January 5, 2012

• Must-Watch Japanese Shows

  
  The warmth of the ☼ in the cold. . .

  I’ve been spending a lot of time here in Japan. It’s been really fun gaining fresh insight, immersion and appreciation of their culture.

  And here are some viewing pleasures I want to recommend. 私といっしょに来てください 

  First up,
  I watched a quirky and very enjoyable documentary on board my SQ flight a month ago.

  The Invention of Dr. Nakamats

  One of the most prolific inventors in the world, he is quintessentially eccentric but undeniably a genius. This guy is such a hoot! The floppy disk was his brain child, as so are karaoke (everyone write him a thank you note now), the taxi meter and many more. He has photographed and analyzed his meals for the past 30 years, and such a patriot is he that he sells his “Love Jet” spray below cost in a bid to boost Japan’s ailing population. Oh and how does he get his bright ideas? Holding his breath in the swimming pool till a second before death, because that is when brain activity reaches a peak. After which he jots down whatever on an underwater notepad — which he invented of course.

  Preview here:

  
  I think they are going to show it on Channel News Asia, if they haven’t already.

   

  Another mini documentary I found:

   

   

  Next, I laughed my way through Detroit Metal City

  Soichi Negishi is a sweet-natured farm boy who moved to Tokyo aspiring a “stylish” life and dreaming of stardom singing cheesy indie pop. Things don’t quite work out the way he planned and instead he ends up earning his paycheck leading a death metal band Detroit Metal City, or DMC, as the hellish “demon emperor” Johannes Krauser II singing about rape and murder. Along with him are two other funny bandmates and a sadistic female manager. He despises his role and all it stands for, but his immense talent combined with his bitterness coming out to great effect in his Krauser persona inevitably leads DMC to worldwide success. To complicate things further is his preppy university crush Aikawa, who will surely disapprove if she finds out.  Adapted from the hit Japanese manga by Kiminori Wakasugi, the movie follows Negishi’s hilariously woeful double-life, as he finally finds out what it really means to achieve his dream.
  

  Such a cute movie and the parodies of the genre will crack you up

  You can try watching here
  

  When researching the lead Ken-ichi Masuyama out of curiosity, I was stunned to find out he is the same actor who played enigmatic L in Death Note and lead character Toru Watanabe in the film adaptation of Murakami’s Norwegian Wood! He has such impressive range and looks different every time! I like.

  

  

  Lastly, I met up with my friend and filmmaker Edmund Yeo here and he showed me some of his work.
  Special private director’s commentary to go along, haha.

  A Malaysian based in Japan now, his beautiful and compelling short films have played at various international film festivals and won several awards. Admire his style, he is definitely a talent to follow.

   

  

   

  さようなら！ x

  • 2:29 pm
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