Tokyo Bandwagon (2013)

Country: Japan
Format: drama in 10 episodes
Genre: romance, slice of life
Cast: Kamenashi Kazuya, Tabe Mikako, Mimura, Kaneko Nobuaki, Taira Airi, Ozowa Runa, Kimino Yuma, Jonathan Sherr, Inohara Yoshihiko, Katagiri Hairi, Bengal, Mitsuishi Ken, Tamaki Koji, Kaga Mariko
Synopsis: Tokyo Bandwagon is old second-hand bookstore, where 4 generations of Hotta family members live together. They might me located on a small area, but there is a lot happening. Especially after Ao, grandson of the head of the store, meets with sweet innocent Suzumi who has several tricks to play.
Rating: 5/5
It officially became one of my favorite Japanese dramas! I have heard a lot of opinions about it, but I must say that I simply enjoyed and still adore it.

Sugar and Spice: Fumi Zekka (2006)

Also Known as: Sugar and Spice ~ what little girls are made of~
                            Sugar and Spice ~ Fumi zekka~ (Sublime in flavour)
Country: Japan
Genre: Romance
Format: movie
Cast: Yagira Yuya, Sawajiri Erika, Natsuki Mari, Oizumi Yu, Chen Bo-Lin, Hamada Gaku,   Mitsuishi Ken, Kimura Ryo,
Synopsis: Shiro (Yagira Yuya) is a young man just finished high school, who lives in Fussa and starts working at the gas station. His best friends are fighting over the same girl, one of them tries to commit suicide. In addition, he sees a break-up between a man and college girl Noriko (Sawajiri Erika), who starts working at the gas station too. Shiro finds himself in a point, where he is stuck with life and love.
Rating: 2/5

I must say under cover that I wanted to put much higher rating to it than just 2 stars, but I admit that those ratings are not actually based on only mine opinion.
When I saw it for the first time, I did not like it at all - it seemed boring and pointless (as many might have read from former review) I did not understood a thing back then, but this time - I absolutely loved it! Maybe it is because I have gone trough more stuff and grown up more, because now I find it one of the best love stories ever!
It gives you the perfect view of a real kind of relationship. But at first you must live trough some weird scenes.... as the guys are ... being guys? Yeah, this porn-stuff is weird.
(Actually I am making a review of Ichitaro's concert for school at the moment.... working on two reviews is hard O.O....... continueing with that review after 7 hours xD)
Well.. The two hours have many long scenes, but actually they are not so annoying - when you consentrate on the story. I cannot recall any annoying thing beside it O.o Weird...
All characters are nice and real. Naoki (a friend who tries to attemp a suicide at first) is sweet how  much he loves Yoko, but at the same time he is a sex-maniac. The other friend just should have been more honest with everybody.

Grandma was amazing! Being 70 and act like you are only 27! xD I like people who stay young forever. Her lost love story was so sad. Heart can recover from many heartbreaks, but there is only one deep cut to a heart and it will give you a wound, which can never be healed. She has many smart ideas and living-ways, so it is a good thing to actually listen and learn from her. In addition, the make-up artists have done amazing work with her! Natsuki Mari was at that time 55 years old.

Shiro was like a .... perfect man? (at least for me) but it is true that "man must know when to be soft and when though"  - "Softies get dumped". You can see how much impact her grandma had on him. I did not see a thing he did wrong. In one scene when he leaves Noriko alone and Noriko gets sad, I totally understood Shiro. The situation is so hard, when you are not a boyfriend and girlfriend, so you do not know what rigths do you have (like.. you cannot get very jealous if you are not together; Is it okey for you to ask about some stuff or not, etc). Been there, thought about that -.- still ended up with no results. Yagira Yuya actually has nice look =P

Sawajiri Erika looked cute! Noriko knew she looked pretty and that made her more selfconfident. I liked that she explained the thing about girls "No means yes! - It most of the time "NO MEANS NOOOO!" , "But only for one person they can mean the same thing" (Guys, just learn how to read the mood - I cannot really tell you the situations when they are the same, but like.. when girl really likes you, but her self discipline does not let her to say that she wants to stay. Was it too hard? still... just learn to read it well - cannot say anything helpful xD) I hate her ex-boyfriend, he is a bastard, but I do not say anything bad about Noriko yet (read spoiler review for that).

Mostly the movie concentrates on "What really is love?"  "Having special feelings for someone?", "Wanting to see someone more than once a day?" These are good questions.. by those questions I have been in love only once and even that was only onesided...  Remember, "If love is over, then it is over - you cannot force her/him to love you again".  The thing that love comes and goes is exactly the same kind of nature law as that seasons changes and after today comes tomorrow.
It is based on the same named novel and Oasis is really great band =P

SPOILER review: Noriko situation - many might think she was a bitch for leaving Shiro, but I must say my friend's words "Every girl has someone who they are helpless toward". If that special guy hugs or begs to go back to him, girl cannot to anything. Those guys give easily promises, but never keep them and the worst thing is that girls know it! And girls know that they will never get happy with those guys, but there is something unbelievably strong that keeps girls with them. (If you have seen "Porgy and Bess" opera, then the other guy is the same for Bess) Like it has nothing to do with real love and it is difficult to explain, but I think that every girl, who has had someone like that in their lives, knows what I mean. I think the best thing is to stay as far as you can and avoid any contact with them, but believe me - it is so hard. But what you can say bad about Noriko is that YOU just cannot let your ex into your new boyfriend's house!!!! and then almost get caugth! -.-
Shiro and Noriko looked much cuter together than with that ex -.-
If you want to know the "Daimond Fuji" place without watching the movie, then it is Lake Yamanaka at dust!
 And little girls are made of sugar and spice =P

Gekidan Engimono: Car radio ga owareba (2006)

Country: Japan
Genre: life, romance, car licence, surreal
Format: part of Gekidan Engimono series, 4 episode mini-drama
Cast: Kato Shigeaki, Kaneko Sayaka, Hiyama Yutaka, Hasebe Hitomi, Nagae Hidekazu, Mitsuishi Ken,
Synopsis: Ueno goes to a small city near Tokyo to get driving licence fast. He has made a promise to her girlfriend, who is seriously ill, that he will take her to drive out. But beside studing he must live under the same roof with other car school students, who are really unique and weird, while the rumor of the ghost haunting the house spreads out.    
Rating: 5/5
This is my favorite Gekidan Engimono ever. It is surreal like all the others, but it has most of the storyline.This is also the last Gekidan Engimono stroy. Actually before I watched it, I waited for months. The deal was that I was making my licenses and I was derrifeid to fail in it, so I made sure not to freak out before exam and decided to watch it after getting my licences. If you ask if I made it, then think - in the end I watched it, so yes, I made my theory exam for 100%. So that much of the before-review stuff ^^

I did not expected that much of it, so it surprised me. I loved Ueno's character and I think that Kato Shigeaki acted it well. At least I saw that he really really loved her girlfriend. Why there are so few man like he??
I actually find that weird that there are such kind of car schools, were you will stay until the end of the school, in this drama 3 weeks. Do you really have to leave everything (work etc.) to go to car school?? I had to take theory classes for 2 months (twice a week + some first aid lessons at the evenings about 2-3 hours each time) and then 40x25 minutes of driving lessons, but from this drama it feels like they have to learn theory by themselves and then just take driving lessons and final exam. I do not know how it really works in Japan, but I know that my licences work in Japan for a 1 year after entering.
Baba was definitely the weirdest one. His english was funny, but he was so foul-mouthed, so do not watch it with small kids. Aya was okey, but her story was so sad in the end. No matter how you look at her, she does not seem to be 17 years old!!!! You even cannot make licences at that age (I do not think there a those child-licences in Japan)

But what was most surprising for me was the instructor - he looked like the man who supervised my final driving exam O.o (but my supervisor was not Asian...). Even the way he acted was similar xD the difference was that my supervisor was veeeeeeery punctal and marked everything down, not like that instructor who forgot to give stamps for lesson o.O I wonder what face would I have doen when I had done exams after watching it xD I think I would have laughed so hard that I would have failed the exam with first 5 minutes. I do not know what to say about other characters, because they all were really different and weird!!! Beside the drama is soo short.

SPOILER review: I actually do not want to put it under the spoiler review as it is something veeeeeeery important in real life too : DO NOT TALK WITH YOUR MOBILEPHONE WHEN YOU ARE  DRIVING!!!!!!!!!! (even when you have hands-free, you're mind is still occupied, in the end it is not your hands that are driving. But it is everyones own decision, but please do not expose a danger to other people!)