Shibatora (シバトラ -2008)

Starring:
Koike Teppei as Shibata Taketora
Ohgo Suzuka as Hosho Mizuki
Tsukaji Muga as Hakuto Shinsuke
Miyagawa Daisuke as Shinjo Toru
Minami Akina as Ayukawa Tamaki
Uchida Shige (内田滋) as Nanbara Kantaro
Sotaro (聡太郎) as Uzaki Tei
Matsuda Tamaki (松田珠希) as Manabe Yuna
Konno Narumi as Miyagi Mei
Maya Miki as Chiba Sakura
Fujiki Naohito as Fujiki Kojiro
Supporting & Guests
Imada Koji as Kinoshita Mitsuo (ep1)
Omiya Taro as Hosho Mitsuhiko (ep1,10)
Tsubaki Takayuki as Iketani Noboru (椿隆之) (ep1)
Yagami Ren as Urazawa (ep1)
Nishiyama Sosuke as Mizumoto (ep1)
Yamane Kazuma as Takagi (ep1)
Haru as Rumi (ep1)
Kawano Naoki as Kusunoki Yuji (ep1-4,7-10)
Daito Shunsuke as Kato Gakuto (ep1-4,9-10)
Miura Ryosuke as Kanazawa Takeshi (ep1-4,8-10)
Suenaga Haruka as Machida Rika (ep1-4,7-8)
Suzuki Ryohei as Mura Hiromi (ep1-4,9-10)
Kuranuki Masahiro as Mori Bunmei (ep1-4,8-10)
Suzuki Taku (鈴木拓) as Class 2-B Adviser (ep1,2,4)
Takahashi Tsutomu (高橋努) as their supervisor (ep2)
Karato Ryo as Mizoguchi (ep3)
Koike Ayame (小池彩夢) as Yagi Yuria / Mary (ep5)
Kono Yoichiro (河野洋一郎) as Yagi Yuria's father (ep5)
Takaku Chigusa (高久ちぐさ) as Yagi Yuria's mother (ep5)
Hiraga Masaomi as Ochiai Takeo's relative (ep5)
Tengenji Ryu (天現寺竜) as an artist (ep5)
Sakamoto Mitsunari (坂本三成) as as a police detective (ep5)
Ito Keita (伊藤圭) as a police detective (ep5)
Kawano Yoshiko (川野良子) as an announcer (ep5)
Hashizume Ryo as Ochiai Takeo (ep5-6)
Harada Kana (原田佳奈) as Chiba Yuri (ep5-6)
Shida Nanako (志田菜々子) as Ikushima Toko (ep5-6)
Aoki Shinsuke as Iwaki (ep5-6)
Ohira Natsumi as Ikuno Yayoi (ep7)
Yuge Tomohisa as Shishido (ep7)
Kohata Ryu (木幡竜) as Kanai Masaki (ep7-8)
Ideguchi Tetsuya (出口哲也) (ep7-8)
Kiriyama Renn as Igarashi (ep7-8)
Haruki Misayo as Machida Rika's mother (ep7-8)
Okouchi Hiroshi (大河内浩) as Kosugi (ep9-10)
Kyo Nobuo as Ino Takayoshi (ep9-10)
Sugiura Takao (杉浦太雄) as Wakabayashi (ep9-10)
Nakagawa Shingo as Fudo (ep9-10)
Toma Sora (藤間宇宙) as Masuda (ep9-10)
Inoue Waka as Tokiwa Ryoko (ep9-10)
Abe Ryohei (ep11)

No matter how you look at him, Shibata Taketora is just a quiet, ordinary junior high student. He looks so vulnerable that bullies try to rip him off on the streets, but he is actually a police detective and an expert swordsman in kendo. Taketora has a special ability to see the "hands of death" around people whose life is nearing the end. One day, Taketora is assigned on undercover operations. He sneaks into a high school, a maid cafe and a juvenile detention center... With the cooperation from his various friends, he gets to the bottom of the matters. --Fuji TV

This was a pretty good series but typical. Nothing spectacular really. The idea of the story was good though. Again another thought provoking Japanese series that left a huge moral to the story.

A good time waster but was hoping for a really good ending. I will say there was a twist that I wasn't expecting. I was really shocked. I really wasn't expecting it so that left a good feeling for this drama.

The acting was average and Fujiki-san looked horrible with that bleached hair. WTF? Go back to dark brown or black, leave the bleach behind. It made my eyes bleed.

I wish there had been more depth to this story and more money spent because this drama could have amounted to something............

.....and poor Teppei-kun. He will always be portraying a teenager as he ages. I don't think he'll ever look mature. Maybe he's lucky....or not.

First Kiss (ファースト・キス -2007)

Starring:
Inoue Mao as Fukunaga Mio
Ito Hideaki as Kano Kazuki
Hiraoka Yuta as Yuki Akio
Matsuyuki Yasuko as Takagi Renko
Gekidan Hitori as Shindo Ichiryu
Abe Sadao as Nikaido Masaru
Takenaka Naoto as Banba Dai
Natsuki Mari as Fukunaga Rieko
Sakai Wakana as Saito Haruna
Warabino Tomoya as Shohata Takeo

Guests
Gashuin Tatsuya (ep1)
Marie (ep1)
Endo Yuya (ep2)
Kashiwabara Shuji (ep3)
Daito Shunsuke (ep5)
Watanabe Izumi (渡部いずみ) (ep5)
Iketani Nobue (池谷のぶえ) (ep6)
Shiba Toshio (柴俊夫) (ep6-10)
Sugawara Eiji (ep7)
Saito Yua (齊藤夢愛) (ep7-8)

A bitter-sweet and uplifting comedy drama about a young girl Mio and her brother Kazuki. To treat her illness overseas, Mio has been living away from her older brother Kazuki for the past ten years. After learning about the upcoming surgery, which she has only a fifty percent chance of survival, Mio decides to fly back to Japan to spend time with Kazuki. Looking forward to seeing his sweet younger sister, Kazuki anxiously awaits Mio's return in Japan. However, their reunion is nothing but full of surprises as Mio has transformed from the innocent sickly girl Kazuki remembers from ten years ago into a sassy woman with an attitude. Kazuki has difficulty dealing with his wickedly selfish younger sister, but soon learns about the truth of her medical condition and has a change of heart. --groink

Ya know, I've skipped this drama a thousand times. The synopsis didn't intrigue me one bit. Well, I'm coming to the end of all the dramas I can find so I'm scoping crunchyroll.com for something I might have missed. I sit at the computer and squint my eyes in thought...."Do I really want to watch this?" Okay, the girl has a heart problems which usually means that the drama will be some sort of tearjerker and I'm not really into watching a half of a romantic duo die. So I contemplated. I read the crunchyroll.com reviews for this drama. Nobody mentions death. Hmm? Maybe this'll be good?

So I get a wild hair up my butt and clicked on the first episode link. I'm hooked. Ohhhhh, am I hooked. I cried in the first freakin' episode. Hello?? Next thing ya know...I can't stand it. I'm practically rushing through all the episodes. Does Mio and Dr. Yuuki make it? To hell with the rest of the cast.....

Hiraoka Yuta....to die for!! I've seen him a countless times. Guess what I'm searching movies and dramas that I might have missed with him in them. Oh......I'm so hooked on this guy. He's so freakin' kawaii!!! I'm in "suki" with him..........*must find my Japanese book and translate that fully into Japanese and not half-assed.*

I loved, loved, loved this drama. God Bless the Japanese and their romance dramas because, and yet again I say this, they don't torture you till you've bled your last drop of blood like the Korean dramas. This was so sweet.........

I'm sooooo downloading the bittorrents for this drama....I must have it!!

Hiraoka Yuta

Hana Kimi (Hanazakari no Kimitachi e - Ikemen Paradise, 2007)

AKA: Hottie Paradise!



The HOTTIES:
Oguri Shun~Sano Izumi
Toma Ikuta~Nakatsu Shuichi
Daito Shunsuke-Sano Shin
Shirota Yuu-Kagurazaka Makoto

First Dormitory Students
Ishigaki Yuma as Tennoji Megumi (Dorm Leader)
Takahashi Mitsuomi as Daikokucho Mitsuomi
Takeda Kohei as Kitahanada Kohei
Suzuki Ryohei as Akashi Soichiro
Sato Yuuichi as Tetsukayama Shota
Hayakawa Ryo as Gotenyama Sakyo
Matsushita Kouji as Shojaku Ren
Nishiyama Sousuke as Shichido Soma
Hagiwara Tatsuya (萩原達也) as Ishikiri Hiroto

Second Dormitory Students
Mizushima Hiro as Nanba Minami (Dorm Leader)
Kimura Ryo as Senri Nakao
Okada Masaki as Sekime Kyogo
Yamamoto Yusuke as Kayashima Taiki
Igarashi Shunji as Noe Shinji
Mizobata Junpei as Saga Kazuma
Sakimoto Hiromi as Kyobashi Arata
Chiyo Shota as Yodoyabashi Taichi
Tajima Ryo as Arashiyama Jyo
Shimegi Enoku as Tannowa Kyoichi
Okada Hikaru as Takaida Riku
Ikeda Jun as Kamishinjo Itsuki
Shibasaki Keisuke (柴崎佳佑) as Minase Manato

Third Dormitory Students
Kyo Nobuo as Himejima Masao (Oscar M. Himejima, Dorm Leader)
Kato Keisuke as Yao Hikaru
Watanabe Toshihiko (渡辺俊彦) as Imamiya Sho
Takahashi Yuta (高橋優太) as Shijo Haruki
Matsuda Shouichi as Kuzuha Junnosuke
Miyata Naoki as Saiin Tsukasa
Furuhara Yasuhisa as Ogimachi Taiyo
Ojima Naoya as Kaizuka Kohei
Suzuki Kota (鈴木康太) as Uenoshiba Kanata
Nakada Yuya as Katabiranotsuji Ken
Kawakami Yu as Korien Genji

St. Blossom's Academy
Iwasa Mayuko as Hanayashiki Hibari
Matsuda Madoka as Kishizato Juri
Kiritani Mirei as Amagasaki Kanna
Kurose Manami as Imaike Komari
Taira Airi as Abeno Erika

The drama is based on the popular manga of the same name by Nakajo Hisaya. Horikita plays the protagonist Ashiya Mizuki, a Japanese girl in the U.S. who one day sees the young athlete Sano Izumi compete in high jumping on television. She begins to idolize him. Sano gets injured one day in America while trying to help Mizuki escape from some gangsters. He stops high jumping ever since. Mizuki blames herself for the incident and decides to go to Japan and help Sano find his love for high jumping. However, Izumi goes to an all-boys school, so Mizuki disguises herself as a boy in order to meet with him again.



So many cute guys, not enough blog space. *sighs then frowns* I had to watch this again. Why? Well, it was one of the first jdramas that I watched. At that time, I didn't know who Oguri Shun, Mizushima Hiro, Shirota Yuu, Ishigaki Yuma, or anyone else was at the time. I was a newbie through and through. Watching it again, I'm more aware and appreciative of it this time around. Oh, Oguri Shun.....*sighs*.

If you noticed when they showed torso shots, his left breast is sunken in. At the time I didn't realize but he has a genetic disorder called Pectus Excavatum. It was quite obvious this time around since I couldn't take my eyes of his absolutely cute self. The disorder didn't matter though. In pics, I'm sure they photoshop those to hide the minor problem. I say MINOR because it definitely is no big deal.

If you haven't seen this drama, why haven't you? This is any drama fanatic favorite. You'll know by all the forums that worship this show. I have to agree, the hottie factor is HUGE!!!

There were so many things I missed the first time. This time around, I was able to focus and be aware of its testosteronal surroundings. Hehe!

I think I might watch Nodame Cantabile again because I miss Chiaki....*smiles* Tamaki Hiroshi was my first love....*sighs then giggles*

This time around...I'm putting pics of the not so popular guys and because I don't have enough space to put more Oguri Shun up. (OMG! I can't believe I said that.)

Who to put? Who to put?

Toma Ikuta


Shirota Yuu

First noticed him in the movie Prince of Tennis, loved the manga/anime had to see the live-action. He did Tetzuka so well. They picked an "ace" when they chose him for that part. He always plays the "cool" characters.

Okada Masaki

Crows Zero (Kurôzu zero~2007)

Starring:
Shun Oguri~Genji Takaya
Suzunosuke~Chuta
Sousuke Takaoka ~Izaki
Kyôsuke Yabe~Ken Katagiri
Takayuki Yamada~Tamao Serizawa
Shunsuke Daitô~
Kiritani Kenta~Tokio

The Suzuran Senior High School for Boys, nicknamed "The School of Crows", is the poorest achieving, most violent school in the country. The students are called "crows" and they band together in factions, battling each other for influence and power. But they all share a common goal ... one that has never been reached in the school's history: unification. No one faction has ever reigned supreme.

Oguri plays the role of Genji Takiya, a transfer student who attempts to take over Suzuran Boys High School and is mentored by old boy yakuza Katagiri as he faces off against rival Serizawa



OMFG! This movie is so damn awesome that I'm ordering it right freaking now! This movie, after reading all reviews before mine, has been given 4 out of 4 stars...by everyone! I have to agree with all my heart and soul with this one. First off it has two sugoi male leads...Oguri Shun and Yamada Takayuki! This movie was non-stop action, an awesome fighting scene at the end, a few comedic/exagerated moments, serious drama. Geez! Did I mention that it had Oguri-kun and Taka-kun? Whew! Another top 3 movie for me. The fighting scenes alone left my panties in a wad. LOL! The guys alone will love the testerone fighting scenes all by themselves. Totally a movie for both genders!!

Oguri Shun

Never enough Oguri Shun. How can someone like him be so damn cute? Kawaiiiiiiiiii! If only I were 13 years younger.............*dreaming* *....then sighs....*