Just got my copy of Keep! in the mail! Keep! is a short acoustic EP from Kewei and EinEin, two Singaporean singer-songwriters. They’re musical partners who often perform together. Kewei is also a backup singer for some of Asia’s most popular singers, including David Tao and Wang Leehom. In fact, I first learned about Kewei when I saw her perform at David Tao’s 123 We are All Wooden Men concert in Hong Kong in March 2008.
Yes, I know the pic is backwards!
Keep! is a little independently produced EP that grew out of their showcase in Hong Kong in December of 2009. (Side note: Way jealous that I missed the showcase!) The songs on the EP are very mellow and relaxing. Reminds me a lot of Khalil Fong’s style but less soul boyish. In fact, Khalil Fong is probably a fan too; he attended and performed with them at the Hong Kong showcase! Love (love!) it!!!
Yay! The trailer for the Japanese film Liar Game: The Final Stage is out!!!! I’m super duper excited. The film will be release March 6 in Japan, which means it will take a few weeks for a subbed version to be out. What will happen between Kanzaki Nao (Toda Erika) and Akiyama Shinichi (Matsuda Shoda)? Major tension! I’m eagerly anticipating.
Suspect X (容疑者Xの献身) is a popular Japanese mystery film from 2008. Based on a popular crime novel by Keigo Higashino, Suspect X is a continuation of the television drama series Galileo. I’ve never watched a single episode of Galileo but if the film is any indication of the quality of the cast and story, I’m definitely going to do some video streaming to catch up.
Suspect X starts off with a murder. Yasuko Hanaoka (played by Yasuko Matsuyuki), a single mother with a high school daughter, lives in a small apartment complex and works as a shop manager at a bento box place. She has a pretty normal life, other than the fact that she has a horrid ex-husband who keeps on bugging her for money. One day, the ex-husband shows up at her home to demand more money. A struggle ensues and Yasuko and her daughter end up strangling the dude. Their next door neighbour, Tetsuya Ishigami (played brilliantly by Shinichi Tsutsumi), hears everything. Luckily, Tetsuya is (a) totally in love with Yasuko and (b) a mathematics genius so he helps them cover up the crime. He’s a little creepy at times but he’s good. So, from the very beginning, you already know that Yasuko and her daughter offed the dude and Tetsuya helped them cover it up. While it may seem like it’s no fun to know the major plot points already, the film actually focuses on the process. Basically, everything that happens in between the murder and cover up. Throughout the film, as the police investigate, the audience also sees Tetsuya instructing Yasuko on how she should behave. This is where the fun part comes in.
Since Tetsuya is a pure genius and always one step ahead, he has basically helps Yasuko come up with an perfect alibi. The police are totally baffled so Detective Kaoru Utsumi (played by actress Kou Shibasaki) goes to Professor Manabu Yukawa (played by the awesome Masaharu Fukuyama) for assistance. Manabu is another smarty pants professor who has a very logical mind. He doesn’t really care about emotions or why anybody would commit a crime; he just wants to solve the puzzle. However, mixing things up a bit is the fact that Tetsuya is an old friend and classmate of Manabu. So, now you have two smart dudes facing off against each other.
Suspect X is an extremely smart mystery. Even though you think you know all the answers, there’s always another twist. While you’re watching the film, you’ll think that it’s way too long with all the unnecessary scenes. But, at the end, it will all make sense and you’ll go, oh! It’s one of those types of films. Although you would expect the film to be really dramatic, there’s also a lot of comedic “smart ass” moments in the film as well. And throw some romance into the mix (yes, a little weird I know) and you’ve got a bit of everything. One of the strong points, I think, is the acting. The cast as a whole put in a pretty good performance overall. Though, props to Shinichi Tsutsumi for playing the creepy cover up pro. And, of course, Masaharu Fukuyama was pretty awesome as Professor Manabu Yukawa. Seriously, if he was my professor, I’d attend class everyday just to look at him.
So, if you’ve never watched a Japanese film before, give Suspect X a go. It’s an entertaining and fun puzzle.
Kekekeke…Sorry, I’m having a fan girl moment. Yes, I’m fan girling over Nishikido Ryo (錦戸亮) of the Japanese group NEWS. I know Code is rather old, but I still lurve it. Code, with lyrics written by Ryo-Chan, is on Pacific, the 2nd studio album of NEWS.
As I mentioned in my previous post, I’m a huge fan of medical dramas. Even when ER was going through its crappy phase, I still tuned in regularly. I love House and even the rerun episodes are a must watch for me. It doesn’t matter if it’s American, Korean, Chinese or Japanese; I watch all medical dramas. Which perhaps explains why I love the Japanese drama Code Blue (コード・ブルー) so much. I’ve actually only watched the Code Blue Special and the first two episode of Code Blue 2, but I’m already hooked. In addition to watching the new season, I’m also rapidly trying to catch up by watching the first season as well. Trust me, it’s awesome. Yamashita Tomohisa and Toda Erika are in it; case closed.
Code Blue is about four trainee doctors who work the “Doctor Helicopter” system at a University hospital. Basically, when an emergency happens, doctors get sent out to the scene on a helicopter in order to provide rapid response. This is supposed to be super cool so all the trainees want to get in on this so they can officially become flight doctors at the end of their fellowship. Like any good medical drama, Code Blue doesn’t focus only on the medical aspect of the story. Yes, that is when the excitement happens but it merely offers a means for character and relationship development. The focus, really, is on the four trainees, their development and relationships.
The Trainees
(Left to right: Higa Manami, Aragaki Yui, Yamashita Tomohisa, Toda, Erika, Asari Yosuke)
The drama lead is Yamashita Tomohisa (aka Yamapi), who plays Aizawa Kosaku. Aizawa is the cool, confident and technically superior trainee but his confidence sometimes gets the best of him. Although he appears aloof and cold on the outside, he actually cares about his patients and struggles as well. In season one, his grandmother is admitted to the hospital and discharged to a nursing home after a long treatment. Here we see the struggle that Aizawa faces; although he wants his grandmother to live with him so that he can take care of her, he too knows that it’s not realistic since he has to work the crazy hours as a trainee in order to succeed as a flight doctor.
The female lead, Aragaki Yui, plays the character of Shiraishi Megumi. As the daughter of a well known doctor, everyone expects Shiraishi to perform well as a trainee but she is perhaps the weakest of them all. She is soft spoken and often unsure of herself. Basically, the pushover but she has learned to stand up for herself (and her patients) as the series has progressed.
Toda Erika plays Hiyama Mihoko, a smart and feisty doctor who wants to succeed. She’s basically the exact opposite of Shiraishi. At the end of Code Blue Special (the special episode between seasons one and two), Hiyama undergoes open heart surgery after getting injured during a rescue mission. At the beginning of Code Blue 2, it’s clear that she’s suffering from the after effects of such an invasive surgery. How will this affect her not only physically, but also her confidence in becoming a flight doctor? (Side note: I know that Toda Erika is not the female lead but I like her so much better than Aragaki Yui. Maybe it’s because I like Toda Erika’s character so much more?)
Asari Yosuke takes on the character of the adorable and bumbling Fujikawa Kazuo. Although Fujikawa often speaks without thinking and is prone to make mistakes, he nonetheless cares deeply about his patients and colleagues. He is serious about becoming a doctor but he’s not cut throat about it. To him, camaraderie is also very important.
In addition to the trainees, there are also a whole bunch of other characters that make this drama interesting. I highly recommend that you check it out. Of course, there are English subbed versions floating around on the Internet.
Yeah, so I’m loving the Japanese drama Code Blue 2 right now. For some reason, I really enjoy watching medical dramas. Doesn’t matter if it’s American, Korean, Chinese or Japanese; medical dramas just suck me in. Since watching Code Blue (Special) and the first episode of Code Blue 2, I’ve totally fallen under the spell of Yamashita Tomohisa (山下 智久), who also goes by the nickname Yamapi.
Anyways, this post isn’t about Code Blue 2 (I’ll get into that in another post). It’s about Yamapi and his adorableness. Check out the music video for his single Loveless.
