Tuesday, October 27, 2009

Upcoming Releases


D'espairsRay: As said before, it's their 10th Anniversary! Their latest single "Final Call" will be released on September 9, a live DVD of their 10th Anniversary concert will also be released. And there's also a Greatest Hits album coming out with their best songs from 1999 to 2008.




Merry: They have a life DVD coming out on November 7th. Like the music, but not too sure about getting a dvd of the girls. But, if that's your thing, its up for pre-order now.



NEWS: YES! "NEWS Live Diamond" DVD is finally coming out! (it's almost been a year since the concert). It comes in limited and regular editions, but there's not that much difference so I'd go for the cheaper regular addition. It comes out on November 4! Pre-order now!



GACKT: Another dearly awaited DVD! His (long winded) GACKT Visualive Tour 2008-2009 Requiem et Reminiscence II- Saisei to Kaiko-" live DVD is coming out December 2, along with another new single.





Girugamesh: Mentioned this one before, and it deserves a second mentioning. Their third album is coming out along with a DVD featuring the music videos of "Alive" and "Border" and documentary from "Summer Evolution" and some backstage/interview footage. It comes out on December 16th.

Dir en grey: They're coming out with their music video DVD! Comes out Tomorrow, October 28th.

Oh, and cdJapan.co.jp is having a pretty good sale. There's Kra, Acid Black Cherry, Alice Nine, Vidoll, Angelo, the GazettE, even Mucc and BUCK-TICK.

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

Sad News For US Miyavi Fans...


Yup. The US Tour is now postponed. Miyavi's injury in his Europe tour proved to be worse than he or his staff thought at first, and the doctor in Mexico suggested that he go back to Japan immediately for treatment. Get well soon, Miyavi, and take your time in healing! US fans will wait patiently.

Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Kamen Rider Den-O MV


Couldn't help myself. ^.^

Made with iMovie '09 with help of iShowU.

Saturday, October 10, 2009

Asian Drama Review: Atashinchi no Danshi (My Boys)

Title: Atashinchi no Danshi (My Boys)

Genre: Drama/Comedy

Language: Japanese

Year: 2009

Episodes: 11




Summery:

Chisato (Horikita Maki) is a 20 year old homeless girl. She’s homeless because she running from the yukaza (Japanese mafia). She’s running from the yukaza because her father, unbeknownst to Chisato, made her a co-signer of a hefty loan he took out and gambled away. Instead of taking on the dept himself, her ran and left Chisato and her mother. After her mother died, Chisato left out on her own living in a tent city in a park or a local net cafĂ©.

When the yukaza finally catch up to her, Okura Shinzo (Kusakari Masao), the president of “Miracle Toymaker” shows up on the scene and pays off her debt. The catch? She has to agree to be his wife for 30 days, since he only had 30 days left to live.

Chisato agrees, but after Shinzo dies, she finds more to the contract she signed. Now in order to not repay the debt, she has to become the “mother” of Shinzo’s six adopted sons and complete the “Mother’s Duties”. But the boys (ranging from 30-12 years old) don’t want anything to do with Chisato and are only there for Shinzo’s fortune.

Characters:

Okura Fu (Kaname Jun): First son- 30 years old. He’s very free-spirited and has a range of talents, but never settles on a job. He couldn’t care less about his “brothers” and most of the time no one knows where he is.





Okura Takeru (Okada Yoshinori): Second son- 27 years old. Takeru dons a “fighting” jacket all the time and is a member of a bike gang, but despite his outward appearance and his phony front, he’s sensitive and kind. He holds a grudge against Sho for leaving Trick Heart Castle for an unknown reason. Takeru was adopted by Shinzo when his father was arrested. He takes pride in stating that he has the power to create miracles in the time of need. (Also guest-stared in Hana Kimi as Ashiya's brother)



Okura Sho (Mukai Osamu): Third son- 25 years old. Sho is a ladies man and works at a hostclub. He left Trick Heart Castle to live on his own for a reason that is revealed later in the story. It becomes apparent that Sho and Takeru were once close.





Okura Masaru (Yamamoto Yusuke): Fourth son- 22 years old. Masaru is a popular magazine model and popular among women, but there’s one small problem. Masaru has a strong phobia of women because of an accident that happened in his past. Masaru was adopted by Shinzo after his parents were killed in a house fire. (also stared in Hana Kimi as Nakatsu's roommate, Kayashima)




Okura Satoru (Seto Koji!!! ^.^): Fifth son- 17 years old. Satoru was once a great magician, even performing on TV specials, but because of a deal with his parents was marked never to perform publically again. Because of this Satoru locked himself in his room for a year, only emerging once coaxed by Chisato.




Okura Akira (Okayama Tomoki): Sixth son- 12 years old. Akira is a genius but couldn’t careless about anyone. He doesn’t even care about Shinzo’s fortune, since he makes his own fortune in stocks. He has one very strange trait: at exactly 9pm he falls asleep no matter where or what position he’s in.





Review: This drama was created by the same team that worked on “Hanazakari no Kimitachi e” in 2007, in which Maki Horikita also stars in. The first episode starts a little slow, but eventually starts getting good when Chisato moves into Trick Heart Castle.

Trick Heart Castle is a funny thing all on its own. Anyone who wishes to enter must know the answer to the gates questions, which tend to change without notice and all center around Shinzo’s favorite performer. Inside the castle there are doors that look like walls and walls that look like doors, trap doors, hidden passages, rooms that only have the purpose for playing tricks on the enterers, and rooms that even the sons never knew existed. The worse room is Chisato’s “bedroom” which is actually a clocktower that is deafening when the clock strikes an hour.

The boys are all amazing, each with contrasting personalities and deep secrets that sometimes the boys themselves don’t even know about. Seto Koji (Kamen Rider Kiva’s Wataru) was an excellent addition to the cast. Somehow he always plays a shut-in. Hm. Takeru and Masaru have to be the two best characters. There’s so much development in these two throughout the series that it’s hard to take your eyes off of them.

The story is more than just between Chisato vs. the boys. She has to face her real father and secrets of her past. The boys have their own secrets that they must share with each other to overcome their pasts. In the drama they learn what a "family" is and how to start relying on people.

Overall, the series is most defiantly worth the watch. Great characters, great story, only complaint is that it can get slow at times.

Tuesday, October 6, 2009

Asian Movie Spotlight: Azumi


Summary:
Azumi is a Japanese movie that takes place during the Tokugawa era. A samurai is told to take a band of kids orphaned by the war and to raise them as assassins to destroy Toyotomi and the other warlords to prevent another war. Azumi (Aya Ueto) is the only girl in the band of assassins. She was found as a small girl by Nachi (Shun Oguri ^.^) and taken in by their master.

The 10 (Azumi, Nachi, Ukiha, Hyuga, Amagi, Nagara, Yura, Awa, Hiei, and Komoru) grow up as brothers and sister. One day their master finally says it's time to leave their secluded hut in the mountains and go on the "mission" they had been trained for their entire lives, but first he has one more thing to teach them. In order to make sure the teenage assassins have no emotions on who they kill, they are ordered to pair up... then kill the other.

Review:
The movie is amazing on action, BUT, if you are looking for as-real-as-it-gets effects you won't get it. Azumi's style is artistic violence, so to speak. Larger blood splatters, but not "gory". Aya Ueto portrays her roll perfectly. Azumi is NOT a cold blooded killer, but she does her "mission" and still carries the burdens of her friends and the victims with her, making her an emotional turmoil on the inside and a sleek, sword-wielding assassin on the outside.

Other:
There is also an Azumi 2 out, which is also fantastic. I suggest watching them both. ^.^