Monday, 20 May 2013

Okada Masaki's new English-subbed movies: Space Brothers, Himitsu no Akko-chan, & Life Back Then

Masaki and Nana Eikura on 'Life Back Then' Friday next week on RED!

It's a bit difficult to find new Okada Masaki movies with English sub these days.According to Asian Wiki, Okada has at least three new movies/series that are already released for 2013, but I haven't been able to see them due to the lack of English sub.

However! It's with real pleasure that I announce that the great subbers of Dramacrazy.net etc have uploaded the following movies for us:

Space Brothers with Oguri Shun (already seen it on RED, but I love the movie so I will watch it again!)

I'm watching the bits part of it now, and I think the RED translation of Space Brothers is better than this online version. Still, better than nothing!


Himitsu no Akko-chan with Ayase Haruka (click this link to see it online)

Pics from Akko-chan's Secret (from Jaewinter). It's really a good movie!


And last but not least...(click to read about Life Back Then and Ikuta Toma (!)):

Wednesday, 8 May 2013

Phil Jimenez on BMWW



Gotta love this fan art work by Theva!


DC hasn’t catered to BMWW lately (as in, almost none at all), but for many BMWW fans, the sparks are still there. And when a writer the caliber of Phil Jimenez professed his undying love to BMWW (well, at least their friendship, if not romance), a BMWW fan cannot help but swoon and drool. Special thanks to my friend DaisyJane at www.batmanwonderwoman.com for posting the original article.

Phil Jimenez was actually responding to a post on the Nu 52 Wonder Woman (that I’ve never read due to limited comic access and my anger on DC’s treatment to Diana). Laura Sneddon wrote the post; some people responded to it, including Phil and artist Mindy Newell. The whole interaction can be found here. But I have two things I’d like to highlight in this post. First, is Phil’s description of Wonder Woman, which I think encompasses it all:

Saturday, 2 March 2013

I Dreamt (Rabindranath Tagore)



I Dreamt 
by Rabindranath Tagore

'Restful', by Pino Daeni


I dreamt that she sat by my head, tenderly ruffling my hair with
her fingers, playing the melody of her touch. I looked at her face
and struggled with my tears, till the agony of unspoken words burst
my sleep like a bubble.

I sat up and saw the glow of the Milky Way above my window,
like a world of silence on fire, and I wondered if at this moment
she had a dream that rhymed with mine.


Friday, 1 March 2013

I Asked Nothing (Rabindranath Tagore)




The Gardener XIII: I Asked Nothing
by Rabindranath Tagore

  
'Woman with a Pot' by Shashikanta Parida



I asked nothing, only stood at the edge of the wood behind the tree.
Languor was still upon the eyes of the dawn, and the dew in the air.
The lazy smell of the damp grass hung in the thin mist above the earth.
Under the banyan tree you were milking the cow with your hands,
tender and fresh as butter.

And I was standing still.
I did not say a word.

It was the bird that sang unseen from the thicket.
The mango tree was shedding its flowers upon the village road,
and the bees came humming one by one.

On the side of the pond the gate of Shiva's temple was opened and the
worshipper had begun his chants.
With the vessel on your lap you were milking the cow.

I stood with my empty can.
I did not come near you.

The sky woke with the sound of the gong at the temple.
The dust was raised in the road from the hoofs of the driven cattle.
With the gurgling pitchers at their hips, women came from the river.
Your bracelets were jingling, and foam brimming over the jar.

The morning wore on and I did not come near you.

Lotus (Rabindranath Tagore)



Rabindranath Tagore won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1913, a century ago. This is one of his poems, a favourite of mine:   

Lotus


Pic from marrymeweddings
On the day when the lotus bloomed, alas, my mind was straying, and I knew it not. My basket was empty and the flower remained unheeded.

Only now and again a sadness fell upon me, and I started up from my dream and felt a sweet trace of a strange fragrance in the south wind.

That vague sweetness made my heart ache with longing
and it seemed to me that it was the eager breath of the summer seeking for its completion.

I knew not then that it was so near, that it was mine, and that this perfect sweetness had blossomed in the depth of my own heart. 




Thursday, 28 February 2013

The Lover's Passion ~ Desire (Jalaluddin Rumi)




The Lover's Passion - Desire
by Mevlana Jalaluddin Rumi


(original title from Deepak Chopra's CD: 'The Lover's Passion')


A lover knows only humility, he has no choice.
He steals into your alley at night, he has no choice.
He longs to kiss every lock of your hair

Don't fret,
he has no choice.
In his frenzied love for you, 

he longs to break the chains of his imprisonment,
he has no choice.


Monday, 25 February 2013

Music video of The Oath of the Vayuputra

Fans of The Shiva Trilogy who are not yet aware that the third and final book is to be released in two days, you better be aware now!
 
Yes, on 27 Feb, bookstores in India are releasing The Oath of the Vayuputra. My darling friend and I have ordered it from a friend of a friend in India. Cannot wait to read it!

Meanwhile, please enjoy the music video The Oath of the Vayuputra by Sonu Nigam and Taufiq Qureshi in high definition. It's supercrazily superb!!!



Who's that dude playing Lord Shiva? He might be a good candidate for the action movie, if Hrithik Roshan isn't available. But I hope Roshan is going to play Lord Shiva, with Aishwarya Rai as Lady Sati. I cannot think of another screen couple fair enough to play the Ultimate Couple!

Looking for Your Face (Rumi)



The Dawn by Mahmoud Farshchian

Looking for Your Face

by Mevlana Jallaludin Rumi


From the beginning of my life
I have been looking for your face
but today I have seen it


Today I have seen
the charm, the beauty,
the unfathomable grace
of the face
that I was looking for


Today I have found you
and those who laughed
and scorned me yesterday
are sorry that they were not looking
as I did


I am bewildered by the magnificence
of your beauty
and wish to see you
with a hundred eyes



Sunday, 24 February 2013

Uchuu Kyodai (Space Brothers) in English subtitle next Friday!

Nanba Hibito (Okada Masaki) in the cockpit of Artemis, courtesy of RED

Fans of Okada Masaki and Oguri Shun, at long last, we can watch Uchuu Kyodai (Space Brothers) in English subtitle! RED (Screen Red Asia) is airing the cool movie in Japanese with English sub starting this Friday (1 March 2013) at 9pm Jakarta time (GMT+7). Indonesian viewers can watch this show if they subscribe to Indovision.

Click here for my past review of 'Space Brothers'. Under the cut is the complete airing time of 'Space Brothers' for March 2013. Thank you so much, RED! (anyone can tell me how to record this show from Indovision?)


Wednesday, 30 January 2013

Aishiteru Kizuna: the Bond of Love




Have you ever thought why you had to be born in this weird world? Have you ever thought of why you have to experience those horrible things? Have you ever wondered how it would feel to be born in a different family than your current one? If so, then perhaps ‘Aishiteru: Kizuna’ is just the movie for you.

I originally watched ‘Aishiteru: Kizuna’ because of Okada Masaki (duh!). However, when I realised how deep the meaning of the movie is, I have to recommend it to you for its deep lessons and beauty. The fact that Mukai Osamu plays as Masaki’s big brother is a big plus for me, for I love both actors, and seeing them together in a movie like this is such a treat for me!

Fans of Mukai Osamu and Ikuta Toma will understand what I meant, particularly because Osamu and Toma were at the same movie – Hanamizuki  – but they only shared one very short scene together. In fact, in Aishiteru:Kizuna, Masaki and Osamu also only shared one scene. But it’s a long and very important – if not the pinnacle – scene of the movie. Hence, I guarantee that Aishiteru: Kizuna will please the fans of both shining stars.

Little Naoto and Tomoya (Mukai Osamu)


Aishiteru: Kizuna is the sequel of a TV series called ‘Aishiteru: Kaiyo’. I never saw this series, and I don’t think I will (can’t bear it), but this is what I’ve learned: The series talked about a 12th grader student (Tomoya, played by Kakazu Issei) who accidentally murdered his playmate, 5th grader Kiyotaka (played by Sato Shion). Throughout the series, we learn about the ramifications of Tomoya’s actions for himself, his family and the family of the victim. We also eventually learn the reason behind Tomoya repeatedly hitting his friend’s head to the ground (and hence murdered him): the friend was badmouthing Tomoya’s mother.