Why You Should Watch 49

Yes, that 49 starring Sato Shori. The one with the cliche plot where a father dies saving his son and then borrows his son's body to fix his regrets. I swear that plot is so cheesy and overused. But it actually works out here...

asianwiki

The pacing of the drama is actually quite nice, not too fast and each episode has its own subplot which wraps up nicely. There's enough mystery in each episode that you want to keep watching until the end and there's a satisfying feeling when a problem wraps up by the end of the episode.

There are themes of bullying, family issues, and acceptance. They're told in a kind of refreshing way, so it doesn't get boring. Even though I've seen a girl who gets water poured over her head in the washroom stall many times and the outcast boy trying to win the heart of the most popular girl at school etc etc.  The writers did a good job playing with common tv tropes by adding a few twists to the plot and some insightful lines to the script.The balance between the serious themes and humour is good, too.

The actors and actresses do a great job at portraying the characters. (I am really bad with names...I only remember Dan, lol. So I searched her up) Maiko Yamaoto who plays Sachi Takami is a good actress. She's got potential! Sato's quite good as well for his first leading role. There are tons and tons of Juniors in this drama as well....and they're good! Well I'm not watching this show for the juniors but it's good on them for more exposure. Their cross dressing is fantastic, I might add! XD

Also, the music.....there's some catchy pop instrumental being played in every episode. (BUT I CAN'T PUT MY FINGER ON IT AND IT'S BUGGING ME!) It's so familiar, I swear it was really in during the 2000s or something. Sato sings a solo song for this drama. It's okay....just another ballad. =/ I prefer the piano instrumental of it though.

So this drama might not change your life but it's nice entertainment. Point is, go give it a try!! :D
(I overused the word "good" here...hahaha, guess that sums up what I think of the drama!)

Other Blogs talking about 49:
http://helloheydays.com/japanese-drama-49
http://jnewseng.wordpress.com/2013/10/20/review-first-impressions-on-49-episode-1/

The Jimusho and Idol Culture

There's a lot happening in my life right now and I'm struggling to deal with my problems. I swear I cause 99% of my own problems just by overthinking and overworrying. T___T Anyways, enough about that.

Ever since I've come back to the JE fandom, I've become more and more curious about learning more about Idol culture. In the past, I didn't even know many of the groups, let alone how the whole Johnny's agency operate. I blindly consumed and didn't really think about what lied behind the scenes.

Because of my love for JE, I've read a THESIS on my own will....(Never saw that coming! Refer to this post). I've also read a research book and many articles about Japanese Idol culture. They're really fascinating and I do recommend reading them! :)

The Jimusho System

• Separated into 4 parts
• Talks about blacklisting, control of rights, how indie agencies are really just part of larger agencies, and more!
• There are some interesting comments as well

Idols and Celebrity in Japanese Media Culture

• A mildly thick book about Idol Culture
• The link goes to Google Books. It cost around $60. T_T But if your university or institute is subscribed to this particular online library you might be able to read it for FREE here: palgraveconnect
• There's also a scanned snippet about Arashi floating around the net somewhere....but I won't link it. (You didn't hear this from me)
• The down part is that they didn't talk about Hey! Say! Jump that much (Excuse my bias)... They did talk about Arashi a bit and older female groups/idols I didn't really know about. 

There isn't much material that I've found, so I'm always on the outlook for more!

Replying to Comments 3

Anonymous asked: can I ask? where can I watch Jump Party 3?


Hihi! I tried searching for any streams but didn't find any. I'm so sorry! The community I downloaded from doesn't allow hotlinks but I found an alternative download link:

http://yuki-aozora.livejournal.com/15381.html?view=289813#t289813
(She allows linking to her journal but please don't reupload!)

If you don't or can't download it, then..... you've got to wait for someone to stream it, I guess. I don't think anyone has subbed Jump Party 3 yet. It'd be useful if you have a livejournal account and check out http://hey-say.livejournal.com/. If someone does sub it, they will probably announce it there! :D Sorry if I couldn't be of more help. Hope you get to watch it soon!! Thank you for commenting! :D

**Just a side note....How come I STILL can't reply to comments?!!! I tried a lot of different things and even tried to contact support (they still haven't replied to my email). I'm even thinking of switching to wordpress just so I can reply to comments. T_T

KAT-TUN WITHOUT THE T

I am in complete shock right now.

Tanaka Koki has withdrawn from Kat-tun...


arama

This is why I should never ever read Arama before an exam or going to school because I cannot handle news like this and just expect myself to calm down in minutes.

Kat-tun has been a major influence on my life, especially during high school and to see another member leave makes me really sad and upset and frustrated. Although I haven't been keeping up with their activities as of late, the memories I had with them are still very strong. For the people who've been them from the very beginning and for the people whose ichiban is Koki, it must hurt even more. T_T

 fanpop (Yes his photo makes me really sad and I don't know what I'm making myself sadder...)

Ueda was my favourite but Koki made the group dynamic more fun. He'd kick Junno in Cartoon Kat-tun. He'd write his own raps. He helped to differentiate Kat-tun from other JE groups. He cared about his kouhais and his group and his fans so much. And now without him, Kat-tun feels different and I don't like it.

Honestly it all comes down to Johnny's being a business and they make really big decisions to survive. This makes me really frustrated. I want answers to why he was fired. What did he do? Was it because of his "scandal"? ARGHH, I don't know what to think!

So now Koki doesn't have a contract with Johnny's anymore?! But he mentioned he will continue in the industry as a talent. T_T He could always be a music producer or appear in variety shows....but once you go against Johnny, it's hard to stay in the entertainment business or so they say.  Koki, I hope you'll come back to the industry with a bang!!

What about Juri? His big brother's not part of Johnny's anymore and I can't imagine how Juri's feeling right now. I think I'll spend the rest of my evening listening to Break the Records and wondering if I should be angry with Johnny's or scared for their future..

(Now everytime a group is on "hiatus", I am going to freak my pants off b/c who knows what will happen...)

(As reported by Arama: http://aramatheydidnt.livejournal.com/5069958.html?page=3#comments and http://aramatheydidnt.livejournal.com/5070190.html)

Yutti's (so-called) Date + Papapics of Hamsterrrrr (aka Morimoto Ryutaro) + Chinen's not a 10th grader

Yes, yes, Yutti's cute date is the talk of the town. (I'm so late to the party.)  As everybody knows, the woman beside him is his co-star in Share House~ For some reason I could care less whether or not he was actually on a romantic date or just a staff meeting or friend meetup or whatever this was. I'm just so happy that Yuto looks so happy here!! And I'm also glad to see papapics of Yuto. He's getting more and more popular through his dramas~






















hanachan2907





Also, when they bowed and parted ways, I thought it was so adorable and respectful. I did squeal a bit at the picture below. >W<
hanachan2907

I'm also really really reallllyyy happy to see papapics of our little hamster! First I saw the pic with Shintaro and Juri. I'm glad to see him looking happy and it's been a while since new papapics arose. Shintaro dyed his hair (I think?) so this must be from some time ago.

rorychan1215

Also the picture below is priceless. Taiga's yawn is just..... XD

rorychan1215

Remember when I said that Chinen was going to fit his 10th grader role perfectly because of his looks? Well, I take it back! I TAKE IT ALL BACK! He looks so mature in this picture and totally doesn't look like a high schooler or not. Well, Yuri, I'll leave it up to your acting to convince me. 

auliaakudo26

Note to Self: How could I forget to mention Hikaru's beautiful voice and awesome ability to look good in any hair colour?! (Judging myself right now).