Hanayome no chichi (2012)

Also known as:  The father of the bride
Country: Japan
Format: movie
Genre: family, real life
Cast: Yangiba Toshiro, Kanjiya Shiori, Mukai Osamu, Hashizume Isao, Yo Kimiko
Synopsis: Mio is born mute&deaf and only has his father and grandfather bringing her up. His father gave up on becoming a mangaka and now grows bulls in order to take part of traditional bullfighting tournaments. Mio is getting ready to get married to one local man, when he suddenly decides to break up. Mio's real reason to get married was to get out of the house and cause less concerns to her father decides to spend one day in Tokyo. All things happen for a reason and so getting her phone stolen brings her together with Maru.
Rating: 5/5
This movie is really quiet as there is not so much talking. It has really beautiful scenery as movie is set in Yamakoshi, Niigata, that is famous for bullfighting - who said they do it only in Spain?? In addition they have added some more traditions into movie like Yamakoshi's fire festival.

BECK (2010)

Country: Japan
Format: Movie
Genre: music, friendship
Cast: Mizushima Hiro, Sato Takeru, Mukai Osamu, Kiritani Kenta, Kutsuna Shiori, Nakamura Aoi, Brett Pemberton, Todd Shymko, Floyd Lee, Cinque Lee, Mikami Kensei, Kurauchi Sari, Shido Nakamura, Furukawa Yuta,
Synopsis: Ryusuke Minami and his sister Maho have grown up in the United States, but are now  back in Japan. Ryusuke is an amazing guitarist, but his bands always seem to fall apart. After another break up, he decides to create his own band with members that he believes in. He also meets a young high school boy Koyuki who takes interest in guitar playing. Newly formed band BECK has a fast way up with getting new acquaintances, upcoming concerts and CD debut, but every road has its ups and downs and sometimes the past just does not let go of you.
Rating: 5/5
I was more than impressed by this movie - everything was over the top - actors, acting, music, technical part, storyline - EVERYTHING!

Mizushima Hiro played the lead role of Ryusuke or Ray. I love that he can speak English really well, all thanks to the fact that he lived for 6 years in Switzerland and studied in English school. Most of the time Ryusuke is fine and normal, but he gets really irritated when someone in the band isn't improving or things do not go as he plans, easily said - he's really short tempered and when irritated he says rude things without thinking. His best friend is Eddie who became famous with his band The Dying Breed Eddie is played by Brett Pemberton - a participant in America's got talent season 6, a singer and a model, and Todd is played by Todd Shymko who is Canadian man who created Japanese band called SUPERFUNKTION and is its lead-singer.

Another really good friend of Ryusuke is Chiba - a guy who is brilliant at rapping, but is unable to feel satisfied by it and does not seem to find the place he belongs to. Kiritani Kenta made a wonderful job as Chiba. So far it's my favorite role by him. I am not a big fan of rapping if I exclude Eminem and rapping in Kpop, but I really enjoyed Kiritani Kenta in it - everything came out so naturally for him. Of course Chiba has this funky personality at times too and is almost as short tempered as Ryusuke.

Taira is the bassist and he is played by Mukai Osamu - bleach blond Mukai Osamu. I already feel that each guy I really adore has had bleach blond hair in some moment in their lives - and I am not talking only about idols. Taira is the silent hot guy, who pays attention to everyone others and understands everyone the best. He also has a weird habit of taking of his shirt on concerts. His motto should be "I have a history of taking off/losing my shirt" (Thumbs up if you know the song where the sentence is taken from)-. Anyway really hot guy, who always made me go "mmmm" whenever he was on screen.

I was impressed by the fact that Sato Takeru is so much younger from all the guys I have written before in this review and I admit that in the movie he seems even more younger than he really is. He was 19-20 when it was filmed, his character Koyuki is about 16-18 and most of the time he looks like 14-15. Some things about him will be written in Spoiler-review, because I do not want to spoil. At first, Koyuki is the perfect example of goody two-shoes - shy guy, who mostly follows and does favors for others. Until he finally breaks out from his shell.

Last but not least, the only main girl - Maho played by Kutsuna Shiori. Kutsuna Shiori was born and raised actually in Australia, that's why she felt connection with her character and that has given her a great English skills. She takes love interest in Koyuki, but the same time is tracked down by idol Yoshito - who is so over-rated by everyone. She makes the best fish-kiss scene ever, because it is so innocent and it is in the right place and everything is perfect for fish-kiss. In a weird way, I really like that scene.

Sorry, I forgot Nakamura Aoi, who is playing the part of Saku - Koyuki's friend and the drummer of the band. He is always happy and sees things positively. He is really cool character, but he is left aside most of the time. Mizushima Hiro and Sato Takeru actually did not know how to play guitar so they got lessons and practiced each free minute and night and got blisters from all that, but they were very great in the movie. As much as I know then other actors knew how to play these instruments before. The concert scenes are so amazing! I wish I had the chance to go to that concert too - I seriously love all live-concerts, especially the ones taking place outside. Their music was much better than the others on the festival, because they were real,  but others were just posers.
 Really cool music movie, which is worth watching because every actor makes such a great job in it and you can see how they enjoy it, so that all makes you enjoy it too. I forgot to mention it before, but it is based on manga by Sakuishi Harold,

SPOILER-review: I do not know if you already know or not, but they actually did not put Sato Takeru to sing - you cannot hear it. It was one thing I was looking forward to find out, if they let him sing or not, but they won't and to tell you the truth, I was satisfied with that answer! Koyuki is said to have angelic voice that takes breath away and makes you just listen, but I do not believe that there is such a voice in the world that everyone would love it. Many say that they could have recorded someone else singing and then dub it into the movie or other things like that, but that just would have been wrong. In the end it would not have been "that" voice anyway. So, I really enjoyed that they left it as it was and you can think on your own how he might have sounded. For example, I am pretty sure that if he had a higher voice then I would not have liked it - I fall in love with lower voices and they make me listen without thinking, but I know that some people prefer high voices.   

Hotaru no Hikari

SEASON 1 (2007)

Country: Japan
Format: drama 10 episodes
Genre: romance, comedy
Cast: Ayase Haruka, Fujiki Naohito, Kato Kazuki, Kuninaka Ryoko, Takeda Jinji, Itaya Yuka, Yasuda Ken, Asami Reina, Watabe Gota,
Synopsis: Amemiya Hotaru is a hardworking woman who works at glamorous interior design company, but at home there is no sign of the same woman - at home she is lazy and messy and always wearing jersey's. At the same time, Takano Seiichi is going through divorce and decides to move into his parents home - only to find out one of his employees is already living in the house and it is no one else than the a shadow of Amemiya Hotaru.
Rating: 5/5
I admit that I was surprised and amazed by this drama, especially by Ayase Haruka. It has always been a "must-watch-drama" for me, so I am really happy that I finally started to watch it.

After watching "Tatta hitotsu no koi"  some years ago I really disliked Ayase Haruka's acting, that's why I was impressed this time as she made an excellent job as Hotaru. Hotaru has two sides (but I believe that we all are different at work/school and at home) which are completely opposite. At work she is looking great, keeps things clean and is very organized, but at home she drinks canned beer while sitting on porch in her smudgy and broken gym suit. After being absent from love for years she has become shy and doubtful.

 As I understood then she has actually had boyfriends before, even though she referred to some things like she has fallen in love for the first time. She also is a funny character because she has always her guard on and is worrying too much and that takes her into really comical situations, but she is totally normal woman when she overcomes her fears and doubts. But I am a bit afraid that she is having serious alcohol problems - I know, some of my friends have told me too that one beer/cider after work does not do anything (and my country is known for being heavy-drinkers), but I do not think that forgetting important things because of a can of beer is normal. Ayase Haruka brings out Hotaru's both sides and for some moments she can make very funny expressions, but mostly she has on her usual weird face.

I enjoyed watching Fujiki Naohito too, even though I would have appreciated if he had more screen time, because for me some things were not shown that well about Takano's character. His face expressions are priceless and the more the end comes, the more his actions turn unpredictable. But for a man who likes cleanness, more expensive life-style and whose priority has been work, Hotaru is a nice change. He brings in more mature and at the same time more sensitive side into the drama, which is nice, because he makes it clear that even if you love somebody, then everything might not work out well in the end. Takano mostly insults Hotaru, but at the same time he encourages her to work hard on her love. But as I said then the first season mostly concentrates on Hotaru.

The biggest ikemen in the company Teshima Makoto is played by Kato Kazuki. I have not seen his acting before, but his serious face is so funny - it was totally made use of in drama, because his serious and angry faces are the same and even Hotaru does not understand if he is angry or not. Teshima Makoto deserves a medal of the longest silent-treatment I know. I think that in a relationship the most important thing is communication, but, Gyoza, how big communication problems is he having. Beside that he likes to move on with the relationships really fast, but the cute thing is that he is actually as shy and doubtful in love as Hotaru, even though at first sight he seems to be full of confidence.

I should mention Yuuka and Kaname too. Yuuka has also a crush on Makoto, but Yuuka is always very elegant and feminine, but that makes her a bit boring to just date - she is more of a wife-material. Kaname at the same time has a big crush on Yuuka. Kaname was my favorite side-character, because his personality. I like men who know what they want and do everything to get it, but not in an annoying way.

I did not understand why they made such a fuzz about living together, when it can be simply explained with saying that she is only the leaseholder and he is the almost-owner of the house. I know that it can sound weird that woman and man are living together and are not in a love-kind relationship, but they are totally making an elephant out of a fly. And just to mention, it was a bit interesting for me to watch as I am learning interior design and they are working in interior design company, but I must admit that there is no way that Teshima got any great place on the design competition with those chair designs...
WARNING! Next reviews will definitely contain some spoilers if you have not seen them in right order...

 

SEASON 2 (2010)    

Country: Japan
Format: drama 11 episodes
Genre: romance, comedy
Cast: Ayase Haruka, Fujiki Naohito, Mukai Osamu, Usuda Asami, Itaya Yuka, Yasuda Ken, Kimura Tae, Ishii Momoka, Nakabeppu Aoi, Takahashi Tsutomu,
Synopsis: Soon after Amemiya's heart was set on Bucho, she was sent to Hong Kong for 3 years. Now she is coming back to her beloved porch, but three years away have changed a lot starting from office collective and ending with Bucho's thoughts...

Rating: 5/5
Second season is all about changes and how their relationship develops.

Because Hotaru has been away for 3 years, the time has almost stopped for her. She must accept the changes and settle in again. She definitely puts much more effort into her relationship and you can see how she is trying her best. And if look closely then you are able to see how Bucho has influenced Hotaru, even though neither of them notices it. I think I won't spoil anything if I say that their relationship gets more intimate at home and to me it seemed that Hotaru was really waiting for "the beast" to arrive. I assure you that you can see hugs, kisses and ero-talk. Talking of kiss-scenes, then they had the possibility of turning out very great and insure their place in my "TOP 10 kiss-scenes", but Ayase Haruka's fish-kissing/plank-kissing kinda ruined them, because I was able to see all the potential in Fujiki Naohito's kissing :P

I fell in love with Bucho in this season - they show more about his thoughts and what he is going through and sweet Gyoza that is so damn cute. The ways how Hotaru has changed him are so clear from the start - it seemed to me that he was actually drinking much more beer than Hotaru and of course his "perfectionism" was retreating. I agree with what he said that in love people do change without noticing it themselves - it is just a part of naturalizing and accept the partner. I loved how Bucho understood her most of the time, but then again his remarks about "Snot" and "Gorillas" are too funny, but that was all because he really cared about her.

Mukai Osamu plays the part of Seno, whom you can consider almost perfect match for Hotaru, even though in first season Hotaru finally said that she would not like "Himono-otoko". Seno is totally Himono-otoko, but he still has more experience in love than Hotaru. Then again, the fact that those two are so similar makes them really close. Mukai's acting is very great and it is funny to see him in this kind of role. I know that there are a lot of HotaruxSeno fans and I can totally understand why - they do seem to share much moments together which makes Hotaru and Bucho relationship falter, but that takes them to another level too.

Second season has also one other important side-story and this is about YamadaxFutatsugi relationship as they are going through the same things as Hotaru and Bucho. Of course they all are great friends and the only ones who have stayed into the company for all these years.

I think that second season is much better than the first one and I liked it more than the movie too - that might have been because both Ayase Haruka and Fujiki Naohito were already used to these roles and shooting a drama takes much more time than a movie.

 

 Hotaru no hikari movie (2012) 

Tagline: It's only a little light in my life
Country: Japan
Format: movie
Genre: romance, comedy
Cast: Ayase Haruka, Fujiki Naohito, Tegoshi Yuya, Itaya Yuka, Yasuda Ken, Matsuyuki Yasuko, Takahashi Tsutomu, Nakabeppu Aoi, 
Synopsis: Bucho and Hotaru have been married already for 2 years, but they still have not had their ceremony or honeymoon to Rome, because Hotaru finds it too troublesome to leave the porch. But as soon as she hears that it is Bucho's dream and he is going to Rome for business-trip anyway, it is clear that even the most dried-up woman will find herself in the old Europe. 
Rating: 5/5
I admit that movie is a bit different from drama, because Hotaru won't have anyone beside Bucho for loving her, but the movie shows the best how much Bucho actually loves her and understands.. and follows her crazy ideas XD

As Ayase Haruka and Fujiki Naohito play their roles brilliant just like in drama, then excuse me for skipping over them to two new characters Saeki Rio and Yu (No! Sadly Tegoshi does not play married man, but brother).

Saeki Rio is very similar to Hotaru - wearing sweat-pants and hair up, but she is not that messy and definitely does not have Hotaru's habits like rolling. Rio is living at the same hotel as Hotaru and Bucho and drags them into her family problems. I think that scriptwriter had done some mistakes with her character, which actually annoyed me really much, but more about it in the spoiler review.

Her brother Yu is played by Tegoshi Yuya (and with this role I have watched all dramas/movies where Tegoshi has acted).   Yu is the little brother who is really young - even though his age is not mentioned in movie, he is in his really early twenties and even he referrers himself as "kid", but he is heartwarming character who cares for his sister. Of course there are many accidents with white powder, boxer briefs, showering and meeting one-to-one with Hotaru. I think that this role was rather easy for Tegoshi Yuya to play, because Yu, at least at first sight, is very much like Tegoshi in real life - acting like a spoiled kid.  But beside that, he made great job and I find his acting skills improving - or was it just because his blondish hair and tanned skin-tone made him different - he is getting better at his "empathy-face" which I think is his acting's trade mark, even though it is extremely fake and annoying.

But I have some questions to what I actually do not know answers, but they have very little to do with the movie. Firstly, 40 euros for taxi ride is hell of a lot! I made some researches and from my calculations ride from Airport to Viale di Trastevere should have cost about 20-22 euros, so he got totally robbed. Secondly, Doesn't Japan have ANY roundabouts? I know that around Tokyo are 3 BIG roundabouts, but those small roundabouts? None? I would really like to know it, because my home-town is filled with them - we have like 5 roundabouts and this city is only 15 square kilometers - so one ring road per 3 square kilometer area, and you are trying to say that Tokyo, which is 2187,66 square kilometers does not have any? Simply amazed, but sadly ironically. I know I am from really small town from really small country, but to make it even better, I say that actually I am from rural area.  

SPOILER-review: As Rio had lost her family, it was rather weird of her to make joke like Bucho is maybe already killed. If person has gone through such tragedy, then it is unlikely of her/him to mention death. But if anyone does not understand why it was so important for Hotaru to help Rio, then I think that it was because she felt like she is the same and losing her beloved ones because of her laziness might happen to her too. Helping Rio was like her way of making it sure that she can be different. At least that was one idea which reached me. 

Seigi no Mikata (2008)

Country: Japan
Format: drama in 10 episodes
Genre: comedy, family, romance
Cast: Shida Mirai, Yamada Yu, Mukai Osamu, Hongo Kanata, Takizawa Saori, Nishiuchi Mariya, Irie Jingi, Yamaguchi Izumi, Hiraizumi Sei, Tajima Yusei,
Synopsis: Yoko is a young girl who thinks that she has lived her whole life in a pure hell where the devil is her older sister Makiko. Of course for everyone else Makiko is the best, the most beautiful and smartest woman in the world. People go even as far as calling her "the ally of justice" (it's the meaning of "Seigi no mikata") and do not see how self-centered and egoistic she is nor how she takes advantage of her little sister. With new guy in Makiko's offing, Yoko finally figures it out - if Makiko marries and moves out, she can be free to do whatever she wants. 
Rating: 4/5
To tell you the truth, I watched it with one night - I made a marathon with friends. If only all dramas/movies would go so fast. But watching that so fast also means that my first impression was much better and later I started to take stars down and down.

Yoko is a really cute character, but she easy to manipulate with. It is funny and sad at the same time to see how much she is used by her sister. I know they try to give the reasons why she is doing it, but I have grown up with 3 sisters and like Yoko says in one episode "it took time to understand that their relationship is not usual" (you don't say?). I could say that it is only Yoko's fault that Makiko bosses her around, but actually the whole society around them compares the two sisters, which makes me just angry. I liked how Shida Mirai acted her in a cute comical way, but also you can see her own thoughts and feelings too.

My favorite character was Okamoto Riku. I cannot say if he really was Yoko's love-interest, because at first that girl was to busy with sister's affairs to even recognize that dude as one of the hottest things in school. I actually liked Riku for personality, the fact that Hongo Kanata played him was just a bonus. Riku is sweet, helpful and rather shy as he only had two girls to talk to. From the middle of the drama I only rooted for their storyline, because it was so sweet young fresh first love (rather was that first crush, not love).
Makiko's character reminded me "Hanawake no yon shimai's" Fujiko and Takemi, because Makiko

was exactly the mix of those too (actually it should be vice-verse, because "Seigi no mikata" was written before "Hanawake"). She was very egoistic, glutton and total career-woman. It is sad that in drama she is shown more self-centered than she actually was in manga. In drama there must always be some advantages for her to make a move, which is sad, because I really did not get her actual feelings. But I was really impressed by her actions towards Naoki, even though she always gave diverse emotions, I wondered how far is one woman willing to go? especially when that woman is known for small and frequent crushes? Her character was also interesting to watch, because I was eager to know when her lies fall apart and Naoki sees her real character. Even though she was that half-good-half-bad character, I was only bothered by only little thing... whenever she made that silly "cute" fake voice. I do not understand why Japanese girls think it is cute, when actually it is so damn annoying.   

Naoki - another god in the drama. To put it simple, Naoki was everything that Makiko was not and definitely way too good for any woman on the Earth, but hei! they say that opposites draw. I felt sorry for him, but then.. read from SPOILER-review.. I enjoyed watching Mukai Osamu in this role, because it was my first time seeing him in a calculative, blind, naive and also a bit plain role. It was so sweet to see his lovey-dovey love face of total amazement.
Last character that I should mention are parents.

You can clearly see that Yoko takes after father and Makiko after mother. More than that, mom is the character who impressed me the most. At first she seems like a silly naive woman, but you can see that this woman has more layers than an onion and she has about the same amount secrets. When it comes to Naoki's parents, then gyoza how annoying one mother can be. I'd be as bitch as Makiko was with her if my mother in law would end up being like that. Get to the point, man was already getting 30 - there is no need for mother to go and clean/cook/do laundry for him. Every child grows up and sooner or later you must let go, and I'd say better sooner than later. She was the most annoying and being stuck to traditions like gum under the show will never be good.  

It is made after Hijiri Chiaki's same-named manga. I do not understand why they changed so many things and characters. Basically they had taken the first volume from the manga and changed-mixed things up and made into live-action, only some points were taken from second volume (and that how far I have read it..). I think I will just let it pass, because I am afraid that "Seigi no mikata" manga is rather unpopular and maybe most of the people do not even know that it is made after a manga..
Well, it is another good-to-laugh drama, which might make you think that you are lucky with your siblings or with the fact that you are only child, depends on your situation.

SPOILER-review: I did not like the ending. I hate when everything stays the same or goes even worse for the lead character. Yoko became total maid for Makiko's family and not even Naoki was able to see it -.- Of course I liked how Yoko's and Riku's story ended, especially because that leaves a place for fanfics, but I hate when people sacrifice themselves for someone else.  I was so surprised to find out that the baby was real and Naoki actually dug Makiko's devil side. Made me think that he might be into masochism..  

Hungry! (2012)

Country: Japan
Format: drama in 11 episodes
Genre: food, romance
Cast: Mukai Osamu,Takimoto Miori, Inagaki Goro, Kuninaka Ryoko, Tsukamoto Takashi, Miura Shohei, Kawabata Kaname, Katagiri Hairi, Ishiguro Hideo, Osugi Ren,
Synopsis: Yamate Eisuke (Mukai Osamu) is the son of famous French chef in Japan. Even though Eisuke is born with cooking talent, he decided to succeed in rock world with his friends. But after turning 30 without musical debut, his life is turned up-side-down by mother's sudden death and loss of family's French restaurant. He decides to pick up cooking again by opening his own French restaurant with his former band mates in a old warehouse.  
Rating: 4/5
Easiest  way to finish this drama fast, is to eat when you are watching it. From my experience, it is difficult to watch as a poor uni student, but I was able to make myself something delicious to enjoy while watching.

Eisuke is rude and selfish man, but at the same time he can be really caring too and no matter what

the topic is, he is always having long wires. Despite the fact that he is super hot, he does not understand anything about women which makes love-triangles super difficult for him. He also is really bad with remembering people's names. Yeah, Mukai is veery hot, but for me he was outnumbered by Miura Shohei. But for your information, Mukai has been cooking since middle school and thought of becoming a chef in high school, do not know how great chef he would have been, but I think we all agree that we are happy that he became actor instead. He even took extra French cooking lessons, because he was not so familiar to French cuisine before, so in reality he REALLY cooked those foods himself.

During the drama he also gave out French cuisine recipe book to give Japanese people the possibility to enjoy French foods at home. I liked the t-shirts he was wearing, because they had great texts on, like "Heaven", "Girlfriend is better.." and especially the one "Trust me  - I am asshole"Priceless! Only thing that turned me off was when Mukai was wearing crocs . No matter how hot Mukai is, even he cannot make crocs seem normal.. For me, I do not think it was Mukai's best performances, but I think that might be because Eisuke is a difficult character too.

Kenta and Tsuyoshi are Eisuke's best-friends and former band mates, who start working with him at

the restaurant. Kenta is the most mature one, who is focused on getting married to his longtime girlfriend Toko - one of the cutest girls in the drama. Though he does not seem violent, fights between him and Eisuke are usual things, because he is one person who is telling the truth into Eisuke's face when he is getting annoyed. Tsuyoshi is single beer-loving man, who mostly thinks of boobs. He is one of those persons who make this drama worth naming comedy as the boob-jokes become frequent jokes. The coolest thing is that he does not have much lines, but him being on the screen fills his role. For Kawabata Kaname this was his first role and I think it was perfect.

When you know me enough, then I bet you already know that Taku was my favorite. He is cute, naive and always-go-lucky. He is the only one who did not abandon rock music, even though he did not seem to find a suitable band to be part of. Of course Taku did weird stuff at the beginning, but he had that charm to say "nothing of this really matters". If I were to say something negative about him, then Miura Shohei played him too much as Nakatsu from "Hanakimi", because Miura Shohei played the role of Nakatsu in 2011 version of "Hanazakari no kimitachi e" just before "Hungry!".    

Chie is 20 years old university student, who had her first falling in love, but I must say that she was

really childish. Chie had so many relations to their restaurant, but she was like little sister to all of them, because they all had 10 years age difference (except for Taku, who was the middle one 25). Especially for Eisuke, she was small brat who supported him. Chie was really cute when she talked nonsense that no one also understood. She was another character who made drama funnier, because Takimoto Miori has these great face impressions. But again the negative thing was that in some scenes she reminded me too much Mio/Miko from "Ikemen desu ne", which again was her last role before "Hungry!". 

Aso is the one character who pissed me off the most. I do not understand why Inagaki Goro plays the bad guys - all the roles I have watched from him, he is being complete bastard, but must agree, that he acts damn well these roles. Aso has many mental problems starting from being control freak. Also at one moment, I even got the thought that he might be gay, but watch and see that you will think it too! I did not agree with his views on French restaurants as I think that the best is when you can feel comfortable while eating delicious cheaper food. I would never pay expensive price just to get one small spoon of cream -.- I know I am a glutton like Chie who likes to eat and eat and eat, so I prefer when I can get full stomach from the price I am paying for it. While Aso was complaining about Eisuke's restaurant name, then I did not like his "Gasteria" at all - it reminds me "Gas" and "cafeteria" and when we but together food and gases, then of course it nails the top, but I would not want to go to restaurant to end up with gases....

Maria/Mariya is Eisuke's girlfriend, who liked more Eisuke-the-rocker than Eisuke-the-chef. I find her a bit annoying with all her diets and biorhythms, but she was the only one who was able to make Eisuke smile at any moment, because Eisuke was actually really bad with smiling to other people.There are a lot of more characters who make it really funny to watch, because they all have their own niche to be remembered, so I am not going to mention all of them. But I cannot help it to say that Chie's little brother Sasuke was way too cool, I totally adore him, because he was soo stupid.
It has a really tragic start, but later it gets a bit funnier, even though I would not consider that so much comedy, because mostly the "funny" happened with same characters and many of them were side-characters. Also, the OST is amazing! Theme song is "Rock me baby" by THE BAWDIES. The drama was later made into manga.

SPOILER review: I did not like the ending. Okey, they were able to get their restaurant back and continue to keep it. Eisuke and Maria stayed together, Kenta got married, Aso-san leaved them alone, but I do not like the fact that they left TakuXChieXEisuke triangle all opened. I would have preferred that she would have given up on Eisuke for once and for all and started to see only Taku, because it was so clear that for Eisuke she is only like a little sister!! It made me so angry, because there was Taku who had fallen sooo in love with her, but she was still after Eisuke who had intentions of getting married to Maria in future. I find her way of thinking so annoying and childish. Okey, she was only 20 so it is normal for her to want to date and stuff, but Eisuke and Maria were already over 30, soo I felt just angry at Chie in the end -.- Totally took 1/2 star down because of that..

Hanamizuki (2010)

Country: Japan
Format: movie
Genre: romance, life
Cast: Ikuta Toma, Aragaki Yui, Mukai Osamu,Yakushimaru Hiroko, Renbutsu Misako, Arata, Kimura Yuichi, Matsushige Yutaka, Tokunaga Eri, Kanai Yuta, Koyanagi Yu, Takahashi Tsutomu, Hayashi Mamatsu, Mizushima Kaori,  
Synopsis: Story is set from 1996 to 2006 - ten years of Sae and Kohei's life. Sae is an ambitious girl from small village in Hokkaido, who wants to go to Waseda University in Tokyo and Kohei is a young boy who wants to become a fisherman in order to continue his father's and grandfather's work. To be together they must face the world because destiny seems to play a cruel joke with them.
Rating: 5/5

The first cool thing about the movie is that it is not made after a novel, manga or just taken from air - 
 it is originally taken after Yo Hitoto song "Hanamizuki" which was released in 2004 (Youtube has many different versions and covers of it).
“Hanamizuki” is one of the best romance movies I have lately seen. It is a classical love story, but it is so damn cute that you cannot to anything else but love it. Okey, I know people who say that it is actually rather boring as you can predict most of it and the story stays very simple, but there is also a possibility that people have gotten their expectations to high at first place. So let’s start with characters.

Aragaki Yui plays Sae – young ambitious girl from a small Hokkaido village who wants to go to Waseda University and play a big role in human existence.  She does not see all the difficulties that other people (especially Kohei) have. Well, I must say that I am sorry to all Gakki fans, because she did not  shine in her role much, at least Ikuta Toma was definitely the star of the movie. Many copare Aragaki’s acting to “Koizora” and easily said – she acts most of her high school roles the same and Gyoza – How long can one actress play an high schooler? But I must say that these roles suit her. 

It is said that it is her first adult role as the movie goes through ten years of their lives, so that in the end Sae is 28, but actually “Code Blue” aired before and there she definitely was an adult, of course this is her first adult role in a movie and definitely the oldest role she has ever played. I must say that Aragaki Yui has very decent English – I was afraid that there comes some horrible accent, but thankfully she took English lessons for this role.

Ikuta Toma , he is sooooooo amazing actor! Really great role. Kohei is a small village boy with small dreams. He must face educational and social circumstances to walk his own path and he is the character with who you start to think that life is unfair to the best people. It seems like all his dreams get crushed and there is nothing he can do about it. In their relationship he is hopelessly in love and gives his best to make relationship work even when Sae goes to uni. 

Compared to Sae, he must grow up fast against his will. He is very rational and always puts others before himself. You may think that at many times he is too short-tempered, but actually he is just jealous and hurt, because in Tokyo Sae is spending her time with other guys and they start to grow distant. And why no one has said to me before that TOMA IS THAT ******* GREAT KISSER?! Those kiss-scenes are fabulous and as soon as I am home again, I will add them to top 10 .Btw. Kohei broke The Guys Rule – “Bros before Ho*s” - twice.

Actually they lasted for very long – 4 years! Most of the couples are not able to last for that long, especially to think that most of it was long distance relationship. No matter what they are just perfect for each other. Many say that in some scene the script is rather silly and unrealistic, but I think that everything is possible and there are things like destiny.

Who was that smart ass and put Toma and Mukai Osamu into the same movie? IS she/he really trying to kill mass of girls with Ikemen overdose? Mukai Osamu plays a very important role in the movie, but sadly he does not have much screen time.  Junichi Kitani is like Sae’s mentor and dad who she did not have. He shows her the things that she could have if she just tries. He is very mature and always walks his own path.

What I liked about the movie is that it is very international – they had shootings in USA and Canada and they brought in many things from all over the country – lesser fishes, September the 11. and war in Iraq etc. The shootings and locations are already so beautiful that it definitely adds the enjoyment of watching. Also, it has really cute soundtracks, but “Hanamizuki” is performed by Aragaki Yui, so if you do not like her singing so much then search for other versions of this song (English version by Eric Martin is beautiful).
Definitely must-see love-story :)

Paradise Kiss (2011)

Country: Japan
Genre: romance, comedy, fashion
Format: cinema movie
Cast: Kitagawa Keiko, Mukai Osamu, Kaku Kento, Oomasa Aya, Yamamoto Yusuke, Igarashi Shunji, Kato Natsuki, Hirayama Hiroyuki,
Synopsis: Hayasaka Yukari is a soon-graduating student, who has all her life studied in order to please her mother. After one hard day at school she is "scouted" by two boys who take her to studio called "Paradise Kiss". She meets with fashion students Arashi, Isabella, Miwako and a guy who gives her scary vibe - George. By becoming their model, Yukari soon discovers that there is more to life than just studying and each person must be in control of their own life.
Rating: 5/5

The movie is made after Yazawa Ai's same-named manga which 5 volumes were published during 1999-2003 (anime has 12 episodes and aired in 2005). I am happy, that "Paradise Kiss" live-action saw the light in 2011 and not before it, because this live-action has amazing technical effects and cast. I cannot say how much it was different from the original art as I have not read the manga, but I certainly want to read it in future! I know that the ending of the live-action is different from manga. But remember one thing - "Paradise Kiss" is a shoujo-manga, so the live-action is very girlish too, a bit chic flick.

Hayasaka Yukari is the main character. At first she is snobbish with art students, because their life-style is totally unacceptable. Even though she cannot put up with her mother, she is brave and has a lot of attitude, many times she acts before thinking clearly. I found it weird that in many scenes Yukari had forgotten all things that happened a day or some hours before and acted like it was nothing. Every girl would be on the edge of heart failure, but she had no changes in her emotions. But I will write that mistake on her attitude. Miwako likes to call her Caroline and Isabella mostly refers to her with name Carrie.

 Kitagawa Keiko was amazing in it. At first you can see her with almost no make-up!!! and she still looks like an angel (=.=), just a little bit strange if you have always seen her with good make-up (yeah, even "Buzzer Beat" non-make-up scenes had more make-up than in "Paradise Kiss") Kitagawa Keiko had a great advantage in acting as a model, because she started her rising-road with model-career, being the exclusive model for Japanese "Seventeen".

George is a bit rude, egocentric, playboy, super talented in dress-design, veeeeeery hot and in reality he suck with being true to his feelings. Some scenes might seem unfair to girls, but I think that this dude really knows how to make shocking-therapy xD I have heard that in manga he is bi-sexual and likes sadomasochism, well  there is no sign of it in the live-action. I feel sorry for George, because he is alone most of the time, even though Isabella is always beside him, it is not the same. I liked his one saying about making something great - "It is not tlent, it is a desire". I believe that it goes for most of the things - if you do not have talent, but you have the biggest desire to do it, you will manage it too. Mukai Osamu looks so hot. (Happy be-lated birthday, he got 30 on February 7th!)

Miwako is very naive and I have a feeling that many times she did not get the real point at all. Arashi at the same time is rough, loud and defensive. He at first does not like Yukari at all, because he is annoyed by Yukari's uncertain and high attitude. Miwako and Arashi are together, but its origins go a long way to their childhood, which includes Hiroyuki. I think that Oomasa Aya and Kaku Kento were the right choices for these characters.

Isabella has the least screen time - she is like the mother to the whole Paradise Kiss crew and she helps Yukari a lot when Yukari is feeling down. She is the most loyal friend to George as he was the one who help Isabella to understand her real self. By the way, Isabella is actually a guy.. but her soul is woman, if you know what I mean. Igarashi Shunji made brilliant job - I think that no man has a easy work to act woman role (or a man who feels like woman).

Hiroyuki is the first love of Yukari, a friend and a classmate. Yukari always thinks it is one-sided, but actually she is just too blind to see Hiroyuki's feelings. I think that they suited together so much! that's way I had hard time to decide which guy I prefer. But like I said Hiroyuki was childhood friend with Miwako and Arashi, which makes everything a lot more difficult..

Kaori is the biggest rival George has ever had, but the difference is that Kaori does not have that kind of talent. In manga there are hints that George has some feelings for her, but in live-action they are confuted. Minor roles of parents are there too - like all the time - parents are horrible and suck at first, but later understand how stupid they have been.
One of the most cutest scenes are memories where they are chibis! But weird is that they all discovered their personality at such early age, except Yukari.

I fell in love with George designed clothes - these are even more my style than clothes in "Runway Beat". I would buy all of them, but I am short of money. Does anyone knows where to buy same styled clothes?
Live-action has a great soundtrack too.. and I really love art students. Hopefully I will be one of them next year - I sent my application to university. It is one of the best fashion movies made recently!

SPOILER review: I wanted to comment their competition dresses too, but I do not think it would be right to do in real review. I found Kaori's dress too commercial and it was nothing special. Just open some Korean fashion online shop and most of the dresses are like it! If the meaning of the competition was "right into the shop", then okey, but seriously??! George's blue dress was the killer!!! It was soooo beautiful and difficult to make! I actually would have wanted to see the first, yellow dress too, but they dropped it with neck and crop.
Some words of the end - it was sickly cliched,  but it worked so great! I got double butterflies in my stomach! (do not ask how it feels..). Hint - Kitagawa Keiko really knows how to kiss and so does Mukai Osamu.