Delusions of Grandeur

Hello flist~ I want to talk about all the exciting things that have happened to me lately but the fact of the matter is, nothing exciting has happened. I suppose I should be upset but I confess I've been enjoying books enough lately not to care. Speaking of which!

Books: I thought about posting more reviews but for now I'll just list out what books I've read so far lately. Books are in the order I've read them. The ones I really liked have a star/asterisk next to them.

( The list! )

I might not write reviews for everything but I do want to share my impressions for all of them down the road.

Tv: I've not been watching very much lately but yesterday I did watch the premier of True Blood's new season and the show is as trashy and bloody as I remember and I love it! ( True Blood S2-1 )

Also Surpersizers Go....which I've been watching lately. Is a VERY awesome program. It is in a nutshell about a very funny lady who does radio and a very gluttonous man who is a resturant critic and their adventures in the past culinary exploits of England. Period dress and incredibly ridiculous antics on behalf of our intrepid hosts make appearances as well. As Hilarious as Sue and Giles are, I watch for the history and culinary focus of the show, it is a surprisingly educational show despite being such fun to watch. Superiszers returns started last night and I dled the lovely first ep, where sue and giles go back to the 80's! Very good timing considering the recent craze for 80's things jump started by A2A in the UK lately. I cant wait to see it, their costumes looked hysterical.

Dramas: I havent watched much dramas this season, part of this is all the reading and UK tv watching I've been doing, the other reason is that dramas just sucked this season. Speaking of sucking, ( Thoughts on MR BRAIN )

I'm debating on whether I want to check out Toma's drama, Majo Saiban. I rarely feel disappointed by anything he's in, so I might just watch it for him.

A drama I have been watching and actually enjoying so far is Black & White which is a very awesome TW drama that I recommend EVERYONE watch. It has everything! Gun fights, intrigue, shadowy organizations, mobsters, mercenaries, cops, humor, ANGST, love, dangerous ladies, vic zhou AND very hot hate!sex. You cant go wrong really. Unless your name rhymes with sorry and you hate vic zhou, but it's not like I know anyone like that...
The thing I love about B&W the most though is the large cast and how expansive the world of B&W feels, despite the big cast I rarely felt overwhelmed cause they manage to balance that with the plot and introduce characters gradually as they become important. It's very tightly written and exciting tv, and a nice change from all those cutesy romantic dramas Taiwan is known for.

Yay dramas post time! I haven't done one of these in a while but that's because I found last season's dramas largely disappointing. I didn't feel inspired to pick up most of them and the ones I DID pick up were mostly a waste of my time. I honestly cant even remember the names of most of last season's dramas tbh :( I did however, really enjoy Ryuusei no Kizuna, it wasn't a GREAT drama but it was in my opinion a very enjoyable one. I do love most kudokan dramas though so maybe that helped? XD

Anyway this season in contrast has been AMAZING for me, I cannot remember watching this many dramas in a single season before and I haven't dropped any yet! I'm so surprised because I'm usually the type to rarely finish a drama series but so far all of these have proved to be very good viewing.

So my opinions on the dramas I'm watching so far!

Uta Onii (eps 1-3): I am enjoying this quite alot so far and I didnt think I would. I'll be honest now, I checked this drama out for Maru, and he's at least 50% of the reason I am still watching it now. That being said the other 50% is worth mentioning too. The rest of the fabulous cast and colorful characters and silly happenings all make this drama a worthwhile drama to me. I do love a light fun drama but I feel like most dramas that try to be light and fun just end up being really stupid instead. (examples: yasuken, yamataro, yuukan club and this season's mei-chan. apologies to anyone who liked these dramas. but they are not my cup of tea, even though yes I watched all of yc BUT ONLY CAUSE OF YOKO!) Anyway uta onii manages to balance that thin line i think between absurdity and reality well enough. I confess most of the scenes outside of the uta onii set and studio are not very interesting to me and I find the girlfriend of ohno's chara to be completely pointless as a character and I'm sick of seeing air time taken away from the other worthwhile characters, just so we can hear her preachy contrived monologues. I'm not a fan of the saccharine crap found in most dramas either, but so far uta onii has managed not to annoy me with the cutesy stuff or its "Morals of the Day". Maru it should be said is surprisingly natural as Mamoru, i do think it helps that mamoru has alot in common with maru, and chances are this is why he was chosen. But I'm glad that Maru is allowed a full range of emotions in this role and not just the default "smiley happy energetic silly" that is probably associated with him normally. I also really like the character of Urara (the sister of song) and the hilarious over the top antagonist of the story, Himuro. The manger lady is a nice breath of fresh as a mature capable woman and not your typical whiny nagging obnoxious jdrama heroine. Also the children that appear in the drama now and then are really precious and brighten it up for me <3 So basically my verdict so far on uta onii is a thumbs up.

Zeni Geba (eps 1-5): I think this might be my favorite drama of the season, which in a season full of strong dramas, is really saying something. This is a very picturesque drama but also a surprisingly minimal, simple and quiet one. Every scene is filled with an ominous and melancholic feeling. and whenever the protagonist appears, there is this distinct feeling of tension. a very uncomfortable feeling. you can say that this is an uncomfortable drama to watch. ( more on zeni geba )

( tiny spoilers )

( Love Shuffle )

( Voice )

I was also watching HYD K for a while but I only got as far as ep 12 before I started to lose interest. I think actually made farther into the tw drama, despite my not liking it very much. but jan di's wussification was becoming too much for me and honestly i think i've grown out of that story ages ago but i still feel like checking it out everytime a drama is made out of hyd. but i think I'm finally at my highest saturation point, as far as hyd adaptations go. I might still finish the drama though, because lee min ho and joon hyung are too yummy <3 (and who ever plays woobin <3) I like yi yung really but am I the only one in bof fandom who is w/e about kim bum? srsly i dont get the hype. but then i was like that for a while about matsuda shota too. suffice to say, love shuffle changed my mind. XD

Feel free to discuss dramas with me in the comments too guys! I've seen alot of interesting mixed feelings from my flist about this drama season so I'm looking forward to hearing other's opinions ^_^

So friends and fangirls, the summer season is upon us! and So with that here's what I will be considering for the summer season and also how I'm faring with the dramas from last spring so far.

So for spring, I dropped Hokaben and completed Zettai Kareshi and Last friends so far.

Last friends: I think the less I say the better. I dont want this to become a big angry ranting post. I think most of us who stuck with the drama till the end felt some level of disappointment and I know a few people who felt betrayed even by the ending. For me it was really like a slap in the face. and that's all say about LF now or ever again. I will say though Juri and Eita were amazing in this from start to finish and it was almost worth suffering through this drama to see them in it. Almost.

Zettai Kareshi: It started out with so much promise. It had a really strong start and I was so sure it would be enjoyable from beginning to end and wrap up itself nicely. Later in the season it started losing it's spark and I was beginning to worry for how it would end...and sure enough the ending was immensely disappointing. It did follow the drama's ending to an extent. but honestly I just found the whole thing a big waste in the end. I do know people who were moved by the end and didnt see it as bad so much as a bit shocking. I just saw it as a letdown and fairly predictable since as Maya Miki's chara said, you cant have a relationship with a ROBOT. I also still feel sad that nerdy scientist and hot bartending lady didnt hook up ;_;

So far I'm still watching Osen and Rookies. I just recently dled eps 6-7 for Rookies and 5-6 for Osen.

Osen: So far I am very much enjoying Osen and I dont really have many complaints about it at all. I just really love the character interactions and everyone is defined and distinct despite being support charas in uniform who could easily blend into the background and become nobodies but I distinctly remember every character and even the parts of their personality. I really love that one waitress who looks gaijin. she's kind of hotheaded which i find really cute. I hope she hooks with osamu's character before the end. Uchi is seriously A+++ in this drama. I dont care what anyone says IMO he's a way better actor than ryo was, is or ever will be. I love how Uchi's character becomes like a friend for Sen, it's clear that everyone kind of idol worhips her in a way except for Uchi's chara who sees her as a normal girl. It's very cute.

As for Rookies I'm having fun watching it. It's a very melodramatic drama but I appreciate it's heart. and also it's many scenes of Ichihara Hayato looking DEAD SEXY. I also find it hilarious that big bad Shinjo (shirota yuu's character) cries as often and randomly as a hormonal pregnant woman.

( As for summer dramas... )

Before I wrap up this post I would like take a moment to flail about my most recent Jdrama obsession. TIGER AND DRAGON!!!!! My god words cannot describe how much i adore this drama and I've decided rather than making this post any more obscenely long I'd rather just give it it's own post. BECAUSE YES IT IS THAT AWESOME. It also will give me a chance to flail about the newfound fascination i have with rakugo thanks to this show. as if I need more obscure geeky obsessions -_-*
Speaking of newfound obsessions. whoever told me capsule was a fucking awesome band deserves a pat on the back now because THEY ARE AN FUCKING AWESOME BAND er duo I dunno wtf they are but it's awesome. I love bizzaro retro/mod thing they have going. the songs delightfully surreal too. I'll be making another post for that as well. SO MANY GREAT SONGS EEE <3