The Third Annual November 8th Awards

Has it really been three years since I started this blog? My goodness. As is usual on this day, I present my round up of what I've been watching for the past twelve months. And remember: this is about what I've seen since last November, not about what has been released so that the new has to battle against the old.

Best drama

Ai no Nedan
Shokuzai
Furuhata Ninzaburo
Suzuki Sensei

It is unfair to throw a classic in amongst the newcomers, but those are the rules. As it is Furuhata Ninzaburo wins handsomely with its cleverly structured murder mysteries, all set up and solved in under an hour. Shokuzai was a beautiful piece of writing and directing with a powerful storyline. Ai no Nedan was the surprise of the year: almost no publicity but it was a smart mystery based around life insurance claims. And Suzuki Sensei was another clever story, with an excellent cast.

Best comedy

Toshi Densetsu no Onna
Kekkon Dekinai Otoko
Kagi Kakatta no Heya
Tokkan

Difficult to be unbiased here, since I subbed two of these series. In the end, though, I think that Toshi Densetsu no Onna made me laugh more often than the others, so it takes this prize. Kekkon Dekinai Otoko was a great piece of slice-of-life comedy, while Tokkan mixed tax regulations with Inoue Mao's physical clumsiness. Kagi Kakatta no Heya's interplay of the three main characters that was the show's real attraction.

Best film

A Pierrot
Moteki
Rebirth
Jiro Dreams of Sushi

Golly, what a line up. I still haven't written about A Pierrot (Gravity Clown), but it I enjoyed it's mix of family secrets and crime solving. Jiro Dreams of Sushi is an excellent documentary, made with care and attention. Watching Rebirth was a powerful experience and very moving, but it's the almost-musical Moteki that wins, simply for reminding me what is good about film-making. Very life-affirming.


Best Actor

Hosshan (Renai Kentei)
Sato Koichi (Kagi Kakatta no Heya)
Tamura Masakazu (Furuhata Ninzaburo)
Hasegawa Hiroki (Suzuki Sensei)

Did I watch the wrong stuff, or was there a lack of interesting roles for men this year? Hmmm, maybe it was just me.

Although Tamura Masakazu is perfect in his role in Furuhata Ninzaburo, I think that Hasegawa Hiroki was another piece of inspired casting as the all-knowing teacher in Suzuki Sensei. Meanwhile, Hosshan was great as the god of love in Renai Kentei and Sato Koichi stole plenty of scenes as the vain lawyer in Kagi Kakatta...

Best Actress

Nagasawa Masami (Moteki)
Nakatani Miki (Seinaru Kaibutsutachi)
Koizumi Kyoko (Saigo Kara Nibanme no Koi, Shokuzai)
Inoue Mao (Rebirth, Tokkan)
Nagasaku Hiromi (Rebirth)

Nakatani Miki's performance as the cold, calculating head nurse was Seinaru Kaibutsutachi's main attraction, Nagasawa Masami held my attention like never before in Moteki, meanwhile Koizumi Kyoko demostrated her range in two completely different roles this year, as did Inoue Mao. But it is Nagasaku Hiromi who takes the plaudits with her inch-perfect performance in Rebirth.


Best game show

Running Man
Nazotoki Battle TORE!
Vs Arashi
Game Center CX

No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't separate the two winners, so we'll just have to make do with a tie. And they could hardly be more different: Running Man's high-concept, CGI-laden physical challenges compared to Game Center CX's low-budget retro battles. But both of them are essential viewing, and to chose one over the other would be too cruel. Meanwhile, Nazotoki Battle TORE! and Vs Arashi offer up the same thrills and spills as they always do.

Best album

TaeTiSeo “Twinkle”
Shugo Tokumaru “Port Entropy”
Jambinai “Différance”
Taru “100 per cent”

While for most people 2012 will be the year when Kpop burst onto the scene with Gangam Style, for me it was the year when Korean artists put out some great albums. Singer-Songwriter Taru's album was a lovely collection of ballads, and Jambinai's album was an occasionally extreme (but still melodic) post-rock aural adventure. But it is the eighties disco overload of TaeTiSeo that wins. No other album has been in my mp3 player as long as this. Meanwhile, Shugo Tokumaru represents Japan in a dry year, with his charming clockwork anthems.

The Safe Pair of Hands Award

Nagasawa Masami (Moteki, Toshi Densetsu, Yasashii no Jikan)
Toda Erika (SPEC: Shou, Kagi Kakatta no Heya)
Koizumi Kyoko (Saigo Kara Nibanme no Koi, Shokuzai, Adrift in Tokyo)

This award is for the person who always seems to choose good things to be in, and this year it was an easy choice. Koizumi Kyoko never put a foot wrong all year, and each one of the three things I saw her in was excellent. Nagasawa Masami appeared in three things (four, if you include a cameo role in a dream I had) and each one was very good. Toda Erika, too, had two very different but very enjoyable roles.

Recommended: Moteki

This film is a sequel to the TV drama of the same name. It is set one year after the series, and in that time or hero Fujimoto Yukiyo, played as before by Moriyama Mirai, has not been able to find love. He gets a new job where is boss is his former rival in love Sumi-san (the suave but lecherous older man played perfectly by Lily Franky) and thus begins a new moteki (period when someone is suddenly attractive to the opposite sex).

This time, things are a bit different. Like the TV series there are still four female lead roles, but in the film he only seems serious about one, and so the film is mostly about whether or not he can mess that up. And he's certainly insensitive and confused enough to say the wrong thing at exactly the wrong time.

The film has two main strengths. The first is Nagasawa Masami who puts in the best performance I've seen from her. She's often been in good programmes in the past, but never quite been the best thing about it. This time, however, she absolutely rules. She's funny, sexy and sensitive and quite unlike her previous performances.

The second strength is the music. The TV series was notable for the soundtrack, but this time the music has been pushed forwards such that at times it almost seems like a musical. Falling in love is demonstrated by a three-minute dance performance with Perfume, and a song at the karaoke bar had the lyrics printed on screen so you could, if you wanted, sing along too. Lyrics reflect the mood and the emotions of the scene and sound and vision are woven together so perfectly, I wanted to punch the air and shout "This is what film-making should be like!"

Perhaps that's an over-statement, but I was so impressed with the feel of the movie that I felt a little exaggeration wouldn't hurt. And why haven't I heard of the band N'shukugama Boys before? They supplied the ideal soundtrack to the film's finale.

It's a shame there wasn't more of Naka Riisa, but I enjoyed what few scenes she had. Aso Kumiko is heart-breaking as the romance that never was, and although Yoko Maki is on the posters as if she's a potential love interest, she's really just a co-worker who despairs of Yukiyo's attempts a getting a woman.

So, this is a great film for a wide variety of reasons. You can understand it just fine if you haven't seen the TV series, so there's no reason not to track this down and take a look.

It's the 2nd Annual November The Eighth Awards!

It's been two years since I started this blog, so here's my second post in which I highlight the best stuff I've seen in the last twelve months. You know, I spent most of this year thinking that I haven't enjoyed watching J-dramas so much as I did last year. And then I sat down to write this, and remembered all the excellent stuff I'd seen.

And just like before, this is based on things I've seen in the last year, not just things that have been released last year.


Best drama
Furuhata Ninzaburo
Jin & Jin 2
Marks no Yama
Soredemo, Ikite Yuku

Perhaps it's a little unfair to bundle the two series of Jin together, but that's how I watched them: I finished series one just as series two was beginning. And I adored this show. The adventures of a time-travelling doctor in 19th century Japan may not be the most challenging or thoughtful television, but it was done with wit and charm and the ending didn't disappoint. Furuhata Ninzaburo remains agonisingly un-subbed which is a real shame, since the four episodes that I saw made me keen to see more. Marks No Yama was by far the best crime series of the year, and Soredemo, Ikite Yuku was an emotionally-charged drama with some great acting.

Best Drama: Jin and Jin 2

Best comedy
Reinoryokusha Odagiri Kyoko no Uso
Yuusha Yoshihiko to Maou no Shiro
Tiger and Dragon


Yuusha Yoshihiko to Maou no Shiro was a blissful romp through RPG cliches, and Ishihara Satomi once again showed she can do comedy better than drama in Reinryokusha... but the winner of this category was Tiger and Dragon, a sharp, intelligent work that has become my favourite Japanese comedy of all.

Best comedy: Tiger and Dragon

Best film
Parade
Live Tape
Memories of Matsuko
Love Exposure

Do I have to chose between these? Really? We've got four works of genius here. Parade is a perfect example of Generation X slacker film-making – cool, distant but interesting and funny. Live Tape is indie DIY cinema at its best – a cameraman follows a busker around some city streets. Watching Love Exposure is like speed dating at a psychiatric ward. But Memories of Matsuko wins against these excellent competitors by being emotional and romantic and cynical and cruel. But most of all, by being beautiful.

Best film: Memories of Matsuko

Best actor
Kubozuka Yosuke (Long Love Letter)
Keisuke Koide (Parade)
Eita (Soredemo Ikite Yuku)

Eita takes all the plaudits as the guy between two families who've both been destroyed by a motiveless murder that happened years ago, and it's through him that the viewer is expected to view both sides of the story. Without him holding it together, the whole story would quickly fall to pieces. Kubozuka Yosuke's performance in Long Love Letter is a masterclass in understated cool and when he's on the screen, it's hard to look at anything else. Keisuke Koide has a similar energy in the film Parade, in which he effortlessly holds your attention.

Best Actor: Eita (Soredemo, Ikite Yuku)

Best actress
Nakatani Miki (Memories of Matsuko)
Naka Riisa (Cafe Isobe)
Mitsushima Hikari (Love Exposure)

Nakatani Miki's perfect portrayal of the permanently defeated Matsuko was the real hook for that film. She really made you share in Matsuko's optimism, which made it all the harder when things inevitably went wrong. Naka Riisa was great as the schoolgirl who watches in despair as her father make a fool of himself over a woman. Mistushima Hikari's performance in Love Exposure is also a tour de force, a remarkable source of energy that keeps you watching for the whole four hours.

Best actress: Nakatani Miki

Best game show
Running Man
Family Outing
Vs Arashi
Game Center CX

No real competition here. Once I've downloaded an episode of Running Man, I can't have it sitting on my hard drive unwatched. I have to see it immediately, which usually means I'm awake until half past one on a weekday morning. Which is no bad thing. This cross between a game show and a Hollywood blockbuster is always entertaining and at its best, it's the closest that television gets to being a rollercoaster.

Vs Arashi is all bright colours and knockabout fun, and very easy to follow, no matter what your level of Japanese. Family Outing is a glorious example of how a TV show can build a relationship with the viewer. And Game Center CX remains a lot of fun to watch, as Arino struggles through various retro video games. And it's still a perfect analogy of my life – middle-aged man fights battles he should've left behind when he was young.

Best game show: Running Man

Best album
Bump of Chicken "Cosmonaut"
SpecialThanks "Seven Lovers"
Dear Cloud "The Bright Lights"
Organic Stereo "The Moments Linger"
Kokia "moment"

For the second year in a row, my favourite album from Japan is my favourite album full stop. Bump of Chicken's “Cosmonaut” continues their impeccable track record. Perhaps not as immediate as “Orbital Period”, but still a great album which has never been away from my mp3 player for long. At the time of writing, it's also the last time I bought an actual CD.

SpecialThanks are all youthful energy, crashing guitars, female vocals and catchy punkish tunes. It's very hard to find anything wrong with that. Korean music makes an appearance with Dear Cloud offering bright vocals and big choruses that would fill a stadium, if only they had the chance. Organic Stereo's album was a little bit ambient and a little bit pop, with a series of dreamy instrumentals, each one of which sounded like the soundtrack to a happy ending. Lastly, Kokia's album “moment” was a folk-tinged collection of ballads with lush production values and some achingly melancholy harmonies.

Best album: Bump of Chicken "Cosmonaut"

Safe pair of hands award

This award is for people who consistently choose good shows to appear in

Yoo Jae Suk (Running Man, Family Outing)
Nakatani Miki (Memories of Matsuko, Jin, Jin 2, Densha Otoko, Keizoku)
Keisuke Koide (Parade, Jin, Jin 2, Surely Someday)
Mitsushima Hikari (Love Exposure, Moteki, Sawako Decides, Kakera, Villain, Soredemo Ikite Yuku)

I was a bit late in discovering Mitsushima Hikari. I checked her filmography and I saw that she was in Death Note and Shaolin Girl, but I can't say I noticed her in either. But this year I caught up with her recent film work and, by God, she's got good taste. From her minor role in Villain as the obnoxious murder victim to her central role in Love Exposure, it seems she can do no wrong.

She beats some strong opposition: Yoo Jae Suk is a brilliant presenter who's kept me entertained through some tough times this year. Nakatani Miki holds a special place in my heart for her roles in Matsuko and Keizoku. And Keisuke Koide showed me how wasted he was in Nodame Cantabile with some great performances.

Safe pair of hands: Mitsushima Hikari

Just finished: Moteki

* spoilers, ne? *

It was the only reasonable ending, really. When Natsuki (Yukiyo's "one true love") ends up staying with his parents for five days, he finally gets enough time with her to understand his feelings for her a little better. As he explains to his friend, it’s like holding a funeral for is former self.

After twelve episodes of thinking about whichever woman he wasn't with, in the final scene Yukiyo is still single, riding a woman's bicycle as fast as he can. But it’s not the sad ending you may assume. He's not the same insecure person he used to be, and his idea of his perfect love is shattered, replaced instead with a more realistic idea about the woman he's been moping about all this time. And once that has changed, he can move on.

It's a pretty philosophical end for a love story (well, three love stories, I suppose) and I’m happy that the writers ended it like this, rather than forcing him to pick one woman. Plus, despite his self-loathing, he ended up being a positive influence on the women he got involved with, so he's not quite the loser he says he is. And the last line is strangely uplifting and optimistic. I thought so, anyway.

Currently watching: Moteki

A man called Fujimoto Yukiyo, approaching his thirtieth birthday, has gone through life with no real career plan and no girlfriend. Suddenly, he gets his “moteki” - a period of time when he's attractive to women. Convinced this is his chance to find his true love, he clumsily tries to win their affections.

As with a lot of late-night dramas it's a bit odd. He frequently talks to younger versions of himself, to apologise/explain where he went wrong. And sometimes, they come forwards in time to see how he's doing. So far, the episodes have been all about introducing the different women and what part they played in Fujimoto's life. Now we've met all four, I want to see what happens next.

It's pretty funny stuff, even if you do sometimes want to slap him for thinking too much about things. So far episode two has been the most enjoyable, with Mitsushima Hikari as the love interest. They go to see where her favourite drama was filmed, and when they arrive at a particular location she breathlessly acts out a scene by herself in the street. That's kind of how I felt when I found the shrine they used in Akihabara@Deep.