Umizaru (海猿-2005)

Starring:
Ito Hideaki as Senzaki Daisuke
Kato Ai as Izawa Kanna
Nakamura Toru as Ikezawa Masaki
Sato Ryuta as Yoshioka Tetsuya
Sato Hitomi as Komori Chika
Suzuki Kazuma as Fuyushiba Kosuke
Natsuyagi Isao as Katsuda Kotaro
Iida Kisuke as Miike Kenji
Sakamoto Akira as Iwamatsu Daigo
Hirayama Usuke as Yamaji Takumi
Miyake Hiroki as Bessho Kenjiroh
Usuda Asami as Hoshino Rei
Ichiki Ami Ono Yui
Okunuki Kaoru Ono Eriko
Yoshimoto Miyoko as Ikezawa Naoko
Masuoka Toru as Tsuda Shinpei
Ibu Masato as Higo Daisaku
Tokito Saburo as Shimokawa Iwao
Sakamoto Makoto as Nagashima Kenta
Ito Atsushi (ep1)
Karina (ep1)
Aoki Munetaka (ep1)
Namioka Kazuki as Tokunaga Masaya (ep4)
Fuse Hiroshi
Suzuki Honoka
Tanaka Tetsushi
Yashiba Toshihiro
Abe Ryohei

A story of friendship, love and the brutal training of 14 Japan Coast Guard officers becoming rescuer divers. The rescuer divers, on the front line in rescue activities in heavy seas and always one step away from death, are a group of specialists in a profession that only 1% of all Coast Guard officers qualify for. In order to receive that qualification they have to undergo 50 days of grueling training in rescue activities. The young Cost Guard officers, including Daisuke Senzaki, take on the challenge of that hellish training. The story concentrates on the lives of the divers after having passed their examination.

OMG! No....OH MY FREAKIN' GOD! This was the most awesome drama. OMG! This was one spectacular heart-tugger. Just the right amount of comedy to keep it flowing. The action was nice...not the karate type stuff type action but real honest-to-goodness, make you wish you were in the coast guard kind.

Ito Hideaki....mmmm-mmmm-mmmm....deliciously cute. Kawaii!

I really want to see the movies. They are copywrited so their viewing is painstakingly hard. Just when I thought I found them......they were gone. "Poof!" I understand that you need to watch the first movie to understand the drama itself. That's not true. They gave us enough information at the beginning for those of us who haven't seen the movie....to enjoy this freakingly awesome drama. Now I want to see the last movie.......I just want more Umizaru because the drama just wasn't long enough. We need another season people!!!

Most definitely!

Nakamura Toru......Hello! The man.....maybe over 40....but is do damn gorgeous for his own good. And to think.....his character would be the one that had me crying myself to sleep. His last scene was the most unexpected..........

Princess Princess D (プリンセス・プリンセスD - 2006)

Starring:
Kamakari Kenta as Yutaka Mikoto
Fujita Rei as Shihoudani Yuujirou
Sato Takeru as Kouno Tooru
Saito Takumi as Arisada Shuuya
Adachi Osamu as Sakamoto Akira
Nakamura Yuichi as Hanazono Otoya
Shibuya Kento as Minamoto Kurou
Kazuma as Mori Ranta
Ishiguro Hideo as Kujouin Haruka
Minami Shota as Koshino Masayuki
Sato Haruhiko as Harue Wataru
Yoshihara Hiroshi as Tadasu Takahiro
Yamamoto Kohei as Nadashou Kaoru

In all-boys school with a tradition of Princesses (boys chosen to attend school functions dressed up as girls to alleviate the tension between the students), Yutaka Mikoto, Shihoudani Yuujirou and Kouno Tooru are this year's chosen Princess team. Dissatisfied with the half-hearted efforts of the current Princesses, Hanazono Otoya creates his own team of Dark Princesses to rival for the students' attention.

Based on the shoujo manga Princess Princess (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Princess_Princess_%28manga%29), by Mikiyo Tsuda.

Hmm? This was an average drama. It was okay. Not the best. In actuality, it bored the crap out of me the first few episodes but held on for improvement which it did.

It wasn't overly funny. I guess you could say this was a boredom buster since all my favorites have completed already or I'm waiting for updates of new episodes. I don't think I would have held on for those few episodes but had nothing else to do.

The guys were cute. That wasn't a lie. But the story wasn't all that intriguing. A little yaoi here and there but nothing that had my heart go pitter-patter.

This drama, to me, had no focus, no moral to the story, no learning experience. It was okay fun...thankfully the story picked up or I would have killed 4 hours of my not-so-exciting life.

Kamakari Kenta

Backdancers! (バックダンサーズ！-2006)

Starring:
Hiroko Shimabukuro - Yoshika
Aya Hirayama - Mihu
Sonim - Tomoe
Saeko - Aiko
Yu Hasebe - Juri
Takanori Jinnai - Jotaro Suzuki
Yoshino Kimura - Reiko Mihama
Masahiro Komoto - Takahashi
Kuroudo Maki - Teru
Kei Tanaka - Akira
Hiro Tsunoda - Rota
Kazuma Suzuki - Seiji
Yukiya Kitamura - DJ Kem
Zen Kajiwara - Isobe
Kosuke Toyohara - Takikawa
Mako Ishino - Naomi Saeki

When their star singer, Juli, suddenly decides to abandon her career for marriage, her four back-up dancers are at a complete loss. Miu is passionate and serious about dancing, while Yoshika is the most talented, and a natural leader. Tomoe is slightly older than the others, and wants to get married, but Aiko hopes to achieve her own stardom. They expect Juli's eventual return, but meanwhile their agency assigns them to a young manager, Chano. However, he cannot obtain sufficient work to prevent them from breaking up. But then he comes up with the idea of teaming them with a washed-up rock band called Steel Crazy (another burden on the company), which to everyone's surprise turns out to work quite well! As Chano starts to look for a bigger chance for them, the agency decides to disband the group for a newcomer, Mayu Kisaragi, with Super Tigers. Ultimately, the four are fired after having an on-stage fight with Mayu's group. In the hopes of reuniting them, and because of his love for Miu, Chano struggles to land a big-time stage for the Backdancers!



This was a pretty good movie. Not the best but it was a nice boredom buster.

An average movie with the main characters who are supposed to be great dancers. In my opinion, they weren't all that. The competitors were waaaaaay better than they could ever be.

Not overly dramatic with bits and pieces of the characters over acting.

A nice surprise was seeing Tanaka Kei protraying Chano, the girls' manager. Cute, sweet, and innocent....the best part of the movie.

The old man playing Jotaru...well, they could have found someone else for his character. He just gave me the eebie-jeebies. Kind of perverted or something. He just didn't fit well in that character.

But the fun factor was there in the movie. The typical movie with a group of wayward, not understood teens who want to make it big...........

Tantei Gakuen Q (2007)

Starring:
Kamiki Ryunosuke as Kyuu
Shida Mirai as Megu
Yamada Ryosuke as Ryuu
Kaname Jun as Kinta
Jinnai Takanori as Morihiko Dan
Wakaba Katsumi as Kazuma
Okunuki Kaoru as Miss Yurie
Yamamoto Taro as Nanami Kotaro
Suzuki Kazuma as Kerberos
Hoshino Gen as Nekoda Keiji
Akita Makoto as Uemura Haruka
Saiki Shigeru (斉木しげる) as Moroboshi Keibu

Guests
Moriguchi Yoko (ep1)
Kakiuchi Ayami as Okada Ritsuko (ep1)
Hongo Kanata as Makino Daisuke (ep2)
Jinbo Satoshi as Igarashi Takumi (ep2)
Yanagita Erika as Suzuki Ayaka (ep2)
Yoshitake Reo (吉武怜朗) as Takeyama Yuuki (ep2)
Aoyagi Ruito as the street dance leader (ep2)
Ichikawa Yui as Yoko (ep3)
Nagata Anna (永田杏奈) as Tamura Yuki (ep3)
Fukami Motoki as Watanabe (ep3)
Isaki Mitsunori (ep3)
Suzuki Kasumi as Asabuki Maya (ep4-5)
Wakaba Ryuya as Sakuma Hibiki (eps 4-5)
Ochiai Motoki as Tominaga Masashi (eps 4-5)
Ono Kensho (小野賢章) (eps 4-5)
Tajima Yumika (田島ゆみか) as Toya Kuniko (eps 4-5)
Nishimura Risa (西村理沙) as Murasaki Misato (eps 4-5)
Yamazaki Yuta as Fukunaga Ukon (ep6)
Satoi Kenta as Fukunaga Samon (ep6)
Nishiyama Mayuko as Fukunaga Tomoko (ep6)
Yamaguchi Miyako as Fukunaga Haduki (ep6)
Yamashita Shinji as Toyama Kinzaburo (ep7)
Suho Reiko as Taguchi Ryoko (ep7)
Kinami Haruka as Nishizawa Maki (ep7)
Namioka Kazuki as Mimasaka Ryusuke (ep7)
Uemura Aika (上村愛香) as Okajima Yayoi (ep7)
Suzuki Kosuke as Asano Takuro (ep8)
Takahashi Mai as Reika (ep8)
Kayo Aiko (嘉陽愛子) as Setouchi Tsugumi (ep8)
Akiyama Nana (秋山奈々) as Honoka (ep8)
Honda Makoto (本田誠人) (ep8)
Muro Tsuyoshi (ep8)
Hosokawa Shigeki as Renjo Satoru (ep9)
Hasegawa Tomoharu as Tanaka (ep9)
Nagano Satomi(長野里美) as Ishi (ep9)
Maido Yutaka (まいど豊) as Nakamura (ep9)
Watanabe Minoru (渡辺穣) as Keimu Kan (ep9)
Nakamura Sakuya as young Kyu (ep9)
Tanaka Minoru as Benijo Kyosuke (ep10)
Matsuo Reiko as Nanamura Biki (ep10)
Murano Mia as Kagiya Kikyo (ep10)
Kosuda Yasuhito (小須田康人) as Uhora Tsubesema (ep10)
Yamashita Yuko as Benijo Tsubaki (ep10)
Sakurai Ryutaro (櫻井遼太郎) as young Ryu (ep10)
Wakamatsu Takeshi (若松武史) as King Hades (ep11)

Notebooks that foretell deaths, numerous urban legends, and murders with no clues... a series of strange incidents occur, and people are lead into a deep labyrinth of mysteries. Five fledgling teen detectives of the Dan Detective Academy, which was founded by the legendary and renowned detective, Morihiko Dan, work together to solve such difficult cases. Stealthily at work behind the strange incidents is an evil crime syndicate called the "Meiosei". They are a group of intellectuals who have long antagonized the Detective Academy run by Morihiko Dan. The five youngsters make their way forward a step at a time as they come face to face with death, clash with one another at times, reconcile, and deepen their friendship. This is a pop mystery drama series about youth friendship and adventure in the face of united efforts against dark forces. --NTV


Another awesome drama that I most definitely fell in love with. Started it this morning, got hooked, and watched until now. Eleven hours of this show....and it totally thrilled me and I must say....ROCKED!!!!!

I love shows that keep you on your toes instead of groaning because the fool couldn't confess because he was a dipsh*t. I have to say the Korean's are good at those love triangles and quadrangles...that strangle me to death. This show had none of that. There was a kind of romance going on but it was innocent and not over the top. This show relied more on it's mystery and story which was refreshing.

Friendship....definitely well defined in this show. Don't we all wish we had friends as close as those 5. I do. Kyuu and Ryuu's relationship was something that we all go through but in the end if we believe and trust in any relationship (friendship or love), it all works out. The story was so involved in their oncoming friendship. The highs and lows and everything in between....the good will always overcome the bad.

Kaname Jun


Kamiki Ryunosuke


Yamada Ryosuke

Without feeling like a perv, Ryu-kun is only 2 years older than my oldest son. So I'm not posting any naked upper body shots. That just makes me sick on my part. He's just toooooo young right now to be slobbering all over him. But! This kid when he gets older is going to be a gorgeous man. No doubt about it. And for obvious reason of the last pic......it's Ryu-kun with my KAME!!!! Now he's the man! LOL!

Robokon ( ロボコン -2003)

AKA: Robot Contest

Starring:
Masami Nagasawa - Satomi Hazawa
Shun Oguri - Koichi Aida
Atsushi Ito - Yotsuya
Takashi Tsukamoto - Kazuyoshi Takeuchi
Kazuma Suzuki - Zushi sensei
Risa Sudo - Sasaki sensei
Tsuyoshi Ujiki - Yoshiyuki Hazawa
Hideko Yoshida - Obaba
YosiYosi Arakawa - Gohara
Sei Hiraizumi - Wakita sensei

This film is based on a real technological competition opened every year in Japan since 1988.

Satomi (NAGASAWA Masami) is a student of a technical college. She is a lazy girl and poor at both study and club activities. One day, a teacher tells her she is short of credits and needs to have extra lessons. More lessons will be killing her, but the teacher gives her a proposal that if she joins the second robot club of the college and takes part in the coming RoboCon with the club, he will accept that as the credit.“Robot Contest” or RoboCon is competed by one hundred and twenty-four teams from sixty-two technical colleges - two teams from each college. Every team consists of one robot and three members of crew - a captain, an operator and a mechanic. The captain of Satomi’s team is the club leader Yotsuya (ITO^ Atsushi), who has dropped out of the first robot club of the college because it is too tightly organized, but is worried about too few members of his club and his small gift of robot operation. The mechanic is Aida (OGURI Shun), who is a lonely genius - having enough gifts in technological fields and no cooperation. And the operator is Satomi, who has never operated a robot before. Their robot is named “BOXhund”, designed with outstanding ideas but still incomplete .

The matches are a single elimination tournament. Two teams compete to make their robot carry more objects to the respective goal within three minutes. The design of the robot is free while it meets some requirements - the weight, the size when it stands still, the power supply, the budget, and so on. The first robot club wins the preliminary matches and proceeds to the final stage like every year; the second robot club loses the first round like every year. But it is not usual that the second robot club is invited to the final stage as one of two teams by recommendation of the judges. They have praised the design concept of “BOXhund”.

Satomi encourages the other members to win the final stage. Her team’s miserable defeat in the first round has awoke her long-sleeping competitive spirit. But they have a lot of problems to face - the incomplete robot, Satomi’s poor operation technique, little cooperation between the members, and having only a few months until the final stage.

It is touching that the club members try to make their way to the final top. ~~crunchy

I downloaded this movie ages ago and completely forgot about it until last night when I was on the hunt for a particular movie. You know somedays you want a thriller, some days a comedy, and some days a romance.

I happened upon Robokon and got that jolt of "deja vu" then it was like "oh yeah!" I have this movie on my hard drive. Duh!

So this morning, I opened it up and away I went.

This movie wasn't the greatest of my Shun-kun movies. Adorable as ever and with his best bud Takashi even sweeter!

The movie, to me, starts out a little abrupt and messy. There wasn't a clear line of communitcation from to the movie to me. I kept going...:"huh?" It wasn't till the middle of the movie that it started to make sense. Or maybe the subs weren't clear enough for me. Not sure. I need to learn Japanese quick!

This was a great time killer. I'll probably end up burning this on DVD but it's not going to be seen anytime soon again. I'd probably watch this out of boredom.

Oguri Shun and Tsukamoto Takashi