PPAP and CBCC ( CUTE!! )

WD Exteral Hard Disk NEW

Cute!  Mine's orange (Body and Cord).

Bakumatsu Gurume Bushimeshi Ep.1

A new J-drama season (Spring 2017) has started!  Among the ones I watched so far, Bakumatsu Gurume Bushimeshi (AsianWiki) is my most favorite.  It's fun!  I must admit that I love dramas dealing with food/cooking.

This drama is about a low-rank samurai Banshirou (played by Seto Kouji) who came to Edo as a part of his Daimyou (feudal lord) troupe because of Sankin Koutai (a system under which feudal lords in the Edo period were required to spend every other year in residence in Edo.） 

(Spoiler)

New Year, New Dramas

2015 Summer JDrama: TamiOu

This is not a serious drama, but it's very funny.  We are somewhat tired of watching a drama on "body-switch".  So I was not expecting so much, thinking "(this is) another body-switch drama".  However, I must say I was wrong.  This is a fun drama to watch.

It is about father-son body switching.  The father (played by Endo Ken'ichi) is the prime minister of Japan and his son (played by Suda Masaki) is a college student.  The father tries his best to uphold his political party and to maintain his position and power.  

The son is a happy-go-lucky guy who is not so smart.  He can't read Chinese characters (this is a sign of one's education or knowledge in Japan) which makes Japanese media criticize their prime mister as an ignorant man.  Despite all that, the son has a good, kind heart which brings success to prime minister's political maneuvering.  

Although the father and the son were not very close, they get closer after their body-switch and start to have more understanding of each other's life and work.

Very funny drama.  Highly recommended.

Abolishing Geo-blocking in EU

TorrentFreak Article

Wouldn't it be great if there is no geo-restriction whatsoever so that we can watch any streaming videos from anywhere?

I bet companies like Netflix and Hulu can make more money...  But this is what is taking place.

Tightning Geo-restriction by Netflix 

New Spring Drama: I'm Home

Lately KimuTaku has not been doing well in bringing high ratings to his dramas.  However, this drama will probably stop that trend.  The first episode brought the rating of 16.7%, the highest among the 2015 spring dramas.  It's a great start.

This drama is based on a 1997-98 manga with the same title by Ishizaka Kei.  It was made into a 20-episode drama in 2014 on NHK starring Tokitou Saburou, Kon'no Misako and Toda Naho.  The current one is shown on TV Asahi.

(Spoiler)

New Spring Drama: Liquid

This is a 3-episode drama series about Sake making in Kanazawa, Ishikawa Prefecture on NHK BS Premium.  It has a feel of WOWOW original drama.  Good story, good actors.  

Sagara Shu'uichi (played by Itou Hideaki) was born as the son of Sake brewery owner but chose to be a banker in Tokyo.  He was doing well, but made a wrong choice in taking a side in the bank politicking.  As a result, he was going to be sent away from Tokyo.

He decides to quit his job and goes back to his homeland in Kanazawa.  His mother is sick in bed and decides to close the brewery which she managed after her husband had died.  Shu'uichi was going to help his mother sell the brewery, but after her death, he decides to manage the brewery and work to make Sake.  

(Spoiler)

New Spring Drama: Dr. Rintaro

Here's Sakai Masato's new drama.  He was a lawyer and a banker.  This time he is a psychiatrist working at a university hospital.  He is a brilliant psychiatrist whose patients includes the Japanese government's Chief Cabinet Secretary.  

(Spoiler)

New Spring Drama: Fuben na Benriya

I watched this short drama (30 minutes per episode) without knowing anything about the drama.  After watching the first episode, I still can't figure out what it's about.

Okada Masaki plays Takeyama Jun who had a successful debut as a screenwriter in Tokyo.  However, that success did not last long.  People started to change his dialogues.  

Fed up with writing, Takeyama heads for Furano in Hokkaido.  It's in the middle of winter.  His bus gets stuck in a blizzard.  He gets off the bus and finds himself in the middle of nowhere in Hokkaido.  He goes to a bar, gets drunk and pass out.

(Spoiler)

New Spring Drama: Yami no Bansou Sha

Here's a new WOWOW Original drama, Yami no Bansou-sha.  Although its English title is Partner in Darkness, Yami no Bansou-sha literally means "escort runner of darkness".

Mizuno Yu'uki (played by Matsushita Nao) is a former police officer who now works as a "researcher" (private investigator?) for publishing firms.  She has enough problems of her own...  Her mother has dementia and sometimes does not recognize her own daughters.  She lives with and is taken care by her Yu'uki's older sister.  The older sister is tired from taking care of her mother and feels sour about Yu'uki.  

Yu'uki is going through divorce.  Her ex wants Yu'uki to take him back again, but Yu'uki just wants to go ahead with the divorce.

One day Yu'uki is given a case:

Old unpublished sketches (manga) were found among original manga sketches of a famous manga artist.  The artist is dead, and his wife wants to know if those sketches were drawn by her late husband.  

(Spoiler)

New Spring Drama: Angels and Demons

I usually don't care much about crime/detective dramas, but I decided to watch this new drama because of the two main actors; Gouriki Ayame and Watabe Atsurou.  They are my favorite actors.  I like Watabe especially when he acts a serious character like he did in Gaiji Keisatsu.  

Gouriki Ayame plays Makita Hikari, a police detective who is never suspicious of anybody.  As she believes lies told by suspects, she is not a good detective.  She is transferred to the cold case resource room where her main job is to organize cold case information sheets.  

Watabe Atsurou plays Chajima Ryu'unosuke who appears in front of Makita and tells her that the resource room is changing its name to the Cold Case Anonymous Investigation Unit.  He also tells her that they are going to work together.  Chajima is a lawyer with high IQ who does not trust anybody and does dirty works for money.

(Spoiler)

The Wind Rises: Jmovie (Anime) by Studio Ghibli

Studio Ghibli announced in August last year that it is restructuring its Film Production Division so that they are not going to produce films for some time.  Miyazaki Hayao is said to be retiring and if it is the case, this Anime, "The Wind Rises" released in 2013 is his last movie.

This movie is about Horikoshi Jiro (1903-1982) who is the designer/engineer of Zero-sen (The Mitsubishi A6M Zero, a long-range fighter aircraft used by the imperial Japanese navy in the WW2).  As a kid, he dreamed of flying.  Since his eyesight was not so good, he decided to create an airplane.  

(Spoiler)

Eternal Zero: Jmovie and Jdrama SP

 
Eien no Zero is a story about a Kamikaze Tokkou pilot in the WWII.  He was a skilled pilot who didn't want to die.  In the present day, his grandson and granddaughter got to know for the first time that he died as a Tokkou pilot 60 years ago.  They want to know more about him, so they go and meet his navy buddies.   Some say he was the biggest coward in the navy, others say he was a great person and they were willing to die for him.  He was a good instructor who felt pain teaching young men how to fly for a suicide mission and seeing them off on a one-way flight.

Although he never met or talked with his wife before the wedding and he and his wife lived together for only a week, he loved her dearly and promised to come back to see her and their daughter for sure.  His grandson and granddaughter try to find out why he "chose" to be on a Tokkou mission.  Through their investigation, they get to know more about their grandfather and things that their grandmother never told them.

Wakako Zake Ep.9

 MENU

1. Beer

2.  Deep-Fried Chicken

(Kara Age)

3.  Grilled Chicken Leg

(Hone Tsuki Dori) 

4.  Draft Beer
5.  Grilled Meat on a Skewer
(Yaki Tori)
a.  Heart (Hatsu)
b.  Chicken and Scallion (Negima)
c.  Shiso and Cheese Wrapped with Pork
d.  Chicken Skin (Kawa)
e.  Liver

Wakako Zake Ep.8

 MENU

1. Black Olives with Olive Oil and Basil

2.  White Wine

3.  Brie and Apple
( Buringo )

4. Whisky on the Rocks
5.  Beer
6.  Mixed Nuts
7.  Salmon Cream Stew

Wakako Zake Ep.7

 MENU

1. Fried Cake of Minced Meat
( Menchi Katsu)

2.  Edamame

3.  Hot Sake

4. Japanese Omelette
( Dashi Maki Tamago)

Wakako Zake Ep.6

 MENU

1. Beer

2.  Pistacios

3.  Mozzarella with Avocado

(Avocado no Caprese) 

4.  Octopus Dumplings
(Tako Yaki)
5. Distilled Liquor made from Sweet Potato
( Imo Jou-Chu'u )
6.  Octopus Cheese Dumplings 
( Cheese Tako Yaki)
7. White Wine
8.  Deep-Fried Octopus Dumplings with Green Onion and 
Citrus Soy Sause
( Yaki Tako Yki no Negi Ponzu)

Wakako Zake Ep.5

 MENU

1. Hot Sake

2. Grilled Skate Fin

( Ei Hire )

3.  Distilled Liquor and Water
( Shou-Chu'u Mizuwari )

4.  Roasted Gingko Nuts

( Iri Gin'nan )

Wakako Zake Ep.4

 MENU

1. Hot Sake

2.  Fresh Tofu on a bamboo sieve
( Zaru Doufu )