Going back to J-pop
Just a quick update. Two of my favorite mangas will be seen as live action shows this year.
First one is "Hanazakari no Kimitachi e", otherwise known as Hana Kimi. Mizuki Ashiya saw Izumi Sano on TV performing during a high jump competition. From then on, she admired him so much that she decided to study in the same school as he was. The problem is, it's an all boys school. Mizuki has to disguise herself as boy to be with Sano. Add to the equation Sano's friend who thinks he's gay because of his attraction to Mizuki, well, there's bound to be a lot comedic hi-jinks here.
There is actually a Taiwanese drama of this manga, although I didn't really enjoy it. I thought the girl who played Mizuki (Ella of S.H.E.) was too much like a boy and not like a girl pretending to be a boy. Still, the Japanese one is something to look forward to. Horikita Maki stars as Mizuki, Oguri Shun as Sano and Ikuta Toma as Shuichi. Shirota Yuu is said to be also in the cast, but as one of the villains, I think.
Second, Rumiko Takahashi's manga Maison Ikkoku will also be a TV series. Yusaku Godai is a ronin, or someone who's having trouble getting into college. He moves to Maison Ikkoku, a ramshackle house filled with an assortment of weird borders. Yusaku falls in love with the manager, Kyoko Otonashi, an older woman who is still not over the death of her husband Soichiro.
I love Maison Ikkoku. It's one of Takahashi-san's "normal" works, and by that I mean the characters have no supernatural powers whatsoever. Otherwise, the work carries her traditional comedic bent on events, with a dash of drama. I'm looking forward to seeing the guy who plays Godai, Taiki Nakabayashi, as I hear he's an amateur actor. Misaki Ito plays Kyoko. The age difference between Kyoko and Godai in the manga is about four years, I think. Can't wait for this.
I'm also back to listening to Japanese songs. I got tired of my emo trip ehehe. I loaded my old stuff (L'arc En Ciel, Asian Kung Fu Generation, Chemistry, Utada Hikaru, BECK: Mongolian Chop Squad OST) and added a few new ones. I got Hyde's FAITH album, UVERworld's Bugright, a few Abingdon Boy's School, and some Home Made Kazoku (which I originally read as hoh-meh mah-deh instead of the English homemade haha).
The UVERworld album surprised me. From their song in Bleach, I figured they're a rock group like Ajikan or Laruku. Surprisingly, the last few tracks of the album was pleasantly slow, kind of like something you'll expect from Chemistry. It's good. I also got some songs of Japanese artists doing covers. I got two Utada Hikaru's: One of her singing Green Day's "Boulevard of Broken Dreams" (not bad, though the first note seems out of tune) and Aha's "Take on me" (which I can liken to someone singing in a karaoke bar in a not so good way. Her "With or without you is still the best). I got Ken Hirai singing Utada's Automatic, as well as Jumellia doing a Japanese version of TaTu's "All the things she said".
So if you hear me singing in Japanese, don't mind me. That doesn't mean I can speak Japanese fluently. I just memorized the songs ehehe.
First one is "Hanazakari no Kimitachi e", otherwise known as Hana Kimi. Mizuki Ashiya saw Izumi Sano on TV performing during a high jump competition. From then on, she admired him so much that she decided to study in the same school as he was. The problem is, it's an all boys school. Mizuki has to disguise herself as boy to be with Sano. Add to the equation Sano's friend who thinks he's gay because of his attraction to Mizuki, well, there's bound to be a lot comedic hi-jinks here.
There is actually a Taiwanese drama of this manga, although I didn't really enjoy it. I thought the girl who played Mizuki (Ella of S.H.E.) was too much like a boy and not like a girl pretending to be a boy. Still, the Japanese one is something to look forward to. Horikita Maki stars as Mizuki, Oguri Shun as Sano and Ikuta Toma as Shuichi. Shirota Yuu is said to be also in the cast, but as one of the villains, I think.
Second, Rumiko Takahashi's manga Maison Ikkoku will also be a TV series. Yusaku Godai is a ronin, or someone who's having trouble getting into college. He moves to Maison Ikkoku, a ramshackle house filled with an assortment of weird borders. Yusaku falls in love with the manager, Kyoko Otonashi, an older woman who is still not over the death of her husband Soichiro.
I love Maison Ikkoku. It's one of Takahashi-san's "normal" works, and by that I mean the characters have no supernatural powers whatsoever. Otherwise, the work carries her traditional comedic bent on events, with a dash of drama. I'm looking forward to seeing the guy who plays Godai, Taiki Nakabayashi, as I hear he's an amateur actor. Misaki Ito plays Kyoko. The age difference between Kyoko and Godai in the manga is about four years, I think. Can't wait for this.
I'm also back to listening to Japanese songs. I got tired of my emo trip ehehe. I loaded my old stuff (L'arc En Ciel, Asian Kung Fu Generation, Chemistry, Utada Hikaru, BECK: Mongolian Chop Squad OST) and added a few new ones. I got Hyde's FAITH album, UVERworld's Bugright, a few Abingdon Boy's School, and some Home Made Kazoku (which I originally read as hoh-meh mah-deh instead of the English homemade haha).
The UVERworld album surprised me. From their song in Bleach, I figured they're a rock group like Ajikan or Laruku. Surprisingly, the last few tracks of the album was pleasantly slow, kind of like something you'll expect from Chemistry. It's good. I also got some songs of Japanese artists doing covers. I got two Utada Hikaru's: One of her singing Green Day's "Boulevard of Broken Dreams" (not bad, though the first note seems out of tune) and Aha's "Take on me" (which I can liken to someone singing in a karaoke bar in a not so good way. Her "With or without you is still the best). I got Ken Hirai singing Utada's Automatic, as well as Jumellia doing a Japanese version of TaTu's "All the things she said".
So if you hear me singing in Japanese, don't mind me. That doesn't mean I can speak Japanese fluently. I just memorized the songs ehehe.