The Girl Who Leapt Through Time

"Time waits for no one"

Anime Theatrical Movie

I’ve always thought that I was an anime fan but not necessarily those hardcore ones. I’m not completely fluent in their vocabulary but at times I get to stumble on a good show. Later on, I’m hooked. Those really “hardcore ones” follow a certain good directors; then I found out that the hardcore anime actually resides in the anime films. So far, I’ve only seen some films that they’ve been “raving about” and this include Spirited Away and Mononoke Hime.

Anyhoot, since this was in the list of Eiga Sai 2008, it deeply intrigued my otaku brain cells. Actually, I was there, last Sunday at Shang, with one of those hard to get tickets. The only one missing was Yeye, who I contracted to watch the film with me. In short, I completely missed the entire thing. But thanks to technology, and of bittorrents, I was able to grab a copy. And hell, it was one roller coaster ride.

I can’t believe I never heard of this film until today. And to think it was released way back in 2006. Where have I been?

This one of the films that just makes me Whoa! Yes, yes, I know, I’ve been praising one film after the other lately. But do note that out of 10 stuff I watch, one of them only gets to be blogged about. The other 9 need not be bothered with. That, or I’m just lazy.

The Girl Who Leapt Through Time has all the qualities (according to me) of a mainstream cinema plus some other offbeat ones that make it interestingly stand out. It has a linear story, characters you can easily empathize with, one hell of an OST (with musings of the classics), the fundamental romance subplot, stunning cinematography (using animation, mind you), cutting edge animation, unpredictable storyline and storytelling, and a singular climactic scene. This is a film that Aristotle will be happy about.

Verdict: Must See! If you haven’t wandered to Japanese Animation, this is a good start. No-nonsense and emphatic.

Info
Leeched from: bittorrent

Rookies

"I want to play baseball with everyone again"

Japanese TV Drama

Sports drama always had a soft spot for me. They're nice and entertaining with a hint of feel-good atmosphere under the backdrop of youth and teenage angst. I think Rookies is sort of experimental when it combined the proven formulae of a Sensei and Sports Drama.

Rookies begin (surprise?) with a bunch of senior high delinquents with no clear future. Then, here comes a transfer teacher (surprise again?) that would change them forever. Add that into a bowl of discrimination and angst and use Baseball as a medium to straighten these kids out and you get Rookies.

I like sports dramas because they give you the thrill of a real competition with the hint of some high school drama. And this is Baseball, baby!

Add Ichihara Hayato’s heavenly and Koide Keisuke’s adorable visage, and now you’ve got whipped cream on top. I haven’t encountered a Japanese Dorama that kept me this captivated for a long time.

The drama would have been this close to perfection if not for the overdone stereotypical portrayal of a “delinquent.” Read: crazy hairstyles and bogus sporting of the school uniform. Don’t we always get this? For me, I’ve started overlooking this and focused on the compelling story. It is that compelling - and empathizing. It's so nice to see kids mature slowly but surely.

And when the OST plays on the background, my hair just stands on end. A Kiseki (Miracle) indeed.

Verdict: If you’re not as forgiving as me when it comes to lame high-school portrayals and construction, don’t venture here. But if you like sports dramas like me, this is definitely a worthy find.

Info
Leeched from: d-addicts.com

Code Blue

"I will do it. I will become a famous doctor."

Japanese TV Drama

It wouldn't the first Japanese hospital drama. One word: Yamapi! Who would a JE fangirl (in this case a fanboy) wouldn't watch a Pi drama? Who wouldn't? Tell me!

Anyhoot, I've only seen the first episode and made me f*cking breathless. I'm not talking about Pi here so please let us put him aside for a while though it's hard.

It already made me think in so many levels. A fifteen year old getting an arm amputation? Hello?! The first episode is so jam-packed it placed the four major characters in so much drama I lost my breath.

And hell was the budget. This is everything a medical drama with qualities you can recognize from shows such as Grey's Anatomy, House MD or ER. But with this one, they Fly! This is a drama about doctors who fly to where they are needed (called the Dr. Heli faction). There were so many flying helicopter shots which could have cost the same we produce an entire teleserye. Pinagkagastosan grabe.

Verdict: Watch it! Even though you're not a Pi fangirl. There are just very few dramas coming out that have been well thought out and this is one of them. It will move your emotions guaranteed.

Info: d-addicts wiki
Leeched from: d-addicts.com

Do you need more reasons to watch this? Scroll further down.

Babbles of a Leecher: Nah, just senseless babbling...

Warning:
Nothing but otaku ramblings ahead! Proceed at your own risk.

July marks the end of the Jdorama Spring season and the start of the Summer 2008 season and theere is nothing but anticipation for me.

After some really lousy Spring, I'm badly looking forward to a better season. In the past season, we ended up dropping dramas which fell short of satisfactory or even mildly entertaining.

• Zettai Kareshi was one big disappointment; I was hoping for some high school romance but what we got was some bad manga rip off.
• Ashita no Kita Yoshio sounded interesting on paper but was just damn boring on the monitor.
• Gokusen 3 was something my sister enjoyed but I found it too predictable. It's the third anyway and Gokusen was made to be like that, I guess.
• Last Friends seemed promising because it tried to tackle Lesbian issues but its failure to actually be entertaining or at least provocatively discursive made me forget about it entirely. Just yesterday, I fell asleep while watching it - literally.
• Rookies is the only thing that's becoming interesting but it is not even somehting I'd recommend to anyone. The presentation is just too sterotypical.

For the Summer season, I'm looking forward for these shows:

Code Blue

We're watching this because, finally, a Yamashita Tomohisa drama. I think it's about some medical flight drama. Cast is also amazing 'cause Toda Erika's here!

Maou

I think this means "Devil." Anyway, after reading the synopsis, I'm hoping that this would be another Liar Game that's deep and thought-provoking. But considering Ikuta Toma is cast, I guess this would be impossible.

33pun Tantei (33 Minute Detective)

Synopsis: Each episode's mystery is solved within that short time span, but unlike typical detective shows, this comedy features a slow-witted sleuth named Rokuro Kurama (Domoto). While viewers will be able to identify the criminal right away, Domoto's character constantly comes up with incorrect theories, leading him to always accuse the wrong person. The show's name come from its time slot (Saturday nights at 11:10pm), which runs a total of 33 minutes after commercial time is subtracted.

Interesting right?

The only problem now is where to get Gigs of storage as my 250G + 80G hardrives are now full as they can be.