worn t-shirt. LOL!

I really loved this drama until the very last second when the drama failed me. They had to play dirty tricks. EVIL!

Watashitachi no Kyokasho (わたしたちの教科書 -2007)

AKA: Our Textbook

Starring:
Kanno Miho as Tsumiki Tamako (lawyer)
Ito Atsushi as Kaji Kohei (substitute teacher)
Tanihara Shosuke as Seri Naoyuki (Tamako's boyfriend, lawyer)
Shida Mirai as Aizawa Asuka (2nd year student)
Maki Yoko as Oshiro Saki (social studies teacher)
Fubuki Jun as Amagi Masumi (vice principal)
Sakai Wakana as Yoshikoshi Nozomi (English language teacher)
Ohkura Koji as Toita Atsuhiko (physical education teacher)
Sato Jiro as Kumazawa Shigeichi (Japanese language teacher)
Mizushima Hiro as Yahata Daisuke (Math teacher)
Maekawa Yasuyuki as Uda Masashi (Tamako's junior, lawyer)
Igarashi Shunji as Amagi Otoya (vice principal's son)
Ichikawa Miwako (ep7, 8) as Misawa Akiko
Yajima Kenichi as Judge
Haru

Class 2-3
Tomiura Satoshi as Kaneyoshi Riku
Tanimura Mitsuki as Nishina Tomomi
Suzuki Kasumi as Yamada Kazuko
Itoh Sairi as Sansei Mai
Yanagita Erika as Suto Ayaka
Ikeda Jun as Kobayashi Yuki
Ikeda Koshin (池田晃信) as Honda Masaki
Yamamoto Hikaru (山本ひかる) as Nobe Chiharu
Tonoshiro Yuma (登野城佑真) as Yamafuji Takumi

Tamako, an elite lawyer with a promising future, works for a reputable law firm. She is recently given an opportunity to take a case involving a young child who has been bullied at a local elementary school. Fully aware of the difficulties uncovering the truth in cases involving schools, Tamako is reluctant to proceed with her new client. Tamako is romantically involved with one of her colleagues, Naoyuki, and is hoping to further develop their relationship. However, Tamako's seemingly happy life comes to a sudden halt when she learns the news of an accident involving a young female high school student named Asuka. Asuka had apparently fallen from a classroom window on campus and suffered serious injuries. Tamako takes a strong interest in Asuka's case and immediately launches her own private investigation. --groink

What is it with me this week and tear-jerkers? I just seem to be all over them lately. LOL!

I decided last night that I was going to hit a drama series this time. This one seemed different plus it Hiro-kun in it. LOL! I'm so glad I did. I knew from the very first episode that I was in for a heart breaker but I trudged on.

This series was fascinating stuff and should be shown in the classroom everywhere. It might or might not change a life but it would definitely be worth trying. I guess you could say it hit a hot spot concerning the bully's side of things and how a bully's actions can forge a new life of despair for their victim.

Yes, this was sad in so many ways. Not only can the bully be a student but also a teacher and/or parent. No love triangles. This was all about the school system, the legal system, and the human heart.

This drama can in so many inspire you to talk with your kids and students. In many ways, we have all been bullied once in our lives. Thumbs up for this whole entire series!!

Stars Echo (별의 소리 / Byeolui Sori-Korean, あなたに逢いたくて / Anata ni Aitakute-Japanese -2004)

Starring:
Jo Hyun Jae as Sung-jae
Nakagoshi Noriko as Misaki
Lee Da Hae as Ji-young
Tanihara Shosuke as Suji
Kurotani Tomoka as Tomoko
Lee Joon Ki as Chan-gyu
Kim Yong Hee (김용희) as Min-suk

The Story is centered on the love between a musically gifted South Korean man, Sung-jae Jo Hyun Jae, and a Japanese woman, Misaki Nakagoshi Noriko. Misaki, who feels guilty over her boyfriend's death, is transferred to Korean and meets Seong-jae who helps her cure her wounds of the past memories with love.



Wow! For a Korean romance, this one was really good. I'm not a fan of Korean romances because the endings either have someone in the main couple split, die of illness, or they end up with someone other than their main love. So I was a little frightened watching this.

I'm glad I did. The flow was fast but corners weren't cut. The love triangle wasn't drug out to where you want to beat someone up or kill yourself. LOL! And it was a happy ending. Okay, I cried when her boyfriend died at the beginning. He was such a sweet guy. (I'd like to find out this person's name because I can't read Japanese/Korean in the credits and he's not credited in the review pages. Errrgh.)

This movie had me laughing at the subtitlers. Poor guys. The Korean and Japanese was switched off sooooo much that I'm sure it just made their heads spin.

Lee Jun Ki


Jo Hyun Jae

Love Complex Live (Love Com (ラブ★コン)- 2006)

Starring:
Ema Fujisawa ... Risa Koizumi
Teppei Koike ... Atsushi Otani
Shosuke Tanihara ... Kunimi "Mr. MIghty" Maitake
Nami Tamaki ... Nobuko Ishihara
Risa Kudo ... Chiharu Tanaka
Yusuke Yamazaki ... Heikichi Nakao
Hiro Mizushima ... Ryoji Suzuki
Shizuyo Yamazaki
Ryota Yamazato
Masanori Hata
Shûgo Oshinari
Eiji Wentz

Based on the bestselling manga (graphic novel) by Aya Nakahara, LOVE*COM THE MOVIE (short for Lovely Complex) centers on two high school students. Risa Koizumi is the tallest girl in class, and the last thing she wants is the humiliation of standing next to Atsushi Ôtani, the shortest guy. But fate and the whole school have other ideas, and the two find themselves cast as the unwilling stars of a bizarre romantic comedy duo. As their friendship blossoms, so do Risa's feelings toward Ôtani. LOVE*COM examines the often-complicated feelings and comedic moments of the experience of dating people of different heights. A girl, because of his short stature, previously rejected Ôtani and he thinks he looks peculiar with a taller girlfriend. Risa has the opposite problem, already tall and never finding a guy who is taller. These height complexes, and the romance that eventually ensues in spite of them, develop the Lovely Complex that this film is ultimately about.



This was a really cute movie more so for the younger generation (10-18 year old girls primarily). It was a little too corny for my taste but funny enough to make you smile and put you in a happy mood. I was really shocked to see Mizushima Hiro in this one. We usually see him in more serious roles and not so wishy-washy, off beat comedy. This time he was just a side character rather than anything else. Okay, he was our perverted, bloody-nose guy. LOL!

If you want a fun comedy this would be it. Just don't look for anything meaningful or serious. This was just for fun and not really what an average adult would be looking forward too.

Let your younger sister or daughter watch this one. I just don't see very many guys going on a hunt for this movie.

Koike Teppei


Mizushima Hiro

Fudoh: The New Generation

This was a total piece of crap movie. Oh, I can't believe I held out an hour watching this. I finally gave up. This movie had no point really with the exception of a revenge obsessed high school student/yakuza leader hell bent on killing those who lead to the killing of his older brother. From that point on, a wasted piece of cinema. Gag!

The only good note about the movie was Fudoh Riki, the main character. Tanihara Shosuke has been on the small screen and big screen for awhile and has had some decent and good parts. Has been in Pride and Gokusen 2 which are two of some of my favorite dramas. That probably saved him from my wrath.



Starring:
Tanihara Shosuke - Riki Fudoh

Set on the island of Kyushu, it tells the story of successful high school student Riki Fudoh, who leads a double life in organized crime. With his gang of underage assassins (forerunners of the kiddie killers in Dead or Alive 2 (2000), including five-year olds with hand guns and a teenage stripper shooting deadly darts from her vagina) he not only controls the goings-on at his school, but aspires to take over criminal affairs on the entire island. Fudoh's true motivations are not just a lust for power. An extensive flashback at the film's opening shows how as a child he witnessed the grisly murder of his older brother at the hands of his yakuza boss father and his subsequent wish for revenge. Buckets of blood flow (literally) when Riki and the kids start an assassination campaign against the top figures of the local yakuza, with his father as the ultimate goal. The underworld goes into a state of panic and calls in mysterious and powerful problem solver Nohma (Riki Takeuchi looking every inch the comic book tough guy). Riki's father meanwhile sends out his own weapon in the shape of a former government agent, who goes undercover as the high school gym teacher and uses methods even more violent than those of young Fudoh's minions.