“Another” is written by Ayatsuju Yukito, a famous writer and directed by Mizushima Tsutomu (BLOOD-C). The main reason this series got my attention is because Ayatsuju is one of my favourite writer, but I soon noticed that illustrations are quite well in the Anime as well (By the way, I didn’t read the original novel of Another).

As a quick review (and to avoid possible spoilers), I’ll focus on my feelings and include as little plot details as possible.

Not only the story at the beginning sounds creepy to me, but also the setting: old hospital and school, quite countryside etc. look gloomy. While I have very high expectation in the plot line, I gotta say the atmosphere was created in a way that perfectly matched the story. It may scare  or disturb you a bit, but you just wanna keep watching and wonder what’s gonna happen.

My favourite part is when Misaki (the girl in this pic) said to Koichi (the protagonist) she need to deliver something and walk towards the morgue. Gee! I mean, that’s not scary but it will give you goosebumps if you’re the one who see it!

Since Ayatsuji is a mystery writer, I am expecting to see more suspension in the next EP. By looking at some of the character’s we can also easily tell that something unusual is happening.

Judging from EP1, I can’t be too firm but I’ll give it 4 marks out of 5. Anyway if you like thrillers or mysteries, just give this series a try.

PS. In one part Koichi’s classmates said that his name reminded them of a murderer (they said something kinda like this). As Koichi’s last name is “Sakakibara”, the “murderer ” his classmates referred to is Sakakibara Seito, alias used by a 14-year-old serial killer in Japan back in 1997.

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Preview

Linda, Linda, Linda is a 2005 movie about 3 girls who start a High School rock band, but they need a vocalist. With less than a week remaining until the school’s Music Festival, they seek out a their 4th member: a transfer student from South Korea (Bae Doo-na from Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance) who has a bit of trouble speaking Japanese.

The movie follows the trails and tribulation of an indie rock band. It could be compared to another movie based on an indie band--made an America, but Japanese movies of this caliber (Linda, Linda, Linda won rave reviews from many film festivals around the world) can’t (and shouldn’t) be copied anywhere else.

The soundtrack comes along with the help of former Smashing Pumpkins Guitarist, James Iha, and the legendary Ramones. And that’s not all: the R1 DVD version of the movie comes with commentary from American Otaku enthusiast, Patrick Marcias; (another plus personally, being a Marcias fan).

Trailer

*Purchase “Linda, Linda, Linda” DVD: Region 1 | Region 2

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Preview

The movie looks like a knock off of an Quentin Tarantino film (that probably voids the statement I made above), but when it comes to Japanese films, it’s many times better than Grindhouse/Death Proof—but it takes one movie to tell a story.

The Machine Girl is about an ordinary High School girl, played by Idol and rising actress, Minase Yashiro, who lives an average life of an simple High School teen, with the perfect boyfriend and a normal family… Until one day she loses everything, including her family…and her arm, by the hands (no pun intended) of a Ninja Yakuza family… That’s correct: Ninja Yakuza--who jump around like the Power Rangers, if not, another Sentai TV series.

With a missing arm and a score to settle, she gets an prosthetic arm—loaded with the features similar to the woman’s leg in the Grindhouse movie (maybe the director is a Tarantino fan?). She sets out to get her revenge, leaving those behind her in shock—literally.

Comments

The Machine Girl looks very exciting and it could be worth adding to one’s growing Japanese film collection, next to Audition, Suicide Club (Circle), and Battle Royale. With that said, this movie is not for everyone: It contains mature themes and has lots of extreme violence in the style of Kill Bill. This movie has been out for quite sometime, but it’s not too late to check it out. The Machine Girl is available on Region 1 DVD as well.

Warning: The trailer contains intense violence. Viewer discretion is advised.

* Purchase “The Machine Girl” DVD: Region 1 | Region 2

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In October, video clips of the initial trailer was recorded at Brand Licensing Europe by an attendee, and the actual trailer was leaked on YouTube the next day. But Fox requested anyone who hosted the video to remove it until “final preparations were complete”…

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For a Japanese release, I figured they would sing in Japanese--but every single one of their songs is in English. They should have saved it for when they came to the states, in my opinion. Many aren’t very fond of BIG BANG (with all the screaming fangirls), especially when they team up with an alt-rock band, but they’re better than any other other boy band in Korea--or in the US. They knock the socks off of B2K--If they were still around.

* Purchase BIG BANG’s “Number 1″ from CDJapan

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My Name is Kim Sam-Soon: Another attempt at a lame US adaption of a popular Korean media?

Kim Sam-Soon is about a young woman (played by Kim Suna) who is pursuing a career in becoming a master chief, while working for the owner of a popular restaurant (Hyun Bin) who happens to pick on her for many things. This is the first three episodes of the series–as I’m in the middle of watching the original series myself. If anyone has watched this drama before, then you’re in for a real shock…The US version of the drama is being handled by NBC. That’s right…the National Broadcasting Corporation; As is the network that shows 30 Rock, Saturday Night Live, and Heroes.

The series is set to air in 2009, but a cast of characters has yet to surface. But I’m very curious on how this series will turn out. Just like with almost every promising new series on NBC, it could get canned after a couple of episodes. If they can pull it off without using references from other series it may try to imitate (in an attempt to replace “cultural” moments), it could be a huge hit…but I’m not getting my hopes up.

[Source: POPSEOUL!]

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The video is totally different from the Korean version, which is better than the American version. While the US version does what it can to pull in the Britney Spears crowd, this is actually a tamer attempt to do so, compared to Spears’ new music video (Not-Safe-for-Work-ish Warning!), “Womanizer” (LOL!). If all goes well, we will be seeing new BoA fans in the US.

[Source: POPSEOUL!]

* Download BoA’s “Eat You Up” from Amazon MP3

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Photo Credit: Jalapeño

It’s been a while since I posted the last Ni-Ongaku Spotlight feature. In this post, let’s take a look at the upcoming all-girl J-Rock group, ORESKABAND (オレスカバンド).

The 6-member band, who got their start during middle school in 2003, first preformed at Anime Expo in 2007 with their hit song, “20 Tips” (Tsumesaki / 爪先); the 11th ending theme for Bleach. The group has also made other appearances around the US such as the Vans Warped Tour, SXSW, Wizard World Chicago, and on Good Morning Sacramento.

ORESKABAND’s popularity seems to be growing at a steady rate. After their first appearance at Anime Expo, the group released their U.S. self-titled debut album. After a year of US performances, I think another nation wide tour is in order.

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My Sassy Girl - To the left: The Korean version; To the right: The US version

The original My Sassy Girl was released in 2001, starring Cha Tae-Hyun and Jeon Ji-Hyun, is about a who meets a drunk girl on the train. Before meeting the girl (who remains nameless throughout the movie), he was told by his mother that he should look for a life-long partner to make up for his slacker lifestyle.

My Sassy Girl is based on a true story that started with a man posting love letters on the internet, which was later turned into a book. (Sounds a lot like Densha Otoko, doesn’t it?) The movie sold 5 million tickets through South Korea, and was released throughout the rest of Asia. It even won several awards under the category for best romantic comedy, as well as the stars of the film.

The popularity of My Sassy Girl made way for an American remake. In 2008, the US adaption, starring Elisa Cuthbert and Jesse Bradford, was announced for a theatrical release nationwide. Unfortunately, the company who produced the film decided to make it DVD only in August.

Possible reasons why the company decided to make the film DVD only is because of the quality of the film. Evey Asian movie buff knows that [many] US adaptions of Asian movies simply do not work out. After watching the trailer, many who’ve seen the original movie will agree: It’s just not the same! For those who fell victim to the “From the People who Brought you “My Big Fat Greek Wedding” label, I highly recommend watching the Korean version. You’ll thank me later.

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1. Heroes (Network: NBC)
   
   One of the best shows on television. It’s like a live action version of either Death Note or Fullmetal Alchemist; you’ll never know what happens next!
2. Family Guy (Network: Fox)
   
   Not everyone likes Family Guy, but it actually speaks for everyone when it comes to recent scandals and fads.
3. Monk (Network: USA)
   
   The best Crime Comedy/Drama on Cable. Thanks to Monk’s popularity, fans are starting to follow in the detective’s footsteps…Just be sure not to step on his shoes.
4. Robot Chicken (Network: Cartoon Network/Adult Swim)
   
   Finally…A show that pokes fun at our childhood (and adulthood) heroes.

That’s my favorite shows of 2008. Now I’ll tag Apple, Jamaipanese, Joana, and Geek Mom to see what their favorite shows are.

Rules:

1. List your ‘Must-see TV shows’ for this season (no minimum, no maximum).
2. Tag as many people as shows you list.

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