Full Trailer Released for Live Action Movie 'Clover'

This movie almost slipped under my radar and I didn't even know it was being filmed since there was no news of the casting when it was decided. I think I found out a few months ago and was so taken aback since Takei Emi is my bias and I just could not believe that I didn't even know about this movie she was filming. On top of all that, its another one of my favourite shoujo manga adaptations! There are just so many of those coming out and I'm completely thrilled. Movie-wise, I've always preferred Takei doing these lighthearted roles (except for Rurouni Kenshin where she plays the the spunky Kaoru). She always has so much chemistry with whoever she is cast with and that's probably the most important thing for a romance movie.



The movie, Clover, is an adaptation of Toriko Chiya’s manga which tells the story of an OL who cannot forget about her first love. At the same time, she is constantly getting reprimanded by her supervisor, Tsuge Susumu. She isn't interested in having any romantic relationships but Tsuge confesses his love to Saya out of the blue one day and that's when every changes. Cue fantasy music and sprinkles of glitter. I checked out the manga and the art is really not my style. It is pretty old seeing that it was released in 1997. Okura Tadayoshi of Kanjani8 plays the accomplished supervisor and will be romancing Takei Emi once again. Since I haven't read the manga, I can't draw any comparisons but Okura is definitely a very handsome representative of his fellow manga character.

The only work I've seen from Okura is Otenki Oneesan which was coincidentally also with Takei Emi (LOL). Fortunately, their relationship is completely different this time in a good way. I pray that there won't be a surprise ending like in Otenki Oneesan. That one seriously shocked me to no ends. Never have I imagined that a drama would pull a twist like that. It pretty much shocked me for a month. Anyways, it'll be interesting to see Okura play an uptight supervisor. He's my niban in Kanjani8 next to Nishiki so I'm thrilled I get to see him shirtless as evident in the teaser lol. The hairdrying scene seriously surprised me because I don't think I've seen him do such a mature scene before. Same goes for Takei Emi of course.

I think that Emi is slowly but steadily heading towards the more mature roles seeing the number of mature scenes in the trailer. Well, mature for a shoujo manga that is. She's still young and can totally pull off student roles but I'm excited to see her playing an OL. Secretly I still hope she does another student life movie sometime in the future because deep down I'm totally obsessed with those.

Clover comes out on November 1st in theatres! It'll take a long time before I'm able to see it though.

My Lovely Girl Showcases Rain and Krystal's Chemistry in First Teaser

Hey hey hey! SBS just released the first ever video teaser for the upcoming drama My Lovely Girl starring Rain and Krystal. The drama is set to air after It's Okay, It's Love and so far its looking pretty good. The teaser is a mere 24 seconds but it sure did a good job at giving us a glimpse at the chemistry between the leads.

Krystal as the female lead brought in a lot of criticisms but I am totally excited for her first lead role. I enjoyed her spunky character in High Kick 3 and seriously loved Bo Na in Heirs. Her pairing with Kang Minhyuk was gold and I enjoyed their coupling the best. I seriously believe that she is able to take on her first lead role and botch it. Her acting abilities aren't the strongest but I think everyone deserves a chance to showcase their skills and then let others judge. As for Rain, I was a bit skeptical at first because I felt like all his charms from before just melted away. On top of that, he wasn't that captivating of an actor anyways. Ever since his military controversy, he's been laying low and my leftover love for him from Full House just diminished. After watching this teaser, I've got to say that he is looking fine and his chemistry with Krystal is sizzling despite none of them having any dialogue in the teaser. Take a look for yourselves and judge :D

Fukushi Sota and Arimura Kasumi cast in Strobe Edge Live Action Film + Thoughts

BIG CASTING NEWS GUYS! I woke up this morning and pretty much exploded into happiness after reading this news!

Strobe Edge is one of my all time favourite mangas and its by the same artist, Sakisaka Io, who is responsible for creating the currently super popular shoujo manga, Ao Haru Ride. I already wrote a post on the live action trailer of Ao Haru Ride which you can check out here. I love love love AHR but the recent chapters have been pissing me off a lot. Chapter 42 pretty much hit the ceiling for me in that as soon as I finished reading it, I sent 50+ swearing messages to my friend. Chapter 43 was just released and I've yet to read it but judging from the spoilers, I believe that my everyday prayers to the manga gods have worked and that Kou is finally going to take action!

Anyhow, when I found out that Ao Haru Ride was going to get a live action film, I instantly thought about Strobe Edge and hoped for a live action film as well even though I thought the chances were zero given that it was released a long time ago. SO WHEN THE NEWS WAS ANNOUNCED I WAS SERIOUSLY THINKING IF I SAVED A COUNTRY IN MY PAST LIFE OR SOMETHING BECAUSE I JUST COULD NOT BELIEVE MY LUCK!!

I always reread Strobe Edge every summer and it never gets boring. It always manages to give me butterflies in my stomach because Ren and Ninako are just so damn cute. If you haven't read the manga yet, here is a short synopsis:

15-year-old Ninako Kinoshita has never been in love until an encounter on the train with her school's most popular boy, the quiet Ren Ichinose. As she grows closer to Ren, she falls in love with him, but must learn to cope with the unfortunate fact that Ren already has a longtime girlfriend.

Okay, don't let the synopsis deceive you. After Ninako finds out that Ren has a girlfriend, she just becomes his friend. Their friendship is actually really cute and from there on you can see Ren slowly begin to fall in love with her while still conflicted about his girlfriend. I honestly love all the characters so much. After finishing the manga, I suffered a terrible heartache from the cursed second lead syndrome. As much as I love Ren, Andou just broke my heart. Oh never has my desire to hug a 2D character been so strong!

Now that you know how much I love Strobe Edge, lets talk a bit about the actors who were cast as the leads!

Fukushi Sota is going to play Ichinose Ren and I'm pretty happy with it. He is a bit different then who I pictured Ren it doesn't matter because everyone knows that Ren is too perfect for any human to portray. I do want to mention that Sota is also going to star in another shoujo manga adaption called Sukitte Ii Na Yo and he has the same exact hairdo (related post here). Its rare to see and it feels kind of weird but I'm happy that he's taking on so many exciting projects!

Arimura Kasumi is playing Kinoshita Ninako and I'm a little less thrilled on this one. I adore her but she looks SO WEIRD to me in short hair! She definitely does not suit short hair. PLUS Ninako's hair isn't even that short. Ohs wells. It doesn't bother me thaaat much and I'm confident in Kasumi's acting so the casting is a thumbs up for me.

The secondary characters have also been casted and I'm 100% satisfied with who they chose! First off, Takumi Andou is being played by Yamada Yuki who is best known for playing Kin-chan in Itazura Na Kiss: Love in Tokyo. At first glance he's nothing like Andou but he actually has a little bit of a bad boy vibe to him that makes him fit his character perfectly! It'll be interesting to see him playing a playboy. I had a little second lead syndrome in Ita Kiss so I guess I'm going to go through that all over again with the same actor lol.

Korenaga Mayuka who is Ren's girlfriend in the beginning will be played by Arisa Sato. I actually loved Mayuka as a character and Arisa looks pretty fitting for the role. She's super pretty just like Mayuka who works as a model. Jingi Irie plays Korenaga Daiki, Ninako's childhood friend who has a crush on her in the beginning. Not sure how many of you watched Kingyo Club but Jingi was the male lead in that short but sweet drama. He actually looks like a pretty good Daiki since he has a little bit of a awkward atmosphere. Lastly, Yuina Kuroshima plays Uehara Sayuri, Ninako's friend who falls for Daiki. I don't have much to say about her since I've never watched her works and I didn't really care that much for Daiki and Sayuri's storyline.

And that just about wraps up the casting! There is still little info about the movie regarding the release dates and such but I'll be sure to post any updates. READ THE MANGA!!!

ST: Scientific Task Force Impressions (Ep 1-4)

I just finished watching episode 4 of ST: Scientific Task Force and the ending took me by surprise. If you're a regular viewer of Japanese detective dramas, you'll know that the storyline always consists of cases that typically fill up one episode. If its a bigger case then it might take up two. But behind all the case by case episodic format, there is always a central mystery surrounding a certain character or group or character. In episode 4 of ST, two central mysteries were revealed. When the first one was hinted at, I felt normal because I expected it. Jdramas typically don't have two central mysteries so when the second one was hinted at the very end, it was like a rock was being thrown at my face. I was surprised in a good way and that prompted my desire to blog about it.

First off, here is a general plot summary of the drama:

The ST team at the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department consists of highly skilled but eccentric members who come from different backgrounds. Akagi Samon works as a forensic analyst and acts as a leader on the ST team. He is skilled but has a phobia that causes him to recluse himself. Yurine Tomohisa is given the task to manage the ST team and serves as the chief. He experiences difficulties in dealing with the team. The ST team often comes into conflict with other detectives at the police department due to differences in opinion and deduction methods. 

Before this drama, there was a SP that aired in the summer of last year that introduced this Scientific Task Force while solving a case. I haven't watched that SP and was completely unaware of it when I started watching this drama, so I'm just going to assume that it doesn't have any connections with the drama other than the characters and such.

The best part of this drama would have to be the relationship between Akagi (Fujiwara Tatsuya) and Yurine (Okada Masaki). Whenever they interact I just get a tickle in my stomach. I love love love their bromance which consists of a love hate relationship. I was a bit wary in the beginning since I never really liked Fujiwara Tatsuya. My reasons were shallow and I do regret it. In fact, I'm thinking of changing my ways and not avoid dramas just because I feel like the leads aren't appealing visually. After watching all the Death Note live action adaptations, I still didn't like him. He was also in Ai Nante Irane Yo, Natsu (original J-drama version of That Winter, The Wind Blows) which I loved but his character didn't appeal to me at all. This drama was really the game changer for me. I was instantly drawn in by his cute reclusive character and his low voice was like a deep-voiced hot man-angel to my ears. I have no idea why I never paid attention to his voice before, having watched him in two movies and a drama. Anyhow, the past is not important. I love him now.

Okada Masaki is as cute as a button in a role that's tailor made for him. This sounds pretty evil but I love his character Yurine when he's frustrated and angry. His also has the cutest grin ever. I've always liked Masaki and I'm glad he is in a new drama after doing his impressive little stint in Legal High 2. His hair is just off the charts lately! I feel like he's never had a hairdo that I hated (SUPER RARE FOR AN ACTOR). He kind of looks like a clown with his curly hair but it just makes me love him all the more.

I ALSO NEED TO TALK ABOUT SHIDA MIRAI. WHO GAVE HER THAT WIG AND MADE HER WEAR IT?!?!?! Sigh. I love Shida Mirai but this fake hair is just making it so hard. You're making it so hard, stylists! Hideous wig aside, her character Aoyama Sho is a profiler who has skipped a bunch of grades and has a PhD in criminal psychology from America. She also has this phobia of order (like the opposite of OCD) and needs things to be messy or she can't think. I'm like her character but I need a new drama from her pronto with normal hair.

The cases in this drama have so far been just a little above mediocre. The best part about those cases are how they're solved. The whole ST team is filled with quirky characters that just make you giggle with their interactions. There have also been a few heartwarming moments where we see past the weird and realize all of them have their own struggles.

As for the central mysteries, the one hinted with Watabe Atsuro made me the most curious. He plays Saegusa Toshiro, the MPD counselor that created the ST team and was responsible for it. We see him leaving the police department in the first episode to become a coffee barista. I knew that Watabe had a bigger role other than just being a barista who guides the officers but I didn't expect him to have his own mystery arc. Anyhow, I'm still excited about it and cannot wait for the drama to start leaving hints about him here and there.

Pleasantly Surprised OTP Finally Gets Together With TWO Kisses! (Ep 12)

Words cannot contain my excitement with the episode of Pleasantly Surprised that just aired today. After 12 weeks of gruelling agonizing wait, our OTP has finally gotten together. The angst at the start of this episode was pretty intense but it was all made up with a double dose of lip action.

My number one gripe with Taiwanese dramas is that most of them only come out with one episode per week and they usually last around 20+ episodes. That's week after week of waiting for 5 months. Somehow, the waiting for Pleasantly Surprised isn't as annoying as I thought it would be. The drama is so well done that it feels almost right to wait for it. I know, that last sentence was confusing lol. But what I'm trying to say is that at the end of each episode, it leaves a sweet feeling in you and has rarely ended in a tense cliffhanger. The previews also get you excited about the next week and the good thing is that they almost always deliver what they promise. There was a slight trolling from last last week's preview but it didn't annoy me. Not like some Kdramas that make me cry and then troll me to no end.

The OTP interactions are the highlight of this drama. I love how we get to see Kai Qi slowly break out of her shell because of Ah Jie. And in this episode we finally see Ah Jie decide to go against his brother for what he wants. Although we know trouble is just around the corner, with abusive fathers and manipulating brothers, we can be certain that our OTP will fight through all their obstacles. And this week, they finally got together with not one but TWO amazing kisses. The first kiss scene was pretty hilarious which ended up with both of them getting hurt lol. The second kiss was so perfect that I'm not even going to question how they got drenched and then dry so fast. This drama never fails to mix in a perfect amount of romance, friendship, and quirks. It doesn't through you with annoying clichés but rather a right amount of conflict and resolution.

One scene I found particularly funny was when Ah Jie bought Da Zhi a pair of shoes. When Ah Jie and Kai Qi got together, Da Zhi practically flipped a table. He appears to have a small crush on Kai Qi but really he is just protective of her since she was the one who let him start a new life after his stint in jail (which was really for another persons crime). Seeing how nice Ah Jie is, Da Zhi totally got pulled over to Ah Jie's side at the end of the episode after telling Ah Jie and Kai Qi to go on a date as he breaks in his brand new shoes, courtesy of Ah Jie. Sun Qin Yue is the actor that plays Da Zhi and he is a newbie in my eyes because I haven't seen him in any other dramas. He does however have a familiar face. A cute and handsome familiar face that is. Out of all the side characters, he's probably my favourite! And his budding bromance with Ah Jie is a serious contender to our main OTP.

Anyhow, let us rejoice in hot OTP kisses! If you haven't watched episode 12 yet then I tell you go to watch it and then come back and enjoy these SUPER CUTE screencaps :D