ATARU [series]

review request accepted.

yeah ok that was a lame ass tagline for my review but whatever. its a cheesy drama. i like it though.

Chiaki *swoon* gorgeous face amazing eyes from every movie ever (battle royal, kagen no tsuki, ju-on, azumi 2, spec) is playing a detective with an agenda. 

She is working under a once over-zealous to the point of yankii detective played by Kitamura Kazuki (yokai ningen bemu, galileo, iryu, tiger and dragon, akihabara@deep) who is generally great in everything but he seems to be getting better roles these days. I think my sentences are too long. I need some commas. 

The main character of course Ataru. Nakai kun seems to be a better actor and host than singer but im starting to think that of all of SMAP nowadays. 

Regardless, he is great in Ataru as the savant who has been trained to crack the toughest cases by a special police service in the US. 

He finds his way over to Japan and falls into the haphazard care of Ebina (Chiaki) and her senpai Sawa (Kitamura). 

Half running away from his old organisation, half supported by them and his family back in japan - its backwards and forwards between who is on his side and who is not for a while. 

He basically only wants to be with Ebina and her family. its the most comfortable place for him as she learns his ticks and tricks the quickest and adapts his surroundings to suit him. It all works well until he starts to break down and burn out. 

It is a little bit Galileo / voice - swirly epiphany style reveals at the end of each episode. 

but the nice difference is Ataru cant say any of these things, we can only guess from his clues. 

and flashes of swirly epiphanical woosh moments. 

real words might help but whatever. 

if youve seen either voice or galileo or Watashi no Kirai na Tantei you will know what i mean. Any genius in a Japanese drama must be followed around by flashes and swirls of realisations and eureka moments coloured by dramatic music and awful sound fx. 

Tamamori Yuta is still almost cute (he plays Ebina's brother) and Im waiting for him to grow up into a better Yamapi than Yamapi. someone has to take over because Yamapi certainly aint doing it. 

It is dectectivey runny jumpy shouty backstabby sort of thing but its not very tense and serious. Its quite a light drama and to be honest the best bit about it for me is Chiaki in suits. *passes out from flails* And those hair extensions are so good.

Its not the best drama i've ever seen, but then i have seen some utter budget 26:30AM weird old sh*t. 

Nakai kun is really easy to watch even when he is totally not like his usual self. And this is as far away as you get really. 

His cute voice and watery eyes staring off into god knows where make for a very likable character, the fact that he refers to himself as Chokozai and requires everyone else to call him that is just so silly. 

I dont think they ever explain the name any more than Ebina speculating that its because he is an infuriating little bugger and the family remembering that his friend called him that as a child. 

Nothing much else to say really. It was worth a watch but there wasnt a whole lot to it. 

It was enjoyable as one of those stupid detective dramas that want to keep you guessing but you dont try because you know they will be figuring it all out for you anyway.

Ive just had the best moment ever because ive just found both specials on a website.... and im going to watch the sh*t out of them and finish this post ranting about them!!! joys!

ATARU SP 1 & 2

Ok so part one is basically just a recap of the series. Damn I hate it when they do that. Like we didn't watch it or something. Gah. Well if it had been longer since i had watched maybe that wouldnt have been so annoying. But seriously 80% flash back and narration to explain the past... that we already saw. 

By part 2 it starts to be more the actual story of the special. Some internet stalking and game stuff that lost me completely, but its all about Tasuku who is Ataru's brother yay! 

He is played by lovely Black Jack, Kokuhaku, Halfway odd smile but completely likable for no reason at all Okada Masaki. It gets rather deep and family tears types of meaningful. He loves him awww.

Im not sure why I came to like Okada, Ive seen him in quite few things and never really thought he could do any more facial expressions than weird smile and weird frown, but somehow I came to like him. 

My boss my hero's Ichimura Masachika plays their dad - and always hams it up more than anyone. His super serial serious face and voice always makes me giggle in somber moments.

The terrible English skills of everyone were no less in the specials. Oh please just stop speaking English and getting awful Americans and whatever the hell the other guys were to say your cheesy ass lines so p*ss poorly. Christ.

Ebina fingering the bad guy at last was a great moment. Look forward to finally seeing her win a situation. Even if it was round the houses more than ever. 

There isnt much else to it really. Its like an extra long episode with a sh*t bag load of flash backs.

I really like how they all unify in their hatred of the d*ck head they catch in the end with their disapproving looks. Its a good story line but pretty much the whole of the first special could have been left out.

And what's with Horikita Maki suddenly there at the end? Her face is certainly blank enough to play a savant... 

She seems to be like a rogue savant from the police and I really wanted that to be a spin off series!!!! 

...And it is!!! Well, its a spin off movie that I will be watching sharpish. 

So I will post the movie review on a separate post because when I did the specials and movies and stuff for Galileo on one post last time it made it way too long. 

Unless it is sh*t and all I want is a quick rant. Then it can go under here.

So thats it. Im done.

~

Kokuhaku 告白 [movie]

Impressive even with Act I alone. 

Cast:

Matsu Takako - Moriuchi Sensei

Ashida Mana - Manami (daughter)

Okada Masaki - Terada Sensei

Nishii Yukito - Watanabe Shuuya 

Hashimoto Ai - Kitahara Mizuki

Fujiwara Kaoru - Shimomura Naoki 

Kimura Yoshino - Shimomura (mother)

I honestly think this would have been amazing as the first act, like a short film. When it went to black after she announces about the HIV..... wow. 

That could have ended there and I would have been in shock - maybe all night.

I did think I was going to reach the end of the movie and be disappointed that it didnt end at act one, but actually, jesus what an ending. 

So, I guess I should outline the plot, somehow without giving any spoilers. 

Moriuchi's 4 year old daughter was killed by some of her students with questionable nature, she goes a little revengetastic and the plot just twists and flips over a bunch of times as the different members of the story tell their own sides. 

Ive seen films with that sort of premise before but this feels different, with a kind of quiet, introspective musing with no real conclusion. 

The two boys who play the main murderous classmates were spectacular. Yes, the acclaimed Matsu Takako was brilliant, but those two boys seemed to become more and more fantastic throughout the course of the movie. Rightly so, with their evolution into Moriuchi's madness.

It is a little gruesome in parts but on the whole it isnt a horror. 

It is dark and suspenseful like a thriller, but Im really unsure how to describe it appropriately if recommending to a friend...

I guess I wouldn't say much as it is really good to watch it unfurl without knowing a thing. 

It is pretty deep and awful in many ways but also so moving, it is hard to root for anyone, it really is like you are just watching some horrific scene infront of you and you have no idea how to take it all in, then it is over before you come to terms with what you just witnessed.

I clocked what was going to happen right at the end but it still felt pretty nasty as it all happened. 

Shot beautifully and the direction must have been a fairly spot on combination with the casting. 

Ive heard the director (Nakashima Tetsuya - Thirst Kamikaze Girls),wouldn't do it without Matsu, but the casting of Hashimoto, Nishii, and Fujiwara was perfect. 

They didnt come into their own until after Moriuchi's confession was over so I am glad that it didnt stop there. 

Ashida Mana (Pacific Rim) was cute as ever, Im so excited to see how she grows as an actress. It sucks to watch her die, not so happy about that. Everything I see her in I have to watch her cry or die or something. Gah, not nice. She is so adorable. And fantastic. 

Hashimoto Ai (Another, Thirst, Kirishima Bukatsu Yamerutteyo) was beautiful and weird, a good pairing for Fujiwara.

I cant say much more right now Im too tired and being distracted by other TV. But I will say it was great to watch something really good for a change to the sh*t I have been watching recently. Fuma no Kojiro and Clone baby. I love awful late night TV and cant help myself. So this was a welcome change. 

~

young black jack ヤング ブラック・ジャック[movie]

all I was waiting for was his hair to go white. Through the whole film. I think I deafened my neighbours when it finally did.

 

Right, so I’ve come to like this guy Okada Masaki was in Half Way, among many many other things, and saw on some random thing he was only in the movie version of Blackjack [insert wide eyes and exclamation marks here] that anime fecking rocked.

At some point I will finish the manga but lack of space and money has meant reading it online and reading manga onscreen is a little bit of a chore for me and my light sensitivity – when the brightness on my laptop screen is turned right down as it usually is I can’t really see f*ck all.

This movie is the back story [yay] that explains what happens to that rogue doctor and why he became a secret genius with a two tone hair do. I was like *he shouldve had white hair in this movie damn it, he would’ve looked so good* then KYAA mother f*cking KYAA it is white later on in the film. Woo. I had to fan girl at my friend who didn’t really get why I was so exited [being a boy and all] but he was the only one I knew who had seen blackjack so methinks I should’ve made some more people watch that with me in order to rejoice in this cheesy ass awesome movie. Jeez girl put in some commas.

Naka Riisa is also in this, and we all know how much I adore that girl. So I was happy all round. I like this as a standalone movie, but as a back story it works well – they could soooo do a series with this cast. Aish seriously the white hair works. It really does.

Anyway, for those of you who haven’t a clue what the f*ck I’m talking about as you haven’t seen the anime or read the manga or heard anything about this badger-esque bouffant before, oshieteiruyo.

 

Basically this guy Hazama Tokio had some big ass accident in the past when he was a little chibi chiro, and he and his mum got a little bit blown up all to pieces. The wacking great scar he has is from the skin graft he needed when half his face decided it wanted to go separate ways. His mother lay comatose as a doctor saved the young boy with said grafty skinnage and through his desire to save his mother he vows to become Mr genius badger doctor man.

 

Flash forward to the main time in our story and we find Naka Riisa’s character Yuna, who is training to be a nurse, and this soon to be badger-esque apparent doctor saving some collapsed dude in the street. It soon becomes clear that he is a medical genius but not actually a licensed doctor. He has a secret surgery complete with makeshift operating theatre in some back alley somewhere and all the unsavoury customers that would bring. The two become entangled when Yuna realises a doctor she knows is actually the one who saved Hazama as a boy, and when Yuna’s sister falls desperately ill it is clear that Hazama may be the only one who can help her.

Helping him out is his friend from the medical school played by Kaku Kento (Q10, Tumbling, Samurai High School, Gokusen, Paradise Kiss) I cant help but give a little ureshii squee for him now too.

There is a brilliant homage to the manga which I wont spoil as it is right at the end so I would be totally spilling all the details to explain – but it is a lovely little wink at the original story mentioning Hazama’s little girl – who I love in the anime. Such a cute little munchkin.

 

It is a gravy little film that I thought was pretty damn cheesy – and rightly so. I think if they did make a series they could afford to pile in the weirdo comedy like in the anime, but for this movie it is pretty serious due to covering all the story of his growing up and then the later sad situations ending in his badger hair and his determination to remain a dodgy underground unlicensed doctor. There wasn’t really much room for silliness. But worth it all the same. More blackjack please. We like it.

half way ハルフウェイ [movie]

I want her calligraphy teacher. He is the best.

This is a quiet little film, full of people I like and shot with the feel of watching real life. The dialogue and pace is all very natural and calm, and the subtle humour keeps it flowing along so much so that it is over before you realise.

 

The discussion of whether ‘half’ is pronounced haafu or harufu made me really laugh, it was really nice to see that and think that is how I sound when I’m trying to get my head round some Japanese words. Such incidentals throughout made this a really warm sweet film, even though it obviously isn’t one for an epic fluffy happy ending.



cast:
Kitano Kie (14 Sai no Haha, bandage)
Okada Masaki (Blackjack, Hana Kimi)

Mizobata Junpei (Buzzer Beat, Akai Ito)

Naka Riisa (Yankii-kun to megane-chan)
Narimiya Hiroki (Yankii-kun to megane-chan
Shiraishi Miho (suppli, orange days)
Osawa Takao (ichi, a cheerful gang turns the earth)

The end of the final year of high school is a difficult time to be in a relationship. We watch these two characters awkwardly (adorably) become an item only to realise they may have to part ways soon due to the end of school and moving to attend their separate universities. How can you choose between your high school love and your education, dreams and aspirations?

 

It is a sad film really, in a way. But I think it’s because it is so realistic. There is no Tatta Hitotsu No Koi style flash forward to later down the line so we can see how things pan out, this movie is just one snippet of their lives shown to us as if it were a treasured memory conjured by an old photo.

It reminded me somehow of Kimi Ni Todoke but I couldn’t tell you why. They aren’t alike in story but maybe just that quiet feel. Actually I quite want to watch that now I’m thinking about it.

Getting the screen shots for this I find myself just watching it again. It pulls me in somehow. And while I’m brought into a sudden reality of living in the city again as I spend my first Friday night at my new flat listening to my neighbour through the wall shouting his mouth off in some beer soaked inaudible ugly way, I long for the sort of peaceful feeling this movie instantly gives me. I know my friend is just down the road with vodka but I can’t be assed to move, I spent forever walking by the sea today and my legs hate me. So screen shotting this movie is kinda nice and chilled which is welcomed by me right now.

 

While getting these shots I realise I have forgotten half the movie, and each scene is funny or sad all over again. I love how Hiro freaks when Sho asks her out and she rides her bike down a hill in a panic and falls flat on the grass, splat anime style. She is kind of headstrong and wilful but really scatty and girlie as well, which makes him tease her constantly.

The two friends of this main pair are played by Mizobata Junpei (akai ito, buzzer beat) and Naka Riisa (yankii-kun to megane-chan, kami no shizuku) who offer their own subtle realistic humour; I could watch the both of them all day long so I was glad of their presence in this. Also Osawa Takao (ichi) was so great as their calligraphy teacher – lazing about on the floor counselling love woes over tea. I’ve never seen him look so cool.

 

As sad at it is, it isn’t all death and woes so it doesn’t become a huge tear jerker. The constant smiles it brings just mean you can’t help but feel a little sad when the unfortunate but unavoidable end comes. All in all, it is an uplifting sweet funny movie with great characters and a flawless cast. Even just looking at screen shots from this film make me smile.

I think maybe that is why It reminds me of Kimi Ni Todoke, that warm, slightly sad but beautiful feeling, that surrounds honest but apprehensive love.

~