Category: Favorites

Eight is the number

by Fiona

I came across this little survey a few days ago, notice the unusual number that it uses. Normally, it would inquiry that your top 5 or 10 to be listed, however, this one has your lucky number 8. In Chinese culture, this integer means prosper or wealth as it sounds very similar to the actual words. You are free to comment with your answers and luck shall come to your way (according to site).

1. List your top 8 anime/mangas

a. One Piece
b. Gokusen
c. Ouran HS Host Club
d. Slam Dunk
e. Gundam 00
f. Peace Maker Kurogane
g. Yamato Nadeshiko Shichi Henge
h. Nodame Cantabile

2. List your top 8 anime/manga characters

a. Monkey D. Luffy from One Piece
b. Hatake Kakashi from Naruto
c. Sawade Shin from Gokusen
d. Sanji from One Piece
e. Urahara Kisuke from Bleach
f. Yamaguchi Kumiko from Gokusen
g. Hijikata Toshizo from Hakuouki Shinsengumi Kitan
h. Nakahara Sunako from Yamato Nadeshiko Shichi Henge

3. List your top 8 anime/manga pairings

a. Shin x Kumiko from Gokusen
b. Ichigo x Rukia from Bleach
c. Toshizo x Chizuru from Hakuouki Shinsengumi Kitan
d. Chiaki x Nodame from Nodame Cantabile
e. Sanji x Nami from One Piece
f. Sunako x Kyohei from Yamato Nadeshiko Shichi Henge
g. Tamaki x Haruhi from Ouran High Host Club
h. Momo x Sumire from Kimi wo Petto

4. List your top 8 characters from your first favorite anime/manga

a. Monkey D. Luffy
b. Sanji
c. Roronoa Zoro
d. Nico Robin
e. Usopp
f. Emporio Ivankov
g. Mr. 2 Bon Clay
h. Monkey D. Garp

5. List your top 8 characters from your second favorite anime/manga

a. Sawada Shin
b. Yamaguchi Kumiko
c. Sawatari Goro
d. Oshima Kyotaro
e. Fujiyama Shizuka
f. Noda Takeshi
g. Kumai Teruo
h. Tatsukawa Minoru

6. List your top 8 most favorite anime opening

a. Kokoro no Chizu by BOYSTYLE – One Piece
b. Brand New World by D-5 – One Piece
c. Northern Lights by Hayashibara Megumi – Shaman King
d. Kimi ga Suki da to Sakebitai by BAAD – Slam Dunk
e. Hajimari No Kaze by Hirahara Ayaka – Saiunkoku Monogatari
f. Geki! Teikoku Kageki-dan by Yokoyama Chisa – Sakura Wars
g. Izayoi Namida by Yoshioka Aika -Hakuouki Shinsengumi Kitan
h. Cruel Angel’s Thesis by Takahashi Yoko – Neon Genesis Evangelion

7. List your top 8 most favorite anime ending

a. Anata Dake Mitsumeteru by Oguro Maki – Slam Dunk
b. My Pace by Sunset Swish – Bleach
c. Sekai Ga Owaru Made Wa by WANDS – Slam Dunk
d. Mezamero Yasei by MATCHY with Question – Naruto Shippuuden
e. Every Year Every Age by Hitoto Yo – Aishiteruze Baby
f. Kimi no Kioku by mao – Hakuouki Shinsengumi Kitan
h. Michi By Aluto – Naruto Shippuuden

8. List you top 8 most recommended anime/manga for your parents to read or watch

a. One Piece
b. Slam Dunk
c. Death Note
d. Nodame Cantabile
e. Gokusen
f. Ouran HS Host Club
g. Bleach
h. Rurouni Kenshin: Tsuiokuhen

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My ultimate favorite Jdrama

by Fiona

What is my most favorite dorama? Thanks jicks for leaving me this to ponder on. This was such a good question! Though, it might be a simple one, it is difficult to answer. For me, there are simply too many on my must-see list.

Alright, after brainstorming for some time, the choices were narrowed down to two. Gomen, just was not able pick one or the other. Drumming roll please…LOL…Nodame Cantabile and Gokusen (season one). This is only for Jdorama, I’ll save my Chinese favorites for another day.

I’ve always been hesitate to watch live-action manga counterparts as they tend to be lackluster and ridiculous, however, Nodame had taught me otherwise. The series was brilliant adapted and can be considered portrayed even better than its already-excellent anime counterparts. I adore the story, love the classical music and was charmed by the well-developed characters. It was a pleasure watching how their struggles intertwine with their relationships and lives. Also, the chemistry between the hentai pianist and the talented musician/conductor was astounding. It was fascinating on how the story was illustrated their never-ending passion for music and of course, their love for one another. Flying sparks can be sense whenever Nodame/Chiaki are together. They felt and looked so natural as a pair, as well as, compliment each other’s weaknesses. Maybe it was just me, but I am positive that Tamaki-kun would steal glances at Juri-chan (evident during the making of clips) as I had always hoped that they were a couple in real life. He seems so blissfully and utterly handsome at those times. Gyabooo!

As for Gokusen, it was certainly not love at first sight. (Please note, this is strictly for season one, I haven’t been too fond of additional ones.) When a friend of mine had recommended this, my initial thoughts were yet another school drama and a GTO rip-off. I had no idea why there was so much hype about it. Though, the first viewing had left a good impression since it fun and entertaining, but my level of fascination did not reach its height. In addition, I had found Sawada Shin’s (portrayed by MatsuJun) mean-tempered troublemaker attitude displeasing. Okay sue me, I was naive and was clueless of who and what JE was.

I believe it was a few months later and for some unknown reason, I had wanted give the series another try. ….and no it wasn’t for Jun-kun, my interest in him hadn’t sparked yet. (Though, I was pretty obsessed with Chikai-sempai at that time. ) Well, I now had cursed myself for letting this gem slip. The humor in the series was certainly cute (overbearing nor exhausted); the situations were fresh, and the characters were charming. Overall, it was quite entertaining and the cast had brilliantly performed each of their roles. Somehow, I had found Shin to be simply kakkoii and very mature this time around. You always get a good laugh, especially when watching the interactions between him and Yankumi. Can you feel their attraction toward each other? I’ve been a Shinkumi shipper even since! It was such a disappointment on how the Gokusen franchise (TV series and movie) had left off with no reflection of topic. I’ve been relaying on the manga and fanfics to fill the void. Let’s all pray for a Shinkumi reunion soon?!

So what is your favorite Jdrama?
Continue reading “My ultimate favorite Jdrama” →

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Favorites: Male Actors

by Fiona

I was having dinner with a very good friend of mine on Saturday. Since her move to New York, I rarely have a chance to talk to her and there was much catching up to do. We started chitchatting away and somehow ended discussing about our favorite male actors. I was rambling about how disappointed I was with the Hong Kong and China entertainment industry, producing such unappealing, uninteresting and repetitive TV series and movies. She had agreed and we chatted about which artist were still charming. That is when we begin our analysis of actors.

I guess my taste of actors have changed a bit, mainly due to my recent addiction to Jdrama. However, regardless of ethnicity, the acting guidelines remains the same. For me, a good actor must is able to:

– genuinely portrays the role, he is the character and breaths life into his character.
– natural ability to delivery his lines seamlessly and uncontrivedly.
– imagination to create the environment for his character.
– ability to play a range of characters convincingly.

Here is my list of favorite actors, as well as, role and series that had sparked my interest:

Chinese

Hong Kong
Damian Lau (劉松仁) ~ 天養 – 碧海情天
Stephen Chow (周星馳) ~ 段飛 – 蓋世豪俠
Francis Ng (吳鎮宇) ~ 唐亦琛 – 衝上雲霄
Nick Cheung (張家輝) ~ 余忠正 – 騙中傳奇

Mainland China
Jason Wu Jing (吳京) ~ 楊凡 – 大人物
Xu Zheng (徐崢) ~ 李衛 – 李衛當官
Zhang Guo Li (張國立) ~ 梵如花 – 布衣知縣梵如花
Chen Dao Ming (陳道明) ~ 八王爺 – 寇老西兒

Taiwan, Singapore
Lin Rui Yang (林瑞陽) ~ 江文清 – 表妹吉祥
Lei Li Chun (李立群) ~ 余九斤 – 碧海情天
Christopher Lee (李銘順) ~ Henry – 星锁

Japanese
Hiroshi Tamaki (玉木宏) ~ Chiaki Shinichi – Nodame Cantabile
Matsumoto Jun (松本潤) ~ Sawada Shin – Gokusen
Ninomiya Kazunari (二宮和也) ~ Yamada Taro – Yamada Taro Monogatari
Ohno Satoshi (大野智) ~ Haru – Pika**nchi Life is Hard Dakara Happy
Miura Haruma(三浦春馬) ~ Takagi Fujimaru – Bloody Monday
Fujiki Naohito (藤木直人) ~ Azumi Shunsuke – Itoshi Kimi e
Abe Hiroshi (阿部寛) ~ Kuwano Shinsuke – Kekkon Dekinai Otoko
Kimura Takuya (木村拓哉) ~ Kuriyu Kouhei – HERO
Kamenashi Kazuya (亀梨和也) ~ Ishida Yuya – Suppli
Sasaki Kuranosuke (佐々木蔵之) ~ Fukuhara Shigehisa – Shikaotoko Aoniyoshi
Yokoyama Yu (横山裕) ~ Nakagawa Tokio – Haikei, Chichiue-sama
Osawa Takao (大沢たかお) ~ Minakata Jin – JIN
Masaaki Uchino (内野聖陽) ~ Sakamoto Ryoma, JIN
Watabe Atsuro (渡部篤郎) ~ Mayama Tooru , Keizoku

American
Bruce Willis ~ John McClane – Die Hard 2
Johnny Depp ~ Jack Sparrow – Pirates of the Caribbean: The Legend of Jack Sparrow
Jack Nicholson ~ J.J. Gittes – Chinatown
Jimmy Carrey ~ Ace Ventura – Ace Ventura: Pet Detective

British
Patrick Stewart ~ Captain Jean Luc Picard – Star Trek: The Next Generation
Hugh Laurie ~ Dr. Gregory House – House M.D
Kelsey Grammer ~ Dr. Frasier Crane – Frasier

Italian
Roberto Benigni ~ Guido Orefice – La vita è bella

Whoa..that’s a long list, that’s only off the top of my head. There are a few more, but I am only including my favorites among the favorites. My fave actresses will come at a later date.

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