EEEEEEEEEEEEE!

[alexandral]

Holidays
EEEEEE! I am back from holidays!! They were wonderful!! We stayed with my sister-in-law and her family in their nice house in London suburbs. They are lovely family and Sasha enjoyed playing with her cousins very much. Weather was wonderful and this made these holidays even more special (we don't have much of the really good weather here, so we treasure it :D) We also attended our church's convention in one of the hotels near Richmond Park and this was a fabulous experience. Venue was nice, Richmond Park is beautiful and we visited few wonderful little cafés and restaurants in the Richmond area. EEEEEEE!

Spooks
Even more EEEEEEE! I am full of the new fictional loves. I am quickly going through 4 season of "Spooks" which is so fabulous and intelligent and stylishly filmed! baleanoptera, have you watched "Spooks"??? For a long time I was lamenting Tom's departure, but I must say, Adam (Captain Wentworth in another life) and also Harry And Ruth are so great!

Anego
And another new love is Japanese drama "Anego" of which I have watched 5 episodes already and I am absolutely in love with it. I think this is something I would really recommend to a person who never watched an Asian drama before. It is impeccably written and reminds me more of some Western films and shows like "Bridget Jones Diaries" then of any Asian drama I have watched previously.



Why do I like it so?

+ I really love the main heroine, Noda Naoko (played by Shinohara Ryoko who is GREAT), a 32 year old singleton in her search for happiness. She is warm-hearted, she is altruistic, she is brave and she is beautiful. Take me right, I love spirited teenage girl characters, but I seem to reach my saturation with this type of character and someone closer to my age group with problems I can really relate to makes such a welcome change for me..

+ Akanishi Jin who is playing Naoko's love interest Kurosawa Akihiko is gorgeous!! So gorgeous that his levels of gorgeousness are enough to make any show good.

+ Some really interesting cultural and social issues are raised in this show. It was, for example, very interesting for me to discover that Japanese workers normally start as temporary workers in a corporation and only if they show themselves well can they progress to the permanent worker level. Another interesting thing is a whole elaborate culture of "blind date" in Japan . And hhmm, married women with children in Japan still seem to be mostly staying at home. (I wonder if this is correct?)

So EEEEEEE! I love it!!! I would really love some recommendations for shows with Shinohara Ryoko and Akanishi Jin!!

PS: I have uploaded "Mansfield Park" and "Northanger Abbey", I will post the links as soon as I check them at home!!

Comments

[calixa.livejournal.com]

I really liked Anego too, and I'm glad you're enjoying it! I found it to be very well written and well-acted, especially Shinohara Ryoko! I'm barely out of my teens but I prefer female characters who are older, too :)

Shinohara Ryoko is in a whole bunch of dramas! So far the only one of hers I've really loved is Anego, but she also leads in 'Unfair' which I hear is very good, it's a crime thriller. Most recent one is 'Haken no Hinkaku', which someone on my flist recced to me.

[alexandral.livejournal.com]

I have watched "Unfair" (I am on the last episodes of it) and it is very very good, it has some elements of romance elements in it.. I can't do without this.. :D

Thank you for 'Haken no Hinkaku' rec, it seems to look more into that temporary/permanent division of the Japanese workforce. YAY! I am going to watch this, I am really interested in this.

[calixa.livejournal.com]

I wrote a detailed review of Anego here (http://calixa.livejournal.com/338074.html) with lots of spoilers for the end, so you may not want to read it, but there you go anyway :)

I'm on a movie kick, but I intend to watch Haken no Hinkaku, too. Shinohara is one of my favourite jdrama actresses, I wouldn't miss it!

[alexandral.livejournal.com]

Thank you very much for the link!! It is a fabulous review!

[baleanoptera.livejournal.com]

Hooray! you're back!! It's been very quiet and un-alexandralish without you. But so good to hear that you've had a lovely time.

As for Spooks I've only watched a few episodes of season one. It was shown at the oddest times here - like an hour after midnight and so. But it is worth checking out?

(and I'm slowly working my way through FNL. Slowly because I'm swamped in work - but I've just seen the episode where Tim's dad steals the camera and Tim gets beaten up. I swear this show has decided I shall be on the verge of tears EACH and EVERY episode! Not that I mind. ;) )

[alexandral.livejournal.com]

EEEEEE! I am so glad to be back too!!

As for Spooks I've only watched a few episodes of season one. It was shown at the oddest times here - like an hour after midnight and so. But it is worth checking out?

Oh, it is a great show! I was hoping to have a squee with you!! I really liked the first two seasons of it with Mathew McFayden as Tom. I watched every episode. But when he left in season 3 I was rather disappointed and didn't take to the new leading character, Adam, easily. But after I saw Rupert Penry-Jones in "Persuasion" I was converted again. :D

I am still on episode 17 of FNL. I like it so much that I don't want to watch the rest of the episodes as I just don't want it to finish. :D I haven't seen the episode you mentioned, but isn't Tim/his dad and Matt/his dad the most heart-breaking thing EVER!! I have really warmed up to Tim (and isn't he quite pretty!) and his relationship with the little boy. Oh, i hope you have got to this bit! I think it is in some latest episodes, I saw it when I watched them in "spoilery" mode. I also really like Tyra and Landry!!

[baleanoptera.livejournal.com]

Re: Spooks. Well, I've liked the few episodes I've seen - so I'm putting it on download. I really like Matthew Mcfayden and rupert Penry-Jones. So yay!

Speaking of McFayden. have you seen a miniseries by Stephen Poliakof starring McFayden called "Perfect Strangers"? Its so good and highly recommended!

Tim/his dad and Matt/his dad the most heart-breaking thing EVER!!

It is! It is! I swear this show has decided to break my heart. koalathebear has done some wonderful, pic heavy posts about FNL while you've been away. There's a lot about Tim Riggins, but many of the others as well. Highly recommended!

[alexandral.livejournal.com]

Speaking of McFayden. have you seen a miniseries by Stephen Poliakof starring McFayden called "Perfect Strangers"? Its so good and highly recommended!

Oh, YES! This was a beginning of my McFayden-mania, such a strong and nuanced show. I meant to re-watch it again but never had time to find it. Oh, this seems to be AGES ago, the time when I was watching everything on TV only, I even didn't have DVD player back then. :D I am quite proud of British TV, they make some really good things. Speaking of which, everyone at work is talking about the final episode of "Life on Mars". I must watch it properly!!

It is! It is! I swear this show has decided to break my heart. koalathebear has done some wonderful, pic heavy posts about FNL while you've been away. There's a lot about Tim Riggins, but many of the others as well. Highly recommended!

Oh YESSSSSS! I have been reading some of them sneakily, they are great!

[baleanoptera.livejournal.com]

British tv is VERY good! But I must confess to not having seen "Life on Mars" - though I've been meaning to. Must do something about that as well. :)

And yay for koala FNL posts. hee.

[alexandral.livejournal.com]

As according to our guys at work "Life on mars" is the best thing after sliced bread.. :D I also have been hearing much about it from my sister-in-law..

[scottishlass.livejournal.com]

Welcome back home :)
Anego IMHO was okayish .. I first liked it a lot but then in later eps I didn't like the OTP very much. I'm looking forward to your take of the whole dorama.
:)

[alexandral.livejournal.com]

EEEEE! Thank you!!

I first liked it a lot but then in later eps I didn't like the OTP very much. I'm looking forward to your take of the whole dorama.
:)

I am quickly progressing through the rest of it. To be honest, I think I have overdosed on Korean dramas ** gasp ** and it is so wonderful to see something like "Anego"...

I am really interested to know what did you think about the main OTP in Anego. I loooove discussion!

[scottishlass.livejournal.com]

I can stomach Korean dramas only this much I very much prefer Jdramas as they are shorter and they don't draw out the Angst too much. :)

Once you have finished Anego we can discuss all you want :)

[alexandral.livejournal.com]

I can stomach Korean dramas only this much I very much prefer Jdramas as they are shorter and they don't draw out the Angst too much. :)

I think I am just getting saturated with angst.. Also pacing in so many Korean dramas is not brilliant. I still love ALTK , "My Girl" and "Winter Queen" to bits, but few of the Korean dramas I watched (or watched up to the point) did move slowly and seemed to be full of the same scenes again and again.

Once you have finished Anego we can discuss all you want :)

No spoilers for me then? :D :D

[scottishlass.livejournal.com]

nope, no spoilers :)

Yeah that is also something I have noticed with Korean dramas. They are cute as hell, even the Angsty ones, but they are just so damn long and drawn out. I'm always like: Yeah, Yeah, I get the drift. The series where it really got annyoing was My Delightful Girl Chunn-Huyang. At the end I was so annoyed, I even thought it would be better they stay apart for good to get me out of this misery :s

[alexandral.livejournal.com]

Yeah that is also something I have noticed with Korean dramas. They are cute as hell, even the Angsty ones, but they are just so damn long and drawn out. I'm always like: Yeah, Yeah, I get the drift.

Yep, it really started getting me recently. For me it is usually interesting up to a point when two protagonists discover that they love each other, but then angst kicks in and it is not that I don't like it, but it is often contrived somehow. I just finished "Hotelier" before I went on holidays and it had some really good points (namely gorgeousness of suffering Bae Yong Jun :D), but I had to fast forward so many times.

** Sigh ** I think I am a new Jdrama addict. :D

[scottishlass.livejournal.com]

Welcome to the dark side :D
I don't know why but I really like Jdramas, just because they are shorter than the Korean or Taiwanese ones are not really a reason. I think I have a knack for understanding Japanese more than Chinese or Korean, I can even have them on TV while doing something else and still get the main drift of a drama, which I can't when it is a Tw- or kdrama.

[alexandral.livejournal.com]

Oh, I understand! It really adds something when you are able to understand the language. All languages are so different and some things just can't be expressed absolutely "to a tee" correctly in a different language. I imagine it be particular the case with Japanese language because it is very different from any Western ones.

I am still hoping to get a response to my Japanese course request. ** Sigh **

PS: And I noticed that you can understand Russian too!!

[scottishlass.livejournal.com]

My Japanese is rudimentary at best - I wanted to take a Japanese class but they are so damn expensive here (150 € for 8 hours) so I try to learn more by listening. Perhaps in 20-30 years I'll be sufficient in every day Japanese LOL Learning by osmosis :)

PS: And I noticed that you can understand Russian too!!
I can only read it, but I can't write it myself, let alone speak it. We had to take a course in university when all that hype witht he unification went on in the early 90's, most of the time I look up words in my dictionary though :)

[alexandral.livejournal.com]

I am trying to apply for a corse at our University, something like "Japanese language and culture" but the people I contected are not writing back. I will try to make more effort..

Oh, I was so impressed when noticed that you understood rika_66 post!!

[scottishlass.livejournal.com]

Ganbatte, Alexandra :)

Well I understand the gist of a post, a lot of words don't even turn up in my dictionary, so it is more a guessing what rika_66 meant while writing :)

[alexandral.livejournal.com]

It is always easier to read then to listen. And to listen then to speak.

[scottishlass.livejournal.com]

Oh yes!! But I really want to learn Japanese. What I learnt while working for a Japanese company in the 1990's and now with casual Japanese from the dramas, it is such a beautiful language, I want to know more about it and understand it. Unfortunately over here you first have to do a Kanji course and then you can speak the language. I wish you could learn by doing Romanji, the Kyrilic for Russian was already hard to learn and I was younger back then. My poor brain :s

[alexandral.livejournal.com]

wish you could learn by doing Romanji, the Kyrilic for Russian was already hard to learn and I was younger back then. My poor brain :s

I am almost afraid to learn a new language, to be honest. Learning English by going "cold turkey" was quite a bumpy ride. Even though I thought I knew some English before moving to UK I was very very wrong. :D And English alphabet has less letters then Cyrillic!!! :D

[scottishlass.livejournal.com]

Isn't it always like this? I mean if we only depend on school English, we are totally lost. You can write essay and stuff but every day English? No chance.

[alexandral.livejournal.com]

Yes, definitely. Watching films and reading books helps a lot.

[miss-dian.livejournal.com]

Eeeee! So glad you had a wonderful holiday ^^ Re: Spooks. I've been wanting to see that show. Unfortunately they don't sell the DVDs here. But I was curious to see what Matthew McFadyen was like in it, LOL. As for Anego, unfortunately I didn't like the show much. I think it was because I was hoping for more of Jin's character. Yes he's gorgeous but other than that he kind of bored me :D But like you, I really liked the heroine. I still went through with it but I used the ff button a lot, LOL. Beware of the ending though. Hope it won't disappoint you! ^^

[alexandral.livejournal.com]

EEEEE! Matthew McFadyen as Tom is GREAT! It was my intense obsession for a couple of years. You need to see this if you like Matthew!!! I have all seasons of Spooks in .avi format and I am totally sending them to you! First I will send seasons 1-3 of "Spooks" (the ones with Tom). If you like Adam too, I will send seasons 4 and 5 later..

Oh, ** sigh of relief ** I am so glad you liked Noda. I really felt such a "kindred spirit" in her. Especially when she talked to the guy she was blind dating and told him to get back to the person he really loved and her child. ** sniff **

Beware of the ending though. Hope it won't disappoint you! ^^

Oh, I am so worried now!! I was hoping they will get married! (I want everyone to get married and have babies, lol)

[miss-dian.livejournal.com]

Eeeeeeeeeeee! Thank you for your kind offer but you really do not have to! :) I will find a way somehow to find Spooks myself, really. But thank you so much, I really do not want to trouble you ^^ But thanks for letting me know that Matthew McFadyen did a great job in Spooks. I think he met his wife (RL) through that series, too, right? :) I absolutely adore him after Pride & Prejudice, LOL.

I want everyone to get married and have babies, lol
*laughs* Well... you will see the end... I wasn't pleased with the ending, but I hope you will have a better take of it *grin*

[alexandral.livejournal.com]

Oh, I absolutely insist. You can get DVDs if you want to support British TV making, but it could be nice for you to "try" first!!

*laughs* Well... you will see the end... I wasn't pleased with the ending, but I hope you will have a better take of it *grin*

I have spoiled myself. ** sigh ** But I must say that the ending looks a bit confusing. He is in Mongolia??? Why???

[winterspel.livejournal.com]

I kept meaning to comment to you that *sigh* I like Anego so much, but I don't like the end. It's very frustrating and in my opinion, it was a cop-out. Not to discourage you, or anything, of course!

[alexandral.livejournal.com]

I quite liked what calixa wrote about the ending, but I must watch it properly before I can be sure.

in my opinion, it was a cop-out

Did you think there was a similar ending in some drama?

[winterspel.livejournal.com]

I just skimmed her review and she does a very, very good assessment. In fact I agree with most of what she wrote. I guess my problem with the Anego is the difference between why I disliked it and I loved the Sapuri ending. Even though Noda isn't ready to marry Kurosawa by the end of the drama, that's ok. But I would have liked to see them definitively together, and they're not. You can tell they care about each other, they are obviously keeping in touch, but it's hard to call what they're doing as "dating" or even to say that they are "together" in the sense that they would be faithful to each other despite being apart. That's my issue - that the end of Anego doesn't come to a certain conclusion (and the way it's done is even a bit silly) - and that conclusion does NOT have to be marriage for me to be happy with it - it just has to be more conclusive than what we got.

I got the impression that the producers of the drama got cold feet about pairing Akanishi Jin and Shinohara conclusively for some reason because it could very easily have been written to have a more certain ending than it had. I wonder if they thought that viewers wouldn't like to see them together? The drama did well in the ratings, so who knows? It's all speculation now. :)

[winterspel.livejournal.com]

I'm so sorry for writing such a long comment! I hope I did not spoil you too much!

[alexandral.livejournal.com]

You know that I loooove spoilers!

I got the impression that the producers of the drama got cold feet about pairing Akanishi Jin and Shinohara conclusively for some reason because it could very easily have been written to have a more certain ending than it had. I wonder if they thought that viewers wouldn't like to see them together? The drama did well in the ratings, so who knows? It's all speculation now

It was interesting to see what a big social taboo an older woman/younger man still is in Japan. For me, Noda and Kurosawa are more surely together then they could have been if they were in the same country, but I could be wrong because I haven't seen this "properly". One of the things I noticed about Noda is how reluctant she is in demonstrating her better feeling, even to herself. She obviously loves her girl-friends very much, but she is constantly banters with them and generally doesn't go saying "I love you" often. I think the fact that she is learning Mongolian is a very good indication of her feelings. :D

And I must, must watch Sapuri soon!!

[miss-dian.livejournal.com]

Eeeeee! I must confess the ending didn't make much sense to me either. I fast forwarded a lot hence a lot of stuff I didn't pay attention to. I think he moved to Mongolia for career advancements. But same like winterspel, the thing that bugged me the most is the fact that there was no closure of relationship between the OTP. I think it was left the way it did 'cause (I think) the Japanese society still has a more reserved view on older woman-younger man relationships. Maybe :D

[alexandral.livejournal.com]

Like calixa I am a fan of open endings, but they are definitely not everyone's cup of tea, I understand. I am quite intrigued now. I am on episode 8 at the moment.

Looooooove your icon!

[allbloomedout.livejournal.com]

Welcome Back!! *hugs* I'm glad you had a wonderful holidays! :) Anego sounds really great. I really liked the what you wrote about it. I thought about watching it awhile awhile back but i read such mix reviews on it. I'll love to know what you think of it once you've finished it. :) Jin is way too pretty. :P Kame and him sort of scare me, lol. ^^ Jin has amazing hips and looks really scary cat suit..here's some proof:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o6eDS6puRFg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QYkS4O6ZluE

[alexandral.livejournal.com]

EEEEEE! ** hugs back **

I'll love to know what you think of it once you've finished it. :)

I am half-afraid to continue now after what scottishlass and miss_dian said. :D But I like Noda so much; it is just lovely to see her on screen. I think I am converting into jdramas recently; I am getting too tired with the slow pace of old Kdramas. I liked both dramas with Lee Wan, but many other Kdramas I tried to watch after "Winter Queen" seem too dragged out. Are you liking "Hello, Miss" and "Witch.."?

Jin is way too pretty. :P Kame and him sort of scare me, lol. ^^ Jin has amazing hips and looks really scary cat suit..here's some proof:

Oh, gosh! He looks like a girl, and a very pretty one! But THE SUIT!! ** washes her eyes clean ** The things they do in JE are soooo scary.

[allbloomedout.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I've heard the ending not too good as well. :/ I hope it won't be too bad! I'm loving Hello Miss and Witch Hoo Yee!! They're both really cute and funny. I'm constantly smiling and laughing while watching. I keep thinking which do I like more but I can't decide. When I watch one I think I like that one more and vice versa, lol. ^^ I think I'm leaning on more Witch Hoo Yee side right now. I think you should at least give both of them a try! :) I think I'm really in my happy drama phrase so I still haven't watched Manwang yet. I also tried out episode 1 of Thank You but I don't know if I want to keep going. The writing kind of bad but the little girl really cute. The bad thing is she has aids so I doubt this will end well. Another kdrama I tried out was Que Sera Sera so far seems pretty interesting (only episode one subs are out so far) I'm going to try couple more episodes before I decide to keep watching. :) There's 3 new jdramas out next week too!! Gah, way too many dramas on the plate!

I agree he does look like a very pretty girl. I'm bit jealous. :P Yeah, the suit was pretty disturbing and I'm sorry I had to share it. :)

Are you watching other dramas other than Anego?

[alexandral.livejournal.com]

Oh, I am so with you on "happy drama phase"!!!!! I am not watching anything apart from "Anego" and "Mawang", I have decided I will be good and finish every drama I am watching. :D

But I am definitely going to try both WHY and "Hallo, Miss!", I trust your recommendation!!

[allbloomedout.livejournal.com]

I still need to see Manwang. You know how excited I was for it to start but some reason now I can't start it. I may start it tonight after seeing 2 new subbed episodes of Que Sera Sera. I guess the only good part of putting it off is I'll get to somewhat marathon it later.:) How are you liking Manwang?

Please tell me what you think of them. :D

[alexandral.livejournal.com]

I like "Mawang" very much, it is amazing!

[catdecember.livejournal.com]

jin is great eye candy, but Anego was just..okay for me. i like the heroine though, she's pretty and spunky. ;)

[alexandral.livejournal.com]

I think I am just in love with Shinohara Ryoko as Anego!! :D I think I normally like more of a romance story, but I am really enjoying Noda's antics. :D

Have you seen Shinohara Ryoko in anything else you can rec?

[catdecember.livejournal.com]

ive only seen her as a supporting actress in Mukodono and she was pretty cool there. she played one of the 3 sisters. :)

i think jdramas has a series out which she recently starred on.....

[alexandral.livejournal.com]

Thank you for the rec!!!!!!!!!!!!!