Gokusen 1

 

 

Cast:

Nakama Yukie as Yamaguchi Kumiko/Class 3D adviser

 

Matsumoto Jun as Sawada Shin

Oguri Shun as "Uchi" / Uchiyama Haruhiko

 

Utsui Ken as Kuroda Ryuichiro (Kumiko's grandpa)

 

Summary:

The story of a young, idealistic teacher who enters Shirokin Gakuen with hopes of making a difference in the students' lives. However, Yamaguchi Kumiko (Nakama Yukie) is in for a rude awakening when she finds that she will be the homeroom teacher of 3-D, the hardest class to maintain in the school. The students have multi-colored hair, sloppy uniforms, and show absolutely no respect to her. The leader of the class, Sawada Shin is lazy but bright and shows some interest in Yamaguchi when he notices that she is very different from other teachers. The students try to bully her to make her quit, but their attempts don't get them very far.

What the class and the rest of the school does not know is that Yamaguchi Kumiko is actually the 4th generation heir to the Ooedo Group, a notorious yakuza clan. Even though her family would like her to take the title of Ojou when her grandfather dies, they have accepted the fact that Yamaguchi would rather be a teacher.

Eventually, the students learn to respect their quirky teacher because of her devotion to them, and even give her a nickname: Yankumi.

Credits: wikipedia

 

Number of Episodes: 12

 

What I Think:

Lo and behold I got around to finish watching Gokusen 1 and 2 after bazillion years! With these 2 series, Gokusen 1 and 2 I just somehow want to post both reviews simultaneously. I astound even myself. Hahah! God I could barely remember what happened in part 1. But the main reasons why I watched this series was because of Jun Matsumoto, who does not like the guy, and Kento Handa (I was in majorly high Kamen Rider mode�c)

Gokusen is a hodge podge of all the drool-worthy, cuties of the j-pop world�cyou will find a cutie to your own liking! Jun Matsumoto is in his usual wacky self. This guy almost always manages to shine; he is indeed a great actor as he did not loose his presence in this series amidst the lot of other good-looking guys. As Gokusen is a series with lots of actors, I think Jun truly shined when he did Hana Yori Dango, he did better in the acting department in that one but his acting skills here are quite good too.

The lead girl/teacher, Yukie Nakama looks so pretty by the way, was also a good actress. She looks believable as a teacher but when you look at her fraile body, you don�ft see a hint of mafia girl in her. Hahaha! She rocks it out, and gave the boys a good lesson. She is beautiful, dorky and kick-ass! She looks so pretty with her eye glasses too, I like the scenes where she shared the limelight with Jun Matsumoto, hahaha, I feel giddy when they are together.

Other mention-worthy stuff, oh and if you have not noticed Shun Oguri (Rui of Hana Yori Dango and Sano of Hana Kimi) is surprise, surprise also in here! God this actor does get around every series in jpop world does he? Another one is Shinjii Uchiyama, the funny fat boy in class; I think he is funny and amusing. Utsui Ken as mafia leader, was perfect for the role, the whole clan was outrageously funny some times. Yankumi beating the bad guys and getting advice from her grandpa, I found those scenes funny but gets unbelievable, boring and predictable already nearing the end.

 

Rating: 8 Japanese Tempura out of 10

 

Other Stuff:

** Hottie Kento Handa of Masked Rider 555 fame guest stared in episode 5, you have to glue your eyes into the tv on this episode as you may not see Kento in his guesting role.

** OST Tracklist:
1.Road of Gokusen
2.Gang or Teacher?
3.•ê‚Ì‹L‰¯
4.Successor
5.�ÂȂ錖'›
6."ú—­‚Ü‚è‚Ì•s—Ç‚½‚¿
7.the Mother
8.�H‚¦‚È‚¢'å�l
9.Let�fs Enjoy!
10.Š´"®‚Ö'±‚­"¹
11.‹³Žt�¨‹­Žt
12.‚±‚Ú‚ê—Ž‚¿‚é—Ü
13.ˆ«ŽÒ‚½‚¿‚̃z�[ƒ€ƒ‹�[ƒ€
14.‰Á'¬‚·‚éƒ�ƒ}ƒ"ƒX
15.ƒ‰ƒu‚·‚鉳�—
16."{‚蕦"«!
17.'å�Ø‚È‚à‚Ì�c
18.Road of Gokusen(Short version)
19.Feel your breeze(Piano Solo version)

Credits: wikipedia, yahoo korea

Gokusen 2

 

 

Cast:

Nakama Yukie as Yamaguchi Kumiko/Class 3D adviser

 

 

 

Akanishi Jin as Yabuki Hayato

Yabuki Hayato
Similar to Sawada in series 1, Hayato sits in the back of season 2's class 3-D. He appears to be the leader of the class gang. He is generally quiet and distrustful of everything but he has a quick temper. The other students in the class obey his orders. Hayato used to be friends with Ryu, but they had a falling out. Hayato's homelife is strained. His mother died when he was young. He does not like Yankumi very much at first, but begins to understand how great she is as the series progresses.

 

 

Kamenashi Kazuya as Odagiri Ryu

Odagiri Ryu
Ryu comes from a wealthy family, but he is not happy at home. His parents divorced when he was young, and his mother has remarried. Ryu does not get along with his step-father. When Yankumi first meets Ryu, he is working at a night club. Ryu quit school over his fight with Hayato and hasn't been back in a month. At first he resists Yankumi's attempts to get him back into school, and he even cruelly tricks her. But he eventually gets some sense and listens to her a bit. He is still wary of her, and always sits in the back of the class observing everything that goes on. He is calm and quiet. I think if you merged Ryu and Hayato together, you would get Sawada from the first season

 

 

Koike Teppei as Takeda Keita

Takeda Keita
The most sympathetic character in the new class 3-D. He has been friends with Hayato and Ryu for years, and doesn't like that Ryu was not coming to school and that they were fighting. He shows signs of understanding how hard Yankumi works to be a good teacher and can tell right away there is something different about her. In general he is more sensitive than the rest and even has a crush on a girl from the neighboring school. He also seems to have inherited all of Uchiyama's cute hair clips They always do funny things with poor Keita's hair.

 

 

Tsuchiya Hikaru
Tsuchiya Hikaru is the really tall guy in Yankumi's class. He is always shown carrying a paper fan. Tsuchiya has a tough, short-tempered personality that tends to get him in trouble. He is the first one to really pick on/test Yankumi when she first became class 3-D's teacher. However Tsuchiya is quick to defend his friends. He had some trouble with a teacher when he was in middle school, so he dislikes authority. He has some problems that Yankumi helps him with when he is caught after school with a middle-school girl that he was trying to help.

 

 

Summary:

Half a year has passed and Shirokin Gakuen has closed down. Yamaguchi Kumiko (Nakama Yukie) finds herself a teacher of a few young kids who don't really benefit much from her style of teaching. Through some twist of fate, she is offered a job as a teacher in Kurogin Gakuen.

She becomes the teacher of a delinquent 3D class which makes her previous students look like angels. In order to protect her job, she must again hide her true identity ¡ª the fact that she is the 4th generation of the Oedo Family, a prominent yakuza group

 

What I Think:

Took me bazillion years to finish watching part 2 and took me forever to finish writing my review. Banzai!

Everyone is back in bandwagon, okay so almost everyone is back, the mafia clan is still there, a student is back too, but Kumiko has a new set of students. I like the fact that even if you have not seen Gokusen 1, you still can understand what is happening in 2 as this one stands out on its own too.

Now who would not love Akanishi Jin, Kamenashi Katzuya and Koike Teppei in this second outing of the Gousen franchise? They are still as good-looking and as wonderful actors as part 1.

I find the fights boring and redundant at times too. I think it was just me. If you check Gokusen has higher ratings than Gokusen 1 so that says it all, this is a decent follow-up. Scenes just get so rehashed and boring at times already; the fighting scenes needs to be fast forward, I had to drag myself just to finish this series and the No More Cry song, I just get then feel of it, I did not like it that much.

 

** The insert song: Kizuna by Kamenashi Kazuya of KAT-TUN

** Closing credits song: No More Cry by D- 51

** OST Tracklist:
1.Road Of Gokusen -returns Version-
2.´µ¤­Áï¤Þ¤ê¤Ë—«¤àÌìʹ
3.Ðú‡W¤Î•rég
4.Éúͽ¤Îζ·½
5.¿Õ»Ø¤ê¤Îš†TÊÒ
6.Road Of Gokusen -music Box-
7.Successor -returns Version-
8.УÄÚïL¾°
9.ÏÈÉúʧ¸ñ
10.Å­¤ê·Ðòv£¡ -returns Version-
11.Áµ¤¹¤ë½ÌŽŸß_
12.�™
13.3Äêd½M
14.Road Of Gokusen -cello Solo-
15.No More Cry -piano Solo-
16.´ó½­'õÒ»¼Ò ËÄ´úÄ¿£¡
+ Special Song - Kamenashi Kazuya - Kizuna

 

 

Rating: 7 Japanese Tempura out of 10

credits: futureblues.com, yahoo, wikipedia

 

Hana Kimi (Japanese version)

 

Cast:

Maki Horikita  as Ashiya Mizuki

Mizuki is the heroine of the story. She admired Sano the first time she saw him in a high-jump competition. She lived in America before the story even started but after seeing Sano's skills, she cut her hair and come to Japan to attend an all-boys school where her idol attends. At first, it was just admiring Sano but later on, she began to develop real feelings for Sano.

Main character of this manga. She pretends to be a boy in order to attend the school that Sano attends. She loves sweet foods and she¡¯s a very fast runner. Mizuki falls in love with Sano, but is unable to tell him because she thinks that he doesn¡¯t know that she¡¯s a girl. But what she doesn¡¯t know is that he does know that she¡¯s a girl and he¡¯s in love with her as well.

 

 

Shun Oguri  as Sano Izumi

Sano is the whole reason behind Mizuki's return to Japan. He's Mizuki's classmate and roommate. He discovered by accident that Mizuki is actually a girl. After that, he began to have feelings for Mizuki but he didn't let her know that he knew her secret. Although he appeared to be the quiet type, he's actually a really nice and talented guy.

The guy that Mizuki Ashiya likes. He is an excellent high jumper. He finds out that Mizuki is a girl, but does not tell anyone else and actually becomes very protective of her secret. Before Mizuki went to Osaka Gakuen, Sano had been in an accident (he save Ashiya from robber that why he got an injury), causing him to quit high jumping for a while because he thought that he couldn¡¯t handle the pressure. But thanks to Mizuki¡¯s determination he is able to try and was given a second chance to high jump. Sano falls in love with Mizuki, but cannot tell her because Mizuki thinks that if Sano found out her secret, she would have to leave. He eventually is able to tell her and even proposes to her in the special chapter.

 

 

Ikuta Toma  as Nakatsu Shuichi

Nakatsu is my favorite! He's funny in every way. The story would be boring without him! He seems to like Mizuki too but unlike Sano, he's straightforward. He acts stupid sometimes but that makes him interesting. Nakatsu struggled with his feelings for Mizuki before; he thought that he was gay so it took him a while to actually figure out what he really wants.

He likes Mizuki, but doesn¡¯t know that she is really a girl, and some of his classmate believe that he is gay due to that fact. Nakatsu also seems to have come to terms with that fact. As Umeda says,¡±...he¡¯s only attracted to her feminine side,¡± meaning that Nakatsu is responding as any teenage male would to being around a female, although it would appear he is a bit more excitable than his classmates as none of them seem to be affected by Mizuki¡ªor they simply hide it better. He entered the school with a football (soccer) scholarship, and is very good at it. Originally from Osaka (the city, which is different from the school and spelled with different kanji), he has a thick Kansai accent and frequently uses the Kansai dialect. He makes cute expressions and became Ashiya's best friend in school.

 

Credits: bestuff.com

Supporting Cast:

Okada Yoshinori

Shirota Yu

Sugimoto Tetta

Tsutsui Mariko

Yamazaki Hajime

 

Other Title: Hanazakari no Kimitachi e / For You in Full Blossom/ »¨¤¶¤«¤ê¤Î¾ý¤¿¤Á¤Ø

 

Total Episodes: 12

 

Synopsis:

The drama is based on the popular manga of the same name by Nakajo Hisaya. Japanese-American track-and-field star Ashiya Mizuki is transferring to a high school in Japan...but not just any high school! To be close to her idol, high jumper Izumi Sano, she's going to an all-guys' high school...and disguising herself as a boy! But as fate would have it, they're more than classmates...they're roommates! Now, Mizuki must keep her secret in the classroom, the locker room, and her own bedroom. And her classmates, and the weird school nurse, must react to the new transfer student who looks like a very pretty boy..

 

What I Think:

Hana Kimi japan is one of the best jap series I have ever watched! Hana Kimi Japanese version is a winner! I don¡¯t think I can stand watching the Taiwanese version because (please don¡¯t bash me now) I am not a big fan of the tomboyish Ella of SHE but if you have to say your piece of comment please don¡¯t post baseless judgments. You can start of by telling me what you like and do a hana kimi japan review. I just love Hana Kimi Japan, it is so funny, I can¡¯t believe how Mizuki made half of the dorm boys question their own sexuality, seriously funny!

 

Ikuta Toma he just stole the show from Maki Horikita and Shun Oguri. Turning on my jap fangirl mode! Haha! Ikuta is like so handsome; Ikuta is like love¡­he looks so good in every camera angle, while Shun Oguri can only look good in certain angles. I actually like his hairstyle here better than his hair in Hana Yori Dango 2. He is such a good actor too, he is very funny, I look forward to his monologues in every ep, come on who does not yearn for his hilarious monologues and he is just hilarious! And he has a lot more chemistry with Maki than she does with Shun Oguri that¡¯s for sure. I love Nakatsu¡¯s character over Sano¡¯s. Ikuta is definitely drool-worthy, I love him!

 

Shun Oguri You can still see the Hana Yori Dango character, Rui, in him when he plays Sano. He was totally over shadowed by Ikuta Toma¡­like totally! If we would only talk about talent, I can say he is such a talented actor because he just shines in his series but in this one, if Hana Kimi is a galaxy, he would be Pluto and Toma would be the Sun. He does not look all that good in some shots, but his hair is better-looking than in HYD, he looks tall and too thin at times, does this guy even eat meat? There were also times when he has this Rui-like expression in the series, makes me want to sleep.

           

Maki Horikita she is pretty, in fact too pretty to pass off as a boy. But she did well, she was hilarious too, she looks good with Shun Oguri but she definitely rocks it out in chemistry with Ikuta Toma, definitely! This is the first time I have seen her act, and she is undoubtfully cute and amazing. She can look good in a dress too.

 

The supporting cast: Nanba was a hottie haha, he looks like Jun Matsumoto! The 3 dorm leaders were great Tenoujii was especially funny. Aura Boy was a cutie too and looks like Jason Hsu of 5566¡­haha! The Hibari Four were freaky, the Leader was 4x freakier.Their motto was ridiculously funny ¡°To make the boys of Osahka Gakuen happy.¡± Beat that holy sweet jebuzz!

 

The clothes: Maki is too pretty to be a boy but she can pass off I guess. Her clothes make her like a real boy, but she still looks like a doll when she did the dress. Shun Oguri rocked the sporty outfits for the high jump (can he really high jump?) and Ikuta Toma looks totally handsome anything he wears in here.

 

The soundtrack: I like the insert song where the video starts of with the class picture Mizuki in the middle and zooms out to Sano and Nakatsu, ahhh Toma is love and Shirota Yuu down in the pic is yummy. The opening song is perky too, I love it.

 

** Izumi accidentally touches Mizumi's breast and he felt so awkward because he knows Mizumi's real identity.

**The St. Blossoms girls¡¯ cheering for the Osaka High Boys when they go out of their dorms which were so entertaining.

**Dorm 1 leader tells his boys that he will give them the chance to walk out of the room and from his rule in 10 seconds¡­all the boys ran to the door but cant open it. So when the leader finished counting and opened his eyes all the boys were there. He said I know you still want me to rule. They said hai yes! Hahaha! Jeez they got no choice¡­

** The many times Nakatsu questions his sexuality and wanted to just push Mizuki into their ¡°homosexual love skinship.¡±

** Nakatsu and Mizuki joining a dance contest.

** Nakatsu discovered that Mizuki was indeed a girl.

** Nakatsu telling Mizuki he likes her. Ahhhh!

** Sano kissing every boy in the dorm when he gets drunk.

** The all-boys cheering squad! Ahhhh! Toma in headbands gosh.

Rating: 10 Japanese Tempura out of 10  

 

Other Stuff:

**Hana Kimi 2 Confirmed ¨C from asianpopcorn

 

Last summer's "Hanazakari no Kimitachi e" drama series is returning for a one-episode special. Starring Maki Horikita, Shun Oguri, and Toma Ikuta, the show was very popular, especially among female viewers. It averaged 17.3% ratings, with the final episode reaching 21.0%.

According to Fuji TV, the special will take place half a year after the series' end. With Osaka Gakuen getting ready for an upcoming Valentine's Day event, Sano (Oguri) and Nakatsu (Ikuta) reflect on the final week of their last summer vacation, which falls into the timeline of the original series between episodes 7 and 8. The special also includes a graduation scene and addresses the relationship between Mizuki (Horikita) and Sano.

 

** Theme songs:
Opening theme: Ikenai Taiyo by Orange Range
Ending theme: PEACH by Otsuka Ai
Insert song: My Love by Kawashima Ai

 

** Watch Hana Kimi (Japanese version) online at http://www.mysoju.com (with english subtitles)

 

Credits: for the cast descriptions- http://hana-kimi-love.minitokyo.net/, mysoju.com for the summary

 

 

closing credits ikuta looking cute!

 

hana kimi taiwan vs hana kimi japan

 

looking like jun matsumoto nanaba senpai!

 

♦°*.•♪•.* °♦

Wonder Girls♦°*.•♪•.* °♦

Wonder Girls… they are my latest girl group craze!

They are so talented and pretty. I especially love Leader Min  Sun Ye! She is awesome, such a nice voice, she can sing all-English songs too! I love listening to her sing “Sweet Dreams” over and over plus she looks a lot like Eugene Kim of SES! So hee is a looker too, so pretty especially when she is not wearing much make up.

 

Wonder Girls was created under JYP Entertainment. After an average of 1-2 years of training, they made their debut with the single album named "Irony" on February 13, 2007. The album consists of three songs and one remix, which are : Irony, Bad Boy, Sorry for

Birthday: the Tears and Irony (Tae-Kwon remix). Wonder Girls are created by famous artist and composer from JYP, JY Park. Lead by Sun Ye, 18 years old, followed by Ye Eun, 18 years old too, while HyunA (replaced by Yoo Bin), Sun Mi and So Hee are 15 years old. Most of the girls trained in JYP for more than a year, except for Ye Eun. She trained for only 3 months and debuted very easily. Their hit song recently is 'Irony'. The song is famous for its hip-hop rhythm, noticeable lyrics and funny music video.

Official Site: http://www.jype.com/main.star.profile.screen?p_menu_id=1&p_artist_id=wondergirls

Credits: jyp official site, wikipedia, soompi

Min Sun Ye

Stage Name: Sun Ye

Birthday: August 12, 1989

Height: 160cm

Weight: 46kg

Favorite artists: Beyonce, Yiruma

Favorite color: Blue

Horoscope: Leo

 

 

Park Ye Eun

Stage Name: Ye Eun

Birthday: May 26, 1989

Height: 165cm

Weight: 47kg

Favorite artists: Lauren Hill, Aretha Franklin, So Hyang

Favorite color: Green

Horoscope: Aries

 

 

Sun Mi

Stage Name: Sun Mi

Birthday: May 2, 1992

Height: 164cm

Weight: 43cm

Favorite artists: Beyonce, Bi

Favorite color: Purple

Horoscope: Taurus

 

 

Ahn So Hee

Stage Name: So Hee

Birthday: June 27, 1992

Height: 163cm

Weight: 43cm

Favorite artists: Beyonce, Alicia Keys, Bi, Im Jeong Hee

Favorite color: Pink

Horoscope: Cancer

 

 

Kim Yoo Bin

Stage Name: Yoo Bin

Birthday: October 4, 1988

Height: 163cm

Weight: 45cm

Favorite artists: Lauren Hill, Eve

Horoscope: Libra

 

First Lineup of Wonder Girls with Hyun A...

 

Current Lineup now with Yoo Bin...

Group Leaders

Most of the group leaders in kpop-dom are strong individuals except for Na Gyu Ri I guess.. I love GDragon, Teddy Park  and Eric Moon!

"The ability of an individual to influence, motivate, and enable others to contribute toward the effectiveness and success of the organizations of which they are members"

 

Credits: soompi

 

Teddy of 1tym

 

Eric Moon of Shinhwa

 

Brian Joo of Fly to the sky

 

Joon Hyun of GOD

 

Kim Hyun Joong of SS501

 

Moon Hee Jun of HOT

 

Eun Ji Won of Seschkies

 

Hwang Sang Hun of Black Beat

 

Yunho of Dong Bang Shin Ki

 

Ryan of Paran

 

 

Woo Hyun Suk of Click-B

 

 

Tablo of Epik High

 

G-Dragon of Big Bang

 

Ee Teuk of Super Junior

 

Sean of Jinusean

 

Ryu of Battle

 

Kim Do Wan of Take

 

Bada of SES

 

Ayumi of Sugar

 

Hwang Bo of Chakra

 

Park Gyu Ri of Kara

 

Lina of The Grace

 

Lee Hyori of FINKL

 

Min Sun Yeh of Wonder Girls

 

Park Jung Ah of Jewelry

 

Kim EZ of Baby VOX

 

Ahn Jin Kyun of Baby VOX Re. V

Nam Gyun Ri of Seeyah