Suitei Yuuzai ep 1

Looks like Vulcan300 fansubs is becoming the go to fansub for WOWOW doramas. This time we have Suutei Yuuzai, which means presumed guilty. Shinozuka Yoshio has convicted and imprisoned for 12 years for murdering a little girl. The case against him was based on Yoshio's confession and a positive DNA test. His lawyer Ishihara Yoko (Kuroki Hitomi) managed to prove his innocence with another DNA test.

Nakamura Tooru plays Kayama Seiji, the journalist who wrote an article condemning Yoshio. I remember him most from playing Akamatsu in Soratobu Taiya. He is absolutely perfect for playing those righteous good guys without making his character seem like an idiot and getting audience sympathy. Seiji did his own investigation and was convinced that Yoshio was the killer.

You've got Motokariya Yuika as Yoshio's daughter, Miho. She's changed her last name but still doesn't want to see her father so there's something going on there. Mimura is the sister of the murdered girl and she has something against Yoshio. Perhaps she knows something about his newly declared innocence?

I have a feeling the music is by the guy who did Iryu and Triangle but I could be wrong. Listen doing the awesome scene when Yoshio walks out a free man and the ending scene. A bit too early to declare the movie a must watch cause the first episode is pure set up but you can see that Suitei Yuuzai is more than just whether Yoshio is actually guilty.

Forgot to look for Kazoku Hotei in Japan. But then even second hand dorama series are very expensive there.

You've got politicians using Yoshio to enhance their popularity. You got Yoshio declaring revenge on the mass media, police and judiciary that condemned him. You've a lawyer who apparently has a less than reputable name who probably has her own agenda. Terajima Susumu, the useless father from Gold is Katsuragi, someone who may know something about the murder incident. He is also known to Asada Kunio, the policeman who got the confession out of Yoshio 12 years ago.

Haven't seen her since Gonzo.Hope she becomes a WOWOW regular.

Lots of material for a very explosive dorama. I expect a lot of people trying to manipulate each other and crazy shit to happen when plans go awry. Screw it, I'm going to declare it must watch despite the casting of Jinnai Takanori because ep 1 had me on the edge of my seat and I am so tempted right now to watch the rest of it raw.

I was watching this scene waiting for when the Bug-eyes' eyes would be biggest when I noticed something. Jinnai Takanori never blinked! I have no idea whether he does this in real life or is it just his acting. I've been told that I don't blink when I play SF. Does Bug-eyes acting require so much concentration that he is unable to blink? Will watch his performance in the later episodes for signs of blinking but I think its a big reason why his acting is so unnatural.

Love the above scene when Yoshio visits his wife's grave and the mass media just barges in, especially this reporter with a smile on her face while doing something very rude.

She's also among the reporters waiting for him outside the prison gates. Love the continuity. Its a small thing but it makes things more real.

Moteki movie: Moriyama Mirai is one lucky bastard.

Bframe5 talked this movie up a bit so was looking forward to it. The movie starts with a short recap of the dorama series. I was like 'how could they abandon the 4 characters so easily?'. Then its like Yukio is still the same dude at the start of the series, except he's no longer fat. Is this movie going to retread the same stuff again where lots of things happen but nothing really happens because Yukio never progresses?

Then Masami shows up and I am reminded why the dorama series was so enjoyable in the first place. Moteki is quirky, wacky, has great music and its a harem story that doesn't feel generic. Lots of Tenga product placement in this movie. Yukio's internal monologues are not as funny anymore because you can guess what he's gonna say from watching the dorama.

I wonder how many takes did they do for this scene? I kind of forgot about how disappointed I was with Masami's acting in Bunshin. There is one scene near the end where Yukio comes to her room soaked from the rain and there's not enough 'pain' in Masami's crying. Other than that, she did a great job.

The movie gets rid of the pacing problem from the series but the new problem is that there is not enough time for all four girls. Its a problem I'd rather have. Moteki the movie has all the good things from the dorama except for the time travel. Lots of funny scenes, great music and a much better ending.

Must watch movie. It is not necessary to watch the dorama. Some characters from the dorama make an appearance but it is not necessary to know Yukio's history with them.

One thought that occured to be while watching was what if you replace Yukio with Suzuki sensei? What would Suzuki sensei say/do?

I thought I saw something white.

And it turned out to be shorts.

Saigo Kara Nibanme no Koi eps 5-11

Its been a while since I saw this. I watched the final episode on my 5th day in Japan at bframe5's place. It was recorded from tv so it had ads/cms and I was like OMG its got ads! Watching downloaded doramas ads are always cut and when one is left in its like an exciting thing lol.

First half of Saigo Kara was immaculate. Somewhere down the line, its started unraveling. Main thing is that it stopped being funny save for Wahei and Chiaki fighting, a well that IMO, the writer drew too many times from. The Wahei mother and daughter story fizzled out. It had the potential to be very funny but it never went anywhere.

Chiaki and Asada Ryutaro's story was never going anywhere. It was boring after Asada's secret was revealed and so Uchida Yuki stepped into the brother's role. It was boring and her best role in the series was locking herself in so Chiaki could do the funny scene where she talks about her own troubles. Its like they gave Uchida Yuki more stuff to do because she's Uchida Yuki and the Chiaki needed someone else to play off before the end but it was just a waste of time. Ijima Naoko's internet dating story wasn't interesting, probably cause the show did not give me any reason to care for her character.

The first half of the show had a lot of the usual mid life crisis stuff to say and it did it with great humour. The only thing the second half had to say was that people who actually like each other should be able to fight all the time and not be super nice to each other all the time. Probably the worst mistake was not getting Asada and Tomomi fighting a lot earlier. Their relationship feels so tacked on like the usual 'let's put the two supporting characters who have done their part together'.

So it was a long wait for Wahei and Chiaki to get together and even then it was a sudden, anti-climatic finish. The one dorama I compare this to is KDO which had a great build up with a nice quiet ending that fit the show perfectly. Saigo Kara's finish is like more like a slow trek and by the time it got to the finish line, I didn't care about the race anymore.

Not to say that Saigo Kara sucks. First half is a blast and I just marveled at the writing and how well all the elements are put together. Second half was Wahei and Chiaki don't really have anything going for them when they are not together. Its a watchable dorama, just a shame it couldn't be what the first half promised to be. If you're after a really good Koizumi Kyoko dorama, watch Manhattan Love Story.

Japan 2012 loot

GAMES 

I know you're probably thinking where's New Love Plus? The game was recalled after it was found to be very, very buggy. How the four 'reviewers' at Famitsu ever finished the game without encountering bugs, I don't know.

The game I played the most was Labyrinth no Kanata at around 10 hours. Its Ico meets Might and Magic with a colour based battle system that I don't really like. Project Mirai only has 1 really good song and I still prefer the Project Diva gameplay. Oh yes, you can watch 3D idoling!! clips though I have yet to get the wifi working on my router.

I just had to buy this game. Great for practicing my kanji.

This baby took a huge chunk of my cash. My big reason for buying wasn't for any game but because of the UMD passport and its got a bigger screen than the PSP. My PSP is my most played system if you don't count Street Fighter and I've got a lot of unfinished games on it.

What I didn't realise was that very few games have the UMD passport and a lot of games are still not on the PSN store. Was hoping to use the passport for my Project Diva and Idolmaster UMDs. Downloaded Project Diva Extend onto the Vita and the timing feels way off. Dunno if its the larger screen, smaller buttons or if there's lag with PSP emulation. Switched to my PSP and I can combo so much easier.

Hate the right analog stick which gets in my way. So I think I'll be sticking to my PSP for PSP games. Oh yeah, Sony hasn't got PS1 emulation running on the Vita. WTF. Was hoping to continue playing it on the Vita since the PSP screen is kind of small for a 4:3 screen ratio game. Looking forward to the new Miku Vita game though.

Uncharted feels like playing on a PS3. Haven't tried Gravity Daze yet. Played the demo in stores and it was interesting.

My annual 20000 yen on psn points. So many great PSP games to get from PSN store and no time to play.

FIGURES

Wasn't planning to get so many figures. My initial plan was to buy lots of manga for reading but figures are more tempting.

Was running around Akiba on my last day last trip looking for this. Had a hard time finding this and found it at a figure shop off an alley.

Really wanted this figure because its got nice clock parts behind Makise Kurisu. Should probably have taken pictures of the figures unboxed by all the pics were taken in Japan and its nearly 3am now and I have to get to sleep soon.

When I saw this, I knew I had to have it. 8000 yen for a polystone figure is an awesome price.

Menma nendroid!!!!! Regretting not getting the regular Menma and Anaru figures.

I bought this figure for 1200 yen. Yes, that is not a typo. No idea why such an awesome figure is selling for so cheap but I think it was a UFO prize. Really big and looks really good.

Got it from Mandrake Akiba for like 4500 yen cause the leg is broken but nothing that super glue can't fix. Took whole afternoon deciding whether to get this or the Good Smile figures and running around trying to get the best price. Leaving the shopping for last 2 days is very exhausting.

Homura has a nice machine gun.

Voice Kyubei!

The biggest find of my trip. Iori figure for only 3000 yen!!!!! Got it from thee FiguaR shop.  Didn't have a box but is in mint condition. This must be so rare.

BOOKS

Masakazu Katsura artbook. I reread I's every year.

Mano Erina photobook. Just realised that I have yet to visit a HP! shop, if they are still around.

Zone reunion book. Need Mizuho!!!!!!

VF5FS book. I played a bit at the arcades. A lot has changed since VF5 ver C.

The SF book for AE 2012. I believe I've bought the guide book for every upgrade which is a lot of money.

Yuri moe book.

SHIRTS

Hanshin Tigers shirt, not that I like baseball.

No nice Ano Hana shirts. I only bought this cause it was 1600 yen. Standard price for anime shirts is 3000 yen.

XL Steins Gate shirt which feels like an L. Should have bought the other design.

Macross shirt. Shirt wise, my favourite has to be the Scandal vs Budokan shirt. I already covered all the Scandal merchandise here.

Lastly, Soredemo Ikite Yuku poster. Easy to find posters of doramas I hate but not doramas I love.