My DedicAsian

Kimi ni Todoke Anime and New Layout

Tue, 06 Oct 2009 07:47:10 GMT

Kimi ni Todoke airs tonight/tomorrow morning! Can't wait! What do you think of the new layout?

^Uploaded video by narume21@youtube

Skip Beat Kyoko Tribute

Tue, 16 Dec 2008 14:53:33 GMT

A quick AMV about Mogami Kyoko's life.
The computer with all the good quality raw files crashed, therefore I had to use the bad quality videos I had >.<
Please watch and enjoy!

Singer: Evan Yo
Song: 没有人要的小孩 (A child no one wants)
Language: Chinese (;P)

If you were wondering, in the AMV, Kyoko said along the lines of: I lost a human trait

EDIT: I got round to making a better version after files were recovered XD

[KDrama] Hana Yori Dango

Thu, 20 Nov 2008 06:48:31 GMT

The time has finally come for Hana Yori Dango [Korean Version]!!! It's to be aired on the ~~23rd~~ 22nd of December I believe! There have been leaks of photographs which makes it more exciting plus it looks promising.

^ Cute school uniform

^ Haha, look at his hair! Domyoji, right?

^ Pretty! ^_^

^ If I'm not mistaken, this must be Shizuka!

Recently watched the Japanese version + the movie, thinking it could be better. Hopefully the K-Version will be loads good (added with the goodness of angst and drama common in KDramas!)

[TWDrama] Skip Beat! Confirmed

Thu, 20 Nov 2008 03:56:38 GMT

Yes, it's confirmed! A drama for the popular manga series Skip Beat! by Yoshiki Nakamura.
The rumored main leads Ariel Lin (Kyoko) and Jerry Yan (Ren) are confirmed. They held a press conference on the 17th of November in Japan!

I'm kind of excited to see the storyline. Not to confident about the roles but I heard Jerry Yan wants to shake off his 'hard to please' image and show his 'professional' and 'hard-working side'. A bit like Ren's personality of taking his career seriously, eh? And Ariel seems to have already dyed her hair orange! (not shown in the above picture though xP)

[Upcoming Anime 2009] Winter Sonata

Sun, 16 Nov 2008 13:00:35 GMT

Winter Sonata is a hit Korean drama that will be turned into an anime with 26 episodes!
Plus the seiyuus will be the people from the actual drama!

ANN: The drama follows two childhood friends — a boy and a girl — and the tragedy and angst that befalls them and those around them in the years between high school and young adulthood.

(Drama, Romance, Angst, Tears: Definitely my kind of anime!)

^Credit to rukaruka87@youtube

OMG the character looks like Bae Yong Jun (doh!) It's awesome! I wonder whether it's going to be in Japanese? Maybe Korean language with Japanese subtitles? Nevertheless, I'm excited to watch this!

Tokyo Shounen [2008 J-Movie]

Fri, 12 Sep 2008 23:42:42 GMT

After half a year of waiting! and I was able to watch it yesterday. Was a bit disappointed.

The story is that of a girl Minato who has a double sided personality (her other half being Night). Maki did a very good job. When she is Night, you can see a dramatic change in her eyes and posture so it's a bit freaky as well as funny.
Minato falls in love with a fellow called Shou who always buys from the convenient store she works at. Shou is played by Takuya Ishida. His character was pretty boring to say the least...

Secondly, You can't escape the dead silences in J-Movies. The ones in Tokyo Shounen weren't so bad but I can guarantee at least 1/4 of it was painful silence.

The movie is broken up into 3 different perspectives - Minato's, Shou's and Night's. This meant that scenes were repeated (at different angles). This way of storytelling was very clever and leaves you figuring out what happened.

Kookiemonstar's Rating: 7/10

Project Makeover/Go go Sister [2006 K-Movie]

Mon, 30 Jun 2008 03:34:03 GMT

At thirty and age coming on her, Jung-joo despises how her life has turned up. Degraded into doing simple chores for a designer, she believes that the turning point of her life was failing in becoming the girlfriend of then school poster-boy Ha-ni. What’s more, Ha-ni has now become a top star, and that irritates Jung-joo more than anything. When a chance to go back to the past for a week is given to her, she meets her younger self, and is determined to change the course of life that has eluded her for so long. But such a task seems much harder than it had first appeared to be, and she becomes more desperate than ever.
^ Summary from crunchyroll

I had this movie in my ipod and finally decided to watch it after about half a year =O. It's a really nice movie about a girl who was given a chance using a computer to go back and change the course of her life. Although how this happened was not explained and illogical, it allowed the story to be entertaining. It is mostly a romantic-comedy but does share moments of sadness and does it well. It was a really cute film and not predictable at all.

Kookiemonstar's rating: 9.5/10 xD

Kung Fu Panda [2008]

Sun, 29 Jun 2008 13:23:25 GMT

Kung Fu Panda is a fun and entertaining movie, though a bit short in my opinion. I don't think the character names were mentioned at all... or maybe they were just called their respective animal names.
Celebrities lent their voices for the movie but it seemed like Dustin Hoffman got most of the dialogue. He did a good job as ShiFu whether in hilarious or serious sitationg.
I don't think I heard Jackie Chan say a line longer than 5 words which was a bit disappointing. Angelina Jolie received a bit extra but I don't think she had many lines either. Jack Black did an great job. I think my ears was filled with awesomeness XD. The only voice I had problem with was the one who did Tai Lung. Seriously, the voice was so out of place; It was nowhere near evil and didn't fit with the appearance. There was little dialogue for him but whenever he spoke, it was terrible!!!
The movie could've went on for longer to develop the characters because we don't know much about them (the furious five). The only character who seemed to develop by the end is Po, the panda. His change was a bit too fast in the 1hr and 20 minutes but in the end he still retains stupidity XD.
Now about the Kung fu: All the kung fu scenes were well drawn and animated and very fun to watch. Music: Hard to miss the chinese elements in the background music. It reminded me vaguely of The Forbbiden Kingdom movie because that consisted of many chinese elements too.

Although the movie was short, it was full of hilarious jokes and puns! I wouldn't say there was any lesson that could be learnt from it but 'There is no secret to being good at something, you find out when you believe.'

Kookiemonstar's Rating: B+

Koizora [2007 J-Movie]

Sun, 29 Jun 2008 07:08:47 GMT

Koizora is a mobile story based on the true experiences of the author Mika.
Tahara Mika (Aragaki Yui) and Sakurai “Hiro” Hiroki (Miura Haruma) are high schoolers who fall in love and go through ups and downs in their relationship. The events were quite predicatable but this is okay considering it is based on real-life.

Yui and Haruma play really likeable characters. Yui plays Mika who is a first year, innocent and hasn't fallen in love until she meets Hiro. Yui plays her character really well because you can see the emotion in her eyes.
Hiro is a 'bad boy' with the standout blondish-white messy hair. I thought Haruma was nothing but a pretty face but was proved wrong when he had to do a crying scene! Koide Kesuke, who plays Fukuhara Yu rival lover to Hiro, is also likable. Probably the first rival I've ever seen in a movie that makes me want the female lead to be with (though I haven't watched many). He's equally good looking too, XD.

There is good cinematography such as the nice blue skies and Hiro's favourite place which is grassy plains :). After reading some blogs I found out the school the characters go to is in the countryside, which surprised me a bit because it seemed like the city.

Koizora is a good movie for girls to watch XD It's a bit sad and a tad heartwrenching but I don't think its to the point of crying (probably because they didn't develop the sad situation long enough).

Kookiemonstar's rating: 8.5/10

Last Friends [JDrama 2008]

Mon, 09 Jun 2008 03:03:11 GMT

Genre: Friendship, Human Drama
Synopsis:

Last Friends tackles issues that afflict the current generation. Michiru's mother has brought a man back to their home and she is bullied at her workplace where she works as a beauty parlour assistant. She starts cohabiting with her boyfriend, a good young man who works at the Child Welfare Division and the only person who can give her emotional support, but ends up the victim of domestic violence and becomes fearful of love. The boyishly charming Ruka was a classmate of Michiru's in junior high school. She has performed brilliantly as a motocross racer and aims to win the national championship, but as the story progresses, a deep worry that she can neither confide in her parents or close friends grows evident. Takeru is a hair and makeup artist acquainted with Ruka. He is a good confidant to females due to his kindness and perceptiveness, and finds himself attracted to Ruka but has a phobia of sex as a result of a past trauma. The three of them become house mates and through their associations with others, gain the capacity to be positive about life.
^Credits to jade_frost@wikipedia

I never thought I'd be insterested in this sort of drama. At the time I was excited for Zettai Kareshi. About 5 episodes of that and it got boring! I can never forget the feeling I had when I watched the first two episodes of Last Friends. It's like an all star cast with Ryo Nishikido from NewS, Juri Ueno, Asami Mizukawa & Eita from Nodame Cantabile and Masami Nagasawa from Proposal Daisakusen! The buildup in the first episode was good. It established how everyone met. The second episode was really emotional, and the actors did an excellent job. Especially Ryo who acted as the DV guy and Masami who was the victim.

Next few episodes Masami's character Michiru moves into a sharehouse with everyone in it except Ryo (lol) and we can see friendships building up and comforting in helpless times. The storyline is still going strong and doesn't have a downfall like Zettai Kareshi. There's is not a single boring moment (I'm currently up to episode 9). I guess that's because in the beginning of the story there is Masami's character, Michiru, reflecting back on a death (I think), with someone's baby in her tummy and this won't be revealed until the last episode.

I can't wait to hear Utada's Prisoner of Love piano instrumental which keeps playing in the background. I must admit they use the song too much but it NEVER gets old and boring! According to my research The Last Friends OST is confirmed for 11/06/2008 with 21 tracks! Looking forward to hearing it!!!

도레미파솔라시도 Doremifasolatido [2008 Movie]

Wed, 28 May 2008 07:14:37 GMT

This story is based on a fanfiction by Guiyeoni which got famous and deserved a film for it. The movie was made in 2006 but not released until April of this year. (I found out about this movie around April so I'm glad I didn't wait that long.) Well I watched the trailer first and it was pretty interesting. Then last week I watched the movie and was a bit disappointed.

Maybe it's because I didn't read the fanfiction so I didn't know what was going on. The first 20 minutes in were great but then the rest turned crazy... There is no logical explanation or signs that one character had a sickness. Well, the character (Eun Gyu) who's singing on stage stops singing and tells the audience "I can't sing anymore." He says goodbye to his lover in the crowd who doesn't chase after him and he ends up getting a strange disease where he acts like a kid and actually hates the music he's loved for most of his life. What's with that?

The other 'strong and mean' lead guy (he once ordered a bunch of guys to beat up the female lead) turns out weak and helpless when the story just unfolds. Overall, the characters didn't have much depth to make you sympathise with them. There were some entertaining moments and a few laughs but that was it.

Kookiemonstar's Rating: 7/10

The Forbidden Kingdom [2008 Movie] Review

Sat, 24 May 2008 15:50:18 GMT

(^Click for larger image^)
Very minor spoilers ahead.

Plot
I love the plot of the Forbidden Kingdom! It's interesting and unpredictable. The writers of the film used many famous chinese tales intertwined to create a strong plot for the film. Some parts of the film were illogical, but that's expected from many fantasy-type movies. The ends were tied nicely but some turned out not how what I wanted it to be. It's approximately 1 hour and 40 minutes long which seemed a bit short but very fulfilling. Nothing was rushed, the ending was well planned out. This film was action packed and very fun, with comedy tied in. You know how after an hour or so, something happens that ties in with the beginning and seems clever? Well that's what happens in the Forbbiden Kingdom!

Soundtrack & Cinematography
The soundtrack was excellent :O:O They used traditional chinese instruments like the flutes, harps and big drums tied in with the classical stuff. Very epic feeling and fitting for the plot. The scenery was awesome, the cast actually went to film in the Gobi Desert and other parts of China. The CGI was great and added to the exciting epic feel.

Acting
Now for the acting! As expected, Jackie Chan and Jet Li were very good. Their parts were acted out well and the kung fu scenes between these two were excellent and enjoyable to watch. I should rephrase that: All the fighting scenes amongst everyone were well done! There was not a moment where I wanted to dose off, I was kept at the edge of my seat and each scene was satisfying. Out of the two, I would say Jackie had the better english speaking skills. Both played two characters (which was one ultimately, you'll know what I mean if you watch it!) and they totally pinned it. Jackie was a hop who opened a bootleg thrift shop plus being immortal Lu Yan and Jet played a silent monk and the monkey king (孙悟空). Their face expressions were all top notch.

The main character is Jason Tripitikas played by Michael Angarano who is an American kid with a love for all things Kung fu related. He manages to gain a good amount of spotlight among the presence of Jackie Chan and Jet Li. There is good character development particularly in this character and it makes the movie more worthwhile to see him taking action and show courage as opposed to being weak and passive. His acting and expressions were also very good.

Liu yi fei played Golden Sparrow (小燕子) an orphan who seeks to kill the Jade Warlord (Collin Chou) for killing her mother. She was a potential love interest for Jason and the producers allow the audience to interpret what happens at the end. Liu yi fei's english was pretty good. She pronounces words very well. The scenes between Golden Sparrow and Jason kind of lacked chemistry, partly due to the fact the movie was quite short and they did not spend a great deal of time together but it worked out okay.

The 'bad guys' Jade Emperor by Collin Chou and 白发魔女 (white-haired witch/Ni chang) played by Li Bing Bing did superb jobs. Li Bing Bing has the beauty and perfect expressions and it worked well for her character. Her scenes were really acted out well, she's the type of bad character that is likeable. Too much eye shadow for the Jade emperor I must say, it was kind of distracting when he talked haha. His cold eyes and powerful voice made him an excellent bad guy.

Overall
I thought this movie was going to be a bit cheesy but it was less than I expected! Love the dialogue especially the puns and comedic meaning.

"Jason: I'll never forget you
Lu Yan: I guess that's what being immortal truly means" <--Haha!

Kookiemonstar's Rating: A :):):):)!

Tegomass - Ai ai Gasa [2008]

Thu, 22 May 2008 12:57:38 GMT

^ Credit to happyheartmee@youtube

I was jumping up and down when I heard Tegomass was going to release a single. Their previous single Kiss ~ Kaerimichi no Love Song for Lovely Complex was really good. The only thing good about Neo Angelique Abyss would be the ending song. (I gave episode 1 a try and it was awful)
In Ai ai gasa, Tegomass's great, clear, awesome, sweet voices are back! They harmonise really well. No need to wait 2 weeks to hear the whole song because the PV came out! :D Although it has a repetitive tune, there's no need to replay that 1:30 clip ripped from the anime ending, haha.