息も出来ない夏
Iki Mo Dekinai Natsu/Breathless Summer

Episode 9

*One must watch previous episodes to understand this episode/ approx. 45 minutes long*

     This TV show has an extremely interesting plot, it is about a girl that doesn't have what is called a "koseki" or family register. The main character does not have one because her mother got divorced with her husband right after she was born due to domestic violence. This TV show shows the struggle of life without a family register and also the road to getting one and how hard it may be.

     In this episode Rei starts to find the support she has from the people around her. At the same time, she begins to learn more and more about reality and more about Kiyama. She gets the consent from Ayukawa to have a DNA test done but Ayukawa doesn't show up because he faints. Rei and her family decide to stay in the area instead of moving but Rei's world becomes more and more complex and she starts to find that she has more to get away from. Will she find out whether or not she is related to Ayukawa? and what will happen between her and Kiyama?

Iki Mo Dekinai Natsu

息も出来ない夏
Iki Mo Dekinai Natsu/ Breathless Summer

Episode 8

*One must watch previous episodes to understand this episode/ approx. 45 minutes long*

     This TV show has an extremely interesting plot, it is about a girl that doesn't have what is called a "koseki" or family register. The main character does not have one because her mother got divorced with her husband right after she was born due to domestic violence. This TV show shows the struggle of life without a family register and also the road to getting one and how hard it may be.

     In this episode, the family has to face the reality that there was a stabbing in their house. Also with the article writing everything that had occurred, the family is bullied and attacked in many different ways. They all thought they were strong but turns out they weren't. They don't have anything left, and so finally make the decision to move. "Save me, Kiyama-san." are the last words by Rei in this episode. What will happen between now and until the family leaves?

Iki Mo Dekinai Natsu

息も出来ない夏
Iki Mo Dekinai Natsu/ Breathless Summer

Episode 7

*One must watch previous episodes to understand this episode/ approx. 45 minutes long*

     This TV show has an extremely interesting plot, it is about a girl that doesn't have what is called a "koseki" or family register. The main character does not have one because her mother got divorced with her husband right after she was born due to domestic violence. This TV show shows the struggle of life without a family register and also the road to getting one and how hard it may be.

     Man these episodes become more and more intense. In this episode, Rei is swamped by the fact that this horrible man could be her father. She can't decide whether to believe her father, or mother, or really who to believe in general. From the stabbing, she is forced to not go to work because of the drama that it occurs and she is attacked by strangers via phone and emails. At the end, she makes the decision to finally meet the man who raped her mother, and to figure out if she is actually her father. Will he cooperate? In the meantime with the newspaper article that is printed, what will happen to Rei's family?

息も出来ない夏
Iki mo dekinai natsu/Breathless Summer

Episode 6

*One must watch previous episodes to understand this episode/ approx. 45 minutes long*

     This TV show has an extremely interesting plot, it is about a girl that doesn't have what is called a "koseki" or family register. The main character does not have one because her mother got divorced with her husband right after she was born due to domestic violence. This TV show shows the struggle of life without a family register and also the road to getting one and how hard it may be. 

     In the previous episode, Rei finally makes the decision to try and make a family register without going into his father's register. But after a lot of talking with different people, Rei decides to just go for it and get her family register, especially because her mom's ex-husband is out of town. The ending is truly a shock, scary and suspenseful, Rei keeps on getting more confused about her past and about what happened. What will happen next? Perhaps a murder. 

ボーイズ・オン・ザ・ラン
Boys on the run

Episode 6

*Must watch previous episodes to understand/ approx. 45 minutes*

   This TV show quite unique in itself. When the show started, it was a typical 11 pm show full of sexual content and not recommended for children. But now? It's full of love and human drama and soon full of jealousy. The main character Tanishi starts the TV show off with his birthday, when he turns, 21(sorry, if I'm wrong...) when he realizes he's spent his entire life without a girlfriend or sex. After this birthday, he starts to meet new people and starts to slowly change and become a stronger person though dragging too many people into trouble as he goes.

   In this episode, Chiharu goes insane. Using the fact that Hana doesn't know much about Tanishi's life and can't speak, she sends him texts that seem as if he is cheating on Hana. Throughout the episode Hana and Tanishi aren't on great terms, but as Chiharu begins to bother them, they get better than worse then better than worse. What will happen to their relationship, and what else is Chiharu planning on doing? We'll see in the next episode. 

ビギナーズ
Beginners

Episode 6

     *Must watch previous episode to understand. /approx. 45 minutes*

     This drama is about students in a prepatory school for becoming policemen. It specifically focuses on what is called S class, which is the class of people that were accepted as the waitlist in the school, so if someone quits in the school, they can go in right away. The main character Shimura has a father who used to be a policeman with some sort of story behind it. As the drama goes on, all of the members of S class slowly start to bond and get over the many obstacles that face them.

     In this episode, Shimura and Tachibana get to enter the real school, but then a lot happens and Tachibana almost quits. At the end everyone in S class goes back to S class, the entire class was able to save Tachibana from quitting and it showed the strong bond they had. The main moral of this show really, is that as long as you have friends, anything is possible, or at least that's what Shimura goes by. Although sort of serious, this tv show easy to watch and really fun and I love it. What will we find out about Shimura and his father in the next episode?

GTO
Great Teacher Onizuka

Episode 8

* For this episode only, you must watch previous episode/approx. 45 minutes*

 This TV show is about a man who used to be part of the yakuza becoming a teacher. It is also a remake of a previous TV show based off of manga. The way he teaches is very unique especially because he is not extremely intelligent himself, but he treats his students like friends and is liked by most of his students. In every episode, a student causes some drama or trouble and Onizuka somehow ends up solving them.

   In this episode, continuing from the previous episode, there is a sort of battle between Kanzaki and Aizawa. Kanzaki begins to go insane, in a way, because all her mother wants is her brain and not her as a daughter. Personally, I wanted to mother to suffer, pretty badly, but that's satanic, so that's not how the TV show could possibly go. But now that things are slowly starting to be pieced together with Onizuka's plans and struggle, the class slowly starts to change. Next episode is Onizuka's last class. We'll see what happens with Aizawa and her mysterious last words in this episode. 

梅ちゃん先生

Ume-chan Sensei/Dr.Ume

* Must watch previous episodes in order to understand episodes/approx. 15minutes per episode*

Set in the late 60's, during the "Showa" era. A story of a woman named Umeko who becomes a doctor following his father. Human drama between her and her family as well as the entire neighborhood. Heart warming and nostalgic, especially for those who lived in that era. Some parts of Japanese culture has changed therefore, do not think that this is the way Japan is now... 

     With these few episodes, Umeko and her husband Nobu face several issues within the family. Eventually, they are able to solve everything but these few episodes there is a lot more human drama involved than usual. It's interesting because you can see the different views of people in that time period. In these few episodes, some families slowly begin to get TV's. Of course, during this time, the videos are black and white, but the joy it brings to people is amazing. Nowadays, when Apple comes out with a renewed product, there isn't a lot of excitement behind it, people just get the new version, but here, you can see how technology lightened up people's lives. 

  リッチマン・プアウーマン

Rich Man, Poor Woman

Episode 7 

*Must watch previous episode to understand. Approx. 45 minutes*

   This drama is about a man Tooru Huga, who owns an IT company called Next Innovation and a girl going to college as a biology major who somehow ends up in Next Innovation. This drama is a well paced drama in which things happen very quickly. Human drama regarding romance, work, rivalry etc. Involves every aspect of a drama one would want. Especially because the drama is set in the modern world revolved around IT, it gives the drama a reality aspect as if this could happen in real life which is keeping audiences hooked. 

   In this episode, something extremely unexpected occurs. As Natsui is getting ready to leave her internship at Next Innovation and go get a job, Hyuga's life starts getting screwed. This episode shows how scary a company can be and the people in it, the man who helped Hyuga all the way from step one is now an enemy trying to completely destroy him. In a way, once Hyuga has lost everything is when this TV show starts to become good. What will happen to Hyuga and will he get everything his way again?

黒の女教師
Kuro No Onna Kyoushi/ The Dark Female Teacher(really struggling on translating this title.. I'm sorry)

*Each episode ends within itself/ approx. 45 minutes*

   This TV show is about three female teachers at a high school who teach "special classes". They always wait in the art room for students or fellow teachers to arrive with money to teach a class outside of school hours. Whether it be teaching a student, what's right and wrong, or teaching someone who has dragged students into trouble. Anyways, all the actors playing students are brilliant and so are the teachers, in comparison to GTO... Though I do recommend that movie.

    Before I talk about this episode, I have one piece of advice. DO NOT WATCH THIS WHEN YOU ARE WATCHING GTO. I have gotten really confused between the two TV series because the stories are pretty similar, and I prefer this show over GTO.
    Anyways, in this episode, a girl is caught working at what's called a girls' bar. If her teachers let the principal know, she of course can't get into college but could also get expelled. I love watching what pranks the teacher pulls every episode in order to get the student out of trouble and to teach someone a lesson. Surprisingly in this episode, it reveals a bit of Ms.Uchida's past and she uses that to her advantage. As we begin to see more and more of the teachers' pasts, we also begin to see the respect that the students show to Ms.Takakura. Interested to see how this TV show develops!

GTO
Great Teacher Onizuka

Episode 7

*Each episode ends within itself. Approx. 45 minutes per episode*

   This TV show is about a man who used to be part of the yakuza becoming a teacher. It is also a remake of a previous TV show based off of manga. The way he teaches is very unique especially because he is not extremely intelligent himself, but he treats his students like friends and is liked by most of his students. In every episode, a student causes some drama or trouble and Onizuka somehow ends up solving them.

   This episode starts out by one of his incredibly smart students stopping a train by calculating where exactly the train will be able to stop at the speed it was coming in. By the end of this episode, Onizuka almost dies, and I think it's safe to say that it's been one of the deepest episodes, but I do have one thing to say. The actress who plays the main student is horrible. I've seen a lot of TV shows and there aren't that many japanese actor who are truly amazing because a lot of them are cast because they are handsome or pretty, but my god, she is horrible. Other episodes have been great with actors who have been in other movies or TV shows before, it's just this one episode. Anyways, let's hope the next one gets better. 

ボーイズ・オン・ザ・ラン
Boys On The Run

Episode 5

* Must watch previous episodes to comprehend/ approx. 45 minutes per episode*

This TV show quite unique in itself. When the show started, it was a typical 11 pm show full of sexual content and not recommended for children. But now? It's full of love and human drama and soon full of jealousy. The main character Tanishi starts the TV show off with his birthday, when he turns, 21(sorry, if I'm wrong...) when he realizes he's spent his entire life without a girlfriend or sex. After this birthday, he starts to meet new people and starts to slowly change and become a stronger person though dragging too many people into trouble as he goes.

     In this episode, Tanishi decides to seriously start box, and starts to be with Hana often. This episode is really interesting because it is very unlike the love life he had with Chiharu back when he worked with her. The relationship between Hana and Tanishi is more close to the typical love story, and though Tanishi is not reliable, I think that they make a better couple than Tanishi and Chiharu. Let's see what happens when Chiharu comes back into the story next episode!

リッチマン、プアウーマン
Rich Man, Poor Woman

Episode 6

*Must watch previous episodes to understand plot/ each episode is approx.45 minutes long*

   This TV show is about a man Tooru Huga, who owns an IT company called Next Innovation and a girl going to college as a biology major who somehow ends up in Next Innovation. This drama is a well paced drama in which things happen very quickly. Human drama regarding romance, work, rivalry etc. Involves every aspect of a drama one would want. Especially because the drama is set in the modern world revolved around IT, it gives the drama a reality aspect as if this could happen in real life which is keeping audiences hooked. 

   In this episode, Next Innovation's business that has been going so well all of a sudden crashes. Huga is not able to figure out how all the information leaked, and when sad, is in need of company. The drama has finally started heating up with lots of jealousy, lots of drama, and lots of rivalry. It's really hard to guess what is going to happen next, even with the preview. This drama has been made very well so far, and I believe it will continue reaching the audience's expectations. 

主に泣いてます
Omo Ni Naitemasu/I am usually crying

Episode ４

*Hard to comprehend if you haven't seen previous episodes/each episode is approx. 45 minutes long*

     This TV show airs at 11pm, therefore it has a specific style to it that children or people that usually watch the "golden time" shows(7pm-10pm) will not favor. It does not have much of a plot but still keeps you on your toes wondering what is going to happen next. The story is about a woman, who is known to be too beautiful, and an arts major in college who comes to teach the middle schooler that the woman lives with. Human drama with a touch of comedy, similar to "Kirishima Bukatsu Yameruteyo" in a way that it is extremely monotone but still extremely interesting.

   In this episode, we finally figure out the truth behind the bloody three days, just to know that the policeman wasn't actually interested in the story. Also a celebrity falls in love with Izumi and she continues to run away from people and lands in Jin's arms. This episode was interesting because in the previous episode, there was no foreshadowing that the truth behind the bloody three days was going to be told. The truth is explained from scene one and slowly things start to make sense, but at the same time the story gets even more ridiculous because more men start to chase her. What will happen to Izumi? No one really knows. 

梅ちゃん先生(第109-113話）
Ume-chan Sensei/ Dr. Ume(Episode 109-113)

For Advanced Watchers

*Hard to comprehend if you haven't seen previous episode/each episode is 15 minutes long. *

Set in the late 60's, during the "Showa" era. A story of a woman named Umeko who becomes a doctor following his father. Human drama between her and her family as well as the entire neighborhood. Heart warming and nostalgic, especially for those who lived in that era. Some parts of Japanese culture has changed therefore, do not think that this is the way Japan is now... 

What I love about this tv show is that though it is extremely long, as their lives move on, it also explains what happened in history. If you love Japanese history, though this is extremely modern history, it's extremely interesting. The showa era is an extremely unique one and there are still parts of Tokyo that are purposely made to look like it is still in the Showa era, therefore as a japanese teenager, I love going to places/watching shows set in this period to get a gist of what my parents experienced when they were my age. In these few episodes, Umeko gets married and many things in her routine changes, and though a lot of things happen, they still are happy and laugh all the time. That was what was great about that era, and as I watch this, I wish that some day people can go back to the way they were and happy as long as family was around.

Dear readers of this blog,

Hi. I am brand new to this entire experience.
And I really need help in improving this blog.
As it says in the introduction area, I am doing this from pure love for Japanese TV and movies.
So, if you have any comments, critiques, anything, please comment and let me know.
I really want this blog to help people who don't understand that much Japanese but still want to watch Japanese drama and movies.
Thank you! :)

桐島、部活やめるってよ。
(Kirishima, bukatsu yameruteyo./ Kirishima, he's quitting volley ball club. )

For extremely advanced watchers

Difficulty of Japanese: 8/10 
     In order to fully comprehend this movie, one must know all the details of how "bukatsu" work in Japan and how there is a certain kind of hierarchy between the many clubs. Although one would be able to understand the conversational japanese, there are specific terms used such as bukatsu, or tannin which may make it hard to understand. 

The film as a whole: 9/10
Truly a brilliant film. Never like any movie that I have seen before, especially in Japanese. In a way, the movie was made kind of reminded me of the movie "告白／Kokuhaku" starring 松たかこ(Takako Matsu). The ending of the film is fantastic though it does not resolve anything. Therefore for those of you who like a happy ending, or some sort of ending, this is not your kind of movie. 

I really loved this film. After watching it, it took me a while to get up and out of my seat from the astonishment. One could tell that there was a lot of thought and time put into each and every shot because you clearly remember all the shots. Although it is a brilliant film, I would definitely not recommend it to beginners in Japanese or Japanese entertainment. Interestingly, I think that this film is one that would only sell in Japan, especially the tone throughout the film is very monotone and flat. Finally, I must give props to the main actor Ryunosuke Kamiki. He has always done an amazing job, but this role was made for him, if anyone else would have done it, the brilliance would have gone down. Truly an amazing film.

この映画はすばらしかった。いかにも日本で過ごす青春と言うような雰囲気がものすごくたまらない。どのクラスにも居るあのキャラこのキャラ、恋愛、友情、情熱が良く表現されている。最初は金曜日が何度くれ返されるのか不思議だが、最後になると全てが繋がる面白い作品。何も特に解決はされないためエンディングが予想出来る映画などが好きな方には勧めないがすばらしい映画だった。必見です。