Jdramas and Jmovies review and recommendations

i did this last janurary 2007. i just wanted to share it to people again 😀
this is to show my appreciation to the great jdramas and jmovies i’ve watched so far! please enjoy!

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after watching one drama after another and a few Jmovies on the side…i’ve finally earned a right to post a few recommendations here. i don’t know if you guys are interested, but since it’s my blog, it’s MY RULES!!!these are not arranged in any type of preference or scoring. they are arranged according to how my memory remembers them.    

(most info will be from wiki.d-addicts.com)

note: you might be familiar with some of them. if you want to download or simply watch it, i recommend veoh.com, since this site is really up to date, i don’t know of the old dramas or movies though.

Densha Otoko :

true love story turned to bestselling novel, created from the Internet BBS, 2channel to blockbuster hit movie. Itoh Misaki plays Aoyama Saori, working as an office lady at a MNC, gets into trouble with a drunkard on a train. She’s saved by Yamada Tsuyoshi, played by Itoh Atsushi. As a form of appreciation, she sends him Hermes teacups. Having no experience with the opposite sex, Tsuyoshi decides to ask for help on the Aladdin Channel BBS on how to interact with Saori.

Basically, this drama is one of my favorites since it’s main emphasis is on Love, Friendship, Acceptance of self and others, and the walls of life which can be brought down with a little courage. the 1st minutes will be otaku oriented, but be patient and you WILL be hooked.

GTO:

The story is a sequel of lesser known series Shounan Jun’ai-gumi (Shounan Love Gang) where Onizuka Eikichi’s rogue high school days are depicted. Sorimachi Takashi plays Onizuka Eikichi, a graduate of a third-rate University and the leader of a motorcycle gang, whose lifelong dream is to become a teacher. After being hired by a seemingly eccentric director, Onizuka begins his unconventional way of teaching a hopeless group of troublemakers. Although he meets much opposition from the students and teachers themselves, his passion for teaching, and more importantly, his students, eventually convinces everyone that Onizuka truly has the makings of a great teacher.

One of Japan’s best dramas. with an average viewer rating of 28.3 % of japan, this series is a real inspirational one. it’s about a former gangster aiming to be a teacher, since he wanted to show students that there are some things in life that cannot be taught in school. this drama has parental guidance written all over it, since some scenes exploit vulgar language, may contain pornographic scenes (mild ones), and scenes where children may not understand.Nonetheless, this drama served as an inspiration to the youth all over japan back in 1998, since only few teachers of such caliber exists nowadays. This drama may not be as humorous as it’s manga and anime counterparts, but it really shows how deep the bond between a teacher and his students can get.

Gokusen:

Faito, oh! The story of a young, idealistic teacher who enters Shirokin Gakuen with hopes of making a difference in the students’ lives. However, Yamaguchi Kumiko (Nakama Yukie) is in for a rude awakening when she finds that she will be the homeroom teacher of 3-D, the hardest class to maintain in the school. The students have multi-colored hair, sloppy uniforms, and show absolutely no respect to her. The leader of the class, Sawada Shin (Matsumoto Jun) is lazy but bright and shows some interest in Yamaguchi when he notices that she is very different from other teachers. The students try to bully her to make her quit, but their attempts don’t get them very far. What the class and the rest of the school does not know is that Yamaguchi Kumiko is actually the 4th generation heir to the Ooedo Group, a notorious yakuza clan. Even though her family would like her to take the title of Ojou when her grandfather dies, they have accepted the fact that Yamaguchi would rather be a teacher. Eventually, the students learn to respect their quirky teacher because of her devotion to them, and even give her a nickname: Yankumi

Gokusen 2:

The continuation of the popular Gokusen series. Half a year has passed and Shirokin Gakuen has closed down. Yamaguchi Kumiko (Nakama Yukie) finds herself a teacher of a few young kids who don’t really benefit much from her style of teaching. Through some twist of fate, she is offered a job as a teacher in Kurogin Gakuen. She becomes the teacher of a delinquent 3D class which make her previous students look like angels. In order to protect her job, she must again hide her true identity — the fact that she is the 4th generation of the Oedo Family, a prominent yakuza group.

as everyone who watched it on GMA, this drama mainly consists of a woman struggling acceptance by hiding her fearful background. the plot of the gokusen series is simple : a teacher teaching a bunch of highschool “delinquents” and changing them into a more acceptable type of people while she struggles herself to conceal her true yet undeniable identity. just like GTO, it’s quite inspirational, this series utilizes very well known actors. and just like GTO, this teacher kicks butt if she needs too.

Hana Yori Dango:

Makino Tsukushi is the only poor student at Eitoku Gakuen, the school of the ridiculously rich and privileged that is ruled by Flower 4 or F4, a group of four boys who come from extremely powerful families: Domyoji Tsukasa, the leader and heir of the Domyoji World Finance Group; Hanazawa Rui, the introverted son of a large company; Nishikado Sojiro, a player who is the heir of a tea ceremony school; and Mimasaka Akira, a madam killer with ties to the underground. If a student gets on the F4’s bad side, he/she gets a red notice and is bullied and driven out of school.Makino hopes to pass her days quietly– without drawing any attention to herself– but one day, she stands up to Domyoji in defense of her friend. The next day, Makino gets the dreaded red notice. Even though she is harassed, Makino decides to keep going to school because she is a “tough weed”. She declares war right back on the F4. Her resolve gets the attention of her crush Hanazawa Rui and oddly enough, rouses romantic feelings in her worst enemy, Domyoji Tsukasa.The series is based on the Japanese shoujo manga “Hana Yori Dango” (Boys Before Flowers) by Kamio Yoko.

HYD2:

This second season of Hana Yori Dango picks up right after Domyoji leaves for New York. After confessing to Domyoji, Makino has not spoken to him for a year. Rui and the other members of F4 try and help Makino meet Domyoji again by going to New York for the christmas holidays. Though F4 and Makino meet Domyoji again, he has become a completely different person, and so they leave for Japan.Some time later, Domyoji’s mother annouces that they will be returning to Japan. There, they hold a giant super-rich and classy birthday party for Domyoji and annouce something very important. Domyoji, like in the first season, is engaged to a rich girl and heir. The only difference is that they are to be wed soon. What will Makino do?On the side, Rui begins to fall in love with Makino… will this become a love… square?Rui –> Makino –> Domyoji –> Shigeru (fiancee of Domyoji)

One of the best series i’ve watched, with a cast of very popular actors and actresses, this series has been considered as one of japan’s best drama series. the series’ main focus is how a typical “commoner/poor girl” changes her life when she finally stood up to the famed F4. the series takes a lot of tumbles and turns, while the word LOVE is spread everywhere. with more than enough sponsors to back them up, they made use of EVERY financial advantage they can get. specially in season 2, the last episode contained A LOT of people. by a lot, i mean THOUSANDS.This series is all about how love can be so blind. that love can happen to two people, regardless of their differences. that love truly conquers all. most episodes of these series contain comedy and drama.it also teaches lessons about life and what love really is. as far as the OST goes, the series never once failed the audience in making them listen with awe. such as both the opening songs are from ARASHI, and to provide those scenes where tears cannot be avoided, Ai Otsuka’s Planetarium and Utada Hikaru’s Flavor of Life ballad version provides the much needed atmosphere and the MUSHY parts!!! hana yori dango literally means “dumplings over flowers” or if we are to take it into a more metaphorical aspect, it means practicality over things just for show. a simple example would be to choose something very useful,but not flashy over the flashy useless types. this series reminds me of the saying ” not all that shines is gold” or something like that. and “True Love never dies” meaning, no matter what you do, if you’re destined, you’re destined.

 

 

 

Kimi wa Petto:    

After a terrible day at work and a bad break up, Iwaya Sumire played by Koyuki returns home sad, depressed, and most of all lonely. However, at the front of the apartment she finds an unconscious young man lying in a cardboard box. Feeling sorry for him, she takes him into her home and nurses him back to health. As the young man, played by Matsumoto Jun, gets better he begins to like her place and resolves not to leave her. In fact, he even professes that he’ll do anything she wanted if she allowed him to stay. Sumire looks over at a picture of the golden retriever that she had when she was a child and jokingly says to him, “You can stay if you become my pet.”

To her surprise, he agrees. She names him Momo.

Based on Yayoi Ogawa’s manga series of the same name. Also known as “Tramps Like Us” (TokyoPop licensed American version).

this drama mainly consists of the much needed mush between a youthful, yet very charming boy and a beautiful but very strict woman. this drama’s main theme is love that cannot be gapped by age, status, or personal background.

Akihabara@DEEP:

Akihabara is a Tokyo district full of mangas, anime, electronics, video games, figurines, etc. It is a place that gathers fanatics of such themes, people who are commonly referred to asotaku. Page, Box, Akira, Taiko, Daruma, and Izumu are six otaku each with his/her own troubles and sought relief through a website called “Yui’s Lifeguard.” When site owner Yui died of a mysterious death, the six who are each experts in their own fields gathered to form “Akihabara@DEEP”, a “trouble shooter” group that vows to protect Akihabara and solve the problems of its inhabitants.

this drama is REALLY all about OTAKUS. if you are not into REALLY otaku stuff…you may get a headache watching this (densha otoko is about romance between 2 people living in 2 different worlds, it’s not about an otaku.), even their arch enemy is a heavy otaku. the main theme of this drama is friendship. various comedy scenes can be found here. although there are scenes that also contain drama and action.

 

ORANGE DAYS:

Kai Yuuki (Satoshi Tsumabuki) is in his senior year at university studying social welfare psychology. At present, he is in the middle of job-hunting season. He is finding it difficult with no job offers so far. One day, he meets a girl who is playing violin in the campus. She is Sae Hagio (Kou Shibasaki). In marked contrast to her beautiful tone and attractive looks, her personality is somewhat impertinent. And to top it off, she communicates through very vulgar sign language. Four years ago, she lost the most important thing for a violinist – her hearing. As a result Sae closed off her inner self from the outside world. Kai finds himself on a date with Sae, in place of his best friend. Unexpectedly, he comes into contact with Sae’s private side. Love, job-hunting, friendship… Setting a campus in spring as a dorama`s backdrop, it’s the start of a glittering youth drama. —TBS

This is one of those dramas that will make you cry,really. even for a guy like me, it takes a tremendous amount of sadness comparable to losing a loved one to make me cry. but…this series…if you really watch it with all your heart, and feel the character’s emotions until the last minute, it’ll really have you pouring down unexpected rains. this is one of those dramas that would really get you watching it for one straight DAY!!! although i recommend 1 per day since if you finish this one too quickly, the characters in the series won’t be building up in you as compared to a 2-week show which allows you to think about the episode for 1 whole day before watching another, making you feel REALLY attached to them. it’s really addicting even if you’re a newbie in romance/slice of life dramas like this. the 1st episode alone was more than enough to make you watch the next one!!!

 

Jigoku Shoujo:

Somewhere in the vast sea of the Internet, there’s a website that can only be accessed at the stroke of midnight. Known as the Jigoku Tsushin, rumor has it that if you post a grudge there, the Jigoku Shoujo will appear and drag whoever torments you into the inferno. Very little is known about the girl – all we know for sure is that she lives with her equally enigmatic grandmother, that three magical straw dolls accompany and serve her, and that whenever a posting on the Jigoku Tsushin moves her, she becomes the Jigoku Shoujo.

this, like any other live action, follows the series, also just like other live actions, many certain parts were cut just to follow the MAIN parts of the anime. 12 1-hour episodes may not be enough for you, but this LA has a very HAPPY ending!

 

Kagen no Tsuki:

 

 

Do you believe in love after death?

On the eve of her 19th birthday, Mizuki (Kuriyama) doesn’t have a lot to celebrate about. Her mother recently committed suicide, her stepfamily bothers her, her boyfriend has been cheating on her and her best friend has betrayed her. Hurt and disillusioned, Mizuki runs from everything and is drawn by some unknown force to a dilapidated estate. Deep within the house Mizuki discovers the mysterious Adam (Hyde), playing a hauntingly familiar melody on the guitar. Melancholy and full of secrets, it seems that Adam, and the house, have a strange, irresistible link to Mizuki. Can Mizuki’s boyfriend and a couple of well-meaning schoolchildren uncover the secret of what happened 19 years ago and free Mizuki before the last quarter of the moon falls?

This movie is about the resurrected love of a man who died decades ago, who found his lover in a reincarnated body of another woman. this movie is quite sad due to the charaters involved, specially the character Adam, who loved a woman so much that he could not let go of his feelings and tries to take someone who resembles her by confusing her memories with memories of his lost loved one. the ending, is really sad.

 
 
     

 

Nobuta wo Produce:

Kiritani Shuji is the popular guy who gets along with everyone, from the jerks to the nerds to the just plain weird. He’s the one that everyone can count on. However, what they don’t know is that Shuji knows how predictable his classmates are and he plays off their predictability to his advantage. His day-to-day existence as “Shuji-kun” is just a facade he uses to play in the school popularity game. Truth be told, Shuji is bored.

The one person Shuji cannot stand is Kusano Akira. To Shuji, Akira is just plain annoying. He laughs, talks and acts funny. Nobody in class takes Akira seriously. Shuji can’t stand the sight of Akira and it drives him nuts that Akira does whatever he wants despite Shuji’s expressed dislike of him.

Shuji has a daily ritual of touching a certain willow tree for good luck. One day, he is startled to find out that his willow tree was uprooted and in its place, a freaky-looking girl telling him that some people took the tree somewhere else to be spotted. She told him that she was planning to hang herself from that tree. Scared, Shuji runs away.

Things heat up when a new student comes to school. Shuji is shocked to find out that the new student was the freaky girl he saw the day his willow tree disappeared. Her name isKotani Nobuko, a girl who has no self confidence at all and is content at being made fun of and bullied in school.

Shuji and Akira come to an accord that in order to make use of their “youth” they will “produce” Nobuko as the next popular girl. One of the conditions, however, is that nobody should find out that they are working together as a team to make this concept possible.

Of course, there can be no protagonist without an antagonist. There is a mysterious girl in school jeopardizing the duo’s plan to make Nobuko popular. The mystery continues to unfold.

Unveiled here is the story of true friendship between three unlikely candidates who would not have been friends if not given the special circumstances.

the synopsis pretty much said everything, but to add, this drama is actually for those people who are fakes among the society. that you have to show them your true self, and not live lie.

 

Hotaru no Haka (Grave of the Fireflies):

This made-for-TV movie is a sobering tale of how war can bring out the worst in people. The writers added depth to the original Isao Takahata anime which mainly focused on the relationship between a teenage boy and his young sister left orphan during wartorn Japan and forced to find sustenance on their own.

The 2005 version focuses on the growing divide between the teenage boy and the family friend (played by Matsushima Nanako) who initially takes them in after their mother is killed during an air raid. As rice rations grow scarce, the kindly housewife soon turns cold as she has to choose between feeding her sick son or the two orphans.

The movie is in commemoration of the 60 year anniversary of the end of WWII, and at times, is remniscent of a CBS afterschool special. As if the antiwar message isn’t already clear, at the end of this recent version, two of the main characters reiterate the tragedies of war. “Yes my daughter, war is bad. Look at what it has done to these poor kids.”

Well casting, particularly of the little girl, makes the story enjoyable, but viewers might still prefer the original. Still, recent version was one of the highest rated programs of the year.

a definite anti-war movie. just like the anime and the book, this follows the story of how frightening a war can be, how it not only affects the powerful, but mostly those who are innocent.

 

NANA:

this movie adaptation of the manga and anime, used various stars like mika nakashima and Yuna Ito. This movie may not cover ALL of the 1st parts of nana, but this movie still won my heart, specially when the scene came up showing Mika Nakashima on her knees, crying with the song Endless Story sun in the background. This movie helped Mika Nakashima in her career as she debuted the single Glamorous Sky, which was composed with the collaboration of L’arc en~ciel’s vocalist, HYDE and the famous shojou manga author of NANA, Ai Yazawa.

NANA2:

 

Nana Komatsu is pregnant with her first child, but Nana Oosaki seems to be stroke by it, since it is not the child of her friend Nobu, but of TRAPNEST’s bassist Takumi. Both girls struggle through life, and try to keep their friendship from falling apart.

The much awaited sequel, although it was not as welcomed as it’s predecessor. The story is how a bond between 2 friends go beyond the lines of just being friends, into more of a soul-mate type. They struggle in life’s challenges, facing the consequences, and learning the lessons in life while they travel through life’s ups and downs.

 

Ima, Ai ni Yukimasu:

 

Yuuji is still a first-grade student, he is having a very hard time understanding what has happened to his mother and the fact that she won’t be coming back.

At the very beginning of the first episode, the voice of the late mother (played by Mimura) is reading from a picture book that she wrote for Yuuji before she died. It is about a mother who dies, but promises to return when the rainy season comes. Yuuji believes in this story and thinks that his mother will come back when the rainy season comes. And surprisingly… she actually does.

When it begins raining on a June morning, Yuuji runs out into the forest to the special place where he used to play with his mother. His father, Takumi (played by Narimiya Hiroki) chases after him to get him to go to school. When they arrive at the old ruined building where they used to play, Yuuji’s mother, Mio is waiting there completely alive and healthy, but she has no memory of them or anything that occurred during her life.

This drama is not recommended for those who don’t like family dramas. but for those who are willing to try, this drama can either be a bore or a tear-jerker. it revolves around the life of an innocent child, who deeply loves his mother, then she goes missing and finds her one day, only to forget EVERYTHING. watch as these people struggle in one of life’s most enduring challenges that a child has to endure.

This will be one of my favorite recommendations since these are REAL tear-jerkers!!! they all made me feel so….so sad but happy in a sense that the characters were happy.     

Taiyo no Uta (A Song to the Sun):

While working at a seaside inn with his high school buddies, Kouji Fujishiro (Yamada Takayuki) meets Kaoru Amane (Sawajiri Erika), a street musician. Kaoru is suffering from an incurable disease called XP (xeroderma pigmentosum), and can’t be exposed to the sun. Under the sun, the two would never have met. Still, destiny brings the two together. Since the day he suddenly lost his job, Kouji has lost sight of his dreams. But when he meets Kaoru, who is making positive efforts to become a singer, Kouji regains his long-forgotten passion for music. —TBS

This drama also has a movie of the same name starring YUI as kaoru amane, which will be shown later on. This drama is quite unique to all those i’ve seen, since the ending is…unforgettable. i won’t spoil anything for you to fully enjoy this drama. all i can tell is that this is a must watch for those who just can’t stop watching sad dramas.

 

Taiyo no Uta (movie):

The same story starring YUI. IMO, i actually liked this 2 hour movie than the drama itself…i guess, the fact that the movie was made to be different in some ways actually made it MORE sad to watch. YUI also sang 3 songs, but wrote one song specifically for the character kaoru amane entitled Good-bye days. the song shows scenes from the movie, and i tell you, the song itself also made me want to cry.

 

Sekai no Chuushin de, Ai wo Sakebu(Crying out Love, in the Centre of the World):

“I thought I might be using a lifetime’s happiness in a moment. I was that happy and she was that beautiful.” A young boy stands on the red earth of Australia under its blue sky. It is 17-year-old Sakutaro Matsumoto. His time with the girl comes back to him. The colored sand runs through his hands and a tear appears on his cheek. He wakes up. It’s 2004 and he is 34 years old and in Japan. He thinks “I have been in a world without her for 17 years.” Returning home to see his old high school for the last time before it is demolished, Saku confronts anew the loss of the love of his life, Aki, to leukemia 17 years ago. Now a medical researcher at graduate school, he has been living as if half of him died with her since then. Based on the bestselling novel that sold over 3 million copies, the past and present come together in this love story that is both pure and sad.

there’s also a movie starring Song Hye Gyo called My Girl and I, which is a remake of this drama. This drama is so beautifully created that i don’t know how to write about it properly! it’s a story of the one true love you had, but you lost. How man, even with the cruelest test of God, stands tall in the midst of it, with the one they love the most on their mind. Cried and cried again, well, not actually cry, but more like internal tears>>>WTH?!

 

Ichi Rittoru no Namida (1 Litre of Tears):

15-year-old Ikeuchi Aya was an ordinary girl, the daughter of a family who works at a tofu shop, and a soon-to-be high schooler. However, odd things have been happening to Aya lately. She has been falling down often and walks strange. Her mother, Shioka, takes Aya to see the doctor, and he informs Shioka that Aya has spinocerebellar degeneration – a terrible disease where the cerebellum of the brain gradually deteriorates to the point where the victim cannot walk, speak, write, or eat. A cruel disease, as it does not affect the mind in the least. How will Aya react when told about her disease? And how will Aya live from now on?

This beautifully moving drama is based on the real-life struggles of a 15-year-old girl named Aya who suffered from an incurable disease, but lived life to the fullest until her death at 25. The script is based on the diary Aya kept writing until she could no longer hold a pen. The book that later followed entitled “One Litre of Tears” has sold over 1.1 million copies in Japan alone.

Aya’s only wish was “to live.” By carefully depicting Aya’s earnest desire to live, and the love of her family, friends, and lover, the drama, “One Litre of Tears” wishes to deliver her simple but strong message: “Just being alive is such a lovely and wonderful thing.” —Fuji TV

One of my favorites, even after watching it, i still can’t forget how a girl like her had the will to live, even though she knew it was all over for her. prepare some rolls of tissue here.

there is also a special episode wherein the peopel whom aya left, struggled to overcome their sadness of her.

This special is set half a year after the death of Aya. Her younger sister Ako is training to be a nurse, while Haruto has already become a neurologist at the hospital Aya was once treated at. The loss of Aya strongly affects Haruto, causing him to lose sight of himself. But after he meets Mizuki, a 14-year-old patient who has given up on living, he feels compelled to share with her the story of Aya’s life.

 

Battle Royale:

The plot of the film is fairly faithful to that of the novel, with a few key differences. The prologue is as follows:

“At the dawn of the millennium, the nation collapsed. At fifteen percent unemployment, ten million were out of work. 800,000 students boycotted the school. The adults lost confidence, and fearing the youth, eventually passed the Millennium Educational Reform Act AKA: The BR Act…”

(It should be noted that for a Japanese audience, even in the late 1990s, after decades of very low unemployment and usually life-long work with a single company, a 15% unemployment rate would have called to mind a collapsed society)

 Battle Royale II: Requiem:
 

 

In the sequel, survivors of previous Battle Royales, led by Shuya Nanahara (the hero of the first film), have formed a terrorist group called “Wild Seven“.

As in the first film, a class of teenagers from Shikanotoride Junior High School (鹿之砦中学校Shikanotoride Chūgakkō) is kidnapped by the Japanese government. Instead of stereotypically studious Japanese students, these ninth graders are “a ragtag collection ofdelinquents and losers from all over Japan,” including tough-guy rugby players, punks with dyed hair. More importantly, many are orphans whose parents or family died in bombings by Wild Seven. After their school bus is diverted to an army base, the students are herded into a cage, surrounded by armed guards, and confronted by their schoolteacher, Riki Takeuchi, who lays down the ground rules of the new Battle Royale game. Wild Seven is hiding out on a deserted island, and instead of being forced to kill each other, as in the old Battle Royale, the students are ordered to attack the terrorist group’s hideout en masse and kill the leader, Shuya Nanahara, within 72 hours. Most of the kids are not interested in being forced to avenge their families, but are coerced to fight through exploding metal collars, which their captors can detonate by remote control. The students are also put into ‘pairs’; if one student dies, then his or her ‘pair’ will also die because of the metal collars set to a certain frequency.

Once again, Shuya — accompanied by survivors of previous “Programs” — must fight to survive.

The film does not use any elements of Takami’s novel, save for a few characters.

This film had a cast consisting of former,current, and future super sentai and kamen raider alumni/actors and actresses.

The main theme of both movies are friendship. these 2 films made me want to protest against the wrong doings of the government. it’s so sad, that much of the world’s reality is depicted in these 2 movies. and in the movies, they showed this on TV as if it were some survivor show. i just hope doesn’t end up in that direction.

 

 

(heavenly days has played straight into my laptop for like 1 hour and half now while i’m making this blog :D)

so here i was…listening to Yui Aragaki’s Heavenly days mp3. so i wondered “maybe i should get the video” so i did right? as much as i was expecting one of those fairy-like vids (since the song was sooooo soothing to hear…yet so sad though i barely understand japanese) then what surprised me was the fact that the song was for the movie Koizora which was based of, don’t be shocked since its normal in japan nowadays, a CELLPHONE novel. that’s right, a story which is pretty much made up and just sends it to everyone like a chain message, only its a novel. if you’re in japan, its often 70-80 words. in china its like 1000 words or something per message.

the story itself got so popular that it got published as a novel, was made into a movie (last fall of 2007), and is now set to air a drama this late 2008! i mean…its like one of those stories that quickly makes people want to just watch or read about them. the story is really sad, i’ve read about it. here’s a short synopsis:

“Koizora” is a love story that was originally published on the popular cell phone site Mahou no iRando. It was authored by new writer Mika, and is based on her own experiences. The story was released in book form last October, selling more than a million copies in its first month. The story revolves around Mika (named after the author), who falls in love with her classmate, Hiroki, upon entering high school. But over the course of the novel, she ends up suffering through many trials, such as rape, abortion, and betrayal. TBS director Natsuki Imai (“Orange Days,” “Taiyou no Uta”) is in charge of the film. This is her first time directing a movie. 

source: Tokyograph

now there are many factors on why this story became a huge success in japan…which made 1 litre of tears and Taiyo no Uta very successful. first, the fact that it revolved around normal people who just happen to fall in love at the wrong lifetime. second, it’s a story of struggle, bitter sweet relationships, and the usual sad love. and the last was the fact that this was based off on a TRUE STORY. what more is that it revolves one of the common tragedies that may befall a woman who has never knew what love felt like.

here are a few screen caps i found by being an immediate fanboy over this story (note: story NOT just the movie…i’m THAT into it)

here’s the video of Heavenly Days sung by Yui Aragaki, which also portrays the girl Mika in the film http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W8fsS887PV0&fmt=18  

lyrics of the video in english http://blackrabbit2999.blogspot.com/2008/01/translation-yui-aragaki-heavenly-days.html

trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NePlZ5i4dOM

ack! youtube has the movie uploaded O_O must resist…must watch it on either my DVD player or download the 700 mb movie…must resist!!!

 

movie predictions: from the looks of the trailers and the video…i can guess pretty much what happens here

main guy is like one of those rebel kids in highschool who has noone who cares for him thus the blonde hair. he may also have some cancer or something…which may have caused him to go bald or he may have had surgery in his brain hinting brain tumor removal (which was obviously unscuccessful since it looked like he died in the end >_>) prior to his sickness, he may have left the girl since he somehow knew he won’t live long to marry her or something.

the girl mika seems to be having a fucked up life until she met the boy of her dreams. which was pretty odd since the guy was like the most hated student of the school or hated by society or something. after the guy left her, she may tried to get over him by loving some other guy. (based on synopsis and video) she had some sort of disease or she had a forced abortion which may have been something to do with the fetus dying in her womb and if it wasn’t removed, she’ll die. or something.

these are all my guesses really. based on trailers, pv, and synopses.

 

PS: i’m gonna download this on tuesday since i get to go comp shop at P.Noval’s Miracle internet cafe which holds the fastest broadband speed anywhere around UST. this shop gave me a 1.3 mbps ddl last week. and 600-800 kbps torrent speed. of course, 6 am was off peak hours and i was the only customer roflmao.

PPS: i almost made a review of a movie i haven’t watched yet lol

 

 

I haven’t updated this in forever…i also recommend watching the following. i haven’t had the time to make good review but reviews and information from d-addicts and eigapedia should be enough to lure you in. also watch the live action of detective conan 😀 really fun! and if i didn’t put casshern yet, then watch it too! also for dragon zakura, and the virgin snow, and if i hadn’t mentioned it yet, HONEY AND CLOVER THE MOVIE among others. all of the dramas i listed scored a very high rating in my opinion. its your own move to google info from other people and take a second opinion.

HAVE FUN WATCHING!

comments, suggestions (specially on other must-watch movies/dramas), and violent reactions are always welcome