Your Custom Text Here
I am a fan of Katori Shingo and there were references to this show in an episode of SMAP X SMAP so I knew I had to watch it. As you should know by now, it took me a long time to get through this series, even though it's only 11 episodes. There just wasn't anything to make me want to watch it. Yes, I loved the playful teachings of Zen (Katori, Taro (Matsuoka), and Ken (Kato) but it wasn't enough. I'm glad I watched it. I think it would have been better if it was a little longer.
I don't normally watch depressing dramas. However, I am a big fan of Fukada Kyoko so I wanted to watch some of her older works.
To be honest, I'm not really sure where to begin this review. While the show did have some very emotionally moving pieces, there were so many wrong parts that didn't make the show, as a whole, worth watching. Masaki is 17 years old, which puts her in the 'selfish teenager' age group. Throughout the entire show, everything she does is nothing but selfish acts. Even when she claims she is thinking about someone else's well-being (mostly in the "I'm such a burden!" sense), that's not the truth. The worst part is that Kamisama isn't Masaki's story. It's Keigo's.
I'm sure that tons of people will protest that fact. But, if you have watched the show, think about it. Masaki rarely does anything in the entire series. Everything she does is a reaction to Keigo. Kamisama is the story of Keigo learning how to love again after the death of his previous lover. Masaki is just the path he takes to get there.
Taking that into account, it is a very good story. Unfortunately, the writers decided to focus on Masaki and her plight with HIV. I know that the story takes place in the late 90s and things have changed a ton since then. However, HIV was discovered in the early 80s. In the show, they treat the disease like it is a brand new illness. The writers also do an awful job at showing how much time has progressed in the series. While we know that Masaki was in high school in episode one and there is a THREE YEARS LATER in episode nine, there isn't anything in any of the other episodes to show us how much time has passed. Characters are always referencing how little time Masaki has left to live but there are few signs showing how long she lived.
At the end, I wouldn't recommend watching Kamisama. Maybe if you feel like watching something super sad, it might fill the void. Just keep in mind that the show has a very slow pace and there is a lot of crap to put up with before you get to the final episode, which is sadly the best part of the whole series.
I've never read the Paradise Kiss manga. Nor have I watched the anime. However, I heard good things about the series and, since I like Kitagawa Keiko, I decided to give it a try.
Hayasaka (nicknamed "Caroline") is an interesting character. She goes from a life where she is forced into doing things her mother wants to a life where she does the things she wants. Watching her grow as she is pushed into maturity by Koizumi (nicknamed "George") is a lot like watching a butterfly emerge from its cocoon. Of course, this isn't overlooked. There are butterflies everywhere.
Luckily, both Kitagawa and Mukai do an amazing job as the lead characters. My only peeve is that Yamamoto's character is listed as a main character, yet little is done with him. He is there in the beginning as Hayasaka's love interest but then it disappointingly goes nowhere. His character could have been cut from the film with no real consequence.
As a whole, I enjoyed the movie. It was a nice story and it does make me want to watch the anime. (Sorry, I don't read a lot of manga.) I just wish there was a little more meat to the story.
I love the Ranma 1/2 anime series. It is one of my favorite. When I heard about a live action special, I was excited yet hesitant at the same time. Live action adaptations could either be really awesome or really terrible. Unfortunately, this one ended up being terrible. While there are a few cool moments, a majority of the show is confusing and badly acted. I actually think this might have been better if they made it into a series instead of just a one-shot special. It felt like they tried to cram absolutely everything into 1 1/2 hours. Ah well. At least I still have my anime boxsets!
The only reason I watched this show is because I have never seen a drama starring Inagaki Goro and I wanted to see what his acting was like. Since this is a comedy, I can forgive the blatant over-acting. It actually goes with the theme of the show quite well. Sadly, it is my beloved Koyuki's character that is difficult to swallow. The writers tried to make the main characters very different people. Norimichi is a responsible clean freak while Ritsuko is an irresponsible slob. When I say slob, I don't mean she is a little messy. If Norimichi doesn't clean up, their apartment is almost floor-to-ceiling trash. While I understand that it is supposed to show how different they are, I really don't think anyone could put up with Ritsuko's sloppy ways. However, in the end, I was interested to see whether they would get divorced or stay together. I'm just glad there isn't a sequel.
I heard a lot of good things about Yankee-kun to Megane-chan so I decided to give it a try. Thankfully, the series lived up to the rumors. Both Narimiya and Naka performed their roles beautifully. Not only did they handle the comedy bits well, they also had great chemistry together and pulled off the drama aspects too. I was a little disappointed in some of the secondary characters, but they are secondary so it doesn't detract from the series as a whole.
This is a definite must-watch.
My husband is a big fan of the original Space Battleship Yamato anime from the mid-70s. I enjoy watching KimuTaku so I figured this would be perfect for the both of us. Since it was our 10th wedding anniversary, this is what we watched as we snuggled close.
Maybe it's because we're so familiar with the original anime that this seemed to fall short. It's not an awful movie, but it definitely seemed to rush things. When the ship arrived at Iskandar, I turned to my husband with a surprised "Already?!" At the same time, my husband missed the noise from the original Wave Motion Cannon. My husband was also uncomfortable with the changes made to Mori Yuki. In the original, she was a rather feminine nurse, though she did get additional responsibilities later in the series. In the movie, she's a brash ace pilot. Quite a huge different, to say the least.
In all, both of us liked the movie. I would probably sit through it a second time. However, hardcore Yamato fans should be careful. This isn't the same old battleship anymore.
I am a big fan of Katori Shingo but I've never really watched any of his dramas. Luckily, I enjoyed it. I thought that all of the main actors did very well. Though, I have to admit that my favorite character was the bumbling Komatsubara Susumu played by Ohkura Koji. I almost wish he was the main characters of the series.
If you do decide to watch the show, keep in mind that it is about relationships. Therefore, the story doesn't progress particularly fast. Also, there are a few throwaway characters that are brought in to either cause problems or just fill some time. Neither of these problems are enough to keep the show from being entertaining.
Also, if you've watched Boss, keep an eye out for the cross-over collaboration. Boss will take over the drama world!
I absolutely loved the first season of Boss so I was looking forward to the second season. For the most part, it didn't let me down. The only part I didn't like was Kimoto's "banishment." While they tried to replace her with two characters, it just wasn't the same. Granted, I would love to see Kurohara Rika become Kimoto's protege of sorts. That would be a pretty awesome spin-off.
My favorite part of the series is that it is a detective series but it keeps humor in their lives as well. It's not all stuffy or anything. I am really looking forward to news of a third season.
I was really looking forward to seeing this movie. I love Inoue Mao and I thought the plot seemed cute. Unfortunately, at the end, I realized that there wasn't a whole lot there. What the movie claims as cultural differences are sometimes just the differences between men and women. At one point, Saori laments that she does all of the housework while Tony does nothing. So, being the nice man that he is, Tony starts washing the dishes and doing the laundry. However, he doesn't really know how to do these things properly. Instead of taking him aside to show him how to do the chores, she just kinda grumbles through it. I don't see this is a cultural difference. I think men all over the world don't know how to wash dishes.
As a matter of fact, there are only a few cultural differences shown. When Saori introduces Tony to her family at her sister's wedding, Tony doesn't understand how the family communicates. The parents jokingly put down their children but Tony doesn't get the joke. It isn't until the end of the movie that he understands her family dynamic.
Despite wanting to enjoy the movie, I found it somewhat boring. It's basically the story of their day-to-day life. If you have nothing better to do, it's not an awful movie to sit through. At least there's the adorable Inoue Mao to save it!