13-sai no Hello Work: Episode 1

Title: 13歳のハローワーク (13-sai no Hello Work)
Aired: January 13th, 2012 - March 9th, 2012
Reason for Watching This Drama: Yokoyama Yuu. I am not kidding.
Reason for Continuing to Watch This Drama: Matsu-ni! And, this is the kind of drama I really enjoy.

When it comes to time travel stories, I've always preferred the type in which the protagonist would go back to their own childhood and affect change in their own life, rather than the ones that go back generations to change history. 13-sai no Hello Work is one of these, where Kogure Teppei (Matsuoka Masahiro) is a police officer who had wanted to be a detective, but ended up in the community safety section where he couldn't find any meaning in his work. On his 35th birthday, he had a particularly bad day at work, was told that there was no way he could improve his job situation when he went to Hello Work, and got dumped by his girlfriend. He got drunk and passed out at a karaoke place, but when he woke up, he found that he had gone back in time, 22 years ago. The "current" him was only 13; he realised that if he guided his past self to a good school and university, then perhaps he would be able to reach for the future/career he wanted.

Shinya Shokudo opening theme - Tsunekichi Suzuki, "Omohide"

Arashi no Shukudai-kun!: Episode 37

Aired On: June 18th, 2007
 

Continuing my re-watch! At the gathering I was transferring some of my Mago Mago files to Fatin's pendrive, and I thought of how there are a lot of episodes I've yet to watch, which made me think, I should start on a Mago Mago watching project!, which reminded me that I have yet to continue my Shukudai-kun re-watch. ^^; So, continuing, after so long.

 

The guest this episode is ManaKana, or Mikura Mana and Kana, twin singer/actresses. Their homework to the guests was to investigate rare and delicious cuisine from Okinawa. The first item introduced was "gouya (bitter gourd) burger", which they thought was delicious but didn't really have much of a bitter gourd flavour. Aiba said it tasted like shisa (the lion/dog decoration, I think from Okinawan mythology?), and ended up eating half of the burger meant for all of Arashi, before Jun reminded him not to finish it. He gave Jun his half-finished burger in response, lol.

 

Mikura twins

From the Skip Beat! OST: 華麗的獨秀 by Super Junior M

Here's the song that appears at the beginning, in Tumblr. I thought I wouldn't like it at first, as with everything Skip Beat! - but it grew on me.

Enjoy.

Arashi ni Shiyagare!: Episode 42

Aired On: April 30th, 2011

When guessing who the guest might be, Aiba reminded the rest of Arashi that they had talked about it before, and had decided that it was about time for Matsu-nii (Matsuoka Masahiro, TOKIO) to appear. Sho agreed, saying that it's because Matsu-nii's drama (High School Restaurant) has started, so he would probably appear to do promotions. Nino commented that if he didn't come (that day), he probably wouldn't come at all.  Jun said that he thought that Matsu-nii really was coming that day. They all turned out to be right - both the audience and Arashi were really excited, and Sho and Nino claimed, "finally!" Since all of them kept expecting Matsu-nii to appear on their show sooner or later, and Matsu-nii haven't - until then.

Arashi no Shukudai-kun!: Episode 33

Aired On: May 21st, 2007

The guest this time is TOKIO's Kokubun Taichi! To tell the truth, the first thing I thought when watching this again is, "wow, he looked so young...", haha. ^^;; I always love it when any of the JE senpais or kouhais appear on Arashi's shows, despite not really being a JE fan in general (I only really like Arashi). This is because their interactions with other Johnnys are always amusing to watch, I suppose.

Anyway, Kokubun Taichi's request for the audience is to find different kinds of salads from all over the world. I was so relieved with this request, really - vegetables should be safe, right. Right? Not that it's not interesting to see them eat weird food, but as an animal lover, some of the episodes were just painful to watch. (I'm still a bit traumatised from the sparrow.) These salads were introduced by women from the respective countries - the first being from Belarus, a salad made of beets. Next is a Bulgarian salad served with Sirene, a cheese that was marinated in saltwater. I'd like to try this someday! Then, Paumid salad from Costa Rica, made from the core of palm trees. I didn't even know that they could be eaten. I love Kokubun's reaction - "kore wa zenzen oishii desu ne!" I suppose the usage of zenzen+something positive wasn't so all over the place back then since it still jarred to Jun and was highlighted in the tv text. Although I seem to remember everyone speaking that way back then. I know this is completely off-topic, but this really brings back memories.

Skip Beat! Episode 1

Title: 華麗的挑戰 (Skip Beat!/ Hua Li De Tiao Zhan)
Aired: December 18th, 2011 - April 1st, 2012 (FTV, GTV)

Reason for watching this drama: Okay, it was accidental. I avoided this drama everytime I saw it in the shop. Because I just don't relish the fact that they had to dub the guys' voices. Of course, this happens all the time for Mainland China dramas, which is why I watch so little of those. But I was so taken by the characters when I watched part of the first episode on TV, that I though I'd just take the dubbing as one of the necessary evils.


Reason for continuing to watch this drama: Did I just say I love the characters? Ivy Chen really nailed Kyoko for me, for now. I've never watched any of her other dramas, at least I can't remember having done so. And really, after the first few episodes, you tend to forget that Lien is Siwon and Shang is Donghae. And it is a Doze Niu production. 

Mou Yuukai Nante Shinai

Title: もう誘拐なんてしない

Aired On: January 3rd, 2012

I really wasn't planning to watch Oh-chan's drama, because I prefer to wait and download rather than stream. But I just happened to check freshverse and it was on, and I ended up watching it until the end. It's really funny, and I haven't been checking on the news relating the drama (I only knew about Ohno and Aragaki Yui, and ShoJun cameo-ing), so I was pleasantly surprised by the casting.

Papadoru!: Episode 1

Title: パパドル!  (Papadoru! / My Daddy is an Idol!)
Aired: April 19th, 2012 - June 28th, 2012 (TBS)

Reason for watching this drama: The premise. I liked that it's about an idol who has to struggle with keeping his personal life secret, and am hoping for it to be Mukodono!-like, except maybe better because Nishikido Ryo actually plays himself, and therefore we get to see into the whole JE life, just a little bit. The promise of Kanjani8 cameos definitely does not hurt.
Reason for continuing to watch this drama: It's funny! One of the dramas to watch for pure enjoyment. I love that Kana-chan's an Arashi fan and then whenever something Arashi-related is mentioned or shown, their song (A-RA-SHI) starts playing in the background.