#ikuta toma
Wow it’s been a while! Thanks for being patient with me :-) I have finished school and summer has officially begun!! ….which means compiling a couple of my top dramas into a post so everyone can fangirl with me!
In lieu of an introduction (because none of these dramas really NEED an introduction…they are all fabulous!), I am just starting out by saying these dramas are all 15/10. They break my scale…which says a LOT because I have ridiculously high standards xD
Ouroboros (2015): The most recent out of all of these and definitely the BEST drama I have watched in general. It is of mystery/suspense genre and has 0 romance (well… there is something between Ryuuzaki Ikuo- played by Ikuta Toma & Hibino Mizuki- played by Ueno Juri, but very minimal), which first sounded not so appealing, but BOY do Ryuuzaki Ikuo (Ikuta Toma) and Danno Tatsuya (Oguri Shun) kick that skepticism out of the window. Even for a pretty high-level Japanese speaker, I thought the crime terminologies were more difficult to understand but it was super enlightening, super dramatic, super charismatic, super wonderful, and everything good in this world. (I have permanently fallen for Toma because of this drama and there is no turning back…!!!!)
Hana Yori Dango (2005-2008): Just by looking at the span of years, you can definitely tell that this one is like the Bible of Japanese dramas. It is the absolute classic romance story: rich guy [Domyouji Tsukasa (Matsumoto Jun) cracked me up so much with his developing acting skills] and poor girl [Makino Tsukushi (Inoue Mao) didn’t get annoying unlike many dramas I’ve watched with the whole ‘poor girl’ storyline] fall in love and things don’t can’t work out. There is a season 1, season 2, and a movie chronicling Domyouji & Makino’s relationship.
Nodame Cantabile (2006-2010): Nodame Cantabile looks like such a long series, but the truth is that season 1 aired in 2006, 2 specials in 2008, Movie Part I in 2009, and Movie Part II in 2010. Definitely an understatement to say it was a popular series. If you are a music lover, you are in for the biggest treat of possibly, your entire LIFE, and if you’re not, you’re going to BECOME a music lover. I think Ueno Juri’s portrayal of Noda Megumi and Tamaki Hiroshi’s portrayal of Chiaki Shinichi absolutely perfectly embodies the manga from the first second of the drama to the last second of the movie. I have nothing to say other than it is one of the best series ever!
Hanazakari no Kimitachi e: Ikemen Paradise (2007): I watched this one before I watched Ouroboros and didn’t think much about the Toma-Shun friendship, but WOW I even rewatched this drama once I finished Ouroboros. This hilarious story is about a girl named Ashiya Mizuki (Horikita Maki) that disguises herself as a male to get Sano Izumi (Oguri Shun) to high-jump again. Another important character is Shuuichi Nakatsu (Ikuta Toma) who becomes Ashiya’s best friend & confidant about Sano. This one’s about gr9 friendship, hilarious Nakatsu moments, and pretty irritatingly predictable story line (but super great nonetheless). ***Not to be confused with the new Hana-Kimi that aired with a different cast in 2011.
Rich Man Poor Woman (2012-2013): This drama includes season 1 and a special. You can probably tell by now but I have a very happy bias towards Oguri Shun. I think he’s a very talented actor. Anyways, Rich Man Poor Woman is a romance story about Hyuga Toru (Oguri Shun), who is a very wealthy and successful IT CEO, and Natsui Makoto (Ishihara Satomi), an elite Tokyo University graduate who struggles to find a job along with millions of recent Japanese Todai alumni. Natsui somehow begins to work for Hyuga’s company (there will be an explanation as to how she ends up working there) and the relationship takes its tumbles but is a happy ending? You tell me ;-)
Itazura na Kiss: Love in Tokyo (2013-2015): Another one of those classic dramas!! This ItaKiss has a spinoff because of the Tokyo setting, but follows the same story of Aihara Kotoko (Honoka Miki) falling in one-sided love with a popular guy at school, Irie Naoki (Furukawa Yuki). Honoka is hilarious- sometimes a teeny bit TOO much, but I enjoyed both season 1 and 2!
Hotaru no Hikari (2007-2012): Okay this is another one of those seemingly long series but the first season was in 2007, the second season was in 2010, and the final movie hit the roads in 2012. I started watching this drama casually, as I knew there wasn’t going to be an Ikuta Toma or MatsuJun, but I found out that I like Naohito Fujiki more than I thought I did. Let me just leave this drama at it’s absolutely HILARIOUS and pretty heartwarming. Hotaru Amemiya (Ayase Haruka) became my absolute fave after this drama.
Kyou wa Kaisha Yasumimasu (2014): Following the Ayase Haruka streak, this one is one of my absolute fave among the fave. First of all, let’s talk about Tanokura Yuto (Fukushi Sota) and his fabulous PRESENCE and also the other lead, Asao Yu (Tamaki Hiroshi). Two VERY talented & attractive males along with a klutzy 30-year-old single lady. Bound to be a heck of a ride.
Yamato Nadeshiko Shichi Henge (2010): Last but certainly not least, YNSH is a little bit of a different drama than the rest. It is romance, but you can almost say that it’s GOTHIC romance (as strange as that sounds for a drama). Nakahara Sunako (Oomasa Aya) is a gothic girl that only wears a black cape around and thinks normal people are too “bright” to stare at because of this one incident in the past. However, there are 4 beautiful men (not even surprised, right?) that live in her house to try to get her out of her shell, INCLUDING the leader of the pack, Takano Kyohei (Kamenashi Kazuya)!!!! He is so great! Also, another perk is that the opening song/theme song is sung by KAT-TUN and it’s SO catchy. You’ll be singing it all day.
This is the end of the list that I thought off the top of my head, but there are SO many more good dramas out there!
Some that you should check out: Shiawase ni Narou yo (2011),Dear Sister (2014),Buzzer Beat (2009),Last Cinderella (2013),Kurosagi (2006),Summer Nude (2013),Proposal Daisakusen (2007)… if I think of more, I will update!
LASTLY, I am watching Youkoso, Wagaya e (airing right now, 2015) starring Aiba Masaki and I’m loving the suspense!
P.S. Always appreciate those follows~ Please keep them coming <3
Love always,
Christina xxx
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Hello, it’s been a little while! I’ve been keeping up with Sota’s blog and it looks like there are only staff updates about TV Appearances. He is probably extremely busy with [Strobe Edge] promotions, so when he does update us, I will be right onto translating!
I present to you today, my recommendations of “Seishun Eiga”s which typically describes the High School Romance genre. Because many dramas / movies are based on manga in Japan, the Japanese theater greatly embraces Seishun Eigas. It’s almost a “stepping stone” for rising actors / actresses to be a part of these dramas / movies.
First up!
Bokura ga Ita Zenpen & Kohen (2012): This 2 part movie (Zenpen- 1st part, Kohen- 2nd part) chronicles the 10-year love life of Yano Motoharu (Ikuta Toma) and Nanami Takahashi (Yoshitaka Yuriko). I know it sounds really draggy and boring making two movies about one pair, but this one does a fantastic job. Bokura ga Ita is one of the few movies that I felt developed the characters, their feelings, and the different events that shape the characters in a touching manner. Yano made my heart soooo happy I watched the movie 8 times.
Hanamizuki (2010): This one is a slightly older one and fair to say that it was the first batch of Seishun Eigas. Again, this chronicles the 10-year love life of a couple, Sae Hirasawa (Yui Aragaki) and Kouhei Kiuchi (Ikuta Toma). This movie completely tackles a different setting from Bokura ga Ita, so rest assured that these first two are not the same story.
Kimi ni Todoke (2010): Another one of the first gen Seishun Eigas. This one is about a handsome & popular boy, Shota Kazehaya (Haruma Miura), who falls in love with a girl, Sawako Kuronuma (Mikako Tabe), who is bullied by the class. Kazehaya brings Kuronuma out of her shell, and the rest is history.
Kiyoku, Yawaku (2013): A fairly new one. This one is about two characters, Kanna Seto (Masami Nagasawa) and Roku Akazawa (Masaki Okada) who have lost a significant person in their life as they struggle to carry on with life and eventually love again. TBH, I watched it because of Masaki Okada, and thought it was a well-done movie.
High School Debut (2011): I was like ??? while watching this movie because it was sooooo manga-like silly & hilarious. Haruna Nagashima (Ito Ono) wants to find a boyfriend in high school because she had devoted her entire middle school life to softball. You Komiyama (Junpei Mizobata) is a popular upperclassman who ends up mentoring Nagashima, but instead, falls in love with her.
Sukitte ii na yo (2014): SUPER recent movie. The storyline is a little bit similar to Kimi ni Todoke, as a popular boy at school, Yamato Kurosawa (Sota Fukushi), brings a bullied girl, Mei Tachibana (Haruna Kawaguchi), out of her shell. Even though the underlying theme is the same, this one develops the female character greatly and chronicles her journey as she is coming out of her shell and really learns about loving another person. After watching “Kyou wa Kaisha Yasumimasu”, I went straight to this movie to see Sota Fukushi. Didn’t disappoint me at all. <3
Some others I haven’t watched yet: Koizora,Halfway,Boku no Hatsu Koi o Kimi ni Sasagu,Tada kimi wo Aishiteru.
Will be doing one for top dramas I’ve watched throughout my years of jdrama experience soon (this one shall be extremely hard….)!
Christina xxx
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All about the fickleness, here I blog about something other than Sota Fukushi’s blog post!!! For those that are reading this post as an introduction to my blog, welcome & nice to meet you! For updates about various jcelebs, their works in dramas & movies, and reviews, make sure to click that follow button!~ And of course, welcome back for my lovely followers <3
I just finished OuroborosstarringOguri Shun&Ikuta Toma and can we all agree that this pair is invincible?! My golly they are both perfection- looks, ACTING (wow I was pleasantly surprised at the entire casts’ teamwork and chemistry), and talent.
I’ve been a fan of Oguri Shun since literally forrrrever ago. When I mean forever, I mean since the 2002 breakout role, ‘Uchi’ in Gokusen. Since then, he’s been capturing the hearts of his fans through various dramas such as Hana Yori Dangoseries,Hana Kimi,Rich Man Poor Woman,Nobunaga Concerto, and now Ouroboros. He’s a versatile actor too- these titles consist of the classic Romcom field, Japanese Historical Period drama, mystery/suspense, you name it. Also, let’s not forget the fact that he started out as an child actor back in 1995 and kept his path as an actor for 20 years.
And then there’s Ikuta Toma. I thought Toma was a talented actor after seeing him play the villain, Junpei Oribe, in Hana Yori Dango. I confess that I didn’t really like him in that role (because he was the villain and I’m super immersed in the characters when I watch my jdoramas xD). All tides changed when I saw him as ‘Nakatsu’ in Hana Kimi. Also important to note that this was the first drama Shun & Toma worked in together, starting the future years of best friend-dom. I particularly loved Hanamizuki, where Toma stars as the main protagonist.
Toma proved himself an ULTRA talented actor in Ouroboros. Yes- it’s his most recent work and let me just say that he TOTALLY shook my heart with this one. When he cried, I cried. When he laughed and joked, I did the same.
Winding down, I definitely recommend Ouroboros. It’s a dark story, and even a fluent Japanese speaker like me had some trouble piecing the difficult, professional terminology of criminal investigation with the entire story. NEVERTHELESS, to say the least, Oguri Shun wowed me once more with his charismatic acting, and Toma transformed into a mature, super developed, emotional character (goodbye rom coms when he dressed like a nurse… LOL).
SPOILER: THE ENDING BROKE MY HEART. I blame the writers for causing such emotional distress xD.
As always,
Christina xxx
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TOMA IKUTA AS NAKASTU SHUICHI IN HANAKIMI (2007) ✨
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