Hanawake no yon shimai (2011)

Country: Japan
Genre: family, romance, drama
Format: drama 11 episode
Cast: Mizuki Alisa, Kanjiya Shihori, Kawashima Umiko, Kichise Mischiko, Kato Shigeaki, Miyazaki Yoshiko, Endo Kenichi, Kawashima Ririka, Ono Rento, Kato Kenshiro, Tanaka Tetsushi, Katsunobu, Neko Hiroshi, Tanaka Miho 
Synopsis: Story of four Hanawa sisters. They all have different personalities and different problems in life. When second daughter Takemi moves back to home with her children, all kind of troubles start to occur, as Takemi is known as "devil" and "man-eater". But whole family life is turned up-side-down when it comes out that father has cheated on mom, even though they had been married to each other for almost 33 years.
Rating: 5/5
I absolutely love this drama. I think it is the most unpredictable drama I have ever seen - each episode brings something new. I do not suggest you watching it, if you are as over-emotional person as I am, because I ended up crying all in every episode (Weird, I know O.o It did not matter if it was a happy scene or sad one), but it is NOT A SAD DRAMA, it is a family drama. I believe that other people watch it without any tears. It was in my 5 STAR list from the first episode til the last one, but I just understood that all 5 STAR dramas/movies have been great since start. Drama is made after Saimon Fumi same-named manga. Now from the oldest sister to other characters. (IT MIGHT CONTAIN MANY POSSIBLE SPOILERS)

Fujiko is really work-oriented. She is the smartest, but at the same time she trusts her mind too much - that's way she has bad luck in love. I think that it is weird that she still lives at home (she is 32 years old), but it is not my problem, ne? I think that Fujiko decides too much on her own, even when these affect others too. It is nice that someone keeps her head cool, but she could have talked things over with others. You can actually see more her boyfriends in drama, than Takemi's..

The main-main character, who "turns up", Takemi is different from all the women in the world. She has been married for 2 times and has divorced same times, but she has 3 children, who have very mature thinking. As a mom she seems to be great, but as a sister - kind a sucks. I find that her beauty is over-rated, but it is one of the main ideas of the drama. It is sad how she is misunderstood and how much actually everybody hurt her. Of course this is true that she flirts too much and she definitely does not know the limits, but calling her "Devil" is a bit too much. She does not know how to show her emotions, her true emotions. I totally understand what it feels like when everyone are only seeing your outer-appearance, but only few tend to see the inner-person. I like that Takemi got along with her ex-husbands, but I think that Katsuhiko should have trust her more. He turns into a bastard for some time. 

Sweet Sakurako. Like I understood then the age-gap between Sakurako and Takemi is the smallest in the family, and it leads to that Sakurako is always in Takemi's shadow, that is way Sakurako stands her the least. In love she is most like her mom and for her it was the hardest to forgive to dad. She might look too clingy, naive and listens way too much her work-friends, but actually she knew everything what she did, except the night she met Shozaburou. All her worries were reasonable, because it is harshhhhh when you're high school boyfriend cheats on you with your sister (even though it was a lie).

Hell hot Shozaburou. It is officially my favorite role from Kato Shigeaki. He is soooo great actor, but this role shows totally different side of him (even though in real life he has said that he is opposite of Shozaburou). Shozaburou is a hot cameraman who has had more women in his bed than years he has lived. Many male-viewers have said that it was absolutely wrong of him to sleep with Sakurako, when Sakurako was drunk as a skunk, but please understand - the original manga and also the script was written by women - almost all women dream of waking up by HOT guy without clearly remembering the last night... but it is just a dream! You can pretty much say that he is a bastard, but it is so sweeeeet when he cares of Sakurako, but then again it seems like to him they are "friends with benefits". I think it won't be a big spoiler if I tell you that he has something on with Takemi too, which makes him even more bastard than he is. Just as he said - he likes Sakurako, but feels close to Takemi, as they share similar emotions in life.

The youngest sister is Ume-chan. She is sooooo sweet as she is so young - actually she is 18, but she is so small and inexperienced that it makes her even sweeter. In manga, she actually is more tomboy - really short hair and more boyish clothes, but I like her in drama more. She might seem really plain, but it is unexpected what goes on in her mind. Ume is a art-student and for a long time she questions about her talent. I want to study art in future too, so I understand why this question is so hard - there are always people who are so much better! That's why even I got inspiration from Takemi's words "It's is not other's who decide whether you have talent or not, it's you!" - it goes for all kind of talents, not only for art.  One more comment - I have met bitches like Yukari and they do not get far - girls like Ume tend to be more successful in life.

The father is the worst. One time cheating- okey maybe this is even forgivable, but continuous cheating?! I think I would have hard time with forgiving my father too, but in the end - he is a father. No matter how things are, it is a fact which will stay. Especially because I believe that he had the worst time after mom died. Yes, a huge spoiler was it, but it is the thing that causes almost everything else. I so love Miyazaki Yoshiko - she is the cutest actress of her age I know. Mama was really naive, but she was the person who held the family together. Believe it or not, but I pretty much want to be the same kind mother in future xD (remind me that after 10 years)   I think that actually the family took it too lightly that mom died, but maybe they all were just mentally really strong. As mama was the "home" for everyone, then there are to ways for the family to go - broke up or grow even stronger together.

Small notes time - They concentrate on marrying really much, but I think that all it goes too fast - is not it normal to at least go out for 1-2 years, before even talking about it? Maybe it is just my western-thinking, but still. The biggest minus of the drama is that the time-flow is not well written - most of the things happen within 2 months, which is definitely way too short period for this drama. I like the ost - especially one sound is very beautiful.
In the end, all sisters are having hard time with their love-lives. I do not understand how they cannot be honest with each other - it seems like they had a special loving family, but still they cannot tell everything to each other. (Funny thing about myself - in my family there are also 4 daughters... I have 6 years difference with older sister, with one younger sister few minutes and 9 years with the youngest one... which is pretty much the same as Hanawa sisters had... I am the second - booo-hooo! -.- not happy)

SPOILER review: I said almost everything in the real review already, but still there are some things about the end. I Liked that Sakurako was the one who dumped Shozaburou, even though he wanted to marry and continue lying as he promised to father. but which I like even more was that Shozaburou was the one who begged for new chance from Sakurako. Their love was full of circumstances, but in the end Sakurako was the one who was able to change Shozaburou. I start to cry again... too beautiful love song is playing right now too.
I also like that Sakurako was able to forgive Takemi and dad. Sakurako was my favorite character btw.
Also I loved Ume-chan's message "Even if we are apart, we are family" - because next year I must move to another city, away from my family - they are the best in the whole universe! I must remember that sentence for whole my life - even when I move far-far away in future, I still have my place in this family. ^^

Yankee-kun to Megane-chan (2010)

Country: Japan
Genre: school, yankee, romance, comedy, violence
Format: drama 10 episodes
Cast: Narimiya Hiroki, Naka Riisa, Hongo Kanata,  Koyanagi Yu, Kawaguchi Haruna, Suzuki Ryohei, Minagawa Sarutoki, Ito Shiro, Furuta Arata, Owada Miho
Synopsis: Shinagawa Daichi is referred as yankee, he gets lousy grades and is always fighting, but he attends a highly rated high school, because on the entrance examination he fell in love with one girl, who later disappeared. Adachi Hana is a former yankee, who tries to move on with her life to live like a normal girl. She sees in Daichi a person who could help her. They become classmates and with Adachi's persistent attitude, they become friends.
Rating: 3/5
It is based on a famous same-named manga, but I must say that the drama is not actually that much based on it. There were too many things left out and too much new stuff added or changed. Like actually Adachi lived with her grandmother, not grandfather; In manga, they do not show that much Shinagawa's family. They more concentrate on future choices in drama, but manga shows their time in school. But an important thing to remember is that when drama was filmed, the manga was still on-going!! That explains the different ends and all. The drama shows about 2 months since they met til the end of the drama, but in manga they meet on first high school year and the manga ends many years after the high school graduation.

But there were many great points!! First and the main thing - NARIMIYA HIROKI and NAKA RIISA! As amazing as it is Narimiya Hiroki played 10 years younger character than he in real life is. Shinagawa Daichi was 17 years old, but at that time Narimiya was 27. Sugoi, ne?? In addition, his face expressions are more than super. He has perfect yankee-voice even xD (Maybe the experience of "Bloody Monday" helped him to get a better feeling =P). Narimiya Hiroki and Naka Riisa hit in ten with their appearance and acting.(I am in Narimiya fandom at the moment... O.o he is just soo hot...). Shinagawa Daichi might be a yankee (actually he seems to be yankee against his will), but he has so kind heart and that is what gives him the hard time. I like his home clothes - sexy animal print =P He also has cat and dog printed wallpaber =D SHOO KAWAII! But I feel like story revolves too much around Shinagawa. You can see him smoking many times on screen, but in the end he smokes less and that is called Hana's charm =D

Adachi Hana seemed like three different people in one body. One is "former yankee", second is "trying-hard-to-be-normal-(geek)" and last is "real Hana". I like the third person the most xD I cannot believe how dumb she can be - it is  amazing. No matter what the thing is she is always "SHINAGAWA~!" xD She never understood the situation and got everything wrong. But this all makes her funny and it is nice to watch.
It is hilarious that Narimiya Hiroki and Naka Riisa voices sounded like weeping cats, when they were yelling at each other.

I do not understand why they did all other characters so annoying (except for Nerima, because NerimaXShinagawa friendship is one high light of the drama). Chiba pretty much is a wimp - he has so few self confidence in him and he is pretty naive. Rinka is too yankee.. she has personality crack too xD and Izumi has his own problems... which can be really weird in some scenes O.o  and actually he was not yankee - he used to be a biker in junior high. But I must say that Kanata Hongo has some amazing leg kicks  (he is the white-head dude) =P At all, the drama contains much much violence.

They try to solve student problems like working part-time at the same time, future choices and dreams. Like many of you know, working part-time while attending high school is mostly not allowed in Japan, there of course might be exceptions. I think it is because studying is hard enough, but I really think that there are some cases where it should allowed. I live in Europe (like you all have found out before, I believe) and I know that in my class about 6-7 students are working too, but it is because some of them are living alone and they must pay the bills themselves, some earn money for partying, because they are too ashamed to ask their parents and some of them are just earning money from their hobbies. About future choices, I think that every student must make the decision themselves. It is their life, not their parents! I know that parents want the best for their children, but if they make their children study something that actually makes them unhappy?? To end this paragraph, I repeat

Shinagawa's words "Everybody has a dream, but not everyone are telling it out!"
It suck in technical way - it is too fake, but "imagination points" are extra-funny and these are in every episode too =D But I must say that Shinagawa reads too much manga, because his imagination was actually shoujo-like xD
The best thing is to watch it as a totally different drama, which has little to do with manga. As a live-action it sucks more than it should.

Swing Girls (2004)

Country: Japan
Genre: music
Format: movie
Cast: Ueno Juri, Hiraoka Yuta, Kanjiya Shihori, Motokariya Yuika, Toyoshima Yukari (+ many famous actors in small roles)
Synopsis: During the summer classes group of delinquent girls end up poisoning the school´s brass band. In order to make things better they have to replace the band members with themselves. But from hating and lazing around they grow to like music more than anybody thought. 
Rating: 3/5
It is soooo comic movie! I just was not able to stop laughing while watching it. It has many flaws, but it still is great movie.

The girls are pretty clever, but they are not the most smartest girls in school. I think that it is very free-spirited school they are attending - everyone did what they wanted, the girls wore make-up, bleached their hair etc. It is not very common in Japanese schools. The girls act like they are seven years old and I do not believe that they were able to play so good with so less practice. Then again, it is based on true story, but in real time, the girls had off-notes too, while in movie everything was perfect. The characters must have had a great musical hearing xD In fact, the actors did not know how to play these instruments at all in the first place. They went under 5 months of hard training to actually play! Respect for them! I like when actors do everything themselves and do not use stunts (or faking the thing).

I cannot bring out any special character - Tomoko, Takou, Yoshie, Sekiguchi and Naomi were the ones who story mostly concentrated, but it they were the ones who did not want to give up in any way.  My true favorite was Yoshie as Kanjiya Shihori is so cute actress =P Maybe I liked her because she is most like me =D Cute guys make me want to achieve everything, but finally I still will do it for myself ^o^
Funny, but meaningful quotes from movie "There are two kind of people in this world:
1) ones, who succeed, and others, who quit
2) ones, who can chill out, and others, who cannot
3) people, who swing, and people, who don't
It is funny story, that shows that if you want to achieve something in life, you must work hard.