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Yeah, the film was just about as silly as it sounds, but there was one BIG perk of watching it- throughout the show, they kept introducing new government assassins posing as transfer teachers and students, and among them was an extremely hot and sexy bombshell named “ Irina Jelavic”, played by pretty Jiyoung, she late of K-pop group KARA!
Damn, gotta say, when I first began watching Assassination Classroom, I didn’t even recognize her- the blonde wig was an obvious throw-off, but additionally Jiyoung was probably the last actress I expected to see here…
I guess I shouldn’t have been TOO surprised, though, since she played another little hottie in the equally crazy monster-in-the-classroom drama JIGOKU SENSEI NUBE! Mmmm, She’s been lookin’ HELLA fine!!!
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Ah, but despite coming in so late to the game, I enjoyed the flick, and WOW- one thing I was amazed to note was that though I’ve known actress RYO since her debut in Long Vacation way back in 1996, this was the FIRST TIME I’d EVER thought she was SEXY and PRETTY, man she was so HOT in this show!
Maybe it was that this was the first time I’d seen her playing a rich, socialite woman, or maybe it was that she’d gained some weight since those early days (she was always so thin) or maybe it was just those lush false eyelashes, and heavy mascara, but WOW, her portrayal of Oshima Mariko, a woman who is constantly threatening to sue the matchmaking Company because her dates always dump her had me all turned on throughout the movie!
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Lots of great action scenes in this one and so many intriguing characters, and it becomes a madhouse of murder as each killer becomes either hunted or hunter, switching back and forth in an intricate game of cat-and-mouse til you aren't sure WHO to root for!
All this, Nanao, adorably cutesy Aimi Satsukawa as a ditsy former-student of Suzuki’s who gets accidentally involved with the whole brouhaha herself, and even a cameo with Kumiko Aso as the wife of one of the assassins!
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“Judge!” is clearly Satoshi Tsumabuki’s movie and Keiko has an admittedly lesser role in it, but every scene she’s in, she just lights up with that sassy energy of hers! Whenever a scene would play, I’d find myself delightfully rewinding her parts over and over- Man, I do love this girl so much! A good, fun movie to watch over the weekend!
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I’ve just seen a J-movie that is such a mish-mash of genres that it's end result must be one of the most unusual amalgams ever! This movie has it all: Romance, Roughnecking, Triumph and Tragedy, and it’s all set to campily enthusiastic SONG AND DANCE!
For reals, when I sat down to watch AI TO MAKOTO (For Love's Sake), I was only in it for the sweet babe-ness of its main star Emi Takei, but as soon as I saw the opening scene where delinquent bad boy Makoto (played by Satoshi Tsumabuki) beats up a rival gang all the while singing and DANCING, I knew I was in for SOME movie! Seriously, this was the Jets fighting the Sharks all over again!
I have to say that this a pretty innovative flick, and though the songs seem to break out at the most inopportune times, some of them are in fact pretty catchy, it was a thrill to hear Emi Takei singing her sweet proclamation of love to Makoto, and I have special fondness for the dark, drawling, song “Dreams Bloom at Night” which rival-love-interest Yuki (Ono Ito) hypnotically purrs to Makoto to take him away from innocent Ai’s arms…
Ai To Makoto is really like a Manga brought to life, and with waltzing Gang Members, Angry Singing Parents and enemy students brawling at the drop of a hat, it’s sometimes hard to take things seriously! But just like Romeo and Juliet (which West Side Story was based on , of course), this story has the shadow of TRAGEDY looming all over it, and you just KNOW that our heroes and heroines will not come out of it unscathed…
Ah, but let us not bring the zany vibes down! The Verdict for Ai To Makoto: Highly Original movie with an insane amount of nuttiness. Camp Factor: High, Emi Takei Cuteness factor: Maximum! Cautiously Recommended Viewing!!!
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Hiroshi Abe is back on the case with the latest in the strong SHINZANMONO pantheon, the smooth and cool Nemuri No Mori, a television special following the intense Wings Of The Kirin (Kirin No Tsubasa) from 2012. I couldn't wait to dig in!
This was one interesting story that had me guessing throughout the show, but even MORE awesome was how pretty all of the actresses playing the suspect ballerinas were! With actresses Ishihara Satomi, Otozuki Kei, Otani Eiko and Kinami Haruka as the primary girls (suspects), there was enough eye candy to keep me going no matter WHAT the storyline, LOL
AHAHA, and if THAT wasn't enough, they even had fantastic Nakama Yukie make a hilarious and cute cameo appearance as Kaga’s omiai prospect! Leave it to Yukie to be the girl who can really put Abe in his place! Too Funny!
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A melancholy movie with beautiful, atmospheric backdrops and a slow paced rhythm to it that really soothes the viewer’s soul
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I picked up on this movie simply for the stunning array of stellar actresses they’d gotten (Aoi Yu, Takeuchi Yuko, Tanaka Rena, Nakama Yukie,Suzuki Kyoka and Hirosue Ryoko, MAN,have you ever seen so much TALENT in one movie?) and the movie’s touching and heartfelt story certainly put them to good use, but the overall thing that stunned me the most was the film’s unbelievable cinematography and special effects!
Having a movie set in the years 1936, 1964, 1969, 1977 and 2004 would be a daunting task for anyone, and I wouldn’t have blamed them if they just winged it and made do with the sets they had on hand, but MY GOSH, those period pieces (and, in particular, the 60’s scenes) seemed like they were actually shot at that time!
Every time they opened another scene, just one look at the girl and her surrounds and I’d instantly KNOW what decade they were in, and DAMN if the Yukie Nakama scenes didn’t just remind me of those Tomokazu Muira/Yamaguchi Momoe flicks of the 70’s! And to bring out the flourish of those period pieces , the scenes alternate between modern 2004 shots which REALLY makes them stand out in comparison!
Of course, all this talent and special effects wouldn’t have meant much without a solid story to go on, and FLOWERS wonderful message is the cherishing of life, family, and the miracle of motherhood. (and never has a movie utilized Olivia Newton John’s (!) “Have You Never Been Mellow” better than this movie’s conclusion…so touching!
And for those of us who were just so blown away by the period piece effects, they went one further for us, as the ending credits ran and they showed these old, yellowed family photos of the generations of families, and I was like HOLY CRAP, THESE PICTURES LOOK SO DAMN AUTHENTIC! Especially the Aoi Yu shots- DANG, those could have been in MY Grandmother’s photo album! Just Fantastic!
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Remember that movie “Of Unknown Origin”, where Mild mannered Bart Hughes is so obsessed with catching a pesky mouse, at the end he ends up burning down his entire house to kill it? Think that, but with two pretty ‘n’ buxom gals instead of Peter Weller, and you’ve got the idea!
Can’t say that there was too much more than that as far as any deeper story goes, but BOY was it FUN watching these two beautiful girls bash each others’ brains out in true Wile E. Coyote/ Road Runner style, til each girl is a mess of blood and bruises! I’ve just become a fan recently of Nonami Maho, and I’ve loved Eiko Koike since I first saw her as a recurring guest on DOMOTO TSUYOSHI SHOJIKI SHINDOI, and it was awesome to see them let loose and go CRAZY!!!
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Keiko's character is a quiet and pure girl who shyly comes into Muga's restaurant looking for a job, and Takuro's so shocked that such a beautiful young thing would want to work in HIS shoppe, he's almost too dumbstruck to reply! It's then that he seeks out the mysterious HANDSOME SUIT to change his appearance so he can sweep Hiroko off her feet...or will he?
Hmmm. While I can understand why a sweet and naïve young girl like Hiroko might be turned off by a showboating egomaniac like Shosuke Tanihara, I have a harder time believing she’d fall instead madly in love with Muga’s character, at least so much that she would go to such drastic measures as she does…
Ah well, in a movie, like this, common sense and credibility are thrown out the window, and you’re there to simply sit back and enjoy the ride, a feat that this movie does effortlessly! SO much fun, and MY does Keiko-chan look absolutely adorable as the shy and innocent Hiroko…! Thumbs Up!
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The movie also stars Keisuke Koide as the Cyborg Girl's love interest, and when we first meet up with the both of them, they're both shopping in a department store: He’s buying a birthday gift for himself, and she’s stealing clothes to wear (to replace her torn time-travel suit)… His eyes meet hers, and much to his surprise, when he leaves, she begins happily following him!
I cannot even begin to fully describe how cute she is in this movie, especially at the beginning. There’s this scene when they’ve just met, and she’s following him around town, smiling that infectious Ayase Haruka smile (Dammit, can anyone resist that?!), and once she has his attention, begins happily dancing and skipping along, MAN! SO CUTE!!!
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Despite having the perfect (albeit flawed) girl right in front of him, Makoto only has eyes for classmate Miyuki, and really, who can blame him? As played by gorgeous actress Kuroki Meisa, Miyuki is the total embodiment of unattainable pretty, that holy-grail-ish purity a la John Hughes movies, and when she actually gives Makoto the time of day, no one can fault him for developing tunnel vision for her!
Of course, anyone with a heart knows that Makoto will only find true happiness with nerdy Shizuru, and I think that’s saying something for how lovable Miyazaki’s character is that I found myself yearning for her, and getting irritated whenever Miyuki entered the picture!
Only in a situation like this would I be more attracted to a gal like Shizuru over a delicious babe like Miyuki, but that’s just how it happened! The movie is just crammed full of great characters, and the forest backdrops where Shizuru and Makoto go to take photographs and forget their troubles are almost surreal, like they’ve wandered into painted pictures! All these elements made for a very solid story, and I found that even weeks after I’d watched it, I just couldn’t get it out of my mind. I’d be walking about, right as rain, when I’d suddenly think about the show and become melancholy!
The story of the two nerdy students, the romantic triangle with the “pretty” student, and the “heavenly forest” they escape to, will leave a mark on you, no question about it! Like dramas like Summer Snow, you’ll find yourself thinking about it for years to come!
A story about friendship, love, and the impact we have on each others lives.
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As one of the four motley coal miner’s daughters volunteering for Matsuyuki’s Hula Lessons, Aoi Yu's character Kimiko seemed so steadfast and composed in contrast with the other women… at first I didn’t realize it was the same girl from Honey and Clover! But as she worked each scene, the “Hagumi” character would shine through, and I’d think “Ah! It IS her!”
She seemed a lot more mature than I remembered, too. Then when I finally got to see her perform that “dance routine” that Saburo mentioned, she was so damn sexy doing it, I really started to wonder (read:worry) just how old she was…this was no “little kid”!!!She ROCKED!
The closing scene where the group finally appears onstage and Aoi Yu’s character Kimiko goes all out for her solo routine, all dressed in white, well, that just about did it for me. She looked so “kakkoi” performing , and MAN was she gorgeous, just radiating those good vibrations!!
Needless to say, right after the movie was over, I hopped onto the computer and checked out her Wikipedia stats, which reassuringly declared: Aoi Yu, born August 17th, 1985…
Hmmm…1985. So she was probably around 21 years old when that movie was shot…
WHEW!
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