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~






















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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). 

Yaotome Hikaru aka Mr. Crooked Teeth

It's been way too long since I've done one of these and I have so many more to go. I want to talk about Hikaru first because recently my family has been nagging me about relationships and marriage. >:( I'm still young and I'm totally satisfied with being by myself for the time being. But the more I thought about my future.....the more Hikaru came to mind!

I don't even know my type, I believe if I were to fall in love (which hasn't happened yet fandoms don't count), it wouldn't matter how the person looked like! But I do think similar tastes are important. I feel like I have the most in common with Hikaru. Sorry Inoo we just weren't meant to be... XD

HYaotome

First of all, he's a book and music nerd. From magazine translation and some interviews, I heard he has lots of books. And he goes to cafe to read books. Just knowing we love books makes me feel closer to him. Reading is great!! Books are great!! Hikaru's great!! XD Also, he's a huge music nerd. I think he said he had around 8,000 songs in his collection. (It's probably more by now). He composes his own music, plays the bass and drums and guitar. and writes lyrics. Damn, boy can do it all! I love the way his fingers move so fast when he plays the bass. It's mesmerizing...

Kamiru Kaulitz

My first impression of Yaotome was that.....he wasn't handsome. One of the first pictures that comes to mind was during his puberty phase. He looked especially awkward because he had really bad eye bags and looked awfully tired. It turned me off. I let that one photo (which I cannot find right now) get to me and now I realize what a stupid reason it was. There's apparently a lot of people who don't like Hikaru's crooked teeth. There's such a pressure to have "perfect" teeth in most countries, it's really refreshing to see people like Hika have crooked teeth and be proud of it. I've been brainwashed to think that only perfect teeth are beautiful but on the contrary, everyone has a great smile no matter how their teeth look. Hikaru has one of the best and heart warming smiles in the world.

emiichan

Also, Hikaru's quite the family man. His grandma even comes to his concerts, which is adorable. He still lives with his parents, I think? (Since I think he was complaining about them in a kind of recent translation, lol) His family was affected by the 2011 earthquake and he spoke about how worried he was for them, especially his neice/nephew. Can I also mention that he was adorable as a child? I mean, he's barely changed....he's still adorbs.

hoolee8

Maybe the biggest reason was I hold so much love for this kid is probably because of his personality. He's one of the greatest trolls in JUMP (if not, the greatest). Always playing gags or jokes on people. I'm a pretty shy person, so I always admire people who are so cheerful and outgoing and energetic. But he's serious when he needs to be. He's strict during rehearsals, (always working hard for us, fans!) and he's not afraid to voice his opinions. Remember the infamous fight with Yabu....(Gotta love Yabuhika)

wiwiwidy

Almost forgot about his gorgeous arms! And his gorgeous body! JUMP's given me all these strange attractions to arms and eyebrows and eyes... (Yes, I'm looking at you, Inoo, for the eyebrow attraction thingy I have going on.)

selcyforheysayjump

Last but not least, I love his name: Hikaru (or Light). It's so beautiful and completely fits his personality. Please continue to shine and bring happiness to everyone you meet, Hikaru!

P.S. You can see his bookshelf/cd shelf around 2:10
toyunifmi

HAPPY 6th ANNIVERSARY HEY SAY JUMP!

Just a quick update.

CONGRATULATIONS TO HEY SAY JUMP FOR A WONDERFUL 6 YEARS. I know I'm 3 days late but nonetheless, I want to wish you good luck in the future and thank you so much for these amazing 6 years.
sbikachama

Has it really been 6 years?! It feels so strange that time passes by so quickly and now all of you are grow up and adults. I know I wasn't here with you for many years but I'm here now and I'm here to stay! Many things have happened but you guys still stuck together. I'm still hoping for a day where JUMP will be reunited, but I'll always be wishing for your happiness not matter what it may be. Happy Anniversary, JUMP! Love you lots! :)

fieqayuuki93