bmwracer wrote:

That's prety lame considering that they must realize there's a vast (and growing) market here for j-dramas... Pretty short-sided for them to ignore us, if you ask me... I think someone could make some big money if they stepped to the fore and got this stuff subbed and imported into the U.S.... Miramax has sorta done this with Miyazaki Hayao's stuff, but they're still under Disney/Buena Vista's watchful eye Criterion has also done this with a large majority of foreign films, but they're a relatively small outfit and couldn't possibly handle the large stream of dramas be made in Japan......

Apparently money isn't an issue for them. It's hard to bring it down in the US. I guess that's why Kiku is playing crappy stuff. There is a talk about the lack of dramas in the KikuTV forum. Under the thread "Where's All The New Shows?"
_________________

ahochaude wrote:

Apparently money isn't an issue for them.

Hard to believe, since money always speaks volumes...

Quote:

It's hard to bring it down in the US. I guess that's why Kiku is playing crappy stuff. There is a talk about the lack of dramas in the KikuTV forum. Under the thread "Where's All The New Shows?"

Guh, I haven't visited the KIKU forum in ages...

...Thanks for listening!

bmwracer wrote:

Guh, I haven't visited the KIKU forum in ages... ...Thanks for listening!

Thanks for listening :O)
_________________

ahochaude wrote:

Thanks for listening :O)

Oh guys, your japanese is far better than mine !!!!! I read that stuff but I didn't understand a thing ...
_________________

Betsy Hayashi wrote:

Oh guys, your japanese is far better than mine !!!!! I read that stuff but I didn't understand a thing ...

Well that's better than me: I can't even read it.

[quote="bmwracer"]
Gomen, gomen...

Translation, kudasai: :bow:

[img]http://www.tv-asahi.co.jp/kurokawa/000_presite/001_story/images/main.gif[/img][/quote]

Hello, everyone!
I am new to this site. Yoroshiku-ne!
:woot:

I thought I could help with the translation.

Motoko Haraguchi (29 years old) had worked for one of the major banks.
One day she pocketed 120 million yen from the bank and ran away.
The bank desperately tried to get the money back but she showed to them
her little notebook with a black leather cover. In the notebook she had
copied the bank's confidential list of those who had fictitious accounts
with them.
Motoko opened a bar in the Ginza with the money she got from the bank.
The name of the bar is "Carne", which means a notebook in French.
This bar becomes the stage for Motoko, who is now armed with a small but
"mighty" notebook, to give a shudder to the men who live in the shady
worlds, using her beauty and intelligence.
Motoko's enemies are not only men, but also those women who eat men alive
to fulfill their own aspiration and desire. There start bruising
battles between women, too.
The world of "night" is glamorous, and full of lust of men and women.
Motoko gradually gets sucked into it...

��Gee, I don't know how to show the quotation and the image properly.
Sorry!

nagisa wrote:

Hello, everyone! I am new to this site. Yoroshiku-ne! I thought I could help with the translation. Motoko Haraguchi (29 years old) had worked for one of the major banks. One day she pocketed 120 million yen from the bank and ran away. The bank desperately tried to get the money back but she showed to them her little notebook with a black leather cover. In the notebook she had copied the bank's confidential list of those who had fictitious accounts with them. Motoko opened a bar in the Ginza with the money she got from the bank. The name of the bar is "Carne", which means a notebook in French. This bar becomes the stage for Motoko, who is now armed with a small but "mighty" notebook, to give a shudder to the men who live in the shady worlds, using her beauty and intelligence. Motoko's enemies are not only men, but also those women who eat men alive to fulfill their own aspiration and desire. There start bruising battles between women, too. The world of "night" is glamorous, and full of lust of men and women. Motoko gradually gets sucked into it...

Welcome to JDorama, Nagisa!

Thanks for the translation... From the description, this looks to be a dark, moody drama....

Gee, Ryoko-chan's pretty busy: she's working on Haru to Natsu and this drama... Ganbare, Ryoko-chan!

Cast pic:

From the official web site (http://www.tv-asahi.co.jp/kurokawa/):

Just in case you wanna check out the 1st episode, I posted it at momo's tracker: http://www.inheavysyrup.com/torrents-details.php?id=1427

Don't know how the ratings went for this, actually haven't even watched it yet...but hopefully it will be a good drama.

massaru wrote:

Just in case you wanna check out the 1st episode, I posted it at momo's tracker: http://www.inheavysyrup.com/torrents-details.php?id=1427 Don't know how the ratings went for this, actually haven't even watched it yet...but hopefully it will be a good drama.

Cool. Thanks for the link.

From the translated news I've read (Babelfish isn't very good, but it's my only option), the ratings for the first episode were pretty good...

I've watched the first episode now, and I can only say that I was gripped by it for every second! I can't wait until Thursday again!!!
Motoko's character is written in such a way that you can't help but root her on--though I don't think it was necessary to make the character who ends up betraying the Ginza moral code of not trying to snub the Mama (bar "Mama" who made you into a hostess/helped you get into the business) with an Osakan dialect.
This was taken from a novel, and I wonder if she had an Osakan dialect then?
Anyway, who else has seen it? There is a quiz at the Official Website. It asks which do you think is worse? The bank for continuing a corrupt system for many years, Motoko--for taking the money of people with various false accounts to avoid paying out taxes and get MORE rich, or that both Motoko and the bank are bad?
Personally, I think the bank is more at fault than Motoko--we trust them and that they would do something against the general public's interest is shadier than Motoko taking the money that the rich don't pay into taxes.

yume wrote:

I've watched the first episode now, and I can only say that I was gripped by it for every second! I can't wait until Thursday again!!! Motoko's character is written in such a way that you can't help but root her on--though I don't think it was necessary to make the character who ends up betraying the Ginza moral code of not trying to snub the Mama (bar "Mama" who made you into a hostess/helped you get into the business) with an Osakan dialect. This was taken from a novel, and I wonder if she had an Osakan dialect then? Anyway, who else has seen it? There is a quiz at the Official Website. It asks which do you think is worse? The bank for continuing a corrupt system for many years, Motoko--for taking the money of people with various false accounts to avoid paying out taxes and get MORE rich, or that both Motoko and the bank are bad? Personally, I think the bank is more at fault than Motoko--we trust them and that they would do something against the general public's interest is shadier than Motoko taking the money that the rich don't pay into taxes.

Ooooh, that sounds sooooo good.

massaru wrote:

Just in case you wanna check out the 1st episode, I posted it at momo's tracker: http://www.inheavysyrup.com/torrents-details.php?id=1427 Don't know how the ratings went for this, actually haven't even watched it yet...but hopefully it will be a good drama.

Hey Elt, can you download this thing for me?

Images from Kurokawa No Techo:

More from the Kurokawa No Techo site:

A screencap from Kurokawa No Techo.

Taken from Daily Yomiuri On-Line website :

Wm. Penn's reviews on "Last Christmas", "Kurokawa no Techo", and "Mother & Lover".


For the love of tough ladies and mama


Wm. Penn / Special to The Daily Yomiuri

Last Christmas (Mondays, 9 p.m., Fuji network) is not likely to hold my attention until this Christmas. Yuji Oda is excellent, as always, but there is something about the script, his costar Akiko Yada and the supporting cast that just doesn't click.

The story begins on Christmas 2004 with Haruki (Oda) in Yellowknife, Canada, trekking out alone to watch the aurora with a present in his pocket. (Haruki is an office worker and a nice guy still not married at 36, whose last fiancee left him when she found out his mother was in a long-term care facility.)

Then the plot suddenly jumps back a few months and we find Yuki (Yada) moving into the apartment next to his in the company housing complex. There just happens to be a door between their two rooms and it allows them to peak into each other's private lives.

While Yuki is dating his friend (and boss), Haruki can see he is just one of a long line of eager suitors. Her complicated past also includes membership in a "ladies" motorcycle gang and she still throws a pretty powerful punch.

Yuki is one of the "akujo" (nasty lady) heroines who are all over the small screen this season. She is tough but no competition for Ryoko Yonekura whose role in Kurokawa no Techo (Thursdays, 9 p.m., TV Asahi) requires her to be a bank robber, hostess bar mama, extortionist and all-around dangerous lady. Poor Ryoko, this series was much worse than expected and is not likely to draw any viewers away from Wataru Seken wa Oni Bakari (Thursdays, 9 p.m., TBS network).

But back to Last Christmas. Haruki discovers Yuki does have a soft side. When a drunken Yuki kicks a video through the door, he can't resist playing it. Several years old, it reveals she is divorced and shows her talking to herself the night before entering a hospital to face a life-threatening illness.

Now flash to another 2004 scene where we see her back at the hospital. Her doctor is holding a wrapped package similar to the one Haruki sported in the first scene. On her instructions, it is to be delivered to someone later on.

Is she still sick? Is she Haruki's soul mate? Is it worth sticking around to find out? Can't answer any of those questions yet. Viewers will definitely get an aurora at the end but so far no stars except the always able Oda.

With the dearth of competition, the Fuji network's Mother & Lover (Tuesdays, 10 p.m.) could end up being one of the season's better romantic comedies.

The sensitive Shingo (Kenji Sakaguchi) is a very macho mama's boy, and his mother (Keiko Matsuzaka), while filled with nostalgia for the past, is not particularly controlling.

Shingo, who studies acting, supports himself by pulling tourists around town in a rickshaw. This is how he has met 30-year-old Hitomi (Ryoko Shinohara). Viewers are supposed to believe he can trot about all day without collapsing from exhaust fumes or being run down by a taxi or a two-ton truck.

Fate has somehow thrown passenger and puller together and her heart goes all atwitter just looking at him. But it is not long before she learns why he has been left behind on the boyfriend market shelf.

Episode 1 ended with the clueless Shingo protesting: What's wrong with loving one's mother? She is about to tell him, but then her heart goes all aflutter again. In Episode 2, they discovered Hitomi and Mom share the same birthday.

Not outstanding but in its own quiet way, Mother & Lover is far more satisfying than Last Christmas. Two stars.