Hiatus Series: Watashi wa Nihon ga daisuki!

I don’t know kung tama ang google translate. Hahaha Of course, habang nakahiga ka sa kama, malamang, puro net lang magagawa ko. Hirap tumayo, di naman ako pwede labas ng labas at mag galaw lang ng galaw. To kill time, well I watched Jdramas! A lot!

Dahil sa I read more news sa Japan equally about dito sa Pinas eh nagstart to nung there is a show called Doctor X na it’s going to have 3rd season and mataas ang dating rating niya in Japan. So I’m curious, well, I watched straight ang season 1 and 2. Wow, parang mas naaddict ako dito kaysa sa usual US shows. Pero it’s not the first time I watched jdrama. Wayback teens, first jdramas napanood ko were Strawberry on a Shortcake and GTO first live action. Di na nasundan yun yet until now, eto na, sumobra naman. Hahaha 

I blame asianwiki.com for this and of course, Eiga Sai, anime and Japanese flicks. Actually, I thought after watching a lot of Japanese films, eh mas marami maganda sa Jdrama. I mean mga actors and actresses that you rarely see sa films yet sa jdrama eh nandun sila! Hehe Not only I focused more on watching Jdrama but also checked some sites on how to learn nihonggo effectively, interested checking their culture, prefectures, even kawaii stuff or weird products, even CM (tv commercials na nakakatuwa talaga), a bit of Japanese music and artist (but talaga dominate yun idol groups and boy bands) and some politics, crimes and other news. Hahaha Don’t forget siyempre yun culture nila and food!!! Oishi! Hehe

Of course, marami din sila faults or even failures in their society, cases in point, gender equality and corporate working environment. Isipin mo nalang, medyo lamang tayo dito sa Pinas sa mga parts nay un. =) It’s a long story and comparison bout it. 

So balik tayo sa Jdrama. Hahaha With it, it helps to at least visualize how a normal Japanese community works or even etiquette, relationships and emotions that they usually convey. Saka nakakatuwa sa Jdrama, the stories they create it can be sobrang galing lalo na sa detective/medical stories, grabe naiisip nila yun! Or stories na simple pero in the long run, yun characters nagdadala. Or may mga storya na sobrang weird or stupid pero naisip pa nilang gawin interesting. Hehe Halata marami ako napanood na, thanks to Dramago.com. hahaha Dagdag mo pa yun like I said, artist that potray sa mga jdrama. Can’t believe some of them, either surprisingly old even they don’t look one or very young pero they can able to act like a veteran. Mga ganun ba. Pero, marami din ako napanood na lason, I mean waste of time kahit all star casts or sobrang ganda ng bida pero ganun na lang. hahaha Mas dumami ang crush ko when I watched a lot of Jdrama kasi yun iba sa kanila, less films but more tv appearances or shows. Japanese entertainment is a bit complex. Sa agency model pa lang, madaya na pero sige pa din ang mga artista nila, more share ang agency sa kitaan kaysa sa talent. Grabe di ba? Oh tapos paano sumikat, iba pa usapan yun, I can’t believe that the more CM you do with jdramas will give you long mileage. Parang yun film sa kanila although important pero sa artista, not a priority. Weird right? I mean great film actors/actresses are not that famous in Japan, siguro overseas. Yun sikat sa Japan are the ones you see more in commercials, shows, tv shows, and kung sa films medyo behind sa acting. I can give names, but hahaba lang to. Baka may mga fans sila na magalit! Hahaha Isama mo pa yun weird and funny game shows and Gaki no Tsukai!

Anyway, enough of the entertainment side pero one thing narealize ko, I love Japanese Women. =) Lalo na yun looks is like deceptive! Looks 30 pero 40 plus or iba 40 plus pero 50 na! Paano nila nagagawa yun?! Di lang looks, ugali na din despite, ehem medyo submissive or indecisive as well. 

Ah, because of Japan, I love eating Ramen. Nagcrave na ko sa Ramen, even katsu! Di pa din love ang sushi, maki or sukiyaki. Yakitori pwede na din. Pero dahil sa news and jdrama and films, aba TokyoTokyo di na ko kumakain, gusto ko sa Japanese resto talaga. Ramen lang pwede na! haha Damn ramen, the sumptuous soup tapos yun noodles na di bland with fresh garnish and meat na di ko ilan oras nila pinalambot.. Grabe!! Kakarelax ha. Sa katsu, few restos lang dito yun nakakagawa ng masarap ng katsu, tonkatsu to be exact. 

Pag punta ko Japan, hahanap agad ako ng tonkatsu and Ramen!! Yosh!!!!

Another thing I love Japan, eh scenery. I mean, different prefectures eh may kanya kanyang dating. Mapatropical or winter or autumn, spring, at mga tao din, dagdag mo pa yun hotsprings! Geez, kaya kahit sobrang stress sa trabaho, tanggal agad sa hot spring at ramen eh. Hahaha Dagdag mo pa yun ibang festivals they have throughout the year and iba’t ibang food mayroon sila. And the mascots, despite weird or kakabwisit, cute naman. Hahaha 

It’s sad that of course, they face a lot of challenges, such as declining population, low birth rate, the overwork human workforce, Japanese companies that are falling behind, very punitive and ineffective justice system and a lot of other troubles you may experience eh I still love Japan. Nung nagbabasa ako ng mga blogs or reports coming from gaijins(foreigners living in Japan), they don’t mind pa nga yun discrimination, kasi iba yun Japan. Fast paced pero lahat maexperience mo ok, convenience kung baga talaga. Customer service, sale ng gamit, even food service at siyempre vendos and convenient stores na mas pinupuntahan kaysa sa supermarket. Hehe Saka siyempre despite of course di naman perfect ang tao, ok ang mga Hapon ha. Very service oriented and honest, and sometimes I know masama din pero kasama na talaga sa kanila, Pride. 

So, I have plans siyempre to learn nihonggo and I hope may progress after some months. Hahaha In the future, siyempre makapagipon na going to Japan! Lalo na mas madali na ata kumuha ng visa, tourist madali lang ata na. Lalo na promote sila ng Cool Japan! And the coming Tokyo Olympics. Una punta ko, siyempre Tokyo at pag kaya ng loob ko at pera, Shinjuku! Hahaha Alam na kung bakit… Pag tagal yun mga province nila, lalo na pag April! The festival I’m curious about. Hahaha

And of course, being friendly din pagpunta dun, mapractice ang nihonggo kung kaya.. Hay.. Sa sobrang love ko Japan, hmmm I know how to be citizen, siyempre thanks sa blogs and wiki at one of the countries na sobrang madali magpakasal. Weird yet effective. Hehe May naisip na nga ko pangalan pag Japanese na. hahaha

Di masama mangarap, but I smile when I’m thinking about it. 

So des ne.. =) 

“Watashi wa jikan ni sotte no tame ni, Nihon ni sumu koto o yumemiru..”

Suntory Time

As you see, for the last 3 posts, I always mention Lost in Translation, which is a movie. When I watched the Oscars some year ago, I believe 2004 as imdb.com states, I was shocked that Bill Murray nominated for Best Actor. I am not against him, but for a great comedian like him getting nominated for Best Actor, is a great feat. I remembered the title of the film and as years go by, and a start of 2010, I watched at last, a fantastic film...

The gist: Washed up actor Bob Harris went to Japan for a commercial shoot for a whisky which is stated above. He is paid $2 million dollars for that part by the way, and while staying in Japan, he had some problems. Literally, language barrier, hmmmm mostly the language barrier and yes, since he went to Japan only missing his son's birthday and getting over his nagging wife, he felt bored. He actually wants to go home after the photo shoot. hehe However, he can't, spends some time in the bar and while spending some time, a girl came into the scene. Charlotte is a wife of a photographer. Young couple for 2 years, went to Japan because of her husband photo work as well, but with a band. She is in a pro-bono basis, meaning bum. hehe Damn good looking and innocent and well, she is kinda bored as well staying in Japan because when she wakes up, her husband leaves for work. At night, well, John snoores a lot. hehe Damn John, he is just so workaholic.

So, she also spends sometime, kill some time at the hotel's bar, and met Bob. No greetings, yet at the first meet, it's like casual conversation then as days go by, and spending more time at the bar, they kinda like each others company. Going to a bar, restaurant, hospital, karaoke bar and even a strip club. hehe Along their misadventures, they develop a certain bond, or a relationship that they seem to be comfortable. The boundary between friendship and romantic relationship. Anyway, as Bob leaves Japan, he said something to Charlotte and she became somewhat very happy. Oh yes, there is a goodbye kiss. hehe They seem to be happy yet sad as well because they will be apart. Then the song Just Like Honey kicks in. hehe

The Boos: The character of Giovanni Ribisi, John, damn if I have a great and hot wife under Charlotte, I won't treat her like that. Hehe I mean nothing against Ribisi, but only the character he portrayed. The screenplay maybe made John like that. hehe Nothing much dialogue in this one, not that a big flaw, but it will be better if Sofia added more dialogue. It's a short film, I hope Sofia was able to add more scenes, like between Bob and Charlotte. However, it's not also bothers the whole film, just a feedback. Anna Faris, well, just 2 scenes for her. hehe

The Goods: The 2 main characters. Bob is really for Bill Murray. Period. hehe I agree with Sofia that if Bill Murray did not do this role, then I don't think anybody can do it unless it's Bill. Scarlett Johansson I thought before watching this film, doesn't have any other roles than being so sexy and acting doesn't really step up. That changed when I finished watching it. hehe She is damn beautiful in this film not only because she wears panties almost all her scenes, hehe. But the role is fit for her. Innocent, confused, simply nice lady, I thought she is kinda pregnant because of her tummy but well, overall, she is great. Maybe she did not go to the gym at that time. hehe I like the scenes of them together, especially the scene where they just laying at the bed, talking about life and the last scene, very sweet. Simply sweet. If I'm Bob, I'll do that as well.hehe Unfortunately, Bill did not go home an Oscar for this magnificent performance.

The comedy as well, the japanese actors, done their part, especially for the lady who went to Bob's room just rip her stocking. Hahaha very funny.. Charlie Brown as well very good. hehe The japanese friend dude. Even the commercial shoot with the director, that was cleverly funny.

The setting, Tokyo, Japan, perfect for the plot of the movie. Another reason why I should work hard just to go to Japan. hehe And I need to learn Japanese. I'm tired watching channel 13 for a tour in Japan. hehe

The screenplay!!!! That's why it won an Oscar. The plot is not complicated, however, the complication only came at the feelings of the 2 characters. I mean at the end, they knew that love is growing between them, it's just it will stop because of their lives. It's an open ending. hehe However, as the story goes, the development of such feeling is the interesting part. Going to such places, talking about each other lives and how to deal with it and other things. The pace of the film as well is really great, slow yet it never leaves you behind because of the actors and fun story. The friendship of the two people also show interest. I mean at first, you will drawn on how they become friends due to their boring lives. hehe Simply love the story.

The music, a great film should also have a great soundtrack. Of course, Air done a good job but what I like is the song Just like Honey from Jesus and Mary Chain. It sets the mood for the film, especially the last scene. A perfect song. Like A shape in my heart in Leon the professional. hehe The songs used here, great, even the karaoke scene as well. Oh I love how Charlotte sang there. hehe Love the wig.

The verdict: I haven't watch love/romantic films for a long time, well I did watch the Notebook but it's sad. Somewhere in time, also sad. hehe But this one, even it doesn't have a really good ending, after watching it, I am not only laughing hard, but it did put a smile in my face. Very fun movie, serious fun, happy movie. Definitely a keep. One of my favorite movies of all time. That's how good it is, for me.

Just like Honey.