Gosh... It's near Christmas already. Another year has gone by so fast =). Anyway, with the spirit of Christmas, deep inside my heart I am always wondering, why do Japanese celebrate Christmas? The fact is 99% of Japanese people are non Christian. So I did my home work and googled it up. I found some interesting articles about it. Check it out if you also want to know :
http://www.tanutech.com/japan/jxmas.html
http://www.christmasarchives.com/wjapan.html
http://www.thejapanfaq.com/celebrations.html
Wednesday, December 20, 2006
Ichi Rittoru No Namida ( 1 Litre of Tears )
I know that there’s a lot of people already make reviews on this Japanese TV Drama series, but I think I’d like to create my very own. It’s actually one of the best J-Dorama I’ve ever seen so far. It is exceeds beyond my first expectation through the first 3 episodes. Please be reminded that this blog may contain spoilers. I hope you’re okay with that. After watching the first episode, you can already tell what the ending would be. But that’s not the whole point at all. Situations and story plot that is developed by each episodes what makes it really great as it is really touching.
Story
The story itself tells us about a life of a highscool girl named Ikeuchi Aya (Performed by Sawajiri Erika) who got a genetical disease named SCD (Spinocerreblar Ataxia). There is no known cure for disease even until this very moment. This drama is based on a true story of Kito Aya (July 19, 1962 – May 23, 1988). The title 1 Litre of Tears is originally a published novel of Kito Aya’s diary shortly before her death, where you can find quotes from her diary in the end of each episodes. In the story, Ikeuchi Aya lives in a family of 6. Aside from her mother (Ikeuchi Shioka, performed by Yakushimaru Hiroko) and father (Ikeuchi Mizuo, performed by Jinnai Takanori), there’re also her younger sister (Ikeuchi Ako, performed by Narumi Riko), younger brother (Ikeuchi Hiroki, performed by Sanada Yuma) and youngest sister (Ikeuchi Rika, performed by Miyoshi Ani).
Throughout 11 episodes, this drama tells about Aya’s life from where she was diagnosed, how she struggled with daily activities and social life. Each of the character has a very strong role in this drama with each of their own personalities such as her father who is a hard worker, optimistic and also very sensitive, her mother who is caring, strong, and very supporting, her sister who is kinda annoying and childish at first and later on developed to a more mature character, her brother who is ashamed because of Aya’s condition at first and also her youngest sister, a cute and innocent kindergarten girl. There’re also characters from outside their family like her doctor (Mizuno Hiroshi, performed by Fujiki Naohito), her best friends and also a guy who at first thinks pessimistically of human life (Asou Haruto, performed by Nishikido Ryo). All of the character grows throughout the story due to Aya’s influence, and this is what’s best from this drama.
What’s more, the acting skill of each characters fits very well and performed beautifully, especially Sawajiri Erika, who able to bring out the Aya character to it’s fullest as well as Jinnai Takanori and Yakushimaru Hiroko as her parents.
One thing that I felt a bit awkward is in the last episode where the story suddenly leaps 5 years ahead. It felt like the ending was pushed and squeezed in the last 10 - 15 minutes where I think it can be better if there’s also a coverage of other characters such as her brother and sisters, her friends. But hey… it’s just me. After all, I think the ending is already quite good.
Musical
What’s even more important in a movie is it’s musical scores and arrangements. In Ichi Rttoru no Namida, it has successfully created an emotional bond through the musics, thanks to musical arrangement by Susumu Ueda. The inset song, Konayuki, sung by Remioromen and also the theme song, Only Human, sung by K also matched very well with the drama. There’s also another song sung by the whole Aya’s classmates during the festival, 9 March. In the OST this song was brought by Remioromen. I personally like these 3 songs very much.
Before watching this drama, actually I was pretty annoyed by the way my friend Teddy played “Konayuki” over and over, because it’s quite irritating and I can’t understand the lyrics as well. But after that I changed my opinion completely, because this is the song that is somewhat like encouraging the main character when she was feeling down or having troubles. Ted, now I see your point =).
Overall
In all, as I have said before, this is one of the best movie I have ever seen so far and I strongly recommend all of you to watch this beautiful drama. Not only because of the story plot, but also because it makes us realize how grateful we should be by being healthy and able to do many things that we like, and also to treasure every moment and live our life to the fullest. Fuji TV as official broadcaster did a great job in delivering just a simple wish of Aya through this drama : “Just being alive is such a lovely and wonderful thing”. For those of you with sensitive heart, be prepared as you will encounter numerous times where it felt like your heart is being torn apart.
Thanks to Teddy for lending me this very special j-dorama.
Links
Overview :
http://wiki.d-addicts.com/Ichi_Ritoru_no_Namida
Episode Synopsis :
http://wiki.d-addicts.com/Ichi_Ritoru_no_Namida/SynopsisEpisode
Aya’s Diary, English Translation :
http://www.xanga.com/onelitre
Official Site
http://www.fujitv.co.jp/tears/pre_top.html
Tuesday, April 18, 2006
Elder Scroll IV : Oblivion - Vampiric Cure
I've spent quite sometime playing Elderscroll IV : Oblivion. I am currently searching for vampiric cure ingredients. For those of you who played Elderscroll IV : Oblivion and also in search for this cure, I found something that might a help a bit.
You might notice that the witch demanded 5 grand soul gems before she wanted to help you out. Unfortunately, these soul gems have to be the grand one (petty, common, or greater soul gems won't do). You can basically buy this grand soul gems on every mage's guild, but it's gonna cost you about 300 - 350 golds each depending on your haggle skill. I've found a trick that able to give you 3 - 4 soul gems in one row. Head to the mage's guild in Anvil. Wait till late at night when everybody falls asleep. Look for the showcases, there should be two showcases containing several soul gems. This will require hard to very hard lock picking skills, so quick save and load if you screw up. Also note that this is considered stealing, so make sure to use sneak and ensure that nobody sees you. If you save some gold, you should be able to buy at least 1 or 2 grand soul gems from other mage's guild.
You might notice that the witch demanded 5 grand soul gems before she wanted to help you out. Unfortunately, these soul gems have to be the grand one (petty, common, or greater soul gems won't do). You can basically buy this grand soul gems on every mage's guild, but it's gonna cost you about 300 - 350 golds each depending on your haggle skill. I've found a trick that able to give you 3 - 4 soul gems in one row. Head to the mage's guild in Anvil. Wait till late at night when everybody falls asleep. Look for the showcases, there should be two showcases containing several soul gems. This will require hard to very hard lock picking skills, so quick save and load if you screw up. Also note that this is considered stealing, so make sure to use sneak and ensure that nobody sees you. If you save some gold, you should be able to buy at least 1 or 2 grand soul gems from other mage's guild.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)