Love Me Tender

Two weekends ago I went to Okonimi House - a Japanese restaurant in downtown Toronto that makes okonomiyaki. It was my first time trying the dish and I was really excited since I’ve seen it so many times in dramas and animes (i.e. hana kimi). Well it was everything I anticipated it to be…delicious! So if you are ever in Toronto and in the mood for okonomiyaki, stop by there and have one. It’s about $6 for one and worth every bite. Here is the picture I took of mine. It doesn’t do it justice.

***SPOILER ALERT - DON’T READ AHEAD IF YOU LIKE SURPRISES***

Sorry that I’ve been away for so long. I have been starting to catch up on the piles of dramas that have been thrown my way by different people. So far I’ve finished watching Hana Yori Dango 1 & 2, and Last Friends. Hana Yori Dango was a pretty big hit in Japan and with its cute characters and fairytale storyline, I’m not surprised as to why. It was a nice brainless drama to watch to get away from the stresses of life. There is a Korean version coming out in 2009 that will star Kin Hyun Joong (leader of Korean boyband, SS501) as the lead male role of Hanazawa Rui. My sister wasn’t sure if he could pull off the rich, arrogant, jerk character but I think it’s pretty close to his previous image (minus the rich part) that he shouldn’t have too much trouble. He is pretty hot so even if he can’t act or the drama sucks I will probably watch it for the eyecandy. I still need to watch the Taiwanese version.

Last Friends was an amazing drama. It’s like no other I have every seen (Japanese, Korean or Taiwanese). It dealt with many serious topics in a more realistic way than any other drama I’ve watched. For once domestic violence wasn’t portrayed as a result of the evils of alcohol, but rather it showed the underlying psychological issues of domestic abuse such as why women keep going back. It is not because they are stupid and don’t know any better! It shows the psychological manipulation and the difficulty in walking away from someone you love. I was impressed. I mean, sure it was a drama so it can’t be TOO realistic (otherwise the dramatic effect is lost), but for its limitations, it was pretty good. The other topics that were also dealt with were great as well - questioning gender identity, child molestation, extramarital affairs. The ending was another fairytale, but I’m still happy that the drama wasn’t cotton candy bullshit like so many others. The opening to the drama was great too as it showed the complexity of the characters’ lives and relationships. Oh! And I can’t forget how perfect the song Prisoner of Love by Utada was. I was so impressed.

When I watched Hanazakari no Kimitachi e (花ざかりの君たちへ), I couldn’t help but lust at Mizushima Hiro. Sure his hair was horrible, but him looking hot even with it says something. Now he’s going to be in the upcoming drama Absolute Boyfriend. Assuming that it will be subbed, I will watch it just for him. Yum. ^_^

Name: Absolute Boyfriend/Zettai Kareshi / 絶対彼氏
Cast: Aibu Saki, Hayami Mokomichi, Irie Jingi, Maya Miki, Mizushima Hiro, Nakamura Shunsuke, Sasaki Kuranosuke
Description: Izawa Riko is a temp worker in search of a boyfriend, and she ends up in possession of a “robot” known as Night Tenjo, who is programmed to be the perfect boyfriend. However, this creates a love triangle with a distinguished young man at her company who has feelings for her.

References:
1. Crunchyrolls: drama info

My sister and I have been watching My Boss My Hero whenever we get time to see each other (we got to universities in different cities). We only have two more episodes to go! Well, she’s seen it before so it’s not that big of a deal for her. The drama is quite enertaining. You know…stupid high school teenager humour. There are a lot of singers in it too. Well…not A LOT, but three (that I know). One of them is Nagase Tomoya (長瀬智也) who plays the main character Sakaki Makio. Tomoya has the most humorous expressions I’ve seen in a while. I love his demon face (that’s what I call it). Anyone who has seen this drama will know what I’m talking about. At first it scared me, but it’s just so ridiculous that you can’t help but laugh. I’m laughing right now…hahaha. *cough* So anyway, in his wiki profile he looks similiar to Mithra Jin from Epik High. See!

Nagase Tomoya

Mithra Jin

I know they’re not the best comparison pictures, but I really don’t want to look around for a better pair. But does anyone else see it? I DO!!! Haha. Anyway, this post doesn’t really have a point…other than I’m almost done watching the drama. =P

P.S. I just found a blog by a fangirl living in France. I’m going to try reading it to improve my French. =P

Happy New Year everyone! I hope you all enjoyed spending time with your loved ones these past few days. And I also hope 2008 will be a great year for all of you. Thanks to my regular readers who drop by and read my posts…even though this particular space hasn’t been open for every long. =P

So I finally finished watching Hanazakari no Kimitachi e (Hana Kimi) with my sister. I loved it…although the ending was a little dragged out. I thought I wouldn’t like the Japanese version after watching the Taiwanese version since I liked the latter so much, but I found them both enjoyable. Each had it’s own sense of humour and different styles of acting. I don’t think it’s fair to compare the two. I did find the dorm head of the second dorm (Mizushima Hiro) really attractive. Even though his hair was a little o_O, he was still eye candy. I can’t believe he is my age. And did anyone else notice how nice everyone’s teeth were in that drama? It’s like they buffed them before every take! Haha. =P