"Fragments of the Future" (Mirai no Hahen) Epilogue

While in Osaka, thanks to fellow Twitter Seorri and Joker, I bought Okada Masaki's photo book published in 2016. Titled "Fragments of the Future" (Mirai no Hahen), the AUD 45 photo book was rather dear, but definitely worths every penny. It's filled with so many photos of Masaki from 2010 to 2016, as well as interviews he did during those photo shoots.

With my limited Japanese, it will take me a long time to read the book. However, what I've read so far is very interesting. I was immediately taken by the Epilogue because it was short enough to read on its own, and because I want to see what Masaki wrote at the end of the book.

It was a very lovely Epilogue, hence I decided to translate it and post it here. It took me a few days to decipher the Kanji, but I'm getting better at that compared to about 12 months ago, hence I'm happy with my progress.

I hope you enjoy reading it as I do. I put the Kanji-kana, English and Romaji in this order below.

Ningen Gowasan 2018 live

Okada Masaki's Haiji in the Ningen Gowasan ads in Morinomiya Osaka

Update 15 July 2018: Since Ningen Gowasan has ended the show in Osaka this afternoon, I have now uploaded the plot at the end of this post. Enjoy!


I’m still tokidoki after watching Ningen Gowasan 「ニンゲン御破算」2018 live. I do believe I’m so blessed that I’m allowed to squeeze some money and time to fly to Osaka to watch Okada Masaki live (three times, no less!)... and I still feel that tingling sensation when I saw him for the first time in my life, 10 m ish from me, emerging with his gorgeous white hapi, the white overcoat his character Haiji worn.

How do I express the tokidoki I feel? Upon listening to his voice reverberating in the Morinomiya Piloti Hall Osaka, and also in my heart?

Here’s a guy I fell in love with in 2012, and that was through an Edo-time movie (Raiō) he played in 2010. Then I backtracked watching his portfolio until 2007 and moving forward again, and I’m in love with that kakkoi and kind boy.

But now, he is not a boy anymore. He’s a man. A gentle man, whose gaits show the pure confidence that doesn’t even go near the line of arrogance. A young man whose career is displayed in front of him through his fine choices of work and excellent work ethics.

Okada Masaki voice for Abe Mao’s 2013 MV

I didn’t know that in 2013 Okada Masaki had a voice appearance in Abe Mao’s (阿部真央) “Boyfriend” MV. Now that I’ve found it, I cannot help being smitten by the MV, and also by Masaki’s voice at the end (from min. 1:45).  Mao’s MV is a collection of doodle of a girl who is in love with her childhood friend since they met when she was 3 years old. They always played together until puberty hits, when she (or also perhaps he) was 11 years old. When she was 15 years old, she discovered that her friend liked playing guitar, so she also learned to play guitar. But then when she was a 17 yo girl with braided hair, she realised she was not the only girl rooting for this cute boy. During a rainy day when she was going to offer the boy her umbrella, a gorgeous long-haired girl outraced her, offered her own umbrella, and walked off with the boy, leaving our little heroine lonely.

That boy is voiced by Okada Masaki ^_^

Then the song ended when our heroine was a bit older (already with longer hair that she let loose), playing a sad song on her guitar. That was when the boy realised she was playing the guitar. This is what the boy (Okada Masaki) said:

'Rainbow-coloured Lights' - an Okada Masaki MV

After a few months of not making any MVs, I finally made time to make and finish this one! It contains a collage of Okada Masaki's latest photos (and some older ones). Music is 'Arabesque' by Rurutia. The lyrics were translated by Kiwi Musume; the Romaji and English are available after the break.

Enjoy!

Feverish Love

Just a bit of New Year love for Yakusuke and Kyōko (Okitegami Kyōko no Biboroku)… Oh, and belated Happy New Year! May we blossom gently in 2018...

I want more of this kiss, hence this fan-fiction... (Ep 10)

Kakushidate Yakusuke stirred in his sleep before he opened his eyes, yet a very sharp headache pierced his senses that he immediately closed his eyes again. He gasped and automatically touched his own forehead. It was burning. His throat was aching and his gasp – now that he realised it – sounded so weird. Then he suddenly shivered despite the burning sensation on his skin.

Damn, he had a fever! Which means that he couldn’t go to his office… and worse, he couldn’t go to Sandglass to have breakfast with Kyōko-san.

Anyway, first thing first. He had to call his boss at the Hinoko Real Estate. He’d been working there for more than three months now and his kind boss was very happy with his performance. Although he had passed the probation time, he should never take his luck for granted. Yakusuke managed to ring his boss and, with a very croaky voice told his regret that he had to stay in bed today. After barely thanked his boss for the day-off, Yakusuke hung up and tried to get up. Then he fell off his bed. The piercing headache and the high fever made his balance way off and his strength almost non-existent; he couldn’t even pick himself up from the cold floor. With his last strength, he reached for his mobile phone that fell almost a meter away and rang Sandglass. He whispered his request to Hōrō-san who picked up the phone before collapsing, succumbing to his headache.

Hirai Ken ‘Non-fiction’ Translation (OST of ‘Chiisana Kyojin’)

The followings are the translation of Hirai Ken’s ‘Non-fiction’, the OST of Chiisana Kyojin. I translated it myself using my limited knowledge of Japanese language, so do give me suggestions for improvement. The Kanji and kana lyrics are from iLyricsBuzz. I love this song so much, that I hope that I translate it (mostly) correctly. Thanks to R-chan for correcting my translation for the "kaban/bag" part. If you use this translation, please acknowledge me? どもありがとうございます!


Hirai Ken's 'Non-fiction'
平井堅 – ノンフィクション

描いた夢は叶わないことの方が多い
Egaita yume wa kanawanai koto no hō ga ōi
There are many ways that prevent dreams from coming true

優れた人を羨んでは自分が嫌になる
sugureta hito o urayan de wa jibun ga iya ni naru
I hate myself when I envy successful people

'Notorious' - an Okada Masaki MV (Chiisana Kyojin)

I agree with Twitter Biker Nagase who said that Yamada Haruhiko was the most gorgeous visual Okada Masaki has to-date. Masaki's Yamada Haruhiko surpassed all my expectations for him, both in terms of acting and appearance. Yamada is beautiful although imperfect. Sorting through Chiisana Kyojin for Yamada-related scenes is such a pleasing experience, that I'm very happy to produce yet another MV of Chiisana Kyojin here. I also included many Kosaka-san (Hasegawa Hiroki) scenes, hence I hope Kosaka Shinichiro fans will be happy too.

This time, I'm using Duran-Duran's "Notorious", for its lyrics seem to hit right on the spot of political and criminal justice corruption that is the core of "Little Giants". Twitter feed and Duran-Duran's lyrics are below the break.

Oh yeah, as I am now re-watching Seinaru Kaibutsutachi (2012), I just realised how cute Hasegawa-san was back then (he's more mature now, cos he's already 40 years old). The younger Hasegawa-san looks like a Japanese friend of mine (who is also very cute!).

Enjoy!

'One More Time' - an Okada Masaki MV (ft. Kitagawa Keiko & Yamazaki Masayoshi)

This MV is the second I made about Yamada Haruhiko’s hypothetical love story. I made this MV because I wonder how Yamada’s love story could be. Given that Yamada is a very career-oriented person, I imagine he would have broken the hearts of some women… or he himself was broken-hearted because of his decision to leave his love behind. I found that Matataki (with Kitagawa Keiko) could fit the story if I altered it (big time – chronologically). Hence this MV, featuring Kitagawa Keiko’s character as a past love that Yamada left behind to pursue his career, yet she was also the one who never left his heart. The black and white scenes refer to Yamada's wish of what he should have done, and the last scene refers to him watching the grown up Izumi (Keiko's character) suddenly walking into the building. I didn't have time to find a scene with Keiko's grown up character in another movie to use, so I leave the ending with Yamada's surprised expression.

最後のシーン, 山田春彦は成長した泉美が突然建物に入るのを見ている. 成長した泉美(景子)のシーンは ありませんから (検索時間がありません), 驚いた山田は最後のシーンです.

Yamazaki Masayoshi's beautiful song (One More Time, One More Chance) in Romaji is after the break (lyrics from here), as well as the translation (from Rahul Aditya).

'Femme Fatale' - an Okada Masaki MV

I made this Okada Masaki MV for Aoki Ikkō fans, featuring the conflict between his desire and common sense in the Kinoko murder case. I hate Kinoko with all my heart, so I found it difficult to stomach the Himitsu Top Secret 2016 scenes to pick scenes for the MV. However, my love to Masaki won, hence this MV. Hope you like it. Oh, and it heavily features Ikuta Toma as Maki Tsuyoshi, so I hope Toma-chan fans will like it too.

Music is Bon Jovi's classic 'You Give Love a Bad Name'. I'm glad that YouTube didn't kick out this (IMO) kick-ass MV (at least from the perspective of the music and the movie). Twitter feed is embedded after the break.

Enjoy!

'Midsummer Showery Rain' - an Okada Masaki MV

Midsummer Showery Rain from Icha74 on Vimeo.

I made this MV because I wonder how Yamada Haruhiko’s love story could be. Chiisana Kyojin wasn’t a series about love, hence we only had Kosaka-Misa’s relationship there. Given that Yamada is a very career-oriented person, I imagine he would have broken the hearts of some women… or he himself was broken-hearted because of his decision. When I was shifting through Okada Masaki’s old movies, I found that Matataki (with Kitagawa Keiko) could fit the story if I altered it (big time – chronologically). Hence this MV, featuring Kitagawa Keiko’s character as a past love that Yamada left behind to pursue his career, yet she was also the one who never left his heart.

YouTube and Daiymotion rejected this MV (because of Utada Hikaru’s beautiful song I think). Thus I could only post it in Vimeo, and partly (140 sec) in Twitter as well. I adapted the lyrics translation by Nakari Amane (beautiful, beautiful translation, by the way). I post the adapted translation below the break. I hope you like it. If you can’t view Vimeo, I have uploaded the MV in three parts in Twitter, and they are embedded below the break.

Oh yeah, I borrowed Aoki Ikkō's scene when he woke up from his sensual dream in Himitsu 2016. I should make a specific Aoki MV, right? Many Okada-sama's fans these days seem to split between loving him or loving Yamada, hehehehehehe! (Update: the Aoki Ikkō MV is here!)

'Under Pressure' - an Okada Masaki MV

If by now it's not yet clear that I love Chiisana Kyojin 小さな巨人 (TBS 2017), well here I say it again: I LOVE the series. I have summarised all episodes, but haven't finished giving a review. However, I do love the series, very much. I love that Okada Masaki got that role, as I said here, it diversified his portfolio big time. It's not that Masaki has never played detectives before, but this is the first time he played a detective with such a jagged, shaded character, that it definitely is a breath of fresh air for me! Hence this MV, using Queen's classic 'Under Pressure' (feat. David Bowie).

Okada-san himself has apparently been waiting for a long time for such a role that he got very excited when he was chosen to play Yamada Haruhiko. He also had to shoot at crazy hours, including up to 3 am in the morning (poor baby... no wonder he was often angry in the series, LOL!). The snippet of his interview is after the break, as well as the lyrics for 'Under Pressure'.

Chiisana Kyojin 2017 summary and review

Okada Masaki as the hot, secretive Yamada Haruhiko (山田春彦) 

I finally finished Chiisana Kyojin (小さな巨人 , literally translated as "Little Giants"), albeit it's not yet subtitled, hence following it is rather difficult. The series is so good that I watched it twice, partly to get a better understanding of the story, and partly just to have a Masaki-festa. Okada Masaki played as another detective, but unlike when he was at the Scientific Investigation Squad (as Inspector Yurine Tomohisa), this time Yamada Haruhiko (山田春彦) was a serious detective at the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department. Trivia: 春彦 Haruhiko means “the lad of spring time”, hence Yamada’s name can be interpreted as “the lad of spring time that wanders around the mountains and paddy fields”. Nice, eh?

I’m VERY happy that Masaki took this role, because Yamada diversified Masaki’s portfolio a lot. Yamada Haruhiko is officially my favourite Okada Masaki character to date (excluding those I haven’t seen, e.g., Nijimura Keichō and Katsura Kotarō). Seriously, Masaki was AMAZING as Yamada Haruhiko. Aside from the fact that I totally think he’s hot as Yamada, Masaki as Yamada also had a screen presence. Yamada’s steps were decided, determined and – at times – also threatening.  His manner of speaking was brisk and at times clipped, such that it created throbbing sensations in my heart (and I’m not the only one thinking like that…). Unlike many of Masaki’s characters (the unlucky yet kind Kakushidate Yakusuke comes to mind) who had the penchant of speaking long sentences very fast, Yamada’s sentences are jagged and to the point. Yamada isn’t a person who beats around the bush, and he’s generally very clear of what he wants. Masaki also retained his habit to pronounce every “u” in any “desu” Yamada said (instead of just “des”), and this actually had lent to more impactful conversations with his jagged deliveries.

(I have uploaded the short review as well! Scroll down to the last section)

Bloodthirsty Justice - an Okada Masaki MV

So I made my first Okada Masaki MV last night! I didn't think I'd finish it so quickly, but I did! I chose Rurutia's 'Hallelujah' as the music, and it's a beautiful arrangement by the very talented singer. The music, however, is full of beats that I have to sync with the clips, hence I thought I would need at least a full day's of work for that. Glad that I finished it in just a few hours.

I combined three of Masaki's recent characters that I love: Nijimura Keichō 虹村形兆  (Jojo's Bizarre Adventure live action 2017), Yamada Haruhiko 山田春彦 (Chiisana Kyojin 2017) and Aoki Ikkō 青木一行 (Himitsu: the Top Secret 2016). I thought it would be nice to pit Masaki's characters against each other, in this case Keichō vs the team up of Yamada and Aoki.  I quite like the result.

Was thinking of using Masaki's character as Hazama Kurō (the Young Black Jack 2011), but I had no space for him in the MV. Perhaps next time if I can find Seinaru Kaibutsutachi clips, for that would mesh well with Black Jack.

Rurutia's 'Hallelujah' lyrics are after the break. Hope you like the MV!

A Lost Love, A Found Love

A Chiisana Kyojin fanfiction, starring Okada Masaki, Yoshine Kyoko and Hasegawa Hiroki. Contains spoilers, thus those who prefer not to be spoiled might be better off not reading this fan-fiction… 

Okada Masaki-kun as the sizzling hot Yamada Haruhiko 山田春彦 (Chiisana Kyojin, Ep 5)

The autumn rain kindly drizzled just as the funeral service was being concluded. Since it was just a drizzle, none of the very few attendants moved away from around the grave; they just produced their umbrellas and respectfully waited until the priest had finished the procedure. Yet, as it rained harder, one by one the attendants left, leaving Yamada Haruhiko standing in the rain as he watched the workers industriously closed the pit.

Sayōnara, Otō-sama…

Yamada felt warm drops slowly running over his face. Warm, so uncharacteristic of the autumn rain. Yet, it wasn’t the rain: it was his tears. Annoyed, he wiped his tears away.

“Yamada, we should go home now.”

Suggested projects for Okada Masaki

Masaki-kun is so cute with glasses...

That’s what happens when you leave a love for several years (or decades). When you return, he (or they) demand a lot of attention. Michael Miu and Barbara Yung demanded my attention for two years… Candy and Terry demanded my attention and brain cells for two months or so… and now Okada Masaki-kun demanded I spend time with him a lot since I last wrote about him in 2013. I’ve been cramming on Masaki series for the last two weeks that I feel my Japanese has improved slightly… and my sleep reduced significantly. Happy, Masaki-kun?

Anyway. After rambling about his latest projects here, I think a post on suggested future projects for Masaki-kun is needed. I have three suggested projects for Masaki based on my favourite manga, anime and novel. So anyway, the projects I suggested are: Yokohama Monogatari (manga by Waki Yamato), Prince Heinel in Voltes V (Toei), and the Cloud of Sparrow (Matsuoka Takashi). Beforehand, though, I just want to share a trivia about his name. Well, not really trivia, cos it’s beautiful and meaningful, actually.

Masaki Medley

Okada Masaki's latest character as Nijimura Keichō
in JoJo's Bizarre Adventure (2017), a totally irresistible bastard 

I haven't watched Okada Masaki series for a while. The last Okada series that I watched was Legal High 2 (2013) where he was the supporting actor for Aragaki Yui's and Sakai Masato's characters. I wasn't really impressed by Masaki-kun's character in Legal High 2 (too upbeat and cheerful, too one-dimensional), until the last episode that is, when Sakai Masato's character managed to make Masaki's character angry. And it was a very nice explosion, but too limited a use of Masaki's spectrum of talent.

Anyway, then about two weeks ago, I found out that Masaki-kun starred against Oguri Shun again in 2017 in Gintama live action as Katsura Kotarō. That finding rebooted my fan-girling of Okada Masaki, thus this post, where I will briefly post videos, photos or GIFs of Masaki-kun in his recent roles since playing as Minamoto no Yoritomo in "Taira no Kiyomori". Including in this post are Masaki-kun's character as Nijimura Keichō (JoJo's Bizarre Adventure), Katsura Kotarō (Gintama), Kakushidate Yakusuke (Okitegami Kyōko no Biboroku), Yamada Haruhiko (Little Giants, Chiisana Kyojin), and... a very surprising fact that Masaki actually participated in 2-3 stage performances (!!) in 2014!

It has been a great journey re-finding Okada Masaki, for his acting has matured since then... (although I am very proud that he played Yoritomo and narrated that Taiga drama!). Hence, consider me a very happy fan of Okada Masaki!

The 10-years delayed dinner

After about four years of hiatus, I saw Okada Masaki's series again. Love them, still love him. Then I saw Himitsu no Akko-chan last night (Eng-sub), and decided to write this fan-fiction. Hope you like it. The story takes place after the last scene in the movie. 

Akko (Haruka Ayase) and Naoto (Okada Masaki), Himitsu no Akko-chan (2012)

Kagami Atsuko looked absentmindedly at the paperwork in front of her. The approval document for the new organic facial cleanser that she developed with her new team has to be signed by the manager of the R&D team tomorrow. She knew there was nothing wrong with the document or the associated product, trials had indicated that the customers loved the product and it would sell well.

However, there’s one tiny problem for the document. It had to be signed by Hayase Naoto, the R&D Manager. And since her reintroduction to Akatsuka last April, facing Hayase-san, or Naoto as she used to call him, had been difficult. Apparently, things didn’t remain the same forever.

Originally, she was ecstatic that she was accepted in the Research & Development Office, the same department that Naoto had been leading for more than 10 years. The department was bigger now, it had an established cosmetics section and a separate skin care section. Within the cosmetics section, they had developed cosmetics for daily use, for gala dinner, and for anything in between, including a new section for teenagers. Within the skin care section, they had developed the organic line. Akko was assigned in that department, which shared the same wing with Naoto, yet a different section thus she couldn’t always see him.

Kiyoku Yawaku: Okada Masaki's new movie

Update 26 Sept 2017: click here to read my update of Okada Masaki's performance since 2012. 

Been very busy in my real life... But just now, I suddenly missed Okada Masaki. Hence I browsed about him, and found that his new movie Kiyoku Yawaku will have its premiere on 26 October. So happy about it! I hope RED will air it soon in a few months with sub! Or at least I hope I get to see it at Garuda Indonesia...

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

Update 26 Sept 2017: click here to read my update of Okada Masaki's performance since 2012. 

Okada Masaki 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 (!)):

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?)