Just watched: Vs Arashi and stuff

Since it was a lazy Saturday evening with no football on, I decided to watch an episode of Vs Arashi to pass the time. It was pretty much the same as always, fun but no real surprises. The opposing team was the cast from the new film Gatchaman, a live-action version of the anime that has been released twice in the West: once as Battle of the Planets, and then again some years later as G-Force.

It was light and undemanding. The format hasn’t changed at all in the past few years but that doesn’t seem to matter. You would think that Arashi would have a big advantage in most games with all their practice, but this show has been going so long that most guests are making their second or third appearance. Plus, of course, Arashi has a guest on their team who is usually a complete novice or playing it for laughs.

But anyway, it was nice to see that Gouriki Ayame really is adorable without a script and soft-focus, and the team as a whole were pretty funny. I laughed when one guy, Nakamura Shido, said he’d be good at one particular game because his hobby was bazookas.

After I watched this, I felt like I needed a bit more Arashi before I went to bed. I couldn’t be bothered to wait for a download, so I went on YouTube to see what had been posted up recently. I found an old episode of Himitsu no Arashi-chan which is a TV show I don’t know much about, but it had Nakatani Miki in it. I wasn’t sure how the glacial beauty of Nakatani Miki would mix with the knockabout humour of Arashi, so I watched it.

Part one
Part two
Part three
Part four

I was surprised to learn that Satashi Ohno appears to know about flowers and flower arranging, and they also played a couple of traditional Japanese games. One was particularly interesting (the games are in part four, by the way). Each player has to make a motion in time to some music, according to simple rules. If the object in the middle is still there, touch it or pick it up. If it isn’t there, then knock on the table, or put it back (if you have it).

I’d never seen a game quite like this in England, so I thought I’d pass it on. There are no subs, but the games are easy to follow and it's nice to see how the Japanese entertained themselves before Nintendo.

Just finished: Yasashii Jikan

I take my hat off to any drama where the opening episode has a shot lasting forty-five seconds in which nothing happens except a slow zoom in on someone at a window in total silence. In fact, this series (from 2005) is so quiet, I found it difficult to find times to watch it without being interrupted by noise from the neighbours next door or upstairs. But it was worth making an effort for this slow-paced and thoughtful series.











The story tells a tale of a father (played by Terao Akira) who runs a coffee shop in Hokkaido, unaware that in the neighbouring town his son (Ninomiya Kazunari) is an apprentice at a pottery kiln (I have no idea what the right term is for "a place where they make pottery"). The two haven't been in touch for years. This estrangement was caused by the son and mother being in a traffic accident and the mother dying.

During the eleven episodes we see the two of them go about their every day lives while slowly coming together for the final episode. Nagasawa Masami stars as the waitress who befriends the son and discovers the connection. She tries to get them to meet, while struggling with problems of her own.

While all this is going on, other stories weave in and out. Most of these are light-hearted distractions to the deep emotions of the main plot, and are welcome since they're so well written: A snowstorm causes havoc in the area; a customer slips and gives himself amnesia; two people sat looking out of the window don't move for hours so that the staff begin to suspect they've died.

During this time of year in England, when even a dusting of snow can make the news ("City unaffected by light snowfall" was a genuine headline on the BBC site recently), it's instructive to see what real snow looks like. Every exterior shot looked like a Christmas card and thanks to the slow pace, peaceful music and wintry scenery, the series had a dream-like quality. Very restful and relaxing. I'm not sure I'd want to watch it during the summer, though.

Just watched: Gantz Perfect Answer

Actually, this film is pretty short on answers. Perhaps the manga it is based on has more detail about the hows and whys, but the film remains tight-lipped as to any possible explanations.

This is not a bad thing, though. The film is not about good versus bad, more like A versus B. In the second film, the story introduces the idea that the people we have been following may not be the protectors of humanity at all. Are the aliens really the aggressors, or Gantz and his followers? It hardly matters, because by now enough blood has been spilt (or splashed dramatically against walls) that there’s no chance of forgiveness.

Instead we are thrown into an hour-long fight scene that only pauses long enough for people to get their breath back. While I’m no expert of Japanese action movies, it’s the most physical and kinetic film I’ve seen since Versus. Beautifully acted, shot and choreographed, it carries you along with all the momentum of a roundhouse kick to the face.

The ending is good and wraps everything up neatly. While I think it’s perhaps a little idealistic, it is at least in keeping with the rest of the film. For what it is – a blistering action movie with occasional hints at something deeper – it’s difficult to fault.

Just watched: Gantz

Gantz started off as an manga, became an anime and is now a live-action film. People who’ve died are taken instantly to white room where they wake up alive and healthy and then a large black globe tells them to go and kill aliens.

Perhaps when I put it like that, it doesn’t seem like much, but it is an exciting and engaging film.  Ninomiya Kazunari, Matsuyama Kenichi and Natsune Watanabe are all good in the three lead roles, and Yoshitaka Yuriko pops up in a minor role as a student with a crush on the hero.

The special effects-laden sections where the team fight aliens of various shapes and sizes are tightly directed. The team has no choice but to fight, and there are always newcomers in the team who aren’t very well prepared. As a result, few make it back alive. This keeps things interesting.

Away from the action, the film is more sedate as our heroes are sent back to their homes when they’re not fighting aliens. They try to live a normal life while they piece together what is happening, and wait for the next time they’re suddenly taken to the white room to do battle.

It’s difficult to describe Gantz, because going into detail about a film as dynamic and physical and also enigmatic as this seems a bit pointless. The film doesn’t concern itself with explanations, you simply have to accept things and see what happens. Which is more or less the situation our heroes are in. A sequel is promised, with a tantalising last scene which leaves many questions unanswered.

I’m already looking forward to it.

Currently watching: Vs Arashi

I think the correct phrase is "fashionably late". I've seen this show talked about on forums for about a year and I always thought "Hmm, that looks interesting. I should try it" but I never did until quite recently. And I do feel a bit silly for not trying it earlier.

It continues in the style of brightly-coloured games that Japanese TV seems to live on, and it does it very well. Teams of celebrities, usually promoting a new drama, come on and challenge the boy-band Arashi in a series of games. From what I've seen, Arashi usually win, but that could be because they've been doing this for a while.The games are so easy to follow that the language barrier isn't important at all, and some of them are actually pretty exciting – my favourite being either the curling one, or Giant Crash (in which the floor supporting a large robot-thing is slowly removed until it falls over).

As a piece of shiny entertainment, it's hard to beat. The boys in the band all seem good humoured, friendly and fun to be with. Mind you, if I had access to a climbing wall and a plastic giant, I'd be fun to be with too.