Saturday, October 28, 2006

Romaji lyrics of "Deep in your heart" by Domoto Koichi

Title: Deep in your heart
Artiste: Domoto Koichi
Opening track for Juousei

How deep is your heart?
Deep inside the darkness dare mo shiranai tokubetsu na
Want to feel...

sono no yami ni furetakute sotto te wo nobashita kimi ni
kizu karenai you ni... nodo bakari kawaita

Reached out to your heart
So deep yawarakaku tsutsumareta sono kokoro motto fukaku shiritakute ah

How deep is your heart?
Deep inside the darkness dare mo shiranai tokubetsu na
Want to feel...

How deep is this love?
Deep inside your heart yasashiku kowarenai you ni
Want to touch...

sou dare demo himitsu wa aru
I even have so many secrets...maybe more than you
kokoro fukaku kakusareteru
I wanna know your little secret that you have deep in you

Reached out in the dark
So warm zaratsuita ase ga kokoro no hida wo amaku nurasu ah

How deep is your heart?
Deep inside the darkness dare mo shirainai tokubetsu na
Want to feel...

How deep is this love?
Deep inside your heart yasashiku kowarenai you ni
Want to touch...

How deep is your heart?
Deep inside the darkness...Somewhere unknown and special
Do you want to feel...?
Do you want to feel...?

Sunday, October 22, 2006

Romaji lyrics of "Starless Night" by OLIVIA inspi' REIRA (TRAPNEST)

Title: Starless Night
Artiste: OLIVIA inspi' REIRA (TRAPNEST)
Lyrics: OLIVIA / SPACE CRITTER
Melody: Hideyuki Obata


I reached into the sky
omoi wa todoka nakute
chiisaku sora ni kieta
iro toridori no fuusen

I'm alone
ikisaki no nai watashi no te wo
sotto tsunaide kureta

Starless night kakou no kage furi kaeranai
kanjitai anata no nukumori
Tears are falling down mayotte mo hanashi wa shinai
tsunaida anata no te wo

Sometimes we fall apart
okubyou ni natte shimau kedo
kitto hito wa soko kara nani ka wo mitsuke daseru hazu

Take my hand
yowaku fukanzen na futari dakara
zutto te wo tsunaide iru

Starless night kuchibiru ga yowane haitemo
shinjitai anata no nukumori
Endless love mujun sae aiseteru no wa
You are my shining star

Starless night kakou no kage furi kaeranai
kanjitai anata no nukumori
Tears are falling down mayotte mo hanashi wa shinai
tsunai da anata wo

Starless night kuchibiru ga yowane haitemo
shinjitai anata no nukumori
Endless love mujun sae aiseteru no wa
You are my shining star
You are my shining star

Friday, October 20, 2006

Kindaichi Shounen no Jikenbo - Satsui no Resutoran (Ep 104)

This case reveals the culprit right from the start so the main issue here is picking up the clues which reveal the truth. A man is talking to a woman who's the owner of a restaurant. She is blackmailing the guy because she has a handle over him and reiterates her stand that she will not reduce the amount of money she's asking for. The man cannot stand her attitude and takes out a frozen piece of meat quietly before attacking the woman from behind. Just as the man has cleaned up the restaurant and is preparing to leave, Kindaichi and Kenmochi enter the place for a meal. Although the man is flustered by their sudden appearances, he pretends to be the owner of the restaurant and tries hard to get them to leave by serving awful drinks and food. However, Kindaichi manages to notice the unnatural behaviour of the man and exposes his tricks one by one. In the end, the whole incident turns out to be a case of assault instead of murder as the woman merely lost consciousness due to the blow.

Sunday, October 15, 2006

Death Note Real Life Movie Part 1 Review

After months of waiting, I finally got the opportunity to watch Death Note in our local cinema! Well, the movie was only supposed to be screened from 19 Oct but there are sneak previews this weekend thus I jumped at the chance to catch this last night. As compared to the situation for Umizaru which was shown about 2 months ago at three locations, Death Note is screened at GV cineplexes which are located strategically in the city area and heartlands so I think this will be a big boost to its takings. Besides, Death Note enjoys a very strong following among local manga fans. I noticed that there were many groups of guys coming to watch the movie together and girlfriends accompanying boyfriends who are manga fans (the guys sitting around me seemed to be occupied with explaining the story to their girlfriends ^__^ )so I assume the strong turnout is largely due to the popularity and fame of the manga itself. Last but not least, the advertisement billboards started appearing in places like MRT stations since last month so the publicity has helped to generate hype over the movie's release significantly.

Another piece of good news is that the local cinemas will be showing the second instalment i.e. "Death Note - the Last Name - " next month which I suppose should be in conjunction with its release in Japan, Taiwan and Hong Kong! This means that the local distributor must have deliberately delayed the release of Part 1 to Oct instead of going along with Hong Kong and Taiwan which screened the movie in about 1 month after the Japan screening in June, so as to keep the story fresh in viewers' minds and ensure that they will continue to watch the sequel. Watching Part 1 on its own only lays the foundation and background of the story and it ends with a cliffhanger. The real action i.e. the battle between Light and L will be the essence of Part 2 and I can't wait to find out if the ending will be different from the manga.

Coming to my views of the movie, I won't go into too much details of how the story progresses but do be warned that there would be plenty of spoilers in the following content as I express my thoughts about the movie especially when it comes to the comparison between the manga and movie.

First of all, the setting of the movie is significantly different from the manga especially when it comes to interpersonal relationships and backgrounds.

For example, Light was a 17-year-old senior high student in the manga but he becomes an university student reading law in the movie. I guess that's partly due to the fact that Fujiwara Tatsuya doesn't look like a senior high student now so instead of sticking blindly to the original setting and being slammed for not looking his part, it was a smart move to adjust Light's background to suit Fujiwara's physical attributes and image.

Names of characters were changed like Raye Penber became Raye Iwamatsu (I didn't see the rationale to do this though since Raye was an American after all in the manga) and some characters whom were supposed to be here ended up at another point in the story. For example, the guy named Shibuimaru Takuo was the one who got knocked down by a truck after he was chasing after a woman to harrass her but he took on the form of a child murderer in the movie and Light deliberately stood before the guy to write his name on the Death Note. Well, Light was furious about the fact that this guy was unrepentant about his misdeeds and that's why he had the strong urge to kill Shibuimaru as soon as he found out that the Death Note really had the power it claimed to have.

And the so-called key person in this movie i.e. the newly created character Akino Shiori didn't seem that important if you consider the limited airtime she gets. However, her presence is somewhat like a litmus test which gives you an idea of how Light views the people around him and how his character and morals had changed from his initial motto of changing the world for the better. It's obvious that Light doesn't love her at all which is why he could sacrifice her easily. He didn't seem that affected by her demise. To me, Light didn't have the intention of killing Shiori until the presence of Misora Naomi became a serious threat to exposing his identity. As such, he probably saw Shiori as someone whom he could use as a pawn anytime. Besides, as seen from his dialogue with Ryuk who asked what Light would do if Shiori found out that he is Kira, Light simply shrugged nonchalantly and said that Shiori will understand his intentions one day. If Shiori had meant something to him, I guess he would have given some thought about her feelings rather than expect that she accepts his new identity as a dictator of death without any reservations. As such, Shiori's importance in the story is subjective, depending on how you see it.

Something which bothers me was the fact that they used a middle-aged man to play the fake L on TV when the manga obviously used a much younger man. Again, I don't see the reason for the change but anyway, it doesn't affect the story at all. It just irks me to see changes which are not necessary.

Another thing was the inclusion of a female detective in Yagami's team. The self-introductions by them to L were conducted quickly but I remember clearly that the lady's surname was something I didn't see in the manga. Another newly created character, I guess.

Amane Misa was not as ditzy as what she is in the manga. I guess Toda Erika doesn't have much time to show off the characteristics of Misa yet so we should be seeing if she can match up to the irritating traits of the manga Misa.

Before I rave about the good points of this movie, let me point out one major disappointment and grouse I have. It's with regards to Misora Naomi. As you may have known, she is the fiancee of Raye and a former FBI inspector. In the manga, her interaction with Light was a very exciting part of the story where Light showed how clever he could get and Misora had protected herself right to the end until she revealed her name to Light as she let down her guard. Even though Misora did disappear or should I say die because of Light's manipulations, it was done in a very classy manner, absolutely no gore and leaving much to imagination. However, the movie oversimplified Misora and made her seem like a rash woman who exposed her background to Light too easily. As we find out later, Misora giving away a major piece of information about her identity proved to what killed her in the end. It was a waste to see her die in that fashion which was contrary to what she should have been. Too bad for Seto Asaka too...she could have done much better if the movie didn't design Misora to be such a brainless and reckless woman.

On the whole, I think that the story was handled pretty well especially for the following parts:

- The finale where L ate consome potato chips in front of Light at the arts museum. It was an obvious taunt at Light by L that the latter had seen through the mobile TV trick.

- Raye being ordered by Light to write down names of the FBI detectives on the Death Note. No doubt it was a little shortened, it was still exciting to watch.

- The moment L started appearing and his fervent eating of sweet stuff. That part where he stringed doughnuts, cakes and various snacks on a barbecue skewer and offered it to Yagami Soichiro was simply hillarious! L really provided lots of comical relief in the movie. Another favourite part was L saying that he and Light had something in common: both of them are childish and hate to lose. This has got to be one of the most classical lines in the story spoken by L. ^__^

- The bus-jacking incident, especially when Ryuk scared the wits out of that criminal

As for the characters/cast, my no.1 favourite would be L played by Matsuyama Kenichi. He's really a dead ringer for L in the manga especially his mannerisms and how he devours the sweets and snacks. Using a lollypop as the stirrer for his tea was really true to the "spirit" of L who has an unusually sweet tooth. Although I cringed at how he was eating (the thought of eating so much sweet food gives me the creeps), I wasn't put off by his performance and liked his potrayal of L very much. He's the most outstanding actor in the cast although I would have preferred to see more of him.

Second would be Nakamura Shido who plays Ryuk. Well, we don't get to see his face at all but his voice is really close to the image I have of Ryuk while reading the manga. And it is difficult to convey the emotions of the character just by using his voice so I'm very impressed by his performance (not by his private life scandals though!).

Fujiwara Tatsuya comes third for me. He does have the feel of Light to a certain extent but I think he is somewhat stuck in the middle at times. Right from the beginning, Light is supposed to have a tinge of innocence and childishness when he hasn't changed completely to a devil. In this regard, Fujiwara doesn't seem that "pure" after all. On the other hand, at this stage of the story, Light has not yet evolved into the epitome of complete evil so Fujiwara doesn't have the chance to show off his "evilness" as yet. I've seen the trailer for Part 2 and that's where I think Fujiwara will perform much better since the gap between Light's evilness and kindness will be very wide and this will be a big test of his acting skills. It will be interesting to see whether he or Matsuyama Kenichi will turn out to be the better actor at the end of the series. Nonetheless, I still think he did a pretty decent job although he was limited by some parts of the story at this point in time.

By the way, for those who are expecting to see something at the end of the movie, there's only the credits. I stayed till the end and was expecting to see some behind-the-scenes footage but was disappointed. Maybe there will be some for Part 2?!

On the whole, I'll rate this movie 9 out of 10. Except for some minor disappointments and some changes made to the setting which seemed redundant, this performed above my expectations.

Seems like there is a rush of Japanese movies to be screened this year. Nihon Chinbotsu comes on next from 26 Oct and I'll probably go for the sneak preview. There's also the Japanese Film Festival starting this month which has pretty recent films like Kamome Shokudou and Hakasei no Aishita Suishiki. And I am keeping my eyes wide opened for the exact screening date of Part 2 for Death Note...

Saturday, October 14, 2006

Romaji lyrics of "Sakasama no Chou" by SNoW

Title: Sakasama no Chou
Artiste: SNoW
Lyrics: Hideaki Yamano
Melody: SNoW/Yasumitsu Shinto


itsuka hikari no mukau sakasama no chou
kimi to kami wo kiru kagami no naka
juugyou chuu no rouka hibiku ashiato
taezu ame no oto ga tsuite kuru yo

kanjiru mama no katachi wa mabushii
amai hana ni naru doku no mi ni mo naru
kyou mo ame ano hi to ima wo sora to sora de tsunagitai no

In this Craziness, Uncertainty
hitori hitori no omoi wo bokura wa doko ka ni nokoseru darou ka
In this Craziness, You gave me life
hitotsu no omoi wo bokura wa doko made mamoreru darou ka

kimi wa oboeteiru no sakasama no chou
meeru no yaritori wa toritome mo nai
nagasarete itemo oyogereba ii
taezu hito no koe wa nami no you ni

shinjiru mama ni tsutaeru merodi
yasashii rizumu naki dashi sou ni naru
itsumo ame ima ga mirai e to tsuzuku sou omoitai yo

In this Craziness, Uncertainty
hitori hitori no katachi wo bokura wa doko ka ni nokoseru darou ka
In this Craziness, You gave me life
sorezore no katachi wo bokura wa dokomade mamoreru darou ka

kotoba ni nari tagara nai kimochi ga arimasu
hito ga ikura te wo nobashitemo
hito no naka ni todokanai bassho ga aru
koe ni naranai hitori hitori no omoi ga suki dakara
nani ka nara nakutemo itsu no hi demo kawarazu

In this Craziness, Uncertainty
hitori hitori no omoi wo bokura wa doko ka ni nokoseru darou ka
In this Craziness, You gave me life
hitotsu no omoi wo bokura wa doko made mamoreru darou ka
In this Craziness, Uncertainty
hitori hitori no katachi wo bokura wa doko ka ni nokoseru darou ka
In this Craziness, You gave me life
sorezore no katachi wo bokura wa dokomade mamoreru darou ka

In this Craziness, Uncertainty hitori hitori no akogare
In this Craziness, You gave me life hitotsu no kagayaki
In this Craziness, Uncertainty hitori hitori no tokimeki
In this Craziness, You gave me life hitotsu no kandou
In this Craziness, Uncertainty hitori hitori no manazashi
In this Craziness, You gave me life hitotsu no guuzen
In this Craziness, Uncertainty hitori hitori no nukumori
In this Craziness, You gave me life hitotsu no yakusoku

Friday, October 13, 2006

Romaji lyrics of "Split" by Suneohair

Title: Split
Artiste: Suneohair
ED of Hachimitsu to Clover II


arifurete iru kimochi nante sa
nani mo iwazu ni isso
kiete shimaeba raku ni nareru no ni

mitsume atteta kimi no hitomi ni
utsuru jibun ga yureteru
toboketa you ni kuchi wo aketa mama

sorezore no michi wo yuku
sono wakare michi
mou nidouto au koto no nai
deai wa kanashi sugiru

tarinai kimochi wo mochi yotte
atatemeta saki kara hiete itte
sonna hazu naitte shinjiteru
ittai itsumade onaji kotoba wo
kakae kondenda kakae kondenda

mitsume tsuzukeru kimi no hitomi ni
utsuru keshiki ga kawatta
boku no shiranai atarashii hikari

sorezore no michi wo yuku
ima, wakare michi
mou nidouto furi kaeranai
kimochi ga hashiri sugiru

kiesou na yoru ni dakiatte
hiekitta karada de kagire tatte
nani ka tarinaitte kanjiteru
ittai itsukara uso mo tame iki mo
kakae kondanda sasae kirenai hodo

tarinai kimochi wo mochi yotte
atatemeta saki kara hiete itte
konna hazu naitte shinjiteru
ittai itsu made onaji kotoba wo
kakae kondenda kakae kondenda

Wednesday, October 11, 2006

Kindaichi Shounen no Jikenbo - Manatsu no Akumu Satsujin Jiken (Ep 100)

In this episode, Kindaichi is out on a holiday with Kenmochi, Miyuki and Fumi at Kenmochi's hometown. As he had lost in the card game, Kindaichi is sent on an errand to buy some drinks and toiletries where he is caught in the rain and ends up borrowing the toilet of a bungalow. In this bungalow, there are three women i.e. Toyama Sakura, Kagawa Koume and Nagasaki Yuri who have gathered to find the killer of their tennis coach, Sudou Akashi one year ago. Apparently, the three were vying for Sudou's affection at that time to the extent of hurting their longtime friendship which went back to their primary days so the four were on a training trip at the bungalow with the aim of deciding who gets Sudou. However, while the three of them were out separately to buy the ingredients for dinner, they were shocked to see Sudou dead when they returned.

Just by hearing the story, Kindaichi comes to the conclusion of who's the killer easily. If this case had followed the usual format, it wouldn't have made such a deep impression on me. What distinguishes it from the rest is the fact that there is a supernatural twist to the story and it becomes a creepy experience for Kindaichi at the end. I won't go into details on this to prevent spoilers but I must say that it's not that scary though. In fact, it might even bring a smile to your face at seeing how freaked out Kindaichi is.

Monday, October 09, 2006

Romaji lyrics of "wish" by OLIVIA inspi' REIRA (TRAPNEST)

Title: wish
Artiste: OLIVIA inspi' REIRA (TRAPNEST)

OP of NANA

mabataki ga kaze wo yobu
hohoemi ga zawameki wo keshihashiru
anata no me ni sumu tenshi ga sasayaku
subete ga ima hajimaru to

Can you feel it now
Can you feel it now
nami ni nomi komareta you ni
Pulling on my heart
Pulling on my heart
iki wo tomete te wo nobashite

Baby kono sekai wa
kinou to wa chigau
anata no koto shika mienai
Baby my wish on a wing
kono sora wo saite
afureru hitotsu no kotoba de

kagayaki wo tadoru shisen
mayowazu anata e hashiru no ni
tachi sukumu kokoro tame iki wo tsuku
marude nagai tabi no you de

Can you feel it now
Can you feel it now
toki wa mujou ni nagareteku
Pulling on my heart
Pulling on my heart
kono omoi toki hanashite

Baby mou mirai mo
yakusoku mo iranai
anata ga soko ni iru dake de
Baby my wish on a wing
kono koe wo tobase
furueru hoshi wo tsuki nukete

Do you feel me?
Do you feel me now?

Baby kono sekai wa
kinou to wa chigau
anata no koto shika mienai
Baby my wish on a wing
kono sora wo saite
afureru hitotsu no kotoba de

Baby mou mirai mo
yakusoku mo iranai
anata ga soko ni iru dake de
Baby my wish on a wing
kono koe wo tobase
furueru hoshi wo tsuki nukete

Sunday, October 08, 2006

WISH - OLIVIA inspi' REIRA (TRAPNEST) PV

The OP of NANA has been changed to WISH by OLIVIA inspi' REIRA (TRAPNEST) which is a rock number just like the previous theme. In addition, the difference in style between this song and the ED also sung by OLIVIA seems to be meant to draw a line between the styles of Nana and Reira to a certain extent. I just can't help but wonder what happened to Tsuchiya Anna because it seemed strange for her to be dropped and OLIVIA is doing both songs. Anyway, this song sounds rather fine to me after a few times so I guess I will get accustomed to it soon. Here's the screenshots from the PV of this song:

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Saturday, October 07, 2006

Death Note Anime Kouryaku Manual

At the end of each episode's Death Note anime, there will be a short segment titled "Death Note Kouryaku Manual" featuring Hirano Aya and Kudou Haruka who play Amane Misa and Yagami Sayuu respectively. They will be bringing us the latest information about the anime, be it the DVD releases as well as the manga and movie. Here's some screenshots from the segment after the first episode:

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Tuesday, October 03, 2006

Animes to watch in Autumn 2006

As usual, here's the list of animes I will watch for the upcoming autumn 2006 season. I know I've not been posting my reviews as often as I would have liked, primarily due to my personal commitments but I'll try to catch up as much as possible.

1) Death Note
NTV, Tuesdays, 24:56, Starting from 3 Oct
This is the No.1 most anticipated anime for me this season. Without doubt. Being a fan of the manga, I've been looking forward to watching the real-life movies and the anime. I can hardly wait to watch the anime which starts today! Frankly speaking, I'm more of a fan of L rather than Light because I didn't like how Light had changed towards the later stage of the story. Initially, I did agree with some of his views and applauded him for his intelligence and wits but I guess L won me over at the end of the day. Nevertheless, I'm still looking forward to their battle of wits played out on TV even though I know the developments quite well. The thing is, this anime has only 37 episodes so this means that Melo and Near may not get to appear in the anime. And this just goes to show that the anime will not show the entire storyline of the manga?

2) D Gray-man
TV Tokyo, Tuesdays, 1800, Starting from 3 Oct
I've heard a lot about this manga but was never interested in it at all. Then a colleague strongly suggested this to me again. After watching the trailer, I decided that it's time to give this a shot and see if it matches the accolades I've heard about this. I'm usually not too receptive to stories which have a strong sci-fi feel but seeing Okiayu Ryoutarou, Sakurai Takahiro and Konishi Katsuyuki's names in the cast list gives me added motivation to try it out, at least for a couple of episodes.

3) Ghost Hunt
TV Tokyo, Tuesdays, 0100, Starting from 3 Oct
Although I'm usually not too interested in ghost films, the trailer seems quite interesting. Hopefully, it's not a episodic type of story where there's minimal focus on the main characters, their relationships and reasons for forming this organisation to resolve supernatural happenings. Character-design looks quite good too. There are only 2 familiar names in the cast to me i.e. Hamada Kenji and Kugimiya Rie who played George in Paradise Kiss and Al in Fullmetal Alchemist.

4) Shounen Onmyoji
Kansai TV, Tuesdays, 26:15, Starting from 3 Oct
I have a deep interest in Abe Seimei ever since watching Otogizoushi and this has also led to a fascination with the Heian period. This anime happens to satisfy my interest in both areas although the focus is on a 13-year-old kid who is still a half-baked onmyouji under the tutelage of Abe Seimei. The interesting thing here is that Seimei will change from an old man image to a young man at times as and when he likes so I'm looking forward to seeing that. Besides that, I see many familiar seiyuus names here including Kaida Yuki who plays the lead character Abe Masahiro, Konishi Katsuyuki, Ishida Akira, Takahashi Hiroki, Suzumura Kenichi, Minagawa Junko and Seki Toshihiko which increases the level of anticipation I have towards this anime.

5) Bakumatsu Kikansetsu Iroha ni Hoheto
GyaO, Fridays, 12 noon, Starting from 6 Oct
It's kind of similar to the anime below in the sense that this is set in the olden days and there's fighting involved. However, this anime is set at the Bakumatsu era marked by chaos and the characters involved have an ultimate aim of sealing the "Dagger of the Tyrant" instead of fighting monsters. Character-design looks quite refined and appealing too. Last but not least, seeing the names of Suwabe Junichi and Namikawa Daisuke is also enough temptation to get me interested in this title. I just hope that the story will be good enough to sustain my interest and the fighting scenes done properly which I believe will make a siginificant portion of the plot.

6) Tenpo Ibun Ayakashi Ayashi
MBS / TBS, Saturdays, 1800, Starting from 7 Oct
The story is set during Tenpo 14th year when the streets of Edo are infested by monsters from the other world. A group of warriors gather to fight these supernatural creatures and are conferred the title of Ayashi. Besides the story which seems quite interesting, I see a number of my favourite seiyuus in the cast list i.e. Fujiwara Keiji and Ueda Yuji which increases the level of interest I have in this anime. The characters also have distinct traits e.g. a man who has only one arm and some special powers to fight the creatures after wandering into the other world by mistake so I think the development of each individual character is also something worth checking out which should prevent the story from being something solely based on fighting monsters.

7) Jigoku Shoujo Futakomori
MBS / Animax, Saturdays, 26:55, Starting from 7 Oct
This is the sequel of the Jigoku Shoujo series whereby we have Enma Ai and her associates dishing out punishment to the people whose names are entered into the Jigoku Shoujo website by those who nurse a grudge against them. Although I'm quite bored with the same format over time, I think further development and exploration into the main characters like Ai, Shibata Hajime and Tsugumi would be essential in determining whether I will finish watching this anime.

8) Hataraki-man
FujiTV, Thursdays, 24:45, Starting from 12 Oct
Apparently, this is a very popular manga by Anno Moyoko which I believe should have heard about. The main character is Matsukata Hiroko who loves to work and is so passionate about her career that she's nicknamed Hataraki-man (Working Man) by her colleagues at Shuukan Jidai. Besides having to cope with gender discrimination, Hiroko also has to deal with people who do not see her rationale for working so hard and manage her relationship with her boyfriend, Yamashiro Shinji whom she can easily forget about when work is concerned. This looks like a very realistic type of anime which shows society trends to a certain extent and distinguishes it from many of the fictional or far-fetched fantasy stories we've been seeing a lot of these days. By the way, this is the anime which takes over from Hachimitsu to Clover in the Noitamina slot and it will only run for 11 episodes before Nodame Cantabile comes on next Jan.

9) Bartender
FujiTV, Saturdays, 26:25, Starting from 14 Oct
In a bar named Eden Hall located in Ginza, genius bartender Sasakura Ryuu who has the nickname of "Kami no Gurasu" (The glass of God) attracts many customers with his unique cocktails which seems to have the unexplainable power of helping them solve their problems. Sasakura is a bartender who has won awards overseas but little is known about his background or his private life. Joining him as the regular cast for this anime is Kurushima Miwa, the granddaughter of Kurushima Taizo who owns Hotel Cardinal. Miwa manages the bar department of the hotel and becomes a close friend of Sasakura as a result of her constant visits to Eden Hall.

10) Kekkaishi
NTV, Mondays, 1900, Starting from 16 Oct
The trailer on the official site was what got me interested in this anime. I remember hearing about the manga before but didn't know much about the storyline. To summarise, there are two families i.e. the Sumimura and Yukimura clans which are entrusted with the task of protecting the land of Torimori. However, due to the dispute over who is the real successor to continue with this task, both families have been at loggerheads for the past 400 years. As such, the young successors-to-be i.e. Sumimura Yoshimori and Yukimura Tokine are also not spared from this feud. However, things change when Tokine saves Yoshimori from harm and suffers serious injuries as a result. This makes Yoshimori vow to protect Tokine and marks the beginning of his journey to get better and win the heart of Tokine who's 2 years older than him.

11) Mahou Shokudou Chara Pontan
WOWOW, Tuesdays to Thursdays, 8.08am, Starting from 1 Nov
This is an original animation produced by WOWOW with food as the theme. The cuisine featured in the anime is meant to be simple enough for everyone to reproduce in their home kitchens so the recipes will also published in the lifestyle information magazine, "Orange Page" for viewers' reference. In short, this anime is set in a world where monsters and magicians co-exist and there's a restaurant by the name of "Chara Pontan". Here, customers with all sorts of problems seem to have a strange affinity with Chara Pontan managed by a young girl and a cuisine magician of few words and come here for special dishes which inevitably helps them solve the issues bugging them. As such, there will be different guests for every episode.

What interests me is the fact that they have food which is capable of being reproduced in reality so this lends a realistic touch to the anime whereby the setting seems a bit far-fetched. Although the design of the characters leave much to be desired, I'm hoping that the storyline and recipes will make up for that. The only issue is whether I can get hold of this anime though.

Sunday, October 01, 2006

Death Note - the Last Name -

The concluding part of the Death Note real-life adaptation movie titled "Death Note - the Last Name -" will be screened in Japan from 3 Nov which is earlier than the initially announced timeslot of Dec. Considering the fact that the first part will be shown in Singapore next month from 19 Oct after its release in Japan during June this year, I assume we will be able to see the concluding instalment by the Chinese New Year period next Feb. I can't wait to catch the movie in the cinema even though I have plans to buy the DVD when it is released but the date is still undecided. Besides, it is still not known whether both parts will be released at one go or separately.

In conjunction with the upcoming launch of the movie, NTV will be showing the first instalment for the first time on TV on 27 Oct (Friday) at 9pm. What makes this broadcast more special is the fact that this will be a director's cut version which should mean that it has more footage than what was shown in the theatre version.

In addition, there is also the making-of DVD titled "DEATH NOTE the Last Name Profile Report From L" where Matsuyama Kenichi who plays L will take on the role of the narrator. This DVD is only available for rental from 27 Sep just like the first making of DVD, "Shougen" where the narrator was Toda Erika who plays Amane Misa. According to the movie's official website, this DVD comes with the multi-angle feature which allows for 3 different sets of profiles to be viewed. Besides serving as a revision material for what has happened in the first part, the DVD also contains backstage footage for the second part, interviews of the cast as well as hidden images which are to be discovered by the viewer. This DVD lasts for 15 minutes and its catalog number is VPBF-16072.

Last but not least, for those who are interested in seeing the full-length trailer, you may visit the following link to view it in Windows Media Player format.