Massugu na Otoko (The Straight Guy) EP10 Finale

No surprise type of final episode - Kenichiro and Narumi ended up together, and...well, to some very foreign country (Algeria I think it is) to start a new life. But first of all let's step back to end of last episode...

A call from Kenichiro's sister Nami reporting Narumi is in dangerous situation put him in a very difficult situation - he has to make a decision now about work or about the new family. In the end he chose family over work and rushed to the hospital to see Narumi. Satou Ryuta has played well here about the indecision when he took the call.

And that's one of the things I like about this drama, it's not overly complicated at all. Characters are set to be consistent (except Narumi) to the stage what the characters are thinking are conveyed to the audience. Well, at least most of the time.

So, with Asada Ryutaro.....sorry, it's not Batista here, with a very ordinary looking doctor announcing Narumi is safe, so too has the Narumi line. Almost XD

And then on the work side of things, Kenichiro faces Dr Azuma...well not quite, Ishizaka Kouji is playing the MD (Managing Director) of Frontier Constructions this time. And he is planning to bribe some political personnel in order to ensure Frontier wins over the project.

And as you can guess it, our very-straight-from-EP1-protagonist is deeply against this action. With his guts he took it all the way to the MD himself, asking him to reconsider the whole thing.

Standing from idealistic point of view, Kenichiro insists on fair play policy and strongly rejects any undertable deals. He has no complaint even if he loses this way as he has tried his best.

But standing from MD's point of view he needs to be responsible for all employee and their family, therefore the consequence of losing is a huge price to pay, especially when the setting of the drama is during global financial crisis. One mistake could lead to a number of families starving as the company has to retrench people. No doubt the MD wants to obtain this project by all means, even if it means to bribe to win.

Unfortunately the way MD takes action here is quite common in the real world. In fact, just like reflecting the real world, Global Constructions got the project deal simply coz they bribed. And Frontier Constructions, although the presentation trio tried their best in all aspects, sadly is no match to the bribery money.

It just shows the power of bribery - although this is never the legitimate way of doing things. For those have watched Fumo Chitai will deeply understand the consequence of this. Iki Tadashi, although has a glorious win in most of the furious business battlefields, it comes with a huge price to pay everytime. And part of this was due to the undertable deals that he has to turn to in attempt to win certain deal for example. I'm amazed at why he still hasn't been caught by some kind of investigator yet - oh of course, coz he's living in the novel world.

So Global Constructions may have won this time, but who knows later on police or some kind of investigators may lay their eyes on the deal and found out they won by bribery?

Interesting topic indeed and has alot of room for discussion. But I think I've talked enough, not sure about your opinion?

Anyway, so Kenichiro finally got together with Narumi and off they go to Algeria. There has been some minor incidents in Narumi trying to settle in with the neighbourhood, but she simply doesn't stand out....ever since she became a "nice" character. So there's not alot to comment here - she's fabulous up to EP8 or so, and then she returned normal XD

As for the Straight Guy, he has miraculously survived full 10 episodes of "Straight Test" and he survived. I wonder whether we'll be able to find someone as straight as he is in the real world, maybe after watching this drama? LOL.

"Heavy Rain" will support PlayStation Move!!

Yes, for those of you who havn't yet heard about it, the game Heavy Rain which was released on PS3 about a month ago, will be supporting the PlayStation Move (which is like the PS version of Wii controller), allowing movements to be detected.

I assume this will be done via an online update of some sort, which, like other PS3 games, you'll be asked to install the update when it's available and when your PS3 has an Internet connection.

Well, what's so stunning about it? You may ask.

Currently the game Heavy Rain is designed with user interaction via the controller. For example opening fridge may require you to press "x" button as well as using the L1 stick to do some sort of turn. But this is plainly done on the current PS3 controller.

For a demonstration, refer to this:
How far will you go to eat a snack?

With PS Move, you'll be holding the "Move" controller instead and performing actions such as opening doors, drinking, showering, just to name a few. It's like how you play Wii Sport Tennis, you'll have to hold the controller and make a swing move so the character on screen will attempt to make the same move to hit the ball, except this time you are involved in different actions in trying to find out who the serial killer Origami is.

It'll definitely involve the player much more than how it was previously, so it's a good attempt to try out the PS Move if you have Heavy Rain!

And let's hope sooner or later this title will also be able to support 3D. :)

Source:
http://news.vgchartz.com/news.php?id=7594&mp=1

Mr Screamer - Violin Series

OK guys, this is another one of those crazy talented person but is yet to be known to the general public. Let's talk a little about how this guy - Mr Screamer - started.


Apparently this guy thought to himself about having so much talent yet he hasn't shared this with anyone - it's just a pity! So as a first step, he started off putting his violin clips of some famous Jap anime as well as game theme songs, such as Falcom's YS series, Macross Frontier, Gundam series...etc etc. onto Youtube and Niconico (an equivalent of Youtube in Japan). From then his skills has been highly recognized, to the fact that he has now released two mini albums on his violin.

Mr Screamer calls himself as "Scream Guy" (translated from Japanease) and has a feature on these Youtube/Niconico clips - he always wear the Scream mask during violin play. With his amazing technique and the clear, fluent yet complicated music notes that he was able to produce, I reckon he's definitely a professional grade, yet you can enjoy most of his work online for no cost!

A few of my favourites:


Falcom's game - Legend of Heros 6 - Sora no Kiseki SC main theme: "Gin no ishi, Kin no tsubasa"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DoLkYJ5Odmg

Macross F ED: Diamond Crevasse:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mV9DaB7Q4PQ

Macross F OP2: Lion (and he's frecking playing this with the opposite hand...!!)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YcE_n8zy ... re=related

If you are interested to know what's not free, here are the two mini albums that he had on Amazon Japan:
Album 1
Album 2

And here are some of the links that you may be interested in:
Mr Screamer's Personal Blog (Japanese)
His work on Nico Nico (requires an account)

As for youtube, you've got 3 links above which you can click on the publisher and see all the work that he has published so far :)

Enjoy.

Well...can we call this Final Jesus??

To reward everyone with another hardworking day, here is some laugh again!

This time it's a modification of the famous "Last Supper". So please just LOL like Jesus did below and your day will be better :D

Real life "Heavy Rain" - How far will you go to eat a snack?

For those of you who havn't played Heavy Rain on PS3 before, here is a demo of what this game is about:
Heavy Rain Gameplay Demo

Basically it's a game which allows you to control the action/decision of a player based on the options you are given. This is the main feature of the game is called the QTE system. On occasions you get multiple options and the choice you make will lead up to some kind of result.

For those of you who have played Heavy Rain on PS3, I'm sure you'll enjoy this clip:

How far will you go to eat a snack?

A great parody to the actual game. All the features look very similar, even the expressions, actions, and the QTE system!

Have fun watching. :)

Bloody Monday Season 2 - EP8

Again, spoilers below so if you havn't watch this episode yet and don't want to be spoiled about the storyline - skip to the next article please :)





OK guys...we are almost there! This is the second last episode of BM2, where some mysteries have been resolved but a few more has arisen.

Let's start off with the two biggest surprises of the EP:

1. J (played by Narimiya Hiroki) is well alive and kicking, and seems like the whole crap about him dying and needs to be transported is a big setup between him and leader of Madang Shashu (again I still like to call it "The Magical Shooter" XD) - "Spider".

2. Just like you pretty much can't guess K's real identity in BM1 (unless you've read the original comic), "Spider" also turned out to be a huge surprise. Who would've known Kurano (Mitsushima Hikari) is an expert hacker and an excellent "face-off". And yet the line "Fujimaru, let's play together!" sounds like she has known him for some time. I would say alot of people are thinking along the same line as me - they must have met each other when they are small.

One thing to note, I really liked the tense atmosphere when Takagi is trying to figure out whether Minami or Kurano is "Spider". The whole guessing game at last has come to the climax point where even Takagi himself wasn't quite sure who really is "Spider", until Minami got shot and Kurano had the gun pointing at him. (Wait, I think we've seen the same thing in BM1 as well, where Takagi's dad got shot and K points the gun at Takagi...you don't learn do you? XD)

Because the whole concept of "guessing game" is such a strong theme within BM itself I believe that's why this EP (or whenever audience is left with trying to figure out who is the culprit) is great to watch.

But stripping off the success of atmospheric creation, I'm not too sure whether BM2 really has too much left.

And l still want to emphasize this, the whole Third-i sector is just....crap to the degree not only their system get hacked so easily that they have to rely on two uni students to save the world? Come on, you've been paid well by the government (let's assume that, since they report direct to the prime minister XD) so you should do more than just pretending to be busy walking around / picking up endless ringing phones.

And the very Chinese-looking guy "Mosquito" - I do feel sorry for you being killed so easily, and I don't think you had much chances to act apart from showing off a few foreign languages? Btw I still don't know which language they were using...sounded like something they made up themselves? Anyway that's not important XD

Mizuzawa Hibiki (Kurokawa Tomoka) definitely has the feeling of a female agent, and at the end of this episode an angry one too. Although having seen her performance up to now, I do hope her acting skills can improve the next time we see her on screen....

Oh and don't forget about that poor K, having on average of 10~15s of screening time per EP, finally will be released from jail in the final EP. But it's already the last EP, so....what's the point? Hmm...let's find out next week!

Nomura: Final Fantasy Versus XIII has Airships!!

Source:
http://au.ps3.ign.com/articles/107/1078207p1.html

For those who have played FFXIII, or is currently playing FFXIII, you'll notice the storyline is very, very linear.

What that means is you get movie CG -> go through mini-map -> have a few battles -> fight the boss -> movie CG -> go through mini-map....and it keeps on looping. Not alot of freedom to explore at all.

Not until Chapter 11 (out of 13) where you finally get some freedom to do whatever you like, but to be honest there isn't that many things to do apart from sidequests, sidequests and sidequests.

I mean, Chapter 11 map is big - bigger than any of those in previous chapters.

And after all, the method of transportation from A to B is just...teleport.

That's right, teleport. Or alternatively, you can....run/walk from A to B.

Plus there are a limited number of teleport points (they are acquired by completing certain number of sidequests), so for alot of places you still need to get the characters to do some jogging. In the event of sidequests you actually need to do ALOT of jogging, and that's can easily clock up the playtime.

And we are now craving for the freedom of airship, world map like that in the goold old FFVI, FFVII etc. i.e. OLD FFs

So about two days ago, Toriyama (producer of FFXIII) has made the comment on GDC about FFVXIII is designed in the similar fashion to FFXIII, and there won't be any open maps. (i.e. like that in FFXIII, you only get to visit places when you are supposed to be in that chapter)

Yet today, Nomura (producer of FFVXIII) has claimed that there will be airship in FFVXIII.

This seems as if Nomura is eagerly trying to clarify the misconception Toriyama has fed to the wide range of FF fanatics at an earlier stage, by making the promise there will be an airship.

Well I'm hoping it's a controllable airship, not like the one where it only appears when you have to move from A to B...as that simply defeats the purpose. But hey, it's a possibility. Coz Nomura promised that there will be airship, but he didn't promise there will be controllable airship, correct?

At this stage I can only say: let's be optimistic about this and wait for the E3 news.

Massugu na Otoko (The Straight Guy) EP9

As usual, spoilers below - so please skip reading if you prefer not to be spoiled!






To be honest, by looking at last EP8's preview I thought this will be the final EP...

Well, the preview gave me the idea Narumi (acted by Fukada Kyoko) princess went missing, and of course the al-might-ty Kenichiro (acted by Satou Ryuta) would magically found her, and yes, lived happily after.

Sounds familiar?

So with that thought in mind, I sat back and relax myself to enjoy the anticipated storyline.

...and it turned out I was not quite right, the story didn't end when the prince found princess.

Instead it went on, and Mother-In-Law got introduced into the story. OK, so I thought, how would Narumi passed this stage with her absolute outrageous behaviour?

And, not surprisingly (as it's Japanese drama), she got along well with the Mother-In-Law. A good chance to at last trying to purify Narumi's character from the first 7 episodes. Oh well, I guess that's an indication to all of us - people can change as long as you are willing to. Little bit by bit does make the difference.

At least that's the new Narumi I'm seeing. Well done.

Yet Kenichiro still maintained his "straight guy" trait this EP, by telling his mum that he is not the real father, and in front of Narumi! I certainly think it's a huge shock to her, but at least he indicated very firmly no matter whether they have direct relationship or not, he will love Narumi as well as the newborn. Wow. I mean, do these kind of men still exist in real life??

Once again we've confirmed the most unrealistic male character of the year - goes to Satou Ryuta! Well done. (female award would go to Kamno Miho, since she plays the "Uncompromisable lady" XD)

Anyway, I've been fairly sarcastic....which is quite unfair for our Straight Guy, and he might decide to give me a big straight punch if he sees this article...so let's talk nice, shall we?

Well in general I still think this is a great drama. Main characters are played well so we get a good understanding of them. Plus alot of humour throughout the storyline makes the audience grin, and more importantly, all the girls are very nice looking!! The last point  All these makes this drama a joyful to watch XDD

Oh yes yes, let's not forget about the love declaration by Kumazawa (Tanaka Kei) to Yoshino (Kanjiya Shihori) in this EP. Kumazawa has given up on Yoshino since EP1 for Kenichiro, and now he has no reason to give up anymore, which comes down now to whether Yoshino is ready for his overwhelming feelings since the first EP. Let's hope for a good result on this one too shall we? ;)

Speaking of Yoshino, I think Kanjiya Shihori has again played this character really well. She acted very naturally in expressing the feelings for this character, towards Kenichiro, towards Narumi, as well as towards rest of the group.

Only if Fukada Kyoko hasn't played Narumi so well I would've given her the best female character award for this drama. Kyoko is just too outstanding in terms of impersonating these type of "bad girls", and it's to the extent where everyone dislike her so much! But then again this is by intention to contrast the characters between Kenichiro and Narumi.

So the preview of last EP created the atmosphere that Narumi may not live to the end...or will she? Let's find out later this week!

窪田ミナ(Kubota Mina) - Moment

Most of you probably havn't heard of Kubota Mina. In fact, I would say around 95% of you wouldn't know her.

Coz I was one of the 95% of you who didn't know her, until I got hold of this album - "Moment".

And then I'm craving for her second album, which I don't think has yet been released. Plus I'm not sure whether it will really be released at all...

As you probably gathered from the album photo, she is a pianist. But the music you get in this album is not only piano, but a combination of different instruments as well as vocals for some. And they are the type of music that makes you relax and soothes your mind.

Yes - "healing" type of music - like that in the animation Aria, if you know what I mean :)

The thing that outstands her album from any other piano albums is not purely with her technique, instead how the harmony with other instruments or sound effects. It all seems to fit so well together as a piece of art.

For you to preview I'll upload partial section of 3 songs here:
03. Undine
05. The World Around Us
11. Fragile

pw:
endlessw.blogspot.com

Amazon link for CD:
http://www.amazon.co.jp/モーメント-窪田ミナ/dp/B0010B8E6A

And for those of you who likes to know Kubota Mina a bit more, here are some wiki reading:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mina_Kubota
(click on the bottom left for Japanese - you'll get heaps more if you can read some Japanese XD)

Bloody Monday Season 2 - EP7

OK, so let's start off with some Jap drama review shall we? Since this is what I'm really into anywayz...:P

For this current season I'm going after Bloody Monday 2 (BM2), Masugu na Otoko (The Straight Guy), Shukumei 1969-2010 and Fumo Chitai which continued all the way from last season. I'll try to do a review on each episode as much as I can.

Note that these Jap drama are the latest - i.e. they have just been aired in Japan. Don't ask me how I watched them. There are various ways online since the World became flat :)

==========

(Spoilers below - so if you havn't watched it yet and don't want to be spoiled, please exit)

So, back to BM2, ep7.

No, Kujo Otoya didn't die - although he looked like he was dying at end of last EP, and at one stage when he's been shot yet Kanou was chatting away with Professor, as if he wasn't there? Come on guys, there's someone being shot here! Shouldn't you be sending him off onto an ambulance as a top priority?

Falcon VS Hornet round 2! Well, Takagi played some nice tricks here over Hornet, but as soon as he spilled out Spider and the fact Spider is someone who's been watching Takagi since season 1, role reversed from there. (for the purpose of suspense....as we all know what this drama is about)

At last, the 7 members of "Madangu Shashu" (let's just call them The Mad Shooter - I think it resembles most of the members very well XD) are revealed by Professor in this EP.

They are:

1. Lady Bird - the girl who tried to mimick Orihaya Maya, with piercing on the chest

2. Beast - wavy hairstyle, always holding a shotgun and was the one who chased Maya to her last resort

3. Mosquito - the ordinary looking business person (he looks very chinese btw)

4. Hornet - Takagi just caught him last EP - and he's confirmed this EP

5. EP1's air crew lady - who I don't even bother remembering her name XD

6. Hotaru - the one who replied to Yagi on the Internet and provided him the gun, as well as distributing guns to young generation

7. Spider - still unknown

So it's the first time Spider is confirmed in this series, but according to the preview for next EP he/she will get revealed next EP...so...what's the point of keeping the suspense for 1 episode?

I wish storyline can be reorganized, coz it's very messy.

Anyway, looks like J (Kansaki Jun) won't be getting up for a little while, but he's getting paid for lying down, hey! Where can I find one of these jobs?? XD

Not surprisingly, when he's been transported to better facility for treatment, the useless Third-i has mucked it up again. So good old J is now officially under the evil guys, so it turns out he probably won't be getting paid long for lying down XD

Although I don't like Beast personally, but I think alot of us feels thankful to him when he did shot the harassment doctor and killed him. GJ! And Minami actually put down the gun when Beast greeted her - hmm...so it looks like Spider is confirmed to be someone related to Third-i for sure now.

And...again what's happening with Third-i security? Hibiki and Takagi went off together like there's absolutely no security check within Third-i? Dunno want to say...ironically, 5 minutes ago Takagi was just saying "this is Third-i, you won't be able to get out so easily", and now they are roaming within the crowd on streets...?

Even if Otoya turns out to be Spider I won't be too surprised now. The story is far worse than that in Season 1 to the extend that I don't want to, and have no desire to comment on anymore.

So what's left with BM2, you may ask?

Probably only music, and that little bit of suspense built up by outstanding music. Oh, and never ending "who's the spy" guessing game, which was been used over and over since season 1 too.

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