Gambatte Japan!

These are one of those days. Days when you just feel like you’re compelled to do something but just don’t know where to start.

I was just telling one of my fangirl friends how weird it is wanting to spazz when I found out about Tackey & Tsubasa’s new single and PV. If it were a week ago I would’ve done cartwheels, rolled over the ground, did some Chinen twirls and squee’d like a rubber duckie. It just feels wrong. I was glued to CNN over the weekend and death tolls increased by the hour, with more impending dangers threatening the country. It’s truly heartbreaking.

When I read interesting stuff about the J/K fandom, even if I don’t get to blog a lot (or at all) I’ve been lurking around (yes, my creeper stalker skills still haven’t gone rusty lol), I was just looking on, wanting to say something, rant, rave, wanting to crack a joke or two. Well, I still do that with my fangirl friends though. But when I watch or listen to something, in my mind I make mental notes on how I’d review it if I were to write about it. Writing now… It’s kind of like when someone passes away, it’s the time when you say a lot and remember their good deeds, realizing their worth in your life and wondering why you never noticed it in the first place. The tragedy in Japan hits so close to my and everyone’s hearts not only as an avid admirer of the Japanese culture but as fellow humans. The beautiful cherry blossom tree  is a photo taken from Sendai. Looking at it now, it seems like it’s going to take a while before the city, and the whole country, will be able to bloom again.

The wonders of JPOP

 

On a lighter note, I’d like to go back on memory lane and reminisce how my love affair with JPOP really began. I don’t exactly remember how, or what but I think I first got exposed to JPOP (by JPOP I mean all the mediums that comprise it) because of animes or their signature kiddie dramas (not sure of its classification lol): Ultraman, Bioman, and all other super heroes whose name ends with “man.” I remember watching Astro Boy and wondering if he’s really a boy or a girl. He’s got really long eyelashes and pretty big eyes, okay!  Even the cartoon classics like Dog of Flanders and A Little Princess reached its popularity in Europe – I’ve even seen it dubbed in Italian on cable lol. Oooh and then there’s the ultimate heroine whose skills are not defined by high tech gadgets or the ability to dodge bullets, but by “weapons” that can be found in any girl’s beauty kit, and whose enemies willingly wait as they change costumes, one panty hose after another – Sailor Moon and friends! My playmates used to fight a lot about who’s gonna play Usagi, but I liked Mars or Tuxedo Mask (literally) lol Then of course, there’s the manga. I used to look at how-to-draw-manga books and fail miserably at trying to draw them. Anyways, from then I would listen to OSTs, and eventually getting to know the singers behind them.

M-flo loves Namie Amuro

The famous Tokyo Dome

Utada Hikaru was probably one of the artists that I really like. I first saw her at Time magazine, saying she’s the “Britney Spears of Japan.” Please. Utada’s brand of pop is way different. Then when I got to Jdramas, I started googling the actors and actresses who happen to be idols themselves. Here’s what I remember watching: One Liter of Tears, Nodame Cantabile, Gokusen, ProDai, Taiyou no Kisetsu, Stand Up, Orange Days, Tatta Hitotsu no Koi, Nobuta Wo Produce, Attention Please, Moon Lovers (which I regret watching), My Boss My Hero, Gachibaka, Last Friends, Yamato Nadeshiko, 14 Sai no Haha, Absolute Boyfriend, Hana Kimi, First Kiss, Hotaru no Hikari, Honey and Clover, Densha Otoko… Hana Yori Dango! I didn’t list the other titles I forgot otherwise you’d wonder what I’ve bee doing all my life!

I got hooked into movies, OSTs, from Remioromen, Greeeen, to B’z, Ai Otsuka, and music from Yui, Crystal Kay, m-flo (my fave!), Mihimaru GT, Mika Nakashima,  Namie Amuro, Daichi Miura, Melody, Ryohei, EXILE, Thelma Aoyama, ICONIQ, a whole lot more! And have you noticed how, even though they don’t “crossover” that much to other countries, Japanese music is still widely known all over the world and they still set a lot of trends. Amazing.

JDrama Nostalgia

Hana Kimi

 

Hana Yori Dango

 

 

 

Gokusen 2

 

Stand Up!

 

Proposal Daisakusen

 

Then there’s JE. For those who still remember me, you’d know how I love these boys. Sure, they’re all sorts of goof and fail, but they make girls like me feel like sixteen again lol. They’re not exceptionally known for their vocals or dancing… or heaven forbid for their stage fashion sense…But there’s something about them that just charms people. They have a way with people, making them feel like they’re literally the boys next door you can and want to hang (and make) out with lol. You get used to and love Kame’s high eye brows, Ryo’s bedroom face (is it just me or he always looks like he’s thinking about sex? lol), Yamapi’s famous dead fish eyes and wooden personality, Jin’s drunken and hung over-ness, Yoko’s hentai-ness, Domoto Tsuyoshi’s oddball-ness, Matsujun’s eerie resemblance to MJ, his highness KimuTaku… well, you just want to worship the ground he steps on. And secretly love the boy on boy fanservice bordering on creepy yet you just can’t look away! More on these guys for another day.

You gotta hand it to Pi for having two signature expressions only he can pull off well: Indifference and Constipation

 

Matsujun. LOLWHUTT.

Otoko Love!

 

Sho cosplay.

 

 

I guess this long read has to end somehow. Japan, no matter how crazy their shows, music or dramas can be sometimes, it only shows how creative they are as a people and they’re not afraid to express themselves. The purpose of reminiscing about the good times and singing praises about JPOP is not to signify its death or waning because of the recent tragedies. Far from it! It may be hard, but as resilient as their fascinating culture and artistic expressions are, whether in music, dramas or fashion, let’s all hope that soon they will rise again – better, stronger and ready to work, act, sing, and dance again for all the world to see. And if there’s something I’d like to say to the Japanese which I’ve learned from all the Jdramas I watched, which say pretty much the same thing: GAMBATTE!