The Little Dorama Girl – 2nd Anniversary Post: Once Upon a Johnny

The Terrible Twos

The Little Dorama Girl turned two a few days ago (um, yay), although I know that things have been a little quiet on the bloggy front the past year. To be honest I haven’t had much progress with my drama To-Watch and review To-Write lists due to (what else?) Real Life obligations. But I hope that my 22 regular readers (down 2 from 24, ohnoes!) find themselves in a forgiving mood as they read this. THANK YOU for continuing to patronize my daft fangirly drivel, really I mean it. I don’t know if you notice, but I totally feel yer lurrve each time you drop me a line! Your comments brighten up my day, and that’s a fact. =D (And – dammit lurkers, STOP HIDING IN KAMENASHI’S CLOSET! lol)

Graphics by jicks (sankyou jicks! words are not enough!!! gahahaha xD)

So I hope you’ll enjoy what I’ve cooked up for my Second Anniversary Offering. Then again, maybe you’ll read this and curse the day you chanced upon my site, hahaha. But it’s Johnnies who got me blogging, and by gum, it’s Johnnies who’ll KEEP me going. I owe their skinny, tinsel-clad heinies more than most people give them credit for, so this post is for them – and for you, if you can, uh, keep an open mind while reading. This is something I’ve never tried before, but DAYYUM I HAD FUN WRITING IT SO THERE!!!

xoxo Ender’s Girl

*cue fairytale-y music*

Hello, I’m Ender’s Girl. For centuries, storytellers have spun their tales of magic and enchantment for the young at heart. There’s something about fairy tales that feels so familiar and universal, regardless of culture or clime. Some of these tales are funny, some are scary, and some romantic. But whatever the setting, these classic stories never fail to enthrall and entertain us – whether in their original form, or as modern-day retellings given a feminist  twist, like Angela Carter’s “The Bloody Chamber,” or a satirical spin, like  James Finn Garner’s “Politically Correct Bedtime Stories.”

I’ve taken the liberty of adding my own voice to the growing potpourri of contemporary fairy tale adaptations. So sit back and relax, and enjoy my collection of familiar stories – like you’ve never known them before:

A poor aspiring performer learns that with patience, hard work and a little magic, musical dreams really do come true, in “Jinderella.” A wooden puppet who yearns to be a real boy sets out on the journey of his life, in “YamaPinocchio.” And a beautiful kabuki princess fleeing great danger crosses paths with five multi-talented, chain-smoking miners who may just change her life forever, in “Matsu and the Five SMAPs.”

News Nibbly: KimuTaku, TBS Gear Up for Big-Budget Antarctica Drama

MUSH!!! (South Pole or Bust!)

by Ender’s Girl

No question about it: with his active, fun-loving, outdoorsy lifestyle, Kimura Takuya is Dog’s best friend. (Unlike sedentary, cat-owning little me…eow.) Word is he keeps two canines, a Labrador and a guide dog of unspecified breed. And the above photo of him with a Golden Retriever (one of my all-time fave Kimura snapshots) says it all: the Dorama King digs dawgs… Dawg. I mean, just look at that Gatsby-Waxed animatronic canine plushie ensconced in his lap (see video below), and tell me they weren’t made for each other, lol. (How something can look like creepy sh*t and be beyond adorable and cool at the same time is lost on me.)

Now picture Kimura with not one, but fifteen dogs — Sakhalin Huskies to be precise, and all of them stranded in the harshest imaginable place on earth. (Clue: it starts with an “A” and ends with an “A” — but it sure as heck ain’t Australia, lol.) It’s Man plus Dog… vs. Wild! Human and canine, battling the elements together! Oh the blizzards! The whiteout! The frostbite and hypothermia! The deadly leopard seals! The Abominable Snowman! (Wrong hemisphere I know! lol) And what could possibly be worse than getting stuck in Planet Earth’s butthole? Why, it’s having to ditch your loyal sled dogs in Planet Earth’s butthole while you get rescued with your fellow humans!!! (Tsk tsk) Would you risk life and (frostbitten) limb to go back for your furry friends, even with no guarantee that they’d still be alive? Would you?

If this scenario sounds like the stuff of Disney movies, it IS in fact the stuff of a Disney movie – specifically the 2006 film Eight Below (starring Paul Walker). But what audiences then probably didn’t know was that Eight Below was inspired by the 1983 Japanese blockbuster Nankyoku Monogatari (South Pole Story). The film was based on the dramatic events of the 1957-58 Japanese Antarctic Expedition, when extreme weather conditions forced the Showa Base research team to evacuate via chopper and leave behind an entire pack of Sakhalin Huskies (or “Karafuto-Ken”) still chained to the base. It was almost a year before Antarctic weather conditions permitted the team to make their way back to Showa Base in the hopes of burying the dogs. But what they didn’t expect to find was that two of the Huskies, Taro and Jiro, had miraculously survived and were awaiting the team’s return. (Cue: *giant sniffle*)

Kimura Takuya – 38th Birthday Post

HBD, KT!

by Ender’s Girl

Yes I know, I’m putting this out two days late. That’s what happens when you spend Nov. 13th in bed, nursing a bad cold and finishing your Love Generation marathon. (Why LoveGen? After reviewing the abomination that was Tsuki no Koibito, I was in desperate need of some Kimu+Matsu Teppei+Riko Therapy, ASAP. Ggngngngng. *gnaws on glass apple*)

So, here’s my crudely Photoshopped commemoration of the Dorama King’s 38th year. (Ehh? What’s that you say, KimuTaku??? You want “another birthday poem” you say??? Sorry buddy, but no more silly rhymes until you get your act together! No silly rhymes for you this year!!! *pounds gavel*)

And yes I know, I totally pilfered the idea from Lance Armstrong’s controversial June 2010 Outside Magazine cover. But it was too good a chance to pass up, so… whatevs. Besides, Photoshopped or not, the text on the shirt suits the whole attitude that Kimura has going, they way he’s looking straight at the lens and not giving a sh*t over the “aging pop star” tag he’s been getting a lot lately from detractors — sometimes even from me. I know I love to carp on how Kimura hasn’t been aging well, blahblah, so I guess the shirt’s message is for me, too. Haha.

Otanjoubi omedetou, Captain.

***
Domo arigatou to sylssim for posting the AnAn scans (04.01.2010) on her LiveJournal. Much appreciated!

I’m publishing this post using an HP laptop, and ohmygoodness I had no idea how completely cack-handed my Photoshopping looks. A first-grader could PWN this. No —  first he’d kick me in the shin and laugh at me, and then PWN this. When I did the graphics earlier using a MacBook, my brush marks didn’t seem *that* heinously clumsy after I tried to erase the original text on the magazine cover, and I *swear* I thought I had done a passable job, but now — eeep! *wears the Cone of Shame* Oh well. *shrugs* B.F.D. Hah hah hah.

Picspam: Kimura Takuya (1994-2000)

Smashing Young Man

by Ender’s Girl

[Listen to “Smashing Young Man” by Collective Soul — for ze total experience!]

Question: What’s the fastest and most effective way to recover from post-traumatic Tsuki no Koibito disorder?

Answer:

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All you really need, baby.

***
Photo credits: conchan01 @ Photobucket.com, goldfever2027 @ Photobucket,com, kimuratakuya.freeservers.com, kimutaku_mania @ Photobucket.com, kochanpe @ Photobucket.com, photoplastik @ Photobucket.com,  reenazack @ Photobucket.com, shosef @ Photobucket.com, rika_66 @ LiveJournal.com

Vid Clip: La La La Love Song / Koi no Ame (SMAPxSMAP, 5.10.2010)

Why SMAP Shouldn’t Be Performing with Real Singers… (Or Why They Probably Should)

by Ender’s Girl

With Kimura’s newest dorama Tsuki no Koibito (Moon Lovers) currently airing (and it’s a ren’ai!!! finally a ren’ai!!! hallelujah chance!), you won’t find a better go-to guy for a theme song than the great Afro-sporting J-pop/reggae/soul artist Kubota Toshinobu, whom J-drama fans best know as the dude behind the mellifluous vocals of “La La La Love Song” (hey baby) from the oh-so-fine 1996 drama Long Vacation. Fuji TV must have known that when Kubota Toshinobu songs and Kimura dramas collide, high ratings (and filthy lucre!) can’t be far behind. (And no, I have not seen the first episode of TnK because I make it a point to wait until a drama is fully subbed before watching it in one fell swoop.)

This newest ditty “Koi no Ame” (“Love Rain”) has Kubota’s musical fingerprints all over it; just like its 14-year-old predecessor, the melody is euphonic and foot-tappingly singable, although the sound gives off a more disco-y vibe than “La La La Love Song.” With lines like “special lady” and “we’re stuck in the love rain” (LOL what), “KnA” ranks slightly higher than “LLLLS” on the Engrish evolutionary ladder,  but I dunno… the lyrics of  “LLLLS” — “maware maware merry-go round,” “wanna make love, wanna make love song” — still seem to have more character (especially when you sing them wearing a Live Aid T-shirt or doing a grande plié on a low stone wall, heehee). I guess the main caveat is that all things being equal (and both songs are catchy as the clap, after all), what can or will turn “Koi no Ame” into a classic has less to do with the song itself than with the drama it was commissioned for. And whether Tsuki no Koibito will ever reach the same exalted status as Long Vacation remains to be seen.

The Kimura Haiku Special

I’m delighted to post a collection of Kimura-centric haiku lovingly crafted by my good friend across cyberspace, Peggy.

But first, a confession! Not many people know this, but it weren’t for Peggy and her avatar of a *certain* J-actor at one of the forums we frequent, I may never have taken up blogging. Said actor initially failed to register as particularly prepossessing (read: hot), or even remotely cute. Googled photos of said actor looked even less appealing than in the avatar — all toothy grin, pointy ears and cartoonish eyes. The fried, wiry hair  was the clincher, the indubitable nail that sealed his coffin shut. Said actor was promptly written off as “Overhyped!” and “Idol FAIL!,” and I’d secretly shake my head at Peggy’s rather puzzling choice for an object of her desire.

(Peggy’s avatar and siggy, JiSubAddicts.com)

Thus, it was a (cruel) twist of fate that I chanced upon a *certain* drama of said actor, his game face staring boldly out of a hockey mask on the DVD cover. In a rash, ill-considered turn (and for reasons still rather hazy), I found myself purchasing said DVD. In an even crueler twist of fate, the drama turned out to be an epiphanic experience that single-handedly blasted my… er, pride, and my prejudice, to kingdom come.

So. 328263 used sackcloths and a truckload of ashes later, here I am, blogging about the funny-looking dude whom I used to refer to as “Peggy’s Avatar.” I will be forever grateful to Peggy for patiently guiding me through the KimuTaku fandom back when I was a giddy, clueless newbie with hockey pucks in my eyes.

Without further ado, it is my honor to feature ten lovely haiku from Peggy herself…

A Little Light Haiku

by Peggy

Favorite Halu+Aki Moments: 16 Vignettes from Pride

We Were Born to Love You…

(Favorite Halu+Aki Moments: 16 Vignettes from Pride)

by Ender’s Girl

[Related Post: Pride review]

I thought I’d go light on the commentary this time, and just allow these lovely scenes to do the talking. (Besides, it’s so much easier to describe things than analyze them. Higher-order thinking skills make me brain hurty!) To be honest, I don’t even know why I had to do a blow-by-blow when we can all easily look them up on file or on the streaming sites. Catharsis, I guess. (But I thought my review had already taken care of that… Damn you Halu damn you!) MOAR! catharsis, then! Heh.

There were supposed to be just ten scenes (a nice round number, yes?), but I didn’t have the heart to pare down my original list of sixteen. So, sixteen it is! Arranged in chronological order.

In celebration of the Season of Hearts. Enjoy!

Episode 1 – First Date, aka Some Enchanted Evening

Iconography: lollipop, skating rink, peas
Magical Moment: when he carries her on the ice!
Romance-o-meter: 10/10

The Blow-by-Blow:

She’s waiting at the bus stop. He pulls up in his gray pickup and sticks his head out, invites her to hop in. She hesitates at the passenger door — this whole thing is a misunderstanding, she begins awkwardly — but the impatient honks behind them give her no choice. And they’re off. On the road, she tries to make him see — that it was a friend who sent the reply, that she expected nothing of this sort when she gave him her number, that this is all a mistake. He blithely ignores her stammered explanations and very wisely switches tack. Proper introductions are in order, he says, something they never got to do at their first meeting. Sucking on a lollipop (oh, that lollipop), he notes the funny connection of their names, Spring and Autumn. The change of subject throws her off, and before she can return to the (pressing) matter at hand, he has shifted gears anew: He asks about a boyfriend, and she warily replies that she could either say that she has one or she doesn’t. If her prevarication is meant for him to take a hint, she is dead wrong. He is charmingly relentless, asking if this so-called boyfriend (who may or may not exist) would object if they dated. She thinks she parries his question well, but he is just too good at this, turning her own words against her.

Poll # 1: What is your favorite Kimura dorama?

 

To KimuTaku on His 37th Year

“I have no gift to bring, pa rum pum pum pum…
Shall I play for you, pa rum pum pum pum,
On my drum…”

– E.G., The Little Dorama Girl

(Netizens: “Nuoooooooo!!!!!!”)

(Ha! Too late.)

[Disclaimer: I stopped writing poetry when I was twelve, and it’s (painfully) obvious from reading this that I’ve picked up EXACTLY where I left off… hahahahaha]

O, KimuTaku, you’re cooler than cool!
Over my heart’s domain, uncontested you rule.
You’re the lone cherry blossom floating in my cesspool!
My Chrysanthemum Throne is your humble footstool.

Each second my heart burns up one kilojoule,
And your voice alone triggers a Pavlovian drool!
In the day I’m reduced to a gibbering fool…
Nights find me restless, a wandering ghoul.

(Toadstool! Whirlpool!)
How I wish I could download you on eMule…

***

I know that I’m just being obtuse,
But when I don’t see you, I get the blues…
So I try to drown all my emptiness in booze,
Till I turn five different shades of chartreuse!

But babe, you’ve left my Engine running loose!
Only you light my fire, and ignite my fuse.
My pulse keeps racing like a mad mongoose!
Your smile alone can derail my… caboose.

(Netizens: “We’re not amused! Report abuse!”)
So to go any further, I must sadly refuse.

Kimura Dorama, in a Nutshell

This post goes out to all those wide-eyed Kimura newbies who may need a *little* help in navigating Kimura Takuya’s… uh, staggering body of work. Maybe you just sampled one of his dramas for the very first time (default answer: PRIDE!!! it usually is PRIDE!!! lol) and now you’re looking for the next one to watch, and the next, and the next after that.

After experiencing my own Kimura epiphany last April 2009, my life (and my sanity! and my freedom! lol) has never been the same. And if it weren’t for some Kind Souls (and longtime Kimura devotees/SMAP diehards) who ever-so-patiently initiated me into the Wonderful World of KimuTaku, I doubt I would’ve been able to cover as much ground as I did in the last five months. So I owe it to them (bless their fangirly hearts, lol) to pay it forward. And so I have, and so I have.

******
Kimura Dorama, in a Nutshell

by Ender’s Girl

I suppose one can group Kimura’s dramas into genres, if you will. (I’m not including his period dramas such as CHUUSHINGURA 1/47 and ODA NOBUNAGA, just the contemporary stuff. Easier to digest, lol.)

KIMURA AS TOM CRUISE: (The “Tom Cruise Era” dramas — as Belleza, a user from another forum, called them — are rom-coms or light dramedies centered around “exciting” professions such as aviation or sports.)

1. GOOD LUCK! (TBS, 2003) – In which KimuTaku is a newbie pilot with, er, lofty ambitions. I didn’t like the romance angle (or Shibasaki Kou’s acting, heh), and Kimura’s “good-hearted pilot” character isn’t as well fleshed-out as co-star Tsutsumi Shinichi’s, but but BUT it’s all Kimura eye candy from takeoff to touchdown, baby. Those crisp uniforms and aviator shades are enough reason to watch this just-okay drama, IMHO. Plus, you don’t have to be a bleeping airplane otaku to find all the cockpit/airport/hangar stuff interesting. (Read the review)

2. PRIDE (Fuji TV, 2004) – In which KimuTaku is a pro hockey player who is cool as ice… but smokin’ hawt! (Heh heh heh) PRIDE is one of my ultimate faves, and the drama that effectively turned me into yet another statistic in this One Nation Under KimuTaku, lol. Kimura’s teammates are a riot, and his love story with Takeuchi Yuko (as Aki to his Halu) is even more thrilling than the sports action. Plus, you’ll be rocking out (and waving your arms, lol) to Queen’s “I Was Born to Love You” anthem before the second episode, teehee! (Read the review) (Related post: Favorite Halu-Aki Moments)

3. ENGINE (Fuji TV, 2005) – In which KimuTaku is a down-and-out F3 racer who has to Deal with a houseful of Troubled Children. Don’t expect much romance, which is just as well because Kimura and Koyuki don’t have any chemistry. But the KIDS at the foster home are wonderful!!!!! Kimura is probably at his comedic best in this drama (maybe aside from CHANGE), and his interactions with the kids create the funniest (as well as the most touching) moments in the story. But this drama is also the point at which Kimura starts to age, as in really really age. In the opening scene alone, I was like, WTF! Barely a year after PRIDE and he already looks SO MUCH OLDER!!!! Sorry to say that Kimura has not aged well.