There is never enough of Japanese Drama

Well, to contradict what I said earlier, here's introducing you a drama that chills your bones right from the very start. Kaseifu no Mita-san. I guess no matter how much ranting I do about the lack of a good romance script (Kitagawa Eriko-san onegai!)
I still do love a good thriller and a mystery. Matsushima Nanako won me over years ago with her brilliant acting in GTO as the 'gentle natured' 'air stewardess' aspiring teacher and as the mysterious Toko in Koori no Sekai.

She has won me over yet again, I have to take my hats off to this woman, she has the acting chops in her. Her status as one of Japan's top actress is as sure as the fall of the European Banks. Right from the start, she has me on the edge. Is she going to kill them? What the f****** hell is wrong with this family? No make up or glamourous outfits here, only knives, apron and a cold and DEADLY stare for our Nanny Mita-san.


The kids in this show deserve a nod too, what a talented young cast, things started out creepy and morbid, but as what Japanese dramas are amazing for, there will be a slow and subtle twist to becoming heartwarming and funny. Oh mita-san I would just want to see you smile again. Pretty please????

Japanese Drama watch list

I am at this point in time where I need to re-watch Japanese dramas as none of the current season's ones struck my interest. While I am still following Nazotoki wa Dinner no atode, I can't seem to find any romantic drama which suits my taste. The very last drama of that genre which I watched was Buzzer Beat, satisfying as it may be it still couldn't tug my heart strings like the older dramas which I watched. What happen to the good old shows like Beautiful Life, Long Vacation, Love Generation and Last Love?
If you look at the common points these dramas have, it is that they belong to the 1990s-2000, let's throw in the awesome Kimura Takuya just for my sake <3

While I love a dark mystery and police drama (I really honestly do) I feel that there are too many of that coming out, one after the other. Kao, Unfair, Boss, Boss 2 (I love all these by the way), Tokyo Dogs, Lady Boss,Utsukushi Rinjin and the list goes on and on. Maybe it is a phase thing? Japan in the early 1990s-2000 is more pure and innocent? And now they are moving to show the criminal side of Japan? All these interesting cases sort of makes Japan really creepy doesn't it? Your neighbour is not who she seems, your best friend may betray at any point in time by attempting to kill your daughter? A dark force waiting to be unleashed in Japan.

As such, I am now turning to watching old shows that are worth watching twice/ thrice, these shows are funny, heartwarming, meaningful and downright heart wrenching at certain point in time (AND PEOPLE SAY THAT KOREA IS THE START OF TEAR JERKING DRAMAS -OH PLEASE-)

Beautiful Life (2000) (I can kill the writer for coming up with the most realistic, apt and yet heart wrenching ending ever in the television history, it didn't get 41.3% ratings for nothing)

Last Love (1996)
Heaven's Coin (1996)
Hitotsu Yane no Shita (1991 and 1997)
Hikari To tomo Ni (2004)
Long Love Letter (2002)
Meguri Ai (1997)
Long Vacation(1997)
Kabachitare (2001) (I need to praise Fukatsu Eri and Tokiwa Takako's acting here, AWESOME CHEMISTRY, you hardly get that from 2 top stars. Well played!)

If you have the time, catch these shows. Prepare a tissue box and get some sports cream for your abdomen pain and aspirin because your stomach is going to ache from laughter and your brain will go haywire from sudden laughter to sobbing hysterically.

Nakama Yukie's upcoming drama next year (:

女优の仲间由纪恵さんが、12年1月スタートの新ドラマ「恋爱ニート～忘れた恋のはじめ方」（TBS系）で主演を务めることが明らかになった。仲间さんが现代の“恋爱もの”に出演するのは、09年に放送されたドラマ「ありふれた奇迹」（フジテレビ系）以来3年ぶりで、容姿端丽なキャリアウーマンだが、プライベートは「彼氏いない歴8年目」に突入し、いつの间にか恋爱から远ざかってしまった“恋爱ニート”の32歳独身女性を演じる。仲间さんは、「今回は等身大の女性の役で、30代の恋爱事情を描いたラブコメディーということで、今から撮影に入るのを大変楽しみにしています」とコメントしている。
ドラマは、“恋爱ニート”と呼ばれる恋爱に対して消极的で、恋の仕方をすっかり忘れてしまった男女6人が缲り広げるラブコメディー。出版社の贩売促进部に勤める木下凛（仲间さん）は、美人ですべての仕事を自分でこなしてしまうキャリアウーマン。しかし、周囲とギクシャクしたやりとりをすることから上司には「扱いにくい部下」、部下からは「頼りがいのない上司」と敬远されている。ある日、亲友・渡辺美帆の“离婚式”に亲友・相沢菜々子と共に出かけた凛は、歯科医の松本直哉、一流食品会社でフレーバリストを务める多田耕太、24歳のイケメン・槙野骏平と出会う。流れで6人で饮むことになったが、凛の“恋爱ニート”ぶりに男性阵からドン引きされてしまう。そんなある日、松本が凛をデートに诱ってきて……というストーリーが展开する。

　08年に放送された“アラフォー”の女性をテーマにした同局のドラマ「Around40」も手がけた高成麻亩子プロデューサーは、「女性の幸せは一つじゃなくて、结婚や出产に缚られず生きるのも女性だという価値観を持った女性たちが、东日本大震灾后に価値観が激変した。一人で生きることの限界を感じて、谁かといることを选び始めた」と说明し、「相手の笑颜を见て幸せだと思えるような、“相手との绊”を描いていきたい」と话した。また、「仲间さんは才能あるコメディエンヌなので」と起用理由を说明した。（毎日新闻デジタル）

Nakama lovers, stay tune for more information regarding this new drama next year. Her co stars are not announced. I need to know the male leads! (:
A light hearted, heart warming love genre drama revolving the live of 3 girls and 3 guys. Woots.


Currently: waiting ever so PATIENTLY for the unfair the answer DVD to come out. -.-

kinsma

shinohara ryoko featured in singapore magazine (:

Obsessions

This is bad time to go crazy over something/someone. For my case: Shinohara Ryoko.

I can't bring myself to stop watching her interviews, not when she is so adorable and 'dumb'. >< 天然ボケ <3

Plus I love the fact that she is on such close terms with the SMAP members, the other female actresses that I know will be Matsu Takako and Kanno Miho who has such a close friendship with all the members. But for Matsu's case, it was because of her acting with Kimu Taku and for Kanno's case it was because of Goro-chan. Now, my beloved Shino-ryo is close to our wonderful and magnificent leader! (: Nakai Masahiro.

Hoho, I love their interactions together, if I am not already a fan of the nakanaka combi, this nakai-shino combi would be my best pick. Nakai picks on Shino-ryo mercilessly, on smaxsma and Kin Sma. I wish Ryoko-san can go back to becoming one of the regulars on Kin Sma, her combi and interactions with ai-chan and nakai are the funniest points on the show.
I just watched the 2004 Kin Sma where Ai-chan and Shino-ryo went to hokkaido together with the TBS announcer. And Ryoko0chan got a little too excited and Ai-chan was like 'Oh No, there is no Nakai to control this girl when she goes crazy' and the ending part when they reached the TBS lounge and met Nakai. Ho, the both of them just attacked him for abandoning them. <3 LOL

I miss the old Kin Sma and I love the nakai-shino ryo combi.
The best part is even the smap members know about it too. When goro came on Kinsma he commented that Nakai was always bullying Shino-ryo and making fun of her. HOHO (:

ryoko-chan, the only one that is excited about the trip. on the contrary Ai-chan was totally anti climatic. LOL


Ai-chan wanted A limo instead of a hired car and she was still upset that Nakai didnt come along.




Ai-chan questioning Shino-ryo's behaviour. LOL あの子大丈夫？　爆笑　＾＾



Shino-ryo going crazyyyy~


はい、以上！

篠原涼子が好き～

篠原涼子が好き～
私はやっぱり年上の方がすきね。

Just forced myself to re watch 月の恋人. Key word "Forced" I loved episode one all the way until the appearance of Lin Chi Ling, what a weak and redundant character. Having her around just spoils the balance of the show, plus there was this perpetual ache in my heart every time I see 真恵美 gazing at the moon sadly or when she has to give Rensuke (Kimura Takuya) advise with regards to his relationship with Xiu Mei (Lin Chi Ling) Spare me the torture of watching Maemi struggle please! Doesn't Rensuke realise that the image of the moon that he so admire and love is actually Maemi! Not eye dazzling but a soft external glow. You never notice that it is there because of the blazing sun, but once the night comes, you will realise that the moon is always there for you when you are lonely and tired. That is Maemi, Rensuke! The girl that you didn't notice for 15 years is always there for you, she is the epitome of the beautiful moon that you are besotted with!




Thankfully this show had 篠原涼子 and 木村拓也, if not, I will never advise anyone to watch it. It is a painful journey for those who loves Maemi. There is simply no spark between Lin Chi Ling and Kimura Takuya (Sorry for that Lin Chi Ling fans, she is simply a vase to me, 100% beauty but 0% acting skills)

北川景子 was a pleasant surprise. Not at all annoying and wonderfully adorable as the spoiled brat that she is. Loving Rensuke no matter who he chose in the end. Then again if I were her, I definitely wouldn't mind Rensuke ending up with Maemi, since Maemi has been nothing but nice to Yuzu chan. <3

Whatever it is, the meaning behind the drama was unexpected. The title was well played. (: This just deepens my love for kimura takuya, shinohara ryoko and kitawagawa keiko! <3

今日本へ行きたい！　だって...Unfair の映画が..
UNFAIR: The answer を見たい！！！！！！！

10月16日スタートのSMAP・木村拓哉主演のドラマ『南极大陆』（毎周日曜　后9：00　TBS系）の追加キャストが発表され、すでに主演の木村をはじめ、ヒロイン・绫瀬はるから主要キャストは発表済みだが、全撮影が终了し、今回新たに発表された追加キャストは5名。芦田の母亲役に木村多江、戦争で他界してしまう主人公（木村）の妻役には2年ぶりの共演となる仲间由纪恵、観测队员に佐藤隆太、さらに映画『南极物语』にも出演していた渡瀬恒彦が主人公の父亲役で登场と、そうそうたる面々が集结している。

FINALLY!!!!! A kimura takuya and Nakama Yukie collaboration. ^.^

ゲゲゲの女房

Ah. Newest obsession: Gegege no Nyobo ((:

This 156 episode drama depicts the life of Mizuki Shigeru's wife, Fumie,from childhood all the way to finding love with Shigeru and maintaining a happy family no matter how ビン簿 they are.

Each episode is only 15 mins but this 15 min is enough to make you smile after a hard day of work. The pure goodness and faith that Fumie has in her husband makes her the ideal woman of all time. The kid acting as Fumie when she was young and her daughter is so cute that I have to control myself not to hug the computer screen everytime when she appears. ><

Not to mention the super delicious Mukai Osamu as the ever eccentric and taleneted Manga artist Shigeru. :) His interactions with his children makes Mukai all the more appealing to ladies of every generation. Hoho. Plus he does have a good chemistry with Matsushita Nao. (Fumie) They are both so tall....

Awesome drama with lots of laughs and heartwarming scenes that are bound to make you smile.

suffering from love sickness

I am love sick.
I miss Japan so much that I think about flying back there everyday since I stepped back on Singapore ground. I didn't even have the heart to watch the National Day parade because I miss Japan so much. Urgh

I miss the food, I miss the beautiful places, I miss the people. Especially the people. T.T
All of them are so kind and courteous, lining up to get on the trains or queuing up. So unlike Singapore, we rush into the trains as soon as the doors open and there will always be some one speaking very loudly on the trains ignoring the feelings of the other commuters. ><

I love Japan and I will always love Japan!

final words

I love and will always love Japan for her beauty and her spirit.

This exchange has opened up so many different perspective of life; the happiness, unity, and staying strong in times of grieve. Most importantly the friends that we have made during the entire journey.

I was seriously on the brink of a breakdown the last day due to the pathetic amount of sleep that I had over the past few days. There were still so many things unfinished and everything was unprepared.

We really didn't have a choice but to brace ourselves to ask 国場さん and 小島さん for their help even though we knew that they had other stuff to do. Nobody other than Vanessa and Jun Rong could understand how guilty I felt when I saw 国場さん typing away on our laptops, helping with the translation even though I am sure she had her own articles to complete and had recovered from her flu not too long ago. When she asked Jun Rong and I for help, we didn't hesitate to say yes as what we have helped seem so minimal to the amount of effort which she had placed in creating the BEST SPEECH for us. Thank you!!



Thank you, Chan Loong and Jia ming for coming over when we went around to gather photos for the slides. Thank you team 2 for coming over to ask us if we needed help and liang yu for insisting on making us green tea to soothe our nerves. ((:

Jun Rong, you are our savior, our KAMISAMA in terms of Japanese and niceness. For staying up with us until 6am!

Pong and Tian Hong: I had an awesome time with the both of you, かわいい三人グルプ！

I couldn't have asked for a better group. We were the most enthusiastic, the most organized group out there!!!! GROUP C!!!!! WOOTS!

Volunteering And first try in the onsen

It has been a pretty eventful day. Volunteering at the rikuzan takada and traveling 3 hours to togatta onsen :D while what we have done to help has been very minimal, I am glad that we have been given a chance to experience the disaster first hand. Even though everything has been more or less cleared, it is still heart wrenching to witness it. We were told to pick up the rubbish as they wish to build a carpark for the tanabata festival. After a few hours of digging, we have uncovered a few momentos which we were unwilling to throw. For example we found a gorgeous yukata and a notebook filled with advanced mathematics which was very neatly written. Who is to decide what is precious and what is not? On an amusing note, never underestimate the power of women! Given enough strength, we can move a tree (literally)

iwate prefecture

Our group has finally got hold of the wireless donkers and the routers. I guess internet has become a vital part of our life and it definitely allows us to stay in contact with our friends who are currently overseas or in Singapore.

After visiting the Iwate prefecture and the Miyagi Prefecture, I believe that Japanese are the most resilient people in the world. Their spirit in the midst of the grief and the disaster really shows the power of the humanity. The help that each of them offer to to each other selflessly makes me ashamed of the fact that we are so stingy with our own countrymen.

We went to the Hiraizumi Chuzonji Temple in the morning, despite the fact that we had very minimal amount of sleep, this early morning wake up has been very fulfilling on a spiritual level. As a believer, being in such a sacred place makes me feel at peace and energized. (:

Next up we went to IPU and and the IPO for several talks regarding the great tsunami that happened during March. Much information was provided to us which would be useful for us tomorrow when we start our volunteering.

Finally we went to the Sansa Odori festival, IT WAS SUPER DUPER FUN! After much hesitation, I threw all the reservations that I had (being on TV and being photographed) and join them in their final dance. Thankfully we had an amazing 'teacher' who shouted out the directions of the dance. It just muses me that Singaporeans always think that Japanese are so conservative yet I can ascertain that Singaporeans will not spontaneously join in any dances in the Chingay and they are often embarrassed when they are asked to be part of a magic trick. HA. That is something to think about. LOL

Maybe Singapore should have more festivals that actually mean something to us.

(:
Tomorrow is the day that we do the volunteering. A little afraid but still I am willing to do my tiny little part in the Gambaro tohouko project

TO JAPAN WE GO~

Today marks the first time that I am going Japan! -Cheers-

While this looks like a holiday at first glance, it definitely embeds much more than just a leisure tour around the various areas in Japan. Yet deep in our hearts, I'm sure that all of us know that it is much more than that. For one, we are helping out at areas which were devastated by the Tsunami a few months ago. It seems dangerous, but I believe that we all have to do a part to help out no matter how small the effort may seem. In terms of spirit and energy, Japan is the role model for the countries out there. No matter how many setbacks she faced, she is still able to continue striving to be the best among us. All her achievements couldn't possibly be done without the strong spirit of the Japanese. To be able to be part of this program is an honour and I can't wait for the journey to start!

Here is one video to ponder about:



I was watching the Adidas commercial by Li Bing Bing and I loved what she said:
能力有限,努力无限,全倾全力

That's the spirit that we should all have.

I am finally approaching the last year of my university life yet I do not have any clue on what I am suppose to do in the future. I thought I wanted to be an interior designer when I was young, then i wanted to be an elitist in CID, but I also wanted to be those rugged and strong women exploring the world and noting their discoveries on discovery channel. I want so many, but I do not have the power to accomplish them all. I do envy people who have a distinct goal that they wish to achieve, be it a doctor, lawyer or a nurse. I want their faith. Frankly speaking, i am the jack of all trades, I believe I can dabble in all career fields with equal dexterity and skill just that I have no idea which trade I should throw myself in.

A news article stated that nearly 30% of the students within my faulty are just a herd of sheep, blinding following the market flow because they have no aspiration, whatsoever. Pretty obvious that I have fallen within this minority group and all we can do is hope that someone or some event will spark our interest in a certain field in the near future or we will just have to follow the crowd.

Enough pessimism! 元気出して！

Here is a new movie to look out for (hopefully it will come to Singapore!)
Whether it is good or bad, I am sure it will have a positive impact on any ladies who watches it. The music really tugs your heartstrings doesn't it, makes me want to turn to my amazing group of girl friends and hug them. I hope everyone out there has a laotong or a laotong waiting to be found. (:

Lord of the Rings

Blue-ray Lord of the rings 最高！

Seriously extended version with new scenes and scores. I daresay the Lord of the Rings trilogy is one of the series and trilogies out there. The scenery makes up for the somewhat long and sometimes boring scenes and the music just enchants you and draws you into the movie. Well done Master Peter Jackson and Master Howard Shore!
HAHA, I sound like some advertisement brochure... Yet I speak no lies. If one was to buy something in Blue-Ray, Lord of the Rings will be the best choice. (^.^)



On a side note,
最近、江角真紀子のバラを見た！面白い！！！！！
真吾の庶務二のモノマネは　面白すぎる！

weather

Oh dear Mr weather,

Please let it be more cooling here in Singapore over the next few days -who am I kidding, let it be the next few years- if not, you will likely see more students fainting during morning assembly due to unthoughtful principals forcing students to listen to their preach under the hot sun. Also, you will likely see the me lying around at home, unwilling to do anything other then watching TV shows with the fan blasting at full speed. I am sure electrical companies are happy with the influx of revenue due to the heat. There is a reason why the Greeks are unwilling to accept the budget cut and I am sure that you are part of that reason. So please just drop a few degree Celsius. Pretty please. -puppy eyes-

Yours Sincerely,
A hot and bothered Singaporean

PS: Boss ending was awesome. Once again, I was still yearning for a little bit more for eriko and nodate

Customer Service

Customer service is the provision of service to customers before, during and after a purchase. I believe one of the elements of customer service is courtesy towards the customers. Never in my life have I ever been scolded by a service crew and for something so minute. All I did was made a wrong order of requesting for a cheese burger when I in fact wanted a cheese burger. There is no need to be snippy and ask for me to be more specific when I asked if it was possible to change. While I understand that this is fast food chain with a very high level of stress, is there a need to be angry when I requested nicely? Please bare in mind that I am still a customer, not some employee that you are angry with because she is inefficient.

To those who work in the F&B industry, relax. Think of difficult customers as annoying kids, once you force them to calm down, they are docile as lambs.

But do bare in mind that the customer is always right.

Vivids

Awesome view. Awesome weather.

Poor Camera LCD. RIP

first come first serve

Tomorrow is the time for war. A day where over hundreds of students camp in front of their computer screen or laptop screen with their fingers glued to the mouse. It is the day of course registration. Let's pray together my friends, and hope that we all get the courses and timings that we want. Because, if we don't, there will be an exponential increase in the amount of whining and groaning in frustration in the world. On that day.

Tomorrow.

Regrets

Well, I guess this blog is on its way to recovery from an illness called neglect.

Being in Perth is definitely one of the most awesome experience in my life, never the less, there is still a tiny regret deep down in my heart on why I didn't choose USA for my first choice. I chickened out at the start, thinking that my results was not good enough (even though they are not that bad) and the US exchange rate was daunting previously. Plus my friend was not susceptible to the choice of USA. But seeing, that the exchange rate has fallen, it pricks me that I didn't choose USA right at the start. I would have accomplished so much more if I went there.
Going to glee concerts, traveling to the different states and enjoying the Grand Canyon. All the being afraid that I would be alone is total bullshit now that I see because I am super sure that I am definitely independent enough without my friend plus I can always make new friends on the trip! Well, there is no use crying over split milk and I do have fun in Perth and made a few great friends here. (: Just a little bit of rambling which I wish to do for quite some time...

The other regret, I didn't get to go Kalbarri and Monkey Mia. I think nobody really understand the true magnitude of my desire to go to Kalbarri to see the Nature's Window and the gorges. They were like all, 'Yes we really wanted to go' or 'Too bad lar, no choice' Seriously, it is not like you get to see these amazing phenomenon every time. Plus I doubt they really see the beauty of the nature spots in Australia other than a few. That just makes me a little mukatsuku. -.- Now that I am really left with a few days and pathetic amount of cash, I am faced with a choice of venturing there alone or staying in Perth. I am all for the first choice. So I guess we shall see how it goes.

Whatever it is, being able to travel to Sydney to see the blue mountain is definitely one of the greatest things in my life right now.

Hopefully as I get older, I will have more chance to travel to different spots to check out the different nature spots. Who knows, maybe I will go on a 1 month expedition around Australia for my graduation trip. From Darwin down to Margaret River and Albany and up to Cairns. For now. HAHA Let's just enjoy the time that I have left in Perth by exploration! (:

That's enough rambling for today i guess! STAY HAPPY!

blue mountains

This was taken at blue mountain.
I AM AT THE TOP OF THE WORLD

Random thoughts

I can't believe, i have a chance of going japan. Hopefully I am really able to go for it! The itinerary looks fantastic. ((: Plus we get to volunteer. That is even better!
Let's see I have been dreaming about it for ages. Just that i never had the time to go. T.T

Shall apply for it soon.

Back to some actions by our dearly beloved actreses.
Nakama Yukie seems really quiet at the moment. But i am really happy that the case of 99 Love managed to garner the best drama award. It was really a meaningful show.

Kitagawa Keiko
I really wish that Paradise Kiss would come to Singapore. Mukai Osamu and Kitagawa Keiko, young and budding talents in the Japanese Entertainment industry.
Plus I lovee the anime and the manga so much!! <3