My deal with Ohmiya and Sakumoto

Okay, before any Ohmiya or Sakumoto fans get really mad at me, this is not a post where I call you guys crazy/insane/whatever--I'm not belittling anyone for liking these two pairings. You are free to ship whoever you want. I just really needed to write this out because for some weird reason a lot of Sakumoto and Ohmiya have been appearing on my dashboard on tumblr, and I'll be honest--If I had to be honest about pairings I didn't like all that much it would be these two.

Again, let me get this straight, I'm not saying that you are not allowed to like these two ships, I'm just saying I was never a big fan. So what is this post about? Honestly, it's me trying to work out what exactly it is about Sakumoto and Ohmiya that bugs me. What I mean is, I will say I am not a fan of Sakumiya or Ohba or whatever, but that really just means I don't care about it much. If I see someone shipping it on my dash I think "aw that's cute" and move on. When I see Sakumoto or Ohmiya, more often than not I find myself actually raising my eyebrow and thinking "Uh.... what?" like I just cannot see what the shipper is seeing. And I'm not really sure what brings out this instant negative reaction.

Before I get started, I should probably mention, I am a fan of Matsumiya. Notice how I don't say I "ship" Matsumiya, and that's really because... shipping for me implies that I really want them to be in a romantic relationship and I don't. I mean, I love Matsumiya fic and I don't mind reading about them in a romantic relationship but at the crux of it I just really like how Jun and Nino interact with each other and the situations that can occur when two people like them come in contact with each other. So I am a fan of Matsumiya, I don't necessarily ship them. And really, it's that mindset that has allowed me to be pretty impartial to any and all pairings in Arashi because I like Arashi as a group due to the way they interact with each other.

So... back to the question--why the hell does Sakumoto and Ohmiya bug the hell out of me so much? The thing is when I notice things in their shows, I'm not like "ew gross", I'm fine with it. I enjoy it as much as any fan because Arashi interacting with Arashi is great. It's something about... oh shit, I guess I might be blaming fans here. The thing is.... the way people ship Sakumoto and Ohmiya seems really intense I guess?

Like with Sakumoto--their entire relationship seems to be built on lots and lots of angst and them avoiding each other because of what happens in the past (Jun fangirling Sho like crazy). I'm not a fan of angst, so that's probably why Sakumoto weirds me out a bit. AT THE SAME TIME... I find the idea of Sakumoto hilarious because I find it a bit ridiculous? Again, you are free to like and enjoy them, this is purely me talking about what I think of Sakumoto. And it's hilarious. Like, you'd have to be blind to miss that moment in Sharehouse with Jun and his enormous hover-hand, or even in concerts where Jun was grinding up on everyone during Shake It and then couldn't even touch Sho. I'm not blind, I noticed, and I just find it endlessly amusing. Why? I guess because I'm not a Sakumoto fan in the way most Sakumoto fans seem to be. I'm not seeing angst and unresolved sexual tension, I'm just seeing a whole lot of fucking awkward. A whole lot of sexy awkward (because let's be real, aesthetically Jun and Sho are the hottest pairing there is), but the awkwardness kind of wins out in the end.

With that being said what do I really think of Jun and Sho's relationship? I think they have a lot of respect towards each other, and are both incredibly serious people, which is why it might be a bit harder for them to be as silly and touchy-feely and fluffy as the rest of the members. I mean, with Jun the members are rarely too silly with him except Nino (hi, the bias is showing, yes I know), and occasionally Aiba (if you haven't noticed I also have a huge flag for Kaze trio). Sho and Ohno tend to be a bit more reserved about it, Sho especially and again I think it's just due to their personalities as the more serious two of the group.

I guess the thing that weirds me out is how people can take a relationship that really... is quite stiff and awkward on screen and turn it into something romantic. I'm no genius on romance and in general, romance has always been hard for  me to really grasp, so I guess this type of romance that Sakumoto fans seem to like... just really confuses me and I end up finding it annoying. I guess?

Again, hope I'm not offending anyone or any Sakumoto fans. I'm just trying to work out my own thoughts here.

Moving onto Ohmiya on the other hand--their relationship has always, always, looked like fanservice to me and I think it's because the members themselves tried to push it as such. It's the type of thing that always made me feel a bit reserved about boybands and fangirls, and so Ohmiya has always made me... roll my eyes. When I first got in to Arashi, it was like a bingo board and Ohmiya was the obligatory fanservice slot and I have yet to feel any different.

LET ME BE CLEAR - I realise that pretty much everything is fanservice. I know. But Ohmiya was pushed So. Damn. Hard. They had an entire music station talk that just focused on Ohmiya, This was all during 2005-2007 by the way, they don't do it as much anymore. And let me get this clear, I don't dislike the idea of Ohmiya, and it's not like I hate seeing Ohno and Nino interacting, nah, I think it's as entertaining as the next fan, but I guess due to how much they were pushed I'm just hyper-aware that it's not real and can't seem to suspend reality like I do the rest of the time? And then when I see fans freaking out about every single little Ohno/Nino detail and making screencaps of Ohno and Nino obviously being jealous of "person x" for daring to touch their hubby/lover/whatever... well, I will admit I raise my eyebrows and get a bit weirded out. Although to be fair, you do this with any pairing and I would raise my eyebrows. But I guess I seem to see posts like that more often with Ohmiya so most of my annoyance is aimed at them.

So to sum it up, I don't understand Sakumoto!angst and Ohmiya has always seemed a bit more fake than all other types of fanservice because they tried to push it so hard back in the past.

Wow, that is a load off my chest and has cleared up a lot for me. Now that I know what bugs me about it, I can proceed to stop feeling so annoyed whenever something shows up on my dash. I mean, yes there is always the option to ignore, but sometimes the moment is genuinely funny without the obligatory shipping comments. And I just always felt bad for being so petty about something like this. I guess you can't like everything though. >.<

Popcorn DVD - quick thoughts

So. I'm currently in the middle of final exams so I haven't actually properly watched the DVD from beginning to end - also my copy of the DVD hasn't actually arrived yet (it's been shipped but it'll take a couple weeks to get to my place) but I have seen bits and piece and I'll just give some quick first time impressions.

Solos:

• Rakuen - I've never really liked the song that much but Aiba just seemed so happy and energetic during his performance it was kind of hard not to enjoy it. It's definitely made me enjoy the song a lot more
• Fly on Friday - Again didn't like the song much on the album but Sho made this song REALLY fun. I loved the whole call-and-response thing he had going on (which the song really lends itself too) and overall it just seemed so energetic. Also the costume Sho wore (which is something all the members wore) was one of my favourites, and was really cute. Definitely something I wouldn't mind watching over again just by itself
• Two - The performance focused a lot more on Ohno's vocals than his dancing so honestly I wasn't as interested. Obviously he did it very well. One thing I'd like to note though is when Ohno does body rolls.... damn, his body looks so fluid. Like it's made out of water or something. It's amazing - and he did body rolls a lot so.. *__*. Haha. But overall this was a performance that focused more on his vocals as it was very simple so honestly I'd rather just listen to the song. 
• We Wanna Funk, We Need a Funk - ...*snorts*. I'm sorry but there's... just a lot of second hand embarassment I kind of feel from this and it's mostly just due to what Jun is wearing which is this horrendous glittery pimp coat. I am pretty supeficial and I am the type of person that will dislike a performance purely because what they're wearing is crap and this would be it. I didn't dislike it ... yeah, a lot of second hand embarassment. Oh Jun. 
• Sore ha Yappari Kimi Deshita - Boring song on the album, but seeing Nino play the piano is always love and after Jun's solo it was... a very nice breath of fresh air so very enjoyable in concert form. 

So basically as you can see for the solos.. the one's I liked the least on the album ended up being a lot more enjoyable in concert and the ones I loved in the album - I still enjoyed overall but for Jun's mostly.. a bit too much second hand embarassment to really warrant me re-watching it over and over like I did with Shake It or Come back to Me. I love the guy - I love what he can pull of but.... this one was just not my style. And not much you can do for a song like Two - it's like Take me Faraway - I love it for the vocals.

Other parts

• The opening video of them being manufactured is actually kind of creepy... The image of Sho made me think more of Yoko from K8 and yeah... I just found it creepy. Also them popping out of a toy pacakge made me think of N*Sync
• Their opening costumes are hideous and as much as I loved the dance for Up to You I could not get over the hideousness of the costumes
• Super Fresh is AWESOME - I find the choreograph for it so cute
• Cosmos - a song I also wasn't all too impressed with also had a great choreo
• The song after Tsuide Oide I had (surprisingly) actually never heard which really surprised me when it started playing - I now realize it's from the Your Eyes single which explains why I've never heard it. I really like the song though actually now that I have :) 
• The water screen is absolutely amazing and I love how beautiful it is. For all the other amazing stuff they've had in past concerts I've never truly thought "oh I want this in every concert" but the water screen is something I do want in all their next concerts. It's absolutely beautiful and very impressive and it just gives you this sense of "wow...". I bet it costs a lot of money and uses up a ton of water though -_-;;
• The Popcorn-Man video was really, really cute and the boys were just adorable in their costumes. Sho and Jun especially. 
• ...and I think that's about all I can remember for now. If I feel up to it I might translate the MC but I feel like by the time I get around to it subbed versions will be out anyway so maybe there's no point. 

All in all it seemed like a great concert and it always amazes me how they manage to always add in new things that makes each concert just as exciting as the last one. :D I like AraFes more though - and BNMF in Fukuoka Dome will always be my absolute, absolute favourite concert of theirs, next one being Iza! Now. 

Things I've Watched: Jan '12 - May '13

I've realized that since around the end of grade 12 and since starting university I've actually started spending more time on my hobbies (gaming, watching anime, dramas, reading) and I just wanted to keep track of all the things I've watched and what I thought of it. I'll probably be do something like this for games as well depending on how many games I play - books I already write about on my LJ so I'll just keep doing that there. So yeah. Just a quick review of all the dramas/anime I've watched and what I thought about them:

Anime:

• Baccano: Definitely very interesting, although a bit hard to follow. The story doesn't flow in a linear fashion - it jumps from time to time so you have to put the pieces together but it's all worth it. The characters are interesting and who doesn't like the concept of the classic mafia/mob storyline except with the added twist that some of them are immortal?! A bit on the gory side - the worst one would be when one the characters kills a guy by pressing his head against train tracks AS the train is moving... so... you've been warned! 
• Fate/Zero: I've watched Fate/Stay Night and remembered thinking it was alright, but the end was kind of lame. This one is a lot better - although I watched it all in one sitting on a 12hr plane ride to Hong Kong so admittingly I wasn't completely paying attention 100% of the way. The characters are more interesting in this one though for sure so if you're debating about which one to watch (or saw Fate/Stay Night and wasn't impressed) WATCH THIS - It is definitely worth your time
• Gundam Wing (re-watch): I'd seen Gundam Wing as a kid, in English when it was airing on YTV but that was a long time ago so I decided to re-watch it. I'm not much of a mecha person, I've tried to watch other Gundams but ultimately I never got into it. What really makes me enjoy this series in particular is simply the fact that the 5 gundams are super cool looking (DEATH SCYTHE!). Yeah - I'm pretty superficial sometimes. Aside from that it's the classic political battle between Earth and the Space Colonies - lots of switching allies etc. and the characters are all pretty cool - except WuFei who is a total jackass.
• Durarara!: This was done by the same director as Baccano and even if I didn't tell you this you probably would've noticed anyway (like I did) thanks to the classic jumpy storyline that this director seems to enjoy. With that being said I enjoyed Durarara!! much more than Baccano. The story was a lot easier to follow and if you thought the characters in Baccano wait until you meet these guys. There's a lot of similarities, namely the one aspect of fantasy entrenched in a world that is very much our reality - this time it's the presence of a Dulluhan (headless rider) mixed into the teenage gangs of modern-day Ikebukuro. Also it's not as gory so if you turned your head away from Baccano due to the gore warning this one is a lot cleaner - and as I said - much easier to follow.
• Darker Than Black: Kuro no Keiyakusha: I enjoyed this - I generally like the whole aspect of having special powers in a modern world. It was a bit slow at first and I had trouble getting through the first 8-10 episodes but once I hit the halfway mark the episodes literally just flew by and before I knew it I was at the end. Generally anime like these always having endings that disappoint me but this one wasn't bad. If you're looking for something a bit more action-y and straight forward, but not as political as Gundam Wing and you like people with special powers and assassins etc. this would be the show for you.
• Full Metal Alchemist: Brotherhood (re-watch): If there's something you must know about me it is that Full Metal Alchemist is my most favourite anime and manga of all time. So, I re-watched this as I was studying for my exams and despite knowing the story inside and out I still felt myself being pulled into the emotional roller coaster this show takes me through. I'm sure all of you guys have heard of this show so there's not much more I can say but WATCH IT. It is light, and plays off like a simple anime with some comedy but it's actually got quite serious themes and all the characters (male and female) are absolutely amazing and I'd be surprised if you didn't fall in love with most of them.
• Jinrui wa Suitai Shimashita: This was kind of a weird one I picked up because it was short but generally I don't watch anime like this very often. The whole idea of weird fairies controlling everything had me interested but it was a bit too episodic for my tastes. It's an anime that tries to be more thought-provoking than plot driven so if what you feel like doing is thinking and contemplating about certain topics in life than go ahead and pick this one up - it does offer you lots of think about.
• Hellsing Ultimate OVA: Since this is an OVA the episodes run up to about 1hr most of the time and a lot of the episodes are very literally, very dark, but it's very well done. If you've seen the original you have to check this one out. The art and the pacing is so much better and the ending is much more satisfying. This is Hellsing though so be prepared for lots of gore - not gore in that what happens is disgusting but you're dealing with vampires and warfare so there is just literally lots of blood flying everything. Alucard is one kick-ass character though so if anything - watch the anime for him!
• Shin Sekai Yori: A more mellow anime - quite different from everything else I've listed although still within the realm of fantasy that I never stray too far away from. It's set in our world, but way in the future and does quite an interesting job in explaining how exactly this new world came about. What the anime mostly tries to do is explore this world while following a basic plot revolving around the main character as she grows up and starts getting involved in romance, politics, and essentially tries to uncover the demons of her past (which were wiped from her memory by the government *cue suspenseful music) - intrigued? I mostly got into this anime because I loved the concept and the setting but admittingly got a bit bored by the end but I still made it all the way through. Short 24eps and definitely worth your time if you're looking for something a bit more simple and slow.
• Phantom: Requiem of the Phantom (still-watching): What I can say so far at 7 episodes? Awesome. Assassins, mafia politics, questioning life/your existance etc. etc.

Drama:

• Lucky Seven: I'm a total sucker for group relations, and friendships and this drama does this so well. The cases were kind of "meh" and I was pretty bumbed when Nitta disappeared and overall if Jun wasn't in the cast I probably would've never watched this, but he is. Also I just kind of enjoy watching Shuntarou getting kicked around and also doing the ass-kicking and I maybe fell a bit in love with the comraderie between Shuntarou, Asuka, and Junpei (and of course Shuntarou and Eita bromance).
• Kagi ga Kakkata Heya: So - I was in the mood for mystery and I figured why not check this out because Ohno apparently did a spectacular job and he did! I enjoyed this a lot and the whole "locked room" concept really interested me. With that being said - does it stand out form the rest of the mystery dramas Japan has released? Not really - but it is certainly one of the better and more intriguing ones out there (since this one is more mystery than pure police-detective/crime-solving).
• Keizoku 2: SPEC: SPEC was great. I remember trying to watch it when it first aired but for some reason after the first episode (which I loved) I was just too lazy to keep watching but I finally did keep watching and I love it! I love Toda Erika in this, and Kase Ryo and I felt they made a great team. It was hilarious, and serious, and if you can't tell from my taste in anime I am a sucker for special powers and all that jazz so SPEC was really right up my alley. This is definitely a great crime-solving drama, everyone should check it. It's already got a twist: special powers!!
• Ooku: Tanjou: If you're an Arashi fan you already know the basic story of this but Ooku is a very interesting manga where a majority of the male population in Feudal Japan has died off due to a disease and the women have to take over all the men's jobs (including that of the shogun!) and this drama follows the next couple volumes of the manga dealing with the first female shogun and the politics that follows during her reign. It is an absolutely amazing story, and I was so glad they were doing a drama of it. The casting was great in my opinion, Tabe Mikako admittingly surprised me a lot - I didn't expect her to fit the role of the shogun so well but she did. Sakai Masato was also a perfect Arikoto (so much better fitting in his role than Nino was as Mizuno...). Admittingly for me though - I realized I enjoyed reading the manga a lot more. There were moments where the drama felt a bit slow, or draggy but it followed the manga quite well (if I remember correctly) so do check it out, or at least check out the manga because it really is worth your time.
• Rich Man Poor Woman:Generally I'm not one for romance dramas but I guess I was feeling in the mood for something sweet and cute and we have Oguri Shun and Ishihara Satomi in one drama - how could I resist? I had actually watched it while it was airing but got bored around the time Hyuga lost his company thanks to Asahina (who I hate and will always hate), but decided to pick it back up again. I'm glad I did because the last couple episodes were adorable and I loved the end at the airport. Hyuga and Makoto are just adorbs and the SP has come out - that was adorable too (although a bit draggy because admittingly I'm not all that interested in company politics).
• Saikou no Rikon: This was interesting. I didn't really know what I was getting into at first but it was definitely an interesting take on relationships and marriage and what one needs to do to keep a lasting relationship that leads to marriage and beyond. It was humorous in all the right ways, serious in all the right ways, the cast honestly did an absolutely stellar job. The end felt like a bit of a cop out, which I don't too much since I generally prefer happy endings but this drama had a lot of potential for something more than just your usual "and they lived happily ever after". 
• Reply 1997 (Korean): I already wrote a review on this but I still loved this. I was in the mood for cute sweet romance and this one had it all. :)

Sherlock [BBC Series]

So I took a bit of a break from Asian Entertainment to watch the much-talked about and loved BBC show Sherlock. A lot of people had told me to see the show, it seemed like something right up my ally and I remember as a kid I absolutely adored Hound of the Baskervilles but I had seen one episode (ironically while on vacation in Japan) and while it was interesting I didn't find it as impressing and amazing as everyone made it sound. When I told a few of my friends this (who love the show) they told me I had seen "the most boring episode"... truthfully I was a bit skeptical but finally I relented and decided to watch the show once and for all. Also I absolutely loved Martin Freeman in The Hobbit.

The verdict? It's OK. I don't understand everyone's fascination with the show, or Benedict Cumberpatch. In fact, truthfully, I'm honestly not that fond of Sherlock and if it weren't for Martin Freeman's spectacular jo as Watson I would've dropped the show almost instantaneously. I know Sherlock Holmes is supposed to be slightly arrogant, and cold but in the books he never actually came off as rude, maybe stand-offish but Watson is correct when he says that Sherlock in this series is an absolute dick most of the time. Also Sherlock Holmes' moral compass in the books is generally understood but in the BBC series they make it slightly more ambiguous which I don't like and will elaborate on in the next paragraph.

The Lizzie Bennet Diaries: Ep.98 - Gratitude

OK. So. This is coming way out from left field because this has absolutely nothing to do with Asian entertainment, or games - but does have slightly to do with books.

I'm sure everyone has heard of Pride and Prejudice that wonderful book by Jane Austen. I'm not one for romance stories but I did enjoy this book quite a bit - as well as the BBC series from way back when. Then, one day, I stumbled upon this little gem. The Lizzie Bennet Diaries - a modern re-telling of Jane Austen's story in the form a vlog run by none-other than the main character herself, Lizzie Bennet.

Let me just say - this series is A-MA-ZING. So please, if you have not, GO CHECK IT OUT.

(everything beyond this will be spoilers for the series - especially the ending)

Reply 1997 [Korean Drama]

I'm not a fan of Korean dramas. I'm only seen 5 (including this one) and although I've enjoyed all of them they're all a bit too melodramatic for my tastes. With that being said, I'm not much of a Japanese drama fan either, nor .. really, any sort of drama fan. BUT - I was in the mood for a cute, sweet, innocent romance and I'd seen gifs of this show from tumblr from a friend, who also told me about how cute it was etc. etc. and I thought "why not?" so I tried it out.

Truthfully... I pretty much decided to watch the drama smiply because within the first 2 or 3 minutes or so we see Yoon Jae and Joon Hee playing DDR, and I absolutely LOVE DDR - and they were playing one of my most favourite songs Butterfly so naturally... I was like "ok, this drama seems awesome - let's check it out".

With that being said it was a great drama and I really enjoyed it. I don't know much about KPOP, especially anything pre-2010 so I was a bit confused but I realized that it didn't really take away from the enjoyment. This was a truly simple and light drama and I'm a sucker for friendships, and also Shi Won's relationship with her dad/her parents in general is just absolutely hilarious and endearing. Hak Chan was like a giant teddy bear for me... one that was obsessed with porn, but nonetheless a total teddy bear. He was just so awkward, yet adorable, and of course he did the stupidest things as a boyfriend but I can see why it was hard not to get back together with him when he had such a natural puppy dog face. Like those basset hounds.

I was kind of... creeped out by the fact that Tae Woong liked Shi Won. I mean, she was 18 years old! Huge age gaps where one of the people is in their teens/early twenties kind of weird me out. I'm not sure why, I think it has to do with the maturity level one generally has at that age. Granted I realize people in their early 20's can be very mature (my sister being one of them) but it still creeps me out a bit. Once both people are over 25 I'm pretty much OK with it. But yeah. That whole thing just made me severely uncomfortable. At first I thought they were still dating 6 years later and I was like "OMG WHAT NO" but then I realized that wasn't the case and felt so relieved. But yeah. His first meeting with that nurse was amusing and I clued in right away - that's his wife.

Overall, I found that after they got to Seoul and had all grown up I was rolling my eyes a lot. The first 8-or so episodes, when they were still in High School it was generally pretty light and innocent and yay great but then all the lead up for Yoon Jae and Shi Won getting together just made me roll my eyes. How dramatic can you get? And that episode... (14?) where the whole theme was about brotherly love and Yoon Jae just sobbing at the table at the end and I was like "... really?". Was I not the only one that felt that was ridiculously overplayed and like.. come on.

ALSO - how they kept playing that "So. Who is her husband?! :O" game, that also made me roll eyes. Way to dramatize something which everyone already knows the answer too. I found it cute when they got together though. Shi Won and Yoon Jae's relationship is just hilarious. In fact, all the relationships in this drama is pretty much the girl beating up on the guy. ALL OF THEM. Talk about Girl Power!

And can we please talk about Joon Hee. My god the entire time I was hoping he'd find somone nice to be with. Even just a mention, or a glimpse of a figure, and they finally did give him someone at the end and that made me so happy. I wanted him to find someone so badly. He really is one of the sweetest people, and I just felt so bad for him. But of course, everyone gets a happy ending.

So. If you're all looking for a cute, innocent, sweet romance drama about growing up, youth, and your "first love" and also something REALLY predictable (because damn this drama was predictable) then this would be the one. =D

Himitsu no Arashi-chan

So. The day has finally come - the end of Himitsu no Arashi-chan.

The show started airing in 2008, just after I became an Arashi fan. I didn't really realize they were starting a new show until it finally started airing and honestly I wasn't all that interested in the concept. I had fallen in love with Arashi by watching Shukudai-kun, CxDxG no Arashi, and MMA. This new 1-hr info-show wasn't that appealing and I actually barely watched the show at all for the first year. Sure I've seen the main stuff, Hana Yori MatsuJun, the Haunted House Clips, the Super Mario tournament and Child Minder but that's about it. Then when all that stopped I totally dropped the show and ended up coming back when they started the Mannequin 5 segment.