Ouroboros 2015 J-Dorama #review

Uroborosu / ウロボロス

Drama -  Ouroboros
Writer -  Yuya Kanzaki (manga), Kazunao Furuya
Genre -  Suspense, mystery
Network -  TBS
Theme song -  Sakura by Arashi
Viewer Ratings -  10.42%
Episodes -  10
Released -  2015,  Jan - Mar

CAST

SYNOPSIS

When their favorite teacher, Yuiko, is murdered, and a policeman wearing a gold watch covers up the incident. Ikuo and Tatsuya promise to avenge their teacher. Twenty years later, Ikuo is a Shinjuku detective investigating various cases with elite detective Mizuki, and smart and handsome Tatsuya has become a top member of a Yakuza group. -- TBS

REVIEW

Just finished this one and STILL need a moment to collect myself, my thoughts, and my tears.

Wow.

Amazing story, terrific acting, and a thrilling nail-biter start to finish.

Even if it isn't original (based on Manga) this was a winner and worth every second of the ten episodes it took to tell the suspenseful tale of two orphans who fall in love with their pretty caregiver only to see her die.

Twenty years later, the two young men are ready to uncover the truth behind that murder and exact their form of revenge.

There are as many plot twists as there are breathers, and like most other Japanese mysteries, when you are pretty certain you know who it is, you soon discover you're wrong.

The two leads happen to be two of my very favorite actors.  BONUS!

Oguri Shun and Ikuta Toma

But, it didn't take long at all for that and them to fade into the background as the story itself took hold and ran its course w/out distraction.

And, surprise-surprise! The subs were incredibly flawless.

Yeah, imagine that. A J-Dorama with flawless subs!

I'd given up on Japanese dramas because of the horrible, wicked, awful, inexcusably deplorable subbing of everything offered us Americans.

Then I got sick of Korean dramas and decided to seek out something from Japan that would keep my interest despite the subs -- so I made sure to do an Ikuta search and found Ouroboros.

Win-win.

Pairing the two leads is genius in my book.

The two are brilliant and both sunk so effortlessly into their roles, it was darn near impossible to remember who they really are, which I adore, so thank you Ikuta AND Oguri.

The ending was difficult to watch, and I'm still choked up about it, but I have to tell you that it is worth it (even if you end up like me, sobbing like an upset child).

There were two running tracks throughout the ten episodes, and the one I've included below is both hauntingly beautiful and part of the reason for my tears.

Love it!

And, I know you'll love Ouroboros if you haven't watched it yet.

I'll probably watch it again -- and again.

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GTO: The Movie

Release Date: 1999
Stars: Takashi Sorimachi as Onizuka Sensei

Ah ... to have had a Sensei that looked even REMOTELY as hot as this!


There is another GTO Movie out there, released in 2007, that I have not seen yet.
I don't know why, but Japan seems to have some sort of game going, where depending on your agent, an actors work is either up for grabs the world over, or locked in some secret vault that even the president of Fujisankai doesn't know exists.

Take Hideaki Ito for example. I don't know why, or what the big deal is, but unless you're lucky (or savvy ~ as the case may be) enough to live in Japan, it's virtually impossible to find his modeling images online, let alone any of the DVD's that he's made over the years (like, an entire DECADES' worth)!
Just to look at his pictures on his official website, costs $$$ !!!
Check this out!!

会員登録

メンバー登録をすると、伊藤英明オフィシャルサイトでしか手に入らない情報をたくさんゲットできちゃう！

メンバー入会ページはコチラ！

「HIDEAKI.com」メンバー登録は有料です。ご利用料金：月額525円(税込)ですべてのコンテンツをご利用いただけます。
詳しい内容は、コチラをご覧ください。

Registration

Joined to the official site only Hideaki Ito will not get a lot of information can get out!

Members Join page here!

"HIDEAKI.com" There is a fee for registered members. Your rate: 525 per month (tax included), all of the content available.
For more details, please visit here.

That's $5.88 a month US, but STILL ...

So, while watching the original GTO was not a problem, and the Anime series is up for grabs wherever you look ... I suppose the second GTO Movie will remain elusive (to me) for the time being.

I haven't read the Manga,



and I can't STAND Anime,


but the movie GTO was good.
Better than expected.
I just wish I had remembered to screen-capture the lovely and docile Patricia while I was watching, because she was absolutely adorable!
Ok ... I opened the file again, just to get her image for this blog.



Onizuka Sensei is a nomadic educator with a shady past, and his specialty is helping certain students that seem on the verge of mental, social, or personal suicide, as the case may be.
Perhaps reading the Manga would make this type of premise a lot more interesting (to me), but I watch dramas & movies from Asia for the eye candy, NOT the content.




GTO is Japanese though, which means I got a double-dose of fun!
Eye candy AND a good time story-wise!

Today was supposed to be the last day of school before Christmas break, but everyone knew that a snow storm was approaching, (including moi), so I stayed up really late last night to watch GTO. I nearly fell asleep in the middle, but NOT because the movie was a bore (I was just, really tired).

The annoying, little girl bugged the daylights out of me, and I became frustrated when they kept trying to drive home the point that no one liked her, when ... DUH! She acts like a total twerp, so what the heck ELSE should she expect from those around her??
THEN, the Japanese twist ...
The metaphorical hot air balloons came into play, and the flashback to her childhood almost made me cry.

GOT IT!!!

I love to read Manga, and after watching this movie, I'm probably going to spend another, couple hundred bucks reading GTO, but that's ok by me!

I leave you with a few, more images of our luscious sensei Onizuka, Takashi Sorimachi, WHOM btw is reported to be UNattractive by some women, if you can believe that!
I think he's GORGEOUS ... what about you?

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Udon うどん

This was probably a sleeper in Japan, but for me, it was absolutely delightful to watch!

It's the story of a young man (Yusuke Santamaria as Kosuke Matsui) whose father runs an Udon 'restaurant' in the Udon capital of Japan; Takamatsu, Kagawa, Japan.
If what they said is true, there are more than 900 Udon 'restaurants' in this area, which has roughly half the population of a large city.
In other words, the 900 represents the fact that a majority of these Udon 'raunts' are simply homes where local folk make and sell the noodle dish to anyone that stops on by.

Kosuke hates Udon, and he resents his father, so he leaves Japan for NYC, to make it in the world of stand-up comedy.
Of course, he fails miserably and after six years, he returns to his hometown.
He finds work as a magazine distributor, and discovers by chance that people are interested in restaurant guides, so he returns to the office to pitch an idea he has about the local fare; Udon.















Like most, all Japanese films, the story takes off at a phenomenal pace, but not once does it leave the viewer in a daze.
Every moment is clever, witty, or poignant, and it always makes perfect sense, too (even when the writer TRIES to leave one hanging, if not for a few moments).

Kosuke's brainstorm leads to a frenetic boom in tourism, with people from all over Japan & beyond wanting to make a pilgrimage to the Udon capital.
Again, even knowing ahead of time what lie ahead, the writer & director made the transition seamlessly, and it was time for the tears to be shed.

UNLIKE most, Asian films, Udon did something uncommon, which was to give us an unexpected, happy ending after the down side!
I really appreciated it in this, particular instance, and when you view Udon, you'll understand why.

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Umizaru (2004)

Sea Monkeys

In the first half of this movie, I was laughing my ass off, and in the last half, I had tears in my eyes.

This line will probably stick with me for awhile, too: "Two divers...one tank with 30 bars...40 meters underwater. What do you plan to do?"

This one, too: "I had sex with a sea monkey?"


Um ... I wish I could say that I had!!!

I watched this because it starred Ito Hideaki, whom you all know by now is my FAVORITE Japanese actor. He joins a group of coast guard rookies (14 in all) in the hopes of graduating as a search/rescue member.

So many bared BUTTS in this flick!! Niiiice!





The scenery was beautiful, especially the sunset scenes, and I'll always appreciate the way that Japanese film-makers stick to reality when making movies. It's so, NOT Hollywood, no wonder I'm addicted to these things!!

There is a sequel to Sea Monkeys, (Umizaru II, Evolution), and it stars Ito AND Toru Nakamura!!! Can't wait to watch that one, too!

Besides Ito, there were three, other hot guys in this flick, but I can't find ANY legit information on them OR Umizaru 2004! The mistakes in cyberspace can boggle the mind sometimes.


Umizari was worth watching, so rent it or watch it online, like I did.


He's so Ke Ai!

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