Sunao ni Narenakute [j-drama]

So it seems like lately I might be doing drama reviews here.  I know a lot of other blogs already do this, and a lot of people already have reviewed a lot of the series I have, but since I have so many, I might as well start somewhere.  :)

I just finished up a series called Sunao ni Narenakute, which translates to Can't Be Honest.  It's about a group of four people who meet each other via Twitter and become great friends.  They finally decide to meet up in real life and get to know each other.  It's about how they learn to be honest with each other and their feelings and how they live their lives.  It's a typical Japanese life drama, but the characters are lovable and ones you get attached to easily.  The cast includes some of the following super stars.

Ueno Juri (Nodame Cantabile, Last Friends)

She plays the main girl character (twitter name Haru) who is a provisional high school teacher who lies and says that she is a legit high school teacher.  She has feelings for her fellow twitter friend Nakaji, and can't wait to meet him.

Eita (Nodame Cantabile, Last Friends)

He plays the main guy character (twitter named Nakaji) who is a photographer for adult magazines, but he lies to his twitter friends saying that he photographs for magazines like Vogue and Elle.  His father was a war photographer and he also wants to follow in his father's footsteps but has a hard time getting into the industry.

Jae Joon (international superstar, part of Dong Bang Shin Ki)

He plays a character named Seonsu (twitter name Doctor) who is a sales guy for a medical company, but he lies and tells his twitter friends that he is actually a doctor.  He is incredibly shy and is often bullied by his coworkers for having the worst sales records.  But he has feelings for Haru before they meet in person and wants to act on them.

Tamayama Tetsuji (Nana)

He plays a character named Kaoru (twitter name Linda) who works at a magazine as he is trying to be an editor, but he lies and tells his twitter friends that he is the head editor of a magazine.  He would do anything to make it in the business, but is being blackmailed into sexual favors by the head editor.  He cares deeply about the friends that he has made and wants to do everything that he can to help them.

Seki Megumi (Ganbatte Ikimasho, Hachimitsu to Clover)

She plays a character named Hikari (named Peach for ever episode after the first) who is Haru's best friend and goes with her to the first twitter meet up.  She is the type of girl who always wants to be loved and is having an affair with her boss.  She has suicidal tendencies and tries to kill herself in the first episode, but her friends save her in time and she decides that she needs to change herself.  She decides to join them up on twitter and changes her name to Peach in a way to reinvent herself.

I originally picked up this drama because of the two main characters, Ueno Juri and Eita.  They have been together in at least 2 other dramas and always have a good chemistry.  I also saw pictures of Eita with a Nikon camera and was intrigued, and I found some nice hardsubs by GOE;SS (gods of the east subbing squad) and finished this series in only 3 days.  It had the typical drama elements of bad timing and misunderstandings, and the self-sacrificing love.  It might sound too girlish, but it was very nice and had a good morale.  Tell the truth about your experiences and feelings.  If you don't it can eat away at you and cause unnecessary pain.

The theme song is by Sugawara Sayuri and is called Sunao ni Narenakute.  The funny thing about drama music is that you might not like it upon first hearing, but by the time the series is done, you will be listening to it all the time.  This song is typical Japanese ballad, but the lyrics are what make the song.  I remember hearing this song before I even heard of the drama because I liked the album cover.  It's such a pretty picture and I tend to download songs just because of the album art.  XD

Sunao ni Narenakute; Sugawara Sayuri

I can just feel it if you protect me

Come and hold me close right now

I want to show you these feelings that were always dear to me
Because my heart couldn’t become honest “…I miss you”

We walked back home and within the silence there was no one
This beating heart feels like it will burst open
I wonder if you can hear it?

Is there a deep love for these closed lips of mine?
I cannot say anything in front of him

I always held in these gentle feelings that you had been deprived of
Because my heart cannot become honest “…I miss you”

I swore I’d live my life, never crying in front of others
But in front of you, my heart becomes overwhelmed with tears

Is there any meaning in the words you gave me in the warmth of your arms?
I held you from behind and muttered softly

I won’t ever let you be alone because I always want to be there for you
I want to feel all of your warmth, I believe you

Because miracles just happen, they are not guided by fate
I was drawn to you so we cannot drift apart

I always held in the gentle smile you wanted to see
Because I want my heart to become honest

I want to show you these feelings that were always dear to me
Because I want my heart to become honest “…I miss you”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

I hope that if you watch this series it will be as good of an experience for you as it was for me.  The theme is close to people's hearts because we always hide our true feelings to keep ourselves from hurting, but in the end, you end up feeling worse.  It's a very nice series if you're looking for one that is a bit more drama like, without the super depressing Korean teary characters/endings.  Enjoy and happy watching!!


VERDICT
Characters: 4 out of 5 (nice variety of characters.  they feel insecure at first, but grow to trust each other)


Story: 3.5 out of 5 (it's a typical life story drama where the characters have to learn to trust their friends.  some of the relationships are a bit stereotypical drama)


Irritation Level: 2 out of 5 (quite low, but there is some of that self-sacrificing bits that some people find annonying)


Overall: 4 out of 5 (good series, great characters, good chemistry, mild irritation level because of typical misunderstandings)

Message From My Heart part 2

It’s 3:00am and I can’t fall asleep.  So the first thought was perhaps I need to post a blog.  XD  My internet isn’t working either, so I’m typing this all in a word document until I get the chance to post it later.  (images taken from the wonderful world of lelove)

For those of you who have been reading here and have asked about it, I finally do not have to call myself a hypocrite.  I was finally able to convey my feelings after much anguish and slight pushing from some of my closest friends.  When I went back home, I talked about this never-ending battle with myself to let everything out.  And it only took me 6 hours one night.  The day of, they kept pushing me saying I can’t back out.  They kept telling me that I should stop running away and slowly hurting myself over stress and worry.  In short, after taking preventive measures from me avoiding the topic that night (I called a few friends that I knew would call me out on bitching out), I nervously admitted my feelings.  And let me tell you, people don’t lie when they tell you it makes you feel so much better.  Unfortunately for people who are hoping for a happy ending, it is much more bittersweet.  I got the answer I was expecting, but that was enough for me.  Timing is everything in a relationship, and sometimes just getting that timing is the hardest battle.  It felt great to hear that I was considered best friend material, and for me that was enough.  Sure a lot of people say that the phrase is the “nail in the coffin,” but I try to look at it that it’s a starting point.  If things can be that easy doesn’t that mean something?  I explained that for me just knowing that someone cares is enough.  If I can’t have an “official” boyfriend it would be okay.  Life is crazy at this point in time.  Thinking about such things isn’t always the best idea when you’re trying to figure out your own life and your own happiness.  I’m not saying that I am going to use him as an excuse not to try and find happiness, but at this point in my life, down here in Santa Barbara, another photography student is not something I’m looking for.  Especially with such a small school because in my past observations, it’s just asking for trouble.  (not saying that you can’t have a great experience!  Because I know at least 2 extremely happy couples here at Brooks.  :D)

After all those years, I realize that my timing was good and that the other times I stopped myself, happened for a reason.  As cliché as it sounds, I am a big believer in fate.  I feel like everything that has happened to me has led me to Brooks.  It’s been a road of school, friendship, love, heartbreak, and failure.  Sure, I’m not going to lie by saying I haven’t thought of things that I’ve fucked up and wished I could go back, but when I start thinking like that I just have to remember that I am living my dream right now.  I am doing everything I can to make sure that my future is the best one I can possibly have.   

Overall this post was to just let the few people in my life know that if you have feelings for someone, let them know when you think it’s right.  Sure I had to get some encouragement from my friends because the whole concept was super scary.  I spent many a time making up excuses and reasons not to.  But when you’re ready, don’t hold back.  You wouldn’t want to miss out on something that could be and regret it forever.  Unrequited love hurts like hell, but it’s better to hurt for a few months rather than the rest of your life.  And who knows, the result is usually a happy resolution.  If nothing else, the person would be impressed that you can actually say how you feel about them, especially if you’re a girl.  Guys have this feeling like they have to be the ones to initiate.  But if the girl can say something first, I think it shows them a lot.  This has been another ones of those things in my life that I can look back on and say that even though I might not get a happy ending with this one, at least I tried and didn’t hide.  So, thank you to all who have supported me through the rants and indecisiveness.  :D  Without you guys, I probably wouldn’t have ever found the strength to get it all out there.  

Personal Taste [k-drama]

I recently watched a recent Korean drama called Personal Taste.  For anyone a fan of the Korean Boys Over Flowers I would definitely recommend it to.  The main guy in this drama is Lee Min Ho who plays Jun Pyo in the Korean version.  He definitely grew on me in Boys Over Flowers, but Personal Taste further enforced my love for him.  The premise is simple.  The ever awkward main girl, Kae In, needs money to save her house from loan sharks, so she lets a guy, Jin Ho (lee min ho), live in her home because she believes him to be gay, thus having no interest in women so it would be fine for them to live together.  Unknown to Kae In he is actually straight and wanting to live in this house to discover what it is about the house that could possibly lead him to gaining a huge job for his architecture firm.











This drama has everything.  The backstabbing best friend that  has you yelling at your monitor, the misunderstandings that come with dramas, and of course, the super cute couple scenes that make these dramas so enjoyable.  As usual, the main girl is the off beat main character that typically one would find weird.  But of course they are still cute because it is a drama.  =P  Jin Ho might not be gay, but throughout the series he continually knows how to make women feels better and seems to be very understanding, just like a gay friend would be.  There are funny little incidents that lead Kae In and her best friend to think that Ji Ho and his business partner are gay and when she's drunk she usually blurts out to everyone in the room that he is gay.  Of course the best friend is an evil bitch and quite reminds me of a girl I used to be friends with.  It is key for any sort of media to be relatable to its viewers so that they feel like the situation could happen to them.  The couple sequences are completely adorable and sigh enducing and will have you keep on watching.

I try not to watch too many Korean dramas because they always make me want a relationship (haha how could you not with all these beautiful people).  Not that I wouldn't mind one, but it's just kinda sad when I don't have one and feel like I need to find one to be fully happy.  Longing for a relationship never really ends well and isn't something that I enjoy feeling.  But it does make me happy to watch couples in love, and makes me hopeful for my future.  :)  I definitely recommend this series to drama fans with the cuteness level high and the entertainment level equally matched.  Hope you find some happiness with this series.  :D  I have a great link to downloads for this series so just ask if you would like it!  I'm sure you could find it on the drama streaming sites, but I prefer to have the nice quality copies of them that I can keep to watch again someday.  =]

VERDICT
Characters: 5 out of 5 (including the bitch you love to hate)

Story: 4 out of 5 (very original storyline, but has the typical "secret" past twist)

Irritation Level: 3 out of 5 (you will find yourself getting irritated at the bitchy "friend" popping up everywhere.  I found the jealously kind of cute from the couple, but it can get wearing)

Overall: 4 out of 5 (great story, cute characters, funny situations, adorable couple)

High Quality Goodness

Lately I've been watching and downloading the most current drams to keep up with them and have good download rates before they get too old.  Thankfully with video quality and bluray rips, it is so much easier to get high quality videos.  I recently watched the Gokusen movie (subbed by SARS) in HD and it was super amazing!!  Apparently they waited for the bluray disc so they could have a nice quality sub.  It was also really cool to watch the Gokusen movie that encompassed all 3 seasons of characters.  Kind of nostalgic in a way.  :D  It was great to see my old favorite actors show up in something recent.  On the subject of that, one of my favorite Japanese actors, Narimiya Hiroki has played the same kind of character in a lot of things lately.  He was in a movie called Drop, about a "yankee-ish" guy getting put into a public school.  Now there is a spring drama going on called "Yankee-kun to Megane-chan" where he plays a delinquent character.  haha.  I first started to watch out for him after he was in Nana, playing Nobu (my favorite character of the series) and have been able to find him in a lot of things recently.  I'm anxiously awaiting someone to sub Yankee to Megane!!  Just watching the raw, I can tell I will really like it.  :)  That's the sad thing about not being completely fluent in Japanese.  I'm not able to fully understand everything in these dramas as quickly as I want to.  I'm hoping that with my upkeep in Japanese, I will be able to continue with my level and hopefully learn it fluently after I finish up here at Brooks.  :D

 Anyways, there are some pretty crazy formats and subtitle formats floating around out there.  There's even a subtitle file that I dowloaded the other day with the extension .ass  XD  Thankfully, if you're ever in doubt about which player to use, I highly recommend VLC (especially for Mac useres) because it has been compatible with every sort of file I have come across so far.  I notice that the HD formats (720p and higher) are usually in mp4 or mvk formats.  Both are easily playable on many video players.

One of my favorite things is when artists post their music videos in 1080p on Youtube.  It is quite a nice treat to view an amazing music video in top notch quality.  For instance, everyone's favorite Tae Yang...I remember this being one of the first 1080p youtube videos I was able to watch.  :D


CLICK FOR HD

Overall the way that video graphics are going is simply amazing!  Seeing things in high definition and such is really changing the way we watch online.  I can't stand watching a show online and seeing nothing but pixels.  D:  I tend to download different series so I am able to watch it clearly like it was intended.  :)  If you ever need a recommendation on a series to start please don't hesitate to ask!  I have the ever growing collection, but I really should learn how to correctly burn DVD copies so in case I have friends who want to watch ones, without the hassle of downloading.  Anyone else have a favorite drama series?  I also love getting recommendations so please let me know!  :D

Breaking it Down

I find that sometimes guys have this misconception of girls that if you date someone, you have to pay for dates, talk on the phone for ages, and invest time that you might not have.  But let me tell you, majority of girls need a whole lot less than that.   For most girls, just knowing that you care about them too will keep them satisfied.  If you can't call every day then it's okay.  Life is important and your future is important, but isn't sharing it with someone sound somewhat promising?  If you're lucky, you will find someone who understands if you can't act all lovey-dovey or don't even want to,  but if you have mutual feelings, and understand them, isn't that worth it?  It always seems so sad that people can't share their feelings with each other.  I see in so many Japanese movies that people lose out on love because they couldn't tell the person they liked their feelings.  I'm rewatching a series called Proposal Daisakusen (operation love) that is about a guy who is able to go back in time (via photographs in his best friend's/love's wedding slideshow) to try and tell the best friend that he's in love with her.  In the past he felt that he had so much time to tell her, he was just always late.  Asian just tend to have those, "too late" movies and no one is happy.  Isn't just knowing that you have someone's love enough?

Some guys argue that girls always say this, but never follow through.  You just have to find those girls that aren't going to do that.  Which makes a whole big circle of work.  XD  Talking with my roomate, we agreed that if you weren't able to see the person you cared about for awhile because of school or life, if you really want to have a relationship with that person it wouldn't make a difference.  Just knowing that you have the support of someone you care about is saying a lot.  Some people can work this kind of relationship.  Some people can't.  Same as things like long-distance relationships.  Good timing is right for relationships.  Sometimes you have to wait.  Sometimes you have perfect timing.  But I do truly believe that if it is meant to be it will happen.  By the way, if you haven't seen Paper Heart (the movie/documentary) I highly recommend it.  It hits both points on not believing in love and just working at something you might have never thought of.  And hearing different people's views on love is also really interesting.  Finding love is hard, but when you do find it, don't let go.

Love, I don't need those things

I don't need no ring

I don't need anything

But you

And me

Cause in your company

I am happy oh so happy and complete

Photo Blog

So I started up a photo blog strictly for just posting my work

http://shiseitenhikariphoto.blogspot.com/

My family was wondering if they could ever see my images so I decided to make strictly on photo.  I will still be posting up here, so I hope you enjoy both blogs.  :)  Newest entry in the photo blog is the stuff I took over my week long break back at the end of April.  I hope you enjoy!  :D

Honesty

I recently read a post from a friend on her blog about 10 honest things about herself.  I decided to do the same.  Just 10 random, truthful things about myself.  :)

1. Writing things out always makes me feel so much better about the thing I can't say.  Sometimes it might be too personal, but it really does make me feel better.  I used to write myspace blogs all the time about the feelings and such.  I kept them so only my really close friends could read them and it was a good outlet for me to just write.

2. I will sing anywhere, anytime, but never in the shower.  XD

3. I believe that everything happens for a reason.  You might not understand the reasons why in short term, but in the long run, they usually lead to bigger and better things.

4. I also believe that if it's meant to be it will happen.  You might have to wait awhile, you might even get hurt, but I totally believe that it will all work out in the end.  Of course, you might have to take charge and make it happen, but sometimes that's what it takes to make it reality.

5. I've never had a brother, but I feel as if my Lodi guy friends are like my brothers.  I can make fun of them, laugh with them, and pretty much do nothing and still be entertained.  I talk about them a lot, and some people might mistake my talking about them so much as a crush, but the reality is, I feel like they are part of my family.  I don't know what I would do without them.  :)

6. I only have a few really close girl friends.  But I would do anything for them.  I hate being so spread out from all of them, but I try to keep in contact as much as possible.  The future holds so much for all of us.  Life is changing for us at rapid speed, and I can't wait to see what we will be like in 10 years.  We can go without ages seeing each other, but the minute we get together, it's like time hasn't passed.  Seeing us mature and live life is exciting.  I hope to have them in my life always.

7. Lyrics make or break a song for me.  I pay attention to them a lot.  I think it's because there are just some that I can instantly relate to because I know the feeling.  My current favorite songs tend to change with the feelings that I'm feeling and the lyrics that relate to them.


8. I constantly wonder about the future.  But at the same time, when someone asks where I see myself in 10 years, I have no clue what to say.

9. I never felt as intellectual as many of my family and friends.  All of our family friends and my close friends all went to school for things like science and engineering with top honors in school.  I was more the girl who sucked at math but loved to be creative or learning foreign languages.  Growing up like that I felt pressured by myself, even though my parents knew I wasn't going to be the next doctor.  XD  They didn't expect me to, but still, I felt like I wasn't as smart as my friends or family and disappointing the people who would buzz about me for going to a community college.  Even though I was happy with my choice, I still felt like I was disappointing people.  Thankfully I'm where I want to be now, and it might not lead me to finding a cure for cancer, or creating the latest invention to change mankind, but I am happy doing something that I know I will always be in love with.

10. I never really used to think of myself as pretty.  I grew up with crazy blown up hair, glasses, and bad acne.  Now, 8 years later, I have grown to love my full hair, have a cute pair of glasses, and have been getting my skin under much better control.  Low self-esteem was my enemy back when I was in grade school, but in the past 3 years, I have grown to appreciate and love the way I am.  :)