Sunday, March 20, 2011

Secret Garden



Trailer (Sorry, I couldn't find any with subs):



Cast:

* Hyun Bin as Kim Joo Won
* Ha Ji Won as Gil Ra Im
* Yoon Sang Hyun as Choi Woo Young / Oska (Joo Won's cousin)
* Kim Sa Rang as Yoon Seul
* Lee Philip as Im Jong Soo
* Lee Jong Suk as Han Tae Ssun
* Yoo In Na as Im Ah Young
* Kim Ji Sook as Moon Yeon Hong
* Park Joon Geum as Moon Boon Hong
* Kim Sung Oh as Kim Sung Woo (Joo Won's secretary)
* Choi Yoon So as Kim Hee Won (Joo Won's sister)
* Kim Sung Kyum as Moon Chang Soo
* Lee Byung Joon as Park Bong Ho
* Sung Byung Sook as Park Bong Hee
* Yoon Gi Won as Choi Dong Kyu
* Yoo Seo Jin as Lee Ji Hyun
* Kim Gun as Yoo Jong Heon
* Baek Seung Hee as Park Chae Rin
* Kim Dong Gyoon as director
* Kim Mi Kyung as guest house ahjumma
* Song Yoon Ah as herself (cameo)
* Lee Joon Hyuk as himself (cameo, epi. 8)
* Beige (베이지) (cameo)
* Baek Ji Young as herself (cameo, ep 13)
* Han Ye Won as Cherry (cameo, ep 15)
* Son Ye Jin as herself (cameo, ep 20)
* Kang Chan Yang (강찬양)
* Jang Seo Won (장서원)
* Kim Sung Hoon

Summary:

Meet Kim Joo-Won, an arrogant and ignorant rich young man who is going to become the successor of one of the largest shopping malls in Korea. Then there is Kil Ra-Im, a poor and hard working young woman aspiring to be a great stunt woman in the film industry. Through some weird understanding, the two met Kim Joo-Won fell in love with Kil Ra-Im who wants nothing to do with him. Little did the two know that their faith had been set long before their meeting and that they were meant for each other.

Review:

At first I thought "Secret Garden was just going to be some cheesy love story where the rich guy fell in love with the poor girl and they'll eventually conquer all and live happily ever after. Wrong! Although the main plot is based upon that cheesy love story, the writers added many elements that would give the story a new twist.

First of all, there are supernatural factors involved. I would tell you more about this but it would spoil the story. But trust me! It made the story very interesting. Second, the writers did an amazing job with the creation of many colorful and interesting characters. As in most cases of rich spoiled characters, they are ignorant and arrogant. However, Kim Joo-Won's ignorance and stubbornness was waaaay out of my expected range lol. Even I was was surprised at how serious his prince complex was!

Overall, This series did a very good job in taking a clique plotline and making it more interesting. It was able to keep me guessing and stick to the series. Noe to mention the series also had a very beautiful soundtrack! I totally reccomand it!

That Woman- Baek Ji Young

Thursday, March 17, 2011

Prince of Tennis



Summary:

"Prince of Tennis" is a story of growth and competition revolving around the students of Seigaku Middle School and their rookie star player, Echizen Ryoma. Seigaku is famous for their tennis team which had made it to the nationals many times in the past. Ryoma is a first year that just entered the tennis team. Within the first day of entering, he managed to piss off all the upperclassmen with his nonchalant attitude and his superior skills in tennis. Beating all of his upperclassmen during the placement matches, he becomes their rookie star player and join Seigaku's fight to win first in the nationals.

Review:

I've loved "Prince of Tennis" since it first came out in 2001! I read it every time a new chapter was translated and, like many people in Asia, became interested in the sport and joined the tennis team. After I joined the team I became so busy with practice and school that I stopped reading the manga (I played 1st for doubles btw)! Since I was in the midst of my sports manga and anime phase, I decided to check out "Prince of Tennis" again. It turns out that the first manga series ended a while ago and now Konomi sensei is working on the second series which revolves around all the middle school team banding together to fight the high school teams at tennis camp.

After finishing the manga series, I found that after so long, it is still an awesome series! Konomi sensei's art became very awesome! It's so amazing that he could come up with so many different characters for the series and each of them so unique! Also, Konomi sensei also did an awesome job on all the different tennis styles and techniques for each tennis player. Even though most of the techniques became sort of physically impossible after the middle of the series, it was still very creative and it gave me a good laugh!

I realized after reading up to the latest update for the new manga series, I still want more of Tenipuri! I started looking up fanbooks and am watching the anime series right now. From the fanbooks I was able to learn many interesting facts about the characters lol. For fan service, Konomi sensei also put out a couple of baby pictures of the characters. Here are the ones I have managed to find:

Hyotei's Atobe Keigo


St. Rudolph's Mizuki Hajime


Rikkaidai's Yagyuu Hiroshi


Higa's Tanishi Kei


Shitenhouji's Oshitari Kenya


and finally, our Seigaku star, Echizen Ryoma


I've been looking all over to collect these "Premium photos". If anyone of you come across these pictures of other characters or of better quality please send me the link!!!

Well, I hope I've said enough about "Prince of Tennis" to strike your interest! As usual, I'll end this post with some Tenipuri anime openings!

Future- HIRO-X


Driving Myself- HIRO-X


Make You Free- Kimeru


Long Way- Ikuo


Fly High, Sky High- Toshihiko Matsunaga


Shining- Yuki Shirai


I LOVE THIS ONE!!!!
Dream Beliver- Osami Masaki

Thursday, March 10, 2011

Plumeria: Hana Uta

I was finishing up Gokusen the movie when I heard this catchy ending song by Aqua Timez. Hope you guys will enjoy it as much as I did!

Aqua Timez- Plumeria: Hana Uta


Btw, I will be starting my finals week (tomorrow is my lab final >.<)! Posting will be slow again. Sorryz... WISH ME LUCK! Fight...O!!! (learned this from Yankumi of Gokusen. Good drama btw! Go watch it!)

Monday, March 7, 2011

Eyeshield 21



Summary:

Eyeshield 21 is a manga revolving around high school students from the American Football club. Kobayakawa Sena is a freshmen that had always been bullied all his life. He decided to join the American Football Club as a secretary because they didn't have enough people and secretary was a job that allowed him to be involved in the club without having to actually participate in this violent sport. However, Sena's talent for being a runner was discovered by the captain, Hiruma Youichi. Infamous for using blackmailing and evil schemes to get what he wants, Hiruma got Sena to play under the code name of "Eyeshield 21" and not reveal his actual identity. As they journey forth to their goal of playing in the Christmas Bowl, they meet more friends, enemies, and grew tremendously in football and in life.

Review:

EYESHIELD 21 WAS AWESOME!!!! I loved it so much that I read the whole 333 chapters over the weekend! It was very much like you average sports manga in that it focused on game play, technicalities of football, and learning to never give up no matter how hard things are. Although I'm not a football fan, this manga's humor and characters kept me wanting more and more. I find myself growing anxious as the clock in the manga began to run out and I'm constantly cursing my internet to be faster as if the clock in the manga would change with real time lol. I cheered and even cried with the team when they meet defeat. I haven't finished Prince of Tennis but I think if you liked Slam Dunk then you would probably like Eyeshield 21 as well. Besides manga, Eyeshield 21 is also an anime series. So if your too lazy to read you can always watch it. It might be more interesting that way since this is a sports manga and it would be easier to see on screen.

At first the manga started off with drawings that were not very appealing. However this is common in many manga when you first read it. Art requires practice to improve after all. Later on in the series, the mangaka succeeds in putting more eye candies into the series. Even, Sena and Shin who looked very rough in the beginning looked cute and sexy later on! ;) I especially like Kakei Shun of the Kyoshin Poseidons. The dude possesses these sexy eyes that the mangaka described as "smoldering". Here is Kakei-kun!

From left to right: Mizumachi Kengo, Kakei Shun, Kobayakawa Sena, Hiruma Youichi, and Seijuro Shin


Have you seen or read Eyeshield 21? If so, what did you think about it?

Seigi no Mikata



Trailer (Not very informative but it's the only one I could find...):


Cast:
* Shida Mirai as Nakata Yoko
- Konno Moeka (紺野萌花) as young Yoko
* Yamada Yu as Nakata Makiko
- Natsui Runa as young Makiko
* Mukai Osamu as Yoshikawa Naoki
* Hongo Kanata as Okamoto Riku
* Takizawa Saori as Yamashita Midori
* Irie Jingi as Komori Taichi (Jumbo)
* Nishiuchi Mariya (西内まりや) as Moriyama Chika
* Nakamura Shizuka (中村静香) as Komatsu Kyoko
* Shimura Rena (志村玲那) as Shimazaki Mai
* Ishii Mieko (石井美絵子) as Horita Arisa
* Sano Shiro as Nakata Goro
* Tanaka Yoshiko as Nakata Haruko
* Tokui Yuu as Nogami Koichiro
* Hiraizumi Sei as Yoshikawa Katsuo
* Yamaguchi Izumi (山口いづみ) as Yoshikawa Satomi

Summary:

Nakata Yoko is a first year high schooler whose life is a living hell ruled by her older sister Nakata Makiko. For as long as Yoko can remember, her sister had always used her as a slave, bullied her, and used her as a scapegoat for everything in life. However, due to some incredible luck, no matter how awful her sister is, no one seems to notice it except for Yoko. Infact, everything her sister does turns into a good deed for everyone around her, earning her the respectable title of "Seigi no mikata", an Ally of Justice.

Review:

I just finished "Seigi no Mikata" yesterday and it left me wanting more. Although the drama is a repetition of day to day events revolving around the absurd things that Makiko demands from Yoko, it kept me wanting more because it was very funny to see the things Makiko do lol. She was absolutely ridiculous and funny. As a big sister myself, I know I've done my share of bullying and blackmailing to my own brother (it was all harmless little jokes). But Makiko is like the master of bullying. I think if I was her sister I would've ran away from home long ago lol.

I've seen Yamada Yu play other roles before but this is the first time I've seen her play a selfish bitch who doesn't even know she's selfish. She does a very good job! Props to her lol. As for Shida Mirai, she is just absolutely adorable! She a tiny actress bursting with talent! I've seen her act in "Hammer Session" but didn't really take notice of her because her role, although she was one of the main cast, didn't require very much. But seeing her in this drama put her in a new light in my eyes. I definitely look forward to seeing more of her work.

This drama is absolutely comical and it's great for people who don't have time to finish the whole series at once because they always finish one plot before the episode ends (with the exception of the last two). I hope you all will enjoy it as much as I did.

Theme song:
Okumura Hatsune - Honto wa ne

Sunday, March 6, 2011

Tumbling



Official Trailer:


This is a fan made trailer but I thought it was really good and the only one with English subtitles. So here it is!


Cast:
* Yamamoto Yusuke as Azuma Wataru
* Seto Koji as Takenaka Yuta
* Miura Shohei as Tsukimori Ryosuke
* Daito Shunsuke as Kiyama Ryuichiro
* Nishijima Takahiro as Hino Tetsuya
* Tomiura Satoshi as Tsuchiya Satoshi
* Yanagishita Tomo as Mizusawa Taku
* Kaku Kento as Nippori Keiji
* Tamoto Soran as Kaneko Atsushi
* Okamoto Azusa as Satonaka Mari
* Okamoto Rei as Asakura Aoi
* Isaka Tatsuya as Akabane Reiji
* Nakadoi Hiroki as Tsurumi Akihiko
* Sato Jiro as Tashiro Shigeo
* Kuninaka Ryoko as Ezaki Shoko
* AKIRA as Kashiwagi Yutaka
* Otsuka Nene as Azuma Natsuko
* Ise Mihato as Sasaki Noriko
* Okihara Issei as Konno Toru
* Iriki Mari as Nakao Haruka
* Kawashima Kenta as Shiramine Kazuhiko

Summary:

Tumbling is a Japanese drama about these high school boys forming a male gymnastics team and striving for their dreams of winning the high school competition. 3rd year high school student Takenaka Yuta is the captain of the male rhythmic sports gymnastics club. It has been his dream to enter the high school competitions and get to the finals since middle school. However that dream was never achieved because they never had enough people to perform in the competitions (they need at least 6 people).

3rd year Azuma Wataru is a infamous delinquent who had spent all his high school years fighting and laying off his studies. In order to graduate, he has to either take extra lessons or join club activities. In order to impress the girl he like (who was in the female gymnastics club), he decided to join the male rhythmic sports gymnastics club.

With Wataru's entrance to the club, the delinquents of the high school began to join the club one by one. Before they knew it, the boys were able to enter competitions. However, because of the history of these delinquents, the club is in constant danger of being closed down. The drama, follows the progress of this club as they enter competitions and overcome all difficulties.

Review:

I really liked this drama. It has a serious plot of athletes overcoming difficulties to pursue their dreams and it contains tons of humor and lessons about life and friends. It was also very amazing to see all the routines they performed! I'm not exactly sure but it looked like the routines were actually done by the actors, who are not gymnasts. Every time they perform new routines I would drop everything I was doing just to focus on their performance. It made me hold my breath and clap like crazy when they were done. It was also this drama that restarted my interest of watching and reading sports related dramas and manga. There are also many eye candy actors in this drama! I give this drama 5/5 stars! You should all watch it if you have time!

In addition to good plot, this drama also has a very nice theme song:
Honey L Days- Manazashi

A little update on life

I feel so bad I haven't been updating here at all! It's been midterms, reports, midterms, reports, week after week! Before I knew it, it's already 10th week into the quarter and I will be swamped with finals. After that is one week of break.

I looked in the mirror today and felt bored with my hair style again. The last time I got it cut and perm was when I was in Hong Kong back in August. I want to keep growing my hair but I want to do something to it. At first I thought about perming my hair but now I'm thinking I just wanna get a trim, maybe layers so I can fix my hair easier in the morning. So far I've been straightening it every morning but it's boring and it has no shape. So, maybe I'll look through magazines and hopefully decide what I wanna do before I go home.

Besides studying and living life, I've been watching dramas and reading manga when I have time. Most of them are old manga that I started long ago and haven't finished. As for drams, I've mostly been watching Japanese ones because I can listen to it while doing other things. Good thing I took enough Japanese so that I can understand enough of it to make sense of what is going on without having to look at the subtitles. So I guess I will be doing lots of updates on manga and dramas that I have seen lately.